Microsoft officially releases Visual Studio 2013

Microsoft officially releases Visual Studio 2013 and is available now for download (link below):

Personally still haven't installed it myself but planning soon. Here are few highlights as read on MSDN forums and blogs on the new VS 2013 released:

•	New project template for Office 365 Cloud Business App - to enable developers to quickly build modern business applications that can integrate with and extend the Office 365 platform experience. The Cloud Business App template provides a rich set of tools and built-in functionality that make it easy to work with data and leverage Office 365 services such as identity and social.   New MVC 5 web application template and SharePointContext for SharePoint apps - MVC web application template for app for SharePoint has been introduced since Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2013 Preview. In this Visual Studio 2013 RTM release, the MVC web application template in app for SharePoint has been updated based on the latest one for MVC 5.   SharePointContext is a set of classes (in SharePointContext.cs/SharePointContext.vb) that provides a set of APIs to relieve you from the tedious steps of dealing with communication between SharePoint and web application. Need to decide whether your app be authenticated with Windows Azure Control Services or a certificate (high-trust)? SharePointContext makes it possible for you to use the same snippet of code no matter which way you go. Need efficient but safe strategy to cache the access tokens? APIs in SharePointContext provide a good pattern and the default implementation for you. Which APIs can you use for hosting web and which ones for app web? API naming convention carefully designed in SharePointContext gives you an explicit view what you can use in which case. You can also easily extend the SharePointContext helper by subclassing to provide more advanced features to fulfill your scenarios. Apart from the Visual Studio 2013 in-box release, the new SharePointContext helper is also included in App for SharePoint Web Toolkit - NuGet package, which means you can install the package and leverage the helper APIs in any VS 2013 or VS 2012 project that you want to communicate with SharePoint. For the app for SharePoint projects that you’ve created with VS 2013 Preview, you can simply upgrade the SharePointContext helper to the latest by updating the App for SharePoint Web Toolkit NuGet package (which is installed in the web project when you created the app for SharePoint).
•	Support for Windows 8.1 app development: Visual Studio 2013 provides the ideal toolset for building modern applications that leverage the next wave in Windows platform innovation (Windows 8.1), while supporting devices and services across all Microsoft platforms. Support for Windows Store app development in Windows 8.1 includes updates to the tools, controls and templates, new Coded UI test support for XAML apps, UI Responsiveness Analyzer and Energy Consumption profiler for XAML & HTML apps, enhanced memory profiling tools for HTML apps, and improved integration with the Windows Store.
•	Web development advances: Creating websites or services on the Microsoft platform provides you with many options, including ASP.NET WebForms, ASP.NET MVC, WCF or Web API services, and more. Previously, working with each of these approaches meant working with separate project types and tooling isolated to that project’s capabilities. The One ASP.NET vision unifies your web project experience in Visual Studio 2013 so that you can create ASP.NET web applications using your preference of ASP.NET component frameworks in a single project. Now you can mix and match the right tools for the job within your web projects, giving you increased flexibility and productivity.

You can download Visual Studio 2013 here - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=306566 

Thanks - Dipesh

Seed funding... Microsoft Ventures

Found this interesting and thought to share - If you are looking to buy a house, this is the wrong place :) but if you are intending to fund your startup probably Microsoft ventures program that was launched recently would be of interest.

"Microsoft Ventures is a strategic partner for promising startups around the world focused on business growth & customer development, industrial strength technology and beautiful usable products. We’re especially keen to partner with proven young B2B startups looking to leverage our global routes to market. "

Buzz Table, Buddy and KitchenBug are few of the initiatives funded...

More here... https://www.microsoftventures.com/

Cheers- D

Best known Supply Chain Network Optimization Simulation tools...

Model, Optimize and Simulate Your Supply Chain using some of the best known Simulation tools -

Llamasoft -
Network optimization can identify major improvements in cost, service, sustainability, and risk – often leading to total supply chain savings of 10 percent or more. The LLamasoft Supply Chain Guru and Transportation Guru applications provide the most complete and easy-to-use network optimization functionality in the market, including:

• End-to-end model from tiers of suppliers to the customer
• Detailed modeling of complex production processes, BOMs, multi-time period capacities, etc.
• Comprehensive constraint modeling to accurately represent true behavior of your corporate supply chain
• Flexible costing model to better represent unique supply chain characteristics
• Easy-to-use scenario generation for detailed sensitivity analysis or multi-objective optimization
• Rich visualization and reporting including interactive flow diagrams, transportation routing, and much more
• Fastest solve times on the largest models

http://www.llamasoft.com/supply-chain-network-optimization-software.html

FlexSim - http://www.flexsim.com/supply-chain-simulation/

Arena - How to simulate Manufacturing Supply chain using Arena by Rockwell automation tool videos - http://www.arenasimulation.com/Tools_Resources_Video_Library.aspx
 

Accenture and Siemens Form Joint Venture to Unlock Full Benefits of Smart Grids to Improve Energy efffecieny

Accenture and Siemens form Joint Venture to implement Smart Grids and improve energy efficiency

Accenture and Siemens have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture in the smart grid field that will work with utilities to improve energy efficiency, grid operations and reliability.

The new company, named Omnetric Group, will provide the energy industry with advanced solutions and services focused on data management and systems integration. These solutions will integrate operational technologies - such as distribution management and real-time grid operations - with IT systems supporting smart metering, energy consumption and work and asset management.

 

What is Smart meter? "Smart meter" - is an electrical meter that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates this information at least daily back to the utility companies for monitoring and billing purposes. Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system.

 

Unlike traditional home energy monitors, smart meters can gather data remotely and can avoid theft or tampering. This advanced metering differs from traditional automatic meter reading and Accenture Microsoft can solution this around upcoming Microsoft SQL 2014 to help scale companies in their transformation of capturing and managing data from 5 million (per month user consumption) to 5 billion data inputs.

 

About Siemens

The Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector (Munich, Germany), with approximately 90,000 employees, focuses on sustainable technologies for metropolitan areas and their infrastructures. Its offering includes products, systems and solutions for intelligent traffic management, rail-bound transportation, smart grids, power distribution, energy efficient buildings, and safety and security. The Sector comprises the divisions Building Technologies, Low and Medium Voltage, Mobility and Logistics, Rail Systems and Smart Grid. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/infrastructure-cities

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

 

 

Does bringing ex-CEO help firms transform?

Does bringing ex-CEO help firms transform?

There's some news/rumors floating around these days that Bill Gates would take the helm back from Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. Personally, I don't believe this would happen as Bill is very much involved in philanthropy work with "Melinda and Gates" foundation and believe he has crossed that desire to run a profit organization. Sure, he still loves Microsoft and is chairman of the board. However, his vision and thought process to help poorest of the people come to next level by helping them in areas of basic necessities is remarkable and applaud able. Initiatives around having a "polio free" world, working with Pharma companies and investing heavily in creating medicines to eradicate malaria, TB and others is more important than selling Windows :) Sure, Google and other companies are also contributing to the world in such areas... but for someone like Bill this is full time job~! :)

However, these rumors of having Bill rejoin as CEO started me thinking that do companies really outperform/transform themselves by having prior leaders join back?

JC Penny would bring back ex CEO Ullman back and ousts someone who was trying to transform the company - Ron Johnson! Without Ron having enough time/opportunity and lacking full support for transformation, Ron was left lonely... fair?
Results: We haven't seen outstanding results yet...but time will tell..

Infosys gets ex CEO Narayan Murthy back, good move but is it a great choice? Sure, he was the co-founder and CEO who deeply believed in the company and it's success. But what does his return indicate? Lack of next generation entrepreneurs in the company or just boredom.
Results: We haven't seen outstanding results yet (this quarter was helped with Rupee dropping significantly)...but time will tell..

Apple - had a slightly different story by having Steve Jobs come back but that was with an intent to buy his company Pixar back. Also, point to be noted is that Mac is still struggling to have its market share against PC. They have been successful in few of their recent products (iphone, ipad and others) because of weak competition and being the first adopters to consumer market. Ofcourse, Steve had stewardship qualities that helped Apple transform but lets not forget the distinguished engineers who toiled hard to get finest products out.

Recently, with P&G's former CEO A.G. Lafley's return puts the iconic company's reputation at stake as well. All will rest on whether he can turn around P&G quickly....

I think returning the reins to a former CEO signals of desperation and failed succession planning. Hiring a CEO is a very key decision and I am sure lot goes into the thinking left to the best of the lot! :)

Cheers - DJ
 

Point of View on Microsoft Surface launch...

Microsoft released RT and then released PRO last holidays, many people don't know this and many people didn't follow the difference,

1. Microsoft RT is based on ARM, really meant as cheaper option for mass consumers. - $399?
2. Microsoft PRO is based on Intel i5 processor, really meant for more productive work and targeting enterprises. - $899?

Do you think this is a good move for customers?
a) Actually, it confuses consumer more especially end users... who are not IT skilled.
b) After releasing RT, MSFT decide to release another product - Surface PRO. They actually killed their own product - RT which is "self destruction"...why would someone buy RT?

Interestingly, Microsoft now is launching Surface on Oct 22 2013 - newer version of Surface and decide to call them as - Surface 2 (without an RT) - does that add to confusion further?

My PoV is = Microsoft go forward should only have 1 high end product - Surface, that's it! Both consumers and enterprise customers need one product who can do all that tablets can do with Office installed so that it can be productive fun. Kill RT and reduce price of PRO and move ahead.... this will enable to have the decent market share for Microsoft in this space. Personally, I believe they have the potential but the road ahead has few bumps!

Cheers-  DJ
 

Should you go for Microsoft Windows Surface RT or Windows Surface PRO?

My first hand experience with Microsoft Surface PRO. Microsoft recently launched Surface PRO with Windows 8 OS this Feb 9th. We missed the fanfare mainly due to the storm in east coast but also partly users didnt even realize that there was some new product that Microsoft was launching :) I still hear ppl. asking questions what is Surface PRO and what is Windows RT? Is this  a PR mistake by Microsoft not revealing one brand identity to end users who are not tech savvy! Apple has iPad (thats it :)). On top of this Windows Surface comes in different forms - one developed by HP, Acer, Asus, Dell and what not.... all adds to confusion to end users!

Below, are few of  the pointers where I try to list differences between Windows PRO and Windows RT. Should you go for Windows Surface RT or Windows Surface PRO? There is no one answer but purely depends on your needs -

Here are few pointers that I can list that can help you choose between the 2 products -

1> Windows RT is an exciting new version of Microsoft Windows that is built to run on ARM-based tablets and PCs. Works exclusively with apps available in the Windows Store. ARM based tablets cannot run existing old windows applications.

Surface PRO run all previous version of Windows applications and integrates with your existing enterprise management infrastructure. Use your existing programs and the apps available in the Windows Store as well as it is based on Intel chips i5 processor.

2> Ofcourse, price is something still debatable in the market, as Windows RT is what you can get for $499 odd, v/s PRO @ $899. If you add the additional accessories like Touch keypad, wedge mouse and others you may have to shelve out more - $134 for keypad and 70 for bluetooth wedge mouse. Along with taxes you are looking at somewhere $1300 which is lot even if you are just looking for a high end laptop.

3> PRO does come with Stylus pen - which I think is pretty cool. Remember, however that's not a luxury, but really a necessity as when you switch to OLD windows applications you really need the pen as the fonts (such as the menu bar) really gets small.

4> Strorage is constantly debatable, and it seems there is 32 GB odd of strorage that is already used by OS and backup, thats not kewl! Technically if you buy 64 GB tablet that would leave you with just 32 GB to begin with. Thats the very reason Microsoft didnt even come up with 32 GB Surface tablet, you will get maybe 1 MB of free storage and oh yes they claim you can always put more on cloud :)

5> Camera on PRO is decent enough to do live chat, but not video recording of high quality.  Regardless, cannot imagine video recording thru' Surface.

6> You dont get Microsoft Office free with Windows Surface PRO, but it does with come with home/student edition with Windows RT. Remember, this is one of the key product that MSFT is publishing as productivity app.

7> Battery life - PRO claims to have 3-4 hours of battery life v/s Surface RT which can last for 8 hours plus,

8>  PRO is slightly, heavier than Windows RT but less than regular laptop weight. Comes with USB 3.0 which is faster I/O devices connect compared to USB 2.0. You can connect with HDMI devices.

Both Windows RT and Surface PRO do not come with wi-fi from Microsoft manufactured devices  (though learn that AT&T has started selling those!). I find this little wierd and loses the concept of device everywhere!

Regardless, I can bet that Windows Surface PRO is much better option that Windows RT (infact when i was in Microsoft Store, RT displays were not even looked by customers :)). Price is still a big concern for me but i would love to buy one!

Cheers - Dipesh

 

My first interaction with the China team...

My first interaction with the China team...


This was a brief 30 minute leadership listen only call and hence not really active but I am very interested in being active participant moving forward esp. with the DEV team in China.
Time difference really works for me from US pacific timezone, Good live meeting and network connectivity on-premise and no issues communicating. Wish me good luck so that I can be successful in delivery and management. :)

Here are few learnings that I learned from my past offshore experience -
1 Connect the team more (if possible daily standup).
2 Good project management and understanding of all activities/tasks assigned to the offshore team.
3 Having said, that Offshore team being remote and distant away, would do wonders if you give them a bigger picture. Believe me, that would make the team  feel part of the bigger pool and give them a sense of ownership.
4 You may have to give away some of your time and be flexible/agile to work with a different timezone with the Offshore team.
5 You must know the powermap - Supervisors and managers who own/control the team. Trust me, they treat feedback from client/onshore team very seriously and take corrective action.
6 Understand their culture and be empathic while on call/conferences and change your behavior instead of asking them.
7 Typical work that can be executed successfully
8 If none of this work, then please pull out at the right time than later in the game and avoid heart burns :)

Cheers - Dipesh

Can empathic listening do wonders and win more battles?

There are several experts, who would say that one should be a GOOD listener if they want to avoid troubles for themselves and have a constructive dialogue. Yes, very true but I think one should take it to the next level... NOT just listen, active listening but be an Empathic Listener. huh? What does that mean?

By definition, Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion - per Wiki.

Empathetic Listening is a technique which can help you manage and avoid disruptive and assaultive behaviors and land you great success in reading right messages and solving problems with client, customer, supervisors, team members or even personal relationships - the way you want!

There is a popluar word that is coined in my organization - LEAP: Listen, Empathize, Ask and Propose. J The message is = Don't just Listen and jump to conclusions and Propose but Listen, empathize with the person, Ask/probe more questions to understand his/her context better and then propose - put forward your ideas/suggestions. That is the skill every executive/leader would find it helpful. Don't play this but br true to yourself and it will benefit you in longer run! Learn to Practice! Practice! Practice!

Success in Emphatic listening is understanding and it can be summarized in 4 simple steps below: 

1. Follow the LEAP process, Give your judgement/advice only after you have completely listened. Give some time, Think through the issue, not required to have an immediate response.


2. Give your full attention while listening. Don't be distracted or be involved in multi tasking while listening. This won't yield the results you want.
3. Give due importance to the topic and the speaker. Show true concern and feel it genuinely. Don’t trivialize the issue. 

4. Assure your understanding. Ask clarifying questions and restate what you perceive the speaker to be saying.

Again, it's an art and learn to Practice! Practice! Practice! Hope that helps win you more battles, :) Cheers - Dipesh

How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations?

How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations? OR Are you just double minded on whether you should or you should not?

 There is NO straight answer to this, but I have made an attempt to list some of the basics that I think from my experience are MUST HAVE’S for a leader/entrepreneur by design. Don’t consider them as magic steps that would allow you venture into a new business OR make you a successful entrepreneur, CEO OR for that matter even a business lead in your company. But, my 2 cents draft with some of my thoughts that I think every person should have to enable him/her to take that first bold step to venture into any new space OR a startup company. (will keep it simple) –


4 key fundamentals one would need to be successful venturing into new space as a Startup company OR working at the next level –

CPLB (Courage, Passion, LOTS of patience and most importantly Belief in YOU.)


• Courage – To go against the odds, To take balanced risks, to get out from your comfort level,
• Passion – You need to have the killer instinct passion, desire to prove a point (in a good sense),

• Patience – you may fail, but don’t give up…. Keep on trying and you will get there,

• Belief – Strong belief in you, don’t lose heart with small failures, don’t give it up….keep trying!


In addition, you also need Xtreme dedication/focus, commitment towards work.


• Xtreme dedication/focus – Should have razor sharp focus and clear vision to what you want to achieve. Be very clear headed. Will need lot of sacrifice of your personal time – family will need to stand by/support you for each decision/action you take. Won’t be easy but you will have to practice that during early stages of growth for sure.

• Commitment – Work hard, Work hard, Work hard! There are no shortcuts and don’t play games! Be real, be honest and be true to yourself.


I think few important key points that one should embrace are –


• Need to have VERY STRONG in ideas/thought process. If your product is NOT a value add, then it won’t help you sail :)

• TIME is an important asset for you, utilize it wisely.

• You don’t need to attract lot of money, build upon an IDEA and sell it. Investors will get attracted to an idea anytime.

• Create a blue ocean strategy and compete in the red ocean as well – to grow it’s OK to keep your margins low. Once you are at level 2 – you can think of revising your strategy.


At the end, most importantly - Have FUN in doing what you do!


Here are few DON’TS:


• Don’t treat your venture/new experience as pure competition.

• Don’t get stressed out – set some time aside to celebrate/pat on your back and the team that worked hard for you. The way large corporations term – WORK LIFE BALANCE :)

• Don’t be afraid of FAILURES, but learn from it. (recent entrepreneur/leader example –X CEO for Apple: Steve Jobs)

• Don’t get absorbed in mundane/routine tasks/activities; Outsource them if possible to someone who loves doing it and you take on the value adds. Free up your time to move on.
• Don’t stop learning, Invest time in learning, growth for you and the team.

Will try and focus on how to compete head-on with large corporations and create your own mark/brand in Part 2. 

Pardon my scribbling’s if any....