Thursday, April 28, 2016

Over 5600 Applications So Far for IET India Scholarship Award 2016


The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) witnessed incredible participation from the engineering community with over 5,600 registrations for its 4th edition of The IET India Scholarship Awards 2016.

Highest number of applications are from Tamil Nadu this year, followed closely by Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka follow. 

IET India instituted the annual IET India Scholarship Awards in 2013 to underscore the organisation’s commitment to India’s engineering community and to incentivise young people entering the engineering and technology profession.

The scholarship provides a combined grant of Rs. 8 lakhs and is designed to reward and celebrate individual excellence and innovation among undergraduate engineering students by challenging them to solve the social causes with their technical know-how.

The IET India Scholarship Award is organized in four levels, from eligibility to theoretical and practical engineering case resolutions. The focus of the award is to demonstrate economically, socially and technologically viable ideas to resolve challenges around our society.

“We are absolutely delighted with the response we have received so far for the IET Scholarship award. It is one of the focused initiatives of The IET, as it underlines the organizations commitment to create an enviable brain pool of engineering community in India. It gives me great joy to reward and celebrate the ingenuity of these undergraduate engineering students”   says Mr. Shekhar Sanyal, Director and Country Head, The IET India.

The deadline for submission of applications is April 30, 2016. For more details please visit – http://scholarships.theiet.in 

HPS’s Digital Transformation Business Helps in IIoT Benefits


Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has announced it has established a new business unit to help manufacturers harness the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and more rapidly deploy technologies that will allow them to better manage and analyze data, making their operations safer, more reliable and more efficient.

“Since HPS’s introduction of the modern automation control system, we have helped plants and manufacturing sites around the world use an increasing amount of data to solve customer’s productivity and safety challenges” said Vimal Kapur, HPS president. “As manufacturers are looking to take the next step to manage and exploit data across multiple sites in locations across the globe, our new business unit will be a focused resource to provide that expertise.”

Andrew Hird has been named vice president and general manager of Honeywell’s new Digital Transformation unit and will report to Kapur. Hird most recently served as HPS’s global vice president of sales, where he gained exposure to customers in industries ranging from oil and gas and mining to power generation, and pulp and paper. Hird has more than 20 years of industry experience, including 12 years with Honeywell.

“Honeywell’s deep expertise in IIoT allows us to solve customer challenges by consolidating data in the cloud from multiple disparate systems, applying higher-level analytics and leveraging experts who are often physically remote from the customer site,” Hird said. “Honeywell is in a unique position of being the recognized leader in automation and control room solutions for a wide range of process industries, plus we have advanced knowledge in connectivity with OPC UA, cyber security and advanced software development.”

OPC UA is Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture, a machine-to-machine communication protocol. 

IPO Opens on April 28, 2016 for Ujjivan Financial with Price Band of Rs 207 – Rs 210


Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd. (“UFS” or the “Company”) is a Non Banking Financial Company – Micro Finance Institution (“NBFC-MFI”) which started operations in 2005 as a Non Banking Financial Company (“NBFC”). As of December 31, 2015, UFS has served over 2.77 million active customers across 24 states and union territories through a network of 470 branches and 7,862 employees. The IPO opens on April 28, 2016 and closes on May 02, 2016, with a price band of ` 207 – ` 210 per Equity Share of face value of ` 10 each. The Anchor Investor Bid/Offer Period shall be one Working Day prior to the Bid/Offer Opening Date, i.e. April 27, 2016.

The IPO consists of a fresh issue of Equity Shares aggregating up to ` 3,581.61 million by the Company and an offer for sale of up to 24,968,332 Equity Shares by Elevar, FMO, IFC, IFIF, MUC, Sarva Capital, WCP and WWB. The Company, in consultation with the BRLMs, has completed a Pre-IPO Placement of 14,236,057 Equity Shares for cash consideration aggregating to ` 2,918.39 million. The size of the Fresh Issue as disclosed in the Draft Red Herring Prospectus dated December 31, 2015, being ` 6,500 million, has been reduced accordingly.

The Offer is being made through the Book Building Process, wherein 50% of the Offer shall be allocated on a proportionate basis to Qualified Institutional Buyers (“QIB Portion”). The Company and the Selling Shareholders, in consultation with the BRLMs, may allocate up to 60% of the QIB Portion to Anchor Investors on a discretionary basis (“Anchor Investor Portion”), at the Anchor Investor Allocation Price. At least one-third of the Anchor Investor Portion shall be reserved for domestic Mutual Funds, subject to valid Bids being received from domestic Mutual Funds at or above Anchor Investor Allocation Price. In the event of under-subscription, or non-allocation of the Anchor Investor Portion, the balance Equity Shares shall be added to the QIB Portion. 5% of the Net QIB Portion  shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Mutual Funds only, and the remainder of the Net QIB Portion shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to all QIB Bidders (other than Anchor Investors), including Mutual Funds, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Offer Price.

Further, not less than 15% of the Offer shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to Non-Institutional Bidders and not less than 35% of the Offer shall be available for allocation to Retail Individual Bidders in accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations, subject to valid Bids being received at or above the Offer Price. All potential Bidders (except Anchor Investors) shall participate in the Offer mandatorily through the Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (“ASBA”) process.

Any Bidder who, either by himself directly or indirectly or along with the relatives, or associated enterprises, or persons acting in concert (as described under section 12B of the Banking Regulation Act) (“Other Persons”) associated with it, Bids for such number of Equity Shares that (along with the existing aggregate shareholding in the Company of such Bidder and the Other Persons associated with such Bidder), results in such Bidder, together with the Other Persons associated with such Bidder, holding 5% or more of the post-Offer paid-up share capital of the Company, shall obtain a valid and subsisting approval of the RBI to be eligible to acquire and hold, after considering its existing shareholding if any, in the Company, together with the existing shareholding in the Company, if any, of the Other Persons associated with such Bidder, 5% or more of the post-Offer paid-up share capital of our Company, either individually or on an aggregate basis with the Other Persons associated with such Bidder, as the case may be, subject to the subscription level in the Offer.

The Company proposes to utilise the Net Proceeds of the Fresh Issue for augmenting its capital base.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Axis Capital Limited, ICICI Securities Limited and IIFL Holdings Limited are the BRLMs to the Offer, while Karvy Computershare Private Limited is the Registrar to the Offer.

The Equity Shares of the Company are proposed to be listed on the BSE and the NSE.

ITC Infotech Implements PTC’s FlexPLM 10.2 for Fashion Students of University of Huddersfield



ITC Infotech, a global scale full service provider of technology solutions, has completed implementation of PTC’s FlexPLM 10.2 for UK based University of Huddersfield for its Fashion and Textile Buying Management course. ITC Infotech is also providing PLM training and assistance to the University’s lecturers, to enable faster adoption and deeper understanding of the technology platform.

The academics use PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) to teach the key stages of apparel product development within their course, thus providing opportunities to develop creative business skills and an understanding of the fashion and textile sector for the next generation of industry professionals.

The University of Huddersfield recognizes the value of PLM and is the first UK University to adopt a PLM approach for its Fashion Textiles Buying Management course. The institute has introduced PLM education at all levels in the course in order that graduate students enter employment with a baseline of the solution knowledge, recognising the realistic outcome it can generate, the problems it can solve and opportunities it can provide.

ITC Infotech provided the solution installation and implementation on the University’s servers as well as advising the Fashion Textiles Buying Management team on how best to configure the system to meet the needs of the course curriculum. Additionally, ITC Infotech provided training services to the University’s lecturers to get them up to speed on using the solution and PTC provided the requisite FlexPLM v10.2 licenses.

Hardeep Singh Garewal, President – Europe, ITC Infotech, said, “Implementing and installing PTC FlexPLM v10.2 for Huddersfield University has been a very interesting and rewarding journey. ITC Infotech has been enabling clients in the Retail and Fashion industry to create and adopt cutting-edge technology solutions and analytic tools to help them stay ahead of the competition. Our engagement with Huddersfield University truly reflects the collaboration of academia and business, working together to prepare the next generation of professionals.”

With the successful implementation of the solution, PLM experience has become a key differentiator in competitive employment markets.

“Our students now benefit from a tiered integrated industry technology focused learning experience” stated Jo Conlon, Senior Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield, “firstly as individual users of the FlexPLM 10.2 system, then at a process management level and finally exploring strategic real world applied opportunities for extended and innovative PLM technologies. We have benefited enormously from the expertise and commitment of ITC Infotech to support and embed each stage, developing a rich understanding of PLM as a holistic business process solution.”

PTC's Windchill-based enterprise solution for the retail and consumer industries is designed to address both industry-specific challenges as well as everyday business pressures. It offers a high-performance, Web-based platform that provides line planning, product specification development, materials management, sourcing, costing, quality and compliance features with full supply chain collaboration capabilities.

ATOM & Eka Software Partner Eco-System to Support Growth in Energy and Agriculture Industries


Eka Software Solutions, the leading global provider of Smart Commodity Management software solutions, announced today its partnership with ATOM Solutions, an IT consultancy serving commodities companies. This partnership provides commodities companies with a third party source of experience from a team of domain experts with a substantial history of successful implementations.

ATOM Solutions delivers technology oriented solutions and services to companies involved in the commodities chain. The company works with clients to develop IT strategy and to craft and implement technology solutions by leveraging ATOM’s deep domain expertise and by employing industry best practices.

"Since the recent launch of Commodity Analytics Cloud, we’re seeing growing adoption of analytics by the commodities market as well as continuing interest in our ETRM and CTRM platforms,” said Michael Schwartz, EVP & CMO at Eka. “Based on our strong pipeline, we expect the remainder of 2016 to be a very good year for Eka. We’re excited to partner with a company such as ATOM that has tremendous industry expertise and an impressive track record implementing ETRM and CTRM software solutions.”

Eka's Smart Commodity Management includes Commodity Analytics Cloud, an advanced analytics solution that brings commodity specific analytics to all business users, and InSight CM, a next-generation ETRM and CTRM integrated system for managing commodity transactions end-to-end throughout the value chain. These two solutions provide the analytical and operational solutions that commodities companies need to manage in today’s complex and volatile markets.

“Our team of industry veterans has deep experience advising customers on the selection of ETRM and CTRM software solutions as well as successfully implementing solutions utilizing our OnTarget Project Delivery Methodology™,” said Firoz Jhaver, CEO at ATOM Solutions. “We are very excited about forging this new relationship with Eka and educating the marketplace about their solutions. The Commodity Analytics Cloud platform in particular is very intriguing to us as we see tremendous potential for its adoption in the industry. Eka has created a paradigm shift by decoupling analytics from its core product. This enables the solution to be used across all systems utilized in an organization; including competitive E/CTRM software used in ‘best of breed’ environments. We look forward to working closely with Eka to help our mutual customers rapidly realize value from their IT investments.”

Eka has built a strong partner eco-system to deliver industry-leading solutions that bring business value to customers around the world. The partner eco-system consists of top tier partners whose hardware, software, and services complement Eka’s offerings.

MintMesh Unveils a Smart App for Referral from Trusted Networks


MintMesh, a US based technology solutions provider announced the launch of its smart referral app that helps users find referrals from their trusted network. MintMesh is a lead discovery platform that connects with the user’s phone contacts to create a network of trusted connections. Leveraging this network, users can set up referral campaigns for a variety of purposes.

MintMesh is a one of its kind application that offers its end users an opportunity to earn cash and build social currency points for helping their network. They do so by responding to referral requests from their network. Amongst the millions of apps in the marketplace, MintMesh stands out due to its unique business model of sharing wealth with its users. It also aims at saving on time by sending out the referrals in less than 15 seconds and receive real-time responses that are algorithmically accurate, based on organized data within the user’s database.

Speaking on the launch Rahul Shah, Co-founder and Director of MintMesh said, “This is for the first time that an app will allow its users to earn money by making referrals. We believe that word of mouth is a very effective medium to grow your business, hire candidates, find service vendors and get a new job, however, it suffers from the limitation of physical reach, thus reducing its impact. With our smart referral app one can dramatically expand the reach of this medium.”

“Additionally, Small and Medium Businesses who rely mainly on word of mouth will benefit greatly by adopting this channel to grow their business. Service providers and businesses can lower their marketing costs as the app does not charge a fee for posting a request,” he added.

Ajay Rayaroth, Managing Director of MintMesh in India commented, “Job referrals continue to be the most effective source for hiring, yet the adoption and reach of these types of referrals is not wide spread. Our differentiated model provides a discovery fee for every qualified referral candidate, irrespective of the candidate getting a job. This increases the chance that every user making a referral gets rewarded. Recruiters can harness the power of their corporate and social networks. The model is a win-win as it reduces recruitment costs, time to hire and encourages engagement.”

HDS Adds Native NIAS & Cloud Tiering to Virtual Storage Platform


Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd has announced new upgrades and additions to its Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) G series portfolio designed to reduce the ongoing costs of traditional environments and exploit and monetize data, which is too often trapped in silos of technology. 

Digital transformation has put data at the center of business strategy and has made IT a key element of corporate success, but is also putting new pressures on IT to modernize processes, systems and skillsets. To help break down data silos and modernize storage management, Hitachi Data Systems has embedded NAS functionality, cloud optimization and enhanced VMware integration into VSP G400, VSP G600 and VSP G800 storage platforms to simplify and accelerate data center modernization efforts. 

Optimized for the Cloud
Customers continue to re-assess their IT strategies to find ways to optimize and reduce the ongoing costs of traditional storage and cloud services, but they are in need of flexible solutions that can address disparate environments such as virtualization, remote and core data centers and dynamic cloud strategies, to meet infrastructure requirements for a variety of applications. As a cloud-optimized, unified storage platform, the VSP G series was built to meet these needs and continues to exemplify Hitachi’s strong investment philosophy in innovation, with more than 4,000 patents in SAN and NAS -related technologies.

Today’s announcement adds the option to include two high-performance NAS modules in the VSP G400, VSP G600 and VSP G800 systems. These modules help to reduce capital expenditures by providing a single, SAN and NAS storage platform for all workloads in a compact form factor. Operating costs also decline, as VSP G series systems require less power, cooling and space in the data center. Adding further cost control, the new unified VSP G series offerings allow customers to leverage existing infrastructure investments regardless of environment – whether for remote offices where IP infrastructure is dominant to data centers utilizing robust Fibre Channel technology or a cloud environment employing Hitachi Content Platform (HCP), 

Hitachi Managed Cloud Services, Microsoft Azure or Amazon S3 cloud services. The data migrator to the cloud software feature allows customers to create  automated and intelligent, content-aware data management policies. These policies ensure that data is automatically and seamlessly tiered to private, public or hybrid cloud platforms and freeing up critical Hitachi Accelerated Flash resources for Tier 1 applications.

Efficient and Granular Control of Virtual Machines
Hitachi continues to be in lockstep with VMware to deliver on the vision for software-defined storage with full support for VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes. This support allows customers to maximize resources, reduce storage complexity and increase efficiency by enabling application-specific storage service levels to be applied to each virtual machine (VM). In addition, Hitachi Virtual Infrastructure Integrator 3.0 delivers scalable VM protection by simplified VMbackup, recovery and cloning services for VMware vSphere-based infrastructures.

Comprehensive Infrastructure Analytics
Available across the Hitachi VSP family, the new Hitachi Infrastructure Analytics Advisor (HIAA) delivers increased performance while reducing costs and risk through intelligent analytics. HIAA quickly and proactively identifies, diagnoses and helps resolve potential performance and capacity issues, including those concerning third-party storage. The software identifies opportunities to improve performance and reduce risk through intelligent analytics with preemptive alerts. Customers can drive down costs with comprehensive capacity and performance planning using enterprise-scale IT analytics with long-term historical trending.

Hitachi Data Systems is the only IT vendor to address customer workload requirements from entry to mainframe with a single storage software platform. The powerful software capabilities built into Hitachi Storage Virtualization Operating System (SVOS) allow the entire VSP family to offer flash optimization. SVOS further supports native heterogeneous storage virtualization and multi-site, active-active storage as well as fully compatible data migration, replication and management from a single interface. Hitachi SVOS provides system element management and advanced storage functions, such as storage virtualization, thin provisioning, service-level controls, performance instrumentation and security across multiple storage platforms.

Accenture and Splunk Form Alliance to Help Hawaiian Telcom Enhance Business Operations


Accenture and Splunk entered into an alliance relationship that integrates Splunk products and cloud services into Accenture’s application services, security and digital offerings. Accenture is helping clients use Splunk solutions to improve business outcomes by mining vast amounts of application and operational data to identify trends and improvement opportunities that were previously difficult to detect.
 
Accenture is expanding its network of trained Splunk practitioners in order to meet significant client demand for operational intelligence solutions. Accenture and Splunk are also collaborating and bringing to market new packaged solutions, the first of which integrates Splunk analytics into 
Accenture’s Managed Security Services. Accenture will provide Security Information Event Management (SIEM) As-a-Service to clients, using Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) to deliver advanced threat detection, correlation, search and incident management capabilities. Additional solutions may be tailored to various business areas including digital, marketing and sales.
 
Hawaiian Telcom is one of Accenture’s first clients to take advantage of its intelligent application management services, infused with Splunk technology, to help mine  business insights and expand monitoring of the company’s core IT ecosystem.
 
“Deployment of this new platform leveraging an intelligent delivery strategy strengthens our position as Hawaii’s technology leader,” said Amy Aapala, Vice President of Information Technology and Order Management Systems at Hawaiian Telcom. “The real-time insights gleaned from our customized dashboards enables our team to be more strategic and proactive on a day-to-day basis, which ultimately improves our customer service and increases productivity.”
 
“Our alliance with Splunk is another strong example of how Accenture is impacting our clients’ businesses with ‘new IT.’ By mining and analyzing machine data from back-end systems, call centers, web traffic, inventory levels, shipments and more, IT can play a greater role in influencing business performance, not just IT performance,” said 
Bhaskar Ghosh, group chief executive, Accenture Technology Services. “We’re integrating Splunk’s platform for operational intelligence into our global application service offerings and delivery teams, bringing robust new capabilities to our clients at scale. We can also deliver this capability through our new intelligent automation platform, Accenture myWizard, to help turn data into critical insights that drive improved business outcomes.”
“As one of the largest global systems integrators, Accenture will help broaden access to Splunk’s platform for operational intelligence to organizations that have not yet tapped the power of machine data,” said Doug Merritt, President and CEO, Splunk. “By analyzing machine data, organizations gain end-to-end visibility into operations and make better informed business decisions. We are thrilled to work with Accenture and leverage its innovative best in class technological experience to further deliver operational intelligence around the globe.”
 
Accenture Technology Services adopted Splunk internally, with a focus on helping IT organizations become more business-centric. Using Splunk® Enterprise, Splunk Cloud, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk User Behavior Analytics and Splunk IT Service Intelligence, Accenture is developing and rolling out operational intelligence solutions that span the entire software development lifecycle. Additionally, any team can build their own Splunk-based application and host it with a central app store for other teams to use. Accenture has developed numerous Splunk applications to date, spanning software development, IT operations, security monitoring and business operations.

Seven Best Practices for an Effective Project Management Office


Project management offices (PMOs) are increasingly being challenged to prove the value they provide, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner has identified seven best practices that PMO leaders should employ to improve the effectiveness of project, portfolio and program management (PPM) and demonstrate they can support the wider organization and its strategic goals.

"Digitalization and bimodal IT are just two examples of the many developments in the business environment that the PMO must support,” said Mbula Schoen, senior research analyst at Gartner. "A failure to evolve and adjust to such changes can result in a PMO being misaligned with an organization's goals, and therefore being seen as failing to deliver value."

Gartner has identified seven best practices to help PMO leaders adapt to such developments and demonstrate the PMO's value to the business.

1. Acquire the Right People, Knowledge, Skills and Collaborative Behaviors
This is the cornerstone of a highly effective PMO. When project managers who are part of a PMO act like administrators, they erode the PMO's credibility and make it appear to be focused only on everyday tasks and deliverables. This neglects a crucial part of effective IT project delivery – driving strategic change within an organization. "People are generally averse to change, so it's critical that the PMO hires staff with who can drive change in the face of resistance," said Ms. Schoen. "Project managers within the PMO need a broad range of 'soft' skills in communication, conflict resolution, persuasion and facilitation."

2. Identify and Execute High-Impact, High-Visibility Initiatives
It can take years to build a track record of improving PPM maturity and getting better IT investment results. It is, however, possible to quicken the process by identifying "easy wins" and improving delivery for a few highly visible and important PMO projects. It's critical to demonstrate the value of the PMO. This will ensure stakeholder commitment and support for future PMO-driven initiatives.

3. Report on What the Business Really Cares About
The business's view of the PMO is inconsistent. Business executives generally agree the PMO should report on the status of projects and programs, but most don't think it does this adequately. "The reality is that most PMOs are providing status reporting for projects and programs, but the perception of many business executives suggests either that there's a breakdown in communication or that the reporting isn't fit for purpose," said Ms. Schoen. "It's important to check that reporting provides organizational leadership with status information that supports effective decision-making."

4. Build a Framework That Shows How the PMO Aligns With Strategic Enterprise Objectives
A clear framework is essential to articulate the PMO's alignment with the continuously evolving organizational goals and direction. It also serves as an aid to identifying goals and milestones along the road to resolving obstacles and issues that block strategic success. In essence, it's key to communicating the PMO's value. What is often overlooked is the need for the PMO to define strategic goals with senior IT managers and business leaders. Unless this is done, the PMO's work is rarely perceived as valuable, however well it's carried out.

5. Provide Senior Managers with Simple, Unambiguous Information
PMOs are routinely perceived as failing to provide the kind of data that senior managers want. This leads to a disconnection between expectations and perceived reality. PMOs need to shift from a belief that "the more detail we give, the better" to an iterative evolution of reporting that provides leaders with the kind of information that supports them in their role. For time-starved senior managers, short, precise and informative reporting is most effective. These are busy people who want the "bottom line" — they expect the PMO to work with them to identify and provide this information.

6. Highlight the PMO's Achievements
Agreed metrics are important, but they should be complemented by promoting the PMO's success stories to the organization. This is less about "hard" numbers and more about the tangible benefits that are recognized by stakeholders, such as how shorter timescales for project completion have contributed to the solving of key business problems (overlong time-to-market for new products, for instance). In terms of benefits that are hard to measure, it may be appropriate to use surveys to measure the value the PMO provides.

7. Evolve the PMO to Support Bimodal IT and Digital Business
The PMO must adapt its service model to support the technological changes at the heart of every growth and innovation-led transformation project. For example, a PMO may have been formed several years ago, with the economic downturn being the primary driver. At that time, cost reduction and efficiency were the main desired outcomes, but the same business may now be far more concerned with flexibility and speed of delivery. 

Consequently, the PMO's configuration and staffing may no longer be ideal and may need to change to reflect the new focus. "An effective PMO continuously reexamines its processes and capabilities to ensure they are in line with the current needs of the business," said Ms. Schoen.

Gartner clients can read more in the following publication: "Seven Best Practices for a Highly Effective PMO."

Rayat Bahra & Oracle University Signs MoU for Three Specialized Degree Programs


Rayat­Bahra University (RBU) joins Oracle University under the Oracle Workforce Development Program (WDP) launching three specialized Degree Programs using Oracle technologies: Oracle Database and Analytics, Java and Oracle IoT (Internet of Things), and Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). RBU, established in 2014 by an Act of the State of Punjab, is a part of Rayat­Bahra Group (RBG) founded in 2001 in India. The RBU promotes access, equity, affordability and excellence in education and requisite industry collaborations.
                                                 
Through the Oracle Workforce Development Program, Oracle University aims to provide education and certification programs that give students relevant job skills in an increasingly competitive global work environment. The partnership offers a unique opportunity for RBU to leverage authorized Oracle trainings and certifications to enhance the IT skills of youths in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and other parts of the country. Oracle Certifications provide a proven industry-recognized measure of ability and skills, and are highly sought after by individuals and companies alike.

As an Oracle WDP collaborator, Rayat­Bahra University (RBU) will gain access to the job oriented and industry-ready curriculum developed for the benefit of students in professional programs of engineering and management. The launch of the cutting edge undergraduate and postgraduate programmes was done in the presence of Mr. Jose Koshy, Country Head, Oracle University, India; Gurvinder Singh Bahra Chairman; Prof. Raj Singh, Vice-Chancellor, RBU; and Dr. Sandeep Kaura, Pro Vice chancellor, RBU.

“We are delighted to work with Rayat-Bahra University on this initiative. This resonates with the government of India’s Digital India & Skill India vision. Through Oracle University, we would like to build an ecosystem of technical experts who are industry ready and equipped with in-depth understanding on the latest Oracle technologies,” said Jose Koshy, Country Director, Oracle University India.

Under this curriculum, students will either work toward a Bachelor of Technology with a specialization in Oracle Database and Analytics or Java and Oracle IoT, or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with specialization in Oracle ERP solutions under the mutual guidance of industry experts and experienced faculty from Oracle and the RBU.

“We at Rayat-Bahra University want our students to learn the latest technologies to be competitive and industry ready. With this vision, we have joined with Oracle University and are delighted about this opportunity,” said Gurvinder Singh Bahra Chairman, RBU.

Students who graduate from these programs will be eligible for professional and technically skilled jobs such as an IOT developer, IOT architect, software developer, Big Data Analyst, Big Data Analytics Business Consultant, Big Data Analytics Architect, Big Data Engineer, Big Data Solution Architect, Business Intelligence and Analytics Consultant, Metrics and Analytics Specialist, ERP Consultant, ERP Analyst, ERP Systems Analyst, ERP Manager, ERP-Oracle Apps Developer as well as a host of other such career options with organizations nationally and internationally.

UL’s Consumer & Retail Services Testing Laboratory Now in Bangalore


UL, a global safety science company has announced the opening of their Consumer and Retail Services Testing Laboratory in Bangalore.  The new state of the art laboratory will cater to the regulatory and voluntary testing needs of consumer products like textiles and apparel for the Southern and Western regions, which are a prominent base for textile and leather industries. This is the second such facility established by UL in India – the first consumer product testing laboratory was set up at Gurgaon, in 2013.

The Bangalore Laboratory, spread over 4000 sq ft, comprises separate units for analytical, colour fastness and physical testing as per global standards, with latest cutting edge equipment. customers at the new testing laboratory can now benefit from UL’s global expertise to widen their international market access by helping to ensure compliance to a host of safety standards and address product performance and quality.

Commenting on the occasion, Suresh Sugavanam, Vice President and Managing Director, UL South Asia, said, “In our  constant endeavor  to support the Make in India programme, we have helped Indian manufacturers expand and sustain their businesses by facilitating global market access. The Indian market is fuelled with growing impetus for quality assurance, coupled with the increasing awareness for the need for consumer and product safety. Our new laboratory is an extension of the company's commitment to be ‘In India for India’ while striving towards a safer living environment for all. UL will continue to enable manufacturers to comply with environmental standards and regulations by providing an efficient, cost-effective third party testing services.”

Sarbajeet Mukherjee, General Manager - Consumer and Retail Services, UL South Asia said,   “UL’s quality and time bound service has resulted in our customers requesting us to expand our services in Southern India. While catering to our existing and new clients, the laboratory will also help our clients to optimize their product performance with UL expert solutions that mitigate potential risks and help protect their brands.”

Bangalore is already home to UL’s sprawling 40,000 sq ft NABL accredited laboratory that houses advanced facilities for varied sectors like consumer technology, photovoltaic, HVAC, photometry, electrical products, medical devices, and drinking water testing.

Seagate Now Shipping 10TB Helium Enterprise Drive 3.5 HDD


Seagate Technology plc, a world leader in storage solutions has announced it is now shipping in volume its 10TB helium enterprise drives— the Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD. Engineered to meet the storage needs of top cloud service providers, the Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD features the industry’s lowest power and weight for maximum space efficiency at the lowest energy usage— lowering the overall total cost of ownership (TCO) of today’s large scale data centers. Currently the highest capacity drives available worldwide, these innovative new products are now available to purchase direct from global distributors.

“Seagate has the most comprehensive Nearline portfolio in the industry. Each of our Nearline products – including our new flagship 10TB helium enterprise drive shipping today – is designed to help customers take maximum advantage of top technology trends that have the highest impact on their business,” said Mark Re, CTO at Seagate. “While we offer a number of impressive technology advantages, at the end of the day customers really want solutions and insights that help them better leverage the value of their data so they can offer services and capabilities unmatched by their competitors. Seagate’s 10TB helium drive is designed with these market mandates front of mind.”

“Seagate is once again at the forefront of innovation with our Nearline portfolio. Our new 10TB drive boasts advanced write caching capabilities for better performance and the lowest weight and the best energy efficiency in the industry- making this new drive is a real game changer,” said John Morris, vice president of enterprise products at Seagate. “Now shipping in volume to our global strategic customers like Ciara and Supermicro, we are pleased to bring this drive to market with the knowledge that it provides highly-valued and unprecedented performance for our customers’ hyperscale solutions.”
Announced in January in conjunction with partners Huawei and Alibaba, the Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD improves performance by using advanced caching algorithms to help cloud data center managers manage the increasing volume of data more quickly. Featuring Seagate PowerChoice™ technology, the drive helps businesses manage and reduce the ongoing costs associated with power and cooling during idle time, while Seagate’s PowerBalance™ feature helps optimize the IOPS/Watt for even greater efficiency. 

“Seagate’s 10TB Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD expands Supermicro’s hyperscale server and storage solutions optimized for cloud solution providers. With Supermicro’s 4U 60/90 3.5” top-load hot-swap bay server and single expander JBOD storage solutions, Seagate helium-based high capacity drives provide a robust foundation for building OpenStack cloud infrastructure, delivering maximum performance, scalability and capacity density at the lowest overall TCO,” said Don Clegg, vice president of marketing and business development at Supermicro.

“Reliability and performance in a storage solution are key criteria for Ciara’s cloud initiative. Seagate’s new helium-based 10TB Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD meets and exceeds both of these criteria,” said Darcy Letemplier, vice president of engineering, at Ciara. “Our partnership is a natural choice because of our combined intimate knowledge of the storage industry and a thorough understanding of cloud service providers’ needs.”

YatraGenie’s Walkathon Campaign Will Cover Over 60 Indian Cities in 30 Days


YatraGenie, a hyper market for bus, cab and hotel bookings is organizing ‘Walk for public transport,’ a unique initiative to encourage the use of public transportation. The walkathon will commence from Mysore on 1st May and will cover 60 cities across Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in 30 days.

As a part of this campaign, YatraGenie team will closely interact with the citizens at each city and understand the problems pertaining to the local transport sector. Flyers will be distributed and events will be organized for the public to interact and understand the importance of using public transport.

Speaking on the occasion, Renil Komitla, CEO, YatraGenie said, “The traffic situation in our cities and towns is becoming increasingly congested because of the number of privately owned vehicles.  Today, only a minor chunk of the population is interested in using buses and trains. Public transport facilities have been associated with lack of ease and discomfort.  To ensure that the congestion in our cities does not get more critical, it is imperative to create awareness among public for the usage of existing public transportation. Through this initiative, we want to understand the problems that exist in this sector and suggest measures that can be implemented to improve the facilities”

Towards the end of the 30-day campaign, a report will be submitted to the respective State Urban Development Ministry and Central Urban Development Ministry highlighting the problems and the improvements that can be made in the public transport sectors.

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