User:Namrata Kothari/sandbox

I’m a lot into PDA…
Before we all get excited, I was referring to PDA as Personal Digital Assistant ;)

particularly the service types on smartphones namely Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, Amazon's Alexa, and Google’s Now. Nokia too (that aims to gain market share in the smartphone market) recently filed a patent for ‘Viki’, a PDA to rival competitor offerings from Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google.

Nokia has not specified the embedding or usage of Viki for products or services, probably because it is mulling over points of differentiation over competitor offerings.

To take a brief overview, it appears Nokia’s competitors have covered all grounds and maintained distinctive offerings for respective PDAs -

- Apple's Siri targeted to perform all home-management tasks i.e. connected household appliances

- Microsoft’s Cortana targeted to perform all office tasks i.e. setting reminders/creating calendar appointments

- Amazon’s Alexa targeted to perform all transactional consumer tasks i.e. order movies/food/checking bank balances

- Google’s Now targeted to perform all non-transactional tasks i.e. conducting searches

Where can Nokia’s PDA fit…

We @Business Intelligence and Solutions were brainstorming and came up with a thought -

- Nokia’s Viki targeted to perform Personal Finance/Investment Management tasks

PDA for Personal Finance/Investment Management are popularly known as ‘Robo-Advisors’;

Robo-Advisors are automated/algorithmic, low-cost, investment management services operating primarily through mobile platforms.

Why can Nokia’s PDA fit…

Nokia’s PD(F)A i.e. Personal Digital (Financial) Assistant ‘Viki’ Can Be -

- A algorithmic hedge fund, as from 2015 - 2016 data it is evident that 3 algorithmic hedge funds namely DE Shaw, Citadel and Two Sigma topped a list of the all-time Top 20 Best Performing Funds as compared to actively managed funds

Or

- A algorithmic retirement planner, that deduces (along with permutations & combinations) the corpus required for comfortable retirement based on data entry of 3 fields namely desired retirement age, savings and expenses

Or

- A algorithmic robo-advisor, that offers benefits of automated portfolio rebalancing (Tracking the client profile and mapping in against market dynamics on real time basis. Any significant change in either of the two triggers portfolio rebalancing, without human intervention);

low cost (Traditional financial advisors charge 1% - 2% annual fees that reduces the net return on portfolio. Robo-Advisors charge only a fraction i.e. 0.1% - 0.5% annual fees);

wide demographic market (Gen Y and Z or millennial investors that are smartphone-savvy and retirees both require minimal-intervention fund/investment management services)

The popularity of Robo-Advisors is evident from the FUM of firms/platforms using Robo-Advisors namely Wealthfront, Betterment, FutureAdvisor, Personal Capital, Learnvest, Financial Engines, Vanguard, Schwab and 8 Securities Asia - currently at $0.25 tr expected to be over $2.2 tr by 2020. Also, many of the traditional active fund management firms are joining in the fray by launching Robo-Advisors - Merrill’s Merrill Edge Guided Investing, Raymond James’s Connected Advisor, LPL Financial and BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor and UBS partnering with SigFig.

Nokia’s PD(F)A i.e. Personal Digital (Financial) Assistant ‘Viki’ Can Be -

- A highly flexible end-to-end service capable of scaling-up to mass market within one - two months. The service can be launched in any geography, language and currency; thus Nokia’s Viki can override peer offerings and help Nokia garner a larger market share.

For similar market research queries / current market estimates / demand/potential analysis, kindly contact me at - namrata.kothari@rediffmail.com ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

3 signs of good research
Signs of good research

Although, this is a done-and-dusted topic and much has been written, discussed and concluded about this - until market research (MR) exists - this topic will continue to be in vogue!

'''So why now? and why again?'''

My recent experience in working with few syndicate MR firms, brings me to revisit this topic. While working with such firms, I came across many instances where the clients complained about poor quality of such "off-the-shelf" research reports and many of the clients actually felt robbed (of the price paid) with little/much left undone and unachieved - an anguish to the clients and the analysts alike! Irrespective of syndicate or consulting type of research, it is important for the analyst to be convinced of the quality first - the client conviction automatically follows!

What indicates good research?

An analyst (and the client) will be convinced of his work when he sees any or a combination of following 3 signs:


 * Findings get validated and stand true - even years after completion of the project: During my analyst-days in FY08, I worked on a consulting project, 'Factoring in India' market. The client was happy with the findings, as we came to know during the post-project completion call; and to my immense happiness, I came to know that the findings (numbers) were tally/match and stand true...according to a key market player's interview published five years later in FY13.


 * Research methodology gets validated - by related news articles: When I was working with a syndicate MR firm in 2014, we were posed with a research problem of finding sales of premium smartphones in some states in India. I thought about looking at the VAT collected on such phones in those states; and this news article published in 2016...endorsed the research methodology.


 * Findings and excerpts from research - are pitched in marketing brochures: When working with this new venture, I worked on a custom project, 'CAD Systems' market in few shortlisted states in India. The client used the findings and excerpts from my research report for pitching to his clients; and reported a much positive response from the end-clients.

To conclude?

All these years - be it analyst or managerial role, I have always benefited from looking for and ensuring (wherever possible) at least one of the above-mentioned signs for all of my research assignments. Monetary aspect aside, these 3 signs and the following client feedback have given me immense benefits and delight in working in the fascinating field of market research! :)

Do these 3 signs of good research work for you too?

For similar market research queries / current market estimates / demand/potential analysis, kindly contact me at - namrata.kothari@rediffmail.com ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

How Is Medtronic Making Impossible => Possible?
A while ago, when I was working on the Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems (CGMS) market (report, that was purchased by the likes of Dexcom, Merck Group);

not only did the findings fascinate me - but also left me speculating/skeptical about certain trends and developments in the market!

I was fascinated with how the market has evolved from -


 * Simple POC Glucometers to
 * Next-generation POC Glucometers to
 * (Rx market) CGMS to
 * (OTC/POC market) Smartphone-connected CGMS/ Wearable and smartphone-connected CGMS!

While I worked out the potential/estimates of stand-alone CGMS and CGMS devices with insulin pumps, what fascinated me further - was latent demand /untapped potential arising due to stringent regulations around Tight Glycemic Control (TGC) + cost-savings generated/customer segment when stand-alone CGMS are used!

What left me speculating/skeptical - was the concept of ‘Smart’ diabetes management solution ‘Bionic/Artificial Pancreas’! I thought of the ‘Bionic/Artificial Pancreas’ (in literary overtones) as a “completely implausible plot” - but,

Medtronic has made me and all other naysayers and detractors shut-up - as it discusses results of "Pivotal Trial of a Hybrid Closed-Loop System in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)" this very month! The Hybrid Closed-Loop System is taking it an inch-closer to ‘Bionic/Artificial Pancreas’.

In its Diabetes Management business division, Medtronic (in literary overtones) isn't “resting on its laurels” - neither resorting to just incremental innovations/variants in single product line nor solely resorting to inorganic growth as some of its peers.

So then, how is Medtronic Making Impossible => Possible?

Medtronic is "Getting It Right" on the basics and marketing strategies -


 * Product - The company is on-track to submit the PMA for pioneering product, Hybrid Closed-Loop System to the FDA this month. Also, a partnership with IBM Watson to imbue such Hybrid Closed-Loop Systems with cognitive and predictive abilities, that will help manage episodes of ‘hyperglycaemia’ as well as ‘hypoglycaemia’ inching-closer to pioneering ‘Bionic/Artificial Pancreas’. Its product line also includes unique-feature rich product/insulin pump, can automatically shut-off delivery of insulin (in episodes of ‘hypoglycaemia’). Medtronic’s further getting it right on Product by developing such CGMS that work exclusively/restrictively with its own product/insulin pumps.


 * Pricing - Medtronic’s getting it right on Pricing by forging alliance with re-imburser, UnitedHealthcare that renders Medtronic the preferred provider of insulin pumps in many commercial and Medicaid plans. Such restrictive reimbursement leaves patients little/no scope to opt for competitor’s insulin pumps. The company can thus command premium upwards of $7,000 on CGMS devices with insulin pumps.


 * Promotion - The company is completely changing the customer landscape from doctors to re-imbursers with its exemplary alliance with UnitedHealthcare, that will steer it free from controversies/malpractices observed in the marketplace (currently) and render added benefits in Pricing


 * Place - Medtronic’s getting it right on Place by focusing on Diabetes patient-base rich target markets of China and India, for its OTC/POC CGMS

It is therefore explicitly evident, that Medtronic’s Diabetes Management business division sales will grow from high single-digit% to double-digit% soon; and with its re-investment (R&D spend %) in this division, it is highly likely, that

Medtronic will be able to first develop, patent and market ‘Bionic/Artificial Pancreas’ Making Impossible => Possible!

For similar market research queries / current market estimates / demand/potential analysis, kindly contact me at - namrata.kothari@rediffmail.com