Infosys and HP Announce Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Digital Transformation for the Enterprise

Infosys and HP Inc. have launched joint Retail Point of Sale (RPOS) and Enterprise Device as a Service (DaaS) solutions to help businesses accelerate digital transformation as part of the HP Global System Integrator (GSI) Alliance Program. 

The joint RPOS solution offers a digital approach across the supply chain, enabling real-time collaboration between shoppers, retailers and vendors at the point of purchase, providing a true omni-channel experience. The joint Enterprise Device as a Service solution defines and delivers technology-enabled transformations that optimize how organizations acquire, manage and use devices with end-to-end services, enterprise applications, fleet reporting, analytics, insights and more.

“Together, HP and Infosys can improve end-customer experience, while forging deeper, more valuable relationships with joint customers across industries, enabling them to embark on their own business reinvention journeys,” said Jon Flaxman, Chief Operating Officer, HP.

“The launch of the RPOS and Enterprise DaaS solutions validates our joint vision with HP for revolutionizing the retail industry through constant innovation, and deep analytics,” said Sandeep Dadlani, President and Head of Americas, Infosys. “Digital transformation is being steadily embraced by businesses and as this transformation evolves further, we will continue our focus to create newer experiences across industry segments.”

About the HP Global System Integrator (GSI) Alliance Program

In today’s world of rapid technological innovation, companies in every industry must take bold measures to stay competitive amidst constant change. Adopting new technologies is simple in theory, but bedeviling in practice. Companies are dealing with challenges greater than just IT considerations, including broader supply chain, manufacturing and transportation hurdles. 

The HP GSI program has enabled HP and select leading Global System Integrators to co-develop breakthrough solutions available in a choice of consumption models, mirroring the migration from purely transactional to everything as-a-service. The program reinforces HP as vendor of choice for the tools of digital transformation and provides customers the expert guidance they need to thrive on their transformation journey.

Trend Micro to Host Third Annual Capture the Flag Competition in Tokyo

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced it will host Trend Micro CTF 2017 - Raimund Genes Cup, the third annual Capture the Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition. Trend Micro CTF targets young professionals in the cybersecurity industry to enhance their practical skills in areas such as cybercrimes, targeted attacks, Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS).

“Our goal is to support and strengthen the skillset of professionals entering the industry to better prepare and protect against today’s most pressing threats,” said Eva Chen, chief executive officer for Trend Micro. “To accomplish our mission of making the digital world safer for everyone, we must support engineers in developing and stretching their cybersecurity knowledge in these specific, relevant areas.”

The competition comprises an online qualifying event and finals held in Tokyo, Japan. The online qualifier is in a “Jeopardy” format, challenging players to solve challenges in various categories, such as SCADA, IoT and targeted attacks. The top ten teams from the online qualifier will advance to compete in the final, which will be played with a combination of “attack and defense” and Jeopardy formats. The final winning team will be awarded JPY 1,000,000 (approximately US$8,700), Zero Day Initiative Rewards Program points, and automatic qualification for HITCON CTF 2017 Final to be held in Taipei, Taiwan.

Trend Micro CTF 2017 - Raimund Genes Cup - Online Qualifier

·  Dates: June 24-25, 2017 (Game starts at 12:00 a.m. ET, June 24, 2017)

·  Requirements: Participants must be at least 20 years old

·  Format: Jeopardy

·  Venue: Online

·  Team registration: May 23-June 25, 2017

Trend Micro CTF 2017 - Raimund Genes Cup - The Final

·  Dates: November 11-12, 2017 (JST)

·  Requirements: The top ten teams from the online event will qualify and receive travel support for attending the finals. Additionally, winners from Egypt National CTF will compete. Each team may have a maximum of four players.

·  Format: A combination of Attack and Defense and Jeopardy

·  Venue: BELLESALLE Nishi Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Prizes:

·  First Place Team:

o    JPY1,000,000 (approximately US$8,700) per team

o    15,000 Zero Day Initiative Rewards Program points per player (these points result in eligibility for benefits, including a one-time bonus of US$2,000)

o    Automatic qualification for HITCON CTF 2017 Final to be held in Taipei, Taiwan

·  Second Place Team:

o    JPY300,000 (approximately US$2,600) per team

·  Third Place Team:

o    JPY200,000 (approximately US$1,700) per team

To register for the online qualifier and for more information about Trend Micro CTF 2017 - Raimund Genes Cup, please visit:www.trendmicro.com/tmctf.

Indiabulls Group Forays Into LED Lighting; Aims for 2-3% Market Share in 2017-18

Indiabulls Group, India’s leading business house with interests in Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Housing Finance has forayed into the LED lighting business.  

Indiabulls Group, continuing with its legacy of constantly reinventing itself, has ventured into the LED lighting business in B2B space, which is currently estimated to be at Rs 6500 Crores market in India. The new venture will be branded as “IB LED” and is getting launched to cater B2B Professional LED Lighting needs in the country.

The new venture would be focusing on LED Professional Lighting for offices, malls, showrooms, factories, industries and housing societies, offering a wide range of LED lighting solutions, with up to 7 years’ warranty.

Speaking about the new venture, Partha Banik, President of IB LED business, said “Indiabulls Group is one of the most dynamic and aggressive business houses in the country and has generated significant shareholder value since inception. The LED lighting business is a natural extension of what we are currently doing. We aim to be amongst the top three LED lighting companies in the country in B2B space with innovative products, solution and creating best lighting experience for our customers. IB LED will be present across all major geographies in India.

We see LED Lighting business as a Service business. With an aim to ease the ‘SWITCH’ from conventional Lighting to LED Lighting, we are offering LED lighting fixtures at Zero upfront cost and pay from the savings of electricity bill over the next 2 years.

IB LED will offer great value proposition for the institutional customers in Office Lighting, Retail Lighting, Industrial Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, City Beautification and Consumer Lighting. The products are designed by in house Product Design and Development Team and manufactured in India, under strict quality assurance to deliver high performance, energy efficient, aesthetically good looking, reliable products to ensure best and zero defect quality products that will be long lasting. IB LED solutions can also be integrated with digital and iot platforms.”

Dun & Bradstreet India- People Leaders’ Summit, 2017 Successfully Held in Bangalore

Dun & Bradstreet, the world’s leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insights, in association with SAP and Skylark, successfully organized “Dun & Bradstreet India- People Leaders’ Summit, 2017” in Bangalore. The Summit was attended by esteemed mid and senior level HR Professionals and corporate leaders from Indian as well as International organizations. The summit sought to draw insights and share views of HR professionals on ‘Building a Culture to Win’.

Speaking on the occasion, Jayashree Ramaswamy, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary, Dun n Bradstreet India, said “No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees, who believe in the mission of the organization and how to achieve it, hence the importance of building culture to win for achieving business excellence.”

Elaborating on building the right organization culture, Moushumee Basu Roy, Head- SuccessFactors, SAP India Pvt Ltd. said “A winning culture in the digital era is about engaged employees through modern performance technologies and actionable insights, using ‘simple-to-use, simple-to-run and simple-to-succeed’ HR solutions platforms.”

Further throwing light on the Talent Management, Pavan Kumar, Managing Director, Altair Engineering India said “My talk is a simplistic take on a complex subject. I call them the 5 commandments—articulate your vision well and repeat it often; remember that today’s generation is built on immediate gratification; criticism to be in private and praises to be in public; wide and open communication; and open door policy—of running the company. It starts with a clear understanding of the vision of the company and progresses towards the actual running of the company.”

Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, TTK Prestige Limited also expressed his views and provided insights on how to build a culture within an organization to achieve desired goals.

The Summit concluded with the panel discussion. The eminent panel comprised of Richa Dubey, Director- HR, Schneider India Private Limited; Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder and EVP, TeamLease Services Limited; Sumathi Sampath, Head- Talent Acquisition, Infosys BPO Limited; Amit Kumar, Head – Total Rewards, 3M India Limited and Sujitesh Das, Head- Human Resource, Microland Limited.

IT Sector will Create 25 Lakh Jobs in Next 5 Years: IT Minister

Dismissing reports of a downturn in employment in the country’s IT industry, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that in the coming four to five years, almost 20 to 25 lakh additional jobs will be created in the sector.

“I completely deny and refute that there is any downturn in the employment in the IT sector. It is robust. Once the digital economy is here, you will see how much it will progress,” the minister said in a press conference convened to highlight the ministry’s achievements in the past three years. 

“Indian IT companies are spread across 200 cities and 80 countries around the world, which provide direct employment to 40 lakh people and indirect employment to almost 1.3 crore people. As the industry is moving forward, it is Nasscom’s assessment that in the coming four to five years, almost 20-25 lakh additional jobs will be created,” he added.

The government is also creating new jobs in the IT sector by setting up more Common Service Centres, launching new schemes under the Digital India programme and opening rural BPOs in semi-urban areas, he said. 

The minister said that in the next five to seven years, India’s digital economy will be worth an estimated $1 trillion, which is almost Rs 600 lakh crore.

In 2016-17, the IT industry added 1.7 lakh new jobs. In the last three years, almost six lakh people have been employed in our IT sector,” he said, adding that the Nasscom said 25 to 30 lakh new jobs will be created by 2025 in the sector. 

Indian IT companies currently serve two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies and have created 40 lakh direct jobs in India, the ministry said in a statement.

India’s total software production market grew at 9.5% in 2016-17, to reach $ 7 billion, and exports grew 7.8% to reach $2.3 billion. India’s overall domestic IT/BPO sector is expected to grow at 8.5% from 35 billion in 2016, to an anticipated $37 billion in 2017.

Agencies

Samsung’s New QLED TV to help its Premium Segment Grow from 48% to 60% in 2017

Samsung Electronics has launched its flagship premium line-up of QLED TVs in India and showcased its innovative TV, The Frame, with 100 per cent Colour Volume. These QLED TVs will be available in three series, Q9, Q8 and Q7, in 55 inches (138 cm), 65 inches (163 cm), 75 inches (189 cm) and 88 inches (223 cm), starting May 2017. QLED TVs will be priced between Rs 3,14,900 and Rs 24,99,900.

Announcing the national launch of QLED, HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia said, 'Samsung’s QLED TVs are ushering in a new era of televisions, with innovations that are ahead of their time. These televisions reflect our global ambition. Samsung has been the world’s biggest television brand for the last 11 consecutive years. We are also India’s top television brand for the last decade and the most trusted brand in the consumer electronics category.'

He said that consumers can pre-book their QLED TVs between May 2 and May 21 to avail the special pre-book offer of a free Samsung Galaxy S8 plus (Gold). 'QLED TV, powered by Samsung’s quantum dot technology, provides true-to-life images that no other TV can match. It empowers you to think about the television in a new way, bringing art and entertainment into new parts of your home. The QLED TV is as beautiful when turned off as it is when it’s on and will help us grow the demand for premium TVs as well as our market share in India even further,' said Rajeev Bhutani, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India. QLED TVs have been designed with the consumer in mind and focus on addressing three key consumer pain points through solutions known as Q Picture, Q Style and Q Smart.

He said we have a 48% market share in the premium TV segment i.e. above 55 inches in India and now with this launch, we will grow our share to 60% by the end of 2017.

The ‘TV of Light’, a name given to Samsung QLED TV for its delivery of optimal brightness levels and stunning visual experience, is ushering in a new era of televisions and transforming the living room of tomorrow with its focus on the lifestyle TV concept. According to him,QLED TVs achieve 100 per cent Colour Volume, the HDR 2000 functionality brings out hidden details, an Invisible Connection keeps your living room clutter free and One Remote Control offers an intuitive experience.

Along with these, the No Gap Wall-mount and the optional easel-like Studio Stand light up the aesthetics of your home. Fusing a slim, sleek and premium metal body with a nearly bezel-less display, QLED TVs set the tone for exceptional sophistication.

On the occasion, Samsung also showcased its newest innovation – The Frame. Instead of fading to black like a conventional TV, The Frame’s display transforms into a work of art, letting users select from a collection of more than 100 art pieces in 10 different categories, including landscape, architecture, wildlife, action, drawing and more. Paired with numerous options for art layouts and colours, as well as customisable accessory options including interchangeable bezels and an optional Studio Stand, it truly complements the user’s living space.

Infosys Joins the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance for Blockchain

Infosys recently joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance that connects Fortune 500 enterprises, start-ups, academics and technology vendors with Ethereum subject matter experts. With rapidly growing interest from across industries, including insurance, pharma, retail, energy, utilities and services sectors to adopt blockchain in an enterprise, this is an important step in Infosys’ journey of working with leading platforms and collaboratively developing this technology with its clients.

As a global leader in technology services and consulting, Infosys proactively invests in emerging technologies and innovation-led thinking with a promise to deliver consistent value to its customers. Many years of blockchain research, development and prototyping have validated the long-held belief that a collaborative approach yields the best results.

 With Infosys’ array of proof-of-concept projects across industry sectors and in financial markets in particular, Ethereum is an extremely promising architecture for smart contracts, scalability, and network security. This allows Infosys to develop robust standards and capabilities enabling this technology to reach its full potential.