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|In: Small Business|Last Updated:

Tally Solutions Pvt. Limited [TSPL] announced the launch of its new channel partner program Vriddhi, to enable its channel partner ecosystem to deliver higher quality experience to customers, while maximizing profitability in business. The program offers opportunities to both new and existing partners to develop greater specialization in their respective domains and lines of business.

TallySolutions

The Vriddhi framework will classify partners into Certified Partners, Associate Partners, Partner Developers and Distributors. The program will institutionalize Tally Solutions’ partner enablement process through certification, ensuring partners are in specialized roles to deliver better and more streamlined services to Tally customers.

Speaking about Vriddhi, Tejas Goenka, Executive Director, Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. mentioned

With Vriddhi, we intend to create the country’s largest, and most profitable software ecosystem that can deliver great experiences on our world-class products to the diverse customer base that we serve. The new model recognises that growth for the existing ecosystem requires serious focus, dedication, and support from the principal company – especially given the uncertain times that this market is going through right now. With Vriddhi, we will have customers getting access to better sales and support facilities. We will also see more profitable partners pursuing growth like never before.

Partners have been classified based on their organisational strengths and their aspirations with Tally business.

The Certified Partners [CPs] specialize in the sales, implementation and solutions of Tally products. They are characterized by their ability to deliver a great customer experience which enables them to grow faster. They are process-driven organizations and based on the kind of customers they reach out to, they will be classified as 3 star partners and 5 star partners. While the former group will meet regular and generic business solution needs, the latter will cater to more complex business requirements.

Tally also has a clear path to ready its aspiring partners for certification.  These partners would use the expertise that they have developed in Tally products to advise businesses on their Tally related requirements. As they grow in this capacity they will graduate to becoming Certified Partners.

The next category is the Associate Partners [APs], who will play a pivotal role in Tally solutions’ expansion plans. These partners will essentially be IT hardware vendors who are looking to add Tally to their portfolio and thereby addressing more customers, along with serving their existing customers better.

Partner Developers [PDs], will be the niche set of partners who will appoint, train and mentor the Certified Partner category and assist them with certification. Tally desires to do both, grow its existing partners, as well as expand its network to get more and more partners certified. Partner developers will play a key role with this objective and drive their business growth with this model of growing partners.

Distributors will be the bridge for the product between Tally Solutions and all customer-facing partners. They will ensure maximum coverage and access for these partners which will lead to the ease of commerce overall.

Led by the firm belief that Tally will grow only if its partners grow, Vriddhi is defining new beginnings with a greater experience for all its customers, continuous knowledge update for partner resources and sustainable, consistent and fast-paced growth for all Tally partners.

About Tally Solutions Private Limited

Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is a pioneer in the business software products arena. Since its inception in 1986, Tally’s simple yet powerful products have been revolutionizing the way businesses run. Having delivered path breaking technology consistently for more than 27 years, Tally symbolizes unmatched innovation and leadership. Today, it caters to millions of users across industries in over 100 countries and continues unchallenged as the industry leader in the enterprise resource planning software domain. For more details, please visit their website

|In: India|Last Updated:

Hike Messenger, India’s only home-grown chat application, announced the launch of the “Great Indian Sticker Challenge” [GISC]; inviting designers from all over the country to participate in creating stickers for the app. In August last year, Hike announced that its users were sending over 3 Billion stickers a month. Of the 10 Billion+ messaging volumes per month, stickers contribute to over 30% of the traffic. In its quest to scale up the choice of stickers & yet have the best content, hike launches a unique crowd-sourcing model that calls Indian designers to build for India.

Hike-Logo

The design challenge offers a set-up similar to a design studio virtually, wherein illustrators, graphic designers, animators, caricaturist, cartoonist can come together to showcase their talent to over 35 Million+ users and also win cash prizes of up to Rs. 20 Lakhs.

In addition, every short-listed entry will be rewarded Rs. 10,000 and will be given artist credit on hike messenger for their respective sticker pack. Furthermore, they will be empanelled for future work of Hike Limited. India’s top design colleges and institutes such as NIFT, PEARL Academy, Arena Multimedia and MAAC amongst many others have encouraged their students to participate in this contest.

Commenting on the design challenge, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder & CEO, Hike Messenger said

Stickers have played a significant role in transforming the messaging experience. Today we see 3 Billion stickers exchange on hike. We believe that the ‘Great Indian Sticker Challenge’ will not just bring together the crème la crème from the design industry for the contest but will also give a chance to thousands of talented designers to find a new way of earning recognition for their creative talent.

The Great Indian Sticker Challenge is a platform open to everyone who can design graphic illustrations, irrespective of their age or academic and professional credentials. The registration and submission is open until March 31, 2015 at http://gisc.hike.in. The winners can grab prizes up to Rs. 20 Lacs and the results will be announced on April 15, 2015.

Additional information

Participate in the GISC – http://gisc.hike.in
Download the app at – http://get.hike.in/
Hike Blog for more details on the new features – http://hike.in/blog

|In: Analytics|Last Updated:

To showcase how organizations are creating value by leveraging analytics across industries, NASSCOM & Hansa Customer Equity Pvt. Ltd. announced the commencement of a case study on Analytics and its Attributes. As part of the study, companies across sectors can participate and showcase the business impact by leveraging analytics in the four application areas of Customer Experience & Lifecycle Management, Revenue Maximization, Operational Efficiency, and Compliance & Risk Management.

Technologies such as Social Media, Mobility, Big Data and Analytics and Cloud [SMAC] are reshaping businesses across sectors. An increased number of companies across India, from service providers to customers, are leveraging analytics to create value. Many of them leverage Chief Data Scientists and Chief Analytics Officer to capitalize on the SMAC opportunities. The objective of this study is to promote the usage of analytics that involves business applications of Descriptive, Predictive or Prescriptive Analytics and identify the most innovative companies demonstrating excellence in analytics.

Speaking at the occasion, Mohan Krishnan, Director, NASSCOM said

Businesses are challenged by the digital revolution, changing consumer demographics who demand omni-channel experience, the reduced time-to-market and stringent regulations. This is creating huge amount of data. This explosion of data in enterprises is fuelling the rise of analytics, creating a sizeable business opportunity.

To leverage this opportunity, NASSCOM is actively engaged in promoting adoption of analytics and sustaining India’s position as the analytics hub of the world. According to NASSCOM the big data analytics industry is expected to grow to more than double to $2.5 billion by the end of 2017-18. While some sectors have taken the lead, others have realized its importance for long-term growth and surviving in a highly competitive environment. Dynamically changing customer trends will further drive the growth of analytics, compelling organizations across sectors to analyze how information can be used intelligently.

Speaking about the study, Swaminathan, Co-founder & CEO, Hansa Cequity said

At Hansa Cequity, we believe that Data is the new fuel and competitive advantage for the enterprise and Data-driven marketing will become the new normal in companies. Hansa Cequity’s pole position of analytics expertise and a unique status as a service provider will help companies improve their marketing maturity using analytics as a great platform for launching this initiative.

While sharing his views on the initiative, Ajay Kelkar, Co-founder & COO, Hansa Cequity, said

This case study is a great platform for companies in India to showcase how analytics has positively impacted their business. In this changing world, business leaders and marketers need to transform their approach to connecting and engaging with these customers.

The vast proliferation of data and the pressing need to stay one step ahead of the competition has sharpened focus on using analytics within organizations. Analytics today has proven to be the crucial ingredient of success for organizations across industries, rehashing the key business dimensions which form the basis of competition -Customer, Risk & Operations.

 

Milestone Milestone Date
Submission of Abstract 30th Mar 2015
Notification of acceptance for final Case Study submission 15th Apr 2015
Case study Submission 14th May 2015
Notification of winners 12thJune 2015
Presentation by winners at NASSCOM Conference To be Announced

Application Process

  • All interested parties should send an abstract by 30th March 2015.
  • Abstracts will be reviewed by an expert panel and will comprise of an eminent panel of analytics experts, both academicians as well as practitioners.
  • Short-listed abstract applicants will be requested for submission for case studies.

Criteria for Evaluation

  • Innovation – Innovative use of any analytical technique
  • Methodology – Robustness of the methodology and the rigour involved
  • Business Impact – Impact of the analysis

About Hansa Cequity

Hansa Cequity is a customer marketing company where they bring the power of Data, Analytics & Insights & marketing action together for enhancing customer relationships & customer value. The company has a team of specialists with diverse skill sets who work together to deliver highly relevant digital and social media campaigns. The whole-brain approach to marketing brings together logic, driven by data and analytics, and the magic of creative thinking to deliver enriching customer experiences. Some of the renowned clients include Croma, Celio, Hypercity, Westside, Axis Bank, Birla Sun Life, Tata Sky, Zee TV & many more.

|In: Funding|Last Updated:

Practo, the #1 doctor search engine in Asia, announced it’s expansion plans to 35 Indian cities and 6+ international locations by March 2016. Practo is already present in India, Singapore & Phillipines and growing rapidly in each of these markets.

The $30M series B funding is one of the largest investments into Digital Health globally and the largest for any Indian healthcare technology company. Existing investor Sequoia Capital led the round with participation from Matrix Partners. Avnish Bajaj, Managing Director at Matrix India will join Practo’s Board of Directors.

practo

Every month, over 1M users book 120,000 appointments via Practo Search. Practo Search volume has grown more than 10x in the last 1 year.

 Speaking at the occasion, Shashank ND, Founder & CEO, Practo said

We are on a mission to improve human longevity by simplifying healthcare. Over the next 12 months we will expand to 35 cities in India & several more international locations to help hundreds of millions of consumers around the world find the best doctors and make better healthcare decisions.

Speaking at the occasion, Avnish Bajaj, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Matrix India said

Practo is revolutionizing healthcare by enabling consumers to find the best doctors, book instant appointments & make better, more informed health decisions. It is our privilege to work with Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal, the founders of Practo, to scale & bring Practo to millions of consumers around the globe.

Shailendra Singh, Managing Director at Sequoia Capital mentioned

From our first seed investment in Practo in 2011, the company has come a very long way, thanks to the hard work of an incredibly committed entrepreneurial team. The company has now scaled to being the market leader in online healthcare in India, a category that has created multiple multi-billion dollar companies around the world. We are deeply committed to Practo’s goals & aspirations to transform access to healthcare and positively impact society

About Practo

Practo’s mission is to help improve human longevity by simplifying healthcare. They are leading the way with Practo Search – Asia’s #1 doctor search engine used by over 1M patients every month & Practo Ray – the practice management solution of choice for thousands of doctors managing millions of appointments and digital healthcare records every year.

More information is available on www.practo.com

|In: India|Last Updated:

IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council NASSCOM [SSC NASSCOM] announced that it has developed “Career Guides” which will provide clarity for all stakeholders, especially students about the career opportunities available in the IT-BPM industry.

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions, especially for students. These guides provide details about the skills & competencies required, to join the IT-BPM industry. The career-paths provided are for various job roles starting from entry to leadership level, including details of vertical & horizontal mobility within this industry and across other industries.

Nasscom_SSC

According to the National Skills Mission, about 350 million professionals would need to be skilled by 2022 to make them employable. To be able to achieve this target, a structured approach is required involving all stakeholders. One of the critical actions required is to create awareness with students about the career opportunities available in the IT- BPM industry across the four sub-sectors, namely IT Services [ITS], Business Process Management [BPM], Software Products [SPD] & Engineering & Research Development [SPD].

On the occasion Dr. Sandhya Chintala, Executive Director, SSC NASSCOM & Vice President, NASSCOM said

In the last couple of years SSC NASSCOM has made great in-roads in identifying unique job roles/ qualification packs across all IT-BPM industry sub-sectors. We are pleased to announce that they are now packaged in a comprehensive manner as “Career Guides”. Career guides will be available on our website www.sscnasscom.in

Informed career decisions about one’s aspirational career role will greatly benefit the individual, the companies and the community at large, thus creating a strong value proposition for all concerned.

About Sector Skill Council, NASSCOM

“IT-ITES SSC NASSCOM” is the skill standard setting body of the IT-ITeS industry and is the education & skill development initiative of NASSCOM. The council works with NASSCOM industry members, select academic and skill development institutions to help improve the quality and quantity of the employable workforce available to the industry.

About NASSCOM

NASSCOM is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1400 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM’s member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPM, e-commerce and web services, engineering services and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs about 3.1 million professionals.

|In: startups|Last Updated:

Hike-Messenger

Hike messenger, India’s only homegrown chat application, introduces free ‘HikeCalls’.

The introduction of this feature will allow hike users to call each other for free, over 2G, 3G & Wi-Fi and across the globe in over 200 countries. The introduction of hike calls has come in within a month of hike making it’s first acquisition – a free calling app – Zip Phone.

Hike calls are optimized to consume very little data, giving its users more calling minutes per MB of data. Given that a majority of the mobile-internet users of India are still experimenting with data & are not on a high-bandwidth connection, this optimization becomes critical for the Indian market.

Commenting on the launch of the calling feature, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder and CEO, Hike messenger

While building free hike calls, we kept two things in mind. Firstly, India is a very cost sensitive market and as a result we have ensured that our service is extremely efficient on data. It means our users can pack in more minutes per MB when calling on hike.

We have made hike’s free calling service available globally in over 200+ countries. Hikers from India can now speak with their loved ones in India & across the world for free.

The free hike calling feature has been launched in beta on Android, which contributes to over 90% of hike’s user base. The iOS and Windows versions are slated to release by the end of this quarter.

Some of the screenshots of “Hike Calls” are below:

HikeCalling

Current User-Base & Funding

Launched in December 2012, Hike has over 35M users as in August, 2014 and has raised $86M from Tiger Global & BSB till date. The app also boasts of a fairly young user base with over 90% of its users being under the age of 25 and residing in India.

The chat application has localized features, which are developed keeping in mind the infrastructural and cultural requirements such as Hike Offline – lets you message your friends even when they’re offline, Hidden Mode – allows users to hide their private chats with a password, Regional Stickers – helps users express more in their own language, amongst many others.

Do give “Hike Calls” & share across your feedback in the comments section…

Additional information

You can download the app at – http://get.hike.in/

For more information, please visit the Hike Blog

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise were created in 1976 to foster a spirit of enterprise and advance, human knowledge and well-being. Presented every two years, they support pioneering work in five areas namely Science & health, Applied technology, Exploration & discovery,Environment & Cultural heritage

Rolex

The winners are provided with financial grants & mentorship in order to carry their on-going projects. The awards are open to individuals of any nationality or background.

Innovators & Doer’s under 30 would receive grants of 50,000 Swiss francs to take their work to the next level. The jury comprises of international experts from various fields who themselves embody the spirit of enterprise that the Awards seek to promote.

Winners of 2014 Rolex awards for enterprise & entrepreneurs

Neeti Kailas

Neeti Kailas, graduate of National Institute Of Design is currently co-founder & business-head of Sohum Innovation Lab. As per Neeti “Design is about problem solving, and thinking about how I can have maximum impact on society. In a country like India, that’s never going to happen by designing the next lemon squeezer” She along with her partner Nitin Sisodia launched their startup & their first product is a device to screen babies for hearing impairment & definitely has a huge social impact !!!

Olivier Nsengimana

Oliver, a native of Rwanda is 30 year gave up lucrative position in government job to take up “wild-life conservation”. In Rwanda, the crane is a symbol of wealth and longevity. With a golden tufted crown and a flame-red spot on its neck, it is a desirable pet for Rwanda’s elite. He is actively working actively towards wild life conservation especially ensuring that there is no poaching of rare species – Crane. Nsengimana – who lived in a refugee camp at the age of nine – acknowledges that his childhood was tough, but he is always mindful that many Rwandans went through much tougher times than he did & that has helped him a lot 🙂

Hosam Zowawi

Hosam, a native of Saudi Arabia is clinical microbiologist with an interest in antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases. His project contains development of faster superbug tests in order to raise awareness of antibiotic resistance.

Francesco Sauro

Francesco, a native of Italy has led five expeditions to South America’s table-top mountains since 2009, along with Italian exploration association La Venta, and with the support of the Venezuelan team Theraphosa. With support from Rolex, he is planning more expeditions.

Arthur Zang

Arthur Zang, native of Cameroon invented CardioPad which is touted as Africa’s first medical computer tablet to help diagnose people with heart disease. The device leverages the use of Cloud Technology & allows health-care workers in rural areas to send the results of cardiac tests to specialists via a mobile phone connection.

We congratulate these young & dynamic innovators for winning this prestigious award !!! More about Rolex Awards here & here.

Note – This article has been sponsored by Rolex