Recently, a couple of people asked my opinion on the market and where I think the opportunities are so I decided to dedicate a post to it.
I wanted to start off by thanking the Cisco investor's who have stuck with us through the last 6 quarters. As most of you know given our customer base, product lines, market cap, global positioning, and pulse in the market, Cisco has a tendency to read and feel market transitions 2-4 quarters before our competitors. As John said, I'm not sure if it's a blessing or burden but it does mean that the market uses our performance as a leading indicator for sector and industry health. We saw the financial crisis in 2001 before our competitors, again in 2008, and finally most recently a couple of quarters ago.
We posted earnings yesterday of $11.2B on $0.40EPS, exceeding analyst expectations for the first time in 6 quarters and provided steady guidance for Q1 in the 1-4% range. The market reacted and Cisco shares are up 17%, leading the way in a much needed market rally today:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/street-sees-feistier-cisco-shares-jump-2011-08-11
You can also find a transcript to our earnings call below:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/286531-cisco-systems-ceo-discusses-q4-2011-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=qanda
The recent downgrade from the S&P, uncertainty in the job markets, stalemate in government, instability in the housing markets, and numerous other factors have contracted investors' expectations and misaligned them with fortune 500 balance sheet strong companies.
To put it simply: The market has created opportunities to buy strong companies cheap.
I'm a value investor, mostly because I don't have the time to put in the required diligence, nor do I want to pay taxes and broker fees on short term positions. Therefore, where I see opportunity I believe in putting your money long behind companies with:
• Strong balance sheets
• Good management teams
• Track records of success and ability to evolve
• Products and R&D activity that migrate along the development curve in anticipation of future consumption trends
• Externality plays off the above as suppliers, channel partners, distributors, etc... where the common money is less diluted
• Holistic economic hedges/ futures in commodities
Furthermore, I like to put my money behind what I know and that's Tech. Here are a few interesting plays from my perspective in the market right now:
Intel - they just dedicated $300M into an R&D incubator dedicated to developing ultra books designed to host their new line of stacked mobile processors. I think they're undervalued given their market share in the semiconductor industry and have an amazing management team. I'd also look for big announcements from them in mobile security.
Look for strength in markets that reduce travel costs, especially in the public sector (e.g.): Collaboration and Video.
Other than Cisco, look at:
Citrix- a little pricey at 5x revenue and 24 P/E but has a strong balance sheet and is a major player in this space. I'd expect them to increase orders in the public sector but would wait to get in below $55/ Share.
Mobility/ SP Infrastructure:
We see service providers ramping orders in mobility infrastructure to keep up with mobile data consumption growth and the evolution of applications. I'd expect more routing / switching / mobile security orders from service providers going into fy12. Keep your eyes out for movement around service providers / channel partners/ disty's in this sector.
B of A: The situation has been pretty exciting at B of A. The smart money is getting in and at $7 / share and I can't blame them. Look for them to dip further before you get in but keep it on your radar. I don't like playing financials but this is an interesting case.
Anyway, this is just my two cents. I don’t claim to be a trader or expert by any means.
As usual I’d love to hear your ideas.
The SVTB
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
U.S. Corporate Repatriation Tax
Rising oil prices & unemployment rates, faltering manufacturing production, and spikes in inflation ($ devaluation) weren't defended with hopes of a turnaround in the U.S. economy by Fed Chief Ben Bernanke yesterday as he concluded "monetary policy cannot be a panacea." The Fed Chief hopes gas prices will ease, but until employment data improves we "cannot consider the recovery to be truly established."
The Federal Reserve, in other words, is out of time, money and ideas for fixing the economy in the foreseeable future. The Fed is relying on hope. Hope that hiring picks up, the consumer re-emerges, and U.S. economic growth rises above 3 percent by the end of the year
Hope? It's time to take time tested action... the Quantitative Easing program has not worked. I say, bring back the corporate tax repatriation benefits.
U.S. Businesses currently hold approximately $1.7 Trillion dollars over seas and won't bring it back to infuse into the U.S. economy because our corporate statutory tax is among the highest in the world at 35%. Allowing corporate businesses to bring their overseas cash back to the U.S. is a time tested, effective method of infusing capital into the economy.
• It will bolster the marketplace, allowing businesses to deliver shareholder value via share repurchases and dividend issuances.
• Create Jobs, putting an end to corporate hiring freezes
• Fund R&D activity, keeping the US progressive in Science, Engineering, healthcare, etc...
• Spur GDP growth as consumer prices fall, credit decreases, and spending picks up...
The following CNN Money article gives a bipartisan, logical explanation:
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/29/bring-on-the-corporate-tax-holiday/
• Create Jobs, putting an end to corporate hiring freezes
• Fund R&D activity, keeping the US progressive in Science, Engineering, healthcare, etc...
• Spur GDP growth as consumer prices fall, credit decreases, and spending picks up...
The following CNN Money article gives a bipartisan, logical explanation:
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/29/bring-on-the-corporate-tax-holiday/
Stop printing money, devaluing the dollar, and giving capital injections to the banks that brought us to our knees in the first place.
As always, I'd love to hear your feedback and thanks for reading.
The SVTB
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
"Celebrate the Science Fair" - USA's diminishing global competitive advantage
President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address that "America should celebrate its science fair winners like Sunday’s Super Bowl champions, or risk losing the nation’s competitive edge".
This was followed by a number of publications such as this one in the NY times emphasizing his point: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/us/05science.html?_r=1
SCVSEFA is a non profit organization that promotes science fair participation in the Silicon Valley. We create innovation through competition amongst our next generation thought leaders. The students in our Science fair grow as individuals and learn to foster the values that this nation was built on when we were leading the world in math, science, and industry.
This year's SCVSEFA - 2011 Synopsys Science Fair Championship was no different. Don't take our word for it, read one of our letters of reference from the parent of a child who didn't win this year and you'll understand the value organizations like ours bring to society:
http://www.box.net/shared/v9d9ctst7i
Or a letter from Gary Robinson, CEO Synopsys Outreach Foundation:
http://www.box.net/shared/9eqesnv4km
Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, board members, and judges for putting on another successful fair. Here are some photos of this year's fair for your enjoyment:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157626210646849/
“Competition breeds excellence through innovation. Innovation is the engine driving social progress”.
SVTB
This was followed by a number of publications such as this one in the NY times emphasizing his point: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/us/05science.html?_r=1
SCVSEFA is a non profit organization that promotes science fair participation in the Silicon Valley. We create innovation through competition amongst our next generation thought leaders. The students in our Science fair grow as individuals and learn to foster the values that this nation was built on when we were leading the world in math, science, and industry.
This year's SCVSEFA - 2011 Synopsys Science Fair Championship was no different. Don't take our word for it, read one of our letters of reference from the parent of a child who didn't win this year and you'll understand the value organizations like ours bring to society:
http://www.box.net/shared/v9d9ctst7i
Or a letter from Gary Robinson, CEO Synopsys Outreach Foundation:
http://www.box.net/shared/9eqesnv4km
Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, board members, and judges for putting on another successful fair. Here are some photos of this year's fair for your enjoyment:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157626210646849/
“Competition breeds excellence through innovation. Innovation is the engine driving social progress”.
SVTB
Friday, February 11, 2011
SPEAKEASY Mini Blog Series Post 4
Today was the final day of the three day program. Today was focused on application, practice, and assessment of the framework that we’ve developed over the last two days.
We practiced speaking to poems, speeches, and presentations. Furthermore, we were filmed speaking standing up, sitting down, in front of a projector, and sitting at a conference room table.
Emphasis is placed on seeing yourself and the impact you make as a speaker, from the listeners point of view. Once you understand how you appear in their eyes, you can adjust your delivery to achieve the maximum impact.
At the end of the program they give you a DVD which is comprised of all of your recording over the 3 day program. I was astonished when I watched the DVD at how much progress I made in 3 days. I’m already a more confident speaker, know where I’m at, and have the framework to implement into my everyday life to continue to improve as an impactful speaker.
I can truly tell all of you that I will carry the skills I’ve acquired in this program with me for the rest of my career.
This is one of the best development classes that I’ve ever taken. The improvement is night and day. I’d encourage anyone, no matter what skill set or position in an organization you are, to take this course.
I hope that this blog series was an informative read, and I would appreciate any feedback that you have.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding the program.
The SVTB
We practiced speaking to poems, speeches, and presentations. Furthermore, we were filmed speaking standing up, sitting down, in front of a projector, and sitting at a conference room table.
Emphasis is placed on seeing yourself and the impact you make as a speaker, from the listeners point of view. Once you understand how you appear in their eyes, you can adjust your delivery to achieve the maximum impact.
At the end of the program they give you a DVD which is comprised of all of your recording over the 3 day program. I was astonished when I watched the DVD at how much progress I made in 3 days. I’m already a more confident speaker, know where I’m at, and have the framework to implement into my everyday life to continue to improve as an impactful speaker.
I can truly tell all of you that I will carry the skills I’ve acquired in this program with me for the rest of my career.
This is one of the best development classes that I’ve ever taken. The improvement is night and day. I’d encourage anyone, no matter what skill set or position in an organization you are, to take this course.
I hope that this blog series was an informative read, and I would appreciate any feedback that you have.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding the program.
The SVTB
Thursday, February 10, 2011
SPEAKEASY Mini Blog Series - Part 3
Impact, impact, impact. Today was all about concentration, repetition, application, evaluation, and integration.
Yesterday we learned the techniques and tools to use for excellent communication and began practicing. Today, we spent the whole day implementing and practicing those techniques.
We had 3 recorded exercises and speeches throughout the day where we were evaluated by our coaches, our peers, and ourselves.
The video assessments allow you to see your evolution throughout the day and pinpoint your strengths, as well as your areas of development.
Between the video assessments you're given practice exercises that are targeted at giving you the opportunity to work on your development areas. By the end of the day you, you've been through an intensive training program and can effectively implement the techniques that you've been taught with extreme concentration.
I was extremely happy with my end of day assessment and am looking forward tomorrow. My focus area for tomorrow is trusting myself. I need to control the situation, and effectively deliver the message to my peers, regardless of what my speech says.
Stay posted,
The SVTB
Yesterday we learned the techniques and tools to use for excellent communication and began practicing. Today, we spent the whole day implementing and practicing those techniques.
We had 3 recorded exercises and speeches throughout the day where we were evaluated by our coaches, our peers, and ourselves.
The video assessments allow you to see your evolution throughout the day and pinpoint your strengths, as well as your areas of development.
Between the video assessments you're given practice exercises that are targeted at giving you the opportunity to work on your development areas. By the end of the day you, you've been through an intensive training program and can effectively implement the techniques that you've been taught with extreme concentration.
I was extremely happy with my end of day assessment and am looking forward tomorrow. My focus area for tomorrow is trusting myself. I need to control the situation, and effectively deliver the message to my peers, regardless of what my speech says.
Stay posted,
The SVTB
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
SPEAKEASY Mini Blog Series - Part 2
Day 1 was quite the experience. I already feel myself becoming a better communicator. We have a class of 8 people with senior-executive level managers from companies like Wells Fargo, Visa, Juniper, Apple, and more.
“Communication is defined as the transfer of a sentence to the mind of another”.
Today was focused on driving the idea into our heads that communication is about making an impact in the mind of another person. The thought process and training is explained in the analogy of a world class tennis player.
World class tennis players take the same swing regardless of if they’re hitting the ball against the wall, against an opponent, or center stage at Wimbledon. World class communicators therefore have the tools and approach to communicate effectively and make an impact, if they’re talking to 1 person, or 10,000.
The approach is broken down at a high level into two steps, thought composure, and thought delivery. After learning the technique, the rest of the day was spent on multiple video assessments, exercises, and implementation.
Danny Slomoff, our instructor, has over 30 years experience as a communication coach and psychologist, and has therefore been an inspiration in his ability to recognize and give feedback to us around becoming an “excellent communicator”.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and am off to go complete the homework assignments for day 2.
Stay posted,
The SVTB
“Communication is defined as the transfer of a sentence to the mind of another”.
Today was focused on driving the idea into our heads that communication is about making an impact in the mind of another person. The thought process and training is explained in the analogy of a world class tennis player.
World class tennis players take the same swing regardless of if they’re hitting the ball against the wall, against an opponent, or center stage at Wimbledon. World class communicators therefore have the tools and approach to communicate effectively and make an impact, if they’re talking to 1 person, or 10,000.
The approach is broken down at a high level into two steps, thought composure, and thought delivery. After learning the technique, the rest of the day was spent on multiple video assessments, exercises, and implementation.
Danny Slomoff, our instructor, has over 30 years experience as a communication coach and psychologist, and has therefore been an inspiration in his ability to recognize and give feedback to us around becoming an “excellent communicator”.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and am off to go complete the homework assignments for day 2.
Stay posted,
The SVTB
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
SPEAKEASY Blog Series Part 1
I've been fortunate enough to be sponsored to go to SPEAKEASY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Ag40VrbCY, a corporate communication development program in SF for the next 3 days.
My program, Talk So People Listen, is described below: http://www.speakeasyinc.com/talksopeoplelisten.asp
"Three-day program for middle and upper management. Limit: 10 participants. This program is for the individual who understands the importance of communication to driving business results ¬ and who is committed to developing a style that can positively impact those results. In this program, participants get all the information and all the insight they need to develop a communication style that is uniquely their own. And they have the time needed to explore, experiment with, and then own the specific skills that will make them more comfortable and more effective communicators".
I'm going to blog about my SPEAKEASY experience to stress the importance of learning and development in your organization. The development of your most important asset, your people, is an investment which, in a recessed economy, most organizations have chosen not to make.
I believe that organizations should make a point to invest in their people, and develop the high potential candidates of today within their company so that one day, you have created a pipeline for your companies leaders of tomorrow. Leaders who have developed within your business and understand the pulse, culture, and direction your company needs to go in to remain a world class organization.
I’m looking forward to giving this course everything I have to truly grow and develop as a professional. I’m also extremely thankful to Cisco and my management team for making this opportunity possible.
I’ll keep you posted. I’ve got to do my homework for the first day, preparing a 2-3 minute speech about something I’m currently working on.
I’ve included some further information about the program below if you’re interested:
http://www.box.net/shared/71r8cv8z5o
The SVTB
My program, Talk So People Listen, is described below: http://www.speakeasyinc.com/talksopeoplelisten.asp
"Three-day program for middle and upper management. Limit: 10 participants. This program is for the individual who understands the importance of communication to driving business results ¬ and who is committed to developing a style that can positively impact those results. In this program, participants get all the information and all the insight they need to develop a communication style that is uniquely their own. And they have the time needed to explore, experiment with, and then own the specific skills that will make them more comfortable and more effective communicators".
I'm going to blog about my SPEAKEASY experience to stress the importance of learning and development in your organization. The development of your most important asset, your people, is an investment which, in a recessed economy, most organizations have chosen not to make.
I believe that organizations should make a point to invest in their people, and develop the high potential candidates of today within their company so that one day, you have created a pipeline for your companies leaders of tomorrow. Leaders who have developed within your business and understand the pulse, culture, and direction your company needs to go in to remain a world class organization.
I’m looking forward to giving this course everything I have to truly grow and develop as a professional. I’m also extremely thankful to Cisco and my management team for making this opportunity possible.
I’ll keep you posted. I’ve got to do my homework for the first day, preparing a 2-3 minute speech about something I’m currently working on.
I’ve included some further information about the program below if you’re interested:
http://www.box.net/shared/71r8cv8z5o
The SVTB
Friday, January 21, 2011
2010 Crunchies Predictions
Best Internet Application
Chartbeat
Greplin
Pandora
Rdio
Ujam
Best Social App
Cityville
Dailybooth
Foursquare
GroupMe
Twitter
Best Social Commerce App
Blippy
Groupon
Jetsetter
LivingSocial
One Kings Lane
ShopKick
Best Mobile App
Bump
Chomp
Google Mobile Maps for Android
Hashable
Instagram
Best Location Based Service
Facebook Places
Foursquare
Gowalla
SimpleGeo
Uber
Best New Device
Boxee Box
Google Chrome Notebook
iPad
iPhone 4
Kno
Xbox Kinect
Best Technology Achievement
Blekko
Google Self-driving Cars
Hunch
Palantir
Qwiki
Word Lens
Best Design
1000memories
about.me
Airbnb
Flipboard
Gogobot
Qwiki
Best Touch Interface
Flipboard
Fotopedia Heritage iPad app
Osmos
Pulse News Reader
Sencha Touch
Swype
Best Bootstrapped Startup
Addmired (iMob)
Beluga
Easel
Fast Society
Instapaper
Techmeme
Best Enterprise
37 Signals
Buddy Media
CloudApp
inDinero
Millennial Media
Salesforce
Best International
Crivo
PCH International
Soluto
ViKi
VNL
Wonga
Best Clean Tech
Coolerado
Kopernik
MicroGreen
Purealytics
Smith Electric Vehicles
SolarCity
Best Time Sink Application
Angry Birds
Cityville
Netflix streaming
Quora
StumbleUpon
Angel of the Year
Jeff Clavier, SoftTech VC
Ron Conway, SV Angel
Michael Dearing, Harrison Metal Capital
Chris Dixon, Founder Collective
Mike Maples, FLOODGATE
Paul Graham, Y Combinator
VC of the Year (individual)
Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz
Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins
Yuri Milner, DST
Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures
Founder of the Year
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
Dennis Crowley, Foursquare
Jack Dorsey, Square
Kevin and Julia Hartz, Eventbrite
David Karp, Tumblr
Mark Pincus, Zynga
CEO of the Year
Dick Costolo, Twitter
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Drew Houston, Dropbox
Andrew Mason, Groupon
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
Best New StartUp or Product of 2010
Flipboard
GroupMe
Instagram
Quora
Square
Uber
Best Overall Startup or Product of 2010
Facebook
Groupon
Quora
Twitter
Zynga
Congratulations to all of the finalists. Innovation is the engine that drives social progress. You've all lent a hand in making the world a more efficient place by changing the way we work, live, and play.
Thank you,
The SVTB
Chartbeat
Greplin
Pandora
Rdio
Ujam
Best Social App
Cityville
Dailybooth
Foursquare
GroupMe
Best Social Commerce App
Blippy
Groupon
Jetsetter
LivingSocial
One Kings Lane
ShopKick
Best Mobile App
Bump
Chomp
Google Mobile Maps for Android
Hashable
Best Location Based Service
Facebook Places
Foursquare
Gowalla
SimpleGeo
Uber
Best New Device
Boxee Box
Google Chrome Notebook
iPad
iPhone 4
Kno
Xbox Kinect
Best Technology Achievement
Blekko
Google Self-driving Cars
Hunch
Palantir
Qwiki
Word Lens
Best Design
1000memories
about.me
Airbnb
Gogobot
Qwiki
Best Touch Interface
Fotopedia Heritage iPad app
Osmos
Pulse News Reader
Sencha Touch
Swype
Best Bootstrapped Startup
Addmired (iMob)
Beluga
Easel
Fast Society
Instapaper
Techmeme
Best Enterprise
37 Signals
Buddy Media
CloudApp
inDinero
Millennial Media
Salesforce
Best International
Crivo
PCH International
Soluto
ViKi
VNL
Wonga
Best Clean Tech
Coolerado
Kopernik
MicroGreen
Purealytics
Smith Electric Vehicles
SolarCity
Best Time Sink Application
Angry Birds
Cityville
Netflix streaming
Quora
StumbleUpon
Angel of the Year
Jeff Clavier, SoftTech VC
Ron Conway, SV Angel
Michael Dearing, Harrison Metal Capital
Chris Dixon, Founder Collective
Mike Maples, FLOODGATE
Paul Graham, Y Combinator
VC of the Year (individual)
Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz
Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins
Yuri Milner, DST
Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures
Founder of the Year
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
Dennis Crowley, Foursquare
Jack Dorsey, Square
Kevin and Julia Hartz, Eventbrite
David Karp, Tumblr
Mark Pincus, Zynga
CEO of the Year
Dick Costolo, Twitter
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Drew Houston, Dropbox
Andrew Mason, Groupon
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
Best New StartUp or Product of 2010
GroupMe
Quora
Square
Uber
Best Overall Startup or Product of 2010
Groupon
Quora
Zynga
Congratulations to all of the finalists. Innovation is the engine that drives social progress. You've all lent a hand in making the world a more efficient place by changing the way we work, live, and play.
Thank you,
The SVTB
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
2011 and beyond, a look into the next 5 years in the Tech Industry
As we move into 2011 I wanted to bring to your attention 4 things to keep top of mind going forward.
1.It's easy for everyone to forget, shielded from the reality of things by their 3D televisions, Ipads, and smartphones, that worldwide internet penetration rates for 2010 were only 28.7%.
1.It's easy for everyone to forget, shielded from the reality of things by their 3D televisions, Ipads, and smartphones, that worldwide internet penetration rates for 2010 were only 28.7%.
This means that less than 1 out of every 3 human beings is actively using the internet. Collaboration is the key to innovation and social progress. Wireless internet availability for every person, in every region of the world is an absolute necessity for social progress. I would like to see technologies focused on increasing internet penetration rates worldwide come out within the next few years.
2. The name of the game is mobile. The global mobile application market will be a $25 billion market by 2015.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/18/report-mobile-app-market-will-be-worth-25-billion-by-2015-apples-share-20/
The development of network technologies and adoption of mobile devices has created a booming secondary market for mobile applications. The culture of cloud computing has moved from business to consumer and we now expect to truly be able to access anything from anywhere from any device. I'd expect to see externality businesses naturally pivot to capture this market transition (digital backup, virtual security, mobile processing, etc...).
3. In line with point number 2, the development of Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology has paved the way for short distance information sharing.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/19/technology/mobile_payments/index.htm
I expect to see the emergence of widely adopted mobile payment platforms. Paypal has already emerged as an early leader, integrating Bump as a device to device payment method. However, Google is entering the space along with competition from a number of startup companies, i'd assume to see some of the major credit card companies partnering with Point of Sale providers to compete in this space as well.
4. True Wireless Technology. Devices like the powerpad already exist, but within a few years we will see the integration of Magnetic Resonance Technology into the mobile energy sector.
http://gizmodo.com/5636704/real-wireless-charging-will-arrive-by-2012-fujitsu-claims
Everything is becoming digital, getting smaller, higher resolution, faster, and mobile. Devices still need an energy source, and as the devices you use everyday evolve, there will be a greater demand for cordless charging. This is a control point for the evolution of mobile devices. Magnetic Resonance Technology will allow wireless charging to be built into your lifestyle. It's already being pursued in the Auto industry, I predict to see it heavily pursued by smart board /smart grid / smart home providers as well. Imagine setting your device down on the breakfast table and having it charge, or building into the floor of your home?
As usual, thanks for all of your support and feedback.
The SVTB
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Christmas in the cloud
It took my parents several hours to write, format, and distribute our Christmas letter this year. After getting into a long discussion with them about more efficient ways to distribute our Christmas letter, I introduced them to box.net, one of many free cloud computing applications available on the web. I uploaded our Christmas letter into the cloud and shared the cloud location using my social media channels so that all of my friends and family could immediately have access to our Christmas letter without having to store the huge file in their inbox, getting bounce backs from outdated email addresses, and running into formatting issues.
Wishing all of your friends and family a Merry Christmas is as easy as clicking the link that I've provided below:
http://www.box.net/shared/oqkxyzjve6
Embrace the power of the cloud and have more time to spend with your family this Holiday season.
Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays,
Karl Laughton
P.S. You can now subscribe to my blog via email so that you'll receive an email notification every time I submit a new blog post, just put your email into the gadget on the right hand side of the page!
Wishing all of your friends and family a Merry Christmas is as easy as clicking the link that I've provided below:
http://www.box.net/shared/oqkxyzjve6
Embrace the power of the cloud and have more time to spend with your family this Holiday season.
Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays,
Karl Laughton
P.S. You can now subscribe to my blog via email so that you'll receive an email notification every time I submit a new blog post, just put your email into the gadget on the right hand side of the page!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tomorrow's Thought Leaders - Push the Envelope
I've been brought on as an associate board member to the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair. It’s something I’ll be doing outside of work, but wanted to bring to your attention.
SCVSEF is a non-profit organization that’s an innovation distribution channel for the thought leaders of tomorrow and a feeder program to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
http://sites.google.com/site/synopsyschampionship/
I think that this will be a great learning opportunity for me as well as a good way to get involved with the community.
Non-profit organizations such as SCVSEF are the hubs that push the envelope in science and engineering to the next generation. They ultimately breed the next round of VC funding, create jobs, and will develop the technology that changes our everyday lives.
I'd encourage all of you to get involved in your communities and do the same, help change the world.
You can do more than you think:
"Attitude should not be determined by circumstances"
Karl Laughton
SCVSEF is a non-profit organization that’s an innovation distribution channel for the thought leaders of tomorrow and a feeder program to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
http://sites.google.com/site/synopsyschampionship/
I think that this will be a great learning opportunity for me as well as a good way to get involved with the community.
Non-profit organizations such as SCVSEF are the hubs that push the envelope in science and engineering to the next generation. They ultimately breed the next round of VC funding, create jobs, and will develop the technology that changes our everyday lives.
I'd encourage all of you to get involved in your communities and do the same, help change the world.
You can do more than you think:
"Attitude should not be determined by circumstances"
Karl Laughton
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thanksgiving means giving back- The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
As we get closer to the Holidays I wanted to talk about the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility. What is your company doing to give back to the community this holiday season?
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". ~Winston Churchill
Today my team and I volunteered at the Sacred Heart Community Center in San Jose :
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs076/1102490454376/archive/1103730459949.html
Sacred Heart services 2000+ people on a daily basis with 100 daily volunteers providing food, education, clothing, adult classes, job services, etc...
We donated food, toys, over 60 volunteer hours , and a matched $600 Cisco donation for our volunteering. (Check out the photos below)
http://picasaweb.google.com/vijisriraman/SacredHeartAndBocceBall?authkey=Gv1sRgCPOryqqhobCreQ&feat=email#
One responsibility that all successful people have is to give back to their community. Those fortunate enough to rise to the ranks atop society must never forget where they came from or how they got to where they are today. It's our communities who shape who we are, and we owe it to our communities to give back to them.
Get your company brand out into the community, promote CSR, and the community will reward you with brand loyalty as an externality of doing the right thing. Help yourself, Help your community, do the right thing this Holiday season.
Happy Holidays,
Karl Laughton
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". ~Winston Churchill
Today my team and I volunteered at the Sacred Heart Community Center in San Jose :
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs076/1102490454376/archive/1103730459949.html
Sacred Heart services 2000+ people on a daily basis with 100 daily volunteers providing food, education, clothing, adult classes, job services, etc...
We donated food, toys, over 60 volunteer hours , and a matched $600 Cisco donation for our volunteering. (Check out the photos below)
http://picasaweb.google.com/vijisriraman/SacredHeartAndBocceBall?authkey=Gv1sRgCPOryqqhobCreQ&feat=email#
One responsibility that all successful people have is to give back to their community. Those fortunate enough to rise to the ranks atop society must never forget where they came from or how they got to where they are today. It's our communities who shape who we are, and we owe it to our communities to give back to them.
Get your company brand out into the community, promote CSR, and the community will reward you with brand loyalty as an externality of doing the right thing. Help yourself, Help your community, do the right thing this Holiday season.
Happy Holidays,
Karl Laughton
Monday, November 1, 2010
2011 Silicon Valley Tech Acquisition Strategies
As we head into the new year some firms have already started the buying frenzy. Amongst the major players, Intel has already made a few big moves with it's acquisitions of McAfee and Infineon. The play positions Intel nicely to make a move into the wireless sector where they can expand on their partnership with Nokia and hedge against suppressed demand for PC's. Expect AMD to make similar but scaled moves in the coming months if they're not bought by Oracle first.
Google had an enormous year with 40+ acquisitions as they are frantically trying to roll out their social media platform. I'd expect them to continue to buy in this space until they can launch their platform. After their launch, I'd also look for them to buy infrastructure/ services support as their application matures.
Apple's $100B war chest has remain closed, don't forget about them as we move into 2011. Steve Jobs has expressed his intent to make some big purchases in the near future. I'd like to see Apple supplement their Ping launch and make a run at YouTube for market share in the multimedia space.
H-P has been all over the headlines lately with it's bidding war to acquire 3Par, Mark Hurd debacle, and acquisition of Arcsight a few weeks later. It's clear that the world's largest tech company by annual revenue is strategically positioning itself as an end to end solutions provider. As an end to end provider with a broad portfolio of Enterprise products and services, they can make a run in the corporate data center market, a direct play at tech giants Cisco systems, Oracle, and Dell.
Based on the acquisitions we saw in 2010, I think we can forecast 3 distinct trends for 2011 acquisitions:
Google had an enormous year with 40+ acquisitions as they are frantically trying to roll out their social media platform. I'd expect them to continue to buy in this space until they can launch their platform. After their launch, I'd also look for them to buy infrastructure/ services support as their application matures.
Apple's $100B war chest has remain closed, don't forget about them as we move into 2011. Steve Jobs has expressed his intent to make some big purchases in the near future. I'd like to see Apple supplement their Ping launch and make a run at YouTube for market share in the multimedia space.
H-P has been all over the headlines lately with it's bidding war to acquire 3Par, Mark Hurd debacle, and acquisition of Arcsight a few weeks later. It's clear that the world's largest tech company by annual revenue is strategically positioning itself as an end to end solutions provider. As an end to end provider with a broad portfolio of Enterprise products and services, they can make a run in the corporate data center market, a direct play at tech giants Cisco systems, Oracle, and Dell.
Based on the acquisitions we saw in 2010, I think we can forecast 3 distinct trends for 2011 acquisitions:
- Chip Maker/Semi Conductor plays into the wireless market: Tablet devices have suppressed PC demand and chip makers will need to diversify their portfolios to hedge their losses while this market is hot.
- B2C based companies will continue to play the web 2.0 market with acquisitions in multimedia sharing, location based services, blogging platforms, and the emergence of group procurement services.
- B2B enterprise networking and data center companies will continue to broaden their portfolios with cloud, virtualization, and adjacency plays intended to supplement their core business models.
As usual, thank you all for following.
SVTB
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
India Blog Series- Post # 6: The End
The purpose of this documentary was to demonstrate how you can use social media applications & Cisco technology to stay in touch while abroad and educate internal/external communities on the breadth of capabilities that can be achieved via the network as the platform.
I wanted to thank all of you for following my documentary blog series as I travelled to India. I hope that you all found the blog series worthwhile. I’d love to hear your feedback regarding the blog series and understand what you liked, what I could’ve done better, etc… Please feel free to comment on the blog/ contact me directly with suggestions.
Furthermore, I wanted to thank my management team (Kristin White, Shayne Fulford, Swati Daniel, Gabriel Negrete, and Viji Sriraman) for sponsoring my application to the GRC guest audit program and for encouraging me to apply. Without their support and flexibility, I never would’ve followed through on my application.
Lastly, I wanted to extend a big thank you to the GRC audit team (Ravi Channahalli, Swaroop Ramaswamy, Gautam Kumar, Tarun Damodaran, and Vinita Venugopal). Their support made the trip for me. The strong leadership, visibility, and collaboration from the team made the entire process seamless. We came together as a cohesive group, delivered quality results, and had a great time doing it.
I would encourage anyone who has an opportunity to apply for programs of this nature to do so. The experience not only made me a better professional, it made me a better human being.
I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions/ comments that you may have.
Karl Laughton
I wanted to thank all of you for following my documentary blog series as I travelled to India. I hope that you all found the blog series worthwhile. I’d love to hear your feedback regarding the blog series and understand what you liked, what I could’ve done better, etc… Please feel free to comment on the blog/ contact me directly with suggestions.
Furthermore, I wanted to thank my management team (Kristin White, Shayne Fulford, Swati Daniel, Gabriel Negrete, and Viji Sriraman) for sponsoring my application to the GRC guest audit program and for encouraging me to apply. Without their support and flexibility, I never would’ve followed through on my application.
Lastly, I wanted to extend a big thank you to the GRC audit team (Ravi Channahalli, Swaroop Ramaswamy, Gautam Kumar, Tarun Damodaran, and Vinita Venugopal). Their support made the trip for me. The strong leadership, visibility, and collaboration from the team made the entire process seamless. We came together as a cohesive group, delivered quality results, and had a great time doing it.
I would encourage anyone who has an opportunity to apply for programs of this nature to do so. The experience not only made me a better professional, it made me a better human being.
I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions/ comments that you may have.
Karl Laughton
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Hard Rock Bangalore - India Blog Series Post #5
Tuesday
Today was a great day. The team went out to lunch today at subway. I rode in my first auto rickshaw to lunch. It was dodgey to say the least. Auto rickshaws are essentially motorized bicycles with makeshift carriages welded onto them. There are no seat belts, and the drivers come within inches of accidents your entire ride.
After lunch I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Kwan -VP Finance Accounting Shared Services Organization, Mike ward – Director FASSO, and Robert Fulnecky bus ops manager onsite. Amy, Mike, and Rob are out here checking up on the status of our Fusion project. They gave a good speech on the importance of the Accenture- Cisco partnership as it relates to accounting excellence and enablement. If Accenture can drive OE, standardize, and focus on delivery, it will enable Cisco to work on our evolving business model as we enter into new market adjacencies and continue to drive top line growth through innovation. They brought it all together at the end by speaking to the importance of one Cisco, and how we view the Accenture staff as our own, 1 team, 1 Family, Cisco.
I worked the late shift this evening to finish my testing. My testing is now 100% complete. I’ll be conducting analysis, consolidation, and documenting my findings over the next few days. The team is going to the Cisco Bangalore campus tomorrow. I’m excited to finally see campus.
Wednesday
The Cisco Bangalore campus is absolutely stunning. The entire campus is run based on Cisco’s smart grid technology. Most of the campus runs on Cisco’s Smart and Connected Community platform, linking building utilities, security, and facilities maintenance to the network. Every building can be managed remotely, energy is optimized, and crisis management is integrated. The Bangalore campus is an operation model for the future of the commercial real estate industry. Every building leverages best in class green technology building practices. It’s truly one thing to hear about S+CC projects like Songdo, and another to experience them. Furthermore, the aesthetic presence of the buildings and forward thinking interior design make the Campus an absolute pleasure to visit.
After a tour in the morning, the Audit team gave a status update meeting to Amy Kwan and Mike Ward around the Fusion Audit. Immediately following the meeting, we were invited to the FABINDIA Finance all hands meeting where Amy spent 90 minutes reviewing Cisco’s FY10 financials, highlighting FY11 initiatives, and answering questions. The key takeaway I had from Amy’s presentation was that she echoed the same message as John did in the company all hands. It’s a good feeling to have a consistent message from your leadership team. Knowing that everyone is on the same page assures me that FY11 is going to be a strong year.
After work, the team went out for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. It’s clear at this point that the team has bonded very strongly. We’ve been very productive together from a deliverables perspective, and we can have a good time together outside of work. The team has made the trip seamless for me.
I’ve included some photos below from dinner and drinks. That’s right Ravi, the party didn’t stop after dinner…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157625018325684/
Thursday
We partied pretty hard Wednesday, so the morning on Thursday was a bit of a struggle. After lunch I had a 2 hour Telepresence meeting with the audit management team and my counterpart on the audit. We consolidated our findings, presented our analysis and metrics, and offered recommendations to the team during the call. All of the groundwork for my piece of the audit is done, and the management team is up to speed. It’s a great feeling to be done and know that what I did while I was here made an impact on the audit.
After work I went out shopping to a place called HUM India. I would highly recommend it for anyone who visits Bangalore. It’s a designer outlet store that sells designer goods of all kinds which have been priced for India. I cleaned the store out, and have no idea how I’m going to get all this stuff home!
Tomorrow is my last day. My flight leaves at 6:30am which means that I have to leave the hotel at 3:00am. I am not looking forward to the 26 hour trip, but it’ll be good to be home.
I’ll close off the blog series with a final post when I get home, keep your eyes open for that.
Thanks for following,
Karl
Today was a great day. The team went out to lunch today at subway. I rode in my first auto rickshaw to lunch. It was dodgey to say the least. Auto rickshaws are essentially motorized bicycles with makeshift carriages welded onto them. There are no seat belts, and the drivers come within inches of accidents your entire ride.
After lunch I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Kwan -VP Finance Accounting Shared Services Organization, Mike ward – Director FASSO, and Robert Fulnecky bus ops manager onsite. Amy, Mike, and Rob are out here checking up on the status of our Fusion project. They gave a good speech on the importance of the Accenture- Cisco partnership as it relates to accounting excellence and enablement. If Accenture can drive OE, standardize, and focus on delivery, it will enable Cisco to work on our evolving business model as we enter into new market adjacencies and continue to drive top line growth through innovation. They brought it all together at the end by speaking to the importance of one Cisco, and how we view the Accenture staff as our own, 1 team, 1 Family, Cisco.
I worked the late shift this evening to finish my testing. My testing is now 100% complete. I’ll be conducting analysis, consolidation, and documenting my findings over the next few days. The team is going to the Cisco Bangalore campus tomorrow. I’m excited to finally see campus.
Wednesday
The Cisco Bangalore campus is absolutely stunning. The entire campus is run based on Cisco’s smart grid technology. Most of the campus runs on Cisco’s Smart and Connected Community platform, linking building utilities, security, and facilities maintenance to the network. Every building can be managed remotely, energy is optimized, and crisis management is integrated. The Bangalore campus is an operation model for the future of the commercial real estate industry. Every building leverages best in class green technology building practices. It’s truly one thing to hear about S+CC projects like Songdo, and another to experience them. Furthermore, the aesthetic presence of the buildings and forward thinking interior design make the Campus an absolute pleasure to visit.
After a tour in the morning, the Audit team gave a status update meeting to Amy Kwan and Mike Ward around the Fusion Audit. Immediately following the meeting, we were invited to the FABINDIA Finance all hands meeting where Amy spent 90 minutes reviewing Cisco’s FY10 financials, highlighting FY11 initiatives, and answering questions. The key takeaway I had from Amy’s presentation was that she echoed the same message as John did in the company all hands. It’s a good feeling to have a consistent message from your leadership team. Knowing that everyone is on the same page assures me that FY11 is going to be a strong year.
After work, the team went out for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. It’s clear at this point that the team has bonded very strongly. We’ve been very productive together from a deliverables perspective, and we can have a good time together outside of work. The team has made the trip seamless for me.
I’ve included some photos below from dinner and drinks. That’s right Ravi, the party didn’t stop after dinner…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157625018325684/
Thursday
We partied pretty hard Wednesday, so the morning on Thursday was a bit of a struggle. After lunch I had a 2 hour Telepresence meeting with the audit management team and my counterpart on the audit. We consolidated our findings, presented our analysis and metrics, and offered recommendations to the team during the call. All of the groundwork for my piece of the audit is done, and the management team is up to speed. It’s a great feeling to be done and know that what I did while I was here made an impact on the audit.
After work I went out shopping to a place called HUM India. I would highly recommend it for anyone who visits Bangalore. It’s a designer outlet store that sells designer goods of all kinds which have been priced for India. I cleaned the store out, and have no idea how I’m going to get all this stuff home!
Tomorrow is my last day. My flight leaves at 6:30am which means that I have to leave the hotel at 3:00am. I am not looking forward to the 26 hour trip, but it’ll be good to be home.
I’ll close off the blog series with a final post when I get home, keep your eyes open for that.
Thanks for following,
Karl
Monday, September 20, 2010
The beaches of Goa - India blog series Post #4
Before I get into the last 4 days, I’ve included the full photo set from my last post below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624872159933/
Friday
The team went out for lunch today. We’re really starting to open up to each other and mesh as a team. Everyone on the team adds something different, we are good together. My flight is at 6:00am Saturday Morning so I have to leave for the airport by 4:30am the next day. After work, we stop by a local liquor store for some weekend refreshments. I spent the rest of the evening grabbing dinner, packing, and drinking some local wine (Sula). There are very few options for reasonably priced wine here. A $15 bottle of Kendall Jackson, a low-mid range wine in the states at best, is roughly 10,000 Rs or $30-40 U.S. here. There’s huge opportunity for a wine import/export business here. If any of you capitalize on it, I expect a cut!
Saturday
The wakeup call comes at 4:00am and I’m regretting drinking so much Sula the previous night. Regardless, the anticipation for my trip to Goa pushes me through the morning struggle and I manage to get checked out and in my car to the airport on time. After a short flight, I’m on the shuttle to the Taj. The drive to the Taj lasts about an hour and gives me a great opportunity to take in the scenery. Goa is a western state situated off the coast of the Arabian Sea. The countryside is similar to that of a rainforest climate and is unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before.
There are two Taj hotels within a mile from each other, the Taj Fort Aguada and the Taj Holiday village. Both Hotels sit on the south end of Baga beach, looking over the Arabian Sea. I spend the first part of the day shuttling between both resorts and walking on the private beaches they retain. Its Monsoon season so the weather is overcast and rainfall occurs intermittently throughout the day. After touring the resorts and beaches, I treat myself to a massage and get ready to go to a Goan Bazaar later that afternoon.
Goan Bazaars are like U.S. flea markets on Steroids. Bargaining is an art form to the locals and the minute I walk in I’m hounded by all of the local vendors, each willing to “give you good deal”. I pick out a few items from one of the vendors and spend the next 30 minutes negotiating with her. I’ve negotiated with plenty of scalpers at Giants games before, but these ladies would put them out of business! Eventually I end up talking the vendor down from $2500Rs to $300Rs and am feeling pretty good about my accomplishment. After I finish the transaction, every vendor in the bazaar surrounds me. Now that they’ve seen me purchase something, the flood gates are open and I quickly decide that it’s time to get out of there.
I leave the bazaar and go to a restaurant on the beach. Fishing is a large part of the Goan economy as it boarders the ocean. I order a smoked salmon Caesar and crab cakes for lunch in the spirit of the fresh Goan seafood that’s been highly recommended to me. The seafood lived up to its hype 110%! The fish was absolutely incredible, and I could taste how fresh it was. What an incredible meal.
After lunch I head to the hotel lounge for some drinks before dinner. Even though it’s starting to rain pretty hard, I can realize the potential these resorts have during the summer time. Each resort has a bar overlooking the ocean, poolside lounge, and their own private beach. The landscape is unique as each resort sits 50M from the beach in the front and is engulfed by forestation in the back.
I’ve included some photos below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624996538042/
After dinner I take a shuttle to the Holiday village which has a club called Caravela. Caravela was livelier than I expected for Monsoon season and turned out to be a great time.
Sunday
I take the opportunity to sleep in Sunday and wake up just in time for lunch! I hit the hotel lounge for lunch and have some Coronas by the beach. Over a few drinks I end up meeting a group of Indian Private Equity guys. They’re all Ivy League types who did their schooling in the U.S. and have a taste for the finer things in life. After exchanging business cards, I leave the lounge and hop on the shuttle back to the airport. My flight was delayed by an hour and I don’t get back to the Hotel until 10PM that night. After unpacking again, I ordered some food and get ready for work the next day.
Monday
Today turned out to be a very productive day. I’m %85 done testing and have completed some good analysis around some of the exception types were seeing. The team went out to lunch at a vegetarian restaurant, not my favorite, but it turned out to be surprisingly good. After work I went to Brigid road, a shopping hub in Bangalore. I got most of my shopping for the trip done today. I really love the purchasing power of the dollar over here but realize that it’s not that much less expensive than the states. Any comparable shop/restaurant is considered very upscale here, and the prices reflect it. Furthermore, I don’t think that the pay cut employees take over here is parallel to the relative prices of goods, just my opinion.
I’m working late tomorrow to finish up my testing as the only Theatre I have left is Latin America and the analysts who support LATAM work the 6:30PM-3:30AM shift. It’s pretty ironic that I came all the way out here and will be working U.S. hours tomorrow. The team is going on a tour of the Cisco Bangalore campus Wednesday and then out for dinner at the Hard Rock. I’m really looking forward to that. There’s also a Jimi Hendrix inspired bar called “Purple Haze” here that we’re going to hit up on Thursday so lot’s more to come before I leave!
Stay tuned!
Thanks for following,
Karl
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624872159933/
Friday
The team went out for lunch today. We’re really starting to open up to each other and mesh as a team. Everyone on the team adds something different, we are good together. My flight is at 6:00am Saturday Morning so I have to leave for the airport by 4:30am the next day. After work, we stop by a local liquor store for some weekend refreshments. I spent the rest of the evening grabbing dinner, packing, and drinking some local wine (Sula). There are very few options for reasonably priced wine here. A $15 bottle of Kendall Jackson, a low-mid range wine in the states at best, is roughly 10,000 Rs or $30-40 U.S. here. There’s huge opportunity for a wine import/export business here. If any of you capitalize on it, I expect a cut!
Saturday
The wakeup call comes at 4:00am and I’m regretting drinking so much Sula the previous night. Regardless, the anticipation for my trip to Goa pushes me through the morning struggle and I manage to get checked out and in my car to the airport on time. After a short flight, I’m on the shuttle to the Taj. The drive to the Taj lasts about an hour and gives me a great opportunity to take in the scenery. Goa is a western state situated off the coast of the Arabian Sea. The countryside is similar to that of a rainforest climate and is unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before.
There are two Taj hotels within a mile from each other, the Taj Fort Aguada and the Taj Holiday village. Both Hotels sit on the south end of Baga beach, looking over the Arabian Sea. I spend the first part of the day shuttling between both resorts and walking on the private beaches they retain. Its Monsoon season so the weather is overcast and rainfall occurs intermittently throughout the day. After touring the resorts and beaches, I treat myself to a massage and get ready to go to a Goan Bazaar later that afternoon.
Goan Bazaars are like U.S. flea markets on Steroids. Bargaining is an art form to the locals and the minute I walk in I’m hounded by all of the local vendors, each willing to “give you good deal”. I pick out a few items from one of the vendors and spend the next 30 minutes negotiating with her. I’ve negotiated with plenty of scalpers at Giants games before, but these ladies would put them out of business! Eventually I end up talking the vendor down from $2500Rs to $300Rs and am feeling pretty good about my accomplishment. After I finish the transaction, every vendor in the bazaar surrounds me. Now that they’ve seen me purchase something, the flood gates are open and I quickly decide that it’s time to get out of there.
I leave the bazaar and go to a restaurant on the beach. Fishing is a large part of the Goan economy as it boarders the ocean. I order a smoked salmon Caesar and crab cakes for lunch in the spirit of the fresh Goan seafood that’s been highly recommended to me. The seafood lived up to its hype 110%! The fish was absolutely incredible, and I could taste how fresh it was. What an incredible meal.
After lunch I head to the hotel lounge for some drinks before dinner. Even though it’s starting to rain pretty hard, I can realize the potential these resorts have during the summer time. Each resort has a bar overlooking the ocean, poolside lounge, and their own private beach. The landscape is unique as each resort sits 50M from the beach in the front and is engulfed by forestation in the back.
I’ve included some photos below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624996538042/
After dinner I take a shuttle to the Holiday village which has a club called Caravela. Caravela was livelier than I expected for Monsoon season and turned out to be a great time.
Sunday
I take the opportunity to sleep in Sunday and wake up just in time for lunch! I hit the hotel lounge for lunch and have some Coronas by the beach. Over a few drinks I end up meeting a group of Indian Private Equity guys. They’re all Ivy League types who did their schooling in the U.S. and have a taste for the finer things in life. After exchanging business cards, I leave the lounge and hop on the shuttle back to the airport. My flight was delayed by an hour and I don’t get back to the Hotel until 10PM that night. After unpacking again, I ordered some food and get ready for work the next day.
Monday
Today turned out to be a very productive day. I’m %85 done testing and have completed some good analysis around some of the exception types were seeing. The team went out to lunch at a vegetarian restaurant, not my favorite, but it turned out to be surprisingly good. After work I went to Brigid road, a shopping hub in Bangalore. I got most of my shopping for the trip done today. I really love the purchasing power of the dollar over here but realize that it’s not that much less expensive than the states. Any comparable shop/restaurant is considered very upscale here, and the prices reflect it. Furthermore, I don’t think that the pay cut employees take over here is parallel to the relative prices of goods, just my opinion.
I’m working late tomorrow to finish up my testing as the only Theatre I have left is Latin America and the analysts who support LATAM work the 6:30PM-3:30AM shift. It’s pretty ironic that I came all the way out here and will be working U.S. hours tomorrow. The team is going on a tour of the Cisco Bangalore campus Wednesday and then out for dinner at the Hard Rock. I’m really looking forward to that. There’s also a Jimi Hendrix inspired bar called “Purple Haze” here that we’re going to hit up on Thursday so lot’s more to come before I leave!
Stay tuned!
Thanks for following,
Karl
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Bangalore, Professionally : Post #3
Monday
I spent the remainder of my day Sunday reviewing the FY09 audit report, narratives, and existing SOX Procure to Pay control environment. After breakfast and 3 cups of coffee (I couldn’t resist!) my driver picks me up at 8am sharp. I’ve been told that the Accenture building is 60-90 minutes from my hotel depending on traffic, and that I need to be there by 9 am.
Traffic ended up being extremely light and I arrived at the Accenture building 30 minutes early. My audit manager calls me to inform me that a team member is on his way and shortly after getting off the call with my audit manager, Tarun lets me into the building.
I spent the remainder of my day Sunday reviewing the FY09 audit report, narratives, and existing SOX Procure to Pay control environment. After breakfast and 3 cups of coffee (I couldn’t resist!) my driver picks me up at 8am sharp. I’ve been told that the Accenture building is 60-90 minutes from my hotel depending on traffic, and that I need to be there by 9 am.
Traffic ended up being extremely light and I arrived at the Accenture building 30 minutes early. My audit manager calls me to inform me that a team member is on his way and shortly after getting off the call with my audit manager, Tarun lets me into the building.
Due to the fact that we’re working at the Accenture outsource building, security is very tight inside and outside of the building. Laptops are registered at the front desk, no cameras are allowed, you’re given a security badge and must scan in and out of every door in the building, and the Accenture staff doesn’t have internet access. The Accenture/ Cisco team is allowed to operate on the Intranet exclusively. They have a separate room off the network dedicated to external internet usage.
My team takes me out to lunch at an authentic biryani restaurant. They ordered me the “less spicy” biryani and I was borderline sweating the entire meal! South Indian food really means business! Day 1 is spent meeting the team, laying the foundational groundwork, learning the data repositories, and familiarizing myself with the audit process.
Paul picks me up at 5pm and we return to the hotel where I post my next blog, hit the gym, and treat myself to a big steak and glass of red wine.
Tuesday
After breakfast Paul drives me to the Accenture office. Traffic is heavier today and it takes roughly 45 minutes to get into the office. Once I get into the office, the testing begins. My portion of the audit is a QA check on T&E Accenture analysts. Essentially, whenever an employee expense report is filed (an employee needs to file an expense report to get reimbursed for company incurred expenses) the ER is sent to our shared services team in Bangalore. They follow desktop procedures (DTP’s) to make sure that the ER falls within Cisco’s employee expense policy, the appropriate approvals are there, receipts are accurately scanned and included, etc…. I’m given a sample of 120 expense reports that have been randomly selected across each theatre world wide. I’m responsible for auditing each expense report with a T&E analyst to understand their methodology for processing expense reports and find out what’s actually happening in the Bangalore office vs. what’s supposed to be happening.
I can’t disclose any of the audit findings due to Cisco confidentiality reasons, but I’m learning a ton and am enjoying the work that I’m doing. Going through each ER is taxing and stressful, but it’s rewarding when your understanding of the entire process all of a sudden clicks together. I took some pictures of the Accenture/Cisco offices.
Paul picks me up at 5pm and we return to the hotel where I post my next blog, hit the gym, and treat myself to a big steak and glass of red wine.
Tuesday
After breakfast Paul drives me to the Accenture office. Traffic is heavier today and it takes roughly 45 minutes to get into the office. Once I get into the office, the testing begins. My portion of the audit is a QA check on T&E Accenture analysts. Essentially, whenever an employee expense report is filed (an employee needs to file an expense report to get reimbursed for company incurred expenses) the ER is sent to our shared services team in Bangalore. They follow desktop procedures (DTP’s) to make sure that the ER falls within Cisco’s employee expense policy, the appropriate approvals are there, receipts are accurately scanned and included, etc…. I’m given a sample of 120 expense reports that have been randomly selected across each theatre world wide. I’m responsible for auditing each expense report with a T&E analyst to understand their methodology for processing expense reports and find out what’s actually happening in the Bangalore office vs. what’s supposed to be happening.
I can’t disclose any of the audit findings due to Cisco confidentiality reasons, but I’m learning a ton and am enjoying the work that I’m doing. Going through each ER is taxing and stressful, but it’s rewarding when your understanding of the entire process all of a sudden clicks together. I took some pictures of the Accenture/Cisco offices.
Wednesday
"Concentration is the essence of all knowledge; nothing can be done without it. Ninety percent of thought force is wasted by the ordinary human being, and therefore he is constantly committing blunders; the trained man or mind never makes a mistake." - Swami Vivekananda
This quote was posted in the cube I was working in today; I thought I share it with you. Today was a good day.
"Concentration is the essence of all knowledge; nothing can be done without it. Ninety percent of thought force is wasted by the ordinary human being, and therefore he is constantly committing blunders; the trained man or mind never makes a mistake." - Swami Vivekananda
This quote was posted in the cube I was working in today; I thought I share it with you. Today was a good day.
I took a 6 am call with some folks from the states and then headed into the office after breakfast. I spent the entire day testing and made some major headway. We have an update meeting tomorrow with all of process owners to share preliminary audit findings, so I spend the last hour or so of the day preparing for that. I’m headed out for dinner and then to a night club with one of my coworkers. I just discovered that in the state of Karnataka, all clubs and bars close at 11:30PM (Lame!!!), at least it will ensure an early night for me. It’s a good thing that I’m planning a weekend trip!
Thursday
Last night my coworker, Tarun, and I went to City Bar located in UB city. UB stands for United Breweries, the multinational brewing corporation that owns Kingfisher (Asia’s Budweiser). Their CEO is rumored to be one of the most powerful men in Asia.
Thursday
Last night my coworker, Tarun, and I went to City Bar located in UB city. UB stands for United Breweries, the multinational brewing corporation that owns Kingfisher (Asia’s Budweiser). Their CEO is rumored to be one of the most powerful men in Asia.
City Bar was located on the 4th floor of a shopping mall. It was an outside bar and was absolutely packed for a Wednesday night. It was surprising to see the Indian nightlife in its true form. There were people of all ages at the bar, from 18-50! Techno music was playing in the background and I must say that there were some good lookin birds out and about! Unfortunately as I’m told the way it usually is, the number of European dressed Indian men far outnumbered the amount of women there. The vibe of the bar was very upbeat and I enjoyed myself. It was nice getting out of the Hotel for a night.
The team had a 9am update meeting this morning with all of our process owners. The meeting went smoothly and gave us an opportunity to share some of our preliminary findings. I spent the remainder of the day testing and have now completed 50% of my sample, putting me ahead of schedule from a testing perspective.
The team had a 9am update meeting this morning with all of our process owners. The meeting went smoothly and gave us an opportunity to share some of our preliminary findings. I spent the remainder of the day testing and have now completed 50% of my sample, putting me ahead of schedule from a testing perspective.
I just booked my flight for Goa this weekend. Even though we’re in the middle of Monsoon season, I’m hoping for good weather. Either way, I’m staying at the Taj so it’ll be 5 star accommodations and a good weekend trip. Goa is supposed to be one of the bigger tourist spots in India. It boarders the Arabian Sea and is renowned for its beautiful beaches. Also, I hear that the beaches of Goa during Monsoon season are majestic.
I’ll check back in after the weekend.
Karl
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Weekend In Bangalore - Post #2
The last three days have been eye opening to say the least. Check out my activities over the last three days below (I’ve included some pictures and videos to supplement you’re reading experience):
Friday
10,000 miles and 26 hours of travelling later and I’ve finally arrived at my hotel in Bangalore. It’s 6am local time and I’m overwhelmed with exhaustion. The first thing that I noticed when I was checking in was the absolute hospitable nature of the people at the hotel. Everyone greets you by putting their hands together and bowing, wishing you a great day. Every door was opened for me, and my bags were taken up to my room. The hospitality is almost overwhelming and will take some getting used to. Furthermore, they employ a centralized tipping system, so you can’t individually tip any hotel staff which I’ll soon discover speaks volumes to the culture of the people.
My room is modest but comfortable and the view from my balcony overlooks the central courtyard of the hotel which is enriched with tropical vegetation (see below)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624814871025/
After a few feeble attempts of trying to get some sleep I’ve come to the realization that I’m still jet lagged and may as well make the most of my day. I take the next few hours to get accustomed to the hotel and what it has to offer. After a haircut, lunch, and some poolside relaxation I headed out on the town to run some errands. Walking outside the hotel gates into the streets of Bangalore made it very apparent that outside the gates of my 5 star hotel was a whole different world.
The streets are flooded with construction due to a metro project that is currently underway and are mostly still undeveloped around the hotel because of how fast demand for city infrastructure has grown over the last 10 years. Traffic floods the streets on a busy Friday afternoon and after a short walk I arrive at Bangalore centre. Bangalore centre is a 5 story shopping centre that houses clothing shops, grocery stores, a cinema, a small night club, and more. I purchase some toiletries, water, a few other small items and am on my way back to the hotel. On my way back to the hotel I’m heckled by some of the locals who try to offer me a ride and tell me that they work for a government business. As I was previously advised, I keep walking and after several attempts to get my attention they finally leave me alone. It’s obvious that they’ve pegged me as a tourist a mile away, and being approached by them is quite nerve racking. This is my first major business trip, first trip to a third world country, and I’m travelling alone to boot! Furthermore, for those of you who know my sense of direction, you’ll know how nervous even a small trip in a foreign area can make me. Let’s just say I was glad to make it back to the Hotel without conflict, phew!
I’ve arranged with my driver to go on a city tour early in the morning so I grab a quick bite to eat, refreshment at the Hotel bar, and call it a night.
Saturday
Breakfast at the Hotel is included with your room and has been one of my favorite perks so far. The spread of sausages, bacon, omelets, hash browns, etc… is just what I need to start my day right. After a wholesome meal I meet my driver, Paul, at the hotel lobby. Paul has been arranged to be my driver for the entirety of my stay in Bangalore and has thus far been a huge help. He’s Roman Catholic and speaks quite good English. He’s also a Bangalore native and lives a Hindu lifestyle. Paul has brought along his friend who just by chance is a Bangalore tour guide by profession. For the next several hours, Paul and my tour guide take me for an all inclusive tour of Bangalore which was one of the most informative and rewarding experiences that I’ve had on my trip thus far. I put together a video and pictures below to give you a glimpse of my tour and a taste of Bangalore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlSqGOMInHQ
During my tour I’m told that this weekend is the weekend of both the Ganesh Chaturthi and Ramazan festivals, both major festivals in the Hindu and Muslim religions respectively. I’m fortunate as the two festivals have never fallen on the same day before so I get to see a very diverse and religious perspective to the City during my tour. The highlight of my tour was visiting the Nandi temple and receiving a blessing. Nandi is the name of Lord Shiva’ bull, any Nandi temple is regarded as a temple of Lord Shiva himself. Shiva is the Hindu God of everything and I’m told that a blessing from Shiva puts everything at ease. I’m truly grateful to have been part of the Ganesh festival and had the experience of visiting the Nandi temple. It has certainly broadened my horizon and opened my soul to the meaning of religious and spiritual dedication. (see below)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624815423587/
After my tour is over I took some time to reflect upon what I had just experienced. Among many other realizations that come to mind about what I had just witnessed, my major take away from the tour was that regardless of spiritual or religious belief, the 7 million people of Bangalore coexist with less than a 4% crime rate. Not once on my tour did I see any armed policemen, crime, or acts of hatred. The inherent kindness and accepting nature of people here is something that we can all learn from.
Later that evening I had an incredible Thai dinner at one of the Hotel restaurants. Tucked away in the royal palms scouring the hotel, this bamboo Thai restaurant was just the elegant dining experience I needed after a long day.
Sunday
I met a couple of Americans this morning in the Gym. Tom is an aeronautical engineer and air force veteran who manages a team of engineers out here. Angela works for Thomas Reuter’s and is implementing Cisco Telephony in their Bangalore call center. Hopefully I’ll be seeing more of them during my stay here. It was good to run into some friendly faces and have some good conversation. I’ve spent the last hour or so recounting my experiences thus far on the trip. I’m attending a special Hotel brunch put together for the festival in an hour or so and then spending the rest of my day preparing for the work week tomorrow.
I’ll catch you all up to speed after a few of my first workdays.
Thanks again for following.
Karl
Friday
10,000 miles and 26 hours of travelling later and I’ve finally arrived at my hotel in Bangalore. It’s 6am local time and I’m overwhelmed with exhaustion. The first thing that I noticed when I was checking in was the absolute hospitable nature of the people at the hotel. Everyone greets you by putting their hands together and bowing, wishing you a great day. Every door was opened for me, and my bags were taken up to my room. The hospitality is almost overwhelming and will take some getting used to. Furthermore, they employ a centralized tipping system, so you can’t individually tip any hotel staff which I’ll soon discover speaks volumes to the culture of the people.
My room is modest but comfortable and the view from my balcony overlooks the central courtyard of the hotel which is enriched with tropical vegetation (see below)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624814871025/
After a few feeble attempts of trying to get some sleep I’ve come to the realization that I’m still jet lagged and may as well make the most of my day. I take the next few hours to get accustomed to the hotel and what it has to offer. After a haircut, lunch, and some poolside relaxation I headed out on the town to run some errands. Walking outside the hotel gates into the streets of Bangalore made it very apparent that outside the gates of my 5 star hotel was a whole different world.
The streets are flooded with construction due to a metro project that is currently underway and are mostly still undeveloped around the hotel because of how fast demand for city infrastructure has grown over the last 10 years. Traffic floods the streets on a busy Friday afternoon and after a short walk I arrive at Bangalore centre. Bangalore centre is a 5 story shopping centre that houses clothing shops, grocery stores, a cinema, a small night club, and more. I purchase some toiletries, water, a few other small items and am on my way back to the hotel. On my way back to the hotel I’m heckled by some of the locals who try to offer me a ride and tell me that they work for a government business. As I was previously advised, I keep walking and after several attempts to get my attention they finally leave me alone. It’s obvious that they’ve pegged me as a tourist a mile away, and being approached by them is quite nerve racking. This is my first major business trip, first trip to a third world country, and I’m travelling alone to boot! Furthermore, for those of you who know my sense of direction, you’ll know how nervous even a small trip in a foreign area can make me. Let’s just say I was glad to make it back to the Hotel without conflict, phew!
I’ve arranged with my driver to go on a city tour early in the morning so I grab a quick bite to eat, refreshment at the Hotel bar, and call it a night.
Saturday
Breakfast at the Hotel is included with your room and has been one of my favorite perks so far. The spread of sausages, bacon, omelets, hash browns, etc… is just what I need to start my day right. After a wholesome meal I meet my driver, Paul, at the hotel lobby. Paul has been arranged to be my driver for the entirety of my stay in Bangalore and has thus far been a huge help. He’s Roman Catholic and speaks quite good English. He’s also a Bangalore native and lives a Hindu lifestyle. Paul has brought along his friend who just by chance is a Bangalore tour guide by profession. For the next several hours, Paul and my tour guide take me for an all inclusive tour of Bangalore which was one of the most informative and rewarding experiences that I’ve had on my trip thus far. I put together a video and pictures below to give you a glimpse of my tour and a taste of Bangalore:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlSqGOMInHQ
During my tour I’m told that this weekend is the weekend of both the Ganesh Chaturthi and Ramazan festivals, both major festivals in the Hindu and Muslim religions respectively. I’m fortunate as the two festivals have never fallen on the same day before so I get to see a very diverse and religious perspective to the City during my tour. The highlight of my tour was visiting the Nandi temple and receiving a blessing. Nandi is the name of Lord Shiva’ bull, any Nandi temple is regarded as a temple of Lord Shiva himself. Shiva is the Hindu God of everything and I’m told that a blessing from Shiva puts everything at ease. I’m truly grateful to have been part of the Ganesh festival and had the experience of visiting the Nandi temple. It has certainly broadened my horizon and opened my soul to the meaning of religious and spiritual dedication. (see below)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157624815423587/
After my tour is over I took some time to reflect upon what I had just experienced. Among many other realizations that come to mind about what I had just witnessed, my major take away from the tour was that regardless of spiritual or religious belief, the 7 million people of Bangalore coexist with less than a 4% crime rate. Not once on my tour did I see any armed policemen, crime, or acts of hatred. The inherent kindness and accepting nature of people here is something that we can all learn from.
Later that evening I had an incredible Thai dinner at one of the Hotel restaurants. Tucked away in the royal palms scouring the hotel, this bamboo Thai restaurant was just the elegant dining experience I needed after a long day.
Sunday
I met a couple of Americans this morning in the Gym. Tom is an aeronautical engineer and air force veteran who manages a team of engineers out here. Angela works for Thomas Reuter’s and is implementing Cisco Telephony in their Bangalore call center. Hopefully I’ll be seeing more of them during my stay here. It was good to run into some friendly faces and have some good conversation. I’ve spent the last hour or so recounting my experiences thus far on the trip. I’m attending a special Hotel brunch put together for the festival in an hour or so and then spending the rest of my day preparing for the work week tomorrow.
I’ll catch you all up to speed after a few of my first workdays.
Thanks again for following.
Karl
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Bangalore Series Post #1
As I get ready to leave for India on a 3 week Governance, Risk, and Control audit I’d like to share some words given to me by one of the most intelligent Men I know, my Father:
“I am just sitting here thinking about your trip to India. I wish you the best experience possible.India is an ancient culture which is based in spirituality more than materialism. The essence of its deep spiritual knowledge is the Bhagavad Gita. Many westerners, including your old man, have been captivated by the Gita. These westerners include some of the top genius intellectuals that we westerners can produce. The Gita is serious business.
I will leave you with a few quotes from the Gita:
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.”
“The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice.”
“Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down when reasoning is destroyed.”
“There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.”
Karl, if you want to understand India, I suggest that you read the Gita. It is a short poem, and very profound. If a white western guy like you shows some basic understanding of the Gita, you will be seen in a much more inviting way in India. More importantly, you will open your soul to god."
The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवद्गीता, Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God"), also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) himself,[3] and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.
I’m going into this trip with an open mind and heart and have been told that by doing so, the people of India are gracious hosts.
Scope of the Audit
The audit is an integrated audit focused on Fusion Invoice-to-Pay processes covering Financial, Operational and IT areas. Bangalore India has emerged as a world Technology Hub for IT services and outsourcing models. Many of the Major Technology leaders have outsourced high touch financial processes to India to maximize cost effectiveness and leverage the technology infrastructure that has been growing in India over the last 10 years. I wanted to share my experiences with you over the next several weeks to give you an understanding of how a large scale Technology company conducts travel, QA, and Internal Audit activities.
Please follow my mini blog series over the next 3 weeks if you’d like to get a first hand perspective of an end to end Bangalore visit. I’ll make sure to include photos, videos, and more to keep you all in the loop as accurately as possible.
Thanks for following,
Karl Laughton
“I am just sitting here thinking about your trip to India. I wish you the best experience possible.India is an ancient culture which is based in spirituality more than materialism. The essence of its deep spiritual knowledge is the Bhagavad Gita. Many westerners, including your old man, have been captivated by the Gita. These westerners include some of the top genius intellectuals that we westerners can produce. The Gita is serious business.
I will leave you with a few quotes from the Gita:
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.”
“The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice.”
“Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down when reasoning is destroyed.”
“There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist. As the same person inhabits the body through childhood, youth, and old age, so too at the time of death he attains another body. The wise are not deluded by these changes.”
Karl, if you want to understand India, I suggest that you read the Gita. It is a short poem, and very profound. If a white western guy like you shows some basic understanding of the Gita, you will be seen in a much more inviting way in India. More importantly, you will open your soul to god."
The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवद्गीता, Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God"), also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture, considered among the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) himself,[3] and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.
I’m going into this trip with an open mind and heart and have been told that by doing so, the people of India are gracious hosts.
Scope of the Audit
The audit is an integrated audit focused on Fusion Invoice-to-Pay processes covering Financial, Operational and IT areas. Bangalore India has emerged as a world Technology Hub for IT services and outsourcing models. Many of the Major Technology leaders have outsourced high touch financial processes to India to maximize cost effectiveness and leverage the technology infrastructure that has been growing in India over the last 10 years. I wanted to share my experiences with you over the next several weeks to give you an understanding of how a large scale Technology company conducts travel, QA, and Internal Audit activities.
Please follow my mini blog series over the next 3 weeks if you’d like to get a first hand perspective of an end to end Bangalore visit. I’ll make sure to include photos, videos, and more to keep you all in the loop as accurately as possible.
Thanks for following,
Karl Laughton
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Cyber Warfare- the United States’ kryptonite
In the post cold war era, few would argue the U.S.’s position as the world’s most dominant military nation. Take a look at some reinforcing statistics below:
PERSONNEL
Total Population: 303,824,640 [2008]
Population Available: 144,354,117 [2008]
Fit for Military Service: 118,600,541 [2008]
Reaching Military Age Annually: 4,266,128 [2008]
Active Military Personnel: 1,385,122 [2008]
Active Military Reserve: 1,458,500 [2008]
Active Paramilitary Units: 453,000 [2008]
ARMY
Total Land-Based Weapons: 29,920
Towed Artillery: 5,178 [2001]
AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: 18,169 [2003]
Helicopters: 4,593 [2003]
Serviceable Airports: 14,947 [2007]
NAVY
Total Navy Ships: 1,559
Merchant Marine Strength: 422 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: 10
Aircraft Carriers: 11 [2008]
Destroyers: 50 [2008]
Submarines: 75 [2008]
Frigates: 92 [2008]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: 100 [2008]
Mine Warfare Craft: 28 [2008]
Amphibious Craft: 38 [2008]
LOGISTICAL
Labor Force: 153,100,000 [2007]
Roadways: 6,465,799 km
Railways: 226,612 km
FINANCES (USD)
Defense Budget: $515,400,000,000 [2009]
Foreign Exch. & Gold: $70,570,000,000 [2007]
Purchasing Power: $13,780,000,000,000 [2007]
OIL
Oil Production: 7,460,000 bbl/day [2007]
Oil Consumption: 20,800,000 bbl/day [2005]
Proven Oil Reserves: 21,760,000,000 bbl [2006]
GEOGRAPHIC
Waterways: 41,009 km
Coastline: 19,924 km
Square Land Area: 9,826,630 km
Sources: US Library of Congress; Central Intelligence Agency
Last Updated: 2/12/2009
(©2005-2010 GlobalFirepower.com (GFP) • All Rights Reserved • Privacy Policy)
In addition to having one of the largest militaries in the world, U.S. weapons technology has been noted as being 5-7 years ahead of everyone else’s. In 2009, the U.S. spent $712 Billion dollars on military expenditures, 46.5% of the total global distribution on military expenditures (see below).
In addition to having one of the largest militaries in the world, U.S. weapons technology has been noted as being 5-7 years ahead of everyone else’s. In 2009, the U.S. spent $712 Billion dollars on military expenditures, 46.5% of the total global distribution on military expenditures (see below).
(US spending: Laicie Olson, Growth in U.S. Defense Spending Since 2001, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, March 11, 2009. Other nations’ spending: SIPRI)
The Question: What will U.S. aircraft carriers, nuclear weapons, tanks, and soldiers do to protect your bank account? Social Security? Utilities? Telecommunications? 401k? Data network? Transportation? Military and Government systems?
Answer: Absolutely nothing.
The U.S. is completely vulnerable to Cyber Warfare. The emergence of the next generation network, cloud computing, social media, and mobile communications is connecting everything to the internet and making us more susceptive to Cyber attacks every day.
What was an obscure idea from the latest Die Hard movie is now a legitimate threat for warfare in the future. SANDS fellow and former CIA operative James Gosler highlights
"You can have vulnerabilities in the fundamentals of the technology, you can have vulnerabilities introduced based on how that technology is implemented, and you can have vulnerabilities introduced through the artificial applications that are built on that fundamental technology," Gosler says. "It takes a very skilled person to operate at that level, and we don't have enough of them." Gosler estimates there are now only 1,000 people in the entire United States with the sophisticated skills needed for the most demanding cyber defense tasks. To meet the computer security needs of U.S. government agencies and large corporations, he says, a force of 20,000 to 30,000 similarly skilled specialists is needed.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128574055
We see evidence of this threat every day. How many times have you seen hacking related incidents in the news recently? Imagine the panic created when the financial markets crash, utilities are shut off, transportation is unavailable, and all communications channels are down. How does the U.S. organize and deploy its military resources then?
Making matters worse, China has been developing Cyber Warfare specialists for years. China recognizes the importance of Cyber warfare and actively recruits cyber warriors at early ages. They invest in intelligence programs, certification structures, and education geared toward Cyber Warfare. According to Alan Paller, a SANS fellow and colleague of Gosler’s, “In the most recent round of the International Collegiate Programming Contest, co-sponsored by IBM and the Association for Computing Machinery, Chinese universities took four of the top 10 places. No U.S. University made the list. The Chinese government, in fact, appears to be systematically building a cyber warrior force”. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128574055
How do we fend off the growing Cyber threat of the Chinese?
• Leverage leading U.S. Tech companies (Intel, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Cisco, HP, etc…). These companies already foster huge talent pools of Engineers, all they need are forums for instructors to come in and lead certification programs, teaching the engineers of today how to apply their talent differently.
• Incentivize Cyber Security, DOD, CIA, and related jobs in the U.S.
• Build Cyber Security curriculum into our leading technical school systems (MIT, CM, Cal Tech, etc…)
• Communicate threats related to Cyber Security; motivate the youth to get involved.
The next major war is certain to have a Cyber aspect to it. Will we be prepared?
-Karl Laughton
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