YatraGenie & Sundaram to Create Entrepreneurs in India

YatraGenie, one of the leading online bus ticketing and cab booking platform has partnered with Sundaram Finance Ltd to create entrepreneurs in India. This partnership between the two companies will help drivers to turn entrepreneurs and be self sufficient to participate in the new economy. Sundaram finance Ltd will finance cars at a very attractive rate when cars are bought and financed through YatraGenie franchise program. Through this partnership Yatragenie plans to create 50,000 entrepreneurs in 2 years.

Speaking about the partnership, Renil Komitla, CEO of Yatragenie.com said “We believe that this partnership will help us encourage more and more youngsters to become entrepreneurs. This program will provide easy access to capital for drivers who want to own a car. The Indian cab segment has immense potential and the demand for cab services is only going to increase in the months to come. Through this tie up with Sundaram Finance Ltd we want to empower drivers to become entrepreneurs”

On the occasion, Badrinarayanan K, DGM, Sundaram Finance said “We are very excited about this partnership with YatraGenie. Sundaram Finance Ltd has been in the vehicle lending business for many years now and we greatly believe in providing the best of the services to our customers. We are keen on providing the required support from our side to create a new wave of entrepreneurs to empower India’s new economy”

YatraGenie cabs are currently present in Bangalore, Nellore, Tirupathi, Gudur, Kavali and Vijaywada. Bookings can be done via the online portal www.yatragenie.com and also through android based mobile devices using the YatraGenie app.  Apart from web and app bookings, customers can reach out to the call centre by dialling 080 20 20 20 20. By the end of 2015, YatraGenie will set up operations in 65 cities and towns with an inventory of 25,000 cabs.

Scania's Manufacturing Facility Rolls Out Buses Better Suited for Indian Roads

With an additional Investment of Rs 300 crore in its manufacturing facilities in India, the Swedish automobile company - Scania CV - has rolled out new range of buses designed especially for the Indian roads. The bus manufacturing facility in Narasapura near Bangalore after many years of research & development on Indian roads, claims to have overcome many of the safety related challenges faced by the other players in the market. 

One of the safety aspects was to over come the faulty design and by redesigning buses to have multiple emergency exits and also diesel gas fuel tank in the middle unlike its competitors. The other highlights are if any part of the bus experiences over heating then the alerts are triggered off to the bus driver.

The bus manufacturing plant’s current capacity is about 1,000 units per year and will employ 300 people in its first year. The company has also invested significant amount in Information Technology (IT) through its Indian partners Larson &Turbo Infotech.

Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO, Scania CV said: “Scania’s bus manufacturing facility in Naraspura, which we inaugurate today, is yet another milestone in our strategic plans for India. The vision for Narasupura is clear – it is a world class facility serving both the Indian market and becoming a hub for exports to other markets in Asia. Scania has and remains committed to bringing global technology and manufacturing practices to the countries in which it operates. Here in India, we will always strive to create a win - win situation for our partners. The goal is to draw on local talent and competence and combine it with global experience - making all our facilities part of our global network and in turn creating tremendous value across our global value chain. We see Naraspura as an important addition to our global operations and are committed to making it a success.” Lundstedt added “We also know that Naraspura’s success so far and in the future will be enabled by joint efforts of all stakeholders - local suppliers, workforce, state and local governments and we value this partnership “

In October 2013, Scania inaugurated its truck manufacturing facility in Narasapura. Scania has collectively invested around Rs. 300 crore in their truck and bus manufacturing facility. The current yearly capacity of the manufacturing plant is 2,500 trucks and 1,000 buses. The bus plant will also serve as an export hub for regions such as Asia, Middle East and Africa Over the next five years, Scania aims to double its production capacity by 2,500 units of buses and 5000 units of trucks and recruit about 800 employees by the end of 2017.

Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group said: “Scania has been the frontrunner in promoting sustainable transport solutions globally. We entered India with a vision to provide sustainable transport solutions to the country and formulated various channels for promoting it. The establishment of our bus manufacturing facility plays a major role in realizing this vision for India. The facility will accommodate a state-of-the-art bio-gas unit, which will help in producing alternative fuels locally. With this bus plant we are looking at locally assembling buses and coaches in India, and stay true to the vision of Make in India.”

The manufacturing facility in India is Scania’s ambitious venture and a strategic move to drive their global vision to new heights. Scania’s commitment of setting up a large manufacturing establishment is in sync with India’s dynamic vision of making the country a new destination for manufacturing. “The Make in India campaign will facilitate the manufacturing sectors to grow rapidly and Scania will be a true ambassador of this campaign as we will enable large-scale manufacturing activities in India and strengthen employment” Mr. Grundströmer said.    

Klas Dahlberg, Senior Vice President Buses & Coaches, Scania Group, said: “The all new bus manufacturing facility in India is a great leap towards realizing Scania’s global vision. This facility will be used to its full capacity and we are looking at exporting the buses and coaches to the neighboring countries of India. The geographical position of India will act in advantage to Scania in connecting with Far East Asian countries, Africa and Middle Eastern countries. India’s new vision favours international players to set up manufacturing facilities here and we will accomplish our vision in India as well as globally.”

Scania’s promise of delivering sustainable transport solutions in India takes a major step forward with the bus manufacturing plant. The plant will house a bio-gas production unit and will locally assemble ethanol buses. The company will also broaden the scope for manufacturing more products powered by alternative fuels, which will catalyse sustainable development in India to a whole new level.

SaaSx Set to Accelerate Indian SaaS Startups

Microsoft Ventures and iSPIRT hosted SaaSx, a platform for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) entrepreneurs to share, learn and grow their business into million dollar Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) models. SaaSx brought together more than 100 promising SaaS startups for peer learning, expert talks, and launch of a guide on marketing SaaS.

Ravi Narayan, Managing Director, Microsoft Ventures in India, said: “While SaaS is fast becoming a viable model for product startups in India, scaling it up rapidly is a bottleneck every mature SaaS startup encounters. SaaSx, like our other initiatives with iSPIRT, is aimed at getting these startups the traction that will turn them into a global success.”

At the event, iSPIRT & Microsoft Ventures launched the ‘Jump Start Guide for Desk Marketing and Selling for SaaS’ to educate the SaaS companies on ways to sell to the world while operating out of India. The guide has been developed based on the learning from Microsoft Ventures’ Think Next Roundtable on SaaS, held last November.

“These are part of the thought leadership initiative by Microsoft Ventures to deepen the conversation on ways to address challenges in the Indian startup ecosystem,” added Ravi.

Avinash Raghava, Fellow at iSPIRT Foundation said: “Our mission is to transform India into a hub for new-generation technology. With SaaSx, we hope to play the role of a market catalyst and help SaaS entrepreneurs mature faster. Since Chennai is fast growing as the nerve center for SaaS companies, we thought it is only appropriate to host this first-of-its-kind congregation of SaaS entrepreneurs in this city.”

In his keynote, Aaron Ross, renowned SaaS expert and author of the best-seller ‘Predictable Revenue: Grow 300%’ - often called the ‘Sales Bible of Silicon Valley’ - spoke on the best practices for creating predictable revenue with SaaS.

SaaSx also featured an Unconference by Girish Mathrubootham, CEO & Founder, Freshdesk, on ‘Everything on SaaS.’ The audience also got an opportunity to hear success stories of some of the best SaaS startups in the country - WebEngage, Wingify, and Grexit - straight from their co-founders.

Tally Tech Alumni & SELCO Partner for Light for Education Initiative

Tally Solutions Pvt. Limited (TSPL), a pioneer in the business software products arena, today announced their association with Light For Education (LiFE) - a unique education and sustainability oriented social initiative by the SELCO Foundation. In support of the initiative, the Technology Alumni Association of Bangalore (Alumni Association of IIT - Kharagpur in Bangalore) organized a fundraiser called the Light For Education (LiFE) Music Fest on 21st March, 2015 at the Hotel Royal Orchid Hotel, Old Airport Road, Bangalore.

The “Light for Education” initiative is the brainchild of SELCO founder and Magsaysay Award winner, Dr. Harish Hande. The initiative’s primary goal was to provide solar lamps for school children in areas without electricity. Under the scheme, Solar Panel and Charging Station are installed in rural schools and lamps and battery packs are given to students from un-electrified homes. 

The school becomes the charging station for the lights. Students bring lamps to school for charging in morning and carry them back in the afternoon for study at home. SELCO has created impact in more than 200,000 households in Karnataka with solar lighting and has a special focus on linking sustainable energy to education. Over the years, SECLO has been working with individuals, NGIs and corporate organizations to scale up the initiative.

The event also featured MindTrigger, a day-long corporate contest which drew participation from leading technology companies in Bangalore. The contest tests contestants on a variety of aspects including knowledge, strategic thinking, linguistic abilities, creativity with contests like Quiz, Spin a Yarn and Potpourri. Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. swept all the five contests and was adjudged the “Best Corporate Mind 2015” while HAL was the runner-up.

VDVL Acquisition to Enhance Prodapt's Telecom Services

Prodapt, a leading provider of IT and Engineering services today announced that it has completed the acquisition of VDVL Consultants, a Netherlands based Telecom IT and Technology Services Company in an all-cash deal.

VDVL Consultants, over a span of 25 years, has built a strong track record by servicing most of the large telecom operators in The Netherlands. The company provides Telecom IT specific high-end Strategic Consulting, Technology Architecture & Design, Business Process Analysis and Definition, Test Planning & Management, and Program Management Services. VDVL has a highly experienced team with deep telecom skills, sustainable client relationships and solid financials. The existing management of VDVL will continue with the company.

With the completion of this acquisition, Prodapt becomes a leading global services company serving the telecom industry. The strategic acquisition complements Prodapt’s proven capabilities of delivering IT and Operations Services for the Communications Industry and enhance its revenue mix, with approximately 50% from North America, 45% from Europe and 5% from Africa.   The combined offerings bring end-to-end IT and operations services - from telecom product strategy to managed services.

In 2015, the company plans to focus on enhancing its position with investments in next generation technologies impacting the telecom vertical. These would include the productization of Prodapt's platform serving the Internet of Things (IoT) and development of Prodapt's big data and analytics practice serving the communications sector.

“This acquisition is a significant moment for Prodapt. Now, we have become a leading global services company serving the telecom industry. This consolidation will strengthen our delivery capabilities for both wireline, wireless and convergent operators; especially in the area of BSS/OSS and network integration solutions. We are looking at further acquisitions that could help enhance our offerings to the telecom vertical” said Vedant Jhaver, CEO of Prodapt.

In the recent past, Prodapt has ramped up its Indian operations and boosted its employee strength with growing business from US and Europe in the last few quarters.

Zipstream Tech Reduces 50% Storage in Video Surveillance Applications

Axis’ Zipstream technology is fully compatible with the H.264 compression standard and can be used with the latest Axis cameras and the market’s leading video management software without additional investment. Optimized for video surveillance, Axis’ Zipstream technology is a radically more efficient H.264 implementation, lowering bandwidth and storage requirements by an average 50% or more.

Axis Communications, the market leader in network video, introduces Zipstream technology allowing customers to benefit from reduced bandwidth and storage requirements without having to invest in new cameras or software. Axis’ Zipstream technology is fully compatible with the widely adopted H.264 compression standard. The technology has been developed specifically for video surveillance applications and lowers bandwidth and storage requirements by an average 50% or more.

“Significant progress towards better image quality with higher HDTV resolutions and increased low-light performance has also increased the requirements on the network and storage infrastructure. With Axis’ Zipstream technology we enable our customers to drastically reduce bandwidth and storage needs without compromising on important image details. For example, more than twice the video footage can now be stored on SD cards or NAS’s in small systems built on AXIS Camera Companion as well as other edge recording applications,” says Johan Paulsson, Chief Technology Officer, Axis Communications. “Axis’ Zipstream technology adds a new module inside the network camera’s video compression engine which ensures that important details in the image get enough attention in the video stream while unnecessary data can be squeezed.”

Axis’ Zipstream technology analyzes and optimizes the network camera’s video stream in real time. Scenes containing interesting details are recorded in full image quality and resolution while other areas are filtered out, to optimally use available bandwidth and storage. Important forensic details like faces, tattoos or license plates are isolated and preserved, while irrelevant areas such as white walls, lawns and vegetation are sacrificed by smoothing in order to achieve the better storage savings.

Customers can use Axis’ Zipstream technology alongside other Axis network camera technologies such as Wide Dynamic Range - Forensic Capture and Lightfinder. As Zipstream is fully compatible with H.264 and can be used with AXIS Camera Station, AXIS Camera Companion and third-party video management software installations already in place.

Axis is making available its Zipstream technology on the existing network cameras AXIS Q1615, AXIS Q1635 and in the AXIS Q35 Series, via firmware updates. The first new products with Axis’ Zipstream installed are planned to be AXIS M1124/-E, AXIS M1125/-E and AXIS P1365/-E fixed network cameras, and AXIS P3224-LV/-LVE and AXIS P3225-LV/-LVE fixed dome network cameras.

Sigmify To Address CIO's Commonplace Issue of Operational Inefficiencies

Business Integration Systems (India) Pvt. Limited (BISIL), a global provider of BPM solutions, has announced the global release of Sigmify, a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering.

Sigmify addresses the commonplace issue of operational inefficiencies experienced by people at work due to fragmentation of information related to their work.

While speaking about the release, Savita Pathak, Head of Sigmify at BISIL said, “We all have experienced that with time information related to our work gets fragmented. Information related to our work is scattered over various IT applications, in spreadsheets, in emails and increasingly in chat transcripts. We spend more time trying to ‘collect and collate this information’ in preparing to do a task at hand than in actually doing the task itself. It is all very distracting and inefficient.”

Sigmify addresses this fragmentation problem by providing a ‘social dashboard’ that offers a single place to access transactions in various IT applications; a social interface for collaborating around these transactions; links to other ‘conversations’; ability to define and share operational tracking and control lists; and other ways access information in subscribing IT applications. Various interactions around transactions captured through emails, chat, applications, and messages are unified through Sigmify Stream, improving efficiencies, quality of responses and turnaround times.

 “Sigmify is a result of knowledge acquired over a decade by BISIL in implementing Business Process Management (BPM) solutions across the globe. We have been working over the last two years to translate this vision of de-fragmenting work into reality. The result is Sigmify – A social platform to collaborate; combined with BPM capability to automate; and set of open APIs to enable applications to subscribe to the Sigmify Stream,” Pathak added.

The best part of Sigmify is the ease of on-boarding and spreading its use within the company. It takes less than five minutes to get started, and proliferates within organizations through just the use of email IDs. Users can sign up, sign in and check out its relevance to them effortlessly.

The product release was announced at the 4th Edition of CIO India Conclave (March 18th-19th) in Mumbai.