Worldwide Shipments of 3D Printers to Grow 108 Percent in 2016

Worldwide shipments of 3D printers will reach 455,772 units in 2016, more than doubling the 219,168 units shipped in 2015, according to Gartner, Inc.'s latest forecast. Despite slowing growth rates after the market's initial growth spurt, the increase in 3D printer shipments over the next four years will see the number of units shipped in 2020 total more than 6.7 million.

"Once a niche market, 3D printing has continued its rapid transformation into a broad-based mainstream technology embraced by consumers and enterprises around the world," said Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner. "The evolution of hardware and software along with an ever-expanding collection of usable materials has driven growth in both the consumer and enterprise 3D printing markets."

3D printing is now experiencing widespread acceptance beyond its application in specialist industries. Today, 3D printing is being used to create prototypes, augment manufacturing processes and produce finished products. Industries in a broad range employ 3D printing to a modest extent. Gartner expects wider and more diverse growth to continue as new technology providers and processes emerge.

Seven technologies constitute the current 3D printer market, with material extrusion forecast to lead the market through 2020, largely due to the low cost of entry-level material extrusion printers. Stereolithography printer shipments will also grow at a rapid rate as new providers enter the market and the range of printable materials expands.

 "The primary market driver for consumer 3D printers costing under $2,500 is the acquisition of low-cost devices by educational institutions and enterprise engineering, marketing and creative departments," said Basiliere. "3D printers are being utilized for several applications and subjects by students in secondary and postsecondary schools where the use of 3D printers can prepare students for many career paths, such as engineering, manufacturing, aerospace and robotics."

 The primary enterprise 3D printer market drivers are the part quality, material advances and the devices' ability to make prototypes, tools, fixtures, and finished goods. Prototyping will remain the primary enterprise use for 3D printers throughout the forecast period, while their use to augment manufacturing will grow to 75 percent of enterprises by 2020. By this time, nearly 65 percent of discrete manufacturers that expect to use 3D printers will be using them to produce components of the products they sell or service.

"Aircraft and aerospace manufacturers have been taking this approach for years, using 3D printers to produce low-volume parts and small lots of parts with complex designs," said Basiliere. "Military organizations, whose equipment often has very long lives, are working with defense contractors to evaluate 3D printing of replacement and modified components on shore and at sea."

From a regional perspective, North America and Western Europe will continue to experience very strong growth in the 3D printer market in 2016; however, their shipment growth rates will continue trailing several regions worldwide. Gartner predicts that the Greater China, emerging Asia/Pacific and mature Asia/Pacific regions will experience a combination of high 3D printer shipments and high growth rates through 2020. This growth will be driven by private-sector and public-sector organizations that recognize the threat that 3D printing poses to native industries that rely on conventional manufacturing technologies.

Wyde Unveils New Corporate Brand Identity With New Logo

Mphasis Wyde, a leading international provider of policy administration solutions, unveiled its new corporate brand – including a vibrant new logo that is reflective of its broad capabilities, innovative ideas and its evolution and position as one of the leading software and solutions provider in the Insurance industry.

 The insurance industry today is no exception to the consumer expectations that come with the digital age. Customers now expect effortless insurance in contrast to the complex, human assisted experience of yesteryears. The accelerating pace of these and other significant changes such as rich interactive front office, digitalized core business processes, intelligent and predictive analytics, stretching it further to IoT, Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) etc. are changing the way insurance industry executes its business processes. This has led Wyde to realign its focus & position and sharpen its strategy.  To reflect this transformation in its business, Wyde is rebranding and is unveiling its new brand identity today.

Wyde’s flagship product Wynsure, is going beyond just a policy administration software to Digitalized Back Office, Front Office and Surround Services to help their customers lead business transformation in the insurance industry. Wynsure’s modern Front Office combined with their proven core Back Office will accelerate seamless distribution across all digital and assisted channels. This will truly become business transformative and be the leading edge technology for the Group Life and Voluntary Benefits, Individual Life and Credit Protection lines of business.

“Keeping our mantra ‘We Make Insurance Effortless’ in mind, we are launching a new Wyde to bring in highly specialized talent and cutting edge solutions in our areas of specialization,” said Rajesh Makhija, Chief Executive Officer, Wyde. “This is a significant landmark for Wyde and a reflection of our willingness to evolve and invest in this changing market place. Technology Solutions for the insurance market of the future will look radically different; success would require intense customer focus, specialization, tighter collaboration with partners & alliances, and highly valued global talent. Cloud based and Business Transaction as a Service delivery mechanisms are becoming mainstream and we have already seen initial success with our clients.” he added.

Amazon & Green Gold Animation to Bring Premium Kids’ Entertainment

Amazon and Green Gold Animation has announced a multi-year content deal which will make Amazon Prime Video India the exclusive subscription streaming home for all of Green Gold Animation’s future TV episodes and TV movies of Chhota Bheem, Super Bheemand Mighty Raju, which will be available on a streaming platform for the first time ever.  Prime members in India will have also have access to Green Gold Animation’s vast library of top-rated shows and movies like Krishna Balaram, Chorr Police, Luv Kush, Vikram and Betaal and Krishna and the immensely-loved film,Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure amongst many others. Green Gold’s merchandise, toys and books are also available on Amazon.in

“Green Gold Animation is a leading creator of premium kids’ content and Amazon Prime Video is delighted to offer a home to their much-loved content for kids and their families.  This partnership will offer Amazon Prime members the very best content for their kids to watch and be delighted by” said Nitesh Kripalani, Director and Country Head, Amazon Video India. “This is the first step to exclusively bring the best-in-class kids’ entertainment to children in India.”

“We are excited that Chhota Bheem, India’s #1 Kids show for last 9 years would now be available on Amazon Prime Video. Indian Kids will now have better Digital experience with our imaginative content as now they can view their favourite show when they want and where they want.”   Rajiv Chilaka, Founder and CEO, Green Gold Animation.

Amazon Prime already offers unlimited free One-day and Two-day delivery to over 100 cities on eligible items from India’s largest selection of products, 30 minutes early access for members on top deals and more benefits for an unparalleled shopping experience. Customers who are not already Prime members can learn more about the program at www.amazon.in/prime.

Fullerton India Announces Special Festival Offers Across Karnataka

Fullerton India, a leading non-banking financial company in India, with a strong pan-India presence announces special offers for individuals planning on taking Personal Loans in the state of Karnataka. With the onset of the festive season, the company will offer a waiver of 0.50% on the interest rates for Personal Loans and will also offer special gifts for high value loans. Additionally a 50% waiver on the processing fees of Personal Loans will be offered to women applicants. These offers will be valid from October 1 till Diwali.

Fullerton India has a strong presence of 67 branches in the state of Karnataka across urban and rural centres. While Personal Loans continue to stay a focus product, the company will also provide Loans against Property, Commercial Vehicle Loans, Business Loans, Livelihood Advancement Loans and Two-wheeler Loans to customers in the region.

Commenting on the announcement, Rakesh Makkar, Executive Vice President and Head – Business, Marketing and CSR, Fullerton India said, “We understand that Dussehra and Diwali are celebrated on a large scale in the state of Karnataka. To complement the season, we have launched attractive offers on our Personal Loans.”

He further added, “The state of Karnataka displays great potential on the business front owing to a growing corporate and manufacturing sector. We will continue to serve our customers in the region through our various products and services.”

Fullerton India is also actively involved with community development across the country. Some of the initiatives under its CSR program, Fullerton India – Uday, include Pashu Vikas - cattle care camps, Jeevika – livelihood initiative, Gurukul - basic skill training courses to facilitate the employment of youth, mid–day meals to combat classroom hunger, Jyoti-Save the Eye - a program that focuses on providing underprivileged families better eye care facilities, Niramaya – health check-up camps and Krishi Mitra – organic farming programmes. Since the past two years, the Company has been organising single day cattle care camps across the country under the name – ‘Pashu Vikas Day’. Last year, on November 21, under this initiative around 8,978 cattle were treated across 36 locations in Karnataka, thereby benefitting 4,103 households.

CivilStorm & StormCAD Advance Simulation and Reporting for Stormwater Designers and Managers

Bentley Systems announces the availability of the new CivilStorm and StormCAD CONNECT Edition applications for the analysis and design of stormwater networks. The CONNECT Edition provides a unified, common environment that advances productivity, team collaboration, and project performance. Key new capabilities of the CONNECT Edition releases allow users to:

·         Reduce model development time by automatically determining catchment areas

·         Produce print-ready engineering profiles with improved annotation tables

·         Streamline reporting with custom reports that automatically combine graphs, data tables, color-coded and annotated plan views, and more, into a single report

·         Augment reports with the ability to record video of simulated results

·         Share results and designs easily with team members by publishing i-models to the Personal Share, a CONNECT Edition cloud service

·         Increase productivity with simplified workflows and a modern and intuitive user interface

From land development to highway drainage to city-wide analysis and optimized best management practices and designs, CivilStorm and StormCAD provide an easy-to-use environment for engineers to analyze, design, and operate stormwater conveyance systems, using built-in hydraulic and hydrology tools, and a variety of wet-weather analysis methods.

“The CONNECT Edition releases of CivilStorm and StormCAD deliver improved productivity for storm system designers and managers,” said Gregg Herrin, director of product management, Bentley. “In addition to leveraging the personal and project portals on Bentley Cloud Services for a new connected experience, enhancements such as automatic catchment delineation and extended reporting capabilities make it faster than ever for users to evaluate and communicate the performance of their storm systems.”

Samsung India Expands Rural Presence; Launches 535 Service Vans to Cover Villages

Samsung India has announced the expansion of its service network across the country that will bring Samsung service to every corner of India. This network, which includes 535 service vans, will reach out to over 6,000 talukas across 29 states and 7 union territories. This makes Samsung’s service network the largest in this industry in India.

In addition to introducing 535 service vans, which are equipped with multi skilled engineers, key components, DG sets and key jigs/fixtures for providing quick response and on-spot resolution, Samsung has also added over 250 service points and over 250 resident engineers, ramping up its service network to over 3,000 service points within a month. Samsung plans to add more service vans, open new service centres, appoint brand engineers and further strengthen its service network.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Rural Development, Government of India and Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Government of India with HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia launched the initiative by flagging off 29 service vans representing 29 states of India from Samsung’s manufacturing plant in Noida.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Rural Development, Government of India said, “As digitization and electrification expands into rural India, we are witnessing an increase in the adoption of electronics and mobile products. It is imperative for corporations to support this trend by establishing quality service network for addressing consumers’ needs regarding after-sales service of products in rural areas.”

Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Government of India said, “Samsung’s manufacturing plant, two RnD centers and its design center are contributing in a big way to the economy and technology prowess of Noida and in effect Uttar Pradesh and the nation as well. Corporations that participate in the government’s focus on rural India, whether in product or services, will stand to gain rural consumers’ trust in the long run.”

“Samsung is committed towards providing best-in-class service across the country. With the new service initiative, our customers in rural India will enjoy the same level of speedy and high quality services as urban customers. Our aim is to bridge the urban-rural service gap and we devised a solution which is ‘Made in India’ and ‘Made for India’ which will create unprecedented service delight across the entire country,” said HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia.

The vans aim to provide speedy service with reduction in turn-around-time along with assured quality to each Samsung customer in every corner of India.

Samsung continuously strives towards setting new customer service standards and enhancing its customer service network with new initiatives and programmes, focusing on overall customer delight, infrastructure enhancement and premium service delivery.

Samsung started its operations in India 20 years ago in December 1995. Today, Samsung India has two manufacturing units, three RnD centres and a design centre, employing over 40,000 people, with the largest sales, retail and service network by any company in the country. By not only fulfilling its commitment to ‘Make in India’, but also living its promise of ‘Make for India’, Samsung has emerged as a truly Indian company at heart.

Superbrands Invites Startup Entries Through Superstartupsindia.com

After being the highest accolade for over 20 years for top brands across the world, Superbrands now announces SuperStartUps for India. Superbrands invites entries from startups in India to be part of the SuperStartUp honour. This initiative will enable startups to differentiate their brands from an idea perspective and engage users in their brand journey. Startup brands can aim to stand a class apart by being recognized not just for their idea, but also presentation, execution and user satisfaction.

The SuperStartUp Council in India will be led by legendary brand builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar who has over 100 national and international awards to his creadit. It will also features names like Prahalad Kakkar India’s top Ad Film Maker,  Deep Kalra, Founder, Make My Trip, Sanjiv Bikchandani, the poster boy of the Internet world, Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick and Anmol Dar, Founder, Superbrands India - to name a few.

In India the SuperStartUp program will effectively judge efficacy, awareness and reputation of online brands. A SuperStartUp status would motivate teams, reassure users and send a clear signal to Investors and VCs.

Speaking on the launch of the initiative Anmol Dar Chairman Superbrands India said, “India is fast rising as the Startup destination in the world. With the burgeoning of more than 700 brands each year it has become extremely important to differentiate, with credibility and understand from users themselves. We have chosen to partner with Shivjeet in this ecosystem as he not only understands brands and their architecture but is also an entrepreneur in the startup world himself who is keenly aware of the challenges and nuances of being in the ecosystem”.

Commenting on the initiative and launch in India Shivjeet Kullar stated, “We are truly excited with the opportunity to bring SuperStartUps to India. Superbrands simply put, sets the standards for trust, respect and breakout performance. We aim to work with netizens from across the country who will shortlist and score startup brands. Letting consumers be the true judge”.

“In India the SuperStartUp program will effectively judge efficacy, awareness and reputation of online brands” explains Professor Suresh Ramanathan, Consumer Behaviour Scientist from the University of Texas, who has architected the research progress, “netizens spread across 25 cities in India, will shortlist and score startups – because after all, the true judge is the consumer.’

For over 20 years Superbrands has been the definitive honour for top brands across the world. From Australia to Argentina, Germany to Ghana and UAE to USA in over 50 countries over the globe Superbrands has been the ‘Oscar’ of the business world. In India too it has been an accolade that the best companies have sought, won, and used in their advertising and communication. Superbrands aims to work with the burgeoning startup ecosystem to launch SuperStartUps for India.