BSNL and SAP Unite to Boost GST Accessibility in Rural India; Sign MoU to Bring Together Respective Capabilities as GSP and ASP

State run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and SAP SE has announced signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to jointly offer innovative GST solutions to enterprises across India. The collaboration leverages the capabilities of BSNL as GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) and SAP as Application Service Provider (ASP).

BSNL, through its network of appx 115 million customer base currently connecting 646 districts, 4519cities/towns & 6.25 lakhs villages across India, will provide enhanced accessibility to companies of all sizes, specifically SMEs, to create, consolidate and file GST Returns through SAP’s ASP solution in an easy, secure and smooth manner. The alliance will thus help realize the full potential of GST on the back of BSNL’s country-wide reach and SAP’s expertise in providing robust technology offerings.

“As an intrinsic part of the Government’s Digital India initiative, we see GST as an important tool in the process for nation building,” said Shri Anupam Srivastava, Chairman & Managing Director BSNL. “Our mission is to ensure that every business in every town & village in the nation successfully adopts GST. Our partnership with SAP is to augment this commitment, and our collective objective is to simplify GST to create a conducive environment that will enable Digital growth.”

“As we complete nearly a year since implementation of GST, the nation’s indirect tax system has streamlined considerably,” said Hemant Dabke, Vice President – Strategic Industries, SAP Indian Subcontinent. “Our collaboration with BSNL is a step further in our continued efforts at fast-tracking GST compliance in the country and will extend this success to tier II& tier III markets of the country.”

Everest Group Names Genpact a Leader and Star Performer in Supply Chain Management

Everest Group, a leading consulting and research firm, has named Genpact , a global professional services firm focused on delivering digital transformation, as a leader and star performer in supply chain management.

Everest Group’s 2018 Supply Chain Management Service Provider Landscape with PEAK Matrix Assessment evaluates 11 service providers, and ranks Genpact as one of only two leaders and star performers. The report highlights Genpact’s strong domain expertise, focus on innovation, and advanced technology offerings as key strengths. Everest Group cites Genpact’s investments in building next-generation solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cognitive computing, cloud, and analytics, both via enhancements to its AI-based Genpact Cora platform, and through acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

“Genpact helps its clients achieve significant transformative results from their supply chain management operations to enable growth,” said Katrina Menzigian, vice president, Everest Group. “We see Genpact as having key strengths in domain expertise and innovation. Further, Genpact’s clients feel they benefit from a portfolio of strong technology offerings and a proactive client engagement model.”

Transformation for enterprise-wide impact

Supply chain transformation is a key enterprise initiative for growth, and companies need operations that drive speed and flexibly to respond to fluctuating demand levels and market changes. Companies are shifting from tactical, activity-based re-engineering to more strategic, end-to-end transformation, including developing centers of excellence for activities like supply, demand, and sales and operations planning. 

For example, Genpact helped a consumer packaged goods (CPG) market leader transform its supply chain operations to respond to customers faster, free up working capital by 12 percent to reinvest in growth, and increase planning productivity by 65 percent. With Intelligent Supply Chain Automation Index, powered by Genpact Cora, the CPG company made decisions faster, and completed planning cycles in less than an hour compared to previously taking more than a week. Genpact also helped automate and integrate multiple planning roles (such as demand, supply, production, material, etc.) into single enterprise-wide functions.

In addition, a leading foods manufacturer identified more than $150 million to invest in marketing and growth, after initially struggling with integrating operations from a large merger. Genpact helped the company reimagine its entire global supply chain operations, consolidating distributed and fractional roles at numerous business entities around the world into more productive, streamlined operational hubs. New standardized processes also eliminated redundant and duplicate activities, with automation through digital technologies and advanced analytics driving greater efficiencies.

“With increasingly more complex supply chains, visibility, agility, and responsiveness are critical for companies to compete,” said Shantanu Ghosh, business leader, CFO and Transformation Services, 

Genpact. “Everest Group’s ranking underscores our co-innovation with clients to transform their operations and enable growth. Our investments in domain, advanced analytics, digital technology, and design thinking – as well as our global centers of excellence in planning, order management, master data management, and other areas – have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of business impact.”

ACER Adds Another ‘Exclusive Store’ at Kalyan Nagar for Retail Expansion in Bengaluru

ACER, one of the leading consumer electronics brand in India, announced the expansion of its retail presence in India with the inauguration of another Exclusive Store in Bengaluru, in partnership with 5 Computers. The new store is located on 7th main, 80 Ft road, Stage 1, HRBR Layout, Kammanahalli, Bengaluru – 560043.

Having achieved a stronghold in retail, Acer’s ongoing penetration through the length and breadth of the country to address the varied computing needs of its customers, is one of its top priorities. The new store located at one of the hottest spots in Bengaluru will provide a new destination for people to not just buy Acer’s gamut of products, but also to learn about and be inspired by the latest technology.

Addressing the launch, Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO and Consumer Business Head, Acer India says, “We are elated to announce the launch of our new flagship store in Bengaluru. This city has always been a very important market for us, and this makes it all the more essential to have a complete reach across the map of the city. We think we've struck a chord with our remarkable products by combining cutting - edge technology and outstanding service that has people coming back for more every day.”

This new store is a testimony to Acer’s commitment to their customers and partners and their endeavor to offer an enhanced experience and the widest range of products and services. The store will also display the world-renowned Predator gaming series for customers to experience and buy. It’s part of a drive to create and provide a 360-degree customer experience and retail stores are an important channel for Acer to deliver on that customer promise.

Design and innovation are at the core of Acer’s DNA. Its new store provides a single location where consumers can truly discover, try and buy Acer products with expert technical and product advice. Acer which currently has retail stores across India, aims to further strengthen its customer connect across the region.

SBI Card Collaborates with NSDC to Support Skill India Mission to Train of 1000 Candidates

SBI Card in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and NSDF formally launched their second skill development project today in the national capital region. Earlier this year, SBI Card had signed an MoU with NSDC for a project to train 1000 candidates in sectors such as BFSI, Retail and Green Jobs. The project has been formally launched  at Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra located on Mandir Marg, New Delhi. This training center will be dedicated to training 100 Solar PV installers. Candidates have already been mobilized from Karol Bagh, Sanjay Camp, Razabazar, Paharganj, Bapu Dham in Delhi for the program. Post the training, the candidates are expected to be placed in Kingson Solar, RITZ Enterprise, SRS Global, Solar Universe India, Ultimate Sun.

SBI Card had signed another MoU with NSDC last year to train 1000 candidates in key job roles such as Debt Recovery Agent, Mutual Fund Agent, Retail Sales Associate, BC, EMT & other healthcare sector job roles. This training program was successfully completed in March 2018 and 71 per cent placements were achieved for the trained candidates. Of these 50 per cent of the candidates were women. The successful candidates have been placed in Max Hospital, Rockland Hospital, Future Retail, Tata Business Support Services etc.

Speaking at the inauguration, Manish Kumar, MD and CEO of NSDC said, “We are glad to initiate this second phase of trainings and are confident that we will achieve the same success as last year. CSR activities have become an important agenda for corporates across India. CSR investment in skill training satisfies economic goals by contributing back to the society and empowering youth to earn a better livelihood. The Skill India Mission brings organizations, trainers and trainees on a single platform and helps leverage various synergies to benefit the country at large.”

Hardayal Prasad, MD & CEO, SBI Card said, “We are very pleased to continue our partnership with the Skill India Mission and are confident that the new Skill Development project will replicate the success of the first.  We believe education and skills development are instrumental for enhancing overall social wellness. We are strongly committed to bringing about meaningful social change through skills training for youth in various spheres.”

The quality of the centers has been given utmost importance in structuring this project. Additional steps have also been taken to make the training a value-add proposition for students: Trainees will be given custom-designed induction kits and even a generous travel allowance to make the training center affordable and accessible. Carefully selected training partners will undertake mobilization, counseling, training and job placement of the candidates. 

Over a short period of intense and thorough training, students will be taught an updated curriculum developed in conjunction with the relevant industry, with modules based on modern industrial practices and procedures. The unskilled, semi-skilled and uncertified trainees will be brought up to par, and then certified in line with national standards and guidelines, by the relevant national Sector Skill Council. 

KNOLSKAPE Opens Malaysia Office to Service Increasing Demand for its Learning and Assessments Platform

KNOLSKAPE, an end-to-end learning and assessments platform for accelerated employee development, has recently opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to support and service the increasing demand of new-age learning solutions for employee development needs. This move comes in light of key Malaysian companies across aviation, manufacturing, media, telecom, and other industries being brought into the KNOLSKAPE global client roster, along with several more in the pipeline.

Malaysian organizations are rapidly growing and expanding their businesses. As a result, they are moving away from the strategies they’ve traditionally deployed, and HR and L&D teams are increasingly seeking out new-age learning solutions to accelerate employee development and become major players in the global market. Realizing this need, the organization’s expansion into Malaysia seeks to provide local Malaysia-based consulting, program management and customer support services to customers.

“The decision to expand our direct presence in Malaysia was a logical step in our customer support and servicing strategy,” said Rajiv Jayaraman, Founder & CEO of KNOLSKAPE. “We have always had our sights set on Malaysia and have been seeing tremendous traction in the market. Having a team on-ground will ensure that we dive head-first into the Malaysian market and deliver the same superior experience as we do for our clients across other geographies. We also have the opportunity to further expand our ability to service current and future markets.”

Intuit Appoints Sanket Atal as VP and Managing Director of the India Development Center

Intuit Inc. has announced the appointment of Sanket Atal as Vice President and Managing Director of the India Development Center (IDC). Sanket will play a strategic role in Intuit’s mission of powering prosperity around the world, strengthen IDC’s position in India and ensure it is future ready to take advantage of game-changing opportunities. In this role, he will also be working closely with Vijay Anand who has expanded his role to lead Intuit’s Global Development Centers (GDC). 

Speaking on the announcement, Vijay Anand, Senior Vice President and Head – Intuit Global Development Centers said, “We’ve been in India with our Development Center for more than thirteen years and today it is a thriving microcosm of Intuit delivering end-to-end product outcomes and strategic capabilities with an ownership mindset. We have a robust and growing India leadership team and Sanket will be instrumental in driving the next chapter of growth for our India journey. He is a visionary leader with a passion for customer centricity, talent development, innovation and global growth.”

Over the last two years, Vijay Anand has supported Intuit’s Global Development Centers (GDCs). One of his key focus areas has been actively partnering with the team in Israel to grow the center, build a strong One Intuit culture and ensure long-term success in Israel. “Our Intuit GDCs are significantly growing in impact and we have a huge opportunity ahead to leverage the combined strength of our sites as we determine higher level vision and purpose for our global centers.’ Added Vijay Anand.

Sanket brings in a wealth of experience leading and growing global development centers. In his previous role with Oracle Corporation he was responsible for the R&D organization in Bangalore, NCR, Pune and St. Petersburg in Russia. He had founded the global program, Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator (OSCA) by establishing its first center in Bengaluru in April, 2016 and lead the expansion of the program to nine centers in seven countries and added a virtual accelerator program.

“I am very happy to be a part of a mission driven organization that continues to deliver customer driven innovation. The number of innovation awards and patents won by Intuit India is a testament to the capability of the1000 strong talented team.  I am excited to take IDC on its next stage of growth; leading with new technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence and data sciences that creates a powerful ecosystem for Intuit’s 46 million customers.

India provides a unique opportunity for us, especially with the emergence of IndiaStack to leverage the best from this thriving ecosystem to deliver cutting edge product innovation. I am confident that we will continue to achieve industry defining and company-first outcomes.  As well as renew our commitment of creating a workplace where we can do the best work of our lives” said Sanket Atal –Vice President and Managing Director, Intuit India Development Center on his recent appointment.

Sanket’s background is in Systems Engineering and has managed large organizations. He started his career in August of 1991 at Sequent Computer Systems on a joint project with Informix Corp.  He has been associated with industry stalwarts like Informix Corp, Oracle, CA Technologies and MakeMyTrip.com

Sanket holds an MBA from University of Oregon and an MS in Computer Science from University of Wisconsin, Madison. His undergraduate studies were at Cornell University where he studied Computer Science and Mathematics.

Subex Takes Home Three Pipeline Innovation Awards at Nice, France

Subex, a leading telecom analytics solution provider, has announced that it has been recognised by Pipeline publishing for innovation in three categories: Big Data & Analytics, Managed Services and Security & Assurance. The Award function was held at Nice, France on May 14, 2018.

The ‘Innovations in Big Data & Analytics’ award recognized the capabilities of Subex’s ROC Insights advanced analytics solution which helps organizations be data-driven through the democratization of data science. For the ‘Innovations in Managed Services’ award, Subex successfully showcased its Managed Services offering which helps CSPs globally to stay on the growth path while driving business outcomes and protecting revenues backed by strong domain, technology, and operational expertise.

In terms of the ‘Innovations in Security & Assurance’ category, Subex demonstrated how its IoT Security solution, Subex Secure, offers comprehensive IoT security coverage from real-time discovery and monitoring to response and recovery. The solution leverages a one-of-its-kind honeypot network that combines physical devices and device emulations to generate IoT / ICS signatures.

"Pipeline is happy to see Subex recognized by the 2018 Innovation Award judges for its ongoing innovation in Big Data and Analytics, Managed Services, and Security,” said Scott St. John, Managing Editor of Pipeline. “The Pipeline Innovation Awards are exclusively judged by a panel of technical executives from service provider and analyst companies, and this year included experts from Telenor, Singtel, Windstream, and Analysys Mason; which only further validates Subex’s continued innovation in these areas by key stakeholders in the industry and, in particular, by those that leverage innovative technology products to deliver the most advanced communications services around the world."

Vinod Kumar, CEO and Managing Director, Subex said, “It gives us great pride and honour to be recognised at the prestigious Pipeline Innovation Awards for our work in Analytics, Security and Managed Services. The Pipeline awards continue to be a fantastic platform for us to showcase our spirit of innovation and technical expertise, and the validation we have received signifies our commitment towards ensuring our customers a smooth digital transformation journey.”