Coimbatore Based SaaS Firm Kovai.Co Launches Vaccination Drive

* Kovai.co Takes a step towards vaccinating their employees and family; aims on reaching 500 + by June end

Kovai.co - a premier enterprise software and B2B SaaS company based out of Coimbatore, India, and London, U.K, has announced its first step into immunizing their corporate family today. Founded in 2011, Kovai.co employs more than 250+ people, and is one of the fastest growing SaaS firms in the city.

The company has been continually vocal about their involvement in Coimbatore and its vision to make Coimbatore the biggest SaaS region in the state after Chennai. Giving priority to safety, Kovai.co has now announced a vaccination drive for all employees along with their dependents. The company is ensuring that safety protocols and government mandates are followed and is rushing to ensure that the drive is conducted as securely as possible.

“With the beginning of the second wave, we have seen rapid increase of cases in Coimbatore and it has been a very difficult time for the city. Operating from the city, we are responsible for not just our Kovai.co family but also their dependents.” says Saravana Kumar, explaining the reason for the company’s move to begin this initiative. “We believe these steps will eventually reduce the risks associated with COVID-19 and have a strong impact on the number of fatalities within our surroundings.” he added.

The company has tied up with top-tier health partners, KG Hospitals, for enabling this vaccination drive. The hospital plays a key role in internally organizing all the arrangements as per safety protocols and coordinating with Kovai.co for seamlessly orchestrating the drive. This partnership has resulted in the vaccination of nearly 100 employees and their dependents and aims on reaching more than 500 people with this initiative. In addition to this, Kovai.co has ensured that its employees are fully covered under corporate insurance and have announced a special Covid-19 sick leave for the recovery period.

About Kovai.co

Kovai.co is a premier enterprise software company offering multiple products at scale both in the enterprise arena and in the B2B SaaS space. Based out of Coimbatore, India and London, UK, Kovai.co is a technology partner of choice for many of the world’s leading enterprises to manage and monitor their Microsoft BizTalk and Azure Serverless environments. Kovai.co’s product team consists of thinkers and innovators who are re-defining the way robust Enterprise Software and SaaS products are built.

Voot’s New Original, Khwabon Ke Parindey Is An Unexpected Journey Of Three Friends, Rediscovering Life

Life is a journey! An unexpected one, with unseen twists and turns that could potentially change your life forever. But you can get through it, with a little help from your friends. Khwabon Ke Parindey, an all-new offering from Voot, will take you through a voyage of hope, rediscovering life and being each other’s truth serum, three friends – Bindiya, Dixit and Megha turn a road trip from Melbourne to Perth into an opportunity to heal wounds, fall in love and combat their worst fears.

After finishing post-graduation from the University of Melbourne, wild child, Bindiya, convinces two of her most trusted friends to accompany her on an ambitious and crazy road trip from Melbourne to Perth. This trip means everything to Bindiya, as this may be her last chance to let her hair down and live it up, before taking up responsibilities back in India.

Commenting on the difference in characters played before and reminiscing real friendships, Asha Negi says, “Khwabon Ke Parindey is a journey of life and hope, but sometimes all you need are close friends to help you rediscover yourself. Bindiya, my character on the show is this complete wild child, who believes in embracing life every single day. When you shoot for a show like this, you tend to relive the moments with your best friends and I did too. However, over a period of time Mrinal, Mansi, Tushar and I got along really well and from being just co-stars we gradually became good friends; making the journey exciting. The entire experience of shooting for the show, made me realise the importance of friends and why it is necessary to have them around you. They are like your truth serum, who help you unravel your deepest secrets and fears and then help you get through it.”

She adds, “The 60 days of shooting throughout Australia with this amazing young crew has been an unforgettable experience and I would go back to that time in a heartbeat. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Bindiya; although challenging, the transition of my portrayal of roles from television to web has been extremely refreshing.   A big thank you to my Rockstar director, Tapasvi Mehta and Voot for giving me this opportunity that has not only challenged me as an actor but as an individual as well.”

Buckle up as Bindiya takes you on an exceptional journey of friendship, hope and life through the picturesque landscape of Australia in Voot’s all new Original – Khwabon Ke Parindey.

Khwabon Ke Parindey will stream exclusively on 14th June 2021 only on Voot 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Announces Vaccination Drive For All Employees, Family And Contract Members

* Announces tie-up with leading hospitals to drive vaccination throughout June to September. 

* Program covers over 16,000 members.

In continuance to its commitment to secure the health and safety of its employees and the communities at large, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced a vaccination drive for all employees, their families and onsite contract members as per government guidelines. The vaccination program covering 16,000 people will commence in June 2021 and will continue to run through September 2021 to cover all its members for both doses.

Besides expediting onsite vaccination at workplace, the company has also tied-up with leading hospitals to facilitate vaccination camps thereby accelerating inoculation at different locations providing easy access to all eligible members.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. G Shankara, Vice President, Human Resources and Services Group, TKM said, “Safeguarding our employees from the potential threat of Covid-19 as early as possible is our topmost priority.  The Government, local administration and the health authorities have relentlessly supported us with tremendous agility and collaboration in implementing initiatives at a rapid pace to protect lives and livelihood. We have initiated several scalable measures since the onset of the pandemic to extensively support our employees, similarly we will continue to channelize our efforts towards the successful execution of this drive.”

TKM has been at the forefront in consistently taking effective measures to counter the outbreak and will continue to support and take adequate measures for the safety of its key stakeholders, healthcare workers and the community. The company recently launched COVID Vaccination Centre (CVC) at workplace for seamless vaccination program of all employees in line with government guidelines.  Moreover, Toyota recently announced an array of comprehensive relief measures for its team members and their families. A ‘Comprehensive Medical Insurance’ is provided to team members covering COVID-19 treatment. Additionally, 24*7 Doctor teleconsultations is available for all employees including their families and support in providing ambulance services, access to hospital treatment, oxygen concentrators as per employee’s treatment requirements. In the event of an unfortunate demise of any employee, there is a participative scheme in place to provide compensation equivalent to about 3.5 years wages for workman as per employee category.

Recently TKM provided vital medical equipments such as oxygen concentrators, bedside monitors, glucometers, Ambu bags among other medical equipment and supplies to health authorities in Ramanagara district to strengthen the fight against the second Covid wave amongst other support.

Bigin, Zoho’s CRM For SBEs, Adds 7,500+ Customers Within A Year Helps Businesses Grow And Adapt Through The Pandemic

* With the addition of new features, Zoho's Bigin empowers customers to transform and expand customer relationships

Zoho, a global technology company, has announced that Bigin, its pipeline-centric CRM for small businesses, has gained over 7500 customers in a year since its launch. Bigin is also releasing new features, including an industry-first mobile pipeline view, to help small businesses foster their customer relationships while recovering from the effects of Covid-19.

According to a recent SMB Group study on how technology will shift after the pandemic, 42% of small businesses state that keeping up with customer demands is a top driver to invest in a new digital solution. With the release of new customization features, public APIs, new integrations, and enhanced capabilities on mobile devices, Bigin makes the CRM experience smooth and easy for its customers.

Since Bigin's launch in May 2020, the product has reported an average 40% increase in total revenue every quarter, and an average 32% increase in monthly new customers. As Bigin continues to grow, it will introduce new enhancements later this year, including advanced workflow automation, support for multiple global currencies and simple process automation tailored for small businesses.

"Small and micro businesses have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and we are pleased to have helped them grow their business during these tough times. With the most affordable pricing in the industry, a setup time of under 30 minutes, and an extremely low learning curve, our aim was to make it as easy as possible for companies to get started with a CRM.  We are taking a major step ahead in our vision to offer the best possible CRM experience for our small business customers," said Mani Vembu, Chief Operating Officer of Zoho, "Mobility is a crucial aspect which is often an afterthought for most SaaS vendors. I am happy to say that we have adopted a mobile-first approach with Bigin. Thousands of customers have taken advantage of our unique, industry-first unified pipeline view."

Key Product Updates

Improved usability: A customizable pipeline view that allows customers to rearrange their pipeline stages and rename default modules based on their unique needs.

Faster, actionable search: Users can preview search results instantly and take quick actions such as field updates, sending an email, and adding a new note without having to visit the records individually.

Greater extensibility: Users can connect with any third-party app and utilise new native integrations with Mailchimp, Zoho Books and Zoho Invoice.

More power to telephony: Bigin's in-built telephony will have contact center features such as call recording, call transfer, and automatically queueing incoming calls in waiting. Bigin also integrates with more than 85 third-party telephony providers.

Enhanced mobility: The industry-first mobile pipeline view, makes it easy for users to sell right from their smartphone or an exclusive app on macOS.

Customer Statements:

"Bigin is certainly a refreshing new CRM tailor-made for startups and small businesses. For us it was pretty intuitive, and we were off to using it in full swing within 5 minutes of signing up. I also loved the fact that Bigin also has customizations, workflows and integrations for users to grow into the platform slowly and tap into its power. We wanted a tool that made it easy enough to get someone on board quickly. A substantial amount of our time and the intern's time would be wasted if we needed to teach them how to use the tool considering the limited amount of time they spend with the company. We were evaluating other tools, but Bigin's pipeline view, the simplicity of the whole process, easy actions such as drag-and-drop deal movements, and simple-yet-effective workflows made us believe that this is the right tool for us," said Shyam Sundar, Co-founder and CEO, GoFloaters.    

"We are a real estate brokerage firm and we were looking for a simpler CRM to manage our contacts and deals. We were inundated with so many complex CRMs in the market that either it was too much for us or simply it wouldn’t fit in our budget. Then Bigin came to our rescue. Our team loves Bigin for its simplicity and it was exactly what we were looking for. Right from creating a contact to managing workflows and deals, Bigin is so user friendly that our team’s productive time with clients has become so efficient. I would recommend Bigin for organizations who are lean and want their sales team to do their core job, that is sales," said Balaji Badrinath, Managing Partner & Realtor, Coldwell Banker Add Value Realty.

Pricing and Availability

At ₹400/user/month, billed annually, Bigin is not just built for small businesses, it is also priced for them. 

LTI Syncordis Recognized As Temenos Service Partner Of The Year

* Award presented at Temenos Community Forum Online 2021

LTI Syncordis, a global Temenos implementation partner and a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. (BSE: 540005, NSE: LTI) has been recognized as Service Partner of the Year by Temenos at this year’s virtual TCF Online 2021.

Since its inception, LTI Syncordis has remained committed to the success of Temenos community and has evolved into a global one-stop partner for end-to-end implementation and systems integration. In addition, LTI Syncordis is the first company with the authorization of “Professional of the Financial Sector” (PSF) in Luxembourg that is fully dedicated to Temenos services with capabilities to support all Temenos software and is consistently rated with high partner satisfaction scores among Temenos Services Partners. In 2020, LTI Syncordis selected Temenos to launch its innovative banking-as-a-service platform in the Nordic market which enables banks to modernize legacy core banking systems rapidly and efficiently. With more than 600 Temenos experts at Syncordis and 35,000+ technology professionals at LTI, LTI Syncordis is the preferred partner for Temenos clients worldwide looking for accelerated innovation.

Sudhir Chaturvedi, President & Executive Board Member, LTI said: “We believe in delivering excellence and always going the extra mile for our clients. Being recognized for our commitment is marvelous and we at LTI Syncordis appreciate it very much. As a dedicated pure-play Temenos partner, we look forward to cementing our fruitful partnership with Temenos further and driving innovative digital transformation in the banking industry for many years to come.”

Guillaume Desjonqueres, Chief Executive Officer, Syncordis commented: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of all our staff who were key in making this achievement possible. Today more than ever, it is vital to focus on cooperation and delivering the highest quality end-to-end projects to financial institutions of all sizes. Making banking better is all about sharing responsibility and empowering innovative digital transformation programs. This recognition inspires us. Alongside our long-term partner Temenos, we will stay committed – both to the banks and their valued customers.”

Alexa Guenoun, Chief Operating Officer, Temenos said:

“Partners have an amazing impact in the ecosystem we’ve developed over our 27 years in banking – they help us to innovate, to scale, and to make banking better for our customers, and the world. I am delighted to recognize LTI Syncordis for their part in delivering technology that creates better, faster and smarter experiences, and increased agility to respond to an ever-changing world. It’s because of partners like LTI Syncordis that we have one of the strongest, most dynamic and resilient communities in the industry.”

About Syncordis:

Syncordis, a Luxembourg based LTI Company, delivers high-quality end-to-end implementation and system integration projects with an exclusive focus on Temenos banking software such as Temenos Infinity, Temenos Transact, Temenos Fund Administration, Temenos Wealth, Temenos Payments, Temenos Financial Crime Mitigation and Temenos DataSource. Syncordis is also the only Temenos global partner that is fully dedicated to Temenos services with capabilities to support all Temenos software suites. With 12 offices across the globe, 600+ experts and complementary services like SaaS and regulated production support services, Syncordis enables its international clients to master their digital transformation. This makes Syncordis one of the one-stop service partners for Temenos clients worldwide. 

About LTI:

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 400 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 31 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unparalleled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 35,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. Follow us at @LTI_Global

Jaguar I-Pace Completes Everesting Challenge On A Single Charge With Olympic Cycling Ace At The Wheel

* Peak efficiency: All-electric Jaguar I-PACE completes 'Everesting Challenge' by climbing 8 848 m – the height of Mount Everest – on a single charge

* Reaching new heights: Performance SUV completed 16.2 ascents of Britain’s highest surfaced road – Great Dun Fell – gaining 547m on each full climb

* Race-to-road technology: I-PACE’s clever regenerative braking – developed with learnings from the Jaguar Racing Fomula E team – recovered equivalent to 93.3 km of range under the challenge’s extreme conditions

* World-class performance: British Olympic and World champion cyclist, Elinor Barker MBE, was at the wheel of Jaguar’s award-winning EV for the drive

* Endurance challenge: Popularity of repeatedly ascending a climb until the total elevation gain matches the height of Everest boomed among cyclists in the last year*

● Ready to go: I-PACE battery and cabin were preconditioned while charging to optimise range and comfort – ideal for temperatures of less than 2°C at the summit

The Jaguar I-PACE shrugged off the steep inclines, twisting tarmac and near freezing temperatures of the UK’s highest paved road to successfully ‘Everest’ at Great Dun Fell, in Cumbria, on a single charge of its 90kWh battery.

The award-winning all-electric performance SUV model was driven by Olympic and World champion cyclist, Elinor Barker MBE.

The concept of Everesting is simple, yet extreme: complete a series of runs up an incline until achieving an elevation gain of 8 848 m – equal to an ascent of Mount Everest – and the popularity of this endurance challenge boomed among cyclists during the pandemic*.

Known by cyclists as ‘Britain’s Mont Ventoux’ – a reference to the daunting Alpine mountain stage in the Tour de France – Great Dun Fell is home to the highest surfaced road in the UK. The narrow ribbon of asphalt is defined by a series of sweeping bends and gradients of up to 20 per cent as it climbs 547 m from the start point used for the challenge to a peak of 848 m. Elinor completed 16.2 repeats of the 5.8 km climb (11.6 km loop in total) using the I-PACE’s regenerative braking technology to generate approximately 60 per cent*** of additional available energy over the total 16 descents.

Having covered 199.6 km in total, including a 12.9 km drive to the start point on the fell, the I-PACE completed its energy intensive challenge with 31 per cent battery charge remaining – enough to drive for up to 128.7 km more.

Key to the efficient completion of the Everesting challenge was the I-PACE’s regenerative braking system. Developed using technology from Jaguar Racing’s Formula E programme, ‘regen’ is a critical enabler for success on the track. In an average race the I-TYPE 5 generates around 30 per cent*** of additional energy from regen, without it the car simply wouldn’t make it to the chequered flag.

Elinor Barker, MBE, said: “I watched with fascination as cyclists took up the Everesting challenge during lock down – even as a professional rider, it’s a daunting feat of endurance, so I was happy to do it behind the wheel of the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. When I found out that Jaguar Racing drivers typically need to regenerate 30 per cent of their I-TYPE's battery capacity in a Formula E race, as a competitor I naturally wanted to beat that figure! I’m delighted to have smashed that target – all while enjoying the comfort, silent power delivery and single-pedal driving of the I-PACE.”

Elinor was supported throughout the drive by members of the Jaguar Racing and I-PACE engineering teams, on hand to monitor the vehicle’s performance. 

Jack Lambert, Jaguar Racing Engineer, said: “The advanced regenerative braking system developed for the I-PACE is a defining feature of the driving experience. Lessons learned through our Formula E programme on the track ensure I-PACE customers enjoy benefits on the road in terms of optimised range. The regenerative braking also provides up to 0.4g of deceleration so Elinor would only have been using the conventional friction brakes at two or three points on each run.”

In preparation for the challenge, the I-PACE was preconditioned using the Jaguar Remote App. While the vehicle is plugged in, preconditioning automatically heats or cools the battery to reach its ideal operating temperature and establishes the desired cabin temperature –using mains power. Using the grid to do this instead of drawing current from the vehicle battery optimises the driving range – especially in cold weather.

Another feature which enhances the I-PACE’s efficiency is Smart Climate, which uses the seatbelt sensors to determine how many occupants are travelling inside, and only heating or cooling the relevant areas of the cabin, maintaining comfort while minimising energy use.

* Data from Strava shows 600 per cent more successful Everesting rides were uploaded in June 2020 compared to the same period in 2019

*** Percentages are expressed as a share of the battery’s useable energy storage capacity

discovery+ India Strengthens Its Family, Facts & Fun Proposition With Largest Portfolio Expansion Since Launch

* All new discovery+ is poised to take its next big leap through the largest addition to its content slate with shows across 55+ sub genres and over 750 hours of viewing, covering classic titles

* With the latest app update, users will be able to access a specially curated kids’ section with an introduction of informative and entertaining titles like ‘Mr. Bean’, ‘Little Singham’ and ‘Kids Baking Championship’, among others

* Expanded A+E Networks library content deal in India with hit shows like ‘OMG! Yeh Mera India’, ‘Kumbh- Among The Seekers’ from History TV18, ‘Pawn Stars’ and ‘Storage Wars’ et al

* A spectacular FAMILY, FACTS & FUN based slate of over 100+ shows offering wholesome family viewing experience.

discovery+, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app today announced its largest content portfolio expansion that is sure to make it the go to app for the family. Starting June, over 100 new shows from Kids and library content from A+E Networks (including from History TV18) will be added to its already enviable content slate. With the largest addition to its content library across sub-genres like reality, sports, kids, learning, food, travel, history et al since its inception, discovery+ will be a one stop destination for wholesome family viewing experience across 7 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali).

Covering shows from a wide array of genres, audiences across different age groups and interests will now have access to diverse exciting, informative and entertaining content. From fresh weekly episodes of key acquisitions like ‘Hell's Kitchen’ featuring  Gordon Ramsay, - the chef with a cult following, live races from thrilling 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship', to highly appreciated motoring television series, ‘Top Gear America’ hosted by Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry, and Jethro Bovingdon, discovery+ ’s new slate has it all.

-Be it walking with migrating elephants in  ‘Walking with Elephants ft. Levison Wood’, or navigating love under overbearing mothers’ eyes in ‘I Love A Mama's Boy’, along with new episodes of the most loved franchise ‘Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City’, the audience is ensured to be entertained in more ways than one.

discovery+ will be expanding its library even further with the acquisition of global and local titles from the A+E Networks’ (including from History TV18) library. From top-rated reality tv series like ‘Pawn Stars’ based on a family-owned pawn shop to America’s favourite treasure hunters, ‘Storage Wars’ to ‘OMG! Yeh Mera India’, the longest-running and most successful HistoryTV18 franchise hosted by Krushna Abhishek and ‘Kumbh: Among The Seekers’ based on a famous religious festival amongst other enthralling titles, users will have world-class content available at their fingertips. 

Adding onto the delight, a special curated kids content slate including exciting and appealing new shows like ‘Mr. Bean’, ‘Little Singham’, ‘Kids Baking Championship’, ‘My Little Pony’, ‘Hanuman’, ‘Mister Maker’ among other fun titles to be introduced for kids. Children will be able to immerse themselves into the world of fantasy and never-ending adventure whilst increasing their knowledge through informative titles like How Do Animals Do That, MythBusters Jr to name a few.

Expanding its local original production in 2021, with standout titles including ‘Star vs Food’, ‘Secrets of Sinauli: Discovery of the Century’, ‘Mission Frontline’, ‘Ladakh Warriors’ and ‘Vande Bharat Flight IX 1344: Hope To Survival’, the app has become home to strong locally differentiated content in the real-life entertainment and learning space. 

Megha Tata, Managing Director- South Asia, Discovery Inc said, “We at discovery+, have always strived to provide world-class infotainment content to our users. Our partnership with A&E is a testament of how innovation for consumers remains core to discovery+ and reinforces our commitment to our audience by bringing to them content they like consuming under one platform. While we have our broad and engrossing portfolio for adults from varied genres, with the addition of kids’ we now have more content catering to the entire family. She also added, “We are confident that these additions will further strengthen our Family, Facts & Fun premise which also brings us close to our aspiration of being an aggregate platform catering to every member of the family.”

Kick start the second half of 2021 with a bang and subscribe to avail old rates i.e., INR 299 which will be available only till 8th June 2021, post which subscription will be priced at INR 399.