India’s first integrated healthcare solution Lybrate Lab+ Unveiled

In its vision to make doctor consultation seamless, convenient and prompt users to take health more seriously, Lybrate, India’s first and largest online doctor consultation platform, has announced the launch of an integrated healthcare solution ‘Lybrate Lab+’, enabling users to consult doctors online, get suggested lab tests done without any hassles of stepping out and continue consultation upon automatic sharing of reports with healthcare experts, without breaking the loop.

Lybrate is aiming to take convenience in healthcare delivery to a new level with the launch of the new product. Integrated into online doctor consultation experience, the product equips users to book and get sample pick up from the location and time that best suit them, and proceed with the consultation process upon reports being automatically shared with them and their doctor.

With this, Lybrate, which has over 100,000 doctors from more than 80 cities in India, is creating an altogether new O3O (online-offline-online) marketplace in healthcare on the lines of existing O2O (online-offline), as the company decided to complete the loop of online doctor consultation, acting upon the doctor feedback that people leave the treatment unfinished because of involvement of lab tests.

Now, users will be able to consult doctors (online), get sample pick up for lab test (offline) and get reports automatically shared with doctors and continue consultation (online), thus benefitting from Lybrate’s integrated O3O healthcare solution.

“We came across the ‘offline’ gap in online doctor consultation that lab tests created, which broke the cycle of consultation. Medical experts suggest that over 75% consultations require medical tests and because they involve either visiting a lab or making an extra effort to search a lab and book a test online, 70% people tend to ignore it, exposing their health to grave risk. In a strategic business decision, we decided to include lab tests on our platform to enable users to take up recommended tests. Lybrate Lab+ is a huge step towards creating an end-to-end online consultation experience for users to take informed decisions about their health. It is a measure closer to our aim of making healthcare delivery more convenient and seamless,” said Saurabh Arora, Founder and CEO, Lybrate.

The service is also available for users to only book tests, get sample pick up and have reports shared with them automatically.

Timely lab screening, medical experts, say plays an important role in detection, prevention and management of chronic health problems such as cardiovasular disease, thyroid, hypertension and diabetes.

Lybrate Lab will deliver the over 2,500 lab tests, including blood sugar, complete blood count (CBC), lipid profile, liver function test and thyroid profile, from Quest Diagnostics, Metropolis Labs, Thyrocare and Suburban Diagnostics to begin with.

The company is launching the service in three cities – Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “We will expand the service to five more Tier 1 cities in the next three months.”

Lybrate launched the platform in January 2015, which then supported doctor consultation via text chat only. It later introduced voice and video calls to encapsulate all forms of communication and make it convenient for the users to talk to doctors. Lybrate’s unique and first-of-its kind Health Feed, consisting of health tips on more than varied 400 topics which are posted by doctors themselves, is helping push preventive mindset among people and make them take their health seriously not only when they are ill, but also when they fit and fine.

Currently, more than 5 million interactions a month take place on the platform by way of searches for doctors, health queries sought and patient-doctor communication.

ACT Fibernet Leads in Wired Broadband Subscriber Additions in 2016

ACT (Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd.), the country's fourth largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the wired broadband category and pioneers in Fiber-to-the-Home technology, has grown its broadband internet subscriber base, to the extent that it is now the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. ACT Fibernet currently has 9.1 lakh subscribers and has added 1.2 lakh subscribers between December 31, 2014 and July 31, 2015, or added 26.92 per cent to the all India wired broadband internet subscriber base growth of 5.2 lakhs during the period.

Speaking on the occasion, Bala Malladi, Group CEO of the ACT said “ACT Fibernet has evolved over the years and this is a crucial landmark in the journey of ACT Fibernet. It underlines the strength of our business model and empowers a brand that is loved by customers across South India. It is our technological advancement coupled with our services that has sustained and enhanced customer satisfaction. We will continue to maximize internet consumption in India and make it accessible to all.”

Among the five top wired broadband internet service providers in India, ACT has shown the largest growth, both in absolute numbers and in market share. Overall, the company’s subscription numbers increased 22.95 per cent as on July 31, 2015 to 7.5 lakh from 6.1 lakh on December 31, 2015. ACT had a subscriber base of 7.9 as of September 30, 2015 and of 7.7 lakh as of August 31, 2015.

ACT Group has significant presence in cable and broadband markets in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. From a humble sub-base of 30,000 in 2009, ACT recently crossed the 1000 crore revenue milestone and continues to surge ahead with a strong team of more than 6,500 employees across its markets.

ACT is currently leading in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 with 50,000 subscribers added during the first two months of calendar year 2016 (CY-2016). As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 (Feb-16) was 9.1 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15).

Clearvision & Atlassian Expand Businesses in India; Clearvision Appoints Head of India Operations

Clearvision, UK and Atlassian, Australia announced their entry into India through a collaborative partnership.  The joint venture is yet another step towards creating an eco-system for Clearvision to fully service, provide support and training to Atlassian’s Indian customers. Atlassian, a global soft services company with an annual turnover of US$ 4.3 billion is the preferred and long standing global partner for Clearvision. 

Speaking to journalists, Gerald Tombs, Founder and CEO - Clearvision said, “We believe that our next phase of growth will come from India. Our training and support businesses will be amply supported by the vast talent pool available in this country. Our plans include setting up a Centre in Bangalore for training, service support and providing customized solutions. Announcing the appointment of their head of Indian operations, Gerald further added, “Bringing Vaidyanathan. S on board is a conscious decision to make our customers feel comfortable that they have expert advice locally. We welcome Vaidyanathan to Clearvision”. 

Today, Clearvision is one of the largest and most experienced Atlassian Experts, working with the likes of Cisco, Proctor & Gamble and Thales and projects that span dozens of countries and thousands of developers. To date, Clearvision have run over 850 significant projects for happy customers.

Clearvision is a leading independent software solutions company. Its recent partnerships with the likes of QASymphony (test management) and Sonatype (software supply chain management) remains a testament to that fact.

Clearvision has become recognised as global leaders in Git, the industry leading open source version control tool. Clearvision has worked with the likes of Alcatel Lucent and Teranet on significant projects to transition their teams from ClearCase to Git. Modern software teams have seen the notable impact using Git can have on the productivity levels of software development.

Commenting on his appointment, Vaidyanathan Swaminathan, Country Manager – India, Clearvision said, “I’m delighted to be a part of the Clearvision- Atlassian growth story. I have worked with many technology companies earlier in the last 25 years, but am looking forward to exciting times executing a challenging role with a company setting up new base ”.

The next evolution for Clearvision is to ensure clients are adopting Continuous Delivery - always striving for the most agile, productive and continuously improving software delivery environment possible. This transcends software development processes and tools, and becomes part of an ethos and culture that Clearvision calls 'Digital Transformation'.

This sits at the heart of Spectrum, Clearvision's flagship product. Spectrum is an ALM platform that makes managing Atlassian and open source applications easier. With a personalised dashboard for better visibility of data, a process manager for workflow management, and a number of other features, Spectrum makes application management simple.

Spectrum is a reflection of Clearvision’s core belief that software development teams should spend less time on their infrastructure and more time doing what they do best, delivering quality products.

Having run many successful projects in India Clearvision is now looking forward to a continued expansion, working with leading teams in the Indian subcontinent.

According to Paul Conroy, Business Manager – Asia Pacific, Atlassian, “We are pleased to partner with Clearvision on their entry into the Indian market. As the global preferred Atlassian Expert partner, we see this as a long term commitment in a strategic market. Atlassian’s presence amongst the developer tools community is well known. India is key to our continued success and an important market for growth of developer tools as well as flagship products, JIRA and Confluence.  We see this rapid growth and adoption to accelerate with Clearvision’s partnership, through their foray into the key Indian market”.

Mahindra First Choice Wheels at 735 India Outlets; Plans to Double Network in FY17

Having grown its network at a rapid pace of nearly 50% a year, over the last 5 years, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd (MFCWL) plans to double its network over the next 12 months to 1500 outlets. The plans for the year were conveyed during the inauguration of its 735^th dealership in the country here in Bangalore today.

The new outlet, Car Bazaar, is spread across 8000 sq. ft and is located at Kamanahalli Circle, Kalyan Nagar, Outer Ring Road, Bangalore-13. It was inaugurated by Rajeev Dubey, Group President (HR & Corporate Services) and CEO (After-Market Sector), Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in the presence of Nagendra Palle (MD and CEO – MFCWL) and Tarun Nagar (VP-Retail, MFCWL).

“Mahindra First Choice Wheels continues its endeavour of building a brick & click model for the used car industry. With 735 franchisee outlets, we lead the multi-brand used vehicle space. Last year we also auctioned used vehicles online from over 1,000 different locations making us the largest online wholesale network in the country. We believe this comprehensive approach of using our physical network in conjunction with our online channels will help us build a long term sustainable business while organizing a largely unorganized used vehicle industry in India,” said Dubey at the inauguration.

“We are delighted to expand our rapidly growing network in Karnataka with the inauguration of this new dealership in Kalyan Nagar. South India is a strategic market for Mahindra First Choice Wheels and we look forward to creating value for all our stakeholders across the value chain through innovative and industry-first products and services. Our strong franchisee network will play an important role in helping us to fulfill this goal,” said Nagi Palle at the inauguration.

“The Mahindra First Choice customer value proposition at its physical outlets is built around quality of the multi-brand vehicles being retailed and a refreshing customer experience offered to customers in the used car space. The company is now creating newer formats to reach the hinterland” said Tarun Nagar, Vice President-Retail business, MFCWL

“In the two decades since India’s economy was liberalised, perhaps no other industry has seen as many tectonic shifts as the automotive industry. From just two models in the early 90’s there are several hundred makes and brands available today, all competing for the attention and hard earned rupee of the Indian car buyer. However, like most things, buyers’ aspirations are higher than their purchasing power, which is where used vehicles come into the picture. They make eminent sense as they help bridge the gap between rising aspirations and limited spending power, allowing a buyer to potentially get a bigger, better equipped used car for the same price as perhaps a smaller new car. Used cars provide every consumer segment with choices. They enable consumers to either upgrade brands (mass market to luxury) or allow a family to purchase their FIRST car which is for most, ‘a dream come true” said Santhosh and Poornesh,Directors,  Car Bazaar.

From its humble beginnings in 2007 when its first franchisee outlet was established, MFCWL embarked on a strategy of building the used vehicle eco system in the country by connecting the retail and wholesale side of the business through investments made in the creation of it’s physical and online assets. The products and services extended through its “On the ground” and “In the cloud” hybrid business model powered more than half a million used vehicle transactions in F-16.

The company is the pioneer or leader in most aspects of the used vehicle eco system. Some of its lines of business include:  

• Mahindra First Choice franchisee network, the largest multibrand certified used car company in India
• Ediig is the largest online vehicle auctioneer in the country connecting institutions to used vehicle dealers and brokers
• Autoinspekt is India’s first organised third party inspection service catering to the needs of various stakeholders in the used vehicle space
• Indian Blue Book is the only analytical platform in the Indian industry today for vehicle price leveraging the largest multi-brand transaction database in the country. The high fidelity analytics serves pricing needs for various stakeholders like Auto OEM’s, financial institutions, dealers and consumers

The company’s unique business model has received a thumbs up from external investors. In the last 12 months the company raised funding from Silicon Valley based Hedge Fund, Valiant Capital and Cox Automotive a $17 Billion US based enterprise providing digital marketing, classifieds, software, wholesale and eCommerce solutions to dealers, consumers, manufacturers and financial institutions. Its brands include Manheim, Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealertrack, vAuto, Xtime.

Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM Online, Completes its Cloud Services Portfolio From Local Datacenters

Microsoft has announced the availability of Dynamics CRM Online services from its local datacenter regions in India. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, a leading customer relationship management solution, is equipped with built-in capabilities such as social listening, enterprise-grade security, privacy and compliance. These features enable companies to deliver personalized and predictive customer experiences across their sales, marketing and services efforts. With this, Microsoft is equipped to provide the most complete suite of cloud services for customers across government, businesses and individuals in the country. With Microsoft Azure and Office 365, already made available effective late 2015, this addition completes Microsoft’s cloud portfolio.

  “We are the first¹ hyper-scale global cloud provider to offer cloud services from local datacenters in India. With a complete portfolio of cloud services - Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and now Dynamics CRM Online, we will continue to lead the market by offering ‘cloud-on-your-terms’. In the first six months of our local cloud launch, we have seen 50 of top 100 companies² listed on the BSE, adopt Microsoft cloud to drive their digital transformation,” said Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India.

Microsoft cloud has seen increased adoption in sectors such as financial services, government, healthcare and e-commerce. Top financial services organizations such as HDFC, ICICI Lombard, IDFC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank; large IT players like Wipro, Infosys, and TCL, and a majority of Indian healthcare providers including Fortis Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals, AIIMS, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), and Narayana Health, have adopted Microsoft cloud. New generation ecommerce players and start-ups like Snapdeal, PayTM, Justdial, Meru cabs, etc., are also leveraging the power of Microsoft cloud to spur their growth momentum and connect better with customers.

With open and flexible platform and productivity solutions, the Microsoft cloud is designed to fuel innovation and accelerate India’s digital transformation. Businesses are now able to adopt new scenarios and leverage optimum potential of Machine Leaning (ML), Advanced Analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) to solve everyday business problems. Education and public service departments, across Indian states are adopting cloud services.  The cloud offers new business avenues for developers, IT professionals and gives Microsoft India’s partner ecosystem, comprising hosters, independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SIs) and others, the opportunity to adopt newer business models. 

Pratap Hegde of telematics4u MD Conferred Business Excellence and Achievement award for Entrepreneurship- 2016

Telematics4U Services Private Limited (“T4U”), a Bangalore based company operating in the space of Internet of Things (“IoT"), providing customized analytics-rich solutions to its customers today shared that its Managing Director, Pratap Hegde was chosen and awarded the Future of India-Business Excellence and Achievement Award for Entrepreneurs - 2016 in “Technology Implementation and Deliverables”.

Pratap was chosen for leading telematics4u as CEO and MD, for demonstrated business excellence and achieving the highest standards of ethical conduct, integrity and civic and social responsibility.

The Future of India- Voice of Entrepreneurs edition was organised by 1000 Petals in association with CNBC TV 18. The event was held to recognize and honor entrepreneur’s who have scripted an inspiring success story in their respective fields and have revolutionized the way business is done in India. The event was held in the city’s Lalit Ashok hotel on April 30, 2016.

Sharing his experience on the win, Pratap said “I am honored to have been conferred this award in recognition of the innovative solutions my team at telematics4u has built in the IoT domain. The Internet of things holds enormous potential in effectively tackling the challenges that our country faces today. We are extremely proud to be playing a leadership role, shaping the “future of India” in sectors such as e-governance, automotive, distribution/e-commerce, people mobility, and also transportation and logistics sectors which form the backbone of the nation’s infrastructure.”

Pratap was chosen for the award in the category from a total of more than 12,000 applicants that Future of India had received from all across India.

A coffee table book titled “RISE” was also released with Pratap’s profile and a brief write-up on t4u at the event.  

IIT Bombay Technology Business Incubator SINE Completes 12 Years

SINE- Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship - the technology business incubator hosted by IIT Bombay, has just celebrated 12 years of its existence. What started as an IT incubation pilot project was formally set up as a non-profit society on April, 15^, 2004, to incubate start-ups in all technology domains to address the lack of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Today, IIT Bombay has a number of entrepreneurship -related initiatives, such as the DS Centre for Entrepreneurship, which offers formal academic courses; eCell- a student-led centre, and several RandD centres aimed at translational research. All these together with start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, service experts outside the campus, rapidly are merging into what is being established as the “Powai Valley”. And SINE has today grown into a leading academic-linked incubator in India.

SINE has been the launch pad for over 80 product-based entrepreneurial ventures out of IIT-Bombay since its inception. More than half have graduated from incubation after becoming revenue-generating companies, several got acquired by larger companies, and some have also failed. Many have raised one or more round of funding, offering exit opportunity to SINE’s equity stakes in the companies. SINE currently incubates 27 start-ups, and more are in its pipeline. Current start-ups are in varied areas such as fin-tech, med-tech, clean-tech, big data, security, media.

Entrepreneurship environment for technology product based start-ups is still far from being mature in India. To address this gap, SINE has focused on product and intellectual property- based technology start-ups. Out of the total start-ups incubated so far, 25 companies are direct spin-offs of IIT Bombay technologies, and 6 are focused on social innovation via technology. 22 are founded or closely mentored by IIT-B faculty.  Nearly half of its companies have been able to raise multiple round of funding, several have crossed valuation in multiple of 100 cr., and few have achieved or close to achieving revenue of Rs.100 cr.

 Sharing her sentiments at the anniversary celebration, Poyni Bhatt, COO, SINE says, "the entrepreneurship initiative started in early 2000 with SINE at IIT Bombay, has now become mainstream not only within the campus, but also influenced the environment around in Powai, Mumbai. The entrepreneurial risk appetite amongst students and faculty-interest in technology commercialization via start-ups have exponentially increased over the years. "

SINE offers incubation support for up to 3 years. Incubated companies get workspace, seed support, easy access to IIT Bombay labs, technical and IP resources, business planning and mentoring, and expert services on softer terms. Association with the incubator also brings visibility and credibility for the startups, because of the due diligence and validation that happens prior to admission. SINE also offers prototype support to students in terms of money as also setting the first tinkerer’s lab at IIT Bombay.

The incubator is set to expand the depth and width of its activities. It aims to form partnerships with corporate entities as institutional mentors and financiers under their CSR initiatives. Plans are underway to enhance its capacity to house 50 plus start ups, and set up domain specific programmes in sectors such as bio/med tech and hardware products.