Sanzar Group Launches Avast Consumer Security Products in India

In view of the growing concern for Personal Device Security & Privacy in mind, Sanzar Group is launching global, digital security leader, Avast’s range of Protection, Productivity and Privacy products in India.

Avast, with its global footprint of over 435 million total active users (desktop and mobile), aims to make a bigger dent in the Indian market, where it already boasts of 17 million users. With the local expertise of Sanzar Group and Avast’s reputed product technology, the goal is to become India’s #1 consumer security software company by userbase.

At launch, five products will be available at special prices, catering to the price-conscious Indian consumer in two formats – Digital License Key & Physical Activation Cards. They will be available to purchase at:

-       www.avastindia.in
-       www.avgindia.in
-       www.amazon.in

Avast Premier: Avast Premier offers complete, top-of-the-line security and the best Avast has to offer. It improves user’s home network scanning, protects their webcam and PC from ransomware, offers automatic software updates, stops redirects to fake websites, safely shreds data and features Avast’s Secure Browser, the world’s most secure browser, so users can shop, browse or bank, safe from hackers and online ads. It’s the ultimate protection, from the most-trusted security provider in the world.

Price: Rs. 699/-

Avast Internet Security: Avast Internet Security helps protect users against identity theft, phishing emails, infected websites, and more. Avast Internet Security comes with Avast’s Secure Browser, the world’s most secure browser. It blocks annoying ads with Ad Blocker, allows users to watch their favourite videos offline with Video Downloader and lets users bank or shop safely, so no hacker can track them with Bank Mode.

Price: Rs. 599/-

Avast Cleanup Premium: PC’s don’t get younger. Fix slow PC’s with Avast Cleanup Premium’s patented technology – The ultimate PC tune up. It speeds up and cleans PC’s, updates apps/programs and fixes annoying problems that tend to slow down PC’s. Avast Cleanup Premium is the most comprehensive PC optimizer and tune up toolkit available.

Price: Rs. 499/-

Avast SecureLine VPN: Enjoy the Internet, the way it was intended, with Avast SecureLine VPN. It encrypts user’s Internet connection, at the click of a button for true online privacy and freedom. Users can enjoy and access all online content, by utilizing one of the 56 servers across 35 countries. With Avast SecureLine VPN, users can browse securely on up to 5 devices across multiple platforms (PC, Mac, Android & iOS).

Price: Rs. 799/-

Avast Mobile Security for Android – Ultimate: Secure up to 5 Android smartphones with the world’s most trusted mobile antivirus app. Protects user privacy by allowing private, secure and restriction-free internet browsing via Avast’s top-of-the-line VPN. It also helps remotely secure phone data and allows phone location tracking, in cases of theft. It enhances phone performance to keep it running smoothly and provides insights to users about their digital habits.

Price: Rs. 399.

Trend Micro Collaborates with DOCOMO to Launch Security for IoT Devices

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced NTT DOCOMO, INC., Japan's leading mobile operator and one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies, will launch a solution to protect IoT devices running on DOCOMO’s mobile network utilizing Trend Micro’s security solution.

Enabling this first-of-its-kind protection is the new DOCOMO Cloud Platform Network Security Service, a solution that layers in security solutions from Trend Micro. The result is an easy-to-use security shield specifically for DOCOMO’s customers who are building infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments.

Until now, deploying a security solution on the DOCOMO Cloud Platform required customers to set up third-party products manually. This new service simplifies the deployment of security onto the DOCOMO Cloud Platform.

Telecom companies and service providers have long been planning for the impact of 5G. Now is the time to ensure the extra security risks posed by these smart endpoints at a network level are protected. Trend Micro is helping DOCOMO protect their customers’ data in cost-effective, easy-to-deploy ways.

Under the technical covers of this solution is Trend Micro’s Virtual Network Function Suite (VNFS), tested rigorously last year in the DOCOMO 5G Open Cloud.

In addition to verification in the 5G environment, verification has also been promoted in the 4G environment currently used by many customers. As a result of verification, DOCOMO concluded that this solution is effective in the environments with increased opportunity for IoT security threats. Therefore, they decided to provide this solution for 4G environments as part of DOCOMO Cloud Platform.

“The promise and potential of 5G has the world waiting but let me issue a warning for the need for extra protection. Smarter endpoints mean a greater cyber risk to manage,” said Akihiko Omikawa, executive vice president for Trend Micro. “We’re delighted and proud that our technology meets the needs of this global mobile phone leader. Together our joint solution delivers cloud infrastructure capabilities integrated with IoT-ready security customized for modern data centers.”

Trend Micro’s telecom solution, VNFS, offers service providers a range of security functionality including intrusion prevention, URL filtering and application control to mitigate threats across their networks without impacting performance.

As a software-based solution, this security service can be deployed in minutes versus the days required with on-site hardware, and is dynamically allocated, configured and scaled according to customer requirements.

Underlying threat intelligence is provided by Trend Micro, which analyzes 1.5 billion new threat samples and blocks 250 million threats every 24 hours.

ASUS Announces Game-Changing VivoBook 14 & 15 in Indian Market

KEY POINTS

·         Slim and light laptops with four-sided frameless NanoEdge ultra-narrow-bezel displays for an immersive viewing experience
·         Powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, with up to NVIDIA GeForce MX250 discrete graphics
·         Innovative design featuring the ErgoLift hinge for comfort typingand four gorgeous color options

Tech giant ASUS today announced two new additions to the VivoBook family: the 14-inch VivoBook 14 (X412) and the 15.6-inch VivoBook 15 (X512). The brand has furthermore launched X412 in partnership with Flipkart. To the same end, ASUS unveiled the Vivobook series together with Adarsh Menon, Vice President, Electronics, Private label and Furniture at Flipkart.

Commenting on the new launches, Arnold Su, Head of consumer notebooks and ROG business, ASUS India, said, “We are glad to introduce the new additions to VivoBook. Both X412 and X512 deliver on the brand’s promise of high performance and easy portability, crafted with perfection for today’s young and eclectic users that are always on the move and prefer finer pursuits in life. This launch also marks another run of successful collaboration with Flipkart and we are extremely proud to be associated with India’s leading online platform. We are affirmative that our users would appreciate the new offerings and look forward to an affirmative response.”

While Adarsh K Menon, Vice President Electronics, Private Labels and Furniture at Flipkart , said,"At Flipkart, we constantly endeavor to offer our customers best-in-class products, with the latest features at great prices. We are delighted to partner with ASUS and offer our customers their range of durable, lightweight and colorful notebooks. ASUS has been a key player driving the growth of the laptop category on Flipkart and we work in close association with them to develop these India-focused products. We are confident that Vivobook 14 & 15 will resonate well with our customers, who are looking at the best technology at affordable price points.”

Express yourself with beautiful hues

VivoBook 14 and 15 are available in four gorgeous colors. There are classics such as Transparent Silver and Slate Grey, as well as iridescent Peacock Blue, which changes color tone depending on how light strikes the laptop surface. There’s also the eye-catching Coral Crush with a bright matte finish and users can pick one to best express their personalities.

Immersive viewing experience &Tru2Life Video Technology

Offering an unmatched immersive experience, both VivoBook 14 and 15 feature frameless four-sided NanoEdge displays with at least an 87% and 88% screen-to-body ratio, respectively, for immersive viewing. The incredibly slim bezel allows a large display to fit into a smaller chassis, effectively reducing the laptop footprint for a more compact and portable machine. These laptops are powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel® Core i7 processor with up to NVIDIA GeForce MX250 discrete graphics, promising unrivalled performance and easy multi-tasking.

The NanoEdge display gives VivoBook a smaller footprint that makes the laptop more portable without compromising the screen size. Furthermore, both the machines feature ASUS Tru2Life Video Technology, an advanced video-tuning system that renders the quality of high-end TVs, enhancing clarity, color, and contrast in video.

Powerful Intel Core CPU and dual-storage design

VivoBook 14 and 15 are powered up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor with NVIDIA GeForce MX250 discrete graphics. They have dual-storage designs that can be specified with up to a 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD.In addition, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) connections provide speeds of up to 867Mbps — 6X-faster than 802.11n — for seamless video-streaming, and smooth web-surfing. Both the variants also features Bluetooth 4.2.

Innovative Keyboard & Touchpad

The new launches pack in ASUS ErgoLift hinge, the silky-smooth dual action that securely holds the display steady at any angle, while slightly elevating the keyboard by up to 2° for a natural and comfortable typing position. Featuring a one-piece construction with 1.4mm key travel (1.3mm for VivoBook 14) for comfortable keystrokes. The touchpad is with Windows gesture support – VivoBook has a large touchpad that’s smooth to touch. It supports Windows 10 touchpad gestures including multi-gesture input, making it easier to switch apps or screens, and supports handwriting recognition to input text or digital signatures. With VivoBook 14 and 15, users will also have a more secure fingerprint login via Windows Hello in a blink.

Designed with comfort in mind

Delivering the brand’s promise of high performing and portable machines, both VivoBook 14 and 15 have 19.5mm profiles, and weigh 1.5kg and 1.6kg respectively. For easy connectivity, the laptops feature a variety of ports including USB 3.1 Type-A, USB Type-C (USB-C), HDMI output, an audio combo jack for headphones and microphones, and a microSD card reader. Ensuring optimum performance with adequate cooling of the machine, the laptops use a blower style design where the fan takes in the air and circulates it around the motherboard cooling CPU and GPU with ease. This is done with the help of air channels built into the chassis.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

ASUS VivoBook 14 will be available on Flipkart starting from 33,990 INR

ASUS VivoBook 15 will be available online and offline at a price range starting from 34,990 INR

The Oberoi, Gurgaon and Trident, Gurgaon Hotel Chains Introduce 100% Solar Power

Taking a step towards a greener future, The Oberoi, Gurgaon and Trident, Gurgaon have introduced solar power to fulfill the electricity needs of both hotels. A captive power plant in Balasar, Haryana will generate 7.5 MW of electricity to meet the energy demands of the two hotels.

The solar power plant has been equipped with Polycrystalline technology and is spread over 25 acres With 27,000 solar panels installed, the plant’s performance ratio is determined to be 76.50%. The Oberoi and the Trident in Gurgaon aim at reducing CO2 emissions by 12,344 tons per year.

Talking about the initiative, Mr. Abhishek Panshikar, General Manager, The Oberoi, Gurgaon, says. We are proud that our Gurgaon hotels are now operating on 100% solar power. This is our small way of giving back to Mother Nature and providing our guests a sustainable luxury experience.”

Adding to this, Mr. Amit Khare, General Manager, Trident, Gurgaon says “Surveys have shown that guests prefer to stay in environment friendly accommodations. This is equally an important priority for us.  With this in mind, our guests will be pleased to know that they are now staying in a hotel that is fully powered by solar energy.”

Adopting renewal energy like solar power will help resolve many environmental challenges like reducing global warming and CO2 emission and also helping drive greater socio economic benefits by creating local employment opportunities.

SAAS Based Edtech Startup - Ulektz Announces Tie-Up with Packt Publishing, UK

uLektz, a SaaS based Edtech startup announced that it has partnered with Packt Publishing, a UK based publishing company offering more than 7000 Titles on information technology and software. Under this agreement, uLektz will sell and distribute the ebooks of Packt Publishing in India through its digital content marketplace uLektz Books (www.ulektzbooks.com).

“We are pleased to partner with a global tech publisher Packt. This partnership gives us an opportunity to provide our users the access to high quality academic books at affordable costs. As an edtech start-up that offers a suite of applications, it is such alliances that promote and raise the bar for the Indian education ecosystem.” said Mr. Sadiq Sait Founder and CEO of uLektz Learning Solutions.

Packt Publishing, a global tech publisher is known for its quality educational books and videos on information technology and software. Many of the Packt’s books are usually sold in the international market between $40-$70. With our partnership, these ebooks will be offered at around 90% discounts as a promotional offer for the audience in India.

Speaking on the association, Mr.Vishwas Kshirsagar, Head of Country, Packt India said: ”Packt provides effective learning solutions and content services primarily to IT professionals keeping them updated with the latest development in the IT industry. uLektz’s wide-spread reach in the higher education of India allows us to extend our offerings to students and educators as well. Considering the potential and demand of the India market, we are very keen to reach out to the wide audience in India. We have had an amazing response from professional learners and readers in India. We are encouraged to see the robust operations of uLektz and tap the potential of delivering our digital content to India”.

uLektz offers a suite of software applications for higher education. uLektz Books is one of the products of uLektz suite that aggregates, sells and distributes digital content from various educational publishers, renowned institutions and expert faculty members.

uLektz has existing tie-ups with 20+ reputed educational publishers, who sell their ebooks to students and educators across India through uLektz Books platform. uLektz has also created and published 1500+ interactive ebooks as per the curriculum of specific universities using its in-house Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These uLektz published ebooks along with various other digital content such as videos, solved question papers, lecture notes, etc., are currently offered for free of cost through uLektz Books.

About Packt: Packt is a global company based in Birmingham, U.K, has published over 7000 books and videos so far, providing IT professionals with the actionable knowledge on specific learning on an emerging technology or optimizing key skills in more established tools.

Toyota Achieves ‘Quality Education for All’ in Government Schools of Ramanagara, Karnataka

Key Highlights

-          Stimulated a steady increase in the overall enrolment of school children amongst various Government schools at Bidadi region at various grades up by 24% in 2018, as compared to 2016-17
-          During FY 2019-20, 24,500 school children from 327 schools in Ramanagara district benefitted
-          Toyota’s Educational Activities outreach expanded to cover 300+ schools until this year [activity started in 2003 with one school].
-          Toyota creates a model school in GLPS Devalinganapalya near Bidadi to upscale the Government school standards in line with the private learning environment

In its relentless commitment towards promoting quality education to school children from the weaker sections of the community since 2003, Toyota Kirloskar Motor today kicked off the distribution of essential school supplies to children covering 327 government schools from the state. This initiative is a part of Toyota’s sustained efforts to develop a positive learning environment in schools. The school supply kit consisting of bags, books, geometry box’s, drawing books and crayons will be distributed to 24,500 students across first to tenth grades in Government schools at Ramanagara district, where the company’s manufacturing plant is located.

The company represented by Mr. K. V. Rajendra Hegde, General Manager, Toyota Kirloskar Motor handed over the books and bags to the local school children in the presence of Mr. Gangemare Gowda, Deputy Director of Public Instruction and Mr. Marilinge Gowda, Block Education Officer, Ramanagara, marking the commencement of the activity.

Toyota’s timely interventions and focused approach has stimulated a steady increase in the overall enrolment of school children amongst various Government schools at Bidadi region at various grades up by 24% in 2018, as compared to 2016-17. Such initiatives have been a significant step in ensuring uninterrupted learning and reducing school dropouts amongst the financially challenged children.

Additionally, for past three years TKM has been working to build capacity of teachers in Government Schools on their English Communication and teaching skills.

Appreciating Toyota’s initiative, Mr. Gangemare Gowda, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, Ramanagara said, “Education plays a pivotal role in the development of the economy of the country.  We are happy with the way Toyota is setting a benchmark in enhancing the quality of education in the local communities through a very holistic approach.  The company has been committed ensuring education of highest quality and encouraging education for all. We encourage more corporates to come forward and help us provide free and quality education among the weaker sections of the community, so that together we can build a better tomorrow. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Toyota for continuing this wonderful cause year after year.”

Sharing his thoughts on this initiative, Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We have been working closely with local communities to catalyze sustainable impact through system and behavioral change. Children are at the core of these interventions and act as change agents.

We at Toyota recognize education as one of the main pillars to a nation’s development and have always worked towards providing quality education at the grass roots level. TKM believes in providing holistic solution for quality education. Thus, in addition to providing learning aids, sports kits, we have also upgraded the infrastructure of Government Lower Primary Schools in Ramanagara. This has helped in motivating the students, teachers and changing the perception of the parents. Our aim is to significantly contribute towards reducing school dropouts rate in the local communities with such sustained efforts.” he added.

These programs have expanded over a period, enhancing the beneficiary coverage to around 24,500 school children across 327 Government Schools this academic year, as compared to 3000 children in 2007.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Launches Dedicated Partner Priority Desk for Karnataka

 

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, the mutual fund arm of Aditya Birla Capital announces the launch of Partner Priority Desk (PPD), a one-of-its kind, dedicated service counter for its distribution partners in Karnataka. Partner Priority Desk is to become a one stop solution for the distribution channels’ servicing needs and ensure accurate resolution of service requests from distribution partners, speedily and with a sense of urgency.

Mutual Funds have become a preferred investment tool for investors. Industry growth fuelled by increased number of investors has led to higher volume of transactions. This in turn has led to greater volume of service requests. Distribution partners who play a key role in growth of the industry, require the support of robust service standards as they manage growing number of investors.

Commenting on the launch of the Partner Priority Desk, Mr. A. Balasubramanian, CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund said, “Partner Priority Desk Telangana is part of our continued effort to deliver best-in-class service experience to our distribution partners. Given the steady rise in retail interest for Mutual Funds from Karnataka, we see PPD contributing greatly in helping distribution partners in the region and enhancing the overall experience for our stakeholders.”

PPD has implemented dedicated region-specific toll-free numbers to ensure that service requests are resolved in a timely manner. The Desk has also deployed a real-time feedback mechanism to capture distributor feedback after every phone call. This feedback channelled back into the system helps the fund house drive continuous improvement and raise the bar on service delivery to distribution partners.

Partner Priority Desk Karnataka is equipped with trained specialists, dedicated only for distributors. Distribution partners have the comfort of speaking to a service expert from their region, in their regional language, who will take responsibility for the service request and see it through to resolution. All service requests are logged into a dedicated system that enables tracking until satisfactory closure.