Technology to be the Game Changer for Corporte Compliance in

 TECHNOLOGY TO BE THE GAMECHANGER FOR CORPORATE COMPLIANCE IN INDIA IN 2021: APARAJITHA

 

 Reassessing the priorities for the future

 

With increased regulatory changes and the ‘new normal’ brought forth by COVID-19, Corporate Compliance is all set to become a little more challenging than it used to be earlier. One major trend to watch out in 2021 will be the substantial increase in digital transformation in terms of automation and simplification of compliance-related processes. Technology in compliance management can immensely aid in keeping organizations compliant. In and after 2021, businesses will need to adopt a holistic approach by aligning the compliance strategy into the overall business strategy, feels Nagaraj Krishnan.

 

Working on anticipating change

 

Every year, new laws and policy changes are adding to the complications in compliance operations across industries in India. Steering through the ever-changing regulatory scenario has been a perennial challenge for Corporates across sectors. To gain and sustain a competitive advantage, progressive approaches to compliance management are imperative.

 

Organisations these days have to deal with a wide range of issues that hinder the efficacy of compliance practices. Some of the most pressing issues faced are the following…

 

          Manual and time-consuming compliance processes

          Inability to keep pace with regulatory changes

          Ad hoc approach to governance and risk management

 

 Raising concentration on transformation initiatives

 

Corporates need to have a deep understanding of why it's important to stay up to date on compliances. Putting technology into the compliance management process can help organisations manage and comply with constant regulation shifts proactively. Going forward, companies will necessarily need to adopt path-breaking governance and compliance methods. Such methods will not only enhance operational efficiency but also facilitate decision-making.

 

Co-creating scenarios for the future

 

Internal and external audits are essential to ensure full compliance with the governing laws and regulations. However, the usual audit process with the auditor(s) being physically present poses a risk in terms of health and safety, as we are still not completely out of the COVID-19 shadow. Also, there are still partial travel restrictions in many parts of the country. In such a scenario, technology will play a major role in making remote audits possible. Remote audits are all set to become a regular trend in the post-COVID era due to their flexibility, effectiveness, cost and time advantages.

 

The e-compliance architecture needs to be designed to provide complete visibility and a bird’seye view of the compliance status across the country, state and unit levels. It is equally important for experts to provide round the clock support in updating country-wise Industry-specific laws and auto-configuring the software with an appropriate domain covering laws under Labour, Fiscal, Corporate, Commercial, EHS and industry-specific catering to large global organisations, medium and small firms.

(The author is Managing Director at Aparajitha Corporate Services Private Limited)

Newgen Secures a Patent for Remote

 Newgen Secures a Patent for Remote
E-mail Access through SMS

Patent to Help Newgen’s Customers Deliver More Responsive and Effective Communications

Newgen Software, a global provider of low code digital automation platform, has announced that the Indian patent office has granted a patent (No. 351944) for its invention entitled “Remote E-mail Access through Short Message Service (SMS)” for a term of 20 years commencing from the 16^th day of February 2010 in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970.

The technology enables mobile phones (especially a feature phone) to access email remotely using an SMS or a multimedia messaging service (MMS). It paraphrases the email and converts to a format which is communicable as an SMS/MMS. Further, there is an intelligent message filter and processor which removes the extra information, such as advertisements, disclaimers, and images from the email. The user can reply in the format of an SMS which is then transmitted to the sender as an email.

"We are pleased with the issuance of this patent. It, once again, underlines our commitment to deliver the best-in-class technologies as we proceed to strengthen and empower our clients with cutting-edge applications to help them stay ahead of the curve. The technology will facilitate organizations in enabling customer’s journeys and delivering a delightful experience “ said Diwakar Nigam, MD, and Chairman, Newgen Software.

Annually, Newgen invests 9-10% of its revenue on research and development and has a skilled team of about 500 people with deep domain expertise. The patents acquired by Newgen further strengthen its leadership in building cutting-edge, industry-specific applications, instrumental in driving digital transformation across organizations worldwide.

Newgen has filed 44 patents till date, out of which 17 have been granted in India and the US.

Infosys Completes Acquisition of GuideVision

 Infosys Completes Acquisition of GuideVision, a Leading ServiceNow Elite Partner in Europe

Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of GuideVision, one of the largest Service Now Elite Partners in Europe and an award winning enterprise service management consultancy specialised in offering strategic advisory, consulting, implementations, training and support on the Service Now platform. This follows the announcement the company made on September 14, 2020.

 Through this acquisition, Infosys further enhances its digital capabilities, strengthens Infosys Cobalt portfolio of cloud services and reaffirms commitment to the growing Service Now ecosystem. Guide Vision brings to Infosys, end-to-end offerings, including Snow Mirror - a proprietary smart data replication tool for Service Now instances – that enables over 100 enterprise clients to simplify complex business and IT processes. Guide Vision’s training academy and nearshore capabilities in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and presence in Germany and Finland strengthens Infosys’ Service Now capabilities, offering clients in Europe unparalleled capabilities in cloud-first digital transformation. 

 

HP study reveals Indian SMBs banking on

HP study reveals Indian SMBs banking on Digital Transformation to rebound from COVID impact

Indian SMBs are more confident than their Asian peers in bouncing back post COVID

News highlights

·       73% of Indian SMBs are confident of bouncing back post COVID

·       64% believe that this period presents a good opportunity to reformulate their business strategy

·       75% SMBs in India believe that digital adoption is the key to their success

Small and Medium Business (SMBs) in India are looking to bounce back after facing stiff challenges due to the ongoing pandemic.  The HP Asia SMB Report 2020 – a study conducted among SMBs in the region has revealed that over 73% of SMBs in India are confident that they will survive and bounce back post COVID-19. This number is significantly higher than the regional average, which stood at 60%.

This confidence is reflected in the fact that almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents from India believe that this period presents a good opportunity to reformulate the business strategy. And half of the sample believe that the pandemic will ultimately bring opportunity, but in the longer term.

More importantly, SMBs in India recognize the importance of going digital to revive their businesses. Three-quarters (75%) of the surveyed businesses believe that digital adoption is essential or very important to their success.

Indian SMBs have also recognized 4 key aspects that will help them best to bounce back. These include:

“SMBs are critical to our economy as they contribute nearly a third of our GDP and generate employment for millions. The ongoing pandemic has impacted SMBs as much as any other segment. But the agility and flexibility in their operations, coupled with the adaptability to changing business environment and customer needs means they can bounce back far more quickly. However, it is critical to discover their challenges and address their pain points, which was the primary motivation for HP to commission this study,” said Ketan Patel, Managing Director, HP India Market.

  

“A key finding from the research is that the more a company values digital transformation, the more positive they are about future growth, and nowhere in Asia is this reflected as strongly as in India. The results of this study will enable HP in helping them adapt to new agile work environments, providing them the right devices, technology, and tools for them to unlock innovation for customers and drive growth for themselves”, he added.

Challenges

The survey also touched upon key challenges that Indian SMBs have identified as roadblocks on the road to recovery. While global instability tops the list of concerns, it is less pronounced in India than the rest of the Asian countries surveyed.

In addition, the research shows that growth correlates with how a company values digital adoption for its success. Of SMBs that reported good business growth in the past year, 56% see digital as a lever for success, with only 14% considering it of low importance.

As SMBs look to capture future growth opportunities, it has never been more critical to prioritize innovation and work with a partner to drive digital transformation.

Methodology

In total, 1,600 SMBs completed the survey between 26th May 2020 and 7th June 2020, which comprised of 200 interviews in each of the markets: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Only an Owner, Partner, Managing Director, CEO, COO, CFO, or a Director of a business with less than 200 employees was qualified for the survey. Interviews were split evenly between Micro Business (<10 employees), Small Business (10-49 employees), and Medium Business (50-199 employees). Multiple industries were represented including Retail/Wholesale, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Healthcare, Education and Financial Services.

Bank of Baroda’s Credit Card arm Readies for

Bank of Baroda’s Credit Card arm Readies for Digital Transformation 

with Implementation of Fiserv Technology

Flexible, scalable solution accelerates digital transformation of card issuing and processing

BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, has chosen Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, to enable the digitization of their end-to-end card issuance and processing cycle and support the launch of several new and high-tech products including contactless credit cards, tokenisation and integration with branded wallets and virtual credit cards.

BFSL is one of the earliest issuers of credit cards in India and has a reputation for delivering superior card products and services to its customers. To advance their digital strategy and keep pace with rapidly changing consumer expectations, BFSL will utilize FirstVision^TM from Fiserv, an end-to-end managed services solution that enables card issuing and processing with global economies of scale and integrated capabilities that span the card lifecycle.

The service-oriented architecture and open APIs of FirstVision facilitate rapid application development, enabling new capabilities to be brought to market more quickly and at a lower cost. The software as a service (SaaS) solution is hosted locally in India and enables card processing for major issuers across the country, helping ensure compliance with local payment and customer data regulations.

“Delivering robust, secure products and a superior experience to our customers is our priority,” said Shailendra Singh, managing director and CEO at BOB Financial Solutions Limited. “Fiserv understands our market, and we value the fact that that their card processing capabilities are hosted in India. The scalable, integrated technology provided by Fiserv will allow us to deliver the experiences our customers expect now and into the future, as we accelerate the launch of new products and services being adopted by all major issuers.” 

Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s

Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX Sign
a Global Strategic Partnership

Offer world class cyber security solutions to support clients through successful digital transformation

Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, announced a global strategic partnership with Hinduja Group’s CyQureX, a leading provider of advanced Cyber Security solutions world-wide, with a view to offer world class cyber security solutions in support of clients through successful digital transformation.  

The strategic partnership will enable the organizations to become leaders in the emerging ‘Zero Trust’ environment, leveraging CyQureX’s core SDP (Software Defined Perimeter) technology and solutions, alongside Tech Mahindra’s strategic focus on cybersecurity and other next generation technologies. The partnership will enable Global customers to have access to state-of-the-art cyber security protection for Data Assets across the entire life cycle i.e “Data in Motion”, “Data in Use” and “Data at Rest”.

With decades of consulting and digital transformation expertise, Tech Mahindra will provide consulting, planning, designing, integration, orchestration and automation of services. CyQureX, which represents a new and critical business vertical of the well diversified, multimillion dollar turnover transnational Hinduja Group, with research and development centers in India and USA and offices spread across USA, Europe/United Kingdom, Middle East and India, will prioritize capabilities in the ‘Cyber Security domain - the new middleware of the future’.

CP Gurnani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra, said, “Organisations have accelerated their digital transformation journey to emerge stronger and smarter from the current crisis. As a global leading provider of digital services, Tech Mahindra is committed towards leveraging new-age technologies to unleash new business opportunities and experiences for our customers and partner ecosystem through strategic partnerships and world class solutions. We see cybersecurity not only as an essential service but as a key business differentiator for our clients. The partnership with Hinduja Group’s CyQureX aligns with our core business proposition, and will further strengthen our position as the cybersecurity partner of choice for our customers globally

GP Hinduja, Co-Chairman, Hinduja group is of the view that “This partnership is a game changer in the cyber security domain. It brings the leading security services company Tech Mahindra, and our newest technology company, CyQureX, together to create a highly secure, agile and resilient digital world. I am extremely delighted to see this strategic partnership formed, as it is in line with one of the core principles of our founder, Partnership for Growth. With rapid transformation of business to digital, we believe cybersecurity will be the cornerstone to protect all digital assets, particularly for digital transformation of India and other geographies. We are committed to develop many more indigenous state-of-the-art cyber security products and technologies in the coming years, with a vision to be a major global player in the emerging cyber security solutions market”.

 “I am very excited about the alliance with Tech Mahindra” observes M.K.Narayanan, Executive Chairman of CyQureX, a Former National Security Advisor and Special Advisor on Intelligence and Security to the Prime Minister of India.  “This is a critical alliance and I am hopeful that it will be the catalyst to leverage next generation technologies like Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and create Cyber Security platforms to protect businesses, critical infrastructure and government. It promises to take digitalisation to the next level, providing clients across the globe with fully integrated cyber security solutions.”

The strategic partnership between Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX  will not only provide affordable protection to critical data, and defend nations against ‘stealth offences’, but would provide Cyber Security solutions for agile deployment that are critically important for business continuity, competitiveness and flexibility. Together, given TechMNxt charter, which focuses on leveraging next-generation technologies, and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX as a leading provider of cyber security solutions, exciting new opportunities have become available in the arcane world of Cyber security. Simultaneously, Tech Mahindra and Hinduja Group’s CyQureX will work towards Product Development, Consulting Services and Delivery in the Cyber Security space.

HP Introduces Powerful New Global Partner Program

HP Introduces Powerful New Global Partner Program in India

HP Amplify™ arms partners with the capabilities and insights required to drive growth in the customer-driven digital age

News highlights:

•       Delivers simplified and easy-to-navigate global¹ structure with two distinct tracks

•       Rewards partners for value-added services, collaboration and capabilities

•       Accelerates digital transformation with insights-driven data and collaboration tools

Today, HP Inc. unveiled HP Amplify, a first-of-its kind global¹ channel partner program optimized to drive dynamic partner growth and deliver consistent end customer experiences. Built on a single, integrated structure, HP Amplify provides the insights, capabilities and collaboration tools needed to drive growth as digital transformation and customer purchasing behaviors continue to evolve. The new program goes into effect November 1, 2020 for commercial partners with retail partners slated to transition in the second half of 2021.

By consolidating HP’s best partner products, tools and trainings into one intuitive program, HP Amplify removes complexity, making it easier for partners to take advantage of its many benefits and engage customers on a deeper level. Now comprised of just two distinct tracks – Synergy and Power - with clear compensation levels, HP Amplify provides partners with the flexibility to invest in value-added services and capabilities. The more a partner invests in these capabilities, the higher the rewards.

“Today’s buyer expects streamlined, automated and personalized experiences. To thrive in this changing environment – with data as the new currency - requires a combined shift to relate to our customers as individuals, not markets,” said Christoph Schell, HP Chief Commercial Officer. “HP Amplify not only makes it easier for partners to do business with HP - it provides partners with a clear path to ready their business and succeed in today’s environment and beyond – to capitalize on emerging trends and play a central role in the evolving customer buying journey.”

Currently, HP has over 1400 commercial partners under its India market which also includes business operations of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Through these partners, HP engages with customers from the government and enterprise segment and in some cases, they work with customers from SMB and SOHO segments as well.

Experiences at the Speed of Digital

Customers have dramatically altered how they research and buy technology and how they engage with brands, buying more products and services through digital channels, such as e-commerce, partner portals and marketplaces. At the same time, technology and digital transformation are advancing at an astounding pace while business models are shifting from simple transactions focused on selling products to contractual relationships.

For the IT industry overall, and the channel specifically, it means business as usual is no longer an option. With the introduction of HP Amplify, HP is taking decisive actions to capitalize on these shifts, arming partners for future growth and to deliver a more satisfying customer experience.

“HP and its partners have a tremendous opportunity to reinvent our route to market approach and the way we engage with our customers”, said Gurpreet Brar, Head, Channel Sales and Distribution, HP India market. “In order to address these opportunities, there is a need to embrace a new digital-first business model. We’re making this leap together, by investing in our ecosystem to strengthen our shared capabilities”, he added.

Performance, Capabilities & Collaboration ²

Designed to enable progressive go-to-market strategies that cater to a combination of transactional, contractual and hybrid selling models, HP Amplify focuses on three core pillars: performance, capabilities and collaboration.

Performance

As the traditional sales model has been upended, so has the traditional channel compensation model. While the new program will continue to reward partners based on goals and volume, HP Amplify features an innovative measurement and reward system that accounts for the many strategic efforts partners employ throughout the holistic sales process, from registration volume to average sales value and account retention.

Capabilities

Beyond sales revenue alone, HP Amplify measures rewards based on new capabilities, including improving digital skills, service delivery capabilities, e-commerce/omnichannel experiences and secure data collaboration.

Capabilities will be specialized and tailored to the sectors customers operate within, creating more personalized experiences and driving invaluable outcomes. HP Amplify rewards partners who invest in the capabilities to compete - and win - in a world dominated by e-commerce and digital-led customer journeys and experiences.  The more capabilities around secure data collection, routes to market, services and specializations, the more access and benefits partners will receive.

Collaboration

Collaboration between HP and its partners is critical to our shared success. HP Amplify is designed to turn data analytics into deeper insights that inspire new strategies and steer innovation. HP will collaborate closely with partners to hone their digital skills, such as automated quotes and ordering, to provide a more consistent customer experience across multiple channels and equip partners with valuable research on the most important pain points in the customer journey.

Armed with this added opt-in customer intelligence³, partners will have more of a competitive edge, with the intrinsic ability to anticipate and enable more positive customer outcomes. As a result, partners will be able to serve customers more seamlessly through automated inventory updates, product returns and holistic data intelligence. These experiences will continue to build upon the long-standing bonds between customers, partners and HP.

HP Amplify Impact

HP’s dedication to sustainable impact through technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere has long been integral to its business strategy and operations. Together, HP and its partners can make a lasting difference by acting in lockstep to further fuel innovation and growth in these areas.

For this reason, as an extension of the company’s new global program, HP is introducing HP Amplify Impact, inviting all partners to join HP its pledge to address:

§  Planet: Working toward a circular, low-carbon economy

§  People: Respecting human rights, enable people across the value chain to thrive; and cultivate a diverse and inclusive culture

§  Community: Unlocking educational and economic opportunity while improving the vitality
and resilience of local communities

For partners who choose to join this opt-in pledge, HP will provide training and support, and help identify potential gaps in the goals partners wish to set and provide guidance on how to achieve those goals. HP will provide more details closer to the launch of HP Amplify on November 1, 2020.

For additional details on HP Amplify, visit: [https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nctvwaxexb8ry82/AACA8JlWnBahcf5BGYFVE73Aa?dl=0].