"The Simputer is not Merely a Do-Good Initiative; it has Economic Payoffs"

The Simputer, a computer that has been designed as an 'affordable computing device' for people who are not technologically-savvy, has generated widespread interest worldwide. The UNDP Report on Human Development (2001) described it as a 'technology with great promise for the developing countries' while the New York Times declared it the Biggest Innovation of 2001. Designed by a team of IISc professors in Bangalore, and manufactured by PicoPeta in collaboration with BEL, the Simputer is a first-of-its-kind initiative by an Indian IT company to make a global product while addressing the digital divide. An exclusive interview with PicoPeta Computers' CEO Swami Manohar by ICFDC.com's Adite Chatterjee.

ICFDC.com: How did the Simputer idea emerge and what makes the Simputer such a revolutionary product?
The Simputer is a revolutionary product, not because of any specific technology that has gone in, but for the promise of attacking the problem of digital divide with refreshing novelty. The Simputer is not merely a do-good initiative. It has tremendous economic payoffs. Since 1998, when the Simputer initiative started, the term "developing countries" has been replaced by the more fashionable term "emerging markets" in realisation of this fact. In the areas of ICT, I believe that the Simputer set the trend globally, bringing everyone’s attention to the huge economic possibilities if these markets are tapped. In 1998, in Bangalore the idea of building a universal access device, named the Simputer - a term that was coined by me - was proposed which led to the Bangalore Declaration. From then until 2001, work on the development of the prototype - hardware, software as well as packaging - started. On 25 April 2001, the Simputer Prototypes were formally unveiled and in May 2005 PicoPeta Computers, a startup, was created by four professors of the IISc to commercialise the Simputer. PicoPeta Simputers converted the prototype into a manufacturable product. This took more than a year and half since building a complete handheld computer had not been done by anyone in India before. PicoPeta forged an alliance with BEL for manufacture. Based on this experience and feedback from the market, we redefined the Simputer in January 2003 to create the Amida Simputer, which is PicoPeta's brand. Hence the Amida Simputer is a BEL-PicoPeta Simputer.

While ease of use is touted to be the Simputer's main benefit, particularly for the not-so-technologically-savvy, one criticism is that it is not really a computer and is far too expensive for a souped-up PDA. Your comments.
The Simputer has won wide recognition around the world. It finds prominent mention in the UNDP report on human development (2001) as a technology with great promise for the developing countries. It has been written about in all the major newspapers (New York Times, Guardian, Le Monde) and magazines in the world (TIME, Fortune, Asiaweek) and also covered by all the major television channels (CNN, BBC, CNBC). The Simputer team won the first Dewang Mehta Award for innovation in Information Technology (2002); listed as one of the ten green technologies by TIME; short listed by the Far Eastern Economic Review as an innovative technology. The New York Times declared the Simputer as the biggest innovation of 2001; ahead of the Apple G4 and Windows XP. Unfortunately, with all thee media attention, the digital divide has been confused with the financial divide and the Simputer to some became a 'cheap' computer. While simplicity and universal access were central to the technology, it was meant to be an affordable but not a cheap computer. It quickly became clear that the poor justifiably view anything created for them to be cheap, and of course the rich will not touch anything meant for the poor. This was a case of a double whammy.

Why was the Simputer launched with such a small production run? Wouldn't that make it more expensive?
The Amida was born out of our realisation that we had to create an aspirational product. It is only when the haves buy into the idea will the have-nots also aspire for it. As an example, while the one rupee sachet shampoo was a big hit in rural India, it is unlikely it would have been so if the poor had not aspired for it for several years before.

Since the conceptualisation of the Simputer in 1998, we have had visibility, admiration, criticism, and advice in huge quantities. The one thing in scare supply has been investment. PicoPeta has so far received only about half a million US dollars in investment, all from NRIs who have appreciated both the vision and the financial potential that the vision offers. That we have built a complete product - from concept to retail sale - with this investment has been viewed with disbelief by industry and investment veterans. To create a large production run of a product that is defining a new category is a risk no one has been willing to take. It is to the credit for BEL that they have invested in an inventory of 10000 units. Costs will come down significantly only when we scale to a million, an irrational task for a new category. That brings us to the fact that builds a product for the emerging markets, cannot rely on economics of scale, but on economics of efficiency. Currently there are three models of the Amida, ranging in price from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Our costs efficiencies are are such that given a committed order of, not a million, but just 10,000 units, the colour Amida can be delivered at a price of Rs 12.000!

What are the main markets for the Simputer. And what kind of response has it received so far within India and abroad?
The main market for the Amida in India and then other emerging markets. A range of enterprise uses:
* Playwin using Amida for their inventory management
* Sify using Amida for their network field engineers
* Bhoomi-Suggi Project: 200 plus Simputers for over two and a half years for harvest data collection.
* Similar e-governance applications started in Chhattsigarh with over 900 Amida Simputers.
* Microfinance by Cashpor, funded by ABN AMRO
* Health monitoring by Tuberculosis Institute of India with WHO funding.

How are you marketing the Simputer?
Marketing the Amida Simputer is a major challenge. Since this is a new category we have so far been constrained by lack of funding in launching a major marketing drive. We expect to raise the resources this year.

Are there plans to launch newer versions of the Simputer which will enhance the functionality of the Simputer?
There will be a continuing route map for the Amida Simputer. However, a critical difference will be that earlier products will not be made obsolete and the rate of introduction of new products will be appropriate for the Indian market.

What are the main barriers that you face in making Simputer acceptable and accessible to those who are not computer-savvy?
The major barrier for acceptance by non-computer savvy people is the fact that in our society, people consult the so called computer savvy people. The computer savvy people, compare the Amida with their mental model of a computer and hence compare it to a laptop or a PDA. Most likely a PDA. This is the proverbial apples to oranges comparison. The Amida is not a satellite to a PC, like every other handheld device today is designed to be. The Amida is designed to be an independent computing device. The Amdia is the only handheld that has not one, but two USB Master ports. This allows it to connect to a range of peripherals. This brings us directly to the fact that marketing is the key to breaking the barrier to the widespread acceptance of the Amida. And significant investment is needed to move forward. And that is where our current focus is.

What is your vision for Simputer and PicoPeta?
To be a successful global brand and product company.


[Adite Chatterjee, 15 June 2005]