Rs.1762.98 Cr worth Contracts for MEP Infra Under Hybrid Annuity from NHAI & MORTH

MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd, in a joint venture (JV) with its Spanish partner has received Letters of Award (LOAs) for Rs.1762.98 Crores from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).

“We are happy to begin the new financial year with this big news. I am sure with the  in-house capability strength we will not only handle these projects and complete them well within the stipulated time but we also look forward to playing a significant role in the country’s infrastructure development,” said Mr. Jayant D Mhaiskar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd.

The LOAs bagged by MEP are as per the new Hybrid Annuity Mode, which is a mix of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and build operate transfer (BOT) system. The Authority and the private companies share the total project cost in the ratio of 40: 60 respectively. This new form will help reduce financial load during the development and execution stage. This will definitely aid in reviving the highway projects in the country.

MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd has formed a joint venture with Sanjose India Infrastructure & Construction Pvt. Ltd with each holding 74 % and 26 % respectively.

MEP JV has received an LOA from MORTH for rehabilitation and up-gradation of NH-66 (Erstwhile NH-17) from km. 241/300 to km 281/300 (Total Length – 40/000 Km.) on Arawali - Kante section in Maharashtra to Four Lane with paved shoulder under NHDP IV on Hybrid Annuity Mode. The Bid Project Cost is Rs.592.98 Crores and O&M Bid is for Rs.5.67 Crores for the First Year.

MEP JV has also received LOA from NHAI for Four Lane Stand Alone Ring Road/ Bypasses for Nagpur City Package I from Km 0+500 to Km 34+000 (Total Length – 33+500 Km) on BOT (Hybrid Annuity) basis. The Bid Project Cost is Rs.531.00 Crores and O&M Bid is for Rs.6.30 Crores for the First Year.

In a third LOA from NHAI, MEP JV has been mandated for Four Lane Stand Alone Ring Road/Bypasses for Nagpur City, Package-II from km 34+500 to km 62+035. (Total Length - 28+035 km) in the State of Maharashtra on BOT (Hybrid Annuity) basis. The Bid Project Cost is Rs.639.00 Crores and OnM Bid is Rs.6.75 Crores for the First Year.

Adding to their achievements, MEP IDL has also bagged LOAs from the Road Infrastructure Development Company of Rajasthan Ltd (RIDCOR) for "Collection of fee through contractor on the basis of competitive Bidding for Lalsot-Kota Road and Alwar-Sikandra Road in Rajasthan for fee plaza [s] at the below Locations. The contractual amount for the project is Rs.30.33 Crores and Rs.19. 08 Crores respectively.

WinMagic’s SecureDoc CloudVM for Enterprise Encryption Now Support Virtual Machines in India

WinMagic, Inc. has introduces security software that encrypts virtual machines running on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platforms in India. Addressing the growing concerns of protecting critical assets stored within virtual environments, SecureDoc CloudVM is an enterprise encryption solution that offers support for Windows-based platforms running in public, private and hybrid cloud environments through application aware intelligent key management.

The application aware intelligent key management capability embedded within SecureDoc CloudVM offers a single pane of glass view into where and how encryption is being deployed. The solution increases visibility and strengthens data security within virtual environments by controlling the encryption key management system across a vast array of layers including endpoints, file servers, virtual servers, enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) solutions and Internet of Things (IoT) instances. SecureDoc CloudVM’s application aware intelligent key management capability alleviates the problems associated with protecting multiple encrypted layers and managing associated keys and credentials by providing unique key and policy management for virtualized workloads.

For almost two decades, WinMagic has made it easy to secure data with SecureDoc, a highly secure yet flexible solution that enables businesses to comply with privacy and security regulations by protecting sensitive data residing in laptops, desktops, servers and on removable media. SecureDoc provides customers with the most robust data encryption and security support in the industry by centrally managing everything encryption-related within the enterprise.

“As more and more organizations turn to cloud adoption for a cost-effective approach to scalability and efficiency in the workplace, there is an increasing focus on the lack of proper data security across public, private and hybrid cloud environments,” said James LaPalme, Vice President, Cloud Solutions at WinMagic. “SecureDoc CloudVM alleviates the anxiety associated with storing business critical data in the cloud. Through a cloud-agnostic approach to encryption, WinMagic is giving the control of key management back to the IT department, all while ensuring the protection and security of data stored in virtualized workloads.” 

Key features and benefits of SecureDoc CloudVM include:

·         Centralized intelligent key management: SecureDoc CloudVM offers a single platform manager of encryption from the endpoint, to the cloud, to IoT and beyond. All of this can be simply achieved across public, private and hybrid cloud environments storing virtual data, even alongside other full disk encryption methods.

·         Windows Protection: SecureDoc CloudVM offers full virtual machine encryption for Windows- only environments running in public, private and hybrid cloud instances.

·         Compliance and auditing report capability: SecureDoc CloudVM enables IT departments to ensure that the way in which sensitive data is encrypted remains compliant based on regulatory and industry standards. 

The new offering from WinMagic follows recently conducted research that further proves cloud adoption is on the rise, but sensitive data stored in virtual environments is not always secure. According to a WinMagic-commissioned survey conducted online by Spiceworks in December 2015 among 150 IT decision makers currently using or planning to use cloud computing services and solutions, very few IT decision makers believe their data is completely secure in either a private cloud (29%) or public cloud (11%) environment. However, when it comes to actually encrypting data stored in virtual environments, the most common approach to securing data is in encrypting network traffic (53%) – while only one-third encrypt or plan to encrypt data at the disk/device level.

“The data from this survey further proves that although cloud adoption continues to drive at the forefront of future and current IT investments, there is an apparent lack of confidence when it comes to whether data stored in these virtual environments is actually secure,” explained Mark Hickman, COO, WinMagic. “Ironically enough, although confidence in the security of both private and public cloud environments is low, the enterprise is still not doing enough to protect its data. SecureDoc CloudVM is a wake-up call to the enterprise: data encryption should be the number one priority when it comes to implementing a sound approach to securing data stored in cloud environments.”

SecureDoc CloudVM, which is available now for Beta with a full release in Spring 2016, is an extension of WinMagic’s flagship solution SecureDoc and the recently announced SecureDoc CloudSync solution that encrypts files at the endpoint before they are synchronized to EFSS services across a range of enterprise platforms including: Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. With SecureDoc, customers have deployed the solution to manage BitLocker, a popular encryption method from Microsoft; BitLocker users that leverage SecureDoc are able to avoid the handful of issues related to encryption such as password-reset and user provisioning challenges. 

SecureDoc can also manage other encryption methods, such as Trusted Computer Group (TCG) Opal drives, Apple’s FileVault 2 and SecureDoc’s own FIPS 140-2 certified software encryption. SecureDoc is therefore compatible with the most advanced storage approaches and common operating systems without experiencing any of the hassles typically associated with encryption management.

IBS B School Introduces Electives Courses in Big Data, Digital Marketing & Advanced Analytics

By Manu Sharma
The entire class of 180 PGDM students finishing from IBS Business School in Bengaluru are set for another 100 percent placements during 2016. The B school claims about 75 companies will came over for campus placements including: BFSI, Consulting; IT/ITeS, Manufacturing and even Startups.  The unique features this year is that companies looking for skills in Big Data Analytics, Advanced Analytics and Digital Marketing can now hire these special skilled students during the placements.

Addressing the media, Prof J. Venkataraman, Dean (Placements), IBS Business School, Bengaluru says, “Keeping in view of the industry requirements, from this calendar year we have introduced special elective courses in analytics in the second year and these include Big Data Analytics, Digital Marketing and Advance Analytics giving them the special edge over other students. So companies like TCS, HCL Technologies and Oracle besides a host of MNC banks can now absorb our students for their special skills in analytics as well.”

Prof Venkataraman adds that another feature introduced is a 14 week Summer Internship Project (SIP) for our students giving them the much-needed industry exposure. So students with an average salary between Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh can now get expect another 10-15 percent jump from this year.

The two year PGPM Program of IBS Bengaluru is designed to impart managerial skills in students and equip them with appropriate knowledge so that they are able to have a global view of the organization, and look at organizational issues from a holistic perspective, irrespective of their specialization in a particular functional area.

The courses offered in the program are practice-oriented with emphasis placed on application of principles, tools and concepts to address the challenges and problems faced by today’s organizations. These courses are carefully designed to facilitate learning in managerial decision making in the context of organizational strategy. Students are encouraged to critically evaluate decision situations and use rigorous analysis in arriving at a particular decision. At the same time, the ethical implications of their decisions are also urged to be considered. 

The program is aimed at deepening the understanding of the key functional areas and strategic dimensions of management, and equipping future professionals with the latest tools and techniques.

SIP

One of the unique features of the program offered at IBS Bengaluru is the 14 weeks Summer Internship Project (SIP) that our students have to undergo at the end of Semester II. This extended duration makes the SIP more than an academic project, and students can make a real contribution to the organization. The students get an exposure to the working of an organization for a reasonable duration, which allows them to understand the nuances of corporate working. SIP is a vehicle for introducing students to real-life situation, which cannot be simulated in the classroom and requires the students to undergo the rigor of professional environment both in form and substance. It exposes them to technical skills and helps them to acquire social skills by drawing them onto contact with real professionals.

Soft Skills

IBS believes that soft skills are as important as the hard skills which are imparted in the program. Therefore, soft skills’ training is in-built into this program. Students, in addition to learning about management are also shaped into well-rounded personalities through improved communication and presentation skills. Some of the focus areas of the soft-skills program are:  English Language Skills, which include spoken and written skills Good presentation skills. Developing  self-confidence, inter-personal skills, team building and leadership Imparting confidence in facing every kind of group discussion and interview situations during placements

Case Methodology

Case teaching methodology is a hallmark of teaching at IBS.  The Case Method exposes students to real-life business situations and encourages them to look at a problem or challenge from various dimensions. It is expected that students will study cases, comprehend the business situation, analyze the problems and come up with alternatives/solutions and then discuss the case in class. A good case is a very powerful instrument in evaluating a student as it puts the student into the shoes of the real-world managers who must face the challenge of decision-making.

The MBA program is offered at Dehradun, Hyderabad, and Jaipur. The PGPM program is offered at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. The BBA program is offered at Hyderabad.

Mobile 7th Generation AMD A-Series Processors Delivered Much Ahead of Schedule

AMD has announced early availability of its new mobile 7^th Generation AMD A-Series Processors, timed to support an exciting new notebook design by HP Inc. Equipped with advanced video, graphics, performance, and security features designed to boost productivity and enhance the entertainment experience, 7^th Generation AMD A-Series Processors (codenamed “Bristol Ridge”) also provide outstanding energy efficiency. New OEM PC designs powered by mobile 7^th Generation AMD A-Series Processors – from ultrathin notebooks and convertibles to sleek All-in-Ones – will come to market first with HP in the new HP ENVY x360, and with other OEM announcements expected later in the year. AMD will officially introduce 7^th Gen A-Series APUs and showcase a wide range of OEM designs at Computex 2016, May 31-June 4, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan.

“We know that consumers want more for their money than ever before – sharper graphics, faster performance, and longer battery life. We have focused on working with key OEM partners to develop outstanding computing platforms that will fully take advantage of the powerful 7^th Generation AMD APUs,” said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager, Computing and Graphics Business Group, AMD. “I’m excited that consumers will start to see some of these fantastic systems come to market so soon. I’m very proud of the exceptional AMD engineering execution that enabled us to accelerate these exciting new products into the market for our customers and end users.”

”It is exciting for HP to be first in bringing 7^th Generation AMD A-Series APU technology to market, especially in such a compelling new notebook design,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer Personal Systems, HP Inc. “We think the HP ENVY x360 will resonate with consumers who are looking for the entertainment- and productivity-enhancing capabilities of the ENVY x360 design, which really showcases AMD computing and graphics prowess.”

Now shipping in volume to OEM customers are both quad- and dual-core 7^th Gen AMD A-Series processors, featuring mobile-optimized “Excavator” x86 CPU cores for high-speed computing, and Radeon R7 or R5 graphics for smooth online gaming and enhanced HD streaming capabilities. The 7^th Generation AMD A-Series FX part shows up to 50% improvement in compute performance over the FX part released just two years ago.

The 7^th Gen AMD A-Series APUs will allow users to enjoy the latest multimedia experiences in up to Ultra HD 4K video resolution, and AMD FreeSync Technology support for fluid, artifact-free online gaming performance in capable notebook and All-in-One configurations.

Semiconductor Global Revenue Down 2.3% in 2015: Gartner Inc

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $334.8 billion in 2015, a 2.3 percent decline from 2014, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. The combined revenue of the top 25 semiconductor vendors fell by 0.5 percent during 2015. This was a better performance than the rest of the market, however, which saw a 6.9 percent revenue decline. The top 25 vendors accounted for 73.5 percent of the market, down slightly from 74 percent in 2014.

"The worldwide semiconductor market declined in 2015 as slowing demand for key applications combined with strong currency fluctuations to subdue the market," said Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner. "2015 saw a mixed performance by the different device categories, unlike 2014 when all categories posted positive growth. Nonoptical sensors performed best due to increased usage of fingerprint sensors in smartphones, while discretes saw the strongest decline due to a mix of weak demand and currency issues."

Intel retained the No. 1 market share position for the 24th consecutive year, capturing 15.4 percent of the worldwide market, despite experiencing a 1.2 percent revenue decline in 2015. Infineon Technologies experienced the strongest growth among the top vendors, moving from No. 12 to the No. 9 position in 2015.

2015 saw record merger and acquisition (MnA) activity between major semiconductor vendors, including several acquisitions and disposals that had a material effect on semiconductor sales. Among the most significant deals was Intel's acquisition of Lantiq. Driven by Lantiq's broadband gateway and digital home capabilities, this acquisition helped Intel nearly double its wired ASSP business.

"2015 semiconductor revenue results are skewed by the large amount of MnA activity during the year," said Norwood. "If we adjust for this MnA activity by adding in revenue for 2015 and 2014 where necessary, then the performance is somewhat different: The top 25 vendors would have experienced a 1.7 percent revenue decline, and the rest of the market would have declined 3.9 percent."

Abhay Bagde Appointed Head of Perpetuuiti India Sales

Perpetuuiti TechnoSoft Inc., a global Enterprise Software Products company, announced the appointment of Abhay Bagde as Head of Sales, India.  Bagde, a high-tech industry veteran with more than 17 years' experience has been part of Perpetuuiti's sales team for 4 years and previously held the position of VP - Sales and Strategic Products. After the promotion, he will lead Perpetuuiti's sales team in India and will be responsible for driving sales operations, strategies and training. He will also oversee expansion of the company's business through strategic alliances and partnerships.

"I am quite excited to undertake this new responsibility," said  Abhay Bagde. "India is a very strategic market for Perpetuuiti both in terms of innovation and growth prospects. Looking at the exponential growth of the Indian economy and initiatives like "Make in India," we can foresee many new opportunities emerging in the automation space. Perpetuuiti has a diverse and innovative range of technology portfolio that offers a compelling value proposition to customers and partners," he added.

Bagde joined Perpetuuiti in 2013 year and quickly advanced to the role of VP - Sales and Strategic Products. His rich industry experience in customer-focused technology solutions, sales, marketing, and operational management make him a natural fit for the current role and responsibility.

Prior to working with Perpetuuiti, Abhay Bagde has held a range of executive positions with start-up venture capital companies and global organizations such as Red Hat, EMC and Clover Technologies. He has a successful track record when it comes to building a sales organization, moving business to the next level, and successfully managing the overall business to achieve company objectives.

Neil Wu Becker Appointed Vice President of A10 Networks Worldwide Marketing & Communications

A10 Networks, a leader in application networking and security, today announced that Neil Wu Becker has been appointed vice president of worldwide marketing and communications. Reporting directly to CEO Lee Chen, Neil is responsible for driving A10’s brand awareness, marketing strategy, and sales enablement.

“Neil brings a unique skillset to the A10 Networks team. He is an award-winning marketing and communications veteran with extensive experience developing and managing strategic global communications plans for a broad spectrum of companies in the tech sector, from Fortune 100 firms to early-stage startups,” said Lee Chen, CEO of A10 Networks. “Neil’s impressive ability to drive organizations to new levels of success –including at Cisco, one of the world’s largest technology companies – will greatly benefit our global partners and customers looking to grow with us.”

Neil brings more than 15 years of marketing and communications leadership experience to A10 Networks. For eight years at Cisco, he led several communications teams that supported Cisco’s largest multi-billion dollar business units and its biggest growth opportunities. Most recently, Neil served as the head of public relations and corporate communications at Micron Technology, where he successfully ran and helped grow the worldwide PR function and oversaw the development of the company’s strategic positioning.

 “For several years, the paradigm governing IT infrastructure has been shifting from building networks for networks’ sake to focusing on the application as the atomic unit of network design and implementation,” Wu Becker said. “As the pendulum swings prominently toward applications, the increasing focus on making them work better, faster, and more securely naturally heightens A10 Networks’ value and relevance. The market trends are heading our way. For that reason, A10 Networks is in prime position to not only ride the industry’s momentum, but to help shape its future. I am optimistic about the company and look forward to working with our valued customers on the journey ahead.”

Neil joins at a time when A10 Networks is deepening its portfolio. The company recently released several new updates, including the worldwide availability of Thunder Convergent Firewall (CFW), a standalone security product built on A10’s ACOS Harmony platform. Thunder CFW is the first converged security solution with unmatched performance in a compact form factor.

A10's application networking technologies allow enterprises, service providers, and other organizations to accelerate, secure and optimize the performance of their data center applications and networks.