Toyota Flags Off the Five Continents Car Drive in India

With a Promise to make Ever-better Cars Together – for Today and Tomorrow, the 5 Continents Drive embarks on its journey in India

* With a quest to discover real India & in-line with Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s commitment to create ever-better cars, the 5 Continent Drive promises to provide valuable insights pertaining to the Indian customer’s needs
* As part of its India leg, the convoy to drive through the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and conclude in New Delhi before the team and driving goes on to other Asian legs
* In February 2019, Toyota embarked on its sixth and final leg of the project in Asia starting from Middle East

Commemorating the illustrious journey of two decades of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) in India, the 5 Continents Drive embarked on its journey in India, with a promise to make ever-better cars together – For Today and Tomorrow. The 5 Continents Drive is a ‘Genchi Genbutsu’ project (where employees go to the source to get the facts) carried out under the umbrella of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.

Launched in Australia in 2014, so far, the 5 Continents Drive project has covered four of the world’s continents and moved to Asia for its final stage, earlier this year. As part of the project, Toyota employees drive vehicles under various conditions of the 5 continents: Australia, America (North & Latin), Europe, Africa and Asia through 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, representing the five rings in the Olympic symbol.

The 5 Continent Drive flag-off ceremony took place at Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s plant at Bidadi in Karnataka. The drive was flagged-off by chief-guests, Mr. Yoichi Minamiyama- General Manager, GAZOO Racing Company, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto- Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP), along with Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura- Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), and Mr. N.  Raja- Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), amidst other dignitaries.

From Bangalore, the convoy with employees from TMC & TKM along with its partners, will travel through the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and reach its destination - New Delhi, where the drive will culminate late September, 2019. The convoy will be driving Toyota vehicles from the company’s existing model line-up in India.

Speaking on the launch of the project in India, Mr. Yoichi Minamiyama, General Manager, GAZOO Racing Company, TMC said, “TOYOTA GAZOO Racing firmly believes that, ‘On the road we learn how to make ever-better cars.’ 5 Continents Drive Project was formulated to put this maxim to the test. Driven by the philosophy of ‘Genchi Genbutsu’, this project enables us to go behind the wheels under harsh road conditions to gain experience and knowledge of the world's roads, listen to customer feedback, encounter global cultures first-hand, and together find solutions to numerous problems and challenges. Such experiences further empower us to hone our intuition for making ever-better cars in a manner that cannot be replicated at a desk or on test courses, and thereby contribute to the development of human resources.

Since the launch of the 5 Continent Drive Project in 2014, around 520 participants have travelled across continents to take back learnings from the roads to each workplace, in each area, breaking down corporate walls, and learning from the roads. With the commencement of our journey In India, we look forward to understanding the characteristics of the Indian roads and the challenges that will come along with it,” he continued.

Also speaking at the occasion, Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto, Executive Vice President, TMAP said, “India is a very important market for Toyota and it is with this intent that we wanted to begin the second leg of the 5 Continents Asia Drive in India. Asia is the last stage of Toyota 5 Continents Drive Project. In February 2019, the team embarked to its starting point: the Middle East. Continuing on, the teams will drive east through Asia covering countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and culminating in Vietnam by November 2019.

What makes our India journey even more special is besides Toyota employees, members from Suzuki Motor Corporation/MSIL will also participate in our quest to discover the real India. Furthermore, the core of the Toyota 5 Continents Drive is reflecting and embodying Toyota’s global corporate initiative ‘Start Your Impossible’ which aims to inspire people, including our employees and stand against challenges and the impossible. We look forward to a fruitful drive in India and wish the team the very best in this journey”, he concluded.

Welcoming the 5 Continents Drive Project team to India, Mr. Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “All through our journey of two decades in India, it has been our constant endeavor to achieve sustainable growth for our business,  employees and our partners. We have always challenged ourselves to create new ways to connect and serve our customers. We believe this project will play an instrumental role in the overall development of our human resources providing them with the knowledge and skill to serve our customers in a better way.

With the philosophy of ‘Roads train people & people build cars’, the 5 Continents Drive convoy will be driving across India’s diverse locations, listening to customer feedback, understanding the nature of roads, reviewing our vehicle standards,  recognizing the value of reliability,  durability & comfort, acquiring the knowledge through ‘Genchi Genbutsu’ & thereby continue making ever better cars in India”.

Further sharing his thoughts on the project and what it means to Toyota in India, Mr. N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Toyota Kirloskar Motor always looks at adding value and fostering customer experience to newer heights through its renowned QDR (Quality, Durability and Reliability) philosophy and this project is a step closer towards achieving our goal of delivering ever-better cars and catering to the ever-evolving needs of our customers. The learning garnered through this project will help us strengthen our current offerings and provide future-ready solutions. We are delighted to welcome the 5 Continents Drive Project to India as this project will not only enable Toyota engineers to understand our country better but will also give an opportunity to our dealers and customers in India to interact with them. We would like to thank the team for this opportunity and wish them the very best for the drive”.

In this project, Toyota aims to not only develop employees who are behind the wheel but also inspire its partners and other internal & external stakeholders. The driving teams will share their knowledge acquired with other employees through internal reports once the Asia leg of the drive is over.

Mindtree Develops New Container Acceleration Service Enabling Faster Deployment of Cloud Applications

Mindtree, a global technology services and digital transformation company, announced a new service, InnoApp for Kubernetes, enabling enterprises to deploy containerized cloud applications on Microsoft Azure, accelerating application setup and innovation. The service utilizes Kubernetes, the open source architecture for automating deployment and management of containerized applications.

Containers and container orchestration are one of the most preferred ways of designing and deploying cloud native workloads, be it application transformation based on micro services, data transformation, intelligence-based services, among others. One of the biggest challenges that architects and developers face are the governance issues around architecture, operations, policies and security.

Mindtree’s new InnoApp for Kubernetes service greatly simplifies the process for clients to launch containerized application workloads on Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service. The underlying platform for InnoApp for Kubernetes provides ready to use, industry proven infrastructure-as-code templates to accelerate app modernization for enterprises.

Key components of the service include:

·         Scanning of application code to access cloud readiness, giving insights into which legacy applications can be updated.
·         Provisioning and setup of Kubernetes clusters on Azure with analytics and logging features, automating these processes to add more efficiency.
·         Configuration of a DevOps pipeline that simplifies app deployment and configuration changes.
·         Setup of governance and security policy engines to monitor applications running on Azure Kubernetes Service, ensuring that organizations meet guidelines for risk mitigation and compliance obligations.

Mindtree has also joined the Azure Kubernetes Service program. Mindtree offers its enterprise customers specialized expertise and experience with large-scale client work within the open source modernization ecosystem. The Azure Kubernetes Service program is also part of the new Azure Advanced Specialization Competencies announced at Microsoft Inspire 2019.

“Many of our enterprise customers approach their digital transformation, planning and modernization for key applications in a modern, cloud-native way where containers are a foundation,” said Manoj Karanth, Global Head of Cloud at Mindtree. “They’re interested in the potential for orchestration engines like Kubernetes to help accelerate application development while handling the compliance and security aspects. As cloud platforms are evolving, InnoApp for Kubernetes provides the pathway to help clients accelerate their multi-cloud container strategy using the Azure platform.”

Gabe Monroy, partner program manager, Azure Container Compute at Microsoft Corp. said, “Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service is the next wave of application suite modernization and an important initiative for Microsoft. Customers look to Azure Kubernetes Service to help innovate current business processes, so we look for partners focused on digital transformation that are well-versed in all things Microsoft. We’re pleased to see Mindtree continue with its commitment to providing solutions on today’s latest technologies.”

Clients using InnoApp for Kubernetes can take advantage of Mindtree’s deep expertise in application modernization with its large client base. Mindtree has micro-service experience across several industries, including global travel, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, retail and finance.

Mindtree experts will attend the Microsoft Digital Transformation Academy September 17-21 in Las Vegas, NV to discuss the service with Microsoft’s U.S. field selling and channel teams.

KITABAY & KOFFEE, Bengaluru’s Book Fair Opens at NGV Club, Koramangala, Sept 19–22

KITABAY & KOFFEE, an upcoming book & coffee event will see visitors enjoying a bulk sale of over 90,000 books along with a variety of freshly brewed South Indian coffee at NGV Club, Koramangala, Bengaluru from 19th – 22nd September 2019 from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. It’s an opportunity for all readers & caffeine lovers to experience the remarkable amalgamation of books & coffee at one place.

This unique book fair, organized by KITABAY.COM, is the brainchild of Mr. Saurabh Sinha, a Jaipur based entrepreneur who after completing his engineering in Computer Science from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore in the year 2016 worked with an IT Multinational Company & an Insurance Company. His vision is to provide an online platform which understands the reader’s demands, expectations and provides the finest selection of books at the most affordable prices.

KITABAY & KOFFEE will display over 90,000 new & pre-loved books in over 20 genres to choose from and fit as many books as they can into a box of their choice. It’s a one - time payment of a box where the buyer has the opportunity to pack the maximum number of books into the box of their selection. The individual can choose from 3 different sized boxes at the event.

*      The small box has a min. capacity of 10-12 books at Rs. 999
*      The medium box has a min. capacity of 15-18 books at Rs. 1499
*      The large box has a min. capacity of 30-33 books at Rs. 2499

Some of the finest coffees from the coffee abodes of South India sourced from 100% organic farms will also be available.

Interior Tech Startup Indyro Global Launches ‘POWER PLUS’ Tracks, Wireless Sockets and Switches

Indyro Global, India’s first player in the brand new field of Interior Technology, recently announced the launch of its first and flagship product ‘POWER PLUS.’ The start-up which aims at completely revolutionizing the way we understand power consumption, has introduced the latest product that incorporates a power track which can go up to 6 ft in length, universally adaptive sockets of different amperage, socket enhancer accessories such as LAN adapter etc. The power track can support a load of 5kW and up to 25-30 devices can be connected at a time!

So what exactly is the POWER PLUS?

Moving beyond the limitations of a wall-fixed power outlet, POWER PLUS is the first flexible power outlet system to be introduced in India. It is essentially a long ‘power railway line’ of sorts, which can easily fit along the walls of a space or table skirting and allow users to plug in their devices from wherever they are. The sockets offered by Indyro are universally adaptable, which gets rid of the problem of non-compatibility. Furthermore, the accessories help add multiple utilities to the sockets, which can easily serve as a Wi-Fi adapter or can connect to a LAN cable, adapting to the needs of corporate spaces easily.

Commenting on the innovation the company is aiming to introduce and inculcate, Rohan Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Indyro Global said, “The 21st century is device-driven, and the restrictions imposed by wall-fixed power outlets are not acceptable anymore. Indyro’s POWER PLUS has been developed after 4 years of extensive research in the interior technology domain to identify the perfect way to optimize the way we access power. Gradually, POWER PLUS has the potential to become the go-to framework in corporate offices, public facilities and residences considering the immense freedom and flexibility it offers. It has the potential to drive a complete behavioural change in the way we meet our power needs.”

One of the most important aspects of POWER PLUS is its easy-to-implement feature. POWER PLUS does not require any kind of re-wiring, breaking down walls or massive renovation work and can fit in smoothly within existing power structures. Thus, it serves as the perfect cost-saving option for dilapidated buildings, heritage structures or other facilities looking for a quick, long-term, innovative and efficient fix to their power framework. Furthermore, POWER PLUS has an element of aesthetic design involved as the sockets and the tracks can be lit according to the user’s preferences and can also be used as efficient advertising options. With POWER PLUS, Indyro has introduced the Interior Technology domain in India emphatically, and has the ability to change the ways in which we viewed the humble old power sockets, forever!

Pre-booking starts from September 29, 2019.

Amazon Original Series - The Family Man Releases September 20 on Amazon Prime Video

Key Highlights

~ Created by dynamic duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru &Krishna DK), The Family Man is set to release on September 20, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across 200 countries and territories.~

~ Family Man marks the digital debut of Padma Shri awardee and National Award winner - Manoj Bajpayee and stars award-wining talent from pan India, including National Award winner Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Neeraj Madhav, Sharad Kelkar, Gul Panag, Sundeep Kishan, Darshan Kumaar, Sunny Hinduja, and Shreya Dhanwantary

~An edgy drama-thriller, The Family Man is the story of Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee) who is ‘a middle class guy but a world-class spy’.~

~Prime offers incredible value with unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive movies, TV shows, stand-up comedy, Prime Original series, ad free music through Amazon Prime Music, free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, all available only for ₹129 a month ~

The highly anticipated Amazon Original Series The Family Man, is set to make waves on Amazon Prime Video! Created by the award-winning duo Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru (Stree, Go Goa Gone, Shor In The City), The Family Man is a ten episode series that will be available to stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across over 200 countries and territories. The Family man is an edgy drama-thriller series, which tells the story of a middle-class man who works for a special cell of the National Intelligence Agency. While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job. The highly anticipated series is brought to life by some of India’s award winning and highly acclaimed actors, Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Sharad Khelkar, Neeraj Madhav, Gul Panag, Sundeep Kishan, Darshan Kumaar, Sunny Hinduja, Shreya Dhanwantary and others.

Jay Marine, Vice President - Amazon Prime Video, said “We are incredibly excited about the growth of Prime Video in India. One of the big drivers of our success in India is our Indian Amazon Originals and we are delighted that we will soon be launching our latest Amazon Original series - The Family Man. With a strong storyline, an all-star cast and incredible performances, the show is certain to find audience love not just in India but around the world.”

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said “With The Family Man, Amazon continues to bring distinctive and high quality storytelling to our audiences, reinforcing our commitment to being a home for talent, both in front of and behind the camera. The Family Man is a fast-paced drama-thriller that redefines mainstream viewing by bringing high-caliber creators such as Raj & DK along with an all-star cast including Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Neeraj Madhav, Gul Panag, among others. The show seamlessly couples drama, action, thrill and surprisingly wry humor in a highly binge-worthy 10 episodes. Serious geo-politics forms the backdrop of the drama-thriller, taking The Family Man across the country, as he attempts to serve the nation. Viewers will also get deep insights into very relatable struggles of a Family Man, who attempts to balance both work and family.”

Raj & DK, Producers of the Amazon Original, The Family Man, through their production company, D2R Films said, “We have been wanting to get into long-form storytelling, and were waiting for the right platform. And we found an amazing partner in Amazon Prime! It has truly been a wonderful journey, the start of a new and exciting innings, creating our first show. With The Family Man, we tried a new genre and an approach both challenging and satisfying. We tried our take on geo-politics, blended it into an action-y thriller and added doses of quirky humour that is usually not associated with a serious genre like this. Loosely inspired by present-day events, it is a grounded take on the life of a middle-class guy who is also tasked with the job of fighting terrorism. The Family Man is an ode to the common man - his hopes, aspirations, responsibilities and troubles. In this case, he's also pretty screwed - balancing family and saving the country.”

Synopsis:

Amazon Original Series The Family Man follows the journey of Srikant Tiwari a middle class man who lives his faced paced life with his wife and children in Mumbai. Srikant spends most of his time attempting to strike a balance between the responsibilities of his family while working for a highly secretive special cell of the National Intelligence Agency, attempting to spot and prevent large-scale terror attacks on the country and its citizens. One day, while going about his domestic chores, Srikant Tiwari finds himself caught in a sudden case that demands his full attention which eventually throws his family life upside down.

Facebook: @FamilyManAmazon Twitter: #TheFamilyMan Instagram: familymanamazon

Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, stand-up comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award-winning Amazon Prime Originals like Made in Heaven, MIrzapur, Breathe, amongst others all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

To watch the upcoming Amazon Original The Family Man and to catch-up on the super successful Season 1 as well as the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and other Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership only at ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly.

World’s Smartest Office Building Run on i-BEMS by L&T Tech Services

L&T Technology Services Limited, a global pure-play engineering services company, is pleased to announce the launch of the ‘Smartest Office Campus in the World’ in Israel by the world’s leading technology conglomerate, for which LTTS had been the technology partner throughout the course of the project.

The state-of-the-art building will redefine the future of work by enabling continuous and interconnected intelligent systems based on cutting-edge digital technologies such as IoT, Machine Learning and Predictive Asset Management.

The futuristic campus is being run on LTTS’ smart campus platform i-BEMS (Intelligent Building Experience Management System). i-BEMS is the backbone of the modern smart building. The ingenious system-of-systems facilitates the next level of personalized user and digital experience, occupant safety, air quality monitoring and predictive diagnostics using IoT.

Using i-BEMS, the smart office will help save energy and water while leveraging Machine Learning which will also address areas such as preferred working environment for the employees and their learning and development requirements.

The new office campus offers several unique features for building occupants and facility managers alike, not experienced before in any facility.

- Creating engaging User Experiences

o   Customized apps guide users across every aspect of their work life – from commuting for work to indoor navigation & positioning with easy way to find available meeting rooms, message board to share posts with colleagues, workplace services appointment bookings, food & dining experience with live service and dining occupancy, commute and parking experience with collaborated car pool services, gym services, desk finder and booking, and raising service requests. There are 100+ features accessible by users through a mobile app

o   First ever interactive digital signage screens across every floor of the building that provide occupants with live updates on all major activity in the building. This includes wayfinding, room availability, message board, workplace services & offerings,  food & dining menus with live service and dining occupancy, commute & ride with live traffic views, train & bus timings, car pool services, and many others

o   Occupants can also control the transparency of their window glasses to harvest daylight and maintain their privacy

All of these functionalities can be accessed physically and via the mobile app version in smartphones. LTTS designed the engaging User Interface and User Experience for both the integrated digital signage systems and mobile applications.

-          Benefits for Facility Managers

o   Over 20 systems are integrated with LTTS’ i-BEMS platform. Provides facility managers with a unified dashboard to monitor live system IoT device status, command center for digital signage systems, lighting, HVAC, energy usage, water, security and evacuations, among others

o   i-BEMS captures data from various building devices that helps facility managers with remote monitoring and troubleshooting

Ashish Khushu, Chief Technology Officer of L&T Technology Services said, “We are excited to contribute to the development of the next-generation campus through our i-BEMS framework and UI/UX methodologies that map users’ true needs and facilitate a wide array of customized offerings for the occupants. i-BEMS is seamlessly integrated with critical building parameters such as HVAC and lighting management among others that help in in conservation of energy and sustainable operations. Through this engagement with the world’s leading technology conglomerate, we are delighted to take the next big leap in smart campus experience management.”

CIO is the Culture Change Agent to Augment Digital Dexterity in the Workplace

As society and business increasingly consume and produce digital goods and services, a digitally dexterous workforce is essential to foster agility, collaboration and the adoption of new digital technologies. Gartner, Inc. says the CIO must be the culture change agent to enhance digital dexterity as a competency that applies to individuals, teams and the organization as a whole.

“The digital component of most jobs is increasing. Technical skills are important, but are not enough to steer a successful digital business transformation,” said Helen Poitevin, research vice president at Gartner. “Business and IT leaders need to employ the right talent with a specific set of mindsets, beliefs and behaviors — which we call digital dexterity — to launch, finish and capitalize on digital initiatives.”

During Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, which is taking place in Cape Town through Wednesday, Gartner analysts explained how organizations can create a digital dexterity program to lead successful digital business initiatives.

The payoff from digital dexterity can be significant. Employees with high levels of digital dexterity are more than three times more likely to gain value from digital initiatives than those with moderate digital dexterity. “They are quicker to launch, finish and obtain the outcomes they seek from digital initiatives,” said Ms. Poitevin.

In 2019, 29% of CIOs in EMEA viewed digital business as a top priority, so improving digital dexterity throughout the organization is crucial. To help their employees to develop digital dexterity traits, business leaders need to build them up by enabling enterprise agility and developing digital competencies. Above all, business leaders need to make digital dexterity a C-suite priority. 

The CIO Is the Culture Change Leader Partnering With Chief HR Officers

“Mindsets and practices shape culture, and technology acts as an amplifier of that culture. Technology by itself seldomly changes an organization’s culture”, said Daniel Sanchez Reina, senior research director at Gartner. Technology is often the backbone of how work gets done and reinforces the company culture, which is why culture change is becoming an increasing responsibility of IT.

“Increasingly, it’s the responsibility of the CIO to operationalize the enterprise culture and the prevalence of digital dexterity in the workplace,” added Mr. Sanchez Reina. “The CIO will play a key role in supporting desired behaviors and changing the processes, procedures, policies and management practices that shape how work gets done to encourage desired behaviors.”

The CIO is the culture change leader and the chief HR officer (CHRO) is a key partner to the CIO in shifting the mindset of their own IT team members from “this is the way we have always done things” to “how can we do things better?”

“This will only happen by applying a framework of culture change, which includes increasing the digital dexterity of the entire organization,” Mr. Sanchez Reina said.

Gartner introduced the PRISM (purpose; rituals; identity; support and merit) framework to enable organizations to change cultural traits that prevented a culture change (e.g. silo-minded organizations or risk-averse teams). “PRISM works because it allows organizations to raise employee’s awareness on the need for change. That is the one and only key to success,” concluded Mr. Sanchez Reina.