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

Snapdeal, India’s largest online marketplace reported that the deployment of its in-house hybrid cloud solution Snapdeal Cirrus, has led to a massive impact on cost and business optimization – the headline being a whopping 75% drop in its monthly infrastructure costs.

Snapdeal Cirrus is built entirely using open source platforms like Openstack with a home grown layer of infrastructure-as-code built on top of it, making it not just an industry-first in India, but also one of the largest deployments of a hybrid cloud anywhere in the world.

Since its launch in last September, Snapdeal has migrated over 300 micro-services and 200 data-stores onto Cirrus, without any downtime required. During this massive live migration, it built the capabilities to orchestrate any micro-service at will on their own private cloud or any of the public clouds like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform.

Rajiv Mangla, Chief Technology Officer, Snapdeal said

Since the launch of Snapdeal Cirrus our monthly burn on public cloud has been cut down to one-fourth. When we decided to build a hybrid solution, our infrastructure needs were growing exponentially and in a short span of 10 months we have built an extremely reliable and scalable platform, with a small but extremely talented team.

The addition of Snapdeal Cirrus to Snapdeal’s innovative technology platform, has led to massive cost savings, but has also lead to exponential performance gains across its applications, providing a consistently more reliable and frictionless experience to customers across India.

About Snapdeal

Snapdeal’s vision is to create India’s most reliable and frictionless commerce ecosystem that creates life-changing experiences for buyers and sellers. In February 2010, Kunal Bahl along with Rohit Bansal, started Snapdeal. Today Snapdeal is India’s largest online marketplace, with the widest assortment of 50 million plus products across 800 plus diverse categories from over 125,000 regional, national, and international brands and retailers. In its journey till now, Snapdeal has partnered with several global marquee investors and individuals such as SoftBank, BlackRock, Temasek, Foxconn, Alibaba, eBay Inc., Premji Invest, Intel Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Mr. Ratan Tata, among others. For further information, please visit Snapdeal

|In: Fintech|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

MoneyTap, India’s first app-based credit line have announced the launch of ZeroPaper technology, which enables 100% paperless processing of its customer applications.

The MoneyTap and RBL Bank ZeroPaper technology introduces the new e-Sign feature, which eliminates the use of paper for various steps in the customer application and overall credit underwriting process. Eligible customers can download the MoneyTap app to apply and avail their line of credit without ever submitting a single piece of paper or meeting an RBL Bank representative. They can digitally sign relevant documents via an Aadhaar-based e-Sign that is fast, secure & simple.

While a few banks have optimized some parts of their credit application processes, they retain paper KYC formalities with the requirement of wet signatures for loan applications. Coordinating a visit to the customer’s house or office is not only expensive for banks but also one of the biggest sources of hassle and delay in processing the application. Now, customers can comfortably complete the whole process on the app at any time including paperless KYC.

This enables them to go from start to finish in the same day (instead of days or weeks), as compared to manual forms where there are hassles of collection, submission and verification of applicant data. With the help of Aadhaar, ZeroPaper also reduces the chances of fraudsters, which helps to keep a check on counterfeit documents, forged ink signatures and fake identity papers.

Going paperless also means empowering financial institutions with ZeroPaper technology that enables them to drastically cut operating costs. In addition to the app, MoneyTap’s technology includes a cloud-based back-end platform that is 100% compliant with Aadhaar and Bank security regulations while facilitating an efficient, fast and completely paperless processing of customer applications.

ZeroPaper facility is available to all eligible customers of MoneyTap who have their mobile numbers updated on Aadhaar. The MoneyTap app is available on Android Playstore to all salaried employees, living in Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Anand, Bharuch, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. The company is planning to expand to other cities as well in the next few months. There are no extra charges for ZeroPaper.

Kunal Varma, Co-founder, MoneyTap said

This is a huge moment for financial services in India and we are totally excited to be the first to launch ZeroPaper along with the RBL Bank. This will result in a delightful and unparalleled experience for MoneyTap customers that is not yet offered elsewhere in the industry.

Harjeet Toor, Business Head-Microbanking, Cards, Retail and MSME Lending, RBL Bank said

RBL Bank is delighted to collaborate with MoneyTap to bring ZeroPaper into the banking arena, as it makes processes faster and smoother. It will result in significant operational efficiencies and cost savings. More importantly, it will provide customers with a secure and superior banking experience.

Pramod Varma, Chief Architect, Aadhaar said

We firmly believe that in a country with more than 1 billion people on Aadhaar, 220 million SmartPhones and 254 million Jan Dhan Accounts, improvisation in paperless banking and particularly consumer lending is essential to create truly inclusive systems.  MoneyTap’s ZeroPaper can change the way customers access credit in India and make technology ubiquitous with banking.

About MoneyTap

MoneyTap is a Bengaluru-based fintech startup, founded by serial entrepreneurs Bala Parthasarathy, Anuj Kacker & Kunal Varma, who are IIT/ISB alumni. Bala has co-founded multiple startups in Silicon Valley including Snapfish (sold to Hewlett Packard), which he helped grow to 100M users and $300M in revenue. After moving to India in 2007, he volunteered for UIDAI under Mr. Nandan Nilekani before starting AngelPrime in 2011 (now Prime Venture Partners) where he helped create companies like ZipDial (sold to Twitter), EZETap, Happay, etc. Kunal (ex Texas Instruments) & Anuj (ex Airtel & JWT) co-founded Tapstart that grew to 300K users and turned profitable in 2 years. MoneyTap works in very close partnerships with various banks and other financial institutions to make the process painless and on-app. For more details, please visit MoneyTap

|In: Fintech|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

ETInsure from Times Internet, an online insurance platform makes it super simple for anyone to buy the best insurance plan by providing a transparent, easy to understand buying experience. Starting with Car and Two-wheeler insurance, it will offer insurance plans from popular seven insurance companies.

Mukesh Kalra who lead leading Times Internet’s foray in FinTech said

The launch of ETInsure.com is in line with our mission to simplify the financial journey of consumers in India. Insurance is a critical part of this mission as the current experience of buying and owning an insurance policy is cumbersome and riddled with rampant miss-selling from pushy sales agents.

Designed as a mobile responsive website, ETInsure provides a seamless experience whether you are in front of a desktop or on your mobile. You can buy the policy without any paperwork, the policy is issued instantly and the coverage starts within minutes.

Data-led suggestions to help you buy the right policy

By talking to more than 100+ consumers, ETInsure team found that while buying a car or two-wheeler insurance, consumers mostly buy products with lowest premiums, ignoring the fact that lowest priced plans would usually put a very low value to their vehicle. This meant consumers are under-covered & they don’t even realize it until they make their first claim.

ETInsure.com solves this problem by giving a suggested value of the vehicle which takes into account multiple data points such as-the age of the vehicle, buyer preferences, number of quotes, competitive prices etc. Consumers can then customize their quotes with a single click to get the best policy with suitable coverage.

In addition to this, consumers also get data-led suggestions on the type of add-ons they should attach to their policy, which can increase their coverage at a very nominal cost.

Decoding the Fine Print

Another important aspect is the fine print & complex wordings of the policy document, which intimidates and scares most people. ETInsure digitally decodes the terms and conditions of every policy and presents them in simple visuals and easy-to-understand language bringing the much needed clarity. This provides the required confidence to consumers, making the buying experience more positive & worry-free.

Further, once bought, there is an expert team to help the consumer during claim settlements.

Shankar Nath, Principal Officer & Head, ETInsure.com said

We have redesigned and re-engineered the entire insurance stack from the ground up. We are excited to empower our consumers to make informed decisions about their insurance needs, so that they feel positive about their future-as they are well-covered.

Launching with Car and Two-Wheeler insurance, ETInsure.com will soon add Health, Life & Travel Insurance products to its online platform. Do give ETInsure.com a spin and leave your feedback in the comments section…

|In: Android|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Swipe is set to launch its new ELITE Power smartphone on January 31st, 2017 exclusively on Flipkart. ELITE Power comes with a massive 4000 mAh battery which is the key highlight. Swipe says that the 4000 mAh battery in ELITE Power provides 240 hours of standby time or 15 hours of 3G talk time or 13 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. It is a dual-SIM smartphone, supports 4G LTE & has a number of other compelling features that make it a must-buy, especially for the millennial with heavy smartphone usage.

Announcing the launch of ELITE Power, Shripal Gandhi, Founder & CEO of Swipe Technologies said

Considering the appetite of users to consume content having increased exponentially, the battery capacity has become the driver of smartphone developments. Keeping in mind the consumer feedback in favour of a smartphone that can go without recharging for a long time, we have developed ELITE Power that helps us stay true to our ethos. We are excited to offer an extremely cost-effective high-end luxury product.

Commenting on the development, Ajay Yadav, VP-Mobiles at Flipkart, said

With the digitization rising at a furious clip in India, customers are increasingly looking for latest smartphones that support data and applications on the go. Our exclusive association with Swipe brings the latest ELITE Power to our customers at an extremely affordable price. 

With the leading position in the smartphones market, Flipkart is focusing on widening the portfolio from premium to budget smartphones, thereby catering to a wide spectrum of customers. 

ELITE Power’s sleek 5.5 inch screen offers life-like clarity to its users. Equipped with a HD IPS display, every picture, every color and every detail comes alive to give a great visual experience. Powered by 2GB RAM, ELITE Power is a powerhouse of performance, making multi-tasking a way of life while helping gamers to play graphic-heavy games without any lag. ELITE Power comes with an internal memory of 16GB, which is expandable up to 32GB for users to store all the pictures, videos, music and more.

ELITE Power incorporates enhanced security features. Users of ELITE Power get unprecedented control with integrated fingerprint sensor. For the users to enjoy superior Android experience, the ELITE Power comes with the latest Android Marshmallow 6.0. With a powerful blend of speed and accuracy to capture split-second moments with ease, ELITE Power helps users snap photos that burst with life. Faster than a blink of an eye, ELITE Power’s 8MP rear camera is capable of taking great-quality pictures. The Selfie-enthusiasts can rejoice by taking incredible Selfies instantly and effortlessly with its 5MP Front Camera. ELITE Power consistently delivers high-quality images-quicker, clearer and crisper-wherever they are clicked.

Despite being packed with so many incredible features, ELITE Power is surprisingly thinner and fits comfortably in hands. At a tag of Rs. 6,999, Swipe ELITE Power is India’s most-affordable smartphone with comparable features. The sensor in the phone include Fingerprint, Accelerator,  Proximity, Gyro, and Ambient light sensor. It will be available in Space Grey & Champagne Gold color variant.

Swipe ELITE Power will be available online exclusively on Flipkart from 31st January,2017. For more details, please visit the Product Page

|In: Digital|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Intex Technologies announced their in-house digital e-payment App-Intex MyWallet going live on Google Play Store for all Android users outside Intex as well. This is the brand’s step towards facilitating day-to-day payments for all mobile users in seamless manner and contributing to government’s vision of making India a cashless economy. Built and designed on a highly safe and secure encrypted platform, the app is free to download with full proof security.

Intex technologies partnered with Tata mRupee last year to foray into the digital payment ecosystem with both B2C & Retail assisted models with vision of making consumers’ daily transactional needs quicker and convenient. Intex MyWallet is equipped with a wide range of payment options across segments ranging from recharging the phone to paying utility bills like postpaid, gas, electricity, DTH, landline, data card etc. is just a single click. The wallet also allows users to book Railway tickets through IRCTC and other entertainment bookings through various gift voucher & coupons. The app allows users to send and receive money at ease as well.

The app is powered by Tata mRupee with a secure backend technology and its main features include:

  • Send / Receive Payment
  • Online Recharge and Utility Bill Payment
  • Add Money to your Intex MyWallet
  • Pay for Travel
  • Shop Online & More
  • Coupon, Offer & Deals

To further build the digital ecosystem, Intex is also planning to implement Intex retailer portal wherein the Intex retailers will find additional opportunities to get higher share of customers’ wallet by offering retail assisted services. The retailer portal will help the unbanked consumer to carry out various transactions including the domestic money transfers.

Shortly Intex My Wallet will also be deeply integrated and pre-loaded with Intex smartphones for users to carry out transactions and also earn loyalty points for various digital purchases like videos, games and other content. Intex is working closely with its Partner Tata mRupee to expand the utility and entertainment merchant base with getting merchants across various segments (online & offline) on board.

Commenting on the expansion, Vineet Singh, Head-VAS, Intex Technologies said

At Intex, we are constantly innovating our products and services. Digital Ecosystem has been at the forefront and we have now created a one stop solution experience for users looking for both utility and entertainment needs. Our mobile payment ecosystem is one of our core digital drivers and with this expansion our m-wallet services are now available to all android users on Google PlayStore, making day-to-day transactional needs easy. We will continue to innovate and keep integrating various digital services into our devices and commit to enhancing Intex mobile user experience at competitive pricing in future as well.

Users will be rewarded for accessing content and other utilities which will help them earn loyalty bonus point which could be further redeemed for various utility payments or could be converted to cash depending on needs. These loyalty rewards will ensure upward movement in consumer value chain.

The BETA version of Intex MyWallet can be downloaded from the Play Store from here

|In: Mobile|Last Updated: | 1 Comment
Image Source – TechRadar

Google launched its Pixel phone in October 2016 shortly after the iPhone 7 and the Pixel smart phone is within the same range as the latest iPhone.

Comparing the two smart phones to know which one to purchase is beneficial. Here are five similarities and differences between the two latest smart phones.

Design

Both phones are available in premium designs with fingerprint sensor feature. The iPhone 7 is smaller than the Google Pixel. The Apple phone is also lighter and waterproof. The iPhone is made from aluminum with finger sensor on the front home button.

However, the Pixel comes with the USB Type-C and headphone jack. On the other hand, the Pixel is designed with aluminum and glass with the sensor on the rear side.

Display

The Pixel phone offers a five-inch display with 1,920 X 1,080 pixel resolution and pixel density of 441ppi. Furthermore, it includes the Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and uses the AMOLED technology to provide vibrant and rich colors.

The display size of the iPhone 7 is 4.7 inches with 1,334 * 750 pixel resolution providing a pixel density of 326ppi. Moreover, this phone has a 3D touch, which is the company’s pressure sensitive display.

Camera

On buying the Google Pixel, users can expect superior picture quality, with its 12.3 megapixels (MP) rear camera and 8 MP front camera. It also includes video stabilization, laser detection autofocus, dual-LED flash, and phase detection autofocus.

In comparison, the iPhone 7 is available with a 12 MP rear camera with a wider aperture than that of the Pixel. The latest Apple smart phone also includes a quad-LED flash with optical image stabilization and phase detection autofocus. The front camera on the iPhone 7 handset is 7 MP with a retina flash.

Hardware

Both the phones are available with a quad-core processor. The Pixel operates on Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and offers 4GB RAM. It is available with storage of 32 GB and 128 GB. Moreover, the Pixel has a long-lasting 2,770 mAh battery.

The iPhone 7 features the company’s A10 Fusion Chip with an embedded M10 motion co-processor with 3GB RAM. Users may choose between 32GB, 128GB, and 256 GB options. On the other hand, iPhone 7’s battery capacity is 1.960 mAh, which is comparatively lesser than that of Google Pixel.

Software

The Google phone uses Android 7.1 Nougat and an inbuilt Google Assistant feature. The company focuses on delivering a seamless user experience and does not include additional and unnecessary software features.

The iPhone 7 uses iOS 10 providing all the latest features offered by Apple. Users receive Siri, accessible by long-pressing the Home button for their personal assistance.

With the Pixel phone launch, users have been offered another choice that is comparable to the iPhone 7. Both these smart phones are priced in the same range and are available with similar specifications and features. The decision will primarily depend on the personal choice of the users and their preferences. Apply for a Consumer Durable Loan and own either of these phones, today.

|In: Fintech|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Aeries Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd, a fin-tech company promoted by serial entrepreneur and private equity investor Mr. V. Raman Kumar made two announcements.

CASHe, India’s fastest loan giving app for young salaried professionals has entered into a strategic sales partnership with India’s largest financial distributor, Andromeda. With this sales collaboration, the customers registered with Andromeda will now have easy access to instant short-term credit facility from CASHe through its multiple loan options ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1,00,000 payable over 15, 30 & 90 days.

CASHe has also partnered with India’s largest mobile payments and commerce firm, Paytm to allow its users to deposit cash transfers from CASHe to their Paytm wallets. With this integration, users of CASHe now have an option to transfer their loan amounts into their Paytm Wallets in part or in full and credit the rest of the amount into their bank accounts. This is an industry-first innovation from CASHe.

Speaking about the Paytm partnership, Mr. V. Raman Kumar, Chairman, Aeries Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd said

The mobile wallet usage has grown exponentially over the last few years. We are excited with our partnership with Paytm, the leader in digital payments in India. Both CASHe and Paytm stand to gain with this integration. Our easy-to-use mobile application platform will now offer an option for our users to directly credit their loan amounts into their Paytm accounts in parts and the rest can be directly credited in to the bank accounts. With their wallets now funded, our customers can use Paytm to pay for various transactions. The integration with Paytm is in line with our product expansion strategy to continuously innovate and offer benefits to our customers.

Speaking about the Andromeda partnership, Mr. V. Raman Kumar, Chairman, Aeries Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd said

We are excited to partner with Andromeda, India’s largest financial distributors. Andromeda’s large customer base can now avail loans within minutes on a smartphone. We believe access to quick and easy credit without any collateral and documentation is an exciting proposition for the young salaried professionals. With our partnership with Andromeda, we hope to increase our customer base exponentially.

CASHe provides hassle-free loans with its app enabled documentation & loan disbursal process. Powered by its industry-first algorithm driven credit scoring platform, The Social Loan Quotient [SLQ], CASHe quickly determines a user’s credit worthiness by using multiple unique data points to arrive at a distinct credit profile of the customer. SLQ is transforming the traditional credit rating measurements thereby providing immediate loans to the under-served young professionals who are kept out by traditional credit rating and banking systems. CASHe is completely automated and requires no personal intervention and no physical documentation. The average time taken for a loan to be disbursed is about 8 minutes, subject to proper submission of all documents.

About CASHe

CASHe, a fin-tech product of TSLC PTE. LTD., promoted by Aeries Financial Technologies is as unique as the young professionals it serves. In a smart digital world, CASHe offers millennials quick and easy personal loans through processes that are transparent, innovative and tuned to the times. CASHe utilises sophisticated algorithms and machine learning capabilities to deliver an amazing and improved lending experience to our customers, thereby helping young professionals achieve their financial goals effortlessly. CASHe offers instant transfer of funds for approved applicants. CASHe is currently available on Android and iOS platforms. Click here to know more on CASHe. Download app from Google Play and iOS app store

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Siemon, a leading global network infrastructure specialist, showcased it’s Advanced Cabling Solutions and Expertise at 2017 BICSI Winter Conference, a conference catered to the Information and Communications Technology Community. During the event, Siemon displayed several  WheelHouse Advanced Data Center Solutions that include plug and play fiber solutions such as the ‘LightStack Ultra High Density System’ and its innovative ‘LC BladePatch jumper’ with push-pull activation for easy access.

Siemon, an expert in ConvergeIT Cabling Solutions for Intelligent Buildings, showcased its innovative plenum rated zone cabling solutions that enables flexible converged infrastructures for data, voice, building automation and any IP device. Siemon’s digital lighting demonstration and feature-rich Wall Mount Cabinet with fully integrated and adjustable cable management were also displayed at BICSI Winter Conference 2017.

During the conference, Ms. Valerie Maguire, Siemon’s Global Sales Engineer, presented Siemon’s Best Practices for Networking Intelligent Devices: Zone Cabling and Coverage Area Planning, and provided an in-depth overview of zone cabling, its benefit for today’s converged networks and key design guidelines for a variety of building spaces.

Not only this, but also Siemon experts were also present on hand to answer technical queries and demonstrate installer-friendly solutions such as the ‘LightBow Termination System’ with its exclusive patent-pending termination tool and pre-polished mechanical splice connectors that together reduce termination time. It showcased how termination quality is ensured that simultaneously also enables easy verification.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specialising in the design and manufacture of high quality, high performance low voltage infrastructure solutions and services for data centres, LANs and intelligent buildings. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global sales, technical and logistics expertise spanning 100 countries, Siemon offers a comprehensive suite of copper and optical fibre cabling systems, cabinets, racks, cable management, data centre power and cooling systems and intelligent infrastructure management solutions.

Siemon Interconnect Solutions (SIS) is a Siemon business unit comprised of a team of dedicated technical sales professionals supported by Siemon Labs, mechanical, electrical and signal integrity engineers committed to solving industry and customer driven interconnect challenges. Siemon provides custom network infrastructure solutions to OEMs, leading manufacturers, value-added resellers and system integrators. For more details, please visit Siemon