by Manak Ahluwalia, CTO
Developing technology roadmaps require using primary and secondary market data, evaluating trends, and getting feedback from my business partners, peers, and customers. However the vetting of the technology and the user experience is something I have the liberty of being able to gain insight through my children.
Now, my children are young. Young enough to never know what a busy signal on a phone is; lacking the concept of a TV commercial as most of their content is delivered on demand or via Netflix; and believing the primary mechanism for interface to technology is a touch screen.
Professionally, I see a lot of technology bias based on your generation and role in your organization. Some prefer a phone call, others text messaging, a few prefer video. However, what is consistent is that most like to pick and choose based on who they are talking to, where they are, and what device is handy.
My children don't have these biases. They are too young to type and are not engaged enough to stay on a phone call. They want video. By the time they are old enough to type or grasp the concept of voice it will be too late. Video will be their primary mechanism of consuming technology and communicating. This effect will change the tools that companies need to have in place to get the most productivity out of their new workforce. It will also create a wave of adoption for the most technology biased or "old school" leaders in your organization. As a child I wrote snail mail to my grandfather in India. Today my grandfather in his eighties communicates with his great grandchildren through a webcam.
Video is becoming a major tool in our professional lives. The question that arose for me is if the technology has come far enough for my daughter, who just turned 3, to be able to benefit from the experience and not be distracted by the technology.
We decided to put it to a test. With the help of Cisco, we setup a telepresence session between my daughter and Chris Jennings of Cisco to conduct a session between the Iselin, NJ and Boxboro, MA offices. We decided to use the single screen experience as it would most closely mirror the type of experience I expect my children to have in our household in the near future.
We broke this social experiment into a couple of use cases. First, would a young child be able to grasp the concept of a social interaction through a screen with an individual 300 miles away. Once we got past the initial bashfulness we were able to witness the experience evolve. We were able to capture some of the magic of the experience and how this will shape our children’s lives.
My daughter and Chris were able to have conversations as if they were standing next to each other. She showed him her arts and crafts she had recently made, her new umbrella, and a new trick she had learned from her cousin on how to put on her jacket.
She ate her grapes while he ate his apple. Sort of a virtual picnic.
Chris then gave my daughter a drawing lesson and the two were able to draw pictures together.
I was pleasantly surprised by the level of interaction between the two of them. It's easy to see how these technologies still in a degree of infancy will be able to break down cultural barriers and geographic distances. Provide the mobile parent with poor work/life balance to step out for 10 minutes and enjoy the school recital, join dinner remotely, and watch their infants sleep. Allow my children to be tutored in French by someone in France, having international video pals instead of pen pals, and attend classes from the living room.
My next experiment is aligning our executive management team to the iPad2 and Cius for video and data collaboration. Amazing when the experience of a 3 year old can help justify transformation at the top ranks in your organization. Welcome to the new world.
Watch the Virtual Play Date on YouTube and read Alliant’s press release on becoming a Cisco Certified Telepresence Express Advanced Technology Partner.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The End of the Transactional Agent
Alliant would like to applaud Khali Henderson on her continued views of the industry shift to Managed Services Providers. As the IT and Telecom industries continue to converge, Alliant has well positioned itself to accommodate a wide variety of agents with its strategic product offerings and services. Our agent program allows the agent to expand its product offerings without interfering with their individual core business strategies. Visit the Channel Partners site to read Khali’s blog and visit Alliant’s Agent page to learn more about our expanding agent program.
Monday, February 14, 2011
CTO Spotlight: Q&A with Alliant CTO, Manak Ahluwalia
The New Year isn’t the only exciting change happening at Alliant Technologies. At the close of 2010, Alliant announced an organizational restructure that started from the very top. As part of our new “Spotlight Series,” Alliant has decided to take a fresh approach to introducing some of its newly appointed management team. In this first edition, the spotlight is on Manak Ahluwalia. Manak has been with Alliant for over ten years, was previously the Director of the Alliant Boston office, and has most recently been appointed to Chief Technology Officer. We pulled Manak aside recently to pick his brain and find out what he thinks about his new position and his views on the latest trends at Alliant and in the IT industry.
Q: You were recently appointed to CTO at Alliant Technologies. What does CTO mean to you?
A: As a CTO for Alliant Technologies my job is comprised of multiple facets that ultimately lead to the strategic roadmap and development of our product and service offerings. It is my responsibility to listen to and understand the business, technical, and operational challenges our customers are facing - in addition to studying market transitions, emerging technologies, and consumption preferences. With the knowledge I gain, I’m able to make intelligent decisions on the use of our resources to develop new solutions that provide true value for our customers and drive profits for our organization.
Q: In which direction do you see the IT world heading? What are the hottest topics right now?
A: Is “To the Cloud” too obvious of an answer? Realistically, I do believe over the next couple of years many companies will consume more of their key applications and infrastructure in either a cloud or hybrid model. However, another area in which I am seeing interesting trends develop are how the tools we use in personal life are beginning to significantly influence the ways in which we communicate and collaborate in our work life. I’m seeing major changes in the form factors and end user devices being brought into the workforce. I find more CIO’s beginning to realize how increased productivity by being consumer driven is starting to outweigh the operational efficiency of standardized end points. There will be a delicate balance of user freedom and productivity coupled with security and risk mitigation. Case in point: your CEO/CFO/COO/CIO probably has an iPad and most likely is getting corporate email on it.
Q: How would you describe the culture at Alliant?
A: Our culture has always fostered strong engineering talent coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit. That culture puts us in a unique position to leverage our core strengths and continue to innovate and evolve as the market changes so rapidly. We are a relatively flat organization of very bright people who are encouraged to look for opportunities to excel and given sponsorship to work outside their comfort zone. You’ll find working at Alliant to be both challenging but rewarding. After over a decade of working at Alliant, I still enjoy coming to work in the morning. Not many people have that luxury.
Q: What’s the best aspect of your job as CTO?
A: The customer interactions are some of the most fulfilling parts of my job. I get the opportunity on a daily basis to understand a variety of business challenges, industry specific issues, and what keeps people up at night. I feel blessed to be able to interact with so many thought leaders and be a student of technology.
Q: You recently completed a 10 month Regional Leadership Forum (RLF) with Society for Information Management (SIM). With this new leadership opportunity, what learning’s from your recent class are you going to apply at Alliant?
A: I would characterize my experience at RLF to really be more of self discovery then any particular skill set development. The program really highlighted some key elements that will hold true for the rest of my personal and professional life. What I took from the program was comfort in my own skin to understand my strengths as well as my weaknesses; to try to listen and understand before you teach; to cherish feedback. Ultimately, to remember why I come to work in the morning and why the people that enable me to be successful do the same.
Q: You were recently appointed to CTO at Alliant Technologies. What does CTO mean to you?
A: As a CTO for Alliant Technologies my job is comprised of multiple facets that ultimately lead to the strategic roadmap and development of our product and service offerings. It is my responsibility to listen to and understand the business, technical, and operational challenges our customers are facing - in addition to studying market transitions, emerging technologies, and consumption preferences. With the knowledge I gain, I’m able to make intelligent decisions on the use of our resources to develop new solutions that provide true value for our customers and drive profits for our organization.
Q: In which direction do you see the IT world heading? What are the hottest topics right now?
A: Is “To the Cloud” too obvious of an answer? Realistically, I do believe over the next couple of years many companies will consume more of their key applications and infrastructure in either a cloud or hybrid model. However, another area in which I am seeing interesting trends develop are how the tools we use in personal life are beginning to significantly influence the ways in which we communicate and collaborate in our work life. I’m seeing major changes in the form factors and end user devices being brought into the workforce. I find more CIO’s beginning to realize how increased productivity by being consumer driven is starting to outweigh the operational efficiency of standardized end points. There will be a delicate balance of user freedom and productivity coupled with security and risk mitigation. Case in point: your CEO/CFO/COO/CIO probably has an iPad and most likely is getting corporate email on it.
Q: How would you describe the culture at Alliant?
A: Our culture has always fostered strong engineering talent coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit. That culture puts us in a unique position to leverage our core strengths and continue to innovate and evolve as the market changes so rapidly. We are a relatively flat organization of very bright people who are encouraged to look for opportunities to excel and given sponsorship to work outside their comfort zone. You’ll find working at Alliant to be both challenging but rewarding. After over a decade of working at Alliant, I still enjoy coming to work in the morning. Not many people have that luxury.
Q: What’s the best aspect of your job as CTO?
A: The customer interactions are some of the most fulfilling parts of my job. I get the opportunity on a daily basis to understand a variety of business challenges, industry specific issues, and what keeps people up at night. I feel blessed to be able to interact with so many thought leaders and be a student of technology.
Q: You recently completed a 10 month Regional Leadership Forum (RLF) with Society for Information Management (SIM). With this new leadership opportunity, what learning’s from your recent class are you going to apply at Alliant?
A: I would characterize my experience at RLF to really be more of self discovery then any particular skill set development. The program really highlighted some key elements that will hold true for the rest of my personal and professional life. What I took from the program was comfort in my own skin to understand my strengths as well as my weaknesses; to try to listen and understand before you teach; to cherish feedback. Ultimately, to remember why I come to work in the morning and why the people that enable me to be successful do the same.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Alliant Technologies Recognized by Cisco for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction in United States
Alliant Technologies announced today that it has achieved a Customer Satisfaction Excellence Gold Star from Cisco. This designation recognizes Alliant for delivering outstanding customer service to customers in the U.S.
"Customer service is a cornerstone of the Cisco Resale Channel Program. We are pleased to recognize and congratulate Alliant Technologies for achieving outstanding customer satisfaction,” said Edison Peres, Senior Vice President of the worldwide channels go-to-market group at Cisco.
Customer Satisfaction Excellence is a core value shared by Alliant Technologies and Cisco and is a key driver of our current and future success. Alliant is a current Cisco Gold Partner and received an impressive 4.7 rating out of a possible 5.0 scale.
Cisco measures the customer satisfaction levels achieved by its Gold, Silver, and Premier Certified partners based on regional target goals, providing a weighted average of a partner's pre- and post-sales support over a rolling 12-month period. Partners that achieve outstanding customer satisfaction are awarded the Customer Satisfaction Excellence Gold Star and can be found using the advanced search menu in the Cisco Partner Locator.
The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides a framework for partners to build the sales, technical, and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills required to deliver Cisco solutions to end customers. Through the program's specializations and certifications, Cisco recognizes a partner's expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco advanced technologies and services. Using a third-party audit process, the program validates partner qualifications such as technology skills, business best practices, customer satisfaction, and presales and postsales support capabilities - critical factors in choosing a trusted partner.
"Customer service is a cornerstone of the Cisco Resale Channel Program. We are pleased to recognize and congratulate Alliant Technologies for achieving outstanding customer satisfaction,” said Edison Peres, Senior Vice President of the worldwide channels go-to-market group at Cisco.
Customer Satisfaction Excellence is a core value shared by Alliant Technologies and Cisco and is a key driver of our current and future success. Alliant is a current Cisco Gold Partner and received an impressive 4.7 rating out of a possible 5.0 scale.
Cisco measures the customer satisfaction levels achieved by its Gold, Silver, and Premier Certified partners based on regional target goals, providing a weighted average of a partner's pre- and post-sales support over a rolling 12-month period. Partners that achieve outstanding customer satisfaction are awarded the Customer Satisfaction Excellence Gold Star and can be found using the advanced search menu in the Cisco Partner Locator.
The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides a framework for partners to build the sales, technical, and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills required to deliver Cisco solutions to end customers. Through the program's specializations and certifications, Cisco recognizes a partner's expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco advanced technologies and services. Using a third-party audit process, the program validates partner qualifications such as technology skills, business best practices, customer satisfaction, and presales and postsales support capabilities - critical factors in choosing a trusted partner.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Alliant Launches New Agent Program
The Information Technology (IT) and Telecom industries have been buzzing lately about the inevitable convergence of their two channels, and the impact such a union will bring to customers. With over 12 years experience in this converged space, Alliant announced the launch of its new Agent Program, designed to enable agents (who are typically limited to selling voice and data solutions) to expand their service offerings to clients by utilizing Alliant’s diverse services portfolio. The program also incorporates a Referral element that offers compensation to businesses that recommend Alliant’s services as complementary offerings.
Based on market trends, Alliant has been able to develop offerings in defined IT technologies such as Data Storage, Unified Communications, Data Center Virtualization, Managed and CloudServices, which are all vehicles to complement an agent’s core initiatives, drive business, and provide added value to customers.
Read the full press realease here or visit the Agent home page to learn more about Alliant Technologies new Agent Program.
Based on market trends, Alliant has been able to develop offerings in defined IT technologies such as Data Storage, Unified Communications, Data Center Virtualization, Managed and CloudServices, which are all vehicles to complement an agent’s core initiatives, drive business, and provide added value to customers.
Read the full press realease here or visit the Agent home page to learn more about Alliant Technologies new Agent Program.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Team Alliant by Domini Lanzone
Working at Alliant Technologies reminds me of being part of a team. As a nationally ranked volleyball player, my main goal was to work with my teammates as one cohesive unit with one main objective…to win. Alliant has all the components of a great team: a captain to lead the team to victory and a cohesive group of people to support and work towards that common goal of winning new business. Only, with Alliant it’s never practice...it’s always game time. The people who make this team successful are here every day working to support each other and to drive towards the common goal of making Alliant a force to reckon with throughout the IT community.
-Domini Lanzone, Staff Accountant, Alliant Technologies
-Domini Lanzone, Staff Accountant, Alliant Technologies
Friday, October 08, 2010
Imagine Virtually Anything with Alliant, Cisco, VMware & NetApp
Alliant Technologies has been named one of 56 partners in North America qualified to participate in Cisco, NetApp & VMware's Imagine Virtually Anything program!
Cisco, NetApp, and VMware have teamed up to deliver next-generation dynamic data centers today. This includes the industry's first end-to-end secure multi-tenancy solution that helps transform IT silos into shared infrastructure. The Imagine Virtually Anything program allows partners, like Alliant, to develop and demonstrate expertise in selling shared infrastructure solutions.
The enterprise data center is undergoing a transformation. Server virtualization technology is changing the way applications are provisioned and managed and dramatically improving cost efficiency. Extending virtualization across computing, network, and storage layers enables a comprehensive data center transformation that further improves efficiencies.
By using the combined strength of Cisco, NetApp, & VMware, Alliant can help customers realize a virtualized dynamic data center today. Virtual Infrastructure software and unified storage, server, and network technologies are available now and can be deployed to meet your unique business requirements.
Contact an Alliant Account Manager today to find out how you can transform your IT silos into a shared virtualized infrastructure to reduce costs and better manage your changing business needs.
Read more about the Imagine Virtually Anything program by visiting http://www.imaginevirtuallyanything.com/
Cisco, NetApp, and VMware have teamed up to deliver next-generation dynamic data centers today. This includes the industry's first end-to-end secure multi-tenancy solution that helps transform IT silos into shared infrastructure. The Imagine Virtually Anything program allows partners, like Alliant, to develop and demonstrate expertise in selling shared infrastructure solutions.
The enterprise data center is undergoing a transformation. Server virtualization technology is changing the way applications are provisioned and managed and dramatically improving cost efficiency. Extending virtualization across computing, network, and storage layers enables a comprehensive data center transformation that further improves efficiencies.
By using the combined strength of Cisco, NetApp, & VMware, Alliant can help customers realize a virtualized dynamic data center today. Virtual Infrastructure software and unified storage, server, and network technologies are available now and can be deployed to meet your unique business requirements.
Contact an Alliant Account Manager today to find out how you can transform your IT silos into a shared virtualized infrastructure to reduce costs and better manage your changing business needs.
Read more about the Imagine Virtually Anything program by visiting http://www.imaginevirtuallyanything.com/
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