Industry Expert Predictions for the Indian IT Industry in 2019

By Padmanabhan Iyer, Managing Director & Global CEO, 3i Infotech

In an era where advancements around technology have leapfrogged exponentially, the year ahead will see the Indian IT industry charter new frontiers, driven by innovation, speed and accuracy. The IT industry would see enterprises move towards Industry 4.0, the convergence of Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing among others will enable them to be future-ready.

Driven by technological advancements and data security at the core, we foresee all sectors in the Indian industry in for exciting times and the Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI) and Healthcare segments will be no exception. Complexity brews herein, fuelled by regulatory challenges, uncertain economic cycles, risks, partnerships and alliances, talent management and above all ever-increasing customer expectations.

With this backdrop, the top technology trends to watch out in 2019 would be –

Intelligent Digital Mesh

Intelligent digital mesh, the combination of humans, devices, content, and services is going to emerge as one of the major trends of the year 2019. Businesses have already started adapting this innovative technology to convey advanced results, where technology is embedded in almost every facet.

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning 

With AI and ML already playing a critical role in the assessment and treatment of business KPIs, the IT operations are further set to undergo transformation. In 2019, there will be continued progress toward the integration of AI, ML and deep learning in business applications. AI and ML will enable working with large swathes of data and help converge isolated or distributed data for more informed decisions. There will be a further push to implement machine learning and artificial intelligence into smart devices.

As per a recent industry report, AI will boost India's annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035. Some of the major growth drivers of AI/ML in 2019 would be - specialized chip optimized for speeding up the execution of AI-enabled applications and Industrial IoT, making it the biggest driver of artificial intelligence in any enterprise.

Internet of Things (IOT)

IoT is no longer viewed as a wonder but an enabler. The year 2019 will see incremental use cases of IoT in the Insurance space. Telematics, wearables, voice assistants and home control devices will mature further and will be increasingly adopted. There will be a continued rise in the demand for wearable devices and IoT.

The convergence of IoT and AI will create new opportunities for insurers and better and more customised premiums for the insured. It will enhance process transparency and service delivery.

Robotic Process Automation

The Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is seeing traction in the IT industry. The robots have been modernizing our way of administering business processes, IT support, workflow, remote infrastructure and back-office work.

In the upcoming year, the improvised RPA models will show some dramatic progress in accuracy, cycle-time and increased productivity in transaction processing. RPA will be efficient enough in providing answers to the queries in a natural language which will be a superior way to conserve resources for large call centres and for customer interactions. We will see the further adoption of tools like chatbots, straight through processing and robotic process automation for routine repetitive processes. Chabot will be integral to websites and mobile apps.

Big data and analytics 

Data and analytics have become daily aspects of organisations today across industries, which improvises business processes and optimizes operations. Presently, it is estimated to be $2.71 billion annually in revenues, which is growing at a healthy rate of 33.5% CAGR in India, as per a recent report. However, 2019 will bring a modern version of big data analytics which has evolved through adopting modern and breakthrough technologies. Speed and efficiency are the major benefits that big data analytics will bring to the industry.

Data and data value management is something that is going to dominate our industries over the next few decades at least. Estimates peg that the analytics, data science and big data industry in India is expected to reach $20 billion, by 2025. Prescriptive analytics driving proactive decision making, cognitive technologies reiterating businesses, increasing adoption of cloud-based platforms for big data analytics by major enterprise and start-ups are some of the future trends that we can look forward to, in 2019.

Blockchain

In 2019, blockchain will bring some enterprise applications into the main stream. The most innovative corporations will start using blockchain to improve collaboration. Blockchain will also see itself out of cryptocurrency transactions and will become an integral part of the business platform. Blockchain enables transactional transparency across a variety of business functions. Blockchain will also be present at the core of business innovation in many industries.

According to a recent report, an approximate of 56% of Indian businesses will be making the blockchain technology a part of their core business. Blockchain adoption will depend on regulatory concerns being addressed. The government and the regulators should take an active role in making this happen. In certain countries, we are already seeing action in this space, whereas most are yet to take their step forward.

IIGP 2.0 Showcases Award Winning Technology Startups at Demo Day in Bengaluru

Winners of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) 2.0, showcased their award winning technologies under a Demo Day held in Bengaluru today. The innovations included 12 industrial and 4 social sector technologies, from 2017 and 2018.

The India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) 2.0 is a unique tripartite initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, Lockheed Martin and Tata Trusts. Supporting the Government of India’s missions of “Start-up India” and “Make in India”, IIGP 2.0 enhances the Indian innovation ecosystem by enabling innovators and entrepreneurs through the stages of ideation and innovation, to develop technology-based solutions for tomorrow.

Complemented by several implementation partners, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and the Tata Center for Technology and Design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the programme aims to build an innovation pipeline in India through a high-impact programme focused on the social and industrial innovation ecosystem.

Launched in 2007, India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) has been one of India’s longest standing public-private partnerships. The programme has provided mentoring and handholding assistance to over 400 innovators coming from diverse sectors from across the country; generated over 350 commercial agreements and over $900 Million of economic value for India. (Source: Second Impact Analysis Report by Ernst & Young in 2015).

Through two annual parallel tracks viz. University Challenge and Open Innovation Challenge, IIGP 2.0 identifies and supports both industrial and social innovations.

As part of the Demo Day event, 16 start-ups made presentations about their technologies and also interacted with potential investors and the wider startup ecosystem of Bengaluru.

These start-ups attended an intensive one-week Bootcamp at IIM Ahmedabad which included classroom sessions focused on measuring financial performance, financial modeling and valuation, design thinking, leadership, business models, pricing, etc. as well as one-on-one mentoring sessions, pitching training and networking opportunities. 10 start-ups in 2017 and 16 start-ups in 2018 were selected as winners and received grants worth INR 25 Lacs each as well as an opportunity to
participate in an intensive global exposure visit to the United States of America to learn and access the US start-up ecosystem.

Jawa Motorcycles’ Open New Doors for First Showrooms in Bengaluru

Classic Legends Pvt. Ltd. is proud to announce the launch of its first three Jawa Motorcycles dealerships in Bengaluru. Close on the heels of the launch of first two dealerships in India in Pune, Classic Legends has now opened dealerships in Koramangala, Basvanagudi and Rajaji Nagar in Bengaluru. These outlets are part of the phase-1 launch of the 100+ Jawa Motorcycles dealerships that are on-schedule to be opened across the country. With the outlets becoming fully operational, customers in Bengaluru can now book and test-ride the iconic Jawa and Jawa forty two motorcycles at the following locations in the city:

Koramangala: Square Auto, Ground Floor, Bldg. No. 8 & 9, Krishnanagar Industrial Layout, Hosur Main Road, near Forum Mall, Bengaluru - 560029
Basvanagudi: Synergy, # 56, Subbaramachetty Road, Near Natkalappa Circle, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru 560004, Karnataka
Rajajinagar : Skanda Motors, No.1036, Dr.Rajkumar Road, 4th Block, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru – 560010

The Jawa dealership is a place to make connections with yourself, with like-minded people and with the motorcycles. Its design philosophy is rooted in authenticity, and the ability to bridge the past and the present through its stories and the motorcycles. It is a biker café ambience which tells the tale of the legend that Jawa is.

The space captures the nostalgia of a golden era which celebrated honesty of materials & craftsmanship through its dark polished wood fixtures, subtle inlays, raw textures and vintage oxblood upholsteries. At the same time, the motorcycles infuse a contemporariness in the showroom with their modern interpretation of classic design, loaded with the latest in engine technology and features. The various elements have been designed to present the contemporary classic Jawa motorcycles amidst a visual narrative layer of legendary stories and monochrome lifestyle imagery. Whether it is the large community table setting for free-flowing conversations, the carefully curated bookshelf for the curious reader, or the Classic Rock in the background for the music lover; the space makes everyone feel easy, whether a hard-core motorcyclist or a millennial looking to immerse into the world of motorcycling.

Ashish Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, Classic Legends Pvt. Ltd inaugurated the showrooms, amidst a throng of Jawa aficionados and customers. Speaking at the inauguration, Ashish Joshi, said, “Bengaluru holds a special place in Jawa’s Indian story by being home to the largest Jawa Community in India. Jawa fans in the city have kept the brand alive for all these years and I feel extremely privileged to inaugurate 3 new Jawa showrooms here today. Mysuru and the state of Karnataka are an integral part of the Jawa legacy and bringing Jawa back to this state is a milestone moment for us. The faith placed by Jawa customers, aficionados and our dealer partners is helping us create a vast dealership network which will offer an un-paralleled customer experience with best in-class sales and service offering for any classic motorcycle brand out there.”

Joshi further added, “To our dealer partner, I say, welcome to the Jawa family. We look forward to you growing with us and together being able to provide a new riding experience to all our customers here in Bengaluru. Our dealer partners have been our pillars. They trusted us on the brand value of JAWA alone, before even seeing the products or knowing about the pricing of the motorcycles. It was their confidence in us that allowed us to build the JAWA showrooms the way you see it today. As a custodian of the JAWA brand, it is my obligation on behalf of the entire Jawa team to make sure every Jawa dealer goes out and changes the way classic motorcycles should be sold to the future riding generation. It is very important to us at the JAWA team to make sure every dealer becomes a strong pillar of our growth and it is our promise that we stand fully behind them, now and always. To all our 100+ dealers, we say, that we stand strongly behind you. We will not leave any stone unturned in providing our customers with the best of the sales, service and spares ecosystem.”

Tarun Sharma, Head of Sales, Classic Legends said, “The experience of buying a Jawa will set a new standard in the two-wheeler industry. The faith placed by Jawa customers, aficionados and our dealer partners is helping us create a vast dealership network which will offer an un-paralleled customer experience with best in-class sales and service offering for any classic motorcycle brand out there.”

The Jawa and Jawa forty two break cover as the brand’s new torchbearers, bringing back the classic appeal of Jawa with a retro-cool twist. These modern machines have the authentic Jawa character that balances performance, capability and quality. An all-new 293cc, liquid cooled, single cylinder, DOHC engine nestled within a double cradle chassis is tuned to bring out the superlative handling and class leading stability, making the new Jawa a true modern classic.

The Jawa and Jawa forty two are priced at INR 1,67,000/- and INR 1,58,000/- respectively (ex-showroom, Bengaluru) and bookings are open online at www.jawamotorcycles.com as well as the showroom.

On the motorcycles, Joshi said, “With the opening of our dealerships we are excited that the products are finally into the hands of the fans of Jawa. We have had a very encouraging media test ride session last week and are glad that the feedback has been so positive. Finally all the effort on design, engineering and engine platform has come to bear fruit in the way we had planned it. I would encourage everyone to visit our dealers and take a look at the motorcycles, test ride them to feel the modern classics we have brought out.”

The new Jawa model line-up for India

Jawa: The timeless style and iconic character of the original Jawa is reborn in this new Jawa. With an evolutionary aesthetic that retains the authenticity and familiarity of the past – classy, elegant, sophisticated, majestic - this one is tuned for the legacy seekers. The Jawa in its form and function is the quintessential classic with old world character and truly modern performance.

Jawa forty two: This is the classic that breaks boundaries and experiments. With quirkiness in its design and unconventional traits the forty two is a - toned, muscled, sporty, assertive version of a classic if there was ever to be one! The forty two is meant to appeal to the heart as well as the head.

New Jawa Engine: The 293cc liquid cooled, single cylinder DOHC engine

With a 293cc liquid cooled, single cylinder, DOHC engine, built from the ground up in collaboration with the best of Italian engineering, it is going to be all new, and at the same time, a classic Jawa experience. It packs 27 bhp and 28 Nm of torque with a generous mid-range and a flat torque curve for an unwavering, consistently powered ride. But at the core of its heart and along the length of its classic lines and with every beat of its signature twin exhaust, it is unmistakably the Jawa you will love. The engine platform is built ready for the BS VI norms.

NetApp Strengthens Evolution of Data Driven Technologies Through Research Partnerships in India

NetApp has announced three research grants to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Jodhpur and IIT Kharagpur) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for the advancement of research in the data management space. NetApp is a leader in data management and is known as the data authority in the hybrid cloud world.

For the year 2018, the NetApp Faculty Fellowship (NFF) has been awarded to Prof. Vijay Kumar of IISc Bangalore, to support research in private information retrieval and coded computation to enhance security in the age of Cloud Computing; to Prof. Bivas Mitra of IIT Kharagpur, for research on Machine Learning (ML) based model development for storage system troubleshooting and workload characterization; and Prof. Subhajit Sidhanta of IIT Jodhpur has been granted the NetApp Student Fellowship (NSF) to investigate the trade-off in performance and consistency for widely distributed systems used in IoT and Fog computing.

NetApp’s fellowship program has granted 31 such research partnerships with IP (Intellectual Property) free grants up to USD 20,000 over the last 10 years in India. These partnerships open the door for NetApp’s data management technologies, experience, equipment and lab to be shared with academia, paving the road for research with far-reaching consequences for management and security of data, the foundation of today’s digital transformation. This program has ties with several top technology institutes including the IITs, IISc, Anna University and ISI Kolkata.

Pointing to the true value of industry academia relationships, Deepak Visweswaraiah, Senior VP and MD, NetApp, said, “Through the fellowships, NetApp encourages leading-edge research in storage and data management, and seeks to foster relationships between academic researchers and our technical community. What’s more is that the grants come with no strings attached, and we don’t claim any IP from the research, allowing for open technology propagation. We work on cutting-edge technologies in order to stay relevant in the changing technology landscape and be able to provide future-proof solutions. And the results are showing.”

The program offers recipients, opportunities to conduct research in areas of mutual interest to identify and explore trends such as ML, IoT, AI, Blockchain, Data Lakes, Data Analytics and Cyber Security. The grants also prepare students for jobs in the space of advanced technology as it allows them to apply their research to relevant industry problems under the guidance of supervising professors at top institutes in the country.

Talking about the program, Professor Vijay Kumar from IISc said: “The best research is done when you are working on something which has some practical relevance apart from theoretical interest. What this partnership with NetApp has allowed us to do is to bridge this gap, because by talking to companies, we get a sense of what the data industry is looking for. NetApp has been a huge enabler in this over the years.”

“Through our fellowships program, we aim to create an innovation ecosystem including some of the best scientific and engineering minds in the country. We want to leverage the program to translate research into real-world applications. For instance, people associate Machine Learning with image recognition, self-driving cars, and expert-like machines in games. NetApp has worked with professors from IIT Kharagpur to conduct research on unique capabilities of managing complex systems deployed in cloud computing through ML, thus opening further research areas in the process,” echoed Siddhartha Nandi, Director, Advanced Technology Group, NetApp, and leader of this program.

For example, ISI Kolkata’s Prof. Sushmita Ruj, an NFF recipient, works with NetApp to develop efficient and privacy-preserved data auditing schemes that can help a user keep a tab on the reliability of their data stored in multiple clouds. Cloud security is one of the most talked about topics as data-sensitivity concerns grow with massive cloud adoption. This, and many other such areas of impactful technology research are the cornerstones of this program- leveraging the power of data to transform lives and businesses.

Star India Launches its Landmark ‘Star Value Pack’ Making Sports Accessible to Every Indian at Unbelievable Prices!

In keeping with Star India’s belief that every Indian should have access to high quality sports content including cricket, kabaddi, football along with their favorite dose of entertainment, it has launched the Star Value Pack in 7 languages. Offering unparalleled quality content for everybody in the family, the Star Value Pack has the most compelling channels across Entertainment, Movies, Education and the very best in Sports. Viewers get an incredible line-up of sports properties such as Vivo IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup, BCCI tournaments, Vivo Pro Kabaddi League, Hero Indian Super League and more at unbelievably affordable prices. This initiative is in line with the New Tariff Regime beginning December 29th, 2018 empowering consumers to pay only for what they choose.

Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director- Star India says “We believe Entertainment and Sports play a critical role in shaping the nation. By including Sports in the Star Value Pack, we aim to make it accessible to every Indian and thus change the way Sports has been consumed in the country. The Star Value Pack offers viewers the very best from our wide canvas of content across general entertainment, movies, sports and knowledge at unbelievably affordable rates. We have been entertaining, inspiring and serving millions of viewers across India for close to 25 years now, and are delighted to empower the consumer further with even greater choice and value”

Star Network’s consumer awareness campaign -Star India has unleashed a nation-wide multi-media, multi-starrer campaign to bring the idea of how unbelievably affordable the Star Value Pack offerings is. Mega stars like Darshan Thoogudeepa , Aamir Khan, Mohanlal, Kamal Hassan, Nagarjuna, MS Dhoni, movie stars like Dev, Swapnil Joshi and more are spreading the message to educate the consumers across the nation. They will be joined by prominent Star Suvarna television faces like Aishwarya, Ashwini, Priyanka, Krystina and Chandana.

Thinking of ways to offer even greater choice & entertainment for viewer, Star India, in addition to the Star Value Pack, is giving consumers the choice to select the Star Premium Pack that includes the Star Value Pack content as well as the best of international entertainment, movies, lifestyle and marquee sporting events such as Premier League, Grand Slam events and Formula 1. Available in seven languages, the Star Premium Pack caters to the requirements of the discerning viewer.

Karnataka Bank Ties up with Paisabazaar.com for Home Loans

Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace for financial products, and Karnataka Bank today announced a  strategic partnership to offer the bank’s home loan product to customers on the Paisabazaar platform.

Through this partnership, consumers will now be able to choose and apply for a home loan from Karnataka Bank, directly through the Paisabazaar platform.

Paisabazaar.com works with 30 partners for its home loan product, which includes India’s biggest private and public banks and HFCs.

“With an increasing number of consumers using digital channels to meet their lending needs, Karnataka Bank is excited to partner with Paisabazaar.com, to offer our home loan product to a massive customer base. Together, we aim to offer simple and convenient processes to help our customers meet one of their biggest life goals, that of buying their own home,” said Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S, Managing Director & C.E.O., Karnataka Bank.

"As a market leader, we aim to provide maximum choice to our consumers, across products. This convenience of choice becomes particularly relevant for products with long-term commitment, like home loans, as the the right product can help consumers save significantly in the long run," said Mr. Naveen Kukreja, CEO & Co-founder, Paisabazaar.com. 

"Paisabazaar.com is delighted to bring Karnatka Bank on board. We expect strong traction towards Karnataka Bank’s home loan product on our platform, thanks to their user-friendly processes and attractive product features including interest rates,” said Ratan Chaudhary, Associate Director & Head of Home Loans, Paisabazaar.com.

Fossil Group Unveils its Next Generation of Smartwatches

Fossil Group is excited to announce the launch of its next generation of smartwatches across brands – Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatch Venture HR and Explorist HR for Fossil, Skagen Falster 2 for Skagen, Michael Kors Access Runway for Michael Kors, Emporio Armani Connected for Emporio Armani, A|X Armani Exchange Connected for Armani Exchange and Diesel Full Guard for Diesel.

As a leader in the fashion space for watches, Fossil Group, with the launch of its next gen smartwatches extends its offerings to provide consumers with several new technology features encased in exquisitely crafted designs. The robust list of technological features translates the brand’s intent to provide customers with one all-inclusive device—both in function and style.

Fossil Group first entered the smartwatch market to meet the growing demand for beautifully designed technology that could be personalized and the new line of Generation 4 watches by the brand is testament to this very promise. Packed with unique design traits to make room for customization from strap to dial – it offers a plethora of exclusive dials, ranging from fashion forward to novelty for the users to choose from. An increasing number of third party apps can be installed for users to enhance their device experience, as well as set social media photos as watch face backgrounds. Additionally, users can now charge their device within an hour to last all day owing to the optimized charge time.

As one of the first fashion forward brands to seamlessly integrate fashion with top-level technology, Fossil is committed to exhibiting how style need not be sacrificed for functionality. Powered with Wear OS by Google and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100 Platform, the new devices offer enhancements to every facet of the day, with hardware including Heart-Rate Tracking, Untethered GPS, Swimproof Functionality and much more.

“At Fossil, it is our endeavor to provide our customers with the best of both, fashion and technology. With the launch of next Generation of smartwatches, we have amplified the technological features on the wrist while maintaining our aesthetically fashioned designs, creating an experience individual to each consumer. We are certain they will enjoy it”, says Managing Director, Johnson Verghese.

The spirit of creativity and innovation at Fossil Group has differentiated the brand since its inception and this spirit inspires the brand to innovate products that engage users like never before. Without compromising design standards, this new generation of smartwatches will provide consumers with one device that fits all of their needs – from fitness to technology, fashion and much more!

Talking about the launch, Gautam Sharma, Vice President Brand Strategy – APAC says, “We are in the game and here to stay! Fossil Group offers consumers a diverse breath of designs with features they care about the most. Since our entry into the smartwatch market three years ago, it has been Fossil's mission to meld technology and design. 2018 has been our biggest leap so far: by adding significant features in terms of technology, without compromising our design ethos,

Tata Tigor Partners with Zoomcar EV for Self-Drive in Pune

Today the number of shared mobility users is on a rise. In this growing market, Tata Motors today joined hands with self-drive rental platform Zoomcar to offer Tata Tigor EVs in Pune.

At a symbolic ceremony held in Pune, Shailesh Chandra, President— Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy and Greg Moran, Co-Founder and CEO, Zoomcar flagged-off the first batch of Tigor EVs from Concorde Motors in Baner.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailesh Chandra said, “The future of mobility will increasingly be connected, shared and powered by zero emission technologies. Tata Motors is strongly committed to this transformative journey and working with all like-minded partners to accelerate the enabling ecosystem. It is a great pleasure to announce our partnership with Zoomcar to offer shared electric mobility solution for the citizens of Pune. Tata Tigor EV will now be available on the self-drive rental platform, offered by Zoomcar, to enable zero-emission transport option for the citizens of Pune. We are confident that our customers will appreciate and enjoy the driving experience.”

Commenting on the partnership, Greg Moran said, “The Zoomcar team is thrilled to partner with Tata Motors to bring electric vehicles to Pune. This marks the beginning of a dynamic partnership within electric mobility and we expect to touch 20 cities and 500 electric vehicles with Tata over the next year.”

Tata Motors is committed to the Government’s vision of driving electric mobility in the country and is working in a collaborative manner with various ecosystem partners to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles and to build a sustainable future for India.

Toyota Cheers Up Customers with Remember December Campaign

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) rolled out its annual Remember December campaign consisting of exciting benefits to bring a year-end cheer to the customers in line with the company’s consistent efforts towards enhancing customer delight the company has announced the special offerings on select models across Toyota dealerships in India. The company is extending its gratitude to loyal customers with the special sales campaign.

Commenting on this yearly campaign, N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “It has been our constant endeavor to offer the world class quality, comfort and unmatched safety to our customers in terms of all our products line up and after sale services.  Toyota products have been appreciated time and again by customers for the low cost of maintenance, high resale value, long lasting durability, safety, quality and excellent performance.

To further enhance the joy of ownership in the year end, we have introduced exciting offers under the Remember December Campaign for Toyota customers. In line with our philosophy of ‘Customer First’ there will be attractive offerings like -buy now and pay in March 2019 on the newly launched Yaris with additional benefits of upto Rs 1,00,000. There are benefits on other models too with up to Rs. 1,10,000 on the Corolla Altis and upto Rs. 45,000 on the Fortuner. There are benefits of up to Rs. 38,000 and Rs.23,000 available on the Etios and the Liva respectively. Toyota is also offering special benefits for Government and Corporate employees.  All customers can avail these benefits until 31st December.

We would like to extend our gratitude to our loyal customers who have shown their relentless trust and confidence on Toyota products. With the new year around the corner, we hope a positive momentum in buying sentiments ensuring push in sales.” 

HSIL Group’s Vice Chairman and MD Sandip Somany Elected as President of FICCI for 2018-19

Sandip Somany, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, HSIL Limited has been elected as the president of FICCI for 2018-19 after the conclusion of the 91st Annual General Meeting of the apex industry chamber.

With this coveted industry acknowledgment, Somany will be working closely with Government and business leaders towards spearheading the country’s economic growth and promote inclusiveness. Mr. Somany was previously working as the Senior Vice President, FICCI.

In the past, FICCI President Somany has held many industry leadership positions, including that of President of Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry and President of International Chamber of Commerce India chapter (headquartered in Paris). He was also the Chairman of Indian Council of Sanitaryware Manufacturers (INCOSAMA) and a member of the Executive Committee of Governing Council of All India Glass Manufacturers Association.

Somany is widely recognized as a pioneer of the Indian ceramic industry and has played an instrumental role in making it an organized industry. With more than three decades of industry experience, a penchant for anticipating market needs and a constant thrust on innovation, Somany has led HSIL’s evolution from an Indian sanitaryware maker to a diversified home solutions company.

Expressing gratitude and talking about his vision for the industry, Sandip Somany said, “I am thankful for FICCI’s vote of confidence in appointing me as the President. This position is a great opportunity as it will allow me to continue to work within FICCI to meet its objectives aligned with industries at large, and our country. I look forward to engaging with industry stalwarts and leaders to foster an ecosystem of innovation and growth, together building consensus between industry and policy.”

Somany holds a degree from the prestigious University of California, U. S. A. and has a Bachelor’s degree from the Delhi University. He is an avid reader, keeps abreast of world’s political and economic news and is an adventure sports enthusiast.

Get a Vivo Smartphone by Paying Only INR 101; Offer on Purchase of above INR 10,000

Vivo India, today announced an exclusive offline offer ‘New Phone, New You’ to celebrate the Christmas and New Year festivities. The 41 days offer period starts from December 20th 2018 – January 31st 2019 across all partner outlets pan India. With this offer**, customers can buy any Vivo smartphone above the value of INR 10,000* by making an immediate payment of INR 101 and paying the total amount in 6 equal EMIs.

Steps to avail this offer:

1.       Visit any of the 45,000+ Vivo-BFL mapped partner stores
2.       Carry your basic KYC document (PAN Card, Voter ID card, Aadhar Card etc.)
3.       Select your favourite Vivo device (*NEX, V11, V11 Pro, Y95, Y83 Pro, Y81-4G)
4.       Pay an upfront fee of INR 101 and submit your KYC documents to the retailer
5.       The device MOP will be divided into 6 equal EMI’s as per the scheme construct
6.       Go home and enjoy your new Vivo device

Besides the above mentioned offer, Vivo is also providing:

·         HDFC ZERO Down Payment offer with additional 5% Cashback on Credit/Debit cards EMI transactions, Credit card regular transactions and with HDFC CD paper finance
·         HDB ZERO Down Payment offer for 6 month EMI**

Commenting on the launch, Jerome Chen, Senior Vice President, Vivo India said, “We are excited to bring attractive offers for consumers across India, as we get ready for Christmas and 2019. The ‘New Phone, New You’ offer has been specially curated to provide exciting propositions to our consumers that want to enter the New Year with a new Vivo device. With the New Year round the corner, we at Vivo wish to bring happiness to our customers and make Vivo buying experience a delight.”

Vivo has introduced a simple yet innovative financing option in partnership with Bajaj Finance, HDFC, HDB and Capital First to ensure availability of Vivo smartphones for everyone.

Sreeleather Announces “Bullet Raaja Contest Sshme” - Winners Receive Brand New Bullet 350 CC Motorcycle

Sreeleathers, , the leading footwear chain offering wide range of quality footwear in the latest styles announced the winners of the “Bullet Raaja” contest, today.  Sekhar Dey, Partner, Sreeleathers and SushantoDey, Partner, Sreeleathers, the Chief Guests on the occasion announced the winners and presented a brand new Bullet – 350 CC motorcycle to each winner of the contest. The winners were among the 5,000 participants of contest scheme from Bengaluru city.

Shrikanth YE from Bengaluru emerged as the winners of the “Bullet Raaja” contest scheme.

Sushanto Dey, Partner, Sreeleathers said, “There was an overwhelming response for the contest from our customers with around 5,000 participants in Bengaluru and. I thank our customers for deciding to shop at Sreeleathers during the festive season. “Bullet Raaja” contest, being the first contest scheme in this region, we propose more such contest schemes in forthcoming festive seasons. Apart from contest schemes, the festive offers, exceptional customer care have resulted in becoming one of the leading  footwear chain showroom in Bengaluru and we have plans to expand more in the city and Karnataka state.”

“Bullet Raaja” contest scheme was the first of its kind from Sreeleathers had been a great hit among the customers of Bengaluru during the Diwali festive season. The contest scheme was conducted at Bengaluru and Chennai showroom. Customers who had purchases above Rs.999 were eligible for the contest scheme.

Sushanto Dey, Partner, Sreeleathers congratulated the winner on the occasion. A large number of customers and stakeholders attended the contest scheme event.

Unity Tech and Baidu Collaborate to Develop Autonomous Vehicle Simulation Geared to Enable the Future of Autonomy

Unity Technologies (https://unity3d.com), creator of the world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform, announced today a collaboration with Baidu Inc., China's leading Internet Giant, to develop a real-time simulation product that creates virtual environments allowing developers to test autonomous vehicles in simulated real-world situations. The Unity-based real-time simulation will now be available to developers taking part in Baidu’s Apollo platform: an open, comprehensive and reliable platform geared towards accelerating the development, testing, and deployment of Levels 3, 4, 5 autonomous vehicles.

“Baidu is helping make significant advances in autonomous driving in China and around the world by advancing collaboration amongst many developers and manufacturers, which is why we’re thrilled to be collaborating,” said Tim McDonough, General Manager of Industrial, Unity Technologies. “The ability to accurately conduct autonomous testing in a simulated environment allows for millions of simulations to simultaneously occur, providing Apollo partners with a competitive advantage while helping to keep their business costs down.”

Unity ’s real-time 3D platform allows automotive manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce errors and risk while increasing efficiency and speed of testing by offering simulations that replicate real-world scenarios.  Unity also offers customizable content available through its Asset Store created by its millions of developers.

In addition to its collaboration with Baidu, Unity works with eight of the 10 largest OEMs in the world by helping improve the way they design, build, service and sell automobiles. The brand has continued to invest in its automotive division by bringing in experts from companies like BMW, General Motors, Toyota, Volvo, and the Volkswagen Group.

“By using a platform like Unity, our developers can focus on testing and research without worrying about non-functional environments or building something from scratch, “said Jaewon Jung, Chief Architect, Baidu. “The Unity-powered game engine simulation for Apollo has the ability to expedite autonomous vehicle validation and training with precise ground truth data in a more effective and safer way.”

As part of its growing autonomy efforts, Unity has recently collaborated to support artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning for autonomous systems, as well as its recently launched  SimViz Solution Template: a package that provides OEMs and other brands with autonomous driving simulations solutions. 

K7 Computing Sets a Benchmark in the Global System Security Industry: AV Comparatives Reports 2018

K7 Computing Private Limited, a cybersecurity company protecting over 20 million customers globally against threats to their IT environments, has established its global leadership in the anti-malware and security industry as per the 2018 AV-Comparatives Performance Report. The study was undertaken by the Innsbruck, Austria-based independent testing organization, AV-Comparatives, to understand the ‘Impact of Consumer Security Software on System Performance’ across international players in the industry.

K7 Computing has been a leading performer in this study with consistent results of PC Mark score of 98 and PC Mark score 98.2 in the performance test of June & October 2018 respectively, reconfirming  K7 Computing’s technological edge with respect to system protection, resource efficiency, and impact to system performance.

Speaking on the accomplishment, J. Kesavardhanan, MD & CEO, K7 Computing said; “AV-Comparatives is a globally trusted and acclaimed independent testing body for anti-virus products. It is a matter of great pride and honour to be getting recognized by them consistently for outstanding performance. We all at K7 Computing perceive this achievement as a great responsibility to continue with building products of highest quality.”

Andreas Clementi, Founder and CEO of AV-Comparatives said; “Cyberattacks have been multiplying by the day which implies the increase in chances of companies and businesses falling victim to a cyber threat. Be it any sector, cyber threats become more intense with increase in our dependency on technology. Hence, it is important to use reliable and trusted anti-virus products that are effective in defending cybercrimes. We are glad to see that K7 computing has been a consistent performer with lowest impact rates and has been standing strong through the advanced series of tests.”

Notably, K7 Total Security also received maximum ratings (very fast) across all criteria of evaluation that included file copying, archiving/unarchiving, installing and uninstalling applications, launching applications, downloading files and browsing websites.  

Both test results have awarded K7 with an advanced three-star rating in its performance test which makes K7 Computing the only Indian company to have been recognized by the AV-Comparatives Report for its system efficiency.  

ACT Fibernet is Powered Partner for A.R Rahman ‘One Heart Tour’ in Bengaluru

ACT Fibernet (Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.) India’s largest fiber-focused wired broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), today announced its partnership with A.R Rahman’s ‘One Heart Tour’ as the connectivity partner for the upcoming event that will be held on 22nd of December 2018 at Ozone Urbana in Bengaluru.

As part of the tour, Bengaluru is the first city where A.R Rahman will be performing live after seven long years with multiple other award-winning musicians and composers to celebrate the art of music. ACT Fibernet, as connectivity partner will provide high-speed fiber internet connectivity to the overall infrastructure, which will enable the musicians, fans, media, to interact and stay connected all time backed with world class internet experience.

Speaking on the association, Ravi Karthik, Head of Marketing, ACT Fibernet said, “One Heart Tour, is one of the most awaited event of the year, as we will witness the legendary musician A.R. Rahman performing live after a very long time. Bengaluru being a cosmopolitan city has always been one of the most preferred destination for both national and international artists and musicians. As a homegrown company, it has always been our endeavor to support events like this which brings together aspiring youth, new talents to encourage and celebrate different forms of arts, sports and culture in the city.”

Speaking on the association, C.K. Mohammed, Director, Vonamor Media said "One Heart Tour is about to take A.R.Rahman to cities where he's not performed in a long while or not at all, to give the fans an experience of a lifetime and see A.R.Rahman perform live in their city. We are super excited to partner with one of the finest & fastest Internet service providers 'ACT Fibernet' for the Bengaluru show."

Additionally, ACT Fibernet will also be running exciting contests on its social media handles for the customers and fans.  Lucky winners will get a chance to win free tickets to the concert and a once in a life time opportunity to meet the music maestro A.R.Rahman himself.

NTTF in Collaboration with Stratasys Launches India’s First Additive Manufacturing Certification Course at Stratasys India User Forum 2018

Stratasys India, a subsidiary of Stratasys, organized the 2nd edition of Stratasys India User Forum 2018 in Bangalore today. This 3D printing forum is an annual industry congregation hosted by Stratasys to promote the adoption of 3D printing technology across the region. The forum strives to provide a platform for key industry players and end-users to exchange insights on the latest 3D printing trends, applications, and best practices. On this occasion, Stratasys announced a collaboration with NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation) to launch India’s first additive manufacturing certification course. This training program is designed to help students to learn new technologies in 3D printing and make them future industry ready.

Themed ‘Shaping what is Next’, the event witnessed coming together of Stratasys leaders, industry bests and end-users, to share knowledge on the latest 3D printing trends. 3D printing demonstrations in manufacturing, automotive, aerospace & defence, healthcare, and education were showcased during the event. These are some of the key sectors likely to see the highest 3D printing adoption according to solution users and industry speakers at the forum.

Attended by over 500 attendees comprising of industry speakers from leading companies, the gathering included prominent personalities like Reguraj N, Managing Director – Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF), who shared insights on the Government’s skill development initiatives like PMKVY and DDU-GKY, and use of 3D Printing to revolutionize the education system in India. Dr Harider Singh Bedi, a medical stalwart from Shalby Hospital, Mohali, Punjab, shared a surgical miracle made possible with 3D printing. Ravi Shankar, Managing Director, Accreate Additive Labs, shined light on the evolution from 3D printing to 4D printing in the field of life sciences. And, Sanjay Anikhindi, Associate Vice President, JCB India Ltd., spoke on the topic ‘Driving Innovation in Earth Moving’.

The speakers presented case studies that highlighted the uses of 3D printing and how it is slowly changing the traditional manufacturing landscape and is setting the tone for smart manufacturing and industry 4.0, such as advanced prototyping with high-performance thermoplastics in shop floor, or shared office solution for high volume usage at enterprise accounts.

On the occasion, Stratasys displayed their latest range of F370 printers that are adaptable to all engineering environments, be it office, lab or classroom to facilitate rapid 3D prototyping.  Stratasys also showcased its latest FDM elastomer solution from its F123 Series, to show manufacturers the new levels of elasticity, durability with true soluble support; and allowing users to produce parts with unique resilience that can stretch or compress without losing shape.

Commenting on the occasion, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, India & SEA, Stratasys said “3D printing has immense growth potential in India, but the uptake has to be faster. We notice there is a lack of awareness on the diverse applications of 3D Printing. Companies usually hold back on innovation ignorant of cost-benefit ratio, which if taken into consideration can help businesses deliver solutions faster, cheaper, better and easier. Stratasys India User Forum strives to bridge this gap and provide a platform for industry leaders to exchange knowledge and discuss the ever-changing dynamics of the industry.”

Guy Yair, Executive Vice President, EMEA & APJ, Stratasys said “India is becoming a manufacturing hub for foreign investors. Stratasys aims to leverage this opportunity to promote the adoption of 3D printing as part of the next Industrial revolution that empowers both personal manufacturing and customization in products.”

Stratasys is at the forefront of the global 3D printing market that is constantly striving to demystify technology and making it accessible to local manufacturers. The company is focused towards educating users on the benefits of 3D printing solutions and how it will help organizations achieve their business goals.

Signify Unveils Interact Internet of Things Platform in India

Signify (formerly known as Philips Lighting), the world leader in lighting, has launched its new Internet of Things (IoT) platform, called Interact in India, which will enable its professional customers to unlock the full potential of connected lighting for the IoT. The platform delivers new insights to help customers drive operational efficiencies and take more effective decisions. It also supports the company’s strategy to deliver new data-enabled services as value expands from lighting products and systems to services.

Signify has already installed 29 million connected light points worldwide and plans for every new LED product it produces to be connectable by 2020. This growing number of connected light points, sensors and devices, as well as systems, can collect large volumes of data for which Interact was designed to handle. The highly secure, scalable cloud-based Interact platform uses sophisticated and modern data management and data processing capabilities, including machine learning, to bring sense to all manner of data – creating data-enabled services for customers that will deliver benefits beyond illumination. It also offers a growing suite of licensed open application program interfaces (APIs) which will foster innovation from third-party developers, development partners and customers, enabling various data enabled services to be developed.

A typical example of such a service is occupancy data from different buildings, combined and analyzed to help managers to understand and predict how people use office space. Such insights can help deliver savings by optimizing the use of existing office space and support better designed, more efficient buildings.

In addition, data from authorized third-parties can also be analyzed by Interact. For example, for a municipal authority, news articles and social media posts, reacting to a new lighting installation on a bridge, can be analyzed and data sent to a social impact app dashboard that summarizes the public sentiment.

Launching the platform in India, Sumit Padmakar Joshi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Signify’s operations in India said, “First, we led the way in energy efficient LED lighting, then in connecting lighting to deliver operational benefits for our customers. Now that light points are smart enough to collect data on their performance and the environment around them, we are tapping into that intelligence. By analyzing the data from our connected lights, devices and systems, our goal is to create safer cities, energy efficient buildings and industries and smarter retail stores in the country. We are confident that this platform will deliver immense value for our professional lighting customers in India”.

Interact connected lighting systems

These connected lighting systems, offering a unified user experience, feature applications that address industry-specific verticals. Available now are:

·   Interact Office – enables you to turn your office into a smart sustainable workspace with software that allows you to increase building efficiency and employee productivity.

·  Interact City – helps improve street lighting, safety, reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency and support your sustainability goals and beautify the urban landscape across roads.

·  Interact Retail - enables customers to group, zone and schedule connected lighting to create stopping power in stores. It also supports in-store location-based marketing services to increase shopper engagement and indoor navigation to improve staff productivity.

·  Interact Landmark – aids in managing and triggering light shows with dynamic architectural lighting to help increase tourism, regenerate downtown areas, and stimulate commerce.

·   Interact Sports – aids in monitoring, managing and coordinating across all lighting infrastructure from a single dashboard from pitch lighting, entertainment light shows, hospitality areas and exterior architectural lighting.

·  Interact Pro - an intuitive cloud-based software for small and medium enterprises that automates lighting and allows management via the Interact Pro dashboard.

Signify became the new company name of Philips Lighting as of May 16, 2018. The legal name of Signify will be adapted in India in the beginning of 2019.

Zava Electronics Wins India’s Most Admirable Brands 2018 by The Brand Story

ZAVA Electronics is committed to provide superb quality LED TV's at market leading rates. The wide range include 24 Inch LED TV's, 32 Inch LED TV's, 32 Inch Smart LED TV’s, HD Ready TV’s, Smart TV, UHD LED TV's, ZAVA Air Conditioner, ZAVA Washing Machine and more. For delighting our customers, we are delivering the entire gamut in different sizes, designs, models, resolution etc.

While commenting on receiving the award, Ashwin Bharti, Director of Zava Electronics said, “Life is not just about having latest electronics but to experience advance technology that prepares you for enjoying the greatest moments of your life”. We want to create a revolution in electronic products by our innovative thinking and unique ideas. Other key leaders of the company are Vandana Puri and Mr Lalji Bharti, who have 30 years’ experience in sales and marketing. 

The organization’s client-centric approach enables us to provide maximum satisfaction to all the valuable clients. All products are manufactured under the strict supervision of professionals following the industrial standards. The company aims to meet its customers' requirements by offering them these products in numerous sizes and styles as per the specifications of the patrons.

Further, the state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities installed with advanced machinery enables the organization to deliver quality products to patrons. Company’s smart and intellectual personnel ensure that only flawless range of product line is provided to clients within the agreed time-frame. Moreover, the company owe the huge client base to its responsible personnel and smart business plans.

Abhay Kaushik, Director, The Brand Story said “India's Most Admirable Brands" is an Exclusive Story Board for your brand. The underlying credo of this initiative is to provide an ideal platform to the brands of corporate India and ensure the most exclusive, interesting and effective storyboard for their achievements over the years.

India's Most Admirable Brands are selected on the basis of Image, Impact and Innovation in their respective industry category and the selected brands will be seen by millions across the country with special Television series on national news channel to be launched soon along with print and digital campaign.

Western Digital Hosts ‘Data Innovation Bazaar’ in Association with ‘Startup India’ and ‘Invest India’

Western Digital, a leading data infrastructure provider, has announced that it hosted the Data Innovation Bazaar in collaboration with Startup India and Invest India. The initiative offered a unique platform to recognize the best innovative minds from across India, and showcase their ideas and concepts to leverage the power of data. The Data Innovation Bazaar was launched with a focus on identifying data-driven solutions to priority challenges in the five identified sectors: Education, Renewable Energy, Healthcare, Transportation and Mobility, and Cleantech.

Western Digital teamed up with Startup India, a flagship initiative of the government of India and Invest India, to support development of an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs and startups. Data Innovation Bazaar acts as an aggregator that brings together government alliances, businesses and innovators on a unique platform.

“From the world’s first helium-filled hard drive to the latest advancements in 3D NAND technology, we at Western Digital continue to drive innovation to shape the future of data. Data Innovation Bazaar is a way of harnessing technology to inspire the next generation of game-changing and innovative thinking, by realizing the possibilities of data. This is a significant milestone in our partnership with the government of India and its strategic initiatives, including Invest India and Startup India, and is a testament to our commitment of fueling innovation for a better and a newer India. I congratulate the teams for their enthusiastic response to the Data Innovation Bazaar challenge and wish them the very best,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president of silicon technology and manufacturing, Western Digital.

“We are excited to host this unique, nationwide Innovation Challenge in collaboration with ‘Invest India’ & ‘Startup India’. Through Data Innovation Bazaar, we showcase how data-driven innovations are having a profound impact on India and the world. This initiative is aligned to Western Digital India’s strategic imperatives of Investing in India as a market, social transformation, academic collaboration and inspiring innovation in the startup community. Congratulations to the winners of the Data Innovation Bazaar,” said Supria Dhanda, vice president and India country manager, Western Digital.

Deepak Bagla, managing director and CEO, Invest India said, “I am delighted that Invest India and Startup India are partnering with Western Digital on Data Innovation Bazaar, an innovation challenge aimed at providing a platform for young entrepreneurs and the youth of India to innovate and provide solutions to transform and build a New India.”

The challenge, which commenced on September 19th, encouraged the creation of solutions and products that use the power of data to address the issues identified by the following problem statements:

Create initiatives that seek to provide affordable, sustainable enrolment and access to educational programs at scale
Develop new models of improving air quality in urban areas
Establish affordable, effective systems of access to scalable, quality healthcare and healthcare records
Create solutions that seek to provide safe and smart mobility in the transportation sector
Develop effective and affordable uses of clean and renewable energy in everyday use and applications

Winners were unveiled on 12 December 2018 at Data Innovation Bazaar event, which was held at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi. Members of Western Digital India executive leadership, academia, and government, including Ramesh Abhishek, IAS and Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, attended the event.

Approximately 520 applications were received, with 40 outstanding teams shortlisted for final judging. A2P Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd., whose submission focused on the Renewable Energy sector, was awarded first place and earned a prize of INR 10 lakhs. The second-place prize of INR 7 lakhs was awarded to SM Learning Skills Academy for Special Needs Pvt. Ltd. and their innovative healthcare-related idea. Third-place prize of INR 5 lakhs, was awarded to BlinkEYELABS Electronics Pvt. Ltd. for their submission focused on the Transportation and Mobility sector.

Other outstanding submissions in the top 10 included Castle Advanced Technologies and Systems Pvt. Ltd., Gigacure Healthcare Analytics Pvt. Ltd., mBreath Technologies, Monosha Biotech, Phase Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Skincurate Research Pvt. Ltd., and YuTu Electronics Pvt. Ltd.

The top 10 recognized teams are invited to be a part of Western Digital’s Innovation Boot Camp to be held at the company’s Data Innovation Centre in Bangalore in February 2019. The boot camp will serve as a platform for the winning teams to network with investors and industry leaders to further develop and refine their ideas. The teams will also have the opportunity to engage with the company’s leaders for three days of learning, development and concept refinement.

Need for CISOs and Solution Architects to Build Threat Modelling in Evolving Cloud Applications

By Tejas Sheth, Cloud Security Architect, Trend Micro

“What is my security responsibility in the cloud when I am using IaaS, PaaS and/or Serverless application?” This is one of the most common questions we get asked by companies that are considering moving to the cloud and/or modernize their application with micro service architecture. This is because, today the application uses multiple services from single/multiple cloud service provider and each service in cloud has different shared security responsibility.

Shared security responsibility in the cloud environment change based on application architecture and type of cloud services it integrates to.

Generally speaking, the cloud service provider, such as AWS or Azure, takes care of the infrastructure and security of the cloud. The customer, on the other hand, is responsible for securing everything in the cloud.

This shared responsibility model gives businesses the ownership and control of their data, applications, and operating system, just like in the on-premise environment. But not all cloud services provide same type of controls on operating system platform. It means that companies that are using PaaS, and containerized application have different security responsibility than companies using pure IaaS and/or Serverless applications.

The companies may find themselves confronted by different security challenges as they move through different stages of cloud adoption. Therefore, it is important for CISOs and solution architects to create threat modelling for the evolving application architecture in the cloud.

The three stages of cloud adoption and application evolution include:

Stage one: Threat vector in monolithic applications in the cloud

For the longest time ever, the monolithic architecture had been the default application development pattern. Its single codebase approach brings about ease of development, deployment, and testing. On top of that, developers are familiar with the architecture.

Application code in the cloud isn’t just written by the company. As with all modern web applications, developers use third party - mostly open-source – components, typically including web frameworks and libraries. These third-party components have security vulnerabilities of their own.

Security for monolithic applications revolves around authentication, authorization, and encryption. As a result, by using vulnerability-laden third-party components, hackers can launch attacks at the security processes, thereby rendering them invalid, compromising the security for the whole architecture.

Stage two: Threat vector in containerized applications and PaaS

When the cloud journey evolves, applications start to become loosely coupled and stateless in nature. Applications also begin to integrate with other cloud services like object storage, caching services, and NoSQL databases. From these evolutions sprang the micro services architecture, where modules become small, individual application entities in containers, and they communicate over RESTful API. The APIs add another layer that needs to be secured with run-time application self-protection.

While developers follow the Agile methodology and release new application updates every day, DevOps team uses containers to achieve continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). This process can hinder security team’s visibility, as many moving components are used by developers and/or the DevOps team inside containers.

If companies don’t have visibility into the threats, they can’t apply security controls to the system. Since containerized micro service applications remove visibility for the teams who follow traditional security methods, it’s important to integrate security into the DevOps process.

Stage three: Threat vector in serverless applications

In the serverless model, companies who own the systems don’t have to purchase or rent servers or virtual machines to run the code. Serverless architecture is heavily dependent on third-party services. The best-known vendor host currently is AWS Lambda and Azure/GCP Functions.

The shared responsibility model in serverless application becomes more complex from a security compliance standpoint. The threat vector is different in a serverless application, from monolithic or micro service application architecture. This requires the company think about security from an application design perspective.

In order to access other cloud services, serverless function needs to be configured with identity roles and the permission, be provided by the cloud provider. Such infrastructure privilege access to function code can become a new threat vector if access to function trigger (external APIs) is not hardened.

Serverless functions on different cloud platforms are configured differently. For Example, While AWS Lambda and GCP functions provides serverless functions with basic library and default language support, Azure’s function requires different configuration for each language version and libraries from KUDU shell access. These variations can change the threat vector for different cloud service providers.

Such new type of security risk is causing new type of attack e.g. Denial of wallet and attacks on application code and library. Securing serverless application requires protection run-time application self-protection (RASP) and another API security configuration.

In summary, although security needs vary at different stages of the cloud adoption lifecycle, when it comes to different types of applications, basic principles for security remain the same. Visibility is the key to applying security controls on any threat vector. Integrity monitoring of file system and log analytics can help to provide visibility on threat vectors.

Vulnerability scanning and applying patch and virtual patch are mandatory steps throughout the cloud journey. Intrusion prevention system and intrusion detection system (IPS/IDS), monitoring possible control and command (C&C) connection, and firewall can be used to identify and mitigate threats at the initial phase of the intrusion kill chain.

Eminent Technocrats Converged at NXP India TechConnect to Address Challenges in Automotive and IoT Applications

NXP India, a world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications organized the TechConnect Industry TechSummit on ‘Next Generation Product Development Challenges and Opportunities in Automotive, IoT and Networking Applications’ at Manayata Tech Park in Bangalore. The event featured panelists from leading organizations, such as HCL, LDRA, NVIDIA and Synopsys, academic institutions, such as IIT-Delhi and startups, such as Orxca Energies, among others.

The summit included two panel discussions - ‘Next Generation Product development’ and ‘Verification and Validation’. While the first discussion focused on challenges and opportunities emerging from Connected Infotainment, Autonomous Vehicles, Industrial IoT, e-bike battery innovations, security for IoT, Networking & Automotive applications and Industry-academia partnerships for training newer generations of students in associated technologies; the second panel plunged into the technical challenges associated with security in verification and validation. Some of India’s most valued dignitaries attended the discussions and debated on various product development challenges that have been exponentially increasing, particularly with shrinking geometries.

The panel discussion also brought out the emphasis on addressing security aspects of the new applications at all levels of Hardware and Software abstraction with the paced emergence of autonomous cars, IoT and 5G wireless connectivity. The discussion further highlighted the increasing need to address specific technical challenges on emerging applications, such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

The day-long event witnessed participation from industry experts, such as Magesh Srinivasan, Global Head, Connected Car & AI, HCL; Preeti Ranjan Panda, Head of Department of IT & Engineering, IIT Delhi; Ganesh Shankar, Founder and CEO, FluxGen Technologies; Prajwal Sabnis, Co-Founder, Orxa Energies Pvt. Ltd.; Shinto Joseph, Director, South East Asia Operations, LDRA; Manoharan CP, Director, Systems Engineering & Field Sales Support, Spirent; Anand  Muthaiah, VP Engineering, Tessolve Semiconductors; Puneet Ahuja, Sr. Design Engineering Manager, Cadence; Amit Sharma, Director, Corporate Applications Engineering, Synopsys; Yogesh Mittal, Director, Functional Verification & Emulation, NXP and Amit Agarwal, Senior Engineering Manager, NVIDIA. The panels were moderated by Kumaran Venkatesh, President & Partner, AXLerateNOW and Vijay Chachra, Director of Engineering, NXP Semiconductors.

Speaking of the initiative, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Country Manager, NXP India said, “India has huge technological talent and NXP India has constantly worked towards uniting this talent with related skills and expertise. TechConnect is one such initiative that has helped expand NXP India’s horizons of industry knowledge and synergize with fierce thoughts and minds to emerge as a driver of next generation innovation in the secure connected vehicle, end-to-end security and smart connected solutions.”

Kicking off the discussion, the moderator Kumaran Venkatesh, President & Partner, AXLerateNOW said “The future of Next generation product development would revolve around Artificial intelligence and Machine learning. The challenge for product developers is designing futuristic connected devices with IOT and security in mind.”

Adding to the discussion on challenges faced by Autonomous Vehicles, Gupta said, “Autonomous vehicles need safety-related functionality that can sense and react to hazardous situations. It’s an engineering process as critical as engineering the product itself. Think of all the hazardous contingencies that an autonomous vehicle has to contend with—particularly in an urban environment. This need to anticipate a wide range of possible interactions between the vehicle and its environment is one of the biggest challenges in developing safety for autonomous vehicles. To comply with FS standards, an engineer must anticipate what can go wrong when a product interacts with its environment (including us unpredictable humans), then conceive of a safety-related system and place the system into an appropriate safe state. Add to this, further consideration of whether that safe state will itself result in a hazard.”

Speaking on the note of trends and challenges of the connected cars and AI, Magesh Srinivasan, Global Head- Connected car & AI, HCL says “Today, infotainment is on the brink of major evolution with the next global megatrend being seamless connectivity between smartphones and automobiles. Connectivity to cloud and other types of Internet-based computing that help users improve their driving pattern and vehicle health, by predictive analysis of driving patterns, vehicle health and maintenance, will be the key differentiators eventually. And that’s not it. Manufacturers across the globe have already started adopting intelligent infotainment systems, such as Android Automotive, which enhance safety on the move by providing safe connectivity, navigation and media experience.”

NXP’s TechConnect is a comprehensive platform dedicated to sharing knowledge, tools & best practices, and initiating dialogues on innovation and disruptive technologies, through events, such as the TechTalk, TechSymposium, TechTutorial, and TechSummit. In its essence, TechConnect aims to promote the spirit of innovation and empower employees to connect and learn from industry veterans.