Motherson Sumi Systems Limited, the flagship company of automotive ancillary giant Samvardhana Motherson Group has received the coveted AAA rating from India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra.) The outlook is stable. MSSL’s diversified customer base and product profile, strong track record of revenue growth and profits, ability to turnaround acquisitions, global manufacturing footprint and high ROCEs in key businesses, good liquidity across the consolidated profile were some of the key factors for receiving the rating.
Among other things, the rating factors in MSSL’s long-standing and deep relationships with key Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) globally; of the top 21 OEMs, the company has more than 20 years of relationship with 17 OEMs. The Group’s 3CX15 strategy to not have any component, customer or country contributing more than 15% to the business has ensured risk mitigation and steady growth.
On receiving the prestigious AAA rating, Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Samvardhana Motherson Group said, “We are proud and delighted with the ratings announcement. Customer satisfaction has been the cornerstone of what we do and the strategies we have followed have created value for all our stakeholders, internal and external. Our teams continue to excel and this is excellent validation for all their effort. The vision of becoming the Globally Preferred Solutions Provider continues to drive our passion to do better.”
Genetec Inc. ("Genetec"), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions today announced the new 'File Request' feature for its Genetec Clearance digital evidence management system. The feature is designed to make it easy for the general public and private businesses to contribute to crime-solving efforts by sharing relevant video and photos from their cell phones and surveillance systems with law enforcement agencies.
The new feature is simple to use: investigators create a file request link or QR code that can be shared with the public in a variety of ways such as via social media, on the web or on the news. Contributors can then upload videos, photos, and other evidence directly into Clearance for police officers, investigators and security managers to review and use as part of their investigation. Since Clearance can accept a wide variety of proprietary file types and file sizes, it is easy for private businesses to upload digital evidence from their surveillance systems even if they are very large files.
Once uploaded, all case information remains private and secure and user actions are tracked to maintain chain of custody. The Clearance File Request feature also eliminates the need to create multiple copies using insecure means like DVDs or thumb-drives, and saves personnel time from having to drive out to gather evidence.
"As we turn to our phones to capture life's events, and as video surveillance increases, so does the amount of digital evidence created by personal devices and private systems. For investigators, getting access to this evidence can be tricky, especially since large video files are difficult to share. With the new File Request feature in Genetec Clearance, agencies can quickly put out requests for evidence, and maximize their efforts when collaborating during an investigation," said Erick Ceresato, Product Line Manager at Genetec.
As World Photography Day approaches on August 18, Canon India, one of the leading imaging organizations furthers its commitment to cultivate the passion and spread the knowledge of photography across the nation. To mark the occasion, the imaging leader has organized a series of pan India initiatives, as an exhaustive outreach to enhance photography culture and help enthusiasts hone their clicking skills.
Sharing his thoughts, Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India said, “Photography is an enabler of memories, all occasions can be preserved and cherished through this beautiful form of art. At Canon India, we believe in enabling and expanding the joy of photography. Over the last six years of my experience in India, I have personally witnessed the culture of photography evolve and our organization has made constant endeavors to support this journey. As people increasingly continue to express themselves through the art of photography, our initiatives like the Photo walks, photography workshops and social media contests are aimed at augmenting their interest in photography.”
“We adopt a 360 degree methodology in the world of imaging, providing an elaborate experience of imaging with ‘Input to Output’. Our camera technology is designed to capture true-to-life information and likewise, our print technology converts those colorful, abstract memories into frame-worthy pictures. We would continue to innovate and delight our customers with best experiences in the imaging space,” added Kobayashi.
Inspiring the spirit of discovery in one’s own city, Canon had organized multi-city photo walks in the months of July and August. The aim of this initiative was to call out to photography enthusiasts to compile hyper-local experiences that bring out the extraordinary that exists in the seemingly mundane aspects of urban lives. The day long photo-walks through the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata were led by some of the most popular Instagram influencers in the country including Zaid Salman (@yourworldmylens) and Nitish Waila (@nitishwaila) and gave a common platform to photography enthusiasts to capture the flavour of their cities.
With an interesting line up of activities, Canon made these photo-walks experiential for photography enthusiasts to cultivate their passion for photography into a profession. These photo walks were accompanied with a hands-on demonstration of Canon’s EOS M50 mirrorless camera, popularly known as ‘The Conversation Creator’. As an extension to these walks, a contest has also been announced on social media around street and travel photography, where the winners will be awarded with a unit of EOS M50 each.
Present at the photo walks, Eddie Udagawa, Vice President, Consumer Imaging & Information Centre, Canon India said, “In line with our commitment towards the photography community, we take pride in delivering a unique and engaging experience for them through our various pan India initiatives such as multi-city photo-walks, organized with an objective to celebrate and cultivate the spirit of photography.”
He further added, “With more than 50 participants in every city, I was delighted to see them take out time to enhance their passion for photography skills by participating in our photo walks. It has been rewarding to see these photo walks bring about an evolution of photography from a hobby to a passion. Such astounding results captured by the participants, encourages us further to continue delighting our customers with the marvels of imaging.”
In the North region of the country, Canon India will be celebrating World Photography Week by engaging aspiring and professional photographers on various platforms. This would include professional workshops on wedding photography in Meerut for Meerut Camera Club members, a basic photography workshop for students in Bhatnagar International School, Vasant Kunj, DPS school, Sector 102, Gurgaon and Sri Venkateshwara College, South Campus.
In the South region, the organization is organizing a photography workshop at Christ University, Bengaluru for students, to teach them the basics of photography, with a prime focus on travel photography. Furthermore, with a special focus on high-end cameras, there are 13 back-to-back month long workshops planned in Kerala and 4 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to aggressively promote the photography culture. Additionally, workshops are planned at Canon Image Square stores in South region, providing education on the basics of camera, catering to end-consumers.
In the West, the organization has planned photography workshops at Canon Image Square stores, with Canon promoters. The organization will also be marking its presence at ‘All Maharashtra Photographer Association’ in Navi Mumbai.
In the East, photo walks are being organised across all states with local photography associations to commemorate the occasion. Canon Photo Mentors are coming together at Guwahati Club to organize a Fashion Photography Work shop, with ‘All Assam Fashion Photographers Association, Guwahati’. The Master Service Centre(MSC), Kolkata will bear a special décor to celebrate the day, and our esteemed customers can avail a limited period offer of 10% discount on spare parts for repairs at the MSC, Kolkata.
Continuing its endeavor to support the community and the environment, the organization is also running a digital movement called #ShiftYourFocus. Using the popular social media hashtags, such as #FollowMeTo, #OnMyTable and #FromWhereIStand, the company is aiming to divert the attention of millenials to necessary causes like nature conservation and environment preservation. This campaign will run across all social media platforms of the organization, with the objective to support the required change, with the powerful tool of images.
J Sagar Associates (JSA) represented ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (OLA) before the Delhi High Court and obtained direction for removal of confidential information and disparaging comments hosted on 'Hush', a web based platform, which allows employees of an Organization to anonymously post comments, gossip and rumor about their Colleagues, Bosses, Co- workers and culture of the Organization.
Delhi High Court also directed 'Hush' to disclose the names of the persons posting the aforesaid comments to the Court in sealed cover.
The JSA team comprised of Dheeraj Nair, Manish Jha and Kunal Chaturvedi.
Cloud computing ranks as the top risk concern for executives in risk, audit, finance and compliance, according to the latest survey by Gartner, Inc. While cloud computing presents organizations with novel opportunities, a number of new risks — including cybersecurity disclosure and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance — make cloud solutions susceptible to unexpected security threats.
In Gartner’s latest quarterly Emerging Risks Report, 110 senior executives in risk, audit, finance and compliance at large global organizations identified cloud computing as the top concern for the second consecutive quarter. Additional information security risks, such as cybersecurity disclosure and GDPR compliance, ranked among the top five concerns of the executives surveyed.
The top two fast-moving, high-impact risks — those which have the ability to cripple an organization quickly — are also related to information security threats. Social engineering and GDPR compliance were cited as most likely to cause the greatest enterprise damage if not adequately addressed by risk management leaders, according to Gartner. However, only 18 percent of the cross-functional executives surveyed currently considered social engineering to be a significant enterprise risk.
Executives should expect cybersecurity threats to affect organizations in unpredictable ways. Through 2022, at least 95 percent of cloud security failures will be the fault of the organization, according to Gartner. As more sophisticated tactics such as social engineering are engineered to compromise sensitive data, organizations should expand their cybersecurity team to address evolving digital risks.
“Executives are right to expand cloud services as part of their digital business initiatives, but they need to ensure their cloud security strategy keeps up with this growth,” said Matthew Shinkman, practice leader at Gartner. “Leaders should start by clearly identifying their most at-risk areas, which remain obscure to many large organization leaders.”
Increased Adoption Brings New Risks
Gartner forecasts cloud computing to be a $300 billion business by 2021, as companies increasingly adopt cloud services to realize their desired digital business outcomes. Through the use of cloud services, cloud computing provides the speed and agility that digital business requires. Adopting the cloud can also result in significant cost savings and generate new sources of revenue.
Results from Gartner’s Emerging Risks Report, however, reveal that companies continue to struggle with security. Despite record spending on information security in the last two years, organizations have lost an estimated $400 billion to cyber theft and fraud worldwide. As cybersecurity events and data breaches increase, it is imperative that organizations elevate IT security to a board-level topic and an essential part of any solid digital business growth strategy.
“Executives should promote risk awareness throughout the organization,” Shinkman stated. “A strong risk culture helps employees make the right decisions and mitigates poor outcomes.”
OMRON Healthcare India, the leader in digital blood pressure monitoring segment, announced the opening of 48 Pickup centres in addition to seven existing authorized after-sales Service centres across tier-1 and 2 cities.
This strategic move denotes company’s efforts to deepen its reach and connect with the end-customers via strengthening its after sales service infrastructure by introducing unique concepts and adding value to the existing facilities.
OMRON Pickup Centres, unique in the healthcare monitoring segment, present walk-in facilities for customers for all of their repair needs. The centres provide the first-level check of product and allow the customers the convenience to get the same picked up after the repair at the nearest service centre thus saving them the hassles of visiting the pharmacies or retailers (from which they had bought the products) and a centralized interface for speedy resolution of their service needs.
OMRON Service Centres provide a window to take care of all kinds of customer service issues ranging from re-calibration facilities for BP monitors to in and out-of-warranty product repair services needing advanced technical interventions. The customers are also attended and inducted by team of experts who resolve their queries and give them complete know-how on the utility of OMRON healthcare products. These centres are located at New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Cochin, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Commenting on the initiative, Kazunori Tokura, Managing Director, OMRON Healthcare India, said, “OMRON aims to add on value to the whole customer journey by bringing not only the products but also the services closer to them. After-sales-service, generally, is the last segment in the journey however it plays a very important role in enhancing the satisfaction- level which is a crucial deciding component in the healthcare segment.”
“Preventive healthcare is all set to play a larger role in contributing positively towards the wellbeing of the people of India and this initiative will help us, further, in making a stronger contribution towards the same as a leading player in the healthcare monitoring segment. The expansion is already on and we will have more centers added to the network soon” he added.
Three Phase Electric is a successful provider of electrical services to home owner associations (HOA) in residential communities across Southern California. In business for over 28 years, it provides lighting and electrical services at large apartment, condo and housing complexes including the large common areas such as recreational facilities, parks, trails, parking areas and swimming pools.
Working with Persistent Systems (BSE & NSE: PERSISTENT), Three Phase Electric developed
Common Sense Smart Community, employing Software 4.0 to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar homeowners' association market and potentially enabling the real estate under management to become software-driven. Today, 21% of the US population lives within a homeowners’ association with 50,000 community managers responsible for managing properties.
After attending several lighting industry events, the team at Three Phase Electric was intrigued about the potential of the Internet of Things (ioT) to transform a labor-intensive, field-based operation into something more automated and efficient, and in the process enable HOAs to be better stewards of the environment and their own environmental impact.
One critical challenge was that neither they nor the HOAs knew until the end of the month, when they received their bill, how much electricity or water they had consumed. If there had been a spike, they may have already been penalized by the utility. The IoT-based platform changed this radically; providing instant monitoring of consumption with no surprises. But that was only the beginning.
Three Phase Electric was so impressed they created a software-driven brand around their offering called Common Sense Smart Community, seeing the broader potential of the platform. Common Sense incorporates everything they have learned about implementing the Internet of Things to monitor lighting, irrigation, swimming pool water quality and temperature in real time to improve efficiencies.
The benefits of the new platform have been a profound change in how Three Phase Electric manages its large residential sites. For example – a maintenance person put a high-powered bulb into a closet light where it clearly wasn’t needed. The system sent an alert and the bulb was changed to something more suitable. In another example, in water-challenged California, the platform monitors irrigation systems for large leaks or broken water lines and will shut a system down immediately if it senses one. It then sends alerts immediately to both the landscaper and the homeowners association.
Kimberly Weiss, President and CEO of Three Phase electric said, “We all have a profound responsibility to conserve natural resources and preserve our environment, but when you look at the scale and breadth of community associations around the country, I think we have to realize that the environmental responsibility of community associations is greater than that of a single business or residence. Community associations should assume environmental responsibility similar to that taken by cities. This system goes a long way in that direction. Lighting maintenance vendors no longer need to roll a truck to each site to verify the lights are working. Pool maintenance crews don’t have to drive to each pool every day (as mandated by CA Title 22 regulations) to verify that the pool water is safe to swim in. If an irrigation line breaks, the system shuts it down automatically until it’s repaired.”
“Besides the technology side of developing Common Sense, Persistent is an incredible business partner who knew exactly how to rollout this game changing project. Not least of all was ensuring a strong, collaborative process bringing together all the stakeholders to the project – the management company, board of directors, community managers, service providers and residents. We wanted this platform to be a win for everyone and Persistent helped us achieve exactly that.”
The platform, built with Persistent, has the potential to transform the HOA industry and creates a new level of transparency. Community managers, service providers, board members and residents can all see the status of the community facilities anywhere, at any time which means that the expediency and quality of work will be clear to everyone. Repairs left undone can’t be swept under the rug.
The system also ushers in a new level of efficiency. Community managers no longer have to receive a trouble report, communicate the report in some way to the service provider and then follow up on the status of the correction. The system updates everyone– the manager, service provider and resident (if they care to look) – automatically and simultaneously. The homeowner can have peace of mind, knowing that the repair is underway - or can check what temperature the swimming pool is that day.
Sanjeev Srivastav, Persistent Systems SVP and GM IoT Industrial Solutions says, “This is a powerful, real world example of how the Internet of Things offers the opportunity for the most brick and mortar – literally – operations to become software-driven. Three Phase Electric’s Common Sense initiative has a profound effect on how HOAs can operate with tremendous upside not just for themselves, but all the constituents of these housing developments. It offers fast, accurate, transparent reporting, taking the inefficiencies and delays out of the whole maintenance process.”
