In modern times, “scientific advancement” has become the word that encapsulates the economic growth of a country and the increasing sophistication enjoyed by its citizens. But, any innovation in technology, or services based on it, would succeed in its appeal among the users only if a strong need for it is felt. So, in effect, the impact a technology makes is purely dependent on those consuming it. The entire engineering fraternity and the associated marketing machinery accordingly use its expertise to feed into the requirement of these consumers. Subsequent innovation or enhancement to a technology is also done to fulfil this objective.
“So, the question then is – can we look at engineering, marketing and services science as three different disciplines?” asks Dr Guruduth Banavar, Associate Director, IBM India Research Labs.
“Typically, an engineering expert is viewed as someone who can deliver the goods in terms of his expertise – his brilliance in solving bottlenecks, say, in networking. But, he/she needs a greater understanding of “server users”, the community with which he/she is going to work closely. And this certainly asks for more than the subject knowledge.”
To bridge the yawning knowledge gap existing between the three disciplines, IBM researches are proposing to create a newer field of expertise called Service Sciences, Marketing and Engineering, or simply, SSME. As the name would indicate, the new area will pool-in the salient features of the three disciplines to create experts who may offer more than mere watertight engineering or marketing solution.
“The expertise gained from SSME will help business and governments to make sure the technologies they implement will improve their services,” Dr Banavar points out. “In essence, the discipline would offer newer and clearer insights into what it takes to design, deploy and deliver technologies in an increasingly service oriented environment.”
Though an engineer gradually acquires these skills through his/her experience, Dr Banavar explains that it takes several years for them to do this at the cost of the organisation’s time, money and resources. “In effect, by introducing this discipline in organisations, particularly in academic institutions that supplies manpower to IT and ITES, we are creating a breed of professionals who can add leadership to their CV, along with their ability to innovate,” he says.
Having identified the trend around three years ago that technology innovation is increasingly oriented towards services, IBM took the lead in laying a foundation for SSME by creating materials for studies by the academic community and curricula for institutions. Dr Banavar reveals 12 institutions in India have shown interest in implementing the discipline. This includes S P Jain Institute for Marketing and Research (Mumbai), Nirma Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) and National Institute for Design (NID). Besides, the IT giant is also talking to some of the IIT’s and IIM’s to incorporate the discipline in their curriculum.
Prof Janat Shah, Chair person, production and operations management department at IIM Bangalore, who recently took part in a conference on SSME (organised by IBM), agrees the need for the discipline. “In the last few decades, we are moving towards an increasingly services-based economy,” he says.
“However, contrary to this trend, the concepts many of us teach in our respective institutions is meant for a production or manufacturing-based economic model. So, there is a definite need for SSME, especially given that we are preparing professionals who are going to work in IT and related services.”
However, Prof Shah says that more academic work needs to be done before SSME could become a major field. “Usually it takes years, possibly decades, before a concept emerges as a major area of study. But, having realised the immediate need for the industry to adapt SSME, we are making our best efforts to build a strong academic base for the discipline to win immediate recognition among institutions,” he says.
