As part of the country’s single largest comprehensive data-sharing exercise on traffic patterns to improve urban mobility in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, Uber today launched Movement in Bengaluru, following successful launches in Delhi and Mumbai.
Inaugurating the Bengaluru leg of this multi-city initiative, insights from Bengaluru-traffic patterns were showcased in the presence of Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Speaking at the launch, Prof Gowda said, “The Government of Karnataka has always been innovation-friendly and will definitely embrace tools that can help enhance mobility planning in Bengaluru. By providing insights into how people get around the city, Uber Movement has the potential to further support informed policy decisions and strengthen a data-led approach to urban planning. In this era of big data, we can extract information around traffic trends and help measure the impact of extended metro lines, first/last mile connectivity options, traffic interventions, etc. It’s good to see the private sector sharing its data publicly in the interest of solving mobility challenges cooperatively. I wish Uber Movement all the best.”
One case study, “Examining the impact of Metro on travel times in Bengaluru: Baiyappanahalli- Whitefield extension” uses data to calculate the impact of the eastern expansion of the Purple Metro Line in Bengaluru, comparing peak travel times from Bagmane tech park, Baiyappanahalli to Kadugodi, Whitefield between 1st January 2017 to 31st March 2017, against 1st January to 31st March 2018. The study points to a ~13.5 % increase in the AM peak travel time, and a slightly higher increase of ~16.4% in the PM peak travel time between the two periods, suggesting an increase in congestion on the route.
The data observes a significant difference in the peak travel times during the weekdays as compared to the weekend, with weekday AM travel time being ~57% more than the weekend. Interestingly, the study also estimates that the average travel time in the first quarter of 2020 will be upwards of 57 minutes.
After a detailed analysis, the tool reveals that post the expansion of the metro line, there will be a ~21% decrease in travel time between the areas near both ends of the metro route, hinting at potential solutions to incentivize multiple last-mile and first-mile connectivity options alongside the metro to smoothen overall travel times.
Besides a reduction in travel time, there will also be an expected reduction in stress, noise pollution and carbon emissions in the city, suggests the study. What’s interesting is that the data approximates a reduction in the cost of travel as well through low-cost last and first mile options as compared to that on-road, depending on the cost of fuel at that time.
Christian Freese, Uber spokesperson said, “Through sustained efforts by our mapping team, we have been able to gather large amounts of traffic and congestion data for Bengaluru. We are excited to launch this platform and its benefits for Bengalureans to encourage better infrastructure, city planning and data driven policy solutions that will utilize technology to make the city more efficient. Together with the government, civil society and other stakeholders, we aim to continue playing a key role in solving for urban mobility challenges in Bengaluru.”
Other data sets from Uber Movement reveal interesting insights on travel time during peak hours. Peak hour traffic in major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata almost doubles the travel time along some popular routes. Similarly, data reveals an adverse impact on travel times during festivals. The study showcased a 30% increase in travel time between Vasant Kunj to Lajpat Nagar during Dhanteras (October 17, 2017) in Delhi and over 20% hike in travel time throughout the capital.
According to an April 2018 study by consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled, “Unlocking Cities: The impact of ridesharing across India”, traffic congestion during peak hours in four major cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata — costs the economy a whopping $22 billion annually. Further, on average, travellers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata spend 1.5 hours more on their daily commutes than their counterparts in other Asian cities during peak traffic times. In fact, peak-hour congestion, which implies the additional time taken during peak traffic to travel a given distance, in these four Indian cities is estimated at 149%, much higher than the Asian average of 67%.
"This kind of data from the private sector can help solve public problems. With our collaboration with Uber Movement, we are trying to do more than just putting data in the public domain. We will build tools for different city entities - Metro, BMTC (Bus service), BDA, BBMP and others, to help them make decisions based on the data too." - Dr. Ashwin Mahesh, Founder, Mapunity
“As cities grow, India is going to see a complete change in the way urban governance is conceptualised - it will require administrators and representatives at the municipal level to make ever more complex political choices on resource allocation, requiring data to make informed decisions. I see Uber Movement as an important, open-source tool to enable such decision making.” - Alok Prasanna Kumar, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
“The problems that India's overcrowded cities face are so vast that policy makers need to develop new frameworks built around analysis of data for better informing decision-making. Uber Movement is one such platform for data, and with usage by administrators, I see it helping in identification of, and addressing traffic choke points in cities.” - Nikhil Pahwa, Founder, Editor MediaNama
“Uber Movement is first of its kind of an effort by a cab aggregating service to publish near real-time open mobility data in India. This will be immensely helpful tool for laying a strong foundation for data-driven urban planning and policies in key cities in India. With such rich data, we can together work and innovate to improve traffic conditions, safety, public transit, road infrastructure, curb air pollution and more.” - Gaurav Godhwani, Director & Co-Founder, Civic Data Lab
DiGiSPICE, a trusted strategic partner in the digital transformation of private and public enterprises as well as governments, has announced the launch of ‘Horizon’, its telecom service management platform, in Indonesia. Rolled out for the service providers of the country’s 2nd largest telecom operator Indosat. Horizon is a fast, cost-efficient and reliable way to publish, deliver and manage rich content and digital experiences.
The business platform enables customer interaction over digital and conventional channels with its ability to manage and deliver digital experiences and content to any screen or device. It also enables sharply targeted marketing activities including campaigning and recommendation engine, thereby making it a frontrunner in combatting the challenges that the Value-Added Services realm currently faces.
Speaking on the launch of Horizon, Dilip Modi, Founder and Chairman of DiGiSPICE said, “With our extensive experience of running telecom services in India and creating highly-effective telecom-focused IT solutions, we understood the need for a platform that could bridge the gap between large telecom companies and the Value-Added service providers.”
“Horizon has been created to cater to this very need and we are pleased to announce its launch in the high-growth Indonesian market with one of its most prominent telcos, Indosat. While Indosat brings on board its strong customer base, brand recognition and credibility, Horizon will enable the partner on-boarding process, offering app and content management services to them, besides providing access to much-needed business intelligence and analytics tools,” he added.
The Value-Added Services (VAS) space is currently riddled with its fair share of challenges. These include fraudulent and unscrupulous charging, huge OPEX and CAPEX costs, insufficient service innovations, multiple access codes leading to subscriber confusion and old technology, amongst others. Horizon addresses these in multiple ways. From the service delivery perspective, it ensures seamless content management, service flow and increased subscriptions. The Compliance Centre offers enhanced customer satisfaction, faster reconciliation for incorrect charging and ensures service credibility. Our adoption of Blockchain Technology further strengthens our relationship with partners by creating trust, transparency & accountability.
Its smart campaign manager also allows for easy management and scheduling of multiple campaigns through an innovative multi-channel support. Service providers can employ a targetted approach to customer outreach by offering users convenient access to their favourite services. VAS Analytics further offers product recommendations and service credibility insights, in addition to helping the service provider with insightful Data Analytics via machine learning & AI. After the launch in Indonesia’s fast-growing telecom market, DiGiSPICE will look at rolling out the platform in other emerging global economies in the near future.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced an agreement to acquire Two Roads Hospitality, an international lifestyle hotel management company with a unique collection of distinctive brands, properties and a robust development pipeline around the globe.
Through the addition of Two Roads, its established lifestyle brands and the management agreements for the majority of its 85 properties in eight countries, Hyatt will expand its brand presence into 23 new markets while enhancing its offerings in lifestyle hotel experiences and wellbeing. With Two Roads and its distinctive collection of lifestyle hotels, resorts and vacation residences, Hyatt will offer an expanded and more powerful portfolio of brands with best-in-class offerings to deliver compelling experiences and benefits for guests and World of Hyatt members, expand its relationship with valued hotel owners, and drive growth for shareholders.
“Hyatt and Two Roads share a commitment to genuine care and delivering distinctive experiences to discerning travelers. We are pleased to be coming together, and are dedicated to learning from each other and taking the best of both organizations forward,” said Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Two Roads’ passionate team members, strong brands, global footprint and robust development pipeline will expand our lifestyle offerings and grow Hyatt’s brand presence in more places where our guests and World of Hyatt members want to travel. Importantly, combining Two Roads’ meaningful brand presence and development plans in Asia with Hyatt’s already strong position in this region will allow us to accelerate expansion in this critically important and fast-growing part of the world.”
The acquisition consists of a base purchase price of $480 million, with the potential for Hyatt to invest up to an additional $120 million in the aggregate, contingent on the outcome of certain terms to be individually defined after closing. The base plus contingent total purchase price is expected to reflect an EBITDA multiple of approximately 12-13x stabilized 2021 earnings, which Hyatt considers the best indicator of valuation based on anticipated synergies and growth.
Consistent with Hyatt’s long-term growth strategy to drive shareholder value, this investment in a high-growth, capital-light platform accelerates Hyatt’s evolution to a more fee-driven enterprise, funded by proceeds from an asset disposition program in which real estate has been monetized at an average multiple of approximately 16.5x EBITDA to date. Notably, Hyatt is making this growth investment in a year in which it has committed to return approximately $800 million of shareholder capital through a combination of share repurchases and a cash dividend.
After the close of the transaction, which is expected later this year, Hyatt will create a dedicated lifestyle division as a catalyst to bring together the operations of Two Roads’ and Hyatt’s lifestyle brands. “Hyatt is an ideal home for us as we share many values and a deep commitment to thoughtful growth and creating compelling experiences for our guests,” said Jamie Sabatier, chief executive officer, Two Roads Hospitality. “Hyatt’s unique position in the marketplace brings with it the powerful benefit of global scale while maintaining meaningful personal relationships with team members, guests and owners.”
Hyatt will provide additional information related to the acquisition, including a preliminary estimate of 2019 earnings accretion, on its third quarter earnings call scheduled for October 31, 2018. Hyatt plans to integrate Two Roads brands into the World of Hyatt program in 2019, expanding opportunities for World of Hyatt members to earn and redeem points across more leisure-focused stay options and also driving hotel occupancy from a loyal group of travelers who spend more, stay more and book directly.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Hyatt; Moelis & Company LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Two Roads Hospitality; Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to Hyatt; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel to Two Roads Hospitality.
The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates. Hyatt plans to include Two Roads’ properties in its World of Hyatt loyalty program, but such properties are not currently participating.
Acer has announced refreshes of its Predator Orion 9000 and 5000 gaming desktops, all featuring new 9th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, giving gamers a leap in performance for smooth, seamless gameplay — even while streaming and recording.
“With the new 9th Gen Intel Core processors delivering up to 8 cores and 16 threads, the Predator Orion series desktops provides gamers with an arsenal of PCs that can withstand the most demanding gaming scenarios today,” said Jeff Lee, General Manager, Stationary Computing, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “The refreshes are in line with Acer’s longstanding commitment to empower users with the latest technological breakthroughs, and provide them with best-in-class user experiences.”
“The new 9th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, featuring our flagship Intel Core i9-9900K, deliver the industry leading real-world performance that gamers demand,” said Anand Srivatsa, Vice President of the Client Computing Group, Intel. “The new Acer Predator Orion series desktops are incredible machines, and by harnessing the gaming performance delivered with the latest Intel Core processors, together we’re delivering premium gaming experiences.”
Powered by 9th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, the Predator Orion series gaming desktops are performance PCs designed for the serious to hardcore gamer. The Predator Orion 5000 is a gaming powerhouse for users who need an exceptional gaming rig, while the Predator Orion 9000 is a gamer’s dream machine aimed at the most demanding users, with top-of-the-line NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs[i].
Predator Orion 9000 Series: The Ultimate Gaming Machine
With up to 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K processors and planned support for the new Intel Core X-series processors, the Predator Orion 9000 is the ultimate gaming PC. It features up to the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs, and supports over 8K UHD graphics. A black and silver chassis gives it a spacecraft-like casing that glows with customizable ARGB (Addressable RGB) lighting bars and RGB LED fans. The prominent side window showcases the impressive interior with a design that keeps electromagnetic interference (EMI) levels in check despite the size of the opening. Acer’s IceTunnel 2.0 expels heat through an advanced airflow management solution that separates the system into several thermal zones, each with an individual airflow tunnel.
Predator Orion 5000 Series: Serious Gaming Performance
The Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktop features up to 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K processors and up to the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPUs. Just like the Predator Orion 9000, the Orion 5000’s chassis has the signature transparent side panel to show off its powerful internals and includes the IceTunnel 2.0 airflow management design to keep the system cool.
The Indian Air Force today celebrated its 86th anniversary. A scintillating air display by various aircraft was the hallmark of the Air Force Day Parade at the Air Force Station Hindan in Ghaziabad. However, the star of this year’s celebrations was the Dakota DC3 aircraft that made it’s maiden appearance in the Fly Past.
The Indian military aircraft, which played a vital role in the 1947-48 India-Pakistan war and other wars, was restored to its original glory, made in flying condition by Rajeev Chandrasekhar and was inducted in to the Vintage Aircraft Flight of the Indian Air Force in May this year.
This aircraft was gifted to nation by Rajeev Chandrasekhar and was named Parashurama by him.
MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is an aviation enthusiast and is the son of an Air Force Officer Air Commodore M.K.Chandrasekhar who served as Trainer of Fighter Aircraft who flew Dakota and was part of several sorties of Dakota as well.
Speaking on IAF Day 2018, Chandrasekhar said “I am delighted see the Dakota participating in it’s maiden fly past. The Dakota is an important part of Air Force’s history - and J&K history. If it was not for the Dakotas and the troops it airlifted in 1947 - Srinagar would not be with India today. The restoration took over 6 years and cost me a lot of money. But I was motivated mainly for my father and many others who served and the need to remind country of the bravery of IAF and Army in 1947 which kept young independent India together with J&K.
Journey of Dakota to India
On 13 February 2018, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar gifted the Dakota bearing the Tail Number VP 905 and called “Parashurama” in a signing ceremony to The Indian Air Force to be added to its Vintage Fleet.
The Gift Deed was signed between Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa , PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC , Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and Air Commodore M K Chandrasekhar, VM, VSM (Retd)- Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s father who an Dakota Pilot himself.
The aircraft commenced its journey from the UK on April 17 to India with and flew a total of 9,750 km during its ferry en-route halts in France, Italy, Greece, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman and landed on Indian soil on 25 Apr 18.
Dakota DC3 VP 905 Parashurama was formally inducted into the IAF Vintage Flight on 4 May 2018 in a grand ceremony at Air Force Station Hindan where Air Cmde M K Chandrasekhar (Father of MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar), a veteran Dakota pilot himself, handed over a symbolic key to the Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal B S Dhanoa.
Legacy of Dakota D3
The Dakota D3 was at the forefront of operations from 1947 to 1971 and played an indispensable role in logistics and transportation during its flying years in the IAF.
The Dakota was deployed by to fight Pakistan army aided by an irregular militia consisting of tribesmen from the frontier invaded Kashmir in 1947.
The Dakota was put to good use during the Indo China war of 1962 and also during the India Pakistan war in 1971.
The crucial para-drop operations in Tangail, 60 miles from Dhaka, on 11 December 1971, four days ahead of Pakistan military’s historic surrender to the India-Bangladesh Joint Command on December 16 were done from a Dakota.
NetRack, a leading solution provider for data centers and end-to-end IT server racks, exhibited its significant product, iRack, with its self-cooled, self-powered features and self-contained design has gained maximum attention in BISCI gathering. iRack is equipped with air-seal kit, blanking panels, brush models and panels for efficient Airflow management. The features like precision cooling unit (3.5KW cooling capacity), with & without redundancy, intelligent PDU, UPS, environmental sensors etc., has mesmerized the crowd.
Addressing the gathering, Ravi Raj, Brand Head, Director, Sales & Support at NetRack said, "BISCI has always been a remarkable event for us as well as other vendors assisting IT industry. It provides great platform to exhibit our products and acts as a medium to connect with industry leaders and IT professionals."
"We at NetRack are delighted to showcase iRack, a high quality and superior cooling rack cabinet for SME server Rooms and Hub Rooms application, Remote AV application, ware house / Industry application. This is an innovative product which requires less area and provides maximum server space for small setups. Considering the demand of intelligent infra capsules and utilizing advanced technology, we have manufactured iRack and meet the next level Application NetRack has iRack Blocks to ease the installation, Faster Deployment and increase cooling efficiency."
NetRack manufactures its racks under stringent ISO 9001 - 2008 Manufacturing & Quality standards to ensure highest quality product. iRack comes with rack load capacity of 1000kgs and carefully configured to prevent thermal short circuits. iRack series are highly efficient and eco-friendly in nature. Thus, ensures energy - saving, promoting overall reduction in energy costs.
Array Networks,Inc., the network functions platform company, today announced that its AVX Series Network Functions Platforms (AVX Series) family has earned ICSA Labs SSL-TLS VPN security certification, becoming one of only three solutions worldwide to hold the distinction. The AVX Series are hyperconverged platforms designed specifically to host networking and security workloads. The platforms deliver the performance of physical appliances coupled with the agility of virtual appliances while providing dedicated resources per instance.
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, develops and performs comprehensive, unbiased, third-party security certification testing. The ICSA Labs SSL-TLS VPN certification standard includes data confidentiality, authentication and integrity assurance for inter-network transactions. ICSA Labs certification helps enterprises, service providers and government agencies identify and evaluate security solutions with confidence. The AVX Series is an open platform that supports both Array and third-party virtual appliances; the testing was performed on AVX platforms running instances of Array's vxAG virtual SSL VPNs and MotionPro Layer 3 VPN client.
"ICSA Labs recognizes Array Networks' dedication to delivering high quality and secure platforms for networking and security applications," said Sebastien Mazas, Director of ICSA Labs. "Following testing, ICSA Labs found that the network functions platforms are thoughtfully designed and properly execute SSL and TLS, confirming that the AVX Series securely processes SSL-TLS encrypted traffic."
SSL-TLS has become the 'gold standard' for web sites as well as for transmission of corporate information via virtual private networks. Corresponding with the growth of public, private and hybrid clouds, nearly 80 percent of internet traffic is encrypted. The ability of networking and security solutions to efficiently and securely process SSL-encrypted traffic has become essential.
Array's Network Functions Platforms include high-performance SSL hardware to process SSL traffic with performance equal to that of dedicated, single-function appliances. The AVX Series features a security-hardened operating system that protects against a wide range of network attacks. Both the AVX Series and the vxAG virtual SSL VPN utilize Array's robust SSL stack, which is tuned for both security and performance, and has proved immune to attacks such as Heartbleed, GHOST, DROWN and others.
The combination of SSL hardware, security hardening and Array's proprietary SSL stack - and the ability to host multiple security functions and service-chain them within a single consolidated appliance - make the AVX Series particularly well suited for use in data centers.
"ICSA Labs is one of the most respected security technology testing organizations, and offers independent validation of SSL-TLS conformance and efficacy to help enterprises, service providers and others protect critical network traffic," said Milind Kulkarni, Senior Director of Product Management for Array Networks. "Many CIOs, CISOs, IT managers and others are seeking the agility of virtualization with the performance of dedicated appliances, to consolidate data center networking and security, or to develop innovative solutions for security and networking. They can now rely upon this testing in evaluating their options."
