ABB’s Tech in Kochi, Bengaluru Metros Provides Safe and Convenient Commute to Millions of Passengers

ABB is providing the technology for reliable power supply and distribution in India’s newest metro being inaugurated in Kochi on June 17. The 13km long Kochi metro stretch has a wide range of ABB solutions with environment friendly features, optimizing space and ensuring safety of people and equipment. The north-south corridor of Bengaluru metro, also being inaugurated on the same day, is the part of the second longest metro network in the country after New Delhi. ABB has provided turnkey solutions for this network from electrification to future-ready remote monitoring system for trains of the network. Globally used third rail DC traction technology, which enhances efficiency and reliability in the longer run has also been deployed in this project by ABB.

ABB has been the partner of choice to transform intra-city metro transportation system in the country. These metro systems in some of India’s most densely populated cities utilize ABB technology to transport millions of passengers safely every day. ABB technology made in India has been a part of all the six currently operational metro projects. Such networks are key to sustainable urban mass mobility in Indian cities, where about 40 percent of the Indian population is projected to reside by 2030.

“These metro projects are a testimony to ABB’s long term commitment to the country.  With the benefits of the latest global technology made in India, these would serve to modernize the nation’s infrastructure and transportation sector. Enhancing ease of travelling for Bengaluru and Kochi citizens, these networks will assume greater importance as India marches towards its target of building smarter and more inclusive cities,” said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, ABB India. “We wish to thank our valued partners and customers for their continued support, which is a reflection of the quality and reliability of ABB products. Transportation or mobility solutions where ABB has a century of experience, have been a focus area as part of ABB’s next level strategy. We have been associated with most of the metro projects across India starting with the first one decades ago and our scope has only expanded,” he added.

Kochi, one of the 100 smart cities assigned by the government is the first tier 2 city to receive a metro project in the country. The ABB solutions include medium and low voltage protection and control systems. Also includes switchgears, dry-type transformers for power supply and distribution to the stations, coaches and modular distribution switchgear panels for lighting requirements. ABB’s world-class vacuum breaker technology for air insulated switchgears will provide power reliability while enhancing equipment and personnel safety and ease of maintenance. The gas insulated ones have optimized the substation footprint thus saving precious land in the metro project. ABB dry type transformers installed at the specially designed metro stations, have a high level of safety and reliability, ensuring a safe commute for passengers.

The north-south corridor of Bengaluru metro is a continuation of the extensive work done for other stretches of the same network. ABB was key to implementing the third rail technology for Bengaluru metro and provided all the traction power requirement and substation equipment. The remote monitoring SCADA system to ensure network eficiency and pre-detect downtime was also executed. This stretch also contained an underground section for ~8km in the busiest commercial area of the city. A testament to decades of project management skills - the work was done only during the night including movement of heavy equipment and lowering them to a depth of 40 to 60 feet without any safety issues was a key achievement. Underground 33kV cabling without proper lighting, ventilation and communication done only through only walkie talkies was completed and delivered on time without any incident.

ABB has provided an extensive array of products and systems for Indian metros for wayside power and onboard requirement. These include traction, receiving and auxiliary substations with compact gas- and air-insulated switchgear, modular distribution switchgear, efficient and low noise level traction transformers, dry type auxiliary and rectifier transformers, motors, overhead electrification, integrated building and asset management solutions and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems. These help not only in improved performance but also cost efficiency.

Worldwide Cloud-Based Security Services to Grow 21 Percent in 2017

Growth in worldwide cloud-based security services will remain strong, reaching $5.9 billion in 2017, up 21 percent from 2016, according to Gartner, Inc. Overall growth in the cloud-based security services market is above that of the total information security market. Gartner estimates the cloud-based security services market will reach close to $9 billion by 2020.

SIEM, IAM and emerging technologies are the fastest growing cloud-based security services segments.

"Email security, web security and identity and access management (IAM) remain organizations' top-three cloud priorities," said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner. Mainstream services that address these priorities, including security information and event management (SIEM) and IAM, and emerging services offer the most significant growth potential. Emerging offerings are among the fastest-growing segments and include threat intelligence enablement, cloud-based malware sandboxes, cloud-based data encryption, endpoint protection management, threat intelligence and web application firewalls (WAFs).

Increasing security threats, operational and cost benefits and staffing pressure drive market growth.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are driving growth as they are becoming increasingly aware of security threats. They are also seeing that cloud deployments provide opportunities to reduce costs, especially for powering and cooling hardware-based security equipment and data center floor space.

"The cloud medium is a natural fit for the needs of SMBs. Its ease of deployment and management, pay-as-you-consume pricing and simplified features make this delivery model attractive for organizations that lack staffing resources," said Contu.

The enterprise sector is also driving growth as they realize the operational benefits derived from a cloud-based security delivery model.

"Cloud-based delivery models will remain a popular choice for security practices, with deployment expanding further to controls, such as cloud-based sandboxing and WAFs," said Contu. According to a global survey conducted by Gartner at the beginning of 2016, public cloud will be the prime delivery model for more than 60 percent of security applications by the end of 2017.

"The ability to leverage security controls that are delivered, updated and managed through the cloud — and therefore require less time-consuming and costly implementations and maintenance activities — is of significant value to enterprises," said Contu.

Cloud-based security services market growth presents opportunities and challenges for providers.

"On the one hand, new greenfield demand arising from emerging requirements from SMBs is driving growth. On the other hand, new competitive dynamics and alternative pricing practices threaten traditional business models," said Contu. Providers need to adapt to the shift from an on-premises to a cloud-delivery business model. "Overall, one of the main focus areas for providers relates to the shift from owning and selling a product, to selling and supporting ongoing service delivery."

Accenture to Achieve Gender Balanced Workforce of 50:50 by 2025

 
Accenture has announced that it will achieve a gender-balanced workforce, with 50 percent women and 50 percent men, by 2025.
 
“Diversity makes our business stronger and more innovative and, most important, it makes the world a better place,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman and CEO. “With this new goal, we are sending an important message to our people and our clients confirming our commitment to a gender-balanced workforce.”

 
Currently, Accenture has 150,000 women, nearly 40 percent of its global workforce. Over the past several years the company has set milestones on the path to gender equality. These include:

·  Setting a goal to reach 40 percent women new hires by 2017 – and achieving it a year early

·  Promoting its largest percentage of women to the managing director level in 2016 (30 percent)

·  Growing its percentage of women managing directors to 25 percent globally by 2020

Accenture has taken a number of steps to attract, retain, advance and sponsor women on its path to achieving a gender balanced workforce, including:                                               

·  Sponsoring the company’s most senior women to advance in P&L roles.  Since its inception six years ago, approximately 80 percent of the women in the global executive leadership program have been promoted or have significantly expanded their areas of responsibility.

·  Delivering on a commitment to transparency. The company has set and published clear, measurable targets to grow its number of women, and has published its workforce demographics in many countries including the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Japan, India and ASEAN countries.

·  Launching initiatives that provide women with in-demand skills. For example, the company’s Women in Technology program helps fast-track the careers of high-performing women toward the position of Technical Architect, a high-demand and short-supply role.

·  Collaborating across business and government to further gender equality in the workplace, with commitments that include the White House Equal Pay Pledge, Paradigm for Parity, and Catalyst CEO Champions for Change.

“We embrace diversity as a source of creativity and competitive advantage,” said Ellyn Shook, chief leadership & human resources officer at Accenture. “As we work toward ‘50 by 25,’ our ultimate goal is to create a truly human environment where people have a real sense of belonging, where they can show up every day, be who they are and be their best, both professionally and personally.”

Renowned Product Management Guru, David Fradin on Board at Manipal Global Academy of IT

Manipal Global Academy of IT, part of Manipal Global Education Services, a leading international provider of high-quality higher education services, announced today the appointment of David Fradin as an Advisor and Distinguished Professor of Practice, Product Management Programs. Known as the ‘Guru’ of Product Management, David Fradin has trained thousands of product managers throughout the world. Fradin is the author of “Building Insanely Great Products” (http://amzn.to/2ma3jaE) and “Foundations in the Successful Management of Products” coming soon from Wiley, in addition to a series of courses that teach the entire product management lifecycle.

               

Having over 47 years of experience in product management, product marketing management, and senior management, Fradin has been responsible for 75+ products amounting to over $250M in revenue.

“Being a renowned veteran in the field, we are honored to have David Fradin on board as an Advisor and Distinguished Professor of Practice, Product Management Programs. We are sure that his expertise will help mould our students with industry best practices in the area of Information Technology. Students and faculty will get a global perspective which will in turn widen their horizon; we look forward to this enriching experience. Fradin will contribute to, and teach in our Post Graduate Diploma in Product Management, as well as in our executive development programs offering product management training to corporates” said Yogesh Kumar Bhatt, Director, Manipal Global Academy of IT.

At Manipal Global Academy of IT, Fradin will take up the role of Advisor and Professor of Practice, Product Management Programs. Apart from regular theory, students will get first-hand knowledge about how the big-names in industry have reached the pinnacle of success by developing successful products.

“Product failures are costing the world around $ 1/2 Trillion. I am keen to do anything that will help reduce this loss. India presents enormous potential for developing new Product Manager or as I prefer to call them “Product Success Manager” that is the primary people responsible for product success. Talent from India has played a pivotal role in development of a large number of path breaking products we see today. A trained talent pool and the right infrastructure in the country presents enormous potential to developing next generation transformational products. Manipal Global Academy of IT has been helping companies and the talent pool to achieve its potential across functions and I am glad to be contributing to this cause by sharing the knowledge and original thought I have acquired over the years in developing and managing products.,” said David Fradin.

Manipal Global Academy of IT offers program in Product Management for IT professionals in both face-to-face and online modes. Together with Manipal University, it has launched India’s first ever PG Diploma in Product Management, an 11-month part-time program. Large product companies leverage the product management training program to upskill existing product managers. It also offers short-term online programs. The curriculum for the Product Management Programs has been developed in association with leading IT product companies.

Intel Investing Rs 1,100 Cr in India to Setup a New R&D Centre in Bengaluru

World’s leading chip maker Intel Corporation is investing Rs 1,100 crore ($170 million) in India to set up a new Research and Development (R&D) centre in this tech hub.

“We are investing Rs 1,100 crore in our upcoming R&D centre in Bengaluru as part of our India expansion plans,” said Intel India General Manager Nivruti Rai at a news conference on the US-based multinational’s investment and expansion plans in the sub-continent.

The new R&D facility in an eight-acre campus will also have a computer software development and hardware design services facility.

The fresh investment is in addition to $2 billion the chip maker had invested in the country till 2016.

The company’s Indian subsidiary has about 7,000 techies to design and power semiconductor chips for its global customers, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of computers, smart phones and other electronic devices.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and IT Minister Priyank Kharge were also present on the occasion.

The state high-level clearance committee, headed by the Chief Minister, cleared the company’s investment proposal on February 1, 2016 and the Karnataka Industrial Development Board allocated it the land in the city’s south-east suburb.

The company’s India operations focus on R&D, hardware design, testing and validation of computer hardware and software products for the next-generation digital devices.

The Intel India arm is registered with the state-run Software Technology Park India (STPI) under the 100% export oriented unit scheme of the government.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Stood First & Won CII’s Best Kaizen Award

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) was honored with “Best Kaizen Award” by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the 30^th Kaizen Conference and Competition held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on May 16^, 2017. Toyota was awarded under the “Breakthrough” category, for initiating innovative practices to reduce energy consumption at the paint booth in the company’s world-class manufacturing facility at Bidadi in the state of Karnataka. The award winning technique involved the use of a psychrometric controller method, ideated and executed internally, to regulate temperature and humidity which eventually led to reduced energy consumption.

TKM, as an environmentally committed corporate, implements various eco-initiatives in its manufacturing operations, effectively contributing to establish HARMONY WITH NATURE. This award recognizes such energy-efficient methodology implemented to meet vital eco-challenges.

More than 65 companies participated in the category which recognizes improvement in equipment effectiveness with an emphasis on proactive and preventative maintenance in production line, markedly increasing plant output whilst increasing employee morale and job satisfaction.  The Toyota team has stood  first successfully clearing this Kaizen competition held at zonal level (North Region Level), going on to compete to be the “Best of Best” Kaizen Champions at the National level which is scheduled to be held during Sep ’17.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) system at TKM ensures overall synchronization of machines / equipments, processes and employees through smooth integrity of Production and Quality systems that add business values to an organization. Our Toyota philosophy focuses on the relentless problem solving involving people & developing the Kaizen Culture.

On receiving the award, Raju B Ketkale, Senior Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said “We are honored to receive the award as an acknowledgment to our dedication for continuous improvement in efficiency and production quality. The commitment to go above and beyond building just word-class cars and following a more sustainable production process with minimal environmental impact is deep rooted in the Toyota culture.

As a socially responsible automobile manufacturer, Toyota is proud to play a vital part in promoting a greener and healthier future. We do not limit such responsible practices to our plant, but also integrate & impart our best practices by engaging dealer supplier partners, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of operations.

Our employees have ample exposure to global technologies with best-in-class technical training & hands-on experience to meet the global standards and also adopt innovative technologies, he added.”

CII Kaizen Conference & Competition is a renowned platform that honors best practices and continuous improvement of processes in the fields of manufacturing, engineering, supporting business processes, and management across industry verticals, aiming to share best practices of different corporates and to enhance individual’s capability. Every year a total of 4 winners are selected from under four categories (Restorative, Renovative, Innovative & Breakthrough) to carry the best kaizen award in the form of a trophy.

Infosys Annual Report 2017 Available Online for ADS holders

Infosys has today announced that as in the previous years, it will furnish its annual reports to its American Depository Shares (ADS) holders on its website in lieu of physical distribution.

Accordingly, the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 12, 2017, together with the Indian Annual Report filed with the Indian Stock Exchanges (BSE/NSE), is available on the Infosys Limited website at www.infosys.com. The financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 20-F have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by International Accounting Standards Board.

As allowed under New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rules, the Company will not circulate physical copies of the Annual Report on Form 20-F or the Indian Annual Report to ADS holders. However, in compliance with NYSE rules, physical and email copies of Infosys' Annual Report on Form 20-F and the Indian Annual Report will be made available, at no cost, to ADS holders on request. Interested ADS holders may request for physical or email copies by writing to "The Company Secretary" at Infosys' registered office at Electronics City, Hosur Road, Bangalore - 560 100, India.

TechGig Wins Guinness World Record Beating USA, China to Create the Biggest Programming Event

TechGig has proven that India is at the Top of the Global IT Industry, having won the Guinness World Record for the country by beating the likes of the USA and China to create the biggest programming event of the world!

“TechGig Code Gladiators 2017” was organized by TechGig to identify the top competitive programmers and technology enthusiasts across India and the rest of the world. The contest registered 2,09,111 participants with the maximum participation from Bengaluru, India.

The Guinness World Records citation declares “The largest computer programming competition was organized by TechGig (India) in Bengaluru, India on June 9, 2017”.

While presenting the World Record to TechGig, the Guinness officials stated that TechGig had attracted 81,641 unique submissions from programmers at Code Gladiators 2017 and the previous record was set in 2012 by Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (China) which had attracted 30,634 entrants. That is 167% of what Baidu holds!

“It is amazing that TechGig was able to obliterate the previous record by a margin of over 160% - a record set by Baidu which had stood undisputed for half a decade. This record is dedicated to all our participants, clients and teams. I further acknowledge the support and enthusiasm of the top management of our sponsors and clients, whose words of encouragement were instrumental in garnering this record-breaking participation. We have received very good feedback on the success of this event and plan to roll-out more such initiatives on an expanded canvas across industries and geographies,” said Ramathreya Krishnamurthi, Business Head, TechGig.

This world record competition, included contestants from across the planet, while most the participants were from India, top three other countries were United States of America, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.

Round 1 of the open contest was held from 20th March to 07th May 2017 during which registered participants were asked to submit their entries remotely from their homes on the dedicated Code Gladiators section of TechGig.com.

Basis their performance in Round 1, Semi-Finals were held online from 10th May to 24th May, 2017 for participants who had successfully cleared the first round of the Open Contest. At this level, participants had to solve the Semi Final challenges within 8 hours.

The final competition was held offline in Bengaluru, India and TechGig Code Gladiators 2017 concluded on June 9, 2017 with a Grand Finale, where Guinness Officials declared this victory for Indian IT.