HPE, Tata Comm to Build World’s Largest IoT Network in India

Today at Mobile World Congress 2017 Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced it is working with Tata Communications, a leading provider of - A New World of Communications, to support the roll-out of India’s first LoRaWAN (LoRa) based network.

Tata Communications unveiled plans for the LoRa network last year. It is part of Tata Communications’ long-term strategy of creating mobile platforms and ecosystems that enable its customers and partners to connect people and IoT-connected devices seamlessly on a global scale. The first phase of the roll-out targets Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 cities in India, touching over 400 million people. Alongside successful field trials in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, there are also 35 proof-of-concept applications in trial on the network.

The association between Tata Communications and HPE paves the way for a new era in enabling devices with embedded connectivity for enterprise customer solutions throughout the country. The project involves connecting  devices, applications and other IoT solutions over the LoRa network  in smart buildings, campus, utilities, fleet management, security and healthcare services in nearly 2,000 communities, covering over 400 million people, making it the first-of-its-kind initiative in India.

“Tata Communications has 15 years of experience in delivering impactful and innovative communications solutions to its customers globally,” said Anthony Bartolo, president, Mobility, IoT and Collaboration Services, Tata Communications. “As part of our commitment to innovation and in driving digital transformation globally, we are creating a cohesive, resilient and highly secure network to deploy IoT applications in India. We are excited to be partnering with HPE in this project as this platform is critical to amalgamating all the complex variables in enabling a truly digital India.”

Designed for massive scale, multi-vendor and multi-network support using the oneM2M interoperability standard, the HPE Universal IoT Platform streamlines interoperability and management of heterogeneous IoT devices and applications that power the intelligent edge. The platform supports long-range, low-power connectivity deployments, as well as devices that use cellular, radio, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Recent enhancements announced for the HPE Universal IoT Platform include increased LoRa gateway support, enabling the use of multiple LoRa gateways with a common set of applications to simplify device provisioning and control in heterogeneous LoRa environments.

“The sheer size of this project is incredible, bringing new services to millions of people,” said David Sliter, vice president and general manager, Communications Solutions Business, HPE. “Through our partner centric approach, the HPE Universal IoT platform will enable Tata Communications to build multiple vertical use cases for its Indian IoT network on a common platform with a common data model.”

Tata Communications has also selected HPE to be an integral part of its global cellular IoT connectivity services. This provides a range of domestic and cross-border IoT connectivity and management services, particularly for applications requiring elements of mobility, such as connected cars, fleet management and transportation services.

HPE is demonstrating a variety of smart city IoT use cases on the HPE Universal IoT Platform at Mobile World Congress 2017.

Now Communicate in 22 Indian Languages Using Ziox Mobile

Targeting regional language users with their latest mobile phones, Ziox Mobile, one of the youngest mobile companies in India has partnered with Reverie Language Technologies’ for its language based mobile solutions. Ziox Mobile’s upcoming phone models are expected to come pre-stalled with Reverie’s language apps.

Reverie’s Indic Keyboard Swalekh Flip helps consumers type in Indian languages. Then there’s Indic Phonebook, which is the default contact app on Ziox’s phones and will help the latter’s consumers save, search and read their contacts in 11 languages. In this manner, Ziox mobiles will offer regional language equivalents for the most popular requirements of a mobile phone - making calls and sending messages.

Commenting on the advantage that Reverie’s language solutions bring for Ziox Mobiles, Deepak Kabu, CEO, Ziox Mobile said “Ziox Mobile has pledged to combine quality and innovation in its products. We chose Reverie because space on a mobile phone comes at a premium and their solutions have the lightest footprint amongst similar language apps in the industry. With them, Ziox is redefining innovation in customer centricity by giving its customers a chance to connect with their colleagues, friends and family in regional languages. Ziox is committed towards its consumers and looks to further strengthen its footprint pan India and increase regional language engagement.”

Commenting on Reverie’s association with Ziox Mobile, Arvind Pani, CEO and Founder Reverie Language Technologies said “We are glad to partner with Ziox Mobile in its ambitious quest to provide language based sensitive solutions on its products for Indian consumers. Regional language users can now expect to be at par with English language solutions on Ziox Mobiles when it comes to expressing themselves – by typing in their mother tongue or accessing contacts in their native languages.”

Indic Keyboard Swalekh Flipis an intuitive keypad which enables a user to type in their language of choice. It supports all 22 official Indian languages - Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese, Nepali, Bodo, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Santhali, Urdu and English.

Other integral features of Indic Keyboard Swalekh flip include:

-          Threemodes of typing – Native, Phonetic & English

-          Easy access to keyboard settings at a ‘flip’

-          Localised Language menu options in the keyboard settings

-          Faster response time on long key presses

-          Dedicated number row option

-          Undo-redo option

-          Cursor option for character navigation

Apart from this, the keypad comes with regular features like word prediction, themes, emoticons, swipe in English and more.

Indic Phonebook - In India, mobile phones are used mostly for calling and sending messages and therefore, accessing contacts are key. Reverie’s Indic Phonebook on the Ziox Mobile smartphones will allow users to SAVE, SEARCH and READ the phone contacts in their language of choice truly making itIndia’s onlytrue language agnostic phonebook.

Indic Phonebooksupports 11 Indian languages- Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese and English.

Bharti Airtel’s Telenor Acquisition to Mark Telenor’s Exit from India

Signalling further consolidation in the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel has decided to acquire Telenor’s India assets for an undisclosed sum. The move comes at a time when Idea and Vodafone have confirmed that they are in talks for a potential merger, and also when Reliance Jio has been fast-gaining momentum in terms of subscriber acquisition. 

Telenor had a subscriber base of 4.4 crore users, and the deal will mark its exit from the Indian telecom market. Bharti Airtel had over 36.8 crore customers across its operations at the end of January 2017. Bharti Airtel has entered into a definitive agreement with Telenor South Asian Investments to acquire Telenor (India) Communications.

As part of the agreement, Airtel will acquireTelenor India’s running operations in seven circles —Andhra  Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. These circles represent a high population concentration, and therefore, offer a high potential for growth, the Delhi-based telecom company said. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India’s assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel’s overall customer-base and network. It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum footprint in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Telenor India’s operations and services will continue as normal until the completion of the transaction, Bharti Airtel added.

“On completion, the proposed acquisition will undergo seamless integration, both on the customer as well as network side, and further strengthen our market position in several key circles. The acquisition of additional spectrum through this transaction, which made an attractive business proposition, has further enhanced our already solid spectrum portfolio.

The proposed transaction will also create substantial long-term value for our shareholders given the significant synergies,” Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal said. “We believe the agreement is in the best interest of our customers, employees and the Telenor group. 

Finding a long term solution to our India business has been a priority for us, and wear e pleased with our agreement with Airtel. The decision to exit India has not been taken lightly. After thorough consideration, it is our view that the significant investments needed to secure Telenor India’s future business on a standalone basis will not give an acceptable level of return,” Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke said.

Agencies

Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Can Make Life Much Much More Easier

Rheumatoid arthritis can make even the simplest tasks difficult like opening the door or a jar, but you shouldn’t let it stop you from living a normal life. Use these tips to adapt to your lifestyle and enjoy each day.

While many people think of rheumatoid arthritis as something that only strikes people in mid-to-late life and with good reason given that the average age of diagnosis is around 60 years old, it can afflict people who are in their 20s, but that is not the norm. I’m 28 years old and I am still suffering from RA. Globally, it affects 1 to 2 per cent of the population.

Living with RA is quiet frustrating and debilitating, but keeping certain things in mind, life can become much easier. The activities or tips mentioned below can help a person’s ability to function independently and maintain a positive outlook. Read on.

Tips to keep in mind while living with Rheumatoid Arthritis to make life easier

·  Rest and exercise : People with rheumatoid arthritis need a good balance between rest and exercise, with more rest when the disease is active and more exercise when it is not. Rest helps to reduce active joint inflammation and pain and to fight fatigue. The length of time for rest will vary from person to person, but in general, shorter rest breaks every now and then are more helpful than long times spent in bed. Exercise is important for maintaining healthy and strong muscles, preserving joint mobility, and maintaining flexibility. Exercise can also help people sleep well, reduce pain, maintain a positive attitude, and manage weight. Exercise programs should take into account the person’s physical abilities, limitations, and changing needs.

·  Healthcare Team : In order to live well with RA, it's important to get the information and help you need. It is advised to take help of a homeopath to treat the ailment. The homeopathic treatment for RA aims at offering a symptomatic relief to patients and correcting altering immunity in order to control the progress of the disease. Besides offering you best Homeopathic Medicines for Rheumatoid Arthritis, homeopaths at Dr Batra’s help you deal with the emotional, mental, and/or physical trauma. Your family, friends, colleagues, and employer may also see solutions where you don't.

·  Heat : Heat can help reduce your pain, relax muscles and increase blood flow. You can apply heat to painful areas in many ways. For instance, you can take a hot shower, or bath, or sit in a sauna. You can also use a hot pack, an electric heating pad, or a heat lamp.

·   Stress reduction : People with rheumatoid arthritis face emotional challenges as well as physical ones. The emotions they feel because of the disease—fear, anger, and frustration—combined with any pain and physical limitations can increase their stress level. Although there is no evidence that stress plays a role in causing rheumatoid arthritis, it can make living with the disease difficult at times. Stress also may affect the amount of pain a person feels. There are a number of successful techniques for coping with stress. Regular rest periods can help, as can relaxation, distraction, or visualization exercises. Exercise programs, participation in support groups, and good communication with the health care team are other ways to reduce stress.

·  Healthful diet : There is no scientific evidence that any specific food or nutrient helps or harms people with rheumatoid arthritis. However, an overall nutritious diet with enough—but not an excess of—calories, protein, and calcium is important. Some people may need to be careful about drinking alcoholic beverages because of the medications they take for rheumatoid arthritis.

·  Tool : There are so many wonderful products available today. If you work at a computer you may need a special chair or keyboard. Consider speech recognition software. If your job requires standing, have a soft surface under your feet. Use a cart if you need to move materials around. Your occupational therapist can help you make adjustments in your work environment.

Pay Hike Drops, Average Increments in India at 9.5%: Aon Hewitt Survey

Pay hikes across industries are likely to average 9.5% in the upcoming appraisal cycle, a drop from 10.3% last year, according to Aon Hewitt’s Salary Increase Survey 2016-17 that covered 1000-plus companies across India.

While it’s a marginal decrease from the 2016 spends, it show that India Inc. has held its own amidst global and Indian economic and political events, including Brexit, recent changes in the US government and demonetisation.

“Political changes and economic headwinds have had an impact on business performance. However, the trend this year reflects a gradual slowing of pay increases and higher emphasis on productivity and performance – quite literally a ‘graying’ of salary budgets for India,” said Anandorup Ghose, Partner at Aon Hewitt India, in a statement.

The survey, he says, shows the coming of age of compensation management in India.

While majority of the industries projected a sub 10% increase – the business sentiment remains positive and optimistic. Sectors such as Life Sciences, Professional Services, Chemicals, Entertainment Media, Automotive and Consumer Products continue to project a double-digit salary increase for 2017. However they have taken a drop from their 2016 actual spends.

The trend of investing in key talent continues. Firms are carving out high potential and hot skills along with high performers as their key talent segment.

“The last year has shown organisations take a strong view towards performance differentiation and not only have bell curves become sharper, the pay differentiation between top and average performers has also increased,” added Ghose.

Microsoft Drives Digital Transformation in India - Skype Lite; Signs With SBI for Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft has showcased its cloud and mobile technologies that are driving digital transformation across large, medium and small enterprises and across government departments in India. State Bank of India, Flipkart, Tata Motors, and government departments across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are using Microsoft’s cloud and mobile technologies to empower employees, engage customers, optimize processes and transform products and services.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, spoke at the company’s Future Decoded event, and announced a new offering for mobile-first and mobile-only markets –Skype Lite. Skype Lite allows communication and collaboration over low-bandwidth networks and will bring Aadhaar integration to the app by June 2017. He further announced that India’s largest bank - State Bank of India, has chosen Office365 to drive communication and collaboration among its employees. He spoke of a blended learning platform that brings together Microsoft’s cloud technologies and LinkedIn’s job search capabilities. Referred to as Project Sangam it can create a life-long skilling platform for Indian workers.  Nadella also mentioned Kaizala, a productivity app that helps organizations connect with mobile only users to get work done on simple and secure chat interface.

“At Microsoft, we aim to empower every Indian and every Indian organization to achieve more,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “With the transformative power of the cloud, we are enabling Indian start-ups, businesses of all sizes, and government agencies to build new digital capability, find new growth and seize the opportunities ahead.”

Skype Lite, the fast and light integrated communications app, designed for India

Skype Lite is Microsoft’s fastest and smallest Skype app to date. It is built to help people in India stay connected in challenging network conditions, as it is lightweight and fast. Skype Lite contains features specifically designed for India, including help to manage SMS by intelligently removing clutter, mobile data and Wi-Fi usage monitoring, India-focused Skype Bots and power saving functionality. The app will be available in seven local languages: Gujarati, Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Skype will also bring Aadhaar integration to the app by June 2017. With this integration, Skype users will be able to authenticate the identity of unknown callers in a variety of situations where identification verification is required, including job interviews, goods and property sale.

Project Sangam, a life-long skill development and jobs platform for Indians

Project Sangam aims to bridge the widening skill gap in the country today. It will enable blended online and offline, teaching and learning. The project aims to connect the skills learning programs directly with relevant jobs, by leveraging the power of LinkedIn’s extensive job search platform. Project Sangam will allow users to register using their Aadhaar identity ensuring life-long access to the platform. Project Sangam can strengthen the skilling eco-system in India and has the potential to benefit millions of new skill seekers in the country.

Kaizala, for collaboration between desktop and mobile computing users

Kaizala is available on all leading mobile platforms. Kaizala offers seamless convergence of an instant messenger and a productivity enhancer for those always on the move. Kaizala has been successfully tested by the Government of Andhra Pradesh at a 12-day mega event involving 20 million people. The Government of Andhra Pradesh now plans to replicate it across many departments to implement real-time governance across the state.

 Availability: Skype Lite is available now for free download from the Google Play store. The Aadhaar in-app authentication feature will be available by June 2017.

Cyient, ANSYS Partners to Accelerate Innovation and PoC Designs across Industries

Cyient, a global provider of engineering, manufacturing, networks and operations services, and analytics solutions, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ANSYS to set up a Simulation Lab at Cyient’s Experience Center in Hyderabad, India.  The lab brings together Cyient’s expertise in service design, delivery, and operational excellence with ANSYS’s market-leading engineering simulation solutions and services to drive the development of innovative proof-of-concepts for Cyient and its clients.

The partnership with ANSYS is aligned with Cyient’s long-term vision of establishing itself as a Design-Build-Maintain partner to its clients worldwide. The goal is to co-innovate and develop proof-of-concept (PoC) and new solutions across multiple industries such as Aerospace & Defense, Rail Transportation, Energy, Utilities, Off-Highway and Industrial, Oil and Gas, Communications, Medical Technology, and Semiconductor. ANSYS will provide access to various training materials, curricula, and eLearning systems for latest versions of their product platforms to help achieve this objective.

The Cyient-ANSYS Simulation Lab will also contribute towards innovative design thinking to drive POC in areas like Internet of Things, Mechatronics, and Additive Manufacturing—areas identified by Cyient as growth engines for the future.

Rafiq Somani, Country Manager - South Asia Pacific and Middle East, ANSYS said, “We are excited about the potential impact of the Cyient-ANSYS Simulation Lab. By joining forces with Cyient–a long-time customer of ANSYS– we hope to further our existing partnership and deliver ground-breaking innovation across industries, enabling customers like Cyient to gain competitive advantage.”

Commenting on the partnership, Krishna Bodanapu, CEO, Cyient, said "The Simulation Lab in collaboration with ANSYS, a market leader in this area, is indeed a testimony towards our relentless commitment to nurture a culture of innovation at Cyient. This is the next step towards encouraging associates to not only address product design and engineering challenges across industries but also to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the marketplace. I am very optimistic about the learning and innovation possibilities this lab will open up”.