HCL & Alstom Partner for IT Infrastructure for 30,000 PCaaS Users

HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services provider, has announced a new IT infrastructure partnership with Alstom, a world leader in the supply of the most complete range of systems, equipment and services in the railway sector.

HCL will leverage its IT infrastructure capabilities to provide workplace engineering services, roll out PC as a Service (PCaaS) for 30,000 users worldwide and enable local end-user support services across 360 locations in 62 countries. Additionally, HCL will establish a multilingual global service desk offering support for Alstom in 11 languages, including more than 50% French speaking users. These services will be delivered by leveraging HCL’s three global delivery centers located in Poland, Brazil and India. As part of this partnership, HCL will also set up the organisation’s Services Integration and Management (SIAM) function from conception, enabling Alstom to achieve "multi sourcing service integration."

Christine Heckmann, CIO of Alstom, said, “Following the sale of Alstom Energy and central support functions to GE on 2^nd November, it was our priority to ensure a smooth and continuous IT operations, to embrace the digital economy in our transformational objectives while optimizing costs. In order to do that, we needed to count on the best IT Partner who can help define, develop and implement our IT transformation roadmap for the next 5 years. As such, HCL was the right partner for Alstom as we found HCL to be flexible, agile and having a collaborative approach and these were also the most important criteria we were looking for in a partner.”

“This deal is a reaffirmation of HCL’s strong heritage working collaboratively in multi-vendor environments and as a pioneer and leader in multivendor SIAM. Alstom engagement is HCL’s one of the largest infrastructure services engagement across France and Benelux,” said Ashish Gupta, Corporate Vice President & Head-Diversified Industries & Infrastructure Services, EMEA, HCL Technologies. “Our track record in carrying out build, operate and transfer projects, and implementing multi-sourcing services integration gave Alstom the confidence that we were their ideal technology partner. One of the pillars of our core philosophy is being flexible and agile in our approach, so we are well-positioned to align seamlessly and respond to the demands of this exciting start-up business as it evolves rapidly.”

With extensive experience of core IT business across industries, HCL has made significant progress in becoming one of the most successful IT firms in the European market. HCL's innovative delivery model provides significant savings and operational benefits to customers through a highly flexible, transparent and collaborative approach.

HCL’s Infrastructure Services Division (ISD) has been delivering IT infrastructure services to global transportation and large manufacturing firms to reduce cost, improve IT efficiency, increase revenues and industrialize operations. Moreover, it helps its clients to focus on meeting the challenges of the market and growing their business by implementing cost-effective and timely responses to business changes by integrating IT systems and business processes, optimizing the utilization of IT delivery processes, resources, applications and infrastructure, and predicting visibility across supply chain and reliability into operations.

Banned Gukta Now Turns Medicinal ArecaTea; Areca Nut Contains Tannin, Polyphenol to Solve Ageing, Diabetes & Depression

Areca Nut, one of the important commercial crops of the state is often cursed for its association with pan masala, gutka etc. Traders and middlemen were playing with the areca nut prices and thus with the life of growers by creating rumors about the gutka ban etc. Developing alternative areca nut products is the need of the hour to stabilize the market and ensure healthy price for the growers. 

Presently more than 6 lakh farmers’ families are depending upon areca nut. Now a young researcher from the Shivamogga district of the state have developed an unique health product by using the areca nut as the raw material. It is for the first time in the world Areca Nut tea has been developed. This research expected to expand the areca nut market and stabilize the price.

Areca Nut tea, a brain child of young pharmacy graduate Nivedan Nempe all was released to the market on Friday by Padmabhushana Rajasri Veerendra Heggade. Highlight of this new invention which was selected for the Make In India Excellence Award by the All Indian Technical Management Council (AITMC) as the innovative product of the year 2014-15 is approved by the The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). 

What is Areca Tea?

Arena Nut tea is marketed in the form of ready to use Tea bags which consist of processed Areca Granules along with secrete Ayurvedic herbs.  Areca tea is sweet to taste even without sugar as areca gives natural sweetening. Areca tea has got natural aroma of areca as well as flavor of areca. As areca nut contains tannin, polyphenol, fatty acids and mineral contents it has several health advantages compared to traditional tea powders.

As areca tea high parentage of tannin, tea concept has been developed since tannin is the main content of regular tea. Areca nut has been processed in six different steps to remove alkaloids leaving all other health beneficial components as it is. Tannin and other health beneficial molecules dissolve in water and can be used as tea.

Research has proved that areca nut tea works as  appetiser, anti oxidant, antidepressant, anti aging etc.  As a result areca tea works against ageing, diabetes, depression and other problems. 

Nivedan Nempe, who have developed this areca nut tea has a humble background. Nivedan who was born and brought up in Mandagadde village in Shivamogga district, studied in government Kannada medium primary school high schools. Later he pursued his degree in Pharmacy as he was keen towards research, especially in Indian heritage medicinal methods. When he was in final year of pharmacy, he presented a paper in international Pharma conference in Gulbarga and he was offered by Swinburne University of Technology for Higher education in Good Manufacturing & Management Technology. 

He travelled several Australia, New Zealand, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai where he worked for several companies at different levels. But as his life's motto was serving the mother country, he returns to India and launches his own company called Mystic Aromatics to develop new concept-based product. First product developed by his company was Recycled paper Air fresheners. Now he is launching this Areca Nut tea which expected to bring smiles back on the lakhs of areca nut growers especially from Malnad region.

LIC Launches Jeevan Labh and Jeevan Shikhar, close-ended plans in Karnataka

LIC of India has launched a new endowment plan Jeevan Labh (Plan No. 836) from 04/01/2016. Jeevan Labh is a limited premium paying, non-linked, with-profit endowment assurance Plan. Unique identification number (UIN) of Jeevan Labh plan is 512N304V01. This policy is available from a child of 8 years old to person of age 59. Main feature of this plan is very limited premium payment option, for 16 year policy term customer have to pay premium for 10 year and for 21 and 25 years of policy term policy holder have to pay premium for 15 and 16 years respectively.

Benefits of Jeevan Labh Plan

Benefits payable under an inforce policy are:

Death Benefit

On death of the life assured during the term of the policy, the Death Benefit defined as sum of “Sum Assured on Death” and vested simple reversionary bonuses and Final Additional Bonus, if any, shall be payable.

Where “Sum Assured on Death” is defined as the higher of 10 times of annualized premium or absolute amount assured to be paid on death i.e. Basic Sum Assured.

This death benefit shall not be less than 105% of the total premiums paid as on date of death.

Premium mentioned above will not include any taxes, extra amount chargeable under the policy due to underwriting decision and rider premium, if any

Participation in Profits

This policy will participate in the profits of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and will be entitled to receive simple reversionary bonus declared as per the experience of LIC, provided the policy is in full force.

Final additional Bonus may also be declared under the policy which will be payable on the expiry of the policy term or death. Final additional bonus will not be payable on paid-up policies.

Optional Benefits

1.      LIC’s Accidental Death and Disability Rider UIN (512B209V01): If this benefit is opted for an additional amount equal to the Accidental Benefit Sum Assured is payable on death due to accident, provided the rider is in full force at the time of the accident.

2.      LIC’s New Term Assurance Rider UIN (512B210V01): If policy holder opt for this rider then, an amount equal to Term Assurance Rider sum assured will be payable to on death of the Life Assured during the policy term, provided the rider cover is in full force at the time of death.

Other conditions and policy features of Jeevan Labh

1.      Policy will acquire paid up value if aleast 3 full years’ premiums have been paid

2.      Jeevan Labh policy can be surrendered at any time during the policy term provided aleast three full years’ premium have been paid

3.      Loan facility is available under this plan, after payment of premiums for at least 3 full years subject to conditions: Maximum loan for inforce policy-90% of surrender value and for paid up policies 80% of surrender value.

4.      Policy can be taken from back date upto current financial year

5.      Nomination and assignment in this policy is available

6.      policy can be revived within the 2 years of First Unpaid Premium (FUP) by paying all the due premiums

LIC Launches Jeevan Shikhar

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched 'Jeevan Shikhar', a closed-ended plan which would be open for sale from January 11 up to March 31. It is a non-linked, with profits, single premium plan, wherein the risk cover is 10 times of tabular single premium providing a combination of savings and risk cover.

Under this plan, the proposer/life assured will have an option to choose the maturity sum assured, and the single premium payable will depend on the chosen amount of maturity sum assured and the age of the assured. The plan is available from ages six to 45 years.

Minimum maturity sum assured is Rs 1 lakh, with maximum basic sum assured having no limit. The maturity sum assured can be in multiple of Rs 20,000 only, with a policy term of 15 years. Loan facility is also available under this single premium plan.

On the policyholder surviving to the end of the policy term the maturity sum assured along with loyalty addition , if any, shall be payable. In case of death of the life assured  during first  five policy years and after commencement of risk 'sum assured on death' equal to 10 times the tabular single premium will be payable.

On death before commencement of risk, single premium without interest after deducting extra charged, if any, will be refunded. On death after completion of five policy years but before the stipulated date of maturity "sum assured on death" equal to 10 times the tabular single premium along with loyalty addition, if any, will be payable.

AMD’s Key Industry Partners Welcome AMD Opteron A1100 SoC to the 64-bit ARM Data Center Arena

AMD marks a major step towards delivering choice and innovation in the data center with the launch of the AMD Opteron A1100 System-on-Chip (SoC), formerly codenamed “Seattle”.  Jointly with its software and hardware partners, AMD is accelerating time-to-deployment of ARM-based systems and driving forward ecosystem support for ARM in the data center.

“The ecosystem for ARM in the data center is approaching an inflection point and the addition of AMD’s high-performance processor is another strong step forward for customers looking for a data center-class ARM solution,” said Scott Aylor, corporate vice president and general manager, Enterprise Solutions, AMD. “The macro trend of convergence between networking, storage and servers is an important catalyst in this evolution. Customers now have access to 64-bit ARM processors from the only silicon provider that also has decades of experience delivering professional enterprise and embedded products.”

The AMD Opteron A1100 SoC represents a key milestone for establishing ARM in the data center as well. “The AMD Opteron A1100 processor brings a new choice in scalability across network infrastructure and data centers,” said Lakshmi Mandyam, director of server systems and ecosystems, ARM. “AMD brings recognized expertise in the server and embedded markets, making them an ideal partner to deliver a 64-bit ARM processor with the impressive balance of performance and power-efficiency to address an increasingly diverse set of workloads.”

The AMD Opteron A1100 Series SoC is the first 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57-based platform from AMD. Utilizing ARM Cortex-A57 processors with high-speed network and storage connectivity and outstanding energy efficiency, the AMD Opteron A1100 Series SoC delivers a balanced total cost of ownership for storage, web and networking workloads.

AMD Opteron A1100 Series SoC specifications:

·         Up to eight ARM Cortex-A57 cores with 4MB shared Level 2 and 8MB of shared Level 3 cache

·         2x 64-bit DDR3/DDR4 channels supporting up to 1866 MHz with ECC

·         2x 10Gb Ethernet network connectivity

·         8-lane PCI-Express Gen 3

·         14 SATA-3 ports

The AMD Opteron A1100 SoC is powering enterprise-class systems from SoftIron with its Overdrive3000 system for developers, as well as an upcoming lineup of Software Defined Storage solutions taking advantage of the processor’s rich feature set. 

“The secret of the AMD Opteron A1100 SoC’s appeal is not just the cores, it’s everything around the cores,” said Norman Fraser, CEO of SoftIron. “If you’ve got an application where you need to move large amounts of data around quickly, you’re going to love it.”

AMD is also collaborating with Silver Lining Solutions (SLS) to integrate SLS’ fabric technology in innovative dense server designs featuring the Opteron A1100 Series, targeted at streaming, web, and storage workloads for cloud and hyperscale datacenters. The SLS Fabric Interconnect incorporates a low-latency, energy efficient 60Gbps switching fabric and is available as a PCI Express expansion card or a standalone ASIC for custom server applications.

“We are very excited about working with AMD to bring power efficient fabric-based computing to market,” said Dr. Ping-Kank Hsiung, Managing Director of Silver Lining Systems. “Combining the efficient AMD Opteron A1100 processor with our unique fabric will help drive down costs and power requirements of hyper scale computing and storage.”

In addition to silicon innovation, AMD has been instrumental in supporting the 64-bit ARM software ecosystem, a critical component to any new processor, and has been working closely with Enterprise Linux^ leaders Red Hat and SUSE on operating system and application support.

“Red Hat and AMD share a vision of building an open, standards-based software ecosystem for highly converged designs based on 64-bit ARM architecture. As one of the first participants in Red Hat's ARM Partner Early Access Program, AMD has been instrumental in the testing and porting of the world's leading enterprise Linux platform to 64-bit ARM architecture", said Ranga Rangachari, vice president and general manager, Storage, Red Hat. "The arrival of the AMD Opteron A1100 SoC represents a major milestone to the ecosystem interested in driving converged infrastructure for storage, networking, and compute."

The AMD Opteron A1100 SoC has been in advanced development with technology partners and customers for several quarters and is available in mass production quantities today.

Kirill Tatarinov Appointed as President & CEO of Citrix From Jan 2016

Citrix has announced that Kirill Tatarinov has been appointed President and CEO, effective January 25, 2016. A veteran Microsoft executive, Tatarinov will also join the Citrix Board as a director at that time. Interim President and CEO Robert Calderoni continues his role as Executive Chairman on the Citrix Board of Directors, focused on driving execution of the strategic plan for operational excellence, capital structure and portfolio simplification.

With 30 years of industry experience, Tatarinov has a long and successful track record overseeing product strategy and commercial operations in software and services. His background includes leadership positions at Microsoft for 13 years, including most recently serving as Executive Vice President of the Microsoft Business Solutions Division where he doubled revenue, increased profitability, led the division’s transformation to the cloud, and managed the global partner ecosystem. During his tenure at Microsoft, he also served as Corporate Vice President of the Management and Solutions Division where he accelerated product strategy execution, resulting in strong revenue growth. Prior to Microsoft, Tatarinov was a member of the senior leadership team at BMC, where he served as the Chief Technology Officer, as well as holding product and business development leadership positions.

“The Board is delighted to welcome Kirill as the new President and CEO of Citrix,” said Robert Calderoni, Executive Chairman. “Following a thorough review of candidates, the Board determined that Kirill’s strong product management background and extensive technology leadership experience make him the right person to oversee Citrix’s innovation and growth strategy.”

Calderoni added, “It has been a pleasure serving as the interim CEO working with the Citrix team, alongside the Board of Directors and leadership. Our comprehensive business review has set us on a path to drive profitable growth, embrace operational excellence, and refocus the company on our core business – the secure delivery of apps and data. I look forward to working closely with Kirill and the rest of the Citrix executive team in my role as Executive Chairman.”

“I am honored to join Citrix during this exciting time,” said Tatarinov. “Citrix is an iconic company with a world-class brand, innovative products, and a large installed base, including 99% of the Global 500. Citrix is a key enabler of digital business. Across every industry and region, the secure delivery of apps and data is a strategic imperative for organizations of all sizes. I look forward to working alongside Citrix’s leaders, talented employees, and dedicated partners around the world to push the boundaries of innovation and create greater value together.”

The CEO search process was led by a committee of the Board consisting of Robert Calderoni (committee chair), Godfrey R. Sullivan and Jesse Cohn, with the assistance of Heidrick and Struggles, a leading executive search firm. With Tatarinov’s appointment, the Citrix Board will be comprised of 11 directors.

Download n-gage App for Instant Messaging & Chat Without Smartphones

With the revolution of communication and technology, there are plenty of instant messaging apps launched for people who want to get past the limitations or shortcomings of communication.  Amidst all this, n-gage – world’s first 360 degree Lifestyle chat-app has broken the app barrier by enabling users to message others across any messaging app in the world.

“The journey and thought of developing an app like n-gage started when I faced health issues in my life. The lack of ability for people to connect on health problems inspired me to make an app like n-gage.” says Ajit Patel, CEO & Founder of n-gage.    

In the past decade a number of Instant messaging apps have launched globally, subsequently resulting in people installing a cluster of apps on their devices to cater to their individual needs. Today, with its launch in Bangalore, n-gage has broken this platform barrier, and become the first consolidated messaging app with the most popular features in one easy to use interface.

“As communication and information travel faster and faster, the world seems to get smaller and smaller. This changes how the world communicates, especially with today’s obsession with social media networks. Keeping this in mind, n-gage offers a novel form of communication by liberating its users to enjoy rich messaging across other instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, and many more without the need of a smartphone, or the receiver downloading n-gage” adds Ajit.

Another ground-breaking innovation of n-gage is its video-calling feature across other platforms that bridges the gap and brings people closer without any interruption. Users can now make one to one or group video calls with friends, by inviting them on WhatsApp, Hike, Facebook or any other social platform to join the call.  n-gage has also moved a step ahead by the launch of its ‘Translate’ feature through which users can instantly translate their incoming and outgoing messages in over 45 languages.

With the advancement of technology and increasing number of social apps, privacy is a major concern for users today. To address this concern of privacy and security, n-gage has taken extra measures by introducing new ways to ensure privacy to suit the individual needs. n-gage is not only limited to messaging across other messaging apps, but allows users to express their emotions through the personalisation features added to ‘n-Cards’, ‘n-Stickers’ and ‘Doodle Plus’. Users can add text, audio or image to their n-stickers and n-cards, or handwrite or draw their messages to friends who use WhatsApp, Hike, Facebook, SMS, etc.

n-gage is a promising app that will revolutionise the way people communicate in today’s world. The app is available for use on Android, iOS, PC and tablet. 

HP’s DaaS Programme Empowering Efficiency & Businesses to Stay Ahead

HP Inc. has announced that it is offering a new Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) programme, empowering businesses in India to stay ahead, move fast, be more efficient and deliver the best experiences to their customers.

“Indian businesses are innovating to serve a vibrant, diverse workforce and are transforming to become more competitive nationally and globally,” said Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director, HP Inc., India. “HP offers services and solutions that grow with enterprises and organizations, enabling them to leapfrog whole technologies, connect across geographies in India and even global markets. As the final touch-point to their customer and employee, the right device is just the start. It’s about how you manage that device, ensuring flexibility, integrating the right application and keeping it secure till it’s replaced.”

With HP Device-as-a-Service, enterprises and organizations use their PCs like a utility - they pay one price per seat on a monthly basis over a three or four year period. They also get customized services and support from HP, such as PC configuration and software installation, onsite break-fix, data migration, proactive support, while having the ability to upgrade to the latest HP commercial desktop, notebook PCs, and tablets for subsequent contract periods.

HP DaaS incorporates services, support and eventual disposal as part of one overall services agreement. This is different from typical leasing agreements where PC acquisition, setup and maintenance are covered under separate contracts. This means that organizations can enjoy more predictable annual costs and greater ease from having to manage just one contract during their entire PC lifecycle. HP DaaS also covers secure and responsible disposal of PCs, a final phase in the PC lifecycle that is often overlooked and risk the leak of sensitive information.

HP DaaS was first implemented with Maruti Suzuki in India, with a focus on empowering their sales force with tablets that come with interactive content and serve as an on-ramp for customer information.

“Digital transformation is key for businesses to stay ahead of the curve and deliver best-in-class services to customers. Innovative service model offerings from our partners like HP is helping us to transform our customer experience. Each dealer can better identify the options that match the requirements and aspirations of our customers and address their queries more effectively and provide impeccable experience,” said Rajesh Uppal, Executive Director, IT, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.