Microsoft India Announces Winners For The Second Season Of Cloud Champions 11 Program

* Recognizes 11 Cloud Solution Providers and 2 Indirect Providers for accelerating SMB cloud growth

Microsoft India today announced the winners of the second edition of Cloud Champions 11, a unique engagement program that strengthens Microsoft’s commitment to partners in India. In its second year, Microsoft recognized 11 Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) for accelerating cloud growth for SMB customers between September and December 2021. The program also recognized two Indirect Providers who have a direct relationship with Microsoft to provide customer support, pricing and billing. The program saw participation from nearly 700 partner organizations across 71 cities in India, of which half were from Tier 2 and 3 cities. This reach and inclusion are a testament to the community that has come together with Microsoft, driven by a common goal of growth and engagement.

Open to all Microsoft CSP partners in the country, the program evaluated participants basis their cloud business growth across Microsoft Azure, Modern Work, Security and Business Applications. The program engaged on multiple levels with the partner organizations with trainings, masterclasses, peer learning, fun engagement sessions, sales trainings, and rewards and recognition for the sales teams. Through a voice of partner initiative, Microsoft closely engaged with its partners, and regularly incorporated their feedback to improve program engagement.

Harish Vellat, Country Head - Small, Medium and Corporate Business, Microsoft India said, “With the second season of Cloud Champions 11 program, we recognize our next set of partners who have been at the center of our vision to make more possible for our customers and delivering innovative cloud solutions. These partners have provided a huge support to help us enable the SMB ecosystem in India in their digital transformation journey.”

The winners will receive professional mentoring from business coach Mitali Chopra, and delightful culinary experiences. The sales teams from the winner organizations will be getting access to sales coaching and certifications from Microsoft. With the help of business coaching provided under the program, last year’s winners have established growth practices and unlocked business opportunities. 

More information on the program is available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/campaign/cloudchampions11/.

DMI Finance To Provide Seamless Digital Personal Loans To Google Pay Users

DMI Finance Private Limited (“DMI”) today announced the launch of a personal loan product on Google Pay to make reliable credit accessible for pre-qualified users of Google Pay.

This product leverages the dual advantages of Google Pay’s customer experience and the digital loan disbursal process of DMI and will also help bring new-to-credit users into the ambit. Eligible users are pre-qualified using criteria set by DMI Finance and the product offer is made available to them via Google Pay. These users will have their application processed in near real-time with access to the money in their bank accounts.

This launch with Google Pay of an integrated, personal loan journey for its users continues DMI’s focus on building innovative digital financial products in partnership with leading players in the digital finance ecosystem.

The program will disburse up to INR 1 Lakh per loan which would be repayable over a maximum of 36 months. This partnership is being launched over 15K+ pin codes.

Shivashish Chatterjee, Co-founder and Joint MD, DMI Finance, said: “We are excited to make our Personal Loan product available on Google Pay in India. At DMI, we focus on working with truly world-class collaborators to leverage our combined strengths to deliver the best possible digital credit experience to a rapidly growing customer set. Our teams have worked closely together to bring transparent and seamless credit to millions of Google Pay users. We look forward to scaling this new partnership in the years to come and make the promise of financial inclusion a reality for many millions more.”

Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head, Payments and NBU, Google APAC, LatAm, Africa and EMEA, said: “Access to reliable credit is critical to economic revival as we emerge from the difficulties posed by the pandemic. Experiences that can make this available to them within a few taps on their mobile phones will offer incredible convenience. We are very excited to collaborate with DMI Finance to make this possible for Google Pay users, as it brings to life the promise of financial inclusion enabled by technology.”

Garmin Announces Its Latest Premium Smartwatch Series For Outdoor Enthusiasts

* Introduces F?nix® 7 Collection and epix™ for adventure enthusiasts and true explorers

Key Points:

* Industry First: F?nix 7X is the industry’s first smartwatch with built-in flashlight, helps stay safe in the dark

* AMOLED Display: epix delivers sharp and vibrant viewing angles with AMOLED and touch screen display

* Power Sapphire™ Solar Lens: Provides durability and scratch resistance experience during outdoor activities 

* 3X Solar Charging Performance: Enhances the battery life with patented solar panel in f?nix 7X

* Multiband GPS - Multi-frequency capabilities to track most challenging environments

In its bid to celebrate the fearless spirit of adventure seekers and explorers who take on challenges across various fields and to set the essence of their voyage into a new urban rhythm, Garmin India, a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) today launched the renowned F?nix® 7 Series and the epix™ in India.

The newly launched Garmin F?nix 7 series showcases an array of features like enhanced solar cell efficiency and longer battery life that will provide the customers peace of mind while they engage in various activities. This series also features the first smartwatch in the industry that comes with a built-in flashlight. Additionally, the Garmin epix comes with high-definition vibrant AMOLED touch screen with exceptional battery life along with multi-sport functions.

Speaking on the launch of the new Garmin Outdoor Series, Mr. Ali Rizvi, Director, Garmin India, said, “At Garmin, we have always been committed to technological innovations and come up with exceptional products for our outdoor adventurers. The F?nix 7 Series and epix are an amalgamation of premium and style, specially designed for those who love to venture into the unexplored. The smartwatches are also equipped with multiple outdoor and fitness features that will provide the users valuable insights. We thrive to engineer products that will prove beneficial to our customers and have every minute details at the ease of their wrist. Also, the Fenix 7 Solar charging lens provides hassle free use of the watch for the longer time of period.” 

Unleashing Sense of Adventure with Garmin F?nix 7 series

The Garmin F?nix 7 series comes with a robust suite of rugged features. Highlighting the ultra-tough athletic design and an inbuilt flashlight, the smartwatch supports four levels of brightness along with a red strobe light that displays an SOS signal when activated in critical situations. 

Turning exertion into exhilaration, the outdoor series feature wear-resistant, scratch-resistant and anti-reflective high standard power sapphire as well as highly permeable patented solar panel. Due to the increased surface of the solar panels and the optimization of solar cells' configurations and conductive materials, solar efficiency has been 200% higher than in the previous generation. The Power Manager function has been upgraded, allowing the overall battery life of f?nix 7X to increase by nearly 300% , achieving up to 24 days of battery life under UltraTrac Mode, up to 122 hours in GPS mode with solar charged and up to 37 days in smartwatch mode.

The devise features more than 40 advanced built-in outdoor and indoor sport modes suitable for mountaineering, running, biking, hiking, rowing, skiing, golfing, surfing, indoor climbing and more. It also comes with pre-loaded high-intensity interval training workouts, including AMRAP, EMOM, Tabata, etc.

The Real-Time Stamina feature allows users to adjust their speed and intensity in real time based on their current physical strength. During long-distance races, athletes can activate the Up Ahead feature to set their strategy before the race. By using Garmin Connect, users can also create a route and mark waypoints. Once synced with the smart watch, pre-set checkpoints, water stations, medical stations and other route data will be displayed to the athlete.

Furthermore, the smart device dives into other additional features like XC Ski Dynamics, Surfing features, MTB dynamics, Pace pro technology, Climb-pro feature, performance metric, recovery time advisor and many more.

Navigating Adventure with Garmin EPIX- Built to be EPIC

The Garmin epix™ smartwatch blends outdoor challenges with premium style. It features an AMOLED screen with a high-resolution touch screen and buttons. Besides the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens, the watch has more than 40 built-in outdoor and indoor sports modes, supporting over 42,000 golf course maps and 2,200 ski resorts around the world.

Additionally, the smartwatch offers a wide range of health metrics and smart features that help users gauge their performance, such as Real Time Stamina that indicates how much exertion has been applied, Advanced Training metrics, Daily Workout suggestions, and so forth.

It also maintains an exceptional battery life. In smartwatch mode, the battery life remains up-to 16 days and 42 hours in GPS mode and up to 21 days when the Power Manager function is activated. Additionally, the devise offers both touchscreen and physical button usage flexibility so its users have complete control in tough outdoor ventures.

The newly launched F?nix 7 Series and epix are built to US Military MIL-STD-810 specifications, at the same time, supports Multi-GNSS positioning (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo). The new Multi-Band frequency setting greatly increases positioning speed and accuracy in challenging conditions from downtown to the mountaintop.

Both the outdoor smartwatches boast about the inbuilt broadest range of 24/7 health monitoring factors like the Body Battery Energy Monitor, which measures the body's energy throughout the day. The Pulse Ox3 monitors the blood's oxygen saturation in the body, stress tracking, advanced sleep with sleep score, respiration tracking as well as other health monitoring metrics to track users’ fitness goals and progress. Additionally, both watches offer Visual Race Predictor feature that helps an athlete to visualize race prediction estimates in the watch itself with help of graphs for quick understanding of how his/her training is progressing.

Garmin F?nix® 7 Series and epix™ are available in India at the starting price of Rs 67,990/ for f?nix 7 series and ?89,990/ for epix from today.

Cetaphil Reiterates It Cares; Launches Cetaphil PRO Oil Control Range For Acne

* Designed & developed by dermatologists to specifically to cater acne prone skin 

Dermatologist recommended & used by millions worldwide, personal care brand Cetaphil has forayed into the market with its latest product innovation – Cetaphil PRO Oil Control range to provide customized skincare option for acne prone skin at a very affordable price tag. The latest entrant is specially designed for acne prone skin and is proven to control oil, reduce shine on the face that in turn addresses acne concerns.

With the introduction of Cetaphil PRO Oil Control range, the brand aims to offer effective skincare and relaxation at the same time. The all-new range comprises of – Cetaphil PRO Oil Control Foam Wash priced at INR 880 for 236 ml, Cetaphil PRO Oil Purifying Face Mask priced at INR 850 for 85 gm & Cetaphil PRO Oil Control Moisturising Lotion with SPF 30 priced at INR 1250 for 120ml.

Formulated with unique Zinc technology Cetaphil Pro Oil Control Foam Wash gently cleanses and unclogs pores and removes up to 98% of excess oil, without causing dryness and irritation. Cetaphil Pro Oil Control  Moisturising Lotion with SPF 30 on the other hand improves dryness and roughness within one week of use in those with acne prone skin. Clinically proven oil-free lotion delivers lightweight 24-hour hydration, MicroPearl mattifying technology that absorbs surface oil and reduces shine for balanced, healthy-looking skin. It is also formulated with soothing zinc and oleosome technology that uses a lower concentration of sunscreen filters for less irritation with optimum protection.

Introduced for the first time under the Cetaphil product portfolio, Cetaphil PRO Oil Control Purifying Clay Mask is a gentle exfoliator for acne prone skin. It effectively draws out impurities, dirt, and pollutants to deep clean and mattify the skin. Packed with Kaolin and Bentonite, the clay mask is creamy and non-drying that is specifically formulated with shea butter, virgin cucumber and avocado oil to lightly exfoliate and lift away dead skin cells, improving the skin’s tone and texture.

Talking about the range, G. Sathya Narayanan, Managing Director, South Asia, Galderma India Pvt. Ltd elaborates, “Cetaphil has always advocated cleansing, moisturising & protecting the skin as a hygiene practice. The new trio-launch is about reiterating the regime for acne-prone skin. Cetaphil’s Pro Oil Control range will cater to a thriving cohort of skincare aficionados. We are happy that, with this innovation we are able to provide personalized skincare that will suit & provide our customers with effective and gentle skincare formulas keeping the skin healthy. We look forward to launching even more desirable products for all skin-lovers across India.”

Cetaphil today offers a product line that includes face and body moisturizers, cleansers, baby care, sun care and products for common skin issues. Across its different offerings, Cetaphil is committed to providing users with effective and gentle skincare formulas that help strengthen and protect combination and sensitive skin.

All Cetaphil PRO Oil Control products will be available on Nykaa, Amazon & at leading pharmacies 

About Cetaphil:

Cetaphil is a gentle skincare brand that has been recommended by dermatologists for over 74 years and is today used by millions of people with sensitive skin from all around the world. Invented in 1947 by a pioneering pharmacist in Texas, the first product - “Cetaphil Cleansing Lotion “- known today as Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser – continues to be the flagship product. Quickly recognized for its gentle cleansing power, the Cetaphil range of cleansers and other Cetaphil products started to grow. Today Cetaphil is available in more than 70 countries worldwide and offers a wide range of everyday products from cleansers and moisturizers to baby products and solutions for sensitive skin conditions such as pigmentation, acne, and eczema. Specifically formulated to provide effective skincare for a variety of skin types and conditions, Cetaphil has become one of the top skincare brands recommended by dermatologists and other healthcare professionals across the world.

About Galderma:

We are the world’s largest independent global dermatology company, created in 1981 and are now present in over 100 countries with an extensive product portfolio of prescription medicines, aesthetic solutions, and consumer care products. Galderma aims to enhance the quality of people’s lives by focusing on science-based solutions for skin health. Our products help protect, nourish, and enhance, and - when needed - treat, correct and restore skin health. This holistic view of skin health, addressing both healthy and compromised skin, is fundamental to our mission.

Vi Successfully Demonstrates 5G Voice Over NR Capability During 5G Trials In Gandhinagar, Gujarat

* Trial in partnership with Nokia which has deployed its 5G Core and 5G Radio solutions for Vi

India’s leading telecom operator, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has announced that it has successfully demonstrated 5G Voice over New Radio (VoNR) with its technology partner, Nokia, during the ongoing 5G Trials in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Once deployed, the VoNR solution will enable Vi to offer its subscribers high-definition voice experience over 5G, as well as several advanced voice applications and use cases in the future.

Vi Is Conducting 5G Trials On Govt. Allocated 5G Spectrum In Gandhinagar, Gujarat And Pune In Maharashtra

The VoNR trial was done on Nokia’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions including its AirScale 5G RAN, 5G Core and  IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice core. Once commercially deployed, the solution can provide superior user experience on a reliable, low latency network, as it uses the 5G network for both voice and data services.

According to Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vodafone Idea Limited, “We are testing technology solutions for offering superior network experience and use cases of relevance to digital enterprises and consumers, during our 5G Trials. Having achieved fastest 5G speeds in the country and demonstration of a wide range of use cases, we have now successfully tested VoNR service which offers the best call quality on 5G networks, using technology solutions from Nokia. I am confident that our relentless pursuit to deliver a superior network for Digital India will help us to continue providing the best in class voice and data services to 5G users in the future.”

Nokia’s VoNR solution is helping service providers offer a plethora of new and exciting voice-based applications like real-time translation and immersive voice for more engaging augmented and virtual reality use cases.

Nokia IMS voice core provides service providers with new revenue streams through innovative applications and use cases where voice plays a crucial role, much-needed operational flexibility and lower network management costs.

Earlier, during its 5G Trials with Nokia in Gandhinagar, Vi recorded speeds in excess of 4 Gbps and showcased unique consumer use cases such as AI based VR streaming, Roller Coaster Gaming, VR 5G Connected Schools and 360 degree VR Content Playback. Vi also used Nokia’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G core to successfully demonstrate secure network slicing use case, as well as trialed the utilisation of 5G in mid-band to provide rural broadband connectivity in Gandhinagar.

EVRE To Set Up Charging Stations At All GoMechanic Workshops

* GoMechanic workshops open doors to EVs across the country

* First phase of EV-charging installations to come-up at workshops in Bangalore and Chennai

* EVRE will install 1,000 EV charging hubs in the next two years.

GoMechanic, a network of tech-enabled car service and spares centres and EVRE, India’s leading EV charging infratech player announced that they have joined hands for enabling EV-readiness of all existing and upcoming GoMechanic workshops across the country. 

This enablement places GoMechanic in a unique position to address the needs of EVs at all its workshops, thus helping it extend its offerings to all types of automobiles under the same roof.  On its part under the partnership, EVRE will conceptualize, design, manufacture, install, operate and maintain the slow and fast charging stations to establish EV-charging hubs for GoMechanic at all its workshops.  

Charging infrastructure has been the key bridge to enable EVs go the extra-mile beyond their intrinsically powered range.  GoMechanic has a wide network of about 800+ workshops across 35 cities that provides 3600 car service solutions such as vehicle maintenance, retrofitting and access to spare parts. Adding EVRE charging stations will make the GoMechanic centres a vital point for customers to get a one-stop solution for all sorts of EV charging and car service requirements under one roof while driving to their destination.

Coming at an opportune time, the partnership will be a progressive contribution in-sync with the government’s recent announcements and vision to establish seamless e-mobility in India and combat range anxiety among EV users.

EVRE offers slow and fast unmanned smart charging facility with single-window access to all the services through EVRE App.  The company has enabled an always connected aggregator with a one-web dashboard that provides features such as telematics for complete real-time monitoring, smart keys-management as well as automated systems for ensuring safety of the vehicles.

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Suyash Kumar, VP, GoMechanic said, “GoMechanic has always been at the forefront of new technologies, be it our service, spares or entire supply chain offerings. With the movement of the automotive industry towards electric, especially fleets, we have been very aggressive in our approach to prepare us in that direction. In line with our vision, we are glad to partner with EVRE to set up charging hubs and enable adoption while we can provide class leading aftermarket support to the EV owners.”

Commenting on this partnership, Mr. Krishna K Jasti, Co-Founder and CEO of EVRE said, "We are happy to partner with GoMechanic as it moves to cater the fast-growing EV-user base and we will jointly work towards the national goals of clean mobility.  This partnership further brings value for EVRE in line with its goal to cater to e-fleets and focus towards building large-scale EV charging hubs that cater to a large number of EVs at the same time.  Our largest hubs will be able to accommodate 100 EVs.  We are constantly evolving and upgrading our offerings, and well on the path to establish the country’s largest 1000-strong charging hub network in the next two years.”

82% Of Office Workers In India Say They Will Leave Their Jobs If Employees Do Not Provide A Healthy Workplace

* Survey by Honeywell and Wakefield shows that office workers in India are more likely to leave their jobs compared to global counterparts (62%) if their employer does not take steps to create a healthier indoor environment 

In a survey of office workers in India, an overwhelming majority of respondents (82%) say they are willing to leave their job if their employer isn't taking steps to create a healthier indoor environment, compared with just 62% globally, according to a report released today by Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON). “Workplace Air Quality: A Global Concern Emerges” presents the findings of Honeywell’s second annual Healthy Buildings Survey, which recently surveyed 3,000 workers in buildings with 500-plus workers in India, ASEAN, Germany, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States.

With 89% of surveyed office employees in India working within a building at least part time, a substantial majority of those surveyed in India (63%) say they know a lot about their building’s indoor air quality (IAQ), nearly twice the global average of 35%. Further, an overwhelming majority of respondents (86%) say it is very to extremely important to be kept informed of their building’s air quality, a 20-percentage point increase from the global average of 65%.

“Of all regions surveyed, workers in India expressed the highest level of demand that employers keep them informed of building air quality and are willing to leave their jobs over less healthy conditions,” said Ashish Modi, President, Honeywell Building Technologies (HBT), Asia. “In a competitive labor market, demonstrating an effort to create a healthier work environment can be an advantage in attracting and retaining employees. Every rupee invested in upgrading workplace air quality, monitoring indoor air quality data and communicating it to employees is a rupee strategically spent,” he added.

Surveyed workers in India express a high desire to be kept informed, but they may not fully understand all the factors that contribute to IAQ. While over three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed have access to information about their building’s IAQ, nearly as many (73%) are unable to correctly identify all the factors that impact it such as temperature, humidity or CO2, making them the least knowledgeable across all six markets – even though they are the most likely to receive IAQ updates from their employer or building manager.

Nearly all office workers surveyed in India (96%) agree that the quality of air they breathe has a direct impact on their health and well-being, compared with 89% of global respondents. The top health benefits of safe IAQ they mention include:

* Better overall physical health (66%)

* Better overall mental health (65%)

* Fewer allergic responses, resulting in less sneezing and coughing (58%)

* Improved productivity and problem-solving (54%)

* Exposure to fewer airborne contaminants (47%)

Additional findings of note include:

* More than one-third of respondents (34%) say their building’s IAQ is monitored continuously, roughly double the global average of 16%. An additional 28% say their building’s IAQ is monitored often.

* Nearly all (97%) of surveyed office workers in India are more concerned about IAQ with the rise of new COVID-19 variants.

* Just over half (53%) of respondents believe that indoor air is less healthy to breathe than outdoor air (47%). This difference of 6% is the smallest variance of all regions surveyed.

Survey methodology

The Honeywell survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 3,000 workers in buildings of 500-plus workers in six markets – India, ASEAN, Germany, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States of America – between December 17, 2021, and January 11, 2022, using an email invitation and an online form.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About Honeywell Building Technologies

Honeywell Building Technologies (HBT) is transforming the way every building operates to help improve the quality of life. We are a leading building controls company with operations in more than 75 countries supported by a global channel partner network. Commercial building owners and operators use our hardware, software and analytics to help create safe, efficient and productive facilities. Our solutions and services are used in more than 10 million buildings worldwide.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.