Infor Expands Public Sector Focus to Federal Government

Infor announced a comprehensive model of enterprise applications and technology solutions that are geared towards the Federal Government. The new suite for federal government expands Infor’s reach in the public sector, where the company has thousands of customers at the local, regional and state level. Infor is currently working with approximately 300 customer organizations that function within federal government. To lead this initiative, Infor has hired industry veteran, Wayne Bobby, as vice president for Infor’s Federal government solutions.

“In the past few years, Infor has gained considerable ground in the industry by deploying our solutions in countless regional and local government organizations around the world. This expansion to focus our offerings to better meet the needs of the Federal government is a natural progression for our organization,” said Kevin Curry, senior vice president, Public Sector, Infor. “By hiring Wayne Bobby, we have secured a proven leader who will enable us to quickly grow our Federal objectives.”

Digital Music Market to grow $9 Billion Worldwide this Year

Mahindra Comviva and Ovum Consulting released a research study on Digital Music Market. The study encapsulates future trends on the uptake of digital music in terms of adoption rates; devices used to consume music services and segregation of listeners and suggested target approach.

The research study reveals that digital music market grew by around 9% in 2012 and is expected to grow $9 billion worldwide in 2014. Strong growth is driven by the expansion of international and regional music brands as well as active smartphone growth in South East Asia, India and Africa, all topping 20% CAGR. It predicts that Asia-Pacific emerging markets are expected to approach $450 million and Latin America top $200 million in trade value in 2014.

Commenting on the latest trends in the mobile music industry, Atul Madan, Head of Digital Services, Mahindra Comviva said, “The music industry is witnessing dynamic changes and consumption patterns are shifting, driven by the increasing adoption of smartphones. The study reiterates our belief that the future of digital music will be based on enhanced engagement, 360 degree music experience and addressing the needs of price sensitive markets. Localized and customized content will play a greater role in enticing consumers.”

Guavus Names Mike Staiger as Chief Financial Officer

Guavus, a provider of big data solutions, today announced that Mike Staiger has joined the company as chief financial officer. Mike brings to Guavus more than 20 years of leadership experience in both venture-backed private and public technology companies.  He has raised over $300 million in private capital under a variety of financing structures and market conditions, and he has structured, negotiated, closed and managed strategic partnerships that have generated revenue in excess of $200 million.

“By developing solutions that provide our customers critically important business insights, Guavus has achieved extraordinary revenue growth,” said Manish Goel, CEO of Guavus. “We intend to continue on this trajectory in the coming years.  I have had the pleasure of working with Mike previously, and I am confident that Mike will play a key role in our future growth. His strong background in finance and business development adds important capabilities to the Guavus leadership team.”

Integration of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite and Adobe Experience Manager Creates Unified Design and Publishing Process

 Adobe announced the integration of its digital publishing platform, Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), and Web experience management solution, Adobe Experience Manager, part of Adobe Marketing Cloud. This new integration, in combination with Adobe , enables publishers and brands to create, deliver and measure experiences across content-rich apps, like digital magazines, and the Web using one set of assets. As a result, organizations can accelerate application authoring, reduce publishing costs across channels, and deliver a consistent brand experience and content marketing strategy on the Web and mobile devices. With DPS customers using Adobe Creative Cloud to create stand-out apps, today’s announcement underlines the new connections the company is forging between its unrivaled content creation technologies and industry defining digital marketing solutions.

The mobile mandate has never been clearer. According to a recent Forbes Insights report commissioned by Adobe, which surveyed top-level marketing executives in large organizations, 78 percent of enterprises with customer-facing apps have seen a year-over-year increase in the size of their mobile app audiences, and more than two-thirds said the number of end users for internal apps has also grown. Despite this, publishers and brands have struggled to effectively and efficiently publish content-centric apps—such as digital magazines, sales tools, and annual reports—that can be viewed online or offline using tablets and smartphones. Cross-channel digital publishing remains expensive and time-consuming, is the domain of only select experts in the organization, and requires assets that live in silos separated from those used for Web publishing.

Trend Micro Introduces Incentive Schemes for Partners for Q1, 2014

Trend Micro Incorporated has announced Q1 incentive schemes for Partner Sales & Presales representatives for Trend Micro Deep Discovery, Deep Security as well as for its range of Foundation products. The schemes for the ‘simple to buy, simpler to deploy and simplest to manage’ solutions closes for this Quarter on 25th March 2014.

 “We endeavour to provide tools and solutions to our partners that maximises security without compromising performance.  The marketing schemes introduced are certain to assist them in reaching out to greater audience with best-in-class security solutions. It is our constant endeavour to support partners in increasing their profitability; reducing their cost of business and at the same time making sure they build a huge services business. We look forward to help from our partners to collectively serve the customers with combined potential this year,” said Suchita Vishnoi, Head Enterprise & Channel Marketing, Trend Micro India.

Investment of Rs. 300 crore in IndusInd Media and Communications Limited.

The Board of Directors of Hinduja Ventures Ltd. (HVL), in its meeting held on February 26, 2014, reviewed the performance of its subsidiary i.e. IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL) and reiterated the earlier decision to invest Rs. 300 crore in IMCL, either directly or through its subsidiary.

The capital infusion is happening to take advantage of opportunities thrown up by digital conversion from analogue transmission as mandated by Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India. Phase I and Phase II of the Digital Addressable System (DAS) have already been completed and several consolidation opportunities are coming up in the digital environment in various phases. The capital will be used to expand the digital base of IMCL and to improve customer services.

eBay leads a new round of funding in Snapdeal

eBay announced that it was leading a new $133.77 million round of funding in Snapdeal, raising its stake in the company following an initial investment made in 2013.

“Accelerating growth in India and other emerging markets continues to be a core strategy for driving eBay’s global e-commerce leadership. eBay is excited about the prospects ahead for both Snapdeal and the eBay India business,” said eBay Senior Vice President and APAC Managing Director Jay Lee.  “We continue to invest in Snapdeal due to its complementary business model, good management team and strong brand.”

“eBay’s partnership with Snapdeal will benefit Indian businesses of all sizes, consumers and local commerce.” said Latif Nathani, Managing Director, eBay India.

Huawei Bags with UN Global Compact China Network's Best Practice Award

Huawei announced that it has been awarded with the Best Practice award from the United Nations Global Compact China Network. The award recognizes Huawei's supply chain management and highlighted its cross-industry collaboration and promotion of a win-win supply chain ecosystem.

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) award was announced by the then United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan and officially launched at the UN headquarters in New York in July, 2000. The Global Compact is a principle-based framework for businesses, stating ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. Since joining the UNGC in 2004, Huawei's dedication to the highest international standards have been recognized with the 2012 CSR Best Practice award.

Huawei's approach in this area is to develop a sustainable global supply chain through positive and proactive cross-industry collaboration The company also actively obtains feedback from its customers and incorporates sustainability into its core business processes, exploring value opportunities, and enhanced capabilities for suppliers. Working in partnership with its global customers and partners, Huawei has developed a healthy business ecosystem that shares resources, risks, and benefits. As a result of a Value Chain Analysis (VCA), Huawei has actively established collaborative relationships with customers, suppliers, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations, and Academia in offering new solutions to supply chain social and environmental issues.

Intel India launches National STEM Acceleration Programme

Intel India launched the National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Acceleration Programme to strengthen STEM education in the country. The programme will endeavour to focus on initiatives aimed towards promoting creativity, innovation and a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) attitude amongst students across the country through a wide array of STEM-centred initiatives and resources designed to inspire better learning and student discovery. It will also endeavour to accelerate STEM-based governmental and non-governmental programmes in an effort to encourage student interest and participation in STEM related subjects.

            As a part of this programme, Intel India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The National Council of Science Museums in an effort to strengthen the research culture for students across the country and build innovation resources. As a part of the MoU, Intel India and NCSM shall endeavour to collaborate on initiatives that will help promote the spirit of innovation and creativity with young people in India. These collaborative initiatives would include setting up of a ‘Galileo Corner’ at select NCSM’s innovation centers, Intel IRIS National Science Fair’s affiliation to the zonal Science Fairs by NCSM and a ‘Science Week’ focused on STEM related activities at NCSM centres.

136% Increase in Cyber Threats and Attacks against Government and 126% against Financial Services Organizations in India in 2013

 Arbor Networks released its 9th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR) offering a rare view into the most critical security challenges facing today’s network operators. Based on survey data provided by service providers, enterprises, cloud, hosting and other network operators from around the world, this annual report provides a real-world view of the security threats that organizations face and the strategies they adopt to address them.

Arbor’s long-standing customer relationships and reputation as a trusted advisor and solution provider make this report possible each year. Click here (registration required) to access the Arbor Networks 9th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report.

“From the ISP to the enterprise, IT and security teams are facing a dynamic threat landscape and very skilled and patient adversaries. Our ninth annual report showcases that very clearly,” said Matthew Moynahan, president of Arbor Networks. “There is no single, magic bullet solution and it is a mistake to think technology alone can secure a network. Multi-layered defenses are clearly needed, but so is a commitment to best practices for people and process.”

A global collaborative work environment for ‘Generation S’

In this era of globalisation, organisations around the world are operating round the clock, around the world in a networked business environment. The need of the hour for these organisations therefore, is to adopt systems that offer functionality above and beyond traditional company intranet portals. In this context it becomes not only prudent but also imperative to merge the collaborative usability of social media with solutions that are designed to provide the functionality that organisations need to operate efficiently in the current ultra-competitive environment.

Microsoft’s collaboration platform SharePoint, offers a solution for companies that face this challenge. And as the growth of social media has forever changed the manner in which people share and consume information, the lines between a traditional knowledge sharing portal, social media platform and company intranet are fast blurring.

Traditional intranet and knowledge-sharing portals that are unidirectional can are no longer enough to engage employees. What would once have sufficed as a message board and memo circulation system does not address the demand for an engaging company portal that embodies a culture of connectedness and provides opportunities to collaborate in real time.

Rapid Strides in IT Procurement and E-Governance Spearheads IT and ITeS In West Bengal

As a part of its endeavor to create a transparent, competitive and inclusive environment for public procurement in India, MAIT has taken-up the mandate to collaborate with various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Government and to organize workshops and focus group discussions wherein industry representatives can interact with government officials and deliberate upon various aspects of public procurement. One such initiative that MAIT has embarked upon is the series of regional workshops that are being currently organized in the country to spread awareness on Model RFPs that had been promulgated by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) in 2011.

As a part of these regional workshops, Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) today organized a workshop in Kolkata on Model RFPs in association with DeitY, and Accenture being the knowledge partner.  Policy experts, Industry bodies and state IT decision makers from eastern India gathered together to share their experiences on the implementation of e-governance projects.

Inaugurating the workshop, Shri Satish Chandra Tewary, Principal Secretary - IT&E, Govt. of West Bengal said, “I would like to thank DIT, Government of India and MAIT for organizing this regional workshop and for creating the opportunity to deliberate upon the best usage of IT to transform e-governance through streamlining of procurement process.”  He announced that the Government of West Bengal intends to accelerate the proliferation of IT and ITeS adoption in the state and has set up Hardware Parks, Electronics Manufacturing Clusters to expedite the same.

Tewary further suggested that given the dynamism of IT products and services, this discussion on Model RFPs and public procurement comes at an opportune time. He asserted that “some challenges being faced by the states in execution of e-Governance projects such as budgeting issues, neutrality of specifications, among others can be addressed and mitigated at the stage of formulating the RFP itself”. These Model RFP toolkits are completely in sync with the recently-announced Public Procurement Bill 2012 and they can address substantial amount of risks that are typically associated with bidding and undertaking ICT projects in Govt. Sector.

Emphasizing on the compliance to model RFPs Ankur Malhotra, Vice President, Public Policy, Accenture, said, “Critical assessment of various e-Governance Projects since the initiation of NeGP shows that issues like time & cost overruns, unmitigated disputes, poor quality of execution, etc. which are being faced across board can be mitigated or could be planned for at the procurement stage itself.  ” He also stressed that “Streamlining the entire set of processes related to tendering would lead to more successful execution of IT Services & Infrastructure projects in Government Sector, and this is where instruments like Model RFPs become all the more important”.

While addressing the gathering, Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT, said “We are honoured to offer such platform wherein both industry and government can share their experience and issues on IT procurement and e-Governance. Through this workshop we aim to create ways to accelerate the awareness and adoption of Model RFPs.  ”

HOPE Foundation to Receive SAP Business One to Optimize Efficiency for Community Impact

SAP announced a donation of technology and integration support to community partner HOPE Foundation India. SAP Business One will enable more efficient management of its existing business management software systems, helping HOPE to run better and serve more citizens in need across India. This collaboration comes as a further commitment to SAP’s longstanding partnership with HOPE Foundation across education programmes and disaster relief since 2000.

In addition, the solution will be extended to enable HOPE to maintain a single source of information to effectively manage information on donors and participants in the various programs that HOPE manages.

In stage 1 of the project, HOPE Foundation will utilize the core financial functionality of the SAP Business One solution to enable them to have greater visibility in to their source and application of funding as well as streamlining their regular reporting. The Foundation will be able to better automate day-to-day processes, analyse socio-economic data, better manage donor database, community programmes, financials and provide transparency to its stakeholders.

Tech Mahindra’s Connected Solution for Automotive Industry

Tech Mahindra demonstrates connected vehicle solution at the Mobile World Congress.

Tech Mahindra offers end-to-end integrated connected car/vehicle services and solutions to address the needs of the automotive industry. With over fourteen years of experience in design, development, verification and validation of automotive subsystems, Tech Mahindra offers innovative connected vehicle integrated solutions and services including embedded system solutions, validation services, standalone reusable components and System Integration capabilities.

Karthikeyan Natarajan, Global Head, Integrated Engineering Solutions, Tech Mahindra said, “The connected vehicle solution seamlessly connects ‘in-vehicle’ systems with enterprise computational platforms including vehicle to infrastructure communication, enhancing driver assist/alert, to aid diagnostics/prognosis, comfort, convenience and safety. We believe this solution will transform the user experience - for all the stakeholders (driver, dealer, OEMs, Tier1s, insurance provider, etc) providing the required value-add.”

Kores Introduces Save&Go; In India

Kores India has just introduced Save&Go, a 360-degree mobile solution that enables complete content transfer and phone/tablet personalization in India that allows mobile phone users to walk out working with their new phones from their nearest phone retailer. Save & Go safely and automatically transfers data from an old device to a new one in a zap, regardless of the differences of producer, model or operating system between the old and new device.

Widely available in Europe, Save&Go will now be accessible available across mobile retail stores in India. Save & Go supports a large number of mobile phones and tablets and comes with easy to use software, which installs in minutes.

Contact centre evolution demands new communication solutions

Jabra announced the launch of Jabra BIZTM 2300. Completely rethinking the role of the headset, the Jabra BIZ 2300 is a direct response to the changes in contact centres.

The Jabra BIZ™ 2300 features:

·         Speakers that are optimised to reduce the level of ambient noise

·         Microphone that has best-in-industry noise cancellation

·         Mass deployment which means that Jabra BIZ 2300 can adapt to any IT setup, is easy to roll out and kept updated. This makes switching and installation easier.

·         Unbreakable 360 swivelling boom arm which ensures that agents are always able to customise the positioning of the microphone without risk of breaking

With up to 50 per cent better noise cancellation and 20 per cent lighter compared to competition, and mass-deployment ready, the Jabra BIZ™2300 beats competition on all key parameters.

Amdocs Announces Carrier-Grade Big Data Solution

At Mobile World Congress 2014, Amdocs announced the availability of Amdocs TeraScale, a carrier-grade, big data solution designed to cost-efficiently store, manage and extract real-time charging usage data for analytical use cases. The new solution leverages big data storage technologies based on the Hadoop ecosystem, and enables deeper, more rapid real-time through innovative usage data modeling and embedded ETL (extract, transform and load) processes. Amdocs TeraScale is a new offering within the Amdocs CES 9.1 product suite.

Amdocs TeraScale was specifically designed and tested to deliver the carrier-grade performance, security and availability required in service providers’ operational environments. The solution is capable of streaming the massive volumes of usage data generated by Amdocs Convergent Charging directly into TeraScale data clusters based on Hadoop, providing fresh, granular data for applications. Amdocs TeraScale allows service providers to explore and visualize usage data using optimized usage queries and extracts as well as native Hadoop query tools. Amdocs TeraScale can be initially deployed as a side-by-side solution alongside existing usage data storage and ETL solutions, with no impact on charging and billing operations.

IBM Data Center Management Services Helps Union Bank of India Improve Operational Efficiency

IBM announced that Union Bank of India (UBI) has selected IBM’s data center management services to enhance productivity and improve business operations. The service will enable the bank to enhance reliability and efficiency of critical infrastructure as well as significantly improve data management across multiple locations.

Union Bank of India is one of the largest public sector banks of India and is listed on Forbes 2000. The data center management services from IBM will include end-to-end infrastructure management for servers, storage and database for both production and disaster recovery sites. IBM will provide data center management services to UBI as part of a 7-year engagement.

Data sensitive industries like the financial sector require a robust IT infrastructure to ensure enhanced performance across multiple workloads, while at the same time reducing the overall cost. It is therefore critical for financial services companies to ensure that their data centers are highly efficient and optimally utilized.

LINE claims as the best mobile messaging solution for all!

LINE has seen a record-breaking inflow of daily new users, as many as 10 times in some regions, since the weekend of February 23, 2014. The recent surge is attributed to LINE’s unparalleled communication services that are the most safe and reliable, in the midst of recent system trouble experienced by other service providers.

Many users have already chosen LINE as the ideal solution that offers an advanced system support and wide range of features that offer free messaging, voice and video calling, as well as interactive elements such as Stickers, Timeline and Official Accounts, under the ongoing industrial changes in the mobile messaging market.

HTC plans to create a supercomputer

HTC unveiled HTC Power To Give, an initiative that aims to create the a supercomputer by harnessing the collective processing power of Android smartphones.

Currently in beta, HTC Power To Give aims to galvanize smartphone owners to unlock their unused processing power in order to help answer some of society’s biggest questions. Currently, the fight against cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer’s; the drive to ensure every child has clean water to drink and even the search for extra-terrestrial life are all being tackled by volunteer computing platforms.

Empowering people to use their Android smartphones to offer tangible support for vital fields of research, including medicine, science and ecology, HTC Power To Give has been developed in partnership with Dr. David Anderson of the University of California, Berkeley.  The project will support the world’s largest volunteer computing initiative and tap into the powerful processing capabilities of a global network of smartphones.

e4e expands its operations in the Philippines

e4e Healthcare Services announced its expansion plans in the Philippines, in Taguig City in Manila.

Fueled by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the transition of the US healthcare industry from ICD-9 to ICD-10, e4e will expand its „best-shoring‟ delivery capability in the Philippines, in addition to its current delivery centers in the US and in India. The healthcare industry makes up for 17.7% of the US GDP, approaching $3 trillion in annual spend and is projected to grow to $4.8 trillion by 2021, thereby increasing the outsourcing opportunity.

e4e‟s Philippines center will have 200+ employees in 2014 and will increase to over 500 employees in 2015.

Unicel Technologies Launches INBOXED

Unicel Technologies - the leading provider of Integrated Cloud Communications Solutions in the country announced today that the company has launched “INBOXED”- A zero spam e-mail service. The company`s cloud communication solutions are integrated across SMS, Voice, USSD and E-Mail platforms.

By adding Inboxed in its offerings the company aims to deliver the agility and productivity of cloud communications to the enterprise community. Inboxed reduces the cost and complexity of managing event based and promotional email communication, apart from being capable of scaling seamlessly in a secured manner.

Inboxed can be easily integrated with existing applications, saving time and empowering users with greater control on emailing activities. The solution offers best-in-class security, robust performance and easy centralized management.

Firstsource launches First Smartomation

Firstsource Solutions announced the launch of First Smartomation - its proprietary process automation solution. The latest addition to Firstsource’s suite of customer management solutions, this product is aimed at helping organisations integrate multiple systems, create new interfaces with automation and reduce complex processes

First Smartomation leverages non-invasive technology to integrate existing applications and systems to create a user-friendly interface that can be deployed across voice and non-voice customer service channels. First Smartomation can be positioned on any backend system to create a user friendly interface that shortens processing and interaction times and improves productivity.

Sierra Wireless and Tech Mahindra Sign Agreement

 Tech Mahindra and Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW), today announced that they have signed a formal teaming agreement to work collaboratively to develop and deploy end-to-end M2M solutions for customers worldwide. The collaboration leverages Sierra Wireless device-to-cloud offerings and Tech Mahindra’s system integration and application development expertise to offer cost-effective, turnkey solutions tailored for prospective M2M customers in markets such as energy, transportation, industrial, and healthcare.

“Our collaboration with Tech Mahindra leverages our complementary offerings and skill sets to deliver complete M2M solutions that can be deployed within existing IT infrastructures, and extend to new web and mobile applications” said Jason Krause, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Marketing for Sierra Wireless. “Customers can rely on our partnership to develop, deploy and support a complete M2M solution on any of the world’s mobile networks.”

Adoption of 3rd Platform IT Technologies Will Redefine 90% of IT Roles by 2018, says IDC

CIO Agenda, highlights the top 10 predictions for the CIOs through the year ahead.  The predictions provide insights on long-term industry trends along with new themes that may be on the horizon that will most impact the role of the CIO.  While the 3rd Platform of mobile, social, big data, and cloud services is just beginning to mature, it will require an entirely different set of IT skills and roles — many of which are yet to be invented.

“The digitisation of the corporate world is accelerating, and with new technologies enabling the process, CIOs have an unparalleled opportunity to emerge as true business leaders. They will need to step up to the role of Chief Innovation Officer or risk becoming irrelevant in the years to come. " Says Jaideep Mehta, VP and Country General Manager, IDC India

PoC Testing for the UNICA Infrastructure

Telefonica and Huawei announced recently that they have completed the phase II Prove of Concept (PoC) testing for the UNICA Infrastructure project, which is Telefonica’s future-proof ICT infrastructure. This testing includes 188 test cases that cover the maintenance and operation of the Virtual Data Center, Software Defined Networking (SDN), cloud deployment of Telco services, and compliance of the OpenStack infrastructure. As Telco Services, Huawei Virtual IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) and value-added service (VAS) Cloud have been verified on the platform. According to the test results, the UNICA Infrastructure can manage data centers distributed in various regions in a centralized manner, provide a unified Virtual Data Center for efficient data sharing among internal departments or OBs, and rapidly provides Telco services and internal applications through the Virtual Data Center. In this manner, the UNICA Infrastructure facilitates Telefonica to build a unified, cooperated, and highly efficient next-generation ICT infrastructure, and supports network transforming. In addition, Huawei SoftCOM infrastructure, including the Distributed Cloud Data Center (DC2) and SDN network, highly match with the UNICA Infrastructure.

The PoC testing demo of the UNICA Infrastructure will be demonstrated by Telefonica at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona in February, 2014. Huawei virtual IMS will be shown as a Telco service platform during the demonstration.

With the development of Telco networks and information technologies, carriers are able to decrease costs, increase revenues, and improve service abilities to the greatest extent. The UNICA Infrastructure aims at establishing a general ICT infrastructure to deploy new network functions and service platforms in a standardized and multivendor way. To promote network transforming, Telefonica and Huawei started planning in July, 2012.

Based on the profound understanding of IT and CT services, Huawei SoftCOM infrastructure integrates self-developed ICT technologies, such as the cloud operating system, SDN network, data center management and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). This infrastructure matches majority of the requirements of UNICA Infrastructure, and has passed all test cases of the phase II PoC testing.

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) opens two new centers in Philippines

At the back of a highly successful 2013 with top line being doubled to Rs. 2000 cr in a span of two years, Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), a leading provider of outsourcing solutions and a Hinduja Group Company announces the launch of two new centers in Philippines, supported by an investment of $ 6.79 million. HGS entered Philippines in the year 2003 with the acquisition of C-Cube, and was the first Indian BPO to set up base and a decade later the company boasts of 5000 employees spread across six centres in Philippines. Spread across a total area of 22,377 sq.mt in Philippines occupying 3975 seats, the sites are located in Metro Manila, Iloilo province and now in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Commenting on this development Partha DeSarkar, Global Chief Executive, HGS says, “Over the last 10 years, the Philippines BPO industry has grown by over 600% and this region contributes around $ 63 million which is 15% of our total revenues. Given the strategic significance of the Philippines region, we aim to convert the model from a delivery and back office organisation to front end sales to offer better service delivery to clients and continue to grow our business”.

Tech Mahindra opens NFC Testing Lab

Tech Mahindra announced the launch of its Near Field Communication (NFC) test lab in Bangalore, India.

The NFC Testing and Consulting capabilities in the lab will cater to the fast-growing needs of chipset manufacturers, OEMs, Service Providers, Acquires and Issuers from the banking industry. The state-of-the-art ISO 17025 Accredited Lab, has 100% capability to meet the Wave1 test requirements as mandated by the NFC Forum. It also has the infrastructure to meet the upcoming Wave2 test requirements of the Forum.

According to a leading research company, with nearly 400 million NFC-enabled smartphones deployed worldwide, and growth projections nearing 1 billion handsets by 2016, we are reaching critical mass for large-scale application and infrastructure deployments. The Tech Mahindra NFC Testing Lab is also gearing to support the above demand and to also offer Payments Certification and Testing Solutions to the leading global banks.

Aon Hewitt Appoints Sandeep Chaudhary CEO of Aon Hewitt Consulting in India

 Aon Hewitt announced two organizational changes at Aon Hewitt Consulting in India. As part of a planned leadership transition, Sandeep Chaudhary has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer for Aon Hewitt Consulting in India. Anand Shankar, who has served as CEO of Aon Hewitt Consulting India since 2011, will transition the role to Mr. Chaudhary during the next 4 months before returning to Singapore to take up a regional leadership role with Aon Hewitt. The details of his new role will be announced soon.

Prior to be appointed CEO, Sandeep Chaudhary was a Partner and the Head of the Performance, Rewards & Talent Practice with Aon Hewitt. He has been with the firm for over 13 years and was instrumental in building and sustaining Aon Hewitt’s leadership position in talent solutions.

SAP Names Adaire Fox-Martin as President of Asia Pacific Japan

SAP announced that it has named Adaire Fox Martin President of SAP Asia Pacific Japan, effective immediately. In her new role, Fox-Martin will oversee SAP's business in the Asia Pacific Region, excluding China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan which are managed by Mark Gibbs, President of SAP Greater China. Both Fox-Martin and Gibbs report to Robert Enslin, President of Global Customer Operations and a member of the Global Managing Board of SAP AG who leads the company’s global field revenue and go-to-market efforts.

Previously Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SAP Asia Pacific Japan, Fox-Martin is credited with the performance rebound in the region performance, achieving double digit growth in software and cloud in Q4. “The Asia Pacific Japan region holds tremendous opportunity for SAP. The entire SAP Global Managing Board is confident that Adaire Fox-Martin’s experience and leadership will continue strengthening the company’s performance throughout the region and support our customer’s desire to more rapidly consume SAP innovation through our growing cloud portfolio,” said Robert Enslin.

Pegasystems Latest Marketing Solution Enables Predictive, Personalized Mobile Offers

Pegasystems announced the latest version of its Next-Best-Action Marketing solution.  This new solution has enhanced outbound capabilities so that marketers can better target customers in the mobile channel by defining specific geographic locations to help deliver real-time offers at the location where a customer interacts with a business.

With Pega, marketers have direct control over driving profitable and customer relationship building customer strategies, including differentiation, branding, retention, upsell and cross-sell.  This latest release of Next-Best-Action-Marketing enables companies to have a connected customer conversation, across channels with the ability to adapt in real-time to help ensure a targeted offer is presented to the appropriate customer.  This Build for Change® philosophy is incorporated into the new features for mobile, with Apple Passbook™, integration and dynamic microsite capabilities to further target and converse with a customer over multiple channels and devices.

Reliance Jio's 4G Services to hit the Market by September

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has an ambitious plan for its telecom operations. The Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) is expected to start its highly awaited 4G services by September this year in two metros - Delhi and Mumbai. A source within the company was quoted as saying, "Reliance Jio is engaged in building up team for telecom services which is almost done. Telecom services are likely to be launched in third quarter of 2014 i.e. July-September period starting from Delhi and Mumbai."

In July 2013, Reliance had announced an ambitious expansion plan for the whole 4G setup. The company announced that it planned to add around 7,000 employees taking the headcount up to 10,000. Many analysts believe that the company may share information about the launch in June. 4G trial services have already begun in Delhi, Jamnagar and Mumbai. The Department of Telecom has allocated 22 million numbers for launch of services. The source added that company is evaluating devices of Korean firm Samsung and Chinese company ZTE for its customers.

ZTE launches two new Firefox OS phones

ZTE launches two new innovative Firefox OS phones in the ZTE Open series with the Open C and Open II, and expects to ship over one million Firefox OS phones before the end of 2014. This furthers ZTE’s strong relationship with Mozilla that started with the first ZTE Open which was launched at Mobile World Congress in 2013.

The Open C is one of the first devices to operate on the latest version of Firefox OS and is designed to deliver a better user experience and a higher cost-performance ratio. As part of Telefónica’s long-term cooperation with ZTE, the Open C will be initially launched with Telefónica in Venezuela and Uruguay during the second quarter of 2014.

Also running the latest version of Firefox OS, the Open II is the evolution of the popular ZTE Open, which was launched in 2013 in six countries by Telefónica as well as being sold through eBay in the US and UK markets. Marrying exquisite design with the open-source, Web-based Firefox OS, the Open II provides users with a fantastic experience and a highly affordable price.

LAPCARE grew 40% Growth in 2013

LAPCARE, developers of laptop peripherals and accessories for all premium laptop brands, has announced that it has recorded impressive 40% YoY growth in 2013. LAPCARE plans to sign up new channel partners to further enhance its impressive growth story in India. This will come by the company expanding its distribution network across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to address.

India market has matured and has become sizable when it comes to laptop accessories. The accessories market is estimated to be over 15 million dollars (US figures). Portable mice, Privacy screens, cooling solutions with laptops, Wireless Presenters, functional backpacks, etc are going to will continue to enjoy an upward consumption trend. The traction for all kind of accessories has gone up, and the growth has been rather good in accessories business which is purely driven by laptop sales. Diverse market with diverse customer preferences makes it a big challenge to market our products in a way that will connect well with the customers. Consumers want products that are portable travel friendly and light and to meet these demands, LAPCARE is adding more innovative range of products.

NSN, KT, SKT achieve TDD-FDD carrier aggregation demonstration

Nokia Solutions and Networks announced its successful demonstration of the world’s first TDD-FDD carrier aggregation together with Korean operators, Korea Telecom (KT) and SK Telecom (SKT). The demonstration was carried out separately with the two operators, using NSN’s Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station. This breakthrough is a boon for operators and LTE mobile broadband subscribers as it will enable significantly improved network capacity, high-capacity coverage and speed.

“It gives us immense satisfaction to achieve the world’s first TDD-FDD carrier aggregation, and we are actively pursuing the 3GPP standardization of the technology,” said Qi Zhang, vice president of TD-LTE at NSN. “We have been working hard with the leading Korean operators, KT and SKT, and this demonstration is yet further proof of our thought leadership in the commercialization of LTE technology for wider adoption.”

Avaya Focused on New Business Growth at India’s PartnerConnect 2014

Avaya is welcoming its channel community to a brand new series of PartnerConnect events across India. The conference tour will host more than 600 partners across three cities in India - Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore. Before coming to India, PartnerConnect visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kenya and South Africa attracting the attendance of more than 1500 business partners. The channel roadshow is focused on helping partners  to identify and fulfil tangible market opportunities especially in the region’s rapidly growing midmarket segment. PartnerConnect will address opportunities across the Networking, Unified Communications and Customer Experience Management solutions areas.

Avaya is laser focused on growing its midmarket solutions base in India. “The New Avaya Is All About Growth” is Avaya’s theme at this year’s conference, and participating partners will explore how together with Avaya they can deliver increased efficiency and competitive advantage to their customers.

ASUS Showcases Complete Lineup of Mobile Products at Mobile World Congress

On the opening day of Mobile World Congress, ASUS debuted two all-new additions to the popular Fonepad line, Fonepad 7 LTE (ME372CL) and Fonepad 7 (ME175CG). ASUS is also showcasing the complete lineup of its latest mobile products, including the ZenFone series, PadFone mini, and the new PadFone. Also displayed on PadFone mini and the ZenFone is ZenUI, the smart and intuitive new user interface exclusive to ASUS mobile devices.

Customers and members of the media are invited to visit the ASUS product showroom and experience the complete lineup of ASUS mobile products firsthand.

"We are excited to unveil our latest Fonepad models and present our complete lineup of phones in Europe during MWC 2014,” said Benson Lin, ASUS Corporate Vice President. “ASUS is always in search of incredible in everything we do, and will continue to provide consumers with amazing experiences through our mobile innovations."

Theatro Opens Research and Development Office in Bangalore

Theatro, a three year old technology start-up that is defining the enterprise wearable technology market and transforming overall productivity of indoor mobile employees, announced today the opening of the Theatro India office in Bangalore, the country’s high tech hub.  The Theatro Bangalore office will focus on developing new technologies specific to large-scale cloud based infrastructure as well as big data and predictive .

“By being able to access the wealth of engineering talent that is available in the silicon valley of India, Theatro will be able to accelerate innovation and meet the growing demand for their solutions,” said Ed Zander, Theatro Investor, Advisory Board Member and former CEO of Motorola.

Government IT Spending in India To Reach $6.4 Billion in 2014

Governments in India will spend $6.4 billion US Dollars (USD) on IT products and services in 2014, an increase of 4.3 percent over 2013, according to Gartner, Inc. This forecast includes spending by government (government is composed of state and regional government and central government agencies.) on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.

“IT services, which includes consulting, implementation, IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing, will be the largest overall spending category throughout the forecast period within the government sector,“ said Anurag Gupta, research director at Gartner. “IT services are expected to grow 3.8 percent in 2013 to reach $1.46 billion USD in 2014, up from $1.37 billion in 2013 - with the business process outsourcing segment growing 16.3 percent in 2014.”

Tata Elxsi showcases Innovations for the Connected World at Mobile World Congress

Tata Elxsi is showcasing an array of innovative solutions for the connected world at Mobile World Congress 2014 from February 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain.

Tata Elxsi offers complete engineering life cycle services across the Networking & Telecom value chain to Semiconductor vendors, Equipment manufacturers, Test & Measurement vendors, Service providers, and Independent software vendors. Services offered include Product & UX Design, Turnkey Development, Feature/ Performance Enhancement, Value Engineering, Maintenance-Sustenance, Testing & Automation.

Tata Elxsi- Mobile World Congress Showcase:

At Mobile World Congress 2014, we are showcasing the following innovations for the connected world across industries like automotive, telecommunications and medical devices. These help in leveraging the power of connected video, mobility, next generation switching, and secure connectivity for the automobile and wearable device applications.

Gemalto enables trusted services in the all things mobile world

Gemalto returns to Mobile World Congress with a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to enable customers to offer trusted services at every point throughout the mobile value chain, together creating the Mobile Trust Net. As part of this Mobile Trust Net range of offers, Gemalto’s embedded software, secure devices, platforms and hosted services create a secure eco-system in which end users can have confidence in the ability of their mobile devices to manage sensitive data. With six billion mobile connections in a consumer-centric world where new relationships and business models are being defined, the need to establish this Mobile Trust Net is poised to underpin the rapid developments in Mobile Payments, Mobile ID, Mobile Connectivity and the Internet of Things.

Powerful mobile technologies and consumer trends are converging at breakneck speed around the world. LTE networks are proliferating, contactless smartphones becoming more and more widespread, and, by 2020, an estimated 50 billion machines will be interconnected. Operators, banks, retailers, enterprises and governments alike are looking to harness these changes, creating new revenue streams and strengthening customer loyalty. Creating a trusted service-deployment environment enables every player in the mobile arena to build and implement new value-added services that their customers want quickly, easily, securely and cost effectively.

CA Technologies launches New Release of CA Layer 7 API Portal

CA Technologies announced significant updates to the CA Layer 7 API Portal. The Portal allows enterprises to empower developers to build mobile, Web and other applications that support business goals to extend overall market reach and grow revenues.

“The new API Portal adds critical API grouping and package capabilities, and enables publishing directly from the API Portal using pre-defined policies that our customers can tailor to their needs,” said Dana Crane, senior product manager, CA Technologies. “With the API Portal, it is now simple for an organization to create a branded interface for developers, so they can access all the design time resources needed to quickly discover and understand an API, and then create an application and track its usage.”

Designed to securely support partner, third-party and internal developers across multiple groups simultaneously, this solution grants each unit its own set of access and API publishing privileges — all from a single portal.
 

Juniper Networks Expands SDN Portfolio to Help Service Providers

Juniper Networks introduced new solutions that expand on its open standards-based software-defined networking (SDN) portfolio to enable carriers to accelerate service creation and build networks that deliver a customized end-user experience. Together with its Contrail technology, Juniper’s solutions give service providers the ability to increase network utilization and deliver new, customized services to their customers in real-time. With these latest developments, Juniper now offers the industry’s only open, secure, multi-layered, multi-domain SDN solution.

Service providers remain under significant pressure to stay profitable in the face of a data deluge driven by high-definition video streaming, mobile data, cloud computing and Internet-connected devices. At the same time, consumers now expect more customized experiences. According to a recent Bain & Company study, consumers paid an average of 28 percent more for customized goods than “off-the-shelf” products from the same manufacturer.[1] Today, however, service providers must perform complicated and cumbersome manual network changes that prevent the possibility of dynamic bandwidth, function and service provisioning.

Juniper Networks is expanding its SDN portfolio with new software and hardware to help service providers build high-IQ networks and cloud environments. These networks are secure, automated and scalable, enabling rapid service provisioning based on actionable intelligence.

Premium AV Launches Premium IS Anti-Virus

PremiumAV, developers of antivirus, launched Premium IS a hassle free internet security solution. The security solution is very light and gives total solution against threats, anti malware, anti spyware, anti Adware etc. Premium IS Anti Virus offers comprehensive protection against known IT threats so that users can securely surf the internet and use their PC and laptops.

Premium IS assures top efficiency while running and gives complete scanning. The Premium IS Anti Virus is an effective tool to tackle and protects the system from unforeseen attacks of threats. Premium IS comes with advanced firewall, anti spyware and anti malware. The Anti Virus software easily destroys hidden malware in a PC and detects spywares. Premium IS is compatible with Windows8 and can be easily activated anywhere in the world. Premium IS comes with both one year protection for one user and one year protection for three user licenses.

Ovum claims cloud services is no longer a “nice-to-have”

Customers who want to make their first cloud services investment will look to build business cases that encompass longer-term IT and business value. Meanwhile, vendors will need to work with customers grappling with issues related to proper management and support of hybrid cloud environments as well as the continuing quest to leverage the connections between cloud, mobility and data/. This is according to Ovum’s 2014 Trends-to-Watch: Cloud Services* report, which explains that adoption of cloud services has moved from a nice-to-have component of corporate IT to a strategic imperative.

John Madden, IT Services Practice Leader and author of the report says, “The rate of cloud adoption is quickly accelerating; cloud breaks through in virtually every customer conversation. This accelerated activity applies not only to private or virtual private cloud models which remain the dominant method of deployment, but increasingly public and hybrid cloud management models as well.”

WhatsApp service badly hit after Facebook deal

It is less than four days when Facebook bought WhatsApp and its service is badly hit by downtime. Users have complained of the service being hit. While the deal is an unprecedented one, a number of expert and peers have raised brows over so hefty a premium. What's wrong with the service in so less a time? The popular messaging service has created uproars in the global market and forced biggies such as Google and others to think about their strategy around innovative apps such as WhatsApp. 

There are rumours that Google tried to stop the deal from happening but could not prevent. It is also learnt that Google was ready to pay more than 19 billion dollars for acquiring the app. However, the move did not work. But it is Google which earlier lost opportunity to buy WhatsApp for mere one billion. But it was not ready to pay it at that time. Now when it has gone to a rival, its eyes are open on the fact what it has lost.

Wipro Wins 2013 Global, Asian and Indian MAKE Awards

Wipro announced that it has been recognized as a winner of the Global, Asian and Indian MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Awards for 2013. The MAKE Awards are administered by Teleos, an independent research firm based in the United Kingdom. A panel of Global Fortune 500 senior executives and leading experts selected the winners, in each category.

Wipro is a 6-time Global MAKE Winner and 11-time Asian MAKE Winner. Also, this is the ninth time Wipro has been recognized as a leading Indian organization that enhances stakeholder wealth by transforming corporate knowledge into intellectual capital for the enterprise.

MobiKwik aims to increase workforce by 20% by March 2014

MobiKwik has announced a hiring challenge for Java and Python Developers on HackerEarth, that helps connect smart programmers and great companies through online programming challenges. The MobiKwik Hiring Challenge opens online on Sunday, 23 Feb 2014 at 2:00 PM and will be open for a duration of 4 hours. MobiKwik is looking to hire nearly 11-12 Developers who excel in the challenge.

To participate in the challenge, interested developers can visit http://www.hackerearth.com/mobikwik-hiring-challenge after start date/time and click on 'Solve Problems' button.

Nokia announces lead sponsorship of record breaking underwater adventure: Mission 31

At Social Media Week (SMW), Nokia announces their partnership as the lead sponsor of Mission 31; a ground-breaking new ocean exploration. The mission is led by Fabien Cousteau, grandson to legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and intends to push the limits of human and technological boundaries. Fabien will lead a team of aquanauts on a record-breaking attempt to live and work underwater for an incredible 31 days at a depth of 20 meters below sea level.

The exploration honours the 50th anniversary of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Conshelf II expedition which saw men live and work underwater for extended periods of time. Uniquely today, Mission 31 will be able to extend beyond the aquanauts, as Nokia's innovative Lumia technology and social media channels will allow everyone to experience the 31 day adventure in real time. As the exclusive technology sponsor for Mission 31, Nokia Lumia mobile devices will support all aspects of life inside and outside Aquarius, the underwater home. The mobile devices are packed with integrated features to allow the aquanauts to work seamlessly in extreme environments and stay connected to life on the surface.

Indian Public Cloud Services Market on Pace To Total $550 Million In 2014

The public cloud services market in India is on pace to grow 29.8 percent in 2014 to total $550 million, an increase of $127 million from an estimated 2013 revenue of $423 million, according to Gartner, Inc. Spending on software as a service (SaaS) will total $218 million in 2014, growing 30.3 percent from 2013 through 2014.

Gartner predicts that from 2013 through 2017, $4 billion will be spent on cloud services in India. SaaS is the largest overall cloud market segment, followed by infrastructure as a service (IaaS), totally $76 million in 2014 and business process as a service (BPaaS), totally $73 million over the same period.

Acquisition of Whatsapp by Facebook has a strategic significance

According to Zinnovi, the acquisition of Whatsapp by Facebook has a strategic significance for the fast evolving mobile world. It is an endorsement in many ways that the future of communication lies in mobile.

"Facebook is paying a huge premium for this purchase given the young and internet savvy demography that it would gain access to. It will be interesting to see how Facebook defines the monetization models for the future whatsapp," says Praveen Bhadada, Director, Market Expansion, Zinnov Management Consulting.

E-Wallet Scheme Launched by IRCTC

E-wallet Scheme has been launched by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of railways, to make the payment process fast and to reduce transaction failures due to bank payment related problems. Under this scheme, user can deposit money in advance with IRCTC which can be used as a payment option along with other payment options available on IRCTC website for paying money at the time of booking tickets. This scheme is available for PAN verified user only.

Web Portal on Anti Human Trafficking launched by Govt of India

R.P.N.Singh, Minister of State for Home Affairs launched a comprehensive web-portal on Anti Human Trafficking Portal here today. The web portal will serve as a vital IT tool for sharing of information across all stakeholders, States/UTs and civil society organizations for effective implementation of Anti Human Trafficking measures.

R.P.N.Singh mentioned that the web portal will help in tracking large number of cases having inter-state ramifications. This portal will also act as one stop information repository on issues relating to trafficking including details of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs), their locations, contact details of Anti-Human Trafficking Nodal Officers.

Addressing the Nodal Officers of Anti Human Trafficking Units, Shri R.P.N.Singh said that this site will also provide comprehensive information on legislations , statistics important judgements, UN Conventions, details of Trafficked persons and Traffickers, rescue success stories. Moreover, it will provide an important link to National Portal on Missing Children, ‘Trackchild’ which is operational in many States.

Modern Logistics Takes Off with Ramco Aviation Series 5.6

Ramco Systems announced Modern Logistics, one of Brazil’s first“end-to-end” logistics supply chain company,as its first Aviation on Cloud customer in Brazil. The win also marks Ramco’s entry into the Air Cargo segment.

Under the agreement, Modern Logistics will implement Ramco’s full suite Maintenance & Engineering solution, comprising of Engineering & Programs, Materials Management, Maintenance, Compliance & Quality, Flight Operations, along with HCM and Finance & Accounting.

Mr. Amir Nasruddin, VP - Operations, Modern Logistics, said, “We needed a proven, best-of-breed solution that already has state-of-the-art workflows and processes which will ensure rigorous regulatory compliance, safety and operational efficiency in the management of the continued airworthiness of our aircraft fleet. Ramco’s solution fully complies with this demanding requirement and in addition provides the advanced technology architecture that can adjust to changing business needs. We are extremely pleased to partner with Ramco Systems and are very confident that the Ramco solution will be continuously enhanced to meet our future business requirements.”

ZTE is the fastest growing company in the 2013 global LTE market

ZTE Corporation was the fastest-growing vendor in the global LTE market in 2013.

4G Networks
According to the IHS research paper Global LTE Market Analysis, ZTE was one of the top three LTE infrastructure vendors with 17.9 percent market share. In 2013, China witnessed the construction of more 4G networks than the rest of the world combined, with ZTE becoming China's largest LTE solution provider. ZTE gained the largest share of the tender for China Mobile's 4G-LTE Phase I Project, with 26 percent. In the tender for the main equipment for China Telecom's 4G-LTE Network Project, ZTE gained around 40 percent share, and placed its LTE products in 90 percent of the target provinces. In addition, ZTE won the tenders for core network construction in 15 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.

Xchanging to support vehicle innovation in India with Dassault Systèmes

Xchanging announced an expansion of its 10-year partnership with Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, following the addition of Transportation and Mobility solutions to its existing portfolio of software.

Within the partnership to date, Xchanging has deployed ENOVIA in leading automotive OEMs and suppliers, both in India and across the globe, enabling manufacturers to streamline information for more effective decision making throughout product lifecycles, and to enhance product innovation.

The latest accreditation by Dassault Systèmes will help Xchanging to bring more innovative and integrated solutions to manufacturers and their supply chain, which will optimize production, enhance performance and streamline operations. 

Indian knowledge workers want to extract more value from their PDFs: Adobe survey

Adobe India revealed findings of a survey conducted to understand the usage pattern and benefits provided by Adobe Acrobat, the industry standard for PDF software. The study reiterated Acrobat’s ubiquity in document management with over 95% rating it as highly productive for their workflows. The study also revealed new insights into features Indian knowledge workers are keen to use in the near future.

The survey shows Indian knowledge workers are yet to realize the full potential offered by Acrobat with a vast knowledge gap on the range of features that Adobe Acrobat offers professionals. Some examples are:

·         Digitally signing documents: Only 28% sign documents digitally at present but over 54% would like to do this in the near future.

·         Send rich media files such as videos in PDF: Acrobat allows you to combine spreadsheets, web pages, documents, Adobe Flash Player compatible videos, and more in a rich PDF Portfolio that packs a professional punch. Only 13% are using this feature today but a whopping 58% are keen to explore this feature.

Ciena Help Itron Ensure Peak Performance of Critical Business Applications

Ciena Corporation announced a deployment with Itron, a world-leading technology and services company dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and water. With Ciena Network Transformation Solutions (NTS) and AT&T’s global managed service, Itron can better manage, monitor and control its network performance to ensure availability and performance of business-critical applications. The managed service provides a comprehensive view of Itron’s available network resources and offers a sustainable governance platform to allocate bandwidth consistent with defined business objectives.


·         With a global workforce of more than 8,000 employees in more than 80 offices worldwide, Itron relies on advanced communications and back-office applications to keep its team productive. It is critical that the company’s network keep pace with demand, prioritizing and guaranteeing bandwidth availability for a rich and consistent experience for employees.

·         Driven by powerful and a software-enabled solution set, Ciena’s Network Transformation Solutions allow businesses, like Itron, to guarantee the performance of critical business applications such as unified communications and centralized back-office software. Specifically, Application Assurance Managed Service (AAMS) gives Itron precise control over its network resources, helping the company’s IT team to manage finite bandwidth and direct it to the applications and communication services that need it most.

·         By managing network resources proactively and programming the network to allocate capacity automatically, Ciena’s AAMS guarantees that critical business services will perform when needed. Part of Ciena’s suite of Network Transformation Solutions NTS, AAMS draws on Ciena’s OPn architecture approach for building programmable networks that scale and automatically respond to changing demands for high-bandwidth applications and services.

Interactive Intelligence Makes Organizational Changes

Interactive Intelligence Group, a provider of software and services designed to improve the customer experience, has created three C-level positions to further streamline its operations for improved global software and service delivery. All three positions are being filled by current members of the company’s leadership team.

“As we grow globally, it’s increasingly important that we stay well-coordinated and communicate quickly and effectively,” said Interactive Intelligence founder and CEO, Dr. Donald E. Brown. “The creation of these three key roles will help us do that by consolidating functions across geographies.”

As part of these changes, former vice president of sales operations, Tom Fisher, is now chief services officer. Fisher, who joined Interactive in 2002, is now responsible for the coordination of all on-premises and cloud services, including client success, education, support and professional services.

A10 Networks Files Registration Statement for Proposed IPO

A10 Networks, an application networking player, has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock.  The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets are acting as joint book runners for the proposed offering, and Pacific Crest Securities and Oppenheimer & Co. are acting as co-managers for the proposed offering.

The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus.  When available, a copy of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; or BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717; or RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate, Three World Financial Center, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10281.

Bangalore Water Taps IBM for Big Data

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), which supplies water to nearly 800 square kilometers of the city, is using IBM Big Data and predictive technology to create systems for monitoring and managing increasingly complex water distribution systems.

Bangalore’s massive population growth -- from 5.4 million in 2000 to over 10 million and counting today -- has put tremendous strain on the city’s water supply and distribution systems. The main sources of water(Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers) are not just sufficient to meet the water demand in the city to a permissible per capita norms. This leads to a big challenge in equitable distribution of available water across the divisions/subdivisions. IBM worked closely with BWSSB to create an operational dashboard, based on the IBM Intelligent Operations Center (IOC), which serves as a “command center” for monitoring, administering and managing the city’s water supply networks. 

Capgemini performs better than expected in 2013

The Board of Directors of CapGemini chaired by Paul Hermelin, convened in Paris on February 19, 2014 to review and authorize the issue of the accounts[1] of Capgemini Group for the year ended December 31, 2013. The key figures are as follows:

After an activity slowdown towards the end of 2012, in 2013 the Group enjoyed, as expected, an improvement in organic growth each quarter to reach +3.9% in Q4. Overall, the Group reports 2013 revenues of €10,092 million, up 0.9% on a like-for-like basis (i.e. at constant Group structure and exchange rates).

Revenues fell 1.7% compared to 2012 published figures (i.e. at current Group structure and exchange rates), due to unfavorable movements in certain currencies, in particular the US dollar, the British pound and the Brazilian real.

Master Data Management Is Critical to CRM Optimization

Master data management (MDM) is a critical success factor in constructing optimal customer relationship management (CRM) processes, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner said that through 2017, CRM leaders who avoid MDM will derive erroneous results that annoy customers, resulting in a 25 percent reduction in potential revenue gains.

"Over the last several years, CRM software sales have outstripped overall IT spending," said Bill O'Kane, research director at Gartner. "CRM leaders must understand the benefits of the MDM discipline to CRM and make it part of their CRM strategy. MDM is critical to enabling CRM leaders to create the 360-degree view of the customer required for an optimized customer experience."

InMobi Launches Apponomics - A Free Book to Help Developers

InMobi announced the release of its first book, “Apponomics—The Insider’s Guide to a Billion Dollar App Business.” The book is authored in conjunction with Peggy Anne Salz, a Gigaom Research mobile analyst, and chief analyst and founder of MobileGroove, a top 50-ranked influential destination providing editorial coverage and analysis regarding the mobile industry.

eInfochips Launches MagNet Initiative and First Extensions

eInfochips launched its MagNet initiative designed to attract developers who are building ecommerce portals based on the industry leading Magento platform. Under the MagNet initiative, eInfochips will contribute Extensions to the Magento Community for advanced online store functionality. For developers who use the extensions, expert eInfochips software engineers are available to fast-track integration of the extensions, or for other ecommerce software engineering. eInfochips is kicking off the MagNet initiative by contributing the ‘Deal 4 U’ and ‘Deal 4 U Categories’ extensions to the Magento community. The extensions are designed to help retailers increase conversion rates for deal seekers.

Crayon Data to receive institutional funding

Crayon Data announced that Jungle Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm,has led a SGD 1.5 million investment in the firm, alongside support from SPRING SEEDS Capital. This latest investment brings the total amount of investment raised to SGD 5.5 million. This funding follows on the heels of investment by several well-known angels and business leaders like Meng Wong (co-founder of the Joyful Frog Digital Incubator), William Bissell (Managing Director of FabIndia), Ernest Pomerantz (Chairman of Stonewater Capital), Cheah Kim Lean and Chong Wah (founders of Acorn Market Research)and Ravi Thakran (Managing Partner of LVMH Southeast Asia).

Crayon Data was started by enterprise veteran, Suresh Shankar (founder of RedPill Solutions, acquired by IBM in 2009), and digital marketing guru Srikant Sastri (founder of Solutions Digitasand Team4U, acquired by Publicis and Randstad respectively), to help traditional enterprises tap into the power of Amazon-like .

Wipro to Offer Advanced Connected Car Services Using Agnik’s Big Data Products

Wipro announced it will collaborate with Agnik, a cloud-based vehicle performance Big Data software company to offer advanced connected car information technology services and platforms for the automotive industry. The services will be powered by Agnik’s Big Data products, which analyze vehicle and driver performance information along with context data using a blend of onboard and cloud-based distributed .

Wipro’s rich experience of customer engagements in the automotive sector has enabled it to offer advanced telematics services that offer a deep connect for vehicle owners and vehicle-related service providers with the vehicle. Wipro brings extensive expertise in automotive solutions (passenger and commercial) and off highway / heavy vehicles. Wipro offers end-to-end IT solutions in Connected Service Transformation covering remote telemetry, M2M based service transformation, warranty, dealer systems and .

Archaeological Survey of India and Google unveil new 360-degree online imagery of the Taj Mahal

From today, people around the world will be able to explore the Taj Mahal and other national Indian monuments online through Street View. With the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Google is releasing the first 360-degree online imagery of 30 iconic Indian heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb, Red Fort and Agra Fort on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute.

India Inc is wary of Mobile Recruitment: TimesJobs Insite Study

With almost the entire working population of India accessible on mobiles, 45% of Indian organizations still don’t have a comprehensive mobile recruitment strategy
 

Over 50% of India’s Active Internet users are accessing internet on their mobile, apart from other sources states the latest IAMAI report. This is a clear indication that there has been a huge uptake in consumption of the Mobile Internet medium.

Prabhat Bhardwaj, Head-HR & Administration, Technopak Advisors, estimates that 85% of the online operations by jobseekers have shifted from personal computers to smartphones in the past 2 years, especially in metros and big cities.

Two Out of Three Users Have Already Purchased Something via Mobile

InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising company, today announced the results of its 2014 Global Mobile Media Consumption Report, which provides insights into changing trends in mobile media consumption habits. The 2014 report findings reiterate that mobile devices have become integral to everyday life, but moreover, that trust and reliance on mobile devices has increased and are expected to have a significant impact on mobile commerce in 2014.

Specifically, the report predicts a 15% increase in mobile commerce in 2014, with 83% of respondents planning to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months. Mobile has become a key factor affecting purchasing decisions, with 48% of respondents worldwide listing mobile as a key media which impacts purchasing decisions, and reliance on mobile is even higher in important consumer markets, like India, at 60%.

telcos will lose US$386bn over the next five years due to the rise of OTT VoIP services

New forecasts from Ovum indicate that telecoms operators will lose US$386bn between 2012 and 2018 from customers using over-the-top (OTT) VoIP solutions such as Skype and Microsoft Lync. These losses will mostly come from international call revenues, including roaming.

In new forecasts*, the global analyst firm reveals that the consumer OTT VoIP market is thriving, with traffic expected to grow by a CAGR of 20 percent between 2012 and 2018, and to reach 1.7 trillion minutes in 2018. This growth is being driven by improvements in the availability and speed of broadband networks; the growing sophistication, affordability, and capability of smartphones and computers; and the rise of social media. If the current trajectory is maintained, Ovum expects telcos to lose US$63bn in voice revenues in 2018 as customers use free OTT VoIP solutions.

In Crowded Mobile Business Intelligence Market, SAP Ahead of the Pack

Capping off a series of top rankings by independent analyst firms, including Forrester, Gartner and Ventana, SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) has had its market leader status confirmed in the 2013 edition of Analyst Howard Dresner’s “Wisdom of Crowds® Mobile Computing / Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study”[PDF].

2013 was a milestone year for mobile business intelligence (BI) at SAP. Innovations and advancements included:

DataWind Named to MIT Technology Review’s 2014 50 Smartest Companies

DataWind has been identified as one of 2014’s 50 Smartest Companies in MIT Technology Review’s annual list of the world’s most innovative technology companies. The honorees are nominated by MIT Technology Review’s editors, who look for companies that have demonstrated original and valuable technology over the last year, are bringing that technology to market at significant scale, and are clearly influencing their competitors. The companies on the list represent the disruptive innovations most likely to change our lives.

“At times it seems impossible to keep pace with important emerging technologies. This issue celebrates organizations at the forefront, displaying ‘disruptive innovation’ that will prove to surpass the competition, transform an industry, and change our lives,”states Jason Pontin, publisher and editor in chief of MIT Technology Review.“DataWind has an innovative approach: sell inexpensive hardware and make money instead on advertisements and apps. After beginning by selling inexpensive tablets in India, the company is now selling in several other countries and could significantly expand the tablet market.”

Intel advances next phase of Big Data Intelligence

As growing volumes of enterprise data continue adding pressure on datacenters worldwide, Intel India outlined its growth charter backed by Intel’s most advanced Big Data solutions delivering real time to enterprises in India. Announcing the launch of the Intel® Xeon® processor E7 v2 Product Family, Intel elaborated its roadmap for these solutions in India with specific focus on verticals like retail, healthcare and manufacturing in the first phase of growth.

Big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) are providing enormous opportunities for many organizations to grow as they create revenue-generating services from the information they are able to derive. The Indian Big Data industry is expected to grow to US $ 1Billion in 2015 at CAGR of over 83% from 2012-

15#. The Big Data industry in India is gaining traction with IT services/ providers offering business centric solutions.

ASUS enters Jharkhand with two Exclusive Stores in Ranchi

ASUS ventured in Jharkhand with announcing the launch of two exclusive stores in Ranchi. The new outlets will feature the entire range of Touch notebooks, Ultrabooks, Tablets, Phablets and Notebooks including the recently launched products which have been launched in India till date.

The first retail store M/S. Exel International inaugurated is located 28 AC Market, GEL Church Complex - Main Road, Ranchi - 834001. It was followed by the opening of Maxum Industries, the second store which is located at Shop No. B-61, Sainik Market, Main Road, Ranchi.

JDA Software Appoints Kevin Iaquinto Chief Marketing Officer

 JDA Software Group announced that Kevin Iaquinto has been appointed executive vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO). Iaquinto will be responsible for leading and developing the company's brand awareness and identity, lead generation programs, product/solutions marketing, marketing communications, public and analyst relations, partner marketing, business development, sales enablement, social media and global events marketing. 

“We are very excited to gain the unique leadership, experience and high energy that Kevin brings to our team,” said Hamish Brewer, chief executive officer, JDA Software. “Kevin is a recognized, award-winning marketing executive with a proven background in building and repositioning global software brands to increase market awareness and help generate revenue growth. We are confident Kevin’s extensive experience in marketing strategy and brand development will help us significantly enhance the JDA brand worldwide and achieve our growth objectives.”

Google to host Hackathon to promote Indian Language Applications

Google India will host a two-day Hackathon and workshop in Bangalore focused on designing and creating Android applications in Indian languages.  The event will take place on 21st and 22nd February, 2014. Nearly 100 developers are participating in this  event that is open to both amateur and professional developers. It aims to promote regional languages and develop applications for Internet users who communicate and understand only their native language with a view to encouraging more users to come online.

"The next 300 million Internet users in India won’t use English. That’s why we’re working on enabling the Internet in Indian languages, which is the key to driving growth. We are seeing great interest from users in small towns across India, because people are becoming aware of the value of the Internet even in small towns and villages. This Hackathon will help organizations prepare for the coming growth in the Indian language Internet”, said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director of Google India on the launch of the initiative.

NETGEAR Rolls out Two New Universal Dual Band WiFi Range Extenders

NETGEAR announced the availability of two new WiFi range extenders. NETGEAR WN2500RP WiFi Range Extender (N600) and WN3500RP WiFi Range Extender (N600) are entitled for delivering next-generation WiFi performance for the new mobile devices demanding high WiFi throughout. 

The NETGEAR WN2500RP WiFi Range Extender and WN3500RP WiFi Range Extender have an outstanding design and exceptional engineering in the home networking category.

The NETGEAR WN2500RP WiFi Range Extender and WN3500RP WiFi Range Extender is industry-first extender providing up to 300 Mbps+300 Mbps 802.11n WiFi performance in a convenient desktop and wall-plug form factor respectively. Both are Dual Band 2.4 & 5GHz to enable ultimate range extension at ground breaking next-generation WiFi speeds. 

PwC Survey Finds Economic Crime Rising Globally

Economic crime against businesses and other organisations continues to rise around the world. Some 37% of respondents, a 3% rise since 2011, say they have been victims of economic crime, according to PwC's 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey. And, about 25% say they have been victims of cybercrime, as fraudsters increasingly turn to technology as their main crime tool.

PwC’s global survey, the most extensive on the subject, found that theft remains the most common form of economic crime, reported by 69% of respondents. It is followed by procurement fraud, 29%, bribery and corruption, 27%, cybercrime, 24%, and accounting fraud, 22%. Other reported crimes include human resources fraud, money laundering, intellectual property or data theft, mortgage fraud and tax fraud.

The exact direct loss associated with economic crime is difficult to assess. Among crime victims, a total of 20% place the financial impact of economic crime on their organisation at more than US$1 million; and 2% of victims - representing 30 organisations -- put the impact at more than US$100 million each.

ZTE Helps CSL Expand 4G LTE Network on Hong Kong MTR Rail Lines

ZTE Corporation is pleased to support CSL Limited in expanding 4G LTE network coverage of Hong Kong’s MTR rail and subway system, offering subscribers an enhanced high-speed mobile experience on their journeys and commutes.

Leveraging ZTE’s industry-leading LTE solutions, CSL users will now enjoy enhanced 4G experience on the MTR East Rail Line, West Rail Line, and Ma On Shan Line.

“In our quest to provide the better quality mobile services for our users, we continually strive to strengthen our networks to make them faster, more robust with wider coverage,” said Christian Daigneault, Chief Technology Officer of CSL.  “Our customers deserve consistently excellent 4G service experience on their MTR journeys.”

Konica Minolta partners with Karishma Computers & Digitronics info

Konica Minolta Business Solutions partners with Karishma Computers in New Delhi to distribute its products in A4 segment in the Delhi market.

Kamal Kapoor from Karishma Computers expressed his views on their collaboration with Konica Minolta and said “We are excited about the partnership and want to grow the business together. We are confident about the goodwill of the Konica Minolta brand & product and look forward to building our business based on the reputation and the technology prowess that comes with it.” 

Kuldeep Malhotra, EGM Sales, Sales & Managing Dirvision, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., said, “In this short span of our presence in India, we have been able to establish our brand position as a front runner  and our regional partners will help in augmenting this position. We cherish our partners and look forward to a long partnership with Karishma Computers & Digitronics Info Solution. Our wide range of products under A4 printer category with high speed and vibrant colour quality are the differentiator in the market. The technology along with the support services that we offer in conjunction with our partners will help us to gain the market share. I am confident this partnership will help us establish even firmer ground in this segment of printers.”

Pacnet Enabled Network (PEN) Allows Customers to Self-Provision

Pacnet announced the availability of its Pacnet Enabled Network (PEN) in data centers throughout Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and now the United States in response to strong market demand. Enabling Enterprise and Carrier customers to rapidly and cost-effectively create the foundation of a virtual, integrated data center, PEN is a fully automated software-defined network (SDN) providing a flexible and scalable service platform that is agile and lowers total cost of network operations.

Since its beta launch last November, PEN has garnered significant interest from customers spanning the IT, logistics, manufacturing and financial services sectors in Australia, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, as well as the U.S. PEN allows customers to customize and configure their network resources based on performance and quality of service requirements under a flexible pricing model and industry-leading SLAs. 

Spuul adds Mad in India to tickle the bone of the viewers

Get set to laugh out loud, as Spuul, the streaming service, has now added Sunil Grover's much-hyped comedy show Mad In India to their existing library of popular television shows.  This new show that premiered on Star Plus on February 16 will be available for the fans in India and Pakistan starting Tuesday (Feb 18).

Mad In India is hosted by Manish Paul who will be seen interviewing and entertaining the celebrity guests from various walk of life on the show. Sunil Grover as Chutki, is playing a funny, flirty, social network addict, hailing from the fictional city of Bharatnagar. Chutki’s partners in crime are: the Vicky Donor fame Dolly Ahluwalia as Mango Dolly and Shweta Tiwari as Katrina Mishra. Comedians like Khayali, Siddharth Jadhav, Rehman Khan, Rajbir Kaur and Paritosh Tripathi are also part of the cast. Mad in India is comprised of several fun elements such as celebrities, comic acts, glitz and glamour of the rich and famous as well as a peek into the common man's life.

Telit Unwraps Second Positioning Module Based on MediaTek’s Single Chip SoC Technology

Telit Wireless Solutions announced the market introduction of Jupiter SL871.  The new module, which is based on MediaTek’s low-power MT3333 core, enables multi-constellation tracking. The SL871 is the ideal solution for battery-life sensitive GNSS applications that do not require Dead Reckoning, TRAIM and support of communication ports like USB or CAN bus.  The recently introduced companion SL869 V2 module provides these sophisticated features.

The SL871 can track GPS + Galileo and GLONASS (or GPS + Galileo and Compass\Beidou depend­ing on the SW onboard) constellations, while simultaneously pro­viding the positioning data through standard UART. It features an ultra-sensitive RF front-end that enables multi-GNSS indoor fix, fast fix and navigation in challenging outdoor scenarios such as dense urban areas.

iValue Conducts 'Fantastic 4' Event for its focused Partners

iValue InfoSolutions, the fastest growing Value Added Distributor (VAD) in India, conducted 'Fantastic 4' event for its focused partners in 4 Cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore for 4 of its new OEM's - Algosec, Thales, Seclore and ilantus, with event kicking off at 4 p.m. 110+ Partner organizations and 225+ partner sales and technical executives participated in the event. The innovative event evinced interest across National, Regional and Local System integrators.

In line with iValue's focus on effective management of Data, Network and Application needs of its customer, which is the DNA of every modern day business, each of these 4 OEM's offer proven and compelling solutions for Partners to effectively address Business and IT challenges of their Customers.

Softer 4Q13 spending in China dulls global ON market, Ciena and Coriant gain ground

Global optical networking (ON) spending fell in 4Q13 according global market analyst firm Ovum. Revenues of US$3.5bn were down 5 percent from 3Q13 and 10 percent from the year-ago quarter.

The latest market research report by Ovum* found that year-end spending increased in EMEA and South & Central America (SCA) however, were not enough to offset declines in North America and continued softness in China, which contributed to weak Asia-Pacific spending.

Ron Kline, Principal Analyst, Network Infrastructure at Ovum and author of the report said “Global ON spending for 2013 declined 1 percent to US$14.5bn, consistent with Ovum’s pessimistic forecast scenario, but improved conditions in 2014 should enable a 2 percent growth for this year.”

Market spending continues to fluctuate regionally out of phase by quarter, resulting in sluggish growth on a global level. Vendors with stronger exposure to EMEA and SCA did well this quarter according to global market research firm Ovum.

Barracuda Expands Copy File Sync & Share Service for Businesses

Barracuda Networks announced a number of new features, updates and integrations to its Copy file sync and share platform, continuing to simplify the way organizations collaborate and work, from anywhere or any device.

“Today’s announcement is all about improving the customer experience, and we are excited about reaching this next milestone with Copy,” said Rod Mathews, GM Storage at Barracuda. “Our customers have asked for a more secure and easier to use solution, and Barracuda is answering. The new functionality and our Copy integrations withSignNow, Mover, Redbooth and Kloudlessare great examples of Barracuda and our partners putting that security and convenience right in our customers’ hands. This new release of Copy makes it cleaner, better and easier to store, access, sign and share files - from anywhere.”