fluentgrid

[fluentgrid]

Fluentgrid 2.0

As Fluentgrid is a growth-oriented organization, planning a strategic expansion well in advance is key. When contemplating a vision for our future, Mr. Murali Krishna Gannamani (MD and CEO), aims to drive the $42.5 million mark, set for 2018, to $500 million by 2025. To prepare Fluentgrid for this internal development, Mr. Gannamani has devised a new Business Unit Model that will entail apportioning the organization into five clear Business Units across two industry segments.

Each Business Unit will have clear goals and responsibilities, and each team in all five verticals will have defined leadership. While the base teams of each Unit and Sub-Unit will remain focused on their unique fields of work, the Upper Level Management and Heads of Department will be entwined in multiple but coinciding verticals, thus bringing about inter-department coordination, avoiding duplicity of work, and reducing internal roadblocks.

By improving organizational efficiency, increasing business intelligibility and streamlining Human Resources, this new model allows Fluentgrid to achieve a desirable balance between a growth in revenue and workload. Mr. Gannamani further believes that this shift in the business structure will help the company sustain massive growth. Beyond helping employees concentrate solely on their actual output and performance, it will also drive personal growth.

[fluentgrid]

Waste Management: A Cater-Pillar of Strength

India produces an average of 36.5 million tonnes of waste every year. Of this, about 14% is plastic waste - un-recycled, untreated, and left to decompose over the next 450 years. You would have to experience 5 or so different human lifespans in order to see it fully decompose - and that’s only some, less resilient types of plastic.

Therefore, scientists have been looking at various different ways through which to speed up the decomposition process, or eliminate plastic from our lifestyles entirely and move towards greener solutions, both of which have proven futile thus far.

So when Federica Bertocchini of Spain’s IBBTEC institute came upon some very hungry waxworm caterpillars while she was beekeeping, she was shocked. Initially annoyed at the prospect of pests running amok in her honeycombs, she scavenged the waxworms out into a plastic bag, only to return a few minutes later to find the bag filled with gaping holes.

And the caterpillars? They had escaped by eating their way out.

This revelation has lead to many notes of speculation recently, most notably, Jennifer DeBruyn from the University of Tennessee. DeBruyn, also searching for plastic-degrading microorganisms, believes that the waxworms truly are digesting the polythelene found in plastic, and hopes to unearth whether it is the insects themselves, or the bacteria they produce internally, that gives them the ability to do so.

However, some scientists remain doubtful. Ramani Narayan from Michigan State University, for example, is unconvinced. Stating that biodegradation - the process through which microbes decompose certain substances - “isn’t a magical solution to plastics waste management,” he notes how a clan of plastic-eating waxworms, could actually be a bane to our ecological systems, as these organisms are likely to release tiny ‘microplastics’ into the environment through secretion.  

Nevertheless, Bertocchini’s chance discovery could become a game-changer in waste management solutions, and as “there are no alternatives,” as DeBuryn states, “the hunt for organisms that can degrade plastics is on.”

[fluentgrid]

Science Fiction, Science Reality

It’s impossible to put a finger on the first individual, the first thought, or even the first conversation that gave the 21st century its futuristic outlook. Back then, if pointed out, the individual was declared insane, the thought was destroyed, and the conversation was steered towards another direction. If you agree, you might relate to this dialogue from the film ‘Solaris’: “You want to destroy that which we are presently incapable of understanding?” Well, here are the ideas that withstood the deluge; Let’s celebrate the immortality of these sci-fi classics, released before the third millennium, which questioned the norm back then, but are better understood now that we are thinking like their creators.  

1. Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ (1927)

About: Fritz Lang uses a love story to throw light on the conflict between the working class and city planners. While that might sound like a common premise today, we might as well let you know that the film was set in 2026. Watch the film to know whether we have avoided or succumbed to the inadequacies of digitisation.

Trivia: In the USA, a censored version of ‘Metropolis’ was released with altered inter-titles and character names. Thereafter, for more than 80 years, the missing footage remained lost to the world.  Later on in his life, when Lang was asked about the film, he replied: “Why are you so interested in a picture which does not exist?” Now that the lost footage has been recovered, and we can see the ‘Director’s Cut’, we might have an answer to Lang’s question.

2. Alain Renais’ ‘Last Year at Marienabad’ (1961)

About: Renais presents his thoughts on the nature of memory, which, according to him, allows us to experience the past, present and future all at one time. He achieves this through a simple storyline in which the protagonist tries to convince a woman that they have met before.

Trivia: By making this film, Renais was awarded the Golden Lion at the 1961 Venice Film Festival, and Alain Robbe-Grillet, the screenplay writer, was nominated for Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

3. Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Solaris’ (1972)

About: On encountering many cases of disillusionment and insanity among the crew of a space station, the protagonist, a psychologist, decides to visit the research the satellite himself.

Trivia: Though Tarkovsky had a fall-out with the writer of the novel that inspired the film, it remains a sci-fi classic, and numerous theorists and philosophers have drawn references to ‘Solaris’ in order to substantiate their conclusions on the concept of time.

4. George Miller’s ‘Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’ (1981)

About: Set in a post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, Mad Max finds his purpose in life through helping a small gasoline-rich community escape the hegemony of bandits. In this way, Miller is able to depict how an energy crisis can lead to the crippling of social order.

Trivia: There exists a rumour that Mel Gibson got the role after attending the audition post-drunken brawl, which convinced the director that he was ‘freak’ enough to be part of the film. Then there is the anecdote about Miller sacrificing his blue Mazda Bongo for the opening chase sequence. Yes, the ever-so-popular blue car that gets busted.

5. Spike Jonze’s ‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)

About: Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman give you an opportunity to enter movie star John Malkovich’s head for fifteen minutes.  Trivia: When actress Cameron Diaz met director Spike Jonze to discuss the possibilities of a role in his film, she found him fast asleep in his chair at the restaurant where they had scheduled to meet. Thereafter, she was in two minds as to whether she wanted to be part of the film or not. 

[fluentgrid]

Confluent 2017, Vizag - Celebrating Success

Confluent 2017 reminded all of us to stretch our limits, think different, and think smart. The road to a better, more cohesive tomorrow, begins today.

The 13th and 14th of April saw a coming-together of the individuals who make Fluentgrid the progressive, efficient, and well-oiled machine that it is. Filled with interesting team-building activities and thought-provoking talks by the company’s leaders, the event was, undoubtedly, a memorable success.

Confluent 2017 in Vizag reaffirmed our organization’s recent achievements. From attaining a maturity level of 5 on the CMMI scale, to gaining the opportunity to build Vizag into a smart city, the past few months have placed us on the map, given us space to grow, and proven to us that Fluentgrid is truly a name to be reckoned with.

The event also set the tone for our future. Though expansion leads to challenges with role clarity, deliveries, and productivity, it also lends us prospects of further development and professional advancement.

With the right people and the most effective processes, Fluentgrid now has the unique positioning to succeed as a pioneer in smart technology. Therefore, we are reminded of three commandments: to look inward in order to upgrade our skills, to fill the systemic gaps with more skilled employees than just more employees, and most importantly, to stay focused on our goals.

[fluentgrid]

Here’s How and Why-Zag

The Smart Cities Awas Yojna Mission has come as a boon for the citizens of India. It also gives companies like ours an opportunity to implement the ideas that we develop, implement, and uphold, which can give wings to our fellow Indians’ dreams.

When this mission was launched by honorable Prime Minister Modi in June 2015, one of the cities shortlisted for a digital revamp was Visakhapatnam. And together with Larsen & Toubro, Fluentgrid strategized a winning bid to uphold Vizag’s title as the ‘City of Destiny’ - envisioned to help the nation position the city as a testbed for innovative solutions, while giving its citizens an opportunity to fully take control of their community’s destiny.

Wendell Berry’s words - “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children” - have been our organization’s mandate, and this outlook has also allowed us to form a strong alliance with partner Larsen & Toubro.

To take on the responsibility of transforming Vizag into the pioneer smart city would require infusing ‘smart’ ideas with carefully considered, pragmatic steps in order to ensure that the result is an ecosystem conducive to progress and sustainable advancement. Transparent, fluid, and digitally-energized systems will set the wheels in motion, thus creating “a resilient and happy Vizag.” This model smart city will comprise of a command and control center with disaster management capabilities, city ERP, smart water management, citizen portal and mobile apps, multi-channel 311 and 911 contact centers, smart poles with LED streetlights, environmental sensors and public WiFi; apart from solid waste management, city surveillance systems, traffic violation detection, intelligent bus transportation systems, public announcement systems, variable message display boards, and emergency call boxes. Furthermore, L&T’s unparalleled project delivery experience, coupled with Fluentgrid’s domain expertise and local knowledge will undoubtedly contribute to building an ecosystem that will encourage an optimal usage of facilities, monitored city operations, and an uninterrupted flow of both governmental and private services. With improved citizen safety and participative governance, progress is right around the corner, so get ready for a new Vizag!