Mindtree Opens New Minneapolis Office to Support Magnet360, Its Expanding Salesforce Practice

Today, Mindtree inaugurated a larger office space to accommodate the strong growth seen by Magnet360, the Mindtree Salesforce practice. The new office is designed to help businesses accelerate their adoption of software as a service (SaaS), the trend that is redefining the way enterprises use technology. The new 30,000-square-foot space is architected to promote a flexible, dynamic work environment.   Among the design goals was to create a silo-free space where employees can balance high-collaboration and intense focus.

Magnet360’s consulting-led approach offers a unique blend of customer engagement, deep Salesforce knowledge and agile expertise to evaluate business challenges and user journeys. This mirrors Mindtree’s holistic approach to accelerating cloud transformation. It enables organizations to amplify their Salesforce opportunities and drive new cloud-borne business models. The facility offers an interactive space for multi-disciplinary teams and clients to use design thinking techniques to experiment and execute ideas utilizing the Salesforce Platform.

Mindtree’s newest office is designed as a town setting with a network of smaller ‘neighborhoods’ to encourage hyper-collaboration across small, agile teams. The interconnected wings are anchored by a large communal area for all-company ‘Rockin Rally’ meetings and cross-functional teams to work together. Embedded in the office is modern audio/visual technology to connect the global Magnet360 team and the broader team of nearly 20,000 Mindtree Minds. There are also several ad-hoc meeting lounges, interconnecting and scalable offices, a variety of workspaces, quiet pods, a library and wellness room. 

A focal point just off the lobby is the Magnet360 Garage, A Center for Salesforce Innovation. It’s a 1,300 square foot space that serves as a digital hub for Salesforce transformation and an area for organizations to re-think cloud opportunities from scratch to scale. True to its name, the studio is designed like a garage, with overhead doors and exposed stud walls, evoking the startup experiences of the world’s most brilliant technology companies. Modeled after Mindtree’s Digital Pumpkin innovation hubs in Bangalore and New Jersey, the Magnet360 Garage brings business and IT together across multiple disciplines. It is a technology-rich ideation space to co-create meaningful solutions using the power of Salesforce.

“Organizations are constantly adapting as they look for ways to better connect with customers and anchor their business in the cloud,” said Matt Meents, Senior Vice President and head of Magnet360, Mindtree’s Salesforce practice. “Magnet360 is motivated to continuously improve our Salesforce practice, stretching ourselves to re-imagine business models. This amazing new space is not only very functional, it was designed with extreme care to be a great place to work.”

“Everything about this office exemplifies the core tenets that differentiate Mindtree,” said Paul Gottsegen, Chief Marketing Officer & Head, Mindtree Americas. “An environment purpose built for continuous innovation and continuous improvement. A laboratory for taking cloud-enabled ideas and turning them into real-world solutions that scale. A culture where everyone feels engaged. It’s all here. We can’t wait to see the transformative projects that come out of this facility for our Salesforce clients.”

“Salesforce is thrilled to see Magnet360 embrace innovation with the launch of the Magnet360 Garage,” said Peter Doolan, Executive Vice President, Digital Transformation and Innovation at Salesforce. “This new space will empower Magnet360 to deliver digital transformation for customers with the Salesforce Platform.”

As part of Mindtree, with nearly 20,000 Mindtree Minds across 27 countries and 43 offices, the Magnet360 team can tap into a wealth of expertise to scale end-to-end enterprise solutions.  

Adidas and Real Kashmir FC Showcase the Magnificence of Jammu & Kashmir

Adidas in partnership with Real Kashmir FC are organising a unique photo exhibition in Bengaluru, titled #TheRealKashmir to reveal the ‘Real’ side of Jammu & Kashmir. The photo exhibit celebrates the beauty of Jammu & Kashmir through the lens of football.

Adidas and Real Kashmir FC through their partnership have brought about a positive change in the valley and have redefined the ‘Real’ Kashmir, thus, catalyzing a rapid transformation in the lives of people. The photo exhibit is a celebration of the wave of positive change brought about by Football in Jammu & Kashmir. The pictures capture not only the magnificence of the valley but also portray how young kids in Jammu & Kashmir are taking to football on the streets and following their passion for the game.

The pictures have been shot through the lens of award-winning photographer Prashant Godbole who has an innate sense of aesthetics and the art to create spaces within an image. His proficiency reveals an untold story which is bound to catch the eye of the public at large, thereby showcasing the unseen and fascinating side of Jammu & Kashmir.

Sharad Singla, Head -Activations, Adidas India, at the inauguration of the exhibition said, “#TheRealKashmir exhibition is yet another beautiful chapter of our partnership with Real Kashmir FC. The club epitomises our belief ‘through sport, we have the power to change lives.’ The exhibition brings to life the magnificence of the valley through the lens of football and unveils the ‘real’ side of J&K. We are proud to be part of this journey and are sure it will inspire the youth towards a positive change in the country.

Co-owner of the club, Sandeep Chattoo during his media interaction said, “We took this journey of change, when we started RKFC, in 2016. My friend and business partner, Shamim Mehraj & myself, spotted the thirst amongst youngsters to play football and make a difference. Along with our partners adidas, through such initiatives like this photo exhibition we hope to spread the wave of positive change and optimism in the valley.

The exhibition witnessed a display of breath-taking pictures bringing to life the “real” Kashmir. From youngsters honing their football skills in the streets of Downtown, Srinagar to the youth academy prospects of Real Kashmir FC taking a leap of faith with the beautiful game on the snow-capped peaks of Gulmarg - the pictures reinforce the wave of positivity that football has brought to Jammu & Kashmir. The photo exhibition is open for public viewing from January 24th to 27th at Rangoli Metro Art Centre, Bengaluru.

Toyota, Panasonic Announce Joint Venture for Electric Car Batteries

Toyota has announced that it was creating a joint venture with Panasonic to develop batteries for electric cars, as the Japanese auto giant ramps up its ambitions for electric-powered vehicles.

The firm will be set up by 2020 and 51% of stake will be controlled by Toyota, the Prius manufacturer said in a statement. “Toyota and Panasonic are confident that the contracts concluded today will further strengthen and accelerate their actions toward achieving competitive batteries,” the statement added.

Toyota boss Akio Toyoda has previously said he wants half of the firm’s global sales to come from electric-powered vehicles by 2030, up from around 15% now.

“The key to electrifying vehicles in the future will be batteries. In order for Japan to survive this era of profound change with no natural resources, we must develop competitive batteries and establish systems for a stable supply,” Toyoda said. Panasonic is seen as a specialist in the battery sector and has already partnered up with electric vehicle innovator Tesla to operate a huge “gigafactory” in the United States.

EV Cars in India

Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Co said it will launch its electric car Leaf in India this year as it seeks to take the lead in EV drive in the country.

The company is also looking at other eco-friendly technologies such as its e-Power vehicles and hybrids for the country. “Leaf is a proof-point (that) we want to bring in India because this is a direction of leadership in EV, we have in the world,” Nissan Motor Co Senior Vice President and Chairman of management committee for Africa, Middle East and India Peyman Kargar told reporters.

Gautam Gambhir Unveils Funngage PowerPlayer Cricket 120 Scholarship; Trials on Jan 27 in Bangalore

Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir, along with sports technology firm Funngage.com has launched a nation-wide programme for Cricket Scholarship, the first of its kind for sports in India. Named ‘FG PowerPlayer’,  through this programme, boys and girls in the age group of 12 to 24 years will get a fully paid for cricket development scholarship with a three-week of fully paid for training camp in Perth, Australia at Guildford Grammar, under the guidance of former South African Test cricketer HD Ackerman.

It is a Pan India initiative and after successfully conducting trials in Delhi, Noida, Meerut, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata, the sports platform – Funngage.com is now starting with the southern India leg with Bangalore being the first city.

The trials will be conducted in FG academy. However, with a successful collaboration, Cricket Academy of Pathans (CAP) is the preferred academy partner for the scholarship programme.

“It is a fabulous platform for all the youngsters to come and showcase their talent. They are going to select 120 and out of that 60 will go to Australia in four batches (15 each). It is a transparent platform as well. It is an initiative where you will get a lot of kids from the grassroots,” said Gambhir addressing the media at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The selected students from Funngage PowerPlayer trials will get an opportunity to be trained for five years in CAP academies under the guidance of cricket experts and coaches. These scholarships will help in unearthing new talent and give young kids a platform to kick-start their budding cricketing careers.

The Bengaluru trials will begin from January 27 at Hyper Turf Cricket Ground, Yelahanka.

The cricket scholarship will be given for five Years and will cover the following:

Free of cost cricket coaching at any Indian cricket academy for 5 years

Free of cost cricketing equipment for 5 years

Free of cost medical support along with sports physiotherapy sessions at Funngage’s wellness partner and hospitals across India

Free of cost participation in matches and tournaments across India

Free of cost periodic Cricket Camps by Experts for Exposure and Training

Free of cost training in Perth, Australia (Guildford Grammar School), this includes visa fee, return air fare, accommodation, trainings, nutrition sessions, injury management, and matches with local clubs

“Through this platform, we want to ensure that anyone who wants to realise his or her dream of being a cricketer can do so. It’s an Initiative to help the cricketers develop their skills and not worry about finances. Funngage doesn’t claim to make anyone play for a state or any BCCI affiliated team or in any League. The cricketers need to follow the selection norms set by the respective cricket associations to get through there. We are here to ensure that all kids get their performance stats and none should be deprived of Good Cricket Coaching and facilities due to lack of funds,” said Karan Singh, founder & CEO, Funngage.com.

How to register for trials?
Registration for trials can be done at www.funngage.com or by downloading the Funngage mobile application from Google PlayStore for Android users and App Store for IOS users.

Registrations can also be done at Funngage counter set up at Hyper Turf Cricket Ground, Yelahanka and at 24/1, First Main, Chunchappa Block, RT Nagar from January 24 onwards from 11 am to 7 pm.

The basic and only administration fee to register into the programme is Rs 1,050 (all-inclusive) for batsmen and bowlers and Rs 1,950 (all-inclusive) for all-rounders and wicket-keepers.

Age-groups and schedule for trials
January 27 - Trials will be conducted for 12-16 years

January 28 – Trials for 16-19 years

January 29 – Trials for 20-24 years

January 30 – Trials for all groups in their respective age categories

Trials and selection process
Initial trials are held on center wicket of the ground with at least 5 High Definition (HD) cameras making ball by ball videos of each and every cricketer. These videos are shared with players on their Funngage account for their view and records. These videos are also shared with top coaches on Funngage, for them to assess and do a performance assessment for each player. The detailed report card and assessment scores highlighting their strengths and areas of improvements are given to each player.

Round 1 – Basic Skills Trial: 12-balls trials on the center wicket with each batsman facing 4 bowlers and each bowler bowling to 4 batsmen with at least 5 HD Video cameras capturing the action

Round 2 – Advanced Trial: 24 balls advance trials followed by a fitness test

Round 3 – Camp: 10 days training camp and 5 matches of 40 overs each per players

Round 4 – Awarding Scholarship: Top 120 cricketers to get 5 years of Cricket Development Scholarship and top 60 to train for three weeks at Guildford Grammar School, Perth, Australia.

With 1,400+ Certified Inspectors, Droom’s ECO Establishes Trust Through a Seamless Customer Experience

Equipped with a thorough 121+ point auto inspection by certified technicians, ECO envisions to set the industry standard for vehicle inspection

New Delhi ECO, Droom’s proprietary vehicle inspection service, has paved its way to become one of India’s largest doorstep inspection services. With 1400+ certified inspectors on its platform, this initiative by India’s first and largest pioneering online automobile transactional marketplace has an incredible geographic reach of over 500+ pin codes across the country. 

The leading online automobile marketplace has allocated INR 25 crores of funds specifically to achieve its growth objectives pertaining to ECO inspection. Through these measures and dedicated efforts, Droom strives to establish the services provided by ECO as the industry standard benchmark for inspection and certification services. Since the last two months, Droom has been successfully running a pilot for its owned and operated models in Delhi and NCR.

Acknowledging the rapid success of the application, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Droom remarked, “ECO is India’s most scientific, data driven and comprehensive vehicle inspection service.  We are overwhelmed by the response ECO has been receiving and strive to continually provide our customers with seamless experiences. We see ECO as a key facilitator of establishing trust and transparency among our customers regarding the buying and selling condition of vehicles on our core marketplace and are looking to invest in the emerging technological advancements in this segment of Droom.”

With an aim to further strengthen its grip on quality control, SLA (Service Level Agreement) adherence and delivering world-class customer experience through its doorstep vehicle inspection services, Droom has setup an in-house team of ECO inspectors on owned and operated model. These trained technicians, referred to as ‘ECO Ninjas’, can read and write in English, have an educational degree in automobile servicing from any of the top ITI/Polytechnic/Vocational Training institutes in the country, and are ECO-certified after taking extensive tutorials and passing an online test. 

ECO also developed a customized Enterprise solution for Banks for loans, Insurance companies for break-in Insurance renewals and Large cab aggregators such as Uber and Ola. Droom has already signed up with some of the leading Banks to offer its inspection services around vehicle financing of Used vehicles.

Droom is also planning to venture into independent inspection services through ECO wherein people can purchase and avail the services and get their vehicles certified without listing them on Droom. Furthermore, Droom envisions to gradually scale across all major cities in the country with 500+ in-house technicians, eventually setting up a combined capacity of 1000+ inspections per day in the long run.

SHEROES Strengthens Internet Women’s Narrative Brings Health Platform Maya Into The Fold

SHEROES, the communities for women platform to acquire Bangalore-based women’s health app Maya. This helps SHEROES become the deepest women’s platform, globally, with over 14 million members, poised to reach 100 million in due course. The platform continues building its “women-only spaces on the internet” narrative – also termed as women’s internet.

Founded by John Paul, Maya enables women to keep track of their health via a mobile application. Women world over use Maya to track their cycles, monitor related symptoms, set health reminders, monitor pregnancy and connect with health experts. The platform is accessible in 14 international and vernacular languages (including Hindi and Tamil), and is actively used by women users in over 20 countries.

Commenting on the acquisition, Sairee Chahal, Founder-CEO of SHEROES, said, “The SHEROES platform is one of the safest, most constructive spaces on the Internet for women, and as our community grows, we continuously seek ways to create more value for our members. Health is one of our fastest growing communities on the SHEROES app, and adding Maya to our bouquet of products, helps us strengthen our offering in this space. SHEROES is committed to building the women’s internet – an experience which helps women find advice, community, resources and opportunity.

Safety, high trust, high empathy are core values to SHEROES and Maya, and this acquisition is a natural alignment of a collective vision – to support women sans judgement.

Maya with its feature-rich platform, has been a game-changer in health tech, offering diagnostic tests, online doctor consultations, fertility predictions and pregnancy tracking. SHEROES, as a complete ecosystem for women, stands to gain from Maya’s product and platform. The founder John will help us enhance our product leadership.”

Maya’s journey began in 2014, with the intention of leveraging consumer tech to positively influence women’s health. The app, available on iOS, Android and Windows, has a sleek, quirky user interface, and additionally, offers premium features that can be access via in-app purchases. Users actively record monthly cycles, associated symptoms, and trace out a pattern to help them manage their menstrual health.

“Approximately 70% of all reproductive issues in women are caused due to poor menstrual health. In India, women still use manual methods to track their health. Taking advantage of smartphone access in the remotest corners, Maya equips women to manage their health better using a smartphone.

I now also see the SHEROES community playing a role in evangelising a constructive narrative around women’s health. We can’t reimagine women’s internet without women’s health, and the opportunities in counselling, commerce and creativity that the SHEROES platform provides,” observes John Paul, Founder of Maya.

The SHEROES platform aims to emerge as the world’s most transformative women’s platform, with a vision to touch the lives of 100 million women in the next 36 months. 

Godrej Properties Aqua is Bangalore’s First Fully Sustainable Water Management System

The Mumbai-based real estate developer launches its project in Bellary road (NH-7), located at International Airport Road in North Bangalore. The project comprises of water secure homes which will make use of the Godrej QST System – Bangalore’s first and only fully sustainable water management system.

Godrej Properties Ltd, one of India’s leading real estate developers launches its project Godrej Aqua in Bangalore. Spread across 7.19 acres, Godrej Aqua comprises of a saleable area of approximately 72,918 square metres (784,878 square feet). The project offers 2BHK and 3BHK apartments ranging from carpet areas of 69 square metres to 116 square metres (738 square feet to 1251 square feet).

Strategically located at Bellary road - a premium residential area, Godrej Aqua is in close proximity to the commercial and industrial catchment areas of Hebbal, Yelahanka, and Devanahalli. It also offers good connectivity to Outer Ring Road, Bangalore International Airport, and the Central Business District. The Bellary road micro-market has emerged as one of the fastest growing residential areas of Bangalore with a lot of infrastructure developments and projects coming up in the area.

Godrej Properties now has 17 projects in Bangalore.

Godrej Aqua aims to revolutionize residential water management in Bangalore. With the Godrej Quad-Step Treatment Process (QSTP), the project will be able to provide pure drinking water at all times, and recycle most of the water on site. Using the Recharge, Reduce and Recycle principle, the project aims to ensure that water sufficiency in every home is a reality that's well within reach. Furthermore, to address perennial concerns regarding the water quality in residential projects, Godrej Aqua has introduced an Advanced Treatment Plant, centralized RO and water softening facility to ensure high grade quality of water.

“Businesses need high-level performance of Cloud-based applications to ensure business continuity and plan for disaster recovery. Our Evidian SafeKit technology is clearly the right solution for customers which value simplicity and flexibility – and simply cannot afford any downtime” adds Bruno Rochat, Evidian SafeKit product line manager, high availability expert at Atos.

All Atos Evidian Identity & Management applications are made highly-available via the SafeKit solution.