Srini Rajam - Coimbatore personality found Ittiam Systems - Inflight entertainer

Very proud to see such personalities from Coimbatore - Coimbatore Machan!

Till early last decade, the only screen entertainment you had on an aircraft was a single channel of programmes. For the economy class passengers, a single screen was suspended along the aisle. However, in-flight entertainment has changed dramatically over the past few years. There are now screens for every seat, including in economy, and many airlines provide a large bouquet of movies, TV programmes, music and games to choose from. You can even forward, rewind and pause a programme, just as you do with a DVD player at home.

This change was a result, in part, of technologies developed by a small company in Bangalore called Ittiam Systems�founded a decade ago by Srini Rajam and four others who had left semiconductor company Texas Instruments with the idea of creating innovative software systems to put on top of chips.

Ittiam developed a video-on-demand technology and demonstrated it in early 2003. "In San Diego, US, we came across three or four aviation electronics companies working with different airlines. They found the technology interesting. We worked with them and got our first order from a company that had 50% of the in-flight entertainment market then," says Rajam.

The first to use Ittiam's system was Singapore Airlines. Rajam recalls that once, while he was flying the Singapore Airlines in early years, the system crashed. When the airhostess rebooted it, he was delighted to see the 'Developed by Ittiam' message on the screen. Rajam says the system does not crash anymore, and today about 80% of the aircraft in the world use Ittiam's solution.

Rajam, 50, grew up in Coimbatore, did a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Coimbatore University and then master's in computer science from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 1984. He briefly worked with Wipro Systems as a software development engineer, and, in 1985, joined Texas Instruments. He was there for 15 years�the last five as the MD of its India operations. During the period, TI India grew to be the largest R&D centre for its parent in Asia.

In 2000, he quit TI and rented a business centre. He saw an opportunity for India in a segment that was till then dominated by a few North American firms. That segment was the space between the chip�from companies like Intel, TI, Qualcomm, Freescale�and the end device like a PC or a phone. Chips are built in such a way that you can programme them with software, allowing the end device to have multiple functions. Given India's strength in software, Rajam thought it would be possible to innovate in the space. The name Ittiam is an acronym for Rene Descartes's famous line, 'I Think, Therefore I Am'�the idea was to convey that the company's biggest advantage was its people and the intellectual property they create. Today the company has 38 US patents.

Ittiam focused on video solutions and early success came in portable media players, like mp3 devices. The solution enabled devices at sub-$200, when competition was about twice that price, and it had customers like Creative Technologies, Philips and Thomson. Ittiam also found markets in video security and automotive multimedia.

The company now has a big play in smartphones, particularly those based on Android. In 2010-11, some 8-10 million smartphones, or about 5% of the global market, will be running video player and video camcorder functions on Ittiam's multimedia engine. Rajam is unwilling to name his customers for confidentiality reasons.

Companies like Ittiam provide a time-to-market advantage to customers. Some like Sony keep their design in-house. But the trend is to use third parties for systems design. "For a customer, the normal design cycle time is 18-24 months. But that can be slashed by 50-70% if they can start with what we already have. Our offerings are like a pre-cooked meal. And this is why there are such rapid innovations in smartphones and tablets today," says Rajam.

Today, Ittiam faces competition within India from firms like Aricent, Tata Elxsi and Sasken. But Rajam is looking at newer avenues. He expects the video phone market to take off this year. He's looking at extending Ittiam's expertise to areas like graphics, which drive gaming, and 3D. "The opportunities are plenty," he says.

courtesy of t i m e s o f i n d i a

Fast foods in Coimbatore - Chicken & Egg based restaurant

I went to KFC recently. I like the idea of a unique recipe and keeping that secret as secret.

I like the professional cooking and help. While I was there in KFC, I got an idea. Introducing such a Chicken + Egg based restaurant will be a great hit in Coimbatore area.

Egg is as usual cheap. Chicken is easily available and affordable. A decent fast food concept based on Chicken+Egg based foods with professional packing and easy to eat will be a great idea.

Franchisee concept would be a great help. All the best for your business. Just email coimbatoretimes@gmail.com, if you are going to use this idea!

Coimbatore Tea shop - a speciality beverage in Coimbatore

Earlier, I have written about Coimbatore Tea shops - click here to read, but please come back to this article.

Coimbatore Tea shops are special. You want to know the reasons, here are they -

* 365/24/7 you can get tea.
* tea with a combination of murukku anytime. But in special times like evenings, you get bajji, vada etc.,
* You are treated royal, if you are decent enough in dressing.
* 1/2 tea can be ordered. that means one tea can be shared in two glass tumblers by two individuals.
* Tea is served in glass tumblers with 3/4'ths filled with tea. Smoke is also sold anytime, even one-by-one. - 'Bossu cigarette saapteengalaa bossu?' - 'bossu neenga cigarette saappudra palakkam irukkaa?'
* A friendship is shared with a tea. - 'Bossu teaa saappudunga bossuu'.
* A conversation is started with a tea.
* A Thanks is conveyed with a tea.
* On an average, men drink like 3-5 teas in a day, when they go out.
* 'paal-tea' can be ordered - which has more milk in it. that is why it is called paal-tea.
* Any corner street or main town place you go, you can get tea.
* The number of tea shops in Coimbatore is infinite.
* you also get other beverages - coffee, horlicks, bournvita...
* Even in hot sun and middle of the noon - coimbatore folks would be drinking tea, instead they should be drinking cool drinks.
* A tea used to cost Re.1 and 50 paise. But today, it costs Rs.2, 50 paise and Rs.3.

Coimbatore Tea shop is Coimbatore's Starbucks coffee place, as in US.

What if I have to setup a tea shop and consider it as one of my businesses?? Yes, it is possible. There are two ways - either setup a roadside shop or setup an upscale one like Coffee Day or any Coffee Bar etc., as my friend used to like Visalam Coffee Bar - I have never been there...

It is a real good business to setup a tea or coffee shop in Coimbatore. It will turn out to be a good profitable business...Think about it!!

A Video from YouTube on Tea/Coffee Shop in Coimbatore

Business Success Case Analysis - All about people - Coimbatore Business Wisdom

A business evolves from an idea. An idea originates on a person's mind, while he/she sees a problem and there are too many people who would want that problem to be solved. Of course, the person who comes up with this idea is passionate about the whole thing.

As long as the person is a passionate about the idea, then if (s)he keeps working on that idea. The real turning point happens, when more people get attracted to the solution. People think that he is really solving the problem. This is the case when the business goes into success stage. More people get attracted into the business - automatically things would work out.

For example - Craigslist.org's Craig created the classifieds website and gave it free for all the users and visitors, while all the classified websites were asking money. Craig made the user interface simple that anybody could use it. Simplicity in doing things and do not complicate things. Now, Craig charges the "Post Jobs" feature only and that company is successful.

That is the idea. Say - you have a website - once you have considerable number of visitors, automatically you can convert that website into a business and it will fetch you revenue.

That is what I am talking about. Get many people know about business and that will reach as many people as needed and in fact much more than needed.

Overall Business Thumb rule is - Get more people to know about your business and use your services at low cost or free and they will come to know how special you are - and you will be successful, provided you serve what they need in right manner.

What does Satyam Computers's situation mean to Coimbatore?

What does Satyam Computers's situation mean to Coimbatore?

We all know the situation of Satyam today, due to mishandling of accounts/books in Satyam Computers. What does this mean to Coimbatore and other cities??

Please find a news article from 2007 about Satyam Computer Services in Coimbatore.

1) Satyam will not be buying any land in Coimbatore or give it up, 99%.
2) Employees from all cities and Coimbatore to Satyam Computers will be affected because of this already. They will be laid off and they should be searching jobs and be in job market.
3) Potential Job Oppotunities in Coimbatore is devastated now.

Pity situation for everyone!!

A news article from mid of 2007 -

Satyam to start center in Coimbatore

Satyam Computer Services will open its development center in Madurai, reports Press.

The company applied for 50 acres under ELCOT scheme proposed in the university land on Theni road. The company would commence work as soon as the government announces the approval.

The proposed campus would initially accommodate 5,000 and would be developed to 10,000-seater over a three-year period.

The company made a proposal to establish an autonomous IT academy in Tamil Nadu, under the public-private partnership funding to the Chief Minister.

Believe - Anything is possible : Coimbatore Theme Parks

In "Sea World, San Diego", there is a great show called - "Believe - Anything is possible" in which Shamu, a killer whale performs whatever is instructed and asked for.

The theme of the show is that Believe and anything is possible. I believe the show has to be watched by everyone, to believe anything is possible in this world.

The trainers had set a relationship with the killer whales and had trained them to do certain things. It is pretty much as if an animal with 6 senses is performing whatever is instructed.

Training a dog, cat might not be a big deal, but training a killer whale is a big deal which can eat humans as well. The animal is so huge and the show was amazing. Believe and Anything is possible in this world.

While I was watching this show in the Shamu auditorium, I thought of a business idea in Coimbatore.

If you have good amount of money, then invest in a vast land in outskirts of Coimbatore. May be in couple of years, you can build a theme park or a recreational park, not exactly like Adisayam(water theme park), but you can choose some other theme for this park. How is this business idea in Coimbatore - may be long-term?

Risk Apetite for an individual - Coimbatore Business Risks

I went to Sea World Theme park for the long weekend with my family and in-laws. I dared to go on a roller-coaster ride in the park. This ride is definitely dangerous and thrilling. The ride goes really up and down and goes wild, and feels like I am going to fall down. It gives a strange feeling inside the stomach, when it goes that fast downwards.

Overall the ride was very thrilling and scary. I was thinking about it later on and analyzing my risk taking appetite. Here is what I derived from it -

Initially, I didn't think about the risk or scary part before going to the ride. The ride was scary and thrilling. After the ride, I asked a question to myself, if I will be able to go back and ride it without fear. My answer was Yes. That is good for me. My inference from that was I am ready to take the risk any number of times, even though I knew things are risky.

Another feeling is that I felt it would be better if someone would have been there with me, so that it would be much more fun than that. Inference is partnership. It would be more fun if I have a person sharing the risks and profits.

So, my risk appetite is good enough that I can take risks and also will be able to share risks with partners.

Family pressure for Entrepreneurs in Coimbatore

Parents say no to risks for Coimbatore Small Startups

Mr.X(name hidden for privacy) resigned his day job and plans to start a company of his own in Coimbatore.

X is a married man, with dependants including his wife, son, dad and mom.
When a young professional resigns his day job, takes risks - there is lot of oppositions and negative advocacy from all sides. Parents think from a conservative perspective and non-risky thinking of sticking to a job and getting salary and living a normal life.

It is good to have devil's advocate, when we are having an idea and we are going to execute the same. However, it is difficult to have all of them all the time. Those inputs has to be considered for improvement, but not to impediment any success steps.

If you have a brilliant idea, which you think will be a success in the market, considering your market research; if you have a business plan to execute the plan, which is reviewed by experts and they and you think that it is a good idea, if executed properly. Then nothing should stop you from executing this idea.

My friend X is going through this phase and he is starting a company of his own. I wish him success in his venture and "Made in Coimbatore" is backing up his business with funding.

SG Jayaraj Group's Kodai Automobiles in trouble!!

Recently, SG Jayaraj and Nadar sons lost their dealership with Mahindra Scorpio. They could not renew their dealership. Currently, they don't have any dealership and they are trying to continue their business with just the service of any car coming in. Looks like in bad shape. I talked to an employee of SG Jayaraj and Nadar son's Kodai Automobiles. I was told the management is not even able to provide the salary to their employees. Morale is down in the company itself. The employees are categorized into three categories. Mechanic level, Supervisor level and Managerial level. The salary is provided in batches between 1-st of a month and continued with the salary in batches till 15th of the month. Even the employee is concerned that he might not even get the salary till 15th of the month. The employee I am referring to is just at mechanic level. Not sure, how the business for Kodai Automobiles is going to proceed. Let us see.

Hope there is a bail-out for the company like the way it is for the Banks in America.

All the very best.

By the way, if you are interested to know about SG Jayaraj and Nadar Sons and Kodai Automobiles, click here.

For other details, Coimbatore Times published for the group, please click here

Shri Balaji Agencies - LPG Distributor in Coimbatore

If you have lived with your family sometime during last 25 years in Coimbatore, you might have definitely used Shri Balaji Agencies's service.

Yes, they are the leading pioneering distributor of LPG (Cooking Gas) for households in and around Coimbatore.

Read about Shri Balaji Agencies here -

We are the leading LPG Distributor in this temple town of Coimbatore. For the past 23 years we have been rendering yeoman service to the LPG consumers in and around Coimbatore. Today we stand tall because of your unstinted support and patronage.

We earnestly thank all our customers who have been with us all through our trials and tribulations.

We solicit your continued support and valuable feedback to continually improve and upgrade our services to meet your requirements.

Here is the contact info

Coimbatore Software Companies: IT Exports turning to Dubai, UK/Europe from USA

Considering the slowdown in USA, weakening of the dollar in US, IT demand is getting temporarily slowed down.

IT product exports from India is changing its focus to Dubai, UK, including other countries in Europe. Exports of Indian IT products to the Middle East are expected to cross the $1.30-billion mark this year - an increase of 30 percent compared to $1 billion in 2007.

This is a way to go for a GLOBALIZED MARKET and GLOBALIZED ECONOMY in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Be aware of this fact - for the software companies in Coimbatore, if you are starting a business in Coimbatore and be benefitted/profitted.

Difference between satisfied customers and loyal customers: Coimbatore Business Execution Tips

How can you differentiate between your satisfied customers and your loyal customers? Here are eight ways. They are equally relevant to your external customers as they are to your internal employee customers.

1.Pricing. You negotiate prices with satisfied customers. You negotiate costs with loyal customers.

2.Payment. Satisfied customer pay at their discretion. Loyal customers pay on time.

3.Referrals. Satisfied customers become referrals of your competitors. Loyal customers willingly provide referrals to you.

4.Turnover. Generally, you will experience turnover rates of 15% or higher of satisfied customers. The turnover rate of loyal customers will be less than 5% and will be for reasons out of your control.

5.Competitive data. Your satisfied customers are seeking competitive data. Your loyal customers are sharing competitive data.

6.Perception. Satisfied customers perceive you as a commodity provider. Loyal customers perceive you as a partner.

7.Contract. You will need a contract to keep many satisfied customers in place. You have a virtual lifetime contract with your loyal customers.

8.Difficult times. Satisfied customers will leave you. Loyal customers will stay by your side.

Coimbatore ideal for BPO business/company: Coimbatore advantage as a tier-II city

Sponsored by OruAcre.com

According to a recent study conducted by consultancy firm Everest Group, the increased real estate prices and a talent crunch in metros are forcing the $11 billion Indian BPO industry to move to tier II cities in the country.

"It is difficult to maintain the growth in tier I cities because of the rising real estate prices and talent crunch. There is no option but to move to tier II cities," Everest Group's Country Head (India) Gaurav Gupta said.

Currently, BPO industry is concentrated in seven cities namely Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

"Movement to lower-cost cities within India is likely to result in additional 15 to 30 percent reduction in operating cost despite lower employability and higher management costs," head of Global Services at Everest Research Institute Nikhil Rajpal said.

Everest Group is a global consulting firm specializing in sourcing and offshoring advisory services. The study ranks several tier II and tier III cities on their potential to become the next BPO hubs for various domains in the future.

For finance and accounting services, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Indore and Nashik/Nasik emerge as ideal cities to host BPO firms.

Similarly, Nagpur, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Mundra, Coimbatore and Coimbatore are ideal locations to have BPO operations in logistics domain.

Sourcing from SI

Axis Bank opens a new branch in Coimbatore

The private sector Axis Bank opened its branch at Ilanji at Meenakshi Nagar on the Coutralam-Coimbatore road on Wednesday.

The Axis Bank had 655 branches, 20 extension counters and 2,778 ATMS across the country besides presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai. It was also planning to expand further its international presence, he said.

The market capitalization of the bank as on April 15, 2008 was Rs.23,370 crore, he added.

Coimbatore Spinners Associaion say NO to Cotton waste export

The Coimbatore Spinners Association has called for halting export of cotton waste as it had an adverse impact on the industry resulting in closure of units.

After changes in the technology, cotton wastes gained value-addition. Many subsidiary units with two and three open spinning frames with investment in the order of Rs. 1 crore in small scale industry emerged employing a large work force.

He said that at present, owing to a scarcity of short staple fibres, open end spinners across the country were behind cotton waste generated in spinning mills.

Read more

Coimbatore BPO: Sundaram Business Services - SBS, Coimbatore

Sundaram Finance BPO arm to foray into Tier 2 city in Tamil Nadu SBS to open new BPO facility in Coimbatore Plans to hire 500 employees in Coimbatore in 12 months

Chennai headquartered SBS (Sundaram Business Services), the BPO arm of leading financial services company, Sundaram Finance, has announced its first expansion into a Tier 2 city with the setting up of a BPO facility in Coimbatore.

SBS�s new 12000 sq. ft BPO delivery facility will come up in the heart of Coimbatore city and will become operational by the middle of next month. As part of this expansion into Coimbatore, SBS plans to hire over 500 employees for its Coimbatore facility over the next 12 months.

On the reason for choosing Coimbatore for its latest BPO facility, P.S Raghavan said, � Coimbatore�s infrastructure is impressive for a city of its size. The city has a robust public transportation system, and a well-developed intra and inter-state bus and railway systems. With well established and renowned educational institutions, the city offers quality talent pool for us to tap into as we expand our BPO presence.�

Sundaram Infotech Solutions & Sundaram Business Services have an expanding global presence with offices at UK, USA, Australia, Singapore, Middle East, in addition to offices at 4 centres in India.

Read more

What is the plan to put up, if an NRI wants to go back to Coimbatore, India?

You are an NRI or NRM? You always think about your home town, your home country. You are home sick. You are sick of your host country, where you have migrated? You think you will be better off, if you go back to Coimbatore(your home town or your home country). and do your own business.

If you are an NRI/NRM and wants to go back to Coimbatore, here is the plan I would suggest:

1) Have an AIM/GOAL written down in a single page. Let it be very short and sweet. Discuss your aim and/or goal with your spouse and children(if more than 10 years old).

2) Have a written personal and business plan, specifying your short-term, medium-term and long-term aims and plans on executing them.

3) Have a risk management plan. that is plan-B. What if, it did not work. Have Plan-C. What if, your plan-a and plan-b did not work!?

4) Build immovable assets, before you return back. For example, buy land or house in Coimbatore.

5) Have money generating assets in Coimbatore. For example, you should not be doing much work, but you should be getting some money for running the family. Say - a rent from a house you have rented to somebody else. Say - a rent from a commercial complex in Coimbatore.

6) Have a huge emergency fund. Deposit it somewhere, so that you either get a monthly income out of it and make sure it is liquid OR it can be a long-term growth deposit.

7) Have a retirement plan and fund it periodically. Have an insurance plan. If anything happens to you, what happens to your family. Be prepared for htat.

8) Have good amount of initial investment money for your business you are starting.

9) Be sure you are hardworking, consistent with your goals. Update your goals and plans as you proceed.

10) Be passionate with what you are doing and what you have planned to do. If you are passionate and if you love what you do, no one can stop you from your SUCCESS.

Nearest international airport to Coimbatore currently: Situation would change with Coimbatore International Airport

Madras International Airport (Airport Code: MAA) is situated at Tirisulam, 7 Km south of Chennai. It has two terminals, Kamaraj Terminal, handles domestic flights connecting 20 destinations across the country with Chennai.

The International Terminal, named Anna Terminal, connects major destinations like London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain, Dhahran, Jeddah, Singapore, Kuala Lampur and Sri Lanka.

Besides AIR INDIA and INDIAN AIRLINES several International carriers viz. BRITISH AIRWAYS, LUFTHANSA, SINGAPORE AIRLINES, MALAYSIAN AIRLINES, AIR LANKA, OMAN AIR, GULF AIR and SAUDIA AIRLINES are operating flights to and from Chennai.

This is the existing situation, but situation would change with an international airport in Coimbatore itself. Waiting for that day to come...- Coimbatore Machan!

Nearest sea port to Coimbatore for all the international export and import businesses

The major harbour of Tuticorin is well known as a pearl diving and fishing centre. Tuticorin, one of the oldest sea ports in the world, was the seaport of the Pandyan kingdom after Korkai and later was taken over by the Portuguese in 1548, captured by the Dutch in 1658, and ceded to the British in 1825. (Courtesy - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001) (Courtesy - Wikipedia). The lighthouse built in 1842 marked the beginning of the history of Thoothukudi harbour development.

On 11th July 1974, the newly-constructed Thoothukudi port was declared to be the tenth major port in India, second-largest port in Tamil Nadu and third-largest container terminal in India after JN Port (Mumbai) and Chennai. Thoothukudi is an artificial port. This is the third international port in Tamil Nadu and its second all-weather port. Due to its strategic location in the southern peninsula and assured round-the-clock operations, the port has been the nerve centre of economic activity in south Tamil Nadu. The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, a project to create a shipping channel through the shallow Palk Strait to allow pasage of larger ships, is headquartered at the Port of Thoothukudi. The port currently handles seven per cent of the total container traffic in India and is an important reason for investment in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

The port is badly in need of expansion to handle the increase in traffic. The two container berths in the port are of dimension 370m length and 10.9m depth. This limits the port in competing against Colombo port, which has 15m depth. The Tuticorin Port Trust is investing $1 billion for expansion. This will be done in two phases; the first will deepen the harbour to a depth of 12.8m and the second will increase it to 14.5m. In addition to expansion of the outer harbour, proposed upgrades include construction of breakwaters and lengthening the approach channel. The port has been upgraded to handle vessels longer than 245m. The advantages of deploying bigger vessels are that the existing restriction on booking can be eliminated and the transshipment at Colombo port can be reduced. The Tuticorin port has the potential to be an international container transhipment hub given its unique geographical location. Activity at the port has grown at a rate of 17 per cent per year over the last five years. A large portion of the operations in the port has been privatized, including handling at the first container terminal by PSA Sical. A second container terminal has been approved for this port. Tuticorin port is becoming a gateway for South India to the US, Europe and the Mediterranean following direct sailings to these regions. Of the total exports from the port, 25 per cent were to Europe, 20 per cent to the US, 20 per cent to East Asia including China, 15 per cent to Colombo, 10 per cent to West Asia and the remainder to the Mediterranean.

This port has been chosen to be an undersea cable landing station. The optical fibre cable will run between Mt Lavinia (Sri Lanka) and Tuticorin (325 km) with an initial bandwidth of 20 gigabits per second, later to be upgraded to 160 gigabits per second. This will promote the IT investment in South India by improved telecom infrastructure.

The port is also helping increase the tourism in the region. A new ferry has been commenced between Tuticorin and Colombo.

sourcing from w i k i p e d i a

Coimbatore Automobile Dealership: SG Jayaraj Group

Mahindra Scorpio is the most wanted SUV (automobile) in and around Coimbatore area.
Here is one successful dealer of Mahindra Scorpio in Coimbatore!

SG Jayaraj Group, Coimbatore

Established in 1940. SGJ Group, Coimbatore - sell and service leading brands like Mahindra, Swaraj, Hindustan motors, Bajaj Tempo, L&T, Vikram, LML, Etc. Today with ISO 9001:2000, certainly it is a feather in our cap ! They have won all India No.1 in Service Customer Satisfaction for M&M dealership in F2003 and F2004. Coimbatore M&M dealership is an award winner of South India No.1 in Sales Satisfaction Index of M&M in F2003 and F2005.

Few achievements:
* Tamil Nadu no.2 in Mahindra Scorpio sales during 2003-2004.
* First ISO 9002 certified automobile dealership company in
Tamil Nadu since 1998 and it has been updated and
recertified with ISO 9001:2000 version.
* Largest seller of Mahindra LCV (passenger) in India
for more than 10 years.
* Tamil Nadu no.1 in Mahindra pickups and Mahindra
Cabking/Loadking sales.
* All India no.6 in Bajaj Tempo Minidor (commercial three wheeler)
sales in October 2003.
* Tamil Nadu no.2 in Bajaj tempo trax pickups and tempo excel sales
F-2004 next to Coimbatore .
* South India no.3 in Swaraj tractor sales for the past few years.

Check out SGJ Group