Wipro opens Data Discovery Platform for businesses on Microsoft Azure

Industry analysts say Wipro will need appropriate selling methods for such a solution

Wipro, India’s third-largest IT services firm, said it has made its cloud-based Data Discovery Platform available for customers on Microsoft Azure through a “pay-per-insight” model.

To be hosted on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure, the Data Discovery Platform is a big data analytics-as-a-service solution that can enhance the ability of businesses in sectors such as banking and financial services, retail, energy, education, and manufacturing to make better decisions using pre-built applications.

Company News : The platform can be used by businesses through an outcome-based model. “Data Discovery Platform leverages Microsoft’s Cortana Intelligence Suite, which includes HDInsight, Stream Analytics, Data Lake Analytics, machine learning, and Power BI to build analytical applications,” said the company in a statement, adding that both Microsoft and Wipro have collaborated in areas such as engineering, solution enhancement, and joint-go-to-market strategy.

“Today, the platform is a significant enabler of analytics-led digital transformation delivering analytics-as-a-service to organisations. We believe that this is a reflection of the Wipro Data Discovery Platform’s maturity and Microsoft’s confidence in the prowess of this platform," said Pallab Deb, vice-president and global head (Analytics) at Wipro.

Industry analysts say such a solution will need appropriate selling methods, be it data and services packaged or otherwise, as the platform is digital in nature.

“This is going to be a different offering from that of traditional software services. Wipro needs a new-age approach to sell such a platform. Even though there is enough demand for such data analytics-based solutions, this cannot be sold like any traditional technology service,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, founder and chief executive, Greyhound Research.

JioPhone effect: Idea to launch 4G-enabled feature phone at Rs 2,500

We have no intention to subsidise handsets, said Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director Idea Cellular

Faced with the latest challenge of ultra-cheap 4G feature phone from Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular on July 28 said it is working with handset makers to bring down the cost of handsets.

However, the Aditya Birla Group company, set to be merged with bigger rival Vodafone, made it clear that it will not subsidise handsets.

Indian Companies News : "The practical solution that we are working on is to work with the handset industry and work with them to be able to bring down cost of handsets by bringing down the bill of material, so that the gap of the announced price of Jio feature phone versus a smart-phone can be brought down to reasonable levels," its Managing Director Himanshu Kapania told analysts.

Kapania said the ideal price point for a handset will be Rs 2,500.

In the past, the telecom operators had worked with handset makers when they were challenged by the then Reliance Infocomm's cheaper handsets, he noted.

"Given the fact that this (Jio announcement) has happened, and it is going to be distributed in large volumes, our belief is that we need to work with the handset industry and introduce similar phones in the marketplace," he said.

This will be an "affordable phone" which will allow customers the choice of dual SIM, selection of 2G and 4G networks, signing up with telecom operators of choice and to use applications of choice, he said.

There will be extensive market research on the number of features that can be brought down, operating system and whether it should have touchscreen, among others, he said. Read more

Flipkart-eBay India merger done; sellers can now take products global

Indian Companies News

Flipkart, India's largest e-commerce marketplace said it will begin offering the global inventory of eBay to Indian consumers while taking the products of thousands of sellers in the country to eBay's customers globally.

This comes after Flipkart completed the takeover of the India operations of eBay.

In a deal announced in April, Flipkart raised $1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart.

Flipkart will now own and operate eBay.in, which however will remain an independent entity.Additionally, both companies are also partnering to leverage opportunities in cross-border trade. As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay, while eBay customers will have access to more unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers. The partnership will thus provide a new opportunity for Flipkart sellers to expand their sales globally, the firm said in a statement.

"Being an early mover, eBay.in has a unique standing in the Indian e-commerce market, which is a great addition to Flipkart's leadership position. Our coming together directly benefits Indian customers and sellers for whom we want to provide the best possible e-commerce experience. This is a step in that direction," Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in the statement.

Valuation to too many demands: Why Snapdeal-Flipkart merger is dragging

The Snapdeal-Flipkart merger has turned into the most complex acquisition negotiation

Indian Companies News : In the universe of Snapdeal and Flipkart everyone is hopeful, but of different things. Japanese telecom giant SoftBank and US hedge fund major Tiger Global are hopeful of merging the two e-commerce players. Snapdeal’s board members, such as Nexus Venture Capital, and smaller shareholders are hopeful of a better-valued exit, and the co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal are hopeful of holding on to their company.

The clash of hopes is what has kept the ‘biggest consolidation in Indian e-commerce history’ from becoming a reality. After five months of discussions, the Snapdeal-Flipkart merger has turned into the most complex acquisition negotiation.

Stonewalling deal

In his last email to FreeCharge employees as the top boss, Bahl, buoyed by the sale of the mobile wallet to Axis Bank, said the deal provides them the necessary boost in resources to continue the journey towards building an e-commerce platform.

Axis Bank last week announced it had bought the mobile payments wallet provider from Snapdeal for Rs 385 crore ($60 million).

According to sources close to Snapdeal, the co-founders are actively working towards a ‘Plan B’ and have taken into confidence most of their senior management. According to sources, the two have been fighting SoftBank, the biggest investor in the company, 'tooth and nail’ to prevent the deal from happening.

“They are going to fight the deal till they can. The kind of U-turn SoftBank took last year has left them flabbergasted. First SoftBank asked them to rebrand, spend money on marketing, promising all along that more investments are on way and then they suddenly left them high and dry.(more)

Kalanithi Maran vs Ajay Singh: Blow for SpiceJet as SC dismisses petition

Had earlier moved a confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly to prove the majority of his new govt

Indian Companies News : In a blow to Ajay Singh-led low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed its appeal challenging the Delhi High Court order that directed it to deposit Rs 529 crore in relation to a share-transfer dispute with media baron Kalanithi Maran.

The Bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman heard the counsel to Ajay Singh, who now controls SpiceJet, as well as Abhishek Singhvi, who was appearing for Maran, before rejecting the appeal. SpiceJet is now obliged to deposit Rs 250 crore in cash and Rs 329 in bank guarantees. The payment schedule was to start in August.

According to SpiceJet, the high court order was not only wrong in law but harsh as it amounted to infliction of 'civil death' on the company. It pleaded that the order would have an effect of undoing all efforts of the new management and saddle the company with huge liabilities with fatal consequences.

ALSO READ: Who owns SpiceJet? Kalanithi Maran claims deal with Ajay Singh is dead

Maran, the former promoter of the airline, had transferred his 58.46 per cent stake in the airline to Singh in February 2015, changing the ownership of the LCC. Under the agreement, Maran was to receive redeemable warrants in return for Rs 690 crore spent on SpiceJet towards operating costs and debt payment. However, this allegedly did not happen because the necessary approvals were not obtained from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

SpiceJet’s petition said the liabilities were over Rs 2,200 crore, which was substantially more than the amount purportedly brought in by Maran and KAL Airways. This amount was, in fact, utilised for the purpose it was brought in. "It is with great effort, perseverance and skill that the company under its new management has been able to revive itself and come out from the severe financial strain that it was facing under the management of Maran and others," the appeal stated.

ALSO READ: Share transfer dispute: SpiceJet must deposit Rs 579 cr, Delhi HC rules

In separate proceedings, Maran has moved the arbitration tribunal demanding compensation from SpiceJet for causing losses and failing to honour the agreement.

Jio 4G handset is virtually free for users; what's the game plan?

This handset could rattle older rivals, but experts are sceptical about mass conversions for Jio

Indian Companies News : In a move that may rattle its older rivals, already destabilised by some of the disruptive plans and freebies offered by it in the past months, Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio on Friday unveiled its ultra-low-cost 4G feature phone.

However, the success of the new Reliance Jio mobile phone would be pegged on 2G phone customers doubling their present monthly bill on mobile services.

For that to happen, the country’s average revenue per user (Arpu) – currently at Rs 80 for feature phone users and pegged at around Rs 104 overall – will have to go up substantially.

To enable that, Jio is offering users an attractive preposition – unlimited calls (earlier the feature phone users had only limited call time), as well as unlimited data with a cap of 0.5 GB per day (earlier they had no or minimal data usage) on a Rs 153 pack. Also, Jio is offering applications that include videos as well as live TV and YouTube, which will only help customers move to higher data usage and, thereby, larger packs.

In fact, the company has also ensured that customers will not have to pay for the new handset at all if they commit to Jio for the long haul. Reliance Jio is offering the device at a deposit of Rs 1,500, which will be paid pack after three years. While this helps the company garner a huge amount of money upfront, the effective cost for the customer is only the notional interest that he would forgo on an amount of Rs 1,500, which is negligible of course.

Unlike in the case of the earlier Monsoon Hungama plan (phone bundled with services at Rs 501) offered in 2003 by the erstwhile Reliance Infocomm (now Reliance Communications), there will be no risk of the customer running away with the phone this time. The user will remain sticky for at least three years, as not only is the device locked to Jio, but he also needs to continue using Jio for availing of money back. Read more

Jio disruption: Feature phone to cost Rs 0 with Rs 1,500 refundable deposit

Jio feature phone offered free voice, SMS, unlimited data at Rs 153/month

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday held its 40th AGM or annual general meeting for shareholders today, at Birla Matushri Sabhagar in Mumbai. During the event, Reliance announced the launch of its 4G feature phone. Along with that the telco has announced its cable TV device. The JioPhone will be available for free but buyers will have to deposit a fee of Rs 1500 which will be refundable after three years. This means the phone will be available at an effective price of zero.

The phone, targeted at 50 crore feature phone users in the country, will be available for pre-booking from August 24 on payment of a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500.

Indian Companies News : This deposit will be refunded after 36 months on return of the phone, he said, adding that the price of the phone will be "effective zero".

He used the occasion to introduce his twin children, Akash and Isha, who presented the phone features that include calls and text messaging on voice command, Internet surfing and cable to connect the device to TV to view content, including videos.

Also Read :

• Jio disruption: Feature phone to cost Rs 0 with Rs 1,500 refundable deposit
• RIL AGM: Mukesh Ambani announces 1 bonus share for every 1 share held
• Reliance unveils zero cost 4G phone, aims to further disrupt telecom sector

"JioPhone will make the 2G feature phone obsolete," Ambani claimed, adding that the company is looking to bring 5 million phones to the market a week.

The JioPhone will be available for user testing in beta mode from August 15 and for pre-booking from August 24.

"Reliance democratised the equity culture in the past. Now, Jio will democratise the digital culture in India," he asserted. "Digital Life will no longer be the privilege of the affluent few."

Out of the 78 crore phones in India, Ambani said, 50 crore are feature phones that cannot be used for Internet or data usage. The new phone would give "affordable" device to these 50 crore users and "end the digital exclusion in India". Read more full article.

IUC report: Reliance Jio alleges Rs 100,000 cr bonanza to incumbents

Says bonanza due to IUC suggestions not being carried out by Trai

Stepping up its attack on incumbents, Reliance Jio has alleged that three major operators benefitted by over Rs 100,000 crore in the past five years owing to non-implementation of the telecom regulator’s 2011 recommendations on interconnect usage charges (IUC), or terminating charges.

In an affidavit to the Supreme Court in 2011, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended that the IUC charges be cut to half from 20 paisa and gradually shifted to the ‘bill and keep’ model — which means zero charge — by 2014. But in 2015, the IUC was only brought down to 14 paisa with the mandate that it would be revised after two years.

Company Business News : The additional money that the big three incumbents have made, according to Jio’s allegations, is based on the net present value (which includes interest income) and reflects the excess recovery made by them over the actual cost that they have to incur for terminating a call. The presentation was given by Jio to the Trai on Tuesday.

Jio also said that India was moving against the global trend of reducing IUC. It said that IUC as a percentage of blended retail mobile price is currently 1 per cent in China, 9 per cent in UK, 11 per cent in France, and 13 per cent in Japan. But in India, IUC, which constituted only 10 per cent of the average tariff in 2003, has now climbed up to 45 per cent.

Jio argued that the value of surplus recovery for the three incumbents was to the tune of Rs 20,624 crore in the financial year ended 2017.

Making a strong case for shifting to the bill and keep model, Jio stated that the cost of delivering voice on an IP network was practically nil and it seemed that new operators were merely subsidising the incumbents because of their ineffeciencies and older networks. Read more full article

UDAN scheme: TruJet to add 10 destinations with 7 aircraft

The airline started operations in July 2015, currently catering to 7 destinations with 16 flights

Hyderabad-based TruJet, one of the private airlines, which has bagged travel routes under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft.

The airline started operations in July 2015 and is currently catering to seven destinations with 16 flights.

Antara Dey, spokesperson of the airline said that over the next two years, the airline is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft. Of this, five will be under UDAN scheme, including Mysore, Bidar, Hosur, Salem and Vidya Nagar.

Alliance Air, the regional arm of Air India, SpiceJet and TruJet have won rights to operate flights under the government's regional air connectivity scheme, which seeks to give people from Tier-II and Tier-III cities a chance to fly at a ticket price of Rs 2,500.

Company News : Airlines operating under the UDAN scheme have to ensure that the prices of at least 50 per cent of the seats on their flights are available at a price of Rs 2,500 each for an hour of flying.

The Centre and state will provide viability gap funding for the airlines operating on the UDAN routes to ensure profitability of these flights.

Trujet is planning to deploy ATR72-500/600 with a 72-seat capacity.

Dey, mentioned earlier, said that the airline is looking at 77 per cent PLF (passenger load factor) and expects to make money in a year.

She added that the airline is funded directly by promoters and do not have any plans immediately to look at external funding. (more)

At Reliance AGM, Jio financials, 4G feature phone would be the focus

Street to also watch for details on home-to-fibre, fuel and organised retail segments

In September last year, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani shared the roll-out plan for Reliance Jio’s telecom services at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM). This Friday, shareholders and investors will look for details on revenue generation from these services.

RIL is slated to announce its earnings for the April-June quarter (Q1) on Thursday and hold its AGM the day after. Analysts expect the focus, both in terms of the June quarter numbers and the AGM, would be on the company’s telecom business.

The details are important and will reflect on investor sentiment, which is on the rise. On Friday, the RIL stock scaled to a nine-year high.

Company News : While Jio started offering its services in September last year, these services have largely been provided free till March and continue to be offered at discounted prices. Among other details, analysts and shareholders would look for data on revenue generation and the profitability timeline for this business. “Telecom would be the topmost thing to watch, as details on other business like the oil and gas segment have been already spelled out,” said an analyst with a domestic brokerage firm.

Last week, the company extended its promo offers for Jio services, adding to scepticism on any meaningful revenue addition in the current financial year. “We see downside risk to our Jio financial year 2017-18 revenue estimate of $2.7 billion, due to extension of the promotional offers. We are unsure if our FY18 revenue estimate for Jio holds any weight, given that Jio has been capitalising its revenue/expenses thus far,” a Morgan Stanley report dated July 11, said.

In addition to financial details, analysts and investors will look out for official comments on plans for low-cost 4G phones. “While every AGM has the usual expectations on bonus issue (the previous bonus issue was in FY 2009-10), expectations this time are high on another large announcement in telecom, especially 4G feature phones,” analysts with JPMorgan wrote in a report dated July 12. Read more

Reliance Jio's new plans with reduced validity to help Bharti, Idea

In the latest move, the telco has reduced validity for its Rs 309/509 packages from 84 days to 56

As Reliance Jio's promotional offer 'Dhan Dhana Dhan' ended on July 9, it announced new tariff plans with a reduced validity. This comes as a breather to the telecom industry considering the discounts from the latest entrant earlier.

In the Company news, the validity has been reduced for its Rs 309/509 packages from 84 days to 56 days, while still limiting the internet data usage to 1 GB/day. The Mukesh Ambani-owned firm has also announced two new tariff plans: Rs 349 for 56 days with 20 GB of total data usage and Rs 399 for 84 days with 84 GB of total data usage.

The company's 'Dhan Dhana Dhan' offer was launched on April 11, which ended on July 9 after the 90-day promotional period.

"We consider the move to be directionally positive for Bharti (Airtel) and India telcos sector as Jio is reducing its discounts/raising implied tariffs. We consider this announcement to be largely in-line with market expectations and should help Bharti to get back traffic as discounts are reduced and implied tariffs are raised," Bank of America Merill Lynch (BoAML) said in a report.

Kotak Securities said the average revenue per user (ARPU) range of its plans now stands at Rs 122-661 versus Rs 97-630 earlier.

"The move is largely on expected lines. While Reliance Jio has not raised pricing to the base plan levels and continues to run an extra validity and/or extra data allowance promotional across most of its plans, we believe this is a positive move directionally. It provides some breather (not relief) to the industry that has been reeling under the Jio promotion onslaught. This move should provide the industry [with] an opportunity to stem the free fall in ARPU levels seen in the past three-quarters," Kotak said.

The impact of Jio's feature phone disruption, however, needs to be watched for.

"We consider feature phone launch by Jio (remains to be seen if it is announced at RIL AGM (annual general meeting) on July 21) to be the next catalyst for the sector as it would increase competitive intensity in the market," BoAML said.

Company News : In a blow to tech Industry, Trump shelves start-up immigrant rule

The decision was quickly slammed by business leaders and organizations

Company News : The Trump administration said it would delay, and probably eliminate down the line, a federal rule that would have let foreign entrepreneurs come to the United States to start companies.

The decision, announced by the federal government on Monday ahead of its official publication on Tuesday, was quickly slammed by business leaders and organizations, especially from the technology sector, which has benefited heavily from start-ups founded by immigrants.

“Today’s announcement is extremely disappointing and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the critical role immigrant entrepreneurs play in growing the next generation of American companies,” Bobby Franklin, the president and chief executive of the National Venture Capital Association, a trade association for start-up investors, said in a statement.

He added that even as other countries are going all out to attract entrepreneurs, “the Trump administration is signaling its intent to do the exact opposite.”

The policy being delayed by the Department of Homeland Security, known as the International Entrepreneur Rule, was to go into effect next week, after being approved by President Obama in January during his final days in office.

The rule was enacted to give foreign entrepreneurs who received significant financial backing for new business ventures the ability to come temporarily to the United States to build their companies. Silicon Valley leaders had praised the rule as a kind of “start-up visa.”

The department said it would delay the start date of the rule until March 14 of next year, during which time it will seek public comments on a plan to rescind the rule. The department said it decided to delay the rule after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on improvements to border security and immigration enforcement on Jan. 25, shortly after taking office.

The order required the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to take action to ensure that "parole authority” — through which the department can temporarily allow individuals into the country without being formally admitted with a visa — be used only on a case-by-case basis and “when an individual demonstrates urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit derived from such parole.”

The International Entrepreneur Rule was designed to use that authority to effectively give a lift to start-ups. Under the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that nearly 3,000 entrepreneurs would be eligible to come to the United States annually under the rule. They were to be granted stays of up to 30 months, with the chance of extending the stays another 30 months if the entrepreneurs met certain criteria.

To qualify, they had to show that they had raised $250,000 or more for their businesses from established American investors or $100,000 or more in grants from government entities.

Steve Case, an investor who was a founder of AOL, blasted the decision on Twitter. “Big mistake,” he wrote. “Immigrant entrepreneurs are job makers, not job takers.”

Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group representing the consumer technology industry, said the delay of the rule would damage American innovation and job creation.

“The 44 immigrant-founded billion-dollar start-ups now in the U.S. have created an average of 760 American jobs per company,” Mr. Shapiro said in a statement. “Without these immigrant entrepreneurs, it is unlikely America would stand as the beacon of innovation that it is today.”

Business class traveller? Submit your company's GST Identification Number

Company News : People travelling for business purposes on business class air tickets are now required to submit details about their companies to avail tax benefits under the GST regime.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework, which came into effect from July 1, provides for certain input tax credit only on business class tickets and there is no such provision on economy class fares.

Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara - the three domestic carriers that offer business class seats have already sent out communications to inform passengers that GSTIN details need to be submitted in order to avail the benefits.

The GST Identification Number is issued to entities that are registered under the new tax regime.

"It is now mandatory for guests travelling for business to add their company's GST details at the time of booking. To ensure a seamless experience, we request that you inform your guests travelling for business to register on our portal and claim up to 12 per cent back on flights," Jet Airways said in a communication.

The GST rate on first class and higher class tickets is 12 per cent while the rate is 5 per cent on economy class tickets. The GST would also replace service tax, krishi kalyan cess and swachh bharat cess.

After submission of the details, the airlines would generate GST invoice for the particular travel and that invoice can be used to claim the benefits.

"It is not compulsory to provide GST details. GST registration details for your business or company may be optionally provided if a customer wishes to claim input tax credit on the GST paid if travelling for business reasons," Vistara said in a communication.

According to Air India, all passengers requiring GST invoice for their tickets have to complete the one-time registration process on its website by entering the relevant details.

In its communication, Jet Airways also made it clear that "any bookings for leisure travel will not be entitled for GST benefits".

Buying a car, gold or property? How GST will impact your expenses from 1 July

Govt has surely kept the consumer's interest in mind while deciding the tax rates under GST

Company News :The introduction of GST from 1 July 2017 would not only have an impact on businesses in India but also on the common man’s monthly budget. The prices of goods and services forming part of the monthly budget would either increase or decrease depending on the GST treatment.

Eating out

For example, when an individual eats out in a restaurant, today there is service tax and VAT charged in the invoice, apart from having a service charge collected additionally. The service tax and VAT is not applicable for all types of restaurants and therefore varies from restaurant to restaurant. Under GST, the rate of tax on the restaurant invoice could be either 5%, 12% or 18%, depending on whether the restaurant is under composition scheme, non-air conditioned or air-conditioned, respectively. The replacement of service tax and VAT with GST at the above rates would make it simple for the customer to understand how much is actually going to the government in terms of taxes.

Buying gold

When it comes to buying gold, we Indians cannot stay away from this temptation. The taxes on gold currently is around 2% in most states, comprising of 1% of excise duty and 1% of VAT in most States.

Kerala has a higher VAT of 5%. The GST rate is increased from the existing rate of around 2% to 3%. While most consumers would have to shell out additional tax of 1%, consumers in Kerala would benefit from the rate reduction.

Buying property

For under-construction property, there is a significant impact post GST. The existing tax rates are broadly around 6% in most States comprising of service tax and VAT (other than a few where the VAT rate is higher). Under GST the rate shall increase to 12%, with the ability of the builder to avail all input tax credits, resulting in reducing his cost which may be passed on to buyers by commensurate reduction in prices. However, this may not be possible for the builder immediately, especially where the builder has already procured the construction material. Hence, for properties currently under construction, the transition into GST would have consumers being charged with the additional tax without actual reduction in construction value.

Tough times: Cognizant defers salary hikes, promotions by three months

IT major informed its employees that salary revisions and promotions would be effective from October 1. This process usually gets over by July.

Company News : Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) has pushed back promotions and salary hikes by three months due to slow growth and rising business costs.

The software services major informed its employees that any salary revisions and promotions would be effective from October 1, people in the know told Business Standard. This process usually gets over by July.

The company has 2,61,200 employees across the world.

The company's chief people officer, Jim Lennox, in a note to the staff said employees up to the manager level would receive “a percentage increase in their basic pay like previous years, while people at senior manager and above level would get a “lump sum” amount. This apart, they will get performance-linked bonuses.

For employees up to the level of vice president, according to the note, the new salaries would be effective from October 1. A Cognizant spokesperson declined to comment.

Some of the former and existing employees of the company said a delay in appraisal clearly hints at tough times for the IT industry and a large chunk of mid-level employees also fear job losses on account of slow growth and technology disruption.

This comes at a time when the company, like its peers such as Infosys, TCS others, reduced H1B visa applications and ramped up local hiring in their largest market in the US. This will certainly result in initial cost pressure, said analysts.

Ransomware attacks leave customers powerless, companies ignore cyber threat

'NotPetya' ransomware attack: It's time to take cybersecurity seriously

Company News : As the “NotPetya” ransomware attack spreads around the world, it’s making clear how important it is for everyone – and particularly corporations – to take cybersecurity seriously. The companies affected by this malware include power utilities, banks and technology firms. Their customers are now left without power and other crucial services, in part because the companies did not take action and make the investments necessary to better protect themselves from these cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity is becoming another facet of the growing movement demanding corporate social responsibility. This broad effort has already made progress toward getting workers paid a living wage, encouraging companies to operate zero-waste production plants and practice cradle-to-cradle manufacturing – and even getting them to donate products to people in need.

The overall idea is that companies should make corporate decisions that reflect obligations not just to owners and shareholders, customers and employees, but to society at large and the natural environment. As a scholar of cybersecurity law and policy and chair of Indiana University’s new integrated program on cybersecurity risk management, I say it’s time to add cyberspace to that list.

Online security affects everyone

The recent WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 200,000 computers in 150 nations. The results of the attack made clear that computers whose software is not kept up to date can hurt not only the computers’ owners, but ultimately all internet users. The companies hit by the NotPetya attack didn’t heed that warning, and got caught by an attack using the same vulnerability as WannaCry, because they still haven’t updated their systems. Read more

PM Modi wins Jeff Bezos' assurance: Amazon will keep investing in India

Always impressed, energised by optimism and invention in India. Excited to keep investing: Bezos

US online retail giant Amazon would keep investing and growing in India, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in Washington DC on Sunday, soon after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Terrific meeting with Narendra Modi. Always impressed, energised by optimism and invention in India. Excited to keep investing and growing,” Bezos said on social networking platform Twitter.

Bezos was one of the 20-odd US business leaders who met Modi on Sunday. Among other big names were Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Apple CEO Tim Cook. All four US technology giants have been vying to grow their businesses in India, the last large open market in the world.

Bezos’ indication that Amazon’s investments in India will keep rolling comes at a time when the company has completed four years of doing business here and has cornered a sizeable chunk of the e-commerce market. The firm has committed to investing $5 billion in the country, and says half its investments have so far gone into building infrastructure.

Company News : Amit Agarwal, Amazon vice-president & country manager for India, has said the country’s e-commerce market is still in its infancy and it will take a lot more investment, not just from his company but from all players, to grow in the coming years. His thoughts reflect Bezos’ own philosophy that Amazon is still playing in the “Day 1” of e-commerce.

“We don’t really hold ourselves back based on a targeted investment. We will require a lot of investment, as will Indian e-commerce. It is still very early and we should be ready to invest for many years,” Agarwal had told Business Standard in a recent interview. Read more

800 Google Play Store apps infected by 'Xavier' that leaks user information

Malware's stealing and leaking capabilities are difficult to detect due to a self-protect mechanism

Companies News : Global cybersecurity firm Trend Micro on Friday announced that it has detected more than 800 applications in Google Play Store embedded with a Trojan Android malware "Xavier". This malware has been downloaded millions of times till date.

"Xavier" steals and leaks a user's information silently.

"These applications range from utility apps such as photo manipulators to wallpaper and ringtone changers. We also provide multi-layered mobile security solutions to protect users from this threat," Trend Micro said in a statement.

Based on data from its "Mobile App Reputation Service", the team found that Xavier's stealing and leaking capabilities are difficult to detect because of a self-protect mechanism through the use of methods such as string encryption, internet data encryption and emulator detection.

It also has the capability to download and execute other malicious codes from a remote server, which might be an even more dangerous aspect of the malware.

"The easiest way to avoid a cunning malware like 'Xavier' is to not download and install applications from an unknown source even if they are from legitimate app stores like Google Play Store," said Nilesh Jain, Country Manager (India and Saarc), Trend Micro.

ISB placements up 39% this year, average salary offered is Rs 22 lakh

Offers come with an average salary of Rs 22 lakh; ISB says visible increase in leadership roles

Companies News : 

Over 400 domestic and international companies made 1,113 offers to post graduate programme students belonging to the class of 2017 at the Indian School of Business (ISB). The Hyderabad-based business school claims it registered a 39 per cent jump in the number of campus recruiters this year.

These offers come with an average salary of Rs 22 lakh.

The Andhra Pradesh government continued recruiting from ISB for the second consecutive year with 21 offer letters to the varsity's students. Some of the offers are for the post of executive assistant to district magistrates of select districts. Other roles offered are in areas such as financial technology, textiles, tourism, and infrastructure.

The state government has also recruited a similar number of ISB students and engaged them in the chief minister's office to work on specific projects.

Besides regular recruiters such as McKinsey & Co, BCG, Parthenon, AT Kearney, Apple, and Microsoft, there were several new companies such as JLL, Havells, Revigo, P&G, Lending Kart, Reliance Jio, and L'Oreal, among others, looking to hire talent at the business school.

ISB said that there was also a visible increase in leadership roles this year. Over 70 offers were made to ISB students for leadership roles by corporates, including Aditya Birla Group, Citibank, Yes Bank, Philips India Limited, Tech Mahindra, Max, Mytrah Energy, and Genpact.

The consulting and information technology/information technology-enabled services sectors continued to be the largest recruiters, constituting 20 per cent and 21 per cent of the total number of offers, respectively. They were followed by the banking, financial services and insurance sector and the healthcare & pharma sector, according to the Institute.