Tata Communications Enters Mobile Data Connectivity and IoT Markets

Tata Communications, a leading provider of A New World of Communications™, has announces its entry into the global US$ 4 billion mobile data connectivity and cross-border Internet of Things (IoT) market. The company is unveiling the Tata Communications MOVE platform that will enable people and things to become seamlessly connected on a global scale.

“With more than 3 billion Internet users globally and billions more connected ‘things’ from activity trackers and smart home hubs to connected cars and street lights, we live in a truly digital world,” said Anthony Bartolo, President, Mobility, IoT and Collaboration Solutions, Tata Communications. “We believe that the future of this digital world lies in how all of these ‘things’ connect – and that everything should be born connected. So, imagine a world where there could be embedded connectivity within everything – straight out of the box, with instant and seamless access to the Internet, anywhere in the world. That’s our aim with Tata Communications MOVE. It is a platform that enables companies to embed global connectivity in anything, improving the user experience, creating completely new revenue streams, and fulfilling the promise of a truly digital world.”

Tata Communications MOVE is part of the company’s long-term strategy for its mobility services portfolio and its vision of creating an access and usage agnostic, cross-border mobile experience for people and things. The platform is underpinned by Tata Communications’ global network, partnerships with 900 mobile communications service providers globally, and recent investment in Teleena. Teleena is an IoT connectivity specialist and mobile virtual network enabler, whose technology manages the operational complexity and reduces the cost of IoT deployments for businesses. Tata Communications’ investment has made it the single largest shareholder in Teleena with a 35% stake. 

The combination of Teleena’s IoT technology and Tata Communications’ global network – which today connects 4 out of 5 mobile subscribers – lowers the barriers for brands to introduce new IoT-enabled services for engaging with consumers in new ways. Underpinned by enterprise-grade secure connectivity across 240 countries and territories, Tata Communications MOVE also paves the way for new industrial IoT applications to generate operational efficiencies in sectors such as manufacturing and logistics.

In the first phase of the roll-out of Tata Communications MOVE, the platform encompasses global cellular IoT and SIM connectivity, with further enterprise and mobile network operator capabilities to follow later in 2017, enabled by the world’s largest and most advanced wholly-owned network. Over 25% of the world’s Internet routes travel over Tata Communications’ network, and the company is the only Tier-1 network provider that is in the top 5 by routes in 5 continents.

“The market needs large-scale operators such as Tata Communications that are able to scale up activity in a market so far populated by small commercial aggregators and mobile virtual network operators,” said Dario Talmesio, Principal Analyst and Practice Leader, Europe, Ovum.

Vinod Kumar, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Communications, said: “With global, ubiquitous connectivity comes the power to unleash unimaginable possibilities in how brands serve and engage with their customers and partners, redefining business models across industries. As a company that has built unparalleled global network reach and platforms that simplify and accelerate cloud and data-powered innovation over the last 15 years, today marks an inflection point for our business with the introduction of Tata Communications MOVE, which will serve to unlock the next phase of connectivity for humans and machines.”

Sony Utilizes Juniper’s Open Tech for IP-Based Production Platform

Juniper Networks, an industry leader in automated, scalable and secure networks, has collaborated with Sony Professional Solutions Europe to deliver its switching technology to support Sony’s IP Live production solution. This enables broadcasters to capture and distribute live coverage of major sporting, cultural and political events globally. By leveraging Internet Protocol (IP) networks, IP Live is designed to solve the challenge of transporting massive volumes of rich-content data in real-time between outside broadcast locations and production studios in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Juniper’s open, interoperable technology aligns with Sony’s requirement to tailor open solutions to the exact needs of each customer.

Traditionally, to achieve the required reliability and low latency necessary for production-quality broadcasts, broadcasters have relied on serial digital interface (SDI) and coaxial cabling technology to transport live content from outside broadcasts to production studios. However, faster frame rates, dynamic ranges and higher resolutions of today’s rich content often make the cost of conventional cabling and hardware prohibitively expensive and cumbersome for many broadcasters. Sony is delivering a simple, smart and open architecture for building an automated and high-availability network compatible with Juniper’s technology. IP Live supports the transportation of quality high-definition (HD) and 4K (ultra HD) video, audio, synchronization signals and control-data across an IP network through a single network cable.

Co-Branded Training Courses Help Drive IP Education into Broadcasting Industry

Sony and Juniper also have a unique partnership to provide IP Live production and training courses for the broadcast industry. The collaborative courses show participants how to build a viable IP network, control and manage settings for optimum performance throughout the network, and mitigate errors.

News Highlights:

 The training is composed of eight hours of online courses and four days of face-to-face, in-depth training with hands-on sessions.

• Sony collaborates with its partners to apply open standards efficiently for live production over IP and offers new and affordable ways of capturing and routing content. Sony has selected Juniper as an IP networking partner, using Juniper Networks QFX5100 switches, a highly flexible switching platform with open architectures that serve as a universal building block for automated, programmable fabric architectures.
• Juniper’s Ethernet switches provide a high-performance network solution built on an open framework to give the maximum level of network programmability and automation. This framework allows Sony to provide consistency and simplicity to its operations, and to scale and adopt new applications and technologies to keep pace with innovation in the broadcast space.
• Sony needed to build an agile and automated network to minimize the downtime between live programs and pre-produced content. With Juniper’s network solution, Sony’s IP Live production system can easily adapt to changing program requirements by reconfiguring the line-up of production devices automatically.
• A network of production devices that is managed by the “Live System Manager” solution, which creates a software-defined network, forms the IP Live production system. This solution delivers great modularity and stability where resources can either be combined or split, depending on the requirements.  

HSIL Adds Snowcrest Air Coolers, Moonbow Water Purifyers Solutions

HSIL Limited, promoters of brand hindware - the leader in sanitaryware market in India, has announced the launch of their latest line of air coolers with changeable colorful front panels under their brand Hindware Snowcrest. The latest line of air coolers unveiled will bolster the versatile and comprehensive Consumer Products Division of HSIL. The growing market of air coolers of INR 3,650 crores currently has a low penetration of 10%, however it is witnessing a volume CAGR of 16% from FY14-FY17. With the organized market contributing to only 1/3rd of the market, the range of air coolers will help HSIL propel its presence.

The new range of air coolers launched under – Desert, Personal and Window categories are available in fourteen models ranging from 18 liters to 100 liters. The changeable color panels available in select models come in three colors as of now – premium purple, brick red & icy grey. With a high air delivery rate of up to 3800 m³/hr., the series is engineered to consume less power and produce exceptional cooling comfort. The trendy coolers range starts from INR 8,990/- and goes up to Rs 17,990.

Speaking at the launch, Sandip Somany, VCMD, HSIL Ltd. said, “Superlative design, innovation and unbeatable quality form the core of HSIL business philosophy. With an aim to grow Consumer Business manifolds and to be a leader in the category, we will continue offering top-of-the-line products to our consumers. The products under consumer products division have generated volumes for us, and have helped us to reach out to a newer target audience, and we are excited to see that our strategy is on the right track and paying results.”

He further added, “It remains our endeavor to continuously drive value by adding new products and adding new variants to retain customer interest in the brand. We plan to introduce more variants this year under the water & air purification categories and kitchen appliances category apart from consolidating our strength in water heaters segment. With the positive sentiment owing to recent budget announcement and a resurgence of customer sentiment, we have a positive outlook for the remainder of the year.”

With their smart craftsmanship and design, the Hindware Snowcrest air coolers promise to set a new benchmark in the segment with its technological and aesthetical advancement. The first of its kind, graceful and changeable color panels, not only provide the consumers an opportunity to showcase their individual style, but also blends seamlessly with the interiors. The air coolers are imbibed with a unique Anti-Skid Top Cover which provides additional grip and storage for placing objects, and a distinctive ice chamber which helps in faster cooling of the room.  The coolers launched under Desert, Personal and Window categories, also come with 4-way air deflection and digital display panel with remote operation for fan, speed and timer control. In personal cooler model, a pocket is provided for placing the remote and stylish handle at top helps in easy placement of the cooler. Many other smart features like shut louvers, dust filter, etc. make the product stand class apart. 

Rakesh Kaul, President, Consumer Business, HSIL Ltd. said, “We did a soft launch of air coolers in March 2016 which gave us encouraging results. With the launch of the state-of–the–art air coolers range today; we expect even better results. These unique and stylish air coolers with changeable color panels, interpret a new benchmark in air coolers segment and its contemporary design idiom showcases the passion we have towards providing our customers with the best in class products.”

Utilizing their vast distributor network pan India, HSIL intends to go all out in maximizing consumer touch points for Hindware Snowcrest Air Coolers across 4000 retail outlets. The cooler will also be sold through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc. as well as brick-n-mortar outlets like Reliance Digital, Wallmart, Spencers, Metro, etc.

With strategic expansion into the consumer products, HSIL forayed into kitchen appliances category under the brand Hindware Kitchen Ensemble. Further expanding the consumer products portfolio, HSIL entered into association with Groupe Atlantic of France bringing Hindware Atlantic water heaters into the Indian market. With both of these categories performing remarkably, HSIL entered air coolers market with the brand – Hindware Snowcrest and into purifying solutions with brand Moonbow.

Indian Government Allots More funds for Indian Electronic Sector

Government has approved Rs 681 crore as seed capital for building a total corpus of Rs over Rs 6,800 crore under the electronic development fund meant to support entrepreneurship and innovation in electronics and IT. 

"My Ministry has approved Rs 6,831 venture fund for electronics development. We have given seed money of Rs 681 crore on the basis of which more venture capital will be raised," Rajiv Bansal, MeitY GOI Joint Secretary told reporters here at the on going IESA Vision Summit 2017. 

The electronic development fund is the monther fund that will contribute to various funds under it for those who invest the money in companies for creation of intellectual property rights in the field of electronics and IT. 

He said that investments in electronic manufacturing, which was just Rs 11,000 crore in June 2014, has increased to Rs 1,27,880 crore and from 6 crore mobile handsets in 2014-15, India's mobile manufacturing capacity has increased to 11 crore in 2015-16. 

"With 72 new mobile handset and component manufacturing units set up in last two years, India has emerged as a mobile manufacturing hub. This includes 42 mobile manufacturing units and 30 component makers in the mobile phone segment," he adds. 

The electronics production in the country has increased across segment with value of LED products registering an increase of 65 per cent to Rs 3,590 crore in 2015-16 from Rs 2,172 crore in 2014-15.

"Value of mobile handsets produced in India has increased by 185 per cent to Rs 54,000 crore in 2015-16 from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15. Next year, it is going to cross Rs 90,000 crore," he said. 

Four MoUs Signed to Bridge ESDM Talent Gap at IESA Vision 2017

India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the trade body representing the Indian ESDM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) industry today said it has signed four MoUs aimed at bridging talent gap.

The MoU s have been announced with ESSCI (Electronics Sector Skills Council of India), SID (Society for Information Display), IIT Kharagpur (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur) and Infineon to build a robust talent pipeline in the ESDM space, by strengthening industry-academia relations, IESA said.

The MoUs have been announced at IESA’s annual flagship event ‘Vision Summit’ here. While IESA is collaborating with Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) to create ESDM entrepreneurial ecosystem in campuses by launching NETRA – National ESDM Technology Research Academy; it is partnering with IIT Kharagpur to foster a collaborative, research and development initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive platform for pursuing advanced research works jointly.

Through an agreement with Infineon Technologies India, IESA aims to support Electropreneur Park, giving a major boost to ‘Make in India’ and Start-up India initiatives; and the MoU with Society for Information Display will collaboratively focus on creation of a display industry eco system in India and open up new global business opportunities in adjacent fields that leverage competencies of the organisations here.

“We see the year ahead as a year where the ESDM industry will scale up in value addition and value proposition.” “With the ongoing digital revolution in the country and the thrust from the government to use technology to improve governance delivery to the people, the requirement for developing new and better innovative products and solutions are growing by the day,” said IESA Chairman K Krishna Moorthy.

“This has opened up a number of opportunities to promote both product and solutions development and manufacturing them in our country,” he said

Microsoft, Flipkart Partner for Cloud Services to Boost e-Commerce in India

Microsoft has announced its partnership with Flipkart, wherein the latter will adopt Microsoft Azure as its exclusive public cloud platform. The strategic partnership is aimed at providing consumers in India with the best online shopping service in India. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal announced the partnership at an event in Bangalore.

“At Microsoft, we aim to empower every Indian and every Indian organization with technology and key to this is forging strategic partnerships with innovative companies like Flipkart,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. Flipkart could use Microsoft’s cloud platform as well AI capabilities to provide its users with new experiences. It will enable Flipkart to accelerate its digital transformation in e-commerce, added Nadella.

“At Microsoft, we aim to empower every Indian and every Indian organisation with technology through strategic partnerships with innovative firms like Flipkart,” said Nadella on the occasion.

As a public cloud computing platform, Azure provides a range of services, including analytics, storage and networking on network of computers (cloud). “By combining our public cloud platform and AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities with Flipkart’s services and data assets, we will enable the e-tailor to accelerate its digital transformation and deliver new customer experiences,” said Nadella. 

"In the last 12 months, 2,000 startups have started using our cloud, and now we are launching a strategic partnership with Flipkart," said Nadella. "I have always admired Flipkart for the work it's done in e-commerce, and is now doing in payments and logistics, and combining Microsoft's cloud platform and AI capabilities with Flipkart's existing services and data assets will enable Flipkart to accelerate it's digital transformation in e-commerce."

"Given Microsoft's strong reputation in cloud computing, coupled with scale and reliability, this partnership allows us to make online shopping more relevant and enriching for customers," Bansal added.

"Using AI and platform technology from Microsoft, we can improve the experience for customers," Bansal said, adding, "with things like better recommendations. There are other very interesting applications. Take fashion. At Myntra, we have a label called Moda Rapido which is run by engineers. It was created without fashion designers."

"Instead, it is data analysis based design, it looks at what people are interested in and based on that comes up with a line that people would buy," he explained.

Apart from this, he says, AI, machine learning, and big data are also of relevance for business intelligence.

"We have 20,000 to 25,000 people on our supply chain daily, and they are making decisions on the logistics with far reaching impact," said Bansal. "How can we enable them to make better decisions, and better optimise? That's where AI can play a role already."

Agencies

FarEye Logistics Platform To Help Improve Visibility of Deliveries of Amway India

FarEye, a logistics technology solutions firm, has signed a contract with Amway India to help increase the visibility of deliveries of customer orders for the direct selling company.

To begin with, FarEye will provide Amway India with visibility into the order delivery process right from the time products move out of the fulfilment centres until they reach the customer or direct seller with the help of third-party logistics partners (3PL).

As soon as the customer or direct seller places an order for a product, the warehouse team prepares a ready-to-ship package and using FarEye’s platform digitally notifies one of the multiple 3PL partners. Based on the customer's location and an assigned drop-code, the 3PL partner organises delivery to the customer or direct seller location
seamlessly.

The FarEye logistics platform helps 3PL partners with the most efficient routing plan and delivery process. Simultaneously, the delivery teams keep the customer or direct seller engaged by text messaging the status of the shipment through their handheld devices. The device which works well even in 2G environment delivers preset messages indicating shipment location and expected time of delivery.

“We deal with multiple third-party logistics partners and understand that getting real time visibility on the product delivery can be cumbersome. FarEye's technology helps us on this account,” says Diptarag Bhattacharjee, Chief Operating Officer, Amway India.

FarEye's platform lets Amway cut down the delivery cycle time as well as evaluate 3PL partners based on their on-the-ground performance--separating the star performers from the laggards.

“Engaging customer journeys while maintaining costs are crucial for both retailers and e-tailers. To ensure consistent customer experience most retailers are outsourcing logistics. With mobility solutions, retailers can ensure that their 3PL partners are providing the desired experience,” says Kushal Nahata, Co-founder and CEO, FarEye.

FarEye, the logistics technology platform, serves customers in Asia Pacific, Northern Africa, Oceania, South Asia, Western Asia and Europe through its offices in Singapore, Dubai and India.

FarEye’s mobile platform transforms enterprise operations by providing real-time visibility on the field workforce. FarEye’s intuitive dashboard delivers transparency into operations to CXOs who can then better serve their customers. This empowers the enterprises to build a competitive advantage by improving agility.

A user-friendly delivery interface allows a client’s mobile workforce to upload task completion reports, escalate issues and order service parts instantly through
one-touch handheld devices.

FarEye’s route optimization feature coupled with its Business Process Management capability significantly improves the responsiveness of its client companies.

FarEye counts aCommerce, leading e-com service provider in South East Asia; Namshi.com, e-com player from Middle East (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE); Maraxpress, a West Asian e-com firm; Zalora, online fashion retailer spread across Asia Pacific; Australia’s National Product Fulfilment and Belgian postal service TBC Post among others as its customers.

FarEye’s global customers in India--BlueDart-DHL and Walmart among others--helped strengthen its leadership position in express logistics segment with over a million shipments a day.