IAOP Recognizes ITC Infotech for its Sustained Excellence in Outsourcing Services

ITC Infotech, a global scale, full service provider of technology solutions and a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd., has been ranked a ‘Leader’ in the Global Outsourcing 100 report, for the 11^th consecutive year by IAOP. ITC Infotech has also been identified as a ‘Super Star of the Global Outsourcing 100’ for its ‘Sustained Excellence’.

IAOP has further recognized ITC Infotech with sub-list honors in several categories including Customer References, Awards and Certifications, Programs for Innovation and Programs for Corporate Social Responsibility. The Global Outsourcing 100, serves as a reference for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. These lists are created based on the applications received, and judging is based on a rigorous scoring methodology that includes an independent review by a panel of IAOP customer members, with extensive experience in selecting outsourcing service providers and advisors for their organizations.

Sushma Rajagopalan, CEO and MD, ITC Infotech, said “We are happy to be consistently acknowledged for our excellence in sustainable outsourcing services over the years. Our offerings always aim to reduce the time and costs associated with products through Digitelligence@work. We are committed to creating and delivering a compelling value proposition for our clients and I am indeed delighted that we are being recognized for our robust outsourcing model and an array of differentiated solutions and services. This report strengthens our clients’ belief in ITC Infotech’s excellence and paves the path for higher standards and expectations.”

“Choosing the right partners is more important than ever. Companies that outsource, not only in the traditional sense but also through the wide array of the ever-changing collaborative business models are scrutinizing their providers very closely,” said Debi Hamill, IAOP CEO. “The GO100 is the definitive guide to help companies research and compare service providers with whom they are considering relationships."

“Buyers understand that there are hundreds of qualified service providers and advisors out there, but what they really need to understand now is what makes each one exceptional,” said IAOP CEO, Debi Hamill. “The Global Outsourcing 100 and World’s Best Advisors lists have done just that. We are proud to recognize ITC Infotech for being among the highest rated companies in customer references, company awards and certifications, programs for innovation, corporate social responsibility.”

Companies were judged on five critical characteristics for the rankings: size and growth, customer references, awards and certifications, programs for innovation, and corporate social responsibility. Being included in the list demonstrates ITC Infotech’s global excellence in outsourcing services. The 2017 Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-lists are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. The lists include companies from around the world that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services.

Flipkart’s Gridlock Hackathon For Innovative Solutions To Bengaluru’s Traffic Woes

Flipkart has announced a one-of-a-kind hackathon to crowdsource innovative, implementable solutions from the tech community and concerned citizens, that could help ease Bengaluru’s perennial traffic problem. Termed Gridlock Hackathon, the initiative marks the start of the ‘Month of Innovation’ at Flipkart, a part of its 10 year anniversary celebrations.

The contest will run from June 7, 2017 until June 21, 2017 and is open for technology centric solutions, as well as those that partially leverage technology through out-of-the-box thinking.

“Flipkart was born in Bengaluru as an innovative tech company that has over the years changed the way India shops. We believe in open innovation which means that society at large should benefit from whatever we do as a company,” said Ravi Garikipati, CTO and Head of Engineering, Flipkart.

“Gridlock Hackathon is an important part of our 10th anniversary celebrations and we want to engage with tech folks as well as citizens to try to collectively find some innovative solutions to Bengaluru’s traffic woes. The idea is to give back in some way to the city we all love, and ensure it retains the vibrant ecosystem that has been a major catalyst in the growth story of Flipkart and so many other companies.”

The hackathon will initially run online and participants can submit tech or partially-tech solutions for macro problems like Bengaluru’s overall traffic, or traffic snares in specific areas like Silk Board, KR Puram etc. All entries will be judged on parameters like impact, feasibility, scalability and sustainability, and completeness. The teams or individuals with the best entries will get a chance to present their solutions to a panel of esteemed jury, who will pick the best 3 ideas.

Akshaya Patra, 9 Corporates and GoI Aims to Serve 5 Billion Mid-Day Meals by 2020

Following its corporate launch in Delhi on World Hunger Day, the Akshaya Patra Foundation, in illuminated presence of Shri Shankar Mahadevan (composer and playback singer), Vivek Oberoi (Indian actor) and Shri Sanjeev Kapoor (Celebrity Chef and Entrepreneur) launched Feed the Future Now in Mumbai on Wednesday at PVR, Juhu Dynamix Mall. Feed the Future Now is a national movement to raise awareness about importance of nourishment amongst children and its impetus to education. This movement aims to serve 5 billion meals to children across India by 2020 with a view to create a ‘Poshit Bharat, Shikshit Bharat.’

Talking to the media about the movement, The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shridhar Venkat said, “We are very thankful to all our partners especially the Government of India (GoI) who have come together today to raise awareness about the growing need to ensure children are well nourished at the age of 0 – 12 years and join us in our mission to serve 5 billion meals by 2020. Food is not charity. Food is life. Setting a child on a proper course with good daily nutrition and the ability to attend and succeed in school is our collective social responsibility and one which reaps unlimited rewards as new generations grow and thrive.”

Lending his voice to the campaign,  Shankar Mahadevan, Composer and Playback Singer, also a goodwill ambassador for the foundation, said, “The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one of a kind institution in the world and is doing great service for the nation. Malnutrition is one of those issues that requires urgent attention. The emphasis should not be on feeding just food, but providing a nutritious meal. I implore more friends from the fraternity to join hands with movement and help us make our country a Poshit Bharat, Shikshit Bharat.”

Vivek Oberoi, renowned Indian actor, shared his thoughts about the cause with the audience. He said, “I am very excited to be here today. The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s work towards eradicating malnutrition is not only relevant for our country but extremely inspiring. We, as a country have had so many achievements at the global platform but hidden hunger still remains an obstacle to sustaining education and achieving one’s full potential.  Feed the Future Now aims to combat this issue and I am glad to pledge support to its mission of nourishing the future of India so that kids get a holistic upbringing, just like we all did. Congratulations to all the partners for a job well done. I urge each one of you – to come together in making 5 billion meals by 2020 possible.”

Reputed Indian actress and model,  Sonali Bendre talking about the issue of malnutrition said, ““I am honored to be part of the ‘Feed the Future Now’ movement, which would give all of us a chance to make a difference to the lives of those in need. I'd also like to congratulate the Akshaya Patra Foundation for taking on an initiative like this and I'm very happy to lend my support to the amazing work that they are doing.”

Sanjeev Kapoor, celebrity Chef and entrepreneur said, “I am happy to associate with The Akshaya Patra Foundation yet again on the launch of their seminal movement ‘Feed The Future Now’ after a successful Boston Benefit Gala fundraiser held in California in May this year. Akshaya Patra is all about giving nutritious food to children. My own journey of cooking food for my family and friends and presenting it to millions of viewers on television is in absolute sync with the Foundation’s - the joy of giving is much more than the joy of receiving. We, especially our strong chef community across the globe, must all strive to make nutrition our agenda to make Feed the Future Now a mass movement and commit to the cause wholeheartedly.

Nine top corporates have joined the movement - GSK Consumer Healthcare, Nestlé, PepsiCo India, PVR Nest, Reliance Fresh, Facebook, The LaLiT, Reliance Broadcast Networks Ltd. & Viacom 18 along with the support of Government of India. 

Facilitating screening of the movement video across 100 outlets nationally,Deepa Menon, Senior Vice President (Corporate Communications  & CSR), PVR Ltd, said, “Nutrition and development are interlinked. Therefore, being a socially sensitive organisation, PVR is supporting ‘Feed the Future Now’ initiative through the use of its physical infrastructure. The initiative is also in sync with the ethos of PVR Nest, which concentrates its efforts towards mainstreaming underprivileged children and restoring confidence among them by investing on education, health & nutrition, skill development and employability through our ‘Childscapes’ program.”

Also present at the launch,  Damodar Mall, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Fresh said, “We are pleased to be ground partners for the ‘Feed the Future Now’ initiative with The Akshaya Patra Foundation. In our stores and on our communication platforms, we will take the message of this movement, to millions of our customers. Jointly with our customers, we are happy to help ensure hunger does not come in the way of good education!”

Speaking about the need for addressing classroom hunger through media and mass communication,  Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 said: “According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics 2016 report, every year 47 million Indian children drop out of schools by the time they reach 10th standard. There has been direct correlation between dropping out of schools and classroom hunger. At Viacom18 we believe that education is the key to unlock India’s true potential and it is the future generation that needs to be equipped and nurtured today. We are delighted to partner with the Akshaya Patra Foundation for the ‘Feed the Future’ movement.”

Based on three pillars – Awareness, Nutrition and Education, the campaign will create a rallying call-to-action and promote policy advocacy as well as behavioral change on the twin issues of nutrition and education.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ with Bigger Storage and Faster RAM Unveiled in India

Samsung India today launched a new variant of Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, following the tremendous response to its recently-launched flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

The new variant, which will be available in Midnight Black colour, retains its flagship style - with a stunning bezel-less dual-edge Infinity Display that provides a truly cinematic viewing experience. The new Galaxy S8+ also comes with Samsung Pay - the mobile payment service with defense-grade security, the best low-light camera and personal assistant, Bixby.

The new Galaxy S8+ builds on Samsung’s heritage of creating stunning designs and meaningful innovations that transform people’s lives. Following the success of the flagship smartphones and great response from Indian market for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Samsung is launching the newer variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

"The resounding success of the recently launched Galaxy S8 & Galaxy S8+ underscores the unmatched superiority of Samsung in the premium smartphone segment. The new Galaxy S8+ variant with its best in class 6GB RAM & 128GB internal memory, will give our consumers the freedom to do infinitely more. It is the ultimate device for power users who aspire to explore new possibilities, are always on top of their game and for whom multi-tasking is a way of life,” said  Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

An efficient device and a definite showstopper in terms of looks, the new Galaxy S8+ is the best choice for consumers looking for a seamless experience even while using dual SIM.

 Galaxy with Infinite Possibilities

The new Galaxy S8+ packs in enhanced performance and features:

·  Infinite Performance: The new Galaxy S8+ is powered with 6GB RAM. This makes the device infinitely powerful and allows multitasking with immaculate efficiency. With increased memory, you can have a seamless experience when playing graphically intensive games.

·         Infinite Entertainment: As the world’s first mobile device certified by the UHD Alliance as MOBILE HDR PREMIUM^TM, the new Galaxy S8+ lets you see the same vibrant colours and contrasts that filmmakers intended while watching your favourite shows. It also offers next-level gaming experience with vivid and superior graphic technology, as well as Game Pack, featuring top game titles, including select titles supported by the Vulkan API.

·         Infinite Camera: The new Galaxy S8+ is equipped with 12MP rear camera with Dual Pixel Technology and 8MP front camera with smart autofocus, with F1.7 aperture that is perfect for taking bright and high-resolution photos even in low light conditions. With this enhanced variant, consumers will not have to worry about running out of space while clicking pictures and storing memories on their phones.

·  Infinite Convenience: The new Galaxy S8+ with 128GB storage makes your experiences unforgettable, flawless and smooth. It will, in particular, serve best to customers who use dual SIM and require large memory.

Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ 128GB, with its sleek and premium design, is available in Midnight Black colour. Consumers can pre-book the new Galaxy S8+ on Samsung Shop and Flipkart starting from June 2. As an introductory offer, all the customers will also be eligible for a free Wireless Charger.

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ 128GB will be priced at Rs 74,900 and will be available across India from June 9.

Murthy Asks Senior Execs to take Pay Cuts to Stop IT Layoffs

IT companies can protect the jobs of youngsters if senior executives take pay cuts, said Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy.

He added that the industry has dealt with the issue several times in the past.

Murthy said he has no doubt that all industry leaders have good intentions to solve the problem of layoffs.

"There are a lot of smart leaders in the industry, but I have no doubt at all that they are all well-intentioned people and they can find solutions," he told news channel ET Now.

Murthy also said this is not for the first time that the industry has faced the layoff problem and hence there should not be any extreme anxiety as the industry had dealt the issue and found solutions then."Let us remember we have gone through this several times in the past. We went through that in 2008, in 2001. So, this is nothing new. Therefore, there is no need for us to become extremely anxious. We have had solutions to such problems in the past," he said.

Giving example of Infosys on how they tackled the layoff problem, Murthy said the company could protect the jobs of youngsters after executives at senior management level took pay cuts.

"I have a feeling that it is possible for us to protect the jobs of youngsters if the senior management people were to make some minor adjustments - adjustment of taking salary cuts," Murthy said.

The senior-most people at the internal director level took the highest pay cut, and then to follow suit was the senior vice president who took a slightly lower cut, Murthy said.

Murthy said Infosys did this in 2001 when the market shrunk. "Let me give you example of Infosys itself. When the market became very tough and it shrank actually in 2001. We all sat together with senior management and then we said - look let us make some sacrifice and ensure that we protect the jobs of youngsters," he said.

"That time we had offered jobs to 1,500 engineers. Several companies were postponing the joining day. We said let us not do that, let us demonstrate the commitment to youngsters by senior people taking some salary cuts based on the disposable income as we go down the hierarchy and welcome those 1,500 engineers," he added.

Murthy also said parallelly, industry leaders will identify new areas of opportunity and mount training programmes to train youngsters and give them enough opportunities to pick up technologies and ask them to work hard and ensure they are in a position to add value to the company in next one year, and if they failed they could look out for another job.

"It is not fair to simply send somebody home, and then let them become very very anxious, because they may have families depending on them. They may have children, parents, spouses and all that, so it is incumbent on leaders of the industry to find reasonable solutions..." he said.

Agencies

Cisco and IBM Join Forces to Tackle Cybercrime through Technology Integration, Services and Threat Intelligence Collaboration

Cisco and IBM Security has announced they are working together to address the growing global threat of cybercrime. In a new agreement, Cisco and IBM Security will work closely together across products, services and threat intelligence for the benefit of customers.

Cisco security solutions will integrate with IBM’s QRadar to protect organizations across networks, endpoints and cloud. Customers will also benefit from the scale of IBM Global Services support of Cisco products in their Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) offerings. The agreement also establishes a new relationship between the IBM X-Force and Cisco Talos security research teams who will begin collaborating on threat intelligence research and coordinating on major cybersecurity incidents.

One of the core issues impacting security teams is the proliferation of security tools that do not communicate or integrate. A recent Cisco survey of 3,000 chief security officers found that 65 percent of their organizations use between six and 50 different security products. Managing such complexity is challenging over-stretched security teams and can lead to potential gaps in security. The Cisco and IBM Security relationship is focused on helping organizations reduce the time required to detect and mitigate threats, offering organizations integrated tools to help them automate a threat response with greater speed and accuracy.

“In cybersecurity, taking a data-driven approach is the only way to stay ahead of the threats impacting your business,” said Bill Heinrich, Chief Information Security Director, BNSF Railway. “Cisco and IBM working together greatly increases our team’s ability to focus on stopping threats versus making disconnected systems work with each other. This more open and collaborative approach is an important step for the industry and our ability to defend ourselves against cybercrime.”

Integrating Threat Defenses Across Networks and Cloud

The cost of data breaches to enterprises continues to rise. In 2016, the Ponemon Institute found for companies surveyed the cost was at its highest ever at $4 million - up 29 percent over the past three years.  A slow response can also impact the cost of a breach – incidents that took longer than 30 days to contain cost $1 million more than those containedwithin 30 days. These rising costs make visibility into threats, and blocking them quickly, central to an integrated threat defense approach. 

The combination of Cisco’s best-of-breed security offerings and its architectural approach, integrated with IBM’s Cognitive Security Operations Platform, will help customers secure their organizations more effectively from the network to the endpoint to the cloud. As part of the collaboration, Cisco will build new applications for IBM’s QRadar security analytics platform. The first two new applications will be designed to help security teams understand and respond to advanced threats and will be available on the IBM Security App Exchange. These will enhance user experience, and help clients identify and remediate incidents more effectively when working with Cisco’s Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), Next-Generation Intrusion Protection System (NGIPS) and Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) and Threat Grid.

In addition, IBM’s Resilient Incident Response Platform (IRP) will integrate with Cisco’s Threat Grid to provide security teams with insights needed to respond to incidents faster. For example, analysts in the IRP can look up indicators of compromise with Cisco Threat Grid's threat intelligence, or detonate suspected malware with its sandbox technology. This enables security teams to gain valuable incident data in the moment of response.

“Cisco’s architectural approach to security allows organizations to see a threat once, and stop it everywhere. By combining Cisco’s comprehensive security portfolio with IBM Security’s operations and response platform, Cisco and IBM bring best-of-breed products and solutions across the network, endpoint and cloud, paired with advanced analytics and orchestration capabilities,” said David Ulevitch, SVP and general manager, Cisco Security.

“IBM has long been a proponent of open collaboration and threat sharing in cybersecurity,” said Marc van Zadelhoff, general manager, IBM Security. “With Cisco joining our immune system of defense, joint customers will greatly expand their ability to enhance their use of cognitive technologies like IBM Watson for Cybersecurity. Also, having our IBM X-Force and Cisco Talos teams collaborating is a tremendous advantage for the good guys in the fight against cybercrime.”

Threat Intelligence and Managed Services

IBM X-Force and Cisco Talos research teams will collaborate on security research aimed at addressing the most challenging cybersecurity problems facing mutual customers by connecting their leading experts. For joint customers, IBM will deliver an integration between X-Force Exchange and Cisco’s Threat Grid. This integration greatly expands the historical and real-time threat intelligence that security analysts can correlate for deeper insights. 

For example, Cisco and IBM recently shared threat intelligence as part of the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks. The teams coordinated their response and researchers exchanged insights into how the malware was spreading. They continue to collaborate on the investigation to ensure joint customers, and the industry, have the most relevant information.

Through this expanded collaboration, IBM’s Managed Security Services team, which manages security for over 3,700 customers globally, will work with Cisco to deliver new services aimed at further reducing complexity. One of the first offerings is designed for the growing hybrid cloud market. As enterprise customers migrate security infrastructure to public and private cloud providers, IBM Security will provide Managed Security Services in support of Cisco security platforms in leading public cloud services.

Brands Ride on Truecaller’s Road-Block to Success!

Truecaller’s ad platform is taking a lead in the In-App mobile programmatic advertising by delivering nationwide scale and reach while also driving engagement with audiences. First year of the platform has seen leading businesses already keeping it at the heart of their campaign.

Being third most used and downloaded app in India, the Truecaller platform through partner campaigns delivered maximum reach and returns for leading businesses like Vivo during IPL, Amazon, Pizza Hut, Myntra, Koovs.com and Oneplus among many more…

According to Tejinder Gill, VP Sales and Head of India Operations at Truecaller, “From day one we are solving a marketer’s need to reach a wider audience in a country like India where TV, Print and Outdoor are the most used but expensive propositions. Our biggest strength is the engagement and undivided attention we can provide to advertisers. We can deliver a brand’s message and enable them to stay on top of the consumer’s mind simply by the fact that we are not an ‘appointment viewing’ app. This is proven by the fact that over 70% of our advertisers are repeat customers, which assures us of the efficacy of our platform.”

 Planning and Buying, Interactive Avenues, adds “It has been a pleasure witnessing Truecaller’s journey in the mobile ad space. From the time they opened up their ads platform, they have focused on their core, which is delivering value to clients through reach, value & scale. Interactive Avenues has been closely associated with Truecaller to deliver this very value to our clients, and they’re very satisfied with the results. For a platform to go from delivering 40 Million to 100 Million impressions a day, in 4 months is no small feat. Not to mention delivering over 100,000 clicks per day from a qualified audience of smartphone users with data. I can’t wait to see what barrier they’ll break next and I’m sure Interactive Avenues will share this achievement with them soon.”

 Associated brands have received an overwhelming traction on the platform and continue to bet big after witnessing great engagement for their campaigns.

Siddharth Banerjee - EVP and Head – Brand Communications and Insights,Vodafone India, adds “We expected Truecaller to deliver but the performance exceeded our outlook. 
Vodafone’s campaigns on Truecaller are delivering more than 100 Million impressions in a day, also delivering well in terms of performance. Vodafone India looks forward to more collaborations as we experiment with their new products and assets.”