Avaya Holdings Corp. has introduced a new version of the Avaya Workforce Optimization suite, which improves service quality, operational and employee productivity and data privacy with a series of new features and tools. This major software release helps companies transform customer engagement and comply with existing and emerging industry regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
IDC research commissioned by Avaya found that employee productivity is a key driver of digital transformation - a necessary step that sets the groundwork through which enterprises are better prepared to achieve the higher revenue growth associated with a better customer experience. While optimizing the customer experience and service delivery is critical to winning and keeping business, only 28 percent of companies believe they integrate customer communications with fulfillment and delivery extremely well.
“While more and more companies understand that providing a great customer experience is good business, many have a long way to go to bringing all the parts together that make that a reality,” said Chris McGugan, Avaya SVP, Solutions and Technologies. “Customer experience is a function of fully integrated, customer-facing, efficient and effective workforce support and back office processes. Avaya Workforce Optimization helps ensure that the employees engaged in service delivery meet the standard of excellence that customers expect and deserve, and helps drive business profitability and growth.”
Avaya Workforce Optimization also addresses a key concern of enterprises and customers around the world today: securing personal data and keeping it private. Driven by the European GDPR requirements, Avaya strengthened data privacy with the newest features to help securely record, process, archive, and protect customers’ personal data to reach compliance goals.
Other notable features included in the latest Avaya Workforce Optimization release enable enterprises to:
Improve operational effectiveness and accuracy with real-time speech analytics – Calls can be monitored in real-time to detect words and phrases of interest and to drive interactions to better outcomes.
Improve customer and employee satisfaction – Supervisors and quality managers become better coaches and improve employee engagement through automated quality management, speeding scoring for some or all questions on evaluation forms.
Improve data privacy and regulatory compliance – Enterprises can safely record, archive and protect personal data through advanced, 256-compliant encryption, Payment Card Industry Security (PCI), data identification and tagging and identify consent/no consent situations to help ensure GDPR compliance.
“Our quality assurance staff can now quickly adjust to customer needs,” said Michael Lazarus, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Manager, HomeChoice. “If people struggle to access something on our website or think that a feature is not user-friendly, we hear about it immediately from calls, surveys, and quality assurance scores, and can start to implement the desired changes straightaway. Because we are able to provide better service, our customers are even more satisfied than before.”
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), part of the USD 19 billion Mahindra Group, has signed a Preferred Financier agreement with South Indian Bank. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will enable Mahindra customers to avail vehicle finance from any of the branches of the Bank.
The MoU was signed by Amit Sagar, Vice President – Sales, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Sanchay Kumar Sinha, Country Head, Retail Banking Department, South Indian Bank in the presence of John C.A., DGM, RBD Sales, South Indian Bank and Naveen Bathla, GM, Channel Finance & DBD, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
The tie-up will enable both Mahindra and South Indian Bank to leverage on the inherent strengths of each other’s vast Pan India network. Mahindra has a network of over 1800 outlets and South Indian Bank has 855+ Branches.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanchay Kumar Sinha, Country Head, Retail Banking Department, South Indian Bank said, “South Indian Bank is expanding its operations in vehicle financing. It has been making niche offerings to its customers and this arrangement with Mahindra will be one such special initiative. Customers of South Indian Bank will benefit from this tie-up since they will have privileged access to the specialized services of M&M.”
Speaking on the tie-up, Amit Sagar, Vice President - Sales, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “At Mahindra, we relentlessly look at options to provide the best finance schemes to our customers and give them the power of choice. This strategic partnership is a step in the same direction. South Indian Bank offers innovative products and services at affordable rates. With highly competitive schemes for car loans, we are hopeful of a good response from our dealers and customers”.
In a bid to promote international standards for vocational training in 45 skills across India, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India will organize IndiaSkills Regional Competition in Bangalore from June 21 to June 23, 2018. Anantkumar Hegde, Minister of State, MSDE, and other senior state officials will inaugurate the three-day event at BIEC - Premier International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore. The competition is designed to demonstrate the highest standards of skills in India and make vocational training aspiration for the youth in the country.
More than 300 competitors from 12 states and union territories (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh), will participate in this 3-day competition across 36 skills/trade ranging from Beauty Therapy and Aircraft Maintenance to Welding and Autobody Repair. For the first time, the event will also witness 20 competitors from Andaman & Nicobar Islands participating at IndiaSkills Competition. The event will begin with a grand inauguration ceremony, followed by skill competitions, exhibition and panel discussions on the subsequent days. Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony scheduled in the evening on 23rd June 2018. The winners from this competition will compete with the winners from other 3 regional competitions, at the National Skills Competition scheduled at New Delhi in August 2018.
Since April 2018, more than 500 competitors district and state level competitions have been organized across India. This year we have witnessed competitors from all segments of the society challenging conventional stereotypes across different sectors. For example, Nagma Sheikh from Gujarat came first in Brick Laying competition at the first regional competition in Jaipur last month. Similarly, Mohammad Adeeb Bha from Jammu & Kashmir will be the first ever male competitor in Beauty Therapy at IndiaSkills in Bangalore.
Commenting on the initiative, Jayant Krishna, ED & COO, NSDC said, “Skills form the backbone of all national missions. IndiaSkills competitions are designed with an objective to showcase the highest standards of skills in India and motivate youth to consider vocational education as a mainstream career option. The initiative will help us identify the best talent who could represent India at the WorldSkills International Competition and bring laurels to the country.”
The participants for the IndiaSkills Regional Competitions have been selected post a rigorous process at the district and state level competition organized by state and industry partners across the country. The winners from these competitions are competing in the four regional competitions organized at Jaipur, Lucknow, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar; followed by a National Competition in New Delhi in August 2018. The winners from these competitions will under undergo rigorous training, before they represent India at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan, Russia.
Jaguar Land Rover India has begun taking bookings of its luxurious and dynamic Range Rover SVAutobiography and Range Rover Sport SVR. Both these vehicles have received upgrades from the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) team, thus enhancing their performance and feature quotient.
Rohit Suri, President & Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover India Ltd. (JLRIL), said, “The SVO’s additions have elevated the performance of Range Rover Sport SVR while enhancing the luxury quotient of the Range Rover SVAutobiography. The brilliance of SVO is reflective in the offerings of both SUVs that reinforce Land Rover’s legacy of excellence in style.”
The Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest and most capable Land Rover SUV. For 2018, the enhancements to the Range Rover Sport SVR include an uprated 5.0 l V8 supercharged powertrain with 423 kW and a 0-100 km/h time of just 4.5 s. In addition, the engineers at SVO focused on controlling pitch under heavy acceleration and braking, and changes to the damping hardware have improved turn-in, mid-corner grip and body control.
Other highlight changes include a carbon fibre bonnet as standard with the option of an exposed one, a revised front bumper for enhanced cooling and braking and new lightweight SVR Performance seats.
Its sibling, the new Range Rover SVAutobiography enables peerless tranquility through elegant craftsmanship and resourceful technology. The Range Rover SVAutobiography is available in Standard Wheelbase (of 2.92 m) Dynamic form with 416 kW. The Range Rover SVAutobiography Long Wheelbase (of 3.12 m) is offered with 250 kW and 416 kW options and adds sizable value to the gracefully designed exteriors.
Standard on the SVAutobiography is rear Executive Class-Comfort seating with a power deployable centre console with premium veneer finishers and a multitude of seating variations including 24-way ‘Hot-Stone’ massage seats in the front. Amidst the car’s exhaustive portfolio of convenient features are Power Close rear doors, a concealed refrigerator, Pixel-Laser LED headlights with Signature DRLs and a Meridian Signature sound system.
The SVAutobiography gets body-coloured side vent graphics that are punctuated by Bright Chrome inserts, with Bright Chrome door handle surrounds and tailgate finisher. Unique 53.34 cm (21) and 55.88 cm (22) wheel choices complete the luxury design.
Designed for luxury performance, the SVAutobiography Dynamic has a tuned chassis, steering, exhaust and suspension and sits 8 mm lower than a standard Range Rover. Unique Graphite Atlas accents, distinctive Red Land Rover branded brake calipers and exclusive 53.34 cm (21) wheels add to the performance appeal of the vehicle.
Land Rover Product Portfolio in India
The Land Rover range in India includes the Discovery Sport (starting at ₹ 43.80 Lakh), Range Rover Evoque (starting at ₹ 51.83 Lakh), All-New Discovery (starting at ₹ 71.38 Lakh), the New Range Rover Velar (starting at ₹ 80.92 Lakh), Range Rover Sport (starting at ₹ 99.48 Lakh) and Range Rover (starting at ₹ 174.29 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.
Land Rover Retailer Network in India
Land Rover vehicles are available in India through 27 authorised outlets in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Karnal, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Pune, Raipur, Surat and Vijayawada.
IBSFINtech India, a leading provider of comprehensive, innovative & integrated Corporate Treasury Management solutions announces its first international client acquisition Swiss trading company IMR Metallurgical Resources for efficient management of their treasury operations.
Swiss trading company, IMR Metallurgical Resources AG (IMR) is an international trading company based in Switzerland involved in the global trading, marketing and financing of a wide variety of bulk commodities like steam and coking coals, iron ore, chrome ore, and iron and steel products.
Sharing more on the international expansion, the company is achieving exponential growth on year on year basis. To further fuel the growth, the company is expanding operations in Europe, APAC, MENA, and US region, with plans to have local presence across the globe by 2020. With this first international deal, the company is setting foot in the global market in this FY and expects to generate revenue of at least 1Mn USD from foreign exchange in this year.
The company takes pride in being an only Indian company to offer Comprehensive Treasury and Trade Finance Solutions which is otherwise dominated by globally established players.
It manages more than $20BN treasury market in India. IBSFINtech also offers trade finance product for corporates where it helps manage foreign currency risks, commodity trading risks and optimise returns on investments. It also manages letter of credit, and bank guarantees for importers and exporters. Most importantly it is sector-agnostic, having proven its mettle time and again with successful implementations at corporates across verticals.
According to McKinsey, the market potential of corporate treasury, B2B payments and cash flows is $135 trillion globally. Organisations across the globe are increasingly looking for an accurate measurement of risk and incorporating automation as an inherent process in treasury management.
IBSFINtech’s MD &CEO, C M Grover, exuberantly shared his thoughts on winning the first international contract, “We are glad that IMR selected our product and gave us the opportunity to enable treasury automation for their esteemed organization. With this deal, we have kick-started our journey for taking our product global.”
He further adds, “In next few years, we foresee IBSFINtech as leading the FinTech industry, with core focus on Integrated Treasury & Trade Finance Management solutions, in India as well as globally!”
TCS iON, a strategic unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced the launch of ‘Life Long Learning’- a series of digital learning products to foster a culture of continuous learning across age groups. The aim is to inculcate a continuous learning mind-set amongst students and professionals by augmenting their knowledge with clear, impactful analytics. TCS iON in association with schools, higher education institutions and industry experts will empower learners with access to these learning products on the cloud. (https://learning.tcsionhub.in/LLL)
TCS iON ‘Life Long Learning’s’ digital products will help students from K-12 and higher education as well as working professionals to consume content in a self-paced, engaging, multi-dimensional format with deep focus on the outcome delivery. The personalized diagnostic analytics provides feedback on specific areas for improvement. This one-stop platform eliminates all traditional boundaries by enabling learners’ to remotely access this network of subject matter experts, peers, faculty and mentors.
These learning products are designed with a series of community based learning content and assessments facilitated by assisted analytics. The integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) engine helps to deliver contextual analytics for continuous self-improvement. The industry SME participation makes the entire process of learning more relevant.
Speaking on the digital launch event, Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head of TCS iON said, TCS iON’s ‘Life Long Learning’ will help learners to revitalize and reinvent every phase of their life and shape their future. Our intent is to make learning addictive. These innovatively structured learning products opens up new possibilities and also augments new age practices to the current class-room learning to create an engaging experience.”
“We are living in a fast-paced world where learners are digital natives and are exposed to manifold content enabling them to meet their needs at the tap of their fingers. While India is still at a very nascent stage at adapting digital learning technologies, TCS iON’s ‘Life Long Learning’ platform will act as a key enabler. Phygital access to appropriate content is the need of the hour to meet demands of Gen’Z’ and be relevant at every stage of life”, Mr Ramaswamy added.
The essence of the various “Life Long Learning” products from TCS iON across different segments:
K-12:
· Sharpener: Understands the mental impression of the student on a subject-topic and provides personalized recommendations to improve
· IntelliGem: A contest for students to develop, learn and demonstrate their skills they have learnt beyond academic curriculum. Eg. 21st century skills
· Prep4Exam: A range of online practice exams with deep analytics for 11th and 12th grade students aspiring to succeed in competitive exams
Higher Education:
· GuruCool: Offers a student to interact with renowned authors/ professors/ subject matter experts, peers to augment their classroom learning and enhance their outcome
· Blaze: Offers a learner to learn under the mentorship of an industry expert, understand the trending practices and prepare themselves to be industry ready
· Cert-n-Edge: Certifies students on trending topics and vocational skills to give an edge in their job prospects by listing them with key corporate recruiters
Working Professionals:
· Prep4Job: Assesses students’ preparedness for recruitment exams in various industries like Banking, Manufacturing, Government, Corporates etc and provides personalized feedback
· Qualifier: A proctored 2 stage assessment that enables students to showcase their talent to global corporations, helping them secure their dream job
· ProCert: Gives credence to an experienced professional for prior expertise in specific domains through a proctored 2-stage assessment and makes their profile listed with key corporate recruiters
India’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services has opened its new delivery centre in Suresnes, France.
The delivery centre, which is located in the Parisian region, can accommodate up to 230 employees, TCS said in a statement.
Along with TCS’ existing locations in Lille and Poitiers, the new delivery centre highlights the company’s growing focus on the region as IT services firms look beyond US to grow their revenues. Europe is one of the fastest-growing regions for TCS.
Rammohan Gourneni, TCS France Country Head, said, “The region stands at an incredibly exciting point in technological history, and as Europe’s third largest IT services market we are perfectly placed to ensure TCS’ innovative solutions can help French businesses grow and transform in the Business 4.0 era. ” The launch of “Paris DC” follows the French government’s huge investment into digital technology, with President Emmanuel Macron recently outlining his strategy to invest €1.5 billion into AI over the next four years.
“As TCS celebrates 50 years of operations and 25 years of presence in France, the opening of this delivery centre marks a new step in our development in this strategic market,” said Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and Managing Director, TCS.
Since establishing operations in France in 1992, TCS has gone from strength to strength in the region.
In 2006, TCS acquired its then representative and exclusive partner in France, TKS. The acquisition laid the foundation for TCS’ long-term strategic growth into Europe’s third largest IT services market, and was followed by the opening of a first delivery centre in Lille in 2012, the acquisition of Alti in 2013, and the opening of second delivery centre in 2014 in Poitiers.
In two years, TCS doubled the number of employees at this centre.
Over the past five years, TCS’ growth in France has been strengthened by the development of the business sector, and the signing of major contracts with French multi-national customers.
For example, TCS and BNP Paribas Securities Services partnered to build a solution for the asset servicing sector with TCS’ blockchain Quartz technology.
