IT slowdown: Engg grads unemployment risk

It isn't intended to crush young dreams. But for over a million engineering students who are stepping into placement season this month, Nasscom President Som Mittal's confirmation that IT hiring will indeed decline 22% to 1.8 lakh this year does just that.

"Ten years ago, we could hire half the graduating engineering students, but now, there is global uncertainty, automation, non-linear growth," Mittal told ET even as a new engineering placement season gets underway in a rather bleak economic backdrop. "We cannot provide jobs to all."

As it is, a fifth to a third of engineering graduates run the risk of being unemployed. Many others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications, an ET special feature had reported recently.

That's the environment in which hundreds of non-IIT and second-tier colleges are now getting into a placement overdrive. They are roping in newer industries, inviting more companies, settling for salaries that are much lower than the minimum benchmarks, and encouraging more students to entrepreneurship.

"Last year, we had a placement record of 85%, but this time, we would be happy even if we meet 70% of the target," says Guru Venkatesh, V-P (placement and corporate relations) for Dayananda Sagar Institutions. "Up until 2012, there were companies we would not touch...but this year, we are looking at all."

But top-rung institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, remain relatively insulated. "We have no worries. Only 15% of our students join the IT sector and for our 1,200-odd students (all streams included), salaries are expected to go up as well," said an official from the placement office of IIT-Madras. The average salary has gone up from 8.9 lakh for the batch of 2012 to 11.4 lakh for the class of 2013.

Karnataka-based DayanandaSagar Institutions has around a 1,000 students to place. This year, it has decided that companies will have to share slots from day one. Three companies will be allowed to pick students on the same day; only one was allowed earlier.

"IT companies, which used to be the large recruiters, will hire fewer people, so we are trying to get more firms to make up for the numbers," says Venkatesh.

"In 2012, around 100 companies came. This time, we will try for 200, which includes startups," he adds.

Call them all

Colleges are compromising on salaries too. "Last year, we had few companies offering 3-lakh plus salaries. This year, we are open to more companies with salaries of 3 lakh or so," says an official from the placement team of VIT University, based in Tamil Nadu.

The campus has started its placements with companies like DE Shaw, Flipkart and Ebay.

IT companies, which constitute about 70% of hires, usually come later in the year, around September onwards.

Campus placements for engineering colleges start from mid-July and continue for the next eight months. Initially, those from core engineering industries, R&D and sectors like auto, manufacturing take their pick.

The IT mammoths, which hire in large numbers, come only in September but have said their hiring will be muted. "The overall industry will see muted hiring from campus this year," says Pratik Kumar, executive vice-president for HR at Wipro.

Compared with the 2,30,000 IT jobs created in 2012, only 1,80,000 will be generated this year, according to Nasscom. This year, IT giants will hire in September during campus placements and again in May-June, to bulk up their off-campus placements, Mittal adds.

Alternate avenues

Bangalore-based RV College of Engineering is advocating entrepreneurship for its students. It is looking to garner Rs 25 crore in two years for its entrepreneurship cell. In the past 50 years, 12% of its alumni became entrepreneurs and the college hopes more will follow suit. It wants the 1,000-odd engineers graduating every year to apply for more patents and research projects so that they are picked up by core engineering firms and do not have to bank upon just the IT sector.

Delhi Technological University (DTU) will follow a similar strategy. "We have added 15% new recruiters only for computer science and IT students, keeping in mind that hiring numbers per company may take a hit," says NeerajNimwal, training & placement officer for DTU. "Colleges need to look at other sectors like manufacturing, pharma, biotech as recruiters. In fact, I am more worried about those graduating four years later," says Nasscom'sMittal.

Some have done so without delay.

Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) has around 500 students, roughly 180 are from streams like IT, computer science, electronics and electrical engineering. MK Sanyal, professor & head, department of HR Management, says placing all these students is getting more challenging as the scenario gets increasingly competitive. Earlier, if 30 companies used to approach the institute for placements, the first 5-6 would absorb all the students, and the others had to be sent back.

This Radical iPhone 6 Concept Completely Reimagines The World's Favorite Smartphone

Apple is set to release its next version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5S this fall. We don't expect to see drastic changes to the physical look of the phone.

But next year, Apple could very well release a redesigned "iPhone 6." If it wanted to.

Graphic designer and artist Johnny Plaid has envisioned a drastic update for the iPhone 6 which takes advantage of an edge-to-edge display, multi-touch sensors in the bottom of the device that get rid of the home button, and a brand new charger that integrates MagSafe technology.

While it's highly unlikely that this is what the iPhone 6 will look like it's still fun to dream.

Virtualizing the Enterprise: An overview

Virtualization has its roots in the mainframe era of the 1960s, and is particularly associated with IBM, whose CP-67/CMS was the first commercial mainframe operating system to support a virtual machine architecture in 1968. (CP stands for Control Program, while CMS stands for Console Monitor System; CP created the virtual machines, which ran the user-facing CMS.)

PC-era virtualization kicked off in 1987 with Insignia Solutions' SoftPC, which allowed DOS programs to run on Unix workstations. A Mac version that also supported Windows applications appeared in 1989, followed by SoftWindows bundles containing SoftPC and a copy of Windows. Another notable PC virtualisation pioneer was Connectix, whose Virtual PC and Virtual Server products were acquired by Microsoft in 2003 and re-released in 2006 and 2004 respectively.VMware, the current market leader in virtualization, released its first product, VMware Workstation, in 1999.

VMware Workstation is still widely used today, but the company's most significant releases were arguably its 2001 server virtualisation products — GSX Server and ESX Server. GSX Server is an example of a Type 2 (or hosted) hypervisor that, like the Workstation product, runs on top of a conventional operating system. ESX Server is a more efficient Type 1 (or 'bare metal') hypervisor that runs directly on the underlying hardware. From these beginnings, VMware has evolved a market-leading ecosystem of virtualization products based around its vSphere platform.

Virtualization has become the key technology underpinning 'cloud-era' IT infrastructure because the ability to deploy virtual instances of servers, desktop PCs, storage devices and network resources allows existing hardware to be utilised efficiently, and makes for much better manageability, flexibility and scalability.

Before we look at detail at the main areas where virtualization plays a key role, it's worth noting a key finding from the recent Cisco 2013 Global IT Impact Survey, which canvassed 1,321 IT professionals in 13 countries. When asked which were the most difficult IT projects to deploy over the past year, the top three cited directly involve virtualisation: moving applications to the cloud; centralizing/virtualizing the data center; and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure):

Virtualisation may be the foundation of modern IT infrastructure, but today's IT professionals evidently find it challenging to get to grips with on the ground.

Even though virtualization is a specialist IT discipline, it's a little surprising to find that, in a July 2013 study sponsored by a group of Cisco partners, 40 percent of knowledge workers and 54 percent of non-IT workers had not even heard of it. Moreover, 80 percent of decision-makers (senior management, VPs and SVPs) were unaware of how virtualization will benefit their businesses, and only 34 percent of workers believed they were using virtualization in their workplaces.

Server virtualization

Server virtualization makes perfect sense both for in-house data centres and for service providers in the public cloud. In both cases, utilising servers to maximum efficiency and having the ability to scale virtual server provision rapidly as workload demand ebbs and flows is vital to keeping costs down and (if you're a service provider) revenues up.

A recent survey by market research company Vanson Bourne on behalf of networking vendor Brocade shows the level of penetration of server virtualization in company data centres. This study canvassed 1,750 IT decision-makers and office workers in companies ranging in size from 500 to over 3,000 employees in Europe (UK, France, Germany) and the USA:

Brocade's survey found that, on average, companies currently virtualize 46 percent of their servers, with more than half virtualizing at least 40 percent of their servers. In two years' time, the respondents expect 59 percent of their servers to be virtualized, on average, with three quarters of companies virtualizing at least 40 percent of their servers. Although it's well established, server virtualization is clearly still on the rise.

Another recent survey, conducted by storage virtualization specialist DataCore, canvassed 477 IT professionals worldwide, from a broad range of company sizes and industry sectors, and found VMware (vSphere) to be the clear leader in server virtualization software, followed by Microsoft (HyperV) and Citrix (XenServer):

Gartner's latest Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure (June 2013) backs up this finding, placing VMware and Microsoft in the 'leaders' quadrant, Citrix and Oracle as sole occupants of 'visionaries' and 'challengers' respectively, with Parallels and Red Hat in the 'niche players' corner:

All of these disk array vendors offer storage virtualization solutions — EMC's VPLEX and NetApp'sData ONTAP are examples. Other storage companies worth following are flash specialists likeFusion-io, LSI and Violin Memory.

Network virtualization

The latest IT infrastructure component to come under the virtualization spotlight is the network. Network virtualization, or Software-Defined Networking (SDN) as it's generally known, decouples the control layer from the physical hardware that routes the network packets. SDN makes it easier for IT managers to configure heterogeneous network components and allows network traffic to be shaped to ensure that, where possible, demanding workloads get the required bandwidth, low latency and quality of service.

SDN will often work in conjunction with another developing technology, network fabrics, which are designed to allow any node on the network to connect to any other over multiple physical switches. Some vendors see SDN and network fabrics as tightly integrated, while others — including the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), curator of the OpenFlow SDN protocol — view them as independent.

According to Brocade's June 2013 survey, both network fabrics and SDN are technologies for the future, with only around a fifth of companies currently using them — although 60 percent or more are investigating or planning to investigate network fabrics and SDN:

A broadly similar picture emerges from Cisco's Global IT Impact Survey, just under half of whose respondents are currently evaluating SDN. Nearly all of these evaluators are planning to implement the technology within the next two years:

Both Cisco and Brocade asked their survey respondents about the drivers for investing in software-defined networking, revealing a broad range of perceived benefits:

Software-defined networking is likely to make an impact first in the data centre, but is also applicable to campus networks and enterprise WANs. This market is too embryonic for specific vendor comparisons to have been made by market research firms like Gartner (which is still in the process of defining its taxonomy). However, most of the leading data center network infrastructure vendors are now offering SDN solutions. Recent Plexxi-sponsored research forecasts that the SDN market will be worth $35 billion by 2018, representing 40 percent of all network spending. The same April 2013 study estimates that there are 225 SDN companies, from a starting point of zero in 2009. Network virtualization is clearly in the establishment phase, but is already experiencing rapid growth.

Desktop virtualization

Desktop virtualization involves running virtual machines, each with their own desktop OS instance, on a server and accessing them from remote client devices (PCs, notebooks, thin clients, tablets or smartphones) over local- or wide-area networks. There are several delivery models, ranging from cloud-hosted desktop-as-a-service, to managed hosting, to on-premises deployment.

Advantages of desktop virtualization compared to traditional desktop computing include data security (data is stored in the data centre rather than on the local device), manageability, wide device support (you can run a virtual desktop on a BYOD tablet or a smartphone if you want to), easier backup and disaster recovery, and lower operational costs (client device troubleshooting, for example).

Disadvantages include the need for an always-on network connection with high enough bandwidth and low enough latency to deliver an acceptable desktop experience for users (particularly if they need to use graphically demanding applications), licensing issues (particularly if you're running Windows) and — if you're considering an in-house deployment — the capital cost of server, storage and networking infrastructure.

Before desktop virtualization came to prominence there was, and remains, the Terminal Services model, in which multiple remote desktop sessions are hosted by a single server operating system. With Windows Server 2012, Microsoft supports three flavours of desktop virtualization: Personal Desktops (each user gets their own 'stateful' virtual desktop); Pooled Desktops (multiple users share a 'stateless' virtual desktop) and Remote Desktop Sessions (formerly known as Terminal Services). Advantages of the terminal services model include rapid application deployment, security and low support costs.

Desktop virtualization is another technology that most businesses are just getting to grips with (remember, it came above BYOD and deploying SaaS application in the list of 'difficult' IT projects in Cisco's Global IT Impact Survey quoted earlier). In DataCore's March 2013 State of Virtualization survey, 55 percent of organisations had not undertaken a desktop virtualization project and only 11 percent had virtualized more than a quarter of their desktops:

As well as VMware (View), Citrix (XenDesktop) and Microsoft (Windows Server 2012), leading desktop virtualization vendors include Desktone, Unidesk, Virtual Bridges, Quest Software (now owned by Dell), MokaFive, NComputing, Oracle and Red Hat:

Application virtualization

Application virtualization decouples the installation of an application from the endpoint that's running it. This can be done via the desktop or server virtualization solutions described above, or by using application streaming technology: in the latter case, packaged applications are stored a central server, downloaded over the network and cached on the client. Generally speaking, only a small percentage of an entire application needs to be delivered to the client before it can launch, with additional functionality being delivered on demand.

Whatever the delivery model, application virtualization makes for much easier app deployment and management compared to installing and maintaining local installations on multiple endpoints. This is especially true when it comes to tricky areas like licensing and, on client endpoints, application conflicts.

In DataCore's State of Virtualization survey, nearly one in five (19 percent) of respondents reported that all of their mission-critical applications would be virtualized by the end of this year, with over half (58 percent) saying that 80 percent or more would be virtualized. Heading the hit-list is a trio of Microsoft enterprise stalwarts: SQL Server, Exchange and SharePoint:

Leading application virtualization vendors include Cameyo, Citrix (XenApp), Evalaze, Numecent, Novell (ZenWorks), Microsoft (App-V), Roozz, Spoon (formerly Xencode), Symantec (Endpoint Virtualization) and VMware (ThinApp).

Conclusion

Today's server, storage, network, desktop and application virtualization technologies provide IT managers with the means to create flexible, scalable, manageable and secure infrastructure that utilises the underlying hardware to maximum efficiency. Some of these technologies — notably software-defined networking — are in the early stages of development while others, such as server virtualization, are mature and widely deployed.

IT professionals may still be getting to grips with virtualization in many businesses, and their users and senior management may be a little hazy on the technology and its benefits, but it's here to stay and is undoubtedly the future of business IT.

IBM launches integrated security solution

IBM has launched an integrated security intelligence solution that helps organizations identify key vulnerabilities in real-time, while reducing total cost of security operations. IBM QRadar Vulnerability Manager gives security officers an overview across their entire network, helping them to quickly strengthen and fortify their defenses. By aggregating vulnerability information into a single view, security teams can see the results from multiple network, endpoint, database or application scanners where it can be quickly reviewed and managed.


More than 70,000 security vulnerabilities exist today, with more than a dozen more being reported every day. The rapid expansion of social, mobile and cloud computing can further increase the number of potential vulnerabilities, expanding the threat landscape. 

Part of the IBM Security Intelligence Platform, QRadar Vulnerability Manager (QVM) combs through security holes to help close them to potential exploits, excluding those hidden behind firewalls, associated with inactive applications or otherwise unreachable from external attacks. By simply activating a license key, this new software can automatically scan the network and perform the analysis helping security teams more effectively direct their limited staff resources. "Security Intelligence is about putting all the available data into context, and making it useful for each client's unique security needs," said Brendan Hannigan, GM, IBM, Security Systems Division.

UK top target for cyberterrorism: Report

British lawmakers have claimed that the country has become the top target of online crooks, paedophiles and terrorists with increasing threat of cyberterrorism. 

According to The Mirror, a probe by MPs found banks did not even bother to report everydayonline thefts. 

Labour MP Keith Vaz, head of the Home Affairs Select Committee, blasted the government for being far too complacent. 

MPs have claimed that most of the attacks -- including identity theft, credit card fraud, industrial espionage and child exploitation -- were being committed from Eastern Europe. 

The report also found out that 12.5 million people had fallen prey to online crimes in the past year at a cost of 1.8 billion pounds.

Banks looking at voice biometrics for security

Some banks are in discussion to introduce voice biometrics as an option for authenticating phone banking. For banks, the main attraction of voice authentication is that this does not require deployment of infrastructure — unlike in the case of fingerprint or iris recognition — as mobile phones are widely available.

Banks are in talks with Nuance, a US company specializing in voice recognition and whose technology powers Apple and BlackBerryphones. While phones use speech recognition which is still evolving, voice recognition is a different technology altogether and more reliable than using PIN, according to Advait Deshpande, senior product manager (biometrics and security), Nuance Communications.

"A voiceprint is a hashed string of numbers and characters that represent how specific an individual's voice rates on a host of characteristics being measured. As such, a compromised voiceprint has no value to a hacker. It cannot be used to authenticate a system, nor can it be used to reverse-engineer someone's voice," said Deshpande.

"Globally, Nuance has several customers that have deployed voice biometrics commercially. In India, we are in talks with leading financial institutions and telecom companies for deploying voice biometrics."

It is not clear whether voice authorization will replace telephone PINor be an additional authentication factor. In most electronic payments, RBI has asked banks to put in place multi-factor authentication. For instance, in cards, an individual has to provide the physical card, a signature and — very soon — a pin number to authenticate transactions.

He points out that a 2012 study conducted by DataGenetics on the vulnerability of PINs states that 10.7% of four-digit PINs are "1234".

Australia unveils its most powerful super computer

MELBOURNE: Australia's most powerful super computer, Raijin, was unveiled in Canberra. 

Raijin, named after the Japanese God of thunder and rain, has costed $45.2 million to build and will cost $10.85 million a year to run, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. 

The super computer, unveiled at Australian National University (ANU), is said to be the 27th most powerful computer in the world, it said. 

ANU researchers said the computer can perform the same number of calculations in one hour that 7 billion people with calculators could perform in 20 years. 

Raijin is a part of the new National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) facility at the campus. 

ANU scientist Lindsay Botten said the computer itself is bigger than the size of a house. 

"It has 57,000 processing cores which is something like 15,000 ordinary personal computers [PCs]. It has 160 terabytes of memory which is like 40,000 ordinary PCs. It has 10,000 terabytes of disk which would be like 10,000 ordinary PCs," he said. 

Botten said it will encourage weather scientists and climate change researchers to stay in Australia instead of taking their careers overseas. 

"It keeps Australia at the forefront of global innovation and opens up new horizons for science and research.," he said.