Bentley Systems Call for Submissions for Awards for Excellence in Infrastructure 2016

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, a leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing infrastructure, today announced its call for submissions to the 2016  Be Inspired Awards program. The deadline for entries is May 30, 2016. The awards, which are selected by independent juries of industry experts, recognize the extraordinary work of organizations that help advance the world’s infrastructure by designing, engineering, constructing, delivering, and/or operating safer, more resilient, sustainable, and intelligent roads, bridges, buildings, plants, water distribution networks, and a host of other infrastructure assets. The architects, engineers, constructors, and/or owner-operators that comprise these organizations help realize their goals by taking advantage of the many BIM advancements that Bentley software and services innovations provide them through:

·         an increased depth of information modeling, for better asset performance, and/or

·         an increased breadth of information mobility, for better project performance.

The 18 Be Inspired Awards categories in this comprehensive, global program cover every aspect of the built environment – from innovation in asset performance, building, and construction to innovation in government, land development, mining, offshore, project delivery, and more. A new category this year is innovation in reality modeling, showcasing projects that demonstrate excellence in reality capture and/or visualization that solved a specific design, construction, or operations challenge.

All Bentley users are invited to enter their projects in the Be Inspired Awards program, no matter what phase the project is in – preconstruction/conceptual, design, construction, or built. The three finalists chosen for each Be Inspired Awards category will win a trip to London to attend, as a guest of Bentley Systems, The Year in Infrastructure 2016 Conference, being held Nov. 1-3 at the Hilton London Metropole in the U.K. The finalists will present their projects in the Be Inspired Awards finals portion of the conference before the judges, industry thought leaders, and more than 100 members of the media gathered for this highly interactive event comprising presentations, summits, and workshops.

Paul G. Wilson, technical director, Digital Project Delivery, EMIA, AECOM, said, “We were honored to be recognized at the 2015 Be Inspired Awards for our innovative project delivery work on the Stockholm E4 Bypass – one of the largest civil engineering projects in Sweden. The competition for this prestigious award is itself inspiring given the number, quality, and scale of the projects nominated. As an integral part of Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure Conference, the awards showcase some of the sector’s most pioneering projects and provide valuable insight into innovative technology in use. We look forward to participating in the 2016 event.”

Paul Brown, CAD/BIM/CAE design manager, SWIP/4LM Projects Engineering Services - Capital Programmes Directorate London Underground Ltd., said, “We are extremely proud that our London Underground tunnel remediation project was among those nominations honored at the 2015 Be Inspired Awards program in London last November. This innovative competition is aptly named given the remarkable accomplishments in infrastructure design, engineering, construction, and operations that it annually recognizes. It provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to have their advancements in project delivery and asset performance highlighted on a global stage in front of their peers, industry thought leaders, and members of the media. There simply is no other program quite like it!”

Chris Barron, Bentley vice president, corporate communications, said, “I strongly encourage Bentley users to take advantage of this call for submissions and fill out their nomination forms now. Much more than a competition, our Be Inspired Awards program uniquely brings together infrastructure professionals, along with members of the media, to share innovative BIM advancements in infrastructure project design, engineering, construction, and operations – advancing project delivery and asset performance. At the same time, it celebrates the innovative achievements of architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators in bringing to fruition infrastructure projects large and small.

“Every Be Inspired Awards nomination receives significant and valuable recognition across the global infrastructure community. So it’s a win for all – from the remarkable projects nominated to the infrastructure professionals and organizations that created them.”

Through the Be Inspired Awards program, participants can:

·  gain global recognition by having their architectural or engineering infrastructure projects profiled in Bentley’s Infrastructure Yearbook, which is distributed in print and digital formats to nearly 150,000 key media, government, and industry influencers around the world; in addition, all winners and finalists, as well as other project nominees, are featured on the User Project Profiles website page;

·  enhance their competitive edge by demonstrating to existing and potential clients the value they and their respective organizations add to projects through their innovative use of BIM advancements;

·  receive media coverage by interacting with global media as well as members of the Bentley team, who will help them market and promote their respective projects.

For additional information about the Be Inspired Awards program, or to nominate a project, visit www.bentley.com/BeInspired.

CleverTap & App Promo Partner to Help App Developers Engage and Retain Users

CleverTap, a next generation mobile engagement platform, with more than 1500 customers globally announced a global partnership with App Promo an award wining app marketing and promotional agency that help developers succeed in the discovery, downloads and monetization of mobile applications. The partnership will give access to all of App Promo clients CleverTap's mobile engagement platform. 

Developers will now have immediate access to CleverTap's world-class analytics to create more personalized mobile experiences and increase user engagement.

"With developers creating apps from all around the world, it was key to find an app marketing agency that is able to help market their applications not just in the US AppStore but from a global perspective," said Sunil Thomas, co-founder and chief executive officer at CleverTap. "For us, partnering with App Promo is a great way to help developers with a full 360 approach to app marketing from discovery to download to engagement."

For App Promo, the partnership significantly enhances App Promo's post app launch marketing, guiding clients to focus on engagement and retention. "Offering our clients the CleverTap's SDK now allows them up to 1 Million monthly events at No Charge, with unlimited messaging and MAUs," said Gary Yentin, CEO of App Promo. "Now we can help developers not only with the launch of the application but also follow up with post launch engagement, retention and monetization strategies – focusing on the business of the application."  

VMware's AirWatch Empowers Fullerton India’s Mobile Workforce

VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, today announced that Fullerton India, one of India’s leading non-banking financial institutions, has chosen VMware AirWatch to meet the mobility needs of the business. The deployment of VMware AirWatch will help Fullerton India support the growing mobility demands of its workforce, while securing its corporate resources.

Since its inception in January 2007, Fullerton India’s business has grown across the country. Today, the company has a network of 450 branches serving more than 1.1 million customers. With more than 7,500 employees, Fullerton India connects with customers at their doorsteps, be it in cities, towns or villages. Given its existing business model, majority of Fullerton India’s employees work remotely from laptops and tablets, and often face issues accessing critical corporate resources to work productively, especially in rural areas.

After evaluating a number of vendors, Fullerton India chose to deploy VMware AirWatch to provide a consistent experience to its users. The technology enables employees to easily access emails, content and applications on the go, while enabling IT administrators to control, manage and secure the devices remotely.

“Having a connected and productive workforce is crucial to the quality of our customer interactions. At Fullerton, we’ve always challenged the status-quo, whether it’s the services we offer or the technology we adopt for our business,” said Sudheer Prabhu, Chief Information Officer, Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd. “We selected VMware AirWatch to implement a unified platform that can empower our workforce to work productively and on the move, while also enabling us to secure the confidential data that they are accessing across devices.”

VMware AirWatch is a scalable enterprise mobility management platform that integrates seamlessly with existing enterprise systems and allows organizations to manage all devices, regardless of type, platform or ownership, from one central console.

“Today, businesses in India are witnessing their employees, devices, apps and data live beyond the physical walls of the workplace,” said Sangeeta Giri, Director, VMware India. “Fullerton India is another great example of how a business has embraced mobility to improve productivity, manage costs and secure its corporate data through VMware AirWatch. We look forward to strengthening our engagement with Fullerton India as they continue on their IT transformation journey.”

Taiwan Very Bullish about Smart Products for Smart Cities in India

The Taiwan Industry Enhancement Project (IEP) is happy to take part in the 2^nd Smart Cities India 2016 exhibition starting from May 11^th - 13^th at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre in New Delhi and will set up the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion to showcase 47 leading Taiwanese brands, 124 smart products themed ‘Smart products for smart cities’ in technology and home industry.

A group of 47 brands offerings products in smart ICT, smart healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, smart-life devices industries have pledged partnership with Smart Cities Expo. The partners are Acer, Adata, Adlink, Alya, AnsCare, Apacer, Apex, Asus, Avision, AVer, BXB, Cashido, Chanson, Chiayo, CviLux, CyberPower, Dr. Board, DrayTek, Edimax, Gigabyte, Gunilamp, Heartway, HiTi, Just Power, Justime, Karma, KSS, Lepa, LOF Solar, Lustrous, Marson, Microlife, MSI, Mozbii, Optoma, Phistek, Plustek, Qnap, Roxim, Rystora, Silicon Power, Thermaltake, Transcend, Ucushion, Vinaera, Walurs, Yantouch.

The highlight of the star products will be HiTi’s newest dye-sublimation photo printer –Prinhome. It is named as it is designed to be--printing the photos at home. It’s simple, compact and easy to carry. Yantouch’s portable Bluetooth speaker, world’s first 3-in-1 “Music+Light+Wake” function boutique, with a battery life of 1300mAh Li-polymer rechargeable built-in battery. Another innovative product at display will be – Mozbii, the world’s first color picking stylus. Kids can use Mozbii to explore the world.

MicroLife’s A200 has two world patented technology - "Detection of atrial fibrillation (Afib)" and "three times average of blood pressure in one button (MAM Technology)". It’s the only BP device which measures your blood pressure and Atrial Fibrillation (stroke alerts) at the same time. GIGABYTES’ The BRIX, which is an ultra-compact and versatile DIY PC kit, is available with a broad choice of processors covering a range of performance points. The BRIX redefines the desktop PC in terms of miniaturization with a form factor that fits in the palm of your hand.

2^nd Smart Cities India 2016 promotes smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure, to enhance the quality of urban life and provide a clean and sustainable environment. This significant tradeshow attracts professional buyers, system integrators who actively source new and innovative products from India and around.

India’s urban population is estimated to grow thrice its current size by the year 2031. The creation of 100 smart cities, as envisioned by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, assumes great significance in this context as it provides an impetus for an improved infrastructure and essential services to citizens as well as enterprises. The smart cities program is slated to present an opportunity of anywhere between 30-40 billion USD over the next 5-10 years for the ICT sector. In conjunction to Taiwan’s presence in this prominent tradeshow and eyeing the great potential that will be generated by the Indian Smart Cities development, a Taiwan smart product delegation will organize trade meetings with Indian companies on May 13.

The participation of these Taiwanese brands to the Smart Cities Expo is organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).Taiwan, known for its famed smart ICT infrastructure and products, cutting edge designs and world-class RandD, is all set to utilize the Smart Cities Expo as a significant platform to showcase smarter solutions for a better tomorrow.

Enterprises Embrace Wireless to Drive Digital Transformation - Mobility, BYOD, IOT

Wireless networking solutions are soaring in popularity as governments and enterprises of all sizes leverage emerging trends such as mobility, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to drive secure digital transformation, Avaya announced.

Avaya has posted triple-digit growth in the past six months for its wireless networking business across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa as organizations look to build secure environments capable of quickly supporting mobile users and applications. In today’s fast-paced business world, enterprises can’t afford to be constrained by wired solutions; employees need the freedom to roam freely during their work day and securely access the information they need when and where they need it.

With enterprises today under unprecedented pressure to deliver the digital experiences their customers expect, they need secure and scalable network solutions that allow teams to work together more effectively.

As evidenced by this growth, enterprises are increasingly looking to Avaya to deliver advanced, secure wireless solutions.  Avaya’s wireless and unified access offering provides a streamlined, automated network that eliminates complexity by allowing users and devices to easily, automatically and securely connect at the network edge. Supported by Avaya’s Fabric architecture it delivers a solution that can significantly ease Wi-Fi deployment and accelerate time-to-service for applications, allowing enterprises to embrace IoT and reap the benefits.

Paul Black, Director of Telecoms, Media and IOT, IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa said: “Many businesses in the region are at the cusp of transforming digitally. They are looking at solutions that are cost-effective, scalable and futureproof but ultimately looking at addressing their customer’s needs. The benefits of Digital Transformation will allow them to be proactive and agile to fulfil demand and is one of top initiatives of the CIO agenda with nearly 70% of industries looking to embark on transformation initiatives in 2016. Wireless connectivity solutions fit these needs perfectly and are often, fundamental to the transformation efforts itself.”

Jameel Al-Sharaf, Head of Group IT, YBA Kanoo Group, said: “In today’s challenging economic environment, having secured access to internal company resources and information wherever the employees are located will ensure higher customer retention through improved responsiveness and overall satisfaction.  Secured wireless solutions will also improve the employees’ collaboration resulting in higher productivity and improved efficiency for maximizing shareholders’ value through technology”.

Maan Al-Shakarchi, Head of Networking in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific, Avaya, said: “As highlighted by our strong growth, wireless is where investments are being made. Our customers are looking to wireless networks as enablers on their digital transformation journey, and it is essential that the network help, not hinder, them. Avaya’s IoT-ready network delivers the simplicity, scalability, and, most importantly, security that our customers need to adapt to evolving market and business demands.”

Xoom Partners with Everest Bank, Nepal for Cash Pick-Up & Instant Bank Deposits

Xoom, a leading digital money transfer provider has announced it will launch instant bank transfers, cash pick-up and mobile recharge services from the U.S. to Nepal. Xoom is partnering with Everest Bank Ltd., Nepal to offer instant bank deposits and cash pick-up. Consumers can also make bank deposits for all other Nepal banks including Nabil Bank, Himalayan Bank and Nepal SBI Bank. In addition to money transfers, people in the U.S. can also use Xoom’s website or mobile app to instantly send airtime credit to prepaid mobile phones from Ncell, Nepal Telecom and UTL.

Migration for foreign employment has become a major source of income for many Nepali households. According to the International Labour Organisation, close to 520,000 labour permits were issued to Nepalese planning to work abroad. Xoom helps Nepalese immigrants in the U.S. instantly send money or recharge mobile devices for their friends and family in Nepal within seconds using a U.S. bank account, debit card or credit card.

“We are excited to expand Xoom’s services to Nepal. Remittances are a lifeline for people in many countries and can bring tangible benefits to a country’s economic growth,” Julian King, CMO and VP of Business Development, Xoom said. “With Xoom, people in the U.S. can use the Xoom app to quickly send money and recharge their loved one’s mobile phones in Nepal without waiting in long lines, driving to stores or paying high fees. It’s the perfect way for family members to stay connected.”

“Nepal receives a significant sum of remittances in proportion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The presence of Xoom will further contribute to the easy, secure and convenient transfer of remittances into the country,” said A. K Ahluwalia, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Bank. We are proud to have partnered with Xoom to help people in the U.S. instantly make bank deposits for their friends and family in Nepal.”

As per the World Bank, Nepal received an average of $500 million per month last year from migrants across the world. Through the partnership with Everest Bank and other major Nepal banks, Xoom customers can transfer up to $1,000 for a flat fee of $4.99. For transactions beyond $1,000, the fee will be waived when paying with a U.S. bank account. For mobile recharge, it only costs 99 cents per transaction for a range of recharge amounts from 500 Nepal Rupee (NPR) to 2,000 NPR.

Customers can send money and recharge mobile phones with confidence due to Xoom’s SMS tracking alerts, 24/7 customer support and money back guarantee. The moment money is sent to a bank account or airtime is credited to a prepaid mobile phone account, a free confirmation text message is sent to the recipient. Xoom also auto-saves the transaction information, including the bank account or mobile number, payment method and amount sent, enabling repeat transactions to be completed with just two clicks.

Digital Banking Demands New Technologies & New Vendors:Gartner

Banks face intense pressure to increase efficiencies and reduce costs while delivering next-generation digital services; however, legacy application vendors have been slow to respond to new requirements, according to a new report from Gartner, Inc.

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2019, 25 percent of retail banks will use startup providers to replace legacy online and mobile banking systems.

New vendors are emerging to meet both customer and bank needs for channel integration and dynamic customer experiences that make banking easier to accomplish on the devices customers want to use. These vendors challenge the traditional — often incumbent — vendors of traditional online and mobile banking and core banking solutions.

“Startups and emerging providers of digital banking platforms offer banks interesting opportunities for innovation,” said Stessa Cohen, research director at Gartner. “However, CIOs must prepare to manage the challenges of evaluating and selecting new vendors that may not have proven track records in the financial services vertical or may simply be new and untried without an extensive customer base. It can be difficult for CIOs to justify investment in their solutions to their boards and regulatory agencies, but don’t use that as a reason to exclude new vendors.”

Gartner advises bank CIOs to work with business leaders and other key stakeholders to assess the bank's comfort with, and ability to manage, the risks associated with using new providers, especially financial technology startups.

Legacy Vendors Slow to React

One of the most important reasons the market for digital banking solutions has opened up is that most legacy vendors that offer bank channel applications — for both consumer and business customers — have been slow to react to new customer requirements.

Incumbent vendors offer traditional online and mobile banking solutions and integration with core banking systems, but often do not support open architectures that decouple the presentation of services from the services and transactions themselves and, crucially, enable the bank to bring new and existing processes together to offer innovative digital services.

As a result of both customer and bank IT and business requirements, new vendors have emerged with digital banking capabilities that enable bank business and IT staff to offer apps and applications that support personalized, customer-centric banking experiences, data and behavioral analysis, location and context sensitivity and creation of a partnership ecosystem to create new services leveraging partner data, transactions and processes.

“This is why many banks developing digital banking strategies to meet customer demands have sought out new providers to replace their existing online and mobile banking solutions with digital banking platforms,” said Ms. Cohen.

Open Unified Digital Banking Platforms

Digital banking platforms may include a broad range of capabilities — including financial management, payments, marketing, loyalty, analytics and customer communication management — that enable bankers to support a variety of customer experiences across any number of channels.

Open unified solutions make it possible to deliver new digital products and services, and create a multidimensional customer experience across all digital channels. They provide multichannel integration in an architecture that enables the bank to develop and deliver services for both bank staff and customers, via any device or channel.

Gartner views open unified digital banking platforms as an emerging technology, even though some of the solutions on the market, including some from niche banking system vendors, have been available for several years.

The market for digital banking platforms is highly fragmented. Vendors include:

·         Incumbent bank niche vendors

·         Mobile or online banking solution vendors

·         Horizontal digital platform and customer experience vendors

·         Horizontal portal vendors

·         System integrators

·         Emerging digital banking vendors

·         Startup digital banking vendors

According to Gartner, bank CIOs should be prepared for extensive, potentially disruptive changes in this market, including merger-and-acquisition activity, heightened competition and new entrants from other geographic regions.