Net gains and losses

If the Internet is such a great tool, why isn't everyone happy?

To those who carry the Internet in their pocket, this may sound like the story of an era far-far away. But, it is astonishingly recent. Even in the 1980s, until Rajiv Gandhi shouted his 21st century battle cry, India hardly had any computers, let alone web access.

Banks carried out transactions on paper or over telephone; serpentine queues outside bill payment windows and crawling lines outside cinema theatres clogged pavements; offices were cluttered, if not littered, with files and official notes and memos.

The Internet made its advent in India only in the 1990s, logging the country into the concept of the global village. The first to come was email, condemning conventional post to the status of snail mail.

"Time is a great positive of email. We have messages zipping to our computer at any time of the day from anybody in any other city, or state or even on the other side of the world," says K Balaji, who runs an animation studio in Delhi.

But the Internet, more than a tool of communication, has become a way of life. Says Radha Acharya, a teacher with an NGO: "We no longer have to go to the library to do research."

Internet usage currently stands at 31 million, 28 per cent higher than last year, according to a JuxtConsult report. By March 2008, the number of people who have used the Internet at least once is expected to cross the 50 million mark. The active user base is predicted to touch 43 million.

Reliance on high-speed digital networks, desktops, laptops, printers, multimedia (including CDs, VCDs and DVDs) and mobiles is so complete that the world of commerce would come to a grinding halt if they were unplugged. All these gadgets have also given rise to the popular concept: Small Office, Home Office (SOHO).

Productivity concerns
"Traipsing around the Internet is the most popular form of loafing on the job," says 34-year old entrepreneur Ankur Singhal. On average, he says, he is willing for employees to goof off for an hour a day on the Net, but most end up wasting twice the time on it.

Besides, since information is recorded electronically and is freely floating over networked computers, it is more vulnerable than if the same information is printed on paper and locked in a file cabinet.

"Intruders do not need to enter an office or home, and may not even be in the same country," says R K Khosla, who heads a virtual assistance company. "They can create new electronic files, run their own programmes, and even hide all evidence of their unauthorised activity," he states as a matter of fact.

Whether it is social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Orkut), e-commerce (Amazon), videos (YouTube), auctions (eBay), email (Gmail, Hotmail), or blogging (Blogger, Wordpress), the web is a productivity-killer, say company executives.

Many employees disagree. "For a lot of people, instant messaging is a legitimate work tool that allows quick communication, yet many companies block it," says Vinita Marwah, a BPO employee.

New media, new choices
Companies can either leave the doors wide open, hoping their employees do the right thing, or they can shut the doors really tight and watch productivity soar.

To make sure they don't cut employees off entirely, IT companies like InfoGain have set up a small number of Internet kiosks where employees can check their email during breaks.

"You can expect flak from people who believe they want to check their personal emails, watch a video, make an eBay bid during work hours, but if it is data security at stake then no compromises can be made," says Eddie Chandhok, CEO, InfoGain.