Unity Technologies Unveils Sneak Peek of Latest Innovations Powering Unity 2018: The Next Generation of Real-Time Development

Unity Technologies creator of the world’s leading real-time development platform, today released a sneak peek at “Book of the Dead,” which demonstrates the power of real-time rendering on Unity. Making extensive use of Unity’s powerful new rendering system, the Scriptable Render Pipeline, “Book of the Dead” shows how developers can take total control of the rendering process to achieve a level of detail and visual fidelity made possible by Unity in 2018.

“Forests are amazing; they can be mysterious, dangerous, and breathtakingly beautiful. Achieving the feelings a forest evokes is one of the hardest challenges when working within real-time graphics. We set out to tackle this with ‘Book of the Dead’ to see how much a small team like ours could accomplish working within Unity,” said Veselin Efremov, Creative Director, Unity Technologies. “Seeking out challenges like this helps Unity to evolve and advance. We use new features when they’re introduced early in their development cycle, and we partner closely with our tech teams to push new features to their limits, so that the innovations we uncover together will make a better product for our developers. When a demo is done, we know that the engine has achieved new functionality; and we are excited to see developers use this tech for their next creations."

Built using Unity 2018’s Scriptable Render Pipeline, Progressive Lightmapper, and Post-Processing Stack, the sneak peek at “Book of the Dead” gives viewers a look at the first-person interactive experience being played in real-time, targeting the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system. The story unfolds in two parallel timelines, and as the audience views the scattered memories of our protagonist, they discover there's more to her story than she is willing to tell. More information on how “Book of the Dead” came to life can be found on the website.

Sneak Peek at Unity 2018 - Delivering New Innovations to Advanced Developers

The release of Unity 2017.3 in December completed a year-long cycle which delivered tools such as Timeline and Cinemachine, empowering teams of artists and developers to do more together. Unity 2018 will build on this foundation to give advanced developers and engineers control of new features such as the Scriptable Render Pipeline and the C# Job System, the first versions of two major features that will continue to evolve to help unlock beautiful graphics and increase runtime performance on Unity. Key highlights include:

●     Scriptable Render Pipeline: Unleash the Power of Modern Hardware Without the Burden of Building a New Engine -Unity 2018 places total control of a powerful new rendering process in the hands of advanced developers. The Scriptable Render Pipeline is a combination of power and ease - developers now have the freedom to control the rendering engine at a fine-grained level without the complexities of writing a complete rendering pipeline - leading to an increase in graphics quality and gameplay performance in AAA console, PC, and mobile.

●        C# Job System - A New Coding System That Unlocks Major Performance Increases - The C# Job System is a new high-performance multithreaded system that makes it possible to take advantage of multi-core processors without the heavy programming headache. Combined with a new programming model (Entity Component System), it enables developers to optimize creations for major increases in performance. Developers can add more effects and complexity to their games, or use that horsepower to add complex AI, to make rich worlds that immerse gamers.

Unity brings the world’s best talent together with the goal of making Unity 2018 the best choice for all creators - from AAA studios and solo developers to indie studios and more. Unity has hired engineers and artists from renowned studios such as Insomniac, Bungie, and Naughty Dog are building the foundation alongside a team of more than 1,000 engineers that are making their breakthroughs available to all developers around the world. Games and experiences made with Unity have reached more than 3 billion devices worldwide in 2017 and were installed more than 20 billion times in the last 12 months.

Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Partners with Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket for 15% Market Share by 2018

Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved is India’s fastest-growing consumer products brand and has unnerved its competitors with the skyrocketing sales of its products. After giving a tough competition to multiple Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giants in India’s domestic market, Patanjali Ayurved is believed to be in talks with Amazon, Flipkart, and BigBasket, among others for partnerships that will boost its sales on the internet.

Baba Ramdev during his company’s annual press conference on May 4 in New Delhi had said that this year, the company would focus on e-commerce as one of the growth drivers. Though Patanjali has its online presence on its site www.patanjaliayurved.net, the company wishes to reach a wider audience and spread its reach with the help of e-commerce giants in the market.

Acharya Balkrishna, a close aide of the Baba Ramdev has left no stone unturned to make Patanjali products a huge hit in Indian market and in markets abroad. 

Patanjali plans to open exclusive stores online on each of these platforms. “We are working on those lines, but it’s not yet finalised,” Balkrishna informed. Balkrishna, who has over 50,000 followers to his Twitter handlealong with Ramdev have their major contribution in the success of Patanjali. Balkrishna said, “Ecommerce is becoming an important channel, and we don’t want to miss the opportunity to address customer’s needs online. We will work on the logistics and make the experience better for our customers.”

Patanjali’s plan of overseas expansion is in line with the government’s Act East policy. The policy emphasises ties with India’s immediate neighbourhood and in the Asia-Pacific. Patanjali has already set up its production units in Nepal and Bangladesh and it is the first time Patanjali is reaching out to consumers from East Asian countries.

Growing at a rapid speed, Patanjali’s overall turnover in the financial year 2016-17 stood at Rs 10, 561 crore. Out of the total profit earned, Ramdev said Patanjali Ayurved alone accounted for Rs 9,346 crore and Divya Pharmacy Rs 870 crore. With this, Ramdev’s Patanjali group has become the third-largest FMCG player in the country which has conveniently surpassed other major competitive firms like Nestlé India (Rs 9,159 crore) and Godrej Consumer (Rs 9,134 crore) and Dabur (Rs 7691 crore).

While announcing the company’s turnover earlier this month, Ramdev said that in India, FMCG has meant MNCs so far. “We at Patanjali have broken that monopoly,” We are not a corporate house. Our products have no chemicals and are priced at ranges that are affordable to people”, he added. The yoga practitioner said that the company will create more entrepreneurs and shall have a distributor’s network of 6,000 now.

Enterprise Collaboration App DingTalk Introduces English Version Aimed at Improving Workforce Productivity for SMEs

DingTalk, a professional office application for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has unveiled an English version of the app. A product by the Alibaba Group, the app aims to enhance communication and redefine organisational collaboration for small and medium-sized enterprises that prefer to correspond in English. Over 5 million enterprises and organizations in China are already using the Chinese version. 

Equipped with cutting edge technology, DingTalk is a revolutionary platform providing SMEs with a simple, efficient and secure platform for collaboration. Currently available on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows operating systems, DingTalk offers organizational-centric functions and features aimed at improving business-to-bu

siness communication and collaboration:

•       Unified Communications – supports audio, video and/or conference calls for up to 3,000 parties in a single call; integrated emails, chats and message reminder features; voice and video services are currently only available via VoIP for users outside of China

•       Office Automation – allows businesses to manage attendance, make approvals, maintain business reports, send files of up to 700MB in size;

•       Internal and External Collaboration – businesses can book and host meetings, manage CRM information, create tasks and service tickets, set up private chat and more;

•       Open Platform – allows third party SaaS applications and services to be integrated with DingTalk and provide an enterprise service ecosystem for SMEs.

•       ISO security certification – Dingtalk is one of the first Chinese apps to have obtained the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard, a globally recognized data security benchmark. That means data is encrypted at SSL/TLS security standards to provide high-level communications protection.

Speaking on the launch of the English version of DingTalk at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Chris Wang, Head of Global Business Development for DingTalk said, “Our endeavour is to empower SMEs so they can scale and become part of the global marketplace. Technology is a powerful tool to help businesses enhance operations, and function smoothly. With DingTalk, we will enable organizations to seamlessly communicate and collaborate across locations, thereby increasing productivity. We believe that this is the future of the workplace, and we see immense potential in helping businesses redefine their organizational connectivity.”

Currently, DingTalk serves businesses across sectors such as e-commerce, manufacturing, education and finance, providing them with a growing slate of business-centric functions. The goal is to create an effective platform which is mobile-optimized while offering cloud-based corporate solutions and freeing companies from the costs of building or buying software and maintaining their own servers for business communications, workflow management, and data storage.

Singapore-Based Kaira Global Enters the Indian IT Distribution Market

Kaira Global, a leading IT distribution house in Singapore, today announced its entry into the Indian IT distribution market. With more than 13 years of expertise in IT supply chain, spread across 6 countries, Kaira Global caters to a wide range of end-users from SME, Education and Government agencies, to online and large format retailers.

“Regular availability of stocks across a broad range of consumer and corporate products, efficiency in logistics, and value added services for our channel and retail partners, has given us a unique position in IT supply chains of the countries we operate in.  The IT distribution market in India has consolidated and GST implementation has opened up tremendous opportunities for us to scale-up operations. We will start with a focus on retail products, adapting, learning & improvising as we expand our teams as well as our reach,” said Manoj Attal, Director at Kaira Global.

Kaira Global has come a long way in a relatively short timeframe. Since inception in Singapore in 2003, Kaira Global has evolved from basic IT distribution to being an IT specialist & consultant for its customer base. Prior to its debut in India, Kaira Global has grown organically across markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa to name a few. This exposure to a variety of international markets, gives Kaira Global a unique edge in bringing their acquired experience and brand connections to India.

“Our expertise will enable our partners to create what we call an ‘experiential shopping’ experience.  I am sure channel partners & brands are also looking for focused distributors, a connection which most of the large players do not provide. Kaira Global will be their one-stop destination,” he further added.

Kaira Global is committed to bring the best brands, provide effective marketing and provide technical support to their customers. They focus on micro distribution and serve as a vital link between the brands and customers. Though they remain international in their outlook, the focus will always be on local teams to serve customers in India.

OMRON, Indian Medical Association and Heart Care Foundation of India Partner to Address Hypertension

Moving ahead with its vision “Healthcare @ Home”, Omron Healthcare India, the leader in digital BP monitoring segment, has joined hands with Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) to create awareness among the masses and healthcare professions about the need for regular monitoring of blood pressure at home.

According to various studies, one-third of India’s population suffers from Hypertension and more than 60 % of them are still unaware of it. “Indicated as one of the key lifestyle diseases, it is well evident that Hypertension leads to life-threatening cardio-vascular disorders if not treated well. Despite the whopping numbers, very few Hypertensive patients use BP monitors for regular monitoring at home which is a grim and scary picture. Omron aims to contribute to the challenge by partnering with the right stakeholders who are looked upon as trustworthy associates by the masses as well as medical practitioners to propagate the importance of blood pressure monitoring as a key part of the overall management of the malady” says Kazunori Tokura, Managing Director, Omron Healthcare India.

The initiative has already started working in this regard by rolling-out many joint activities pan India such as organising health camps providing a platform for holding dialogues with the medical fraternity, on the myths prevailing around home BP monitoring, and free check-ups; disseminating mass communication on the importance of managing blood pressure as one of key vitals for almost all non-communicable diseases and substantiating the utility and efficacy of digital home BP monitors, etc.

Giving more insights, Dr. Ravi Wankhedkar, National President, IMA and Dr KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India reiterated that Hypertension is one of the most significant silent killer amongst Indians. “The association with Omron is another significant step which IMA and HCFI have taken as the only representative voluntary organizations of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine to contribute towards the well-being of the community by promoting the utility of advanced medical and allied sciences/ technologies.”

Expected to rise at the rate of 20-40%, the number of hypertensive people is expected to touch 214 million by 2030 or so. Another red flag is that this number comprises of only the detected patients; however there is huge number of subjects which go undetected. Studies conducted globally and in India also convey that home blood pressure monitoring has helped reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, in fact monitoring at home is just as accurate as in the doctor’s clinic.

IMA & HCFI suggest that blood pressure taken at home gives a more reliable representation of the blood pressure over time. By monitoring blood pressure, heart rate and heart rhythm at home regularly, in conjunction with regular doctor visits, one can consistently get an accurate picture of heart’s health.

Vodafone’s Cloud-Based End-Point Security Suite Now Partners with Trend Micro in India

Vodafone Super Shield is a complete end-point security suite that protects critical business data from a multitude of threats including malware attacks, ransom ware, spyware, phishing websites and data thefts etc. Super Shield is equipped with advanced enterprise grade features including USB port blocking, URL filtering and full disk encryption on Windows. Backed by Trend Micro’s Cloud based Global Smart Protection Network, it proactively identifies and blocks new and existing threats before they impact the devices.

Users of Vodafone Super Shield can receive updates real-time on the cloud platform, thus eliminating the need for servers or complex IT infrastructure to manage the deployment. Its admin management feature is accessible anytime, anywhere from the URL-based admin console.

Super Shield is designed to protect devices across platforms and devices including Windows PCs, MacBooks, Windows Servers as well as Android and iOS mobile platforms. It lets customers manage their users and licenses online, grant and revoke access, and generate reports and dashboards.

Anil Philip, Senior Vice President, Vodafone Business Services said, “With businesses getting exponentially digital and online, data and information security is of critical importance. Vodafone Super Shield is designed to make enterprise grade data security in a simple, affordable and worry free way.”

Nilesh Jain, Country Manager India & SAARC, Trend Micro commented on the partnership,“With ever-growing security risks and a complex IT environment, it is important to find a flexible, customizable, easy-to-manage solution suitable for businesses. We are glad to partner and collaborate with Vodafone in helping secure Enterprises and SMB customers that are looking for flexible security deployment options. Our end point security offering will greatly help achieve that. It would offer a multi-dimensional advanced threat protection, and consolidated view across all layers of security and all deployment models.”

Vodafone Super Shield is available on its completely online automated marketplace Vodafone CloudStore (www.cloud.vodafone.in) at an affordable price of Rs. 99 per user per month or Rs. 999 per user for 12 months. Customers  can buy it online and opt for simple, flexible payment options and manage their users and licenses online. Vodafone also extends dedicated Account management, Relationship management and Cloud Support infrastructure that helps with  onboarding and in-life support.

Hitachi Vantara Wins IoT Breakthrough Award for IoT Innovation

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., has announced that Hitachi’s Lumada IoT platform has been awarded a 2018 IoT Innovation Award for Enterprise Solution of the Year by IoT Breakthrough.

The IoT Breakthrough Awards program recognizes innovative technologies and exemplary companies that are driving innovation in the internet of things (IoT) market. This year’s program attracted more than 3,000 nominations globally in a broad range of categories, including industrial and enterprise IoT, smart city, connected home and home automation, connected car and more. All award nominations were reviewed and evaluated by an independent panel of IoT industry experts, with the highest scored nominee being named the winner in each category.

Data is now generated faster than ever before as increasing numbers of devices and purpose-built business and industrial machinery are connected to the internet. Many enterprises face a formidable, three-pronged challenge: they must manage and analyze the volume, variety and complexity of data generated from disparate sources, both at the edge and in the core, and then extract insight and generate business value. It was with these challenges in mind that Hitachi developed Lumada.

“At the core of the explosive growth of IoT technology across the globe is a mountain of data that manifests a prime opportunity for businesses to access critical information to improve their services and products,” said James Johnson, managing director, IoT Breakthrough. “Hitachi’s Lumada IoT platform provides a comprehensive solution that helps enterprises address the challenge of managing and analyzing IoT data and their connected assets. We are thrilled to recognize the success of Hitachi’s efforts with the 2018 IoT Breakthrough Award for Enterprise IoT Solution of the Year.”

Lumada helps enterprise and industrial customers blend human, machine and IT data to gain a 360-degree view of their operations and connected assets and support more intelligent decision-making and better business outcomes. It can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud or in hybrid environments. Its modular and highly adaptable architecture enables it to easily complement customers’ existing data infrastructure investments and IT environments. Lumada provides a simple way to help enterprise and industrial customers to more rapidly put their business and operational data to work, achieve deeper insights and realize the full potential of IoT solutions.

“Hitachi is honored to be recognized by IoT Breakthrough with the IoT Innovation Award for Enterprise Solution of the Year and we congratulate our fellow winners,” said Brad Surak, chief product and strategy officer at Hitachi Vantara. “The many breakthrough capabilities of the Lumada platform wouldn’t be possible without the learnings and insights gained in co-creating IoT solutions with our customers. They are the true trailblazers of the IoT era and we are privileged to be partnering with them to develop data-driven solutions that are changing the way their businesses – and the world – works.”