Ajmer Smart City Inaugurates Light & Sound Show on City’s History; Barco Projection Mapping Tech on Display

The Ajmer Smart City Council today inaugurated the first-of-its-kind light and sound show in the city, powered by projection mapping technology from global visualization major Barco. Adding another feather to Ajmer’s cap, the enchanting show is based on its rich history and narrates the tale revolving around Ajmer’s defining moments – from its inception till the present moment. Ajmer, one of the four cities in Rajasthan selected under the Government’s Smart City Mission, has proved its mettle as a fast-expanding centre of development and tourism. The city ranks 22nd in the list of India’s 100 smart cities and is a hub of innovation and smart practices.

Ajmer’s historic King Edward Memorial façade is the backdrop for the light and sound show, which narrates the story of how the city was formed and indicates its diverse values and culture by stating that Ajmer is now a religious centre of worship. Featuring 16 elaborate scenes and running over a span of 30 minutes, the show is powered by two of Barco’s latest 3Chip DLP Laser Technology projectors (UDM series), with each projector delivering 20000 Lumens brightness, covering an overall façade area of approximately 110ft x 35ft. The show has an audience capacity of approximately 250 people. CS Direkt is the creative partner engaged for the show implementation.

According to Mr. Avinash Sharma, Addl. Chief Engineer, Ajmer Smart City,

“The chequered history of our majestic city, Ajmer, goes back to 1113 AD, when King Ajayraj Chauhan endowed it with unrivalled splendour and magnificence. Even today, Ajmer is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, drawing scores of foreign and domestic travellers who visit us to experience the beauty and eloquence of the city. With the Government’s Smart City Mission powering growth and futuristic development in Ajmer, we felt this was the right time to remind people of our rich history. With the support of creative partner CS Direkt and global visualization major Barco, we have created a magnificent spectacle for our residents and visitors. The light and sound show is mesmerizing, and we believe that it will encourage more tourists to visit Ajmer and enjoy the bounty this historic city has to offer.”

Barco is a global leader in visualization technology and has powered projection mapping and shows in international venues including the Gulf region’s largest digital art centre Infinity des Lumières, America’s Hoover Dam event, and Delhi’s Swaminarayan Akshardham temple.

“At Barco, our focus remains on enabling bright outcomes for our customers. We are extremely happy to collaborate with Ajmer Smart City and CS Direkt on this landmark project and hope to fulfil the city’s vision of creating spectacular visuals through cutting-edge technology. In India and on a global scale, Barco remains at the forefront of visualization solutions and this association is a milestone for us in India,” said Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, Barco India.

The light and sound show is facilitated by CS Direkt, an independent, media agnostic, experiential and MarComm agency focused on bringing brand alive. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Sanjeev Pasricha, Managing Director, CS Direkt said,

 

“It is our mission to bring history alive by creating Son-et-Lumiere that tell colourful stories of our past. These stories create a bond with the tourist who then wants to experience the city more! And, to do this, we fearlessly embrace the power of experience creation in all its forms. This special collaboration with Ajmer Smart City and Barco, is a demonstration of what we offer – a spell-binding and evocative experience which keeps the audience at the edge of their seats.”

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Truecaller appoints Jijendran Ravindran as Vice President of Global Business Development

Truecaller announced the appointment of Jijendran Ravindran as Vice President of Global Business Development. Jijendran joins Truecaller from Xiaomi, where he was the Associate Director and Lead for MIUI India. He was responsible for managing and driving the overall business strategy for the brand. His work involved customisation of apps for India, app promotion, portfolio growth, managing partnerships & revenue across the MIUI properties and handling a large team of talents.

Jijendran has extensive experience of working across varied sectors spanning telecom operators, smartphone brands & Start-ups. His rich experience of over 16 years includes new partnerships, strategy, business development, operations, marketing, advertising & customer insights.

Jijendran will lead the business development function and will report to Kari Krishnamurthy, Chief Commercial Officer. Jijendran will be working towards expanding business and growth across markets. He brings to the table an innate knack for understanding consumers, a bias for action and people development experience. Prior to Xiaomi, Jijendran was heading app partnership for Micromax in India, Sri Lanka, Russia & Bangladesh. He has also been associated with Airtel and Vodafone in the past.

Welcoming Jijendran, Kari Krishnamurthy, Chief Commercial Officer, Truecaller, stated: 

“I am excited to have JJ on board. And I am confident that he will push our ambitions of having Truecaller in every connected device globally. His extensive experience and accomplishments in his recent past stints will definitely take our efforts to another level.”

Jijendran Ravindran, Vice President – Brand Development at Truecaller, added: 

“I feel both honoured and humbled on being appointed by Truecaller. I firmly believe in Truecaller’s mission and it has been a service I have relied on myself for many years now. I’m also excited about the journey ahead. Truecaller has become an integral part of hundreds of millions of consumers across the world and I look forward to taking up this challenging and exciting new role to create long term sustainable value for all stakeholders in the company.”

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Picsart Launches Brand Refresh, Empowers Visual Culture as it Surpasses 1 Billion Edits Per Month

 Picsart, the  creative platform, unveiled a brand refresh, including a new logo, visual elements, and streamlined user interface. The refresh comes as the company surges past 1 billion edits each month and ranks among the top-grossing photography and video apps worldwide.

“Picsart is inspiring visual culture on a massive scale -- from social media posts to album covers to digital advertising -- and the new brand is a reflection of this evolution,” said Hovhannes Avoyan, founder and CEO of Picsart.

“We’re much more than the individual elements of Pictures and Art,” said Avoyan of the small but symbolic change of removing the capital “A” in Picsart. “We’re removing boundaries between imagination and creativity for hundreds of millions of people in nearly every country of the world.”

Led by Picsart’s internal brand team, the company partnered with San Francisco-based branding firm New Company to develop the vision and creative direction for the refresh. Users will begin seeing the new visual elements on the platform starting this week. To read more about the rebranding process and what you can expect to see in the coming weeks, visit the Picsart blog.

Picsart creators design and remix a range of visual assets, including marketing materials, posters, digital stickers, videos, and more. The company recently announced the additions of Craig Foster as CFO, and Magdalena Yesil as a new board member.

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Second Dubai Technology Tour to drive UAE-India collaboration in retail tech

 Dubai Startup Hub, an initiative of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with Dubai Chamber’s International Offices in India, has announced that it will organise the Dubai Tech Tour with the aim of fostering UAE-India collaboration in the area of retail tech.

 

The virtual trade mission, kicking off this September, will offer scale-ups access to exclusive virtual events and the opportunity to meet with public and private sector stakeholders from the UAE, pitch their business to prospective investors and business partners, and participate in business matchmaking sessions organised by Dubai Chamber. 

 

The upcoming tour familiarises delegates with Dubai’s economy, business landscape and entrepreneurial ecosystem, while offering them access Dubai Startup Hub’s Scaleup Dubai programme, and support offered by Dubai Chamber’s representative offices around the world. In addition, participants will gain valuable insights from industry leaders who will be joining a series of virtual panel discussing examining market opportunities and key trends impacting the retail sector. 

 

 

As a preparation for the Dubai Tech Tour, Dubai Startup Hub is hosting a series of informative industry sessions gathering retail tech founders, investors and incubators to discuss the most attractive opportunities across the value chain of modern Retail. The series kicked started with Retail Supply Chain & Omni-channel Business virtual event, organized in in collaboration with Supply Chain and Logistics Business Group; and IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

 

The roadshow examined the role of advanced technologies and omni-channel strategies in reshaping experiences for retailers and customers alike, growth opportunities opening up in Dubai’s retail market and the various competitive advantages the emirate offers Indian scaleups.

 

Indian scale-ups keen on joining the second Dubai Tech Tour will have until 20th July 2021 to register their interest online via the following link.

 

Launched in 2020, the Dubai Tech Tour positions Dubai as preferred hub for overseas entrepreneurs and scale-ups who are bringing innovative business concepts to the market. The India-Dubai Tech Tour initiative is a continuation of the Dubai Chamber Mumbai office’s and Dubai Startup Hub’s combined efforts to attract Indian scale-ups and startups that can support Dubai’s innovation strategy and transition to a knowledge-based economy.

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ZinQ Technologies targeting 100% localisation within the next six months; starts exporting to the Middle East

 An amazon-exclusive gadgets and accessories brand, ZinQ Technologies has become one of the most popular choices for consumer technology and IT peripherals. The company has announced its aim to manufacture 100% localised gadgets including headphones, power banks, keyboards, mouse, etc. by December 2021. The company counts its cutting-edge technology embedded with great design, quality products and experience as its USP.

ZinQ Technologies stands committed to the government of India’s vision to turn the country into a global consumer electronics manufacturing hub under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. With an eye on exports and reducing the reliance on imports from countries like China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan among others, ZinQ aims at creating opportunities for India’s youth. 

 

Supply chain disruption caused by COVID-19 is another factor that has pushed the company to manufacture and source more & more components locally. 

 

Speaking about the development, Arnav Mutneja Founder & Director, ZinQ Technologies said, Currently, close to 50% of our products are sourced from our vendors in India. We still have to depend on imports as we do not have great quality suppliers in India for some key components. However, we are working rigorously with our suppliers and partners to fill in such gaps and reduce our dependence on imports in order to achieve our ambition of 100% localization which we are certain to achieve by the end of this year.”

 

Commenting on the export plans, he further adds, “Today, we are not only manufacturing to meet the rising demand of our products in India but also in the global markets. We are betting on the export strategy as the next stage of growth. This will be a proud moment for our country as we are rapidly working towards our vision to support the Make in India initiative. Our new expansion will showcase India’s skill and talent to produce quality products that will cater to global markets”. 

 

Apart from meeting the domestic demand, ZinQ Technologies products are now being exported to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Dubai. In the near future, ZinQ Technologies also aims to export their products to European markets including the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. 

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GoPaisa announces Earnly, a new deal sharing platform; helps individuals make easy money

GoPaisa, Cashback and Coupons Website in India has launched a deal-sharing platform, Earnly. The platform is aimed at securing people an easy and regular income source. Through this new platform, users including - students, housewives, working professionals, bloggers, influencers, etc., can earn extra income and can pocket real cash worth up to Rs. 30,000 per month.

Catering to Indian Cashback and Coupons industry for over 8 years, GoPaisa identified the scope for a more user-friendly platform that also enables extra income for users. The brand understood that affiliate marketing demands a keen knowledge of deep-linking, sub id tracking, and more. Earnly eliminates all these challenges by introducing an easy-to-use platform tailored to users who want to earn extra money by sharing curated deals for any online retailer.

The income link creation platform allows anyone who is looking to earn by promoting the top brands, to create unique income links for free with attractive income rates offered across the brands. The user may further make money via sharing those link in their network and social media platforms.

Earnly distinguishes itself by providing added advantage to the users like zero investment, direct approval from tom e-retailers for affiliation, around 30 per cent commission etc.

“A lot of people are spending more time online due to various restrictions implemented owing to the novel coronavirus. While doing so some people also wish to explore new options to earn extra money as they try to sail through the current pandemic hit times. This helped us understand that a platform like Earnly is required now more than ever. Also, considering that the e-Commerce market has witnessed a boom, all this together can open a pandora box of opportunities for millions of users,” said Mrs. Ankita Jain- Co-founder, GoPaisa and Earnly.

The app already flaunts a portfolio of reputed brands including Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Ajio, OnePlus,mamaearth, Oneplus, 1mg, Norton etc. and expands across key categories like BFSI, Fashion, Medicines, Grocery,Personal care, travel, digital products.

The brand has been developed on a strong technology backbone along with a simplified interface to make the app user-friendly. Considering convenience the utmost priority, Earnly provides a single panel to monitor all the earnings. Eliminating any possible hassle of contacting retailer for payouts, the platform credits the profit for every successful sale through an Income Link directly in the Earnly account of the user. Further, the platform is assisted by a round the clock customer support as well.

With the launch of Earnly, the brand has unveiled a new facet of affiliate marketing and is adding around 1000 plus new influencers on a daily basis already, and is targeting over 5 lac Earnly active influencers by end of 2021 calendar year.

People can join the platform by visiting https://www.earnly.in/

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Barco partners with Jabra for an unbeatable hybrid meeting experience with ClickShare Conference

Singapore, 07 July 2021 – Barco, a leader in professional meeting room visualization and collaboration technology, announced a tie-up with leading engineering communications and sound solutions, Jabra, in the Asia Pacific region. The two audiovisual powerhouses have joined forces to promote the easy adoption of simple, one-click wireless conferencing for organizations as they embrace hybrid working to create more intuitive meeting experiences in-person and remotely.

Barco’s ClickShare Conference and Jabra video collaboration solutions are fully agnostic, mix-and-match conference functionalities for meeting room spaces of all sizes and can work seamlessly with everything, everywhere. It is as simple as selecting a device, choosing a videoconferencing platform and display of choice, and clicking to conference. With few easy steps, everyone in the meeting - whether remote or physically present - is seen and heard. With quick, easy, and frictionless functions, IT managers can quickly prepare hybrid meeting spaces for returning employees.

As employees have become more accustomed to working from home, they have developed a preference for Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) models (70%) according to a recent ClickShare survey. The survey also indicated that many office workers struggled with hosting meetings from the office, with 48 percent finding it difficult to connect to meeting rooms. Another 65 percent struggled with figuring out different setups when moving between meeting spaces. With the average worker spending 0.5 more days in the office in 2021 than they did in 2020, organizations must be prepared to accommodate meeting and videoconferencing needs of their onsite workforce.

As organizations embrace hybrid ways of working, connecting in-room and remote participants in meetings is still far from an engaging experience. With video calls becoming a necessity nowadays, businesses need to invest in flexible, straightforward video meeting ecosystems to enable seamless collaboration to grow their productivity. The survey further states that 42 percent of respondents felt that their employer did not prioritize critical investments in videoconferencing tools. Barco’s ClickShare Conference and Jabra video collaboration solutions enable organizations to have better hybrid meetings with superior audio and video features.

Addressing today’s meeting challenges with Barco and Jabra solutions

To navigate a hybrid workforce investing in a seamless video conferencing experience has become more important than ever. The joint conferencing solution helps to address the core challenges faced by today’s IT managers, business leaders and everyday users. 

Barco and Jabra are introducing a solution bundle for the Asia Pacific market to enable easy adoption of the integrated solution. With today's changing workplace strategies, this solution responds to more hybrid ways of working and boosts employee productivity, no matter where they are physically located. 

IT managers are looking for easy to use, install and manage video conferencing solutions that work together seamlessly. Responding to the need for minimal IT support with simple deployment and ease of use, the solution allows IT teams to leverage existing technology for an integrated and secure video conferencing solution.

Moreover, the BYOM experience is simple and intuitive, allowing users to continue using their preferred conferencing devices and tools without missing a beat. Jabra and Barco's solution is flexible, enabling users and business leaders alike to see the full picture, hear the whole story inside the meeting room, and make connections with in-office, as well as remote colleagues.

The joint conference solutions enable anyone to turn any room into a collaborative workspace. With Barco’s ClickShare Conference combined with Jabra PanaCast 50, or Jabra PanaCast and Speak, users can easily start a meeting from their own devices, using their preferred conferencing platform within seconds.

"As a leader in wireless presentation and conferencing, Barco's partnership with Jabra ensures that we provide the best value in product offerings and affordability to help organisations reap the benefits of excellent hybrid meeting experiences," said Marc Remond, Vice President of Meeting and Learning Experiences at Barco APAC. "Office workers expect their employer to invest in superior videoconferencing solutions, while business leaders trust their in-office and remote workers to stay engaged and productive. We find that we are addressing a critical need in the changing workplace with the Jabra and ClickShare solution."

Bring your own meeting. See the full picture. Hear the whole story.

Jabra PanaCast 50, Jabra PanaCast and Jabra Speak are certified for ClickShare Conference (CX-20, CX-30 and CX-50), which allows remote and local participants to see the full picture, hear the full story and collaborate like in a face-to-face meeting.

“We are excited about the Barco-Jabra collaboration. With the Jabra PanaCast 50 fully optimised for ClickShare, a plug-and-play solution with easy installation and simple setup gives employees access to a seamless meeting experience for enhanced collaboration and improved productivity,” said Wayne Lee, Head of Product and Alliance at Jabra APAC.

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Airtel, TCS to collaborate for Made in India 5G

 Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider and Tata Group, today announced a strategic partnership for implementing 5G networks solutions for India. 

Tata Group has developed a ‘state of the art’ O-RAN based Radio & NSA/SA Core and has integrated a totally indigenous telecom stack, leveraging the Group capabilities and that of its partners. This will be available for commercial development starting Jan 2022. 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) brings its global system integration expertise and helps align the end-to-end solution to both 3GPP and O-RAN standards, as the network and equipment are increasingly embedded into software.

Airtel will pilot and deploy this indigenous solution as part of its 5G rollout plans in India and start the pilot in January 2022, as per the guidelines formulated by the Government of India.

These ‘Made in India’ 5G product and solutions are aligned to global standards, and inter-operate with other products based on standard open interfaces and those defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The 5G solutions, once commercially proven in Airtel’s diverse and brownfield network will open export opportunities for India, which is now the second largest telecom market in the world.    

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia) Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to join forces with the Tata Group to make India a global hub for 5G and allied technologies. With its world-class technology ecosystem and talent pool, India is well positioned to build cutting edge solutions and applications for the world. This will also provide a massive boost to India becoming an innovation and manufacturing destination.” 

N. Ganapathy Subramaniam from the Tata Group/ TCS said, “As a Group, we are excited about the opportunity presented by 5G and adjacent possibilities. We are committed to building a world-class networking equipment and solutions business to address these opportunities in networking space. We are pleased to have Airtel as our customer in this initiative.”

Airtel is a Board member of the O-RAN Alliance and is committed to explore and implement O-RAN based networks in India. Earlier this year, Airtel became the first telecom company in India to demonstrate 5G over its LIVE network in city of Hyderabad. The Company has started 5G trials in major cities using spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecom.

The Tata group's telecom and media enterprises cater to the communication requirements of global business houses to SMEs, and from wholesale to home networks. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is a member of the O-RAN Alliance.

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Dineout Unveils ‘Dineout Techpreneurs’ Program To Groom Future Business Leaders

India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dineout has launched ‘Dineout Techpreneurs’, a unique program designed to train and mentor software engineers who aspire to be future business leaders. As a part of the program, candidates from a software engineering background would get a chance to work in Dineout’s fast-paced environment, get exposure to the business side of the brand’s technology, receive guidance on MBA applications like GMAT/CAT tips, application essay reviews, interview practice, etc and intern in product management roles before they break into a b-school of their choice. 

This program would offer B-school aspirants a chance to ideate and partner with product managers to convert their innovative ideas into actual product features. Also giving them the opportunity to shadow product managers on customer interviews/focus groups, understand customer pain points first hand, and then build solutions to solve these problems. They would also gain exposure to mentorship and recommendations from engineering heads, product leaders, and even the company founders before their MBA. After they secure an MBA admission, they will undergo a 6-8 week pre-MBA Product Management Internship at Dineout before joining  school  an experience that would be an X-factor differentiating them from their peers when they apply for internships or full-time roles post MBA.

Speaking at the launch of the Dineout Techpreneurs program, Amit Bhatnagar, Chief Product officer - Dineout said,

“The idea for the Dineout Techpreneurs program was formed out of our realisation that a large number of our bright young techies aspiring to transition into product management or business roles in tech companies lack the critical edge of building real products that support rapid business growth. We have put together a dynamic mentor panel that would help these sharp young minds grasp the tenets of product management, such as first principles problem-solving, customer-focus, data-driven decisions, and stakeholder management that would be applicable in a wide variety of post-MBA careers, including strategy consulting, entrepreneurship, and sales. We hope these techpreneurs co-build world-class foodtech with us, and take these skills in their stride in order to catalyse their careers as future leaders.”

 

Interested candidates can apply!: http://bit.ly/applyDineoutMBA

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Missing Office Cafeteria? Technology is here to save the day!

Food is at the heart of the workplace experience. With this generation’s palates becoming increasingly sophisticated and their hyper engagement with technology and social media, the face of food at the workplace is changing. From serving a limited menu to amplifying food choices with curated menu options, the corporate cafeteria has undergone a major transformation.

Owing to the pandemic, a plethora of initiatives have been put to action in making workplace food safe again. Compass India through their innovation have introduced technology-based interfaces to reassure employee safety and wellness.

Realizing the potential of technology to be at the heart of all transformation and to cater the evolved consumer needs and preference, and aligning towards digital innovations, Compass India has introduced these apps:

 

•             The FoodBook app has completely changed the landscape of a conventional workplace cafeteria: Through innovative user engagement, using real-time data in social media and beyond, this application helps provide trivia about the food while allowing you to choose your favorite recipe from the Chef’s table. It also enhances employee engagement with photo sharing options and contests in the same cafe. There is cashless payment option for pre-ordering or paying for a meal on the app or the self-ordering kiosk, which has been a very popular feature among young employees. In addition to that, even the Menu is curated according to the taste of the customer, with the help of intelligent algorithms to help display the customer’s favorites based on past orders.

 

•             Avoid the rush with Café Pass: a mobile based solution that will help decongest the lunch hour rush at the workplace cafeteria that firstly limits how many people can be in a Cafeteria at a time and then allows employees to choose their preferred time to eat, book their café pass and even pre-order their meal. It takes away the hassle of manual scheduling and staggered management of breaks, providing an efficient yet flexible way to manage the employee dining needs.

 

•             You can put your trust OnSafe:  an app that enables the implementation of social distancing protocols with real-time tracking at the workplace. OnSafe will prevent crowding in the office spaces and allow organisations to redesign spaces in a manner that is safe. While there are apps for contract tracing, OnSafe is designed specifically for the workplace and has features and analytics that are relevant for the workplace.

 

The resurrection of the workplace café will indeed call for disruptive models of working, innovation around the food offering, embracing digital, contactless ordering, and creative and smart choice of ingredients which help boost immunity and promote wellness.

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Conduent Unveils Innovative Solution to Transform Legal Invoice Review and Validation

Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT) today announced the latest addition to its Legal and Compliance solutions technology suite. Legal Invoice Analytics is a new, cloud-based invoice review and validation platform to help in-house legal teams gain insight into, and control over, legal spend with outside counsel.

Legal Invoice Analytics delivers innovative features to drive a more efficient and accurate invoice reconciliation process. Leading law departments can reduce spend by up to ten percent of expenditure on engagements with external firms and reduce staff overhead in review time by up to 80 percent. This is increasingly important as companies consider cost-saving initiatives to help them achieve financial resilience during this public health crisis.

“When an outsized portion of a legal department’s budget is expended on outside counsel, senior leaders are often compelled to use expense control as a proxy for the value that is delivered. They devote far too many hours on invoicing activities when the time is better spent driving legal strategies for the enterprise,” said Beth Fritts, General Manager, Legal, Compliance and Analytics Solutions, Conduent.

“Legal Invoice Analytics is a highly-automated technology tool to help corporate legal departments actively manage external firms’ budget and consistently enforce billing guidelines. By optimizing an intensive invoice review and reconciliation process, leaders can now emphasize desired outcomes and results—instead of cost containment—as a measure of the value of outside counsel.”

Review of external counsel’s invoices from even a simple single matter can take an average of five hours or more per month. With hundreds of invoices and thousands of line items every month, accurately managing overspend is an extremely costly and sometimes near impossible task. Conduent’s Legal Invoice Analytics technology uses analytics and automation to transform legal invoice review into an intelligent, accurate and streamlined process. In addition to reducing errors and the time that law departments spend reviewing complex invoices, Legal Invoice Analytics also delivers performance benchmarking, advanced analytics and strategic business intelligence to inform legal spend decisions.

Legal Invoice Analytics is the latest in a series of Conduent advancements that help law firms and corporate legal departments power sustainable and efficient operations and keep pace with rapidly increasing demands to achieve measurable business results. Learn more about Conduent’s newly launched Legal Invoice Analytics tool at https://www.conduent.com/solution/legal-business-solutions/#legal-spend.

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KONE Elevator India offers free cloud technology to keep critical sites operational in a time of crisis

KONE Elevator India, a fully owned subsidiary of KONE Corporation, has announced that it is offering to install KONE 24/7 Connected Services for free for the first six months for its current customers who operate medical facilities. This initiative will benefit hospitals across the country, and ensure uninterrupted vertical movement of people. For patients, their families and medical staff, this means less waiting time and disruption, a smoother journey to where they need to go, and quicker access to the supplies they need.

 

KONE 24/7 Connected Services is the world’s most intelligent elevator and escalator services that monitors round-the-clock. This technology can better predict, maintain and take action before breakage, thereby ensuring less equipment downtime and fewer faults. This preventive maintenance system helps the elevator work seamlessly in the hospitals 24/7. In the current pandemic situation, it is absolutely critical that elevators or escalators run smoothly without any setbacks.

 

In collaboration with the recognized leader in cognitive computing, IBM Watson, KONE 24/7 Connected Services is a cloud-based solution using sensors, which collects data on a range of parameters on equipment performance and powerful analytics to identify deviations. Using the latest technology, the elevators and escalators can now speak their minds and keep technicians one step ahead of what’s happening. If the system identifies the need for maintenance, it alerts a technician immediately.

 

Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE Elevator India, said, 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated unprecedented restrictions on the movement of people. However, one area where movement is crucial is hospitals where doctors, nurses, assistants and volunteers continue to work tirelessly to ensure patients are looked after. As an organisation dedicated to improving the flow of urban life, we have a responsibility to help keep society running and critical services operational. KONE’s cutting-edge 24/7 Connected Services, now available free for our current customers who operate medical facilities, will help ensure that their people flow is safe and reliable.”

Amit Gossain, MD, KONE Elevator India

 

The 24/7 Connected Services can improve people’s safety, in some cases reducing the number of stoppages. For customers it means improved safety, full transparency and peace of mind.

 

“When the entire world is enduring the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, KONE Elevator India is showing its true strength by being a reliable partner and supporting its customers and the wider community to help keep critical sites operational in a time of crisis. This initiative from Kone Elevator India is an attempt to make a positive contribution to continuous improvement in the communities where we operate,” he added. 

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Airtel users can now get free Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription for one year with recharge of Rs 401

India’s foremost video streaming platform, Disney+ Hotstar is teaming up with India’s largest integrated telco Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) to bring high quality video entertainment to all of India.

 

This initiative aims to accelerate adoption of the video subscription category in the country, by solving two of the key challenges: evolving digital payment infrastructure and prevalence of cash as a payment option. Airtel has launched a new recharge at INR 401/- with the annual subscription to Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Airtel is also offering complementary 3 GB data for 28 days with the recharge. Starting today, the new recharge pack is available to all Airtel prepaid mobile customers across Airtel’s network of retail stores as well as Airtel Thanks app and airtel.in. 

 

Airtel customers who buy the pack will now be able to effortlessly watch everything that Disney+ Hotstar VIP has to offer – right from the latest blockbuster Bollywood movies (Angrezi Medium, Tanhaji), the best of global movies & shows dubbed in Hindi, Tamil & Telugu including  superhero movies (Avengers: End Game), latest animation films (The Lion King, Frozen II), Kids favourite characters (Mickey Mouse, Doraemon), exclusive Hotstar Specials (Special Ops, Criminal Justice), unlimited LIVE sports and much more.

 

Prabh Simran Singh, EVP & Head Subscriptions, Hotstar said, 

“Our philosophy is to bring World’s best entertainment to every Indian, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Airtel to make Disney+ Hotstar VIP accessible to their users across the country. Disney+ Hotstar VIP is now available to Airtel prepaid users via Airtel retail stores and through the Airtel thanks app. This collaboration will provide users a convenient and easy way to subscribe to our service.”

 

Says Shashwat Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel 

“On our Airtel Thanks platform, we have been bringing the best of partner services for our customers. We are delighted to add this collaboration with Disney+ Hotstar for our Airtel Thanks users. Partnerships such as these are key to unlocking the massive potential of India’s digital ecosystem and drive OTT adoption even in smaller towns and villages. At Airtel, we will continue to bring to market industry leading innovations that deliver a differentiated experience to our customers.”

 

The annual subscription to Disney+ Hotstar VIP includes access to the best of Super Hero movies, like The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor: Ragnarok and latest animation movies including Frozen II, The Lion King, Toy Story 4 in Hindi, Tamil & Telugu. Users can also enjoy latest Bollywood movies like Angrezi Medium, Panga and Tanhaji immediately after theatrical release, exclusive Hotstar Specials shows in seven languages like the hugely popular Neeraj Pandey’s Special Ops, Out of Love, Criminal Justice, unlimited LIVE Cricket and sporting action, and STAR serials before TV and much more! 

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CoFynd, the global aggregator of Coworking spaces flagged off its operations in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida

CoFynd, the emerging aggregation platform for the booking of coworking spaces, have commenced its operations in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida. With the launch of their platform, CoFynd aims to offer event spaces, training rooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms along with the co-working spaces.  They provide these spaces and work environment for start-ups, young/small-medium sized enterprises, and professionals. 

Launching a company all on your own can be thrilling, but also quite tough. One may feel isolated in the home office, but hesitant to look for permanent traditional office space because of the high rates. For those sailing in these uncharted waters, CoFynd, a global aggregator for workspaces, will act as an anchor. Whether you are a solopreneur, freelancer or a young team of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, a CoFynd is a perfect place to start and grow. 

Coworking is a global phenomenon and it has completely changed the way we work forever. Almost, 2 million people are reported to be working out of Co-working spaces in 2019.  This industry has been growing at 23% since 2010 and number of co-working spaces is expected to double till the year 2022.

However, there are still a lot of challenges in this sector. For instance, there is a lack of a user-friendly platform that can provide standardized information on all co-working spaces.

There is still inability to book spaces online with ease and there is an absence of neutral customer mechanism support. Also, there is absolutely no presence of reviews on spaces to aid correct decisions.

CoFynd recognised all those loopholes and has come up to address and solve those challenges. CoFynd created unbiased platform with standardises listings. It provides the facility to book spaces online with super-ease. The user has the complete support and also has the access to the detailed reviews on co-working spaces.

Putting his thoughts on the same, Atul Gupta, Founder & CEO, CoFynd, said, " CoFynd has been launched to give startups and enterprises a platform where they can find the spaces according to their needs. We provide customised solutions as per their needs. Coworking spaces have become the lifeline of millennials and startups today. The growing demand from freelancers, consultants, and corporates has led to a growth in the co-working sector like never before. The workspaces to be future-ready should be networked, flexible, integrated and innovative, and CoFynd helps you to find one.”

Recently, CoFynd has also raised 1.25 crores of seed funding from some reputed corporates. The funds raised round will be invested across territory expansion plans, technology and marketing strategies. 

Speaking about the funding, Atul said, “We are extremely excited to raise the seed funding round. The funds raised by the company will further accelerate the growth of our network and will allow us to broaden our reach and expand our services”.  

The strategically located spaces at CoFynd offer access to nearby business centres, provides competitive corporate culture and opportunities to its members for sustained growth. The space is designed to cater to businesses of any size and form to boast diverse working environments having both private offices, cubicles, spacious cabins, meeting rooms, training rooms, and event spaces enabling the clients to choose as per their needs. 

This unbiased and unified platform of listing coworking spaces strives to offer ease of discovery and bookings to the user along with 100% offline support for visits, negotiations and closure. It endeavours to give access to like-minded, close-knit, and success-focused professionals who are all driving towards the same goal. 

Currently, CoFynd has its presence in Gurugram, Delhi and Noida and are planning to expand in other metro cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. 

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Blackberry to acquire AI and ML leader Cylance for $1.4B in its largest acquisition

oday announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to wholly acquire Cylance, an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity leader, for US $1.4 billion in cash, plus the assumption of unvested employee incentive awards. Pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to close prior to the end of BlackBerry’s current fiscal year (February 2019).

“Cylance’s leadership in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will immediately complement our entire portfolio, UEM and QNX in particular. We are very excited to onboard their team and leverage our newly combined expertise,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of BlackBerry. “We believe adding Cylance’s capabilities to our trusted advantages in privacy, secure mobility, and embedded systems will make BlackBerry Sparkindispensable to realizing the Enterprise of Things.”

According to Gartner in its most recent Internet of Things Backbone Survey: security was cited as the top barrier to IoT success (35%), with privacy concerns (25%), and potential risks and liabilities (25%) also in the top five.

Cylance is a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence, algorithmic science, and machine learning to cybersecurity software that has proven highly effective at predicting and preventing known and unknown threats to fixed endpoints. The fast-growing company has become a market leader with an advanced and lightweight agent that resides on the endpoint, operates both online and off, and requires a minimum of memory and power to function. Founded in 2012, Cylance generates highly recurring revenue from over 3,500 active enterprise customers, including more than 20% of the Fortune 500.

“Our highly skilled cybersecurity workforce and market leadership in next-generation endpoint solutions will be a perfect fit within BlackBerry where our customers, teams and technologies will gain immediate benefits from BlackBerry’s global reach,” said Stuart McClure, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Cylance. “We are eager to leverage BlackBerry’s mobility and security strengths to adapt our advanced AI technology to deliver a single platform.”

BlackBerry Spark Platform

BlackBerry Spark is a next-generation secure chip-to-edge communications platform for the EoT that will create and leverage trusted connections between any endpoint. Designed for ultra-security and industry-specific safety-certifications, such as ISO 26262 in automobiles, BlackBerry Spark will leverage the company’s deep portfolio of technology that includes FIPS-validated, app-level, AES 256-bit encryption to ensure data is always protected. BlackBerry Spark enables organizations to comply with stringent multi-national regulatory requirements. In fact, BlackBerry is the only EoT platform provider to achieve Common Criteria EAL4+ for both iOS and Android, offering the highest level of security in the market.

BlackBerry expects that after the anticipated close of the transaction, Cylance will operate as a separate business unit within BlackBerry Limited.

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