VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Polycom has announced the results of a new survey which analyzes how video collaboration solutions are currently being used in business. The study was commissioned by Polycom and conducted by Quocirca. The study reveals that more than 90 per cent of those who regularly use video to collaborate are experiencing higher productivity, better teamwork, financial savings and reduced travel expenses. Over 80 per cent directly link their fiscal savings to making faster business decisions and improving employee’s work/life balance. Although the survey uncovered many benefits of using video collaboration, barriers to broad adoption still exist. One of every two people surveyed suggested that having more access to video would increase use. Very few organizations have broadly rolled out video to desktop and mobile users, and typically have limited availability of video to the larger conference rooms. “The way people work is changing. Mobility, BYOD, social and collaboration solutions like

Going out of its regular corporate social responsibility route, Microsoft has initiated to develop a centre in one of Delhi’s largest red light area. Through Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative and along with a voluntary organization, the company is providing basic IT and job skills to sex workers and their children at the `Pahal Centre’ on Garstin Bastion road in New Delhi. Microsoft is associated with the Pahal Centre through Aide Et Action International, an international development-profit organization since 2014, where already two batches of 30 students each (who were taught basic IT skills and spoken English for three months) have graduated. Apart from training and skilling, the centre also provides daycare facilities to the children of sex workers in the area. Through this centre, Microsoft also engages with school teachers to ensure retention and educational progress in children and provides vocational training and skill development for youths between the ages of 16 and 2

Instant messaging is extensively used not only for personal chatting but also to reach out to millions of mobile users, as with E-commerce companies that have started using instant messenger platforms to widen their customer base. Now anyone who is a regular online shopper can easily chat with their preferred e-tailer about new products, complaints or paying for a purchase through their smartphone messaging services like WhatsApp, WeChat and Line. Flipkart and Jabong are the first two e-commerce companies to have started such an initiative. They have tied up with WeChat to launch official accounts besides tying up with Line, which has a feature that allows users to make payments using credit cards. In October when Flipkart launched a Line account, it received over 250,000 followers in less than a week and its WeChat account received tens of thousands of followers. Jabong launched its customer support services and campaigns targeted at messenger users on WhatsApp and other plat