|In: General|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

More than half of Indian employees anticipate that they will be up against a less comfortable retirement than their parents’ generation, according to the latest survey by global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson. The 2016 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey* found that while employees’ satisfaction with their financial situation in India has increased 9% since 2013, 56% of Indian employees still fear that they will be worse off than their parents in retirement.

When questioned about their current financial state, as many as 46% of employees express concerns and more than 1-in-3 stated that their financial problems negatively affect their lives. The study of over 2,000 employees in India found that almost 54% worry about their future financial state. A growing proportion of employees expect to work through their sixties to meet their financial obligations. All these factors pertaining to financial insecurities hinder performance of employees at the workplace.

The research found that 52% of employees think that they are less effective at their work due to financial problems. Among employees who have both short-term and long-term concerns, 75% admit to above average or high stress. In contrast, the same is true for less than 2-in-5 employees in the unworried group, employees who are not worried either about the short or long-term. Employees with both short- and long-term concerns are 1.5 times more likely to report poor health and twice as likely to leave for another job.

Kulin Patel, Director, Willis Towers Watson India said

The growing insecurities of employees around long-term financial stability demands the immediate attention of employers. Companies are beginning to take steps by making their employees’ financial well-being a core component of their overall well-being strategy and employee value proposition. Gradually, employers are understanding the link between their employees’ well-being and their performance and productivity at work and how this affects the organisation’s bottom line. Soon, they will realize that a holistic approach is needed to address these issues effectively.

According to the survey, 57% of Indian employees support the idea that their employer should have a role in encouraging them to save for retirement. However, 32% would be uncomfortable receiving targeted messages from their employer on these matters. Such complexity should be addressed with sensitivity.

As per the findings of Willis Towers Watson’s Staying@Work 2015/16 survey** : 46% of employers intend to offer a comprehensive suite of tools, seminars and education that cover budgeting, planned large purchases, debt reduction, wealth accumulation, protection/insurance and tax assistance/advisory by 2018.

The biggest growth in promoting financial well-being in India will be in the use of customized and targeted messages, where 50% of employers intend to do so over the next three years, on top of the 13% currently doing so. Employers should aim to help employees address their different issues, from short-to-medium-term savings, through to the traditional long-term retirement savings.

The survey results also suggest that 1-in-4 employees, when asked about their top priorities, prefer superior retirement or health benefits to pay & bonus and more than 2-in-5 would prefer some alternative to pay & bonus.

Kulin Patel, Director, Willis Towers Watson India further added

There is a need to boost engagement and productivity by re-configuring the benefit package offered by employers. Different employee segments may require a different mix of benefits that depend on their financial priorities at their given stage in life. For employers to move beyond their conventional role and intervene to support their employees, a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be adopted consistently across all organisations as a solution.

Survey Methodology

*Willis Towers Watson’s 2016 Global Benefits Attitudes Study [GBAS] surveyed over 30,000 non-governmental, private sector employees in 19 countries and collates rich information on health and retirement. This survey was fielded across the country for the period between June and August 2015, eliciting 2,003 responses. The employee research is complimented by the **Willis Towers Watson’s Staying@Work 2015/16 survey, which examines similar issues from an employer perspective. It covers 43 employers in India with nearly 390,000 employees.

About Willis Towers Watson

Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 39,000 employees in more than 120 countries. Their unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas – the dynamic formula that drives business performance. For more information, please visit Willis Towers Watson

|In: Education|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Technopak and Simplilearn, a leading global Ed-tech company, have jointly published a report titled Technopak & Simplilearn Whitepaper on the Digital Learning Market in India. Covering the most significant trends expected to impact the digital learning landscape in India. The report highlights that the online professional education market globally is expected to exceed US$ 9 Billion by 2020, growing at compound annual growth [CAGR] of 14% from 2016 ~ 2020.

Rapidly Growing Ed-Tech Sector : Online Certification Training

With the growing demand for skilled talent in the IT industry today, the report highlights that working professionals are increasingly looking to enhance their employability by up-skilling with online certification training in emerging technologies like Big Data, Cloud Computing and Sales-force, Project Management, Mobile App Development and Digital Marketing.  Technological advancements in the IT industry has raised awareness about certification training, which is reinvigorating the Indian online professional education space.

Emerging Learning Trends : Gamification, Augmented & Virtual Reality

The report also indicates emerging trends and forecasts the gamification of learning and simulation as well as the implementation of augmented and virtual reality in education. It states that the global market size of simulation-driven learning is ~US$ 4.4 billion. With a share of 0.25%, the simulation based learning market in India is estimated to be worth US $13 Million in FY-16 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of over 100% in the next 4-5 years.

Aurobindo Saxena, Vice President at Technopak Advisors says

Skilling is one of India’s most critical needs today. However, given the pace of development, there’s a growing realization that skilling needs to be seen from the perspective of lifelong learning. Digital-Learning and online certifications open up a gamut of options for students looking to enter both traditional and non-traditional fields. It also makes learning more interactive, personalized and self-paced. Students get access to world class content, faculty, pedagogy and certification – anytime, anywhere and at a much affordable cost.

According to Technopak’s analysis, India’s digital learning market is currently estimated at US$ 2 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 30% and is expected to reach US$ 5.7 Billion by 2020. There’s a huge demand emerging from working professionals as well to re-skill themselves. This rapid demand is supported by the increasing requirement of skills such as data analysis, project management and digital marketing.

Krishna Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Simplilearn said

The whitepaper summarizes the different growth drivers of the Indian digital learning market, along with the opportunities and challenges they bring for the online education service providers. Keeping in mind the current skill-gap and the advances in Ed-tech, it’s indeed exciting to see how online certifications have opened up a gamut of opportunities for students and professionals in a world where technologies are changing every few years.

Technopak education analysts also highlighted the various factors that are contributing to the growth of the digital-learning market in India:

  • Increasing integration of world economies
  • Rise in Internet penetration in India
  • Reduction in prices leading to rise in ownership of mobile devices
  • Rising aspiration for world class education backed by willingness to pay for it
  • Government focus & support

Internet and digital penetration

India currently has 462 million internet users with a penetration of 35%. This growth is driven by the adoption of mobile internet, with 65% of internet traffic originating from mobile devices. With programs such as the Digital India Initiative, digital literacy and penetration is projected to increase significantly in the next few years.

MOOC enrollment

India has the second largest MOOC user base after the US and its rapid expansion means that an increasing number of courses have a majority of people from India. Being affordable and accessible, MOOCs are helping address the quantity and quality education gaps in India by supporting traditional classrooms.

Government Support

The government of India’s Digital India initiative is a flagship programme that envisions to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Around 20+ new initiatives have been launched to widen the scope of the Digital India Programme to include projects in the areas of digital infrastructure, digital empowerment, on-demand government services and promotion of industry with the aims of universal digital literacy and universally accessible digital resources.

The report further outlines that while there are positive trends regarding the adoption of Digital Learning in India, lack of content in regional languages and poor internet connectivity in smaller towns and semi-urban areas poses the key impediment towards widespread adoption of this technology-driven learning.

Technopak & Simplilearn Whitepaper on the Digital Learning Market in India can be downloaded from here

About Technopak

Technopak is a leading management consulting firm which has built and enhanced business capabilities with integrated strategy, performance enhancement, due diligence and process improvement solutions for leading Indian and international companies. The team currently consists of 100+ skilled professionals from leading Indian and international institutes. Most of the consultants have hands-on industry experience in their fields of specialization and represent a wide variety of functional backgrounds. Technopak is a member of the Ebeltoft Group, a network of international experts with a presence in 24 countries. For more information, please visit Technopak

About Simplilearn

Simplilearn is the world’s largest provider of short term certification courses that addresses the unique learning needs of working professionals. Having trained over 4,00,000 professionals worldwide,  Simplilearn provides unmatched customer experience, which handholds a customer – right from enrolling into an online course to getting Industry-recognized certificate in hand.  Simplilearn’s course contents are recognized by over 40 certification bodies, prominent ones being PMI, Axelos, Scrum Alliance, Peoplecert, and The Open Group. Simplilearn has also diversified into vendor certification like those from Microsoft, Cisco, and Salesforce. For more information, please visit SimpliLearn

|In: Exotel|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Exotel, one of India’s leading cloud telephony companies has achieved a milestone by connecting 93 million people in FY 2015-16 which accounts for over 42% of the Indian smartphone user base. Exotel also connects three million calls on a daily basis and has enabled 1.6 billion calls since its inception.

This growth momentum further strengthens Exotel’s position as a leading cloud telephony service provider in India. Over the past year, Exotel has grown significantly as a company with their technology team doubling in size. They have a team of 100 employees working at their Bengaluru office.

Exotel’s technology expertise has been reaffirmed with the launch of Exotel Labs that reflects their vision to spur innovation in the voice space. They have also announced plans to expand in South East Asia with a foray into Singapore earlier this year with an initial investment of USD 10 million for the next two years. The biggest business advantage clients see is improvement on their operational efficiency and using call intelligence to track business growth. Along with this, the customer privacy angle too has been an important factor for customer adoption.

Speaking on the expansion, Shivakumar Ganesan, Co-founder and CEO, Exotel said

I am delighted with the widening appeal of Exotel’s solutions and our growth trajectory since we started. This shows we are moving in the right direction to become a leader in cloud telephony space. We hope to continue this upward growth trend in the coming years by adding diverse clients to our portfolio. We see strong adoption growing among the marketplaces, job portals and food tech startups.

About Exotel

Exotel is the most reliable and scalable cloud telephony platform in India. Founded by Shivakumar Ganesan, Ishwar Sridharan and Siddharth Ramesh in 2011, it powers voice communication for over a 1000 businesses including brands like Ola, Uber, Flipkart etc. Voice & Data picked Exotel as the Editor’s Choice Emerging Company of the Year 2014. Nasscom’s Emerge Product conclave picked Exotel as one of the top 10 emerging startups in India. For more information, please visit Exotel

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Leading smartphone company, Xiaomi, launched the Redmi 3S in India, extending the successful Redmi legacy with a beautifully-crafted device that has a super long-lasting 4100 mAh battery. Redmi 3S will be priced at Rs. 6,999 while Redmi 3S Prime, the higher memory model which also features a fingerprint sensor, will retail for Rs. 8,999. Both models will be initially available exclusively on Mi.com and Flipkart, starting with Redmi 3S Prime on 9 August.

Xiaomi has sold 110 million Redmi phones across the world in three years, equivalent to 1.2 units sold every second. With its Redmi series, Xiaomi has disrupted the smartphone industry in India and redefined the sub-10K category with high-quality devices that simply blow the competition out of the water.

Earlier this year, Redmi Note 3 was the first ever smartphone in India to be equipped with the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor. Redmi 3S continues to raise the bar by being the first ever smartphone in India that is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor. Along with the Adreno 505 GPU, Redmi 3S is able to run the latest high-performance games very smoothly.

Crafted with a premium metal body, Redmi 3S has a 5-inch HD display. Despite being extremely lightweight at only 144 grams, Redmi 3S can power through up to two days of regular usage thanks to its large, high-density 4100 mAH battery. Even with almost twice the battery capacity of Redmi 2, Redmi 3S has a metal body that is 10% thinner than Redmi 2.

Redmi 3S has a camera that builds on the success of last year’s Redmi 2, which saw users producing amazing photos often compared to those taken by flagship smartphones. The 13MP rear camera on Redmi 3S comes with PDAF [phase detection auto-focus] for faster focusing, and supports 1080P video recording. It also features HDR and HHT [handheld twilight] modes for various shooting conditions. Redmi 3S supports expandable memory up to 128GB microSD cards. It supports 4G LTE and VoLTE out of the box, covering all India LTE bands – Bands 3, 5 and 40.

In addition to all the great features of Redmi 3S, Redmi 3S Prime comes with a fingerprint sensor with ultra-fast phone unlocking and enhanced security and privacy, as well as 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage.

In a sign of continued commitment to India, every unit of Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime sold in India is being made in India. Xiaomi joined the Make in India initiative a year ago, and the first Mi phone to be manufactured in India was a Redmi device — Redmi 2 Prime. To date, over 75% of Xiaomi’s smartphones that are currently sold in India are made in India.

Hugo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi commented

I am thrilled to be introducing a Redmi device and once again change the game in the sub-10k smartphone industry in India. Redmi 3S packs a punch with a large 4100 mAh battery that easily powers through two days of usage on a single charge, and is the first smartphone in India powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor. Coupled with an amazing 13 MP camera built into a premium metal finish body, we believe that Mi fans will love Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime for their amazing features at simply incredible prices.

Speaking on the occasion, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Head – Category Design Operations at Flipkart said

Having created a history in the past with record breaking sales, Xiaomi undeniably is one of the top mobile brands on Flipkart and we have seen tremendous response for all MI devices launched till date on Flipkart. He added: “Flipkart is the leading retailer in smartphones and we constantly work at making the best in Smartphone technology available and affordable to all our consumers. The launch of Redmi 3S and 3S prime exclusively on Flipkart is a step in that direction.

Key features of Redmi 3S

  • 4100 mAh battery
  • 1.4 GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
  • Premium metal body
  • 13MP rear camera with PDAF, 5MP front camera
  • 5-inch HD display, dual SIM [Nano- and Micro-SIM]
  • LTE and VoLTE support
  • 2GB RAM + 16GB Flash
  • IR blaster
  • Available in Dark Grey, Silver and Gold

Key features of Redmi 3S Prime

  • 4100 mAh battery
  • 1.4 GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
  • Premium metal body
  • Rear fingerprint sensor
  • 13 MP rear camera with PDAF, 5 MP front camera
  • 5-inch HD display, dual SIM [Nano- and Micro-SIM]
  • LTE and VoLTE support
  • 3 GB RAM + 32 GB Flash
  • IR blaster
  • Available in Dark Grey, Silver and Gold

Redmi 3S & Redmi 3S Prime will be initially available exclusively on Mi.com and Flipkart with no pre-registrations.  Redmi 3S Prime will be available at INR 8,999 starting 9 August from 12 Noon onwards and Redmi 3S will be available at INR 6,999 starting 17 August.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Swipe–Naaptol association has fetched an overwhelming response with the sale of 5 Lakh affordable devices so far in the tier 3 & 4 cities. Over 2 Lakhs device of the latest innovation Konnect Neo Gorilla have been sold exclusively on Naaptol. Konnect Neo Gorilla is an affordable phone with a Gorilla glass that makes it break resistant and is priced at Rs 2,999 only.

Naaptol is known for its widest distribution network in the country and it has helped Swipe to offer affordable smartphone in the remotest place. So far the company has sold 5 Lakh+ devices of namely Slice 3G and Konnect Neo Gorilla on the Naaptol platform. Swipe is now focusing on rural market through Naaptol’s 25000 plus pin codes and the local stock depots in 20 plus states in India for faster delivery. Swipe has 450 plus service centres across India for timely post-sales support.

Introducing the Konnect New Gorilla and explaining the rationale behind the strategic tie-up, Shripal Gandhi, Founder and CEO of Swipe Technologies, said

We want our technology to be a part of every nook and corner in the country so that the consumer’s expectations can be fulfilled. Swipe brings together a fusion of innovation and affordability for our consumers. Naaptol is an excellent medium that blurs the gap between our sellers and consumers, thus making the access of the product easier. The association with Naaptol is in line with our vision to make technology available to everyone in the country and that too at a price which is not heavy on the pocket of a common man. Our latest Konnect Neo Gorilla matches the needs and desires of the rural consumers making it accessible round the country through Naaptol.

We are delighted to sell over 5 lakh devices exclusively on Naaptol so far.We are bullish about this association and our aim to cross the 2 million mark in this financial year.

Manu Agarwal, CEO of Naaptol said

We are very happy with the association we are sure this will be beneficial to both of us. Swipe being a leader in budget smartphone help us to grow in smartphone market.

Konnect Neo Gorilla has attracted huge traction for its stunning 4 inch display with a corning gorilla glass protection technology. The small size also makes the phone handy for its users. The device is equipped with a dual 2.0 MP rear camera for casual photography. The 0.3 MP front camera adds up like a cherry on the top. The 3G Gorilla comes with android 4.4.2 Kit Kat which is the most advanced mobile operating system. The 1.3 GHz dual core processor makes the device run faster without any lags. The device is dual sim 3G compatible thus lessening the load of carrying two phones at a time. In addition, 3G Gorilla comes with a powerful 1500 mAh battery ensuring a longer run of the device on a single charge.

Since the beginning, Swipe technologies have introduced myriad range of latest technologies at budget friendly prices [Swipe Elite Note review here]. This led Swipe to become the foremost smartphone and tablet maker in India. The success through Naaptol is just one such story that marked the beginning of a revolutionary idea by Swipe in the industry of mobile devices.

About Swipe Technologies

Swipe is an innovation-centric company with a vision to empower India to be one of the top nations in the world in terms of availability of new Tablet technologies and innovative solutions. Swipe was started in India to bring exciting devices to market and today we are a leading consumer brand with key innovations across product, pricing and support. In November 2012, Swipe Telecom was awarded the “Most Innovation driven Company in India by World Brand Congress.” In December 2012, Swipe Telecom was also recognized in ‘CNBC Young Turks’ for its breakthrough strategies and innovation. For more details visit Swipe Telecom

|In: AspectWise|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

CleverTap the leader in mobile analytics & engagement have announced its new startup marketing partnership with Mobile Growth Academy, an online education platform for startups featuring video tutorials, how-to guides and step-by-step mobile growth hacking tips used by Silicon Valley’s leading apps.

The two companies have joined forces to produce a variety of events designed to provide startups with the best possible combination of mobile behavior analytics & engagement guidance and practical support through meet-ups, webinars, video tutorials to support startups from product launch to mobile growth phases.

Monica Puchner, Head of Business & Developer Relations for CleverTap said

Life can feel very lonely when you leave a job in a large company to launch a startup. All of the business support and resources you’re used to aren’t available anymore and you have to find your own solutions for everything from venture capital to growth marketing. In today’s mobile app economy, there are very few companies actively focused on helping startups, but that’s exactly what CleverTap and Mobile Growth Academy’s partnership was established to do.

Adding to the challenge, all mobile startups operate under time pressure. Self-funded startups need to start generating cash as quickly as possible, while even well-funded ones can have alarming burn-rates as they seek to establish themselves. ‘Growth hacks’ – techniques designed to maximize the rate at which a startup grows – are the Holy Grail.

Nagi Salloum, CEO for Mobile Growth Academy said

Our video tutorials have helped over 4000 startups achieve success in the competitive mobile app marketplace but businesses need practical support as well as the best startup advice – that’s where CleverTap comes in. There are a number of companies that offer a suite of mobile marketing automation, live user segmentation, and CRM products, but most of them are price-prohibitive for startups. CleverTap matches the best feature-for-feature but offers pricing structures geared towards startups.

About CleverTap

CleverTap is the next generation mobile engagement platform. It enables marketers to identify, engage and retain users and provides developers with unprecedented code-level access to build dynamic app experiences for user groups. CleverTap includes out-of-the-box prescriptive campaigns, omni-channel messaging, un-install data and the industry’s largest free messaging tier. To learn more about CleverTap please visit clevertap.com

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Accenture, in association with Yahoo India, has launched its fifth season of #InnovationJockeys: The Hunt for India’s most Innovative Minds – a contest inviting full-time undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students in India to use technology to develop innovative ideas.

The goal of this year’s contest is to bring a positive change to society, through the three themes

  1. Detecting fraud and preventing business malpractice
  2. Creating an inclusive digital India
  3. Empowering women

Raghavan Iyer, managing director, Technology Delivery and Innovation Council lead for Accenture in India said

The last four seasons of Innovation Jockeys have generated more than 9,300 ideas from students across India. They have also inspired innovative ideas on emerging technologies and given young minds an opportunity to stand out.  This year, we urge students to think about inclusive innovation and to develop pioneering ideas that tackle challenges that society faces every day.

Unni Aravindakshan, VP – Production Engineering and Head, Yahoo Software Development India Pvt. Ltd said

This year marks the fifth season of Innovation Jockeys and we are expecting a grander participation. It has been very exciting to be associated with a platform that encourages young minds to take on challenges, innovate and envision a better tomorrow. We look forward to identifying even more such individuals this year and providing them with the inspiration to take their ideas forward.

Applicants for the #InnovationJockeys 2016 contest can register solo or in teams of up to four members as they submit:

  • Solutions for detecting fraud and preventing malpractice;
  • Platforms or applications that support the creation of a ‘Digital India’ in which all citizens can participate and enjoy ‘Digital citizenship’ and
  • Solutions that will empower the lives of women by improving their health, safety and employment opportunities.

The deadline for submitting ideas is August 17, 2016. The submissions will go through an initial round of review by the contest’s jury and the final shortlisted participants will be invited to present their ideas to the jury in the grand finale in Bengaluru on October 20, 2016. For complete information on Innovation Jockeys: The Hunt for India’s most Innovative Minds, log on to Innovation Jockeys

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Wigzo, a Next Generation Marketing Automation Platform, which blends customer intelligence with marketing automation to offer personalized experiences, has revamped its machine learning algorithm driven dashboard to an all new Customer-Intelligent Suite.

The upgraded version will change the dynamics of reporting and analytics when it comes to digital marketing and ensure increased customer acquisition for brands. The new dashboard is one of the most mature set of automation tools, incorporating a full suite of features that not only help marketers manage basic communication campaign, but also provides everything a marketer needs – Behavioural Automation. Brands can now log in and see what kind of traffic they missed out on optimising and recommendations from Wigzo’s Machine Intelligence on what to do to retain and engage more customers.

The avant-garde dashboard will connect the marketers with the customers, culling out the behavioural patterns and insights, required to make business decisions. It will be the one-stop platform aiding marketers in taking strategic business decisions, on a daily basis, which will yield maximum conversions.

Wizgo Dashboard
Wizgo Dashboard

India has emerged as a key player in the global data analytics sector, particularly in the domain of B2B service provision. The speedy transition from IT to next-generation technologies like Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics has impacted businesses in a big way.

Umair Mohammed, CEO & Founder at Wigzo Technologies commented

Shifting internet trends have increased the importance to stay abreast with the behavioural changes and key decision making factors of the existing and potential customers. We offer the perfect solution for brands, who understand the significance of personalization to acquire and retain customers. Our new dashboard is an advanced version of digital reporting that would provide the marketers with a more in depth analysis both in terms of real time numbers and recommendations. At the innovation lab of Wigzo, we have been continuously working on ways to redefine the importance and value of interactive and intuitive communication

It took the team two months to come up with this extremely intuitive dashboard which will help streamline the process of data management for marketers with all essential information clubbed under various tabs on a single screen. It will enable them to quickly access important information, design their engagement plan and implement it in one go and monitor the actions across all the communication channels on a single screen.

Umair Mohammed further added

Wigzo’s revamped dashboard is designed to simplify big data for brands and improve the communication between the company and its users. Data is useful when you are able to take actions on it. And not redundant, generic actions, but rather personalized and 1:1 message that can create a long term relationship with its customer, and impact the LTV of that customer for that brand.

Wigzo is currently looking at 100+ clients across industries like – Banking, e-commerce, Content & gaming across India and in UK. Looking at the current market standards and their reach, the company is looking forward to an increase of 3x in the annual numbers.

About Wigzo

Wigzo is an Enterprise marketing automation suite built on top of proprietary Machine learning algorithms and a Predictive engine that allows Brands and Marketeers to personalise any form of communication across multiple channels including Email, Push, Browser Push as well as Facebook and Google Ads from a single infinitely-scalable dashboard. In layman terms, Wigzo empowers brands to send marketing content that people want to receive.