Gartner Says India IT Spending to Reach $79.8 Billion in 2012

IT spending in India is projected to total $79.8 billion in 2012, a 9.1 percent increase from 2011 spending of $73.1 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Despite global economic challenges, enterprises will continue to invest in IT.




India is the ninth-largest economy in the world, and the pace of economic growth in India — with a mild (by global standards) dip during the worldwide recession in late 2008 and 2009 — has brought the role of IT into sharp focus within many enterprises.

India like other emerging markets continues exercising strong momentum despite inflationary pressures and appreciation of local currencies, which are expected in rising economies. Gartner's forecast shows that worldwide IT spending will reach nearly $3.7 trillion in 2011. From this amount, emerging economies will account for $1.013 trillion.


Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president at Gartner and global head of Research, provided the latest outlook for the IT industry today to an audience of more than 700 CIOs and IT leaders at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which is taking place here through November 23.


“Businesses are increasingly looking to IT to help support the challenges of enhancing customer support, supply chain management, optimizing business processes or helping drive innovation in the business,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “These demands are being placed on IT in an environment in which the infrastructure (hardware and software) foundation of IT within many enterprises may not be entirely in place. IT is also in transition from being viewed as a back-office support function to a frontline business-focused function.”

The telecommunications market is the largest IT segment in India with IT spending forecast to reach $54.7 billion in 2012, followed by the IT services market with spending of $11.1 billion. The computing hardware market in India is projected to reach $10.7 billion in 2012, and software spending will total $3.2 billion.


“The days when IT was the passive observer of the world are over. Global politics and the global economy are being shaped by IT,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “IT is a primary driver of business growth. For example, this year 350 companies will each invest more than $1 billion in IT. They are doing this because IT impacts their business performance.”

Mr. Sondergaard said two-thirds of CEOs believe IT will make a greater contribution to their industry in the next 10 years than any prior decades.


“For the IT leader to thrive in this environment, IT leaders must lead from the front and re-imagine IT,” said Partha Iyengar, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner and head of research in India. “IT leaders must embrace the post-modern business, a business driven by customer relationships, fueled by the explosion in information, collaboration, and mobility.”

This new era brings with it urgent and compelling forces. They include: the cloud, social, mobility, and an explosion in information.

“These forces are innovative and disruptive just taken on their own, but brought together, they are revolutionizing business and society,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “This nexus defines the next age of computing. To understand this change, you must appreciate each of the forces.”


The Cloud. The cloud combines the industrialization of IT capabilities and the disruptive impact of new IT-led business models. However, the shift away from traditional IT acquisition models to public cloud services is still in the very early stages. For example, Gartner estimates that while $74 billion was spent on public cloud services in 2010, that only represented 3 percent of enterprise spending. But, public cloud services will grow five times faster than overall IT enterprise spending (19 percent annually through 2015).

“What supply chain models did to manufacturing is what cloud computing is doing to in-house data centers. It is allowing people to optimize around where they have differentiated capabilities,” Mr. Sondergaard said.


Social. The next stage of social computing is about mass-customer, mass-citizen, and mass-employee involvement with enterprise systems.

“With 1.2 billion people on social networks, 20 percent of the world’s population, social computing is in its next phase,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “IT leaders must immediately incorporate social software capabilities throughout their enterprise systems.”


Information. The concept of one enterprise data warehouse containing all information needed for decisions is dead. Multiple systems, including content management, data warehouses, data marts and specialized file systems tied together with data services and metadata, will become the “logical” enterprise data warehouse.

“Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “Pursuing this strategically will create an unprecedented amount of information of enormous variety and complexity. This is leading to a change in data management strategies known as big data. This creates what we call a Pattern-Based Strategy architecture. An architecture that seeks signals, models them for their impact, and then adapt to the business process of the organization.


Mobile. The shift to mobile is almost overtaking many IT organizations who can’t move fast enough to catch up. Mobile is not a coming trend. It has already happened. In 2010, the installed base of mobile PCs and smartphones exceeded that of desktop PCs.

Less than 20 million media tablets, such as the iPad, were sold in 2010, but by 2016, 900 million media tablets will be purchased – one for every eight people on earth. By 2014, the installed base of devices based on lightweight mobile operating systems, such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Microsoft’s Windows 8 will exceed the total installed base of all PC-based systems.

“That’s incredible change, not only for individuals. It requires IT to re-imagine the way it provides applications,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “By 2014, private app stores will be deployed by 60 percent of IT organizations. The applications themselves will be redesigned – they will become context-enabled, understanding the user’s intent automatically. Mobile computing is not just the desktop on a handheld device. The future of mobile computing is context-aware computing.”


Cloud, social, information and mobile, combined the new nexus. Where data centers will give way to data clouds, mobile devices become windows into personal clouds. Personal computing will become massive collaborative computing, and information technologies will be overshadowed by information ecologies.

“The impact of these forces will make architectures of the last 20 years obsolete,” Mr. Sondergaard said. “Together, they force the issue – they drive us to create the post-modern business, drive simplicity and force creative destruction.”



About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT research and advisory organization, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees' annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.

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About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is a valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 11,500 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,500 associates, including 1,250 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

Centum Learning signs a MoU with A4e to roll out India’s first group of Assessor & Trainer Institutes

Centum Learning has today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Action for Employment (A4e). The purpose behind the MoU is to work towards the establishment of India’s first ever group of Assessor and Trainer Institutes (ATI) to train and certify assessors and trainers for the Skills Development sector.




Commenting on the association, Sanjeev Duggal, Centum Learning CEO & Executive Director, said, “This is a significant step forward in the capacity building space for Centum Learning. Our association with A4e will help bring global standards & best practices of skills development to the Indian market thus bridging the shortage of assessors and trainers required to meet the huge demand of skill training”.



With only 5% of Indians between the ages of 19-24 learning a formal trade, the necessity to improve vocational education and training to reap the demographic dividend of a young population is being recognised at the highest levels of government, the business community and civil society. The role of India’s rising young workforce is crucial in fuelling growth and India is exploring ways to train 500 million people by 2022, both in blue collar and white collar jobs, across urban and rural India which will warrant a huge pool of trained Skill instructors. The MoU signed by Centum Learning and A4e will go a long way in creating a pool of Skill instructors to address these very demands.



Centum Learning Limited and an A4e led consortium of well known skills training and development institutes together will train people across six industries – telecom, automobile, healthcare, retail, hospitality and building & construction. To feed the huge requirement of ‘skill instructors’, which will train and focus on ‘skill building for employability’, the partnership has proposed to create an institutional framework for developing ATIs for specific domains.



The relevant skills providers within the A4e led consortium will provide a range of services including training and accreditation, sharing curriculum, certification and supply of materials and equipment. Centum Learning with its extensive reach, scale and network of trainers is the ideal partner for such an initiative, that can be thought of as a building block of the future of the skilled workforce in India.

On the alliance with Centum Learning, Roy Newey, Group Board Director, A4e said, “A4e is honoured to have the opportunity to work in true partnership with Centum Learning to develop this exciting initiative in India. Centum Learning has a wonderful vision for developing professionally skilled trainers who can spearhead the skills challenge in India. A4e is thrilled to work in partnership with Centum Learning to develop this legacy which we are confident will have a lasting impact on the skills of India”.

About UK India Business Council (UKIBC):

 The UK India Business Council (“UKIBC”) is the premier membership-led organisation promoting bilateral trade and investment between the UK and India.



About Assessor & Trainers Institute (ATI):

A mulit-locational ATI will provide the following:

• Capacity building for the Skill instructors for respective sectors

• Customized curriculum as per recognized Occupational Skill Standards

• Certification of Vocational Skill instructors as per distinct levels of skills

• Training & certification of Assessors on Occupational Skill Standards

• Creation of an overall ecosystem that recognizes and delivers a professional cadre of skill trainers and upgrades the skills on a regular basis.



About A4e: A4e is a fully owned subsidiary of A4e Limited., a company incorporated under the laws of England which is an international social purpose company that designs, manages and delivers public services in partnership with Governments, public and private sector organizations, and the voluntary and community sector. A4e’s overall mission is to improve people’s lives through social change, specializing in providing services that make a difference to the lives of its customers.

About Centum Learning:
Centum Learning, a Bharti Associate Company, provides end-to-end learning and skill-building solutions aimed at impacting productivity of businesses and the nation at large. Besides, it also provides higher education to youth for transforming the face of modern India.

In the learning domain, Centum Learning’s solutions cover the entire spectrum ranging from Learning Process Outsourcing, Custom Content Development, Training through Blended Learning Programmes, Executive Coaching and Performance Coaching to Process Management and Certification. Centum Learning has recently entered into a strategic collaboration with Bharti Airtel, Africa to enhance productivity & business outcome across 15 countries in Africa.

In partnership with National Skill Development Corporation, Centum Learning has also established Centum Workskills India Ltd. to skill 1.2 crore people and make them employable by providing livelihood opportunities.

To know more visit http://www.centumlearning.com/

HID Global Showcases Advancement in Secured Identity Solutions at Genuine HID Solutions Seminars

HID Global, trusted leader in solutions for the delivery of secure identity, today announced that its Genuine HID Solutions Seminar series has successfully launched across six Indian cities reaching more than 600 integrators and end-users this year. The seminars highlight access control mega trends and unique security challenges in different industries, and provide demonstrations of the company’s broad physical access, logical access and secure issuance solutions.


“Heightened security awareness and stricter regulatory compliance have prompted Indian enterprises to review their existing access control systems. Genuine HID Solutions Seminars serve as an ideal platform for consultants, integrators and end-users to obtain information on the latest security trends and technologies in the market, as well as the industry’s best practices,” said Ranjit Nambiar, director of sales in South Asia with HID Global. “The engagement also enables us to gain insight into the voice of the customer and helps us develop solutions that meet specific industry requirements.”

This year, HID Global introduced new seminar format focusing on industry’s top trends, including integrated building management systems, convergence of physical and logical access control and smart card applications. Industry experts have been invited to shed light on each topic and demonstrations are available at the seminars to illustrate how HID Global’s solutions address current business challenges.


The attendees at the Pune seminar commented that the seminar provided an excellent occasion to directly interact with industry experts and exchange ideas on-the-spot. It also showcased a wide spectrum of products and solutions from HID Global and its partners.



Witnessing the growing demand of industry seminars in second tier cities, Genuine HID Solution Seminars have traveled to Pune and Hyderabad this year in addition to the regular seminars in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. The next seminar will be held on the 21 September at The Shangri La, Connaught Place, New Delhi.


About HID Global

HID Global is the trusted source for secure identity solutions for millions of customers around the world. Recognized for robust quality, innovative designs and industry leadership, HID Global is the supplier of choice for OEMs, system integrators, and application developers serving a variety of markets. These markets include physical and logical access control, including strong authentication and credential management; card printing and personalization; highly secure government ID; and identification technologies used in animal ID and industry and logistics applications. The company's primary brands include HID®, ActivIdentity®, FARGO®, and LaserCard®. Headquartered in Irvine, California, HID Global has over 2,100 employees worldwide and operates international offices that support more than 100 countries. HID Global is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. For more information, visit http://www.hidglobal.com/

St. John's Medical College Hospital to organize Peritoneal Dialysis training programme for Nurses

St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore is organizing a Peritoneal Dialysis training programme for nurses from August 23, 2011 – August 28, 2011.

The 5 day residential training workshop open to certified nurses addresses the techniques of Peritoneal Dialysis and Patient management.

“The purpose of the program is to build competence for management of peritoneal dialysis patients. The nurses get trained on the different aspects of therapy, thereby setting the standards of care. Post the training, these nurses train patients to follow the regimen and take charge of their own treatment.” Said Dr. Gokulnath, Head Nephrologist, St. John’s Medical College Hospital who pioneered the programme.

He further added, “Through live demonstration as well as on-hand training, we are sure that this will be of great benefit to the nurses who are looking forward to work with the nephrology departments of various hospitals across the country. Peritoneal Dialysis is a fast picking therapy amongst ESRD patients in the country and this course will help in bridging the need of trained professionals for the same.”

The programme has been specifically developed by Dr. Gokulnath in consultation with other experts. After successfully conducting the program since 2009, this will be the third batch of the training programme at St. John’s Hospital. The participants of the last two training programmes are all employed full time as nurses in various nephrology centers across the country where they manage Peritoneal Dialysis patients. The training programme has given nursing staff a better understanding of Peritoneal Dialysis and better patient care.



About Peritoneal Dialysis

PD is a fast emerging as the treatment of choice for End Stage Renal Disease patients seeking independence, quality of life and for remote patients who do not have convenient access to HD facilities. It is effective because:-


 Peritoneal Dialysis is daily continuous dialysis, allowing for better preservation of residual kidney function as compared to Hemodialysis (HD) – which is conducted three times a week in a hospital or clinic.

 Peritoneal Dialysis can be done in remote areas so even the masses can avail this therapy – it is a home therapy.


 For children below 8 years CAPD is the preferred form of treatment – as their week bodies do not adapt well to HD


 There are less dietary constraints for patients undergoing PD as compared to HD.


 Unlike Hemodialysis, there is no re-use of disposables in Peritoneal Dialysis with the quality of CAPD solutions being consistent across the world

 P.D. can be done at home by the patients themselves on a daily basis.

About St. John's Medical College Hospital

Started in 1963 by the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India, St. John's has grown to be listed as one of the top medical educational institutions in the country. The Supreme Court of India, granting the privilege of conducting its own entrance test, declared St. John's Medical College as standing on a different footing altogether among the private medical colleges in the matter of admissions made strictly on the basis of merit.

St. John's Medical College offers graduate, postgraduate, diploma and super specialty degrees recognized by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Bangalore, Karnataka. The mission orientation of the institution is to train healthcare professionals, especially to serve in the medically underserved areas of the country. Medical students execute a bond to serve in such areas for two years after their graduation. About 25% of them are permanently working in remote areas, and are committed to addressing the desperate health needs of these unreached rural populations.

MINDTECK Q1 FY 2011-12 RESULTS

Mindteck (India) Limited (BSE: MDTK), a global product engineering and IT solutions company, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended on June 30, 2011.

Mindteck’s consolidated revenues stood at Rs. 52.50 crore for the quarter, as against Rs. 63.79 crore during the corresponding quarter for the previous year ended, June 30th 2010.

The company registered operating profit of Rs 3.65 lakh as compared to Rs 3.05 crore in the corresponding period last year. Commenting on the financial performance of the first quarter, Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, CEO and Managing Director said, “Although our revenue has dipped in the first quarter, we are confident of achieving our goals in forthcoming quarters as we have acquired several new clients in Europe and US and our current order book position is strong.”

In the backdrop of an atmosphere of concern with threats of double dip recessions in US looming large, Mindteck is positive of avoiding any negative fallout on its revenues going forward. The organization is focusing strongly on verticals such as BFSI, Energy and Life Sciences to hedge the risks emerging from business in Government sector in US. Also, the company has been acquiring considerable business in Europe and APAC to broaden its client base and build a stronger brand in new geographies.



About Mindteck (India) Limited

Mindteck is a product engineering and information technology solutions company with global presence, offering end-to-end services to a breadth of clientele from the global 2000 companies. Mindteck’s focus on industry domains such as Life Sciences, Smart Energy, Financials Services, Public Sector and Semiconductors have led to the development of dedicated, innovation led, technology specific Centers of Excellence in these areas. It has offices and development centers in India, USA, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, and Bahrain. Mindteck (India) Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE 517344). www.mindteck.com

Entire Range of Trane Air Cooled Chillers Is Eurovent Certified

The Trane plant in Charmes, France has been awarded Eurovent qualification for the testing of air cooled chillers greater than 600 kW. As a result, the entire range of air cooled chillers from Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and solutions and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, is now Eurovent certified.

The Charmes facility of Trane manufactures and tests heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that are distributed in India. Investments in an upgraded test loop have earned it a Eurovent qualification for the testing of air cooled chillers greater than 600 kW.


Eurovent testing and certification of all water cooled chillers and of air cooled chillers with a capacity up to 600 kW is done by independent laboratories. Since these laboratories are not able to test air cooled chillers greater than 600 kW, manufacturers can get official certification if their test loop meets the Eurovent standards. These standards are equivalent to the European Standards EN14511 for cooling and heating capacity.

The AquaStream3G, CGA and CGCL air cooled chillers of Trane were already Eurovent certified for their entire range. The air cooled RTAD and RTAC systems had been given Eurovent certification up to 600 kW. With the new qualified test loop, the RTAD and RTAC range above 600 kW also receive this certification. This means all Trane air cooled chillers are now Eurovent certified.


The test loops in Charmes provide Trane customers in India with a fair standard for comparison among HVAC systems. Each single air cooled chiller that leaves the Trane Charmes factory will be tested in this new facility, ensuring that all components operate and perform in accordance with design specifications.

“We are pleased to be among only a handful of testing facilities in Europe that are qualified by Eurovent,” said Rajesh Sikka, Trane business leader in India. “The Eurovent certification brings clarity and transparency. It also shows the Trane commitment to deliver systems with high levels of performance and reliability.”

Eurovent, the European Association of Air Handling and Refrigerating Equipment Manufacturers, certifies the performance ratings of air conditioning and refrigeration products according to European and international standards. The objective is to build customer confidence by increasing the integrity and accuracy of industrial performance ratings.

Pfizer Strengthens Manufacturing Capabilities in Asia

Pfizer has announced a $100 million (US) investment into the expansion of its Singapore Nutrition Plant, helping it continue to set the standard for the manufacture of high-quality, safe and environmentally sustainable nutritional products for infants and children. This expansion, which brings the total investment in the plant to $372 million (US) makes it one of the largest nutritional plants worldwide.


The expansion of the plant to 91,963 square meters (the equivalent of 17 football fields) has boosted the plant’s production capacity by 50 percent and increased the plant’s ability to supply nutrition products to Singapore and key markets such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

“The expansion of our Singapore Nutrition Plant is one example of Pfizer’s commitment to securing a healthy and sustainable future for our children,” said Jeffrey B. Kindler, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. “Our most valuable resources are our children and our environment, and Pfizer seeks to protect both by ensuring that our products for infants and children are manufactured to the most rigorous of safety and quality standards, with minimal environmental impact.”

“Infant Formula is one of the most stringently regulated consumer products in the world,” said Natale Ricciardi, senior vice president of Pfizer and president of Pfizer Global Manufacturing. “With about 120 colleagues working in Quality Operations alone, the plant maintains the highest quality and safety standards throughout every stage of the production process. Quality and compliance are critically important aspects of the Pfizer Global Manufacturing Culture.”

As part of the plant expansion, Pfizer has added over 100 new positions in the past year, bringing its staff strength to 587 people in total.

The plant is part of Pfizer Global Manufacturing’s Nutrition Operating Unit, a global Nutrition manufacturing network committed to setting the global quality standard for nutrition products used by infants and children. The network also operates manufacturing facilities in Ireland, China, Mexico and the Philippines.

The Pfizer Singapore Nutritional Plant achieves sustainability through the use of advanced technology aimed at maximizing energy efficiency and reducing waste. Over 50 percent of water used by the plant for maintenance purposes is recycled.

“Pfizer’s expansion today marks another significant milestone in the long-standing Pfizer-Singapore partnership. Today’s expansion also attests to Pfizer’s continued confidence in Singapore as a location for global manufacturing excellence and business hub in the heart of dynamic Asia,” said Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade & Industry, Singapore.

Formerly a Wyeth operation, the plant was integrated into Pfizer Singapore following Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth in October 2009. The expansion was completed in June 2010.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates Pfizer’s commitment to health and well-being at all ages,” said Erica Mann, president and general manager, Pfizer Nutrition. “With the expansion of the state-of-the-art plant, we believe the company is well positioned to broaden our Nutrition portfolio and better serve families across Asia.”


Pfizer Inc: Working Together for a Healthier World™

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to improve health and well-being at every stage of life. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacturing of medicines for people and animals. Our diversified global health care portfolio includes human and animal biologic and small molecule medicines and vaccines, as well as nutritional products and many of the world’s best-known consumer products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as the world’s leading biopharmaceutical company, we also collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. To learn more about our commitments, please visit us at www.pfizer.com.

Pfizer was incorporated in Singapore in June 1964. We have over 1,200 employees, with more than 10 groups operating in Singapore.

Big splash in the water tech sector - Singapore International Water Week 2010

Singapore International Water Week is making a big splash in the fast-growing water technology sector. The event was held recently at Singapore & it focused on the need for efficient and cost effective solutions, to address water problems amidst a constantly changing environment. Singapore International Water Week is the global platform that brings policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners together to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world.


Global consumer products provider Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced at the recently concluded Singapore International Water Week, that it will build a multi-million-dollar plant here to manufacture its PUR Purifier of Water sachets with non-government organizations to help millions of needy people worldwide as a part of their charitable programme. The plant is expected to be able to produce more than 200 million packets a year. From past efforts, this is equivalent to averting 85 million days of diarrhea and saving more than 11,000 lives. It will launch new Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programmes in seven countries. The sachets have been used in disaster relief work, such as Haiti’s recent earthquake.



Another announcement made at the event was that, three of the world’s leading universities - The National University of Singapore (NUS), Peking University and The University of Oxford announced a five-year initiative to promote research, education and commercialization of environmental & water technologies. This initiative is first of its kind in the water technology industry and was launched by Mr. Tan Yong Soon, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Singapore.



This initiative called the SPORE has $63 million funds from Singapore’s National Research Foundation, supported by the universities and research grants. It aims to train 40 research scientists and engineers at the three universities over five years.



The National water agency PUB put out to tender the building of Singapore's second water desalination plant. PUB said the new desalination plant will use a filtration method known as reverse osmosis to remove salt and other impurities from water. When completed by 2013, the larger plant will add 318,500 cubic metres of water a day to the nation's water supply.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) hopes more private sector companies will leverage on Singapore’s focus on water development to spur their non-profit initiatives.

According to Tan Choon Shain, Deputy Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board, “The business has grown & there are countries and cities around Asia that find solutions from Singapore useful, since Singapore is in the heart of Asia”.

Singapore aims to become a 'global hydro hub', drawing the biggest water companies here and pumping funds into water research. The environment and water sector is set to add $1.7 billion to economic output here and employ 11,000, mostly in skilled jobs, by 2015.

Global Logistics companies expand innovation in Singapore

Logistics Company DHL has joined hands with The Logistics Institute (TLI) - Asia Pacific of the National University of Singapore (NUS) to launch the $3 million Sustainable Supply Chain Centre of Asia Pacific (SSCCAP), an initiative aimed at boosting sustainable supply chain development in the region.


Global logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) companies had expanded their innovative and specialized activities in Singapore in 2009. Investment commitments in Singapore’s logistics sector in 2009 amounted to S$481 million in total business spending. The SSCCAP will have seven full-time employees and be helmed by a tripartite committee, made up of representatives from DHL, NUS, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and industry partners from Accenture and Dell.


Opening in July 2010, the SSCCAP will be hosted at TLI – Asia Pacific at the National University of Singapore.


With the collaboration, SSCCAP aims to become a premier centre for joint applied research as well as for outreach and education. TLI – Asia Pacific already offers a best-in-class Logistics Double Masters and Masters in Supply Chain Management program. It also aims to become a hub of sustainable supply chain best practice within Asia Pacific.


Paul Graham, CEO of DHL supply chain (Asia Pacific), also urged other industry players to help out as well in terms of both intellectual and financial support. DHL aims to reduce its carbon footprint across its business by 10 per cent by 2012 and 30 per cent by 2020.


“There are a number of things we do in terms of how we design our routes and express business, to ensure they travel a shorter distance but still deliver the service, re-kitting our aircraft fleet to more efficient engines to ensure we’re reducing the carbon footprint, the packaging we use,” said Mr. Paul Graham.


“As global logistics and SCM companies seek to capitalize on Asia’s growth, Singapore’s world-class logistics capabilities and sophisticated lead market presents a strategic site for them to identify and respond to rising opportunities in Asia. We are delighted that many global and local companies are developing and implementing innovative and thought-leading SCM solutions from Singapore,” said Mr Julian Ho, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).



Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) said it will look at increasing awareness on best practices among logistics players. “This centre is about bringing together that group of ideas, that knowledge and putting up a more systematic and structured way to help companies think about sustainability,” said Mr Kelvin Wong, director, Logistics and Urban Solutions at EDB.

NAVTEQR Map of India Now Includes Lonely Planet Travel Guide

NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world, announced today it has expanded its rich Points of Interest (POI) content portfolio with a new product from Lonely Planet. This content enables NAVTEQ customers to provide recommendations about where to stay, eat or spend their time to consumers using navigation systems that rely on the NAVTEQ map of India.


Available throughout the country, the Lonely Planet for NAVTEQ: Travel Guide product includes Points of Interest in popular categories such as restaurants, hotels, nightlife and tourist attractions. Whether it’s for in-car navigation or pedestrian applications, this rich content will help save consumers valuable time while providing relevant information.

“Including Lonely Planet content supports the way in which Indians use navigation systems,” commented Tarun Harnathka, Director of India map and content products for NAVTEQ. “Our proprietary research reveals 88% of Indians use their navigation systems more frequently when informational sources are included on the device. “Providing Lonely Planet for NAVTEQ: Travel Guide supports the functionality they have declared as valuable to them through their usage habits.”

As with all of its rich content, Lonely Planet for NAVTEQ: Travel Guide lends itself to quick and flexible integration into location-aware applications. First, Lonely Planet content is precisely matched to the NAVTEQ map, enabling end-users to navigate to their desired destinations. NAVTEQ also leverages integration-friendly formats and innovative location referencing which speeds integration into customer applications. Additionally, NAVTEQ’s ongoing relationship with Lonely Planet allows updates to be accurately reflected in the product.

“Location-aware devices enable us to create a new class of intelligent travel guides,” said Chris Boden, Lonely Planet's Global Director of Emerging Platforms. “Lonely Planet for NAVTEQ presents our trusted content in the form of location-based guides that will enable people to explore India in a whole new way.”

Including Lonely Planet for NAVTEQ: Travel Guide in its rich content portfolio reinforces NAVTEQ’s ongoing commitment to provide customers in India access to quality NAVTEQ maps and products. Available in 78 countries, NAVTEQ maps undergo rigorous quality testing and verification to deliver highly accurate end-user experiences for GPS-navigation and fleet management. Central to achieving this quality is a dedicated field force that verifies millions of kilometers of road network data per year around the world. Data includes navigable attributes to support highly accurate guidance, as well as visual content products such as 3D Landmarks, 2D City Models and Junction Views that support end-users’ sense of orientation in unfamiliar places or when facing upcoming complex maneuvers.

Megamart joins ‘i-mint’, India’s Largest Customer Rewards Program

i-mint, India’s first and the largest multi-brand consumer rewards program pioneered by Loyalty Solutions & Research Limited (LSRL), has announced a strategic tie up with Megamart, India’s largest value-retail store, that’s opening its doors to welcome i-mint’s members at its 140 outlets across India. This tie up shall increase the benefits for i-mint customers shopping at a Megamart store.

Through this tie up, i-mint members can not only earn rewards points but also redeem their accumulated points for purchases made at Megamart stores. Megamart will now reward 5 points per Rs.1000 to all i-mint’s members across India spanning 140 store locations in over 60 cities from March 2010 onwards. Megamart will also accept i-mint points as an additional payment mode, in case the customer wants to pay using i-mint points.

Sandalwood Actress Sharmila Mandre was present at the occasion.

Commenting on this association, Mr. Vijay Bobba, Founding CEO and Managing Director, LSRL i-mint added that “We are very excited to embark on this valuable partnership with such a pioneering retail value giant. Megamart brings in some of the leading international and national brands under one roof, giving our customers the opportunity to acquire the best deals and reap fabulous rewards, enabling us to bolster our commitment to serving our members better on an all India level. We are confident of taking this partnership to new heights.”

Mr. J. Suresh, CEO Arvind Brands Ltd said that “We look at this as an opportunity to show case our superior quality brand offerings to the ever increasing member base of i-mint. We believe that this association will enable us to increase our customer base and we look forward to rewarding our customers significantly.”

Mr. K E Venkatachalapathy, COO, Arvind Retail Ltd added that “Through this association we would be offering our customers rewards points for their purchases. Additionally, we are excited to present an additional payment mode. Apart from cash / card and vouchers, paying through accumulated i-mint points would truly endorse our consumer promise of “Mega Brands, Mega Savings - Guaranteed”. Megamart extends a warm welcome to all i-mint card holders to its stores.”

MindTree Unveils Bluetooth® Low Energy Stack on TI’s WiLink 7.0 Solution

MindTree Ltd., a global IT solutions company and a leading provider of Bluetooth® Intellectual Property (IP) solutions, today announced the launch of its EtherMind Bluetooth low energy stack on the quad-radio, single-chip WiLink™ 7.0 solution from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI).
MindTree’s Bluetooth low energy stack enables a low-power and interoperable wireless communication between a mobile phone and its accessories, opening up a new set of interesting use cases like caller ID displays on watches and data transfers from health devices to the Internet via mobile phones. The Bluetooth low energy stack supports a broad range of profiles, including PUID, time and network availability, which will drive a new breed of mobile applications across a variety of markets. Utilizing the stack’s maturity and benefits, TI’s WiLink 7.0 solution will allow eager developers to get WiLink 7.0 solution-based designers off the ground more quickly and efficiently.
MindTree’s Bluetooth low energy stack, which has been validated at various UnPlug Fests, is optimized for low-memory footprint and has APIs that enable easy integration with the resident applications on the platform. The stack is built on clean abstraction layers and is written in ANSI C, enabling easy portability onto a variety of operating systems and platforms.
“The development of MindTree’s Bluetooth low energy stack is another milestone in our global leadership in Bluetooth technology,” said MindTree President and CEO, R&D Services, Vinod P. Deshmukh. “This was made possible by our deep rooted collaboration with TI, which has resulted in the launch of numerous successful technology solutions.”
“TI works closely with its ecosystem partners like MindTree to achieve the milestones that will enable the next round of eye-catching devices and applications,” said Eran Sandhaus, director of marketing, wireless connectivity solutions group, TI. “MindTree and TI hold unique positions at the forefront of Bluetooth low energy development with support for both single- and dual-mode solutions, and today’s advancement will speed the development process for designers working with our WiLink 7.0 solution. As a key enabler of Bluetooth low energy technology in our ecosystem, MindTree helps our customers turn mobile devices into robust ‘gateways,’ spurring boundless connections to other devices.”

MindTree’s Bluetooth stack and profiles are qualified for Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and have been proven in multiple products for interoperability and robustness by world-leading companies like NEC Corporation, GN Netcom and Logitech. The products include headsets, handsets and automotive infotainment platforms.

MindTree’s Bluetooth low energy stack, based on the draft specification from the Bluetooth SIG, will be demonstrated for the first time at the Mobile World Congress 2010 on February 15 and 16 in Barcelona, in TI’s booth (8A84, Hall 8). The stack will be demonstrated along with TI’s WiLink 7.0 single-chip solution, running the Android operating system communicating with a gaming device based on TI’s CC254x single mode Bluetooth Low Energy solution.

Congress Party goes online

For the first time in the history of politics a political party has decided to go the digital way to carry out their election campaign, effectively. The Congress Party, one of the oldest in our constitution, has taken up this challenge and is leveraging through the internet and online medium for their campaign promotions.

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group and taking this initiative on the new media, educates the target audience as well. Internet is big in every sector and every individual does understand the meaning and utility of this interactive medium. Hence every professional is promptly looking forward to explore this arena.

Ignitee India Pvt. Ltd, an online marketing company, has taken a step forward to associate every household in Rajasthan with the Congress Party electoral campaign through the digital medium. The Congress Party, this time around, in addition to traditional media is using the internet for running a campaign giving them an edge over others by making use of the digital space. They are using Video Ads across sites such as Yahoo, Rediff, MSN and NDTV among many others. In addition to this, they are also using popular social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook and are running a social marketing optimization campaign.

An understanding of the target audience, has led the political party to take this initiative to connect with the youth also and make them realize the importance of voting in order to be a true citizen. This medium is commendable in its versatility from blogging, commenting and debating on an array of topics related to the Rajasthan elections to uploading videos for the youth.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee India Pvt Ltd said, “Ignitee is delighted to be associated with the Congress Party and to help them take their digital journey to new heights. Political parties are now trying the internet medium to gain attention of their audience. Congress Party being the first in the list decided to explore this growing interactive medium in the Rajasthan circle to help people understand the importance of these elections and to spread awareness amongst its audience.