V Resorts Raises $4 Million In Third Round of Funding with Seedfund

V Resorts, an asset-light resort management company, recently raised $4 million in its third round of funding, with Seedfund and RB International. V Resorts currently manages over 70 resorts across 15 states in the country. The company operates on a business model of aggregating existing properties and managing the operations of those properties on a revenue share basis.

With this infusion of funds, V Resorts is all set to make a paradigm shift in the landscape of the leisure travel sector in India. Commenting on the development, Aditi Balbir, Founder and CEO of V Resorts said,“Our competitors are aggregators who solve the problem of discovery – ‘Where to go’. The travel space is flooded with such aggregators but no player is currently targeting the problem of on-ground experience. We at V Resorts solve the problem of customer experience – from manpower to vendors, procurement, booking, feedback etc. – covering the entire gamut of hospitality services. The funds will be utilized to further invest in these consumer and operator interfaces.We are also looking at doubling our inventory by the end of this year and are geared towards a three fold growth in the company.”

“Initiatives are in place to increase our footprints to over 1000 locations in India in the next two years. Keeping in mind our goal of going where Indians go, international expansion is on the cards as well. South East Asia is amongst the favorite overseas destinations with Indians, so it’s a prudent decision to focus our initial expansion efforts there,” added Aditi Balbir.

Commenting on the investment from RB International, “In this challenging ecosystem, V Resorts has a differentiated business model that allows for high profitability with occupancy increase. And given the high capital efficiency, the model can be scaled quickly”, said Harshavardhan Bothra, RB Investments Pte Ltd.

Executive Director Shailesh Vikram Singh, Seedfund which has invested in V Resorts in the initial phase as well said, “This is indeed exciting times for the travel leisure segment. Our strategy will be to build travel choices even to the most inaccessible places and create profitable businesses with the involvement of the local community.”

V Resorts is an alternate accommodation provider in the leisure travel space. Since 2014, the company has been operating on the foundation of bringing superior quality and standardization to the less explored but breathtaking destinations of India. For customers who want to travel to new places and explore parts of India, the company promises a seamless standardised experience – from searching for information, making a booking, reaching the place to experiencing the local appeal of that destination.

Guizhou Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone Promotion Conference Held in Bangalore on June 27

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has concluded a session of productive bilateral talks with dignitaries of Guizhou Province, China. As Guizhou emerges as the centrepiece of China’s IoT and Big Data initiatives, the Chinese delegation today introduced the Guizhou National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone to the Indian IT ecosystem.

Participating in the discussions were Sun Zhigang, Governor, Guizhou Province;  Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, IT Department, Government of Karnataka; Ma Ningyu, Director, Big Data Bureau, Guizhou Province; and Gagan Sabarwal, Director, Global Trade Development, NASSCOM. The conversation centered on data as a currency and the advantages and prospects for big data development the region presents between NASSCOM member companies and Guizhou’s state-owned companies.Housing the core data centers belonging to Huawei, Tencent, Foxconn, and Alibaba and China Mobile, it is estimated that by 2025, there will be 3 million servers in Guizhou.

Building on the momentum of the MoU on the Big Data initiative signed between both parties in February 2017, today’s dialogue fortified cooperation in the IT sector between the two neighboring countries. In recent years, NASSCOM has been relentlessly working on global communication and cooperation in big data and high-tech fields, with an emphasis on Guizhou, an emerging area of big data development.

Gagan Sabarwal, Director, Global Trade Development, NASSCOM, said “Indo-Chinese cooperation has always been at the forefront of our agenda, and both neighbors have a strong value addition to offer each other in big data expertise. This campaign is of great significance for the communication and collaboration between the emerging ecosystems of IoT and Big data of both countries.”

A hub for China’s green data centers, Guizhou is a growth spot which has gained President Xi Jinping’s vote of confidence, having ranked the top in terms of GDP growth among China’s provinces six consecutive years in a row. Guizhou and Bangalore have similar high-tech capabilities, the former an accelerating cluster for big data industrial development and a technology innovation, while the latter is a leading software development and high-tech hub. The production and convergence of data in Guizhou overlays big data enterprises and powers cloud chain services, information networks, long-distance freight, public transport, cab aggregation and customization, and e-medicine, among others.

India’s First AI Based Automated Customer Support for Electronics Repair from Helpforsure

Imagine a day when you have party at home and the music system is not working. You are expecting a guest, and your air conditioner is not cooling up to the mark. Kids want to watch their favorite cartoon, and television display has gone blank. You have a presentation to prepare, but your laptop hangs on you. You are expecting an important call, and your smartphone is not responding. These experiences are common nightmares in our day-to-day life, and are harrowing experience as well. Finding the right technician or expert is very difficult as there is good chance that the local technician may not solve the issue even after spending a good amount of time.

This is a very fast growing market - number of devices in a household is exploding and internet of things is becoming a reality. With this, maintaining devices is becoming increasingly difficult for the consumers. This is primarily because the segment is highly unorganized and fragmented, with customers being forced to choose between expensive services at authorized centres and unreliable services from unorganized, mom-and-pop stores. The lack of transparency in pricing and reliability of repair services is also a concern.

Sensing a market opportunity, Helpforsure is doing its bit to bring some relief to customers in electronics repair sector. Helpforsure is the idea of three enthusiastic entrepreneurs - Rajesh Bhatia, Kusum Shukla Bhatia, and Utkarsh Gupta. The founders realized the state of the device repair industry owing to the trying experience they suffered in getting their devices repaired at some point or the other. This was the pathway for a transparent, tech-enabled platform that leveraged technology to deliver value-driven, high-quality repair and maintenance services for electronic devices, home appliances and other local home services, leading to the inception of HelpForSure Home Services. The company is committed to ensure that the users get high quality services, at best price, without running from pillars to posts.

Helpforsure has already created a niche for itself in the electronics repair space that includes Smartphones, Laptops and Home Appliances such as refrigerators, ACs, LED televisions etc. The company plans to procure quality parts directly from the source and deliver them to the consumers in the repair. The supply chain benefit will be passed on to the customers.

The founders plan to move 30% of the repairs through online mediums using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots. “This is the future of repair, and we want to be the first few in the category to use technology to solve issues. We also plan to file a few patents in this niche/nascent area” said Ms. Kusum.The founders have  considerable expertise in filing patents and IPs.

Helpforsure has made consistent growth in this sector through its different approach and customer-centric offering. “We are currently operational in Bangalore and are planning to expand to Chennai, Mumbai and NCR after the complete concept validation, and are seeking active funding in another 2 months”, Utkarsh Gupta reported.

Founder Rajesh Bhatia says that Helpforsure has witnessed 30% growth (month on month). “We are expected to touch 500 electronic repair transactions per month over the next 2 months”, says Rajesh.

Ruckus Brings Affordable, High-Performance Wi-Fi to the Hospitality Market

  

Ruckus, a part of Brocade, has announced its fourth generation wall-mounted access point (AP) designed to provide hotel guests with fast, reliable Wi-Fi. The Ruckus H320 all-in-one AP and switch features the latest 802.11ac Wave 2 technology, enabling guests to simultaneously connect multiple devices to hotel Wi-Fi networks. The AP also allows property managers to connect wired devices such as VoIP telephones and IP-ready televisions without dedicated per-device cabling. Designed for deployment in every hotel room, the H320 AP delivers the required quality of service (QoS) to meet guest requirements for high-performing Wi-Fi to support their business and personal needs. 

“Today’s travelers expect reliable, high-performance Wi-Fi to support multiple devices, each loaded with bandwidth-hungry apps,” said Ted Watson, vice president, global hospitality and multi-dwelling unit solutions, Ruckus. “The Ruckus H320 AP and switch allows hotels to meet these expectations by including an AP in every room—an unrealistic financial option until now. The flexibility and affordability of the solution will revolutionize the guest Wi-Fi experience throughout the hospitality industry.”

Ruckus offers an industry-leading portfolio of in-room, wall-mounted, all-in-one APs and switches. The addition of the H320 AP rounds out a complete suite of wall-mounted devices that fit into any hospitality environment. The H320 AP is a cost-effective alternative to the full-featured, IoT-ready H510 AP and the DOCSIS-enabled, wall-mounted C110 AP and switch for use in hotels where only coax is available.

“In today’s competitive hospitality environment, our guests depend on and demand fast and reliable Wi-Fi. Ruckus Wi-Fi has proved itself a guest favorite,” said Jason Greene, information technology officer, Maine Course Hospitality Group. “Our properties equipped with Ruckus solutions are top performers in guest satisfaction, outperforming those that are using other solutions. Ruckus is our go-to Wi-Fi solution.”

The H320 AP and switch is based on the 802.11ac Wave 2 technology—the highest-performance Wi-Fi standard—to satisfy steadily increasing in-room bandwidth requirements. It includes two fast Ethernet ports to enable connectivity for any wired in-room IP device, including IPTV, VoIP phones and IP cameras.

“Guest expectations and behaviors are continually changing and high-quality Wi-Fi is an investment with tremendous potential for hotels,” said Jim Duffy, senior network analyst, 451 Research. “As the hospitality market begins implementing technologies such as IoT and robotics, Wi-Fi will become a hotel ecosystem requirement.”

Ruckus will be showcasing the new offering in booth 1829 at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) in Toronto, June 26-29, 2017. The Ruckus H320 AP is planned to be available in August at an MSRP of US$285.

Vamaship Successfully Concludes the Second Round of ‘The BVC DOO Initiative’

Vamaship, world’s first integrated online logistics platform as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility have successfully fulfilled a heartwarming gesture through 'The BVC DOO Initiative'. Through this initiative, Vamaship reached out to the underprivileged children homes and old age homes across 71 cities of the country to deliver them clothing and essential stationery, Vamaship has lent their full provision as the logistics partner. 

With the help of ‘The BVC DOO Initiative’, Vamaship shipped smiles and love to over twenty thousand kids in 144 children homes including Aditya Birla Centre for the Welfare of Children and Aamcha Ghar amongst many. Furthermore, in addition to last year, this year they even shipped clothes to 599 senior citizens in 12 old age homes like Rajeev Rajan Adharghar, Vatsalya Vruddhashram across the country.

The ‘BVC DOO Initiative’ was held at BVC offices across 29 cities including Mumbai. Corporates and officials from within the premises were invited to participate. Brands like Decor, Disney, Indusind Bank, Ola, Satellite Group, Club Mahindra along with BVC Logistics contributed clothes, books and stationery.

These products were shipped from 29 cities to orphanages and old age homes in 71 cities across India with the shipping expertise of Vamaship. They distributed thousands of books, clothes and stationery weighing over 5 tons. To empower the mission and vision of BVC Foundation, Vamaship initiated this nationwide drive which would make a difference to thousands of elderly folks and children.

Speaking on the occasion, Bhavik Chinai – Founder and CEO, Vamaship stated, “We are delighted to provide our services to successfully fulfill this noble initiative. In addition to last year, this year we extended our support to over 20,000 kids along with 599 senior citizens in 71 cities across the country. It feels good to use our expertise in making a difference in people’s lives. We hope to continue the same in coming years”.

On receiving the shipment, Christ Faith Home, Chennai stated “With gratitude budding from the very inch of our hearts, we would like to thank Vamaship for their generous contributions of long and small size ruled notebooks which are indeed a great support to our school going children. Kindhearted people like you make it possible for us to continue to serve these needy ones. On seeing your good doings to our children God of Love will bless you and your team members in all walks of life with immense grace and multiplied blessings. Once again on behalf of the management we thank Vamaship wholeheartedly for their generosity”

On receiving the shipment, Vatsalya Vruddhashram, Nashik commented, “We would like to wholeheartedly thank BVC Foundation and Vamaship for showering us with such love and affection. The support extended by the organization will give a new lease of life to the old age citizens. Such little gestures gives a ray of hope and optimism to the elderly. It also encourages us to continue our efforts in serving them“

Mouser Electronics and Grant Imahara Unveils “Shaping Smarter Cities” Video Series

Mouser Electronics Inc. is teaming up with celebrity engineer Grant Imahara for the Shaping Smarter Cities project, the newest series in the successful Empowering Innovation Together program.

The exciting series features five videos that showcase engineers and companies from around the world that are working to make cities more intelligent and resourceful through innovative smart technologies. The new series is supported by Mouser’s valued suppliers Analog Devices, Intel, Microchip Technology and Molex.

In the first Shaping Smarter Cities video, Imahara meets with WIRED Brand Lab host Michael Copeland in San Francisco to kick off the series. Together, they explore the challenges facing today’s growing cities and set the stage for how the series will unfold.

“Innovation is the true source for creating solutions to existing problems,” said Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics, a leading global distributor of the newest semiconductors and electronic components. “We look forward to seeing how engineers around the world are crafting solutions to problems that are unique to their locations, and then learning how these solutions can be applied to other cities as well.”

“It’s always exciting to be at the forefront of this type of critical discussion on what the cities of tomorrow will be like,” said Grant Imahara. “Engineers, by nature, are problem solvers, so I am excited to see what these engineers around the globe are doing to shape the smart cities of the future.”

The series will take viewers to cities in Portugal, Japan, and Southern California, covering regional challenges and the  fascinating new technologies developed to address them. Mouser and Imahara will explore how buses and city vehicles with connected access points and sensors are forming a mesh network that provides free Wi-Fi and massive amounts of data to help a city run more efficiently. The series then investigates how indoor farming could be the future of agriculture in dense cities, and follows up with how augmented reality can help engineers visualize and troubleshoot construction of a massive project before it’s even built.

Highlights of IT Technology Major Infosys Offices in India

· In fiscal 2017, three of Infosys’ buildings in Pune, Mysuru and Thiruvananthapuram were awarded the LEED India Platinum rating

· The Pune and Hyderabad STPI campuses were awarded the LEED EB platinum certification. The Hinjewadi campus in Pune was awarded the Platinum Certification under LEED EB O&M v.3 of the 2009 rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the largest campus in the world to have achieved this distinction.

·  Infosys now has 17 LEED platinum-rated buildings, two LEED EB platinum-rated campuses and four buildings with GRIHA 5-star rating making it to the total of 11.1 million sq. ft. of buildings with the highest level of green certification

·  In fiscal 2017, the per capita electricity consumption reduced by 2.88% taking the total per capita electricity consumption down by 51% compared to fiscal 2008. The company achieved its goal of ‘reducing per capita electricity consumption by 50% in fiscal 2018’ by fiscal 2017, one year ahead of the committed year

· Currently, over 20 million sq. ft. covering 91 buildings is monitored through the Central Command Center in Bengaluru and Mysuru.

·  During fiscal 2017, 118.90 million units of electricity was from renewable sources, which is about 44.6% of overall electricity requirements of their campuses in India

· Infosys is at the forefront when it comes to exploring the possibilities of solar energy, 17,572 MWh of electricity was generated from solar PV systems at Infosys’ campuses.  The company has installed 15.2 MW rooftop solar plants and ground -mount installations across our campuses in India.

·  Efforts in energy efficiency and the use of RE has helped the company reduce their carbon footprint by about 70% across their scope 1 and 2 emissions. As a part of their carbon neutrality commitment, Infosys is implementing carbon offset projects with the goal of offsetting our scope 3 emissions

· During the year, the company started three new carbon offset projects – a rural electrification project and two projects which involved distribution of high efficiency biomass cook stoves for households in rural areas. Together, they will generate approximately 50% of our carbon offset requirement in 2017-18.

·Infosys is working to achieve zero waste to landfill and 100% food waste treatment within their campuses. Currently 63% of the waste generated is treated in biogas plants.

·  The company has installed 9.25 TPD installed capacity of Biogas plants across our Mysuru, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Pune, Mangaluru and Bhubaneshwar campuses. In addition to the biogas plants, Infosys also has 3.1 TPD installed capacity of composting plants in our Mysuru, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru campuses

·  Infosys’ water conservation strategy encompasses action to reduce recycle and reuse. In fiscal 2017, Infosys reduced per capita water consumption by 8.33% over the last year.  The company’s data-driven approach and water efficient fixtures have decreased the  per capita water consumption by 46% since 2008

·  Infosys’ harvest rainwater in all their campuses and have constructed 270 deep-injection wells and 25 lakes for recharging groundwater with the harvested rainwater. The company’s goal is to harvest 100% roof top rainwater from all their buildings and use it for consumption after treatment

· The innovative smart water metering program enables Infosys to monitor all water consumption online on a continuous basis and eliminate water wastage significantly.