BBC Selects Mindtree For Digital Testing Services

Mindtree, a global information technology services company, announced that it has been selected by BBC to test a range of its digital products.

As part of this non-exclusive engagement, Mindtree will deliver and support testing of digital products and applications. Digital products include applications and websites that run on a wide variety of digital and broadcast platforms. Some of them are desktop computers, mobile devices, cloud, integrated digital TV, internet protocol TV, terrestrial, cable, satellite TV and the web. 

 Mindtree testing services will include functional, non-functional, test management, exploratory, automation and load testing.  BBC selected Mindtree for its testing capabilities, test tools expertise and the ability to effectively deliver the engagement.

 Ramesh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head of Technology & Media, Mindtree said, “We are excited to be part of the BBC digital services framework. Millions of citizens globally benefit from BBC and we hope to enrich their experience with our superior digital testing capabilities.”

 Richard Smith, Head of Market Engagement, BBC covers the program details on digital services framework at his blog. 

Karnataka To provide Extended Support To Indian Entrepreneurs

The Government of Karnataka (GoK), in partnership with NASSCOM, has announced the setting-up of a 50,000 sq.ft. GoK-NASSCOM Start-Up Warehouse NextGen which will be the hub where outstanding technology entrepreneurs with innovative ideas will be nurtured, mentored as well as funded by venture capitalists. The GoK-NASSCOM collaboration also launched India’s first Hackcelerator, a unique combination of a Hackathon and an Accelerator to be housed and integrated into this new warehouse facility.

 The new GoK-NASSCOM Start-Up Warehouse will be a large integrated facility in the heart of Bengaluru and will provide a working space for startup companies to be housed for 6 month incubation terms, co-working space for entrepreneurs to use on pay-per-use daily/weekly basis, a well-equipped community events space available for meet-ups & workshops, an IoT (Internet of Things) Lab, a Design Lab, Mobile Experiences Lab and hoteling office space for visiting corporate executives and investors. Once operational, this will be one of the largest multi-disciplinary technology incubation facilities in Asia and the largest across the top five metro cities of India.

Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, R. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, NASSCOM, and Executive Vice Chairman, Cognizant India, said “Start-Ups have been a growth engine for the industry and the economy for quite some time now. NASSCOM had always focused on the three core-pillars of - Evangelizing Entrepreneurship by addressing identified challenges and promoting entrepreneurship as a preferred career option, building capacity by educating aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs on various aspects, and enhancing early stage support for Startups. This collaboration with GoK is a great leap in this regard and will provide the requisite support to the start-ups and entrepreneurs at the right time in the right shape and form.” 

 Applications for this new facility will be starting immediately and the facility is expected to become fully operational and ready for occupation by the end of 2014. The Government of Karnataka will contribute towards the facilities while NASSCOM will contribute to the full-time program management. NASSCOM will also constitute an advisory board for managing and governing the entire facility and activities at the center. Industry partners will help mentor and nurture the startup teams at the warehouse, execute skill development workshops, assign executives in residence, provide specialized skills in the areas of product management, mobile, IoT technologies and design. Once fully finished and occupied, the facility will have capacity to house 100+ startups comprising between 1-12 employees each on a 24x7 basis.

 Government of Karnataka (GOK) recently celebrated the first anniversary of its first GoK-NASSCOM Start-Up Warehouse. The unique facility, set-up in partnership with NASSCOM, resulted in 28 start-ups creating more than 100 jobs and bringing in US$ 1 million of investment and has become a hub of Startup ecosystem community activity in Bengaluru. Six of these companies are serving the global market. Under this program over 50 start-up events have been conducted with 2,000 participants. The program also runs an online mentorship impacting over 200 companies in Bangalore and over 500 across the country.

 Bangalore has emerged as the second largest technology hub on the planet after Silicon Valley. The main attraction of the City is its rich and diverse talent pool, ideal eco-system consisting of 400 plus R&D and Innovation Centers and pro-active government support for the industry. The city is emerging as the R&D, Start-Up and Innovation hub of India. Department of IT, BT and S&T has taken up innovative initiatives for further boosting the global image of the city such that it emerges as an important destination on the global Start-Up and Innovation map. NASSCOM 10,000 start-ups initiative is aimed at incubating, funding and supporting 10,000 startups in India over the next 10 years is run in partnership with Google, Microsoft, Verisign, Kotak and Intel. 

New Polycom’s Video-Enabled Carts For Education Sectors

 Polycom, Inc. has announced the availability of the Polycom RealPresence Utility Cart 500 and the Polycom RealPresence EduCart 500 in India – two new video-enabled solutions, designed specifically for use in the enterprise and education sectors.

 These packaged solutions from Polycom are standalone units, which allow users to easily bring High Definition room-based video conferencing and content sharing to a variety of locations beyond a dedicated conference room. The units have been designed to provide an affordable, mobile solution for customers looking to implement video collaboration in any available space of their choice across their business or education environment. In addition, the carts can be customised with peripherals such as HD document cameras or projectors, for use in detailed inspections and presentations. 

 “More organisations and industries now demand to use video collaboration outside the conference room, and have it embedded into their operational and business processes,” said Tony Sandberg, Director, Industry Solutions and Market Development, Polycom Asia Pacific. “Technology solutions such as the Polycom Utility Cart 500 and EduCart 500, enable people to visually interact from a variety of locations, be it a factory floor, a project site, or a lecture theatre.”

 RealPresence Utility Cart 500

The RealPresence Utility Cart 500 provides a high-quality video collaboration solution, featuring Polycom’s RealPresence Group 500 series video system and Polycom EagleEye IV cameras. For applications such as detailed product inspections, and remote expert consultations, the solution provides a breakthrough user experience, allowing the video and audio system to be easily moved from location to location. This flexibility allows for video collaboration solution to be enabled across several industries and business functions – from quality inspections in manufacturing and stock control in retail, to site and equipment inspections in oil and gas and construction. 

 Among the cart’s standard features are a single 27-inch or dual 22-inch 1080p full HD LED backlit monitors, mounting points for wireless access, and an access panel that includes two USB ports, HDMI, VGA and audio from codec, for multiple peripheral connectivity. The battery module gives up to five hours of operation, and is available in 110 or 230 volt AC versions. For easy maneuverability and durability, the Utility Cart 500 also comes fitted with sturdy stainless steel handles, and five casters for enhanced stability.

 “The Utility Cart can, for example, enable a manufacturing floor technician to move HD video to a specific area in the plant, and connect an external camera to view and share details or components not easily accessible to external parties. This capability can allow remote experts to overcome the obstacle of distance and enhances productivity and drives efficiency in the manufacturing process, with impact to the bottom line,” said Sandberg. 

RealPresence EduCart 500
Designed specifically for classrooms and training departments, the RealPresence EduCart 500 is a videoconferencing solution for use in education environments. This includes distance learning, teacher conferences, virtual field trips, and enhanced individual and group learning with remote experts. 

 The cart features adjustable screen height and high-powered amplified speakers, allowing clear audio in large classrooms or lecture theatres, and provides the flexibility to easily move the unit to different classrooms or campus locations. The electronics and power for the unit are integrated behind a protective metal shield to avoid tampering. The cart is also safely-designed to be a self-contained unit, avoiding numerous wires around a classroom, and equipped with a dual pole to ensure maximum stability. 

 “The RealPresence EduCart 500 makes it easier than ever to enrich lessons and increase student engagement with the ability to connect to other classrooms, peers, or experts in other locations,” said Sandberg. “Video collaboration in the education space can take students beyond their classrooms, to experience everything from virtual field trips to sharing project work with schools in other parts of India or abroad. Collaboration technology such as the EduCart addresses a great need in providing more learning opportunities, and making education and resources more accessible to students, particularly across vast distances in countries such as India.” 

Lenovo Rejigs National Consumer Distribution Structure

 Lenovo, one of India’s leading PC players, today announced the restructuring of its national distribution system (Tier 1 distributors) across India. The new structure will align each of the T1 distributors with Lenovo’s four distinct verticals: Lenovo Exclusive Stores (LES), Multi-brand stores, Regional Distributors and Large Format Retail. 

 Lenovo historically had taken the lead a few years back in having a 1:1 aligned model of billing between RDs and T1 partners. This new structure will take this aligned model to its next level for more focus on each vertical.

 Shailendra Katyal, Director, Home and Small Business (HSB), Lenovo India, said, “The new T1 structure is a significant step towards developing a best-in-class partner system for Lenovo in India. We are confident that this new distribution structure will further strengthen our engagement with our T2 business partners. Each of these verticals has distinct product and sales patterns and aligning our national distributors to service verticals in a focussed way will ensure better end-to-end serviceability for our channel partners”

The new structure has been designed to create an ecosystem, where Lenovo and the T1 partners will address the distinctive needs of the different verticals in a focused manner. This transition will give a dedicated channel base to the T1 partners where they can invest and value-add for growth on these accounts. It allows T1s to move beyond credit and fulfilment to having a more growth oriented approach by having better end-to-end inventory alignment and product evangelism with T2 partners.

  Along with this restructuring, Lenovo also announced some other recent initiatives viz

 *  Creation of a new class of RDs which would be fulfilled directly by Lenovo.

* A strategic partnership with HCL Infosystems Ltd. to further strengthen its consumer retail business by leveraging over 100 HCL exclusive store-fronts
* Appointment of RX (put full name) as additional T1 for select markets for distribution of S&P products

 Katyal added “We are bullish about the near to medium term growth prospects in the consumer business and are taking these structural measures to enhance our reach and servicing of channel in India”.