The Data Driver: February 2016

Sunday, 28 February 2016

LOB decision makers cite the objective of current mobile projects as primarily about automating business processes.

Red Hat revealed in a new mobile survey focused on line of business (LOB) decision makers that almost half (47 percent) see mobility as a means to automate existing business processes but only 26 percent of them cite the objective of mobile as changing the way they do business. IT decision makers, on the other hand, view mobile apps as more transformative (35 percent) for the business.

NIIT Technologies’ new gen insurance software goes live at Sompo Canopius

NIIT Technologies Limited, a leading global IT solutions provider, today announced the successful implementation of its next generation policy and claims administration platform, Navigator at Sompo Japan Canopius Reinsurance AG (SC Re), Sompo Canopius’ reinsurance subsidiary.

FireEye announced the release of the seventh annual Mandiant M-Trends® report. Compiled from advanced threat investigations conducted by Mandiant’s leading consultants in 2015, “M-Trends 2016” details the leading cyber trends and tactics threat actors used to compromise businesses and steal data.

ShoreTel has rolled out ShoreTel Connect HYBRID Sites in North America, which enables companies to mix-and-match Connect ONSITE and Connect CLOUD services and applications across multiple locations.

Qlik announced that Magma Fincorp Limited (Magma), one of India’s largest non-banking finance companies (NBFC), is using QlikView to analyze its operational and financial data to drive agile decision-making, fundamentally transforming the organization into a data-driven enterprise.

GAO announces a complete family of mount on-metal UHF EPC Gen 2 extreme temperature, humidity, and impact resistant RFID tags. Included in this family of UHF tags is the fastenable on-metal tag, the paperclip sized small on-metal tag, the ultra-thin on-metal tag, the magnetic on-metal tag, and the waterproof razor on or off-metal tag. These can be used for applications requiring the identification, tracking, and monitoring of metallic assets.

Here is an interesting kudo for the Govt of India which waived the surcharge on cashless transactions in a cabinet meeting yesterday. This will open up new avenues and allow people to pay using their credit/debit cards. Freecharge among others have welcomed the move.

With the recent spate of controversies and doubts surrounding Ringing Bells, the world’s cheapest smartphone company and the creators of the Freedom 251 smartphones, one company has come out in full support of the project. SyberPlace, a webstore that sells digital technology such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and accessories, has welcomed the ambitious move to enable entry-level smartphones at just INR 251.

Higher education leaders have shifted focus from reducing costs and driving efficiencies toward using technology to enhance competitive advantage and support emerging business models — and ultimately, the institution's main missions of education and research, according to research from Gartner, Inc.

Infor announced Infor Optiva version 12, offering a more streamlined, cloud-based approach to product lifecycle management (PLM). The newest version provides an attractive and easier-to-use PLM solution for process manufacturing organizations, featuring a flexible and transparent user interface and an enhanced user experience. The focus of Infor Optiva 12.0 will remain consistent with complex and frequently used functions and workflows, while also integrating the Infor 10x user experience.

BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes SAS, the world’s leading provider, as the association’s newest member. SAS was recently honored on Fortune’s top ten list of best employers in the tech industry.

New Array Networks ADC Software Enhances Application Performance, Security and Streamlines Service Deployment

Array Networks announces APV version 8.6, a new software release for Array's APV Series Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs). The enhanced software boosts performance for physical and virtual environments, introduces a host of new performance and availability features and includes a revamped, cloud-friendly WebUI and RESTful API that streamline management and simplify integration with cloud and virtualization management platforms.

New Android Trojan ‘Xbot’ phishes credit cards and bank accounts, encrypts devices for ransom

Palo Alto Networks has recently discovered 22 Android apps belonging to a new Trojan family called ‘Xbot’. This Android Trojan is regularly updated and is already capable of multiple malicious behaviors.

Survey: One in Four CIOs ‘Not Concerned’ About Breaches

Carbon Black, an endpoint security company, announced the findings of a new CIO survey into current approaches to breach detection and response. The survey found that 82% of CIOs are under increasing pressure from the business to prevent, detect and respond to security incidents faster. However, over a quarter (28%) are ‘not concerned’ that if they were breached it would take a long time to find out it had happened, or worse that they may be breached without realising. In addition, 85% admit that, despite their best intentions, they are failing to take a proactive approach to hunting out threats. Instead, they are reactively dealing with threats as and when a breach is uncovered.

Gaia Smart Cities, an India start-up in the field of Smart Cities announced a regional strategic partnership with Advantech which is a global leader in providing trusted innovative embedded & automation products and solutions.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been selected by Element Financial Corporation to help the company significantly evolve its fleet management technology platform and user experience.

RAW Pressery raises $4.5 million in Series B funding

RAW Pressery, a cold-pressed fresh juice company, recently received Series B funding worth $4.5 million from three equal partners - Sequoia India, Saama Capital and DSG partners. This was a follow-up to the first round that invited $1.8 million from Sequoia India in February 2015. The fresh capital will give an impetus to the company’s plans of introducing new flavours, increasing production capacity and initiating brand-building activities.

Wipro announced a partnership with SugarCRM, the company that enables businesses to create extraordinary customer relationships with the most innovative, flexible and affordable CRM solution in the market, to offer Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to enterprise customers.

Mumbai based Highbar Technologies, an HCC group company, a SAP partner and the most preferred Information Technology solutions provider for the infrastructure industry unveiled their remarkable feat to bring in business transformation at Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) by deploying SAP e-governance solutions. The newly developed e-office was recently launched by Minister for Environment and Forest Mr. Rajendra Arlekar in the presence of GSPCB chairman Mr. Jose Manuel Noronha and other board officials.

Openet Launches First Big Data Preparation Engine Designed for Communication Service Providers

Openet announced the launch of a product that is designed to extract value out of big data and deliver meaningful business intelligence in real-time. Openet’s Big Data Preparation Engine (BDPE) is the first data management and data governance system built specifically for communication service providers (CSPs), who face unique challenges around metadata, privacy, and security.

Ricoh India announced that it has signed an Order worth Rs. 344 Crores (Rupees Three Hundred and Forty Four Crores only) from Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (KELTRON ) for Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Computer Hardware, Connected Accessories, Software, Maintenance of Equipment(s) and provision of Computer Education Services in 2000 Government & Government Aided High Schools in the State of Odisha on Five (05) Years BOOT Model Project under ICT @ School Scheme.

Avaya will showcase its cloud-enabled solutions designed to help public and private-sector organizations achieve their digital transformation objectives at the second annual Avaya Technology Forum 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The three-day event will strip away industry hype and dive into the real challenges facing today’s business and technology leaders.

Ericsson announces plans to form a global business, technology and services alliance with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate cloud transformation for telecoms service providers.

Spirent and Oasis Partner to Accelerate IoT Connected Devices

Spirent Communications and Oasis Smart SIM, a global Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) connectivity and management provider, today announced a strategic partnership, aimed at removing connectivity and network provisioning barriers for the rapid development of connected products and devices, such as cameras, smart vehicles, logistics and production goods.

With end-of-the-year examinations and entrance tests round the corner, students grappling with knotty physics, chemistry and math problems can get one-to-one tutoring from some of the brightest minds in the country for free with the help of a new smartphone app.

Red Hat announced it has expanded its alliance with Google to deliver Red Hat Gluster Storage on Google Cloud Platform. Red Hat Gluster Storage is a shared-nothing, scale-out solution available to Google Cloud Platform customers seeking elastic and robust file storage across public and hybrid cloud environments.

How To Improve Customer Experience

Here is an interesting discussion that will give you an overview of how to optimise the customer experience. This is an interesting video recording that has several data points around customer experience in India and APAC.

While smartphone market is saturating globally, it has started hitting giants such as Apple. In the smartphone history ever, iPhone sales declined. The global numbers are a testimony to this fact. Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 403 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 9.7 percent increase over the same period in 2014, according to Gartner, Inc. However, this was their slowest growth rate since 2008. In 2015 as a whole, smartphone sales reached 1.4 billion units, an increase of 14.4 percent from 2014.

NEC enhances Traffic Management Solution for MVNOs

NEC Corporation announced the launch of an enhanced Traffic Management Solution (TMS) that reduces mobile data traffic volume up to 30% while maintaining a high Quality of Experience (QoE) for end users.

Quantum Corp announced Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) is using Quantum DXi deduplication with Veeam® availability solutions for dramatic data reduction results and greater availability in its virtual machine environment. The combined solution has significantly lowered backup application costs, achieved 90 percent data reduction and cut backup times in half. Quantum is a Premier Technology Alliance partner with Veeam, and the success RFS has experienced illustrates how the two companies collaborate to provide simplified virtual data backup solutions that deliver high performance and maximize production system availability while lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Ruckus Wireless announced its intention to address the challenge of in-building cellular coverage and capacity through the introduction of OpenG technology. OpenG technology combines coordinated shared spectrum, such as 3.5 GHz in the U.S., with neutral host-capable small cells to enable cost-effective, ubiquitous in-building cellular coverage. Ruckus plans to drive the adoption of OpenG technology—which addresses a global market with an annual TAM of over $2 billion—by leveraging its extensive enterprise channels, service provider, public venue and enterprise customer base, and its portfolio of differentiated technologies. Ruckus plans to unveil specific products and offerings throughout 2016. As part of this announcement, Ruckus is demonstrating OpenG technology in collaboration with Qualcomm during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in Barcelona. Ruckus will also demonstrate its Wi-Fi calling solution during the show which, in combination with OpenG technology, showcases the future of the all-wireless enterprise.

The Danish Ambassador to India, Peter Taksøe-Jensen launched Universal Robots, the Danish robot manufacturer that pioneered collaborative robots, at the Le Meridian, New Delhi. The collaborative robots range was unveiled in a launch event by Esben �?stergaard, Chief Technology Officer of Universal Robots, along with Pradeep David, General Manager, India.

NEC Corporation and Juniper Networks announced the expansion of their global alliance relationship to deliver Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)-based solutions that allow service providers and enterprises to gain greater service agility to transform their business operations and help them lower overall costs.

IBM and KONE, one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry, announced the multiyear agreement in which IBM will provide cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and services to drive innovation in smart buildings.

Availability Gap Widens With Application Downtime Costing Enterprises $16 Million Each Year

New research from Veeam Software, the innovative provider of solutions that deliver Availability for the Always-On Enterprise, clearly illustrates that despite numerous high-profile incidents in the last year, enterprises are still not paying enough attention to the needs of their users. In its fifth year, Veeam Availability Report showed that 84 percent, a two percent increase on 2014, of senior IT decisions-makers (ITDMs) across the globe admit to suffering an ‘Availability Gap’ (the gulf between what IT can deliver and what users demand). This costs businesses up to $16 million a year in lost revenue and productivity, in addition to the negative impact on customer confidence and brand integrity (according to 68 percent and 62 percent of respondents respectively).

SAP Labs recently hosted a three day KickApp Cup event, partnering with Streetfootballworld. The event brought together software developers from SAP and young leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop a mobile application to solve a problem, they are facing related to football. SAP has partnered with Streefootballworld (SFW) for the KickApp Cup and also with Dream a Dream for the Bangalore leg of the hackathon.

As network data usage continues to surge, Nokia is expanding its cloud wise services portfolio with the launch of three professional services, helping operators transform to the telco cloud and implement a data center infrastructure to run their cloud-based enterprise and telco functions. Nokia Data Center services take a DevOps (Development and Operations) based holistic approach to agile service delivery for multivendor cloud environments.

TP-LINK announced CS-GO National gaming event CLAN WARS. This is one among the largest gaming fest, which will kick off from Mumbai on 21st February - with grand finale on 13th March 2016 at ARG Lounge, Bengaluru. Led by Cyber Gaming Entertainment (CGE), TP-LINK Clan Wars will take place in popular gaming lounges in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru. This event offers the attendees a peek into the trends and future of modern Wi-Fi technologies that pace up the gaming industry.

FSS Partners with IBM to Power Digital Solutions for Banks

IBM announced that Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a global leader in payment technology and transaction processing, has selected IBM's MobileFirst platform to revamp its existing digital banking solutions to ensure it remains the leader in the mobile payment and mobile banking ecosystem in India/APAC regions. The rapidly growing FSS clientele includes over 100 leading global banks and financial institutions, as well as, some of the world’s largest processors, pre-paid issuers and retailers, including over 35 public and private sector banks in India.

Launched today, the Mobile World Congress edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report reveals the impact of different levels of network performance on smartphone users and their perceptions of mobile operators and digital content providers.

Poorvika Mobiles announced implementation of Avaya’s end-to-end communication solutions comprising Video Conferencing, IP Telephony and Networking, across six floors of its new state-of-the-art head office in Chennai. The framework includes network infrastructure Avaya IP phones and wireless access points throughout the building along with video conferencing access enabling collaboration and knowledge sharing from anywhere, anytime.

TPV launches new Technology of Philips Digital Signage Solutions in India

Philips, the world leader in providing visually stunning and technologically advanced Digital Signage solutions, launches its Wide range of Signage solutions and Video Wallsfor Indian Market. Marketed by MMD, a subsidiary of TPV Technology Ltd,the Philips signage solutions are designed for stunning visual exposure through wide display for various public locations and offer a variety of spectacular features for a superior display experience.

Improve Oracle Database Performance and Efficiency In A ‘Flash’

By: Christian Putz, Director Emerging Markets, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Pure Storage

Oracle databases are the backbone of a wide range of business-critical applications, from online transaction processing to business intelligence systems for corporate finance and dozens more. In today’s environment, organizations are under extreme pressure to process more transactions faster than ever and to drive efficient and consistent performance from their Oracle databases.

Brocade announced new offerings to help mobile operators re-architect their networks to support 5G services and deliver higher agility and performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional networks. These innovative New IP offerings uniquely position Brocade as a disrupter with 5G capabilities that solve the key challenges facing mobile network operators (MNO) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) today.

Wizikey, Gurgaon based tech start-up, released its Android app on the Google Play Store. With the new app, users can track relevant news in less than five seconds, compare and analyse with competition in less than 30 seconds on a curated database of more than 150 news publications.

Identity Theft is the largest contributor to Fraud in India

Experian India launched the ‘Fraud Report 2016’ showcasing the fraud trends in the banking and financial services industry. This first edition of the report analyses trends for the period between Q1 2014 to Q1 2015 and assigns them into four main categories:

Axis Bank Teams Up with Coursera to offer world-class learning programmes to its employees

Axis Bank signed an agreement with Coursera, the world’s largest open online education provider, to nurture and up skill its human capital through online certification courses from top Universities globally.

Uniphore Expands its Leadership Team

Uniphore Software Systems, Chennai based speech recognition company, today announced the appointment of Sami Benafia, Director of Sales in Middle East and Aravind Gaddala, Director of Product Management in Chennai.

Radware released their Global Application & Network Security Report 2015-16. The report outlines top-level findings of the Radware industry survey on cyber attacks in the past year and offers best practice advice to organizations in planning for cyber-attack protection in 2016.

Apple Pay is launching in China Pinar Ozcan. In this regard, the industry has different opinion and excitement. Here is what Warwick Business School's Associate Professor of Strategic Management and researches Apple Pay and mobile payment.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced the launch of a solution to enable Voice over LTE for virtualized networks using TCS’ Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Concerto platform.

BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of smart and digital lifestyle innovations is once again rated as the No.1 player in the Indian Projector Market with 22.3 % market share as per the report released by world’s top rated specialist research and consulting firm Futuresource Consulting for the year 2015. In 2014, BenQ’s market share was 19%, registering an incremental growth of 13%.

Ricoh India announced the expansion of its existing data centre facility in Kolkata in order to strengthen its public cloud services offerings.

icustommadeit.com raises $4 million in its Pre-Series A Funding Round

The Pune based bespoke products start-up icustommadeit.com has raised $ 4 million from Times Group’s Brand Capital, Siddhivinayak Skyscrapers, an undisclosed corporate giant and Dinesh R. Challa, IIT Roorkee alumnus; in its Pre-series A funding round.

BlackRidge extends Identity-Based Network Security to Cloud Infrastructure and IBM Mainframes

Today at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference BlackRidge Technology announced advances in identity-based network security protection and that it received Ready for IBM Security Intelligence for z Systems validation. BlackRidge Technology’s new product release now secures cloud infrastructure and IBM z Systems from advanced cyber security threats, and it integrates with Microsoft Active Directory integration to automate the provisioning of identity and policy in the BlackRidge solution.

ICICI Bank launches 'ICICI Appathon', a Mobile App Development Challenge

ICICI Bank announced the launch of a virtual mobile app development challenge, India’s largest mobile app development initiative by a bank. Christened ‘ICICI Appathon’, the programme aims to attract developers, technology companies, startups, technopreneurs and students to create the next generation of banking applications on mobile.

Quantum Hi Tech launches its Noise cancelling QHM 880 Headphones

QHMPL, India’s leading frontrunner in consumer electronics & high-quality IT peripherals, under the brand ‘Quantum Hi-Tech’ with its unfailing commitment to highest standards of quality at most affordable prices, brings in yet another addition - a refined semi classical design to its range of headphones with ‘QHM 880’ on the head audio gears which are comfortable to wear for hours at a time.

Bombardier Opens New Information Services Hub in India

Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation opened a new Information Services (IS) hub at Gurgaon, Delhi National Capital region (NCR) in India in February, 2016. The new facility is now part of Bombardier Transportation’s expanding IS team, which supports the company in providing modern and effective workplaces and services to its employees.

Malware-as-a-Service Platform that Hit more than 400,000 Users and Organizations Globally

Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team has published extensive research on the Adwind Remote Access Tool (RAT), a cross-platform, multifunctional malware program also known as AlienSpy, Frutas, Unrecom, Sockrat, JSocket and jRat, and which is distributed through a single malware-as-a-service platform. According to the results of the investigation, conducted between 2013 and 2016, different versions of the Adwind malware have been used in attacks against at least 443,000 private users, commercial and non-commercial organizations around the world. The platform and the malware are still active.

Rackspace Announces Private Cloud powered by Red Hat

Rackspace announced the release of Rackspace Private Cloud powered by Red Hat, which delivers OpenStack private clouds as-a-service using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux® OpenStack Platform. The new offering expands the Rackspace OpenStack-as-a-Service product portfolio, further extending the company’s strategy to deliver the most reliable and easy-to-use OpenStack private and hybrid clouds in the world.

Sterlite Grid partners Sharper Shape for UAV technology

India’s largest private developer of independent transmission systems, Sterlite Grid and Finland’s leading UAV solutions provider, Sharper Shape, have entered into a strategic partnership to deliver cutting-edge UAV technologies for the power transmission industry. The alliance will provide business solutions to transmission line operators and help them in reducing delivery time of projects, and increase the uptime of power systems.

The 3rd edition of country’s most awaited event, Cyber Security India 2016 is slated to happen on 19th February, 2016 at Le Meridien, New Delhi. Bharat Exhibitions is credited successfully for organizing this event since the year 2014 and alluring the industry’s attention towards the rising threats to cyber security and its changing landscape.

Pegasystems launches Pega Field Service CRM Application

Pegasystems announced the launch of Pega Field Service, a new application that allows organizations to extend superior customer service capabilities to their field technicians and agents. Pega Field Service unifies and streamlines the entire field service operation from first call to final resolution on a single platform, providing a more satisfying customer experience and enabling a more productive field workforce while driving down operational costs.

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