Meizu’s Flagship Smart Phone Models MX6 & M3s Soon in India

Meizu Technology (MEIZU) launched its new flagship smartphone MX6 in Beijing, China.  The handset MX6 is the first smartphone in Meizu’s much acclaimed MX-series which would be equipped with 10-core A72-based CPU to offer users high performance and processing speeds. All models under MX-Series would have 4GB RAM which will provide a seamless experience to consumers while switching between multiple apps.  

The new smartphone comes with a series of high end features like precision 5.5-inch screen, Sharp TDDI technology with improved touch sensitivity, 2.5 D front panel & camera powered by the Sony IMX386 CMOS sensor for exceptional image quality.

MX6 OS comes with Flyme 5.2.2 version based on Marshmallow with the innovative features of Cloud Permission Control, Eye Protection Mode, Auto exposure mode and long screenshot feature.     

Along with these, a smooth metal body of MX6 with a 3D nano-molded structure for a precisely integrated antenna represents Meizu’s expertise of making perfect beautiful smartphones. 

MX6 is crafted using a new metal processing technique for a sleek and elegant, yet robust appearance.  While the new smartphone remains focused to offer ultra-advanced features, careful selection of materials and use of graphite heatsinks leads to a significantly improved heat dissipation.

The new 5.0-megapixel front camera in Meizu MX6 is equipped with a large ƒ/2.0 aperture, having improved image processing algorithms which ensures crisp and detailed shots even in low-light situations.

Determined to provide users with an extended battery lifespan, Meizu MX6 comes packed with 3060 mAh battery which gets fully charged in only 75 mins.

MX6 is set to make its official entry in Indian market soon. However, last month in china, To target youngsters who seek affordable and beautiful smartphones with great specifications, Meizu launched another high end smartphone ‘Meizu M3s’  which is also expected to make an entry in India soon too.

Meizu M3s also features a smooth and delicate metal body with a 5-inch HD (1280 × 720) 2.5D curved glass display. MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor makes it a perfect choice to experience outstanding performance. It also features Flyme 5.1 operating system, an in-depth customization from Android. 

Both the phones are available in color variants of silver, gray, gold, and rose gold

Developers, Students & Start-ups Showcase Innovative Prototypes on Crowd-Sourced at iTech 2016 Hackathon

ITC Infotech, a global scale full service provider of technology solutions and a fully owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, successfully concluded the 2^nd chapter of ‘iTech 2016’, its annual technology innovation & co-creation platform aimed at promoting entrepreneurship. As part of iTech 2016, ITC Infotech organised a 30-hour hackathon on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) at its Bengaluru campus on July 16 and 17, 2016.

The event concluded with ITC Infotech hosting a unique ‘Showcase’ session where the winners were provided the opportunity to directly present their solutions to ITC Infotech’s biggest global customers as well as the business division heads from ITC Ltd. to explore real-time business opportunities.

The hackathon was organised for professionals, developers and students as well as talented individuals from start-ups. It provided the participants with an opportunity to develop their ideas into prototypes, addressing a host of crowd-sourced business challenges from the Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Retail, Hospitality, Education & Stationery Products, Banking, Financial Services & Insurance and Agriculture sectors.

A total of 45 teams were shortlisted from over 1,700 entries. The winning teams received cash prizes in addition to mentorship and go-to-market partnership offers. The winners, a team of 4 students from SRM University, created a smart phone app, titled ‘Nomi’, that would re-define the shopping experience in stores. The app, designed using artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning, creates an immersive and interactive AR and VR environment to assist customers choose the right product.

The first runner-up, a team of 3 students from M. S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, created a Smart Helmet, ‘ridAR’, based on AR to help bikers navigate smoothly on roads. The second runner-up, a team of 4 professionals from SAP India, created a Virtual commerce platform aimed at increasing the sale of lifestyle retailing products by reaching customers through the various digital communication channels available in the market today.

The teams ranking fourth and fifth were also recognised for their AR/VR solutions in the categories of hospitality and education & stationery products, respectively. Further, 7 teams were identified and felicitated for conceptualising, prototyping and presenting business-relevant solutions.

The panel of judges consisted of business leaders from ITC Infotech’s partners and global clients, such as KONE, BAT, Microsoft, PTC and SAP Labs along with senior leaders from ITC’s businesses.

Commenting on his experience as a jury member, Jason Schern, Senior Vice President, Global Services, PTC, said, ‘It was great to see a mix of both students and professionals from start-ups applying emerging technologies and combining augmented reality and virtual reality to create business transforming solutions. I am taking back with me a really great perception of the level of capabilities of both of students and start-ups here in India. iTech 2016 made it much easier for me to understand the skills and capabilities that can be leveraged for companies like PTC global services and others.’’

Commenting on the success of the event, Sushma Rajagopalan, CEO and MD, ITC Infotech, said, "Though AR and VR technologies are still at a nascent stage, they have the potential to revolutionise customer and employee experience. The maturity of the solutions that emerged at the hackathon was indeed encouraging. In addition to selecting 3 winners, we were compelled to award prizes to the two other teams in the top 5 as well as 7 ideas that had high business relevance. Through iTech, our annual technology festival, it is our endeavour to offer a platform that will build an ecosystem of students, IT professionals, entrepreneurs from start-ups, technology enthusiasts, clients and partners and help create solutions for real business challenges. We will help the winners implement their solutions and assist them in gaining global market access in an accelerated time frame”.

ITC Infotech believes in promoting innovation and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship in the ecosystem. iTech 2016 is a step towards nurturing entrepreneurs and start-ups in creating the technologies of the future.

Deval Parikh Appointed New Chairman & Manging Director of Beetel

Brightstar Corp. has appointed Deval Parikh as the CEO and Director of Beetel Teletech Limited, a Brightstar Company, effective immediately. Parikh will lead all Beetel business lines to include the growth of handset and accessories services, sales and distribution presence, as well as the fixed line telephone, enterprise solutions and IT peripheral functions.

Parikh has more than two decades of experience in the telecommunications and technology domains in both Silicon Valley (U.S.) and India, with focus on marketing, product management, engineering, supply chain and sales. He joins Brightstar from Reliance Jio, where he served as SVP of the mobility business, and he also led the youth segment and other national and regional roles. Additionally, Parikh has had several leadership positions at Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Mobile India, which included leading the handset, innovation and services portfolios, as well as the Pan-American supply chain and operations.

“India is a crucial market for Brightstar to continue to develop our world-leading platform for managing mobile devices across the wireless ecosystem,” said Jaymin B. Patel, Brightstar’s President and CEO. “With 4G about to take off in India, the smartphone and accessories segments are about to see one of their most rapid growth phases, and we’re now investing in the Beetel leadership team to help drive the business to its next level.”

“I am quite excited to join Brightstar India and help usher in the mobile data revolution by having a wide range of devices and telecom equipment for the Indian consumer and businesses.  This is a very promising opportunity to be part of the device ecosystem in India and I am keen to drive the business to the fullest and leverage Brightstar’s global competencies,” Deval Parikh said.

Parikh is an alumnus of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and he completed his undergraduate degree in engineering from North Carolina State University. He has also written several articles in technology strategy for publications such as the Harvard Business Review.

Two-Fifths of IT Professionals Consider Their IT Organisation Ready for Digital Business

A recent Gartner, Inc. survey found that 41 per cent of surveyed IT professionals believe their IT organisation to be ready for the digital business of the next two years. Twenty nine per cent of those surveyed said that engagement with the demands of digital business would be their primary duty or a significant part of their duties.

In the first quarter of 2016, Gartner surveyed 948 Gartner clients across 30 countries. Those surveyed were IT professionals representing many job categories and technology disciplines and were asked about their role in their organisation's efforts to transform itself in order to meet the challenges of digital business.

"IT professionals indicate that their investment priorities, infrastructure changes, skills development and business-IT interactions are in flux, and that they are unsure how their IT organisation will make it through any digital transformation," said John Hagerty, Vice President and Distinguished analyst at Gartner. "For some, change is coming too fast. For others, it's not coming fast enough. Many know they need to change, to think and act differently, but they struggle with these shifts. Many find it hard to balance today's demands — including simply keeping their organisation running — with tomorrow's must-haves."

 Most IT Organisations Are Unprepared for Digital Business Changes

Ninety-one per cent of the surveyed IT professionals are in no doubt that they have a role to play in their organisation's digital transformation. However, 59 per cent added that their IT organisation is unprepared for the digital business of the next two years.

 The latter finding highlights a real concern. Uneasiness about how well IT organisations are prepared reflects skills deficits in both technological and non-technological areas.

 Cloud Technology Will Have Most Influence on IT Professionals' Jobs

The survey found that the technology areas that will most influence IT professionals' jobs and careers in the next 18 months are considered to be cloud computing, analytics, mobility and security.

 "Emerging technologies in fields such as cloud computing, mobility, and data and analytics, in addition to security and risk management, are permeating nearly every aspect of the IT landscape," said Hagerty. "It's essential that IT professionals identify and fill the main technology- and effectiveness-related skills gaps now — otherwise, they risk impeding their organisation's progress toward strategic goals."

 The surveyed IT professionals identified the cloud as the technology that will have the single-biggest impact on their career in 2016. Twenty-two percent selected this option — a figure double that for the next most popular choice, data and analytics.

 "Acquiring cloud skills quickly is essential for IT professionals to be able to reimagine and remake their firm's IT infrastructure to better enable digital business strategies," added Hagerty. "However, it's not only cloud — there's a whole collection of technology- and effectiveness-related skills that IT professionals must plan for now."

 The survey asked the IT professionals to identify up to three skills gaps that their organisations were trying to fill in relation to information, technology or digital business. Cloud and data and analytics led the list. The respondents also pointed to gaps in general technical skills (indicating a lack of broad technology knowledge), as well as in the fields of security, legacy modernisation, mobility and the Internet of Things. "But it's not just about technology, as three of the top 10 responses were professional effectiveness skills, namely critical thinking/problem solving, business acumen/knowledge and communication skills," said Hagerty.

Vikas Chadha Appointed New President of Honeywell India Effective August 1, 2016

Honeywell has announced the appointment of Vikas Chadha as President, Honeywell India, succeeding Anant Maheshwari, who held a series of leadership roles with the company during the past 12 years. Chadha will assume responsibility as country leader for Honeywell India effective August 1, 2016.

“Vikas takes over a very strong Honeywell India business that is an important part of our company’s manufacturing, engineering and software development strategies. Honeywell India features a wide range of advanced offerings intended both for India and the rest of the world,” said Shane Tedjarati, President, Global High Growth Regions, Honeywell. “Each of our business units has a strong presence in India, and our total number of employees in the country has grown from 1,000 in 2002 to approximately 15,000 today, including almost 8,000 engineers, in 50 Indian cities. We continue to see macro trends such as dieselization, rapid urbanization spurred by the 100 Smart Cities campaign, Make in India, the emerging middle class, and growth in civil aviation and defense as being drivers of our growth in the region for many years to come.”

“Today, Honeywell has a significant ‘Make in India’ footprint in country that spans seven state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and five technology development centers. Anant has done a terrific job in helping Honeywell build its presence and grow our business in India, and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” continued Tedjarati. “We have worked hard to ensure that our bench strength of talent in India is very strong. This internal appointment reflects the organization’s continued evolution, and the maturity and depth of leadership talent in the country.”

Prior to this new appointment, Chadha, a 7-year Honeywell veteran, has served as Managing Director of Honeywell Automation India Limited (HAIL) since January 1, 2014. A successor to Chadha will soon be named.

Earlier, Chadha was Regional General Manager, Honeywell Building Solutions, for the India region, and before that, Regional Director – South Asia for Honeywell’s Security business. Before joining Honeywell, Chadha was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he spent more than two years in strategic consulting and business improvement in India and the Middle East. He has also held national-level management positions at Sharp Business Systems and at Larsen n Toubro Limited.

“Vikas brings a highly successful track record from a career spanning more than 20 years, with a mix of strategy and consulting, rich business experience, and people management,” said Tedjarati. “We are highly confident that he will help continue the momentum we have in India, and create new opportunities to build our capabilities and growth in the country.”

Chadha will drive Honeywell’s businesses to seek new growth opportunities and identify potential synergies in the region. Honeywell is among the most deeply invested multinationals in India, with more than 3,000 technology products, solutions, and innovative applications being engineered in the country. The cutting-edge work that is done here supports Honeywell’s advanced technology development, software capabilities through CMMI Level 5 programming, and new product introductions, including in the emerging connected technologies space.

 “Honeywell’s proven global strategy of having Great Positions in Good Industries, and its unwavering commitment to investing in India has helped drive growth here,” said Chadha. “It is a great opportunity to be taking on this role now as Honeywell continues its evolution as a cyber-industrial company with strong capabilities in software engineering and product development, much of which is coming from our plants in India. I am looking forward to driving our business in India forward and serving our customers with some of the world’s leading technologies.”

ITC Infotech 2nd Edition of its Flagship Annual Technology Innovation - iTech 2016 - On July 16-17, 2016

ITC Infotech, a global scale full service provider of technology solutions, has announced the second edition of its annual technology innovation and co-creation platform ‘iTech 2016’. The event will take place at the ITC Infotech campus in Bangalore on July 16 and 17, 2016.

Marking a first this year, iTech 2016 will introduce a new segment called ‘Showcase’, a unique platform designed to connect technology startups and their solutions directly to business users. As a part of ‘Showcase’, shortlisted startups will get the opportunity to interact with business leaders and technocrats, and demonstrate their solution to them. As a system integrator, ITC Infotech may partner and invest in helping startups further develop their solution, create a joint go-to-market and provide wider market access.

Another key feature this year is the 2-day hackathon on Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality (AR/VR), aimed at startups, professional developers and students. The hackathon will be a 30-hour prototype building contest that will address crowdsourced business challenges from ITC businesses and ITC Infotech’s global customers. Participants for the AR/VR Hackathon, perceived to be the technology of the future, can present their ideas across any of the following challenge areas:

Manufacturing: Solutions to guide on the correct course of action, change plant & equipment maintenance process, while saving time and money, or enhance training material, quality control and related areas. 

Consumer Goods:  Create an immersive experience and transform the way consumers interact with products in store.

Retail: Enhance customer experience in online and offline shopping. Solutions to create virtual trial room or virtual fashion shows to present the new season and line.

Hospitality: Entries should present solutions designed to revolutionize the way guests experience the hotel property, its amenities, deals & offers and other information.

Education and Stationery Products: Entries should use AR/VR technologies to pique children’s interest in academic material, enhance learning with interactive puzzles and simplify understanding of ‘how things work’.

Banking, Financial Services and Insurance: Solutions to make processes easier and radically improve customer experience.

Agriculture: Create a thriving ecosystem with intelligent pest management & control solutions. Guide farmers and farm workers in planning usage of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation schedules for different crops and crop cycles.

Sushma Rajagopalan, MD and CEO, ITC Infotech, said, “Technology today is aiding transformational shifts in the ways business, governments, and societies function. Inventive technological thinking, married to agile decision making is critical to respond swiftly to the needs of business and society. With iTech 2016, we are bringing a unique opportunity to bright young technologists to showcase their design thinking and technology ideas, while interacting closely with the vibrant ecosystem of entrepreneurs and business leaders of the future.”

With the immense success of IoT Hackathon at iTech 2015, ITC Infotech is geared up to offer best-in-class experience through iTech 2016, which will in turn allow participants to race against time and showcase path-breaking solutions which are market ready. The winners, first runners up and second runners up will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 3, 00,000, Rs 2, 00,000, and Rs 1, 00,000 respectively.”

With Sondex Acquisition, Danfoss Emerges Leading Player in Heat Transfer Solutions

Danfoss and Sondex have announced an agreement for Danfoss to acquire full ownership of privately-held Sondex Holding A/S, a global leader in heat transfer technologies. Sondex develops, produces and markets heat exchangers, and the company represents an ideal match to the Danfoss Heating business segment. Thus the acquisition confirms Danfoss’ strategic focus on building leading positions and accelerating profitable growth. 

“Sondex is a well-performing company with a second-to-none heat exchanger expertize, which perfectly fits our ambition to further strengthen our position within heat transfer solutions. By joining forces we are able to offer a broader, even more competitive and innovative product and service portfolio within heat transfer to the benefit of our customers”, says Niels B. Christiansen, President and CEO, Danfoss.

Combining the two businesses, Sondex and the Danfoss Heat Exchanger business, is an important lever to develop the already strong market position in district energy and HVAC, and to increase relevance within industries as marine, food and beverage, off-shore, and industrial refrigeration.

“Sondex and Danfoss both come from positions of strength and we already enjoy a strong and long-standing relationship in key areas. Now, we combine our businesses to make an even bigger impact in the markets we serve. I am very pleased about the opportunity to combine our strengths as I am confident that together we will have a very compelling and unmatched value proposition in the market”, says Aage Søndergaard Nielsen, CEO, Sondex.

Sondex is headquartered in Kolding, Denmark and employs approximately 1,200 employees worldwide. Upon regulatory approval of the transaction, the company becomes part of the Danfoss Heating business.

The parties have not disclosed the purchase price or other conditions of the transaction.