Cab Passengers Can Now Update Pick Up Location after Booking a Ride on Uber

Uber, the ridesharing app that connects riders with drivers to provide convenient, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button, today announced that riders can now update their pick up location after they’ve requested a ride, if they happened to request from the wrong place. With this cool new feature, riders can now conveniently redirect their driver partner to correct location through the app, even when the driver is en-route.

 “Pick-ups are one of the hardest parts of the experience to get right, and they’re especially difficult when riders accidentally request a pickup from the wrong place. It often begins with a phone call and ends with a cancelled ride. A small miscue can lead to a frustrating situation where riders aren’t riding, and drivers aren’t earning,” said Ryan Yu, Software Engineer and Rachel Holt, Regional General Manager, US and Canada at Uber in a blog post.

Starting today, riders in India, on iOS and android, can update their pickup location after they’ve booked a ride. This feature has been piloted in a handful of cities and it was found that it led to less stress and fewer cancellations -- saving time and headaches for everyone involved. This feature will be made available to all riders across the India in the coming weeks.

Here’s how it works:

●        Once your driver is en route, tap “edit” next to your pickup location

●        Enter your new pickup address, and tap “confirm”

Once a rider updates their pickup location, drivers will:

 ●        Be notified of the new location and have their route updated, though the experience will vary slightly for in-app and out-of-app navigation.

The pickup is a core part of the Uber experience and we’re always thinking about ways for it to be as painless as possible for both riders and drivers. This simple fix gives riders more control over their pickup experience, and saves everyone time and avoidable headaches.

'Underpenetrated' in India But Optimistic About Future', Says Apple CEO

Acknowledging that Apple is "underpenetrated" in India, CEO Tim Cook has said the US tech giant is strengthening its local presence in the country and is optimistic about its future given the fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure in the country. "We set a new March quarter record for India, where revenue grew by strong double digits. We continue to strengthen our local presence across the entire ecosystem, and we're very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young, and tech-savvy population, fast-growing economy, and improving 4G network infrastructure," Cook said in the second quarter results earnings call yesterday.

Cook was asked that the California-based company is underpenetrated in India and whether the company will need to work with the country's government to have Apple-owned stores or production given the great opportunity in the country. "We think it's a great opportunity too, and so we're bringing all the things that we brought to bear in other markets that we've eventually done well in, and that's from channel to stores to our ecosystem and so forth,” Cook said. Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller was in India opening a developer centre last quarter.

"And so there are a ton of things going on there (India). And we agree that we are underpenetrated there. Our growth rates are good, really good by most people's expectations, maybe not mine as much,” Cook said. He said the iPhone maker is putting a "lot of energy" in India, just like Apple has in other geographies that eventually wound up producing more. "So I'm very excited about it,” he said.

Cook emphasised that the 4G network investment began rolling in in a significant way toward the last quarter of last year in India, which is the third largest smartphone market in the world today behind China and the US. "But they are moving fast. They're moving at a speed that I have not seen in any other country in the world once they were started, and it is truly impressive,” he said. Apple has been "investing quite a bit" in India and has a "ton of energy" going into the country on a number of fronts. Cook sounded a bullish tone for the future of Apple in India as the 4G network infrastructure grows in the country.

"And so we believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and is continuing to be expanded, that there is a huge opportunity for Apple there. And so that and the demographics of the country is why we're putting so much energy there," he said. Apple's Senior Vice president and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said the company achieved double-digit growth in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia and Mexico.

Apple’s growth rates were even higher, over 20 per cent in many other markets, including Brazil, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, India, Korea and Thailand,Maestrisaid. Apple posted revenue of USD 52.9 billion for its fiscal 2017 second quarter ended April 1, 2017, up from USD 50.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.

International sales accounted for 65 per cent of the quarter’s revenue. It reported net income of USD 11 billion for the second quarter as compared to USD 10 billion a year ago. The company said that the number of iPhones sold globally fell 1 per cent in the first calendar quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. It sold 50.76 million iPhones in its fiscal second quarter ended April 1, down from 51.19 million a year earlier.

Agencies          

Tata Teleservices Sacks 600 Workers to Tide Over Difficult Times

Tata Teleservices has fired between 500 and 600 employees to tide over difficult times in the hyper-competitive telecom market.

As many as 500-600 employees have been impacted by the lay offs in sales and other related functions, two people familiar with the matter said.

The lay-offs are across locations, they said, adding that the severance package being offered to the employees impacted by the decision is one month’s salary for every year of service.

An e-mail sent to Tata Teleservices did not elicit a response. Sources in the company said that these are challenging times for the telecom industry.

“What most of the operators including Tata Teleservices are doing is workforce rationalisation, to stay competitive in line with the needs of the market,” they added. The lay-offs comes at a time when the telecom industry has been witnessing an intense tariff war triggered by the entry of Reliance Jio, whose disruptive positioning in the market has left most of the telcos bleeding. The telecom operators are facing tremendous pressure on revenue and profitability even as the industry’s debt has soared to nearly Rs 4.6 lakh crore.

Tata Teleservices spearheads Tata Group’s presence in the Indian telecom market. The company, along with the listed arm Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has presence in 19 telecom circles in the country. It offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers across wireline and wireless networks on platforms like GSM, CDMA and 3G.

As per the data of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Tata’s mobile subscriber base stood at 51.2 million as on February 28, 2017. The company has nearly 4.4% market share in the country’s total mobile subscriber base of more than 1.16 billion.

Tata Power to buy 11.82 cr shares in TTSL

Meanwhile, Tata Power is set to acquire 11.82 crore shares in Tata Teleservices following the approval by the Delhi High Court to the consent terms between Tata Sons and NTT Docomo, with respect to the London Court of International Arbitration Award (LCIA) dated June 22, 2016, DHNS reports from Mumbai.

In terms of the inter-se agreement dated March 25, 2009, Tata Power is to acquire 11,82,22,767 equity shares of Tata Teleservices (TTSL). As on date of the arbitration award, which is June 22, 2016, $1.17 billion was payable by Tata Power for the same, Tata Power said.

Tata Power has remitted Rs 790 crore to Tata Sons on August 9, 2016, and this will be appropriately adjusted against the amount that will be governed by the terms and conditions similar to those stipulated by the Delhi High Court of April 28, 2017, the company said.

As per the order, Tata Sons shall take necessary permissions from the Competition Commission of India and tax authorities to remit the amount in lieu of shares to be transferred to Tata Sons as per the consent terms, the company added.

Japan’s NTT DOCOMO had acquired a 26.5% stake in Tata Teleservices for nearly Rs 12,700 crore (nearly $2.5 billion) in 2009. As per the agreement, DOCOMO was to be paid 50% of the acquisition price if it exits within five years. DOCOMO exercised on July 7, 2014, its right (option) to request that a suitable buyer be found to purchase its TTSL shares for 50% of the acquired price, amounting to Rs 7,250 crore, or a fair market price, whichever is higher. But the Tatas offered DOCOMO only Rs 23.34 per share according to Reserve Bank guidelines, following which the Japanese telecom major invoked arbitration.

The Japanese telecom major won the arbitration proceedings, following which the Tatas deposited $1.17 billion with the Delhi High Court. Tata Sons had agreed to pay $1.18 billion in damages to NTT DOCOMO on February 28, 2017, paving the way for the settlement between the two parties. The Delhi High Court, on April 28, 2017, allowed Tata Sons to pay NTT DOCOMO the amount paving the way for the battle between the two companies to end.

Agencies

Wipro Unveils New Brand Identity to Drive Future Digital Opportunities

Wipro has unveiled its new brand identity. A press release says it “signifies a higher level of engagement and brand permission that helps clients leverage Wipro’s expertise to address their business requirements and drive future opportunities in this digital era”.

Wipro has also unveiled a new logo. It represents the way the company “connects the dots” for its clients, its technology heritage and capabilities for the future. The individual elements in the logo represent ideas, technologies, industries and geographies, and the expanding pattern symbolises a boundless Wipro. The four circles represent the Wipro Values, Employees, Clients and partners, and Communities. The blue of the word mark creates a sense of reliability and authority.Wipro has also re-articulated the Spirit of Wipro, its core values: Be passionate about clients’ success, Treat each person with respect, Be global and responsible, and Unyielding integrity in everything we do, the press release said.

Agencies

ASUS Inaugurates First Exclusive Service Centres in Bhubaneshwar and Assam

After receiving an overwhelming response for its products in the country, ASUS, the Taiwanese leader in mobile technology, has inaugurated its first Exclusive Service Centres (ESC) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, and Ulubari, Guwahati, Assam. The ESCs reflect ASUS’ consumer-first approach and aim to give consumers a hassle-free after-sales experience.

Odisha and Assam are amongst the strongest markets for ASUS and Zenfone has received a good response with consumers. The recently launched Zenfone 3 Max series has gained maximum traction in the markets. With the view to enhance user experience and drive consumer delight, ASUS has launched the Exclusive Service Centers.

Located in Shaheed Nagar, Bhubaneshwar, and Ulubari, Assam, the ESCs are easily accessible and will provide timely and efficient services to consumers, allowing them to experience ASUS products for longer durations. The Bhubaneshwar and Ulubari centres will have manpower of 7 and 5-7 employees respectively to assist customers, thus, ensuring quality support and individual attention to each user. 

The ASUS ESCs will cater to a wide range of ASUS products ranging from smartphones, Notebook, TAB, Desktop, All-in-one, Motherboards and VGA, ensuring that consumers using products from different portfolios are engaged with. The Bhubaneshwar and Ulubari centres span over 800 Sq ft. and 1000 Sq. ft. in area respectively, providing sufficient space to the visiting customers and giving them the opportunity to resolve their service queries in a convenient fashion.  

ASUS has been steadily expanding the presence of its service centres in metropolitan cities and Tier 2 & 3 markets alike. We have 200 active service centers and 12 (including Bhubaneshwar and Assam) exclusive service centers all over India. Also, we offer easily PUR (pickup and return) services for customer’s convenience by contact on the toll free number - 18002090365.

The ASUS Exclusive Service Centre in Bhubaneshwar is located at the following address:

F1 Info Solutions & Services PVT Ltd., Plot No. 556, Ground Floor, Shaheed Nagar, Bhubaneshwar- 751007. Contact No: +91 9437272232

Research Firm Includes CSS Corp in Cloud Migration Services Report

CSS Corp, a new age IT services and technology support company, has been included in the March 28, 2017 report by Forrester: “Vendor Landscape: Cloud Migration Services, which covers a robust market for services that has evolved to suit all preferences. We think this analysis should benefit both customers and partners who increasingly need to choose cloud experts to partner with, in their journey ahead.

Forrester’s report provides a view of 30+ vendors and recognizes key players with advanced cloud expertise that help enterprises in seamless transitioning to the cloud. It talks about how high-profile companies have large scale plans for migration, and how important it is to choose the right service provider with the right set of capabilities.

Report author Bill Martorelli, Principal Analyst at Forrester writes, “CSS Corp, for example, is attempting to transform cloud migration from a project opportunity to continuous delivery with automated/assisted migration. CloudMAP is CSS Corp’s cloud migration, assessment, and planning methodology.”

“We are delighted at being recognized by Forrester for our capabilities in the cloud migration segment. Our cloud experts work extremely hard to provide world-class cloud migration and management solutions to our customers as they embark on their digital transformation journey. We work with several companies that are disruptors in their respective industries, and believe innovation is key to digital transformation” said Manish Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, CSS Corp.

“We believe this recognition is also a great news for our customers who now have yet another reassurance that they have chosen the right partner to help them with their cloud adoption journey” said Sunil Mittal, EVP and Head of Sales and Marketing at CSS Corp.

CloudMAP is the latest innovative solution from CSS Corp’s indigenous Innovation Labs which act as an entry point for clients to access new age capabilities of the organization. CSS Corp has developed a complete suite of solutions to shift from a “program” to “continuous delivery” model for cloud adoption.  Key cloud solutions are:

* CloudMAP – Automated cloud migration assessment and planning for a specific business process or enterprise workload. Reduces migration planning time by at least 40%.

* CloudPATH - Simplified, industrialized and predictable method of migrating enterprise workload through re-factoring, re-platforming and live workload migration. Improves success rate of migration by 30-60%.

* CloudDRIVE – Operational readiness from day 1 in the cloud using Next-gen predictive operations and automation platform for continuous optimization. Saves cloud spend by 20-25%.

These industry-leading technology capabilities have resulted in accelerated digital transformation for CSS Corp’s clients. Enterprise customers who look for business application-focused migration are especially benefitted through CSS Corp’s continuous planning, industrialized migration and integrated operations.

B20 Summit - Shaping an Interconnected World Takesoff in Berlin

At the B20 Summit on May 2-3, 2017 the Business20 (B20) presents its recommendations to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is presiding over the G20 in 2017. Over the past seven months, more than 700 representatives from companies and business associations from all G20 countries and sectors have developed recommendations, which strive to make the global economy more sustainable and future-oriented. The themes of this year’s G20 presidency are: Building Resilience, Improving Sustainability, and Assuming Responsibility. These are essential pillars for growth that is not only dynamic, but also inclusive and sustainable. The B20 supports these ambitions.

“If the G20 did not exist today, we would need to create it. Through trade, investment, financial integration, data flows, and migration, our economies are growing more and more interdependent. This interdependence is a driver of economic growth and prosperity“, B20 Chair Juergen Heraeus emphasized. However, it also means that crises can spread more easily, from country to country and region to region, and that existing opportunities can only be fully leveraged through joint efforts. “In our interconnected world, international cooperation is key – to realize the benefits but also to tackle the challenges”, Heraeus stressed.

The global business community is convinced that globalization offers tremendous opportunities. However, common rules, strong institutions, and international cooperation are necessary to shape the outcomes of globalization and ensure that everyone has the chance to benefit from it. “The G20 must meet the objective of not only fostering growth, but growth that is sustainable and inclusive. Everyone should be able to benefit from globalization,” Heraeus stated. Business is ready to carry its share of responsibility, through job creation, education and vocational training, responsible business conduct, and innovation.

The B20 is convinced that a future-oriented, sustainable, and competitive world economy can only be guaranteed if businesses keep finding innovative solutions to curtail climate change, foster the energy transition, and decrease resource intensity. The G20 can achieve this by implementing the Paris Agreement, accelerating the market readiness and deployment of low-carbon technologies, and by establishing a Resource Efficiency Platform.

G20 members should also promote open, dynamic and inclusive labor markets by removing structural and legal barriers, promoting diverse forms of work and female employment, and by bringing labor migration policies in line with labor market needs. “Rather than echoing the populist discourse that makes globalization the scapegoat for all kinds of problems – from economic downturn to security risks – we need to focus on offering real solutions to real problems”, Heraeus called on the G20.

"The B20 is the most authoritative setting for facing the challenges of the future, also for aerospace. "B20 Member and Protom Founder  Fabio De Felice stated.  "The world economy is becoming increasingly uncertain. In this environment it is more important than ever that we work towards an environment which fosters innovation, economic growth, and job creation.”

Protom is a Global Player for the designing and the development of innovative solutions both for SME’s and multinational corporations of aerospace. The company is leader in global consulting and system integration, specialized in KIBS (Knowledge Intensive Business Services) development. Through Research and Innovation, the main pillars of its approach, Protom constantly aims at delivering high-quality top-end services, and thus it is able to continuously attract new partners to pursue business objectives. Protom’s strengths include the ability of its departments to cooperate in order to deliver advanced services in accordance with the tailor-made approach of the company, which allows a customized and optimal execution of each project.