IBM Collaborates with National Skill Development Corporation to Offer Free Digital Skills Training

IBM has announced its collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer ‘Open P-TECH’, a free digital education platform, focused on emerging technologies and professional development skills. As a part of the collaboration, IBM will curate online courses from Open P-TECH platform and offer it to users via NSDC’s eSkill India portal  to empower Indian youth on various skills to succeed in future careers.

Under the partnership, IBM  will catalogue its 30 + Open P-TECH courses on eSkill India portal, with 60+ hours of learning, as a knowledge partner. IBM will provide online courses in emerging technologies like Cyber Security, Blockchain, AI and Machine Learning, Cloud, Internet of Things, along with professional skills, like Design Thinking to learners between 18 to 22 years for free.

Dr. Manish Kumar, MD and CEO, National Skill Development Corporation said, "The power of technology should be leveraged for reaching out to the youth with scale and quality. Online trainings through digital platforms like Open P-TECH and eSkill India need to be accelerated to overcome geographical and socio-economic barriers. Digital learning will enable higher participation of women in the labour workforce as the scope for employability will increase.  Overall, digital learning will boost prospects of employment and livelihood for the youth."

eSkill India is  a digital skilling initiative from NSDC that aggregates digital learning resources through various Indian and global knowledge partnerships, to enable access to best-in-class learning resources for the India youth. Currently, over 16 lakh minutes of digital courses and content is available across various sectors in multiple languages, providing learners with the technology and skills needed to prosper in a rapidly transforming digital world. 

Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India/South Asia said, “As the pandemic is driving the digital transition to happen more quickly, there must be new forms of learning if we want to empower young learners with technical and market-related skills. Our collaboration with NSDC is a significant milestone to equip the next generation with digital skills. Open P-TECH will make foundational learning in emerging technology and professional skills for the youth more accessible. Aligned to the country’s SkillIndia mission, we are taking another step in the evolution of our digital education approach to help the next generation of professionals have the exciting future they deserve.”

IBM’s Open P-TECH, a free digital education platform, focused on emerging technologies and professional development skills, was launched in India in March 2020. The platform equips learners and educators with foundational technology competencies, along with workplace learning skills. Under the partnership, Open P-TECH platform will offer courses to  develop soft skills, interpersonal skills, problem solving — a set of 11 key skills which are generally not available in a college curriculum, but are  high in demand and are valued in the job market. Currently available in English, the platform will soon be available in various Indian languages - starting with Hindi, followed by 10 Indian languages including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Urdu, Bengali. 

The partnership will offer both learners and educators with direct access to digital learning resources in various trending specializations, thus providing a great way to jump-start career exploration including earning industry supported digital badges. Students can share these digital badges on their online resumes.

In India, previously, IBM has partnered with Directorate General of Training at the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Central Board of Secondary Education, Niti Aayog and State Department of Education, and State Skills Missions to impact more than 4 lakhs learners and students across 22+ states through its education and skilling initiatives.

Open P-TECH is now available to students and teachers worldwide. Register here: https://open.ptech.org

Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX Sign a Global Strategic Partnership

Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, announced a global strategic partnership with Hinduja Group’s CyQureX, a leading provider of advanced Cyber Security solutions world-wide, with a view to offer world class cyber security solutions in support of clients through successful digital transformation.  

The strategic partnership will enable the organizations to become leaders in the emerging ‘Zero Trust’ environment, leveraging CyQureX’s core SDP (Software Defined Perimeter) technology and solutions, alongside Tech Mahindra’s strategic focus on cybersecurity and other next generation technologies. The partnership will enable Global customers to have access to state-of-the-art cyber security protection for Data Assets across the entire life cycle i.e “Data in Motion”, “Data in Use” and “Data at Rest”.

With decades of consulting and digital transformation expertise, Tech Mahindra will provide consulting, planning, designing, integration, orchestration and automation of services. CyQureX, which represents a new and critical business vertical of the well diversified, multimillion dollar turnover transnational Hinduja Group, with research and development centers in India and USA and offices spread across USA, Europe/United Kingdom, Middle East and India, will prioritize capabilities in the ‘Cyber Security domain - the new middleware of the future’.

CP Gurnani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra, said, “Organisations have accelerated their digital transformation journey to emerge stronger and smarter from the current crisis. As a global leading provider of digital services, Tech Mahindra is committed towards leveraging new-age technologies to unleash new business opportunities and experiences for our customers and partner ecosystem through strategic partnerships and world class solutions. We see cybersecurity not only as an essential service but as a key business differentiator for our clients. The partnership with Hinduja Group’s CyQureX aligns with our core business proposition, and will further strengthen our position as the cybersecurity partner of choice for our customers globally.

GP Hinduja, Co-Chairman, Hinduja group is of the view that “This partnership is a game changer in the cyber security domain. It brings the leading security services company Tech Mahindra, and our newest technology company, CyQureX, together to create a highly secure, agile and resilient digital world. I am extremely delighted to see this strategic partnership formed, as it is in line with one of the core principles of our founder, Partnership for Growth. With rapid transformation of business to digital, we believe cybersecurity will be the cornerstone to protect all digital assets, particularly for digital transformation of India and other geographies. We are committed to develop many more indigenous state-of-the-art cyber security products and technologies in the coming years, with a vision to be a major global player in the emerging cyber security solutions market”.

“I am very excited about the alliance with Tech Mahindra” observes M.K.Narayanan, Executive Chairman of CyQureX, a Former National Security Advisor and Special Advisor on Intelligence and Security to the Prime Minister of India.  “This is a critical alliance and I am hopeful that it will be the catalyst to leverage next generation technologies like Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and create Cyber Security platforms to protect businesses, critical infrastructure and government. It promises to take digitalisation to the next level, providing clients across the globe with fully integrated cyber security solutions.”

The strategic partnership between Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX  will not only provide affordable protection to critical data, and defend nations against ‘stealth offences’, but would provide Cyber Security solutions for agile deployment that are critically important for business continuity, competitiveness and flexibility. Together, given TechMNxt charter, which focuses on leveraging next-generation technologies, and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX as a leading provider of cyber security solutions, exciting new opportunities have become available in the arcane world of Cyber security. Simultaneously, Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX will work towards Product Development, Consulting Services and Delivery in the Cyber Security space.

About CyQureX

Established in 2017, CyQureX is a cyber security solutions provider headquartered in London, UK. A Hinduja Group company, CyQureX focuses on design, development and delivery of next generation cyber security portfolio and services. Providing Software defined perimeter based network security solutions to a diversified set of industries such as banking, engineering and financial institutions.

About Hinduja Group

The Hinduja Group is one of India’s premier diversified and transnational conglomerates. Employing nearly a 150,000 employees, with presence across 38 countries it has multi-billion dollar revenue. The Group was founded over a hundred years ago by Shri P.D. Hinduja whose credo was "My duty is to work so that I can give."

The Group owns businesses in Automotive, Information Technology, Media, Entertainment & Communications, Banking & Finance Services, Infrastructure Project Development, Cyber Security, Oil and Specialty Chemicals, Power, Real Estate, Trading and Healthcare. The group also supports charitable and philanthropic activities across the world through the Hinduja Foundation.

Snapchat Launches In-App Meditation Experience with Headspace

Summary

* First announced at Snap Partner Summit last month, Snap Minis are a new way for developers to bring bite-sized experiences to Snapchat.

* Snap Minis are miniature experiences that make a big impact. Each Mini can change the way friends interact with each other.

Snapchat announces the launch of their latest feature Snap Minis and the partnership with an in-App meditation experience with Headspace! The newest feature launched today provides Snapchatters with expert resources related to emotional and physical well-being, while offering daily meditations and tools to help Snapchatters check-in with their friends and stay healthy. By putting resources where friends already meet and share, Snap x Headspace Mini will provide a safe space for friends to practice meditation and mindfulness exercises, and use these new tools to send encouraging messages to check in and positively boost friends in need.

During times of stress, connecting with friends and having moments of relaxation and mindfulness, have never been more important -- and by putting resources front and center where friends already meet and share, Snapchat hopes that the Snap Mini X Headspace feature will provide a safe space for friends to practice meditation and mindfulness exercises, and use these new tools to send encouraging messages to positively boost friends in need.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/q9-mV31TiZi-yGH8OyJS_OIlSikCJZ6GxP8dmh_WZohbnDu-wF1DDGD5hEEg_fHlNe9lenhyWUg8mveeefSXvwCzx1-p8p_nhMM6bhUIdlZbXTg-tuqJGfZ3Au_ESFupSBPOSblh

What are Snap Minis?

Snap Minis are utilities designed to integrate within conversations on Snapchat, so coordinating between friends is faster than ever. 

Other Snap Minis included at launch:

* Let’s Do It (Snap Inc.) -When you and your friends need to make a decision as a group, Let’s Do It helps pick your next move.

* Prediction Master - From Mammoth Media, Prediction Master serves timely questions on everything from the Stock Market to sneaker drops, so Snapchatters can see which of their friends is the true psychic.

* Tembo - Create flashcard decks with friends on Snapchat, to help cram for your next exam.

Snap Minis Value to Partners and Developers

* Reach & Distribution: With Minis, developers get reach & distribution among Snapchat’s audience of over 229 Million daily users. Minis plug directly into the existing Snapchat global audience.

* Friends by default: Minis have close friends by default, so developers can focus on creating new social experiences to help friends create experiences together.

* Easy to build: Developers have limited eng & time resources: Minis are HTML 5, easy to build and work instantly on iOS and Android.

* Developers can apply to create a Snap Mini at https://minis.snapchat.com/

About Snap Inc.

* Snapchat offers brands one of the most effective ways to engage with a large, growing, unique and unduplicated Millennial and Gen Z audience.

* Snapchat has 229 million daily active users, +20% and +39 million YoY.

Trend Micro and Girls in Tech Partner to Help Close the Gender Gap in the Technology Industry

Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced a new initiative in its long-running effort to close the diversity and talent gap in the technology industry. The company will extend its partnership with Girls in Tech, a global non-profit bringing the world together through education and experiences. Together, the two organizations will address the worldwide skills shortage in cybersecurity by helping to develop a large talent pool of women eager to get their start in the industry.

Although there is a global shortfall of more than four million cybersecurity professionals today, just a quarter (24%) of current roles are estimated to be taken by women. Both organizations, with global reach, are passionate about connecting with more women and gender-diverse talent and helping find them opportunities to advance their careers and secure the future. Girls in Tech, with 60,000 global members, has been dedicated to raising awareness of this skills gap and to overcome the divide for more than ten years and Trend Micro runs global education programs with a focus on helping women develop new skills to fill the open jobs.

“I’ve always been passionate about and dedicated to encouraging greater gender diversity in the industry. It’s why at Trend Micro we’re committed to supporting equal opportunities in the workplace and in 2018 launched our Close the Gap initiative,” said Eva Chen, co-founder and CEO of Trend Micro. “I’m delighted to be teaming with Girls in Tech to further advance our efforts. Especially in light of recent events, I believe we must celebrate and encourage diversity at every turn today. It’s what makes us human.”

As part of this expanded partnership with Girls in Tech, Trend Micro will develop a new Cybersecurity Fundamentals course for the non-profit. Instead of choosing a course that already exists within the program, Trend Micro has called on its world-class security team to build a custom course for Girls in Tech specific to today’s market need. The course, a blend of e-learning, online instructor-led classes and a hands-on lab via Trend Micro Product Cloud, will cover cybersecurity essentials, network security threats, an introduction to malware analysis, and much more.

“Girls in Tech shares with Trend Micro a unified vision for a future in which women are provided the same opportunities to pursue professions in technology as their male counterparts,” said Adriana Gascoigne, founder and CEO of Girls in Tech. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Trend Micro to positively impact the technology landscape for women today and generations to come.”

Trend Micro and Girls in Tech first worked together on the Close the Gap program at AWS re:Invent 2018 where they brought managing directors from 30 global Girls in Tech chapters together to brainstorm diversity ideas and programs with industry executives.

Registration for the new Cybersecurity Fundamentals course is now open. The virtual course will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 25 and last four hours per week.

ALTBalaji, Pay Point India Partner for Digital-Assistance and Offline Subscription Payment

Intending to deepen existing market presence and penetrate new markets, ALTBalaji and PayPoint India have entered into a strategic partnership. This initiative is primarily for the rural and semi-rural markets with a set of viewers who require digital-assistance and offline subscription payment options.  

With PayPoint’s 45,000 plus tech-enabled retailers across India wherein more than 80 percent of its customers are spread across in rural and semi-rural markets, the partnership helps ATLBalaji acquire untapped customers by making content more accessible. For the ALTBalaji fans, the PayPoint offline stores provide seamless assistance for activation as well, along with paying for subscription and renewals in cash and access the program at the convenience of their homes.

In the current pandemic,  ALTBalaji, which is an alternative for mainstream entertainment, has witnessed an increased audience in rural areas. PayPoint, a leading offline-to-online (O2O) company operating Pan India for the last 10 years, will provide access to its retail outlets to collect cash on behalf of ALTBalaji and allow the consumers to watch the fresh, original, and engaging contents on the over-the-top (OTT) platform.

Ketan Doshi, Managing Director of PayPoint India, said, “For ALTBalaji like alternatives to mass entertainment, there is a huge fan following in the rural districts of India. However, for lower digital-savvy fans activating the service, and doing an offline recharge is a hindrance. This partnership will be a boon for the population to do an instant activation and renewal recharge.”

“The offline recharge for such video-on-demand OTT service is the first of this kind and one such industry initiative. The association will help ALTBalaji achieve higher subscriber’s base, while PayPoint will be adding one of its kind product to the kitty of services that it is providing to the customers across the length and breadth of India, ” Ketan added.

The association will enable ALTBalaji to take the OTT space to the masses and aggressively increase its viewership by reaching every corner of the country. Available across multiple interfaces ranging from desktops, laptops, tablets, smart-phones to internet-ready television, the subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) service marries state-of-the-art technology with gripping storytelling. 

PayPoint is a trusted partner for Last-Mile Delivery of Fast-Moving Consumer Services. It offers more than 100 services like bill payment, recharges, DTH, Travel booking, ATM withdrawals, Wallets, and many more. Technology-enabled Retailers brings benefit to the end customers in terms of accessibility, convenience in the neighborhood.

About ALTBalaji

ALTBalaji is a subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Limited, a subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) service, which has marked the Group’s foray into the Digital Entertainment space. After conquering television and making a strong mark in films, Balaji Telefilms aims to reach out directly to specific audiences, by providing them with original, exclusive shows, that they can access at their fingertips. ALTBalaji offers fresh, original, and unique stories. Tailored especially for Indians, across the globe, the platform hosts premium, high-quality shows featuring famous celebrities, acclaimed writers, and award-winning directors, making ALTBalaji a true alternative to mainstream entertainment.

About PayPoint India

PayPoint is a technology-enabled Distribution network of Financial Services. The company's digitally connected network of 45000+ offline stores offers various Financial services like Banking (PMJDY accounts), micro-ATM services, Wallets (Paypointz), Remittances, Bill payments, insurance, Merchant QR and many more. Apart from Financial services, PayPoint also offers consumer services to the underserved like Travel booking, Recharges, Amazon assisted shopping, Gift Cards, etc. through its strong network of retail stores spread across the country. The company’s retailer-driven assisted model helps customers make an informed decision for availing services from their trained partners and its digital platform.

PayPoint offers a bouquet of services through its plug-and-play platform. More than 100 Services providers are plugged into the company's system and interact with them on a real-time basis catering to more than 5 million customers month on month. The primary objective is to bridge the financial inclusion gap between developed urban India and under-served rural India.

Acclaimed Artist & Activist Madame Gandhi Debuts New Music Video for “Waiting For Me’’

Multi-talented artist, percussionist, producer and activist MADAME GANDHI releases her newest video for Visions track “Waiting For Me”. Directed by Misha Ghose, “Waiting For Me” has been conceptualized and produced by an all-female team and features queer, trans, female and gender non-conforming cast members and marks Madame Gandhi’s first-ever video shot in India.  With its contrasting industrial imagery and color palettes, the visual brings to life the song’s empowering message, an eco-feminist call to action that eschews institutionalized power structures in favor of forging new narratives of self-expression.

Madame Gandhi explains, “We as artists have the power to use our art to vividly reimagine the world we wished we lived in. ‘’Waiting For Me’’ is a song about questioning societal norms as they exist.  The video opens with the quote, ‘We always assume our own powerlessness, but never our own power.’ With the interconnected social justice movements happening around the world, we are seeing a larger belief in the power of the collective for change. This music video is a call to action for each of us to examine how hierarchy, capitalism and systemic oppression serve to keep us obedient, with little space for dialogue or critical thinking. My hope is that this video inspires folks to ask, ‘Are my behaviors contributing to the oppression of somebody else? And what contributes to my own oppression? What does my version of freedom look and feel like?” 

The video for “Waiting For Me” launches the next chapter in Madame Gandhi’s already critically-acclaimed career, as she announces her signing with Sony Music Masterworks.  With an imitable pairing of complex percussive rhythms and empowering messages of liberation, Madame Gandhi is known for her passionately uplifting body of musical work that continues to elevate the female voice and redefine notions of gender, identity and politics.  Having released her first two EPs as part of an overarching short-form album trilogy, most recently 2019’s Visions, Madame Gandhi begins her new partnership with Sony Music Masterworks ahead of the third and final installment in the series. 

Selected as 2020 TED Fellow for her commitment to creating meaningful and positive change, Madame Gandhi will also participate in TED2020 later this year, joining multidisciplinary individuals across the globe for an online gathering of conversations, sessions and performances.  She returns to the TED Stage later this year after her 2018 TED Talk about the importance of making music accessible to those hard of hearing. The talk now has over 200k views – watch here.

Further, today’s news and video arrive on what has been a massive week for Madame Gandhi, who made her NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert debut recently, performing tracks from both her Visions and Voices EPs.

Please find below the video link for your reference.

* “Waiting For Me” video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bNdmBeQHI4 

VMware Partners with Netmagic to Launch CloudHealth Service in India

Netmagic, an NTT Company, and India’s leading Managed Hosting and Multi-Cloud Hybrid IT solution provider, today announced its partnership with VMware to launch SimpliInsight Services powered by VMware CloudHealth service in India. VMware Cloud Provider Program (VCPP) s is a global ecosystem of providers offering cloud services based on VMware technology.

Netmagic is one of the largest VCPP partners in India to develop the orchestration layer on top of the VMware virtualization platform.

Netmagic has achieved VMware Cloud Verified status and becomes the first Cloud verified partner to launch SimpliInsight Services powered by VMware CloudHealth in the country.

The Cloud Verified badge signals to customers that Netmagic offers a service running on top of the complete VMware Cloud infrastructure. Through Cloud Verified partner services, customers attain access to the full set of VMware Cloud Infrastructure capabilities including integration and interoperability, cost optimization and flexibility.

With SimpliInsight Services powered by VMware CloudHealth, Netmagic will deliver a consistent and actionable view into cost and resource management, security, and performance for applications across multiple cloud environments. SimpliInsight Services powered by VMware CloudHealth will help Netmagic’s customer realize costs saving across multi-cloud deployments such as Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), etc.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with VMware. Netmagic's SimpliInsight service powered by VMware CloudHealth will support businesses with in-depth visibility on cost, performance and security – allowing our customers to make informed strategic decisions for their deployments across hyperscalers like AWS, Azure and Google,” said Nitin Mishra, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Netmagic.

Pradeep Nair, Managing Director, VMware India, “Cloud infrastructure services spend hit yet another record in Q1 2020, growing 34% (YoY) to $31 billion[1]. This growth in cloud services is driven in no small part by the global shift to remote working and increased push for digital transformation. Organizations in India are cognizant of the value delivered by cloud and we are witnessing a significant upswing in cloud adoption across sectors. At VMware we strive to help our customers manage their cloud infrastructure seamlessly and efficiently for maximum ROI. With CloudHealth, organizations in India can effectively manage multiple cloud environments through a single pane of glass.  Our partnership with Netmagic will enable a wide range of Indian customers to benefit from our unified cloud management solutions and help accelerate the Indian cloud adoption narrative further.”

David Bate, VP, Cloud, VMware Asia Pacific & Japan, VMware, “Enterprises in APJ are embracing a multi-cloud model and are looking for ways to assemble, deploy, shift and manage workloads across their hybrid cloud environment.  The partnership with Netmagic will bring together the capabilities for delivering cloud infrastructure, consumption and resource management to customers in India. We are excited to support their journey and are confident that SimpliInsight Services powered by VMware CloudHealth will utilize our platform to deliver a fully automated cloud management experience.”

VMware’s global network of more than 4,000 VMware Cloud Providers leverage VMware’s consistent cloud infrastructure to offer a wide array of services, provide geographic and industry specialization, and help customers meet complex regulatory requirements. Cloud Providers operating under the VMware Cloud Provider Program deliver individually tailored cloud solutions and services in more than 120 countries.

Alankit, IDP Announces Partnership for Innovative Identity Solutions Range Across Indian Market

Alankit, a market leader and eminent name in the Financial and digital solutions industry with  business segments like e-Governance, Financial Services, Healthcare and Insurance Broking announced their  partnership with IDP, an industry leader in innovative identification card printer technology. Alankit is launching innovative Smart Card Printing solutions range (SOLID series – first in India) for secure, smart & seamless access through ID -cards such as Pan, Aadhaar, Corporate ID cards, student ID cards   etc.

IDP is an industry leader dedicated to improving the photo identification market by developing card printers, encoders and software with diverse and innovative uses of technology.

According to Mr. Ankit Agarwal, MD Alankit Ltd. “In such challenging times we need a secure card printing solution partner who can stand with us as we liaise with different Government divisions. We are thrilled to announce our partnership with IDP who will be with us for the best and efficient printing.We pride ourselves on consistently delivering services based on a robust countrywide network. It is critically important that we should step a foot ahead in every aspect of the business of digital solutions to ensure we remain on the competitive edge in our industry”. Alankit has printed over 90-million different types of ID-cards under the E Governance partnership presence. Alankit has a chain of TIN-Facilitation and PAN centers across India and providing hassle-free printing of online pan cards as well.

Commenting on this strategic partnership Mr. Brian Roh CEO, IDP says “It will be the perfect partnership with Alankit as they are already one of the established leaders in citizen services and now we can combine their expertise to address the business challenges, introducing the new solution in e- Governance and Financial ecosystem with such innovations in Identity and Access management domain. We are glad to be part of Alankit to provide them end-to-end and high quality services to their clientele.”

Mr. Vishal R Soni, CRO, Alankit Ltd adds, “In today’s challenging market scenario, we feel more responsible to bring in new and market relevant solutions to serve our millions of customers and over 8300+ partners across the country and abroad. We are assured that our relationship with IDP for their card printing hardware and software solutions would help us constantly elevate satisfaction level at our current and new client base and further accelerate new revenue streams for our partners, which is the need of the hour.  We believe IDP’s features like, FINE Image technology, WIFI, Linux support, Quick Laminator extension, smaller yield budget friendly ribbons clubbed with Alankit’s own ALSSEC-ID software to be used for various e-Gov card applications would be wise choice for our customers, for their perpetual success.”

Alankit is a trusted name in the market for almost the last two decades and has got a huge clientele base. The company believes in providing high-quality products and services to its customers. Alankit has trained professional support system in order to ensure timely completion of orders.With focus on customer-centric operations coupled with digital transformation initiatives, Alankit is catering to a wide range of audience including corporate entities, Schools, individual investors as well as general public through its wide network of business /locations/branches across the country. The new products of the Alankit- TheSOLID-510 and Alankit ID Software ALSSEC-ID will provide “contactless card” solution for a smart, secure, and seamless access to the premises post lockdown. This combination will also support UTI/NSDL/Income Tax Portals.

About Alankit Ltd.

ALANKIT LIMITED is the flagship company of Alankit and a leading e-Governance Service Provider in India. Alankit is a conglomerate comprising of 13 Group companies with diversified activities into the e-Governance, Financial Services, Insurance and Health Care verticals. Alankit Limited is listed on both the premier exchanges of the country; National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE). Its customer base of over 21 Million is increasing steadily year after year. Alankit Ltd.’s primary services include GSP (GST Suvidha Provider), TIN Facilitation Centre & PAN Centre, Aadhaar Services, Business Correspondent (BC), National Distributor for ID card Printers, POP- National Pension System (NPS), Authorized Person (AP) for National Insurance - policy Repository (NIR), Point of Service (POS) for National Skills Registry (NSR), Facilitator for Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Manpower Services, etc. Alankit acts as the last mile between the Government and the citizens of the country.

IT services deal signed between GE, Mahindra Satyam

Mahindra Satyam today said it has received an extension of its multi-million dollar contract with GE for next three years January 1, 2010.

GE, which is among the top five customers of Mahindra Satyam for over a decade now, gets support in the specialised areas of Application Development Maintenance, Business Intelligence and engineering services, Satyam Mahindra said in a statement.

"We thank the leadership at GE, for having reposed their confidence in us, and reinforce our resolve to excel in our deliverables to our esteemed partner, for years to come," Mahindra Satyam Global Account Executive Arvind Malhotra said.

GE has signed a similar contract with 11 other vendors. "GE recognizes the support extended over the years by Mahindra Satyam, and their commitment to delivery excellence, even during trying times," GE GDC Leader Steve Morrison said.

Satyam management had been in constant dialogue with its major clients, including GE and others to continue working with it.

"Mahindra Satyam has gained 32 new customers in the last four months," a top official had said earlier.

"Some of the large clients we had lost earlier are coming back and are reassigning new business," Atul Kunwar, the company's president of the Middle East, Europe, India and Asia Pacific regions, said on the sidelines of an industry conference.

The company, currently has about 420 clients, he said, compared with 480 in January before it was left battling for survival after Satyam's founder revealed India's biggest corporate fraud.

Satyam was acquired by Tech Mahindra in an auction in April and subsequently renamed. The number of employees the company has on reserve has come down to 7,000 from 8,500 in July, Kunwar said.

"With the business improving and new deals coming in, we have slowly started taking in employees from the virtual pool."

Agencies

Have small IT firms outwit the big IT giants?

It is not a secret that are at the lower rung of the competition hierarchy in the European technology market. Indian firms still have a long way to go before they get lucrative contracts from that market. But, they seem to be gradually creeping into European market, with smaller firms taking a clear competitive edge than IT biggies like Infosys and TCS, reports CXO today.

"I find that the big Indian companies are too pragmatic. Not able to take my requests simply...CMM Level 5 etc is of no use to me... all I want is my requirement to be fulfilled," Paul Schewefer, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Continental AG.

It seems that a market like Europe demands a highly aggressive planning and quick implementation of strategies if one wants to make the cut. For small companies with lesser number of people, it is comparatively easier to implement changes without having to go through various processes, making it fast. And many small companies in this market have built capabilities in niche areas unlike some giants.

Moreover, Hannover, Germany, based Continental Group's technology expenditure for this year could be up to $500 million. And a lot of that could go to the smaller companies. "Partnering with smaller Indian firms helps them to invest in manpower and technologies, and that helps us as well," said Schewefer.

For the smaller firms, they are looking at the European market via the partnership model. For instance, Aakit Technologies has just sold 26 percent to Germany-based Aequitas Group. "The deal deepens our access to Europe, and also gives our German partner India capabilities," said Tayeb Barodawla, MD, Aakit Technologies.

Earlier, there were reports that Indian IT firms needed long-term deals if they are to make any gain in Europe. It is true that many Indian IT majors are still finding a major share of their revenue from European market through project services, while most of the MNCs drawing revenue from long-term outsourcing contracts.

IT analysts are still of the opinion that top Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro will have to shift focus on long-term outsourcing in order to make significant gains in the European market. These three companies derive around 25 percent of their revenue from European market.

Agencies