VMware's AirWatch Empowers Fullerton India’s Mobile Workforce

VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, today announced that Fullerton India, one of India’s leading non-banking financial institutions, has chosen VMware AirWatch to meet the mobility needs of the business. The deployment of VMware AirWatch will help Fullerton India support the growing mobility demands of its workforce, while securing its corporate resources.

Since its inception in January 2007, Fullerton India’s business has grown across the country. Today, the company has a network of 450 branches serving more than 1.1 million customers. With more than 7,500 employees, Fullerton India connects with customers at their doorsteps, be it in cities, towns or villages. Given its existing business model, majority of Fullerton India’s employees work remotely from laptops and tablets, and often face issues accessing critical corporate resources to work productively, especially in rural areas.

After evaluating a number of vendors, Fullerton India chose to deploy VMware AirWatch to provide a consistent experience to its users. The technology enables employees to easily access emails, content and applications on the go, while enabling IT administrators to control, manage and secure the devices remotely.

“Having a connected and productive workforce is crucial to the quality of our customer interactions. At Fullerton, we’ve always challenged the status-quo, whether it’s the services we offer or the technology we adopt for our business,” said Sudheer Prabhu, Chief Information Officer, Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd. “We selected VMware AirWatch to implement a unified platform that can empower our workforce to work productively and on the move, while also enabling us to secure the confidential data that they are accessing across devices.”

VMware AirWatch is a scalable enterprise mobility management platform that integrates seamlessly with existing enterprise systems and allows organizations to manage all devices, regardless of type, platform or ownership, from one central console.

“Today, businesses in India are witnessing their employees, devices, apps and data live beyond the physical walls of the workplace,” said Sangeeta Giri, Director, VMware India. “Fullerton India is another great example of how a business has embraced mobility to improve productivity, manage costs and secure its corporate data through VMware AirWatch. We look forward to strengthening our engagement with Fullerton India as they continue on their IT transformation journey.”

Taiwan Very Bullish about Smart Products for Smart Cities in India

The Taiwan Industry Enhancement Project (IEP) is happy to take part in the 2^nd Smart Cities India 2016 exhibition starting from May 11^th - 13^th at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre in New Delhi and will set up the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion to showcase 47 leading Taiwanese brands, 124 smart products themed ‘Smart products for smart cities’ in technology and home industry.

A group of 47 brands offerings products in smart ICT, smart healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, smart-life devices industries have pledged partnership with Smart Cities Expo. The partners are Acer, Adata, Adlink, Alya, AnsCare, Apacer, Apex, Asus, Avision, AVer, BXB, Cashido, Chanson, Chiayo, CviLux, CyberPower, Dr. Board, DrayTek, Edimax, Gigabyte, Gunilamp, Heartway, HiTi, Just Power, Justime, Karma, KSS, Lepa, LOF Solar, Lustrous, Marson, Microlife, MSI, Mozbii, Optoma, Phistek, Plustek, Qnap, Roxim, Rystora, Silicon Power, Thermaltake, Transcend, Ucushion, Vinaera, Walurs, Yantouch.

The highlight of the star products will be HiTi’s newest dye-sublimation photo printer –Prinhome. It is named as it is designed to be--printing the photos at home. It’s simple, compact and easy to carry. Yantouch’s portable Bluetooth speaker, world’s first 3-in-1 “Music+Light+Wake” function boutique, with a battery life of 1300mAh Li-polymer rechargeable built-in battery. Another innovative product at display will be – Mozbii, the world’s first color picking stylus. Kids can use Mozbii to explore the world.

MicroLife’s A200 has two world patented technology - "Detection of atrial fibrillation (Afib)" and "three times average of blood pressure in one button (MAM Technology)". It’s the only BP device which measures your blood pressure and Atrial Fibrillation (stroke alerts) at the same time. GIGABYTES’ The BRIX, which is an ultra-compact and versatile DIY PC kit, is available with a broad choice of processors covering a range of performance points. The BRIX redefines the desktop PC in terms of miniaturization with a form factor that fits in the palm of your hand.

2^nd Smart Cities India 2016 promotes smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure, to enhance the quality of urban life and provide a clean and sustainable environment. This significant tradeshow attracts professional buyers, system integrators who actively source new and innovative products from India and around.

India’s urban population is estimated to grow thrice its current size by the year 2031. The creation of 100 smart cities, as envisioned by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, assumes great significance in this context as it provides an impetus for an improved infrastructure and essential services to citizens as well as enterprises. The smart cities program is slated to present an opportunity of anywhere between 30-40 billion USD over the next 5-10 years for the ICT sector. In conjunction to Taiwan’s presence in this prominent tradeshow and eyeing the great potential that will be generated by the Indian Smart Cities development, a Taiwan smart product delegation will organize trade meetings with Indian companies on May 13.

The participation of these Taiwanese brands to the Smart Cities Expo is organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).Taiwan, known for its famed smart ICT infrastructure and products, cutting edge designs and world-class RandD, is all set to utilize the Smart Cities Expo as a significant platform to showcase smarter solutions for a better tomorrow.

Enterprises Embrace Wireless to Drive Digital Transformation - Mobility, BYOD, IOT

Wireless networking solutions are soaring in popularity as governments and enterprises of all sizes leverage emerging trends such as mobility, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive secure digital transformation, Avaya announced.

Avaya has posted triple-digit growth in the past six months for its wireless networking business across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa as organizations look to build secure environments capable of quickly supporting mobile users and applications. In today’s fast-paced business world, enterprises can’t afford to be constrained by wired solutions; employees need the freedom to roam freely during their work day and securely access the information they need when and where they need it.

With enterprises today under unprecedented pressure to deliver the digital experiences their customers expect, they need secure and scalable network solutions that allow teams to work together more effectively.

As evidenced by this growth, enterprises are increasingly looking to Avaya to deliver advanced, secure wireless solutions.  Avaya’s wireless and unified access offering provides a streamlined, automated network that eliminates complexity by allowing users and devices to easily, automatically and securely connect at the network edge. Supported by Avaya’s Fabric architecture it delivers a solution that can significantly ease Wi-Fi deployment and accelerate time-to-service for applications, allowing enterprises to embrace IoT and reap the benefits.

Paul Black, Director of Telecoms, Media and IOT, IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa said: “Many businesses in the region are at the cusp of transforming digitally. They are looking at solutions that are cost-effective, scalable and futureproof but ultimately looking at addressing their customer’s needs. The benefits of Digital Transformation will allow them to be proactive and agile to fulfil demand and is one of top initiatives of the CIO agenda with nearly 70% of industries looking to embark on transformation initiatives in 2016. Wireless connectivity solutions fit these needs perfectly and are often, fundamental to the transformation efforts itself.”

Jameel Al-Sharaf, Head of Group IT, YBA Kanoo Group, said: “In today’s challenging economic environment, having secured access to internal company resources and information wherever the employees are located will ensure higher customer retention through improved responsiveness and overall satisfaction.  Secured wireless solutions will also improve the employees’ collaboration resulting in higher productivity and improved efficiency for maximizing shareholders’ value through technology”.

Maan Al-Shakarchi, Head of Networking in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific, Avaya, said: “As highlighted by our strong growth, wireless is where investments are being made. Our customers are looking to wireless networks as enablers on their digital transformation journey, and it is essential that the network help, not hinder, them. Avaya’s IoT-ready network delivers the simplicity, scalability, and, most importantly, security that our customers need to adapt to evolving market and business demands.”

Xoom Partners with Everest Bank, Nepal for Cash Pick-Up & Instant Bank Deposits

Xoom, a leading digital money transfer provider has announced it will launch instant bank transfers, cash pick-up and mobile recharge services from the U.S. to Nepal. Xoom is partnering with Everest Bank Ltd., Nepal to offer instant bank deposits and cash pick-up. Consumers can also make bank deposits for all other Nepal banks including Nabil Bank, Himalayan Bank and Nepal SBI Bank. In addition to money transfers, people in the U.S. can also use Xoom’s website or mobile app to instantly send airtime credit to prepaid mobile phones from Ncell, Nepal Telecom and UTL.

Migration for foreign employment has become a major source of income for many Nepali households. According to the International Labour Organisation, close to 520,000 labour permits were issued to Nepalese planning to work abroad. Xoom helps Nepalese immigrants in the U.S. instantly send money or recharge mobile devices for their friends and family in Nepal within seconds using a U.S. bank account, debit card or credit card.

“We are excited to expand Xoom’s services to Nepal. Remittances are a lifeline for people in many countries and can bring tangible benefits to a country’s economic growth,” Julian King, CMO and VP of Business Development, Xoom said. “With Xoom, people in the U.S. can use the Xoom app to quickly send money and recharge their loved one’s mobile phones in Nepal without waiting in long lines, driving to stores or paying high fees. It’s the perfect way for family members to stay connected.”

“Nepal receives a significant sum of remittances in proportion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The presence of Xoom will further contribute to the easy, secure and convenient transfer of remittances into the country,” said A. K Ahluwalia, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Bank. We are proud to have partnered with Xoom to help people in the U.S. instantly make bank deposits for their friends and family in Nepal.”

As per the World Bank, Nepal received an average of $500 million per month last year from migrants across the world. Through the partnership with Everest Bank and other major Nepal banks, Xoom customers can transfer up to $1,000 for a flat fee of $4.99. For transactions beyond $1,000, the fee will be waived when paying with a U.S. bank account. For mobile recharge, it only costs 99 cents per transaction for a range of recharge amounts from 500 Nepal Rupee (NPR) to 2,000 NPR.

Customers can send money and recharge mobile phones with confidence due to Xoom’s SMS tracking alerts, 24/7 customer support and money back guarantee. The moment money is sent to a bank account or airtime is credited to a prepaid mobile phone account, a free confirmation text message is sent to the recipient. Xoom also auto-saves the transaction information, including the bank account or mobile number, payment method and amount sent, enabling repeat transactions to be completed with just two clicks.

Digital Banking Demands New Technologies & New Vendors:Gartner

Banks face intense pressure to increase efficiencies and reduce costs while delivering next-generation digital services; however, legacy application vendors have been slow to respond to new requirements, according to a new report from Gartner, Inc.

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2019, 25 percent of retail banks will use startup providers to replace legacy online and mobile banking systems.

New vendors are emerging to meet both customer and bank needs for channel integration and dynamic customer experiences that make banking easier to accomplish on the devices customers want to use. These vendors challenge the traditional — often incumbent — vendors of traditional online and mobile banking and core banking solutions.

“Startups and emerging providers of digital banking platforms offer banks interesting opportunities for innovation,” said Stessa Cohen, research director at Gartner. “However, CIOs must prepare to manage the challenges of evaluating and selecting new vendors that may not have proven track records in the financial services vertical or may simply be new and untried without an extensive customer base. It can be difficult for CIOs to justify investment in their solutions to their boards and regulatory agencies, but don’t use that as a reason to exclude new vendors.”

Gartner advises bank CIOs to work with business leaders and other key stakeholders to assess the bank's comfort with, and ability to manage, the risks associated with using new providers, especially financial technology startups.

Legacy Vendors Slow to React

One of the most important reasons the market for digital banking solutions has opened up is that most legacy vendors that offer bank channel applications — for both consumer and business customers — have been slow to react to new customer requirements.

Incumbent vendors offer traditional online and mobile banking solutions and integration with core banking systems, but often do not support open architectures that decouple the presentation of services from the services and transactions themselves and, crucially, enable the bank to bring new and existing processes together to offer innovative digital services.

As a result of both customer and bank IT and business requirements, new vendors have emerged with digital banking capabilities that enable bank business and IT staff to offer apps and applications that support personalized, customer-centric banking experiences, data and behavioral analysis, location and context sensitivity and creation of a partnership ecosystem to create new services leveraging partner data, transactions and processes.

“This is why many banks developing digital banking strategies to meet customer demands have sought out new providers to replace their existing online and mobile banking solutions with digital banking platforms,” said Ms. Cohen.

Open Unified Digital Banking Platforms

Digital banking platforms may include a broad range of capabilities — including financial management, payments, marketing, loyalty, analytics and customer communication management — that enable bankers to support a variety of customer experiences across any number of channels.

Open unified solutions make it possible to deliver new digital products and services, and create a multidimensional customer experience across all digital channels. They provide multichannel integration in an architecture that enables the bank to develop and deliver services for both bank staff and customers, via any device or channel.

Gartner views open unified digital banking platforms as an emerging technology, even though some of the solutions on the market, including some from niche banking system vendors, have been available for several years.

The market for digital banking platforms is highly fragmented. Vendors include:

·         Incumbent bank niche vendors

·         Mobile or online banking solution vendors

·         Horizontal digital platform and customer experience vendors

·         Horizontal portal vendors

·         System integrators

·         Emerging digital banking vendors

·         Startup digital banking vendors

According to Gartner, bank CIOs should be prepared for extensive, potentially disruptive changes in this market, including merger-and-acquisition activity, heightened competition and new entrants from other geographic regions. 

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).