The Hindu Business Line : A coat of technology

WAITING outside Satish Menon's office, the eWorld team was wondering if it was his home or office. No posh exteriors, no front office staff to inform the Managing Director of Sapience Technologies that there were guests waiting to see him.

Within minutes, Satish sensed, and invited us, into his chamber. But for a PC on his table, (which is a common sight these days, for even a grocery store issues computer-generated bills) and the company name, there was nothing to show that Satish was in any way connected to the electronic world.

However, seeing our image on the monitor later, we were sure Satish had installed a system to track visitor entry.

Quickly, Satish scanned the projects on hand, which ranged from citing a fish catch in rough waters to monitoring the Coimbatore Corporation's garbage van route to check on false claims of the roadside dustbins being emptied every day.

The Coimbatore Corporation has installed a global positioning system (GPS) receiver on some of its dumper placer trucks that ferry garbage to the compost yard. This vehicle-tracking system records the entire trip to the second in terms of time. (Refer eWorld dated December 11, 2002.)

It was interesting to track the move on the screen. It left us wondering how technology was being tapped in a place seemingly not high-tech. (

Later, we walked into a wet grinder showroom, a rather unlikely place for technology display, you might say. But the unique and lightweight grinders on display made us wonder how these would perform vis-à-vis the conventional grinders. The showroom assistant informed us that the prototype design, using the rapid prototyping tool technique, enabled the company to improve on the design quickly and efficiently.

Rapid prototyping technology has shortened the prototype fabrication time, and proved to be more accurate and capable of making complex components as well. (Refer eWorld dated November 12, 2003.)

Elsewhere, at an education and career fair, various colleges showcased their career programmes and options. But the textile technology department of an engineering institute exhibited costumes cut intricately by using computer-aided tools.

It is a transformation that is indeed striking. If you had gone around Coimbatore say three decades ago, you will recall names like Lakshmi Mills, Kothari Textiles, Rajalakshmi Mills, Hamsaveni Spinners, Lakshmi Machine Works, Premier Mills, Veeco Sarees and the like. Though some of the mega textile units have gone into oblivion, they have, in the process, rekindled the entrepreneurial spirit. The younger generation is striving hard to turn this textile city into an IT-centric town by integrating the age-old technology with the state-of-the-art technique.

Think of any industrial application — from a gearbox to an automobile spare — and the first thing that would strike a businessman is to find if the same could be sourced from Coimbatore. But for a few big engineering units on the outskirts, the rest are small units that more often than not miss the eye. Yet, these are the ones that are fighting to reach the top today. Manufacturing activities have taken precedence, but it is not without imbibing technology, both as a tool and solutions provider.

Take the wet grinder industry, for instance. Coimbatore has established a niche for itself in this space. Models range from the conventional (electrically operated) grinder to the lightweight tabletop model. The couple of dominant players in the organised sector in this vertical outsource their requirement from the tiny units located in the vicinity. Innovation holds the key. Move over from the manufacturing to the services segment. Here too, not many are keen to set up shop in an IT corridor or spend huge sums on ambience. Says Rangaswamy of Consolidated Cybernetics, "A working environment is essential, but I cannot understand why certain establishments spend huge sums on granite flooring or marble polishing. It is the quality of work that eventually will matter.' But for a few companies like KG Information Systems Ltd (KGISL), Rnd Soft, CG Vak Software or eBrahma Technologies, hundreds of smaller IT firms operate out of residential apartments or single-room offices, writing codes, hosting and managing portals, taking care of back office functions and the like. These small firms rescue the growing number of small and medium (manufacturing) enterprises by offering timely and cost-effective IT solutions. In fact, a good number of firms concentrate on unique packages, which are not necessarily a CRM or ERP solution. The netizens out here provide technical solutions to manufacturing-related processes rather than a typical back-office function. Rapid prototyping, virtual reality and embedded solutions are the areas that quench the thirst of the tech-savvy youngsters here. If you thought software firms could make it big only if they established shop in an IT corridor, you probably will have to think again. Most firms continue to remain small, but offer solutions that are the stuff of dreams.

lnr@thehindu.co.in

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