VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Apple plans to spend more than $500 million on Apple TV+:  Apple   has its plans in place to spend more than $500 million on marketing its streaming service,   Apple TV+ , this year. The   iPhone   maker also intends to significantly increase its output of new TV shows and movies to at least one a week in 2022, more than double its pace this year, according to The Information. Apple’s move to splurge on content and marketing comes as it tries to fiercely compete with established players, including   Netflix , Walt Disney’s   Disney+   and Amazon.com’s Prime Video.   Apple's move to splurge on content and marketing comes as it tries to fiercely compete with established players, including Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co's Disney+ and Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video.... Read More

Zomato to cease operation of online grocery delivery:  Zomato   has pulled the plug on its grocery delivery service due to gaps in order fulfillment, poor customer experience and increasing competition from rivals that are promising express delivery in 15 minutes. The company said its investment in   Grofers   will generate better outcomes than its in-house grocery effort.   According to a Zomato spokesperson, "We have decided to shut down our grocery pilot and as of now, have no plans to run any other form of grocery delivery on our platform. Grofers has found high quality product market fit in 10 minute grocery stores and we believe our investment in the company will generate better outcomes for our shareholders than our in-house grocery effort."... Read More

Gaurav Anand joins as chief digital and marketing officer in L'Oreal India:  Gaurav Anand   joins L’Oréal from   PepsiCo Europe , where he led the snacks business for central Europe and digitization of sales strategy for Europe. Anand will be a part of L’Oréal’s India management committee. He will lead and integrate the consumer insights, data, strategy, media and consumer advisory functions at L’Oréal’s digital-first brands.   Amit Jain, managing director, L’Oréal India  said, “The Indian consumer is making a rapid shift towards omni channel. As a beauty tech company,  L’Oréal India  is addressing this evolving landscape by deploying new technologies to enhance our products and customer experience for a new O+O world.   This new role is our commitment to strengthen the role of digital at the core of our business strategy. With his proven track record of accelerating disruptive business growth, Gaurav is best placed to scale our digital marketing ...

Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone go on a dinner date with this badminton star:  Ranveer Singh   and   Deepika Padukone   while on a dinner date on Saturday met with the   badminton star PV Sindhu   at a restaurant in Mumbai. Ranveer clicked a selfie of the trio and shared it on Instagram. In the picture, the stars are seen flashing smiles. Photographers were seen clicking them while coming out of the restaurant.   Sindhu commented on the photo saying that she had a "lovely" time with the couple. "Looking forward to see you soon," she wrote with a hug emoji. She also shared the selfie with Deepika and Ranveer on her Instagram account and wrote, "The smiles on our faces show what a fun time we had (sic)."   PV Sindhu is among the biggest badminton stars in India today. She won a bronze medal for the country in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. Earlier, she won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.... Read More

Alankrita Sahai fought against three robbers and saved herself:  Alankrita Sahai   was robbed at knifepoint by three men on Tuesday at her home in Chandigarh. She was robbed and assaulted at knifepoint by three men at her rented accommodation in Chandigarh. Sahai horrifiedly said, “Three men forcibly entered my house and they stole items worth ₹6.5 lakhs as well as cash. It was the most cruel act… I was attacked as they held a knife to my neck, they tried to strangle me, had their hand on my mouth and had pinned me against the bed. They hit me on my back, neck and forehead. They verbally abused me and threatened to kill me.” Recalling how she managed to escape from their clutches and ask for help, the actor says she that there was a moment when they all were out of the bedroom and that is how she locked that door and then herself inside the bathroom.... Read More

ALE committed to delivering digital age networking and communications solutions:  Resilience and Agility through IT Simplicity In the wake of the pandemic,  Alcatel Lucent Enterprise (ALE)  has pivoted its marketing mix to focus less on traditional physical face-to-face events in the current landscape. Its strategy spans across raising brand awareness in key go-to-markets and creating demand through vertical and account-based marketing to drive pipeline with its partner ecosystem. To support and leverage its existing customers, ALE runs a green clinic program for its key verticals -  Government ,  Healthcare ,  Transportation , Education & Commercial. This program initiates fresh outreach to its install base, where it evaluates pain-points and suggests new converged solution offerings from ALE. It has also instituted Vertical Marketing Programs aimed at the key industries to educate customers and prospects about new ALE offerings. Furthermore, ALE has ...

India to witness competition over providing Broadband services betting big to deliver fast internet services - anywhere, anytime. The next disruptors in providing the broadband services will be among  Starlink ,  OneWeb  and  Amazon  in India. In addition to British start-up Methera Global Communications and early entrants like HughesNet, Iridium, Eutelsat, Viasat, O3b Networks are a few who are eyeing this market.  Tata Group -backed Nelco is also in talks with Canadian firm Telesat to create a JV to launch satellite communications services in India and globally in the coming days. Telesat's Light-speed satellite services may be launched in India by 2024 by a JV between Tata's Nelco & Telesat. The Satcom industry is at its nascent stage in India but has the potential to revolutionise connectivity in unconnected areas where terrestrial mobile or fiber can’t reach. Good internet connection has become a basic need in such an unprecedented scenario where w...

Vehere ropes in Wahab Yusoff as an Advisor to the Board:  Vehere   announced the appointment of   Wahab Yusoff   as an Advisor to the Board. He will be based out of Singapore and shall be assisting Vehere in building its presence across the ASEAN Region.   Yusoff has over three decades of rich experience in Cybersecurity and Information Technology, with a focus on assisting organizations to scale operations in the Asia Pacific Region. He has expertise in IT Security and a proven track record of driving corporate growth and development in the APAC region.   Yusoff is the Vice President of the Asia Pacific and Japan region for Forescout Technologies. Prior to that, he worked for reputed companies such as Palo Alto Networks, McAfee, Dell EMC, and Documentum. Additionally, he also serves on the Boards of Changi Airport Group, Workforce Singapore, EZ-Link Pte Ltd, and Rekanext VC.... Read More

Google, Microsoft plan to spend billions on cybersecurity:  The whole globe is struggling into the issue of   Cyber security   and   cyber crime.   The White House hosted a cybersecurity summit Wednesday with CEOs in sectors ranging from tech to insurance. Technology giants including Google,   Microsoft   and   IBM   committed to spending billions on cybersecurity following the meeting, they are going to strengthen cybersecurity defences and to train skilled workers, the White House has announced, following President Joe Biden's private meeting with top executives. The gathering on Wednesday during a relentless stretch of ransomware attacks that have targeted critical infrastructure, in some cases with the attackers extorting multimillion-dollar payments from major corporations, as well as other illicit cyber operations that US authorities have linked to foreign hackers.... Read More

Equinix Opens Fifth Data Center in Singapore and Deepens Commitment to National Sustainability Agenda:  Equinix, Inc ., the world's digital infrastructure company™, today announced the opening of its fifth International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center in Singapore, SG5. With an initial investment of US$144 million, the purpose-built facility helps address the need for a sustainable, future-ready digital infrastructure to enhance enterprises’ digital resiliency.   Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative and digitalization efforts over the years have led local and regional businesses to realize the importance of an agile and resilient digital infrastructure to their business success. According to the latest Equinix Global Tech Trends Survey, 88% of surveyed companies in Singapore indicated that digitizing their IT infrastructure was a top priority, with 66% believing interconnection will help them navigate challenges.... Read More

Supercell brings beta for Everdale and unveils 3 new Clash of Clans games:  Supercell   is launching a wide beta test for its newest mobile game,   Everdale , today in some regions. This is the first time the company has lined up a new game since the global launch of Brawl Stars in 2018.   Everdale Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen  said in an interview that the company is also working on three new Clash games: Clash Mini, Clash Heroes, and Clash Quest. Those titles present variations on the Clash of Clans themes, gameplay, and characters.   Paananen said, “The starting point was that the team wanted to do something quite different at Supercell. This game has no battles at all. They wanted to offer a very peaceful, relaxing experience for all the players. They were talking about some zen-like feeling for the player. It’s maybe somewhat closer to something like Hay Day, from a philosophical point of view.”.... Read More

Tom Cruise lands helicopter in a UK family's garden, dinned at Asha Bhosle's restaurant:  Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise , who is shooting for ' Mission: Impossible 7 ' in the UK, landed by helicopter in a family's garden in Warwickshire as Coventry Airport was temporarily shut.   The family was reportedly told a VIP had to land but they had no idea that it would be Cruise. The actor gave the family a ride in his helicopter.   Tom Cruise has a voracious appetite for making movies - and now the same can be said for his love of Indian food.   Cruise reportedly spent two hours at Asha's at 12-22 Newhall Street on Saturday night, August 21, while taking a break from shooting Mission: Impossible 7 in the Midlands.   Asha's general manager Nouman Farooqui was delighted when his all-time favourite, real-life action man loved his chicken tikka masala so much that he ordered a second portion.   Nouman said the party was sharing meals - so fact that Tom enjoyed what ...

Khatabook valuation crosses $600 Mn valuation after raising $100 Mn: Khatabook , a fintech start-up, has received a $100 million Series C funding, with a valuation now close to $600 million. The round was led by US-based VC firms   Tribe Capital   and   Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV) .   Ravish Naresh, CEO, and co-founder, Khatabook  said, the first phase of our journey was enabling digital transformation by building a tech ecosystem for Indian MSMEs . He further said that, we have created a widely accepted digital platform, the next step will be digitally-enabled financial services for small businesses.   Other investors in this oversubscribed series C round were Alkeon Capital, with continued investment participation from internal investors B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Global, Unilever Ventures, and Better Capital. In addition, top Silicon Valley investors Balaji Srinivasan, Sriram Krishnan participated as independent investors among oth...

New Delhi's Connaught Place witnesses India's first smog tower:  CM Arvind Kejriwal   has inaugurated the " country's first smog tower " at   Connaught Place   in Delhi and said it will prove to be a milestone and many such structures can be installed in the city if the pilot project yields results.   Kejriwal said, "This is the first such smog tower in the country. It's a new technology. We have imported it from the US. The structure will suck polluted air from above and release clean air from below. It will purify 1,000 cubic metres of air per second".   He also said that the concentration of PM2.5 has reduced from 150 micrograms per cubic metre to 100 µg/m³ and that of PM10 has dipped from 300 µg/m³ to 150 µg/m³ in the national capital since 2014 due to the efforts made in the last few years.   PM 2.5 refers to fine particles which penetrate deep into the body and fuel inflammation in the lungs and respiratory tract, leading to the risk of cardiov...

SAP to empower Revlon to drive e-commerce acceleration:  SAP SE   announced that beauty giant   Revlon Inc.   will use the RISE with SAP offering to expedite the company’s strategic cloud migration.   “Revlon is an iconic and trusted brand that has long been known for innovation in the beauty and personal care industry, always with a keen focus on the customer experience,” said  SAP North America President DJ Paoni . “We are honored to be a part of Revlon’s incredible transformation journey and provide solutions to help the company continue to scale and grow share of market.”   Revlon, which last year saw e-commerce net sales soar approximately 40%, remains focused on enhancing its end-to-end digital capabilities to support continued acceleration in this channel. By tapping RISE with SAP, Revlon expects to bolster its digital infrastructure in order to help its e-commerce operations become more nimble and innovative. Revlon also plans to use the SAP An...