Today in tech: Subash Menon quits Subex; Accenture on new demand

Subash Menon quits Subex In a surprise announcement last evening, Subex said its founder, CEO and Managing Director Subash Menon has resigned. "With the restructuring of FCCBs complete, I have decided to focus on my other business interests and hence this move," he said in a statement. For a few years now, Subex has been associated more with FCCBs than with its core business. It was not always the case. It was once considered to the poster child of Indian software product story, and by some, even a model for how a company should make use of growth opportunities through acquisitions. Its troubles started in early 2007, as it planned to make its most ambitious buy, a Canadian company called Syndesis, for $165 million in cash. It had to raise cash from the market, and was hoping to do that partly through equity (by issuing GDRs)and partly through debt. Equity part did not work out, as markets crashed, dragging its share price below the SEBI norms for a GDR. It had to resort to debt, and used FCCB – foreign currency convertible bonds – which allows the holder to convert their debt into equity at a later date. They never had a reason to, since this is how its stock price moved.

Those who have moved with Subash Menon describe him as very sharp, very intelligent and also very impatient. Once he cut short a conference call with media because there was too much background noise from one of the participants, and the journalist failed to mute his/her device. The other participants were disappointed but were not entirely surprised. But, the announcement late last night did come as a surprise, and the press statement left everyone with more questions than answers.

Update: Mint reports he will now focus on his waste and water management start-up Kivar Environ.

Accenture on new demand
Accenture’s 4th quarter results seems to have made the markets happy.  Both the earnings and the forecast were above market expectations. I went through the earnings call transcript, and found one point very interesting.

Pierre Nanterme – Chief Executive Officer: I think what’s interesting is first, those new technologies… mobile, cloud, analytics, socials, are growing even faster for a reason than we expect it, and we are very pleased with that. That’s why I was extremely pleased to report our progress we’re making in those new technologies and the fact that now we are operating at scale. The second point we have found very telling is it should take what you’re calling more traditional deals. Now all those deals, and whether they are BPO or big AO, will have a part of those deals in the form of analytics. And this is exactly the 2 illustrations I mentioned with both Oi and BP. You have different component of the traditional solution, if you will, together with elements such as advanced analytics to drive more rapidly to more tangible results and more value. So this is this combination which is now very interesting. (From: Seeking Alpha )

While covering technology and outsourcing, analysts/reporters tend to look at emerging technologies as different from the traditional solutions. It helps in tracking their progress. (For example, What’s the contribution from Infosys 3.0 to its total revenue? or How is Cognizant’s Horizon 3 doing?) But from a customer point of view, they are closely knit with the traditional IT. You can’t discuss one without the other.

To understand why, we just have to look within our pockets. Emerging technologies such as cloud, mobility and social were adopted by consumers long before they went to businesses. And in the lives of consumers, they are already integrated. When we buy a mobile phone we don’t differentiate between what’s a traditional feature and what’s new. We want a device on which we can do everything –  make calls, send SMS, check emails, jot down quick notes, like something on facebook, tweet a photograph, and at times, quickly scan an excel sheet from office. Businesses are catching up now. They have to.

Also of interest

• Nokia risks backlash with Lumia handset pricing: Reuters
• As e-commerce expands, jobs grow at a fast click: Business Line
• Dun & Bradstreet unit tapping external clients: Business Line
• Facebook Tops 63 Million Users in China Despite Ban, Report Says: Bloomberg
• Meet Mira, the Supercomputer That Makes Universes: The Atlantic

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.