Persistent Systems Announced Acquisition of Genwi Marketing System

Persistent Systems has announced the acquisition of Genwi, developer of the Genwi Marketing System, a flexible and customizable platform that delivers superior user experience to the sales and marketing teams at many Global 1,000 companies. The acquisition of San Jose-based Genwi by Persistent Systems further fortifies its leadership team with a particular focus on compelling experiences that are fundamental to the embrace of digital transformation.

Rahul Patel, Founder and CEO of Genwi says, “Generation Wireless was the inspiration for Genwi; with the advent of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices our goal is to help businesses build new experiences and extend their reach to wherever the connection points with audiences are. This digital mission has driven us every day and we know our platform will help build the software-driven experiences that are key to the digital transformation of Persistent’s customers.”

Sudhir Kulkarni, President Persistent Digital says, “Our strong differentiator is the ‘how’ of digital, and as such we are keeping laser-focused on bringing together data, APIs and experiences for our customers to become digital. Genwi’s leadership team, its platform to build experiences and its marketing system adds to our unique solution and architecture that drives our customers’ transformation to software-driven businesses.”

Aditya Birla Group Will Offer UL EHS Sustainability Courses to 120,000 Employees across 40 Countries

UL EHS Sustainability, the industry’s leading provider of workplace health and safety solutions, today announced an extensive course licensing partnership with Aditya Birla Group, the third largest conglomerate in India. The Aditya Birla Group, a conglomerate the size of a Fortune 500 company with global holdings in non-ferrous metal manufacturing, cement, telecommunications, textiles, and finance, will use UL’s training library to help ensure that its 120,000 employees worldwide maintain safe workplace practices.

UL’s research has shown that multinational companies often struggle with maintaining a consistent quality of safety training across international worksites. By having access not only to the English language version but to the hundreds of translated courses available through UL EHS Sustainability, the Aditya Birla Group will be able to assign relevant training to a variety of sites and businesses while ensuring the quality of content and language.     

“The Aditya Birla Group has a long-standing reputation as a top company for leadership," said Mark Ward, general manager and vice president of UL EHS Sustainability. “One mark of world-class leadership is an understanding that your human assets are your most important key in a robust bottom line. Keeping workers healthy, safe, and on-the-job in every country helps companies grow and prosper. We are delighted to partner with the Aditya Birla Group on this important initiative.”

“UL’s commitment to increasing safety awareness in India is further solidified with the important partnership with Aditya Birla,” said Bill Conran, UL EHS Sustainability vice president for global strategy and business development. “From preventing unintentional injury in children with UL’s Safety Smart to heightening worker awareness of hazards in the workplace with modern, applicable, training courseware, our mission of 'working for a safer world' is further realized, today.”

UL EHS Sustainability is trusted by more than 2,000 organizations in more than 20 major industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and energy. Its customized eLearning programs provide an engaging learning experience for employees, which is reflected in both the course content itself and how it is presented. Instructional designers who specialize in adult learning develop the courses to be highly interactive and visually appealing to encourage learner involvement and knowledge retention. UL EHS Sustainability also helps multi-national corporations manage and implement best safety practices across all their locations by offering language translation and country customization. UL EHS Sustainability’s winning combination of safety and instructional design expertise has been proven to enhance employees’ knowledge and positively influence behaviors.

Seventeen Indian Students to Attend Honeywell’s Leadership Challenge at US Space and Rocket Centre

Honeywell has announced that seventeen Indian kids joined more than 300 students from 36 countries for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience at the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy (HLCA).

Saurabh Shastri, a Pune participant passionately recalled, “At the space camp, step-by-step demonstration of mechanisms involved in rocket building and space travel fascinated and propelled me to lean towards mechanical engineering.”

The unique leadership program took place for two consecutive weeks at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama. It offers interactive technology, science-oriented workshops, and team exercises to instill leadership skills in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for students aged between 16 – 18 years.

 “Honeywell and its employees have a long history of promoting unique math and science education programs around the world,” said Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO and executive director, USSRC. “With HLCA, we help students develop confidence in their leadership skills and envisage a successful path for their future.”

Activities are delivered in fun and innovative ways to bring STEM studies to life. Interactive and experiential sessions around rocket designing, building, and testing; participation in simulated astronaut training, shuttle missions and a moon walk, infuse vigor and expands students’ learning curve. They also meet scientists, engineers, and former astronauts, who reinforce core leadership competencies and share their first-hand professional experiences.

Aditya Mehrotra from Bangalore said, “Some of the exercises such as flying an F-16 fighter jet on a simulator enabled me to experience science and technology like never before. Besides helping hone my leadership skills, HLCA has broadened my outlook, and given me a better understanding of different people and cultures.” 

Echoing a similar sentiment, Siddharth Sachdeva from Gurgaon, said, “Meeting students from around the world, who share the same passion for rockets, jets, and space shuttles, was extremely exciting. The opportunity to operate a space shuttle and moonwalk like an astronaut was a dream come true for me.” 

“Many of the world’s most exciting and in-demand careers are based in STEM,” said Michael A. Bennett, president, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s global corporate citizenship initiative and sponsor of HLCA. “Honeywell’s goal is to inspire today’s students to become the next generation of engineers and scientists who will solve tough problems and improve quality of life.”

Since its launch in 2010, Honeywell, in partnership with the USSRC, has awarded 1,770 scholarships to students. Scholarships are granted after a rigorous application and review process based on academic achievement and community involvement. Financial contributions from Honeywell and its employees fund the scholarships, which cover the cost of tuition, meals, accommodations and program materials.

ShoreTel’s New Plug-In Telephony Offers Enhanced Microsoft Skype for Business Integration for Customers

ShoreTel, a leading provider of brilliantly simple unified communications (UC) solutions and phone systems,has enhanced its integration to Microsoft Skype for Business with a new plug-in that embeds telephony controls inside the Skype for Business client. “ShoreTel Telephony for Microsoft” enables ShoreTel phone system customers who use the Skype for Business client to have robust phone controls at their fingertips.

Specifically, with ShoreTel Telephony for Microsoft, users can dial contacts directly from the Skype for Business client, execute conference calls, transfer calls, access their voicemail box, view and set presence information, and control all of their ShoreTel preferences such as call routing.

“We recognize that some ShoreTel customers will use Skype for Business, so this new plug-in provides the power of ShoreTel telephony features inside that client, ensuring users have an easy, seamless experience,” said Eugenia Corrales, vice president of product at ShoreTel. “This is another example of ShoreTel meeting the needs of mid-market and enterprise customers across our entire Connect portfolio. We also offer future flexibility, giving customers the option to move to the ShoreTel Connect™ client when they are ready to harness the full collaborative power of ShoreTel Connect.”

“ShoreTel Telephony for Microsoft delivers a single application footprint for UC, combining ShoreTel’s voice infrastructure with the Skype for Business desktop client to give users the best of both worlds,” said Jason Evans, managing director of Response Data Communications, a ShoreTel Circle of Excellence partner in the UK. “For partners it enables us to deliver a robust, cost-effective voice platform that runs alongside the Skype for Business communications application.”

For the IT department, ShoreTel Telephony for Microsoft is a client-side integration, so no changes are required to the environment. The plug-in supports Lync 2013, Skype for Business 2015, and Skype for Business 2016 clients in both Office 365 and on-premises environments. ShoreTel does not require a separate license – the plug-in is part of the mid-tier bundle for ShoreTel Connect CLOUD and Connect ONSITE.

India's First Aadhaar-Enabled Tablet-based PoS System - 'Janunnati Pad' Comes with Fingerprint Scanner for Authentication

MAIT, India's premier ICT hardware industry association, Intel, a world leader in computing innovation and Datamini, one of India's premier OEMs today announced the launch of TPOS7 'Janunnati Pad', to support the government's ongoing flagship programs such as 'Digital India' and 'Make in India'. The Janunnati Pad, a first-of-its-kind enterprise class, touch-enabled mobile device comes with integrated STQC-certified fingerprint scanner for Aadhaar authentication.

As such, the Tablet can be used to help in the implementation of key e-Governance initiatives such as DBT (Direct Benefits Transfer) via Aadhaar-linked savings bank accounts of scheme beneficiaries, through its in-built fingerprint scanner, payments card reader and barcode scanner. It can also be deployed in the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' (PMJDY), to extend banking services to the rural and urban poor; make wage payments linked to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS); deliver subsidised foodgrains to BPL families via the e-PDS (Public Distribution System); monitor public health services under the National Health Mission (NHM) and so on.

The Datamini TPOS7 Janunnati Pad was unveiled by Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, Govt. of India.

Thanking Kant for gracing the launch event and commenting on the Intel-Datamini collaboration Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT said, "We will always promote ideas that address the needs of the Indian masses. The Janunnati Pad has been designed and developed in India, thus contributing directly to achievement of the goals envisaged under the government's 'Make in India' program."

"The India ICT hardware industry is at the cusp of a huge growth opportunity to become a global hub for manufacture and supply of products for world markets. This would necessarily involve utilising existing capacities and setting up new facilities to fully utilise the benefits provided under the 'duty differential' regime. The current launch is one step in this direction," Shirpurwala added.

"Intel actively collaborates with the government, educational institutions and civil society organizations to empower local communities through the use of technology products and platforms. The launch of the Intel architecture-based Datamini Janunnati Pad is another step towards supporting the vision of Digital India, as it helps to expand the reach and deliver secure e-Governance services to end users", said Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group & Managing Director, South Asia - Intel, and President, MAIT.

"From a MAIT perspective, we see this collaboration as an opportunity to further the culture of technology innovation in India, and an important milestone in realizing the goal of an integrated, end-to-end ESDM manufacturing ecosystem in the country," Ghosh added.

"The government's futuristic vision reflected through the Digital India and Make in India programs augurs well for the overall improvement of the ecosystem in the country. With an established background in manufacturing of quality ICT hardware, we strongly believe the timing is apt for such a revolutionary product to be introduced in the country that can address the emerging needs for custom-built, application-specific enterprise class Tablets in the Indian as well as export markets. We are confident of the value proposition of this product and aim to extend its benefits to other countries as well in the near future", added Pitamber Ahuja, Managing Director, Datamini Technologies (India) Ltd.

Power of Internet to Support Child Education Through SARD

With its Easy Share campaign, Idea Cellular; one of India’s leading telecom service providers created a platform to enable mobile internet users of the country to share data for the benefit of children. On the completion of this campaign, Idea handed over 2450 GB worth of mobile internet to the NGOs - ‘Room to Read’ and ‘Society for All Round Development’ (SARD) – pledged by mobile users for the cause of supporting child education.

Kick started in November last year, through its Easy Share campaign, Idea propagated the thought of transforming lives with the power of internet and urged mobile users in the country to ‘share internet’ with those in need. Amplifying the core essence of the campaign- ‘You Share, You Care’, Idea acted as an enabler and devised social & digital properties where people could actually become a part of the movement and come together to support the cause to ‘share internet’.

 To create awareness and gain the support in maximum numbers, Idea introduced various properties on digital – like a shareable website and on radio - ‘India sharing Season’ – to catalyze this movement that could make a difference in the lives of several children. Supported by aggressive on-ground activations, word-of-mouth through social and television ads, the movement expanded and channelized with it over 5 crore people who pledged their mobile internet data.

 By the end of a month long activity, a total of 2450 GB of mobile data was pledged through these channels. People made 2.5lakh+ calls on air to show the support and drove social media conversations with, 1.6 million+ likes on Facebook and 36,000+ tweets and 55,000+ visits on shareable website.

Talking about the campaign Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “With every new campaign, Brand Idea aims at bringing new opportunities that empowers a society. Whether it is education, general awareness or a thing as simple as the feeling of giving or doing good, Idea has a unique way of depicting and reaching out to a wider audience. We are overwhelmed to receive such a fantastic response for our Easy Share campaign and as promised we are sharing the power of internet with Room to Read and SARD with the aim of supporting child education. It gives us great joy in having this campaign reach such heights with the active support of our audience.”

Idea Cellular has consistently been committed towards fostering data adoption across regions and continues to build upon these initiatives going forward.

Software Stacks for Cloud and Mesh IoT Connectivity over Bluetooth Smart Devices

Mindtree, a leading digital transformation and technology services company, today announced the launch of its comprehensive IPv6 Stack and  Smart Mesh Suite for Bluetooth Smart. The IPv6 Stack and Smart Mesh Suite will enable original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and semiconductor companies to add seamless cloud connectivity to their IoT products. 

The combination of IPv6 and Smart Mesh technology not only transmits data collected from remote sensor nodes to cloud analytics platforms, but also enables control of end devices over the internet. IPv6 enables internet access to millions of individual Bluetooth Smart devices, providing the essential IP infrastructure for applications such as smart homes, wearables, and connected medical devices. The Smart Mesh technology helps overcome range limitations in Bluetooth Smart, an important consideration for industrial and home automation.

The IPv6 Stack and Smart Mesh Suite are designed to support either Mindtree or 3^rd-party Bluetooth Stacks v4.1 and beyond. These products are optimized for minimizing memory footprint and tested for interoperability. The IPv6 Stack is a complete and validated solution, including support for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) 6LoBTLE specifications. The Smart Mesh Suite includes the Smart Mesh profile, which is compliant with the latest specifications from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Application level security is achieved through 128-bit AES-CCM and AES-CMAC encryption.

“Integration of Intellectual Property from various providers can be risky and time consuming. With the addition of the IPv6 Stack and Smart Mesh Suite to our Bluetooth portfolio, our clients can source all the digital portions of their Bluetooth Smart connectivity solution from Mindtree, increasing product stability and reducing integration timelines,” said Jayanth Krishna, Head of Short-range Wireless Business at Mindtree.

Mindtree has been a leading provider of Bluetooth Intellectual Property solutions for 15 years. It was the first to qualify v4.2 Bluetooth Smart and offers a clear roadmap for the adoption of v5.0 Bluetooth specification. The IP portfolio includes certified, customizable, ultra-low power and footprint Silicon IP for Bluetooth® Smart 4.1 and 4.2, and ultra-compact, complete certified protocol Stack and Profiles software for Bluetooth® Smart 4.1 and 4.2. Mindtree also offers a feature-rich and compact Bluetooth® Smart Ready 4.1 and 4.2 and Bluetooth® Classic protocol Stack and Profiles.