OTO Unveils ‘My OMI Plan’ for Financing Two Wheeler Purchases with 30% Reduction of EMIs

OTO Capital has announced the launch of My OMI (Ownership Monthly Installment) Plan for two wheeler buyers. My OMI Plan is the most affordable and flexible financing option for consumers to purchase two-wheelers of their choice at any dealer showroom. With the My OMI Plan, customers now have an affordable and flexible option of owning a two wheeler for a fraction of the cost which is upto 30% lower than existing two-wheeler EMIs. One of the significant causes for the recent slowdown of the automotive industry is believed to be caused by challenges in financing vehicle purchases. While the government is taking measures to boost demand, options such the My OMI Plan could bring buyer interest back on track by making it easier for customers to finance automotive purchases.

With the My OMI Plan, customers can walk into any two-wheeler showroom, get an instant approval and ride home their brand new vehicle under 30 minutes with zero paperwork. Under the plan, customers pay a low down payment, as little as INR 5000 which is refundable and OMIs (Ownership Monthly Installments) that are 30% less than loan EMIs. Customers can choose the tenure of their OMIs, which ranges from 1-3 years. At the end of the chosen tenure, customers have the flexibility to walk away with no obligation, or upgrade to another brand-new vehicle, or make a simple balloon payment to retain the same vehicle.

Buyers also get a convenient, all-inclusive OMI that includes bumper to bumper insurance and maintenance. The company has partnered with more than 100 dealers in the city, including Aryan Suzuki, Sapphire Honda, Tansi Honda, Avanish Suzuki and many more to offer customers the new financing option. OTO has already financed more than 140 two wheelers in its pilot phase in the last 45 days. Currently My OMI Plan is available to customers in Bengaluru and Mumbai and in the next one year OTO will expand into 10 other Indian cities.

Every year in India, more than Two crore two wheelers are sold, out of which, more than 50% are financed. The frequency with which new auto models are being introduced and the rise in usage of connected vehicles, is rapidly changing the vehicle ownership experience. Customers are now seeking faster access to vehicles, low-cost EMIs and quicker upgrades. OTO allows just that. By partnering with dealers, corporates and automakers, OTO is gaining popularity as the fastest-growing alternate option to vehicle loans. The company has already signed up 20 corporates where employees enjoy hassle free financing along with flexible ownership and additional tax savings.

OTO partners with Banks and NBFCs to provide the capital and offers customers with an alternative option for financing vehicle purchases. OTO provides a full auto-lifecycle management, from credit underwriting to insurance, maintenance and eventual resale of the vehicle. Partnering with OTO helps traditional and large banks to offer flexible models of ownership and incentivize the new-age buyer by offering an all inclusive package. With the slowdown in the automotive sector, partnering with OTO gives vehicle loan departments of banks an opportunity to quickly move into vehicle leasing without any change in their internal processes. OTO is enabling Banks and NBFCs to serve newer and wider set of customers who were earlier shying away from vehicle loans. 

Castrol India Enrols Over 1.5 Lakh Mechanics and Retailers on a Unique Digital Incentive Platform

Key Highlights

* Castrol Fast Scan - Castrol India’s digital incentive platform is a unique solution for stakeholders including retailers and mechanics
* Castrol Fast Scan is backed by a robust reward management system offering an end to end solution
* This instant pay-out platform sees over 1 lakh incentive coupons scanned daily for reward aggregating worth INR 6 crore a month in beneficiary bank accounts
* Standard Chartered Bank is the banking partner for this industry-first solution which enables digital upskilling and financial inclusion
* Castrol Fast Scan aims to double users in the next 12 months while offering numerous possibilities to enable sustained and customised engagement programmes using Castrol Fast Scan
* Castrol Fast Scan is an avenue for collaboration for other corporates looking to reach and reward various stakeholders in a transparent and secure manner

Castrol India Limited, the leading automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturing company in the country, announced that Castrol Fast Scan - its unique digital incentive platform for key stakeholders including mechanics and retailers has already reached 1.5 lakh users. Standard Chartered Bank is the banking partner for this industry-first solution.

Castrol Fast Scan currently helps retailers and mechanics to earn, track and redeem rewards, and receive them instantly in their bank account using IMPS, leading to significant simplification and shortening of the incentive payment cycle from months to minutes.

Castrol Fast Scan has acquainted many mechanics and retailers to banking on the go, besides inculcating a savings mindset. Castrol Fast Scan has witnessed initial success and widespread acceptance with the current average daily transactions pegged at over one lakh transactions amounting to INR 6 crores being reimbursed monthly.

Commenting on the announcement, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited, said, “Castrol Fast Scan reinforces our commitment to our key stakeholders like mechanics and retailers to continue to add value to their respective businesses. Designed and developed in-house by Castrol India team and working on a robust
back-end system, Castrol Fast Scan delivers a premium customer experience along with simplification and creates a significant differentiation by helping our stakeholders in financial inclusion and digital upskilling.”   

Zarin Daruwala, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “Technology is disrupting the way our clients operate and as a bank, we endeavour to work closely with them to develop customised eco-system solutions to drive their strategic growth.This solution has not only addressed a market need, but also delivered on a larger digital agenda for India, whereby now Castrol can facilitate incentive payments to various stakeholders round the clock, in an instant and cashless manner. We truly believe that this partnership is one of its kind as it unlocks options where client-bank collaboration can provide exciting possibilities through transformation across industries.”

As next steps, Castrol Fast Scan aims to double its users in the next 12 months. It is an avenue for collaboration for other corporate partners looking to reach and reward various stakeholders in a transparent and secure manner.

Castrol Fast Scan offers numerous possibilities to enable sustained and customised engagement programmes for a variety of stakeholders. This will play a big role in enlarging their awareness and industry knowledge along with technical upskilling and capability building.

Nutanix and HPE Accelerate GreenLake Partnership Across Asia

Enterprise Cloud leader, Nutanix and HPE are accelerating their GreenLake partnership with a series of partner launch events across Asia to celebrate the general availability (GA) of the new HPE ProLiant DX series appliances.

The 15-city tour has already received strong reviews from partners in New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo with over 500 resellers in attendance. It will continue across the remaining 12 cities throughout September and October.

The announcement follows the April 2019 global partnership agreement between the technology leaders designed to deliver a worldwide integrated hybrid cloud as a Service (aaS) solution and bring easier access to HCI for the world’s enterprises.

A primary component of the partnership is a newly developed ProLiant DX appliance series, built with HPE servers and factory-installed Nutanix software, for on-premise operations.

The news comes as HCI and hybrid cloud continue to gain momentum throughout Asia, as businesses accelerate replacing their aging IT infrastructure amid increasing competition. As the race to the cloud continues, the need for cloud ready architecture is gaining pace.

Hence, the arrival of the Nutanix on HPE ProLiant DX appliance series looks set to intensify the battle for the soul of Asia’s enterprises. Nutanix and HPE believe their open, flexible and interoperable model will prevail against the less flexible and limited scope of rivals.

“The HPE ProLiant DX series puts Asia’s enterprises in the driving seat,” said Matt Young, SVP and Head of Asia Pacific and Japan, Nutanix. “As international competition intensifies and the threat of a global economic slowdown continues, Asia’s enterprises will rely more and more on a future-ready infrastructure to provide the efficiencies and productivity required to survive and thrive. Nutanix and HPE are providing the ideal means to help them do just that.”

“We are already seeing high levels of excitement and interest from local customers and partners now that Nutanix is available on HPE ProLiant DX,” said Anantharaman Balakrishnan, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, India and SAARC, Nutanix.  “Businesses understand that their technology infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose and cannot simply be ‘patched’ or tinkered with. DX now provides them with the means to modernise their datacentre on their terms: with the hardware and software platform of their choice.”

The rapid rollout of Nutanix on the HPE ProLiant DX series is part of a continuing investment in Asia by Nutanix. The investment includes a series of recent distributor and reseller agreements, strategic partnerships and alliances, and rapid expansion of its regional marketing and salesforce.

Signify Launches its New Easy-to-Install Philips T Beamer LED Batten

Signify, the world leader in lighting (formerly known as Philips Lighting) today launched its latest easy-to-install LED batten called Philips T Beamer in India.  This innovative 2-feet long LED Batten can be installed in existing LED bulb sockets and requires no elaborate installation set-up. Its simple plug-and-play design offers a wide light spread and easy installation whilst preventing damage to walls caused during the installation of regular LED battens. It also features a unique swivel function, which enables customers to move the product up and down up to 70 degrees for better focused lighting.

“At Signify, we have always been at the forefront of product innovation and strive to design products basis unique customer insights. While most consumers prefer LED battens, they are apprehensive about the wall damage and elaborate installation process required. I am very proud that we’re launching an LED Batten that prioritizes the customer’s need for easy installation, whilst preventing wall damage. We are confident that this product will benefit customers seeking the dual benefits of higher illumination and simple installation,” said Sukanto Aich, Chief Marketing Officer for Signify in India.

India is one of the biggest tubelight markets in the world, with consumers using at least one tubelight on average to illuminate a room in their household. With the growing penetration of LEDs in the country, consumers are increasingly replacing their conventional tubelights with LED battens. However, upgrading to an LED batten requires elaborate installation set-up and invariably causes damage to walls. To address this gap, Signify has introduced this innovative Philips T Beamer that offers a wide light spread like a LED batten, but which can be easily installed in an existing LED bulb socket, thus not requiring an elaborate installation process and enabling an easy upgrade to LED battens.

Product features –

•       2-feet length for Wider Light spread
•       Attractive Price: Available at INR 499/-
•       Available in 20W variant (2000 Lumens)
•       Higher brightness (100 lumen per watt i.e. 2000 lumen for this product)
•       Swivel body – Product can move up and down up to 70 degrees for better focus
•       EyeComfort Technology – safer for eyes, low glare

Accenture Launches Experience Activation Network at Mumbai to Power Growth for World’s Leading Brands

Accenture has opened a center in Mumbai that serves as the centerpiece of its new “experience activation network,” a collection of state-of-the-art sites worldwide that are dedicated to powering brand experiences that deliver marketing-led growth.

The experience activation network is part of Accenture Interactive Operations — the marketing managed services arm of Accenture Interactive— which harnesses talent, technology, and process innovation through SynOps for Marketing, to deliver dynamic brand experiences across all consumer touchpoints and channels.

Occupying two floors of its Intelligent Operations Center in Mumbai, Accenture’s new experience activation center includes dedicated design thinking spaces, immersive demonstration zones and interactive digital surfaces, as well as open collaboration zones for clients to co-create alongside industry-specialized teams.

Among those at the center’s opening today were executives from a number of marketing pioneers — including GlaxoSmithKline, Radisson Hotel Group, Shell and others — that have embarked on bold marketing transformations with Accenture, using emerging technology, a global shared services model and process innovation to drive experiential-led growth.

“With the customer experience increasingly a driver of competitive advantage and sustained growth, the marketing function is emerging as a new organizational superpower,” said Debbie Polishook, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. “Our experience activation network is helping clients stay one step ahead of the convergence of the front and back office by enabling CMOs to transform their operating models and capitalize on the growth opportunity ahead of them.”

Key targets for the new center include chief marketing officers and other marketing executives, many of whom are struggling to meet the rapidly evolving needs of consumers. In fact, recent research from Accenture found while only one-sixth (17%) of nearly 1,000 CMOs surveyed know how to transform their operating models to deliver hyper-relevant customer experiences at a global scale, organizations that do deliver such experiences generate shareholder returns 11% higher than those of their industry peers.

Beyond the Mumbai location, the global experience activation network includes similar centers in Turin, Italy;  Malaga, Spain; Warsaw, Poland; Dalian, China; and Costa Rica. These centers are connected to more than 100 Accenture locations worldwide to seamlessly bring the best of the company’s investments in innovation to clients anywhere in the world.

In addition, the experience activation network is among the world’s largest concentration of marketing activation experts, bringing together tens of thousands of professionals worldwide that include data scientists, graphic designers, platform practitioners, content production specialists, programmatic experts and ecommerce experts.

“We have built a model for a new generation of marketers who must deliver a meaningful and connected customer experience across all touchpoints and channels,” said Nikki Mendonça, president of Accenture Interactive Operations. “Our experience activation network powers a marketing-led growth agenda by harnessing all the skills, assets and capabilities our clients need to activate, operate and scale customer experiences with greater speed, scale and agility.”

The experience activation network will take full advantage of the latest managed services from Accenture Interactive Operations, which include:

* Next-generation content services to amplify content at scale and drive dynamic personalized experiences using the latest techniques and technologies.
* Digital marketing services to activate digital channels dynamically to grow marketing-led revenue, using proprietary algorithms and machine-learning intelligence, and deliver personalized, seamless brand experiences.
* Programmatic media services to drive growth by executing multi-platform paid media activity programmatically and with full transparency to improve top and bottom-line results.
* eCommerce services to boost digital sales by enabling customers to discover what they want, find what they are searching for, and buy what they want the way they want it.

Atos Opens First Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Germany

Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, opened its German Artificial Intelligence (AI) Laboratory in Munich. In this innovative environment, Atos is developing for its clients business solutions using AI and other cutting-edge technologies. At the opening ceremony Thierry Breton, CEO and Chairman of Atos, highlighted the relevance of AI for the industry and the economy.

"Artificial Intelligence solutions have the power to be true game changers: For individual companies as well as entire economies, the holistic implementation of digital techniques leveraging AI is key to their success in the future", says Thierry Breton, CEO and Chairman of Atos. “Our AI Lab is the right platform for the collaborative development of tangible digital use cases that deliver long-term value as quickly as possible. “

The German AI lab is also part of Atos' global AI network as an element of its partnership with Google Cloud, which was initiated in 2018. The lab is aimed at companies and organizations that want to promote and develop the use of AI across their businesses. Atos and Google Cloud offer the necessary technological and industry-specific technical expertise as well as concrete use cases.

“The successful use of artificial intelligence technologies requires both technological and vertical knowledge “, says Annette Maier, Managing Director Google Cloud DACH. „That's why Atos and Google Cloud form a very strong partnership that brings these two benefits together. “

At the opening event in Munich, Atos provided numerous customers and partners insights into the digital future of the economy by various use cases. The mixed reality solution, for example, demonstrated that by combining real-time 3D images with PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) data, insights were more precise enabling product development cycles to be shortened. Another showcase demonstrated the potential of connected supply chains worldwide. Thanks to digital logistics, goods delivery times are precisely calculated using advanced analytics factoring in external circumstances. This enables a seamless and efficient supply chain.

The AI Lab in Munich is part of the local Business Technology Innovation Center (BTIC). The recently upgraded BTIC is part of the global network of Atos innovation centers. In this setting Atos’ customers and partners can develop ideas and creative digital solutions together with Atos experts, combining a wide range of areas such as cloud, cybersecurity, Internet of Things, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. The BTIC integrates Atos’ global technological and industry experience, a comprehensive range of use cases, and a global network of subject matter experts and partners.

It will be the flagship for Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 solutions for Atos in Europe. This is supported by Atos’ strong footprint in the German manufacturing industry and its long-term relationship with Siemens, which as both a customer and partner, ensures that Atos has a deep understanding of the digital transformation needs for the manufacturing industry. 

Firework - Silicon Valley Based App Now Unveiled in India with Focus on Next-Gen Consumer Mobile Applications

Firework, a social mobile video app for iOS and Android devices, has now entered India. With ‘Reveal’, its patent pending technology, it will allow creators to take both horizontal and vertical video in one shot from their mobile device. Firework is part of a suite of apps created by Loop Now Technologies, Inc. a Redwood City, California (Silicon Valley) based incubator start-up that focuses on next-gen consumer mobile applications. Firework became the fastest social media app to achieve 1 million users in only 5 months while still in beta, growing +200% quarter over quarter. Firework is committed to empowering everyday creators to produce extraordinary stories with premium production value.

In India, Firework will focus on working with some of the biggest names in entertainment and already has content from ALTBalaji, Hindustan Times amongst others. The platform has attracted marketing whiz Harish Bijoor to start his Firework profile who has been regularly updating it with 30 second videos on marketing. Firework will debut many interesting features in the coming months to its Indian users. Offering user generated, platform-curated and original content from media partners including Refinery29, Firework's launch includes the announcement of recent content creation, promotional and advertising partnerships. Thousands of top digital creators have already discovered Firework including Frankie Grande, Dang Matt Smith, Olivia Jordan, and Marlon Webb, among others.

Firework is backed by the top-tier industry venture capital firms like IDG Ventures, who have invested in the past in TenCent, Baidu, Xiaomi, Flipkart and Lightspeed (investors in Snapchat and other unicorns and GSR Ventures). The venture capital firms have participated in the series A round of Firework. With a team of 51, Firework has a strong executive team combining tech and Hollywood expertise with stalwarts like Jerry Luk, Co-founder and COO,  Linkedin (before the Microsoft acquisition), Cory Grenier, ex Director of sales and Marketing at Snapchat and Bryan Barber, ex Warner, 20th Century Fox and Universal.

Speaking on redefining the Indian market, Vincent Yang, CEO, Loop Now Technologies, Inc. said “India has the fastest growing smartphone market in the world and it is exciting to be part of this revolution which has impacted everyone”. Vincent is also a Stanford MBA and previously co-founder and CEO at EverString, a leading AI company that has raised around $100M in Silicon Valley.

As three quarters of internet users are expected to go mobile-only by 2025 (according to World Advertising Research Center (WARC), creators and advertisers will be capable of reaching their audience with personalized content across a near-instant connection.

Cory Grenier, Chief Revenue Officer, Firework said, " Reports suggest that Indian consumers spend nearly 170 mins per day on apps and India in the past has seen over one billion app downloads. As Firework, we have over 3 million registered users across iOS   and Android. The Indian market will see us substantially increase that number”.