Kategorie: Technology

Welcome to the tech section of my blog, where I share my thoughts and insights on the latest developments in the world of digital, data, and AI. As someone who is passionate about the transformative power of technology, I believe that staying up to date with the latest trends and innovations is crucial to success in this field.

In this section, you’ll find a wide range of articles and posts on topics such as digital transformation, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and more. I’ll share my perspectives on current events, emerging trends, and the future of technology, with a focus on how these developments will impact businesses, society, and individuals.

Whether you’re a technology professional, business leader, or just someone interested in the world of tech, you’ll find plenty of valuable insights and knowledge in these posts. My goal is to make complex topics accessible and easy to understand so that everyone can benefit from the incredible advances happening in the tech world today.

You can also find a lot of technical product reviews on my Amazon reviews page. These are mostly in German.

So, join me on this journey as we explore the cutting-edge world of digital, data, and AI together, and discover new ways to harness the power of technology for a better tomorrow.

What is the Best Onshore/Offshore Ratio for Consulting Firms?

Challenges and potential of the extended usage of offshore resources for consulting firms
Screenshot of Onshore/Offshore Ratio survey

At the time of a new engagement, managers take into consideration many activities like project planning, effort estimation, defining goals and metrics, cost, outcome, etc. One factor that is most important for any project to succeed is engaging the right onshore/offshore staffing ratio to execute the project. This factor is mostly not given adequate importance in many recent delivery models. For managers to meet project profit margins, they try to limit the cost spent on project resources and execution. With the limited resourcing budget, it is not feasible to have a default onshore/offshore ratio that fits all projects.

After gathering some experience in working offshore (2007-2008 in Bangalore, India) and onshore (in Germany and Switzerland) I started to wonder if there is a optimal onshore/offshore ratio. Quite soon I concluded that this question is not easy to answer. So I did a breakdown to certain aspects and instead of answering them by myself, I set up a survey and hope to get your support!

Start the survey: http://bit.ly/offshoreratio
[Update 15 Nov 2014]: After collecting data over four weeks (18 Oct – 14 Nov), the survey is closed. Results will follow soon.

Basically, I’d like to address three groups to answer this survey:

  • Employees of traditional consulting firms
  • Employees of Indian pure players (such as Infosys, TCS, HCL, Wipro, etc.)
  • Employees of clients of consulting firms

Of course, I’m going to share the results after evaluation. Thank you for participating and sharing the link with your colleagues! Also retweets are highly appreciated…

India still the Top Destination for Outsourcing

SAP Labs India Pvt. Ltd. in Bangalore
SAP Labs India Pvt. Ltd. in Bangalore

Asian countries, especially countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, keep on being favored picks among organizations interested in contract out business processes offshore. India remains the top outsourcing destination, with its unrivaled advantages in scale and people skills, said the 2014 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) released by A.T. Kearney. China and Malaysia are second and third respectively.

The GSLI, which tracks offshoring patterns to lower-cost developing countries and the ascent of new locations, measures the underlying fundamentals of 51 nations focused on measurements in three general classifications, such as financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment.

Distributed since 2004 the GSLI, revealed that leading IT-services companies in India, to whom IT-related functions were outsourced, are extending their traditional offerings to incorporate research and development, product development and other niche services. The line between IT and business-procedure outsourcing there is obscuring, as players offer packages and specialized services to their customers and are developing skills in niche domains.

Furthermore, the GSLI identified a trend of multinationals reassessing their outsourcing strategies, after having aggressively outsourced back office operations in the mid-2000s; it has been noted that some companies are starting to reclaim some of these functions and undertaking them in-house again.

[flickr_set id=“72157647531971537″]

Data Science Toolbox: How to use R with Tableau

Recently, Tableau released an exciting feature that enhances the capabilities of data analytics: R integration via RServe. By bringing together Tableau and R, data scientists and analysts can now enjoy a more comprehensive and powerful data science toolbox. Whether you’re an experienced data scientist or just starting your journey in data analytics, this tutorial will guide you through the process of integrating R with Tableau.

Step by Step: Integrating R in Tableau

1. Install and start R and RServe

You can download base R from r-project.org. Next, invoke R from the terminal to install and run the RServe package:

> install.packages("Rserve")
> library(Rserve)
> Rserve()

To ensure RServe is running, you can try Telnet to connect to it:

Telnet

Protip: If you prefer an IDE for R, I can highly recommend you to install RStudio.

2. Connecting Tableau to RServe

Now let’s open Tableau and set up the connection:

Tableau 10 Help menu
Tableau 10 External Service Connection

3. Adding R code to a Calculated Field

You can invoke R scripts in Tableau’s Calculated Fields, such as k-means clustering controlled by an interactive parameter slider:

SCRIPT_INT('
kmeans(data.frame(.arg1,.arg2,.arg3),' + STR([Cluster Amount]) + ')$cluster;
',
SUM([Sales]), SUM([Profit]), SUM([Quantity]))
view raw kmeans_r_tableau.txt hosted with ❤ by GitHub
Calculated Field in Tableau 10

4. Use Calculated Field in Tableau

You can now use your R calculation as an alternate Calculated Field in your Tableau worksheet:

Tableau 10 showing k-means clustering

Feel free to download the Tableau Packaged Workbook (twbx) here.

Connect and Stay Updated

Stay on top of the latest in data science and analytics by following me on Twitter and LinkedIn. I frequently share tips, tricks, and insights into the world of data analytics, machine learning, and beyond. Join the conversation, and let’s explore the possibilities together!

Blog post updates:

Gartner Positions Tableau as a Leader for the First Time in BI Magic Quadrant

Screenshot of Tableau's 2013 February Newsletter featuring: "Gartner Positions Tableau as a Leader in 2013 Magic Quadrant"
Screenshot of Tableau’s 2013 February Newsletter featuring: „Gartner Positions Tableau as a Leader in 2013 Magic Quadrant“

One of the most highly anticipated and highly regarded reviews of the business intelligence market was published a couple of days ago. Gartner released its 2013 iteration of the famous Magic Quadrant for BI and Analytics Platform (aka. Gartner BI MQ) – and Tableau was cited as a „Leader“ for the first time.

Congraulations team Tableau!

Transition from Academia to Capgemini: A New Chapter in Data and Analytics

CERN Main Auditorium: my transition from academia to Capgemini
CERN Main Auditorium: my transition from academia to Capgemini

After enjoying research for the last four years, especially during my time at CERN, I have made a significant decision. I have decided to resign from my postgraduate position and make a transition from academia to the exciting world of Capgemini. My passion for Data and Analytics remains strong and will be the core focus of my new role.

Capgemini: A New Adventure After Academia

Capgemini, one of the world’s largest consulting corporations, has caught my attention. Unlike many other consulting companies, Capgemini does not yet have a dedicated team to offer effective strategies and solutions employing Big Data, Analytics, and Machine Learning. This presents an exciting opportunity for me to contribute and innovate.

My Vision: Building a Data-Driven Future at Capgemini

I love these technologies and am confident in my ability to elaborate a business development plan to drive business growth. Through customer and market definition, my plan includes new services such as:

  • Data Science Strategy: Enabling organizations to solve problems with insights from analytics.
  • Consulting: Answering questions using data.
  • Development: Building custom tools like interactive dashboards, pipelines, customized Hadoop setup, and data prep scripts.
  • Training: Offering various skill levels of training, from basic dashboard design to deep dives in R, Python, and D3.js.

This plan also includes a go-to-market strategy, which I’ll keep under wraps for now. Stay tuned for a retrospective reveal in the future!

Reflecting on My Transition from Academia

Making this transition from academia to a corporate role has been a considered decision. As I previously shared in my reflection on my software engineering internship at SAP, the blend of technological challenges and team collaboration has always intrigued me. Joining Capgemini allows me to continue pursuing my passion for data in a dynamic business environment.

Conclusion: Exciting Times Ahead

This transition from academia to Capgemini marks a thrilling new chapter in my career. I look forward to leveraging my expertise in Data and Analytics to contribute to Capgemini’s growth and innovation.

Follow my journey as I explore the intersection of data, technology, and business. Connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn.