Cisco and GoR sign a Sol

Tally Solutions partners with CAIT

Tuesday, 24th January 2017

Hotel Mayfair Lagoon & Convention
Bhubaneswar, Odisha
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D-Link launches new Omna 180 Cam HD

Western Digital unveils SATA client SSDs

Cyber Security India Conclave 2017

on
3rd Feb 2017,
Hotel Shangri La's Eros, New Delhi

BUILDING INDIAS
CYBER SECURITY FRAMEWORK
27pg

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January 2017

PRICE Rs. 50

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What are your Expectations from the Budget 201718?

40pg

Google to digitally
empower SMBs

oogle India has reaffirmed its

commitment to digitally empower
Indias 51-million-strong small and medium
business (SMB) community.
Making the announcement in New
Delhi,
Sundar
Pichai,
CEO,
Google,
said,
The Internet and
digital technology
will be an engine of growth for the Indian
economy. Today, anyone can become an
entrepreneur, a developer, or a creator,
but it is important that they have the right
tools and skills to digitize. We believe it is
important for us to invest in training and
equipping these individuals and small
businesses to accelerate their journey of
growth.
Google has launched Digital Unlocked, a
training programme to empower thousands
of Indian SMBs with essential digital skills
that will enable them to get online and start
using the power of the internet to grow
their business.

Conduent is now
an independent
public company

onduent
Incorporated
has
completed its separation from
Xerox and is now an independent public
company trading on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Conduent debuts as
the worlds largest
pure-play business
process services leader with approximately
$6.7 billion in annual revenue, a portfolio of
differentiated offerings and a vision focussed
on technology and innovation to advance
the client and constituent experience.
To mark the listing of its shares of
common stock, Conduent representatives,
including Chief Executive Officer Ashok
Vemuri, will get together to ring the opening
bell at the NYSE.

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January 2017

NovemberLtd
2016 www.varindia.com
CtrlS 4Datacenters

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January 2017

HELLO INDIA

2017 to welcome a new wave of Modern PCs

Security perimeters must grow..
The impact of fast-changing disruption in technology promises to grow and be even more substantial as
manufacturers and their suppliers deploy technologies across the entire manufacturing landscape. Software
and hardware innovations that we see today position us all to continue to push the boundaries of whats
possible.
Technology giants are working on Mixed reality (MR), which is a mix of Virtual Reality (VR) that creates
a totally artificial environment and Augmented Reality (AR) that uses the existing environment and overlays
new information on top of it. Mixed Reality is the technology that integrates all digital information with the
users environment in real time and this is going to change the way of communication, collaboration and the
future of the workplace, merging the real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations,
where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Consumers get to experience Mixed reality
through affordable PCs and head mounted displays (HMDs) that blend the physical and virtual realities in
the coming days.
Secondly, a million dollar question is, could this Personal computer or personalised computers are
secured from the cyber-attacks, since cybercrime is on the rise and there is a sense of urgency for qualified
professionals to protect data is on the rise. In fact, data security is one of the fastest growing specializations
in IT.
Today, cybercrime costs business as much as US$500 billion a year. The main cause of cybercrime is social networks such as Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter that are driving new forms of social interaction, dialogue, exchange and collaboration. Social networking sites enable users
to swap ideas, post updates and comments and participate in activities and events while sharing their wider interests.
In business, organizations are using social media tools and big data platforms to build brands and communities which
can engage customers in regular feedback dialogues; HR managers look for job candidates on LinkedIn; marketers
are initiating campaigns on social networks and technical support personnel use Twitter as a platform to discuss and
announce critical issues in real time. But the very ubiquity of social media, its speed of growth and the increasing
reliance individuals place, all of which makes them rich hunting grounds for cyber criminals.
Businesses have yet to wake up to the true level of risk posed by social media. Unless companies come to realise
that their security perimeters must grow beyond the corporate firewall to encompass social media networks, the
global cost of cybercrime will continue to mushroom and is likely to more than quadruple over the next three years,
bringing the total cost of data breaches to US$2.1 trillion by 2019.
Hope Roof top computing, which is an emerging technology will address these privacy issues!

January 2017

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Converged Storage
Makes Business Agile
Huawei OceanStor V3
Converged: Innovative convergence features reduce 50% CAPEX and improve 3x efficiency
Reliable: 99.9999% solution availability ensures top reliability for business operations
Future-oriented: On-demand resources scheduling enables easy cloud service transition
For more information, please visit e.huawei.com
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For business enquiries, e-mail us at web-ebg@huawei.com

The image shown here is indicative only. If there is inconsistency between the image and the actual product, the actual product shall govern.

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January 2017

CONTENTS
Website: www.varindia.com

Publisher: Deepak Kumar Sahu

Editor: S Mohini Ratna
Executive Editor: Dr. Vijay Anand
Copy Editor: C. M. Dutta
Consulting Editor: Pravin Prashant
Deputy Editor: Samrita Baruah
Sub - Editor: Aparna Mullick
Art Director: Rakesh Kumar
Network Administrator: Ashok Kumar Singh
Manager-IT: Subhash Mohanta
Manager-SEO: Bidyadhar Behera

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Commercial Manager: Amit Kumar Jha
Sr. Marketing Manager: Ashok Ranjan Dash
Circulation Executive: Manish Kumar
Marketing Manager: Dipendra Kumar
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Digi Dhan Mela Promotes Digital

Payment

e-Governance

FACE TO FACE

53|

Konica Minolta shifting towards

Software Solutions in 2017

39|

Surveillance moves beyond

vigilance to real-time intelligence

46|

Sirion drives efficiency

costeffectiveness
for
Customers

Gandhinagar: India's First Smart

City

VAR MOBILITY
54|

and
its

"We are now perceived as a utility

industry and not perceived as a
growth industry"

COVER STORY
32|

Digital Transformation to rule the

roost in 2017

BUDGET SPECIAL
40|

WhatareyourExpect
a t i o n s from the Budget
201718?

VAR CORPORATE
44|

47|

Sify Technologies Limited Setting

the pace

3 tips for IT channel sales in a

digital-first economy

ISODA CORNER
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ISODA plans
members

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REGULARS

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All payments favouring:

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add

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Round About

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16, 18

On the Ramp

20, 22

Voice N Data

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Channel Buzz

26

Produt of the Month

48

Movers & Shakers

45

Channel Guru

10

Channel Chief

12

CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
ICS and SCADA Security Solutions
for Ultimate Cyber Defense

of cyber
threats

When Securing Your ICS/SCADA

Environment, Consider the Following:

1. Secure Both Operational Technology

and IT Environments
2. Secure Against a Wide Variety of
Attack Vectors
3. Secure Multi SCADA Vendor
Environments
Hackers constantly modify their techniques to evade detection. Check Points
4. proven
The Importance
of Virtual Patching
threat-protection
performance and innovative technology keeps
data, devices and networks safe and business operations continuous.
5. Operational Technology Network
Visibility
CONTACT US:
6. Secure the Control
Systems Workstations
7. Manage Security Alerts
and Policies
8. Comply to Security
Regulations
9. Secure Networks in
Harsh Environments

Worldwide Headquarters
5 HaSolelim Street, Tel Aviv 67897, Israel
Tel: 972-3-753-4555 | Fax: 972-3-624-1100
Email: info@checkpoint.com
India Sub-continent office
#33/1, 4th Floor, Vittal Mallya Road,
Bangalore 560 001 | Tel: +91 -80- 30791400
Email: indiasales@checkpoint.com
prateekg@checkpoint.com
www.checkpoint.com/ics

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January 2017

Seagate Envisages the 3D Printing

Market as a big Growth Propeller
O

nce a niche market,

3D printing is another
burgeoning technology set to
transform into an immensely
profitable industry. According to
Gartner, 3D printer shipments are
forecasted to be more than double
every year between 2016 and
2019. By this time the worldwide
shipments are also expected to
range more than 5.6 million.
Furthermore, with established
players entering the 3D printer
industry, the trend is expected to
bring many innovations.
The adoption of 3D printing
in India is expected to see a rise
over the next several years, in
terms of design applications and
Direct Digital Manufacturing
applications. The rise of 3D
printing will further lead to the
growth of digital data, due to
the creation of huge backlogs of
CAD (computer-aided design)
files corresponding to the items
they create, and these files can
be massive and complex. CIOs
and their data management teams
will be called upon to maintain
increasingly large data sets that can
be easily stored and manipulated,
says Sameer Bhatia, Country
Manager, India & SAARC, Seagate
Technology
Seagate with its expansive
product portfolio in storage
infrastructure is committed to the
growth of 3D printer vendors and
the consumers. It sees immense
opportunities and growth avenues
by partnering as storage partners
for 3D printing vendors. We are
always open for partnership to
build the best-in-class solutions
together. Generally a lot of 3D
printers have little to no onboard
storage; so most of them need
to be hooked to a computer that
has the 3D print file stored on it.
In turn, we expect to see demand
for external drives, larger capacity
HDDs due to the growth of 3D
printing, observes
In addition to that, Seagate
also observes that many 3D print

10

January 2017

The increasing popularity and usage of 3D

printing would not only create a huge deluge of
data but would also require an efficient data storage
infrastructure. Throwing more light on this, Sameer
Bhatia, Country Manager, India & SAARC - Seagate
Technology speaks about the opportunities Seagate
sees as a leading storage infrastructure vendor -

service bureaus offer the ability for

customers to send or deliver a 3D
print file in order for the service
bureau to print the object. For
such service providers with intense
storage requirement, it sees the
growing need for external drives
and enterprise drives for servers.
Our focus is knowing what the
industry needs, understanding
why it is needed and offering the
optimal solution, asserts Sameer.
Seagate believes that all storage
solutions have to be purpose-built
and optimized to best fit into the
specific applications to ensure
that the hard drives can meet
certain workload requirements.
This doesnt simply mean the
drive should have high capacity
and high speed. When Seagate
calls it optimized, it means the
drive offers specific technologies
that can best manage the data
workload and maximize the
value of the data in that specific
application.

www.varindia.com

Prospects of 3D
Printing in India
Though at an initial stage in
India, the growth for 3D printing
technology has been favorable
with industries like architecture,
aerospace, automotive, consumer
goods, industrial machineries,
medicine and education, exploring
newer applications. As per the
recent data released by 6Wresearch,
the 3D printer market in India is
projected to cross $79 million by
2021. The report also suggests that
automotive application accounted
for majority of the revenue share
in Indias 3D printer market.
For instance, the technology
has immensely benefitted the
Automobile industry by reducing
investment and part costs, reducing
the weight of production tools,
helping them to stay one step ahead
of industry challenges.
3D printing has also transformed
the construction industry by
enabling architects to visualize and

create precise design models, which

facilitates quick design approval and
faster customer input. We have
witnessed an upsurge in demand
for 3D printers, with unit shipment
growth rates increasing significantly
in both enterprise and consumer
segments. The growth can be
majorly attributed to innovations
in quality and performance,
reduced time to market, minimized
cost of errors, and prevention
of confidential design leakage,
affirms Sameer. We are also seeing
innovative adoption of 3D printing
in the fashion industry. In addition
to using 3D scanners and printers
for designing clothes, more and
more apparel makers and fashion
designers are taking interest in using
3D printing for manufacturing
(printing) the end products, he
further says.
Navigating to find, build and
offer the right storage system
requires experience and expertise.
That is why the channels and SI
partners play a vital role for a storage
player like Seagate. We connect
with our customers and partners
in every local market through the
Seagate Partner Program. Seagate
has been continuously building
industry-specialist partner base
through this program, providing
comprehensive training sessions
and seminars as well as working
on co-marketing programs. We
see ourselves as not just a storage
provider, but a business partner who
can build the best-in-class solutions
together, Sameer reiterates.
Hence
India is one of the most
dynamic and vital markets for
Seagates
innovative
storage
solutions. Seagate has been offering
its solutions and expertise to
various industries for over 30 years.
It will continue to work closely
with customers in India to tackle
the increasing need for storage,
and help to ensure cost-effective
performance and durability in these
systems. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

11

CHANNEL CHIEF

Prysm Revolutionizing the Enterprise

Content Collaboration Segment
In todays time and age, it is crucial to stay connected across platforms. Collaboration is indeed a top priority for many
business leaders. With the content collaboration space growing exponentially, Prysm tries to redefine this space with
innovative collaboration techniques. Kumar G.B, Vice President Asia Pacific, Prysm throws more light on this The content collaboration segment has made a significant shift from
the days of vanilla video conferencing solutions. The next wave of growth
in the enterprise collaboration and employee productivity space will come
from the innovation of a different level altogether. This is where the
concept of visual workplace comes into the picture.
Prysm visual workplace solutions are more collaborative as well
as provide a richer user experience. If we look at the current market
dynamics, companies are using an amalgamation of tools intended to do
specific tasks. For instance, companies have deployed Microsoft Skype for
Business/Cisco telepresence for face-to-face collaboration and content
sharing. With Prysm visual workplace solution, one can combine live
applications, diverse content, video conferencing, and the web into a touchinteractive visual workspace. The solution allows teams to simultaneously
create, edit, share and store content to maximize productivity, regardless
of device or geographical location. Our robust yet easy and intuitive user
interface further increases the effectiveness of teams, Kumar G.B, Vice

President Asia Pacific, Prysm.

Prysm solutions work seamlessly with most of the third-party
collaboration tools and solutions, such as Cisco, Skype for Business,
Microsoft Office 365, among others to provide maximum compatibility
and transforming them into a unified touch-based agnostic platform. The
beauty of our solutions is the fact that Prysm Visual Workplace integrates
applications and content into a touch-interactive visual workspace
platform - regardless of device or geographical location. We also leverage
our leadership in the display technology business to enrich the experience
while bringing applications, content, video and the web into an interactive
canvas. The ability to bring the quality of content anywhere, anytime and
on any device is a unique value proposition for Prysm, he says.
With the global enterprise content collaboration market expected to
double by 2020, India will play an important part of this growth. We
have seen huge success in India since we have started our operations here
in 2007. Initially, we had Indian customers who primarily purchased our
products in the U.S. and deployed in their organizations. Today, with the
evolution of technology and the understanding that customers possess
here, we are able to gain businesses here and deliver directly. In fact, few
of our customers who implemented our solutions in India are also now
customers in the U.S. and Europe, asserts G.B.
With the push towards Digital India, special-purpose clouds and
applications that focus specifically on connecting devices and machines
the government sector in India also holds huge potential for Prysm.
Prysm offers two ranges of products - one is the display solution and
the other is its visual workplace enterprise collaboration software suite.
Prysm Enterprise is the newest offering in its Visual Workplace portfolio.
The solutions integrate applications, diverse and multiple content, video
conferencing and the web into cloud-based visual workspaces where anyone
can create, edit, share, and store work, and then go back and re-access the
saved workspaces later from any device or location via the cloud.
Looking at it from a day to day business perspective, cross geographical
collaboration would be redefined with the use of Prysm Visual Workplace.
For instance, a senior executive working out of California can seamlessly
collaborate with his R&D team which might be working out of India or
any other location. The experience that our solutions provide are so rich
in nature that its no less than having them in a meeting room rather, you
can do much more with the use of our solutions which really enhances the
productivity at the workplace and does not restrict workplace to a specific
geography, G.B says.
In the coming years...
With the content collaboration market to double in the next 5 years,
Prysm is well positioned in this space. The concept of Visual Workplace
will become a common phenomenon in years to come as companies who
have already invested in these solutions would be glued to it and are aware
of the ROI of the solutions.
The beauty of Prysm Visual Workplace solutions is that the entire
experience of collaboration is enhanced to an extent that whatever one
does while located in a workplace, one might as well do it while on the
move. As we are planning to spread our presence across geographies, in the
next couple of years, we foresee a multifold increase in deployments of our
solutions in major Fortune companies around the globe, he states. n

12

January 2017

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www.varindia.com

January 2017

13

ROUND ABOUT

Fascinating world of IOTs

A doctor examines a patient in a small town referred by a primary
health center situated in a remote area. The doctor gets alarmed by
certain pathological condition of the patient and feels that the health
condition of the patient is complex and needs to consult aspecialist
sitting several hundred kilometers away. He calls up the doctor at the
primary health center and then the specialist. Now all the three are in
the loop. He downloads the Aadhar based health profile of the patient
from the Internetand sends it to other two doctors. They use Skype for
interaction and come to a conclusion as to what should be the course of
treatment. Distance that separates the three doctors do not come in the
way for holding conference and saves a life, which was in great danger.
There are many situations, which one can visualize. When I am
explaining such situations, a person connected with Internet and its
multiple uses might concede that I am not driving home broad contours
of a rocket science. These are possible realms of now widely used
concept of Internet of Things (IOT), which have made possible many
things, which used to be unthinkable some decades back. What made
these things possible? The short and crypt answer is chips, sensors,
beacons, drones and the list of such devices is expanding with every
passing day.
Friends, that is the way technology is growing and to put it mildly by
leaps and bounds. What we feel impossible todaywill become possible
tomorrow. How such things are happening? It cannot happen in a
vacuum. There should be definitive efforts to make things happen in a
seamless way. Research and development hold the key to unraveling the
mysteries of the world. For any technology, there are two sides: human
and abstract. Human dimensions help us to discern how any technology
can be put to use for the welfare of the people. Then comes the abstract
aspect, which decides how the new technology has helped us to move
up in the value chain. The generation or finesse of the technology may
not be relevant to the people who use it. They measure the value of new
technology in terms of the easiness at which it can be operated, end
results and how far it reduced shortcomings of the earlier technologies.
Another important link is the commercialization of technologies. That
should be at best defined as a way to ensure that it reaches the common
man at an affordable price. Acceptability of digital technology lies in
its affordability and scalability. As the culture of IOTs picks up and
more gadgets are marketed to the masses, their prices will come down
and their uses would spill over to every household irrespective of their
income levels.
There are think tanks and futuristic groups, which are predicting
what future holds for digital technology. Some of them come with
bizarre predictions with the advent of artificial intelligence. What
the human can do now, machines will be able to do tomorrow. You
have driverless cars, pilotless aircrafts, robots doing most complicated
surgery, machines imparting education to suit intelligence level of each
student etc. The extreme prediction is that creation of designer children
with the help of genome. That would mean one can chose what could
be the level of intelligence, color, disposition etc of the baby they want
to procreate.
The flip side of these developments, I am afraid, would be inequality
among people living in different parts of the globe. People who are
fortunate to be affluent will have all these facilities on asking, while
those who cannot afford it, might lose on the game, unless there are
global initiatives to plug the imminent digital divide that may creep in.
This example can be taken at a global scale. There are many countries
which are primitive as far as the digital technology is concerned. These
benefits will flow to people of these countries only when a strong
infrastructure is built and people use broadband, mobile phones etc.
That will take considerable time and efforts. Yet, a beginning has to be
made. We have a number of institutionalized frameworks created under
UN organizations for compliance of standards, promotion of local
entrepreneurship, rule based trading, promoting small and medium
enterprises etc. I still have to hear about a global organization dedicated
to increase the computer literacy and its application globally. Even if
there is one, I have not heard about its working. It is important for

14

January 2017

www.varindia.com

UN organizations to embark on a strong network of organizations to

promote computer applications across the world committing resources
and manpower to achieve that goal. This cannot be left to private players
since it would rake up many controversies like the one triggered by free
use of internet. Hidden in that concept, it is alleged, was some smart
move by Facebook to capture expanding horizon of Indias digital
space.
What could be the glitch in a digitally connected world? Hacking or
intimidating the system unlawfully for stealing data or corrupting the
existing data is a matter of great concern. It has left a big question mark
among the people who swear by the digital world. How far Internet can
be reliable and what is the guarantee that it would make the systems
transparent?
There are protagonists of net who finds the widespread hacking as an
opportunity. They argue that the answer to hacking is creation of strong
security systems to make hacking impossible or near impossible. That
opens up businesses worth trillions of dollars for creating foolproof
firewalls that cannot be compromised. That is also an area India can
have tremendous opportunities to develop new technological platforms
that are impenetrable. We have to invest handsomely in this domain to
move up in the value chain.
Advent of IOTs has opened up a challenge to India. We have to
make our presence felt in the embedded technologies. But the fact is
that we are yet to travel some way to get close to marking our footprints
in the embedded technologies, which should have been our forte having
regard to the fact that we had a solid start in software development and
solutions. IOTs work on chips, sensors and beacons. Our laggardness in
this domain is matter of great concern. Let me dole out some statistics.
China is one of the largest producers of electronics hardware and their
yearly export of this item alone is higher than the overall export of India.
Indias production of electronics hardware is a miniscule as compared
to that of China. Mapping of our inadequacies in the hardware sector
needs immediate attention. It is not an easy task. For the last decade or
so we have been embarking one plan or the other to attract global majors
to invest in India but with very little success. The irritants that prevent
us from going ahead should be carefully looked into and ameliorative
actions taken urgently so that we do not miss the bus this time around.
Undeniably IOT is a game changer and that is going to be the case
for some time now, whether we like it or not till the next generation of
technology eclipse the existing ones. It is time for India to catch up with
the big changes that are happening to consolidate our position and to
emerge as a true technology leader in the times to come. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

15

HOT BYTES

Cisco and GoR sign a Sol

isco has announced

a series of strategic
initiatives under its Jaipur
Lighthouse City program
initiative to help accelerate
the digital transformation
of
Rajasthan.
The
announcement
is
the
latest in a series of
initiatives to accelerate the
digital transformation of
Rajasthan. Cisco and the
Government of Rajasthan
have signed a Statement
of Intent (SoI) to rollout digital classrooms in
women colleges to support
and
advance
women
working in the technology
sector and expansion of
Jaipur lighthouse program

to include Smart water for

water management.
The SoI between Cisco
and GoR was signed in the
presence of the CM of
Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje,
Government
dignitaries,
Cisco Executive Chairman,
John Chambers and Cisco
India and SAARC President,
Dinesh Malkani.

Informatica partners with

Ingram Micro Cloud

nformatica
has
signed a distribution
agreement with Ingram
Micro.
Through
this
relationship, Informaticas
suite of
cloud data
management
products
will be available to Ingram
Micro Clouds extensive
channel partner network in
India.
As cloud computing
continues to gain increased
market traction in India,
businesses need the right
solutions to ensure data
quality
when
moving
between
on-premise
systems and the cloud.
Informaticas cloud-based
data management solutions
will enable Ingram Micro

Cloud resellers to address

the growing need for
high-performance
data
integration
and
help
customers achieve a trusted
360 degree customer view,
while increasing agility and
end user productivity.
With
Informatica
Cloud Data Management
solutions,
our
value
added resellers can help
organizations unify data
from different sources with
prebuilt connectors and
benefit from a consistent
and accurate view of their
customers across multiple
systems and applications,
said
Harish
Laddha,
Director,
Cloud Sales,
Ingram Micro India.

ASRock partners with ICT SmS

India for post-sales service

SRock is working
towards providing
one of the best post-sales
services for its channel
community
in
India.
ASRock has joined hands
with Wistron Group subsidy
ICT Service Management
Solutions (SmS).
Manoj
Kriplani,
Manager India, ASRock
Inc, Taiwan, commented,
ASRock is known for
its quality products and
we have always looked at
focussing on the needs of
our customers, be it the
end-users or our channel
partners who are putting in

16

January 2017

Atos collaborates Avaya announces completion

with NASSCOM of UP 100 Project
has
Foundation
Avaya
announced
the

their efforts in promoting

and
selling
ASRock
products. Our tie-up with
ICT SmS India is a step
in the direction of further
strengthening our buyerseller ecosystem. We are
providing 3 years warranty
on our motherboards and
continuously introducing
new and exciting products
for the Indian market.

www.varindia.com

tos
and
N A S S C O M
Foundation have jointly
announced the launch of
National Digital Literacy
Mission (NDLM) centres
dedicated to training and
imparting digital literacy
at Vadodara (Gujarat).
The NDLM centres will
conduct skill development
programmes in the area of
Information Technology
for the aspiring persons
interested to undertake IT
literacy programmes.
Atos will endeavour to
leverage the IT training as
envisaged under the NDLM
Scheme with the objectives
of appreciation of Digital
Literacy that aims to
make a person IT literate,
so that he/she can operate
digital devices like mobile
phones, tablets among
other electronic devices
and send and receive emails
and search the internet for
information.

Teradata
Database
on Azure

eradata
has
announced
imminent availability of
Teradata Database on Azure
before 31st March, 2017,
providing customers more
choice of cloud options for
Teradata software.
Sunil
Jose,
MD
Teradata India, said, The
Teradata Database on
Azure combines Teradatas
industry-leading
data
warehouse software with
the agility and flexibility
of
Microsoft
Azure
infrastructure. The solution
will offer self-service, underan-hour provisioning, payas-you-go, and integration
with a wide variety of Azure
and Teradata software tools.
Many of the features of the
Teradata Database on Azure
speed time-to-market, offer
quick time to value, increase
efficiency and reduce risk
and will enable workload
portability between cloud
and on-premises systems."

successful completion of
its UP 100 project with
the state government of
Uttar Pradesh. One of the
largest and most ambitious
projects ever undertaken
by the Uttar Pradesh police
force, the UP 100 project
is designed to provide
integrated
emergency
services across the entire
state, including rural areas,
on a 24 x 7 basis.
The
solution
is
based on an integrated
communication
model,

capable of responding to
multiple communications
channels, including phone,
mobile, e-mail and social
media. The contact centre
supports all dialects of
Hindi and some foreign
languages. Video calling
features also support users
with special needs, with
agents available that can
read sign language and help
provide support to people
in distress.

Intex Technologies signs

MoU with UPSDM

ntex Technologies
will
provide
Employment-linked
Skill Training to 2,500
unemployed
and
underprivileged youth in
Uttar Pradesh over a 3-year
period. For this
project, Intex
has signed a
Memorandum
o
f
Understanding
(MoU)
with
the Uttar Pradesh Skill
Development
Mission
(UPSDM) operated by
a society under the UP
Government to undertake
Skill Development Training
in Mobile/IT products
Manufacturing (Assembly,
Testing, Packing, Sales,

Service and Repair) in

Uttar Pradesh. In the first
year, Intex will train 500+
youth in the age group of
14-35 years at its Noida
plants.
The MoU was signed

and exchanged between

Hon'ble. Minister for
Vocational Education &
Skill Development Prof.
Abhishek Mishra and
Amitabh Khurana, Head
Manufacturing and
Satyendra Mallik, Head
HR, Intex Technologies.

Tally Solutions partners with CAIT

ally Solutions last

month rolled out
its nationwide Campaign
on GST in a mission
to train and educate the
(non-corporate
sector)
trading community for
easy GST compliance and
transition. An extension to
the educative session was
witnessed in Pune, held
on 9th January, 2017. The
meet witnessed a footfall
of more than 140 traders
from across the community,
orienting them in the areas
of focus in GST.
Bharat Goenka, MD,
Tally
Solutions,
said,
It is evident from the

overwhelming
response
to our GST programme
held in Pune that every
businessman is anxious to
understand and get ready
for this massive change.
Our partnership with CAIT
was motivated by this need
to maximize reach to the
trading community, who
are likely to be the most
dramatically
effected
section of business.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

17

HOT BYTES

DJI partners with Seagate to

address Data demands

JI and Seagate
Technology have
announced a strategic
partnership to work jointly
to address data demands
of UAV users. As drone

cameras gain resolution

and drone flight times grow
longer, DJI and Seagate
are focusing their efforts
to securely and efficiently
store, manage, download
and share hundreds of
gigabytes of data that can
be generated from a single

drone mission.
DJI is proud to
pioneer advances in drone
technology, and we are
excited to work with Seagate
on developing innovative
ways to manage the
increased data flows
generated by our
most sophisticated
products,
said
Michael
Perry,
Director of Strategic
Partnerships for DJI.
Our unparalleled UAV
expertise and Seagates
deep data prowess mean
our customers can look
forward to smart, efficient
and reliable ways to manage
their growing drone data
storage needs.

MediaTek to accelerate
Make-in-India initiative

ediaTek
has
announced
its
Smartphone
Design
Training Program created
to accelerate the Makein-India initiative has
concluded
successfully.
MediaTek has developed
this training program to
foster and educate talent
for Indias fast-growing
handset industry, by sharing
its smartphone expertise
and knowledge with a
group of handpicked senior
managers and engineers
from the smartphone
industry in India.
The training programs

closing ceremony was

held at the MediaTek
headquarters in Hsinchu,
Taiwan on 13th January.
Aruna
Sundararajan,
Secretary of MeitY, joined
the ceremony via video
conference and recognized
historical value of the
training program to foster
talent for India. MediaTek
Chairman & CEO, MingKai Tsai, congratulated
all the participants who
completed the training in
person, along with Ming-Ji
Wu, Director General of
Industrial
Development
Bureau, MOEA.

Genpact Launches Global

Center of Excellence

enpact
has
u n v e i l e d
the Global Center of
Excellence in Jaipur as part
of Ciscos Lighthouse City

project, a global initiative

designed to deploy nextgeneration
technologies
to impact citizens and
society. With this initiative,
Jaipur will gain access to
Ciscos global network
and channel program

18

January 2017

capabilities helping the city

benefit from economic and
social transformation as the
country embarks on the
next phase of the Digital
India program.
Hosted and operated
in Genpacts state-ofthe-art facility in Jaipur,
the Center will serve
as an innovation lab for
Genpact and its partnering
technology firms to rapidly
test and deploy the latest
smart technology advances
from Cisco to help Jaipur
become a fully responsive,
smart and connected city.

www.varindia.com

Gemalto
powers AT&Ts
IoT offerings

emalto
is
supplying AT&T
with a remote subscription
management
solution
that will help enable its
customers to deploy new
and highly secure IoT
applications in the U.S. and
globally.
AT&T is an industry
leader in the Internet of
Things with more than 30
million connected devices
on our network as of the
third quarter of 2016. At
the same time, we are
expanding our offering
of connected services
to include automotive
telematics, infotainment,
and smart safety solutions,"
said
Chris
Penrose,
President, Internet of
Things Solutions, AT&T.
"Gemalto's On-Demand
Connectivity and eSIM
platform are ideal solutions
to help AT&T sustain
dynamic growth."

NIIT and
Microsoft
collaborate

IIT Technologies
has announced the
deployment of BankingEasy
its Core Banking Solution
on Microsofts Azure
platform. The collaboration
will empower small and
medium banks across
India to operate with more
flexibility and become RBI
compliant.
With the availability
of cloud services through
datacentres
locally
in
India, banks will be able to
leverage Microsofts Azure,
Office 365, CRM Online
and Disaster Recovery
Services based on their
needs. The solution will
substantially
improve
service experience with
any branch banking, with
more computing power
and secured value added
services. 16 banks across
Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, MP,
Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh,
West
Bengal
and
Maharashtra in India are
already using BankingEasy.

MobiKwik to expand its footprint

obiKwik
has
announced the
companys
expansion
strategy and plans for
growing business to enable
150 million users in India in
transacting with MobiKwik
platform
by
early
2018.
The company
has announced
that it will set
up offices in
13 cities by the end of Q1
2017 and hire over 1,000
employees to drive business
growth in these centres.
Upasana Taku, CoFounder of MobiKwik,
said, We will be investing
over Rs.50 crore in setting

up new offices to cater to

regional requirements and
will be hiring over 1000
employees, pan India,
across technical and nontechnical requirements.
The cities in which

MobiKwik
will
be
expanding its footprints are
Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore,
Kolkata,
Hyderabad,
Chennai,
Ahmedabad,
NOIDA,
Lucknow,
Vijayawada, Kochi, Jaipur
and Chandigarh.

Verizon collaborates with SevOne

erizon and SevOne

are joining forces
to deliver added levels of
visibility in the performance
of
Software-Defined
Wide Area Networking
(SD WAN) services. With
these new capabilities,
Verizons enterprise clients
benefit from a singular
view that spans multivendor technology without
the burden of managing
disparate
monitoring
systems.
Companies are well
into their journeys with

next-generation virtualized
environments to accelerate
their businesses, yet many
dont have the required
level
of
operational
insight, said Jack Sweeney,
CEO, SevOne. The
collaboration
between
SevOne and Verizon
provides
organizations
with
unprecedented
business
agility
that
allows them to proactively
manage more of their
digital
infrastructure,
visualize and report and
troubleshoot quickly.

Mahindra Comviva Ushers

Enterprises into Digital Era

ahindra Comviva
has
launched
its
Infinity
Digital
Engagement platform for
the Indian Market. The
platform embraces the
power of mobile
data
provided
by
telecom
operators
to
enable
enterprise digital
transformation.
Infinity
Digital
Engagement
Platform enables enterprises
to create rich and contextual
digital engagements with
their consumers, employees,
partners and connected
devices while leveraging
the operators data channel
infrastructure and assets.
The launch of this digital
platform is geared towards
key government initiatives

like Digital India, Smart

India and Make in India that
focus on the digital channel
to accelerate the economic
growth of the country.
Enterprises
are

taking the lead from

the governments digital
initiatives, and shifting
their focus towards the
digital channel for engaging
with
their
customers
and delivering enterprise
services. In order to make
this digital transformation
possible, operators stand
as the prime enablers with
their vast, widespread
network and infrastructure.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

ON THE RAMP

Fujitsu presents PRIMEFLEX

for Hadoop

ujitsu
is
now
making it easier
for enterprises to tame big
data and extract valuable
business intelligence from
multiple
data
sources,
by
extending
its
PRIMEFLEX
for
Hadoop
integrated
systems to also
fully
support
SAP
HANA
Vora.
SAP HANA Vora
allows enterprises to bridge
SAP HANA and Hadoop to
undertake big data analysis
across both datasets. It is

an in-memory distributed
computing solution for
business that leverages and
extends the Apache Spark
execution framework to
provide enriched
interactive
analytics
on
enterprise and
Hadoop
data.
It
combines
an in-memory
query
engine
and
powerful
functions including an inmemory graph database
for real-time graph analysis
and a time series analysis
engine.

Trend Micro launches

TippingPoint NX Series NGIPS

rend has made

available
of
the latest Trend Micro
TippingPoint NX Series
Next-Generation Intrusion
Prevention
Systems
(NGIPS), including a
first-to-market standalone
NGIPS solution that delivers
up to 100 Gb inspection
throughput
with
low
latency. Designed to cater to
data centers and enterprise
networks
with
highperformance requirements,
the
TippingPoint
7600NX protects critical
infrastructure, data and
vulnerable
applications

in real time from known,

undisclosed and unknown
vulnerabilities
without
adversely affecting network
performance.
The 7600NX provides
data centers processing
massive amounts of traffic
with a comprehensive
security solution that can
easily scale to evolving
performance requirements.
It uses a combination of
technologies such as deep
packet inspection, threat
reputation and advanced
malware analysis to detect
and prevent attacks across
data center environments.

D-Link launches new

Omna 180 Cam HD

-Link
has
introduced the
new Omna 180 Cam HD
(DSH-C310), the Apple
HomeKit- enabled camera
at the ongoing CES 2017.
The first in D-Links Omna
family of HomeKit-enabled
devices, the Omna 180
Cam HD provides an easy
way for users to monitor
their home for extra peace
of mind.
With an elegant, modern
design, the Omna 180 Cam
HD offers a comprehensive
180-degree field of view to
monitor an entire room
and Full HD 1080p video
quality for crystal- clear

20

January 2017

surveillance. The HomeKitenabled camera includes

advanced security features
with end-to-end encryption
and authentication between
the camera and an iPhone,
iPad, or iPod touch. Apple
HomeKit
technology
also allows users to set up
the 180 Cam HD within
seconds, in just a few simple
steps via the Apple Home
app in iOS 10.

www.varindia.com

Edimax launches Dell EMC unveils ProDeploy

GP-101ITPoE
Client Suite

dimax Technology
has
introduced
Edimax GP-101IT, a PoE
injector which provides
a seamless way of
deployment on the existing
LAN infrastructure. The
increasing adoption of
the PoE technology for
supplying electricity to
powered devices is due to
its advantages such as low
cost of installation, high
convenience and reliability.
"Not every network
installation is newly designed
.PoE power comes from
a central and universally
compatible source rather
than a collection of
distributed wall adapters.
It can be backed up by
an uninterruptible power
supply or controlled, to
easily disable or reset
devices. The networking
solutions must evolve
rapidly to meet new
challenges," said Sanjay
Joshi, Country Manager,
Edimax Technology.

Acer expands
its product
portfolios

cer has unveiled

three new Aspire
series devices, including
two new high-performance
notebooks and a desktop
PC, all designed with
entertainment
and
performance in mind while
featuring Windows 10.
The Aspire V Nitro
Black Edition models (V
Nitro 17 and V Nitro 15)
and Aspire VX notebooks
are ideal for people who like
their videos crisp, games
smooth and audio clear.
Likewise, Aspire GX series
desktop PCs are also ideal
for users who are passionate
about entertainment.
Both notebook series
come with up to a 7thGeneration Intel Core
i7-7700HQ
processor
that is designed to bring
incredible performance and
responsiveness, immersive
4K entertainment and
longer battery life to mobile
devices.

ell
EMC
has
launched
ProDeploy Client Suite,
enabling customers to
deploy PCs with greater
speed, less effort and
increased control. With
three different service
levels,
training
and
certification,
customers
have the flexibility to
choose the specific service
to meet their needs.
Customers can trust
Dell EMC and partner
experts to lead all the aspects
of their deployment from
planning,
configuration
and installation to data
migration and knowledge

transfer. Customers are

assigned an engagement
manager as a single point
of contact to manage the
deployment and receive
access to TechDirect, a
self-service portal for
configuration and status
updates whenever they
want. Addressing the needs
from the simple to the
complex, the suite has three
offers that align to common
deployment scenarios.

MSI launches new 7th

Generation Laptops

SI India has
announced the
roll out of its latest 7th
generation Intel based
laptops as well as a whole
series based on these
newest CPUs. These new
Kabylake CPUs feature
a significant boost to
Core speed, Multimedia
Playback, and 4K video
capability. MSI is able to
include all the benefits of
the new i7 CPUs and the
GTX 10 series GPUs in
their most powerful and
efficient laptops ever.
MSI GT83VR 7RE

Titan SLI is the first

VR-optimized
laptop
with an IPS level screen
powered by Kabylake i77820HK+CM238
GPU
and dual GTX 1080
8GB GDDR5X GPU.
The GT83VR 7RE Titan
delivers
unprecedented
performance,
power
efficiency,
and
nextgeneration
gaming
experiences.
Running
Windows 10 on Super Raid
4-512 GB NVMe SSD
and 1TB 7200rpm HDD,
the programs and in-game
maps load instantly.

Konica Minolta unveils

AccurioPro Software Platform

onica
Minolta
has
unveiled
AccurioPro
software
platform, offering end-toend production automation
and integrating the best
features of in house and
cloud-based
software.
The solution is specifically
tailored to be modular (pay
only for the components
needed), flexible (integrates
with
other
common
graphic arts software),
scalable (supports smallto-large
operations),
and
comprehensive
(features beyond prepress
to incorporate colour
management and finishing).
AccurioPro Conductor

has been tailored for

centralised and intelligent
output management. Job
specs (via JDF) can be
leveraged from a print
MIS to effectively and
efficiently load balance
production across a fleet
of digital presses without
operator intervention. The
conductor can also support
finishing automation with
the possibility for out-ofthe-box integration due to a
unique JDF converter.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

21

ON THE RAMP

AMD unveils New Graphics

Architecture

MD has unveiled
preliminary
details of its forthcoming
GPU architecture Vega.
Conceived and executed
over five years, Vega
architecture enables new
possibilities in PC gaming,
professional design and
machine
intelligence
that
traditional
GPU
architectures have not been
able to address effectively.
Data-intensive workloads
are becoming the new
normal, and the parallel
nature of the GPU lends
itself ideally to tackling
them.
It is incredible to see

GPUs being used to solve

gigabyte-scale data problems
in gaming to exabyte-scale
data problems in machine
intelligence. We designed
the Vega architecture to
build on this ability, with
the flexibility to address
the extraordinary breadth
of problems GPUs will
be solving not only today
but also five years from
now, said Raja Koduri,
Senior Vice-President &
Chief Architect, Radeon
Technologies
Group,
AMD.

Microsoft announces New

Azure Enhancements

icrosoft
has
introduced new
Azure enhancements, to
enable enterprises to move
their largest workloads into
the cloud and run them
without any changes, with
the best-in-class support
for large workloads, and the
lowest possible cost.
The new SLA is
the result of extensive
work by Microsoft to
improve availability of
the Azure infrastructure.
This includes building
innovative
machine-

learning algorithms to
predict failing hardware
early and offering premium
storage to help improve
reliability and performance
of attached disks. The
new 99.9% single-instance
availability SLA will better
support applications that
cannot easily scale beyond
single VMs.
With
these
announcements,
you
can deploy even more
applications and solutions
into Azure ease, speed and
low cost.

Western Digital unveils

SATA client SSDs

estern
Digital
Corporation
has announced the first
WD-branded SATA client
SSDs, the WD Blue and
WD Green solid-state
drives (SSDs). The new
additions are in sync and
complement the companys
industry-leading family of
hard drives for PCs and
workstations,
providing
a full portfolio of WD
storage devices for virtually
any application.
Khwaja Saifuddin,
Senior Sales Director
South Asia, Middle East
and Africa, Western Digital,
said, We are proud to
introduce the first WDbranded SATA client SSDs
to deliver competitive

22

January 2017

performance, leading-edge
reliability and capacity
benefits to our customers.
They are designed to drive
SSD adoption in mainstream
computing platforms for
both corporate and end
consumers. We believe the
newly-introduced WD Blue
and WD Green Solid-State
Drives will perfectly answer
our customers significant
demand for a flash-based
storage option.

www.varindia.com

Fortinet releases GIGABYTE unveils New

FortiOS 5.6
AORUS Motherboards

ortinet
has
a n n o u n c e d
enhanced offerings that
provide
the
building
blocks for tomorrows selfprovisioning, self-operating
and self-correcting, IntentBased Network Security.
The latest innovations in the
Security Fabric include the
release of FortiOS 5.6, an
advanced security OS along
with Fortinets new Security
Operations Solution.
According to a recent
report by Joe Skorupa and
Andrew Lerner, Intentbased networking adoption
is being driven by digital
business transformation's
requirements to increase
network
agility
while
increasing
reliability/
availability. The increasing
complexity of networks,
combined with critical skills
shortages in design/deploy/
operate tasks, are increasing
pressure on infrastructure
and operations leaders to
find a better way."

Juniper
Networks
launches 5G
Evolution

Juniper
Networks
has announced that
leading mobile and internet
data services operator
LG U+ has successfully
rolled out Koreas firstever carrier-grade virtual
routing deployment as part
of a broad infrastructure
solution, supporting its
evolution towards a cuttingedge 5G network.
With the exponential rise
in todays data traffic levels,
increasingly high demands
are placed on service
providers to implement
networking
solutions
that provide significant
improvements in flexibility,
adaptability and reliability,
all the while maximizing
cost-effectiveness.
This
is
particularly
crucial
for
leading
operators
like LG U+ that are
rapidly transitioning their
infrastructure for nextgeneration 5G networking.

I G A B Y T E
Technolog y
has announced its new
AORUS Gaming line
of Motherboards which
support Intels 7th-/6thGen Core processors.
These
motherboards,
designed for enthusiasts,
allow for customization
and
personalization
through unique features
such as liquid cooling
support, fully customizable
RGB LEDs as well as
new and improved smart
fan controls which are all
meticulously incorporated
into this platform to give
gamers more control as
well as the ability for them

to express themselves.
Personalization and
customization is something
we know our customers
want,
we
recognize
that because of all the
different case modes we
see using GIGABYTE
motherboards,
said
Henry Kao, Vice-President
of
GIGABYTEs
Motherboard
Business
Unit.

HPE announces composable

initiative to Cloud Solutions

ewlett
Packard
Enterprise
has
announced expansion of
its composable initiative
with the addition of a
new hybrid cloud offering
and technology extensions
to HPE hyperconverged
systems. By extending
HPE
Synergys
fully
programmable
infrastructure to HPEs
multi-cloud platform, HPE
is enabling IT operators to
deliver
software-defined
infrastructure as quickly
as customers businesses
demand.

Customers business
needs can change quite
rapidly, and they need an
infrastructure
platform
that can support that rapid
change, said Vikram K,
Director, Datacenter and
Hybrid Cloud, HPE India.
With HPE Synergy, we
delivered a new class of
infrastructure
providing
the speed, efficiency and
flexibility of the public
cloud on-premises, so IT
can focus on being an
internal service provider
instead of maintaining
infrastructure.

Epson launches WorkForce WF100 Wireless Mobile Printer

pson has launched

Epson WorkForce
WF-100, worlds lightest
and
smallest
wireless
mobile printer. Designed
for
professionals
onthe-go, the WorkForce
WF-100 includes built-in
wireless connectivity, WiFi Direct and an integrated
rechargeable
battery,
for printing from nearly
anywhere.
Epson has always been
committed to delivering
tools that meet the evolving
needs of todays mobile
workforce. With WF-100,
we aim to make printing on
the go easier and convenient

for professionals. It is
often a necessity if using
a smartphone, tablet, or
laptop is an essential part
of your daily workflow.,
said Siva Kumar K, Deputy
GM IJP, Sales & Marketing,
Epson India.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

23

VOICE-N-DATA

Ericsson to accelerate
5G deployments

r i c s s o n ,
Q u a l c o m m
Technologies Inc. and
AT&T have announced to
conduct
interoperability

testing and over-the-air

field trials based on the
expected 5G New Radio
(NR) specifications being
developed by 3GPP, which
will form the basis of the
global standards. The trials
intend to help move the
mobile ecosystem to faster
5G deployment based on
standards-compliant 5G NR
infrastructure and devices

once 3GPP completes the

first release of the official
specifications, which is
expected as part of Release
15.
The trials will support
operation in millimetre
Wave
(mmWave)
spectrum, aiming to
accelerate
commercial
deployments in the 28GHz
and 39GHz bands. In the
trials, the companies will
showcase new 5G NR
mmWave technologies that
utilize wide bandwidths
available at these higher
frequency bands to increase
network capacity and expect
to achieve multi-gigabit per
second data rates.

NETGEAR unveils Nighthawk

Smart Wi-Fi Router

ETGEAR
has
launched the new
Nighthawk X4S AC2600
Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7800)
in India. Nighthawk X4S
is an ideal router for fastpaced gaming hobbyists,
as Nighthawk X4S not
only delivers an extremely
fast Wi-Fi connection to
any device, but 160MHzcapable mobile devices
enjoy up to twice the
throughput provided by
other routers.
S u b h o d e e p
Bhattacharya,
Regional
Director India and

SAARC, NETGEAR, said,

Nighthawk X4S is a great
router choice because of its
amazing combination of the
fastest network processor
used in a retail router with
the latest Wi-Fi technology
for ensuring your mobile
devices support the best
possible online experiences
today and in the future. Fastpaced gaming enthusiasts
will be thrilled by this 2016
CES Innovation Award
honoree, the industrys first
shipping router to offer
1.7GHz processor and
160MHz bandwidth."

BlackBerry partners with

TCL Communication

lackBerry
has
entered into a longterm licensing agreement,
providing acceleration to
BlackBerrys
transition
into a security software
and services company.
Under the terms of the
agreement, BlackBerry will

license its security software

and service suite, as well
as related brand assets to
TCL Communication who
will design, manufacture,
sell and provide customer

24

January 2017

support for BlackBerrybranded mobile devices.

BlackBerry
will
continue to control and
develop its security and
software solutions, serve
its customers and maintain
trusted
BlackBerry
security software, while

TCL
Communication
will manage all sales and
distribution and serve as a
global distributor of new
BlackBerry-branded mobile
devices.

www.varindia.com

Idea 4G now
covers 37% of
Karnataka

dea Cellular has

rapidly expanded its
4G network in Karnataka,
covering 1,579 villages and
towns across all 30 districts
and covering 37% of its
population.
Ideas
high-speed
wireless
broadband
services covers Bangalore,
Hubli, Dharwad, Mysore,
Mangalore,
Belgaum,
Davanagere,
Tumkur,
Hassan,
Udupi-Manipal,
Shimog a-Bhadravati,
Bellary, Bijapur, Raichur,
Bidar, Hospet, GadagBetigeri, Chitradurga, Kolar
and Chikmagalur.
Rajat Mukarji, Chief
Corporate Affairs Officer,
Idea Cellular, said, Idea
is preparing itself to
substantially
enhance
customers wireless data
experience and capture
a higher share of the
exponentially
growing
mobile data business."

10digi offers
its services in
Delhi/NCR

0digi has launched

its services in Delhi/
NCR, by recruiting 500
mobile retailers (MRs). The
company has invested over
75 lakh in the initial phase
and a further investment of
Rs.2 crore for the Delhi/
NCR market will be made.
Ozair
Yasin,
CoFounder & Director, 10digi,
said, We are pleased to
announce 10digis foray
into the Delhi market,
presenting this attractive/
one-of-a-kind offering for
businesses across India.
This will provide us the first
movers advantage in the
market, where we intend
to tap 5% of the customer
base across 135 cities within
a year. To accomplish this,
we will hire 10,000 MRs
across India in a phased
manner. We intend to
provide end-to-end telecom
products before exploring
other industry products in
future.

BT partners with MediaTek to

deliver Total Wireless Connectivity

ediaTek
has
announced
that BT has selected
MediaTeks
Adaptive
Network technology to
power their Whole Home
Wi-Fi solution, delivering
full-coverage
wireless
connectivity that is simple
to set up and guarantees a
stable signal throughout the
home. The announcement,
made at the 2017 Consumer
Electronics Show (CES)
demonstrates the role that
both BT and MediaTek are
playing in the growth of
our connected future.
Customers
expect
wireless connectivity thats
seamless, simple and speedy
and with our investment
in a smart, distributed

wireless internet solution

we can continue to exceed
expectations, said Erik
Raphael, Director of BT
Devices. We are committed
to delivering the best
experience to our customers
and our Whole Home WiFi ensures fast, reliable
connections for multiple
devices throughout the
house. Whole Home Wi-Fi
with MediaTeks Adaptive
Network technology allows
customers to install a
smart and secure network
designed
for
todays
connected world.

DoT raises awareness

on EMF radiation

n
awareness
programme
was organized under the
aegis of the Ministry
of Communications on
Electromagnetic
Field
(EMF) Emissions and
Mobile Towers. This is part
of a nationwide programme
to facilitate digital India
initiative. Shri Manoj Sinha,
Honble Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for
Communications, graced the
occasion as Chief Guest in
the inaugural session of this
programme and delivered

the inaugural address.

Shri O. P. Meena, Chief
Secretary,
Government
of Rajasthan, participated
as a Special Guest in the
inaugural session of this
programme, along with Shri
J. S. Deepak, Secretary, DoT,
DDG TERM, DoT, and
other senior officials of the
Government of Rajasthan
in the panel. Shri Rajpal
Singh Shekhwat, Minister
of Industry, Government
of Rajasthan, also graced
the occasion and supported
the initiative.

Airtel deploys Dual Carrier

technology in Delhi-NCR

irtel has rolled

out an upgraded
mobile network in DelhiNCR. As part of the
network upgrade, Airtel has
deployed state-of-the-art
Dual Carrier technology
to combine the spectrum
capacities of two 5MHz
carriers in the 2100 MHz
band. Airtel is the first
mobile operator to deploy
Dual Carrier technology
in Delhi NCR.
The
highlight
of
Dual Carrier technology
deployment
is
that
customers will be able to
enjoy 4G like data speeds

even when they are on the

3G. The technology will
also help in optimizing
the back-end engagement

between the network and

mobile devices, enabling
customers
to
enjoy
extended battery life on
their mobile devices. With
this deployment, Airtel will
now offer the widest 4G
experience across DelhiNCR.

FACE TO FACE

Konica Minolta shifting towards

Software Solutions in 2017
In a chat with VARINDIA, Kuldeep Malhotra, Vice-President, Sales Division, Konica Minolta, speaks about the printer
market, latest technologies, effects of demonetization, channel strategy and achievements of the company

onica Minolta is gradually shifting

its focus from hardware to software
solutions. The solutions will help customers
to increase productivity and lower printing
cost. The company is registering higher
growth in the production segment than
Office Automation. Moreover, the company
is trying to educate customers on A3 printers
as the Total Cost of Ownership of these
printers is low and also the lifespan is longer
than A4 devices.
Konica Minolta views demonetization as
a slowdown in the decision-making process
of a customer to invest in printing devices. It
also feels that, with the gradual improvement
in cash flow, the market condition will get
better.

How would you recap 2016

in terms of technology and
business?
Our financial year is from April to March.
We have not yet closed our financial year,
even though the calendar year is finished. We
have completed three quarters where we have
shown a double-digit percentage increase.
During the first half (AprilSeptember), our
growth was 25% which may have come down
in the third quarter. Business came down
during the October- December quarter, but
we were able to maintain our double-digit
growth in terms of performance.
In terms of technology, we have
launched 18 new products in the beginning
of our financial year. So we are getting good
response and even in the last quarter we have
launched two new products which are in the
25ppm and 30ppm category.

What
are
the
latest
technologies that will be coming
up in 2017?
We are looking more into the software
solutions. Till date, what we have done is
more of hardware. Now we are trying to offer
software solutions also which will enable
customers to increase their productivity
and minimize their expenses in printing.
DMS e-biz Vault is one of the examples. It
is more of scanning, retrieval software and
then in future we may come out with more
solutions for our office segment. Similarly,
for production also we are coming out with
print management, colour management,
Web to print solutions. So both in the office
as well as printing, we are working on the
solutions workflows.

We will divide it into two. One is the office

segment and another is production device.
We are expecting good growth in the device
production segment because the people are
looking at the short length runs. Now, a lot
of commercial printers are adopting digital
technology, besides working on the offset.
The office segment is also growing, but the
overall market is not growing. The growth is
just 8% to 10%.

How are you strategizing to

overcome this sluggish market?
Everyone needs to work together both
customers and OEMs. What technology
can do for you its not just copy and print
it can do beyond that like scanning, faxing
or can print directly from your USB pen
drive. More education is required in this. But
when you look at the overall market, people
still feel that they can afford A4 but not A3.
They still feel A3 is a bigger machine and A4
is the smaller one. So that mindset will take
some more time to change and understand
that you need to look at the overall TCO
(Total Cost of Ownership). You may have to
invest more initially, but if the running cost
is lower in that equipment, In the long run,
it will benefit you.
Secondly, the life of A3 equipment is
more than A4 as people use it for two to
three years, while people can easily use A3
for five to seven years. So the life is double,
the running cost is lower. Only the hardware
cost is more. So people can adopt A3 rather
than A4 devices. The price of A4 is more
than Rs.16 lakh. So some of that market
should shift towards A3 which as an OEM
and vendor we are educating customers.
Both corporate and the government are
cutting the cost. People are reducing the
printing cost, so people are not buying new
devices.
Another biggest challenge is colourization.
10-12,000 units is nothing when you compare
it with inkjet colour. The perception is that
colour prints are very costly.

Do you think that the

How do you see the printing
government
is apprehensive of
industry moving, especially the
adopting
this
new technology?
office automation one?

To some extent, yes. They have no

control who is printing. So they need to
adopt that technology which restricts people
who can print and who cannot. How many
can one print? If he prints more, he has to
pay VAT so charge VAT to that department
and allocate the budget, quota allocation so
that people will be more careful.
Need to educate what is the benefit and
how they can restrict the employees to have
a limited set of prints for colour so that they
can minimize the expense also.

How Konica Minolta is facing

the demonetization challenge?
It is a slowdown process which has
happened in customers decision-making to
invest money in these equipments. That is
why it has the impact on the overall business
in the third quarter. I think in the fourth
quarter government wants to spend because
their budget will be exhausted and anyway
they have preponed their budget to February
1. So the new budget will come and I am
hopeful that people would like to spend
money.
Slowdown is there, but when will it
improve it is difficult to say because cash
flow is now slowly improving and it is getting
back on track.

What is your channel strategy

for 2017?
We have over 150 direct partners who
are promoting our office products range
which is A3 and A4. Our strength lies in
copy shops, SMBs and government, but our
major gap is mid-size large-size corporates
and we want to further improve our SMBs
and government segment. So we will be
focussing on how to penetrate more in these
segments to grow our overall market share
both in black and white as well as colour.
In Tier-II and Tier-III cities, business is
growing and more expansion is happening
in those markets. We already have a good
coverage network which we have created in
these cities and have started paying us back.
We would be focussing more on reaching out
to those customers who are participating in
road shows, product demonstrations, local
exhibitions to showcase our products.

What are the achievements

of Konica Minolta in 2016?
We would be closing our year at around
Rs.500 crore which will give us a double-digit
growth. We will improve or try to improve
our market share. The current market share
in mono is 18%+ and colour 24%25%. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

25

CHANNEL BUZZ

ASIRT appoints new Board Members

RAH Infotech expands its business to Nepal

iten Mehta has been

unanimously elected as the
new chairman of ASIRT at a board
meeting held in December. ASIRT
Founder and Chairman Kshitij
Kotak has resigned from the board
due to increasing professional
demands of his business expansion.
His longstanding request to take
a break has been reluctantly
accepted after a long discussion at
the meeting and he has formally
handed over reigns to Jiten.
Kotak is a charter member and
was the first president of ASIRT
having subsequently served as
Chairman till his resignation last
month. Under his leadership,
ASIRT has grown from strength
to strength and he leaves an
unparalleled legacy of service to
the industry. We wish him all the
best in his future endeavours.

AH Infotech has continued

its expansion spree with the
launch of its Nepal operations. The
company has announced its arrival
into Nepal market by conducting
the first Channel Fest in association
with its OEMs - Radware, Exinda
and WinMagic.
In this gala event held at Hotel
Yak & Yeti, over 55 IT personnel
from 25 different partner companies
took part, making the event a grand
success. Sabin Upadhyaya, Country
Manager, Nepal for RAH Infotech,
delivered the welcome speech
introducing RAH Infotech and its
OEMs to the partners gathered.
Suchit Karnik, Senior VP,
RAH Infotech, took the audience
on a RAH Infotech journey and
explained why RAH Infotech has
been the fastest-growing valueadded technology distributor in
India for the last three years in a
row and what value it can add to
partners business and how they
can benefit from working with
RAH Infotech.
Speaking on the occasion,
Karnik said, Nepal is an important
region for RAH Infotech and hence
we are setting up our operations
here with a dedicated team to cater
to this market. We have been the

Jiten Mehta, Founder &

Director of Magnamious Systems,
brings with him a rich experience
of three decades in the industry
and has served the industry at many
forums leading in various capacities.
He has been on the ASIRT board
for two years and ASIRT looks
forward to many innovative ideas
under his leadership.

The board has co-opted Chetan Shah, founding chairman of ASIRT,

who completed his tenure last year as a mentor and guide.
The Board retains other following members in their respective
capacities Jiten Mehta
Chairman
Pankaj Shah
Vice-Chairman
Arvind Singh
President
Limesh Parekh
Secretary
Tushar Shah
Treasurer
Vimesh Avlani
Jt Secretary
Sujit Uchil, Nityanand Shetty and Hitten Shah have been elected as
Vice-Presidents.

Vertiv conducts Annual India

Channel Conference 2017

ertiv has announced the

successful
conclusion
of its annual Annual India Sales,
Service and Channel Conference
FY 2017 in Goa. The conference
was organized from December
16 to 19, 2016 with the theme
Start Strong, Finish Strong, and
saw an attendance from over 360
participants.
The conference witnessed the
grand launch of the new Vertiv
brand at the hands of the AsiaPacific President, Stephen Liang. It
saw attendance from top executives
at Vertiv which included Stephen
Liang, President Asia-Pacific;
Terry Purcell, Chief Financial
Officer Asia-Pacific; Sunil
Khanna, President & Managing
Director India; along with other
senior management. This years
theme Start Strong, Finish Strong
highlighted Vertivs ability to scale
new heights by streamlining and
simplifying processes, structure,
and strengthening its position as
an industry-leading infrastructure
provider.

26

January 2017

Stephen outlined the companys

commitment to India and said,
India stands tall with the highest
expected GDP growth rate for
2017 out of the eight countries
that are expected to grow beyond
the world average of 5-per cent
growth. With a growing impetus to
digitization and a proliferation of
broadband connectivity, India today
is the cynosure of every investor
and thus an important market for
Vertiv. We have more flexibility to
make business decisions and move
quickly like a start-up.
With a healthy and holistic
exchange of ideas and thoughts
between employees as well as
channel partners, the Annual India
was announced as a grand success.

www.varindia.com

fastest-growing VAD in India and

with continued support from the
Nepal channel community, we
expect to replicate the success in
this market as well, he added.
Representatives from Radware,
Apurva Bhatnagar and Vandit
addressed the gathering about
the application delivery and
cybersecurity
challenges
and
opportunities in the market and
how Radware can help partners
address customer challenges while
benefiting from working with
Radware.
Abhishek (RSM, WinMagic)
educated the audience on the
importance of data security
and data theft issues plaguing
organizations and how the same
can be effectively overcome using
WinMagic encryption and data
security solutions. Rahul Kumar,
Country Manager, WinMagic,
announced exciting incentive
schemes for the partners.

TAIT organizes "Bollywood Nite"

AIT has organised the

annual Winter Mela for
its members. The much-awaited
event was already causing ripples
of excitement three weeks prior to
the event.
"The TAIT Winter
Mela is one event which
members look forward
to every year", said
Parag Shah, Director,
TAIT. Along with fellow
directors Ajay Parekh
and Devang Thakore,
Shah was responsible for
creating the framework
and
managing
the
execution for the event.
Considered a marquee event in the
entire IT Partner Community panIndia, the show attracted about 600
enthusiastic participants - TAIT
members, their families and guests
from the IT industry.
The event was conceptualised
by TAIT members Rahul Zaveri
and Manish Kapasi, ably assisted
by TAIT Directors - Samir Mehta,
Magan Gangani and Kripashankar
Chaube. The theme selected for
the gala event was "Bollywood
Nite" - accordingly, huge cutouts
of popular cine personalities were

set up all around the venue, where

the stars of the night were the
esteemed TAIT members and their
loved ones.
The infectious bonhomie at the
TAIT Winter Mela brought back

fond memories for many members.

Umesh Ashar who has been
handling guest registrations for
the past several years said he was
overwhelmed with the enthusiasm,
going by the serpentine queues at
the entrance. The highlight of the
event was the Bollywood Quiz
played on the large LED screen,
which ended in a nail-biting finish.
Children kept the Tattoo
Artist busy, while it was the ladies
thronging the Nail Art counter.
There were plenty of prizes for the
children to win at the special game
counters.

Cyber Security India Conclave 2017

3rd Feb 2017, Hotel Shangri La's Eros, New Delhi

BUILDING INDIAS CYBER SECURITY FRAMEWORK

Cyber Security India Conclave 2017 is a premier one-day event dedicated towards bringing multiple stakeholders from the enterprise and Government sectors together.
The conference is being organized by VARINDIA, Indias leading ICT media publication.
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Entry to the conference is complimentary for Government, Large Enterprises, Media and Industry
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Innovations in cyber security space by startups and
established players
How to make our smart grids safe and secure
Knowing the gaps with respect to skill development and
meeting them with requisite training
How to build and manage public trust identification systems to
deliver mass financial services
How Brands make a difference to enterprise and consumers

Who Should Attend:

Government Agencies
Network Solution Providers
Independent Software Vendors
Consulting firms
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs)
Infrastructure Providers
Financial Institutions
Mobile Network Operators
Application Providers
Regulators and Policy Makers
OEMs & System Integrators
ICT Hardware/Software Vendors
Academia
Industry Associations

For Bespoke Opportunities & Branding Partnerships

Mr. Deepak Sahu
Mob: +91-9818928406
Email: deepak@varindia.com
Kalinga Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.
A84A/3, Rose Apartment, Paryavaran Complex,
IGNOU Road, New Delhi - 110030

Mr. Yogesh Joshi

Mob: +91-9811431951
Email: yogesh@varindia.com
Quick Contact:

www.varindia.com
January 2017
27
Ph: 011-41656383,
011-46061809

Website: www.varindia.com

VAR SPECIAL

Digital Payments Committee Report

Reduce Cash to GDP Ratio from 12% to 6%

The Committee on Digital Payments chaired by Ratan P. Watal,
Principal Advisor, Niti Aayog, has come out with thirteen
recommendations to help digital payments grow exponentially

oday, it is possible to build secure

payment solutions suited to ordinary
Indians which are as convenient as sending
a message as about sixty-five per cent of the
population have active mobile telephony, ninetynine per cent have electronic identity in the form
of Aadhaar and about thirty-five per cent have
already adopted use of technology in the form
of internet and social messaging.
According to experts, the phenomenal global
growth in digital payments may be attributed to
four factors: Digital and technology revolution;
entry of several non-banking PSPs into payments
space; customers becoming more demanding
and expecting instantaneous and one-touch
payment solutions; and progressive changes in
the regulatory framework.
Likewise, in the payments market, the
government and the regulator may lay down the
ground rules for a competitive market so that
markets constantly improve solutions, reduce
prices, retain existing consumers and find new
ones. This might also mitigate the need for
government to intervene regularly.
The vision of Ratan P. Watal Committee is
to set a roadmap for digital payments to grow
substantially over the next three years from
the current level of about five per cent of
personal consumption and twenty per cent of
all transactions. Indias Cash to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) ratio is among the highest in the
world. Over the next three years, it is the vision
of the committee to reduce this ratio from about
twelve per cent to six per cent.

Ratan P. Watal Committees

28

January 2017

www.varindia.com

recommendations on Digital
Payments

Create Digital Payment Regulator: The

committee has discussed two options: Creating
a new payments regulator or make the current
Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment
and Settlement Systems (BPSS) within RBI more
independent. The committee recommends that
the BPSS be given an independent status which
today lacks by being a sub-committee of the
central board of RBI.
The statutory status of the new board within
the overall structure of RBI called Payments
Regulatory Board (PRB) should be enshrined in
the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
and finalization of structure of PRB may be
done in 30 days.
Update Payments and Settlement Systems
Act, 2007: Update the current Act to include
explicit mandate for: competition and
innovation; open access and interoperability;
consumer protection including penalties and
independent appeal mechanism; regulations on
systemic risks; data protection and security; and
process of regulatory governance.
Promote Digital Payments: Promote digital
payments and receipts within government by:
Adopting digital payments for all its needs;
withdraw all charges levied by government
department and utilities on digital payments
and bear the cost of such transactions; mandate
government departments and agencies to provide
option to consumers to pay digitally; incentivise
consumers to make payments (including
payment of fines and penalties) to government

electronically by giving a discount or cash back;

enable consumers to make payments (including
taxes) to government through suitable digital
means like cards and wallets; special emphasis
to promote digital payments for recurring lowvalue transactions; and reduce custom duties on
payments acceptance equipment. Steps may be
initiated in 30 days and reviewed fortnightly.
Create DIPAYAN Fund: Create a fund
proposed as DIPAYAN from savings generated
from cashless transactions to expand digital
payments. A time period of 60 days may be
considered for initiating implementation by user
agencies.
Create Ranking & Reward Framework:
A ranking and reward framework should be
created to encourage and recognize government
departments, state governments, districts and
panchayats and other market participants who
lead the efforts on enabling digital payments.
The framework should be implemented by
NITI Aayog along with state governments.
Development of the framework may be achieved
in 6090 days.
Provide Disincentives for Cash: Implement
other measures to promote digital payments
including: Promoting Aadhaar-based eKYC and
paperless authentication; providing disincentives
for usage of cash; and creating awareness and
transparency on cost of cash. Implementation
by MoF, UIDAI, CBDT, Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI), Ministry of HRD,
DoPT and RBI to be initiated in over 6090
days.
Outsourcing RTGS and NEFT: The RBI
may, within the existing regulatory framework

of Payments and Settlement Act, 2007,

immediately initiate steps to consider
outsourcing the function of operation
of payment systems like Real Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National
Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT).
Overtime, multiple payment system
operators should be encouraged and
payment systems should be operated
by market entities. Consultation paper
may be released over 180 days.
Payment System Upgradation:
Upgrade payment systems like RTGS
and NEFT to operate on 24x7 basis
in due course of time. RBI should
progressively increase their timings over
due course and release consultation
paper in over 90 days.
Non-Bank PSPs to Access
Payment Systems: Allow non-bank
PSPs to directly access payment
systems. Regulations may be released
for consultation over 60 days.
Expand NPCI To Include More Banks:
Ownership of NPCI should be diversified
widely to include more banks and include nonbanks. The NPCI board should be represented
by majority public interest directors and include
shareholder directors. NPCI should be allowed
to function independently. Regulations may be
released for consultation over 60 days.
Make Payments Interoperable: Enable
payments to be interoperable between banks and
non-banks as well as within non-banks. Mobile
number and Aadhaar-based fully interoperable
payments should be prioritized. NPCI may

Indias First

enable this on its platforms over 60 days.

Enable Business Models: Create a formal
mechanism to enable innovations and new
business models. Consultation paper may be
released over 90120 days.
Promote New Measures: Implement other
measures to promote digital payments including
issuing regulations on Systemically Important
Payment System (SIPS) and Systemically
Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs), growing
acceptance network, enabling faster and cheaper
credit and promoting cross border payments.
Regulations may be released for consultation
over 60180 days.
The RBI may, within two weeks of releasing

9,999/14.1 LAPTOP

this report, develop a comprehensive

metric to quantitatively measure and
monitor the enhancement of digital
payment services in India.
India is a cash-heavy economy,
with almost 78 per cent of all
consumer payments being effected
in cash. Indias preference for cash
as a payment instrument is further
reflected by Indias significant cash to
GDP ratio of (12.04 per cent), which
is substantially higher than comparable
countries. Indias dependency on
cash imposes an estimated cost of
approximately Rs.21,000 crore on
account of various aspects of currency
operations, including cost of printing
new currency, costs of currency chest,
costs of maintaining supply to ATM
networks, and interests accrued.
Transitioning to digital payments is
estimated to bring about a significant
reduction in costs incurred on account of
inefficiencies associated with cash and other
paper based payments. For instance, by certain
estimates, transitioning to an electronic platform
for government payments itself could save
approximately Rs.100,000 crore annually, with
the cost of the transition being estimated at
Rs.60,000 to Rs.70,000 crore.
The success of the transition will depend
on the acceptance of the report and its
implementation by respective government
organizations related to Digital Payment. n
Pravin Prashant
pravin@varindia.com

A Budget

LAPTOP
wit Premiu

Features

Processor
Very Thin &

Long Lasting

Intel Inside. Amazing Experiences Outside.

(Up to 8.5 Hours)

1
Local Taxes and Handling Charges are Extra.
Intel, Intel Atom, the Intel logo and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Windows is a registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

29

Lenovo, No. 1 in TBR

customer satisfaction index.*
Lenovo System x servers come with incredible
power, maximum expandability and unmatched
reliability. That's right, a server range that assures
less hassles and more smiles.

Call 1800 3000 9990 to discover how

our servers can help grow your business.
Mail to: corpsales@lenovo.com
Or visit: Lenovo.com/server

Powered by Intel Xeon processor E3 series.

Intel Inside. Powerful Data Center Outside.
*TBR Corporate IT Buying Behavior and Customer Satisfaction Study x86-based Servers, Fourth Quarter 2015.
The following are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo: Lenovo, the Lenovo logo, ThinkServer and System x. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon and Xeon Inside are

Terms and Conditions apply.

trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. 2016 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
August 2016 www.varindia.com
58

A price tag that will get

you new customers.
Introducing the ThinkServer TS140
for small businesses with big demands.
At Lenovo we develop technology to meet
the ever-growing demands of small businesses.
With that in mind, we have launched the
ThinkServer TS140 in India. It is powered to
take on tough challenges, yet priced attractively.
Supports enterprise-grade HDDs
(Built-in RAID 5)
Whisper-quiet at 26 decibels
Intel Xeon E3 series processor
Windows Server 2012 R2 platform
So go on, add this server to your portfolio
and keep adding to your customer base.

Call 1800 3000 9990 to discover how

our servers can help grow your business.
Mail to: corpsales@lenovo.com
Or visit: Lenovo.com/server
Powered by Intel Xeon processor E3 series.
Intel Inside. Powerful Data Center Outside.
The following are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo: Lenovo, the Lenovo logo and ThinkServer. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon and Xeon Inside are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 2016
Lenovo. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions apply. The test(s) above are performed on statistical samples.

www.varindia.com

August 2016

59

COVER STORY

Digital Transformation to
rule the roost in 2017
Digital will be the way ahead in 2017 and will be the latest buzzword in the country. Organizations in 2017 are going
to spend a considerable amount of time and energy on understanding what they need to be doing to accelerate their
digital business.

016 has been eventful year from every

aspect. While prominent instances like
Brexit, US presidential elections etc. have had
a defining impact on the world, on the local
turf, the recent demonetization move took the
market by surprise. Demonetization did impact
the countrys economic growth significantly in
the short term, but in the long run it is expected
to define the economic development of the
country in a calculated manner and keep the
momentum going for programs like Make in
India and Digital India Mission.
Nevertheless, while trying to come to
terms with the recent market developments,
companies at the same time are also trying to
comprehend what digital transformation really
is.
Talking about the technology predictions
for 2017, apart from digital transformation,
artificial intelligence, IoT, SMAC, hyper cloud
model are some of the key trends that will
continue to shape the technology and business
landscape in India.

Harsh Marwah
Country Manager,
Solutions India

Verizon

Enterprise

IoT/ Artificial Intelligence

Internet of Things (IoT) will offer huge
business prospect for telecom players in future.
It is witnessing a huge traction in surveillance,
vehicle tracking, home automation etc. But as per
Sajan Paul, Director of Systems Engineering &
CTO at Juniper Networks in India and SAARC,
in IoT security is the biggest concern. He is of
the opinion that though the adoption of IoT is
in nascent stage, technology companies should
strengthen its solutions from the security point
of view. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a
unique domain that offers tremendous business
opportunities for telecom players in the years
to come. The total revenue generated from IoT
industry would be USD 300 billion and India
would have a share of 5-6% of the global IoT

industry. We see consumer domain having the

maximum uptake.
IOT adoption and cloud will face newer
threats aimed at exploiting the vulnerabilities
in the systems, like the large-scale DDoS attack
conducted last year through Mirai worm. There
are however a few turnkey orchestration tools
to successfully manage IoT security. For IoT to
survive and live up to what it promises, it is vital
that technology companies master security and
unlock the possibilities of integration. The
real winners are going to be companies who
can code their own solutions to ensure their
products are secure, says Sajan Paul, Director
of Systems Engineering & CTO at Juniper
Networks in India and SAARC.
According to Harsh Marwah, Country
Manager, Verizon Enterprise Solutions India,
The IoT focus will not be on the thing, but
on its potential for transformation. Its all about
how IoT drives supply chain convergence,
transforms processes and revolutionizes
operating models - the practical application,

Sajan Paul
Director of Systems Engineering & CTO at
Juniper Networks in India and SAARC

Snehashish Bhattacharjee
Global CEO & Co-Founder,
Denave

32

January 2017

www.varindia.com

not the theory. This means looking at what

can be achieved through multidimensional data
analytics. If youre focused solely on location,
catch up to 2017.
Snehashish Bhattacharjee, Global CEO &
Co-Founder, Denave opines that the difference
between virtual and real is decreasing rapidly.
The revolutionary technology, Artificial
Intelligence is picking up in a fast pace in the
technology world. Cloud technology will also
be gaining grounds.
Artificial
Intelligence
is
already
revolutionizing the industry in a major way and
this trend will see nothing but an exponential
upward swing in the coming year. We can
certainly anticipate machines replacing human
intervention in the service sector to start with,
followed by more such developments in the
manufacturing segment. Cloud convergence
will also further drive the industrial momentum
and build huge economies of scale replacing
highly repetitive human interventions, views
Snehashish Bhattacharjee.
Artificial Intelligence has made huge
progress in the past few years but human
assistance is required in larger scheme of things
and Hybrid Intelligence will play an important
role. It helps to understand the information and
improves productivity of both computers and
humans.
Artificial Intelligence has grown by leaps
and bounds in the last few years; the human
element however still plays a crucial role in the
larger scheme of things, and this is where Hybrid
Intelligence will play a crucial role. What Hybrid
Intelligence will essentially do is help us make
more sense of all the information we gather
and make meaningful connections, which is the
essence of creativity and productivity, explains
Parag Arora, Area Vice President & Country

Parag Arora
Area Vice President & Country Head - India
Subcontinent, Citrix

Vishal Dhupar
Managing Director,
NVIDIA South Asia

Chandrahas Panigrahi
Sr. Director and Consumer Business Head,
Acer India

Rajesh Thadani
Head Executive Director Consumer Online
and E-commerce - Lenovo India

Head - India Subcontinent, Citrix.

On Artificial Intelligence Vishal Dhupar,
Managing Director, NVIDIA South Asia says,
The Intelligent Industrial Revolution is here,
thanks to a powerful new form of AI called
GPU-accelerated deep learning. This approach
has brought AI out of the realms of science
fiction and into our daily lives. The power of
deep learning to solve some of the worlds
most critical and complex challenges is being
proven on a daily basis as organizations at every
level, from start-ups to large enterprise, begin
to realize its potential. Innovations are moving
forward at a rapid pace globally as well as in
India.

Reiterating similar views, Rajesh Thadani,

Head Executive Director Consumer Online
and E-commerce Lenovo India said, 2017 will
undoubtedly see an abundance of convertible
and detachable devices in the market as
portability and versatility remain on top of mind
of PC users who are becoming more mobile at
work and at home.
In the commercial space, analysts forecast
PC-as-a-Service (PCaaS) will help PC vendors
transform transactional PC sales into longerterm and more profitable engagements by
expanding their services portfolios bundled
with PC sales. IDC also surveyed IT buyers
across a range of company sizes about PCaaS
and found that almost half of respondents
said they engaged in the past 12 months or are
considering engaging in the next 12 months
in PCaaS. This means IT decision makers are
positioned to drive and grow the PC market
with customized add-on services to maintain
and extend the lifecycle of the device.

Cyber Security
Demonetization has impacted India not only
economically but also digitally. The economic
move has triggered the growth of mobile
wallets. But this has also prompted fraudulent
misuse of payment networks and theft of data.
It is becoming increasingly important to identify
the risks associated with it.
Post demonetization, while the uses of
online payment platforms have gone up, the
fraudulent misuse of payment networks and
data theft has grown. In the given scenario, the

foremost of all threats is identity. Considering the

recent breach incidences with 3.2 million Debit
Cards being compromised, it is important to
know every customer, partners, their customers
and most importantly your own employees.
Furthermore, the security provisions and
applications still remain the same. While people
are getting comfortable with mobile wallets and
banking through apps and smartphones, Wi-Fi
networks continue to have major security flaws
that can make it very dangerous to conduct
transactions using mobile device, advises
Amit Nath, Head of Asia Pacific (Corporate
Business) - F-Secure.
Rajat Mohanty CEO and Co-Founder,
Paladion Networks also predicts similar threats.
According to him the cashless payments system
will be targeted due to lack of awareness among
the users. Moreover he also says that the SME
sector can be an easy target due to inadequate
security implementations. He adds that new
threats like DDoS attacks can be witnessed
in IoT and Cloud technology. Another major
security trend that he has mentioned is the
upcoming centralized response platforms in
Security Operation Centres (SOCs).
Demonetization has led to a massive influx
of cashless payments systems, but there is little
awareness amongst most users about these
tools. This gap is what cyber criminals will seek
to exploit through social engineering attacks
such as phishing, rogue apps, email frauds,
identity thefts, and confidence tricks. Largescale tech adoption across industries also means
that cyber criminals might shift their focus to
the SME sector, which is easier to breach owing

Rajat Mohanty
CEO and Co-Founder,
Paladion Networks

Sean Duca
Vice President and Regional Chief Security
Officer, Asia Pacific, Palo Alto Networks

PC/ Laptop/ Tablets

It is expected that in the year 2017, the PC
industry will witness some developments as
adoption of hybrid computers are prominent.
These computers can be used as consumption
as well as productive devices. Acer has
witnessed the consumer trend moving towards
convertibles and the company offers a wide
range of products in this category.
2017 seems a year full of many interesting
developments, especially for the PC industry.
We are seeing a large adoption of hybrid
computers. This laptop will compete both in the
PC market as well as the portable device market
thereby expanding the potential market and
sales figures. We can also look forward to VR
(Virtual Reality) taking more prominence with
entertainment industry, predicts Chandrahas
Panigrahi, Sr. Director and Consumer Business
Head, Acer India.

Amit Nath
Head of Asia Pacific (Corporate Business),
F-Secure

www.varindia.com

January 2017

33

COVER STORY

Tarun Kaura
Director - Solutions Product Management APJ, Symantec

Sunil Sharma
Vice President, Sales, Sophos India and
SAARC

Altaf Halde
Managing Director
Kaspersky Lab South Asia

to a lack of proper security implementation,

says Rajat Mohanty CEO and Co-Founder for
Paladion Networks.
As the number of connected devices is
increasing, these devices will become targets
of cyber criminals. The endpoint devices act as
an entry to the potential threats and so these
devices need to be secured.
Market research firm Gartner predicts
that the number of connected things will rise
from 6.5 billion in 2015 to almost 21 billion by
2020. However, connected devices will also be
a target for cybercrime, even more so because
people place enormous trust in third-party
vendors being safe. In 2016, we saw the first
real challenges appear where compromised
devices were connected together in a botnet
to launch attacks against banks and key parts
of the internet infrastructure. Committed
cybercriminals will use every trick in the
book and be creative in trying to access the
information they want, and look at what ways
they can gain entry, says Sean Duca, Vice
President and Regional Chief Security Officer,
Asia Pacific, Palo Alto Networks.
Tarun Kaura, Director - Solutions Product
Management - APJ, Symantec says, We will
continue to see a shift toward the modern
workplace as businesses allow employees to
introduce new technologies such as wearables,
virtual reality and IoT connected devices onto
the network while supporting a rapidly dispersed
workforce made possible by cloud applications
and solutions. Enterprises will need to shift
their focus from safeguarding endpoint devices
toward protecting users and information across
all applications and services.

Talking about cyber security, Sunil Sharma,

Vice President, Sales, Sophos India and SAARC
views, Security has been high on radar for
CIOs. Unfortunately, many organizations still
dont have their security basics right and are
extremely vulnerable for cyberattacks. There
are six key measures that organizations should
put in place to help keep more complex threats
at baya) Move from layered to integrated security
b) Deploying next-generation endpoint
protection
c) Prioritizing risk-based security
d) Automating the basics
e) Building staff and process to deter and
mitigate social attacks and
f) Improving defender coordination.
According to Altaf Halde, Managing
Director Kaspersky Lab South Asia the top
five threats will be APT (Advanced Protection
Threats), Ephemeral Infections, Espionage
going mobile, Resilient payment systems and
lying ransomware.
As much as we all hate ransomware (and
with good reason), most ransomware thrives
on the benefit of an unlikely trust relationship
between the victim and their attacker. This
criminal ecosystem relies on the tenet that
the attacker will abide by a tacit contract with
the victim that once payment is received, the
ransomed files will be returned. Cybercriminals
have exhibited a surprising semblance of
professionalism in fulfilling this promise and this
has allowed the ecosystem to thrive. However,
as the popularity continues to rise and a lesser
grade of criminal decides to enter the space,
we are likely to encounter more and more

ransomware that lacks the quality assurance or

general coding capability to actually uphold this
promise, predicts Altaf.
To counter cyber crime only security of
devices does not meet the requirement. An
integrated security from IoT to Cloud is needed
to defend the threats.
Customers need integrated security, from
IoT to the cloud, with actionable analytics across
their multi-vendor networking and security
solutions. Fortinets commitment to an open,
integrated Security Fabric, allows customers the
flexibility to deploy Fortinet solutions alongside
their existing or new security technologies
for truly integrated protection, states Rajesh
Maurya, Regional Director, India & SAARC,
Fortinet.

Rajesh Maurya
Regional Director, India & SAARC,
Fortinet

Wayne Arvaindson
Vice President of Video Surveillance and
Security Solutions, Quantum

Johan Paulsson
CTO,
Axis Communications

34

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Surveillance/ Video Analytics

The Previous year has witnessed an increase
in the number of HD cameras and this year it
is expected that panoramas, higher resolutions,
sensors will be trending. More shift from
analog to HD cameras will be observed along
with capabilities like compression, streaming,
storage, and analytics.
2016 saw a surge in camera counts especially HD cameras yielding considerably
more data to manage. In 2017 we expect the
adoption of cameras with wider panoramas,
higher resolutions, and more sensors will
accelerate. Watch for more installations to
transition from analog and HD cameras, with
a demand that more surveillance capabilities
compression, streaming, storage, and analytics
be bundled into cameras for greater value.
The influx of data will strain storage and make

Balasubramanian Jayam
Head, Marketing Communications
Hikvision

Sanjeev Gulati
Country Manager-India & SAARC,
VIVOTEK

Vikram Mulye
Head, Enterprise Business Group,
Lenovo India

an intelligent, multi-tier storage strategy more

vital than before. With improved intelligence
in cameras, storage management software
will effectively manage the influx of data will
become even more important, observes
Wayne Arvaindson, Vice President of Video
Surveillance and Security Solutions - Quantum.
According to Johan Paulsson, CTO, Axis
Communications, customers who are unable to
manage complex systems will adopt security as a
service. As many other technologies have done,
we expect customers will stop looking at physical
security as simply being a collection of hardware
and software connected to a network. Instead,
we think they will start to see their security as
a service remote and professionally hosting
and monitoring of video transmitted from the
customers premise. Whether by themselves, or
more likely by sector-specific specialists who
can not only take away the burden of managing
the complex systems involved, but also reduce
the costs of keeping those systems up to date
and secure.
With the growing popularity of Smart
devices it is expected that cameras will be
integrated into every devices. Moreover, IP
Cameras, Analytics, multisite video surveillance
will also be trending in this year. Talking about
the present market condition, Balasubramanian
Jayam, Head, Marketing Communications,
Hikvision sys that the market is favourable for
quality products and the government initiatives
has widened the opportunities for security
industry further.
Smart devices are fast becoming integrated
in our businesses and lives. Wearables will go
beyond wrist. Cameras will be built into almost

everything. Mobile applications will be much

sought after. Robotics will play a crucial role.
Integrated solutions, IP Cameras, Analytics,
multisite video surveillance and increased office
and home automation will feature in 2017.
There is indeed a lot of scope for the security
industry in India in the coming years, explains
Balasubramanian.
With the emergence of Internet of Things
(IoT) the periphery of security application has
been widened. Connected homes and cars,
unmanned devices, multiple mobile applications
etc are impacting the growth of traditional
security.
In the world of The Internet of Things
(IoT), IP surveillance cameras should be able
to connect and interact with IoT devices.
The boundary of security applications has
been broken by the Internet of Things (IoT)
technologies. The demand for multiple
mobile applications, connected homes and
cars, and unmanned devices, like drones and
robots, is also influencing the development of
traditional security products and technologies.
So thinking out of box to provide solutions for
verticals/applications and also for purposes
beyond security, is important, states Sanjeev
Gulati, Country Manager-India & SAARC,
VIVOTEK.

insights on customers, buying trends etc. The

trend will continue in 2017 as well.
Business needs arising out of SMAC (social,
mobile, analytics and cloud) will drive customer
buying behavior in 2017, says Vikram Mulye,
Head, Enterprise Business Group, Lenovo India.
To gain better business insights, organizations
need to manage the volume, variety, and velocity
of data, while applying analytics. Analytics is
helping businesses in getting opportunities,
partners and suitable customers. Whether
your business supports a high-performance
data centre or a small office with limited IT
resources, analytics solutions will help your
organization to align and integrate processes,
communicate with employees, partners,
suppliers, and customers in new ways, improve
efficiency, and fully use your IT investment to
increase the value of your business. We also
see a trend of customers moving towards a
hybrid cloud wherein customers balance their
workloads across a private cloud and a public
cloud, he says.
Reiterating similar views Virender Jeet Sr. VP Technology at Newgen Software says,
SMAC technologies are currently driving
business innovation by creating an ecosystem
that allows a business to improve its operations
and get closer to the customer. Businesses can
now leverage the best of traditional Business
Process management (BPM) offerings in
combination with cutting-edge, emerging
technologies such as Social, Mobility, Analytics,
Cloud (SMAC) to attain speed and agility. Case
Management Framework built on top of BPM
offerings allow you to build customer centric

Virender Jeet
Sr. VP Technology
Newgen Software

SMAC
In 2016 it has been observed that businesses
have now started looking for real-time analysis
of the data to understand customer needs &
buying trends, external changes and much more.
Data analytics is helping businesses to get better

Balaji Rao
Managing Director
Veritas, India

George Chacko
Principal Systems Engineer & Lead Technical
Consultant, Brocade India

www.varindia.com

January 2017

35

COVER STORY

Sundar Balasubramanian
Senior
Director,
General
Business
(Commercial Sales & Partners) VMware
processes and gain a distinct competitive
advantage.

Software Defined (Networking/

Storage)
Adoption of Cloud technology will not
eradicate the traditional storage system. In 2017
the new technology called Software Defined
Storage will help businesses to arrange and
combine cloud and on-premises strategies.
Accelerating towards the cloud does
not mean that businesses storage needs will
disappear. Companies will need to be able
to manage storage holistically based on real
business needs, such as uptime, cost and
responsiveness. In 2017, as organizations look
for more turnkey-style solutions for managing
storage across their hardware, a new generation
of software-defined storage will help them
align and merge their cloud and on-premises
strategies, predicts Balaji Rao, Managing
Director, Veritas, India.
Another technology Software Defined
Network will rule the technology space. The
adoption of this technology will increase
beyond early adopters and enterprises and
private datacenters will reap value from this
technology.
2017 is expected to see complete softwaredefined network infrastructure solutions that
are commercially available, multi-vendor,
based on a viable ecosystem of SDN and NFV
components. Proprietary platforms will begin
to feel uncomfortably closed as users realize
the extent of their lock-in. And adoption will
rise, beyond the early adopter service providers,

Dr. Keshab Panda

MD& CEO,
L&T Technology Services

36

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Vishal Agrawal
Managing Director (India and SAARC)
Avaya India

Mandar Joshi
Head - Channel Business,
DIGISOL Systems Ltd.

Digital India
The new government initiatives uphold
the digital growth in India which has created
an array of opportunities for the companies.
The Government is playing a major role in
driving internet growth in the country through
initiatives like Digital India, Smart City
and Make in India. And this opens up huge
opportunities for different companies.
India is a significant market for us; we
see immense opportunity for growth here
as India goes through a momentous digital
change. We have an apt model in place and we
believe that our growth (in India) will continue

to rise. It is expected that by end of this year,

90 percent of companies will be competing on
Customer Experience. We can clearly see
that customer experience is driving every major
business decision for most enterprises, and for
good reason, says Vishal Agrawal, Managing
Director (India and SAARC), Avaya India.
The initiative of going digital by the Indian
government has pushed the growth of the
networking market. Many state governments
have come up with various plans which is
further boosting the networking growth.
One good thing is that now there is a lot
of government push towards digitization and
the growth of a networking market is a part
of this push. Several state governments have
rolled out various plans. 4G is coming up in
a big way with Airtel and Reliance and such
roll outs have given a push to the networking
market. On the enterprise networking front, I
see growth in wireless controllers and that is
mainly because there is a lot of requirement of
wireless hotspots, asserts Mandar Joshi, Head Channel Business, DIGISOL Systems Ltd.
Dimension Datas Chief Technology
Officer, Ettienne Reinecke said, Digital is
about building truly customer-centric business
models on IT including the network, data
centre, applications, and other infrastructure
- which may be on-premise, or cloud-based.
Today, theres no such thing as a digital strategy
just strategy in a digital world. And while the
digital age is creating a degree of uncertainty
for some organizations, it is also opening the
doors to exciting possibilities and ushering in an
era of infinite potential.
While talking about Digital India and

Anil Valluri
President
NetApp India & SAARC

Rajesh Gupta
Country Manager of SanDisk India and SAARC
Retail Sales and Marketing, WD Corporation

as enterprises and private datacenters begin to

see a manageable path to achieve the value of
a flexible infrastructure, adds George Chacko,
Principal Systems Engineer & Lead Technical
Consultant, Brocade India.
According to Sundar Balasubramanian,
Senior Director, General Business (Commercial
Sales & Partners) VMware, In the history of
networking and security, we are on the verge
of something special a major change in how
we interconnect and secure workloads. True
SDN, such as VMware NSX, will be utilized by
thousands of companies in 2017 to take their
network and security operations enormous leaps
ahead. Complete network stack which include
load balancing and security will be organized
in minutes and managed across several data
centres and clouds. Applications will realize
security granularity corresponding to each
application having a dedicated data centre. This
solution will also form the base for end-to-end
network encryption.

Balaji Rajagopalan
Executive Director- Technology, Channels &
International Distributor Operations, Xerox
India

Kuldeep Malhotra
Vice President (Sales Division) Konica Minolta

Samba Moorthy
Vice President, Sales & Marketing,
Epson India

its opportunities, Dr. Keshab Panda, MD&

CEO, L&T Technology Services says, Digital
Engineering will be our key offering for the
market of new technologies in 2017. Our
Digital Engineering portfolio includes as
i-BEMS our energy management solution for
smart buildings and our UBIQWeise platform
that connects disparate devices and helps move
data securely to the cloud.

barely 250 million use smartphones, signifying

the markets tremendous growth potential. As
4G LTE penetration rises, India could have
500 million smartphone users in the next five
years. Indeed, in Q1 2016, more than 45% of
mobiles shipped were smartphones, with twothirds being LTE-capable devices, points out
Narender Bansal, Chairman and Managing
Director, Intex Technologies (India) Ltd.
It is believed by Zen Mobiles that Tier II and
III cities will play a major role in boosting the
digital transformation which acts as a catalyst in
smartphone adoption.
We believe, Tier II and Tier III cities
will play a major role in accepting the digital
transformation thus fueling smartphone sales.
With the introduction of our 4G VoLTE devices
in the market, we aim to help in digitizing Indian
consumers across. So far, our major focus has
been on feature phones market but affordable
4G devices will be a game changer catering to
the unwavering spirit of todays youth, what
we call is ZENERATION 4G, believes Sanjay
Kalirona, CEO, Zen Mobile.
India is one of the largest smartphone
markets and a phone that offers maximum
convenience to the users will see huge demand.
Ziox has plans to come up with 4G budget
smartphones to compete in the market.
India is set to become the second largest
smartphone market in the coming year and
multitasking will be the need of the hour.
Phones that offer maximum convenience to
the users while making no comprise on speed
will be in higher demand. As far as, Ziox is
concerned we have already laid out a strategic
plan to introduce 4G Smartphones within the
price range of 6K, says Deepak Kabu, CEO,
Ziox Mobiles.

developed cities in India. Traditional analog

printing in industrial printing markets such as
textiles, labels and signage are also being rapidly
replaced by digital printing and gaining in
importance and will see a lot of traction in the
year 2017. Increased use of mobile applications
could trigger also demand in portable POS
printer, explained Samba Moorthy, Vice
President, Sales & Marketing, Epson India.
Speaking on Digital Printing Balaji
Rajagopalan, Executive Director- Technology,
Channels & International Distributor Operations,
Xerox India says, The digital printing industry
is seeing significant transformation with new
technologies & innovative applications providing
cost-effective and customized solutions. The
office printing segment will continue to grow
and there will be an increased demand of MFPs
as companies look for innovative solutions to
simplify business processes. We shall continue
to see accelerated movement towards more
integrated work flow solutions.
Konica Minolta is looking forward to offer
software solutions in 2017 which will help
customers to lowers their printing expenses and
increase productivity.
We are looking more into the software
solutions; till date what we have done is more of
hardware. But now we are looking to offer the
software solutions which enable the customers
to increase their productivity and minimize their
expenses in printing. Similarly for production
also, we are coming out with print management,
color management and Web to print solutions.
So both in the office as well as printing we
are working on the solutions workflows,
says Kuldeep Malhotra, Vice President (Sales
Division) - Konica Minolta.

Printing
For Epson, retail, SOHO, healthcare etc.
has earned a good number and the company
is optimistic that this trend will last and the
upcountry markets will also see growth.
Moreover, digital printing which is replacing
analog printing is slowly gaining ground.
India is currently in the growth phase with
an immense potential across markets. A lot of
markets are not tapped to their full potential and
2017 will open doors for more business. Over
the last few years Epson has witnessed a steady
growth. We believe this trend will continue and
upcountry market will see better growth over

Infrastructure Automation
Most companies involved in the development
of infrastructure offerings and tools have built
solutions that are unnecessarily complex. In
2017, infrastructure automation is going to
become more relevant as DevOps will continue
to become more simplified.
Businesses would increasingly adopt
solutions that are simple, performant and cost
effective - enabling their teams to quickly build,
test and deploy their innovative applications
and products," says Prabhakar Jayakumar, India
Country Manager, DigitalOcean.
Weve seen the channel have to make

Storage
As the demand for computing devices,
smartphones, tablets etc is growing, it is
expected that the demand for storage devices
for transferring data will grow simultaneously.
With the massive technology disruption, the
storage industry is expected to mature more
than ever in the near future.
Storage devices are all about improving
performance and efficiency. We can improve
every aspect of the customer experience
by ultimately transforming the speed and
performance of the products. The increased
dependence on smartphones and higher rate of
content creation and consumption, provides a
massive opportunity for our brand as we have
a product portfolio called - Mobile Memory
Solutions (MMS) suite which has been specially
designed keeping in mind storage issues faced
by consumers, says Rajesh Gupta, Country
Manager of SanDisk India and SAARC
Retail Sales and Marketing, Western Digital
Corporation.
In the Enterprise segment, companies look
for faster delivery of data storage solutions and
All-Flash storage solutions offer them better
efficiency than traditional storage.
Enterprises are looking for fast delivery
data storage solutions to meet their data
management demands. All-Flash Solutions
offers them greater efficiency compared to
traditional HDD storage. They can scale-out
the solutions depending on their needs and
demands, mentions Anil Valluri, President
NetApp India & SAARC, India Predictions.
Mobility
Though globally the sale of smartphones
has slowed down, India has still posted a growth
of 23% year-on-year. The increase in the 4G
penetration will further augment in the rise of
smartphone users.
Despite Indias population of 1.25 billion,

www.varindia.com

January 2017

37

COVER STORY

Deepak Kabu
CEO
Ziox Mobiles

Sanjay Kalirona
CEO
Zen Mobile

Narender Bansal
Chairman and Managing Director, Intex
Technologies (India) Ltd.

adjustments over the years anytime end-user IT

purchasing and deployment decisions change
course, and the age of the cloud is no different.
Moving forward in 2017 were going to see
traditional VARs have to adjust the way they
approach customers in everything from the
conversations theyre having to the solutions
they sell and support. Were already beginning
to see customers pass over their traditional
solution providers and go about tackling small
cloud projects alone, which will only result
in customers looking elsewhere for help with
larger cloud projects. 2017 will be a defining year
for the channel in that those who adapt and are
able provide added value to cloud deployments
for customers with expertise in areas like cloud
security, will be able to move forward and work
effectively with their customers as more data
and applications move off premises.

tackling small cloud projects alone, which will

only result in customers looking elsewhere for
help with larger cloud projects. 2017 will be
a defining year for the channel in that those
who adapt and are able to provide added value
to cloud deployments for customers with
expertise in areas like cloud security, will be able
to move forward and work effectively with their
customers as more data and applications move

and digital-enabled employees. Secondly,

organizations across all industries will know how
to leverage the power of digital technologies to
create new and disruptive business models. And
lastly, only those businesses who embrace a new
mindset to protect and preserve their existing
infrastructure while investing in new digital
technologies will reshape markets, deliver apps
and services at hyper scale and become the
leaders of the new digital industry, he sums
up.
As per, Sunil Manglore, Managing Director,
India at CA Technologies, 2017 will have
more and more businesses that will start using
Software and digital technologies to transform
the way they interact with their customers.
o Customer loyalty will be determined by
the experience that customers have with the
companys app.
o
Businesses will increasingly adopt
analytics to respond to customer feedback on
a real-time basis.
o
As the time available to companies
to respond to changes in the environment
keeps getting compressed Devops and Agile
methodologies will gain importance.
The industry is quite optimistic about 2017
and everyone believes that this will be a year
of technology spelling a stupendous industrial
growth, not only for sales but for entire gamut
of trade practices. n
Samrita Baruah
samrita@varindia.com

And so...
Going by the trends of different
technologies, 2017 sounds to be a great year.
It is predicted that we will go beyond talking
about digital transformation to having a real
dialogue about what organizations actually need
to be doing to evolve, survive and thrive in the
era of the Digital Industry.
Talking about the channel industry, the
year has in store lot of promises for them too.
Traditional VARs are considering to adjust the
way they approach customers in everything
from the conversations they are having to the
solutions they sell and support. We are already
beginning to see customers pass over their
traditional solution providers and go about

off premises, explains Ezra Hookano, VP

Channels, Barracuda.
According to Sunil Kumar Thakur, Country
Manager - India, BMC Software, this era is
being fuelled by three core elements that act
as accelerators for Digital Industry firstly,
a culture of high speed innovation which is
underpinned by both modern infrastructure

Prabhakar Jayakumar
India Country Manager
DigitalOcean

Ezra Hookano
VP Channels
Barracuda

38

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Sunil Manglore
Managing Director, India
CA Technologies

Aparna Mullick
aparna@varindia.com

Sunil Kumar Thakur

Country Manager - India,
BMC Software

FACE TO FACE

Surveillance moves beyond vigilance

to real-time intelligence
In a chat with VARINDIA, Pulkit
Punj, Director, AnG India explains
the transformation of the surveillance
industry,

its

trends,

opportunities,

positioning of the company and future

plans
India surveillance market is witnessing a shift
from traditional analog to IP digital cameras
as these cameras provide better surveillance
and threat protection. It has transformed the
surveillance industry as this technology offers
real-time intelligence and analytics.
The Indian market is shifting from traditional
analog to the intelligent IP digital cameras; these
analytical technological enhancements provide
superior quality of surveillance and threat
prevention. IP-based interpretative surveillance
systems can analyze and provide real-time
intelligence. This breakthrough technology will
transform the way surveillance and monitoring is
done across the world. The shift is very positive
for the industry as the price gap is not that huge,
but the benefits of having this superior product
far supersede the price crunch. Since it is a tech
industry, the R&D happens at a cursory pace
and the price breaks quick as well in returns,
hence the customer can make a shift to a new
concept or technology without compromising
on their budget, explains Pulkit Punj, Director,
AnG India.
The different sectors of India market follow
different trends. Sectors like defence, military
etc always welcome new technologies as security
is of prime importance to them. Whereas, other
industries adopt any technology once they are
tried and tested.
The Indian market is divided into various
sectors which operate independently with their
own different trends. Sectors such as defence;
military, air force, navy and banking industry
which have zero compromise or tolerance
policies, they tend to adopt new technologies and
concepts fairly at earlier stage and move in pace
with fast R&D process of the industry. Other
industries try and stick to conventional methods
and adapt technology once they are tried tested
in the market and have thrived in the industry
for long time, adds Pulkit.

Trend

At present, surveillance is being looked upon

as to prevent a crime rather than only recording
it. The QRT and the security mechanism help in
real-time analysis and opposing the crime taking
place. Moreover, new technologies like CMS are
new tools for the vigilance sector.
The current trend is to deter the crime
taking place rather than having only a record
of the happening. QRT (quick response teams)
and electronic security mechanisms that help in

negating the crime taking place in real time is the

new effective trend in the surveillance industry.
The real time analysis and prompt reaction
to such activities results in a proactive approach
to deter crimes and identifying potential threats.
Also, Central Monitoring System (CMS) and alert
based Command Centres are the new fighting
tools in the vigilance sector, says Pulkit.

Opportunity

Government initiative like Smart City has

boosted the surveillance industry as it has
pushed the public infrastructure, IT and security
expenses.
Smart city is definitely boosting the Indian
market as there is a high demand for all types
of surveillance solutions across all states.
The amount of cameras along with support
mechanisms to be installed is enormous and
there is a very vast scope of work to be done.
The smart city initiative has fueled the growth
of public infrastructure, IT and security
expenditure. The smart city initiative has worked
in favor of the surveillance market increasing
its installations creating a lot of data, which
needs to be stored for analysis and monitoring
by the authorities. Surveillance is shifting to a
mandatory security measure adopted by the
government, observes Pulkit.

Positioning of the company

AnG has positioned itself in the market

as a system integrator that provides electronic
security solutions to its clients. The company
offers customized solutions which have enabled
to create its own identity as a brand.
The customized designing of our solutions
magnifies the uniqueness of our brand. With
intricate system designing one can integrate
numerous technologies and make extensive
solutions which cater to a wider range of security
and surveillance problems. We want our clients
to feel secure and safe with our top-of-the-line
security solutions. We ensure highest level of
protection and a responsive customer service
fulfilling the unique needs of each client, states
Pulkit.
Further adding to it he says AnG humbly
manages 10% of all the banks electronic security
needs throughout India. We have surveillance
installations in the remotest locations in the
Indian banking sector catering to clients such
as SBI, SBOP, Corporation bank, Axis, ICICI,
HDFC, IndusInd etc. The banking sector gives
us the largest chunk of our business.

Future plans

The company is looking forward to expand

its business in the Canadian market. AnG is
witnessing a good response for its CMS concept
and the company is constantly widening its
product portfolio to cater to varid customers.
AnG is exploring the Canadian market for
business expansion and taking the necessary
steps for it. We have seen an average growth of
15 -20 % in the performance of AnG. The CMS
concept is also seeing more and more clients
relying on it and choosing it as a viable option. So
far 2500 branches are managed throughout India
on this platform. New customized solutions after
heavy R&D are constantly added to cater to a
wider network of clients, concludes Pulkit. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

39

BUDGET SPECIAL

What are your Expec tations

from the Budget 201718?
The Union Budget 201718 is going to be unprecedented in many aspects. For the first time the budget will be announced a month
ahead of schedule on 1st February which otherwise is passed around the last week of February. The overall expectations from the
upcoming budget is to provide a transparent taxation policy announcements to sustain the momentum, attempt 100% India manufacturing,
promote cashless economy, boost digitalization, among many other things
concerns of enterprises and Government.
Nitin Bhatt, EY Indias Risk Advisory
Leader, Disruptive innovations and the
digital transformation of businesses and
governments are exponentially enhancing
cyber-risks. What is worrisome is that the
response gap - which is the difference
between the abilities of the attackers and the
capabilities of organizations is increasing as
well, leading to this lack of confidence in
the cyber security function.
Further added, outdated information
security architecture and controls has most
increased risk exposure for India Inc over

Boost to the Digital India

As the country is advancing towards

becoming a knowledge economy under the
Digital India initiative with technology as
the pivot, many think that the upcoming
budget is a perfect opportunity to reinstate
the blue-print for sustained growth and
showcase e-economy.
Anirudh Dhoot, Director, Videocon
says, with the implementation of GST, we
are looking forward to a budget that can
help the economy to grow further. We are
expecting the upcoming budget to not only
address and encourage alternative ways to
Anirudh Dhoot
Director, Videocon

Dr. Gulshan Rai

National Cybersecurity Coordinator, National
Security Council, PMO, Government of India

40

January 2017

www.varindia.com

carry out transactions in order to bring

an upsurge in the purchase of goods but
also empower the consumer to boost the
demand. However, the proposed GST rate
of 28% for the CEHA industry will have a
great impact on the product price leading
to an unexpected hike. Going forward, we
hope that the budget will be in favour of
the manufacturing industry and encourage
Government initiatives such as Make in
India and Startup India.
At the same time, as we are moving
swiftly
towards
digitization,
cyber
security has become one of the biggest

Nitin Bhatt
Risk Advisory Leader
EY India

Rajiv Srivastava
Managing Director
HP Inc India
the last 12 months, with as many as 61% of
the respondents citing this aspect as their
topmost vulnerability. Careless or unaware
employees is their second-most important
concern (58%), while vulnerabilities related
to mobile computing, social media and
cloud computing also feature prominently
as contributing to enhanced risk exposure
for corporate India. Among threats,
the majority (54%) believe that cyberattacks are primarily targeted at defacing/
disrupting organizations or towards
stealing intellectual property or data (51%),
followed by fraud (48%). The need of
the hour is for organizations to review if
their security governance and architecture
is adequate to protect their crown jewels.
Since cyber resilience cannot be achieved by
buying security-in-a-box, organizations
need to focus on gathering periodic threat
intelligence, enhancing their threat-hunting
and breach-detection capabilities, and
institutionalizing a robust incident-response
framework, says Nitin.
Dr. Gulshan Rai, National Cybersecurity
Coordinator, National Security Council,
PMO, Government of India. Explains, we
are at the cusp of a cyber security paradigm
shift and it is imperative that for the overall
national security we join hands to share,
evaluate and acquire threat intelligence and
develop a robust operational framework
to use this with security technologies. We
will need immense focus to encourage
technological innovations in cyber security
to secure national critical infrastructure
from cyber criminals.
The use of IT in all industries is primarily
to provide a strategic leverage and better the
customer experience. Technology has been
at the forefront of Indias recent economic
growth and digital transformation. Rajiv
Srivastava, Managing Director, HP Inc.
India, says, With the upcoming Union
Budget 2017-18, the Government should
look at rolling out initiatives to boost
adoption of technology for education,
skilling, manufacturing and infrastructure
development that are key to Indias growth
story. For the digital empowerment of
citizens, the Government should look at
making technology more affordable and
Manish Sharma
introducing initiatives to encourage PC
President & CEO
buying in the country. Government needs to
Panasonic India & South Asia

create conducive environment and support

eco-system where we have at least one PC per
family as a means to accelerate technology
proliferation and migration towards a digital
economy. While the relaxation of FDI
and the introduction of several initiatives
have helped citizens embrace economic
transformation and digitization, additional
initiatives to boost domestic manufacturing
will also help them adopt technology in its
most tangible form.
On the business front, IT manufacturers
are bracing themselves for the implementation
of the much anticipated Goods and Services
Tax (GST). The Governments objective
should be to enable this transition from
the current taxation system as smooth
and orderly as possible both for itself
and for businesses and consumers. It will
be important to outline a roadmap for IT
manufacturers for the implementation of
the new GST policy well in time.
The previous two budgets have
systematically
gone
about
creating
frameworks and processes to give wings
to the dreams of multiple sections of the
society like Start-up India, Stand up India

Alok Dubey
CFO
Acer India
and shrink wrapped with a larger vision
of Digital India. With the recent move of
demonetization trying to shift our cash
driven economy of 1.2 billion people and
getting them to leap frog to the digital
world is unprecedented in history. This is a
significant leap towards becoming a digital
economy and the budget now needs to focus
on how digital can become entrenched and
become a way of life, while continuing to
focus on growth and providing adequate
support to the various pillars of each
program so that the economy is on a
sustained growth path, states Anil Valluri,
President, NetApp India & SAARC.
Alok Dubey, CFO, Acer India feels
that the Union Budget for the year 201718 is likely to be unique as many prime
factors like demonetization, GST, cashless
economy measures, will play a key role this
year. We are expecting favorable change in
the Income Tax slabs and rates, as customer
spending is still anticipated to decline for
short term due to demonetization.
Alok also expects the budget to focus

Anil Valluri
President
NetApp India & SAARC
on shaping the IT infrastructure and urges
the government to provide tax deductions
on purchase of PC for consumers as well as
providing easy short-term loans for retailers
for working capital requirement. This is
required to accompany India's emergent IT
sector and further help the industry make
improved technology more accessible to
Indian market to fulfill the governments
push for a digital economy, says Alok.
In this budget the Government should
take further steps to accelerate its flagship
initiatives which have been structured
holistically. There is a dire need for a strong
and well-structured innovation agenda/
policy for Digital India, Make in India
and Start-up India to be a reality. Greater
support for Digital India initiatives (in
terms of allocating certain % of funds for
Ministries/State Govt. departments) and
enhancing access to internet connectivity
in rural India should be a priority to boost
economic growth and income-generating
activities which in turn will boost domestic
spending. To have a wider participation
and deep technology penetration in rural
India, a set of organizations/products
are not sufficient and Government
should encourage IT SMEs and start-up
organizations focusing on domestic sector
with innovative solutions/products, states
Debashis.
In 2017, we expect the Government
to further promote cashless transactions.
That is why we await the announcements
in the upcoming budget to understand the
governments move on additional SOPs

Pratibha K Advani
Chief Financial Officer
Tata Communications

www.varindia.com

January 2017

41

BUDGET SPECIAL

Murali Ramalingam
Country Head
Ixia Technologies
for promoting cash less transactions.
Regardless, this will mean an increased
adoption of digital payment modes which
can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. So, at
this juncture holistic security measures are
the need for the hour, as a security solutions
provider, our solutions enable organisations
to enhance data security, remarks Sanjai
Gangadharan, Regional Director SAARC,
A10 Networks.
Minimal IT budgets and lack of skilled
resources to combat cyber security threats
can ultimately cost organizations millions.
The Government needs to allocate sufficient
budget, time and focus to strengthening
cyber security in parallel with the growing
volume of digital transactions that are
taking place in the country, cautions
Murali Ramalingam , Country Head- Ixia
Technologies.
While the consumer durable industry
awaits to recover from the demonetisation
phenomenon, it also anticipates to be placed
in the lowest - 18% slab in the upcoming
GST reforms. The historic budget of 2017
will be a nail-biting affair. The common
man can expect a revision in the lower tax
slab rates indicating higher tax savings. A
healthy passbook in turn will further aid in
a better lifestyle as consumers will spend
more on consumer durables. Moreover,
imposition of a higher basic custom duty
on goods will curb imports and promote
local manufacturing. Further, clarity on
Duty Differential for mobile handsets will
give the necessary impetus to Make-inIndia under the GST regime, states Manish

Rajeev Jain
CFO
Intex Technologies

42

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic

India & South Asia and Executive Officer,
Panasonic Corporation.
Pratibha K Advani, Chief Financial
Officer, Tata Communications observes,
The past year has been an eventful one
across economies and industries, but we look
to the future with optimism and some very
specific expectations for our sector. With
the expected increase in tax collections due
to demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1000
currency notes, we are looking forward to
a reduction in the rate of corporate tax and
the abolition of all the surcharges/cess, etc.
This is in line with the Honble Finance
Ministers promise in his budget speech in
2016. Additionally, we expect a write-off
of loans and advances as deduction from
taxable income at par with bad debts.
We look forward to the budget to
provide positive support in terms easing
of taxes on these products to make it
competitive for every Indian. We expect
the Government to cut the tax rates and
spend more on infrastructure development,
and honour its fiscal deficit commitments.
Apart from offering the IT and Electronic

P G Lakshminarayan
VP - Finance
eScan
development policy is necessary to succeed
in a highly technical industry like ours and
will help bring component manufacturing
base in India to save precious foreign
exchange. In the end, to create a truly
inclusive digital economy, affordable mobile
handset or consumer durable items up to
certain value should be given a concessional
duty treatment, tells Rajeev Jain, CFO,
Intex Technologies.

Cashless Transactions picking

up

Debashis Nag
Vice President - IT & E-Governance
IPE Global
manufacturers of India or Make In India
product as the first preference of choice
for the government projects which would
encourage the entrepreneurs of India to
expand and create more job opportunities,
says P G Lakshminarayan, VP - Finance eScan.
The mobile handset industry is another
fast growing Industry and has become an
imperative part of our everyday life. India
is moving towards a digital economy and
mobile banking and smartphones will play a
crucial role in supporting this vision. The
entire country is looking forward towards
mobile banking which shall create a new user
base and fuel the growth in mobile Industry.
As an industry, we expect a long-term and
stable policy on mobile manufacturing in
India. The industry has huge potential and
can supplement government initiatives of
Make in India with highly technical product
if focused. Incentives to create sufficient
technical manpower will lay the foundation
of a strong and robust manufacturing base in
India. Further, a clearly laid out research and

The 8 November decision of the

government to demonetise the highdenomination currency notes has impacted
the working of the Indian economy. The
decision is bound to have an impact on the
coming budget proposals. While the impact
of demonetization in the long run is yet
to be completely ascertained, there is no
doubt that it has led to mixed investment
sentiments. With sectors adopting a wait
and watch attitude (most likely till budget),
the expansion plans have been put on hold.
However on the positive side, the Govt.
promoting a Digital and cashless economy,
the investments from broadband service
providers and telcos will see an upward
march. Also investments from Govt in
building a wide broadband infrastructure
will increase.
Post demonetization, a remarkable
increase in adoption of transactions through
mobile wallet, payment bank, IMPS/NEFT/
RTGS is observed. However, to realize the
vision of a cashless economy, the government

Ramki Gaddipati
CTO & Co-founder
Zeta

Harshvardhan Lunia
Co-Founder & CEO
Lendingkart Group

Snehashish Bhattacharjee
Global CEO & Co-Founder
Denave

Sanjai Gangadharan
Regional Director SAARC
A10 Networks

should announce further measures to

campaign and encourage digital payments.
There is a need for RBI to subsidize switch
charges to promote cashless payments. To
glide through from cash based to card based
products, MDR on debit card could be
kept at feasible percentage for a prolonged
duration. Measures may be taken for further
securing the digital payments and organise
focused financial education campaigns
among merchants and cardholders, says
Debashis Nag, Vice President - IT &
E-Governance, IPE Global.
Secondly,
with
demonetization
significantly altering the dynamics of the
entire national economy, expectations are
high from the upcoming budget. Alongside
countering black money practices, this move
has helped the government in expanding
the bracket of tax-paying population.
This in-turn, equips the government to
offer considerable tax rebates and SOPs
focused towards societal development and
growth. The ambiguities present in the
modern-day service sector operations can
be lessened with apt reform provisions in
the budget. Lastly, for a holistic growth and
development, focus on building a world-class
infrastructure and real-estate industry is also
critical. Both these sectors require better
regularization and standardization support
in order to foster an efficient business
environment. I expect the upcoming budget
to cater to this as well, through incentivized
SOPs and other measures. says, Snehashish
Bhattacharjee, Global CEO & Co-Founder,
Denave
With the Govt. of India promoting Digital
and cashless economy, the industry also
expects benefits to be given to investments
in building the IT network infrastructure.
As digital payments take off, we'd like this
year's budget to focus on financial inclusion.
We hope the Government of India reduces
indirect taxes and charges levied on digital
transactions. Further, income tax incentives
should be provided to people who use digital
payment options. It's also time that digital
payment and documents be treated legally
on par with physical instruments. We also
hope that the Government increases the
ceilings on employee tax benefits as they're
now quite overdue. To aid merchants, the
Merchant Discount Rate on card payments

should be abolished. The industry can

also benefit from tax incentives provided
to organisations operating in the digital
payments space. says, Ramki Gaddipati,
CTO & Co-founder, Zeta.
With this the IT penetration in the
country is yet to reach satisfactory levels
and providing tax benefits to consumers
purchasing IT products, at regular intervals,
will help to increase the penetration levels.

policy framework, observes Harshvardhan

Lunia, Co-Founder & CEO - Lendingkart
Group. I expect the budget to incentivize
lenders to create fast, easy and reasonable
loan options for SMEs across the country.
Recently, the government has announced
extension of credit guarantee limits of
SME loans to INR 2 crores and extending
the same to loans disbursed by NBFCs. It
is a great step considering lot of new-age
alternate SME lenders will also get covered
under this scheme and increase penetration
into this segment.
To attract larger institutional players
and create liquidity for SME loans, the
government could possibly provide an
institutional framework akin to bank in
a box system. SME loans, individual and
pooled, could be recognized as a separate
asset class and listed accordingly.

Thrust on SME Growth

There is also an expectation that the

budget relooks at procurement norms to
focus on quality and cost based procurement
while encouraging wider participation from
SMEs and Start-Up companies. We hope
that the Government will come up with some

And so...

K Krishna Moorthy
Chairman
IESA
positive announcements and tax sops to cut
through the growth barriers, says Debashis.
Any thrust on growth, infrastructure, job
creation and skill development is likely
to have a positive impact for the IT/
BPO sector. The government should also
consider reducing excise duty on hardware
(e.g. mobile phone, computer/laptop/Tab
and other computing infrastructures) so that
better technology becomes more accessible
to wider populations.
"I believe most of the SMEs in India are
still facing funding shortage at their 'required
time' and thus, are not able to scale up to
their true potential. Being part of the SME
lending ecosystem, I am looking forward
to get this sector supported by an efficient

Post demonetization, we believe, some of

the above measures mentioned by different
vendors would certainly help to create an
ecosystem which would facilitate adoption
of digital transactions and moving towards
Governments vision of cashless economy.
The question however is how to make
it sustainable. The infrastructure to sustain
this is still in nascent stage. The National
Fiber Network is still incomplete as it was
envisaged. For the Cashless and Digital
economy to become the prima donna, the
user experience has to be uniform, reliable
and absolutely secure. At present while
many wallets and other payment options
have come up post demonetisation with
many payment options, except that of a
few banks, many still do not have a solution
that is highly secure and have an easy to
use user interface and experience. This may
need us to write a very good India specific
standard, adopt international technologies
like Tokenisation and OEM pay solutions
if needed or still better enable the Indian
start up eco system to develop India OEM
pay solutions under the UPI structure. Once
this becomes available the adoption will be
automatic, sums up K Krishna Moorthy,
Chairman, IESA. n
Samrita Baruah
samrita@varindia.com

www.varindia.com

January 2017

43

VAR CORPORATE

Sify Technologies Limited

Setting the pace

intensive applications, information security threats and
evolving technologies.

India Data Business

Global Data Business

Wholesale Voice
Data Center Services: Sifys network today connects
43 DCs across India, including Sifys 6 Tier 3 DCs in
Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. The suite of
services include:

Colocation Services

Managed Hosting

DC Migration

DC IT Services

DC Transformation
Cloud & Managed Services: Sify offers Public, Private
and Managed Cloud services, leveraging enterprise-class
technology to guarantee high availability, performance,
scalability and security.

Enterprise Public Cloud

Enterprise Private Cloud

Cloud-based Disaster Recovery

Managed IT Services
Sify Technologies Ltd. is an ICT pacesetter that is continuously
evolving through knowledge and expertise, to keep its customers
ahead. Being curious, young and bold, Sify is ever-enthused to take on
any challenge on the ICT front, offering customized solutions to large,
Enterprises, SMBs, Government and PSUs. Sifys expertise makes it
the ideal technology partner to manage the full spectrum of the IT
needs of all organizations, across sector and scale.
The companys Bring it on attitude, scalable portfolio of services
and superior solutions have enabled it to transform its image in the
technology space. Sify has metamorphosed from a Telecom-Network
and Data Center (DC) service provider to becoming a full-fledged and
converged ICT player, with capabilities that spread across Telecom,
Cloud and Managed solutions, DC Transformation, Applications
Integration and Transformation Integration Services. Today, it offers
end-to-end ICT solutions to 8,000+ organizations and acts as a true
B2B technology transformation player.
As a comprehensive ICT partner, it brings business-oriented
solutions on a pay-per-use model by integrating world-class services
and resources. It assesses, creates, migrates, secures, manages and
optimizes them so that the solution it delivers to its partners enables
them to transform their businesses.
As an integrated transformation enabler, Sify offers domain-specific
solutions that improve asset productivity and contribute significantly
to business growth.
Telecom Services: Sifys suite of telecom services goes beyond
enabling business applications to help adapt to rapid growth, data

marketing@sifycorp.com
www.sifycorp.com

44

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Applications Integration Services: Sify offers the entire range of

consulting-led IT software application services and products to diverse
domestic and global clients.
MSIS: Managed SAP Integration Services
Microsoft Solutions
E-Learning
Forum Nxt: End-to-end SCM Solutions
Talent Management Solutions
iTest: Online Examinations
Skype for Consumers
Transformation & Integration Services: Sifys TIS offerings are well
aligned and integrated with its core strength in telecom and data center
space.
Data Center Build and Transformation
Network Build and Integration
Information Security Services
Collaboration Services
End-user Computing Services
Collaboration Tools
Sify has partnered with major OEMs and also demonstrated its prowess
in many DC transformation projects by implementing best-of-breed
solutions thus enabling customers to experience the best-fit solution
to address their business demands and de-risk technology adoption.
Today, Sifys converged ICT ecosystem is transforming small to
enterprise-grade organizations with solutions that are scalable, flexible
and reliable.

Our end-to-end ICT services

telecom services data center services cloud & managed services
transformation & integration services applications integration services

Movers & Shakers

TCS appoints Rajesh

Gopinathan as CEO; NG
Subramaniam as COO

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has

appointed Rajesh Gopinathan as Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director and
NG Subramaniam as Chief Operating Officer.
Gopinathan takes over from N Chandrasekaran who has been appointed
as the Chairman of Tata Sons, effective February 21, 2017. N Ganapathy
Subramaniam, (NGS) who is currently president, TCS Financial Solutions
has been appointed as the President and Chief Operating Officer.
Ganapathy has also been appointed as a Director on the board of the
Company. I look forward to a continued relationship with TCS and the
management team, said N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons.

IBM Appoints Karan

Bajwa as MD, Vanitha
Narayanan as Chairman

N Chandrasekaran appointed
Chairman of Tata Sons

The board of directors of Tata Sons, at

its meeting has unanimously appointed N
Chandrasekaran as executive chairman, Tata
Sons. N Chandrasekaran shall take charge from
February 21, 2017.
Chandrasekaran was the chief executive officer
and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services since 2009. A Tata
lifer, he had joined the company in 1987 and was appointed as a director
on the board of Tata Sons on October 25, 2016. On his appointment, N
Chandrasekaran said, I am humbled and honoured to be chosen to lead a
truly great institution that occupies a unique position in hearts of the people
in India and the world. I am proud to have been part of the Tata family for
over 30 years and assuming this position is a great privilege."

Corning Appoints
Amit Bansal as MD

IBM has appointed Karan Bajwa as Managing

Director of IBM India Pvt. Ltd, succeeding
Vanitha Narayana who is appointed as Chairman
of IBM India Pvt. Ltd. As Managing Director
of IBM India, Karan will be responsible for all strategic and operational
matters related to IBM's sales, marketing, services and delivery operations
in the India/SA region, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. As
Chairman, Vanitha will play a critical role in enabling capabilities across
IBMs global missions in India, global centers of excellence, research and
innovation labs. IBM will rely on her leadership to engage and further
strengthen the Government and Regulatory affairs initiatives.

Corning Incorporated has announced that

Amit Bansal has been appointed the companys
new managing director for its operations in India.
Bansal will be based in Gurugram, Haryana and
spearhead the companys growth and operations
while contributing to strategic planning for
Corning in India.
Bansal will drive synergy across the various commercial organizations
to grow Cornings business in the country. Additionally, he will oversee
Cornings manufacturing operations in the country, business development
efforts with the science and technology organization, and pursue new
global supply management opportunities. Bansal has also been appointed
to the Corning Finolex Board of Directors.

Airtel appoints Badal Bagri

as CFO-India & South Asia

Avnet appoints
Sundaresan K as CGM

Bharti
Airtel,
India's
largest
telecommunications services provider announced
the appointment of Badal Bagri as chief financial
officer for its India & South Asia operations with
effect from January 16, 2017.
In his new role, Badal will lead the finance
teams across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to drive Airtels growth
strategy. He will report to Nilanjan Roy, global chief financial officer, Bharti
Airtel. This will be Badals second stint with Airtel. He had previously
worked with Airtel from 2010 to 2014 and was the chief controller for
the consumer business as well as the global financial controller. In his last
role, Badal was the chief financial officer at Aircel. Prior to this, he was the
chief financial officer at Micromax.

Avnet has has appointed Sundaresan K as

Country General Manager of Avnet Technology
Solutions, India. In this role, Sundaresan will be
responsible for developing and executing the
business strategy in the country, with a focus
on driving profitable growth and enhancing
Avnets solutions specialist offerings for the local market. He is based in
Mumbai and reports directly to William Chu, President, Avnet Technology
Solutions, Asia- Pacific. Sundaresan succeeds Naresh Desai who now leads
Avnets regional Cloud, Security and Enterprise Networking, and Mobility
business units.
Sundaresan is an accomplished leader, having held management roles
within high-growth organizations.

Infogain announces promotion

of Jon Guyton to VP

BICSI India appoints Ninad

Desai as District Chair

Jon Guyton has been promoted as VicePresident of Infogains Retail Practice. During
the past three years at Infogain, Jon held the
leadership position of Senior Director, Sales
and Development for the retail practice. In his
prior role, he led the sales transition for Oracles
xStore Point of Sale (POS) system for several clients. Reporting directly
to Sunil Bhatia, CEO, Jons new responsibilities include developing and
implementing key sales strategies to drive future growth of the retail practice,
in addition to consultation and client relationship management. The retail
industry is competitive with increasing demands for digital transformation
strategies. Jons leadership abilities, innovative thinking, customer mindset
and consultative approach will add value for our clients. His strengths in the
new position will take Infogains Retail Division into an exciting future, said
Sunil Bhatia, CEO, Infogain.

BICSI has appointed Ninad Desai as

District Chair who will spearhead BICSI India
in catalyzing the growth of the ICT industry
and strengthening the professional community,
while enabling the fulfilment of its future goals
and aspirations. Ninad Desai will further drive
BICSIs strategic programs and related key initiatives to empower ICT
professionals to excel in their field of operation by placing key emphasis
on education & training for ICT industry professionals.
Ninad Desai, District Chair, BICSI India said, There is a greater
demand to ensure consistency in enterprise & communications network
standards and need for stricter adherence to Quality of Service (QoS)
requirements.

www.varindia.com

January 2017

45

FACE TO FACE

Sirion drives efficiency and costeffectiveness for its Customers

A Sequoia funded company, SirionLabs is transforming the supplier experience for enterprises in
the rapidly emerging on-demand/service economy and has received several industry recognitions.
Devinder Jeet Singh, GM Marketing SirionLabs, during a casual chat with VARINDIA shares
the companys GTM strategy and details about its customer base across the globe -

SirionLabs was founded in 2012 by Ajay Agrawal and Claude Marais.

Today it has 200+ employees working across multiple global locations
including India, US, UK, Singapore, Denmark and Germany.
SirionLabs has developed a novel SaaS product called Sirion, which
assists large organizations to manage their strategic services suppliers (e.g.
IT outsourcing, BPO etc.) by extracting the obligations within the contracts
and tying the performance of those obligations to invoices received from
the suppliers. Our solution enables organizations to streamline the way
they manage their key outsourcing suppliers and reduce the value leakage
in those engagements by as much as 15-20% of annual contract value.
Sirion has created a new product category within procurement technology
called Supplier Governance, says Devinder Jeet Singh, GM Marketing
SirionLabs.
Sirion is used by strategic sourcing, procurement, vendor management,
IT delivery, contract management, and finance departments at Fortune
listed companies to effectively manage their strategic services supplier
engagements. SirionLabs current clients include Fortune 1000
organizations with significant services outsourcing engagements such as
IT, BPO, Logistics, Facilities Management, etc.
SirionLabs has 100+ professionals in its R&D team consisting of
architects, developers, QA and product managers. Its technical team
primarily comes from premier technology institutes such as IITs, NITs
and BITS with rich domain experience at top technology companies

Go-to-Market strategy
Sirion is delivered on a SaaS /subscription fee model, hosted on Amazon
Web Services and is built on a multi-tenant architecture. Implementation
of Sirion for a single customer generally implies access to thousands of
users from both buyer side and supplier side. Most Sirion customer
engagements are multi-year as strategic services contracts commonly span
5-7 years. Additionally, the scope of our engagements expands over time
to include additional contract types pushing up the annual contract value
of the engagement, explains Devinder.
Sirion reaches its customers through multiple channels sales team,
strategic alliances (with some of the top global strategy consulting firms),
industry conferences, analyst relations etc.
By implementing Sirion, organizations are able to reduce the manual
effort in managing their suppliers by around 44%. This brings down the

cost of supplier management significantly due to the reduction in the

number of resources required to manage suppliers, but it also increases
the efficiency and hence the capacity of the existing team to manage a
broader base of suppliers, he says.

Future Roadmap...
Sirions goal is to double its annual revenue run rate to $6-9 million
in the next 12-18 months. In addition to making further in-roads into its
strongest markets North America and Europe Sirion will increase its
focus on new markets such as Australia where it is seeing strong interest.
We will also look at specific segments in the Indian market (large suppliers
and enterprises), Devinder concludes. n

UCLH Case Study - How the Trust could save 20m over 5 years
The Challenge

University College London Hospital (UCLH), one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK has a large number of contracts, with an annual spend on
commercial suppliers of about 110m.
The Trust thought that it may be over-paying (or under-charging) its commercial partners but did not have the evidence or capacity to challenge.
It did not understand its contractual obligations and important opportunities to re-negotiate terms were missed. UCLH conducted a review of their
existing contract management environment and recognized that in many cases the business processes did not support the Trusts obligations under
the contracts, the relationships were not formally managed, the contracts were often changed informally or unintentionally and, the documentation
was difficult to locate or was out of date.
The Solution

UCLH commenced an initiative aimed at driving improved efficiencies and savings in its commercial arrangements through an effective combination
of processes and technology. As part of this initiative, UCLH commenced a proof of concept engagement with the deployment of a large client
services contract (for delivering a range of technology, medical and facilities management services to a large patient care services company) for
management on Sirion. This was quickly followed by a large procurement contract for IT and BPO services.
The Impact

In the summer of 2016 the implementation of the Sirion solution was completed for the first two contracts. The contracts are now stored in
a fully searchable centralised document repository. All the obligations in the contracts have been captured and assigned to individuals. Similarly, all
service levels are now monitored and performance is reflected in the invoice validation process. The system captures issues and actions which are all
loggedJanuary
through the
system
and managed as a part of a formal governance process. Even during implementation of the first two contracts the trust
2017
www.varindia.com
46
found 500,000 of previous under billing and 250,000 of annual savings.

VAR COLUMN

3 tips for IT channel sales in

a digital-first economy
Byline article by Sumir Bhatia, Vice President, Data Centre Group, Asia Pacific at Lenovo

e hear so much these days about our customer organisations

pursuing a digital-first strategy. Digital transformation
remains a big priority for C-suite leaders and their teams, something
borne out by research from Frost & Sullivan and other analysts.

But what does this mean for technology channel

partners?
Think digital. Putting mobile and web experiences first is a big
priority for companies and the public sector alike. Its this digital-first
or if you like customer-first strategy which requires considered
support from technology partners and the channel.
With this definition in mind, here are some strategies to help
channel partners and professionals navigate forward.
1. Tailor your digital-first conversation
The first step is deeper consultation. Take the time to understand
the motivations of your business customers, along with the processes
required to get from A to B (which of course also means defining
where A and B actually are in your strategy). Technology consulting,
products and services help to achieve the digital outcomes that have
been articulated.
How are digital-first priorities defined? Thought-works describes
digital-first as a focus on content first, made Omni-available and
leveraged across multiple platforms. Inherent is the emphasis on
delivering greater customer experiences, and you wont find many
client businesses disagreeing on that point!
Next, what are we talking about, and what are we selling? The role
played by technology consulting includes cloud computing, analytics,
hardware, software development, mobile solutions, and social platforms
which should all be geared to helping organisations deliver more
positive product and service experiences to customers or stakeholders.
For example, in a digital-first framework, self-service and efficient
contact centre tools help to deliver customer loyalty, while transforming
the efficiency of more productive employees inside organisations.
These are the conversations channel partners need to be having
with customers.
2. Focus your sales efforts for better results
Your key priorities need to be met quickly in a digital-first world, so
its all about securing fundamentals. Channel customers like everyone
are looking for timely information, responsiveness and solutions.
Where can we look for process excellence? McKinsey cites the
concept of creating a world-class sales operation as a key advantage
in meeting needs going forward. What does such an operation look
like? The key here is giving your sales team the ability to more easily do
what they do best. That means programs and process improvements
that reduce wasted time and bottlenecks. McKinsey mentions accountplanning re-engineering, CRM simplification efforts, streamlined bid
management, and proposal desks as examples that help get the job
done.
Lead from the front with weekly, monthly and quarterly reviews
along with sales planning clinics for your key markets and accounts.
Finally, we dont as an industry talk enough about the importance of
sales operations and good data, but advanced analytics will produce
better results in prospect targeting, go-to-market strategy development,
and customer engagement. A focus on analytics can mean the difference
between maybe and definitely in your sales strategies and outcomes
(and the difference between likely and possible in revenues).
3. Partner with companies that understand digital
transformation

Cross-industry disruption and digital-first priorities are clearly the

new normal, so channel go-to-market strategies should support these
demands. At Lenovo, weve embraced disruption in the data centre
space, and were encouraging our channel partners to learn how and
why weve repositioned to become the definitive data centre challenger
brand.
95% of our data centre groups business is now conducted through
our network of 15,800 channel partners across Asia Pacific. To that
end, were developing an always-on Asia Pacific Channel Portal to help
our channel partners do business with greater ease across the region.
Watch this space!
Change is a constant. Digital transformation is taking place in
every industry around the world, providing plenty of opportunities for
channel partners switched on to the digital-first dialogues customers
want to have.
Only the organisations which manage their own digital
transformation will succeed. The stakes couldnt be higher, so for
technology channel partners, I believe focusing sales efforts toward
an elevated level of strategic consultation along with best practice
operations will be a powerful way forward. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

47

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

Lenovos Thinkcentre X1

The Thinkcentre X1 comes styled in the usual

Lenovo charcoal-grey color scheme, with a 23.8inch, 1920x1080 non-touch display featuring an
anti-glare coating. This All-in-one PC ideally save
space, minimize clutter, and allow unrestricted
access to the surface they reside on.
X1 is Super Slim. The aluminum-alloy
crafted chassis is just 11 mm thin/0.43 inches.
Thinkcentre X1 is powered with 6th gen Intel
Core processor with vPro, Windows 10 Pro
operating system, mechanical (up to 500GB)
or solid state (up to 1TB) hard drives and up to
16GB of RAM DDR4 memory. Pack this all-inone with performance to power through work,
collaborate through online meetings, or sit back
and enjoy high-definition entertainment. This
all-in-one features a widescreen 23.8 full HD
antiglare display (1920 x 1080). The display has
been treated at a micro-level to scatter light and
prevent glare so you get a vibrant, clear screen,
even in brightly-lit environments.
The X1s thoughtful design is the arrangement
of its ports and switches. Everything you are
likely to leave plugged in connects to the back
of the system: gigabit ethernet, Kensington lock
port, power jack, a bi-directional Display 1.2
port and three USB 3.0 ports. For more daily
use, you will find two USB 3.0 ports (one of
which is always on, for charging purposes), a
combination headphone/microphone jack, and
a media card slot on the lower left hand side.
Wireless keyboard and mouse are supplied with
this machine.

LG KarSalaam initiative dedicated to Indian soldiers

LG Electronics India is going to
celebrate this 68th Republic Year of
the country, with the launch of the
KarSalaam initiative, dedicated to the
Indian soldiers. The campaign invites
the whole nation to come forward
and send their wishes to the Indian
Armed Forces.
Through this initiative, LG
will salute the soldiers spirit of selfless contribution and service towards the country.
LG is committed to walk the extra mile, providing a good life to the citizens of India.
Accordingly, the company will extend their support and solidarity to our soldiers who
play a great role in ensuring that we lead a fearless and good life in this country.
LG will reach out to citizens through radio, on ground and digital communication
to capture the wishes of the citizens of India for our soldiers. The company also plans
to invite people through social media platforms and encourage them to #KarSalaam
(express their gratitude). All Indians are invited to post their wishes for soldiers on www.
karsalaam.in. LG also seeks participation from the families of the soldiers to send their
heartwarming messages to their near and dear ones who brave all odds to protect our
country.
Taking this campaign forward, LG will be contributing a certain amount on every LG product purchased till 26th January towards the India
National Defence Fund, which is dedicated to the welfare of soldiers.
Amit Gujral, Head Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics India, said, We salute the spirit of our soldiers who valiantly give up their
life to protect the country, but hardly find an opportunity to reach out to them. Therefore, we took this initiative to bring together the citizens of
India to express their gratitude to our soldiers. The selfless devotion our armed forces calls for adulation and what could be a better occasion than
this Republic Day. We invite all to pour their heart out and leave no barriers to reach out to them. As a small token of our effort to salute the spirit
of India, LG will contribute a certain amount to the National Defence Fund and our citizens wishes will be shared with the Indian soldiers. Lets
celebrate heroism, patriotism and a good life! KarSalaam.

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January 2017

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ISODA CORNER

ISODA plans to add new members

ISODA 2016 A Flashback

2016 has been quite eventful for the IT industry in general and also for
Infotech Software Dealers Association (ISODA) in particular. New IT products,
payment gateways, mobile wallets, etc all recorded a sudden surge in 2016 due to
the demonetization initiative taken by the Government. SAP HANA, Big Data and
Analytics and Hyperconverged infrastructure have been some of the biggest drivers
of 2016.
Companies are looking forward to adopt software-centric architecture that
integrates computation, storage, networking and other vitalization resources. A large
number of new customers have embraced SAP HANA as well.
Traditional partners are now restructuring their businesses and are trying to
make themselves more relevant to the changing times. 2016 also experienced stiff
competition between Indian and global Solution Providers without indicating any

noteworthy trends.
There was an increase in the number of Ransomware attacks on customers in 2016.
Gartner's prediction shows that there is a considerable increase in the number of companies which have leveraged cloud solutions to generate
valuable business insights, says Kavita Singhal, Chairperson, ISODA.

Forecast for 2017

With new regulations and technologies coming into place, 2017 will attract more
investments and opportunities for the industry. Tech Summit 7 (TS7) is also going
to be a game-changer. It is likely to bring in more members and a whole lot of new
opportunities for many of us.
The Government of India has taken many new initiatives and they are likely to
make huge investments in automation which is a good sign for the IT industry. We are
sure that it will lead to a sustained growth in business opportunities for the industry
as well.
Increase in the number of companies adopting cloud technologies will open up
new opportunities in 2017 and the stringent security measures and solutions to handle
Ransomware, machine learning, hyperconverged infrastructure, DR-as-a-Service,
Work area recovery, IoT and 3D printing are going to be the buzzwords during 2017.
The Government of India is promising huge investments in technology and partners and those who work for the government stand to be benefited
most. After the implementation of GST, multi-state operations will become easier and 2017 will also see a lot of consolidations to bring about greater
focus and market engagement.
The corporate world is moving cautiously and I hope that they too will come forward and invest in new initiatives, resulting in overall business
growth opportunities for IT in India, predicts Vipul Datta, Chairman, ISODA.

ISODAs Roadmap for 2017

ISODA hopes to start one new chapter and is planning to strengthen the body by
inducting at least 40 new members and also conduct around two regional events every
quarter. The organization is looking forward to change the current look of ISODA
website and make it more useful and resourceful for the benefit of its members.
Moreover, ISODA is keen to make a mobile app for the ease of website usage by the
members. It aims to join hands with global associations like NASSCOM, etc.
Cyber threat, Ransomware is the biggest buzzword of this year and hence solutions
to prevent this menace will be in great demand.
New skills and opportunities for 2017 technology have opened up the doors for
new avenues and customer sets. Hence, it is completely up to us to actually skill our
teams and avail the opportunities.
The new technologies and skills are also required for the BFSI and manufacturing

sector as we see a lot of niche applications being developed.

The pre-sales resources require advanced training and skills to improve their knowledge on technology and help the clients to make an informed
choice.
In 2017, we are confident of improving the visibility for ISODA amongst the Government and other agencies and look forward for more
competition among all ISODA members irrespective of their technology verticals, said Rajeev Mamidanna, Vice-President, ISODA.

ISODA Business Excellence Awards

The ISODA Awards are most sought after award ceremony. The growing number of nominations and categories clearly indicates the benchmark that
has been set across the industry. The ISODA Awards recognizes the efforts of its member community. This year also ISODA is coming up with its 7th
Tech Summit from the 16th-19th February, 2017 at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with the theme Xcel. Xcellerate. Xceed. The honorable jury members
for this year are Alok Gupta, (CEO, Softmart Solutions), L Ashok, (CEO, Futurenet Technologies) and Mr Dhru Dua, (ISODA Tax Advisor).

www.varindia.com

January 2017

49

lead story

Digi Dhan Mela Promotes

Digital Payment
The government is planning Digi Dhan Mela in 100 cities
to encourage digital payment adoption by citizens
The Government of India seeks to promote digital payment
methods to encourage consumers and merchants to increasingly shift
to these payment modes. To take this initative forward, Lucky Grahak
Yojana for Consumers and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana for Merchants
were launched on 25th December at Vigyan Bhavan. The schemes are
aimed at encouraging people to move towards significantly higher usage
of digital transactions through the offer of incentives. Winners will be
selected on a daily and weekly basis under the Lucky Grahak Yojana and
weekly basis under the Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana, respectively, leading up
to 14th April, 2017, when the schemes will culminate with a mega draw.
The draws for these events will be taken out in 100 different cities
around the country, in a ceremony accompanied by a digital payments
adoption fair called Digi Dhan Mela. As part of the Mela, to encourage
adoption of digital payments by local residents, booths and help centres
will be set up by banks, mobile operators, mobile wallet companies
where citizens can get apps downloaded and learn how to do digital
transactions.
At the event, huge public participation was seen thronging different
stalls put up by various banks, telecom companies, Aadhaar and different
departments of the State Governments and Central Government to
gather first-hand information about various digital schemes of the
Government of India.
The Lucky Grahak Yojana for Consumers has a daily reward of
Rs.1,000 to be given to 15,000 lucky consumers for a period of 100 days;
weekly prizes worth Rs.1 lakh, Rs.10,000 and Rs.5,000 for consumers
who use alternate modes of digital payments, e.g. UPI, USSD, AEPS and
RuPay Cards, but will for the time being exclude transactions through
private credit cards and digital wallets. The Digi Dhan Vyapari Yojana
for Merchants has prizes for digital transactions conducted at merchant
establishments. The weekly prizes are worth Rs.50,000, Rs.5,000 and
Rs.2,500.
There will be a mega draw on 14th April, i.e. Ambedkar Jayanti where
three mega prizes for consumers worth Rs.1 crore, Rs.50 lakh, Rs.25 lakh
for digital transactions between November 8, 2016 and April 13, 2017
will be announced on 14th April, 2017. There are three mega prizes for
merchants worth Rs.50 lakh, Rs.25 lakh, Rs.12 lakh for digital transactions
between November 8, 2016 and April 13, 2017 to be announced on April
14, 2017. To ensure that the focus of the scheme is on small transactions,

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January 2017

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incentives will be restricted to transactions within the range of Rs.50 and

Rs.3,000. All transactions between consumers and merchants, consumers
and government agencies and AEPS transactions will be considered for
the incentive scheme. The estimated expenditure on the first phase of
the scheme is likely to be Rs.340 crore.

Kamalja Raut, DGM, State Bank of India

What are the initiatives of SBI towards digital banking?
We have retail internet banking and corporate internet banking which
is available through laptop or desktop. It is the first initiative that was
launched and is very popular amongst corporates as well as retailers and
individuals. We have launched our mobile apps and we have State Bank
Freedom which is for low end mobiles. Besides that we have State Bank
Anywhere which has retail as well as corporate customers. Besides that
we have various other initiatives like PoS machines for merchants, cash at
PoS. We also have our own Buddy, which is our merchant wallet. It seems
it is very popular these days and was launched last August. We already
have 70 lakh registrations and we are expecting that within few days it
will cross 10 crores.

How are you trying to create awareness

about these products?
We have various means of doing it and has been participating in
these events. Besides, SBI employees have been going around various
ministries as awareness camps have been organised and we are also doing
publicity over media. As SBI have the largest number of employees so we
are trying to convert each and every employee into a digital ambassador.
So that is really going to take us forward. For the government also once
each and every employee of us is ready whether it is public or small
traders we can take them at par and take this initiative forward.

How SBI is helping prime minister's vision of Digital India?

If you see any developed nation the requirement of cash is very less
and in our country it is very unfortunate that the cash requirement is too
high and it is creating a lot of problems. The prime minister has led the
foundation earlier itself by opening Jan Dhan Yojna and various other
schemes. So with that the awareness has increased. In Delhi 84 per cent
of SBI transactions are alternate channels and digital channel, hardly 14 -

15 per cent are through banks. For the banks migrating to digital channel
is more convenient, less expensive and more convenient for customers
also. So from that point of view we have really been promoting it and is
well accepted by everybody.

Navnit Saurabh, AVP Merchant Business, UDIO

Would you tell us about the UDIO product?
We are a digital wallet company connected called UDIO with a visa
card. One distinction UDIO has over other wallets is that we do not have
to acquire customers since we are using Visa network and both online
and offline customers are accepting Visa so just by creating a wallet you
own a card which is accepted everywhere, thereby helping customers to
reach all the target merchants.
The other basic problem is that India does not have enough credit or
debit cards because of the banking guidelines. The telecom penetration
is really good in India as there are close-to one billion customers who
are using mobile phones and we give all the mobile phone customers an
opportunity to create a wallet. It can be created either by going online,
but at the same time we are also catering to the feature phone customers
which is a larger chunk in India. The feature phone customers can have
UDIO card and call IVR services to activate the card. So in a way we are
creating an environment where the issuance of card is easy for everybody.
That is how we are helping Prime Minister's vision of Digital India.

How many cards are active recently?

Currently, close-to 28 lakh cards are active in the market. There are
no subscription charges right now and one can buy this card at Rs.49 and
the card is valid for five years.

Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation

How is NASSCOM contributing to Digi Dhan Mela?
In Digi Dhan Mela, the most important work is to provide
volunteering support to the people who walk in. It is important for them
to understand where the banks are located and also help the exhibitor
with the technology. Our volunteers are also helping people to understand
how to get on to the net and download the app. The reason behind this
support is that, if you look at the IT industry today, if more and more
underserved people become part of the Digital India, then we would be
very quickly moving towards a developed nation. This Jan Dhan Mela is
a step to realize the vision of Digital India.

Would you be participating in the Digi Dhan Mela

organized by the government in other cities?
We will be happy to support Digi Dhan Melas in other cities. Apart
from this, we have also launched a campaign "Each One, Teach One".
The IT industry deploys around four million people and by Each One,
Teach One we can get more and more number of people in the Digital
India fold.

How will Digi Dhan Mela help Prime

Minister's Digital India mission?
On the one side, we are already running digital literacy and helping
them through over 150 centres to get people digitally literate, but even
if they are digitally literate and do not get on to the financial platforms
they will still be left behind. That is where this is going to propel them
to Digital India

Saqib Khan, AGM, Idea Money

Would you explain about the Idea Money?
Idea Money is a platform which we are providing to the customer.
Idea Money is a very easy-to- use interface for subscribers day-to-day
needs. All kinds of payments like utilities, DTH, electricity, insurance,
etc are handled by Idea Money. This is done by creating a wallet in the
mobile number of the customer and it need not be an Idea number. It
can be of any operator. After creating the wallet, the customer can load
in money in that and start using our services.
We have ensured that this wallet is not only available on smartphones
but also on the USSD platform. So a lot of feature phone users are also
able to use this platform through USSD. We have also started making
merchants in the market. If a customer goes to the shop and asks for

payment options and if the Idea Money is available, then he can pay
through the Idea money also. We are fully in support of the Government
of Indias plan of going digital and moving towards cashless economy.
We are very well geared up as we have a huge distribution network
throughout India not only in urban but also in rural areas.

How many subscribers do you have?

In Idea Money, we have already crossed around six and a half million
and we are soon moving to seven million.

How do you see competition like Airtel

Money, Jio Money and others?
The competition is good as it helps in creating awareness among the
merchants. We have also started moving in the same space and we have
been received very well in the market.

How secure are these platforms?

The platforms are well secured as they are protected by two-tiered
security. At the time of registration, it is secured by an OTP and at the
time of transaction there is MPIN to complete a payment.

How are you helping Prime Ministers Digital India Mission?

This is a very good initiative by the Prime Minister and whatever
possible is being done by us and other operators. We are helping the
customers by educating them not only through our channel but also
through prepaid channels.

Vipin Chopra, Vice-President, Jio Money

Would you explain about Jio Money and what is its USP?
Jio Money is a very secure product because we have the security
passwords for customers. Without the security password, no one can use
Jio Money. Playstore customers can download Jio Money app, fill some
columns and make their security passwords. So for any transaction the
customer has to use the security password. It is a cashless journey for
the customers.
Second, we have an option for pay at shop. The customer can visit any
retailer who accepts Jio Money and the only thing the customer needs to
do is to click pay at shop and enter the mobile number after the name of
the shopkeeper which will reflect and one can pay the desired amount.
We have a code creation offer, i.e. when the customers download Jio
money app, he will get a voucher worth Rs.15,000 free of cost.

How can a merchant subscribe Jio money?

We have recently launched a merchant app. If any merchant wants
to subscribe Jio money, he can visit the playstore and download the app.
After the download, he has to mention the mandatory details on their
wallet and a cancelled cheque. The merchant can take a picture of the
cancelled cheque and upload into the system and within three minutes
he will become a Jio Money merchant. So we configure their account
with the bank and the money directly goes to his bank account. We have
another facility of code creation. If a customer wants to promote his
shop, we have a code creation facility. If he creates a code into his system,
then all the Jio Money customers will get a notification.

How does Jio Money help government's Digital India mission?

www.varindia.com

January 2017

51

lead story
How many machines have you sold and
what is the cost of the machine?
After 8th November, we have sold 5,000 machines and nearly 1,000
orders are in the pipeline as well. These machines cost around Rs.3,500
and there is a monthly rental of Rs.250 as well.

Bharat Bhushan Dhall, Chief Relationship

Manager, Syndicate Bank
Please enlighten us about the Digi Dhan campaign?

Due to demonetization, most of the people are going through cash

crunch and they have debit/credit cards so they can upload their Jio
Money app and load it through cards and can pay the amount to any of
the retailer.

Jaseel PC, Chief Manager IT, Indian Bank

Would you brief us about the Indian Banks mobile products?
We have two unique products. One is e-purse. It is a combination
of wallet, debit card and gift card. For this you need to have an Indian
Banks Internet banking account. You can login to the account and
create up to three virtual accounts. Each of the accounts will be issued
with a debit card. Master Card can be used at shopping establishments,
online transactions and ATM cash withdrawals as well. You can gift it to
anybody whose name can be printed on the card. You can load it through
Internet banking and can also take it back as well.
We also have a mobile banking product called In Pay app where
you have a unique feature of scan and pay. A consumer can walk into a
merchant establishment and pay to the merchant. He will be provided with
a QR code by the bank. He can be a customer of any bank. The person
who has In Pay app can scan the QR code and make the payment.

How secure are these products?

We have OTP-based validation for all the transactions. You have a
password to login into In Pay, a password for making transaction and
there is also an OTP-based authentication. We are also providing another
app called IB Smart Remote where you can control your debit card and
credit card remotely. You can switch off the debit card and in In Pay
Internet banking and mobile banking can be switched off facility. You
can switch it back to on status when you want to use it. So while it is
switched off nobody can use it.

How does the Indian Bank help in the Government

of India's Digital India mission?
We are going aggressively on this scan and pay application. In the
remote villages of Tamil Nadu, the street merchants are using our
application. We are also canvassing PoS machines for rural, urban and
semi-urban merchants.

Ankit Anand, Manager Marketing, Payworld

Please tell us about the new device launched by Payworld?
It is a small MPoS device which can be connected through Bluetooth
to the smartphone. The device also acts as a micro ATM and any debit
or credit card can be accepted through this machine. The user can even
withdraw any amount, as per the RBI norms.

How is Payworlds new device useful for merchants?

In the current scenario, due to demonetization there is cash crunch
and majority of the people are running out of cash. People are also facing
many difficulties in withdrawing cash from ATMs to make payments in
merchant outlets so these machines are working as a boon for them as
the merchants can get these machines from Payworld and accept card
payment.

52

January 2017

www.varindia.com

We are organizing a number of camps for Prime Ministers Jan

Dhan Yojana and also for digital banking awareness. On an average,
around 10 campaigns are being organized in Delhi only. For digital
banking, we are not only organizing camps but we are also educating
corporate customers. Syndicate Bank is aggressive on mobile banking
and e-passbook awareness and our customers are also getting benefited
from this campaign. We are also organizing Prime Ministers Jan Dhan
Yojana campaigns for opening saving accounts in villages.

Ambarish Kumar Sharma, Manager, Oxigen

Would you talk about different products of Oxigen?
Oxygen is a 12-year old company which is into digital payments and
it is easing the market by providing solution to go cashless. We have a
revolutionary product called Super PoS which is a micro ATM basically
which is very beneficial for the country right now. We also have Oxygen
Wallet which facilitates payments without using cards. One distinguishing
feature of the Wallet is virtual Visa card. One can create a virtual visa card
and use the Wallet balance to create it. The benefit is that it is completely
risk free and is like a credit card. If you lose your credit card, then your
complete account is in risk but by virtual visa card the benefit is you
create the card on your own so if you want to spend Rs.500 you can put
it on the card through Oxygen Wallet. Once the amount is exhausted, the
account gets deleted. So there is no risk at all.

How are you helping Prime Ministers Digital India mission?

Super PoS is beneficial for the country as it encourages you to do
cashless transaction. We also see long queues outside banks and ATMs.
Instead of that people can come to the retailer shop, deposit and
withdraw money through this machine. So it is going to reduce the pain
of the country.

Tarun Anand, market development manager,

M-PESA
Please explain Vodafone M-Pesa?
It is a unique service launched by Vodafone in 2012 with the core
objective of money transfer. We wanted to help the workers and migrants
to transfer money from banks to relatives. If I talk about remittance, we
had a huge success as we have achieved the mark of Rs 1,000 crores of
money transfer a month before demonetization. Post demonetization the
volume has dropped by 50% as it is process of conversion of cash into
electronic money. We came up with the features of utility bill payments,
DTH recharges, post paid bill payments etc. We have also tied up with
few etailers and food joints where people can pay through M-PESA. The
latest entry we have done is into merchant space.
We are looking at this in a very strong manner and want to explore
more. We have a huge distribution potential. In Delhi we have more
than 100 distributors, 2,000+ people on ground who can explore all
these opportunities and we would like to target approximately 5 lakhs of
merchants in coming three months in Delhi.

How is M-PESA different from other?

In M-PESA, the customer who has cash can go to the M-PESA
outlets and can convert the cash into electronic money. This feature is
not available in other wallets. Secondly, if anyone is KYC customer then
he can transfer money to any unregistered operator and the person who
has received the voucher can go to M-PESA outlet to withdraw cash.
If you talk about M-PESA Pay, it is a much secured wallet as It is a pin
based wallet and nobody can misuse it. n
Pravin Prashant & Aparna Mullick
pravin@varindia.com | aparna@varindia.com

e-Governance

Gandhinagar: India's First Smart City

G

andhinagar Municipal Corporation is

India's first smart city to launch citizencentric smart city services like city-wide Wi-Fi,
IP surveillance, smart street lighting, centralized
command centre, digital signages and smart call
centre
Gandhinagar has become India's first smart
city to provide citizen-centric smart city services.
The smart city services were designed, built and
managed by Sterlite Tech and conceived by
Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation under the
Swarnim Jayanti Mukhya Mantri Saheri Vikas
Yojana with a grant of Rs.22 crore. The project
was awarded by GMC to Sterlite Tech on January
15, 2016 and completed in September 2016.
The smart services project includes services
like city-wide Wi-Fi, IP surveillance, smart street
lighting, environment sensors, digital display,
speed & face detection, automatic number plate
recognition system, public address system, smart
call centre and a centralized command centre to
monitor and control all activities.
The high-speed Wi-Fi service covers 75 per
cent geographical area of Gandhinagar municipal
area and has 125,000 citizens already registered
and offers 30 minutes free Internet service for
registered users. As per the records of GMC,
around 400-500 people are daily registering for
Wi-Fi services.
To regulate the city traffic and for safety
of its citizens, GMC has installed 207 cameras
which include: PTZ camera can click 360-degree

capturing a criminal who enters Gandhinagar

municipal boundary.
CCTV Surveillance helps in monitoring all
activities within the city. All the records of the
services are kept at the SP office located in Sector
27 which is the designated centralized command
and control centre for the Gandhinagar Smart
City project.
The CCTV surveillance helps in live
monitoring of transport as well as the
citizens' activity of all city roads due to
which, at the time of any accident, all
750 Access Points the related information along with police
installed covering detection information can be made easily
available.
75% area
The smart tweet lightning system will
1,000
help in 30-per cent electricity saving for
209
GMC. Places where digital signages have
13
been installed, Gandhinagar Municipal
5
Corporation will give information related
5
to government programmes and other
important information. Over and above,

Gandhinagar Smart City

Wi-Fi


Smart Lightning System
IP Cameras
Public Address System
Environmental Sensor
Digital Signage
Source: VARINDIA

photograph (means photo of all directions);

fix camera can be fixed at a specific angle to
click photographs of the defined road; speed
detection camera can detect the speed of the
vehicle in motion; ANPR Camera (Automatic
Number Plate Recognition Camera) helps in
recording the vehicle number plate, so that in
case of violation of any law, the violator can
be caught; face detection camera can help in

citizens will be provided information related to

environment forecast.
D. N. Modi, Commissioner, Gandhinagar
Municipal Corporation, said, The launch of
smart city services in Gandhinagar has got us
closer to realizing the Digital India vision of
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. With this,
Gandhinagar becomes the first smart city
model.
The smart services will help the government
deliver digital services to its citizen and encourage
them to avail seamless connectivity, security,
cost savings and system transparency for better
governance, added Modi.
Pravin Agarwal, Vice-Chairman, Sterlite
Technologies, said, The smart services project
will set a benchmark in digital infrastructure and
smart living for citizens. We are proud to be
associated with GMC.
"The deployment of smart services through
the urban infrastructure will address essential
administrative needs of the citizens and empower
them with easy access to critical information,"
added Modi.
The deployment of smart services at
Gandhinagar has transformed the urban
infrastructure that addresses the needs of its
citizens by addressing administrative challanges
to improve effciecy. It empowers them with easy
access to information through Wi-Fi services
and smart mobile app, ensures public security
with IP surveillance, reduces electricity cost with
smart street lighting, keeps the citizens updated
on weather and pollution information through
environment sensors, public announcement and
advertisement through digital signages.
The system has 24/7 call centre which
addresses citizens complaints and queries. All the
smart services can be controlled and monitored
through the central command centre. All these
smart services will definitely help in providing
better governance to 2 lakh Ahmedabad citizens
by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. n
Pravin Prashant
pravin@varindia.com

www.varindia.com

January 2017

53

"We are now perceived as a utility industry

and not perceived as a growth industry"
Mats Granryd is Director General of GSMA and he leads GSMA
in supporting its global membership through a range of industry
programmes, advocacy initiatives and industry-convening events.
Mats brings to GSMA a wealth of experience and a proven track
record of success. Before joining GSMA, Mats was President and
CEO of Tele2, one of Europes fastest-growing telecom operator.
Previously, he spent 15 years in a various high-profile capacities at
Ericsson. Before joining Ericsson, he was a management consultant
in telecom strategies at Arrigo and Andersen Consulting.
In an exclusive chat, Mats Granryd spoke to Pravin Prashant,
Consulting Editor, VARINDIA, on UN Sustainable Development
Goals, digitization of telcos, mobile economys contribution to overall
economy, mobile broadband impact on society, mobile operator app
ecosystem, innovations and 700 MHz spectrum pricing. Excerpts of
the interview:

What all did you discuss in the GSMA

board meeting held in India?
We covered a full bouquet of mobile operators issues and challenges.
That is to say, we covered a strategy as to what will an operator look like in
ten years, public policy, product and services availability and what we as an
industry need to focus on. We also spoke about the purpose of work like
are we just here to provide connectivity or do we have a bigger purpose
as we are committed to 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
and no other industry is better equipped than our industry as it has a huge
impact on SDG.

What are you views on Sunil Bharti Mittal

taking over as the new chairman of GSMA?
He is a true statesman and phenomenal individual. As a serial
entrepreneur, he also has the outreach and phenomenal connections
across the globe. He is also representing Asian region which is the fastestgrowing region in the world not only from the growth perspective but a
lot of innovations also come from Asia.

4.8 billion individuals subscribe to mobile

in the world and this makes you the No. 1
association in the world. So how do you see your
responsibility considering the large ecosystem?
We take this responsibility very seriously. 17 UN Sustainable
Development Goals and the kind of outreach will influence you and me
as to how conduct our businesses. SDG app will inform and help you to
collaborate. Mindful of privacy and integrity of business, we start to work
with other types of NGOs to bring this outreach in a good way.

How GSMA is supporting UN

Sustainable Development Goals?
We have done two things. First, we have the app which has been
globally launched and we have launched the impact report also. A fairly
elaborate report which has a scientific approach to our impact on each
and every of those 17 goals and the ambition is to measure it every year to
realize the goals. 17 Sustainable Development Goals have 155 sub-goals

54

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Mats Granryd
Director General, GSMA

and we are measuring these sub-goals even. We will continue to work with
4.8 billion people and we will continue to innovate on UN SDG.

What UN Sustainable Development

Goals will be achieved before 2030?
Financial inclusion is an important as the cost of remittance through
mobile money programme will be achievable. Goal No. 9 infrastructure is
also doing very well. Goal No. 5 is gender equality will perform well. In
India, 114 million fewer women than men have mobile devices and it is a
business opportunity for the industry.

How will digitization impact telcos globally?

We are starting to see the Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M all around
us. I think it is the next leap how the industry will increase productivity,
but it is also good for the climate as we need not travel that much. Fish
farms in Norway are using IoT to feed the fish with the right kind of
composition.

What is the contribution of mobile

economy to the global GDP?
Globally, mobile contributes around 3.2 per cent of the total GDP
which is equal to $3.1 trillion in terms of GDP. For India, it is 6.5 per
cent of GDP and it is Rs.900,000 crore and this is expected to reach
Rs.1,200,000 crore by 2020. The mobile industry, directly or indirectly,
deploys around four million people. Not only connectivity but India is
the second-largest smartphone market overtaking the US and of the 250
million smartphones market around two-thirds of all smartphones are
manufactured in India. That is a huge step forward.

How do you see mobile broadband globally

and its impact on transforming society?
I think it is absolutely pivotal and with the introduction of 4G now
picking up dramatically I think we have the capability of having enough
speed and low latency that will last us for a while. Around the corner
we have 5G that will be standardized in 2020 and we will see the first
network at the same time. We have now trial speeds of 10 Gbps with few
millisecond of latency. With 5G, one can imagine the types of applications
and services that are going to be available like self-driving cars or may
be remote surgery. We are going to open up a completely new arena of
services and applications with 5G.

How do you look at mobile operators valuation

with reference to app ecosystem?
We are now perceived as a utility industry and not perceived as a
growth industry. This industry sees double or triple demand of data every
year, but we have an issue with monetization and we are working hard. We
are doing lot of analysis and that's the reason we are working extremely on
this and we had a board meeting on strategy of our industry going forward
and it is fairly natural as well as industry's nature and you get introduced to
different phases and we are not happy that our total shareholder return is
20 per cent and we should like it to be much bigger.

What are the new innovations which

will impact mobile ecosystem?
I think we will see more IoT and more 5G. Significant in terms of
identity or Aadhaar and Aadhaar identity is important when it comes to
mobile money, mobile identification and mobile verification with whole
flora of different kind of services. You will have a different kind of
integration with your phone. Voice will be a more important recognition
as you might not need your PIN and you can speak and the phone will
unlock so these are some of the most important innovations.

What are your views on Digital India?

First of all, it is a commendable dream. I think there is an ample amount
of proof points of having a society that is well connected. And that is the
type of society that thrives and has an inclusive population and India is
a good way on that there. Today, there are 3 million 4G connections and
by 2020 it is forecast to reach 280 million 4G connections and that is a
good growth story. I think you need to be mindful of backhauling, more
spectrum being deployed, competition as price level is a very, very low
in India. I think you need to be even more innovative in terms of new

"Today, we don't have a

spectrum issue, but we
have a pricing issue"
services.

GSMA views on spectrum pricing on 700 MHz?

I think it is a delicate balance for any government authority to strike
between a very well-connected society with all the positives like inclusion,
like thriving economy, like business being developed that is a good thing.
And on the other side, having just a financial impact at one time, it is
a delicate balance to strike. This time 700 MHz was priced very high
considering the low ARPU levels here in India. Today, we don't have a
spectrum issue but we have a pricing issue. We have enough spectrum
available, but it is not being deployed. That's a shame as spectrum needs
to be deployed and used.

How mature is vendor ecosystem in 700 MHz?

Vendor ecosystem is quiet mature in 700 MHz and is being used by TV
broadcasters and it is the most sought-after spectrum. 800 MHz was the
same thing, but 700 MHz has better propagation.

India will need $34 billion for mobile infrastructure

by 2020. Where will this money come from?
Globally, as an industry we have to invest $900 billion by 2020. It has to
be done by innovation in OTT players, sharing music, collaborating tool,
social media fuelling our network. We are the ones who are connecting
everyone and everything and to a better future. And if we are not able
to find money, we will not be able to connect and I think we are in big
trouble. We are doing to our very best but spectrum pricing is so high that
operators will not invest. There should be innovation in terms of pricing
models and innovations in terms of different services.

Initially, mobile operator was a carrier but

now it is transforming to become a content
player. How do you see this shift?
I think you will see lot of different strategy from mobile operators.
We used to be an analog luxury product which is not the case. We are
a ubiquitous digital product which every one possesses. We are seeing
operators buying banks in France. SKT and KT are also buying banks.
Japan is also moving with different kinds of business models. As you said,
content is being created in several parts of the world. In Mexico, America
Movil is doing content with their Claro range of products. Certain
operators will take a different path and certain operators will say we will
provide good connectivity and there is nothing wrong with that as long
as you have the cost structure which can cater to your business model.
Some operators will become more horizontal and add on more services
and banking is fairly close due to identity and KYC impact and that is the
outreach of most operators. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

55

VAR MOBILITY

LAVA Launches X50

Plus smartphone

AVA International
has
announced
the launch of Lava X50
Plus. Lava X50 Plus is a
testimony to the brands
value proposition of making
aspirational
technology
accessible by offering
reliable
products
and
services. Lava X50 Plus is a
holistic smartphone with an
excellent combination of
space and speed it provides.
On this smartphone, mobile
application loading is 45%
faster, thanks to its 32GB
ROM. The smartphone
offers faster and seamless
mobile apps experience
aiding consumers to multitask easily on their phone.
Lava X50 Plus comes at a
pocket friendly price of Rs.
9,199/-.
Lava X50 Plus is the only
device which comes with
32 GB ROM at this price
point, which stores three
times more data compared
to 16 GB ROM providing
the consumers with ample
storage for music, videos,
pictures, applications, and
other data.

Lava X50 Plus sports a

glossy glass back cover that
merges smoothly with the
stunning 13.67 cm (5.5)
HD IPS On Cell display
which enhances the
video watching experience
specially in sunlight.
It comes equipped with
Smart Screen Gestures for
users to get easy and direct
access to apps and features
by simply gesturing to
the phone - such as w for
browser, m for music,
and more. Additionally,
it comes with a feature
Swipe to capture which
lets users take a screen shot
by swiping down the screen
with three fingers.

Videocon launches Ultra30

i d e o c o n
Smartphone has
announced the launch of
its latest device Ultra30
in partnership with
online portal Snapdeal.
com. Packed with advance
features such as 4,000mAh
battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB
ROM, MiraVision, Cast
Screen,
camera
with
LED selfie Flash, Dual
WhatsApp, SOS-Be-Safe,
Gesture Control, Ultra30
intends to continue the
standard set by Videocon in
design and craftsmanship
in the handset market.
The Ultra30 sports a
13MP Auto Focus with
Dual LED Flash rear
camera while also housing
a 5MP Front Camera with
LED selfie Flash. The
rear camera has Gorilla
Glass Camera Lens which
protects it and with the
Phase Detection Auto
Focus, youll be able to
capture the perfect shot
every time. The camera

56

January 2017

also has Smart Wide

Dynamic View (SWDR)
and ISOCELL technology
to enable wide-angled
panoramic shots and
ensures that images are
clear and sharp.
The Ultra30 also sports
Voice-Over-LTE for highquality calls and faster call
connection as compared
to a traditional GSM or
CDMA call.

www.varindia.com

Lenovo unveils
the Lenovo P2

enovo has launched

the all-new powerpacked Lenovo P2, which
has been designed to keep
up with your uninterrupted
life.
2016 was an exciting
year for us as we launched
an array of successful
smartphones and emerged
as a prime challenger brand
in the Indian smartphone
market. We are kicking off
2017 in a fully charged way
by launching Lenovo P2, a
powerhouse smartphone
with longest battery and
fastest charging. We are
resolving the biggest pain
point of consumers, i.e.
worrying about running
out of power with Lenovo
P2s 3-day battery that
lets you work and play
uninterrupted,
said
Sudhin Mathur, Executive
Director, Lenovo Mobile
Business Group India
Ajay Yadav, Head
Mobiles, Flipkart, said,
Our commitment towards
making
smartphone
technology
accessible
and affordable for our
customers, has helped
establish Flipkart as the
market leader in the
smartphones space online,
with over 65% market
share. Following the hugely
successful launch of the
K5 Note and K6 Power in
2016, we are ready to host
yet another power-packed
launch of the new Lenovo
P2 exclusively on the
platform. With Lenovo P2
being the third launch in a
row in less than six months,
we are excited to be part of
the Lenovo India journey
and witness it unfold to
greater heights.
The
Lenovo
P2
enhances your gaming and
video experience and makes
texts look amazingly sharp
and stunningly brilliant.
The
Lenovo
P2
also comes with super
immersive
TheaterMax
technology that turns all
your existing media and
games into a large screen
experience boasting smooth
graphics, life-like surround
sound and responsive 3D
gameplay.

Josh Mobiles announces

its latest "Mint"

osh Mobiles has

introduced
newage mobile phones in the
entry-level segment, brings
another extension to its
feature phone portfolio
with the launch of its
latest "Mint" which is
all about long battery
life paired with the right
entertainment value. With
the announcement of its
latest feature phone, Josh
expands its foothold in the
Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities,
which seek for quality yet
budgeted phones with
longer life.
With compact design
Mint sports a curvy
polished body which makes
the design look attractive.
Its bright 1.8-inch screen
display gives a clearer
viewing experience which
is further enhanced with
the VGA camera which
is supported with video
recording.
The dual-SIM phones
also features auto call
recording facility, enabled
with Bluetooth and GPRS.
The phone also offers,

easy access to the internet.

additional features such
as wireless FM radio with
recording not only lets you
tune into your favourite
local FM station, but also
records your favourite
songs without connecting
any earphones. In terms
of the battery, Mint packs
a huge 1,000mAh battery,
delivering an exceptional
talking and standby time.
For user convenience, it
comes with a built-in LED
torch.

ASUS launches 4G smartphone

-Zenfone Go 4.5 LTE

SUS has launched

its
latest
4G
smartphone, the Zenfone
GO 4.5 LTE, at a
breakthrough price of only
Rs.6, 999/-.
Sporting a premium
metallic IMR hairline finish
and with diamond-cutting
technology, the smartphone
offers a perfect balance of
beauty and strength, and
boasts of an incredible slim
form factor, measuring just
3.5 mm at its thinnest edge.
The new Zenfone Go 4.5
LTE has a highly-intuitive
control layout featuring a
physical rear-facing volume
key.
Equipped with ASUS
PixelMaster
technology,
the smartphone has 8MP
+ 2MP (rear + front)
cameras with 11 special
camera modes to help
users capture sharp and
crystal-clear images. The
smartphone has advanced

camera modes such as the

low-light mode that enables
excellent
photographs
in reduced lighting, the
Backlight (HDR) mode
for better brightness and
contrast, the Manual mode
for a DSLR-like experience,
and the Beautification mode
for image enhancement.
The device runs on
Android Marshmallow 6.0,
along with ZenUI that offers
immense customization and
utility options.

www.varindia.com

December 2016

57

NEC Aims for a Smarter & a Safer City

The increasing need for surveillance products has led to the demand and eventually the growth of the security & surveillance
market in the country. Throwing more light on this, Takayuki Inaba, MD - NEC India tells VARINDIA of how NEC tries
to fit into this industry with its cutting edge technology products and the roadmap it has set for the Smart City project The surveillance and security market has
tremendous growth prospects in India.In the
past few years, the market has matured at a
very fast pace owing to the increasing demand
for public safety offerings. The increasing need
for secured infrastructure, rising government
focus on smart cities, growing IT spends by
government have given the necessary impetus
to this industry. Other factors like rising
crime rates and terror threats, growing public
and private infrastructures have resulted in
the increased demand for various kinds of
surveillance systems in India.
Today, security solutions like facial
recognition technology are used across more
than 40 countries worldwide for fighting crime,
preventing fraud and improving public safety.
A large number of corporates are also seen
spending more on security and surveillance
today. The Government has also enhanced
its investments in verticals such as city
surveillance, smart cities, airports, seaports,
and the infrastructure sector.
Leveraging on its leading position in
biometric solutions, NEC has been able
to consistently provide high-end public
safety solutions across industries such as law
enforcements, border security and identity
management application. It collaborates
closely with its customers to create solutions
for a variety of public safety categories,
including law enforcement, emergency and
disaster management, cyber security, public
administration services etc.

Public Safety & Smart City

A big Opportunity for NEC
The Indian government has been actively
promoting its mission for delivering 100 Smart
Cities to promote urban transformation.
Government initiatives like these are great
opportunities for companies like NEC as it
will give it an opportunity to bring its global
expertise and contribute to the governments
smart cities mission. In India, NEC is working
closely with the central and state governments
to understand the need of utilising technology
for tackling governance challenges and making
a smart city safe. The company envisages to

58

January 2017

www.varindia.com

In Aug 2016, NEC India deployed facial

recognition systems in Andhra Pradesh for a
large-scale religious festival, providing realtime surveillance for the safety and security of
event attendees.

Manoj Taskar
Country Manager, India & SAARC
Tenable
make smart cities not just smarter but aims at
creating safer and a more secure environment
for its citizens.
Public safety and security is one of
our priorities and focus in India. We offer a
variety of solutions including biometrics and
fingerprinting technology for police forensic
departments and cybercrimes. NEC has
already successfully deployed our advanced
Face Recognition System, in Surat Safe City for
Surat Police, and at Lemon Tree Premier, Delhi
Airport in India. These solutions empower
security teams to prevent crime by offering realtime blacklist and white-list management using
highly intelligent live CCTV feed analysis. We
are also one of the biometric solution providers
for Indias largest national ID project, asserts
Takayuki Inaba, MD - NEC India.
NEC has concentrated on developing
stronger face recognition methods within the
framework of biometric security systems and
is now applying face recognition technology
to law enforcement and other markets. NEC
has successfully developed and executed high
quality projects in countries like Singapore,
Argentina, New Zealand, etc. Within a short
span of time, NEC has many breakthrough
references in public safety domain.

Currently, NEC India is open for

technology partnership and working on its
business model to work with the global and local
partners. We are looking to put smarter ways of
communication, public safety, transportation,
and overall governance that can empower
India to achieve its growth and development
objectives. The strategy has worked for Japan
and several other countries across the globe,
and is even more relevant today with technology
playing a much larger in building smart cities a
reality, says Takayuki.

The Future for NEC...

NEC has proven products and solutions
that are important part of surveillance
solution requirement by customers in
India. It has partnered with major system
integrators to participate in the surveillance
projects in India. The company has also
invested into its production facility, entering
into new areas like transportation and
energy, creating resources and looking for
alliances.
At present, several state government are
installing CCTV cameras to make cities like
Mumbai and Delhi safer. According to NEC,
just installing cameras is not a solution as it
requires more agility and software. It is hence
working with the governments, and is sharing
its deep knowledge and expertise cutting
edge technology like facial recognition and
analytics. Our business domain covering
entire ICT not only has IT but also has security
and network; we have the entire portfolio to
manage the safe cities. Moreover, NEC is
bringing global solutions to make contribution
to 100 smart cities initiative. NEC has more
than 2000 resources for software and solution
development in Bangalore and Chennai. NEC
group has different subsidiaries for developing
software and solutions around these new
avenues, concludes Takayuki. n

www.varindia.com

January 2017

59

RNI - NO 72399/1999

Reg. No: DL-SW-1/4030/15-17

Printing Date 18 & 19

Date of Posting 20 & 21

every month

By considering our values our mission is to provide necessary long term growth with customer satisfaction.
We provide enough opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees. Overall the company
continuously grows in an atmosphere where new innovative ideas take place and we are stick on our
chosen strategic direction.

Cloud
Networking
&
Security

Digital
Marketing
IT Solution

Smart Cities
Education
&
HealthCare

60

January 2017

www.varindia.com

Broadband

Project Management

60 pages including cover