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End-user spending on security and risk management in India is forecast to total $2.65 billion in 2023, an increase of 8.3% from 2022, according to Gartner, Inc. Rustam Malik, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner, said, “The increase in adoption of digitalization, cloud applications and the rise in remote workers exposes Indian organizations to greater security risks. In addition, growing concerns on the rising number of ransomware attacks coupled with stringent government measures on digital data protection and security breach reporting are pressing chief information security officers (CISOs) to increase their security and risk management spending for 2023.” Gartner analysts are discussing how to safeguard organizations, defend against attackers, and deliver business and citizen value at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, taking place in Mumbai through today. Security Services to Remain a Key Spending Priority for Indian CISOs in 2023 Like 2022, security services will remain the segment that will achieve the highest levels of end-user spending in India in 2023. Security services spending is expected to represent 40% of overall end-user spending on security and risk management products and services in 2023 (see Table 1). Table 1: Security and Risk Management End-User Spending for All Segments in India, 2022-2023 (Millions of U.S. Dollars)   Market   2022 Spending 2022 Growth (%)   2023 Spending 2023 Growth (%) Application Security 55.5 11.8 63.9 15.1 Cloud Security 76.2 26.3 95.9 25.8 Consumer Security Software 112.2 14.3 115.1 2.6 Data Privacy 17.0 9.2 18.7 10.6 Data Security 44.0 8.9 47.4 7.9 Identity Access Management 253.5 8.4 273.6 7.9 Infrastructure Protection 333.8 16.0 384.4 15.2 Integrated Risk Management 163.8 25.4 204.5 24.8 Network Security Equipment 341.3 11.3 373.1 9.3 Security Services 1,027.0 1.3 1,049.9 2.2 Others 21.7 11.7 23.4 8.2 Total 2,445.9 8.4 2,650.0 8.3 Source: Gartner (February 2023) “Many organizations in India lack in-house security capabilities, and as result, they engage security consulting and IT outsourcing companies to meet their requirements,” said Malik. In 2023, spending on infrastructure protection will surpass spending on network security equipment because of an increase in the remote workforce and in cloud applications adoption. Both are shifting focus from network security to endpoint security, which is a sub-segment of the infrastructure protection segment, forecast to grow 13.5% in 2023. In addition, cloud security end-user spending in India is forecast to experience the highest growth rate among all the other segments in 2023. The segment is projected to grow 25.8% in 2023 as Indian organizations increasingly switch to cloud workloads and applications. Key Security Priorities for Indian CISOs in 2023 As organizations in India continue to do business online and are exposed to more attacks on their internet-connected applications, CISOs must focus their spending on application security and data security. In addition, as identity-related attacks, which includes credential theft, have become one of the leading causes of security breaches in India, Indian CISOs should prioritize spending on identity threat detection and response solutions to identify any unusual activity by trusted accounts. Read the full article

OTTplay Premium has grown from 12 to 15 OTT with the inclusion of three additional platforms: Playflix, Dollywood Play, and PTC Play. OTTplay Premium has collaborated with numerous OTT service providers to offer consumers with distinctive packages, enabling it to provide an enhanced experience to a wide spectrum of consumers eager to access amazing content. By bringing in 15 apps under 1 roof will eliminate the hassle to download and keep track of multiple apps and subscriptions. Commenting on the new offering, Mr Avinash Mudaliar, Co-Founder and CEO – OTTplay said, “Since our inception, we are the front runners in offering best of digital OTT content. With the new partnership with Playflix, Dollywood Play, and PTC Play, we are determined to touch new entertainment milestones. This intriguing offering is intended to make OTTplay Premium consumer friendly by recommending our viewers with a new range of entertainment applications.” The OTTplay premium recommendation engine monitors and analyses user activity on the platform, then displays tailored suggestions based on user preferences. Through its catalogue pages, users can easily determine where to consume the content of their interest. OTTplay evolves from a content discovery engine that curates content from more than 60 Indian and worldwide OTTs to a streaming platform that allows consumers to enjoy their favorite content across 15 OTT platforms with a single subscription. The premium membership site, OTTplay premium, which offers 20,000+ titles, web series, and movies from 15 different OTTs at an affordable price, certainly lives up to their claim Mazey karo multiply. Read the full article

Akamai Technologies launched Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed edge and cloud platform for computing, security, and content delivery that keeps applications and experiences closer and threats farther away. The new strategic cloud computing services and architecture will be available in Asia Pacific-Japan (APJ) for developers to build, run, and secure highly-performant workloads closer to wherever businesses and users connect online. Akamai announced: ●Four new enterprise-scale core cloud computing sites across APJ in 2023, in Chennai, Osaka, Jakarta, and Auckland. Like Akamai's existing 11 core sites, including core sites in Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Mumbai,  the new regional sites will plug into the Akamai backbone — connecting them to the most distributed edge network on the planet. The new sites will contain cloud computing services acquired from Linode, and will become the template for additional core sites that Akamai plans to roll out across the globe. ● More distributed sites. In addition to the planned new core sites, Akamai has identified more than 50 cities globally in which it plans to begin rolling out distributed sites this year, to bring basic cloud computing capabilities into difficult-to reach-locations currently underserved by traditional cloud providers. ● Aggressive new cloud egress pricing. The new pricing structure is able to use the power of Akamai's network to drive the cost of cloud egress by bringing CDN-like economics to cloud data transfer. The new egress pricing model is designed to result in significantly discounted egress rates relative to the hyperscalers and alternative cloud providers. ●New ISO, SOC 2 and HIPAA standards compliance, available immediately. The new standards compliance reflects Akamai's focus on the security of its cloud computing services and customer data within, and allows customers to move workloads among Akamai and other public clouds. ●Akamai Qualified Computing Partner Program. This new technology partner program is designed to provide Akamai customers with solution-based services that are interoperable with Akamai Connected Cloud. The services will be provided by Akamai technology partners that complete a thorough qualification process, ensuring they are readily available to deploy and scale across the globally distributed platform. Dr. Tom Leighton, Akamai's Co-Founder, and CEO, said, "We're taking a fundamentally different approach to cloud computing — building on 25 years of experience scaling and securing the internet for the biggest companies in the world," said . "Akamai is building the cloud the next decade needs." Parimal Pandya, Senior Vice President, Sales, and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, said, "The launch of Akamai Connected Cloud comes at a time where the Asia Pacific & Japan region continues to experience rapid advancements in digital transformation. As organizations look to address the diverse infrastructure and network capabilities across markets, while decreasing costs and increasing agility through multi-cloud and open-source architectures, there are tremendous growth opportunities with the cloud." In building out Akamai Connected Cloud, Akamai is adding core and distributed sites on top of the same underlying backbone that powers its edge network today — spanning more than 4,100 locations across 134 countries. More specifically, Akamai is placing compute, storage, database, and other services closer to large populations, industry, and IT centers. The result is designed to be a continuum of compute, from core to edge, enabling companies to more efficiently build, deploy, and secure performant workloads that require single-digit millisecond latency and global reach. Industries such as media, gaming, SaaS vendors, retail, and government are examples where these requirements are in high demand today. "Akamai's leadership position at the edge enables us to scale everything we touch: We scale content, putting digital experiences closer to users than anyone. We scale cybersecurity, keeping threats farther away from business and people. Our customers know us and trust us for this scale. Now we plan to scale cloud computing, to provide customers with better performance at a lower cost," said Leighton. Akamai Connected Cloud is under the leadership of Adam Karon,Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager of Akamai's Cloud Technology Group, where he has led teams focused on enabling today's leading media, gaming, and software companies to deliver the best possible experiences — at scale — to their customers on any device, anywhere, and helping carriers operate high-performing and cost-efficient networks. "Cloud is a stepping stone to solving larger business challenges," said Karon. "Business leaders are looking to continue the momentum of digital transformation and stretch the boundaries of what's possible for their organizations in an increasingly digital world. Our distributed scale is designed to deliver highly-performant cloud computing everywhere our customers' business connects online, empowering them with the speed, flexibility, performance, and connectivity they need to grow without compromise, innovate without friction, and delight customers without fail." Read the full article

NEC, VIAVI Solutions and HCL Technologies (HCLTech) teamed up for this project to demonstrate the multi-vendor Near-Real-Time RIC performance benchmarking. NEC's Near-RT RIC platform enabled third party xApp integrations while connecting with multi-vendor E2 nodes. RIC reduces RAN operating costs by automatically configuring base stations and optimizing radio parameters leveraging AI. Near-RT RIC enables advanced control for Quality of Service (QoS) in near real-time on a per-user basis, and in conjunction with Service Management and Orchestration (SMO)/ Non-Real-Time RIC, achieves an optimal balance between RAN operating costs and QoS/ Quality of Experience (QoE). The entire vRAN system will be optimized for various services and requirements in the future by coordinating the control of radio resources and computing resources through RIC. For this PlugFest project, HCLTech's Bouncer xApp, in combination with VIAVI's new windowTeraVM RIC Test, supported the benchmarking of the underlying Near-RT RIC platform using E2AP Global and Functional procedures. The multi-vendor Near-RT RIC/vRAN/xApp integration aligned with O-RAN ALLIANCE's vision was successfully showcased. Roadmap for RIC Development This PlugFest demonstrated that diverse 5G Open RAN solutions can be developed through Near-RT RIC leveraging assets in the global Open RAN ecosystem. NEC will continue developing RIC solutions in collaboration with partners to enable intelligent functionalities to accommodate various 5G use cases. "In order for Near-RT RIC to achieve its full potential, testing is essential to create a repeatable environment in which the RIC and xApps can be trained and validated under different scenarios," said Stephen Hire, Vice President of Wireless Marketing, VIAVI. "This demonstration represented a collaboration of industry leaders in network equipment, software and testing, advancing standardization activities and accelerating deployments." "HCLTech's collaboration with the O-RAN Software Community aligns with its vision to accelerate digital engineering services growth by leveraging next generation 5G technologies. HCLTech xApp has been integrated with NEC's RIC platform and VIAVI RIC. This E2E integration depicts the flow of E2AP messages across different layers and components of the O-RAN domain. HCLTech has also realized the minimum viable plan by implementing E2E Traffic Steering and Predictive Load Balancing Use case in a closed-loop fashion with E2-based KPIMon and RC xApps along with AI-enabled intelligence. HCLTech is actively extending its ecosystem partnerships to prove the value of Near-RT RIC and xApp technology," said Anup Dutta, Global Delivery Head, Engineering and R&D Services, HCL Technologies. "Near-RT RIC is a key enabler of AI-powered intelligent RANs," said Katsumi Tanoue, General Manager, vRAN Business Department, NEC Corporation. "Near-RT RIC use cases are growing with advancements in 5G RANs. NEC will continue fulfilling the demands of Open RAN customers by offering mission-critical solutions by integrating NEC's leading AI/ML technologies and RIC applications including 3rd party xApps." Read the full article

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) announced the appointment of Patrick Elliott as the Chief Executive Officer for its UK operations. To be based out of London in the UK, Patrick will focus on expanding the business in the region. He will also be a key member of HGS' Global Advisory Board and participate in corporate strategy. Patrick is an experienced leader with a track record of building and growing profitable businesses across IT services, telecom and business services. With more than 30 years’ experience, he has demonstrated his capability in business transformation, driving growth and turning around businesses within both large corporates and smaller entrepreneurial environments. He has a background in product management, sales and marketing, strategy, commercial and general management. Patrick was last with Capita, and out of his 10 years-stint there, he spent the last three years helping redefine and lead strategy for Digital business. He has previously held senior management positions at The Instant Group, Serco, SAIC, Opta Ltd., BT Cellnet, Orange and Philips, all in the UK. Commenting on the appointment, Partha DeSarkar, Group CEO, HGS said, “We’re pleased to have Patrick join us as part of the HGS Executive team. His extensive experience in the outsourcing business, especially in digital, and understanding of the UK market will be an asset to HGS as we look to drive higher growth in the UK region.” Patrick Elliott, CEO, HGS UK said, “HGS is well-positioned in the UK as a leading CX provider and I’m very excited to start my new innings here. I look forward to working closely with the fantastic team at HGS and our clients to co-create and grow the partnerships in the region.” Read the full article

Five EU Member States and the European Investment Bank Group (European Investment Bank, European Investment Fund) have signed today the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) mandate, a Fund of Funds that will channel much-needed late-stage growth capital to promising European innovators. ETCI will deepen Europe's scale-up venture capital (VC) markets by bridging gaps in financing availability, especially for companies seeking to raise amounts of over €50 million. It will help create an asset class for European institutional investors to diversify their portfolios, thus maintaining a continuous flow of funding to European scale-ups. Such positive self-sustained dynamic in the European high-tech landscape will nurture home-grown innovation and entrepreneurship. Europe's tech start-ups often do not have sufficient capital to compete on a global scale and are pushed to relocate overseas. Closing this scale-up gap could create a large number of highly skilled jobs and boost growth. ETCI – the cornerstone of the Pan-European Scale Up Initiative, which was unveiled in February 2022 in Paris during a summit organized under the French Presidency of the Council of the EU – will pool public resources from participating Member States and the EIB Group to make significant investments into large-scale Venture Capital funds, which will in turn provide growth financing to European tech champions. Managed by the European Investment Fund, ETCI has secured commitments from Spain (€1 billion), Germany (€1 billion), France (€1 billion), Italy (€150 million) and Belgium (€100 million) during the initial subscription period. The EIB Group has deployed additional €500 million, thus bringing the grand total to €3.75 billion at this stage. The size of the fund is expected to grow further with future commitments. "This initiative is a striking example of what we can achieve collectively to strengthen EU's economic and industrial sovereignty." Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, said. "In doing so, European technology companies will contribute further to innovation, growth and job creation, and therefore to the EU's economic, social and environmental future." "This initiative will provide the most innovative start-ups with the capital they need to scale and lead the global entrepreneurial ecosystem," Nadia Calviño, Vice President of Government of Spain and Minister for the Economy and Digital Transformation. "Start-ups are a key asset of our strategic autonomy and with this agreement we will contribute to strengthen it. It is an investment in our future." "Europe is already home to world-class companies and industries with access to solid technical and financial infrastructures. To enable future European tech champions to play an equally significant international role and to boost Europe's global competitiveness, we need to go one step further," Christian Lindner, Germany's Federal Minister of Finance said. "With the European Tech Champions Initiative, we are now filling a gap in the financing landscape and strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy." "We share this initiative in which Europe works in synergy to mobilize public and private capital in order to support the growth of future champions of digital innovation," said Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Italian Republic. "We hope that Italy, which has always been one of EIF's main partners, will be able to draw from this project the right impulse for the development of this business sector." "Belgium welcomes the pan-European investment strategy implemented by the European Investment Fund and is delighted to be able to contribute to new developments in the technology scene," said Belgium's Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem. "Innovative businesses need to be able to find the equity capital they need right here in Europe" Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the EIF said. "As manager of the ETCI, we will be using our scale and expertise to nurture a sustainable late-stage growth ecosystem capable of supporting homegrown innovation." EIB Group President Werner Hoyer, said, "Offering support to Europe's innovative firms in their late-stage development, when they want to scale up their business, is essential for safeguarding the EU's strategic autonomy. Europe has strong innovators, but it needs to improve the environment for companies to transition from start-up to credible competitors and market leaders. ETCI highlights our commitment to financing innovation and the rollout of technologies that will help secure a sustainable future for Europe." Read the full article

Brillio announced that it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Service provider status. This designation recognizes Brillio's AWS expertise and technical competence along with proven customer success in conceptualizing, delivering and managing complex AWS solutions. Brillio has showcased deep understanding of Amazon's cloud platform, as well as their capability to help customers solve their most important problems quickly. This achievement elevates Brillio to be a part of the elite group of less than 1% of the AWS partner ecosystem who are certified by AWS. Phani Kishore Burre, MD & Practice Head, Digital Infrastructure at Brillio said, "We are honored to have received the prestigious AWS Managed Service Provider designation. This achievement is a testament to our commitment to providing superior service to businesses worldwide. Not only does this designation validate our expertise in designing, deploying, and managing complex Amazon Web Services solutions, but it also demonstrates that we have the technical competency and capability to deliver comprehensive managed services with monitoring and support." In meeting the rigorous AWS requirements, Brillio's AWS Managed Services promise future-proofed solutions across cloud native apps and products, cloud infrastructure, data & analytics and AI/ML. Read the full article

Nutanix has announced the release of a Starter Kit Bundle for its channel partners across India. The kit provides customers new to Nutanix the quickest and easiest way to get started with the Nutanix Cloud Platform. It includes Nutanix’s leading hybrid multicloud platform, integrated virtualization, and one-click management, along with deployment and migration services to accelerate time-to-value, and education vouchers to get IT staff the skills they need to maximize the value of their investment.  Harsh Vaishnav, Director Channels, Alliances and Ecosystem, India & SAARC, said the starter kit can be deployed on any hardware within the Nutanix hardware compatibility list or on supported public or service provider clouds. “Having an all inclusive kit to support our customers helps them engage in an effortless manner,” Harsh said. We ensure our customers a seamless process when migrating to the Nutanix Cloud Platform.  Nutanix Starter Kit Bundle Key features  ·            The Nutanix Cloud Platform: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure Pro and Nutanix Cloud Manager Starter are included in the bundle. These provide rich data services, resilience, and management features with infrastructure AIOps, monitoring, planning, right sizing, and low code automation. ·            Deployment and Migration Services: Cluster deployment at a single site for up to eight nodes on the customer’s choice of supported hardware platforms. Fastrack deployments are also available for integrations of Nutanix Prism (intelligent infrastructure management) and Nutanix Move (for VM migration). ·            Education and certification: Nutanix Certified Professional (NCP) exam vouchers for three students and three individual seats for NCP – Multicloud Infrastructure classes with virtual instructor-led training.  Michael Magura, Vice President, APAC Channel Sales at Nutanix, said, “We created this bundle following feedback from partners that customers are looking to mitigate risk due to changes in the vendor landscape. As a result, customers are looking to establish a dual vendor strategy for particular workloads or migrate from their current vendor, and the Starter Kit is designed to help build that migration bridge for ease and assurance of transition. Critically, we believe that once customers experience Nutanix, it won’t be long before they engage our partners to increase their deployment.” Read the full article

Netradyne announces an agreement to deliver a complete fleet safety solutions package for Transystem Logistics International Pvt. Ltd., a leading integrated supply chain and logistic solutions provider for the automobile market in India. Transystem Logistics International Pvt. Ltd. is a joint venture between Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) and Transport Corporation of India (TCI). With large number captive and non-captive fleets, Transystem offers customized logistic solutions to some of the biggest OEMs in India and works on the Japanese principles of maximizing efficiency and time. In addition to optimizing operational costs, Transystem is prioritizing improving driver safety by monitoring trips and providing real-time alerts. Durgadutt Nedungadi, Vice President - International Business, Netradyne, said, "Netradyne provides cutting-edge embedded safety technologies to commercial fleets making drivers as well as roads safer. We are honored that Transystem selects us to support their vision of reducing road fatalities and improving operational efficiencies. Driver•i provides monitoring and driver coaching, which leverages our state-of-the-art AI-enabled safety technologies." Sagar Agarwal – SVP, Transystem Logistics, said, "Using Netradyne to support our fleets on the road encourages driver safety behavior. Further, linking incentives to performance summary reports encourages safety practices, thereby reducing exposure to accidents and amplifying our overall quality of services. Our Managing Director, Yosuke Kawakami, was personally involved in the engagement and appreciated Netradyne's solutions." Read the full article

DE-CIX announces that its global collaboration with Microsoft is expanding to DE-CIX Mumbai and DE-CIX Chennai, which are now offering enhanced business-class connectivity to the Microsoft Azure Peering Service. The Microsoft Azure Peering Service is a solution to provide highly reliable and optimised Internet connectivity to Microsoft's SaaS services, including Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. Furthermore, the service also provides Internet latency telemetry and route monitoring, with security alerts against hijacks, leaks, and any other Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) misconfigurations. DE-CIX Chennai and DE-CIX Mumbai, the largest Internet Exchange in the APAC region, offer this service through their market-leading distributed Interconnection Platforms. Once connected, SMEs, SMBs, Enterprises as well as Telcos, Data Centers and ISPs serving them, can benefit from DE-CIX's enterprise-class interconnection services to improve the user experience for Microsoft SaaS services. Through DE-CIX, the Microsoft Azure Peering Service provides a dedicated, controlled, secured, and direct connection to the Microsoft network with the benefits of high availability and low latency. "India has officially entered the golden age, and all-round digitalization is the only obvious way ahead. In order to empower the SMEs, SMBs, and other enterprises that are the backbone of the economy, DE-CIX Mumbai & DE-CIX Chennai will now be able to meet their needs for better efficiency towards SaaS services from Microsoft, such as Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, with the launch of the Microsoft Azure Peering Services (MAPS). The unique Single Access Port that delivered Peering and DirectCLOUD services, will now provide MAPS as well, serve as a key to their digital transformation endeavours. This partnership illustrates our commitment to improving the quality of the Internet and access to providers in the most direct and effective way possible. Connected customers will benefit from low latency, high bandwidth, and excellent network connectivity, closer to enterprises and the end user."-Sudhir Kunder, Country Director, DE-CIX India. DE-CIX Mumbai is Asia Pacific's largest Internet Exchange, connecting over 590 networks and offering peering, direct connectivity to clouds, and other interconnection services for the modern enterprise. DE-CIX Chennai offers India's second largest cable landing station and has one of the content-richest ecosystems in the southeast. Established in 2019, DE-CIX Chennai provides peering services, as well as a growing number of enterprise-grade services, such as DE-CIX DirectCLOUD & Peering. It will now be offering the best-in-class MAPS too. In 2022, peak traffic on the exchange has grown by 30%. Throughout the world, DE-CIX sells its interconnection services in over 40 metropolitan regions. DE-CIX interconnects over 3,000 network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, offering peering, cloud, and interconnection services. A regional Internet peering and interconnection node for the major Indian and international networks is DE-CIX India. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata in India are served by carrier- and datacenter-neutral Internet Exchange Points operated by DE-CIX India. Internet service providers (ISPs), content delivery networks (CDNs), over-the-top (OTT) players, DNS root servers, national and international telecom networks, and social media networks are all connected to DE-CIX India, enabling Indian networks to keep their Internet traffic local. The carrier-grade Juniper equipment used in DE-CIX India's neutral Internet exchanges is built on fully redundant MPLS switching networks. These exchanges are housed in some of the best-in-class internet data centers, such as Bharti Airtel Datacenters (Nxtra Data), Netmagic Solutions (NTT), ST Telemedia, GPX Global Systems, Web Werks India, etc. DE-CIX India is empowered by DE-CIX, which runs the biggest Internet Exchange in the world with 18.7 Tbps peak traffic. Additionally, DE-CIX runs Internet exchanges throughout the globe since 1995. Read the full article

Equinix continues to expand its Equinix Metal hubs in Asia-Pacific. Equinix’s distributed Bare Metal as a Service is now available in both Osaka and Melbourne in addition to existing access in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. The appetite for market expansion remains strong despite a fluctuating business environment including market uncertainty and supply chain disruptions. According to Equinix 2022 Global Tech Trends Survey, 82% of Asia-Pacific businesses plan on expanding into new markets over the next 12 months. While global enterprises seeking to capture market share and entry into new business territories require to build their own digital infrastructure, they face challenges in committing to digital technology spending amid the uncertain economic environment. With Equinix Metal, businesses can support expansion without the risks of extraneous human and financial capital expenditure. They can tap into Equinix’s digital infrastructure globally and leverage DevOps tools to deploy, maintain and scale their applications to create digital advantages through the world's largest interconnected technology ecosystem. Anthony Ho, Director, Product & Platform Marketing, Equinix Asia-Pacific, said, “The launch of Equinix Metal in Osaka and Melbourne meets the growing need for private low-latency digital infrastructure. By offering on-demand and flexible interconnectivity in both metropolitan nodes, enterprises connecting through the ecosystem can effectively scale and test their expansion feasibility in new markets without superfluous talent and financial commitments.” Highlights / Key Facts · With the addition of Osaka and Melbourne, Equinix Metal is now available in 25 global metros including the Americas (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, São Paulo, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Toronto and Washington, D.C.); in EMEA (Amsterdam, Helsinki, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm); and in Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo). · In recent years, Osaka and Melbourne have emerged as regional metropolitans for cloud service providers and large-scale enterprises with robust interconnectivity and future-proof hybrid multicloud architecture. According to the Global Interconnection Index 2023 (GXI), a market study recently published by Equinix, Osaka’s interconnection bandwidth is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45% from 2020 to 2024. As the second-largest economy in Australia, Melbourne is the fastest growing edge metro in the Asia-Pacific with an expected interconnection bandwidth CAGR of 53%. Both metros have become a magnet for leading cloud and IT service providers, global and local enterprises. · The launch of Equinix Metal in Osaka and Melbourne complements existing nodes in Tokyo and Sydney respectively. These dual nodes will enable businesses to access dedicated IT infrastructure at software speed, automating low latency interconnection and foundational network infrastructure that supports their businesses in a digitalized world. · Equinix Metal enables enterprises to deploy automated, on-demand, interconnected bare metal infrastructure on Platform Equinix. Integrated with native access to Equinix Fabric®, users can tap into low latency access to both private and public cloud environments along with thousands of IT and network providers to implement their own customized hybrid multicloud architecture. Private connectivity and dedicated control equip enterprises with flexible cloud autonomy and instantaneous interconnections to public cloud services. Customers can also leverage Equinix Network Edge to quickly add branded virtual network services to their environments when needed. · The newly upgraded Equinix Metal features a new hardware configuration with the latest processors and next generation chips. These upgrades include 3rd Gen AMD EPYC, Ampere Altra and 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with built-in AI accelerators. These solutions are part of Equinix Metal's next generation (Gen3) of server configurations, which are curated for common workloads and are available on demand in minutes. The advanced optimization of Equinix Metal gives businesses more ways to build and scale “as-a-Service” offerings, modernize their infrastructure, and power hybrid multicloud architectures and cloud native applications. · ­ Through Bare Metal as a Service, businesses can lower barriers of entry when forming partnerships and create new possibilities based on the innate flexibility of Equinix infrastructure and ecosystem. Some of its customers include Akash Network, Catchpoint, Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), NS1, Pure Storage, Super League Gaming, Red Hat Quay, and more. · Sustainability and performance-based metrics guide us in determining technology deployment in Equinix Metal to effectively minimize electronic waste and reduce redundancy of underused server capacity through standardization. Equinix is exploring a transition to liquid cooling with Equinix Metal to further reduce energy consumption and improve power usage effectiveness (PUE). Read the full article

Oracle and Uber Technologies announced a seven-year strategic cloud partnership to accelerate Uber’s innovation, help deliver new products to market, and drive increased profitability. As Uber continues to grow and enter new markets, it is increasingly important for the business to focus resources on its core strengths and strategic initiatives. By migrating some of the company’s most critical workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Uber will be in a position to modernize its infrastructure while also accelerating its path to profitability. Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said, “Uber is revolutionizing the way people, products, and services move across continents and through cities. To deliver on that promise for customers while building value for shareholders, we needed a cloud provider that will help us maximize innovation while reducing our overall infrastructure costs. Oracle provides an ideal combination of price, performance, flexibility, and security to help us deliver incredible customer service, build new products, and increase profitability.” This new strategic partnership with Uber along with recent analyst reports serve as powerful validation of OCI’s strategy and product vision. Customers want both flexibility and best-in-class price-performance infrastructure across a global footprint. Uber can now take advantage of these capabilities that only OCI provides. Oracle CEO, Safra Catz, said, “Uber is expanding into a ‘go anywhere, get anything’ platform, and the company needed a cloud partner that shares a relentless focus on innovation. This landmark competitive win for OCI is further validation of the momentum and acceleration we are experiencing in the market. Enterprises, governments, and startups around the world are recognizing the differentiation of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and experiencing our performance, security, and economic benefits versus other hyperscalers.” Along with the OCI agreement, the strategic partnership includes other areas of collaboration between the two companies. Oracle will become a global Uber for Business client, selecting Uber as a preferred rideshare for its employees to travel and eat around the world. Uber and Oracle will also continue co-innovating on additional retail and delivery solutions that will evolve from the cloud partnership including consumer experiences with last-mile logistics. Read the full article

Nokia and Kyndryl announced a three-year extension and expansion of their global network and edge partnership, with a focus on developing and delivering industry-leading LTE and 5G private wireless services and Industry 4.0 solutions to customers worldwide. Kyndryl and Nokia established their global network and edge computing alliance in February 2022. The partnership has since grown exponentially, with more than 100 active engagements with global enterprises, from advisory or testing, to piloting, to full implementation, across 24 countries. With a shared vision and commitment to help enterprise and mission critical infrastructure customers accelerate their digital transformations with leading-edge LTE and 5G private wireless networking, 90% of the current engagements are enterprises in the industrial manufacturing sector, including multinational petrochemical, mining and timber and utilities/energy companies. Alejandro Cadenas, Associate Vice President of Telco and Mobility Research at IDC, said: “As enterprises seek to accelerate and deliver on their journeys towards Industry 4.0 and digitalization, the effective integration and deployment of advanced LTE and 5G private wireless networking technologies becomes instrumental to integrate all enterprise operations in a seamless, reliable, efficient and built in a secure manner. This expanding, powerful relationship between Nokia and Kyndryl is a unique combination of vertical and horizontal capabilities, and offers IT, OT and business leaders access to the innovation, tools, and expert resources they need to digitally transform their operations. The partnership offers a compelling shared vision and execution that will enable customers across all industries and geographies to access the ingredients they need to deliver against the promise of digital acceleration, powered by network and edge computing." The expanded effort will be enhanced with Kyndryl’s achievement of Nokia DAC Advanced accreditation status, which helps ensure that enterprise customers benefit from an expanded lineup of expert resources and skilled practitioners who have extensive training and deep understanding of Nokia products and solutions. In addition, customers will gain access to Kyndryl’s accelerated network deployment capabilities and support of Nokia cellular radio expertise in selected markets. To meet the growing convergence and demands of IT and OT for enterprises, Kyndryl, Nokia, and Palo Alto Networks, the global cybersecurity leader, will launch a joint lab in Raleigh, North Carolina to bring reliable, secure, and auditable wireless connectivity to industrial networks. Through the collaboration, a multi-factor zero trust model for industrial networking is enabled at both the IT and OT sides of the network using the best tools and resources from each of the companies. Kyndryl’s network experts are developing an integrated system starting from the foundations of a typical Modbus process control network and extending access and security beyond the typical shop floor. Using Nokia DAC, private cellular connectivity enables high mobility and extended reach of the network. Paul Savill, Global Practice Leader of Network and Edge computing at Kyndryl, said: “Our partnership with Nokia has been focused on co-innovating and co-creating for customers to digitally transform their workspaces and operations. The success we have seen in deploying private wireless for customers like Dow Chemical over the past 12 months, along with the global expansion of our collaboration, is a testament to our belief that we can jointly help companies drive Industry 4.0 transformation across all industries, with speed and scale.” Chris Johnson, Head of Global Enterprise at Nokia, said: “Kyndryl and Nokia have a shared vision for digital transformation, and as leaders in our respective industries we are driven to grow this market together. We are excited to build upon our existing success and strengthen our alliance targeting more enterprise customers across multiple industries. We are currently exploring and developing new integrated solutions and services for Edge, Cloud, IP networking, Optics, Fixed Access, 4G and 5G Core, and Network Operations software technologies, which can address the growing demand for mission-critical, industrial-grade wireless networking.” To date, Kyndryl and Nokia have successfully implemented a private wireless network with edge computing for Dow Chemical, at their petrochemical processing plant in Freeport, TX. The modernization of the Dow Chemical plant with advanced connectivity has increased worker safety, and enabled remote audio and video collaboration, and real time smart procedures. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, Kyndryl and Nokia will unveil new device management services at the Nokia partner arena (Booth #3A20/2A2), showcasing Kyndryl’s auto-provisioning software leveraging Nokia’s customizable enterprise mobile capabilities on Nokia’s XR20 line of industrial-grade, ruggedized devices. The jointly-developed offerings will further enhance workplace connectivity solutions, and improve productivity, employee communication, and in industrial scenarios enhance overall worker safety. Together, Kyndryl and Nokia are addressing the collaboration and operational needs that contractors and operators face in the field today. Additionally, Gretchen Tinnerman, Vice President, US Network and Edge Practice Leader at Kyndryl will join Nokia CEO, Pekka Lundmark, onstage during his MWC keynote address taking place Tuesday, February 28, 12:00-13:00 CET at the Keynote Stage, Hall 4. Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,600 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe. It has also extended its footprint to more than 560 private wireless customers worldwide across an array of industrial sectors and has been cited by numerous industry analysts as the leading provider of private wireless networking worldwide. Read the full article

Supports up to 50MP cameras, with dual camera photography backed by a hardware depth engine for high-quality Depth of Field (Bokeh) effects, brands can add their own AI-camera features, such as AI beautification and enhanced precision. Fast HD+ 90Hz displays give users notably smoother scrolling of webpages, shopping, social. MediaTek HyperEngine 2.0 Lite is equipped with Resource Management Engine 2.0 that ensures intelligent performance optimization and dynamic management of CPU, GPU for sustained performance and longer gameplay even in games with demanding action. Built using the all in a highly power-efficient TSMC 12nm chip production process. Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU provides entry-level gaming smartphones with peak speeds of 2.2GHz. IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU delivers the right mix of performance and power-efficiency, while device makers can add up to a capacious 8GB of fast LPDDR4x memory. Global 4G LTE Cat-7 modem (2 CC-CA) fully integrated into the chip for maximum power efficiency. It also supports essential dual 4G SIM allowing VoLTE/ViLTE services on both Global bands and IMS services support. Integrated Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 support simultaneous co-existence to significantly boost throughput and connection reliability when using peripherals like headphones and gamepads. MediaTek Helio G Series with MediaTek HyperEngine Gaming Technology powers the core of an incredible gaming experience for new generation 4G gaming smartphones. MediaTek's technology innovations strive to improve lives by making premium technology accessible to everyone. MediaTek Helio G36 is part of the MediaTek Helio G series that features an array of technologies that boost the mobile gaming experience with industry-leading AI performance, vivid visuals, and rapid-sensing touchscreens, among others. Read the full article

Abhilash Panda, CEO, DIZO India, said, "The launch of the DIZO Watch D2 Power marks the beginning of a new journey for us with Amazon. We're proud to offer one of the best available solutions in the under 2K price segment, with a super big and bright display, single-chipset BT calling, and a range of other impressive features. We are confident that this product will be loved by users and become one of the most preferred smartwatches in the under 2K segment." With 24 most popular sports modes, users can track their activities and set fitness goals, and do a lot more with the latest DIZO Watch D2 Power. Thanks to the #DIZOHealthSuite, the smartwatch helps you keep track of your vital signs and health markers around the clock. With blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring, you can easily check the oxygen saturation levels and the 24x7 real-time heart rate monitoring feature allows you to track your resting heart rate, exercise heart rate, and even set up heart rate alerts to ensure you stay within a healthy range. Additionally, the sleep tracking feature provides insights into the sleep quality and duration of your sleep – including details about deep sleep, light sleep and REM sleep. To promote an active and healthy lifestyle, the smartwatch also comes with sedentary and drink water reminders, which encourage you to move around and stay hydrated throughout the day. The DIZO Watch D2 Power offers a convenient and efficient single-chip Bluetooth calling feature that provides numerous benefits to users. One of the key advantages of single-chipset is that it saves battery life compared to dual-chipset calling options, ensuring that you can make calls without worrying about draining your battery. The single-chip design also makes the watch lighter and hence, more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Additionally, the connectivity is more stable, providing a clear and reliable connection for all your calls. To further enhance the calling experience, DIZO has additionally provided a noise-free calling algorithm, which filters out background noise and ensures that your calls are clearer. The smartwatch is fully washable with an IP68 rating and has a 10-day battery life, so you won't have to worry about charging it every day. The smartwatch from DIZO is packed with a range of other features. One of the standout features is its ability to track your running route using the in-app GPS on the smartwatch. The instant sharing feature allows you to share your workout details and accomplishments on social media instantly, while the daily, weekly, and monthly record-keeping helps you track your progress over time. The DIZO Watch D2 Power also comes with a host of other features such as phone camera control, music control, alarm, find phone functionality, call and message notifications, weather forecasts, and much more. Whether you're looking for a way to stay connected, motivated, or entertained, the smartwatch from DIZO has got you covered. The DIZO Watch D2 Power undergoes rigorous quality assurance tests to ensure its durability and reliability. Mimicked to real-life usage scenarios and potential issues, the tests involve charging the watch 5,000 times to ensure that the battery remains in good condition even after repeated charging cycles. Another important test is the Buckle test, which involves opening and closing the buckle 5,000 times to ensure that the watch remains secure on the wrist. The Button test is also an important aspect of the quality assurance process, as it involves pressing the buttons on the watch 50,000 times to ensure that they remain responsive and functioning properly. Finally, the Aging test involves exposing the watch to high temperatures and humidity levels for 168 hours to ensure that it can withstand extreme environmental conditions. These quality assurance tests are a testament to the high level of care and attention that goes into the production of the DIZO Watch D2 Power. The DIZO Watch D2 Power will be available for purchase starting February 20 at 12:00 PM onwards on Amazon at a special launch price of INR 1,799/- only. With its impressive features and affordable price, the DIZO Watch D2 Power is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a smartwatch that offers style, functionality, and value. Read the full article

With transaction volumes, customer expectations, and competitive threats at an all-time high, banks must adapt quickly to keep pace. To address these challenges, Oracle launched Oracle Banking Cloud Services, a new suite of componentized, composable cloud native services. The six new services available today provide banks with highly scalable corporate demand deposit account processing; enterprise-wide limits and collateral management; real-time ISO20022 global payment processing; API management; retail onboarding and originations; and new self-service digital experience capabilities. Built on a microservices architecture, they help banks renovate and modernize their business capabilities faster and with less risk. "Banks must innovate to succeed in today's hyper competitive environment," said Sonny Singh, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Financial Services. "We have built one of the world's most comprehensive suites of cloud-native SaaS solutions so that banks of all sizes can innovate with speed, security, and scale without compromising their existing environments." Venky Srinivasan - group vice president, APJ and MEA Sales, Oracle FSGBU said "Transaction volumes in India are anticipated to grow multifold, both on account of greater payments volumes as well as more and more penetration of banking services amongst the masses. Additionally, banks are continually looking to expand their portfolio of offerings and to acquire and serve their customers. Oracle's investment in SaaS and our datacenters in Mumbai and Hyderabad provide banks the confidence and ability to rapidly transform their business, optimize operating costs and offer unparalleled customer service."  The services can run standalone, work seamlessly together, and coexist with existing applications to help banks lower cost and risk while increasing innovation. Banks benefit from faster provisioning and availability – which can be achieved in a matter of minutes – and gain automated patching and reduced disaster recovery switchover times that lower IT costs and burden. "The most recent IDC 2022 Worldwide Industry CloudPath Survey shows that nearly all banks surveyed plan to increase spending on all cloud deployment models," said Jerry Silva, Program Vice President, IDC. "Including private cloud and public cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), public cloud services are expected to grow at twice the rate of overall IT spending at 15% CAGR over the same five-year period, gaining a larger share of banks' IT budgets." The new services are built and running on the high performance, scalability, security, and compliance of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, including OCI's Oracle Kubernetes Engine. With most cloud regions available globally, in addition to the most extensive set of distributed options, Oracle Banking Cloud Services can be deployed based on sovereignty or data residency needs. New services include: Oracle Banking Accounts Cloud Service Current corporate demand deposit account (DDA) solutions are ill-equipped to handle the explosion of ecommerce and digital payments that have caused a massive increase in global banking transactions. PwC estimates the global volume of cashless payments is expected to increase by more than 80% between 2020 and 2025, to reach nearly 1.9 trillion transactions. Oracle Banking Accounts Cloud Service provides highly scalable demand deposit account processing on Oracle Coherence Datagrid Infrastructure. The service has been tested for extreme performance and recorded over 200 TPS per CPU on commodity hardware. It also integrates with a bank's existing process flows and technology so they can modernize their core banking DDA systems to deliver new offerings to the market without disrupting their operation. Oracle Banking Payments Cloud Service Legacy systems can't scale and manage the growing volume and velocity of digital payments from ecommerce and new transaction types. Oracle Banking Payments provides a single engine for real-time payment processing, including cross-border, high-value, bulk, retail, and 24x7 payments. The service is built from the ground up based on an ISO20022 canonical data model and more than 15 leading global payment schemes such as SWIFT, SEPA, and others out of the box. Oracle Banking Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management Cloud Service With the absence of an enterprise-wide system, inefficient monitoring, and poor controls, corporate banks are struggling to manage the influx of defaults. McKinsey estimates that banks using improved models could see a 20-40% decrease in their credit losses. Oracle Banking Enterprise Limits and Collateral Management enables banks to gain a holistic view of their exposure by centralizing the limits definition process and collateral management. The service reduces risk by providing banks with a real-time solution for exposure tracking, credit underwriting, decisions, and approvals. Oracle Banking Origination Cloud Service Today, instant gratification is redefining banking, as customers now expect accounts to be opened quickly, loans to be processed in minutes, and cash disbursed in a matter of hours, all with a high level of process transparency. Oracle Banking Origination offers streamlined processes and automated decisioning that helps bankers deliver tailored onboarding and originations experiences for retail and small business customers. With the service, banks can quickly scale originations across retail asset and liability business lines to efficiently drive higher deposit and credit volumes. Oracle Banking Digital Experience Cloud Service Oracle Banking Digital Experience Cloud Service is a digital banking solution that provides ready-to-go corporate and retail banking experiences that enhance customer service. The solution offers customer and product acquisition in addition to omnichannel contextual digital experiences supported by video, chatbot, AI, and natural language processing (NLP)-based engagement tools. The service also works with the bank's existing technology and third-party services to drive seamless processes. Oracle Banking APIs Cloud Service With more than 1,800 ready-to-deploy business and foundational banking APIs, Oracle Banking APIs Cloud Service empowers banks to establish an open banking platform to accelerate innovation while complying with regulations. The solution equips banks to improve the customer experience and revenue opportunities by embedding their services across a growing ecosystem of partners including ecommerce portals, enterprise software, and more. Read the full article

nCore Games has made a strategic investment of $1 million in gaming company, Newgen Gaming which operates in the esports domain through its brand Penta Esports. This is the first funding round for Newgen Gaming. The company was founded in 2021 by industry veterans Anurag Khurana, Kiran Noojibail,  Akshay Paul and Krishanu Ghosal. Its esports brand, Penta Esports, specialises in multiple verticals including leagues, tournaments and content. With a focus on the grassroots esports ecosystem of India, the brand enables esports athletes with opportunities across titles and platforms. Since its inception, Penta Esports has launched its grassroot-focused league called the Penta Amateur League and the Penta Collegiate League for colleges and universities, alongside other tournament IPs like the Penta Invitational, Penta Cup, and Penta Challenge. The company's latest IP, the Penta Pro Series which was an official Valorant Off Season event witnessed participation from the best teams across regions. Additionally the brand also has multiple content IPs and plans to launch more. The funds will be used to accelerate the growth of the company's offerings and to expand its team and operations across South Asia and MENA regions. nCore Games is India's premiere mobile games and Interactive company and also has investment in Studio nCore, IceSpice and Dot9 Games. The company's marquee investors include Galaxy Interactive and Animoca Brands. These investors have backed the company as their first investments in the Indian subcontinent in order to tap into the founders deep and unparalleled experience in mobile gaming and the region's significant growth prospects. Through this investment, nCore Games will gain access to a strong network of esports athletes and fans, as well as unique and strong content intellectual properties, like Esports in 5, 1v1, Koffee with Kiran and more. Penta Esports will be able to capitalise on its strong growth and momentum with this infusion of capital. Newgen Gaming founder and CEO, Anurag Khurana said, "We started Newgen Gaming with an objective to democratise gaming and esports in India. We will be scaling up rapidly and providing more opportunities to the players and experiences to the viewers across the region. We're excited to have raised this round from nCore Games. Vishal and I always had a collective vision that has been aligned to bring growth to the gaming industry. This collaboration will be our first big step together." Kaval Bombra Co-founder, President and CEO of nCore Global said, "This strategic investment will mark our foray into esports and we're thrilled to have Newgen Gaming, an established leader in that segment, as our partner. We believe the team's collective experience and vision has it poised for enormous growth and provides the right synergy for nCore as it works to establish a comprehensive gaming ecosystem." Said nCore Games co-founder Vishal Gondal, "As we set out to build a full-stack gaming ecosystem, we believe Newgen Gaming will be an integral part. Esports event management and fan engagement are set to become key growth drivers for the industry, and we look forward to tapping into Newgen Gaming's expertise in this area as we build out India's #1 gaming platform." Read the full article