Zebra Launches TC26 Touch Computers in India to Provide Enhanced Public Safety and Law Enforcement Solutions

Zebra Technologies Corporation, an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, released study findings that reveal public safety agencies globally will increasingly adopt mobile technologies to continuously improve workflows and community relations within the next five years.

The final of Zebra’s three-part Future of Field Operations: Public Safety vision study shows that 86 percent of public safety respondents have indicated their agencies are taking a mobile-first approach in their technology strategies, and workflows are designed around first responders and their mobile devices. However, seven in ten agencies are still concerned that they are not investing quickly enough in new mobile technologies to keep pace with the speed of change, especially with the availability of faster 4G and upcoming 5G wireless networks.

In India, Zebra Technologies launched TC26 Touch Computers, which is the ultimate cost-effective solution for public safety front-line workers who need to capture and access data faster and more efficiently without stepping up in price. The Android 10-powered TC26 Touch Computer features a large 5-inch high definition advanced touchscreen that is easy to view both indoors and outside in bright sunlight.

“Mobile technology is critical to keeping communities safe and secure,” said Deep Agarwal, Regional Sales Director – Indian Sub-Continent, Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific .“Public safety agencies around the world are already realizing a performance edge by using rugged mobile devices across various use cases including communications, situation awareness, disaster and emergency management, identity management, e-citations, and asset management. With the availability of faster wireless networks coinciding with the implementation of robust mobile technology strategies, police, fire and emergency medical first responders can improve their productivity, effectiveness and relations with the communities they serve and protect.”

“In India, up to 2,000 units of Zebra’s TC75 touch computers were deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Police as part of UP-112 Emergency Management System. The TC75 is an enterprise-class handheld computer that enables communication and enables access to real-time information. Such rugged mobile devices offer reliable everyday usage which is crucial for the police officers who are always out on the field,” added Agarwal.

Within the next year, 88% of respondents to Zebra’s study say they expect increased productivity and efficiency by using mobile technologies – up from 52% today. Similarly, 84% say saving more lives will be another key benefit of using mobile devices within a year, jumping from 45% today. Deploying mobile devices and mobile printers will also lead to reduced operating costs within the next year, according to 79% of those surveyed – and notably, almost all respondents (98% ) say they will achieve savings within five years. Another advantage highlighted in the study is improved community relations, which 99% say will be realized by 2025, up from 38% today.

While many public safety organizations will continue to rely on a responsive model in their workflows, there will be a rapid growth of agencies that will adopt a predictive model that is able to assign the right asset to the right issue at the right time. This will more than double by 2025.

Among the most common applications used by public safety officers in the field today are email (53% ), mapping and navigation (51% ), and location-based services (50% ). Other applications not used by most agencies today that are rated as “extremely important” by those who currently use them include biometric monitoring (63% ), collision reporting (59% ) and situational awareness (59% ).

Mobile device adoption will see rapid growth over the next three years as rugged tablets without keyboards will be implemented by 95% of respondents’ agencies, rugged 2-in-1 tablets by 90% , rugged smartphones by 95% , and mobile printers by 91% of them. Like other institutions and businesses whose critical work takes place primarily in the field, public safety decision makers rate ruggedness of mobile devices in their fleet as a key differentiator, with 96% saying they will implement rugged devices by 2025. Among those currently using these devices, rugged tablets with attachable keyboards (52% ) and rugged smartphones (51% ) are the top devices for emergency response use cases.

Other Zebra products that cater to the growing demand in this sector includes; the L10 rugged tablet sets a new standard in office, vehicle and field-based computing; TC77 touch computer that offers a smartphone experience for maximum simplicity with rugged construction; TC57 touch computer that delivers the ultimate in enterprise-class touch computing; and ZQ500 series mobile printer that offers a lightweight, compact printing solution that can withstand repeated drops to concrete from up to 6.6 feet.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

Zebra’s study indicates that seven in ten public safety agencies see an urgent need to invest more quickly in mobile solutions to keep up with technological advancements and to serve their communities better.

Mobile devices offer public safety agencies a strong performance edge to boost productivity, save lives, reduce cost, and better engage their communities over the next five years, the study found.

Adoption of mobile devices will increase quickly over the next three years, as 95 percent of agencies will deploy rugged tablets without keyboards, 90 percent will use rugged 2-in-1 tablets, 95 percent will invest in rugged smartphones, and 91 percent will have mobile printers on the field.

Ruggedness of mobile devices scores highly with public safety leaders, as 96 percent of them will choose to deploy rugged devices by 2025. 

SURVEY BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

The results are part of a three-part series on the Future of Field Operations released over the first half of 2020. The two previous parts were focused on energy and utilities, and field service providers. More than 1,200 key decision makers from these three industries located across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific were surveyed.

ABOUT ZEBRA

Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) empowers the front line of business in retail/ecommerce, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare, public sector and other industries to achieve a performance edge. With more than 10,000 partners across 100 countries, we deliver industry-tailored, end-to-end solutions that intelligently connect people, assets and data to help our customers make business-critical decisions. Our market-leading solutions elevate the shopping experience, track and manage inventory as well as improve supply chain efficiency and patient care. In 2019, Zebra ranked #166 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Best Employers, and the company joined the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.zebra.com or sign up for news alerts. Participate in our Your Edge blog and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Is Apple OS enterprise ready? Check out with Gartner

Apple Inc's soon to be on board operating system, Snow Leopard does not signal enterprise readiness, even though is noted for its native support of Microsoft Exchange 2007, stated analyst firm Gartner.

Snow Leopard, which runs exclusively on Intel-based Macs, includes full 64-bit support, Grand Central Dispatch (which allows programmers to more easily use multicore processors), OpenCL (to more fully utilise the power of graphics processors), and Exchange support for Apple mail, contacts and calendar.

From a business perspective, the most important feature is the ability for the Mac e-mail client to access Microsoft Exchange (2007 version only) in a native fashion.

The Mac client binds to Exchange Web Services (EWS) via its web services application programming interface (API), not the traditional messaging application programming interface (MAPI), which is difficult to write to and maintain.

Gartner analysts Mike Silver and Matt Cain said that they expect this ability combined with an improved version of Entourage, the e-mail client in Microsoft's Office: Mac would result in growing end-user demand for IT groups to grant support for the Mac.

According to Gartner, while native support for Exchange would allow users to run their Macs at work more easily, this does not mean that Macs can more easily replace Windows PCs in most organizations.

"Apple is not addressing business needs for service or support, and most organizations will continue to require Windows to run a majority of their applications. Furthermore, to the extent Mac users may still require Office, either natively onMac OS or running in a Windows virtual machine, native Exchange support, which does not support Outlook personal store files (PSTs), will address only part of the user need," added the analysts.

The analyst firm recommends businesses to understand the various ways Macs can support Exchange.

Mike Silver and Matt Cain noted, "Even if you don't officially support Macs, you will likely need to provide some assistance to users who are running them. Don't assume that because Apple is making Macs easier to integrate into the enterprise, the company is entering the corporate market. Also, understand that this development will not allow Macs to easily replace Windows PCs in most cases,"

For IT groups, Gartner recommends preparing to handle requests for Mac integration into corporate networks. Before granting widespread support for Macs, consider the full range of user needs and Apple's ability to offer corporate-grade support.

It advises to continue investing in web-oriented architecture and service-oriented architecture, which would help in becoming more OS-neutral and allow more choice in hardware and software.

"If you run web applications, move these forward to support the emerging set of Web standards, such as HTML5 and CSS2.1, and interoperability protocols such as OpenID and oAuth," said the analysts

Agencies

IBM funds $1 billion for APAC IT Projects

IBM announced up to $3 billion funds to finance IT initiatives in key economic stimulus projects in Europe and Asia-Pacific through IBM Global Financing, the company's lending and leasing business segment.

Specifically, it will make available up to $2 billion in financing in Europe and up to $1 billion in the Asia-Pacific region. IBM Global Financing also will extend its North American coverage to include financing for smart technology projects in Canada, according to a statement.

The stimulus financing will mainly target enterprises and municipalities looking to implement technology projects consisting of a majority portion of IBM hardware, software, and technology services components. Financing also can be applied to non-IBM technology as part of a larger IBM solution.

The financing will help organizations move ahead with IT projects in 2009, while awaiting government funding, to build the technological and environmental infrastructure of the 21st century.

The financing could be in the form of:

* Low rates and flexible financing options

* Deferred payment plans

* Enterprise financing facilities that offer structured lines of credit

* Specialized project financing packages that allow clients to align payment streams to anticipated benefits throughout the project

The recession is going to drive many organizations, public and private, to make transformational changes in their IT environment. However, without access to the correct financing offerings, a significant set of opportunities will be lost and society-wide projects, like smart grid, will be substantially delayed," said David Mitchell, SVP of UK-based IT research firm, Ovum.

It must be recalled here that IBM China Research launched a new industry solution lab in China focusing on the development of healthcare IT solutions and released four software packages that could help hospitals establish electronic patient records at reduced costs, last month. The Chinese government has announced a plan to invest CNY 850 billion over the next three years to provide every village with a medical clinic and at least one hospital for every county by 2011. The plan includes funding for electronic patient records systems that can be shared by different hospitals around the country.

CXOtoday

Nortel opens new center in Bangalore

Nortel has opened a new Global Network Operations Center (GNOC) in Bangalore, India, to help remotely manage and support communications networks for enterprise and carrier customers across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The Bangalore GNOC provides round-the-clock network surveillance and performance monitoring for voice and data networks. This enables Nortel enterprise and carrier customers to focus their resources on their core business, instead of dedicating costly IT resources to maintain and manage their communications networks. This, in turn, helps these companies lower operational costs, maximize network efficiency and performance, and keep abreast with new, evolving technologies.

The GNOC monitors customer network to identify network problems before they can impact business functions or productivity, and seeks to resolve issues either remotely from the GNOC or by dispatching technicians to the customer's site. This is Nortel's fifth Network Operations Center.

Nortel's other NOCs are located in North America, Europe, China and India (Gurgaon). The latter supports the managed services requirements of Bharti Airtel and other local customers.

Agencies

Enterprise mobility solutions for Indian market

Sybase, a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, on Wednesday announced the release of its broad portfolio of industry-leading enterprise mobility offerings in the country.

The company also announced a new version of iAnywhere Mobile Office with expanded iPhone support and availability on the iPhone App Store.

"There is an increasing demand from customers and partners in India for a complete, tightly integrated platform that provides true enterprise value by mobilising business processes and applications. Our offerings are designed to help them unleash the power of information from the data center right to the mobile edge anywhere, at any time," Sybase India and sub-continent's Managing Director, Sunil Jose, told reporters here.

The new release will strengthen the companys existing enterprise mobility portfolio in field-force automation, email and application mobilization, the company said in a statement.

Enterprise mobility is expected to find dramatic levels of adoption in 2009, following companies focusing on it significantly in 2008 as a tool to optimise operational cost and efficiency in the context of the economic downturn, the statement said.

Agencies

40pc of large businesses cut their IT budgets

More than 40 percent of large businesses have cut their IT budgets this year due to the global economic slowdown, according to a new survey by Forrester Research. The Forrester Business Data Services report surveyed nearly 950 senior IT managers across North America and Europe regarding their IT services spending and overall services strategies and priorities.

The economy’s affect on IT spending is evident in some specific data points contained in the report: Forty-three percent of firms have already cut their overall IT budgets in 2008 in reaction to the slow down in the global economy, while 24 percent of firms have put discretionary spending on hold. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said the economy has had no impact on their IT budgets.

Asked how the economy will affect IT services spending, 70 percent of respondents said they will likely negotiate lower rates with suppliers, and 16 percent said they have already cut their IT services spending.

IT departments in the financial services industry were hit hardest — 49 percent of IT shops in the financial services sector have cut their budgets. At the other end of the spectrum is the media, entertainment, and leisure industry, where only 39 percent of respondents said they have had to reduce spending.

IT departments in North America have been affected by the economy more than their European counterparts: 49 percent of North American firms have cut their IT budgets compared with 31 percent of respondents in Europe; although it should be noted that the Forrester survey was fielded in Q2 2008 prior to the deteriorating economic conditions in Europe.

“This is not an across-the-board spending slowdown; the impact of the economy on IT budgets varies widely by industry and geography,” said Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst John C. McCarthy, who is in India at present for a workshop. “With regard to the services sector, the slowdown has firms renegotiating rates, being more selective in choosing vendors, and examining spending plans more thoroughly, but they are still expecting to pay more for services. The demand for enterprise IT services has not dropped significantly.”

Regarding the state of spending on enterprise IT services, the report illustrates a number of trends: The demand for services holds steady. Forty-five percent of firms plan to increase their use of applications outsourcing, while 43 percent of firms are increasing their use of infrastructure outsourcing. Forty-three percent of respondents said they are moving more work offshore.

Infrastructure outsourcing expects to grow. Convergent telecommunications and network management is a hot area of growth as 20 percent of firms will outsource this service in 2008.
Few firms have fully tapped into offshore resources. Only 9 percent of firms use offshore resources wherever and whenever possible. A growing number of firms are interested in exploring more offshore work, with 14 percent ramping up use, 19 percent piloting, and 22 percent not using offshore but actively tracking developments. Of those firms not sending work offshore, a majority cite the questionable quality of the work done.

Satisfaction with outsourcing remains low. While overall firms are satisfied with their decision to use a third party, 52 percent say their biggest challenge with existing IT services and outsourcing relationships is that cost savings are lower than expected. Other noteworthy challenges include inconsistent or poor service quality (40 percent) and the inability of the vendor or contract structure to respond rapidly to changing business needs (35 percent).

Zenith forays into BPO space; Goes ahead with expansion

Despite the global recession and the massive layoffs, Zenith software, a leading software company and part of the $120 million Zenith Group, having recently forayed into the KPO space is going ahead with its expansion plans. The Bangalore-based company is expanding its office into a new campus that can house that can accommodate 500-600 per shift.

In an interview with Manu Sharma of CIOL Bureau, Sampath Kumar, CEO of Zenith Software talks about the new business foray and its recruitment drive in India. Excerpts.

CIOL: What has been the impact of recession on Zenith Software?
Sampath Kumar: The US recession has not affected us so far. The only problem is that the US companies want to push the dates. No one wants to decide immediately but business has not affected us in any way. But they are keen on outsourcing the work to India. It is a ‘wait n watch’ situation to gauge its impact in 2009.

CIOL: What has been your recent expansion plans?
SK: Since we are foraying into the information technology enabled services (ITES) in a big way, we are expanding our office by moving into a new campus of 25,000 sqft of built-in space located in Koramangala. The building will comprise of four floors and can accommodate 400-500 employees per shift and we can be further expanded to accommodate 1,500-2000 if necessary.

CIOL: What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), why has Zenith forayed into this space?
SK: Zenith has signed up with NovusSTS (pioneers in the newly defined recruitment process optimization business) for providing RPO services. RPO is a form of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) where an employer outsources or transfers all or part of its recruitment activities to an external service provider.

CIOL: What are the work involved in RPO and its benefits?
SK: RPO involves the outsourcing of all or just part of recruitment functions and process. RPO providers manage the entire recruiting/hiring process from job profiling through the on boarding of the new hire, including staff, technology, method and reporting. A properly managed RPO will improve a company's time to hire, increase the quality of the candidate pool, provide verifiable metrics, reduce cost and improve governmental compliance. The RPO service provider is the source for in-scope recruitment activity.

CIOL: What is the future of RPO industry in India?
SK: Since only about 20-25 companies are into this pace in India, we see a bright future. Our policy is not to target the big players but instead found a partner for the delivery.

CIOL: What is Zenith role in the LPO industry?
SK: Zenith has been in this sector for the last three months and has entered into a joint venture with a law firm based in US. We have started with the training process and have about 10 employees, who are corporate lawyers and LPO professionals involved in document reviews, immigration services and contract drafting.

CIOL: Explain the travel software developed by Zenith?
SK: The company has developed a travel software similar to IBS. It is a total integrated software for the tour operators operating across the country. This is the first product by Zenith and was earlier exhibited in Mumbai in a travel expo called – Travel Eye. The product is likely to hit the market by 2009. In respect to the pricing of the software, we have planned to price it between Rs 5-10 lakh, depending on the module, we will customize it as per your requirements. The product was developed over the last two years and about 10 software engineers were involved in the product.

CIOL: What are the other software developed by Zenith?
SK: Following our success with the travel software, we are also developed a software for a retail company in Australia. Similarly also developed a automobile product for the Norwegian market expected to be rolled out in 2009.
For the insurance sector, we have signed up with a UK-based company for the development and support of large US insurance firms. This is for the life insurance products and we will handle the customisation, maintenance and the enhancement of the product. Similarly, we have also signed up with a Swiss company for non-life insurance. We have completed the prototype of the product using Java and the product will be out by end of 2009.

CIOL: What has been the attrition in your organization?
SK: The attrition in our company is only 8-10 percent much lesser than the industry standards of 25-30 percent in BPO industry. Presently we have a 50:50 mix of developers and ITES (BPO) employees. I feel ITES will outdo IT and already we have employed 35 members in the last one-month and will hire another 25-30 in the next few months.

CIOL: When has Zenith forayed into the Scandinavian market?
SK: Zenith has forayed into the Scandinavian market through a partnership with Norway-based Software Offshoring Consulting (SOC). SOC is part of the Norwegian Data-Invest Group that has been providing progressive and market oriented solutions and services. This partnership will expand Zenith Software Ltd’s (ZSL) footprint in the European market.
ZSL and SOC have been working together on joint product development for the automotive industry. This product will also be maintained by ZSL for all the clients across the globe. This relationship has now matured into partnership wherein ZSL-SOC would jointly market and provide offshore development services. This is an exciting phase in ZSL’s growth plans. With SOC’s strengths we will be able grow in the Nordic.

CIOL: How do you see the future of Zenith Software shaping up?
SK: With our foray into BPO/KPO space and from the present turnover of $6 million, we had anticipated a jump of $10-12 million by 2009. But do the present industry scenario we may now expect only a 50 percent growth from the initial target of 75 percent. The only problem we are facing is that things are not happening and projects are getting delayed. The trend is not only in the US market but also in UK and European markets as well. ”US is creating a ripple affect on other countries.”
By 2012, Zenith expects the company to have 2000 plus employees with major revenues from UK, European countries and a 10 percent decline from the US markets. The company will strongly look at analytics, insurance, claim processing, medical billing and market research in the future. We are in talks with insurance and healthcare industries.

CIOL: Any IPO plans in the pipeline?
SK: We have seen a good growth so far which has been totally debts free. We see inorganic growth growing faster than organic growth. We plan to roll out an Initial Public Offering (IPO) when the company reaches a turnover of about $50 million and with over 3000 employees.

CIOL: What are your plans for expansion into Tier II cities?
SK: The company is also targeting at Tier II cities like Mysore, Mangalore. But we find a number of problems like poor resource stain, poor infrastructure is another major problem. In fact, we initially looked at a SEZ in Salem, but later withdrew the idea.