Atlassian CTO Technology Predictions 2021 and Beyond Globally

By Viswanath, CTO, Atlassian 

In the next 5 years, increased data and privacy regulation will have a big impact on the way we design AI/ML models. As a result, investment in data management is going to be critical in determining the success of AI systems. Companies that have better data management frameworks, platforms and systems will win in building effective AI tools.

SaaS companies won’t survive without a strong ecosystem. As the software industry consolidates, ecosystems will be even more important, and security will become a blind spot. The reality is that customers are using services from different providers. In order to succeed, software companies need to make sure that their products will work well with others, and that means building a strong ecosystem. However, as ecosystems scale, vulnerabilities will emerge and go unnoticed. Companies will need to be persistent in providing the highest level of security and privacy controls across the entire ecosystem at all times.

Mike Tria, Head of Platform, Atlassian 

Software companies will be held to higher numbers of reliability. In fact, three 9's as a reliability metric (or 99.9% uptime) will be laughed at in a few years. As companies rely more on cloud services to collaborate remotely, customers will have higher expectations for uptime. Companies that don’t treat reliability as a feature will be left in the dust.

Automation will be inevitable in 2021. As more engineering organizations migrate their infrastructure to the cloud and adopt a microservices architecture, the next challenge they’ll face is figuring out how to manage and keep pace with an unwieldy, distributed system. Whereas, automation has been seen as an emerging tool in the past, it will become essential for survival in 2021.  

Zendesk Becomes First Customer Experience Platform to Join Unity Verified Solutions Partner Program

Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) is building on its customer experience (CX) leadership by becoming a Unity (NYSE: U) Verified Solutions Partner. Being a Verified Solutions Partner (VSP) means Zendesk has been verified by Unity to ensure its SDK is optimized for the latest version of the Unity editor, providing a seamless experience for Unity developers.

This partnership enables players to get immediate help without having to leave the game or interrupt their experience. The partnership with Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, will provide integrated customer support functionality that can be set up in minutes, directly within some of today’s most popular games.

Zendesk joins Unity's Verified Solutions Partner program as the first native customer support SDK that has been verified to ensure compatibility and stability with the Unity platform.

“This year, we’ve seen a significant spike in both new gamers and the amount of time people spent gaming. It is important that we provide our developers, from indie creators to automotive manufacturers to retail brands, the ability to build great experiences at scale in this highly competitive environment. Our partnership with Zendesk makes embedding customer support incredibly seamless across our platform,” said Stephen Rowell, Vice President, Global Strategic Business Development at Unity.

According to Zendesk’s Benchmark data, gaming companies have seen an all-time high in ticket volume during 2020 and experienced a 90% increase in knowledge base views. With these numbers expected to continue throughout 2021, it becomes imperative for gaming companies to put solutions in place to provide the best customer experiences.

“Zendesk and Unity share the vision that customer service solutions should enhance the mobile gaming experience, not disrupt it,” said Shawna Wolverton, EVP of Product, Zendesk. “Gamers no longer have the time or patience to switch in and out of their game to get help. Developers have to eliminate interruptions by meeting players where they are – in the game – and solve their problems seamlessly, without having to leave the app and lose valuable game time.”

Integrating Zendesk’s customer experience (CX) solutions with Unity’s platform means:

* Developers stay focused on game creation: In the first 9 months of 2020, Unity saw an average of more than 5 billion downloads per month of applications built with Unity. Now, Unity developers can add Zendesk to mobile games in minutes with minimal coding. They can also personalize the design to match the game, ensuring a consistent brand experience for users.

* Companies can provide seamless support: Players will be able to easily access help centers for instant answers, and, when more support is required, agents can efficiently answer questions within Zendesk. There are also customization options, such as user branded interfaces and tailored support fields unique to the game.

* Players spend more time gaming and remain engaged: Gamers can now easily message a customer support agent, get answers quickly, and have conversations within the app without having to leave the game.

Hundreds of companies are already benefiting from using the Zendesk SDK for Unity to streamline the customer service process and provide a great support experience. The simple process ensures developers of all abilities can install seamless customer support with minimal coding required.

“Zendesk provides a seamless transition between the game and support, whether customers are leveraging help center content to get answers on their own or contacting support agents. The one-on-one conversation makes the experience much more user friendly and personal, plus it is easier for our agents to follow the communication history of our players,” said Alper Kılıç, Game Development Manager, Gamegos. “Zendesk becoming a Unity Verified Solutions Partner makes integrating Zendesk simple and reliable for our developers.”

"With Zendesk's new support SDK, we finally have a Unity-native in-game support product as a seamless part of our wider customer care offering,” said Ric Thorneycroft, Player Support Director, Rovio. “It's great to have a plug and play solution that is easy for developers to use, which in time will also give us the ability to create the kinds of personalised support flows that we want for our players.”

The Zendesk SDK is generally available today on the Unity Asset Store.

About Zendesk

Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds support, sales, and customer engagement software designed to foster better customer relationships. From large enterprises to startups, we believe that powerful, innovative customer experiences should be within reach for every company, no matter the size, industry or ambition. Zendesk serves more than 160,000 customers across a multitude of industries in over 30 languages. Zendesk is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates offices worldwide. 

QurHealth India Launches ‘Sheela G’ - A Voice AI Personal Health Assistant For Breast Cancer Patients

QurHealth Solutions India launched “Sheela G”, a voice-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled personal health assistant in English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Urdu, Bengali, Spanish, German, and French. Currently, Sheela G is available for Breast Cancer - Chemotherapy patients. Sheela G records patient’s vitals from home health devices such as Glucometer, Blood Pressure Monitor, Pulse Oximeter, Weighing scale, and Thermometer in real-time remotely using Voice, Text, and IoT devices. Its AI models recognize digital signatures of patients and proactively assist in managing their disease conditions, including pre- and post-clinical therapies, dos and don’ts, reminders and appointments. Sheela G is now available for free from the Android and iOS stores through the ‘My Family Health Book’ app - “myFHB”.

For the 1st time in India, ‘Patient Caring through Data Sharing’ is enabled between Doctors, Hospitals, Caregivers, and family members—available in a Trusted, Safe, Secured, and Compliant environment improving patient quality of care. FHB apps (myFHB for patients, goFHB for doctors) are HIPAA, Hi-Trust, and FISMA Moderate compliant, and developed by an experienced team supporting over 8,00,000 providers and 6000 hospitals in the USA. 

QurHealth has partnered with institutions such as Oncology India (Bengaluru), and Cauvery Heart & Multispecialty Hospital (Mysuru), Dr. Rai CBCC Cancer Centre (Chennai), and Sanjeevani CBCC USA Cancer Hospital (Raipur), for pilot studies and research. Through Sheela G, hospitals and clinics can customize care plans for their patients and effectively ensure care compliances while the patients are in the comfort of their homes.

Mr. Ravi Kunduru, Founder and CEO of Ventech Solutions, the parent company of QurHealth, said, “QurHealth’s story is personal to many of us in life. We are a provider 1st company with a single goal ‘Saving Life, Super Proactive’. We are humbled to serve patients of all ages enabling safe, secured, and compliant access with their own caregivers, doctors, and hospitals. Our goal is to be a safe and trusted choice to the patients and their families for receiving personalized care, on-line and in person.”

Mr. Rajarajan S, Sr. VP, QurHealth Solutions, said, “Sheela G will revolutionize and positively impact the treatment by answering questions that a patient may have about their illness and treatment. We are starting with Oncology care and will be adding for other chronic conditions and disorders in the next few months. Our AI leverages to support a disruptive model for patient quality of care and patient engagement with caregivers, doctors, and hospitals for positive health outcomes.”

On Friday, 11th Dec 2020, QurHealth conducted a Webinar “The Rise and Rise of Telemedicine—A 360 Degree Review” with participants across India. The distinguished and honourable panel guests Dr. Alex Thomas, President - Association of Healthcare Providers India, Dr. Uma Nambiar, Co-Founder & Chairperson, Digital Health India Associates (DHIA), Dr. Murthy Remilla, Honorary Secretary of Telemedicine Society of India and Prof. Rick Mammone - World-Renowned AI Specialist, Rutgers University, USA, joined the soft launch of Family Health Book suite.  

About QurHealth Solutions India

QurHealth Solutions India (www.qurhealth.com) is the health-tech spin-off of Ventech Solutions that manages the world’s largest healthcare quality data center serving over 8,00,000 providers, 6000 hospitals, and 7500 dialysis centres in the USA. QurHealth specializes in developing solutions for diversified populations to improve patient quality of care and higher patient engagement. QurHealth’s secured, trusted, and compliant data infrastructure AI platform “QurData” provides industry-standard health data interoperability, enabling research and innovation activities with one goal “Saving Life Super Proactive.”

TAC Security Rolls Out ESOF DarkSec to Evaluate Data Theft Vulnerabilities

TAC Security has introduced a dark web threat intelligence solution, ESOF DarkSec, a ground breaking product that helps enterprises detect, measure, and identify the type of data available on the dark web about their companies. ESOF DarkSec adds to TAC’s ESOF (Enterprise Security in One Framework) platform that provides risk-based vulnerability management across the enterprise.

The launch is aligned with the rising number of data leaks on the dark web, which jeopardize sensitive information of government, businesses, and individuals alike. This cloud-based solution helps find the size, nature, and recent update (if any) of the leaked data on the darknet. ESOF DarkSec also provides a dark web organization risk score on a scale from 0 to 10, so security teams can know the risk to the organization on available data in the dark web from and take action to mitigate the risk. The solution is available as a subscription plan in three tiers: Basic, Platinum, and Premium, with different price points based on deeper periodic scans.

Trishneet Arora, Founder and CEO of TAC Security said, “Data is the biggest asset for any entity in the current landscape. As much as it gives precious insights into enhancing customer experience, any unauthorized access to it can cause severe damage to personal, enterprise-level, or even national integrity, depending upon the nature of data. It is very difficult to get this data down once it enters the dark web. Knowing the extent of the dark web threat is pivotal as it enables an organization to analyze and limit the damages by taking preventive measures. This is where ESOF DarkSec proves itself to be most pivotal. ESOF DarkSec is completely aligned with our vision to provide Enterprise Security in One Framework”

“Data confidentiality has always been an issue for enterprise security teams, and the recent increases in the dark web exposure cases are intimidating for both governments and organizations. Cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated with every passing day, and even more so during the COVID-19 outbreak where spear-phishing is being used as a tool to access critical data. We hope that the product will help inform business entities about the vulnerabilities of their infrastructure so they can secure their endpoints and networks against potential threats.” Chris Fisher, Chief Marketing Officer, TAC Security added.

About TAC Security:

TAC Security is a global leader in vulnerability management that protects Fortune 500 companies, leading enterprises, and governments around the world. TAC Security manages 5+ Million vulnerabilities through its Artificial intelligence (AI) based Vulnerability Management Platform ESOF (Enterprise Security in One Framework) Operates from Mumbai, Chandigarh, New York, Albuquerque & Bangalore. TAC Security is also responsible for End to End Security Assessment of 200+ UPI based Mobile Application for NPCI, an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Bentley Systems Becomes Founding Member of Digital Twin Consortium

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, has elevated its participation in the Digital Twin Consortium by becoming a founding member. Having been a groundbreaker member since day one of the consortium’s launch in May of 2020, Bentley will deepen its collaboration as a founding member and become a member of its steering committee. 

Defining Digital Twins

One way that Bentley is helping advance the Digital Twin Consortium’s mission is through defining the terminology used to describe digital twins. Casey Mullen, distinguished architect, strategic technologies at Bentley Systems, has contributed his expertise as a lead author of the Digital Twin Consortium’s definition of a digital twin. Mullen helped unveil the new definition during a panel discussion at the IOT Solutions World Congress on December 3, 2020.

The consortium’s digital twin definition is:

A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity.

* Digital twin systems transform business by accelerating holistic understanding, optimal decision-making, and effective action.

* Digital twins use real-time and historical data to represent the past and present and simulate predicted futures.

* Digital twins are motivated by outcomes, tailored to use cases, powered by integration, built on data, guided by domain knowledge, and implemented in IT/OT systems.

“I’ve enjoyed collaborating with representatives from diverse industries in the consortium’s Technology, Terminology, and Taxonomy Working Group to develop a set of practical definitions to inform those who are acquiring or implementing digital twins,” said Mullen.

Steering the Way

As a founding member, Bentley is also contributing its advice and technology expertise to the Digital Twin Consortium’s steering committee. Adam Klatzkin, vice president, iTwin Platform, at Bentley Systems, and Mullen are helping advance the Digital Twin Consortium’s strategic roadmap, working groups, and governance as members of the consortium’s steering committee. 

“We are delighted that Bentley is a founding member of Digital Twin Consortium and is also a member of our steering committee,” said Dr. Richard Soley, executive director, Digital Twin Consortium. “The consortium looks forward to high-level guidance on digital twin technologies and continued contributions based on Bentley’s experience and knowledge of the infrastructure industry.”

An Open Platform for Digital Twins

Bentley’s collaboration with Digital Twin Consortium and its global ecosystem of digital twin users underscores its commitment to advancing open solutions for digital twins. Bentley provides iTwin.js, an open-source, software developer library for creating digital twin solutions for infrastructure. Bentley is also a member of building SMART International’s Digital Twin Working Group.

Bentley recently expanded its digital twin offerings with the iTwin Platform, a new platform-as-a-service offering for developers with openness as a guiding principle. The platform supports a broad range of design tools—Bentley and third-party—and file interchange formats including IFC. Klatzkin said, “The iTwin platform provides an open foundation for creating digital twin capabilities for modeling, simulation, project delivery, asset performance, and much more.”

To jump-start awareness and adoption of the iTwin digital twin platform, Bentley recently launched the iTwin Partner Program, the iTwin Ventures Fund, and hosted the inaugural iTwin Developer Conference.

Digital Twin Consortium was formed by non-profit trade association Object Management Group® with Ansys, Dell, Lendlease, and Microsoft, to demonstrate the value of digital twin technology and accelerate the digital twin market. As the authority in digital twins, the consortium brings together industry, government, and academia to drive consistency in the vocabulary, architecture, security, and interoperability of digital twin technology. Digital Twin Consortium aims to influence the direction of digital twin technology development, become the focal point for digital twin thought leadership, and promote, evolve, and refine digital twin best practices and benefits.

About Digital Twin Consortium

Digital Twin Consortium is The Authority in Digital Twin. It coalesces industry, government and academia to drive consistency in vocabulary, architecture, security and interoperability of digital twin technology. It advances the use of digital twin technology from aerospace to natural resources. Digital Twin Consortium is a program of Object Management Group. www.digitaltwinconsortium.org

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, and industrial facilities. Our offerings include MicroStation-based applications for modeling and simulation, ProjectWise for project delivery, AssetWise for asset and network performance, and the iTwin platform for infrastructure digital twins. Bentley Systems employs more than 4,000 colleagues and generates annual revenues of more than $700 million, in 172 countries. www.bentley.com 

© 2020 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the Bentley logo, AssetWise, iTwin, iTwin.js, MicroStation, and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. 

MAGGI Launches a New Range of Fried Rice Instant Spice Mixes in Indian Market

In this new normal, there is an increase in the in-home indulgence. Consumers are experimenting with new and different cuisines trying to get restaurant like taste at home in dishes to delight their family and make mealtimes more exciting. Understanding the need of consumers, MAGGI, true to its proposition of innovation and renovation, has expanded its ‘cooking aids & solutions’ portfolio with the introduction of a new range of MAGGI Fried Rice instant spice mixes, that promises to satiate your cravings for authentic Asian cuisine within the comforts of your home.  

Announcing the new range, Mr. Nikhil Chand, Director, Foods & Confectionary, Nestlé India, said, “MAGGI has been a household name in India for almost four decades. In our never-ending quest of providing convenience and offering taste and goodness to consumers in minutes, we have come up with this new range of Fried Rice instant spice mixes, which have been specially crafted by MAGGI’s culinary experts. With this you can delight your family during mealtimes by turning plain, boiled rice into their favorite, delicious fried rice.”

The new MAGGI Fried Rice Instant spice mixes are available in two exciting variants, Chilli Garlic & Classic Veg and offer an exquisite combination of perfectly blended spices to bring alive the perfect restaurant like taste and aroma.  Just add chopped vegetables of your choice, boiled rice and one full sachet of MAGGI Fried Rice instant spice mix and simply stir-fry to prepare delicious fried rice in five minutes.  

The new MAGGI Fried Rice instant spice mixes are already available on major online groceries and pantry platforms like Amazon and Grofers.

You can view the new MAGGI Fried rice instant spice mix film here: https://youtu.be/kNjgkoMx3J0

Cult.fit’s ‘Cult Pass’ to Give Fitness Enthusiasts Access to Gyms & Fitness Centers

* Cult Pass will give fitness enthusiasts in Bangalore access to gyms as well as Cult centers across the city and is available as 3-month, 6-month or 12-month subscription packs

* The launch of Cult Pass marks the extension of Cult.fit, mostly known for its group workout formats, into gyms and machine-based workouts

* Currently offered in Bangalore, Cult Pass will be extended to other cities in India early next year

Cult.fit, the fitness chain by India’s largest health and wellness platform Cure.fit, announced the launch of ‘Cult Pass’ – an all-access pass for users to workout at partner gyms while also being able to avail free Cult classes at Cult.fit centers across the city. This pass, currently being offered in Bangalore, marks the fitness company’s foray into gyms and machine-based workouts.

With this launch, Cult Pass will become an all-inclusive fitness offering which will give new Cult members greater mobility and flexibility by providing cross-gym access and an even more personalized approach towards their fitness journeys. Cult Pass is available for purchase on the Cure.fit app in Bangalore via three subscription packs that span over 3, 6 and 12 months.

Given their expertise in fitness, Cure.fit aims to rehaul the gyms they are on-boarding in an endeavor to maintain the same quality, safety, and standard of services and facilities that the Cult.fit centers are widely known for.  Following careful selection, Cult.fit has already on-boarded 11 gyms in Bangalore and plans to offer its members access to the best gyms all over the city over the next three months. The company is also looking to expand this offering to other markets early next year with the ambition of becoming India’s largest all-encompassing fitness chain.

Commenting on the launch, Naresh Krishnaswamy, Growth and Marketing Head, Cure.fit, said: “We are happy andxcited to announce the launch of Cult Pass in Bangalore. While Cult is famous for its group workout classes, this move in particular is designed to extend our services to a portion of users who also prefer working out with machines and other equipment at gyms. This Pass will allow our users to freely walk in to and workout at any gym within the Cult Pass ecosystem while also enjoying free Cult classes at any Cult.fit center of their choice. We are eager to partner with more gyms so that we can roll this out across other cities soon and expand the Cult offering even further while also maintaining a high standard of safety and quality that people know and appreciate Cult for.”

About Cure.fit

Cure.fit Healthcare Pvt Ltd is a holistic integrated healthcare platform headquartered in Bangalore. Founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, Cure.fit aims to address preventive healthcare through a combination of engagement, coaching and delivery using a mix of online and offline channels. Cure.fit caters to living a healthy life through four critical dimensions- Eat.fit, Mind.fit, Cult.fit and Care.fit. While Cult.fit focuses on physical strength and fitness, Eat.fit focuses on healthy and nutritive food, Mind.fit on mental wellbeing and Care.fit on integrated medical and lifestyle care.

Cure.fit is an app based service provider and is available on Android and iOS.

For more information on cure.fit: https://www.Cure.fit/