i.Cloud – A platform for consolidation of all Enterprise Web Properties

At i.Realities, our quest has always been disrupting the technologies to evolve in to new platforms, which will benefit our clients and prospects to exploit the maximum out of web.

Going with the same principle, we are now launching a new platform for homogeneous integration of the various web properties our clients have.

For last decade or so, we have been closely working with various large groups of companies, to provide internet based solutions for internal as well as external audiences.

We have always observed that due to isolation of these properties, the corporates are loosing the opportunity to leverage the captive audience of one property to the benefit of other instances.

To resolve the same, i.Realities has upgraded the existing, successful content management system i.River into the new platform: i.Cloud

i.Cloud manages to bring the entire discreet web presence of the enterprise, in to one homogenous, and scalable platform, giving the enterprise cost advantage of almost 60% of the total expenditure, otherwise the enterprise would have incurred. At the same time, strategic relationships amongst the various content objects, would add almost 10% to 15% of the web based direct or indirect revenue generation.

i.Cloud works on the basic principles of cloud computing, enabling the client to use existing distributed infrastructures, also adding to the saving of cost & efforts for infrastructure upgrades. i.Cloud also creates homogeneous integration with existing successful social networking platforms.

i.Cloud is being commercially piloted with some of the leading multi-billion dollar organizations.

The future of web is in consolidation of applications, irrespective of distributed infrastructure.

Social Networking

We have been repeatedly asked by our clients “Why we are still slow on social applications? “We are supposed to be the first on every aspect of technologies.

True, that we have not yet launched any great social application, but that does not mean we are not doing anything. Extensive research is being done on various social platforms as well as the neural and psychological understanding of social networking at our end.

Let me explain in brief, what we are trying to drive.

Our take on Social Networking

Social Networking has become a hip thing after the advent of Web 2.0.The fact is, in the true sense Social Networking has nothing to do with technology. The Networking and social interaction are intrinsic aspect of human behavior and is been studied for hundreds of years.

What technology brings is ease, reach and speed of communication and interaction. It is just an enabler and catalyst in the existing need of networking in the human behavior and to understand, exploit true potential of the networking and directing the activities towards tangible benefits, one needs to look at the qualitative aspect of communities.

“Is it important to have +500 connections on Linkedin?”

It is not really important to have quantitative connections rather we propose to have qualitative connections.

We divide connections further in three categories (driving the analogy from Human Connections)
The Connections can be broadly defined in three categories.
1. Family Relationships
2. Acquaintances
3. Friends or associates

The first is one which is born with and the network evolves with evolving family ties. We would not consider these connections as topic of this discussion. The later two is where we are working hands-on on establishing the relevance in enterprise space.

Acquaintance is defined as a person whom one knows, but who is not particularly close. I am sure you understand what we are trying to drive at. Having large acquaintances does not necessarily make the network effective.

The last category is of friends, are largely business associates.

In a classroom or in enterprise environment, you may know 100 but you would always have 5 to 10 individuals you consider close or friends. What we are trying to study is how we can understand, in a sample of 100 how brain identifies those critical connections and develop relations.

These matched connections would form the Qualitative Network

The study shows that there are various features and parameters on which the communities are established, and not all of them are objective. This is where the complexity of Quantitative Social networking comes in picture. From the database of 1000s, identifying the quantitative and usable communication is a challenge & we are taking time in exploring this challenge.

Our efforts are directed towards identifying and defining what we call “Atomic Structure of an individual”, which is in the form of objective profiles and subjective inferences. Then forming “Covalent Bonds” between two or more object becomes a rule based automated and self evolving methodology.

Presently the Research & Application team at i.Realities is involved in creating some of the enterprise applications for our clients. Our first application will be rolled out by early next year.
What we have observed is, this framework fits in every aspect of a consumer as well as enterprise applications.

We are sure now one understands why we believe not to get carried with the hype and take our clients for a ride.

Can a website be considered in isolation?

One question we are asking ourselves is...
‘Can a website be considered in isolation?’
...and the answer we feel is a big ‘No!’

Today just putting up a website cannot be defined as having a web presence. It needs to have a 360 degree approach to promote and support the communication.

So how do we do that? At i.Realities, we have been working on understanding various aspects of user behavior on web as a whole.

There are various avenues and pools where a typical user spends time on. The website is one small element of the whole experience. One needs to understand offline as well as online vehicles to instigate the users to his website.

This involves presence as a contributor to blogsphere, utilization of various social networks and also strategic presence in search engines.

At i.Realities, we have decided to integrate all this into our service of web site strategies and at no extra cost.

We have always believed that good site architecture and proper strategies of content make the website optimized for search engines. And that is what we have been extending to our clients.

Out of context, but fact to be realized is that porn sites are loosing traffic to social network. This proves that there are more people today participating in social communities.

Being on social communities does not just mean having a profile. It needs to have value to the user and the presence needs to be nurtured on a regular basis.

It is not necessary that one creates the brand profile, there can be various other ways to create the presence and many of them actually at no additional costs.

To summarize, to utilize the internet one needs utilize all or most of the direct and indirect channels of web.

Web Branding : Our Take !

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

For branding in India, there is a slight twist. If one campaign becomes successful for the reasons not in poor consumer’s hand, the same definition changes to...

“Insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting the same result every time.”

Now, with opening of new brand communication possibilities due to the advent of Digital Communication, we are getting the newer playing fields.

Online branding is going to be US $ 5 Billion or may be it already is. We are ignorant bits, who don’t understand how and where these numbers come from, but which ever way reading this feels great.

Yes! Yes, we believe, rather strongly that future of advertising and branding is in experience and engagement and this shows promise for online branding as online space is all about experience and engagement.

But, is the online space just the extension of the current ways of advertising? Whoever thinks so is making a blunder and looking away from the future. Unfortunately this is already happening. Somewhere in the process, online advertising is stuck with banners, micro-sites and search engine optimization. One tends to forget that all these are extravaganza to the presence of the brand online. This calls for creation of properties representing the Brand.

Great brand needs to have great offering.

Net presence of any brand can be either online or hybrid. Creation of hybrid brand i.e. the branding online, but actual brand experience offline, is more challenging and needs strong understanding of marketing, design and technology possibilities.

Next time you need to create brand presence, think beyond search engines. Because search engines will bring users to the property, but what happens if the property itself is not happening.

Think “change!”

WEB DESTINATION

How significant are the terminologies?
The terminologies which we commonly use, do they really signify what they are suppose to mean.

One debate we always had internal to our teams.

Since the time we started the development of web activities, we felt that web site is not an appropriate term for representing the corporate web property. The term “web site” does not explain the state of content or organizational information. “Site" is by-the-way in the process of information dissemination. It does not really explain the importance of the property in the information flow or knowledge flow.

To explain the significance better, we decided to call it a "web destination". Many of our clients today use this term to explain their web properties. A web destination is where all the roads for information end. This is the place where any kind of information relevant to the information is available. This is where the journey of the user to find information about the corporate, or it's product or services ends.

The more we have been debating on this understanding, we are feeling even this term does not really explain the significance. We are working on documenting our understanding and our misunderstandings.

Watch this space for more about it. Its becoming interesting, the more we explore.

START !

Everything has to start . The question is when. We have been thinking about having our own blog for last so.... many years, but always ended not doing it.

But finally, in a blogger near you, here comes the blog you have been waiting (!) for. "i.thoughts"

The purpose of this blog is beyond being just a ego massage. The real reason is to speak up what we as a team believe in. Speak up our thoughts about the web as whole. Speak up what we always wanted to but could not.

We always knew we were restricting our selves to developing what our clients wanted and so many times we felt it was wrong.

Now we feel, the time has come to shout at the top of our voice and break free.

Unless we open up, the learning of more than 100 man years in interactive media would go waste.

So, this is all in our clients interests !!!