Engineering is elegance in the face of constraints, and we continue to learn from Tata Motors' work on building the (TTM) Nano
Rear-mounted engine. Only 30-35 horsepower. Wheel bearings that support a max speed of 70 mph. No radio or AC. One wiper. Minimal instrument panel. Streamlined continuous variable transmission.All of it represents a huge drop in capability for your average American driver. But drive around China or India and see all the weird sights: entire families on a motorcycle or a glorified tricycle with a lawnmower-strength engine. It's scary watching them navigate traffic.
Then imagine them in a car that doesn't cost much more than what they're currently paying, and you've got yourself a market demand that's out there waiting to be met.
You can sell more of the same to already saturated markets or you can create markets in low-end situations you've previously ignored, figuring your standard income threshold would simply never be met.
That's why Ford wants to be not just in China but India too.
A race to the bottom of the pyramid will be a fascinating thing to watch. Don't assume we need to raise everyone to our levels of consumption. Assume we need to figure out how to access theirs, with the resulting consumption lying somewhere in between our high and their current low.
Same exact thing in computer security - so often security people come with a "its perfect or its broken" mentality, and suggest bizzaro world architectures where field reps laptops are locked down like system of record server. And then if this is not possible/affordable/realistic you get the "well its your funeral" lines from the infosec group, instead of pragmatic solutions. Far better to understand the business goals, understand the constraints, lower the risk, and then deliver the best security services possible given the goals and constraints.
It doesn't work that way. Most of the clients I worked with are .."we want 100% secure, over here nothing that is less than 100% secure is allowed!" I broke my head trying to force some sense into him.
Posted by: duryodhan | February 07, 2008 at 09:50 AM