Ather Energy, the smart electric two-wheeler start-up, has signed an agreement with Sanmina Corporation, a leading integrated manufacturing solutions company headquartered in San Jose, California, to develop and manufacture key components designed by Ather for its maiden scooter – the Ather S340.
As part of the agreement, Sanmina will exclusively manufacture Ather’s charging system, battery management systems and dashboard at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chennai, India.
Speaking on the agreement, Tarun Mehta, CEO and Co-founder, Ather Energy said
We value a manufacturing partner like Sanmina, with expertise in battery management systems and electric vehicles, who is as excited as we are about this market. In a smart scooter like the S340, integrating the power circuits with each other, the onboard charger and the charging stations is of paramount importance. Sanmina and Ather have designed a system that offers the utmost efficiency with the highest levels of safety.
Commenting on the agreement, Mike Landy, Sanmina’s EVP and COO of EMS for Asia and Europe said
Sanmina is excited to partner with Ather Energy. We are impressed with the sophisticated design and innovative technology in the S340. Sanmina specializes in mission critical products and electronics, and we are proud to collaborate with Ather Energy.
The Ather S340 is slated to launch in Bangalore in June, 2018.
About Ather Energy
Co-founded in 2013 by IIT graduates – Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy is one the few hardware startups in India. The company designing India’s first truly intelligent electric scooter and is backed by the founders of Flipkart, Tiger Global and Hero Motocorp.
Designed from scratch, the S340 is customized to Indian conditions and riding sensibilities. A top speed of 72 kmph, a range of up to 60 km and an acceleration of 0-40 kmph in 7.3 sec, it’s perfectly designed for the stop and go city ride. Equipped with a 7″ interactive dashboard and an integrated app, it allows for the never-before features like onboard navigation, remote diagnostics and over the air updates for future improvements. What completes the experience is the comprehensive public charging infrastructure being built by Ather Energy, starting with Bangalore followed by Chennai and Pune. For more information, please visit Ather Energy
Criteo, the leading commerce marketing technology company, launched Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] in India. As the second country following Australia in APAC to launch this new solution, it demonstrates the strategic importance of the Indian market and Criteo’s long-term commitment to the fast developing e-commerce market.
Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] helps retailers reach and target new customers using dynamic ads, presenting products most suited to a prospect’s current interests and tastes. With personalized product recommendations by granularly analyzing anonymized product categories and vertical signals across Criteo’s global publisher and retail network, it helps drive significant new revenue from shoppers with the high propensity to convert. Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] engages with new customers based on the intelligence of their historic shopping and browsing events, interests and likelihood.
According to the Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] Survey 2017, personalized product recommendations can unlock new revenue streams. More and more marketers allocate a significant amount of their digital advertising budget to paid display acquisition solutions. The survey report further highlighted that about 61% of global marketers spend over 30% of their budgets in paid display prospecting techniques to acquire new customers. Clearly, acquiring for new customers is not an easy task. In fact, 64% of marketers across the world feel that finding the right shopper is not easy.
Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] is designed to enrich Criteo Commerce Marketing Ecosystem, can discover new customers across a pool that covers about 72% of the world’s online shoppers. It also enables retailers to not only reach new customers with user-centric personalized product recommendations but also maximize their ROI by using a performance based acquisition model.
New Look, a leading UK global fashion retailer has achieved a staggering 62% customer rate since implementing Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA]. In addition, personalized product ads based on each shopper’s interests and product category preferences resulted in 4 times more orders with a 74% lower Cost Per Order [CPO] for New Look, compared to other acquisition solutions.
Expressing his thoughts on the launch, Siddharth Dabhade, General Manager, Criteo India said
Online retailers are always looking for effective ways to unlock incremental new revenue and drive traffic from new shoppers to their websites. Criteo Customer Acquisition [BETA] will not only help them drive website traffic, but it will also enable them to overcome the challenge of reaching shoppers with personalized product recommendations.
We are proud to announce its launch in India, which is a key milestone for Criteo within our Commerce Marketing Ecosystem. Our total solutions will provide end-to-end service to retailers and help them acquire, convert and re-engage online shoppers relevantly.
Continuously uncover and target high-propensity prospects across a pool that covers 72% of the world’s online shoppers.
Distinguish new from existing customers across devices, browsers and apps with Criteo’s global, shopper-focused, identity graph.
‘Only reach relevant prospects who have a high propensity to convert for the retailer’s products, by granularly analyzing each shopper’s individual shopping patterns, product interests, and purchase intent.
Maximize acquisition rates and drive incremental sales by seamlessly engaging new customers across devices, apps, and browsers with products that match across the full spectrum of their shopping interests.
Increase ROI with CPC-based pricing, driving exposure to relevant prospects while incurring cost only when they engage with the retailer’s ads.
Work with a trusted partner that provides transparent reporting and supports industry standards for security, privacy, and brand safety.
About Criteo
Criteo the leader in commerce marketing, is building the highest performing and open commerce marketing ecosystem to drive profits and sales for retailers and brands. Designed for commerce, Criteo Commerce Marketing Ecosystem sees over $600 billion in annual commerce sales data. For more information, please visit Criteo
Lenovo, the leading global PC and Smart devices brand launched the new V-series laptops for SMEs and start-ups. The V330 laptop comes with entrepreneur-friendly flexibility features like an ultra-bay drive that can house either an optical drive or an additional battery, a Quick-Charge battery, an elegant spill-resistant backlit keyboard, and both USB-C type and USB 3.0 ports. The V330 also takes care of personal security with ThinkShutter – a physical webcam cover along with a touch-type fingerprint reader.
Commenting on the launch, Ashish Sikka, Director SMB, Lenovo India said
SMEs are the backbone of the country’s economy and are facing a digital crossroad on keeping their existing infrastructure versus expanding on mobile computing to meet the challenging demands of their customers. With the launch of the V series, we want to address our focus towards the next wave of business professionals and entrepreneurs who need affordable computing on the go without compromising on performance or security.
V330 [Prices starting from INR 48,000] – Complete on value and quality without sacrificing performance, the thin, stylish and reliable V330 laptop helps focus on running a successful enterprise. With powerful Intel technology, optimized for security, flexibility, and reliability, the V series is for the no-nonsense business professionals.
Highlights from the V330
Rich visuals – 14″ FHD [1920 x 1080] with anti-glare display
720p webcam with camera shutter
Warranty – International warranty
Replace camera-covering sticky notes with ThinkShutter Camera Privacy physical webcam cover
*The above prices vary basis the configuration. Prices are inclusive of taxes but do not include shipping or options and are subject to change without notice; additional terms and conditions apply. Reseller prices may vary. On-shelf rates may vary by geography and products may only be available in select markets. All offers are subject to availability.
As India gears up to prepare for the next leap in GST compliance – the e-Way Bill, it is time to find out how technology can simplify e-Way Bills for your business. The obvious question on your mind is, ‘Will e-Way bill impact my business?’
The answer is yes, by and large e-Way Bill will impact your business. Whether you run a big or a small business, are registered or not registered, e-Way Bill will be applicable to you in one way or the other. Since e-Way Bill is a GST compliance mechanism, you must become familiar with it.
What is an E-Way Bill?
E-way Bill stands for Electronic Way Bill. An E-Way Bill is generated by the person causing movement of goods in the e-Way Bill portal. It has to be generated for transporting goods worth more than INR 50,000 by any mode of transport.
The e-Way Bill is usually a unique bill number generated for the specific consignment. Any registered business, transporting goods in their own vehicle, hired vehicle, railways, by air or by vessel, the supplier or recipient of the goods should generate E-way bill.
Let the right technology manage e-Way Bills for you
Avoid repetitive activity
The details that are required to record a transaction and generate invoice are required for generating the corresponding e-Way Bill as well. Why would you want to spend time to re-enter all the details again in the e-Way portal? The software you use should help avoid this repetitive activity.
Flexibility
You must be able to record transactions in your software, and export the details together for the purpose of generating e-Way Bills in the portal. This must be possible the other way round as well, i.e., in situations where you have recorded transactions in the portal first to generate e-Way Bills.
Do you have to re-enter the details again in your software to record the transaction? No. The right software will let you switch between systems. From portal to your software, and vice versa.
It is not always possible to generate an e-Way Bill as soon as you have recorded a transaction. You might be supplying goods a few days later. Sometimes, your transporter might not be ready with the vehicle. You need flexibility to generate e-Way Bills any time. Ideally, you must be able to generate e-Way Bills while recording a transaction, or after recording the transaction. You must be able to generate e-Way Bill for a single invoice, or for multiple invoices together.
Ensure compliance
Depending on the nature of your business, you might be recording transactions for transporting goods frequently. How will you keep track of transactions of value more than Rs. 50,000 for which it is mandatory to generate e-Way Bills? Let your software do that for you. Imagine cases, where there are hundreds of transactions recorded.
Print invoices with e-Way Bill Nos.
In a fast-paced business environment, where you are paying money to transporters for moving your goods, time is valuable. Your software must let you print e-Way Bill Nos. on invoices in a short span of time. You can handover the prints to your transporter who needs to carry the documents while transporting goods for compliance purpose.
Manage exceptional cases
What if the vehicle in which your goods are being transported breaks down. You must be able to track the particular invoice quickly and easily in your software, and generate a fresh e-Way for the same from the portal.
Business situations can be unpredictable too. If your supplier is unable to generate an e-Way Bill, you must be able to do quickly. If you make purchases from unregistered dealers, you should be able to generate e-Way Bills on their behalf in your software.
Generate and print consolidated invoices
The commercial tax department allows invoices to be grouped based on mode of transport, vehicle nos., place of supply or State and generate a consolidated e-Way Bill to make life easy for the transporters.
Your software must firstly let you generate individual e-Way Bills for each invoice. It must let you group these invoices as per your preference and then generate a consolidated JSON file of the same which could be uploaded in the portal. The e-Way Bill portal will then generate a single e-Way Bill for the consolidated invoices.
Avaamo, the AI-driven company specializing in conversational interfaces to solve specific high impact problems in the enterprise, has raised a $14.2 million Series A financing round led by Intel Capital with additional investment from Ericsson Ventures, Mahindra Partners, Wipro Ventures and WI Harper. This funding brings the company’s total investment to $23.5 million to date. Avaamo will use the latest funding to expand its sales and marketing to meet demand in the enterprise for conversational AI solutions in the growing global market.
The Avaamo platform enables enterprises to deploy omnichannel intelligent assistants in the areas of supply chain, HR, sales support, claims processing and insurance advisory. Operating quietly under the radar for the past three years, Avaamo has built fundamentally new AI technology that automates judgment-intensive, multi-turn responses to complex, domain-specific customer queries with a very high degree of accuracy – even with sparse training data.
Avaamo’s conversational intelligent assistants are already deployed globally in more than 40 countries and even greater global expansion is on the horizon as enterprises seek an AI-based conversational computing solution to improve last mile automation.
Avaamo’s full stack conversational AI platform with a specific focus on vertical machine learning, has enabled the company to acquire customers in the finance, mutual funds, telco, retail and healthcare industries, while providing measurable ROI to enterprises driven by high volumes, intense regulatory oversight and stringent security guidelines. Intelligent assistants in these industries require deep domain machine learning, as well as integration to proprietary data residing in legacy systems with support for security, encryption and addressing GDPR and HIPAA requirements.
Fiaz Mohamed, head of Industry Solutions, Artificial Intelligence Products Group at Intel Corporation, said
Intelligent agents are an emerging area that’s already impacting how consumers interact with enterprises, while reducing costs and improving workforce productivity. Because Avaamo’s secure architecture allows for easy integration with existing enterprise systems, combining its emerging conversational technology with Intel’s platform focus on AI has the potential to provide a disruptive platform for large enterprises.
Additionally, Intel is excited to add Avaamo as a member of the recently launched AI Builders program, opening up new channels for marketing and sales enablement for Avaamo.
Ericsson has time and again proven instrumental in enabling new ecosystems. Conversational AI technologies is one such ecosystem that we believe is expected to experience rapid growth. We are very excited to partner with other strategic investors in supporting Avaamo’s revolutionary journey going forward, as it continues to disrupt large existing markets while creating a differentiated technology stack.
We took an early position in Avaamo after being impressed with their technology. Since then, we have achieved significant joint customer traction in the Finance, Telco and Retail verticals worldwide. We continue to be excited about Avaamo’s technology and customer traction and pleased to support in expanding their footprint.
Parag Shah, Managing Partner of Mahindra Partners, the $1 billion private equity arm of the Mahindra Group, said
Mahindra Partners enjoys helping entrepreneurs to build great companies. We were impressed with Avaamo’s strong focus on execution, the partnerships and emerging ecosystem Avaamo is building in the conversational AI market for large enterprises and are excited to partner with them to support further expansion.
Director Arun Chetty led the investment for Intel Capital and will join Avaamo’s board. RRam Menon and Sriram Chakravarthy founded Avaamo and previously worked together at TIBCO. They have assembled a team with over 150+ years of experience in enterprise software.
About Avaamo
Avaamo is a deep-learning software company that specializes in conversational interfaces to solve specific high impact problems in the enterprise. Avaamo is building fundamental AI technology across a broad area of neural networks, speech synthesis and deep learning to make conversational computing for the enterprise a reality. For more information, please visit Avaamo
One thing that makes Bengaluru [formerly Bangalore] unique from other cities in India is the awesome climate and the greenery, but that differentiation seems to be dwindling very fast. There was a time when you would not even need to switch on the fan even during summer, but lately the temperatures have been higher during winters as well. Huge amount of urbanization in the city [which could have resulted diminishing amount of greenery], rising population [due to the opportunities it provides to the IT engineers], increasing number of apartments [resulting in a concrete jungle] and Global Warming are some of the factors that have added woes to the rising temperature in the city.
The scene is no different in other cities in South India where they experience a high amount of humidity, due to which the residents require Fans/Air Conditioners to be constantly running to keep themselves cool in the scorching summer. However, constant use of these equipments adds up to the overall electricity costs and since Air Conditioners require much higher voltage, they might not function when your house/flat is getting power from the generators. Though air coolers have become a source to maintain cool temperatures, they can never replace the age-old reliable ‘Fan’. It is a known fact that operating the ceiling fans could keep the room cool, but operating them at higher speeds results in more noise and disturbance. Higher speeds mean a significant increase in the power consumption.
Due to these factors and changing customer demands, the overall ceiling fan market is inching towards the super-efficient ceiling fans due to the push of Bureau Of Energy Efficiency, India [BEE] for super-efficient appliances in India. By saving some electricity by using smart appliances, we can do our bit in contributing to the noble initiative of Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana [SAUBHAGYA] that aims to connect thousands of villages with power.
Electric Fan Market in India
The electric fan market is broadly divided into the organized and unorganized category where the organized segment is largely dominated by the Indian companies where the unorganized segment is led by the Chinese competitors. The revenues for organized electric fan market are growing with a CAGR of 12.29% from the last five years.
Higher disposable incomes, increased availability of continuous power & a faster shift to the organized sector has propelled the electric fan market in India, with much of the growth has been through organized players now as consumers move towards branded and more technologically efficient fans [Source]. With the central government’s push towards ‘Electricity For All’, a significant amount of effort and money is spent in marketing & distribution by the companies to reach their every expanding rural customer base.
In terms of revenue share, South India is the largest market followed by the West and North. Due to this, companies in the Fan Market are making a conscious effort to listen to the changing market demands & consumer’s requirements, particularly in the Southern part of India.
Orient Electric, a significant player in the Ceiling Fans & Home Appliances category has some interesting findings on the customer’s needs in South India:
Major parts in South India have a huge amount of humidity where air-coolers do not work effectively, due to which there is an increasing demand for Table Wall Pedestal [TPW] fans along with the normal ceiling fan.
Though there is no load shedding in many parts of South India yet there is an increasing number of power cuts [especially during the rainy season and sometimes in the summer season as well].
TPW Fans that are available in the market provide high air-flow but also make a lot of noise causing disturbance. They also consume a huge amount of electricity.
Wind Pro Series – Fan with High Performance, Less Power Consumption
Based on the customer inputs mentioned above, one thing was clear that there was a pressing need for a TPW Fan that could deliver high air-flow with low-noise and consume less electricity than its existing counterparts. All these requirements needed to be achieved without compromising on the quality and reliability.
The answer to all these requirements is the recently launched ‘Wind Pro Series’ by Orient Electric.
Features Overview
The current breed of portable three blade high-speed fans available in the market may have higher RPM but give out lesser CMM of air with lesser thrust and come with lots of noise. To counter this problem, Orient Electric has launched its 5 blade Wind Pro range of portable fans which delivers 95 CMM of air delivery with high thrust and has far lesser sound levels and also consumes less power.
A unique combination of Motor and Impeller.
More Air thrust, 20% lesser power consumption and improved thermal overload protection that other High speed fans.
Refreshing white body with stellar looks.
Performance Overview
Wind-PRO has the highest air velocity or Air Thrust; it is 26% more than normal speed fan and 5% higher than a high-speed fan.
Air Delivery also is highest for Wind-Pro fan; it is higher by about 16% than normal speed fan and by about 4% higher than a high-speed fan.
In terms of power consumption, wind-PRO is 20% more efficient than a high-speed fan
In terms of noise as well, wind-PRO performs significantly better [around 9 dB less] than a high-speed fan.
Formats, Pricing, and Availability
The Wind Pro range of portable fans come in a table, stand and wall mounted versions and aptly provides a long-awaited solution for the consumers in southern India which is the key focus market for Orient Electric. Orient Wind Pro fans have a sweep of 400 mm and give an impressive air delivery of 95 CMM/5700 CMH and have oscillation & speed control. An important feature of Wind Pro fans is concentric winding which eliminates electrical imbalance at low and medium speed, thus reducing the motor noise. This is the first time that concentric winding is used in the Indian manufacturing sector.
Pricing for the new range of 5-Blade Wind-Pro fans starts at an MRP of Rs. 2,370. The fans are available at all leading outlets across India and can also be bought online at Orient Electric’s e-commerce portal
Orient Electric’s long-standing brand ambassador MS Dhoni features in the new campaign for Wind Pro fans emphasizing on high air thrust.
With Wind Pro series, the company plans to consolidate its portfolio and also strengthen its presence in South India. From a consumer’s perspective, it is a product that could beat the burning summer heat with something that is #SuperQuietSuperPowerful.
What is your take on the TPW market and the Wind Pro Series, do leave your feedback in the comments section.
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. This quote sounds inspiring. In other words, it says: follow your goals even if they appear to be a tad improbable. You do so even when you draw up a financial plan for yourself, especially if you are planning for your retirement.
In this article, let’s find out why the traditional retirement plan may seem a bit unrealistic but also show how an unrealistic goal can actually be achievable.
Unrealistic goals
Small exercise: go online and use a retirement calculator. The calculator asks you to fill in a few answers about your age, current salary and expenses. Based on this data, the calculator throws up a number. This is roughly the amount you would have to save in order to enjoy a comfortable retirement. If this number is around Rs 5-10 crore [or even more], don’t be alarmed. This is the reality.
Most people are surprised about the ‘unrealistic’ retirement goals. In truth, traditional retirement options end up being unrealistic when the time comes for you to retire.
Traditional retirement plans
Pension plans have been widely popular among Indians for a long time. However, these plans do not offer very high returns. And in the end, they end up covering a small portion of your varied expenses post your retirement.
Employee Provident Fund [EPF] and Public Provident Fund [PPF] are good saving tools, no doubt. But if you see the trend, the interest rates on these plans have been gradually decreasing over the years.
In the last three years itself, EPF has seen a steady decline in interest rates. In comparison, the rates were as high as 12% two decades ago [Source]. This downward trend can pose a problem in the long term.
Inheritance
Assets such as gold, silver and real estate have passed on from one generation to the other for a long time. Many people take comfort in thinking that their inheritance would take care of their expenses during retirement. This is partly true. However, you cannot overestimate the extent of these assets. When you consider factors such as rise in inflation, medical expenses and lack of other sources of income, the inheritance can vanish quickly.
Post-retirement job
Once you retire from your job, you do have the option to look for other sources of employment during your retirement. For instance, you can take up teaching jobs at a local school or university to supplement your income. But this is not an option for everybody. Many people prefer to spend more time with their friends and family during this phase in life. And even if you do work during your retirement, there is the question of how long. As you grow older, it can get tougher to meet the physical demands of a regular job.
What you can do?
What if you had a simpler alternative to the above options? Yes, you heard right. Investing money! That’s all you need to do for a creating a solid retirement plan. The trick is to start investing at a young age. In other words, don’t think of retirement planning as you your retirement day nears. Instead, you should start investing right from the moment you start your career.
For instance, even investing as little as Rs 5,000 each month in a Systematic Investment Plan [SIP] can help you create a large corpus of money by the time you retire.
Here is a table of the benefits of early retirement planning [Source]
Unrealistic?
Well, check again. By investing just Rs 5,000 each month, you can create a lump sum of Rs 4.3 crore!! No fancy investment schemes or plans. Just a simple SIP investment each and every month can help you enjoy a comfortable retirement.
Also observe how the lump sum amount decreases drastically as you delay your retirement planning. This shows how important it is to kick-off your retirement planning early. Even a delay by a decade can create a large setback for your retirement plans.
Conclusion
Retirement is a period of life when your expenses continue [and grow, in fact] but your income stops. And to live comfortably in this stage, you need a good financial plan. Unfortunately, a lot of people ignore this until it is too late. But the best part is, by starting early, you don’t need to worry about it too much. Just invest steadily and you can create a large corpus of money for your retirement. Imagine your happiness when you find out that your account has Rs 4 crore at the time of retirement! Now that calls for a great retirement party!!
The impact that technology has on our lives today has been growing with each passing day. A domain which is seeing tremendous amount of advancement is the field of Communication and Devices. Tracing back to several decades earlier, who would have known that mobile phones would become so popular, and that the means of communication would change so drastically over a period of time. Not only have consumers benefited positively from these advancements, but even traditional businesses have had to embrace this change in order to stay relevant and be ahead of the curve. IoT, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Chat Bots, etc. are some of the technologies that are fueling this growth. Enterprises, irrespective of the size & scale have to embrace the change and evolve alongside it. This is where a company like Sasken that has a product development DNA can help global leaders drive product development, commercialization, customization and maintenance.
Sasken specializes in verticals such as Semiconductors, Automotive, Enterprise Grade Devices, Smart Devices and Wearables, Public Safety, Satcom, Telecom, Industrial and Retail. They partner with their customers to provide full life-cycle product engineering capability including sustenance of existing product lines. Sasken enables its customers to build innovative products and solutions that transform human life.
Ajit Singh, Global Head of Communications & Devices business unit, Sasken Technologies Limited is focused on channelizing Sasken’s Chip to Cognitive experience towards the success of its customers. His rich experience in managing 360-degree alliance partnerships and innovative business models have enabled mutual success with customers. More details about him can be found here. Today, we have a chat with Ajit Singh, about communication trends, security, 5G, impact of Machine Learning & AI on technology, etc.
Please give a brief insight into the work that has been done at Sasken ?
I am responsible for the Communication and Device business unit at Sasken and I took over this role a little less than a year ago. This business unit contributes approximately to one-third of the organization’s overall revenue.
As far as Sasken is concerned, we continue to be focused on product engineering, the areas that we are working on, and are currently seeing market growth particularly in the Industrials and Auto segment. We are leveraging our chip to cognition experience and our competency in newer solutions and taking them into new segments. So, while we are strengthening the expertise we have in the communications space, we are also leveraging it in newer market segments.
Our investors are elated with the quarter-on-quarter growth, and we continue to be debt free and profitable.
Can you comment on the business unit that you are heading, and what are some of the ways in which Sasken is helping its customers in that particular segment ?
Our Communication and Devices BU is divided into devices and wireless sections. While the devices section includes all kinds of devices – be it smartphone or any other IoT device – wireless includes our key satellite communication customers and some network infrastructure work that we have done for our wireless customers.
On the devices side, we are helping our customers differentiate their products in the market. While it is becoming easy for OEMs [device manufacturers] to adopt the latest platform from Google and bring best features to the market instead of getting standardized, it is increasingly becoming a challenge for them to still differentiate and come out with the premium features that they want from the customers and consumers. We are helping our customers adopt the new Google OS as well as maintain their legacy products in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. There are a lot of new things we are working on in the areas of Machine Learning and AI which are now slowing getting integrated into new products.
We are using our embedded engineering knowledge to help our customers incorporate the benefits of newer technologies into their products as well. This is happening across different business segments and is not solely confined to the smartphone market. We are seeing clear adoption of new technologies in the Automotive and Industrial IoT [IIoT] segment as well.
In the wireless segment, Sasken has been unique in India through its global satellite communication customers. In my 20+ years of experience, I haven’t seen any company come close to the competency and offerings that Sasken has in this segment. We have customers who have been associated with us for the last 15+ years and we have helped them bring about new products that enhance the speed, ruggedness, and stability, along with the new Use cases & Applications.
We are working with a leading North American system integrator to develop a next generation LTE based satellite communication device; a first of its kind in the industry when it is commercially launched. We are also working with a customer in the networking side where we are helping the customer migrate from existing GSN-based [Gigabyte System Network] BTS [Base Transceiver Station] to a faster 5G/LTE-based networking product.
From a digital standpoint, we are bringing in expertise from helping them on the revenue side of the business to gain a better insight for customers and consumers. This thereby sharpens their products and service strategy.
You mentioned about Android, and how exactly it is streamlining with the latest trends. Can you comment on how exactly IoT, AI, machine learning, and Cognitive Computing is changing the way it is affecting the industry and the devices that are existing in the market ?
It is an evolving field. There are multiple leading players in the market, whether it is Google, Amazon or Facebook. Multiple players are shaping the way the industry moves for their own competitive advantage.
A lot of research is happening right from the institute to the corporate level. If you look at any technology leading corporate group, you will see a lot of R&D investment going towards AI or Machine Learning. We are seeing early adopters and products entering the market, while the technologies involved are getting stabilized.
At Sasken, our CTO office is led by an industry veteran. We are doing our own bit in terms of investing in Machine Learning and AI. We are also grooming a competency center within the company which is working on different aspects and use cases. We successfully demonstrated some of these use cases at Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona which was well-received by customers and prospects. In summary, things are evolving and there are contributions being made by different players in the market; some of them are existing partners or customers that we are associated with. Using this, we are helping customers adopt and adjust their devices or their overall product strategy.
In terms of how it is impacting the market, time will only tell, but the one thing that comes out clearly is that devices no longer have a standard interface with humans and are constantly evolving. Some of them are becoming physical and some non-physical. From an engineering standpoint, a lot of interesting work is happening, but I foresee that most of the devices will have multiple interfaces to interact with humans as well as themselves. Different interfaces will come through whether visual, audio, multimedia, or in terms of impact of pressure, temperature, etc. It is quite exciting for a company like Sasken, which is so strong embedded in its engineering knowledge, to work with some of the leading semiconductor and OEM customers in today’s evolving environment.
You spoke about how security & battery life holds a very important aspect in the lifespan of any device. Off late, a lot of people are more concerned about security, especially about their own data [after data leak by major social networking giant]. What are some of the steps that are taken by the silicon manufacturers to ensure that there is good enough security on the device, and the data is kept secure ?
Let me first talk about security and then I will come to power management or optimizing the battery. So, from a security aspect let me divide it into two parts. One is creating a machine that behaves the way it has been designed where the security is not at all compromised. Once you give an instruction to the machine, it should deliver an expected output and also be resilient enough to push back any other command not written on it. From an engineering standpoint this means that you create a product that is not hackable to the maximum extent possible.
Today consumers are aware, educated, and much more intelligent to know about what they are using or getting into. At the same time corporates should also own the responsibility of making sure of what they are committing and promising, in order to maintain the integrity and discipline, and that has got nothing to do with product engineering. From Sasken’s standpoint and a product engineering perspective, we are making joint R&D development programs with customers, which is an integral part of making sure that the products that we create are secure and behave the way they are designed to.
Coming to the power management aspect that you touched upon, obviously when you try and insert a multiple application for multiple things that a device has to do, it needs power to run. Multiple challenges are also involved with regard to the way the device functions, and temperature of the device, especially in the Satcom domain. I think we understand it better than many other players because of our expertise in creating a 100% rugged device that is able to withstand non-friendly environments and higher limits of shock.
On one hand you have to create such a device, and on the other hand it has to be very easy to use, hold and be comfortable for the consumer. At the same, the teams need to enhance and improve the performance, speed, and bandwidth to such a large extent that some of these things start playing a role. We have been able to so far figure out the best balance through our competency in terms of maintaining good battery life, without compromising on the performance of the device or the aesthetics or weight etc. We completely appreciate this aspect, and are constantly ensuring that this is all taken care of when we do our development programs.
Ajit Singh, Global Head of Communications & Devices Business Unit, Sasken Technologies Limited
Although lots of things are being spoken and written about IoT, it is still highly under penetrated. Can you comment on some of the reasons or some of the aspects on why exactly it is like that, and what should be done so that there is more and more penetration of IoT and have more devices connected together ?
From my perspective, the key issue is monetizing all the investments. R&D is currently going into this phase, and I feel that the returns will start coming not from the consumer side but from the industrial side, or state or the government agencies. This comes from the fact that they will use these technologies to enhance public safety or deliver better citizen services. That is where I feel the starting point will be, on the industrial side where corporates will see merit in improving their safety, efficiency, of employing things that were earlier difficult to do from a manual standpoint. That is where I think there will be major adoption of IoT.
Here are a couple of examples where I see it actively getting incorporated. One is in the mining area, where devices are evolving and reaching areas that aid humans in a safe environment, thereby helping the corporates who are investing to improve the revenues and reduce their cost or health hazards. The other sector is in the area of the utility, where things like smart meters are getting adopted to reduce power losses. From a consumer perspective, I feel it will take a while before we put our money onto such enhancements. Consumer and commercial models will be very different, and I am hoping some great innovations evolve in in the commercial model department. It might not be straightforward like paying little extra to use IoT applications and then get that additional cost on the cellular bill.
How important is the services aspect of IoT since right now even though we have devices, services are the one that contribute a major part of the revenue. So how exactly should the company go about monetizing the services aspect of an IoT device ?
I recently attended the demo of a company at the Mobile World Congress, and they had an IoT product focused on the agricultural segment. That device essentially was almost free; it was close to a dollar or even less than that. The device basically helps the farmer optimize the water supply that it has to give to his crops, and also gives a bunch of analytics because this device runs on a narrow band IoT, that eventually goes back to the cellular network and connects to the cloud.
The application enters analytical data and feeds it back to the consumer or end user using these IoT devices. So, the device as such almost comes free, but the person who is using it pays for the subscription. They were test marketing the solution in a couple of countries in Europe, and their intention was to broad base it to more countries across the continent. This would be more towards addressing the B2B rather than the B2C market.
How important is data analytics when we talk about all these connected devices, and how exactly is Sasken helping its customers in that area ?
The number of apps and devices are increasing on the planet. You will agree that the data generated is exponentially increasing. In a second, billions of data packets are getting generated. Today, the way data is getting collected and moving to the data center, cloud or private premise, majority of the data capture and consolidation is happening in a very crude form.
There is a lot of work happening in data analytics and in terms of building intelligence on the edge. Anything that goes on the Wide Area Network [WAN] is expensive. It is being charged against cost and planned for its network capacity. Our embedded engineering expertise brings intelligence into the edge whether it is the device, edge router or switch.
The other is our knowledge on the cognition part of the digital segment, which we are able to marry through and help prospective clients by building equipments that are intelligent at the edge. In terms of the data being generated through this, it becomes useful for multiple stakeholders.
On one hand, the consumers or customers who are generating the data from this device can give feedback on consumption models with parameters like time, day, temperature, weather, or season. This helps create a benchmark on what the average consumption is, compared to what the consumption levels he or she is at. This helps give relevance to the consumers generating this data, and in modifying his or her user behavior to his advantage.
Secondly, the data is also important in giving insights on all the equipments being used in the value chain, right from the device to the network, cloud, data center etc. This in turn provides insights on how well the performance levels of the device is, its consumption, the network resources that are draining the battery, and if so, the reasons of failure as well. This data can be used for predictive fault management and planning the customer support or customer service strategy based on this insights derived. So that is the second stakeholder.
The third stakeholder is the network itself. The network provider operates itself in order to make their billing plans more intelligent to the people who are behind their network. For one of our clients which is a Virtual Network Operator buys bulk bandwidth from a large operator in Europe and then sells retail packages to people who want a temporary mobile connection.
We are currently engaging with a customer, wherein we are helping them find out what is the best volume of bandwidth that we should buy, and which best combination of packages should be created and sold to the retail market. For example, if they are buying 100, they can they sell at 120 or more, so that they can completely utilize or even over utilize to maximize the profits. Coming back to the IoT environment, the operator can also use the insights from the data that is being generated to change its billing plan to people who are buying. We have multiple stakeholders and everybody has some use of this data which comes for different purposes.
Please touch upon how you are building Sasken into a Center Of Excellence [CoE] in emerging technologies ?
Within Sasken, we have largely two areas where we are investing in. One is on the engineering side with newer technologies like Machine Learning, AI, as well as 5G, from a communication standpoint. The other areas are on the digital front, which is largely around data and analytics. We are ensuring that it aligns with our engineering strategy.
We are not a typical, large IT services company. We are niche, focused, and are trying to excel in areas around engineering and digital that helps us transform the engineering cycle for our customers. We are doing things that are more pertaining to the technology center.
Please share your thoughts on the road ahead for Sasken, and where exactly you see the industry evolving in couple of years down the line, and what are some of things that you want to see a change in with respect to technology, and Sasken could be an enabler in that area ?
I do not see the fundamentals changing for the road ahead. The fundamentals are in terms of stability, performance, security, etc. which have become more like organizational values in an engineering development cycle that we have imbibed. So, these bits are not going to change.
What will change is the way that the devices will interact with machine or with humans. We have all the building blocks and are enhancing them with the latest technologies for our existing customers or numerous prospective clients. In my personal belief, we are in the right spot and we should be able to leverage the way the market is moving to our advantage. By bringing the digital story in, it widens our ability to be sharp, and help customers predict revenues as well as cost models, and generate different commercial models to gain insights that goes right back into product.
I think that is social responsibility is something that the corporate leaders will have to be more conscious of. From a consumer standpoint, I think consumers cannot externalize it. They are equally learned, educated, responsible, and know what they are taking and not taking on.
Recently there were a couple of mishaps that happened in the connected car segment. Can AI take over completely, or should it be a combination of human and AI for a more ideal approach ?
It is an iterative journey, and is not binary that today we can say that if there are ‘x’ number of mishaps per million vehicles on the road, then the next would become ‘0’. I don’t think it will happen that way. I recently read an article that said that even now AI based connected cars are struggling to reach the efficiency level or the average accidents on the road level for which they are modeled.
So, it is iterative and will get evolved. We will get there, and the technology will improve. Today all the solutions are not there and many are getting worked up, but eventually we will get there.
We thank Ajit Singh for sharing his insights with our readers. If you have any questions for him about communication technologies, technology trends, etc. please email them here or share them via a comment to this article.
