Cognizant, Atos Emerge New Bidders; Block Dell's Perot Systems Acquisition

Business services companies Cognizant Technology Solutions, NTT Data and Atos SE are competing to acquire Perot Systems, an IT management business of Dell, according to people familiar with the matter.

Dell is hoping Perot Systems will fetch more than $5 billion, helping it trim its debt load following its agreement to acquire data storage company EMC for $66 billion, including debt, the people said this week. The merger with EMC is scheduled to close by October 2016, subject to approval by EMC shareholders.

The auction for Perot Systems, however, has taken longer than expected because the offers Dell has received thus far have failed to meet its valuation expectations, the people said. Dell is now reconsidering which contracts it will pass on to Perot Systems to boost the sale process, one of the people added. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

Dell, Cognizant, Japan-based NTT and Atos, of France, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Perot Systems is major provider of IT consulting to hospitals and government departments. Founded in 1988 by former US presidential candidate Ross Perot, it was acquired by Dell in 2009 for $3.9 billion.

While that deal helped Dell diversify beyond its core personal computer business, the company is now focused on making inroads in cloud computing, business software and data management -- a key driver of its deal to acquire EMC. Dell has also been speaking to private equity firms about selling Quest Software, which helps with information technology management, as well as SonicWall, an e-mail encryption and data security provider. Together, these assets could be worth around $4 billion.

Last week, Dell registered SecureWorks, its cybersecurity unit, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO.

Dell has said its goal will be to reduce its debt load in the first 18 to 24 months of its merger with EMC to achieve an investment-grade rating. Dell will have $49.5 billion in debt under current plans to finance the deal.

Agencies

Now Travel Cheaper by Using Carpooling ‘Share’ on Ola Cabs App

Taxi aggregator Ola has launched a new ‘Share’ feature on its app that will allow its users in the city to share rides, making their travel cheaper.

The carpooling feature, which is still in the beta phase and will be rolled out to select users in Bengaluru, will be made available across 5 cities over the next three months.

The service will be available for an introductory flat fare of Rs 50, Ola said in a statement.

“Ola has introduced the concept of social groups on its app. With groups, colleagues from a workplace and friends from a college can come together to share rides amongst themselves.

“A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone. As soon as a user requests a ‘Share’ ride on the Ola app, they will be matched with other users from their groups along their way,” it added.

Ola said most vehicles see only 33 per cent utilisation of capacities. “With ‘Share’, we not only bring economy, convenience and comfort of travelling with people in your circles, but also increased inventory utilisation of vehicles on the platform.

“This will also contribute towards significant reduction of traffic, congestion and pollution in our cities,” Ola Share Head Ishan Gupta said.

Ola Share is a major step in the direction of sustainable transportation, allowing Ola to serve more people at a fraction of the cost, with driver-partners benefiting from increased revenue, he added.

A maximum of three people can share a cab together via Ola Share. Driver-partners get an option to log into the Share platform, getting instant access to increased revenue of up to 50 per cent, through continuous fulfilment of booking requests, it said.

A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone. Last month, Uber had announced the launch of UberPool, its carpooling service in India. The service is available in beta in Bengaluru.

Agencies

Avaya University Outreach Programme Helps in Indian Digital Transformation

Avaya, a global leader in business communications software, systems and services, highlighted today its commitment to India’s digital transformation goals through the Avaya University Outreach Programme, a series of initiatives with leading educational institutes in Pune. More than 70 graduating engineers today attended the first elective course at the Cummins College of Engineering for Women, one of four colleges with which Avaya is collaborating on the programme.

The Avaya curriculum is a one-semester elective course, developed by Avaya in collaboration with the Colleges of Engineering. The course covers key trends in emerging technologies and telecommunication, including digital and IP telephony, VoIP protocols, unified communications and contact center applications and provides new engineers with the skills to develop their careers and further India’s digital transformation efforts. Avaya plans to make the course available to other educational institutions and colleges in Pune and across the nation.

India is driving digital transformation efforts to boost economic growth and provide access to digital services, knowledge and information for all citizens. Avaya is working with four colleges in Pune - to help develop training in key technologies and help deliver the skilled workforce India requires.

The Avaya University Outreach Programme consists of four key elements--- Avaya curriculum, Technology exchange program for Faculty, Avaya Champs and Technology enablement for students.

India is at the heart of Avaya’s innovation focus and represents the company’s largest R&D center globally, spread across Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, providing more than 30% of product & solution development globally. Avaya’s India R&D centers comprise talented engineers, researchers and product management staff, with more than 2,200 employees along with a state-of-the-art research and engineering lab and infrastructure with Data Networking and Unified Communications being the primary focus areas.

Quotes:

“This programme is aimed at helping to transform the educational curriculum and developing the skilled workforce that will drive India’s digital transformation goals. We are very proud to be associated with the leading engineering institutes in Pune and in helping today’s students meet the evolving needs of industry. Following the success of our efforts in Pune, we are planning to implement other such outreach programs in other cities and to continue our efforts in supporting India’s digitization.”

Vijay Mhaskar, Senior Director, Pune R&D at Avaya India

“The engineers that we are supporting today will be the engineers that drive innovation in India tomorrow. The Avaya University Outreach programme demonstrates our commitment to India’s digital transformation and showcases the central role that India’s talented workforce plays in Avaya’s own innovation efforts. Communication is at the center of almost all industries and this course enables students with latest communication technologies and it will ensure the next generation engineers make digital transformation successful”

Roopali Sundar, Head HR- (India) & Lead (APAC, Middle East, Africa), Avaya

“With the rapid changes in the telecom Industry, it is imperative our students are updated and employable from day one.  Therefore we are excited about this initiative between global leader in communications Avaya and Cummins College of Engineering for Women’ to offer an academic course namely “Unified communications and contact center applications” to augment our students with latest cutting edge technologies.  I am sure our collaboration with Avaya will increase in years to come and help students to enhance their employability.”

Dr. M. B. Khambete, Principal, MKSSS’s Cummins College of Engineering for Women

Here is a Chance to Win a Meizu m2 Smart Phone?

Meizu Technology (MEIZU) has announced the launch of its #MerrywithMeizu online contests for its Indian fans on Facebook & Twitter.

To bring the festivity alive, Meizu has organized three different contests, one for each day, starting from, 21^st December. Yesterday, it was create your own Christmas tree contest and today, Meizu fans can win two Meizu m2’s and 12 goodie bags by sharing two good deeds which they might have done in 2015.

You can share your complete story on Meizu India Facebook and Twitter page with #MerrywithMeizu. Contest is valid only for today, Tuesday, December, 22, 2015.

Meizu m2 has been acknowledged and appreciated as one of the most budget friendly smartphones of 2015. 

Some of the significant features of the m2 include:

§  Memory: 2 GB of onboard RAM and Samsung's advanced 16 GB eMMC 5.0 high-speed flash

§  Display: 5-inch 720p HD screen

§  Camera: 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera and FotoNation 2.0 for smart selfie enhancement

§  Network: Support of dual-SIM and dual 4G, primary slot for storage capacity up to 128GB and an expandable storage capacity of 144 GB (max)

§  Battery life: Capacity of 2500mAh, allowing call time of up to 23 hours and 12 hours of browsing internet with screen and Wi-Fi connection turned on

§  Design: Allows perfect one hand usability with mback, 5-inch screen and 131g weight

Polycom & Microsoft Jointly Provide UCC Platforms & Integration for NATO’s Program

A changing world dynamic has caused an increasing need for NATO to have best-in-class business communication solutions for its new Brussels, Belgium headquarters that are both easy to use and always connected. Building on a relationship that has lasted more than six years, Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) announced this week that it has been selected by NATO to be the primary unified communications provider of the organisation’s Active Network Infrastructure (ANWI) project within its extensive high-tech new headquarters located in Brussels, Belgium.

As part of NATO’s “new ways of working” business capability designed to modernise virtual collaboration across multiple networks, the Polycom RealPresence Platform will represent the first hybrid Video Collaboration (VTC), Voice and Data deployment by NATO.  This implementation will extend NATO’s reach to employees, military commands and deployed units, taking this far beyond the traditional and capability to secure collaborative communications no matter what the condition or location is. Polycom will play an important role in the ANWI project, building a viable UC&C service that can be widely used across the NATO organisation to support decision making, collaboration and coordination.

“We see Polycom as a great relationship,” said Steven Janis, Project Manager of the new NATO Headquarters. “There is a great importance to us in the way Polycom integrates smoothly with other communications platforms, such as Microsoft, and the ins-and-outs of the nucleus of our UC&C platforms which help take our communications into the next century.”

In addition to the RealPresence Platform solution being deployed throughout NATO’s networks, Polycom will also equip the facility with 2,500 of its industry-leading Polycom VVX business media voice end points for use with Skype For Business.  This new infrastructure and operations is all about return on investment, saving resources, expanding applications and maintaining advantages for NATO. While the initial deployment at NATO’s new headquarters will be focused on generalised services, the Polycom RealPresence Platform offers the scalability to increase to a more comprehensive UCC infrastructure that will help power the organisation’s “new ways of working” approach.

“Polycom is honoured to have been selected to partner with NATO to outfit its new headquarters in Brussels with industry-leading unified communications and collaboration technology,” said Sean Berg, Vice President, Public Sector at Polycom. “Communications are integral to any organisation. However it plays an absolutely essential role in not only NATO’s initiatives, but the security and well-being of millions of citizens around the world. Polycom is proud to play a critical role in providing a superior user experience while ensuring NATO’s communication is never compromised.” 

Mindtree's Insurance Loss Control Platform Will Automate & Offer Key Insights

Mindtree, a leading digital transformation and technology services company, today announced the launch of its Loss Control Platform, a cloud based solution for transforming the underwriting and risk assessment process for insurers and risk management companies. The solution will enable insurance companies to reduce business exposure due to more optimized risk selection and lower claim incidences.

The Loss Control Platform is designed for the end-to-end life cycle of loss inspection and control. This comprehensive solution covers request management, assignment, risk assessment, tracking and publishing. It enables seamless collaboration among risk managers, risk engineers, underwriters, claims handlers, customers and other stakeholders.

Gaurav Johri, Senior Vice President and Head, Platforms Solutions Group said, “Loss control processes are manual and time consuming. Absence of automation and inconsistent assessment methods used by risk teams are inefficient to support the high level of agility required to handle todays’ more complex environments. Our solution automates the loss control processes, provides automated insights during risk assessment and reduces cycle time up to 30%.”

The solution is built using flexible secured architecture and responsive design to deliver on-the-go services such as risk assessment, progress tracking and risk grading. The architecture extends loss control services to new user groups, locations, and external vendors. The Loss Control Platform uses robust controls, data security and data isolations specific to region, location and line of business.

Girish Joshi, Program Director, Loss Control Platform said, “Our solution offers a unified common workbench for insurers, brokers, managing general agents and risk management companies. It offers process configuration and flexibility to design templates, questionnaires and service level agreements for any line of business and generates automated recommendations for improving underwriting discipline.”

The solution is part of a broader set of cloud-based offerings of the Platforms Solutions Group that help accelerate  digital transformation and core systems modernization.

Niranjan Thirumale Steps Up as New MD R&D of VMware India

VMware, Inc., a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, today announced key changes to its RnD leadership team in India with the appointment of Niranjan Thirumale as Vice President and Managing Site Director, RnD, India. Niranjan Thirumale succeeds Niranjan Maka, who has moved to the company’s headquarters at Palo Alto, California to head VMware’s global RnD sites.

Niranjan Thirumale joins VMware from EMC, where he last served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the EMC India Center of Excellence (CoE). At EMC, he led innovation across the products, solutions and services portfolio.

A seasoned industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, Niranjan has previously held senior leadership roles with NetApp and IBM.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from IIT-Madras, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

“India is a large location in our global RnD presence” said Niranjan Maka, vice president, Global Sites (RnD), VMware. “Niranjan’s appointment brings in a strong industry leader to strengthen VMware’s leadership in India as we grow in scale and capabilities. He will lead the India RnD teams and VMware aims to capitalize on the opportunities the Mobile-Cloud era offers us, in addition to the rich ecosystem of partners and the extended technology community in India.”

Earlier this year, VMware inaugurated its 438,000-square foot facility in South Bangalore –a total investment of US$120 million, representing the company’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation and evolving the business structure to serve customers locally and globally. VMware has over 3,300 employees in India.