Accenture To Acquire Engineering Consulting And Services Firm umlaut

* Move will help Accenture meet the accelerated demand to apply the power of data and digital to the design, engineering and manufacturing of products for leading companies around the world

* Accenture’s expanded Industry X services enable productivity, growth and sustainability in core operations

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire umlaut, an engineering consulting and services firm headquartered in Aachen, Germany. The move will significantly scale Accenture’s deep engineering capabilities to help companies use digital technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence, and 5G to transform how they design, engineer and manufacture their products as well as embed sustainability.

The acquisition of umlaut will add more than 4,200 industry-leading engineers and consultants across 17 countries to Accenture’s Industry X services, and expand the company’s capabilities across a range of industries, including automotive, aerospace & defense, telecommunications, energy and utilities. Industry X combines Accenture’s powerful data and digital capabilities with deep engineering expertise to offer clients the broadest suite of services for digitizing their engineering functions, factory floors and plant operations, improving productivity, speeding up the transformation of hardware into software-enabled products, and allowing for faster and more flexible product development.

“We predicted that digital would ultimately be applied at scale to the core of a company’s business – the design, engineering and manufacturing of their products. And, for nearly a decade Accenture has been building the unique capabilities and ecosystem partnerships to combine the power of digital with traditional engineering services,” said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture. “COVID-19 has accelerated the need for companies to transform these core operations, and umlaut’s leading and highly-specialized engineering services will enhance our ability to meet the accelerating demand and also continue innovating for our clients.”

Accenture is expanding Industry X at a time when software increasingly determines the market success of platforms, products and services across industries that require intelligence to be embedded. However, in a survey of more than 1,500 industry executives, Accenture research found that only 38% of companies have deployed at least one project to digitize their engineering and manufacturing.(1)

“Bringing world-class digital engineering and manufacturing expertise to our clients helps them rapidly scale, accelerate growth, improve productivity and safety, and embed sustainability across their operations,” said Nigel Stacey, global lead of Accenture Industry X. “From consumers to R&D to the supply chain and factory floor, and back again, companies that use the power of data and digital to build value will become — and remain — relevant, resilient and responsible.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that most companies’ operations and supply chains are far from resilient or flexible enough to respond to crises. Digital technologies can help mitigate disruptions by, for example, enabling a fast switch to operate factories remotely or providing near real-time insights about changing market demands. In addition, companies are increasingly expected to operate more responsibly and contribute to a circular economy through the development of more sustainable products.

Umlaut’s capabilities span traditional and digital engineering services; testing and validation of smart connected products; strategy, process and organizational consulting; and hardware product development as well as software development.

“Business leaders across many industries who face the convergence of the digital and the product world are looking for a trusted partner that understands their language and can really help navigate each step of the journey to bring tangible outcomes in engineering and manufacturing,” said Marc Peter Althoff, chief technology officer, umlaut. “We are excited to bring our unique engineering and consulting culture, deep industry know-how and subject matter expertise to Accenture Industry X and jointly create the capabilities and scale to help clients successfully transform.”

Umlaut will be next in a series of 22 acquisitions Accenture has made since 2017 to build its Industry X capabilities. More recent acquisitions include operations technology provider Electro 80 (Australia), industrial robotics and automation services provider Pollux (Brazil), operations consultancy Myrtle (US) and technology consultancy SALT Solutions (Germany).

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 537,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. 

Accenture Industry X embeds intelligence in how clients run factories and plants, as well as design and engineer connected products and services—making manufacturing and operations more efficient, effective and safe; enabling companies to transform how they make things, and the things they make, for sustainable growth.

About umlaut

Umlaut is a global, full-service, cross-industry, end-to-end company that offers advisory and engineering services to clients all over the world. In-depth domain expertise, broad practical knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration allow them to add value, quality and focus to their clients’ organizations, services and products, in disruptive times in which industries are increasingly converging.  

Within an able and agile collective of 20 consultancies and engineering firms spread across 50 locations all over the world, 4,200 specialized experts and engineers provide innovative solutions and transformations across all industries and their various intersections as well as serving the public sector and developing organizational cultures, structures and processes. 

PAYBACK India Supports YouWeCan’ #Mission1000Beds Drive In India’s Fight Against Covid-19

* PAYBACK India has joined hands with Yuvraj Singh’s Foundation in its drive to strengthen country’s hospitals with critical care beds & medical equipment for Covid treatment 

* The drive has begun in a few towns in Himachal Pradesh, with the supply of critical healthcare infrastructure 

PAYBACK India, the country’s largest multi-brand loyalty program, has joined hands with ‘YouWeCan’ Foundation in their drive to strengthen the critical healthcare infrastructure to fight the ongoing Covid-19 battle. YouWeCan’s #Mission1000Beds drive has started with the delivery of the first set of medical equipment & ICU beds to the towns in Himachal Pradesh. 

The initiative termed as #Mission1000Beds has been launched at the beginning of this month and will equip several hospitals with BiPAP and Ventilator enabled beds, in addition to other essential equipment for the critical care of COVID-19 patients. 

Talking about the collaboration with ‘YouWeCan’ Foundation, Mr. Pramod Mahanta, MD, PAYBACK India, said, “We, as a company, are committed to contributing to the society. Like in the past, we have partnered with Yuvraj Singh & YouWeCan Foundation; this time to augment the healthcare infrastructure to fight Covid-19. We will continue to do the best we can towards the society.”  

On having PAYBACK India as partner supporting this initiative, Yuvraj Singh, Cricketer & Founder, YouWeCan Foundation, said, “I am very happy that PAYBACK India has extended their ongoing partnership with us towards supporting our initiative #Mission1000Beds, which is a hospital capacity expansion solution, to rapidly scale up the Covid-19 critical care facilities across India. I am certain that through this collaboration, we will be able to serve people who require critical care." 

This project was possible with the active coordination and support of Dr. Ravinder Mukhia, Medical Officer In-charge, Civil Hospital in Rohru and Dr, Dileep Tegta, Medical Officer In-charge, Civil Hospital in Theog, Dr. Pawan Sharma, Medical Officer in Theog and support staff.  

As part of the CSR initiatives, PAYBACK India had previously collaborated with YouWeCan Foundation in March 2020 to aid the treatment of children suffering from cancer. 

About PAYBACK India: 

PAYBACK is India’s largest multi-brand loyalty program offering its 100 Million+ members multitude of benefits. It has over 100 partners including affiliate brands participating in the PAYBACK Network across categories, in-store as well as online, namely American Express, ICICI Bank, HPCL, Bookmyshow, Cleartrip, Thomas Cook India.  

HCL Continues To Accelerate Its #HCLCloudSmart Journey; Appoints Siki Giunta To Lead Its Cloud Consulting And Offerings Strategy

HCL Technologies, (HCL), a leading global technology company, today announced the appointment of Siki Giunta to further accelerate #HCLCloudSmart industry cloud offerings into client markets. 

#HCLCloudSmart is a comprehensive suite of industry-aligned Cloud offerings, solutions, services and products which help clients achieve business transformation according to their unique industry needs and market conditions. The portfolio is built on the core pillars of Industry Cloud Solutions, Hybrid Data & AI, CloudNative Application & Infrastructure capabilities and Integrated Intelligent Operations with AIOPS and Business Observability to enable faster business value from organizational Cloud investments along with our Cloud Ecosystem Partners.  

Siki brings to HCL a rich experience in leading the development of global cloud strategies for multi-national clients as well as strategy and implementation of Cloud with a specific focus on building vertical applications with Cloud providers and partners. She has successfully scaled enterprise grade Hybrid Cloud, Data Center & Hosting Businesses and has been a Software Products Business Leader.  

Siki joins HCL from Accenture. She has also led several other leadership positions in the industry, including the CEO of Managed Objects and Fortisphere. 

“I am excited to join HCL and look forward to driving further momentum to the #HCLCloudSmart journey” said Siki Giunta, Executive Vice President - #HCLCloudSmart, HCL Technologies. “Cloud has become the strategic pillar within any organization to build a responsive, scalable and resilient business model. Organizations today are facing an urgent need to ‘rethink cloud’ to accelerate digital transformation and maximize business value in alignment with customer needs, organizational goals and unique market conditions. I look forward to working with the amazing team at HCL Technologies on the journey to reimagine Cloud, the smart way.” 

“We are extremely delighted to have Siki on our team,” said Kalyan Kumar, Chief Technology Officer and Head Ecosystems, HCL Technologies. ”Her knowledge in Cloud and Agile software development with a unique lens of industry relevance and proven experience of leading global firms will be of tremendous benefit to #HCLCloudSmart. At HCL she will further strengthen the collective power of our Cloud Services, Frameworks and Products with a business-aligned narrative at the center.” he added. 

About HCL Technologies 

HCL Technologies (HCL) empowers global enterprises with technology for the next decade, today. HCL’s Mode 1- 2-3 strategy, based on its deep-domain industry expertise, customer-centricity and entrepreneurial culture of Ideapreneurship™, enables businesses to transform into next-gen enterprises.  

HCL offers its services and products through three business units: IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products & Platforms (P&P). ITBS enables global enterprises to transform their businesses through offerings in the areas of applications, infrastructure, digital process operations and next generational digital transformation solutions. ERS offers engineering services and solutions in all aspects of product development and platform engineering. P&P provides modernized software products to global clients for their technology and industry specific requirements. Through its cutting-edge co-innovation labs, global delivery capabilities and broad global network, HCL delivers holistic services in various industry verticals, categorized as Financial Services, Manufacturing, Technology & Services, Telecom & Media, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare and Public Services.  

As a leading global technology company, HCL takes pride in its diversity, social responsibility, sustainability, and education initiatives. For the 12 months ended March 31, 2021 HCL had consolidated revenue of nearly $10.2 billion. Its 168,977 Ideapreneurs operate out of 50 countries.  

Shyam Steel India Becomes The Official Partner Of "ICC World Test Championship Final"

Shyam Steel India one of leading producers and manufacturers of TMT Bars in India, today announced its association for ICC World Test Championship Final as the official partner for the event. The inaugural championship match will be played between India and New Zealand and is slated to take place from 18th to 22nd June 2021 plus a reserve day at Southampton, England.  

Based on the association, Shyam Steel India will have its logo presence in the outfield and perimeter board. The brand’s logo will also be displayed in the backdrop for flash interviews and post-match presentation and in the ICC website and mobile app. The brand will have the right to use photograph and Audio-Visual clips of the match for internal use and promotional purposes. Shyam Steel India will leverage the association to enhance its brand awareness, build relevance and engage with the target audience. The partnership with ICC will help brand Shyam Steel to instantly connect with the millions of viewers watching the event across India and abroad.  

“We are pleased to have Shyam Steel on board as our official partner for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final. We look forward to working with them for this prestigious event” said Mr Anurag Dahiya, Chief Commercial Officer, ICC. 

“We are very proud to associate ourselves with this prestigious event. India is a cricket frenzy nation, and this partnership will help us build high brand recall amongst the cricket lovers of the country. On behalf of Shyam Steel Family, we wish our Indian cricket team all the very best for the championship match”, said Mr Lalit Beriwala, Director, Shyam Steel India. 

Shyam Steel India has also planned a series of activations across digital platforms to grow stakeholder engagement and brand recall. The activation includes sharing interesting trivia and conducting gripping contest, wherein the audience can win exciting prizes. In alignment with the brand philosophy, Maksad Toh India Ko Banana Hai and Hamesha Ke Liye Strong, Shyam Steel India along with the millions of cricket lovers will be rooting for their Team India to bring the Test Championship home. 

About Shyam Steel India: 

Shyam Steel India is one of the leading TMT Bar manufacturers in India. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe and sustainable steel, it is a pioneer in quality production of steel. Starting its operation with a small factory in Howrah, Shyam Steel has created a legacy of 60 years and has emerged as a large, growing, competitive and multi-product steel organization by delivering quality material through innovation, excellence, and dedication. 

Shyam Steel India has been associated with various government bodies such as National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), railways, military engineering services, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) and various state governments. Shyam Steel believes that sustainable community development is essential for harmonious development of nation. They have always put forward and contributed towards various corporate social responsibilities for social development which have social, economic and environmental impacts. Their CSR are focused on education, poverty, gender equality, hunger and environment. 

TresVista Introduces A Comprehensive Financial Aid Package For Employees And Their Families Affected By Covid

* Salary advance, Interest-Free Loans, Financial Support in case of loss of a parent or an employee; Increased Insurance Limit also introduced 

TresVista, a leading provider of high-end outsourced support to corporates, asset managers, and entrepreneurs, has reiterated its commitment to employee well-being by announcing a host of employee support initiatives. The company will be offering financial assistance to its employees through a unique financial assistance program to help them navigate these challenging times.  

Sudeep Mishra, Co-Founder & Managing Director, TresVista, said, “The ongoing pandemic has made things challenging for countless people across the country. We feel privileged to be in a position to help our employees and fast-tracking financial help to those in distress, which is the goal of the Covid related aid package.” 

COVID-19 has struck many and impacted their loved ones, with people’s health and finances being affected. Recognizing this, TresVista has earmarked a financial assistance corpus and introduced measures for safeguarding the financial health of its employees. Details of the program include: 

Salary advances and interest-free loans: Employees can access this specially allocated company corpus through salary advances or interest-free loans in case of medical emergencies for themselves and their families.  

Aid, in case of an unfortunate demise: Non-recoverable financial support will be given in case of an unfortunate demise of an employee or their family member. On the demise of a serving employee, TresVista is offering an amount of INR 1,000,000 or the equivalent of the employee’s gross annual salary, whichever is higher, to the nominated family member. If a married employee faces the spouse’s demise or if an unmarried employee faces the demise of a parent, a one-time lump-sum amount of INR 300,000 will be given. 

Insurance coverage for employees: While the group’s current medical insurance policy includes COVID-19 coverage for all employees, the firm has increased the sum assured by 50%-100% across designations. 

The financial assistance program is yet another initiative taken by TresVista in a long line of measures already taken to support employees. Previously announced measures included enabling employees to support their family members and care for them if they contract COVID with Caregiver’s Leaves, bonuses, vaccination reimbursements, and more. Also, TresVista is organizing a Vaccination Drive in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bangalore for its employees, immediate family members, and any other people living with them. TresVista is also bearing vaccination expenses across locations for those going for vaccination as per local availabilities. Such measures introduced by the firm can go a long way in fostering a positive environment of support and growth. 

About TresVista: 

Founded in 2006, TresVista is the leading provider of high-end outsourced support for asset managers, advisors, corporates, and entrepreneurs. TresVista’s business lines include Research and Investment Services, Data Intelligence Group, CFO Office Services, and Business Development Services. With over 750 employees across offices in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Singapore, New York, and London, TresVista delivers cost and operational efficiencies for over 1,000 clients across geographies and asset classes, who collectively manage over $10 trillion in AUM. 

Indus Health Plus Unveils Corporate Covid Vaccination Drive In India

Indus Health Plus, a pioneer in the preventive healthcare sector, launched Corporate covid vaccination program to cater to the need for immunization during COVID-19 outbreak. The registrations are now open for corporates to enlist their employees and their family members for the vaccination. Additionally, corporates can register for Indus Health Plus’s preventive health check-up packages, genetic testing package – DNAwise.

As per the consumer outreach in the first phase, over 1000 companies have shown positive reactions to be a part of the program. Indus Health Plus’s strong network of hospitals and healthcare providers will enable the firm to initiate this program with an extensive reach. The program will be conducted in association with vaccinators, and through setting up special camps at corporate offices across the country. Apart from this, the company will also be expanding this program to housing societies, apartment complexes, and other such communities. After the registration process, Indus Health Plus will connect with the concerned authorities and share details about the vaccination program and its schedule.

Mr Amol Naikawadi, Joint Managing Director, Indus Health Plus, said, “It has been more than a year since the pandemic hit the world and employees are confined to their homes. While employees have been trying to strike work-life balance, the second wave has added a whole new level of stress. This fear induced anxiety has an impact on the entire family, resulting into health-related insecurities, eventually affecting their productivity.  Our country is confronting with a tough situation and, vaccination is one of the best preventive option/ strategy and as a largest preventive healthcare organization, it is our responsibility to extend our full support towards making vaccination ‘Available, Accessible and Affordable’ to the Corporate World. This Vaccination Drive across India, will Protect, Prevent & Safeguard their physical & mental health resulting into better well-being of the workforce.”

In addition to this vaccination program, the company also offers a comprehensive preventive health check-up packages & genetic tests to corporate employees along with medical/ genetic consultation by a team of high qualified doctors/ counsellors. Over 50 the years huge number of corporates have availed these services for their employees.

As per government directions, all the 3 Approved vaccines in the country need to be administered twice as per government guidelines. They also need to continuously monitor their health during this period for possible side effects like fever and/or cold. In case they experience any discomfort, they must consult a doctor.

About Indus Health Ltd.

Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd. is an ISO 9001: 2015 company that is determined to live up to its motto of making quality healthcare ‘Available, Accessible, and Affordable’ for everyone. Indus has set up strategic alliances with well-equipped and state-of-the-art hospitals and diagnostic labs, in over 78 Indian cities across more than 122centres.    

Early detection of diseases through a screening test not only saves a life but also shields the person and his family from going through immense physical, emotional, and financial distress.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor To Establish Oxygen Generating Plant At Bidadi Community Health Centre

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the setting up of an oxygen generating plant at Community Health Centre (CHC), Bidadi, near Bengaluru Karnataka. The company is already in the process of upgrading and building a modern CHC, Bidadi with an investment of INR 120 million as announced earlier and the installation of a new oxygen plant will further augment the infrastructure. The oxygen plant with latest technology will have a bottling facility that will further enhance the oxygen supply and assist the Government in its fight against the Covid pandemic.

The new oxygen plant will have a capacity to generate approximately 50 cylinders per day ensuring oxygen supply to CHC, Bidadi and further supplementing oxygen supply to government hospitals in Ramanagara district. The new plant is expected to be ready-for-use by end of November 2021.

Present at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oxygen Generating plant, Mr  A Manjunath, Hon’ble MLA of Magadi constituency, Government of Karnataka, said, “In addition to the Central and State government’s agile and scalable healthcare facilities the constant support from corporates have been very encouraging and it has enhanced our efforts to brace for medical emergencies. TKM has always been an active contributor towards community initiatives, and the setting up of a new oxygen generating plant will further boost the availability of critical healthcare infrastructure in the region.”

Talking about the noble gesture, Mr. Vikram Gulati, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Governance, TKM, said, “At this juncture, Toyota stands fully dedicated to supporting the local community to triumph over this pandemic which has caused widespread hardship to humanity. Toyota, in line with its safety philosophy has undertaken numerous measures to complement Government efforts. Under our CSR initiatives, healthcare has always been a priority area and we have continuously worked hard with support of Government to ramp up healthcare facilities as and when required in the district. Both Central and State Governments have taken proactive measures in the fight against the second Covid wave. We fully support the immense efforts taken by them and hope that life in the country take a speedy return to normalcy.”

Recently, TKM handed over 130 oxygen concentrators to the Government of Karnataka and provided another 10 oxygen concentrators to Uttar Pradesh Police Department. The company also announced the extension of its support to ensure maximum reach of the vaccination drive by enabling transportation facility for the Health Department of Ramanagara District. Apart from oxygen concentrators, TKM has provided Ambu bags, bedside monitors, oximeters, glucometers, masks, sanitisers and other essential materials to the District Health Officer of Ramanagara for their immediate requirements. Additionally, TKM also extended support by providing masks and sanitizers to Police and other Government Departments of Bangalore and Ramanagara.  Further, TKM is in the process supplying one CT scanner and accessories to district hospital at Ramanagara district, Karnataka.