Tata Communications Launches ‘Secure Connected Digital Experience’ to Help Enterprises Rebuild

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, today announced the launch of ‘Secure Connected Digital Experience’ (SCDx), a new proposition for enterprises to help them rebuild and adapt their organisations for a post-COVID world.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses around the world to adapt suddenly to survive the huge disruption to everyday life. With many countries now emerging cautiously from lockdown, businesses are looking to redesign and restructure their operations for a transformed landscape.

Tata Communications’ SCDx proposition is intended to meet this growing, worldwide demand for new ways of operating, which includes far higher levels of working from home, rising security risks, a shift to digital commerce and more contactless experiences for employees, customers and supply chain partners. It will help companies currently relying on short-term fixes, such as consumer-grade applications or employees’ home broadband connections, by providing holistic, secure, enterprise-level digital solutions that address current challenges and are fit for the long term.

The SCDx proposition consists of three offerings:

* Tata Communications Secure Connected Digital Workplace enables enterprise employees (those typically working from the office as well as those working in the field), to work seamlessly and securely from anywhere through industrialised, scalable and high performance remote workplace solutions for complete workplace readiness.

* Tata Communications Digital Customer Experience Platform recreates the in-store experience online for B2C companies, with the next generation of enterprise commerce and video collaboration solutions for superior digital customer engagement.

* As supply chains become increasingly digital and transparent, SCDx will enable the supply chain ecosystem with secure access to enterprise core applications and significantly improved performance for third parties.

A.S Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications says, “COVID-19 is acting as a catalyst and accelerator of business transformation. In recent months, millions of employees have experienced working from home, consumers have embraced digital shopping and delivery, and businesses have adapted to doing more, virtually. These changes have created a new reality and we are not going back to how things were done before.

As enterprises shift from focusing on business continuity to business recovery and growth, they urgently need to rethink their digital strategies and transform themselves to prosper in this digital-first ecosystem. With Secure Connected Digital Experience, our goal is to enable enterprises to adopt new digital working models, accelerate their time to market and drive agility and resilience, giving them the tools to innovate, invent, and redefine their employee, customer and supply chain experience.”

Within the Tata Communications Secure Connected Digital Workplace offering, Tata Communications will provide a range of services to enterprises looking to enhance and safeguard the employee experience. It will provide secure and high-performance, zero-trust network access (ZTNA) through a partnership with NetFoundry, a subsidiary of Tata Communications. The zero-trust solution provides employees secure access to applications and data in the cloud, regardless of location, device or broadband connectivity, with 3-10X performance acceleration. This is vital for companies who want to digitally transform and embrace higher levels of remote working but need confidence that employees can access documents and apps securely and with an enterprise-grade experience, even on their home broadband connection.

Tata Communications Secure Connected Digital Workplace solution will also offer enterprise-grade collaboration and security solutions, ensuring that dispersed teams can collaborate without compromise, with seamless features like video, voice, messaging, etc. as well as secure access to applications behind enterprise firewalls to boost innovation, productivity and efficiency.

Through its connected employee solution, it will provide IOT-based employee health and safety wearables and SafePassTM smart ID cards, which enable effective social distancing, employee tracing and other safety norms, while enhancing worker wellbeing and minimising workplace risks in an industrial or campus setup.

NetFoundry was a key enabler in the digital transformation of FWD Insurance, one of the leading and fastest growing insurers in the Asia Pacific, providing FWD with a cloud-native, zero trust, software-only platform for FWD's cloud access use cases. When COVID-19 hit, FWD used the same platform to extend the secure access service edge (SASE) architecture for simple, zero trust remote access, while providing a high-quality end user experience for internal users and supply chain partners.

Shilpa Tumma, Business Information Security Officer, FWD said, “NetFoundry’s cloud-native connectivity has been the perfect match to aid FWD on our digital transformation and cloud-native application journey. In the current pandemic situation, although our usage has multiplied, NetFoundry easily scaled to cater to our demands to facilitate work from home in a few simple clicks, for both internal users and external parties. The solution helps us create AppWANs with zero trust micro-segmentation. NetFoundry multiplies the throughput by 3 to 4 times, giving the best user experience even for very huge file transfers.”  

Tata Communications’ Secure Connected Digital Experience builds on the company’s focus towards platforms and solutions for customers. The proposition leverages Tata Communications’ managed service capabilities and infrastructure and aims to drive intelligence across next generation connectivity; collaboration; cloud, edge and security; NetFoundry; voice, and more.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Tata Communications has been supporting customers to deploy relevant solutions in record time; in many cases, delivering changes and upgrades in less than six hours. Tata Communications has enabled tens of thousands of employees globally for remote working across more than 150 organisations including Tata Consultancy Services, with many more under deployment.

Springboard Secures $31M in Series B Funding Led by Telstra Ventures

Springboard, a mentor-guided online learning platform that prepares people for in-demand careers, announced today it has raised $31 million in Series B funding, bringing its total capital raised to more than $50 million. This round was led by new investor Telstra Ventures, with participation from Vulcan Capital and SJF Ventures, and returning investors Costanoa Ventures, Pearson Ventures, Reach Capital, International Finance Corporation (IFC), 500 Startups, Blue Fog Capital, and Learn Capital. 

Springboard launched India as its first geography outside the USA in 2019 and has placed its learners in Fortune 500 and world-renowned companies such as Samsung, Salesforce, Visa, LinkedIn, Cisco. The latest round of capital will enable Springboard to double down on student employability in response to the current job market in India and globally, by creating new hiring-focused products and strengthening employer partnerships to help graduates land their dream careers. 

Since inception, Springboard’s programs were designed to be entirely online, yet heavily supported by human interactions with mentors and a network of career experts. The new capital infusion will help Springboard further support job-seeking graduates by building several innovative tools for India and global markets:

The Hireability Forecaster, which provides early indications of student success and potential employability roadblocks by combining the power of Springboard’s predictive technology and the insights from its global community of almost 1,000 industry mentors. With 80% of Springboard mentors indicating they would hire their mentee, mentors and coaches will have the ability to indicate student achievement and intervene to course correct if students fall behind. 

Springboard Introductions, which offers Springboard students personalized, targeted introductions and job referrals from its community of over 13,000 mentors, alumni, fellow students, and employer partners that collectively represent over 50% of the Fortune 500 across 108 countries. Candidates who are internally referred are 15 times more likely to be hired than those who apply on a job board.

Student-Job Fit Recommender, an AI-driven job matching tool, which recommends open roles at Springboard’s employer partners that match each student's unique background and skill set. 

"India is witnessing one of its toughest challenges owing to the recent job losses that have impacted a large section of the workforce. It is therefore imperative for displaced workers to make the difficult transition into new, in-demand careers,” said Parul Gupta, Co-founder, Springboard. “Our remote-first, mentor-guided model is uniquely positioned to serve not only these individuals, but also universities and employers who need help navigating today's new economic reality. We're delighted to partner with a great group of investors, as we continue on our mission to transform over one million lives by 2030."

“Technology used to be a niche area but that’s no longer the case. As more and more companies are built on tech, the need to understand concepts like Data Science, AI, ML, UI/UX has become more homogenous. For learning to be meaningful, it needs to encompass state-of-the-art curriculum with real-world projects as well as mentorship and that is what Springboard stands for. With this funding we are in a good position to build on our strengths to provide in-demand job skills and holistic support at every step,” said Vivek Kumar, Managing Director, Springboard.

“The education sector is facing a tectonic shift. As enterprises and countries alike seek more and better talent with digital skill sets, the technology training market is set to explode,” said Albert Bielinko, Principal, at Telstra Ventures. "We invested in Springboard because the strong educational and job placement outcomes achieved by its students are a big differentiator. Springboard's highly personalised approach is built with the online learner in mind first, not as an afterthought, and offers a life-changing value proposition for Springboard's graduates.” 

Started by co-founders Gautam Tambay and Parul Gupta in 2013, Springboard pioneered a learning model that has enabled thousands of successful career transitions into the most in-demand technology fields via its job-guaranteed programs that are taught entirely online. Unlike most online learning companies that stop at teaching technical skills, Springboard focuses on employability -- 94% of eligible graduates secure a job within a year, earning an average salary increase of $26,000. Springboard’s unique strength is its remote-first yet human-centric approach that matches each student 1:1 with a personalized mentor—an industry professional working in their chosen field—who provides weekly feedback to keep students motivated and accountable. This approach has resulted in 330% student enrollment growth from June 2019 to June 2020. 

Furthering its commitment to student employability, Springboard is expanding its career services. It has tripled the number of virtual apprenticeship opportunities to build portfolio-worthy content and provide real-world work experience. The career services team has grown its career coaching capacity by 4x to provide more access to office hours, mock interviews, and a team of placement experts assigned to each student. To provide additional support during the job search, Springboard has extended its professional mentorship after program completion. 

In the coming months, Springboard plans to grow its industry-leading course offerings outside the high-tech industry to include additional skills gap disciplines. The company will also look to deepen its partnerships with universities and employers, enabling them to adapt to evolving reskilling needs in a post-pandemic economy.

YES BANK Launches KuchNayaSocho Campaign Across India

As India unlocks in phases from the current COVID-19 situation, YES BANK has launched a campaign, ‘KuchNayaSocho.’ Through this campaign, the Bank endeavours to instill hope amongst people and give a positive message to the society that we can adapt to the new normal through collaboration and innovative thinking. Since the lockdown was announced, the Bank launched a range of innovative solutions to help its customers adapt to the new normal.

All through our lives, be it at school, college or workplace, we have been encouraged to think innovatively and this approach has become an indispensable part of how we think. Building on this, the Bank has launched a campaign to partner communities and support them by building a bridge to a new future - KuchNayaSocho, a campaign embracing change and innovation to support customers and partners, alike. The campaign is being amplified across YouTube and Facebook.

Commenting on the launch, Jasneet Bachal, Chief Marketing Officer, YES BANK said,” While the last few months transformed our lives beyond imagination, bringing in a whole new world of isolation and social distancing, it has also reminded us that we are all interconnected like never before - a part of one another. The ‘#KuchNayaSocho’ campaign mirrors the way this transformation has impacted us, and how innovative thinking will pave the way for us to embrace the ‘new normal’. Through this campaign, we have also showcased how YES BANK is supporting all our stakeholders in adapting to the COVID-19 induced normal through digital solutions. The campaign urges ‘innovative thinking’ in order to adapt to the evolving changes, in readiness for the new.”

Keeping in mind the financial health, well-being, and daily travel requirements of commuters, the Bank recently launched solutions such as Fixed Deposit + COVID-19 Insurance Cover, an Overdraft against Fixed Deposit to meet financial and liquidity needs, a tap and go card for making contactless payments during bus travel, and a UPI payment solution for excess baggage during flight check-in for travelers of a renowned airline.

IDBI Bank Launches “IDBI Swarna Kalash” - Specialized Gold Loan Branches

IDBI Bank announced the launch of four specialized gold loan branches branded as “IDBI Swarna Kalash”, by remodeling its existing branches. These branches are located at Neelamangalam, Sivaganga, Vijaya Nagar, Bengaluru and L .B. Nagar, Hyderabad.

IDBI Bank in their Q1 FY21 Financial Results reported an increase in the growth trajectory with Gold Loans as one of the premium product with minimum delinquencies.

These specialized Gold Loan Branches will facilitate quick, transparent and hassle free Gold Loan financing. The Gold Loans are offered at a competitive interest rate, starting from 8% p.a., to cater to the increasing credit demand in the Agri, PSL, and rural markets. Overdraft facility is also available under these loans and can be applied via a digital platform.

Shri. Rakesh Sharma, MD & CEO, through a virtual mode, inaugurated these four branches in the presence of Deputy Managing Directors Shri Samuel Joseph and Shri Suresh Khatanhar, and Executive Director Shri Rajeev Kumar.

Speaking at the launch program, Shri Rakesh Sharma MD & CEO said that “We have witnessed a surge in the demand gold loan and have conceptualized “Swarna Kalash” as a premium offering of IDBI Bank. Our focus is on creation of such specialized branches to cater to the demand in the market and facilitate an easy access to our gold loan customers.”

Hyundai Receives Over 1.2M Customers' Response to ‘Industry First’ Smart Mobility Service ‘Hyundai on Whatsapp’

Hyundai Motor India Ltd, India’s first smart mobility solutions provider and largest exporter since inception, today announced an overwhelming response to Industry First Transactional Chat Based Medium - Hyundai Service on WhatsApp with over 1.2 million customers. Launched in October 2019, Hyundai Service on WhatsApp was aimed to strengthen Hyundai’s 360° digital & contact-less service experience.

Commenting on the overwhelming response, Mr. Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Service & Marketing), Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “Hyundai has always been at the forefront of widening its purview of services and providing a wholesome experience to our valued customers. The remarkable response to our Whatsapp Service with over 1.2million strong customer base is a testimony of Hyundai’s impeccable service support and we stand committed to provide ‘Peace of Mind’ to the evolving needs of the New Age Indians. I’m glad to inform that the continuous trust and support of our patrons for brand Hyundai has helped us rank No.1 in JD Power Customer Service Index for 3 years consecutively. We look forward to keep creating more and more Brilliant Moments in the lives of our customers and set new service-related benchmarks.”

Hyundai Service on WhatsApp is a communication platform which provides updates to customer during the entire vehicle service process. Prominent features like service reminders, service booking, in-service updates, invoice, online payment and feedback ensure a 360° Digital and contactless Service experience to customers. Additionally, customers can also chat directly with the trained agents to receive instant customized response.

With its strong network of over 1300 workshops PAN India, Hyundai has always been at the forefront in providing the best ownership experience to its customers through numerous initiatives like Hyundai Care App, Wonder Warranty, Door Step Advantage and much more.

Discovery Plus Drops Line-Up of Exciting Titles to Celebrate Independence Day with Tales of Valour Documenting War Stories

Discovery Plus, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, which offers of thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Military, Survival, Food and Lifestyle, further strengthened its offering in the armed forces led content by dropping new episodes of Tales of Valour in the month of August. Beyond Tales of Valour, another series which will enthrall audiences seeking investigation led content is ‘Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…’ which will explain what killed some of the most famous celebrities including the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith. While, Planet Child, a three-part series, delves into the way children experience life exploring areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness.

Independence day special

Discovery Plus, in a short span of time, has augmented its position as the hub of armed forces led content. The line-up includes documentaries such as ‘India’s Paratroopers – Earning the Badge’, ‘Revealed: LOC’,’ Battle Ops’, ‘Revealed: National Defence Academy’, ‘Revealed Siachen’,‘1965: India’s Battles and Heroes’ and Breaking Point franchise on Air Force Academy, Indian Submariners, High Altitude Warfare School, Women Fighter Pilots and Commando School Belgaum.

The OTT platform will add new episodes of Tales of Valour this August focusing on

* Battle of Namka Chu releasing on August 05- During the Indo-Sino war of 1962, the Indian army fought in unfamiliar terrain. Celebrate the sacrifice of Subedar Dashrath Singh who lived to tell his tale of valour.

* Battle of Rezang la releasing on August 10 - The battle of Rezang La in 1962 was one of the toughest battles fought in the highest of mountains. Rezang La was the last stand of the C Company of 13 Kumaon, during the Sino-Indo War in 1962 where only about 120 Indian soldiers went up against Chinese troops.

* Battle of Longewala releasing on August 15- The Battle of Longewala was fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri and his brave band of soldiers led the defence at the Indian border post of Longewala, against the Pakistani forces.

* Battle of Asal Uttar releasing on August 24- The Battle of Asal Uttar was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pak War of 1965.

* Battle of Haji Pur and Dograi releasing on August 31- In the second Indo-Pak war, India launched many aggressive operations to push the enemy out. The courageous capture of Haji Pir Pass and Battle of Dograi were part of it.

Other highlight shows which will keep audiences hooked include

Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…:

This Discovery Plus exclusive looks at crucial medical evidence that explains what killed some of the most famous celebrities as a forensic pathologist attempts to understand what their last days looked like. Celebrities covered in the series include Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith.

Planet Child:

This three-part series, streaming exclusively on Discovery Plus, delves into the way children experience life. The series explores key areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness in a range of scenarios, in order to understand how the development of kids is influenced by how they are raised and where they live.

Restaurant Stakeout

Willie Degel is known for running a tight ship at his restaurants. His secret: cameras canvassing every inch of his restaurant, allowing him to keep a close eye on his floor, staff and patrons. Starting August 24, Restaurant Stakeout follows as Willie takes his practices to troubled restaurateurs looking to find and rectify the hidden problems that lie within their establishments.

Mountain Life

The series follow families who want to get away from the hustle and bustle as they search for the ultimate mountain retreat. From the wooded peaks of the East Coast's Blue Ridge to Hawaii's tropical Mauna Loa, there are remote mountain locations you didn't even know existed.

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt takes you inside the world of the predator that rules the oceans. Orcas – also known as killer whales - confidently and effortlessly stalk their prey fearing no other living creature. This fascinating programme streaming on the app on August 28, will give you an insight into how they live, feed and hunt; as well as a variety of incredible facts about their anatomy, behavioural traits and survival techniques.

Enjoy Exclusive Offers and Discounts on Select Devices During Huawei Wearable Days’ Promotion

Offers and Discounts  

* Enjoy exclusive deals on Huawei Wearables this August available on Amazon India, Flipkart & Croma Retail Stores across major Indian Cities. Sale starts from August 6th and ends on August 11th 2020

* New and exciting offers during the Huawei Wearable Days are on the Watch GT 2 and Watch GT2e variants with their lowest prices ever

* Become a proud owner of the latest Huawei Freebuds 3i, Watch GT 2, and GT 2e this August, and get an exciting gift along with the all-new Freebuds 3i

* No-Cost EMI available on select variants

Huawei Consumer Business Group India announces the Huawei Wearable Days this August starting from August 6th to 11th, 2020. The Huawei Wearable Days brings some exciting deals on a fantastic line up of wearables and discounts on the Watch GT 2 and Watch GT 2e, and a gift with the latest Huawei Freebuds 3i.

Huawei revolutionised the wearable segment in India by launching Huawei GT 2 followed by Huawei GT2e. Also, the company’s latest technological innovation in the earphone section - the Freebuds 3i has set an industry benchmark in the TWS segment. The offers involve a massive price drop on everyone's favourite Huawei Watch GT 2, Watch GT 2e variants, and an exciting device with the Freebuds 3i for free. Imagine all these deals on wearables are now available on both Amazon India, Flipkart as well as Major Croma Retail Outlets Across India!

More excitement for those looking at immediate purchase as the Watch GT 2e Mint Green, Red, and Black variants now come at a price of only INR 9,990, which was originally priced at INR 11,990. There is also the Watch GT 2 Sport variant which is available at a price of INR 12,990, which was for INR 14,990. With a grand discount of INR 2000, one can purchase the classic and premium variants of the Watch GT 2 as well.

Buyers get the Huawei Band 4, an ergonomically designed device which is also your assistant with the HUAWEI FreeBuds 3i, which is available in two classic colours: Carbon Black and Ceramic White priced at INR 9990 with Prime Day offer – a HUAWEI Band 4 worth INR 3099 at zero cost.

To find out more about Huawei Wearable Days, visit the Official Website and get to know more about the Huawei Freebuds 3i.

Adding to the plethora of wearables available from Huawei, check out the leather sport variant which is available for INR 17,990, Titanium Grey variant for INR 21,990 and the Black Sport variant for INR 15,990 in the watch segment.

Interested customers can check these lifetime deals on Amazon India and Flipkart starting August 6th to 11th 2020 and enjoy the upcoming weeks filled with offers, discounts and gifts. 

About Huawei Consumer BG

Huawei’s products and services are available in more than 170 countries and are used by a third of the world’s population. Fifteen R&D centres have been set up in the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, India and China. Huawei Consumer BG is one of Huawei’s three business units and covers smartphones, PC and tablets, wearables and cloud services, etc. Huawei’s global network is built on almost 30 years of expertise in the telecom industry and is dedicated to delivering the latest technological advances to consumers around the world.