Clearwater Analytics Marks First Year of Business Operations in India, Continues to Ramp Hiring for Development Talent

Clearwater Analytics, a global SaaS provider of investment accounting and reporting, is celebrating one year of business operations at the Delhi-NCR office. The company has continued to grow globally during these challenging times and plans to add to its product development talent for its India-based teams.  

Established in August 2019, the Delhi-NCR site is part of Clearwater’s operations and development centre network, with offices also in Boise Idaho, USA; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Seattle, Washington, USA. The centre plays a strategic role for Clearwater from the Asia Pacific region with access to a strong talent market and the ability to provide follow-the-sun servicing capabilities.

Clearwater has continued to add clients and hire employees worldwide during a year marked by a public health crisis and a sudden shift to a work-from-home model. The Delhi-NCR office met its original growth target and plans to double that headcount by year-end 2020.

“As we mark our first year operating in India, we are thrilled about the advances made by our talented team of professionals in Delhi-NCR and the significant contributions they have already made to Clearwater’s technology, servicing expertise, and culture in general,” said Sandeep Sahai, Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Analytics. “While expanding globally this year, the company responded to the pandemic by implementing initiatives to drive an integrated focus from all our centres in support of our clients. The Clearwater team’s focus on operational excellence and metrics is a model for success. We are all excited to see what the next year brings for our employees; their contributions to our key initiatives and overall roadmap continue to make us better, and to delight our clientele.” 

Clearwater’s cloud-based solution is more vital than ever as the global business community has adapted to evolving remote office work models. Technologies like machine learning, cloud, and hyper-automation are key elements to fortifying the company’s technology and services offering as it serves some of the world’s largest and most complex institutional investors.

“Staying ahead with technological advancements is so important to our company’s mission to be the world’s most trusted and comprehensive software platform for investment accounting and analytics,” said Warren Barkley, Chief Technology Officer of Clearwater Analytics. “New and advancing technologies are the future and, in some ways, the now. They continue to affect how we build a world-class product and the new products we are eager to build at our Delhi-NCR development centre.”

Job roles at the company include skilled positions for software developers, data operations specialists, reconciliation analysts, and investment accounting and reporting experts.

“Over the past year we have built an excellent product development team in India. Given that we have so much more to do, we are looking to further scale our software development effort from India,” said Anurag Singh, Managing Director, India for Clearwater Analytics. “The strength of the talent market in India strongly aligns with Clearwater’s companywide initiatives.”

About Clearwater Analytics

Clearwater Analytics is a global SaaS solution for automated investment data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, and reporting. Clearwater helps thousands of organisations make the most of their investment portfolio data with a world-class product and client-centric servicing. Clearwater offers a full complement of middle- and back-office solutions like trade confirm/affirm, client billing, composite management, client statements, and more.

Each day, the Clearwater solution reports on more than $4 trillion in assets for clients that include Arch Capital, AXA Art Insurance, Catalina Holdings, Cisco, Convex Group, Facebook, FBD Insurance, Garmin, J.P. Morgan, London & Capital, Oracle, Spotify, Starbucks, Unum Group, and many others.

Since its founding in 2004, Clearwater has provided a cloud-native solution that helps investors make the most of their data. Investment professionals in more than 49 countries trust Clearwater to deliver timely, validated investment data and in-depth reporting.

Godrej Professional Launches a Campaign Highlighting How Salons are Now #hairforyou

Godrej Professional, a professional brand with products in hair colour, care, styling and keratin from Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), launched the #hairforyou campaign as an extension to the Suraksha Salon Program, with the objective of helping the Indian salon industry get back on its feet and reinstate customer confidence to visit salons. As a part of this, the brand engaged with several influencers across Indian cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Pune. Renowned actresses such as Anupama Gowda and Rajni Dwivedi from Bengaluru, Madhu Shalini from Hyderabad, and Ritabhari Chakraborty, Alivia Sarkar, and Geetashree Roy from Kolkata were also engaged as part of the Godrej Professional #hairforyou campaign.

Godrej Professional through the #hairforyou campaign is attempting to re-establish the confidence of the customers to visit their favourite salons. During the past few months, hair care moved down the priority list and was largely neglected due to unavailability of professional help. However, now as the restrictions have eased, customers can once again treat their hair with professional care. Through engagement with the influencers, the campaign also endeavoured to showcase the hygiene measures that the salon chains have incorporated, to ensure client and employee safety. Right from entry into the salon to the conclusion of the service, the salons uncompromisingly adhered to hygiene protocols.

Commenting on the campaign Mr. Sunil Kataria CEO – India and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) said, “Godrej Professional always endeavours to support the Indian salon industry and with the imposition of the lockdown, the beauty establishments suffered with no business. Now, we wanted to communicate how salon establishments are ready to welcome customers once again with a revived importance of hygiene. Through this initiative, Godrej Professional aimed to show that hair care no longer needs to be neglected and that with the right safety measures in place, clients can have an immersive salon experience.”

Suraksha Salon Program by Godrej Professional rested on three pillars – free distribution and subsidized sanitizer and disposable kits cost for salons, education on safety and hygiene for salon infrastructure and services, and back-to-business support. All of these initiatives are available free of cost to any salon that requires support and is not restricted to those that use Godrej Professional.

About Godrej Consumer Products Ltd:

Godrej Consumer Products is a leading emerging markets company. As part of the 123-year young Godrej Group, we are fortunate to have a proud legacy built on the strong values of trust, integrity and respect for others. At the same time, we are growing fast and have exciting, ambitious aspirations.

Today, our Group enjoys the patronage of 1.15 billion consumers globally, across different businesses. In line with our 3 by 3 approach to international expansion at Godrej Consumer Products, we are building a presence in 3 emerging markets (Asia, Africa, Latin America) across 3 categories (home care, personal wash, hair care). We rank among the largest household insecticide and hair care players in emerging markets. In household insecticides, we are the leader in India, the second largest player in Indonesia and are expanding our footprint in Africa. We are the leader in serving the hair care needs of women of African descent, the number one player in hair colour in India and Sub-Saharan Africa, and among the leading players in Latin America. We rank number two in soaps in India and are the number one player in air fresheners and wet tissues in Indonesia.

But for us, it is very important that besides our strong financial performance and innovative, much-loved products, we remain a good company. Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in our Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our 'Good & Green' approach to create a more inclusive and greener India.

At the heart of all of this, is our talented team. We take much pride in fostering an inspiring workplace, with an agile and high performance culture. We are also deeply committed to recognising and valuing diversity across our teams.

Microsoft New Research Reveals Businesses Need to Prioritize Skills as much as Technology to Maximize Value from AI

Microsoft India today released new research revealing that organizations that combine deployment of AI with skilling initiatives are generating most value from AI.  Topline findings of the research underscore that mature AI firms are more confident about the return on AI and skills. Over 93% of senior executives surveyed from these companies were sure their business was gaining value from AI.  The research further highlights that employees from mature AI companies are eager to deepen their AI skills and reinvest freed up time to add value for the organization. The research surveyed employees and leaders within large enterprises across industry verticals in India, and 19 other countries, to look at the skills needed to thrive as AI becomes increasingly adopted by businesses, as well as the key learnings from early AI adopters. 

Dr Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India, said, “As we look to rebound and reimagine the future after months of economic fluidity, technology will play a key role in rebooting enterprises. AI is at the heart of digital transformation - which has accelerated at an extraordinary pace - and will continue to play a critical role in helping businesses be more agile, resilient and competitive during this time. However, the path of unlocking the full potential of AI lies in combining its deployment with skilling initiatives that focus on both tech and soft skills. We believe this will be important for us to emerge from this crisis successfully.”

AI Maturity stages of enterprises

The AI maturity of companies has been divided into three categories in the survey

* AI Beginners: AI is neither explored nor used in any way right now

* AI Intermediates: AI applications are being explored / experimented with, for a range of use cases but sporadically

* AI Leading: AI is a part of the corporate strategy and is embedded into the company’s offerings

Both the senior executives and employees surveyed found a direct link between having the skills needed to thrive in an AI world and the value organizations gain from their AI implementations. The research further reveals that employees are keen to acquire AI relevant skills that are growing in importance and are of value to them personally and to the business. In fact, organization leaders surveyed predicted that half of all employees will be equipped with AI skills in the next 6-10 years, which is nearly one-and-a-half times more than the present estimations.

Higher growth companies are combining skilling with AI deployment for greater business value

In India, 100% of the AI-leading companies say they are actively building the skills of their workers or have plans to do so.  Over 93% employees at these firms have already been part of re-skilling programs. The employees benefitting from these programs are actively providing strategic benefits to their companies through innovating, solving, and collaborating. Notably, 98% of the employees surveyed among all the AI companies were highly motivated for reskilling.

The combination of skilling and AI deployment is helping businesses succeed. 94% of senior executives from AI Leading businesses acknowledged that they are already seeing value from AI deployment. In fact, Indian AI Intermediate companies are also not too far behind in this aspect –- with 87% sharing the same view.  The gap between the two categories across all the countries surveyed, however, is much wider at 25%.

The research shows that AI-leading firms are focused on ensuring that AI is complementing the talents of their people. These businesses are cultivating employee skills across every category – ranging from advanced data analysis and critical thinking to communications and creativity.

AI is creating company cultures more focused on innovation and learning

Notably, at the time the survey was conducted, 98% of AI Leading firms in India were increasing skills investments. These companies were looking for ways to expand their employees’ digital capabilities to unlock new avenues for growth. 93% of them were actively hiring skilled workers or had plans to, to complement their internal skilling programs. It is also interesting to note that more than 97% business leaders in India are willing to provide financial rewards in some form, fast track promotion or a combination of both in order to promote job satisfaction and higher level of AI-relevant skills among employees.

Interestingly, the overall number of Indian employees were interested in skilling (85%) is more than double of that of employees across all surveyed markets (38%). 98% of all employees were keen to participate in reskilling programs, and some 92% at AI leader businesses have already done so (vs. 85% avg.) and 87% felt their workplace was doing enough to prepare them for AI. This number rises to 95% for AI-leading businesses, which is nearly one-and-a-half times higher than the corresponding number across all surveyed markets.

“We’re seeing a virtuous circle emerge among the companies seeing the greatest value from AI. These leaders have seen that having the right skills enables them to unlock value from AI, which encourages them to extend their use of AI and, in turn, continue in up-levelling skills in their organization,” said Dr Srivathsa.

For an overview of the key research findings please visit: https://news.microsoft.com/en-in/leading-businesses-reveal-power-of-combining-human-ingenuity-with-ai-rohini-srivathsa/

Methodology

KRC Research conducted a random online sample of approximately 12,000 people working with enterprise companies (more than 250 employees). Within in each market the sample was comprised of at least 500 workers and 100 leaders (director / senior executive level and above). Markets represented include: Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (combined), Hungary, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, India, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

TradeIndia's First Covid-19 Essential Expo 2020 Witness 18000 Attendees on Day 1

In an attempt to resuscitate the ailing small and medium industries of the country that have suffered from the business-numbing impact of the pandemic, TradeIndia, India’s largest B2B marketplace offering global buyers and sellers a reliable platform to identify trustworthy business partners, has initiated a first-of-its-kind virtual trade exposition that aims to usher new business opportunities and collaborations between the various brands and entities of the country.

The India’s leading online trade platform is leaving no stones unturned in helping the severely affected MSME sector reclaim lost footing and the state of the art virtual trade expo is verily a manifestation of this endearing endeavor. The exhibition will guide the industry towards transforming the unprecedented losses and chaos ensued by the pandemic into a favorable opportunity. By showcasing via the virtual medium, the various hidden growth prospects and lucrative openings that can be leveraged amidst the pandemic, TradeIndia is remarkably enough, covering the distance where none has ventured before.

The first day of the event itself proved instrumental in heralding a new ray of hope for the sector comprising of the various pandemic-affected SMEs and MSMEs. By extending unique solutions through combining technological promise and innovative brilliance, TradeIndia is seemingly aiding these small-ticket enterprises in maintaining business continuity in such chaotic times. The jubilant event witnessed a great number of business participants as it displayed the various essential products and the companies that manufacture them.By coupling the existing knowhow with the progressive tech-advancement and digitization, the event underlined the need for companies to constantly renovate and upgrade their current offerings. Besides focusing and brainstorming on the various innovative guidelines that companies can instill in their product development, the expo also revealed the various alternate channels of revenue for companies that are suitable for tapping into the current market dynamics.           

Sandip Chhettri, COO, TradeIndia said, “The trade expo hosted an expansive multitude of brands, their products through a virtual exhibition solution that allowed the exhibitors to demonstrate their products at a very low cost but with high scalability. The pioneering tradeshow also featured never-before-seen 3D stalls or immersive virtual spaces that enabled attendees to sift through the various product lineups, access business catalogues while interacting with exhibitors through chat or video conference”

The event organized by TradeIndia featured were surgical dressing and disposable, personal safety equipment, personal care products, common medicines and drugs, temperature instruments, medical, diagnostic & hospital supplies, home cleaning appliances, etc.

About TradeIndia: TradeIndia.com is an online Business to Business (B2B) portal for small businesses based in India and around the globe. The portal was started in 1996 by Bikky Khosla and is maintained and promoted under the flagship company, Infocom Network Ltd. The company is headquartered in New Delhi, India, and has branch offices in more than 42 cities across India.

Five Innovations to Witness At COVID19 Essential Expo India 2020

As several small and medium industries have been adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 contagion in the country, the business community is roping in all efforts to stabilize the situation and rejuvenate the ailing economy. In a bid to transform the black swan COVID-19 pandemic into a lucrative business opportunity, TradeIndia, India’s largest B2B marketplace offering global buyers and sellers a reliable platform to identify trustworthy business partners, shall be organizing the country’s first virtual tradeshow titled, COVID-19 Essentials Expo India between August 5th-7th,2020 and will be conducted via the virtual medium.

The event will be targeted towards reviving the various SMEs and MSMEs of the country whose operations have been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tradeshow will feature 3D stalls or immersive virtual spaces that enable attendees to sift through the various product lineups, access business catalogs while interacting with exhibitors via chat or video conference.Featuring more than 60 booths and with an experience spanning over 20 years in online marketing space and event promotion, TradeIndia enjoys the largest industry database in the country that holds countless prospective visitors and investors for one’s brand. The essential range of products that will be central to the trade show are Surgical dressing and Disposable; Personal safety equipment; Personal care products; Common medicines and drugs; Temperature instruments; Medical, diagnostic & hospital supplies; Home cleaning appliances and more.

Here are 5 not to miss innovations to amaze you at the COVID19 Essential Expo India 2020:

JARVIS- Staqu Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Utilizing the AI prowess, Staqu Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has developed a product, JARVIS that automates the whole process of monitoring the workplaces and ensuring that everybody is following these guidelines to minimize the spread of infections. JARVIS has proven to be one of the best Artificial Intelligence-based customizable Video Analytics Engine with state-of-the-art facial recognition technology and intelligent monitoring of objects, crowds, perimeters, and vehicles.This product utilizes, existing CCTV cameras and gives real-time alerts in case a person inside the premises is violating any of the norms. And the best part is that it doesn’t require any human interaction. JARVIS can help you with: Face Mask Identification, Social Distancing Check, Fever Identification (FR), Contact tracing, Hygiene Check, Video Wall with Real-Time Alerts, and more. 

UV and Delivery Disinfection Robots-  Janyu Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

UV disinfection technologies can play a role in a multiple barrier approach to reduce the transmission of the virus causing COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. UV Disinfection Trolley can effectively clean up hospital spaces to combat COVID-19. The UV-C irradiation with a peak intensity at 254 nm has been a proven technology for disinfecting air, water, and instruments for over a century. UV-C JUGNU from JanyuTech is powered by UV-C lamps. UV-C JUGNU has a WiFi connection with a camera to get live Audio-Visuals of the path to the control station and interact along with the travel, announcing various messages. The Robot has a power selection option to increase the intensity of the UV system. Obstruction sensing is provided at the front and back for effective driving.

Testing Kits, Ivermectin Products, Antibacterial Soaps - Safecon Lifesciences - Based in excise free zone in Uttarakhand, Safecon Lifesciences is engaged in researching, manufacturing, and marketing all types of Injection, Bolus, internal & external Liquid, Powders, external powders & Shampoo for pets, etc. Their range of Medicare products is highly demanded in various government hospitals, private hospitals, dispensaries, etc. The Ivermectin salt and tablets are the Ivermectin products that customers can buy from them. These are prescribed for the treatment of parasitic infections of eyes, skin, and intestinal tract. The brand has also launched testing kits which are quite efficient to use.  Products like Corosafe soap is an antibacterial soap developed and supplied by our company. Everyone can use this soap just like normal bath soap to fight germs and body odor. Safecon Lifesciences has marked its prominence in Indian markets, by providing top-notch quality of products. 

N-95 and 3Ply Mask Making Machines-   BFW Kothari Group BFW was born in 1961 to realize the dream of a young economy that was on the cusp of industrialization. Ever since they have been at the heart of manufacturing. They have supported the growth of the Indian industry by creating the machine tools vital for industries, across verticals - from plastic buckets to aerospace projects.The N-95 and the 3 Ply Mask Making Machines are fully automatic, UV sterilized, and high speed. BFW developed High-Quality Automatic Mask Making Machines for high volume production of high-quality masks under the BFW Health product platform. Developed in Made-In-India Technology. These innovative products invented for the healthcare ecosystem in true spirit and full support of 'Aatma nirbhar Bharat'.

100% Cotton coverall with antimicrobial- Kinsey Knitt International  - Kinsey Knitt International’s 100% cotton washable reusable coverall is made out of coconut technology. The fabric is treated with Antimicrobial to fight against Virus, Bacteria, Fungus, Mould, and Dustmite. The coverall is treated with Splashproof technology so blood and other liquid particles can not penetrate in. This kit contains 10 components to safeguard the Covid-19 warriors with three things kept in mind.  Safety - treated with safe antimicrobial ; Comfort - Cotton gives comfort and Eco-friendly - A bio-degradable product. The antimicrobial we use in this Coverall is a semi-organic, food-grade, biodegradable product that kills the virus by its mechanical action. This doesn’t only filter the virus but it kills the virus which comes in contact. The virus killing time is less than a minute. And it has a virus killing efficiency of more than  99.95%. This Kit contains washable and reusable Masks, Goggles, face shield, Hand gloves, socks, shoe cover, hand towel, and a cotton antimicrobial treated bag to carry the worn products back. This coverall can be washed and reused up to 20 times.

ABB’s New Analytics and AI Software Helps Producers Optimize Operations in Demanding Market Conditions

The ABB Ability Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite is a scalable advanced analytics platform with pre-built, easy-to-use applications and services. It collects, contextualizes and converts operational, engineering and information technology data into actionable insights that help industries improve operations, optimize asset management and streamline business processes safely and sustainably.

Analyst studies suggest that industrial companies typically are able to use only 20 percent¹ of the data generated, which severely limits their ability to apply data analytics meaningfully. ABB’s new solution operates as a digital data convergence point where streams of information from diverse sources across the plant and enterprise are put into context through a unified analytics model. Application of artificial intelligence on this data produces meaningful insights for prediction and optimization that improve business performance.

“We believe that the place to start a data analytics journey in the process, energy and hybrid industries is by building on the existing digital technology – the automation that controls the production processes,” said Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB Industrial Automation. “We see a huge opportunity for our customers to use their data from operations better, by combining it with engineering and information technology data for multi-dimensional decision making. This new approach will help our customers make literally billions of better decisions.”

ABB Ability™ Genix is composed of a data analytics platform and applications, supplemented by ABB services, that help customers decide which assets, processes and risk profiles can be improved, and assists customers in designing and applying those analytics. Featuring a library of applications, customers can subscribe to a variety of analytics on demand, as business needs dictate, speeding up the traditional process of requesting and scheduling support from suppliers.

Scalable from plant to enterprise, ABB Ability™ Genix supports a variety of deployments including cloud, hybrid and on-premise. ABB Ability™ Genix leverages Microsoft Azure for integrated cloud connectivity and services through ABB’s strategic partnership with Microsoft.

“The ABB Ability™ Genix Suite brings unique value by unlocking the combined power of diverse data, domain knowledge, technology and AI,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, Chief Digital Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “ABB Ability™ Genix helps asset-intensive producers with complex processes to make timely and accurate decisions through deep analytics and optimization across the plant and enterprise.

“We have designed this modular and flexible suite so that customers at different stages in their digitalization journey can adopt ABB Ability™ Genix to accelerate business outcomes while protecting existing investments.”

A key component of ABB Ability™ Genix is the ABB Ability™ Edgenius Operations Data Manager that connects, collects, and analyzes operational technology data at the point of production. ABB Ability™ Edgenius uses data generated by operational technology such as DCS and devices to produce analytics that improve production processes and asset utilization. ABB Ability™ Edgenius can be deployed on its own, or integrated with ABB Ability™ Genix so that operational data is combined with other data for strategic business analytics.

“There is great value in data generated by automation that controls real-time production,” said Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “With ABB Ability™ Edgenius, we can pull data from these real-time control systems and make it available to predict issues and prescribe actions that help us use assets better and fine-tune production processes.”

BCT Digital Launches ‘IND AS 109 Product Suite’ to Tackle Expected Credit Loss

BCT Digital, a global Fintech company specializing in BFSI, Predictive Analytics, and Risk Management, has announced the launch of rt360-ECL solution from ‘IND AS 109 Product Suite’ for Expected Credit Loss (ECL) reporting. The rt360-ECL is an integral part of the IND AS 109 Product Suite and has been designed exclusively keeping in mind the unique and specific nuances of Indian Financial Institutions and the Indian Regulatory Environment.

With the introduction of the global International Financial Reporting Standards-9 (IFRS 9) and its equivalent Indian Accounting Standards (IND AS) 109, financial institutions are moving towards adopting scientific methods for computing credit losses. The first set of guidelines in this regard were issued by the RBI in February 2016, which  was followed by a series of amendments, and the latest one was issued in March 2020. This amendment announced the implementation of the Indian Accounting Standards, including IND AS 109 for NBFCs and Asset Reconstruction Companies.

IND AS 109 requires financial institutions to take the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) approach as opposed to the Incurred Loss approach. Under the ECL approach, credit losses must be granularly and systematically estimated and provided for throughout the life span of a loan. The rt360-ECL is a business-driven technology solution that enables banks to compute Expected Credit Loss as per regulatory guidelines, while addressing requirements such as Point-In-Time Probability of Default (PD), Validation and forward-looking estimates.

“During these unprecedented times, banks are facing huge credit losses as their customers suffer through the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing credit risk in a volatile financial market is very critical. If not carefully monitored, the systemic risks can easily snowball, and this can impact not only the banking network, but also the financial health of the country at a macroeconomic level. The rt360-ECL is an integral part of BCT Digital’s IND AS 109 product suite and has been exclusively designed keeping in mind the unique nature of the Indian regulatory environment and specific nuances of Indian financial institutions.” said  Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO at BCT Digital.

The rt360-ECL aggregates banks’ historical data and estimates parameters such as Probability of Default (PD), Loss Given Default (LGD) and Exposure at Default (EAD) and Effective Interest Rate (EIR). It’s inbuilt standard functions support validation and calibration of models to ensure that the process is efficient and robust. It’s essential value additions include automation of credit risk monitoring processes, faster turnaround time to achieve regulatory compliance and internal reporting and proactive credit risk assessment and monitoring. The core features of the rt360-ECL include computing 12 months’ and lifetime ECL for both fund-based and non-fund-based facilities; automated computation of Probability of Default, (Loss Given Default and Exposure at Default); Effective Interest Rate computation; automated validation of parameters as per RBI/Basel requirements through a pre-built library of model validation tests; integration with other solutions, such as core banking/Asset Liability Management systems& and prebuilt dashboards for management reporting. Click here for more information.

BCT Digital being a FinTech specialist and pioneer in risk management solutions aims to empower banks and financial institutions to recognize expected change in credit risk and provide a framework to manage forward-looking credit loss through the rt360 Risk Management Suite. rt360 risk products are a 100% “Made in India”, by BCT Digital, keeping in mind the complexity of internal and external risk factors faced by banks.

FAITH Revises Indian Tourism Value at Risk Guidance to ₹ 15 Lakh Cr

‘Now or Never’ Point 

* Worst period ever for tourism in 100 years. 

* Till a vaccine is found, concept of tourism will be in dire threat

* Tourism COVID Support Fund needed

* RBI must give a multi-year moratorium on principal & interest to tourism.  

* Stop the clock on all central & state Government for statutory payments

* 75% value or minimum 9 months of the almost 10% of India’s GDP from Tourism at risk from collapse 

* Generations of tourism businesses and crores of jobs getting impacted

Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality,the policy federation of all the national associations representing the complete tourism, travel and hospitality industry of India (ADTOI, ATOAI, FHRAI, HAI, IATO, ICPB, IHHA, ITTA, TAAI, TAFI) & cause partner AIRDA has further revised upwards it’s value at risk to Indian tourism to ₹ 15 lakh crores. 

FAITH’s first guidance which was calculated and was shared with the Government in March 2020 had put tourism’s economic value at risk at ₹ 5 lakh crores from this pandemic.  FAITH revised this further during the quarter as the situation deteriorated and the value at risk was put at ₹ 10 lakh crores. This has been revised again to touch a value at risk of upto ₹ 15 lakh crores in terms of the economic output of tourism in India 

Given the way the virus is progressing, tourism supply chains have  broken down in India across all its key inbound, domestic & outbound markets and is not expected to recover for the next  5 months too making the total impact to a minimum of 9 months starting from March this year. 

The direct and indirect economic impact of Tourism industry in India is approximately estimated at ~ 10% of India’s GDP.  This roughly puts the full year economic multiplier value of tourism in India at ~ ₹ 20 lakh crores. Minimum three quarters of tourism will be fully impacted 

This value covers the whole tourism value chain from airlines, travel agents, hotels, tour operators, tourism destinations restaurants, tourist transportation, tourist guides. Each of these segments of tourism is non - performing or under performing and will stay that way for many months of this year.

This is evident across all segments of tourism. Pending refunds for travel agents,  shut down or vacant  hotels & restaurants,  empty or locked down conventions and meeting or wedding halls, no order pipelines for tour operators, tourist transport lying locked in parking lots, laid off or leave without pay staff , managers, the summer domestic and outbound holiday season gone,  no visible bookings for the peak October - March season, meetings shifted to virtual apps , non - essential travel closed and so on. 

Be it leisure ( inbound, outbound, domestic) corporate travel, heritage, adventure, meetings incentives, exhibitions & events religious, spiritual and in upcoming high value niche tourism products such as sea & river cruises, camping, rafting, golf  film tourism, jungle tourism, agri tourism and many more across all states, this will the worst performing year for tourism in a century. 

Tourism has one of the largest economic multipliers and FAITH based upon its industry estimates believes that each rupee spent on tourism could have an economic multiplier of upwards of  3- 4 times more for India given its most globally unique natural and cultural heritage spread across the Indian hinterlands. The cumulative job losses for the full year both in organised & unorganised category of tourism could go as high as 4 crores. 

FAITH has been requesting over the past 5 months that for revival of any demand in tourism, it is first important that the survival of tourism businesses in India has to first remain intact. 

Tourism sector requires a very customised sector specific relief package and it cannot be delayed any further,  FAITH spokesperson said.

The following are immediately critical to maintaining the survival of tourism businesses 

* A Tourism fund which can be used by tourism enterprises in India for taking care of their employees. 

* A multi-year moratorium by RBI on principal and interest payments by tourism, travel & hospitalty businesses. 

* An immediate full year waiver of all central and state statutory liabilities be it PF , ESi, income taxes, GST , fixed power and utilities tariffs, property , excise , inter-state tourist transportation taxes and license fees, all without any accumulated or penal interest has to be done immediately. 

* Robust booking payments refund mechanism for travel agents & tour operators from airlines, railways, state tourism parks and other suppliers. 

Only this will keep the Indian tourism track and hospitality industry alive for a revival, it will keep the jobs intact and it will protect the exposure of the banking sector to tourism preventing their loans from becoming NPAs. 

Post the Unlock tourism is seeing some spur, but that too very limited, very  short -  haul  domestic travel and not enough to make any tourism business viable. 

FAITH has already raised requests over the past five months to the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, to each of the 28 chief ministers , to the RBI, Niti Aayog, to tourism parliamentary panel, ministries of aviation, commerce, Finance and to more than 600 parliamentarians and is closely in coordination with ministry of tourism.  

It has also requested the Parliamentarians to raise the question as to ‘why not tourism’ for sector specific support when tourism industry contributes to pan India jobs across urban & rural, forex , robust IT & GST collections, capex driven GDP & so on. 

Tourism is a very unique business and is a discretionary activity.  Tourism is a means of unwinding, letting oneself immerse in local experiences. With each aspect of the travel journey now under the threat of virus from contact, this puts tourism at risk. Till the time there is a vaccine found, the very concept of tourism will be in question.  

This will be reflected in all data points of the Government whether in GST collections, banking data, PF, ESI or state level fixed charges. 

Tourism cannot be treated economically like any other business and needs NOW a Fiscal & Monetary structured package coordinated among all arms of Governments. 

The whole value chain of Indian tourism will be under threat - which catered to almost 10.8 million incoming foreign travellers , almost 1.8 billion Indian domestic tourism visits, almost 5 mn- + expats Indians visiting back,  almost 28 mn + outbound travelling Indians & almost $ 29 bn + forex earnings.

Freyr Energy Launches SunPro+, "A Revolutionary App" in India

Freyr Energy Pvt Ltd, a leading tech-enabled solar company announced the launch of SunPro+ mobile app to make it easier than ever for homeowners and businesses to transition to solar. Using SunPro+, customers will be able to learn about solar, order a system, track installation progress and monitor system performance on their own.

Today, many businesses and homeowners face high electricity bills. Investing in a solar rooftop system, that has a life of 25 years, ensures reduced dependency on grid power and decreases electricity bill up to 90%.

While benefits of solar are well established, transitioning to solar has not always been easy for customers.  Many customers defer their solar purchase due to unavailability of accurate and relevant information to help with decision making. Lack of transparency, hidden costs and no after-sales support are other hindrances customers face regularly. Finally, customers also end up with the hassle of dealing with 3-4 different entities through the journey of owning a solar system. These things undermine customer experience and slow down adoption of rooftop solar.

With the SunPro+ App, anyone interested in solar can download the app, get a quote, place an order, track system installation and monitor system performance. The AI-enabled technology ensures that users get information relevant and specific to their needs. In addition to this, the chat feature – SunBot addresses queries instantly. Post-installation, customers also get useful notifications, e.g., when to clean the solar panels, how much electricity was generated, and savings realised. All system related documents such as purchase order, warranty certificates, work competition reports etc are available in SunPro+ ensuring customer has all required information for the lifetime of the solar system. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Saurabh Marda, Managing Director, Freyr Energy Pvt Ltd, said, “At Freyr, we believe that anyone who uses electricity from grid or diesel can switch to solar and become part of this green energy movement. With the SunPro+ App, we want to set a benchmark in terms of what customer experience should be when he/she decides to go for a solar system. SunPro+ helps customers make the switch to solar confidently and realize their goals, whether that is maximizing savings in electricity bills, switching to a clean source of power amongst other benefits.” 

SunPro+ App is supplemented by Freyr Energy’s Pan-India sales and installation network to provide a seamless solar experience and value for money for its customers.

About Freyr Energy Pvt Ltd:

Freyr Energy Pvt Ltd was founded in 2014, with a goal to make solar energy affordable and accessible for homes and businesses across the country. It is one of the fastest-growing solar companies in India with 1,500+ customers across 22 states.

Dettol & PVR Cinemas Come Together to Enable ‘Safe and Hygienic’ Movie Viewing Experience

Dettol, the leading germ protection brand, today announced its partnership with PVR Cinemas, India’s largest and the most premium film exhibitor. The partnership will help create a safe, hygienic, and enjoyable movie viewing experience for its customers once the cinemas can open in accordance with government guidelines and permissions. Adhering to the ‘new normal’, the partnership program will enable & develop enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols for the guests across 175 properties operating in 70 cities across the country.

Research by Global monitor indicates that consumers have heightened hygiene concerns when venturing outside the comfort of their house, and trust in cleanliness standards will be critical to restarting any business operations. Therefore, it has become highly critical for industries to implement an effective system to ensure standardized hygiene practices to protect oneself and others from this pandemic.

Commenting on the partnership, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia, said, “Even as the lockdown conditions get progressively eased, the Indian consumers concern on germs exposure and desire for protective measures remains very high. As India’s #1 trusted brand for germ protection, Dettol is pleased to partner with PVR for a safe return of the Indian families to a cutting-edge cinema viewing experience.  Our aim is to partner meaningfully together with PVR to provide best in class Dettol germ protection – proven Dettol products to be used in expert vetted protocols so that the consumer is reassured and confident of a safe and hygienic viewing experience.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Cinemas said, “We have spent the last few months brainstorming amongst ourselves and with the world leaders in our industry to come up with best and safest practices for our customers to return to the movies. Having left no stone unturned in ensuring their well-being across all levels, we are pleased to partner with Dettol to guarantee an even cleaner and safer viewing experience. We are positive that the people would enlist the same trust in us as they have in the past decades of our relationship with them.” 

PVR Cinemas will implement stringent hygiene protocols, social distancing and food safety measures, along with minimal human contact across all touchpoints.  All employees will be undergoing health screening daily and fortnightly; and will be wearing PPE gear, face masks, gloves and face shields for extra protection. Further, the entire premises undergo an EPA approved complete ULV sanitization process at regular intervals which helps in coating the surface with anti-microbial layers with electrostatic machines for up to thirty days.

Over 80 years, Dettol has been the trusted partner of health, for millions of mothers across the country, to protect their family by preventing illnesses and infections. In the ongoing battle to contain the spread of COVID-19, Dettol has been instrumental in driving behavior change and the adoption of recommended hygiene practice across India. As a hygiene leader and No. 1 germ protection brand, Dettol continues to drive the organizational purpose and fight in action- to protect, heal, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world.

Ameyo Reaches Turnover of Rs. 90 Cr in FY 2020 with 27% EBITDA

Ameyo, a leading provider of Omnichannel Customer Engagement Technology today revealed business results from FY 19-20, a year during which the company grew at 30% with 27% EBITDA to reach a turnover of Rs. 90 crores.

Over the last few years, Ameyo has been pivoting its revenue model from licenses to a subscription business with 50% recurring revenue of Rs. 45 crores in FY 19-20.

The firm has a presence in 60+ countries with international business contributing to almost 43% of the turnover at Rs. 38.4 crore

Commenting on this growth, Bishal Lachhiramka, Co-founder & CEO, Ameyo, mentions, “Ameyo has continued to grow at a steady pace with profitability, thanks to our focus on creating products & solutions that provide value to our customers. With COVID-19 and the focus on digital transformation, our growth has been accelerated. We will continue to focus on creating solutions for the unique problems of emerging geographies.”

During Q1, 2020, Ameyo grew its customer base by over 100 percent, adding HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Sridhar Insurance, Apollo Health and Lifestyle, Zolo, BYJU’S, D.Light, STC Channels, LR Data, SP Madrid, Toppr, Jubilant FoodWorks, Spice Money, Rebel Foods (Faasos), The Muthoot Group, Vistaprint, and many more.

Ameyo recently launched the RBI compliant Video KYC engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities that allow the Regulated Entities (REs) to reduce onboarding drop-offs by 20% and reduce the cost of KYC by 90%. The solution is built for scale and operates even at low internet bandwidth and a variety of devices to target the masses.

Sachin Bhatia, Co-founder and Global Sales & Marketing Head at Ameyo, adds, “Contact centers are going to play a pivotal role in the post-COVID-19 times, as they provide the last line of human to human interaction between brands and consumers. We are very bullish about the next wave of growth with our new product launches that enable brands with remote solutions for Sales, Onboarding, Customer Service, and Collection use cases.

In the near future, Ameyo plans to launch a series of solutions in the AI space using their own IP as well as by partnering with market leaders in the space. The firm has invested in AI to use sentiment analysis in the routing of interactions and is planning to use it for three main purposes i.e. Intelligent Routing, Assisted Service, and Quality Monitoring.

Geographically they will continue to expand into newer markets in Southeast Asia, ME, and Africa and have recently also entered the markets of South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Vietnam.

The 400+ employees strength company initially started off with solutions for contact center channels like voice and email but today they are catering to all social media and chat platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Play Store, Instagram, Twitter, and Viber.

About Ameyo

Ameyo is an Omnichannel customer engagement platform that helps businesses go remote with its 3 Unique Remote Contact Center Solutions and help them streamline their customer service, customer support, and collection processes.

Ameyo's robust platform is available for on-cloud and on-premise implementation with private, public, as well as hybrid instances. It has pre-built integrations with all significant industry-grade CRMs. Ameyo provides strong omnichannel capabilities of Voice, IVR, ACD, Dialers, Email, Chat, and Social Media such as Instagram, Google Play, Twitter, Facebook & WhatsApp. 

Netmagic Launches SaaS Based Application Performance Monitoring Services Based on the AppDynamics Platform

Netmagic  (An NTT Company), and a leading managed hosting, security and multi-cloud hybrid IT solution provider in India, today announced its partnership with AppDynamics, a Cisco company, to provide Application Performance Monitoring (APM) as a service to enterprises in India to ensure deep visibility into their customers’ critical applications and end user experience.

This service enables businesses to deliver flawless digital experiences consistently by connecting end-user experience and application performance to business outcomes. APMaaS is intuitive to configure and deploy, automatically discovers business transaction, consumes little production overhead, monitors every line of code, and dynamically baselines performance to proactively identify and resolve application performance issues before they impact customers and the business.

Contemporary businesses rely heavily on digital technology to deliver a superior customer experience. Technology today includes a complex fabric of multi-cloud, IOT, distributed services, microservices, containers, APIs and much more that need to work in harmony to ensure that the application performance as experienced by the end user is of high quality.

Speaking about this, Nitin Mishra, Senior Executive Vice President, and Chief Product Officer, Netmagic (An NTT Company) said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with AppDynamics to offer Application Performance Monitoring Service (APMaaS) empowering businesses to navigate this turbulent pandemic period and emerge stronger and more scalable. With the business transaction-centric management of most complex and distributed applications, the APM service will bring value and enhance customer experience by providing clear visibility on the underlying components of the application. Apart from narrowing down to the source of the problem in the entire application flow, it will also provide deep user insights and analytics that will help the customer deliver significantly improved end user experience”

Adding further, Abhilash Purushothaman, Managing Director, India & SAARC, AppDynamics, said, “Our partnership and joint solution offering with Netmagic is a significant milestone for the AppDynamics India business. In India, adoption of online application-led services has sky-rocketed across all industry verticals in recent years. Now with the recent pandemic and increased reliance on remote working, our customers have shared that managing digital user experience in real time is no longer nice to have but a necessity. This strategic partnership will help us scale and deliver APM as a service across all business and industry segments.” 

The modules of this tool that will help in delivering the APM services include Application Performance Management – Core, Performance Management – Microservices Application Performance Management – SAP, Synthetic Transactions Monitoring, Browser Real User Monitoring, Mobile Real User Monitoring, Database Visibility, Infrastructure Visibility, and Business Analytics.

The benefits of the service that would add value to customers’ applications management are –

* Uptime and availability of the applications.

* Slowness in response in terms of time and database can be identified using this service.

* Application performance monitoring for end-users who use browsers and mobiles, tablets etc. to access the applications.

The modules will be wrapped under different packages and offered to customers. The APM solution is based on the package and can be scaled up depending on business requirements. This service can be delivered as a standalone offering or as an enhancement integrated with Netmagic’s Infra Manage Services.

About Netmagic (An NTT Company)

Netmagic, an NTT Company, is India’s leading Managed Hosting and Multi-Cloud Hybrid IT solution provider serving more than 2000 enterprises globally. Headquartered in Mumbai, Netmagic also delivers Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) services to various enterprise customers globally across Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific region. The Company was the first in India to launch services – Cloud Computing, Managed Security, Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) and Software-Defined Storage. Netmagic has been recognized with 8 awards at the CIO Choice 2020, and 2 awards at the Datacenter Dynamics India 2019.

Madame Unveils Tee & Mask Co-Ord Collection for the Fashionable

Madame, a fashion brand has come up with its latest Tee & Mask Co-ord Collection. With the face masks becoming inadvertently Fashion’s hottest summer accessory, we decided to lift the fashion era with the designs you can carry, to look even more beautiful.

Introducing coordinated concepts of fashion masks with the slogan tees, making it a fashion statement. From monotones to stylish look this new range of fashion masks and tees are available in impactful prints and designs to match your daily looks. We have initiated motivational slogan prints to spread the positivity around this pandemic, a new normal is being defined.

COVID has shaken up the society to its core, Our selection of bold colors shows how steadily we have to act in hardest of the situation, the quotes depict the humanity’s ability to adapt a change and shows how creativity can put a positive twist in fighting a war. Our range of stylish masks and the graphic tee is here to make the quarantine queen you really are. 

About Madame:

Madame features a wide range of clothes and accessories for women. The brand provides fast fashion in-trend merchandise, casual wear, party wear. In line with its global image, Madame is known for its vast variety, latest styles, and fast turnaround of new collections up to seven times in a year.

Since its inception, the brand has rapidly expanded across the country and has 150+ exclusive brand outlets across the country. Madame also retails in over 600 multi-brand outlets and has four stores in Saudi Arabia. The brand is retailed through online marketplaces including Myntra, Jabong, and Amazon, and additionally, the brand has set up its own online store called Glamly.

When Madame started small, the business did great in knitwear and customers knew the brand for its winter collection. The brand wanted to evolve with the changing needs of our customers and hence decided to grab attention by starting a summer collection.

Despite the small beginning, Madame had one thing going for it customer loyalty. With its strength in manufacturing, Madame was able to win over customers, who became loyal to the brand. Women preferred Madame to other brands and continued buying from it for several years.

Sanjeev Vohra Named Global Lead of Accenture Applied Intelligence

WHAT: Sanjeev Vohra has been named the global lead of Accenture Applied Intelligence. In this role he also joins the company’s Global Management Committee (GMC). Accenture’s Applied Intelligence business – which helps clients use data, AI, analytics and automation to fuel business transformation – is a strategic growth driver for the company, and an increased priority for its clients as organizations pursue greater agility and data-driven insights..

WHO: Vohra oversees a global Applied Intelligence workforce of 40,000, with deep industry expertise and skills in areas including AI, data science, deep learning, machine learning and data engineering. This team works with clients on every step of their AI journey – from data strategy to data foundation, from AI governance to implementation. Prior to this new role, Vohra was Accenture’s Growth & Strategy lead for Technology, overseeing business strategy and investments, including ventures and acquisitions.

Since joining Accenture in 2002, Vohra has played a key role in shaping the company into a data-driven organization, with the skills to match. In his role leading Accenture’s data services portfolio, Vohra deepened relationships with mature and emerging ecosystem partners to meet new demands with joint capabilities. As part of the global leadership team, he helped drive Accenture’s focus on “the New” (digital, cloud, security), bringing the right technology, coupled with strong talent, to deliver hundreds of digital transformations for clients. 

Vohra is passionate about fostering a culture of learning within his teams, and the industry more broadly. In addition to promoting skills development at Accenture, he has forged strategic partnerships with universities including MIT, Stanford, Wharton and Harvard to facilitate innovative learning programs and research.

ACCENTURE COMMENT:

“Sanjeev brings unparalleled data and analytics expertise and a wide-ranging strategy and technology background to this critical role. We will count on his exceptional business acumen, leadership, and innovation-led mindset to drive our Applied Intelligence business and help our clients discover new ways to harness the power of data and insight to fuel their transformation and growth.”

—Annette Rippert, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Strategy & Consulting

WHEN: Vohra’s appointment is effective immediately. 

BACKGROUND: Applied Intelligence is Accenture’s approach to scaling AI-powered data, analytics and automation capabilities for clients. Our expertise in defining end-to-end strategy, combined with deep data infrastructure capabilities, cognitive services and industrialized accelerators help smooth clients’ path to AI adoption, extending human capabilities and supporting clients in scaling AI responsibly.

How women are Making it Big in Business Via WhatsApp-Based Social Commerce?

By Varun Khurana, Founder, Otipy ( India’s fastest growing social commerce venture)

 

Social commerce is not a new concept in the country major chunk of social commerce existed only in the fashion, beauty, and retail industries. Today, social commerce is gaining popularity for one of the fundamental aspects of life – fresh food. Fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables have become the most in-demand products as people switch to healthier ways of living and are eager to know the source.  

 

A USD 200 Billion fresh produce category is now witnessing major disruption through social commerce. It is garnering the attention of consumer, entrepreneurs, and investors, . In fact, consumers are increasingly preferring their food sourced through social commerce for various reasons such as higher credibility, rational price and most importantly, fresher produce (delivered within a day straight from the farms sometime within 12 hrs). For women looking to be a part of the business environment without monetary investment, social commerce within the food category is the ideal solution. Let us take a look at how social commerce is playing a key role in helping women make it big in business.

 

The rise of social commerce

Increasing internet penetration and social media usage have paved the way for the rise of social commerce. A majority of the population today uses and is in fact hooked onto social media and brands are leveraging this aspect. With the rise in demand for fresh produce, women are joining hands with brands to become resellers within their community to make a mark for themselves in their community by leveraging social commerce. Currently, fresh produce is a supply-led model and social commerce is flipping it to demand-led model that further helps in solving the problem of middlemen and wastage (since there is no inventory). Apart from this, it helps resellers connect with their customers-base efficiently and offer real-time feedback to the farmers regarding the quality of the produce.

 

The emergence of women as dominant sellers

 For the first time, women are taking the center stage in spurring the adoption of e-commerce and helping the industry as well as themselves progress. The advent of technology, rapid digitization of businesses, and easy access have helped drive this change. For women sellers, a slew of features aided by cutting-edge technology such as voice chats/chatbots, real-time updates and feedback to the farmers, and most importantly, WhatsApp-based marketing is coming handy to open more doors to become micro-entrepreneurs.         

Additionally, women sellers also have a higher average order value, better retention and repeat orders, making them more suitable. In fact, not just urban cities, but women resellers hail from tier-II and tier-III catchment areas are hopping on the fresh produce social commerce bandwagon to fulfil their goals and achieve financial independence with almost no investment. A whopping 68% of women in most platforms sell from tier-II and tier-III cities.

 

Women sellers also help customers gain the trust factor for unbranded products since they usually tend to lean towards known/established brands. In return, social commerce platforms offer easy access for women to build an entrepreneurial empire of their own through community engagement without hindrances. Particularly in vernacular language-led social commerce platforms, women are dominating the space, even though the concept is still at a very nascent stage. They are learning the tricks of the trade and are keen on flourishing in the competitive business environment.

 

Social commerce is quickly becoming a multi-million-dollar market in India. However, the country has a largely unorganized market, particularly in tier-II, tier-III and tier-IV cities, especially for the fresh produce category with millions of farmers scattered across the country. Additionally, shopping for fresh produce is a social concept of sorts. Since the pandemic has forced us to adhere to social distancing norms, social commerce is flourishing and women are leading the way. With technological advancements, greater digitization and the availability of regional languages providing easy access and seamless experience, the rise of women entrepreneurs through social commerce is inevitable.  

SAP Appoints Kulmeet Bawa as President and Managing Director of Indian Subcontinent

SAP SE has announced the appointment of Kulmeet Bawa as President and Managing Director for SAP Indian Subcontinent, effective July 20, 2020. Kulmeet will be responsible for driving and delivering an exceptional SAP experience for employees and customers across our ecosystem, as well as guide businesses in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to adopt a digital-first mindset. Based in Gurgaon, Kulmeet will report directly to Scott Russell, President of SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ).

“The current pandemic environment requires companies to take swift action and accelerate digital transformation to become intelligent enterprises. At SAP we are committed to support our customers and help them transform, scale and win,” said Scott Russell, President, SAP APJ. “We are confident that Kulmeet’s track record of a customer-centric approach, his focus on people and effective team-work, coupled with deep industry knowledge, will propel SAP India to continued success,” he added.

Most recently, Kulmeet was the Chief Operating Officer for Resulticks where he led the growth strategy and execution of go-to-market for the organization. With cross functional experience of more than 25 years, Kulmeet has served with the Indian Army in the Armored Corps, subsequently moving to the corporate side. He led the India & South Asia market for Adobe orchestrating businesses to digitally transform and drive excellence in customer experience, prior to that he was with Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems, managing enterprise strategies across industries and portfolios. 

“As India acclimatizes to the new reality in the new normal, it is important for businesses to permeate digital technologies in every industry, institution, business process, and individual experience,” said Kulmeet. “I am excited to move from Singapore back to India working closely with local customers, helping them adopt innovative technologies to achieve successful business outcomes,” he added.

Under the guidance and leadership of Deb Deep Sengupta, current SAP India MD and SAP veteran of two decades, the organization achieved significant success with strong growth across several business areas. Deep will work closely with Kulmeet to ensure a smooth leadership transition for our customers and partners. Deep’s next position will be announced in due course.

About SAP

As the Experience Company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP® system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables more than 440,000 business and public customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. 

Seagate's ‘Rethink Data’ Report Reveals that 68% of Data Available to Businesses goes Unleveraged

The report also identifies the missing link of data management—DataOps—which can help organizations harness more of their data’s value and lead to better business outcomes.

Seagate Technology plc, a world leader in data storage and management solutions, today released Rethink Data: Put More of Your Data to Work—From Edge to Cloud. The report—based on a survey of 1500 global enterprise leaders, which was commissioned by Seagate and conducted by the research firm IDC—identifies today’s most pressing data management challenges, and solutions to them. It pinpoints the amount of data available to enterprises that goes unused: 68%.

“The report and the survey make clear that winning businesses must have strong mass data operations,” says Seagate CEO Dave Mosley. “The value that a company derives from data directly affects its success.”

The most significant findings include:

Data management is increasingly important as data proliferates. IDC projects that over the next two years enterprise data will grow at a 42.2% annual rate.

Only 32% of data available to enterprises is put to work. The remaining 68% is unleveraged. 

The top five barriers to putting data to work are: 1) making collected data usable, 2) managing the storage of collected data, 3) ensuring that needed data is collected, 4) ensuring the security of collected data, and 5) making the different silos of collected data available.

Managing data in the multicloud and hybrid cloud are top data management challenges expected by businesses over the next two years.

Two thirds of survey respondents report insufficient data security, making data security an essential element of any discussion of efficient data management.

 

The report identifies the missing link of data management: data operations, or DataOps. IDC defines DataOps as “the discipline connecting data creators with data consumers.” While the majority of respondents say that DataOps is “very” or “extremely” important, only 10% of organizations report having implemented DataOps fully. The survey demonstrated that, along with other data management solutions, DataOps leads to measurably better business outcomes. It boosts customer loyalty, revenue, profit, cost savings, plus results in other benefits.

"The findings of this study illustrating that more than two-thirds of available data lies fallow in organizations may seem like disturbing news," said Phil Goodwin, research director, IDC and principal analyst on the study. "But in truth, it shows how much opportunity and potential organizations already have at their fingertips. Organizations that can harness the value of their data wherever it resides—core, cloud or edge—can generate significant competitive advantage in the marketplace."

The survey queried 1500 respondents—500 in the Asia Pacific and Japan region, 475 in Europe, 375 respondents in North America, and 150 in China.

About Seagate Technology

Seagate Technology crafts the datasphere, helping to maximize humanity’s potential by innovating world-class, precision-engineered data management solutions with a focus on sustainable partnerships. Learn more about Seagate by visiting www.seagate.com or following us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and subscribing to our blog.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.

©2020 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Seagate, Seagate Technology, and the Spiral logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Zendesk Commended by Frost & Sullivan for Its Customer-focused Sales Force Automation Solution

Based on its recent analysis of the North American small and mid-sized business (SMB) mobile worker apps market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Zendesk with the 2020 North American Product Leadership Award for its Sell sales force automation (SFA) solution. The solution stands out for its ease of use, affordable pricing, creative bundling, ongoing support, and emphasis on the customer experience.

“Zendesk Sell is tailored to the needs of SMBs and offers a tiered selection of capabilities. Unlike legacy sales management tools, it supports an omnichannel strategy; provides an easy-to-use, mobile-first experience; and prioritizes integration with both internal company systems and external services,” said Jeanine Sterling, Frost & Sullivan Industry Director. “Significantly, Zendesk is able to leverage the product usage data from over 40,000 Zendesk customers and combine it with information from its Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report for well-rounded insights regarding customer needs.”

Zendesk Sell is available as a standalone offering and as a part of a competitively priced bundle called the Sales Suite. This bundle includes the Zendesk Sell, Chat, Reach, and Voice, which are core tools used by sales representatives to prospect, communicate, and sell. Zendesk Sell is available in a cloud-based as-a-service format, and its subscription pricing model makes it affordable to smaller businesses and allows customers to scale the solution easily.

The company is looking to make the most of its rising brand awareness with creative go-to-market strategies that target existing Zendesk users that need SFA software and value the integration of Sell with other Zendesk products and that target new prospects that are searching for SFA software that is powerful yet easy to use and affordable. These two strategies can potentially tap customer segments that are new to SFA and either seeking to upgrade to a more advanced SFA or replace a legacy or homegrown product.

“The SMB mobile worker applications sector is expected to continue growing, and mobilized SFA solutions, such as Sell, will be key contributors to this trend. The company also continues to forge technology and reseller partnerships, thereby building an ecosystem of apps and alternate channels that open up new global markets,” noted Sterling. “As Zendesk expands into the enterprise sector, its Sell offering and tiered plans will continue to offer SMBs flexibility, scalability, integrations, and the capabilities that smaller businesses need to succeed.”

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid market acceptance. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

Milagrow Introduces 4 Humanoid Robots to Cater to Increased Demand in Healthcare, Hospitality & Office Management Industry

As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across India, the demand for automated solutions across sectors is high. Keeping this in mind, India’s No.1 consumer robotics brand Milagrow Robots has launched 4 new humanoid robots – RoboDiCaprio, RoboJulia, RoboNano and RoboElf – which are specially designed to cater to hotels, hospitals, restaurants and corporate offices.

RoboDiCaprio – The Guest Relations Robot

This Guest Relations Robot is 155 cm tall and can be used for business consulting, greeting, reservations, advertising and patrolling at hotels, banks, administrative centers, restaurants, museums, libraries, hospitals, schools, retail showrooms, shopping malls, cinema halls, banquet halls, weddings, sports stadiums etc. Equipped with advanced sensors to sense the human presence in proximity, RoboDiCaprio can actively interact with visitors. It can greet them, broadcast promotional information, guide the visitor to different locations, and play audio, still images and videos while speaking. The humanoid also has face recognition capabilities with response milliseconds and 98% accuracy. When it comes to navigation, RoboDiCaprio functions on a highly-specified LIDAR technology which can scan a distance of 25 M with an accuracy of 2mm. Further, it is also equipped with Milagrow's Real Time Terrain Recognition technology for seamless navigation without any human intervention.

RoboJulia – The Serving Robot

Standing tall at 155 cms, the Serving Robot also has advanced sensors and navigation technologies such as LIDAR and Milagrow’s Real Time Terrain Recognition. It is designed to deliver meals to the guests’ designated tables, explain the menu, give restaurant information etc. The robot can even deliver different meals to three different tables. It can work universally, take fast turns and has an emergency stop. RoboJulia is equipped with anti-skid rubber wheels and can walk at 3km/h. It does the route negotiation autonomously from one point to the next position with depth perception and high precision radar sensors for better navigation and positioning technology.

RoboElf – The Service Assistant

RoboElf has already been deployed at the AIIMS, New Delhi and Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai. It is also working in shopping malls, restaurants, banks, metros, elementary schools, and many other sectors. The robot’s latest version has a business management system (especially for commercial chain stores) – Multi-service Platform System (MPS). With this service system built on a Cloud terminal, users can give orders or push new files to their RoboElf robots distributed around the world. The robot can also collect and manage collected data from each robot so the user can better run their businesses.

RoboNano – The Personal Companion

Perfect for offering companionship, RoboNano is a personal assistant robot equipped with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service. This intelligent, cloud-enabled robot features voice assistance, smart home control and remote surveillance capabilities, delivering centralized management and security to households around the world. RoboNano stands 85 cms tall and comes with over 50 sensors to avoid objects in its way, recognize voices and know when someone enters the room. Additionally, the humanoid can order pizza, request a car, track fitness stats, control the TV and play music from today’s leading streaming providers. It pairs with smart home devices from the world’s most popular connected home brands, enabling families to control lights, thermostats and home appliances. RoboNano also allows families to live-stream video and control it from anywhere in the world. When the family is away, the robot can monitor the house using object detection sensors and sounds an alarm if an intruder is discovered.

Speaking on the launch, Rajeev Karwal, Founder -Chairman of MilagrowHumantech, said, "Milagrow is committed to its vision that no human being should serve another human being for menial chores or repetitive tasks. We today have over 20 different types of robots and will play our role to the clarion call of making India self-reliant. Our robots will increase efficiency and productivity across industries while promoting social distancing. With our unique, state-of-the-art offerings, we look forward to creating a new set of value-added jobs."

All the robots are available for purchases on www.milagrowhumantech.com

About Milagrow

Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions was founded by Mr Rajeev Karwal in 2007 and forayed into AI Robotics in 2011. It has numerous firsts to its credit in the field of Service and Commercial Robots. It has robots for facility management, hospitality, education, healthcare, retail as well banking.

COVID-19 Triggered Economic Distress Sees Sharp Spike in Smuggling of Goods

FICCI Cascade

* In order to create large-scale awareness of this menace, FICCI CASCADE has been conducting several interactions with government and enforcement agencies across several states in India on the ways and means to mitigate this challenge.

* Applauding enforcement agencies for recent seizures, FICCI CASCADE urges Government to keep up the vigilance as current tough economic environment leads to economic crimes

* Gold, Cigarette and Liquor, having high tax arbitrage top the list of smuggled goods

* Smugglers using innovative measures like ferrying illegal cigarettes in COVID-19 Special Trains

FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy, (CASCADE) has appealed to the policy makers that illicit trade should be treated as a national threat. Illicit trade has emerged as one of the most formidable challenges before our nation, especially during the current pandemic which has led to an economic distress. This comes in the wake of several cases of smuggling of goods such as gold, cigarettes, liquor which have been reported amid the COVID -19 pandemic.

Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE while congratulating the officers of the enforcement agencies for successful seizures, said, “The perpetrators of illicit trade are always looking at innovative ways to deceive the system to carry out their activities. This deeply harms the economic interests of the nation and the society ends up paying a huge cost. While the recent efforts of enforcement officers are laudable, we cannot afford to let the guard go down. At a time when the country is already dealing with the coronavirus triggered financial stress, it is even more important that the government maintains strict vigil to ensure that these offenders are kept at bay.”

In less than a week, the customs officials had two major seizures of smuggled cigarettes at New Delhi Railway station where the smugglers were using COVID- 19 special trains for ferrying these products. These seizures come on the back of two other major busts of foreign cigarette smuggling rackets, first in Mumbai and second one in Hyderabad. The combined value of the seizures is over Rs. 15 crores. Earlier this month, large seizure of smuggled gold worth Rs 1.5 crore and 15 crore was also made by the Kerala Airport Authority and customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport respectively.

Not only does smuggling dent the government exchequer, by creating opportunities from tax arbitrage, but also threatens local industries on which livelihoods of many depend. In a recent study by FICCI CASCADE, it was estimated that due to smuggling over 16 lakh jobs were lost in India in 5 industry sectors alone in 2017-18. Besides unemployment and massive financial losses, it also creates large scale destabilization by fomenting crime and funding insurgency and terrorism.