VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Palo Alto Networks is formalizing its cooperation with the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI). Palo Alto Networks is the first cybersecurity company to sign a Data Exchange Agreement (DEA) with INTERPOL.  This agreement aims to combat criminal trends in cyberspace, cyber threats and cybercrime globally through sharing threat information generated by Palo Alto Networks and Unit 42, its threat intelligence team. Palo Alto Networks will be involved in the operational briefings at INTERPOL and vice versa. A threat intelligence expert from Unit 42 will be assigned to collaborate with the IGCI, helping provide a clearer understanding of the current landscape, which can equip law-enforcement officers with powerful information needed to prevent successful .... Read More

The Indian handset market has recorded over 350 million shipments in the year 2017 as compared to 280 million in 2016, a surge in revenue from Rs.1,11,000 crore in 2015 to Rs.1,35,000 crore in 2016, according to an ASSOCHAM–KPMG joint study.  Smartphones have also gained immense popularity in India in the last four years and constituted 43 per cent of the total handset shipments in 2016. Robust growths of the handset market coupled with enhanced connectivity of telecom services have been pivotal in the growth of various industries such as retail, manufacturing, IT, e-commerce, etc, noted the ASSOCHAM–KPMG study titled “Accelerating growth and ease-of-doing businesses”.  Indian handset exports flourished during 2008 to 2012 going up to Rs.12,000 crore, but were interrupted by a decline of almost 30 per cent in the two subsequent years. Accompanied by a parallel fall in handset manufacturing, downfall of handset manufacturing industry became a major area of concern f...

SAP SE has reiterated its commitment towards customers and partner ecosystem by pledging to help ramp up workforce in the country to take forward the digital transformation agenda.  In the wake of GST rollout and Digital India initiative, the 51+ million SMEs in the country will eventually have to onboard or scale their technology infrastructure. It will, therefore, give rise to an industry-wide requirement of digital experts who will have the capability to enable enterprises transition to a digital platform. SAP understands the urgency to fulfil this necessity.  SAP India commits to skill, reskill and upskill 1.5 million SAP consultants to plug this digital gap within the next three years.... Read More

Avaya has released a statement on August 7, 2017, announcing that it has filed an amended plan of reorganization and disclosure statement, with the support of major stakeholders, representing an important milestone in the company’s restructuring process and giving a “clear and viable path to emerge from Chapter 11 in the near term”.  Vishal Agrawal, Managing Director, India and SAARC, Avaya, said that while Avaya Inc. has been working through the Chapter 11 process in the US, India business has progressed strongly. “This agreement provides a clear and viable path to exit Chapter 11 in line with our strategy. This is an important milestone as we work to emerge as a strong and competitive company in the coming weeks.” Read More

Following the overwhelming response to OnePlus 3/3T Soft Gold variants last year, OnePlus has decided to launch a limited-edition Soft Gold OnePlus 5. By further developing the sandblasting process, the finish of the Soft Gold OnePlus 5 is 30% finer than that of the previous OnePlus Soft Gold devices. Speaking on the new launch, Vikas Agarwal, General Manager, OnePlus India, said, “As a maker of the most beautifully designed smartphones, it gives us immense joy to introduce the latest OnePlus 5 with even more refined and elegant Soft Gold finish this festival season. The latest OnePlus 5 Soft Gold will appeal to those who are looking for the perfect balance of beautiful design and powerful features." Read More

Post demonitisation, there is big impact in the Tax collection and the number of I-T returns filed for the year 2016-17 grew by 25 per cent to 2.82 crore, as increased number of individuals filed their tax returns post demonitisation, the finance ministry said. The growth in ITRs filed by individuals is 25.3 per cent with over 2.79 crore returns having been received up to August 5 as against over 2.22 crore returns filed in the corresponding period last fiscal. The total number of returns filed as on August 5 stands at over 2.82 crore as against over 2.26 crore filed during the corresponding period of 2016-17. This was an increase of 24.7 per cent compared to growth rate of 9.9 per cent in the previous year.... Read More

Netflix buys comic book publisher Millarworld it is company’s first acquisition. According to Netflix’s press release, the purchase is part of the company’s efforts to “acquire intellectual property and ownership of stories featuring compelling characters,” for upcoming Netflix Originals, which are increasingly becoming a critical part of the streaming service’s offerings.  The company will be looking to adapt both existing Millarworld franchises, along with new stories developed by Mark Millar and the Millarworld creative team going forward. Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, Netflix said..... Read More

Just a couple of month left for I phone to arrive with it’s newer version of iphone 8, could have with the most expected wireless charging. Wireless charging coil, giving fuel to the rumours of wireless charging. Apple has a major iPhone redesign planned for 2017, with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that does away with the Home button and perhaps replaces Touch ID with a new facial recognition system. The new iPhone may be sold alongside upgraded (but standard) 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones.... Read More

As per news source, by early next year LG has plans to add products based on Internet of Things (IoT) in its home appliances portfolio. To come up with IoT-based products, the company is in talks with many mobile network service operators. Ki Wan Kim, Managing Director, LG Electronics India, said, “Possibly by the end of this year or early next year, LG’s first IoT-based products would be introduced in the country. He also added that LG is already selling such products in Korea but in India the wait is because of a partnership with a telecom service provider for data connectivity.” Read More

In 2016, the renewed smartphone market was a $17 Billion market with customers selling 120M used smartphones at an average value of $140 per device. It is estimated that it represents a 7% of total smartphone sales.at the same time refurbished market is booming in India . Flipkart is also looking to organise the "unorganised" refurbished market of India, and build it too. The selling of refurbished smartphones to start from Diwali and will be sold on the online marketplace and offline retail stores, for which discussions have been held with distributors. Flipkart will use its logistics arm Ekart for deliveries.... Read More

Venkaiah Naidu former Union Minister and NDA nominee is elected as the 13th Vice President of India secured with 516 votes in his favour and by defeating Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi who managed to get only 244 votes. Addressing on his thumping majority win, Naidu said, “I am very humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support. Over 98 percent voting was recorded in the vice-presidential election. 771 out of 785 MPs have voted in the election, however 11 votes were found to be invalid, said Assistant returning officer Mukul Pandey.... Read More

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched free wi-fi services at 74 bus stations, spread across 66 district headquarters in the state.The wi-fi services with unlimited surfing would be available for passengers through an app -- TG Connect. He also laid the foundation stone for three new bus stations at Amroha, Meerut and Ghaziabad. Besides, water ATMs to provide clean and cold drinking water to passengers at Agra, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Allahabad, Hardoi, Etawah, Rampur and Azamgarh bus stations were also launched.... Read More

Blockchain is the second generation of the internet, the first generation brought us the internet of information. The second generation, powered by blockchain, is bringing us the internet of value; a new, distributed platform that can help us reshape the world of business and transform .  The blockchain, essentially a database and a giant network, known as a distributed ledger, records ownership and value, and allows anyone with access to view and take part. The asset database can be shared across a network of multiple sites, geographies or institutions. All participants within a network can have their own identical copy of the ledger. Any changes to the ledger are reflected in all copies, like a Google doc.  There are two billion people lack access to a transaction account. However, like most blockchain applications, people tend to talk about theory and ignore the aspect of implementation. It is as if the general public just knows what blockchain is and will adopt...

Nearly 200 million 4G-enabled feature phones to be sold in India in next five years, triggering a slow-down for the domestic smartphone market. As per counterpoint research, "We estimate close to 60 million units of 4G-capable feature phones could ship this year globally from almost a million units last year, with India potentially contributing to almost half of that this year. To meet the demand Intex (Make in India brand )launched, 4G VoLTE feature phone of Navratna phone series ‘Intex Turbo +4G’ . The series include one 4G VoLTE model and eight 2G models in a price tag of Rs 700-Rs 1500 and the phones . Intex said that it in talks with a few OS developers for the 4G feature phone, and will launch the device around Diwali this year.... Read More

Contribution of every business vertical is important to make an economy grow, at the same time government also promote business enterprises. In a growing economy like India, government is encouraging business enterprises especially MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and SMEs to get digitise as they contribute a major revenue part in the economy.  After the introduction of GST (Goods and Services Tax), to digitally empower MSMEs, Ministry of MSME has launched Digital MSME scheme. It will help MSMEs, the major contributors of Indian economy, to go digital easily.  The objectives behind this are to encourage MSMEs towards new approach i.e Cloud Computing for ICT adoption, adoption of best practices to improve quality of products and services, standardization of their business processes etc.... Read More

Infosys has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Brilliant Basics. With Infosys Digital Studios span the globe, the addition of Brilliant Basics will enhance the company’s expertise in financial services, retail and telco sectors across Europe and the Middle East, company revealed in a statement. “Adding Brilliant Basics’ design and CX capabilities has already proven to be invaluable, helping Infosys close large deals with a deep blend of skills,” said Ravi Kumar S, President & Deputy COO, Infosys. “Brilliant Basics will leverage the breadth and depth of Infosys Digital to drive Digital Transformation solutions, which connect our clients’ Systems of Record to new Systems of Engagement.” Read More

A new variant of the Svpeng mobile banking Trojan that features keylogging functionality, a technique more commonly associated with targeted threat actors. The modified Trojan steals entered text such as banking credentials by abusing Android’s accessibility services and with this Trojan to grant itself other permissions and rights and to counteract attempts to uninstall it. Hence, it is suggested that simply keeping device software up to date does not protect against this Trojan. To address the issue, Kaspersky Lab researchers discovered that Svpeng had evolved to abuse this system feature to steal entered text from other apps on the device and grant itself a number of additional rights.... Read More

Ricoh India has appointed Noboru Akahane as Director / Non-Executive Chairman of Ricoh, effective from August 3, 2017. This decision has been taken in a Board of Directors meeting held today. He has succeeded Ian Winham, who has resigned from the position with immediate effect.  Before being appointed as Director / Non-Executive Chairman, Akahane was the Corporate Vice-President of Ricoh Company. He was responsible for Internal Controls since April .... Read More

According to news report, National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has given a nod for merger between Bharti Airtel and Telenor. NCLT has directed both the companies to hold a meeting of equity shareholders and unsecured creditors. In June, Bharti Airtel has already received a clBharti Airtelearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi), BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India. With this acquisition, Bharti Airtel will be strengthening its 4G spectrum holdings and revenue share. After the closure of the deal, Airtel will get hold of Telenor’s 43.4 units of 4G spectrum in 1,800 MHz band which will help the company to reinforce its position in the battle with Reliance Jio Infocomm.... Read More

Vodafone India has invested Rs.1,300 crore on ramping up network and distribution in Kolkata and Rest of Bengal circles over FY 17 and FY 18. Already, the preferred mobile services provider Vodafone, in terms of Subscriber base, Revenue Market Share, Retail touch points, has been focussing on closer engagement and enhancing customer experience in an endeavour to be future-ready.  Strengthening and expanding of network across multiple regions of Bengal brought 37,049 villages within its network. Vodafone has covered 2,380 towns, including all the key towns like Darjeeling, Gangtok, Bashirhat, Nabadwip, Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur, Krishnanagar, Midnapore, Kharagpur, Berhampore and others in Bengal circle with 4G SuperNet.The company has invested over Rs.10,000+ crore till date and ~Rs.1,300 crore in the last year in Kolkata and Rest of Bengal.... Read More