Tiecon 2005

Attended the Saturday session of Tiecon. It was a packed gathering full of proven and yet-to-prove entrepreneurs.  I did not attend the Friday session but I could hear people talk about "Flatteners"  every now and then.  Thomas Friedman definitely left behind few good punchlines for people to remember and quote.

Some of the quotes from the conference: -

Cost of running offshore site in Spain is only 8% higher as compared to India - Virmani (Global Partner - Accenture)

Best introduction (received big applause for this) - "I am Craig Newmark, customer service rep and founder , Craigslist"

"I don't believe in low-end, high-end distinction. TCS was doing pure body shopping and now they are a multi-billion consulting giant" - PV Kannan, CEO 24/7 Customer

Some other tidbits , don't remember who said what !

Online bill payment growth number is about to hit hockey stick growth - Billeo CEO

Most of the Internet emerging startups are using Google adsense to pay their bills.  Atleast Fatlens, Billeo and Technorati acknowledged that.

What metrics to show to board members ? CTR, Conversion, Impressions, LTV , Irrational Exuberance (Ok I added the last one !)

New catch phrase for all outsourcers - Business Transformation.  Expect IBM to trademark eTransformers or maybe bTransformers. 

80% of the world cannot  afford HP products. This realization started HP's initiative to capture bottom of the pyramid. Hence e-inclusion type projects.

In order to ensure business continuity, Accenture makes sure  "same work profile" is available in Manila as in Bangalore ! ( If he is not speaking like a consultant then this is a huge process advantage - capturing work attributes, keeping them updated and putting global touch to it requires good amount of organizational and technical mastery)

All in all Tiecon was a good investment of time and money. For the first time I saw more non-Indians in the conference. This shows that the deal making is expanding.