90% of Organizations will Lack a Postmodern Application Integration Strategy Through 2018

The increasing complexity of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application portfolio is driving the need for a defined postmodern application integration strategy, according to Gartner, Inc. Without addressing the integration concerns in a strategic manner, cost and complexity will begin to spiral out of control and any benefit will be quickly eroded. Gartner predicts that through 2018, 90 percent of organizations will lack a postmodern application integration strategy and execution ability, resulting in integration disorder, greater complexity and cost.

"Postmodern ERP represents a fundamental shift away from a single vendor megasuite toward a more loosely coupled and federated ERP environment," said Carol Hardcastle, research vice president at Gartner. "This new environment promises more business agility, but only if the increased complexity is recognized and addressed."

The shift to the postmodern world continues unabated. The majority of organizations now operate in a hybrid reality, leading to greater complexities in the application portfolio with new integration, analytics and governance challenges that can increase the risk of failure. There is a dawning recognition among end-user organizations that postmodern ERP is no quick nirvana. Many organizations moving from an on-premises monolithic state acknowledge they have little or no skills to support postmodern application integration. They have no postmodern application integration strategy, naively assuming the vendors will take care of it. Vendors are not doing this, which has left many organizations scrambling to integrate applications when they finally realize this grim reality.

Other ERP predictions from Gartner include:

By 2017, 75 percent of IT organizations will have a bimodal capability; only half of these will manage to avoid putting their ERP solutions at risk.

Almost 40 percent of CIOs are on the bimodal IT journey, with the majority of the remainder planning to follow in the next three years. Bimodal will soon be a fact of life, but a large number of organizations will make a mess of this change, not by moving too fast, but by failing to understand where to apply the two modes. The risks of making a mess with bimodal IT are substantial, particularly if it creates organizational, architectural, technical or process damage or dysfunction within the ERP backbone. This could disrupt business operations, seriously damage business performance and come with a high price for remediation and mitigation.

Until 2018, 80 percent of enterprises will lack the capability to successfully deliver on their postmodern ERP strategy.

"Twenty five or more years after ERP solutions entered the applications market, many ERP projects are still compromised in time, cost and more insidiously in business outcomes," said Ms. Hardcastle. "Organizations need to resist the temptation to succumb to pressure from business leaders to get started before the enterprise is really ready (and without a business-agreed ERP strategy). Business leaders must understand what it will take to ensure success. The blame for this, however, does not lie solely with end-user organizations that lack the experience and expertise to avoid many of the pitfalls. System integrator (SI) and ERP vendors have to be accountable to their customers in this respect."

By 2018, enterprises will insist on postmodern ERP project deployments that deliver proven value in less than two years.

End-user organizations are increasingly questioning the value of investment in ERP solutions and are looking for new solutions and new deployment models that can deliver value quickly.

"The poor practices of the past and the associated excuses for suboptimal business outcomes won't hold water any longer. The focus of postmodern ERP is on improved business agility and flexibility — for example, through deployment of solutions and services that are better targeted at the business capabilities and address other needs such as user experience," said Hardcastle. "It really is time that the significant investments enterprises make in ERP solutions reap real benefits. ERP vendors and SIs must raise their game on implementation approaches, renovating and revisiting their own implementation methodologies for speed and with greater emphasis on the benefits realization activities."

11,215 Units Sold by Toyota Kirloskar Motor in February 2016

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold a total of 11,215 units in the month of February 2016. TKM sold 10,312 units in the domestic market & exported 903 units of the Etios series clocking a total of 11,215 units in February 2016. The company sold a total of 11, 802 units in the domestic market in February 2015 and exported 1,475 units of the Etios series in the same month.

The Camry registers more than 100% growth when compared to the sale of Camry in February 2015. Almost 90% of this sale can be attributed to the Camry Hybrid.

Commenting on the monthly sales,  N. Raja, Director and Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Our monthly sales for February has picked up when compared to January 2016. However, the ban on registration of diesel vehicles in Delhi and NCR still continues to affect our sales as the Delhi and NCR market constitutes 8-10% of our market share which comprises of both the Innova and Fortuner. Moreover, the unrest in the state of Haryana has further impacted our business in that region with dealerships being closed for more than a week.”

Commenting on the budget, N. Raja said, “Part 1 of the budget gave an excellent midterm and long term direction to the economy. We hope that the set direction is followed diligently in the coming years as the contribution to the nation's economy will be significant. We compliment the measures and schemes which have been introduced to benefit the masses and also thrust on infrastructure which would have a long term impact on the growth of the nation

We would have expected some measures to promote alternate fuel technologies which would have helped the environment also. Indian Auto industry is already taxed at very high levels in comparison to most countries. To promote sustainable development of the country, the government must use this tax for the development of infrastructure, enhancing safety and enabling advanced, cleaner technologies to be introduced. Toyota is ready to partner with the government to support in developing a more sustainable car society,” he continued.

New Identity for Titan Eye Plus as it Now Reaches Out to Homes

Titan Eye Plus, a leading eye care retail brand from the Titan stable, to reach out to more customers’ will soon start selling its products at your doorstep. Shortly you can sit at home and either call or send request asking for a Titan Eye Plus’ optometrist to come over for an eye test and then order glasses and frames of your choice, The company has also unveiled an contemporary new avatar with a new logo.

Speaking to the media at a press conference, Ronnie Talati, CEO, Eyewear division, Titan Company Ltd said, “Our company is constantly striving to ensure that we are ahead of the curve and innovate new ways of reaching out to our customers. The new initiative to reach out to our customers at their homes is one such drive. We have just started a pilot and our team of optometrist are available at your homes.”

The new brand logo that has a minimalistic and contemporary look, reflecting a youthful persona of the brand. The logo sports a ‘cool blue’ colour palette and a modern typeface which is minimalist and contemporary.

The brand also aims to rejuvenate ones experience of retail in the eyewear category. It reflects the movement of the category from a functional requirement to a fashion accessory with exciting lifestyle cues.

The new identity is designed by Michael Foley Founder, Foley Designs, who had earlier made his mark with stunning, contemporary designs that gave Titan Company Limited (erstwhile Titan Industries Limited) an aesthetic makeover. Speaking of the thought behind the new design he said, “It has been exciting to be a part of this journey that Titan Eyeplus has embarked upon. The new identity will revolutionize the way consumers experience retail in the eyewear category.”

Thirty Titan Eyeplus stores have been readied with the new identity and the rest will go through a makeover in phases, at a cost of Rs. 15-20 lakh per store. 

The company has three major manufacturing facilities at Chikkaballapura (near Bengaluru) and satellite units at Kolkata and Mumbai. The satellite units have been set up at a cost of Rs 5 crore each, while the main manufacturing unit near Bengaluru has an investment of about Rs 12 crore.

On company financials, Talati said the division had been growing over the last five years. It grew at 17% in April-December doing a business of Rs 460 crore and it would continue to grow at double digits.

First “Out of the Box IoT Ready” Raspberry Pi is Now Here in India

Element14, the market leading manufacturer and distributor of the Raspberry Pi, has announced the launch of the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B. The new generation board is faster and more powerful than ever before and comes with built-in wireless LAN and Bluetooth connectivity. This new board adds to element14’s broad product portfolio which includes a world class ecosystem of accessories such as the recently launched Raspberry Pi Touchscreen Display.

The new Raspberry Pi 3 is available to buy today from element14, for a price of USD35 and is built on a new QUAD Core Broadcom BCM2837 64bit ARMv8 processor (running an ARMv7 operating system) running at 1.20GHz, a significant increase from 900MHz on the Raspberry Pi 2. It has improved power management and an upgraded switched power source - up to 2.5 Amps - to support more powerful external USB devices.

With support for Bluetooth Low Energy and wireless LAN, the Raspberry Pi 3 can support new and exciting application areas ‘out of the box’, such as IoT connectivity, streaming to Bluetooth headphones or speakers, Wi-Fi gateways and home cloud storage.

Claire Doyle, Global Head of Raspberry Pi at element14, comments:

“Today, as we celebrate the 4th birthday of Raspberry Pi, we reach another major milestone on the Pi journey with the launch of an even faster, technically advanced board for an amazing price of USD35. The new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B offers a higher level of performance than any other Raspberry Pi board on the market.

“We are very excited, as the leading manufacturer and distributor of the Raspberry Pi, to launch this product and to get it into the hands of customers worldwide. Supported by our growing accessory portfolio, the new Raspberry Pi 3 allows customers to develop specific applications and build new projects - and we can’t wait to see what customers will do with it!”

To further extend element14’s extensive ecosystem and enable users to get even more out of their new Raspberry Pi 3, element14 today is also launching three new accessories:

·         The new 16GB NOOBS Micro SD card featuring all of the software users need to get started quickly and easily

·         A unique 2.5A Raspberry Pi power supply which will enable users to power their Pi and ‘add-on’ boards all from one power source – maximising the benefits of the Pi 3’s improved power management capabilities

·         A new Raspberry Pi 3 case

Speaking at the London event this morning, Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading, said, “Four years ago today, we launched the first Raspberry Pi with our friends at Premier Farnell. Today we’re launching Raspberry Pi 3: it’s still $35 and it’s still the size of your credit card, but now it comes with on-board wireless LAN and Bluetooth, 50% more processing power, and a QUAD Core 64bit processor. The new Raspberry Pi opens up even more possibilities for IoT and embedded projects; we hope you like it as much as we do."

Technology Adoption in Governance – Step in Right Direction, Says Indian Industry Chiefs

NASSCOM has welcomed the Union Budget 2016, while terming it as a mixed bag for the sector. The budget reiterates the 7.6% GDP growth rate for the country and provides a slew of incentives for the rural, agricultural sector to enable inclusive growth.

The annual budget proposals set the policy direction for the country and Budget 2016 does articulate the emphasis on accountability, transparency and governance. However, in the backdrop of global economic volatility, there are unmet expectations on policy announcements that enable ease of doing business for our sector.

Mohan Reddy, Chairman, NASSCOM said “Our wish list for Budget 2016 included three key priorities – policy bottlenecks including ease of business; nurturing start-ups, products and ecommerce sector; and clarifications on transfer pricing to enable inward investments in India. Budget 2016 only partially covers these priorities. Extension of Section 10AA for SEZ units till 2020 is a positive outcome though the imposition of MAT on startups will not allow the full impact of the benefits to be realized”

R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM said, “The finance minister’s speech had a strong emphasis on leveraging technology to transform India. The initiatives announced today combined with swift implementation of Digital India will help to digitize India and provide effective citizen services. We would urge the government to move forward at a swift pace and build an effective PPP model”.

NASSCOM will continue to work with the government to address procedural issues that impact the sector.

Key announcements

-          Sunset date for Section 10AA of SEZ Act extended till 2020. This will enable technology units to set up and commence operations in SEZs

-          Place of Effective Management deferred by 1 year: A key ask to provide an opportunity for deliberations and address concerns on the provisions.

-          Section 80 JJAA now applicable to services companies as well, is a boost for BPM companies who have been at the forefront of creating employment

-          Extensive emphasis on technology adoption by the government across SMBs, land record modernization, Aadhar adoption, procurement platforms etc

-          Startup India announcement of 3 year income tax exemption welcome, though continuing MAT imposition a dampener.

-          Holding period for investment in unlisted companies to qualify for long terms capital gains tax reduced from 3 to 2 years. Our recommendation was for 1 year in line with investments in listed shares

-          High Level Committee chaired by Revenue Secretary to oversee fresh case where the assessing officer proposes to assess or reassess the income in respect of indirect transfers by applying the retrospective amendment

-          Section 206AA amended to ensure TDS shall not be deducted at a higher rate in case of non-residents not having PAN, as per the DTAA provisions

-           Interest rates on delayed payment of duty/tax across all indirect taxes being rationalized at 15%, with some exceptions.

-          Clarity on full CENVAT credit for input services exclusively used in taxable output streams.

-          DTAA benefits of reduced or NIL withholding tax for payments made to non-resident investors by AIF (category I and Category II) restored, and 10% withholding removed.

-          BEPS action plan - Country-By-Country Report and Master file applicability from 1^st April 2017

-          Equalisation levy on consideration for any specified service received or receivable by a person, being a non-resident. Specific service currently includes online and digital advertisement

Key proposals not addressed

-          Removal of dual levies on software products not addressed

-          Domestic investors continue to face higher tax rates -  Angel taxation, higher long term capital gains tax

-          Revision of criteria to carry forward losses to allow for capital infusion in business not considered

-          Transfer pricing issues related to safe harbor margins, APA roll back rules not notified

-          Rationalisation of tax structure awaited. So far announced for new units in manufacturing set up on or after 1 March 2016

-          No roadmap on MAT and different cess rationalization

-          R&D credits not applicable for technology sector, lowering of deduction rate not conducive to encouraging tech R&D

-          Clarifications not provided on place of provision of service rules

Other Reactions from India Inc

"Enhanced investment in the budget for infrastructure, agriculture, rural and social sectors would support India’s continued journey of inclusive and sustainable growth. Protected and secure technology infrastructure fostering engendering trust will be critical to success of projects like e-marketplace, digital vaults for certificates and e-procurement. Legislative backing for Aadhaar should have requisite privacy provisions. Overall, a prudent budget, indeed!" Managing Director, India, Symantec.

The IET’s vision is also to build a strong engineering ecosystem in India that contributes to the society in resolving critical societal challenges. We are happy to note that the budget is aligned with our vision and we see immediate opportunity from each section of the society – government, corporate and academia to collaborate for economic development. Digital literacy for 6 crore rural households combined with the promise of 100% electrification will help increase education penetration in Tier- 2 and 3 cities as well. To sum up, the budget is certainly a welcome step for the common masses and in line with the  government’s vision to transform India” said Shekhar Sanyal, Director and Country Head, The IET India.

“The budget has been encouraging for startups and MSMEs, the provisions announced by the government will not only help ease the hurdles startups face but also give budding entrepreneurs the required boost. The positives from the budget can be taken that the government wants to play the supporting role and that of an enabler to the startup ecosystem. The Budget looks to provide important steps around the ease of doing business, taxation, access to capital for MSMEs and skilling,” says Dilip Modi, Founder and Chairman, SpiceConnect.

Modi adds saying that we welcome the revised ceiling for presumptive taxation scheme from 1 crore to 2 crore and capital gains exemption, that will encourage the incubators and investors keep invested in the startups. The allocation of funds to set up entrepreneurial hubs under Stand up India scheme will encourage entrepreneurs from the backward classes, SpiceConnect also welcome the SETU fund of Rs.1000 crores to boost innovation and incubation. However there were no announcements pertaining removal of angel tax, the exit policy and listing norms for startups in the Budget presentation which was much awaited.

CAP and NABL Accreditations for Strand Life Sciences’ NGS Laboratory

Strand Life Sciences, a global genomic profiling company aimed at empowering personalized cancer care and genetic testing for inherited diseases, announced that its Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) laboratory, the Strand Center for Genomics & Personalized Medicine, located at Bangalore, has recently received certificates of accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), respectively. With these accreditations, Strand’s pioneering NGS laboratory is the first and only facility in India to receive both prestigious recognitions, signifying NGS testing at the highest quality standards in the country and neighboring geographical regions.

The CAP laboratory accreditation program is recognized by the U.S. federal government as equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own laboratory inspection programs. Similarly, the accreditation by NABL, the sole government-authorized laboratory accreditation body in India, is in accordance with ISO 15189:2012 standards. The accrediting processes by both organizations are designed to ensure that laboratories comply with the highest standards, and adhere to rigorous criteria for quality assurance. During the CAP accreditation process, inspectors examine the laboratory's quality system, quality control protocols and records for the preceding two years. Both programs pay very close attention to staff qualification, equipment, safety programs, and overall management of clinical laboratories.

This recognition by CAP and NABL accredits three of the most popular tests offered by the Strand Center laboratory. First, the StrandAdvantage 48-gene Test, used by medical oncologists to profile cancer patients for somatic mutations and personalize treatment by selecting targeted therapies. Second, the Strand Germline Cancer Test, an 86-gene hereditary cancer test to estimate inherited cancer risk, enabling early detection and prevention. Third, the Strand Rare Diseases Test, covering more than 500 genes and 400 rare inherited diseases, used for confirmation of diagnosis and carrier testing in couples.

Dr. Vijay Chandru, PhD, Executive Chairman, Strand Life Sciences, stated, “We are extremely proud to receive CAP and NABL accreditations. Receiving these accreditations is a major accomplishment, because it reaffirms our commitment to providing the highest quality of diagnostic testing and services to hospitals, physicians, and most importantly patients across the country. It is Strand’s goal to bring genomics-based precision medicine to routine clinical practice; hence the accreditations serve as an important milestone in that direction”. Dr. Chandru added, “We believe Strand’s NGS laboratory is the first and only CAP and NABL accredited laboratory in India. As the regional leader in this advanced field of multi-gene testing in genomic medicine, it is important for us to set the highest laboratory standards."

“It is imperative that physicians feel confident while sending patient samples for specialized and esoteric testing, such as NGS for cancer and rare inherited disorders. These diagnostic tests require advanced laboratories and expert personnel to analyze and interpret complex genetic information. Laboratories whose quality systems have been accredited by organizations such as CAP and NABL will give physicians much needed confidence to refer precious patient samples” said Dr. Nanda Rajaneesh, MBBS, MS, MRCS, FAMS, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Bangalore.

Dr. Preveen Ramamoorthy, PhD, Global Head of Diagnostics, Strand Life Sciences, said, “Our NGS facility in Aurora, Colorado, is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) accredited laboratory. Now, the accreditation of our India facility by CAP and NABL (ISO 15189) validates our ability to perform high quality clinical NGS testing and perform bioinformatics and clinical interpretation to international quality standards in every facility that we operate.

New Era Begins for Five New Samsung's Air Conditioning Products at ACREX India 2016

Samsung India Electronics showcased five new products at ACREX India, South Asia’s Largest Exhibition & Conference on Heating, Refrigeration, Ventilation and Building Services. The products showcased are engineered to deliver exceptional cooling, increased efficiency and lower operating and maintenance costs.

The 5 new products include the new 360 Cassette AC, 30 HP Super DVM, 14 HP Side Discharge DVM Eco, FJM (Free Joint Multi) and DVM Chiller. These innovations in HVAC engineering will transform air conditioning by boosting energy efficiency and performance, minimizing environmental footprint, and increasing cooling speed.

                                                                                                           

Vipin Agrawal, Director, System AC Division, said “Samsung will continue to achieve positive growth for the air solution business by providing customers with innovative products and solutions that will help them discover endless possibilities. At Samsung, we’re focused and passionate about constantly evolving our technology. We believe in offering cost effective and energy efficient products and services to our customers. We are glad to partner with ACREX India 2016 and the products that we are showcasing today will offer the best user experience possible. ”

Samsung’s New 360 Cassette Design

Samsung’s new 360 Cassette comes with a unique and innovative design that transforms air flow and provides a uniform air cooling experience. The 360 Cassette provides powerful performance with elegant design which blends in and enhances every setting.  The revolutionary booster fan inside the cassette guides air to form a complete horizontal flow, generating layers of chilled air. The circular air wave consistently controls the temperature of the room by providing an even distribution of air in a full 360 direction.  The unit features a stylish and intuitive panel display that allows users easy control over air flow depending on the preference.

The air conditioner can be fitted within a ceiling or can be left exposed, offering multiple options to suit the interior style of any room.  In addition, users have the option of a wheel dial remote controller with a dedicated button for comfort cooling. The 360 Cassette AC also comes with an additional air filtration feature of Samsung Virus Doctor kit which can eliminate dust, airborne contaminants, allergens, bacteria and viruses.

The Next in High Performance VRF: Samsung 30HP Super DVM S

Samsung adds a boost to the performance and capabilities of the new Super Digital Variable Multi air conditioner which delivers enhanced performance, efficiency and reliability with cutting edge innovation. One of the revolutionary features that boost performance include the new Super Inverter Scroll Compressor with flash injection technology with an optimized bypass valve to increase capacity by 29 percent.

Other revolutionary performance boosting features include a Hybrid Heat Exchanger which increases the heat exchange area, an optimized refrigerant control that delivers an increased efficiency rate of 10% and a new oval-shaped diffuser application which increases the airflow rate by 17%. Samsung is dedicated to adhering to regulations that help preserve the environment. Aligned to this ideology, the Samsung 30 HP Super DVM S also complies with strict regulation thanks to an innovative leak detection system which automatically begins an active pump down process to collect the refrigerant and close all valves to isolate it within the unit.

The DVM S Eco 14HP: Samsung’s new side discharge VRF unit

The DVM S Eco 14HP is a new side discharge VRF air conditioner engineered to deliver a single outdoor unit solution for apartment and office buildings. The new VRF unit aims at meeting the growing need for a specialized outdoor unit that reduces the cost of multiple units being used in multi-room buildings. Innovative features in the DVM S Eco 14HP include the Inverter Scroll Compressor and corrugate fin that improves performance by 20 percent and increases air flow by 10 percent compared to standard side discharge VRF units. The increase in power that the DVM S Eco 14HP comes with means that a single outdoor unit is needed to manage the air conditioning for an apartment or office building, in place of multiple high-cost units. The new unit also provides better coverage due to an extended piping length of up to 160 meters and an installation height of up to 50 meters.

The Free Joint Multi : FJM

The new FJM is giving freedom of installing multiple indoor units with a single outdoor unit for a home or small commercial user. Samsung has engineered a twin rotary BLDC inverter compressor and FJM conveniently and effectively uses that to supply refrigerant to multiple indoor units. It thus offers greater energy efficiency and ease of use in an innovative compact design. The revolutionary FJM comes with a universal connection which makes it convenient to install even in remote areas. The world-class FJM has Sine Wave Controller that reduces noise significantly for in-the-home users. The FJM also reduces annual electricity costs up to 50% compared to conventional air conditioners.

  

Cutting Edge and Energy Efficient: DVM Chiller

The new DVM Chiller is energy efficient and packs immense power in a compact unit. Samsung has engineered an air-cooled chiller that offers greater energy efficiency and ease of use in an innovative compact design, following the tightening of EU regulations on F-Gas levels and the increased demand for a water-source HVAC. The revolutionary Chiller comes embedded with a world-class BLDC Inverter Scroll Compressor with Flash Injection technology that allows 75 percent of heating capacity at temperatures as low -20°C and greater energy efficiency. The Chiller also reduces annual utility costs by 36% to 50% compared to conventional chillers.