Acer India Flagship Lounge at Jayanagar Caters for both New Products & Service Centre

Acer India, one of the largest PC vendors in the country, announced the launch of its first flagship store in Bangalore. The lounge will showcase the entire range of newly launched Acer products across notebooks, smartphones, desktops, monitors, projectors and tablets. The lounge manifests Acer’s promise of cutting edge tech products for everyone, housing all the latest models, showcasing upcoming launch or previews. The best in class Predator gaming series will also debut there. The lounge is part of a new wave of Acer flagship store imbibed with a new brand philosophy and path breaking retail design concept.

On the occasion, Chandrahas Panigrahi, Senior Director-Consumer Business, Acer India said, “Inline with our growth strategy, we are excited to unveil the first Acer flagship store in Bangalore. The store has been designed to provide consumers with an immersive experience of Acer’s vast range of products and services under one roof. We intend to provide a unique retail experience to our customers and enable them to browse, touch, feel and experience Acer’s latest product portfolio crafted to appeal to the needs of all segments.” He further added, “We want people to walk away with a powerful and memorable buying experience. The lounge has been created keeping in mind the company’s approach towards innovation and is a step in its continuing journey to be responsive to changing user’s needs.”

The brand which is home to innovation and creativity will ensure the store delivers an unmatched hands-on experience across the wide range of Acer products. With a wide array of 16 models and product categories spanning the gamut of Phones, Tablets, Convertibles, Displays and Projectors, the lounge is a technology haven even for the uninitiated.

The philosophy behind this new format of store is to make consulting and troubleshooting a smooth experience. Not only will the employees consult the customers in making a wise purchase decision but they will also power the demo zone for educating the customers about the unique features of the Acer range of products. The skilled and certified tech specialists in-charge of test and repair makes the after sales support experience a delight.  Sudheer Goel, Chief Customer Support Officer, Acer India remarked “Apart from intensive training to the tech specialists in the outlet, we have also invested in adequate stocks of spare parts to make the resolution turnaround time much faster”.

The lounge also have a rich expression of Acer brand philosophy with the right combinations of brand colours, fonts, layouts etc. and immersive lighting, which together contribute to a wonderful shopping experience. Acer has invested considerable amount of time and energy in understanding the art and science of consumer buying experience which is reflected in the elegant layout making navigation effortless.

PNB Housing Finance Expects 30% Jump in Revenues during 2016-17 With 35% Contribution from South India

By Manu Sharma

PNB Housing Finance Limited, a leading housing finance major expects a 30 percent jump in revenues to touch Rs 38,000 or Rs 40,000 crore during the next fiscal (2016-17). The finance company recorded Rs 27,000 during the last fiscal (2015-16) with a 32-35 percent contribution from the south Indian states.

Speaking to the media, Sanjaya Gupta, Managing Director of PNB Housing says, “The last five years say a lot of re-engineering in our set up and also owe the positive results mainly due to the contribution from the southern states. In fact, in 2010 the southern states contributed just 10-12 percent of our business but saw a 3X jump in 5 year’s time. Now we are focusing a lot on technology and also setting up more branches in all four states in the south.”

Gupta remarks that they have also moved away from being just a subsidiary of PNB, a leading PSU bank and have gone in for Public Private Partnership (PPP), where in a new professional management now runs the housing finance company since 2009.

PNB Housing Implements ESS Technology

 On the technology front, PNB Housing has implemented Enterprise System Solution (ESS) on a single platform and one database across all branches. “We have invested a sum of about Rs 60 crore to 65 crore during the last five years and the result is this software which is very scalable and build in-house with partnership from leading vendors like Microsoft. Today we are also on a private cloud so customers can access our services any time anywhere and on any device,” remarks Gupta.

PNB Open More Branches in South

PNB Housing has inaugurated its Zonal Office and Regional Processing Centre in Bengaluru to tap high-growth cities and regions in South Indian market and to garner a larger pie of the business from these zones fuelling its business expansion.

Located at BTM Layout, which is one of the prime locations, the zonal office was inaugurated by Sanjaya Gupta, Managing Director of PNB Housing. The celebration was graced by the promoters of many reputed Real Estate Companies from across the region and various business partners of the company.

Gupta said, “Business expansion is an important element for PNB Housing to carry on the growth momentum and it is essential that we stand closer to where our target customer base is. There are enormous opportunities available in South India and we have aptly honed our efforts to make this zone operationally robust which are now giving rich dividends. To continue with our commitment to support inclusive growth, we plan to strengthen the network in our existing markets and expand in untapped regions simultaneously. We believe that the key to gain optimum output from diversely spread network is decentralization of operations. Bengaluru Zonal office will cater to this growing demand and will serve as the decision making centre for our branches in South India.”

Gupta further explains that at PNB Housing, the primary objective of each member is to meet customer expectations, improve their relationships and foster customer delight. The organization’s wide focus on ensuring highest level of service competency is fuelled by their ambition to be the most admired housing finance company in the country. This zonal office will cater to the entire South Indian market while the regional processing centre will serve the state of Karnataka reaching out to cities like Mysore, Mangalore etc. This will fasten the process of loan disbursement and make it hassle free, smooth and pleasant for the customers in these regions. The new office will also augment operational efficiencies performing as the nerve centre for the state territory.

PNB Housing currently operates with 4 Regional Offices supported by a network of branches in South India. As of Sept 30, 2015, 29% of their total loan book was contributed from South India amounting to Rs 6,222 crore. The company plans to take the total number of branches in South to 14 in the next fiscal by adding 5 more branches.

The company has been registering Y-o-Y growth of over 50% since last many quarters and is now ranked 5^th in terms of Loan Assets Size and 2^nd in Deposits Book. The company displays high level of ethics, integrity and transparency with a robust delivery model including easy online access, doorstep services and a host of other conveniences that make the experience memorable. 

The company enables the people to realize their dream of owning a home by offering customized loan solutions to fit emerging needs of the customers. PNB Housing also offers fixed rate of interest for variety of term 3, 5 and 10 years to insulate customers from macroeconomic volatility and sudden rate of interest fluctuations. The company also introduced 30 years loan repayment term which allows customers to pay lower EMIs and continue the loan for a longer period.

Indian Air Conditioning Market Set to Double Manufacturing Capacity by 2020 With Addition of New Units

By Manu Sharma

The Rs 15,000 Crore, Indian air conditioning and commercial refrigeration market, is all set to make over as it plans to double its production capacity from 4 million units last fiscal to 8 million units by 2020. Indian players like Blue Star will add two more manufacturing facilities in India.

India’s capacity in the global room air conditioning market presently is a mere 3-4 percent while China dominates the industry with almost 50 percent share of the global market.

Speaking to the media, B Thiagarajan, Executive Director & President of Blue Star Limited says, “Even though the Chinese players dominate this market, but off late has seen a sharp decline and we intent to grab on this opportunity and double the Indian market share in the coming fiscal. I consider only Voltas and Blue Star are the pure Indian players with a Make In India tag and we shall along with other Japanese and Korean players drive this growth.”

Industry reports indicate that in the room air conditioning sector, Chinese players’ witness a flat growth last fiscal and this trend may continue this fiscal as well. In fact, out of every 100 units, 80 units are made from China.

Thiagarajan remarks that even the Indian market did witness a de-growth mainly due to the fall in the international market but we are poised to achieve our target by 2020.  

“We are on the verge of revamping our manufacturing facility with the addition of two more units at Sri City in AP near Chennai and the other at Jammu. Both these units will manufacture both air conditioners and refrigerator’s,” he adds.

Blue Star has 4 existing manufacturing facilities at HP, Wada, Debra and Ahmedabad.

In this regard, Blue Star has also announced the launch of a stylish range of air conditioners comprising a wide array of highly energy-efficient as well as eco-friendly split air conditioners for the residential and commercial segments.

The company intends to continue its aggressive thrust in the room air conditioners market and aims to gain a market share of 12% in FY17, in terms of value. Blue Star’s new line-up of room air conditioners consists of over 135 models. This stellar range of air conditioners is in line with the new energy standards prescribed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

“The room air conditioners market in India grew by about 10% during 2015, while Blue Star outperformed the market growing 20%. We find that the room air conditioner segment is becoming more brand-conscious preferring specialist air conditioning players. This trend works to our advantage since Blue Star is perceived to be a premium and aspirational brand, and our rich pedigree and high quality product range is in conjunction with this image. In addition, the brand continues to be a strong player in the corporate and commercial segment which comprises 25% of the overall size. The market for room air conditioners is expected to grow by around 15% in FY17 and considering our 5-year track record of outperforming the market coupled with our impressive new energy-efficient, eco-friendly and smart product range, we hope to achieve a market share of 12% in FY17”.

Blue Star is amongst the first companies to comply with BEE’s voluntary labelling programme for inverter split air conditioners as it has launched 16 models in the 5-star category and 13 variants in the 3-star category, as per the new BEE standards. All models have been designed to operate non-stop even at 50°C. 

The entire range of star-rated inverter split air conditioners is equipped to function smoothly within a voltage range of 160V - 270V, without the aid of an external voltage stabiliser. This is of a huge advantage in locations with high voltage fluctuations. 8 of the 16 models of 5-star inverter split air conditioners will be equipped with a ‘smart’ Wi-Fi feature which enables the customer to operate the machine from any remote place within the Wi-Fi network.

Lenovo & Juniper Networks Partner for Next-Gen Data Center Infrastructure Solutions

Juniper Networks and Lenovo the industry leader in network innovation, today announced the commencement of a global strategic partnership to leverage synergies in their respective product and technology portfolios to build the next generation of  converged, hyper-converged, and hyper-scale data center infrastructure solutions for enterprise and web-scale customers. The alliance reflects a shared commitment to deliver simplified, flexible, and high-performance solutions that will provide customers faster time-to-application value with reduced operating costs.

With an extensive portfolio of x86 based servers and switches, Lenovo is at the forefront of the movement toward converged and software defined offerings. Juniper is a market leader in networking innovation with its comprehensive portfolio of routers, switches, network management software, network security products and software-defined networking technology. The partnership is expected to enable customers to leverage Juniper’s strengths in networking and Lenovo’s recognized leadership in x86 server reliability¹ and networking access to derive manageable, scalable, and simple infrastructure for their data center.
 
Below are the key planned principles of the partnership:

·         Customers will be able to purchase Juniper’s broad portfolio of networking products directly from Lenovo for easier acquisition, as well as consolidated support.

·         With the move to disaggregation of hardware and software in the data center, the two companies intend to bring open, flexible solutions to market, leveraging the ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) model.

·         Keeping in mind customer needs for fast provisioning and easy administration, both companies expect to collaborate to offer simplified management and orchestration in the datacenter leveraging Lenovo’s xClarity management software as well as Juniper’s Network Director and Contrail SDN software.

·         In addition, the two companies plan to collaborate around go to market on a worldwide basis targeting enterprise customers, service providers, channel partners as well as system integrators.
Lenovo and Juniper aim to develop joint go-to-market plans and a tailor-made resell model to address unique localization requirements in China.

“Partnering with Lenovo expands Juniper’s strategy to deliver a full-stack solution for a wide-range of data centers, from the mid-range enterprise to private cloud and to hyper-scale customers. We are excited about collaborating with Lenovo to leverage the full power of our IP-networking portfolio based on JunosOS and Contrail, in delivering the next generation of converged, hyper-converged, and hyper-scale solution to customers in China and globally,” said Rami Rahim, chief executive officer at Juniper Networks.

“Lenovo is on a mission to become the market leader in datacenter solutions. We will continue to invest in the development and delivery of disruptive IT solutions to shape next-generation data centers. Our partnership with Juniper Networks provides Lenovo access to an industry leading portfolio of products that include Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions – essential for state-of-the-art data center offerings,” remarks Gerry Smith, Lenovo executive vice president and chief operating officer, PC and Enterprise Business Group.

Enterprise-Class ERP Now Available on the Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft Corp.  announced that its next-generation cloud ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX, built on and for Microsoft Azure, is now available in 137 markets in 40 languages. The enterprise-class business application brings the power, speed and intelligence of cloud computing to people and organizations to achieve more.

“Customers from around the world are using the cloud in incredible ways to accelerate and transform their business,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise. “Today’s release is an exciting milestone extending Microsoft’s business cloud offerings. It’s now possible for organizations to run their entire business in the cloud with Microsoft — from productivity with Office 365, to business analytics with Power BI and Cortana Analytics Suite, customer engagement with Dynamics CRM and business operations with Dynamics AX.”

Customers across the globe are already using Dynamics AX to run their business processes in the cloud — from single domains like human resources and manufacturing to end-to-end business. Companies already live in production include Hagler Systems, Haldex, Icon, Renault Sport Formula One Team, Priva, Smiles, Travel Alberta and Umbra Group.

The new Dynamics AX moves beyond traditional business solutions and brings ERP, business intelligence, infrastructure and database services together in a single offering, empowering organizations to run industry-specific and operational business processes that are extendable with specific solutions from partners. Wednesday, Microsoft announced more than 50 ISV solutions that are available on the Azure Marketplace. These Microsoft-curated, pre-configured industry and vertical solutions help customers discover and implement the solution they need quicker than ever before and, like Dynamics AX, enable fast consumption of updates and improvements. In addition to the 50-plus solutions already available, hundreds are in development today.

The new Dynamics AX takes the capabilities of Lifecycle Services (LCS) to the next level. Businesses will be able to combine the best practices for their mission-critical apps with the flexibility and simplicity of upgrade via the cloud. With LCS, Dynamics AX will formalize the concepts of development, test and production, making the ongoing upgrade quicker to implement and deploy and easier to manage.

“Lifecycle Services represents a shift in how companies manage the life cycle of an ERP system in a way that’s never really been done before,” said Josh Greenbaum, principal analyst, Enterprise Application Consulting. “The ability to test in the cloud and use the cloud’s natural elasticity and functionality to take the test, flip a switch and make it the actual production environment, that truly is magic.”

Harnessing the power of the Azure cloud, Dynamics AX provides enhanced security along with global availability and scale, enabling businesses and people to work more safely anywhere, anytime while respecting the data sovereignty requirements of global customers no matter where in the globe they operate.

“We do everything through Dynamics AX now; we manage virtually all of our operations,” said Thomas Mayer, chief operating office, Renault Sport Formula One Team. “Having what I need to run my business available anywhere in the world is invaluable.”

“We are bringing massive amounts of data into our business to help control building climates and horticulture environments. That is a huge business transformation, and the cloud was the only way forward for us to make that real,” said Paul Ossewold, vice president, Digital Operations, Priva. “To manage our company with 10 offices around the world, we need systems that are fast. That is what Dynamics AX in the cloud is giving us, and we couldn’t be more excited to be one of the first customers on board to take advantage of this new solution.”

Modern solution for modern businesses

Dynamics AX delivers a simple, beautiful, and modern user interface that is touch-enabled for the devices people use today. People can interact with the system with ease, as Dynamics AX works like other Microsoft applications that people are used to, increasing adoption and usage. The new intelligent user experience is also optimized to deliver value to organizations through the ability to make smarter decisions with increased speed.

“ERP is core to our business operations and critical to building and delivering products to our customers,” said Ben Hagler, co-founder, Hagler Systems. “We chose Dynamics AX because of its robustness. The UI is amazing and available anywhere. It makes us device-independent. We can get work done everywhere with increased speed.”

Dynamics AX delivers the proven business logic of a complete business suite, enhanced with new constructs such as Workspaces that provide a collaborative canvas unifying key performance indicators, business intelligence, views of critical data, processes and actions to power business user productivity. The Financial Period Close Workspace, for example, dramatically streamlines this critical, complex process.

Software vendors that partner with Microsoft have expressed their excitement over the potential this new solution offers the industry, representing a turning point in the ERP industry as cloud ERP solutions are adopted by customers to run their business-critical operations.

“This release is further proof that Microsoft is leading the charge with innovations not just in ERP but in cloud,” said CEO Peter Maaten from Microsoft partner HSO. “Dynamics AX will be a game changer for enterprise customers.”

Customers can sign up for the service today as the new release is available as a monthly subscription in three simple versions that include a self-serve user, a Task user and an Enterprise user. Businesses can get up and running quickly and match their business growth easily by adding business processes and users with this simple and transparent pay-as-you-go model.

Intel Security Helps Protect Samsung Devices – Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge - with McAfee VirusScan Mobile Security

Intel Security has announced that new Samsung Galaxy S7 customers can enjoy its mobile security solution designed to help keep them safe from a growing number of mobile threats. Samsung Galaxy S7 and GalaxyS7 edge will come pre-installed with McAfee VirusScan. With this collaboration, Samsung customers will be better protected with anti-malware technology that is already helping to provide a more secure mobile experience to more than 40 million Samsung Galaxy users globally.

Historically, mobile malware has been something of an afterthought for cybercriminals, with most of their efforts focused on the desktop or laptop. However, over the past several years, there has been a dramatic increase in sophisticated and complex new malware targeting mobile devices. According to Intel Security’s Mobile Threat Report, three million devices were affected by malware solely through mobile app stores over the past six months. Additionally, Intel Security found that in Q4 2015 mobile malware samples increased 24 percent compared to Q3 2015.

“As consumers grow increasingly reliant on their mobile devices and use those devices for sensitive transactions, increased protection against malware is critical to better securing their data,” said John Giamatteo, corporate vice president at Intel Security. “Intel Security is combatting these growing mobile threats by collaborating with consumer brands like Samsung to help keep customer’s mobile devices more secure so they can experience the connected world with confidence.”

“Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge users can feel more comfortable in navigating the digital world with enhanced protection by the latest anti-malware solution that Samsung offers,” said Henry Lee, vice president of Mobile Security Technologies of Samsung Mobile. “Smartphones have become an extension of our everyday lives, and it is important that we provide our users with a high level of protection designed to help keep their personal data safe in their Samsung device.”

McAfee VirusScan Technology

McAfee VirusScan is an anti-malware system that scans apps and files on both the device and SD Card, helping to prevent corruption from a variety of malicious codes, from viruses to Trojans. For more information on McAfee VirusScan mobile security, visit the product data sheet.

Availability

McAfee VirusScan anti-malware technology from Intel Security is currently shipping as a pre-installed feature for Samsung Galaxy S7and Galaxy S7 edge and already exists in Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge and Galaxy Note 5. No additional purchase is necessary.

Enterprise Biz of Tata Comm Growing 30% YoY; Bullish on Data

Tata Communications today said it will continue to invest in the data business which is expanding strongly and also driving growth.

"Our data business continues to grow very strongly across geographies and segments especially with our new services. Our enterprise business growing 30 per cent per year," Tata Communications Managing Director and Group CEO Vinod Kumar told reporters.

He also said that the company's deal with Vodafone's South African arm Vodacom for selling its stake in Neotel failed after 21 months of talks "due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction as well as certain conditions not being fulfilled".

The deal was originally signed in May 2014 wherein Vodacom had reached an agreement to buy Neotel, controlled by Tata Communications, for 7 billion rand (about Rs 3,200 crore).

In dollar terms, the value of transaction at that time was around US$676 million.

Tata Communications owns over 68 per cent stake in South Africa's largest fixed line telephone service provider Neotel.

Kumar said that company's data business is now driving growth and Tata Communications will continue investing in it.

The revenue of Tata Communications from voice solutions declined by about 5 per cent to Rs 2,009.54 crore from Rs 2,114.14 crore while that of data and managed services segment increased 16.7 per cent to Rs 2,723.3 crore from Rs 2,332.67 crore during the October-December quarter.

The company is also in discussion to divest its stake from data center business which it expects to close in next financial year.

The Tata Communications global network includes infrastructure includes one of the largest submarine cable networks and a Tier-1 IP network with connectivity to more than 240 countries and territories, as well as nearly 1 million square feet of data centre space worldwide.

The company provides services to telecom operators in various countries by connecting their local network with global telecom network.

With 2000 Operators YatraGenie Goes Pan India in Online Bus Ticketing Services

YatraGenie Services Pvt Ltd, a hyper market place for bus, cab and hotel bookings has expanded its bus ticketing services to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar by partnering with more than 2000 bus operators. By Mid 2016, YatraGenie plans to aggressively expand across India by launching its services in more than 200 cities. 

Renil Komitla, CEO of YatraGenie services Pvt Ltd said, “After a strong presence in the Southern of India, we are now looking for a next phase of growth.  We believe that there is an untapped potential for the strong value proposition that we provide to our operators as well as our consumers.  Through this expansion, we hope to replicate the success that we achieved in the south”

 For its Pan India operations for bus ticketing service, Yatragenie has partnered with 2000 bus operators with more than 100,000 bus tickets to be sold. Popular names like Orange Travels, SVR, SRS, VRL, Kesineni are some of the bus operators that YatraGenie has partnered with.

Launched in 2013, Yatragenie is currently operational across 60 cities in South India.  It undertakes more than 5000 bus ticket bookings everyday and has partnered with more than 750 operators across south India.

YatraGenie is one among the fastest growing companies in the online travel sector and it has raised $2.5 million funding from Sillicon Valley’s Entrepreneur and Investor Ash Bhardwaj and RRK Holdings LLC.

Ryuichi Otsuki Succeeds Domme as CEO of Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems Corporation (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. today announced that Jack Domme will lead Hitachi’s Social Innovation business in the Americas reporting directly to Hitachi, Ltd.President and CEO, Toshiaki Higashihara. In this role, he will focus on accelerating Hitachi’s Social Innovation business, primarily in the areas of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the development of smart cities. To focus on his new role, Domme will be leaving his position as CEO of Hitachi Data Systems.

Domme served for seven years as CEO of HDS, where he led the transformation of Hitachi Data Systems from a storage provider into an information solutions company. He was appointed to this new role because he has demonstrated the ability to lead global transformation, execute on a long-term strategic plan, and outpace the market in revenue growth. Hitachi’s Social Innovation business opportunity is the unifying strategy that brings together the power and breadth of the entire Hitachi, Ltd. group to deliver IoT and smart city solutions. 

Domme has been named Chairman and CEO and a member of the Board of Hitachi Information and Telecommunications Systems Global Holdings Corporation (HIGH). In this role, he will be responsible for enhancing collaboration between Hitachi Consulting (HCC), Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), and other Hitachi Group companies in supporting the achievement of the Hitachi Social Innovation strategy for the Americas region and beyond. He will continue as Vice President and Executive Officer of Hitachi, Ltd., as well as Chief Executive of the Americas.

“There has been no greater or more transformational opportunity for Hitachi than Social Innovation,” said Domme. “Hitachi is not only a pioneer in the development of smart cities and the Internet of Things, but we also have a unique ability to deliver on the promise of each. No other company in the world has both the industrial and operational expertise, along with decades-long leadership in information technology. And those are exactly the elements required to be a leader in this market. I am very excited and humbled by the opportunity to help lead Hitachi through this next major transformation.”

Ryuichi Otsuki will succeed Domme as CEO of Hitachi Data Systems. Otsuki joins HDS from his role as Vice President and Executive officer, General Manager of SocialInnovation Business Promotion Division and Deputy General Manager of Corporate Sales & Marketing Group at Hitachi, Ltd. Otsuki joined the HDS board in 2009 and has been instrumental in the development of HDS’ long-term strategy to expand its portfolio in the areas of infrastructure, content and analytics linking to Hitachi’s Social Innovation vision – making the Internet of Things that matter a reality.

“Social Innovation is the most significant initiative Hitachi has undertaken in its 106-year history,” said Otsuki. “We are transforming businesses and societies to deliver better outcomes for people around the world, and Hitachi Data Systems is instrumental to Hitachi delivering on this strategy. I want to thank Jack and his team for positioning this company so well for further success, and I look forward to working closely with him in his new role to continue to grow HDS and our global Social Innovation business.”

These new executive appointments will be effective April 1, 2016.

Accenture’s Liquid Application Studio will Accelerate Digital Businesses with Rapid Application Development

Accenture has opened its first Liquid Application Studio in Redwood City, CA, a new facility designed to help businesses dramatically accelerate application development by using contemporary architectures, reusable components, automation tools and leading software development methods.
 
Working at the studio, companies pair with Accenture software engineers to prototype and develop a wide range of custom applications using cloud infrastructure and platforms, rapid application development principles such as Agile and DevOps, intelligent automation, lightweight frameworks and plug-and-play, micro service-based architectures.
 
The studio’s mission is to deliver on Accenture’s Future of Applications vision today. It helps companies define and deliver applications which are liquid, intelligent and connected. Clients can also experiment with emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things and wearables that have the potential to transform their operations and customer experiences.
 
“In every industry, new competitive frontiers are being defined by software,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, group chief executive, Accenture Technology Services. “Business cycle times are shrinking and competitive barriers are disappearing. Speed to market is the new essence of software delivery in the digital world. The Liquid Application Studio can help deliver innovative solutions to businesses with speed and agility.”
 
The Accenture Liquid Application Studio is strategically located in Silicon Valley – the world’s innovation hub and epicenter of advances in software engineering. The studio works closely with the Accenture Labs in San Jose and the company’s Open Innovation program to take emerging technologies out of the lab and start up community and into development for large enterprises. Accenture is also recruiting for top technology talent locally.
 
Some of the studio’s initial work with ecosystem alliances includes developing a DevOps analytics dashboard with Splunk to help a large media and entertainment company identify inefficiencies in its software development processes. They are also developing use cases and prototypes for improving retail logistics with location services from Glympse, and helping hospitality companies improve guest experiences and venue operations by using VenueNext’s time and location based technology platform to deliver in-venue mobile ordering services and content.
 
The studio also offers modernization and migration services to help companies make legacy systems future ready for the digital world. And, it applies intelligent automation to testing and other phases of delivery, to help cut the cycle time from weeks or months down to days.
 
“Clients can come and work from this studio collaboratively with Accenture and use the power of Accenture and its alliances to create innovative solutions for their businesses,” said Ghosh. “The need for speed in business is real. It demands new mindsets and ways of working, which we expect to become more the rule than the exception going forward.”

Simplilearn & EXIN Partner to Bring Live Online Gamified Training

Simplilearn, the world’s largest provider of professional certification courses, announces its partnership with EXIN, the global independent certification institute for ICT-professionals, to launch the industry’s first digital training in EXIN Agile Scrum Master (ASM) Simplilearn is providing training on agile and scrum concepts through live online instructor led training with Gamified sessions to drive high interactivity among learners.

With over 41.5 project management jobs to be created by 2020, Scrum is the future of project management professionals. Together with EXIN, who is providing the accreditation, Simplilearn has designed the course that provides learners an immersive experience on the SCRUM Master philosophy, delivering the highest of value to all aspiring professionals. With more than 240,000  Scrum jobs in the United States alone, the online EXIN Agile Scrum Master course will provide a more accessible and affordable opportunity for aspiring students and workers alike.

Ankur Arora, Head of Category at Simplilearn said, “Simplilearn has been delivering learning through future ready technologies that addresses practical concerns of our learners. This time too, we took a step ahead and partnered with a global accreditation body like EXIN to deliver EXIN Agile Scrum Master Training, a contact intensive program online through livegamification, reducing the time to master Scrum methods. The course will help aspiring Agile professionals learn how to manage modern day business settings that happen with geographically-spread teams.”

Scrum Master Courses have traditionally been taught by trainers globally in a physical classroom setting, namely because of the hands-on nature of the program - naturally optimized for teams operating in the same geographic location. With more dispersion amongst teams in the modern day business setting, Simplilearn’s online offering was built to accommodate both local and geographically-spread teams, using live online group activities/games.

Robert-Jan Willemsen, Chief Commercial Officer at EXIN, commented, “Simplilearn has become the first of its kind training provider to deliver EXIN Agile Scrum Master Training online through an instructor led training model. This approach will add great value to all Agile aspirants and we are confident that Simplilearn will continue to be a valuable strategic partner in times to come.”

With a unique product proposition, every student will gain access to attend multiple batches of the instructor-led training over a 90 day period for the same fee, ensuring a high level of conceptual clarity and the ability to re-attend an unclear session. The Scrum Master course comes with three games/case studies and 2 projects.  

Phase V of Nasscom 10K Konnect Sees 100+ Strartup’s from Karnataka

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), organized the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups ‘Konnect’ session in Bengaluru providing a conducive platform to the various startups shortlisted for its fifth phase.  The event took place in the presence of Ravi Gururaj, Chairperson, NASSCOM Product Council who gave interesting insights to the participating startups on ‘How to Pitch’. NASSCOM’s phase five Konnect is focused on identifying, supporting, incubating, and accelerating innovative technology start-ups in India.

Startups who had applied to be a part of 10k program in the last few months were considered for Phase 5 shortlisting and for the 10K Nurture program. This nurture program aims to provide a single platform for funding, mentoring, and enterprise connect, for all the 10K program shortlists. Over 100 shortlisted startups pitched to 40+ investors and 25+ corporates at the two day long Konnect session held at NASSCOM 10k startup warehouse in the city. The session allowed Startups to meet investors, incubators/accelerators and industry partners in a speed-dating format. The program aims to organize similar Konnect sessions at five other cities which include Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Kochi.

On the occasion,  Rajat Tandon, Vice President, NASSCOM 10k Startups, said, “Bengaluru is known to be a hub for great talent and innovation. We had received great response from the city for our Fifth phase. At NASSCOM, we have been nurturing and empowering startups through a variety of programs and activities involving entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders. Konnect is yet another effort of ours which offers a strong platform to the aspiring entrepreneurs to not only meet investors and industry leaders but also to understand the dynamics of this thriving ecosystem. NASSCOM is committed to build a vibrant tech start-up ecosystem in the country and are proud of all the applicants that have showcased an incomparable spirit of entrepreneurship. We hope to continue on this sustained growth path to evangelize the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The Bangalore Konnect session started off with the keynote address by Lalit Mangal, Co-founder-Commonfloor highlighting the current stature of the startup ecosphere. NASSCOM 10k Super stars (Hiree & Bookpad) from the previous batch of Konnect shared insights on what worked for them and how one can make use of the 10K ecosystem. The event was an action packed day with a host of sessions conducted to empower startups; pitching, go-to-market and growth hacking followed by investor speed dating.

NASSCOM 10,000 Startups, is a startup incubation program whose objective is to create 10,000 domain specific startups in the country by 2020.For the fifth phase, NASSCOM has shortlisted 200+ domain centric applications from startups, which will provide a detailed overview of their business idea and the market opportunity. To sustain the overall economic growth it is imperative to have more entrepreneurs in the country that will transform the landscape and propagate development. The program enables a number of entrepreneurs to setup and grow their businesses and in the process propel India’s economy.

InfrasoftTech Bags TANCUBFED Core Banking Contract Account

InfrasoftTech, a leading technology enabler specializing in digital solutions for the banking and financial services sector with over 450 clients in 36 countries, has been recently awarded a contract by Tamil Nadu State Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks (TANCUBFED) for implementing Core Banking Solution and other e-banking services in 128 Urban Co-operative Banks in Tamil Nadu.

On the occasion, Rajesh Mirjankar, CEO & Managing Director, InfrasoftTech, said “We are proud to be associated with TANCUBFED. This is a first of its kind project in India for Urban Co-operative Banks wherein banks across the entire state of Tamil Nadu will be operating on a single core hosted platform. This automation project will enable the banks to leverage the power of Private Cloud infrastructure to provide seamless digital transformation of operations, transaction management, improvement in customer service and efficient reporting to internal and regulatory authorities. This provides the banks a competitive edge over offerings and capabilities of commercial banks. ”

The automation process will be executed by implementing InfrasoftTech’s OMNIEnterprise Core Banking Solution. The OMNIEnterprise Core Banking Solution effectively supports the entire business operations of a bank – from the front office through operational workflow, the back-office and accounting. OMNIEnterprise Core Banking Solution is an enterprise solution that enables a bank to have a single view of its customer, offer service delivery through digital banking channels and quickly respond to customer and market demand while managing risks and regulatory compliance.

Yogesh Paralkar, Head of Sales for India, stated “This is a historic moment for InfrasoftTech which re-emphasizes our market leadership position in Core Banking in the co-operative banking segment. We would like to thank TANCUBFED and the Banks for this opportunity. We appreciate their vision to choose ‘Application Service Provider’ model for this project. As their technology partner we will ensure that the project meets all success parameters for application, infrastructure, capacity building and networking.