Tomorrow's Recruitment: Big-Data Robots Bring Better Hires

Emma Byrne, NetApp

Big data can help your organization fill posts—and keep them filled.
Analytics evangelists say big data is the key to hiring great talent and reducing attrition. It can also help you pay real market salaries, and increase your diversity.
Click on the link to read the Forbes article ...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/netapp/2013/05/29/recruitment-big-data/?utm_campaign=techtwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Big Data ... can be both Good and/or Can be Bad ... read on

Good big data, bad big data

By Barb Darrow

Jul. 20, 2012 - 8:17 AM PDT

Summary:

Big data, properly applied, can help save energy, cure diseases, better predict trends. But there’s also worry that abuse of big data will benefit big government and corporations to the detriment of citizens, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

Click on the link for more details ...
http://gigaom.com/2012/07/20/good-big-data-bad-big-data/

What the hell is Big Data? posted by Bernard Marr

The following is an excellent blog written Bernard Marr. It gives an insightful and concise view of what is Big Data.

Big Data is THE biggest buzzwords around at the moment and I believe big data will change the world. Some say it will be even bigger than the Internet. What’s certain, big data will impact everyone's life. Having said that, I also think that the term 'big data' is not very well defined and is, in fact, not well chosen. Let me use this article to explain what's behind the massive 'big data' buzz and demystify some of the hype.

Basically, big data refers to our ability to collect and analyze the vast amounts of data we are now generating in the world. The ability to harness the ever-expanding amounts of data is completely transforming our ability to understand the world and everything within it. The advances in analyzing big data allow us to e.g. decode human DNA in minutes, find cures for cancer, accurately predict human behavior, foil terrorist attacks, pinpoint marketing efforts and prevent diseases. Take this business example: Wal-Mart is able to take data from your past buying patterns, their internal stock information, your mobile phone location data, social media as well as external weather information and analyze all of this in seconds so it can send you a voucher for a BBQ cleaner to your phone – but only if you own a barbeque, the weather is nice and you currently are within a 3 miles radius of a Wal-Mart store that has the BBQ cleaner in stock. That's scary stuff, but one step at a time, let's first look at why we have so much more data than ever before.

In my talks and training sessions on big data I talk about the 'datafication of the world'. This datafication is caused by a number of things including the adoption of social media, the digitalization of books, music and videos, the increasing use of the Internet as well as cheaper and better sensors that allow us to measure and track everything. Just think about it for a minute:

• When you were reading a book in the past, no external data was generated. If you now use a Kindle or Nook device, they track what you are reading, when you are reading it, how often you read it, how quickly you read it, and so on.
• When you were listening to CDs in the past no data was generated. Now we listen to Music on your iPhone or digital music player and these devices are recording data on what we are listening to, when and how often, in what order etc.
• Today, most of us carry smart phones and they are constantly collecting and generating data by logging our location, tracking our speed, monitoring what apps we are using as well as who we are ringing or texting.
• Sensors are increasingly used to monitor and capture everything from temperature to power consumption, from ocean movements to traffic flows, from dust bin collections to your heart rate. Your car is full of sensors and so are smart TVs, smart watches, smart fridges, etc. Take my new scales (which I - as a gadget freak - love!), they measure (and keep a record of) my weight, my % body fat, my heart rate and even the air quality in our bed room. When I step on the scales they automatically recognize me, take all the measurement and then send them via Bluetooth to my iPhone which gives me stats on how my Body Mass Index etc. is changing. This information is then also synced with the data collected by my Up band, which tracks how many calories I have consumed and burnt in a day and how well I have slept at night.
• Finally, combine all this now with the billions of internet searches performed daily, the billions of status updates, wall posts, comments and likes generated on Facebook each day, the 400+ million tweets sent on Twitter per day and the 72 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute.

I am sure you are getting the point. The volume of data is growing at a freighting rate. Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt brings it to a point: “From the dawn of civilization until 2003, humankind generated five exabytes of data. Now we produce five exabytes every two days…and the pace is accelerating.”

Not only do we have a lot of data, we also have a lot of different and new types of data: text, video, web search logs, sensor data, financial transactions and credit card payments etc. In the world of ‘Big Data’ we talk about the 4 Vs that characterize big data:

• Volume – the vast amounts of data generated every second
• Velocity – the speed at which new data is generated and moves around (credit card fraud detection is a good example where millions of transactions are checked for unusual patterns in almost real time)
• Variety – the increasingly different types of data (from financial data to social media feeds, from photos to sensor data, from video capture to voice recordings)
• Veracity – the messiness of the data (just think of Twitter posts with hash tags, abbreviations, typos and colloquial speech)

So, we have a lot of data, in different formats, that is often fast moving and of varying quality – why would that change the world? The reason the world will change is that we now have the technology to bring all of this data together and analyze it.

In the past we had traditional database and analytics tools that couldn’t deal with extremely large, messy, unstructured and fast moving data. Without going into too much detail, we now have software like Hadoop and others which enable us to analyze large, messy and fast moving volumes of structured and unstructured data. It does it by breaking the task up between many different computers (which is a bit like how Google breaks up the computation of its search function). As a consequence of this, companies can now bring together these different and previously inaccessible data sources to generate impressive results. Let’s look at some real examples of how big data is used today to make a difference:

• The FBI is combining data from social media, CCTV cameras, phone calls and texts to track down criminals and predict the next terrorist attack.

• Facebook is using face recognition tools to compare the photos you have up-loaded with those of others to find potential friends of yours (see my post on how Facebook is exploiting your private information using big data tools).

• Politicians are using social media analytics to determine where they have to campaign the hardest to win the next election.

• Video analytics and sensor data of Baseball or Football games is used to improve performance of players and teams. For example, you can now buy a baseball with over 200 sensors in it that will give you detailed feedback on how to improve your game.

• Artists like Lady Gaga are using data of our listening preferences and sequences to determine the most popular playlist for her live gigs.

• Google’s self-driving car is analyzing a gigantic amount of data from sensor and cameras in real time to stay on the road safely.

• The GPS information on where our phone is and how fast it is moving is now used to provide live traffic up-dates.

• Companies are using sentiment analysis of Facebook and Twitter posts to determine and predict sales volume and brand equity.

• Supermarkets are combining their loyalty card data with social media information to detect and leverage changing buying patterns. For example, it is easy for retailers to predict that a woman is pregnant simply based on the changing buying patterns. This allows them to target pregnant women with promotions for baby related goods.

• A hospital unit that looks after premature and sick babies is generating a live steam of every heartbeat. It then analyses the data to identify patterns. Based on the analysis the system can now detect infections 24hrs before the baby would show any visible symptoms, which allows early intervention and treatment.

And these examples are just the beginning. Companies are barely starting to get to grips with the new world of big data. In conclusion then, big data will change the world. In terms of language I prefer to talk about the ‘datafication of the world’ in relation to the ever-growing amounts of data and ‘large-scale analytics’ (or simply ‘analytics’ because what is large now will be normal tomorrow) in relation to our ability to analyze and harness big data.


---------------------------------------
Authored by:Bernard Marr 
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130527063838-64875646-what-the-hell-is-big-data

small Data (about me), BIG Data (about us) ... Can yield significant benefits, if properly managed

There is a whole lot of buzz about Big Data ... My every click, every word, every pic, every tune that I enter/peruse is stored, dissected, and regurgitated for someone, somewhere who is willing to pay.

I have read some of the buzz, and what little I have read makes me little concerned but also hopeful. What I do on the Web may not light any fires, however what I search, read, view, or listen to is not something I would want available to my employer and/or prospective employers, government agencies, or anyone else, at least not where it can pinpoint who I am. If my data is bundled with others, and with personal information removed, than I am little less concerned. 

The positive aspect is that this information, for example, people's Google searches yields insights on predicting likely outbreak of influenza, etc. And that such use of Big Data to predict the likelihood of certain events offers significant advantages in the field of development, i.e. for the greater good especially in the Developing countries.
 
Are there sufficient controls to protect the privacy and confidentiality of an individual? What additional controls are needed in the selling and marketing of this information? Can this real-time collection of information about me, you, and us be abused?    

I have more reading to do (data mining and sifting to do) to gain a better understanding. And the more I read, more data points about myself are collected, tracked, sliced, and diced by Google, Amazon, Apple, NY times, Guardian, and Time magazine, to name a few. 


Wikidata ...
http://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Main_Page

Guardian newspaper ... 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/apr/26/wikidata-launch

How BIG Data can be leveraged for the greater Good? ... 
"Innovations in technology and greater affordability of digital devices worldwide have ushered in an Age of “Big Data,” an umbrella term for the explosion in the quantity and diversity of high frequency digital data. This digital data is being produced, in real-time, at an unprecedented rate, even across the developing world. In addition, advances in computing and data science make it possible to process and analyze Big Data in real-time. But can it be useful for development, and enhancing resilience to global shocks? Can the innovations from data science and tech be applied to the field of development? If so, how?

The paper aims to highlight the opportunity, as well as some of the main concerns and challenges, raised by the opportunity of utilizing new, digital data sources in the field of international development, as concretely and openly as possible."


http://www.unglobalpulse.org/sites/default/files/BigDataforDevelopment-GlobalPulseMay2012.pdf


BIG Data: For Greater Good or an Invasion of Privacy? ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/12/big-data-greater-good-privacy-invasion

 The Big Business of Big Data ...
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/big-data/


Mapping and Sharing, the Consumer Genome ... (that's You, me, and us for sale) ... 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/technology/acxiom-the-quiet-giant-of-consumer-database-marketing.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Big Data Knows What You Are doing Right Now ...
http://business.time.com/2012/07/31/big-data-knows-what-youre-doing-right-now/

Seeking new opportunities

I recently left MicroPlanet Technologies, a non-profit start-up that I co-founded and led as the CEO, where our mission was to provide financial institutions in the developing countries access to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) / cloud-based core banking software that is affordable and with high quality support and service.

I am now interested in exploring opportunities either within the development sector or the mainstream financial services sector in the US.

You can get better insight about my experience and expertise by perusing my Linkedin profile:
     http://www.linkedin.com/in/jitenpatelceo

SaaS, Cloud, Microfinance & MFIs ... Affordable Access to Excellent Service

MicroPlanet offers affordable, robust, high quality SaaS service to MFIs: it manages & services all that cloud-based virtual stuff, hardware and software, to improve MFI's operations and servicing capability.

SaaS solution offers MFIs affordable access to set of robust technology related services, without the burden of having to manage & support it; 
MicroPlanet shoulders the burden of managing, servicing and supporting the MFI's daily technology (MIS) related needs.

SaaS reduces the financial burden on the MFI of having to incur heavy upfront capital costs for software and hardware, and significantly reduces the burden on the MFI of having to hire experienced IT staff;
Instead MFIs pay a small recurring monthly fee, a "rental" fee so to speak, which includes the aforementioned set of services. 

SaaS can be win-win for MFIs provided they partner with the right partner with the right experience and service delivery, and who offers a robust & scalable core banking (MIS) platform for regulated and non-regulated institutions.

Technology and Developing Nations: Meeting a Critical Need

fyi ...

http://smartenterpriseexchange.com/community/strategy/blog/2011/08/10/technology-and-developing-nations-meeting-a-critical-need

I would take it one step further and say that technology can be and is an enabler, to lift people out of poverty, for the whole eco-system surrounding a poor person in the developing world.

Microfinance is just one example, others being using technology to improve distribution of medicines, health, to improve access to clean water, education, sanitation, etc.

Guatemalan MFI now running on MicroPlanet Technologies' hybrid-SaaS platform

MicroPlanet offers Microfinance Institutions access to robust core banking software (tailored for microfinance) and support under a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. 

This hy-SaaS solution allows MFIs to “rent” software on an on-demand basis, thus avoiding large upfront license fees and providing flexibility to scale up as they grow.

A hybrid-SaaS solution addresses the vagaries of having to operate in an environment where Internet connectivity is good to sub-par. This enables the MFI to continue to operate even when connectivity to the hosted environment is down. 

It's been a long while ...

The world has changed in many ways since I last blogged ...

• NYSE index started 2011 with a bang, more like a modest increase;
• President Obama signs 9-11 Health Bill into Law - only after US Congress was shamed into passing it by none other than Jon Stewart; 
• Dilma Rousseff is sworn in as Brazil's first female President;
• Hungary takes the presidency of the European Union;
• Pink Floyd signs a new 5 year record deal;
• Referendum in Southern Sudan;
• River levels in Queensland, Australia continue to rise;
• Investment in Facebook gives rise to a possible valuation of approx $50 Billion;
• Audacity, courage and bravery of People Power spreading like wildfire across Northern Africa and the Middle East;
• Earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdown in Japan;
• India winning the Cricket World Cup;
• To the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden; and
• Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to my mother, wife and all mothers everywhere.

And onwards to "the" news, at least as far as MicroPlanet Technologies is concerned ...

• Steady progress being made in our SaaS implementation in Guatemala, with a Go Live date for the beginning of June ... just approx 3 weeks away and counting.

• This is the much anticipated and welcome news that Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) around the globe are anxiously waiting for. 

• This SaaS service offering brings affordable, reliable and robust access to core banking software that will enable MFIs to scale their operations, streamline their operational processes, and fuel their growth.

So despite the winds of change that surrounds our daily life, whether environmentally, economically, politically and/or personally, let us remember to do one thing ... 

• To try and make a difference every single day that we live - by helping a fellow human being in need as best we are able to

best

Tips on Happy & Healthy Living

Shown below are some tips on healthy and happy living (a plagiarized list with few changes) 

... being mindful of this list or some small portion of this list, and keeping it front & center each day moves one further down this road ...  

Health: 

1.         Drink plenty of water. 

2.         Sit in Vajrasana, Thunderbolt or Zen Pose for at least 10 minutes each day, either in the morning or at night, and sit in silence. 

3.         Sleep for 7 to 8 hours each night. 

4.         Make time to exercise & stretch daily; Take a 10-30 mins walk, and keep a Smile on your face. 

5.         Make time to meditate. 

6.         Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. 

7.         Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 

Personal: 

8.         Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 

9.         Invest your energy on being & thinking positive. Do not waste precious time and energy on negative thoughts or worrying about things you cannot control. 

10.     Maintain a balance in life.  

11.     Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 

12.     Don't waste your precious energy on gossip. 

13.     Dream big … But do not day-dream, just work and work hard. 

14.     Envy is a waste of time. Be happy with what you have; Live within your means. 

15.     Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of their mistakes of the past - it will only rain unhappiness. 

16.     Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present. 

17.     Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Be open, be happy. 

18.     No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 

19.     Realize that life is a school & you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear & fade away like an algebra class but the lessons learnt will last a lifetime. 

20.     You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 

21.     Smile and laugh more. 

Surroundings: 

22.     Call your family often. 

23.     Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch. 

24.     Each day give something good to others. 

25.     Forgive everyone for everything. 

26.     Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6. 

27.     Try to make at least three people smile each day. 

28.     What other people think of you is none of your business. 

Life: 

29.     Be Patient

30.     Expand your horizons and knowledge - Read more books than you did the year before. 

31.     Do the right thing. 

32.     Have good, positive, happy thoughts – maintain this perspective come rain or shine. 

33.     Have faith, and keep faith. 

34.     However good or bad a situation is, it will change; do not get over exuberant or too anxious.  

35.     No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 

36.     When you wake up in the morning, count your Blessings and thank GOD for another day. 

37.     Your inner most is always happy, so make sure to keep your outer self happy.

38.     Enjoy the moment, enjoy each and every day … as it will never come back

Last but not the least: 

39.     Live Life with the 3 E's & a L -- Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy, and Laughter (laughter is the best medicine)

Recent Trip to Ethiopia

A week ago undertook a trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet with some of the MFIs based there. The primary goal of the trip was to meet with Wisdom Ethiopia, a World Vision affiliated MFI, to get their perspective on the core banking software that they are using. The secondary goal was to meet another MFI and to learn about their operational practices.

With me on this trip I had three key individuals from Friendship Bridge, CEO, CFO and Director of Credit & Operations. Friendship Bridge runs microfinance operations in Guatemala, and has its HQ in Denver, CO.

I thought I had a long trip, from NJ to Addis Ababa via Frankfurt until I learnt of the flight times of the two folks who came from Guatemala.

I found the people of Ethiopia warm and friendly, and very welcoming. We landed at night so did not get an opportunity to see anything on the short trip from the airport to the hotel.

In the morning though one quickly realizes why Ethiopia churns out some of the world's best middle and long distance runners. They are tall and skinny; everyone is tall and skinny, well almost everyone. Just food for thought, the only ones not skinny were at the airport, i.e. those that were either arriving and departing, and calling home some place other than Ethiopia. On the taxi ride from the hotel, one can see groups of runners in the park, of all ages and both sexes, exercising, stretching, sprinting. Walking long distances is way of life in this part of the world; and being at 7,546 ft above sea-level, means that they are accustomed to doing physical exercise in this rarefied air. Beautiful people.

The folks at Wisdom, from the CEO and down availed themselves, and provided very useful information about the system as well as about their operational practices.

The evening was spent at restaurant offering traditional food and music, which was the other highlight of the visit. Infrasoft staff, Prakash and Dinesh were wonderful hosts.

Next day visited Buusaa Gonofaa, a local MFI, with approx 38,000 credit (loan) customers. The senior staff  were extremely gracious with their time and information. An amazing organization that has cultivated a culture with both staff and customers, that takes loyalty to rarefied heights (no pun intended). MFIs and organizations in general need to learn from them.

Alas, the visit was over, had to take a flight the evening of the 2nd day.

Thank you Wisdom, Buusaa Gonofaa, Infrasoft, and overall thank you Ethiopia.

CGAP - Virtual Conference Recap: Hurdles to Surmount for Microfinance - Capacity Building & Technology

fyi ... Good 2 day conference on challenges faced by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on the critical subjects of capacity building and technology; MFIs must view these two areas as investments and not as expense items in terms of improving and strengthening their ability to scale their operations and to achieve sustainability (by being able to lower their operating costs, streamlined processes, broader array of products and timely service).

http://technology.cgap.org/2010/07/09/virtual-conference-recap/

CGAP Virtual Conference - Day 2 Jul 8th: Getting past the technology hurdles faced by MFIs

fyi ... http://technology.cgap.org/2010/07/08/virtual-conference-day-2-getting-past-the-same-old-conversation/comment-page-1/#comment-2267

CGAP Virtual Conference: Day 1 July 7 - Capacity building to improve vendor/MFI relations and outcomes.

fyi ... http://technology.cgap.org/2010/07/07/virtual-conference-day-1-capacity-building-at-the-heart-of-the-matter/

Happy 4th of July

Wish all, who are working feverishly to alleviate poverty here in the US and around the globe, a very happy and peaceful July 4th; and extend my heartfelt thanks to all for supporting the Microfinance sector in ways big and small.

Microfinance ... MicroPlanet Technologies, CGAP, USAID, IDB, Opportunity International, Friendship Bridge, Accion, Finca, WWB, World Vision, Unitus, Grameen, BRAC, Nuru International, One Acre Fund, Gates Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, NetHope, Citi foundation, ShoreBank International, BASIX, MIX Market, Rockefeller Foundation, Triple Jump, EBRD, IFC, HORUS, Microsoft, IBM, ORACLE, HP, CISCO, Riverbed, Google, Accenture, Nokia, InfraSoft, M-Pesa, Zain, and all the donors, investors, technology software & service providers, and legions of supporters of microfinance around the globe.

Thank you and for your continued support for fighting poverty and not just thru microfinance.

Accelerating Impact of Technology to the Microfinance Bottom Line

The key message from the recent Banana Skins survey was that the climate for microfinance has changed given the changes in the broader financial and economic climate globally. The reasons are painfully familiar to all: credit risk, liquidity crunch (drying up), global recession, over indebtedness. In addition MFIs still see “core” back-end technology as a major constraint. The systems MFIs use are often inflexible, expensive, hard to support, and incapable of enabling innovation for the MFIs.

MFIs, big and small, non-regulated and regulated, are faced with business challenges like lack of funds, high operating costs, reliance on banks for fund collection and disbursement, increasing Portfolio-At-Risk and low data quality. It is therefore critical for MFIs to be operating nimbly with streamlined processes that are fully documented, maintained and automated as possible. They need to provide the front-line and back office staff on-going training on operational policies and practices. Further, consistent and quality credit decisions should be made on a timely basis using technology, and customer’s challenges and needs should be understood.

To address the vast majority of these business challenges and to achieve operational scale and efficiency, MFIs must leverage information and technology to realize these objectives. I deliberately emphasize information and technology as these are two discrete and critical aspects to be focused on and utilized in the MFI’s supply chain. It therefore behooves MFIs to have a sound Information and Technology (IT) strategy, and one that focuses on “basic blocking and tackling” and researches and pilots disruptive technologies to change the rules of the game.

It is important to point out that technology by itself is not the panacea, but when coupled with strong and effective operational process management, MFIs can gain significant benefits that flow to its bottom-line, strengthening its competitive positioning and improving its ability to meet customer demands. Microfinance is an excellent example of a “disruptive” concept – banking to the poor was heresy to formal sector banks just a decade or two ago. MFIs that use technology in an innovative and effective way can bring about disruptive change and leapfrog their competition.

Primary Focus Areas

Microfinance organization must take a holistic approach to review, revise and streamline organization or network-wide operational processes and governance. A sound planning framework is required to develop a strategic Information & Technology Plan based on the organization’s long term business strategies. MFIs of all sizes cite technology and the “core” back-end software in particular as one of their biggest challenges.  It is the back-end that is the heart, the processing engine – processing thousands of transactions on a daily basis that enables MFIs to grow and scale their operations. “Core” back-end software may not be as hip and cool as the attention grabbing front-end technologies but without it MFIs cannot survive. A good number of MFIs do have a “core” back-end, however a significant proportion of those systems are not supporting the growth and increased impact of the institutions running them. MFIs must invest in a good, robust, and scalable “core” if they are serious about growing their operations effectively and efficiently.

‘Core’: The Processing Engine

Strong core MIS (Management Information Systems) enable MFIs to process large numbers of relatively small transactions efficiently, and can provide insight into an MFI’s business that enables MFI leadership to tune their products and operations to more effectively serve more poor clients. A core MIS system can provide MFIs and their stakeholders with the tools to more effectively measure both financial and social performance and, in turn, enable the MFIs to tap new sources of capital and tune their business for greater impact. Innovations like mobile banking, ATM integration, new products and business models need to be tied together in order to achieve network and scale. Those innovations must plug into and be supported by strong back-end technology to transform the innovations into a new baseline of operations for MFIs. Even though ‘core’ is the processing engine for MFIs, it is preferred that they should buy the software instead of developing it in-house. Mote to the point MFI's must actively consider gaining access to such software using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) approach. The SaaS approach opens the door for Microfinance Institutions to more easily afford robust and scalable core banking software.

Conclusion

Microfinance is a high touch, high cost business. As a business model, its greatest challenge is to lower operating costs in order to reduce the cost of service borne by borrowers. Hence it must marshal its resources to identify areas of greatest potential for lowering operating costs, and execute relentlessly to achieve these cost savings using technology where appropriate. MFIs must continue to take prudent risks to grow and scale their operations and to lower their operating costs through the use of technology – customers are counting on it.

References :

http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.9.35203/

http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.10622/

Why SaaS & Microfinance (Microfinance & SaaS)?

Microfinance is one of the most celebrated tools for the reduction of poverty.  By providing access to financial services such as microcredit business loans, savings accounts, and insurance of crops and property, microfinance gives the poor the ability to stabilize their financial condition and ultimately carve their own path out of extreme poverty. 

One of the most important features of microfinance is its sustainability, which requires the application of rigorous business principles.  Loans are made, crops are insured, and savings are administered such that the microfinance institution (MFI) can effectively manage its exposure and ensure that its current customers pay for its ability to service future customers.  This business rigor, however, creates a critical need that is not being effectively met within today’s microfinance industry; the need for technology to collect, analyze, and manage large volumes of data.

The microfinance industry has become increasingly aware of its need for quality back-end technology solutions, but has had great difficulty accessing solutions that are appropriate to their unique context.   After many years working with MFIs, the MicroPlanet team has identified the two most critical barriers that inhibit broader adoption of technology by MFIs, shortage of and lack of access to good technology skills, lack of MFI's ability to pay for robust core banking (MIS) software and lack of process focus. 

While there are certainly other challenges relating to technology in the microfinance sector, these gaps create critical constraints that must be addressed in order to unlock the potential of microfinance to continue to grow and ultimately achieve self-sustainability.

A SaaS solution ... 

• enables the Microfinance Institution (MFI) to afford a much needed scalable and robust “core” back-office software, and it better positions them to substantially enjoy lower upfront costs (it removes the financial Capex burden, i.e. from having to incur high upfront one-time capital costs, to one of an ongoing Opex based costs) and palatable quarterly subscription-based pricing, which enables MFIs to focus on their growing demands in a cost effective way.

• lifts the technology burden (of having to support complex technology) from the Microfinance Institution onto the SaaS service provider. The Microfinance Institution  does not have to worry about how it will manage this complex technology and how it will acquire skilled IT staff locally to manage such technology. 

Hence, Microfinance + SaaS = Saas + Microfinance = is the right solution for Microfinance Institutions.

Is SaaS Appropriate for Microfinance?

Yes, indeed ... provided it is reasonably priced, offers the right functionality, experienced expertise in managing and monitoring of the IT Infrastructure environment, and responsive Help Desk support.

For more info, check out the following links on SaaS, Microfinance and how the two can be leveraged to bring forth an innovative set of services to address the dire need within the Microfinance sector for access to robust and scalable core banking (MIS) software that is affordable:

http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.43928/

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1604741

http://advice.cio.com/nomadic_cio/cloud_computing_saas_microfinance_institutions_a_win_win_for_all


MicroPlanet Technologies offers robust and scalable core banking software that is not only affordable but is also easy to use, and offers the experienced world class support team to manage this SaaS environment on a 24x7.

Check out the MicroPlanet Technologies website ... microplanettech.org

MicroPlanet Technologies launched to offer SaaS to the Microfinance sector

Launched www.microplanettech.org ... to offer Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) an affordable way, using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), to gain access to robust, scalable core banking (MIS) software.

Interesting and useful tech websites

Idealware - a candid review of nonprofit software ... http://www.idealware.org/

LINGOS - Learning website for NGOs ... http://ngolearning.org/default.aspx

Place to find free open source software ... http://sourceforge.net/

Techsoup ... http://home.techsoup.org/pages/default.aspx

The following offers impact & investment reporting frameworks, one covers the nonprofit sector whilst the other focuses on the microfinance sector ...

IRIS - Impact Reporting and Investment Standards ... http://iris-standards.org/

Mix Market - the source for data on the global microfinance sector ... http://www.mixmarket.org/

More to follow.