Digital First Magazine – June 2022 – Global Edition – 10 Most Innovative Companies - 2022 by Connecta Innovation

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GLOBAL EDITION

Digital, Technology and Business Insights

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022 Global Touch

R2C Inc

Strategism

Tudip Technologies

STEFAN OTT FOUNDER & CEO

CONFINITY SOLUTIONS

REDEFINING THE LOW LATENCY MESSAGING SOFTWARE SPACE

JUNE 2022

Switzerland

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June 2022

Vol - 3 Issue - 6

Most Innovative Companies Special Head of Advisory Board Dr. Manoj Varghese, Ph.D

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Andrew Scott Joseph Alex

Naomi Wilson Stanly Lui Emma James

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Art and Design Charlie Jameson

Sales & Marketing

Jennifer Anderson Rachel Roy

Monica Davis Anna Elza

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Digital First Magazine June 2022

Digital First Magazine is a digital magazine published by Connecta Innovation Private Limited. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in the content are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Connecta Innovation Private Limited or any of its members or associates. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the advertisements and all representation of warranties made in such advertisements are those of the advertisers and not of the publisher. Digital First trademark is owned by DFG Digital First Infotech Pvt Ltd. and Connecta Innovation Pvt Ltd. has permission to use Digital First brand name. Digital First Magazine is a Free Subscription digital magazine strictly not for sale and has to be strictly for internal private use only. Publisher does not assume any responsibility arising out of anyone printing copy of this digital magazine in any format and in any country and all matters related to that.

MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE

How to Build a Culture of Innovation?

eing innovative is a buzzword in the business world that never goes out of style. Indeed, innovation is critical in every industry, as we cannot solve all problems with old solutions. However, not many business leaders thoroughly understand the innovation process. According to the PwC Innovation Benchmark report published in 2017, 54% of innovating organisations have trouble bridging the gap between innovation and the larger business strategy. Adding to it, a Meckensey study found that 84% of executives consider innovation important to their growth strategy. So, what is precisely innovation? Many use innovation and creativity as interchangeable terms. Though they look similar, they are not the same. Creativity is the key to fostering unique ideas in the business. However, not all creative ideas lead to innovation as they may not help us make workable solutions all the time. On the other hand, innovation can be defined as a product, service,

business model, or strategy that is both pragmatic and viable. Innovative companies are led by leaders who understand that the ability to innovate is the “secret sauce” of business success. They are not necessarily the right-brained creative geniuses. Instead, they use both sides of the brain to create new ideas and innovate their businesses. In this issue, we have come up with a special issue featuring “10 Most Innovative Companies - 2022.” Under the guidance of intelligent and innovative entrepreneurs, these companies have been utilising sustainable and disruptive innovation techniques to stay competitive. On the cover, we feature Confinity Solutions, a German fintech startup with an offshore development centre in India. Founded by Stefan Ott, the company has an established customer base worldwide. Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

Digital First Magazine June 2022

CONTENTS

STEFAN OTT FOUNDER & CEO

COVER STORY

CONFINITY SOLUTIONS REDEFINING THE LOW LATENCY MESSAGING SOFTWARE SPACE

Digital First Magazine June 2022

GLOBAL TOUCH, INC Unleashing the Power of Partner Ecosystems Denise A. Sangster

R2C INC Offering Clients High-End Responsive Services Supporting the U.S Warfighter Robert R. Wilson

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

TUDIP TECHNOLOGIES Assisting Businesses to Transform with Innovative Software Services Dipti Agrawal

STRATEGISM INC. Creating the Workforce of Tomorrow, Today Dr. Sam Swapn

Digital First Magazine June 2022

CONTENTS IN MY VIEW

AI-CENTRIC WORKFLOWS CAN HELP COMPANIES TRANSFORM DATA INTO ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

Shankar Bhaskaran, Managing Director, MetricStream India

WHY DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MATTER MORE THAN EVER Naveen Jangir, Co-Founder, Incluzon

EXPERT’S OPINION

HOW ARE CO-LIVING PLACES UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY TO SATISFY HYBRID LIVING’S DEMANDS Abhishek Kumar, Co-founder, COVIE

LEADERS’S INSIGHTS

ENTERPRISES EYEING DIGITAL WORKFORCE TO KEEP UP WITH THE MARKET TRENDS

Jayendra Desai, Managing Director, Unistanz Software Private Limited

HOW BUSINESSES CAN LEVERAGE THE POWER OF VIRTUAL EVENTS TO ENSURE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION Nishchal Dua, Director of Marketing , Airmeet

PANDEMIC BECOMES AN ‘UNEXPECTED CATALYST’ FOR DEEP TECH START- UPS Shashikant Burnwal, Co-Founder & COO, Trillbit

Digital First Magazine June 2022

Digital First Magazine Higher Education Digest June 2021 2022 January

IN MY

VIEW

AI-centric Workflows Can Help Companies Transform Data Into Actionable Intelligence Shankar Bhaskaran, Managing Director, MetricStream India

s the fourth industrial revolution unfolds, India is rapidly scripting its own growth story. Leveraging the power of data, Indian businesses are awakening to the endless possibilities offered by an accelerating digital economy. Organizations are thriving on the back of nextgeneration technologies that are driving enterprises in a digital world. A Ministry report estimates that India’s GDP is poised to grow by 8% by 2022-23. Another report by an industry trade association states that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to boost India’s annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035, adding about 15% to the country’s current gross value. As organizations look to harness the power of next-generation technologies and thrive in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the focus on data is now more critical than ever. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is data that runs the modern enterprise in today’s digitized world. Data however cannot drive business value by itself. It is only when it is transformed into actionable intelligence that it can enable effective decision-making. That said, many businesses fall short of structured processes, producing unstructured data that is difficult to analyze and interpret. This is a major problem

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can enable organizations quickly get insights, identify patterns, avoid duplicate efforts, and apply the right actions in the decision-making process for the business

SHANKAR BHASKARAN

Shankar as the head of India field operations, is primarily focused on executing the strategy and operational plans aligned to the strategic vision of the company. Over the last 15 years at MetricStream, Shankar has leveraged the unique IndiaUS business model for outsourced delivery to onsite locations, while setting up the sales and marketing infrastructure, customer advocacy, delivery management, as well as general administration teams to support scale and go-to market.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

for teams working on IT, cybersecurity, risk, audit, and compliance. Most of their productive time is spent sifting through a large volume of data instead of analyzing it and using the information to help C-suite executives make strategic business decisions. The power of data can only be harnessed by streamlining the processes and workflow and automating them with the right set of tools and technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can enable organizations quickly get insights, identify patterns, avoid duplicate efforts, and apply the right actions in the decision-making process for the business. Connected GRC – An AI-driven approach to transforming data into actionable intelligence Industry 4.0 has ushered in a complex and unsettled business environment with amplified digital interconnectedness of people, processes, systems, and organizations. Companies in India have to navigate through a rapidly evolving risk and regulatory landscape marked by geopolitical uncertainty. Here, AI can be a gamechanger. Using AIenabled platforms to connect business governance, risk, and compliance functions (GRC), organizations can bridge operations and collate data from across functions, instead of operating in silos. An integrated approach to GRC is the key, to bringing everything together. When powered by AI, a Connected GRC software provides an overarching framework for companies to work within—from compliance to IT security, legal functions, insights, and audits, AI creates a powerful mechanism for companies to best protect themselves. These integrated programs foster collaboration, sharp insights and intelligence gained both from machine learning and human observations. When utilizing AI correctly, employees can see the bigger picture, connecting the dots through large data sets that were previously overwhelming to manage. Most importantly, AI-enabled Connected GRC systems can drastically improve the speed at which risk, audit, compliance, and IT & cyber teams can locate relevant data and information, thereby expediting quick and fact-based decision-making. AI-centric workflows can help integrate systems and power business growth A connected GRC approach involves integrating governance, risk, and compliance for business, cybersecurity, and ESG functions in an organization. Software platforms like this can benefit an organization in several ways. For example: ● C-suite executives and decision-makers get a connected view of risk, and the teams can internally collaborate seamlessly across Risk, Compliance, and Audit functions.

First Magazine 12 Digital June 2022

They can use combined insights and turn them into a strategic advantage for business growth, competitive edge, and brand differentiation. ● They can benefit from real-time visibility and quantified risk insights across IT, cyber, and vendor risk. Companies can use the information to prioritize their cyber investments, and policies, and safeguard the organization with an active cyber risk management strategy. ● They can use the system to develop, collect data and report on all industry and organizational-related sustainability reporting. Businesses can use the system to meet all ESG data, disclosure, and framework requirements and enhance customer, investor, and public brand perceptions.

AI-enabled Connected GRC systems can drastically improve the speed at which risk, audit, compliance, and IT & cyber teams can locate relevant data and information, thereby expediting quick and factbased decision-making

AI-enabled systems will help companies thrive in Industry 4.0 For businesses to thrive in Industry 4.0 they should be able to make the right decisions based on timely information and insights. To enable this companies should be able to provide decision-makers with insights and learnings based on past events and accurately predict future outcomes. This is only possible through advanced data science techniques and AIenabled systems. By using AI-centric workflows companies can leverage the power of data by transforming them into actionable intelligence, helping them to stay relevant as they ride the fourth wave of the industrial revolution.

Higher Education Digest October 2020

Digital First Magazine June 2022

COVER STORY

CONFINITY SOLUTIONS

REDEFINING THE LOW LATENCY MESSAGING SOFTWARE SPACE

First Magazine 14 Digital June 2022

STEFAN OTT FOUNDER & CEO

Digital First Magazine June 2022

n today’s modern era, IT organizations within the financial domain are increasingly moving toward automation, integration, and optimization throughout the transaction period to maintain market relevancy. Most computation occurs within distributed systems on multiple networks. These systems are fashioned to communicate and coordinate specified actions by circulating messages, leading to certain demanding latency requirements. The messaging systems should be capable of seamlessly supporting -ultra low latency and high message throughput with flexible message delivery, reliability, quick message filtering, high availability, and successful congestion control. But most financial organizations function within a competitive environment. This leads to the dire need for an application where latency is one of the critical design elements. However, most existing applications in the market encounter a myriad of difficulties with the influx of data and amalgamation of events they are designed to consume from the current and highly volatile market. Finding the right solution to work with can be a daunting task. A game-changer, Confinity Solutions, headquartered in Germany with an offshore development center in India, comes to the fore with its novel Confinity Low Latency Messaging (CLLM) product, previously known as IBM Websphere MQ LLM. Perfectly aware that every organization’s key stakeholders’ job demands that decisions are taken instantaneously amidst highpressure situations that depend on uninterrupted access to fast and advanced technologies, Confinity Solutions leverages its CLLM product to stay ahead of the game. The new hardware-accelerated version CLLM 4.0, running on XILINX AlveoFPGA boards, boasts its highly reliable and robust yet lowest latency and high throughput messaging infrastructure. “We focus on our core competencies, which are product skills and messaging know-how, and utilize our partner ecosystem to “act global but be local” to our customers,” says Stefan Ott, Founder & CEO, Confinity Solutions. Offering a Comprehensive Suite of Services Completely revamped to better suit customer requirements, some of the product’s core offerings are high-performance, efficient, ﬁne-grained message ﬁltering, message acknowledgment to increase desired reliability, message persistence for recovery and auditing, automated failover for high availability and

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HAVING CARVED A NICHE FOR THEMSELVES IN THE FINTECH SPACE, THE TEAM AT CONFINITY SOLUTIONS ENVISIONS EXPANDING ITS MARKET SHARE WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PENETRATING OTHER INDUSTRIES

monitoring and congestion control. The congestion control facility helps ensure that the infrastructure continues to perform even when connected applications are overburdened. CLLM has been architected to build reliability for both unicast and multicast messaging, delving deeper into the product offering. The CLLM packet transport layer ensures reliability through a completely selfdeveloped acknowledgment mechanism. Negative acknowledgments (NAKs) are supported for all transports, although due to TCP’s inherent reliability, negative acknowledgments are used only for stream failover in unicast messaging over TCP/IP. Multiple techniques like sliding repair window and duplicate NAK suppression are included to maximize reliability with minimal protocol overhead when utilizing NAKs. “This reliability level enables each client to either receive all the packets or to detect unrecoverable packet loss. Positive acknowledgment can also be used with non-TCP/IP communications to provide higher levels of reliability,” reveals Stefan. Interestingly, a greater degree of reliability can be attained through positive acknowledgments (ACKs). For one-to-many communications, additional levels

of reliability can be specified using the unique “WaitNACK” feature. The feature-rich product promises flexibility in message delivery assurance which is essential for high-performance architectures that integrate different applications. Ensuring Smooth Business Operations One of the market-leading products that ensure reliable multi-packet message delivery, CLLM can also handle out-of-order packets and lost packets in the network. To control the packet order and allow receivers to detect missing packets and request their re-transmission, the transmitter sequentially numbers the packets it sends and treats the data flow as a packet stream. The streams are a fundamental concept of the packet transport layer. “The stream packets are sent out by a transmitter. Receivers join the multicast group that corresponds to the stream and receive the packets or listens to a specified port in the case of unicast transmission. If several streams use the same group, the stream ID included in each packet header is used to filter out irrelevant packets,” informs Stefan. He goes on to tell us how the product is embedded with an ‘unreliable streaming’ transmission mode for

Digital First Magazine June 2022

STEFAN OTT FOUNDER & CEO

First Magazine 18 Digital June 2022

CONSTANTLY STAYING AHEAD OF THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES CURVE, CONFINITY SOLUTIONS HAS IDENTIFIED THE TELECOMMUNICATION AND AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY TO HOLD MASSIVE POTENTIAL THAT THEY AIM TO TAP INTO

real-time data, and other information feeds that do not require delivery assurances. This mode uses a ‘fire-andforget’ approach where there is no re-transmission of packets. “Other applications will require reliable, inorder delivery of all stream packets,” reveals Stefan. Driven by innovation, the message transport layer of the product is built on top of the packet transport layer. This approach assures reliable message delivery. It implements a publish/subscribe messaging model by mapping the message topics onto the packet transport streams. The service permits peer-to-peer data exchange. Here, any host can transmit and receive messages in a daemon-less fashion. As we understand it, the basic limit to the reliability within CLLM is the size of the history buffer used to resend packets missed by a receiver. Keeping this in mind and working toward amplifying its size, the in-memory history buffer is furnished with the CLLM Message Store. The highly configurable feature is positioned to persist all delivered messages. Additionally, applications can utilize the CLLM Message Store to work around otherwise unrecoverable packet loss, retrieving messages from the disk store that are no longer available from the transmitter’s history buffer. “The Message Store can also be used to initialize a late-joining or restarted application into a given (current) state using a replay of messages from the store, minimizing the impact on the actual transmitter originating the messages,” adds Stefan. Gaining a Strong Foothold in the Market Having permeated the market a little over half a decade ago, Confinity Solutions commands quite the market presence today. Continually inspired by achieving superior levels of customer satisfaction, the company was established to acquire the source code of two products from IBM; WebSphere MQ LLM, a lowlatency messaging software, and WebSphere Front Office (WFO), a market data distribution infrastructure. “Since then, Confinity Solutions served the market with its rebranded Confinity LLM (CLLM) product. We successfully migrated all ex-IBM customers onto CLLM and since then support our new and old customer base worldwide,” says Stefan. Some of the company’s well-renowned clientele predominantly belong to stock exchanges and broker firms with many tier 1 and tier 2 trading venues across the globe, including India, Taiwan, China, Australia, Japan, Latin America, Mexico, UK, Germany, and Russia.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

CONFINITY SOLUTIONS’ WELL-RENOWNED CLIENTELE PREDOMINANTLY BELONG TO STOCK EXCHANGES AND BROKER FIRMS WITH MANY TIER 1 AND TIER 2 TRADING VENUES ACROSS THE GLOBE, INCLUDING INDIA, TAIWAN, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, LATIN AMERICA, MEXICO, UK, GERMANY, AND RUSSIA

Mapping Out the Future Having carved a niche for themselves in the FinTech space, the team at Confinity Solutions envisions expanding its market share while simultaneously penetrating other industries. Constantly staying ahead of the emerging technologies curve, the company has identified the telecommunication and automotive industry to hold massive potential that they aim to tap into. CLLM has been servicing the FinTech market only. However, the same and similar usage patterns

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for a reliable “one-to-many” (broadcast or multicast) messaging system exist in other industries as well. Embedding CLLM on an FPGA chip also allows Confinity Solutions to enter into the world of IoT. Stefan signs off, “For example, with the Automotive industry and autonomous driving, when cars need to communicate amongst each other and monitor traffic signs and traffic lights, CLLM can take over. Or in the telco industry with mobile communication and ‘realtime’ streaming or broadcast services on mobile devices, CLLM is ideally suited for this as well.”

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Higher Education Digest October 2020

Digital First Magazine June 2022

EXPERT’S OPINION

How are Co-living Places Utilizing Technology to Satisfy Hybrid Living’s Demands Abhishek Kumar, Co-founder, COVIE

ybrid working and living are the new normal now. In today’s world, young professionals must work harder to establish a refined work culture. As an outcome, adopting home-office models allows one to balance their professional and personal lives. Since the pandemic has impacted our lives by forcing us to cocoon ourselves with minimal social contact, the use of technology for being connected has been extensive. Apart from communication, technology has also helped us improve our lifestyle. Health and hygiene have also gained importance in recent times, and technology has certainly helped here too. The virus created fear which later transformed into awareness and precaution. Hygiene has now become a priority for everyone. People are increasingly opting for technology-driven spaces that reduce physical contact, in addition to affordable and convenient living options. Because of the use of resources and improved technology in the construction and transformation of the living space, co-living spaces are regarded as the most convenient. Co-living providers who have recently emerged are creating spaces that are affordable, spacious, and convenient. Technology

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Abhishek

Kumar,

Co-founder

at COVIE, is an engineer turned successful real estate entrepreneur who began his journey 7 years back in the real estate market. His interest in human behaviour and living along with his passion for strategic planning and engineering has helped him to successfully run a fruitful business in this interior design and build fit-out sector.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

plays an important role in the process of creating anything. Data derived from various sources is used to determine the best locations for property establishments. Once the location has been determined, we employ high-tech-designed tools and strategies to ensure that their respective space meets the needs of our consumers, thereby providing comfort and convenience.

With technological advancements making their way into our daily lives, and the rate at which new generations adopt technology, the integration of smart devices in our surroundings will only accelerate

Thanks to the rapid technological advancements that are taking place, people are now concerned about sustainability and being energy efficient. The Internet of things and cloud-based smart appliances are now helping us to conserve resources and increase their efficiency, which encourages the use of recycled and smart construction materials. Additionally, utilization of such operations and resources helps co-living players save on operation costs and many other expenses.

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Convenience is the key to success in the service industry. Creating apps by leveraging technology acts as a one-stop solution that helps to provide convenience for the tenants. For example, people who live in coliving can manage their bills, terms of housekeeping, and booking of dedicated spaces within the property by using a single app. Apart from that, residents can also raise tickets for issues and also check the status of its progress in real-time. This also shortens the turnaround time, ensuring smoother operations. We also conduct timely review sessions to acquire feedback about the services and operations. The collected data is then thoroughly studied and changes are made in strategy and operations to deliver the best possible experience to the tenants. Hence, technology has immensely helped in automating many processes, understanding the requirements of the target audience, and creating experiences that help co-living players to stand out from each other in the particular domain. With technological advancements making their way into our daily lives, and the rate at which new generations adopt technology, the integration of smart devices in our surroundings will only accelerate. Industry participants are noticing this, and a growing number of use cases are emerging, including careful space design & furniture selection, more precise planning, and the installation of smart devices for a contactless support system. Residents can use digital check-ins to quickly and easily gain access to their rooms, making their stay more convenient. Co-living firms are also merging numerous elements through technology to not only attend to the daily requirements of tenants but also to organize events such as Yoga sessions, music, and dance sessions to foster a sense of community and connection. With the increased use of technology, one can not only provide a better living experience for tenants but also use that data to their advantage by carefully understanding their customers’ needs. Firms can use data analytics to forecast trends, behaviors, and preferences of their residents, resulting in a similar or even better living experience. Customers’ feedback and suggestions can be used to improve operational efficiency in the future or to improve the overall experience of residents. To summarize, co-living players are rapidly growing and developing in order to meet the needs of occupants for a better experience and way of life. As a result, surface competitors are always open to new opportunities that arise in the specific space, making co-living the most convenient and preferable living option.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

Confinity Solutions

Edmentum

Website: https://www.confinity-solutions.com/

Website: https://www.edmentum.com/

Headquarters: Eschborn, Germany

Headquarters: Minnesota, USA

Keyperson: Stefan Ott, CEO and Founder

Keyperson: Jamie Candee, President and CEO

About the Company: Established in 2016,

About the Company: Edmentum is the

Confinity Solutions is a fintech startup with mature products and has an established customer base worldwide.

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leading provider of K-12 digital curriculum, assessments, and services to 43,000 schools in all 50 states and over 100 countries worldwide.

Friede & Associates

Global Touch

Website: https://www.friede.com/

Website: https://www.globaltouch.com/

Headquarters: Wisconsin, USA

Headquarters: California, USA

Keyperson: Scott Truehl, EVP and Partner

Keyperson: Denise A. Sangster,

About the Company: Friede & Associates

President and CEO

is a commercial general contractor serving clients throughout the entire design-build construction process.

About the Company: Global Touch is a

Hop In Technologies

Newgen Software

Website: https://www.hopintech.com/

Website: https://newgensoft.com/

Headquarters: Toronto, Canada

Headquarters: New Delhi, India

Keyperson: Erich Ko, CEO and Co-Founder

Keyperson: Virender Jeet, CEO

About the Company: Hop In Technologies is a software company that designs solutions to address transportation and mobility barriers for organizations and their employees.

About the Company: Newgen is the leading

partner-focused data-driven strategy and go-to market transformation consulting firm for the hybrid and consumption era

provider of a unified digital transformation platform with native process automation, content services, and communication management capabilities.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

R2C Inc

Strategism

Website: https://r2c-inc.com/

Website: https://strategisminc.com/

Headquarters: Alabama, USA

Headquarters: California, USA

Keyperson: Robert R. Wilson, Founder, CEO

Keyperson: Dr. Sam Swapn, CEO

About the Company: R2C Inc provides the highest quality of products and services to its clients to ensure the Warfighter receive the most advanced, technologically superior tools to perform their mission by which they can defend the country’s freedom and save lives.

About the Company: Started in 2008with more than 100 employees all over the world, Strategism offers the best online and in-class Training, Certification, Staffing & Consulting Services.

Tudip Technologies

Vocodia

Website: https://tudip.com/

Website: https://vocodia.com/

Headquarters: Pune, India

Headquarters: Florida, USA

Keyperson: Dipti Agrawal, Co-Founder and

Keyperson: Brian Podolak, CEO

and President

CEO

About the Company: Tudip Technologies

is a value-driven Software Services company, offering flexible, customized and personalized outsourcing solutions.

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About the Company: Vocodia is an

Artificial Intelligence Sales and Customer Service platform, using a next-generation conversational AI that promises to disrupt the contact centre industry.

Higher Education Digest Digital First Magazine November June 2020 2022

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

Denise A. Sangster

GLOBAL TOUCH, INC Unleashing the Power of Partner Ecosystems

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ESTABLISHED IN 1999, GLOBAL TOUCH PROVIDES 360° SYNCHRONIZATION BETWEEN IT COMPANIES, CUSTOMERS, AND PARTNERS IN ALIGNMENT, ACCELERATION, AND PREDICTABILITY IN REVENUE, GROWTH, PROFIT, AND VALUE

ccording to Denise A. Sangster, President & CEO of Global Touch Inc., technology is all about disruptive innovation, and it is the heartbeat of the IT industry. Current technology driving market dynamics include artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics processing, automation, big data, security, multi-cloud, managed services, and more. In a way, these technologies are vehicles to enable disruption in business models and competitiveness delivered to customers. When it comes to Global Touch and its position in this disruptive market, Denise elaborates by saying that it’s methodology has been developed over three decades and is based on a combination of science, art, and deep IT industry knowledge. For instance, the company measures key touchpoints as ‘before,’ ‘at,’ and ‘after’ the deal

signature to understand how they drive customer lifecycle to success and provide sustainable partner profitability and predictable revenues for its clients. Denise further adds that few companies know how to use data to tell a meaningful story that resonates both intellectually and emotionally with their stakeholders and the people who need to use the story narrative to achieve their company’s goals. A Wide Range of Offerings Established in 1990, Global Touch provides 360° synchronization between IT companies, customers, and partners to drive and deliver transformational competitive advantages. Since its inception, Denise and her team have focused on breakthrough innovation embedded in Global Touch’s core ‘step-ahead’ philosophy, continually

Digital First Magazine June 2022

Denise A. Sangster, President & CEO

Denise Sangster is a global expert on developing profitable IT partner ecosystems to “unleash” the power of partner ecosystems, accelerating IT company-partner success, and establishing predictability of growth, revenue, profitability, and value between IT companies, customers, and partners through 360° of alignment. For over 30 years, she has advised the world’s most innovative technology companies, helping and inspiring them to build cutting-edge disruption through next-generation partner ecosystems, while identifying partner economic metrics wrapped in data storytelling. She has been a featured columnist in IT publications in the US, Australia, England, France, and Germany. She is currently a member of the Forbes Business Council and a contributor to Forbes.com. Denise is a frequent speaker at IT companies, partners, and Wall Street events worldwide.

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redefining their clients’ expectations to eliminate boundaries, all while balancing performance and disruptive innovation. In fact, Global Touch’s “Partner Profitability Calculator” was the first in the IT industry. This unique calculator provides a snapshot of success to IT companies of their current investments and strategy. Over the last three decades, Global Touch has partnered with numerous leading organizations from startups to Fortune 500, FT 500 companies, and Nikkei 100 companies. Its clients are located in more than 20 countries, with engagements spanning more than 100 countries. This successful track record is built upon working closely with clients to help them balance scaling revenue through a productive global partner ecosystem, while helping their

partners realize strong profit earnings around products and services. “We have a strong track record of success and what really distinguishes us is that we help clients refine programs to achieve planned and opportunistic success. We do this by leveraging our deep global field experience and operating in a data-centric culture wrapped in data storytelling,” states Denise. Helping Clients Push Boundaries to Achieve Success The numero uno problem faced by Global Touch’s clients’ executive teams is the lack of predictable partner revenue. Denise and her team help address this issue through data and data storytelling, disruptive innovation to engage

Digital First Magazine June 2022

GLOBAL TOUCH’S STAFF COMPRISES INTELLIGENT, INQUISITIVE, AND PROFESSIONAL INDIVIDUALS WILLING TO STRIVE FOR A CHANGING LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE partners, and brainstorming with partners, customers, and their clients to optimize success. They do this by balancing current performance with the need to transform, so Global Touch’s clients’ can be ready for future opportunities and threats. Furthermore, the team is always looking for new avenues to market products, including leveraging emerging routes to market (i.e., marketplaces, managed services, etc.) and embracing traditional (distribution, resale, etc.) and atypical routes (i.e., OEM, white labelling, etc.). “We are always evaluating impactful opportunities to generate a unique value for our clients, their partnerships, and their mutual customers,” continues Denise. Novel Services Coming in the Future “Our expertise is grounded in global field experience, expansive global relationships, and our data-centric culture,” remarks Denise. When it comes to partners and partnerships, Global Touch knows the best through first-hand field experience acquired over many years. Denise and her team are constantly brainstorming about how they can update their existing services to deliver maximum value to their customers. “We treat our clients as clients for life, so if new issues pop up, we can help our clients anticipate challenges and see around these curves,” says Denise.

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SlimYoo

slimyoo.com

Digital First Magazine

istockphoto.com/DanielBendjy June 2022

LEADERS’S INSIGHTS

Enterprises Eyeing Digital Workforce To

Keep Up With The Market Trends Jayendra Desai, Managing Director, Unistanz Software Private Limited

Serving as Managing Director of Unistanz Software Private Limited for 18 years now, Mr. Jayendra Desai specializes in providing software products and IT Services across numerous domains and technology platforms. Mr. Desai has also been a crucial part of launching QuickReco Tool, an efficient and user-friendly Tool that can automate manual Excel Operations by a 100%. Now in his new role as an advisory, a new period of deep learning has started as stated by Mr. Desai. In his previous experience, he has worked with eminent organizations like Mutual Industries Limited, Reliance Industries Limited and Lauren Information Technologies Pvt Ltd.

First Magazine 36 Digital June 2022

Enterprises are eyeing the digital workforce to keep up with the market trends because of the wide variety of benefits that can be accessed with the use of it

Digital workforce and the emerging market trend Digital workforce, the emerging concept, primarily refers to the virtual workforce or the technological advancements that manage to reduce and replace manual work. But, it is more than just a tool to increase business growth. It also helps to eliminate the machine-like working tendency of humans. It has been indicated in studies that the digital workforce has boosted employee morale at workplaces. Humans are not usually comfortable performing monotonous chores that need minimal cognitive talents. Therefore, when humans assign such tasks to their digital counterparts or this so-called virtual workforce, they free up their time to focus on more critical and cognitive activities such as dealing with client needs, negotiating, making connections with coworkers, and so on. The boosted employee morale will ultimately anyway lead to better operations within a firm. So, it’s best to let bots do what bots must while allowing the

businesses to reap human potential for what humans can. The Global Digital Process Automation Market is predicted to increase by $8.08 billion between 2022 and 2026, at a CAGR of 15.46 percent. Bot-driven digital transformation has been adopted by organisations of all sizes across divisions to reduce operational expenses and boost growth. Even the government of the Philippines introduced a digital workforce bill. The governments of countries are taking such measures to keep up with digital and 21stcentury skills. And, with the participation of governments in it, the mix of the human digital workforce is likely to become more significant in the future. Why enterprises are eyeing the digital workforce Enterprises are eyeing the digital workforce to keep up with the market trends because of the wide variety of benefits that can be accessed with the use of it. Intelligent automation begins with digital workers. By incorporating

Digital First Magazine June 2022

transactional, cognitive, and analytical skills in specific software robots (digital workforce), workplace tasks can be executed better than or equivalent to humans. It also helps in establishing effective communication between software and human personnel. The digital workforce allows to connect between various tasks, automate background processes, automate finance processes and automate various backend processes. It can help the businesses keep up with trends in following waysEfficiency through minimising human errors and timely completion of work The digital workforce enhances the business processes by carrying out multiple tasks in sequential order. Avoiding human errors through its use minimises the risk and makes it very hard to deviate from the predefined best course of action. Timely completion of work is made possible through bots that work indefinitely to complete a given task without taking breaks. There are functions like account payable and IT operations that can be completely overtaken by the digital workforce. The efficiency thus achieved allows to lower the operating cost and reap ROI within a short period. Data tracking for better visibility Employing the virtual workforce helps in better data tracking which improves the visibility of the business. Data analysis gives further insights into the strategic and risk assessment of a company, helping the company to stay ahead in the market. Proactive measures can be undertaken with its use to allow for timely fixation of issues. Growth through employee motivation The optimization of repetitive tasks and sometimes the entire operation, allows the human workers to focus on high-value and cognitive work that requires innovation. The boosted employee motivation thus allows for more precise and faster customer interaction. Flexible scaling It also allows for procuring the required numbers of employees at an appropriate time which allows for flexibility in business scaling. Cross functional cooperation It allows for the integration of unified digital technologies across a business to automate tasks associated with a wide range of business operations that frequently need some amount of human participation. Integrated automated processes, in turn, fill gaps and bridge the divide to enhance

First Magazine 38 Digital June 2022

communication across various teams of the company, thus promoting cross-functional cooperation. The digital workforce has evolved from robotic process automation to cognitive computing to artificial intelligence and machine learning to digital process automation. The Digital Process Automation technology

The digital workforce has evolved from robotic process automation to cognitive computing to artificial intelligence and machine learning to digital process automation employs software to execute processes and automate operations to finish and optimise workflows. Areas such as sales, marketing, management, information technology, and manufacturing can be significantly improved with the use of this technology. Automation, alerts, and application development tools are a few features included in this technology. In the future workplace, the digital workforce will rise substantially. Use of automated solutions like QuickReco Tool can be used to automate reconciliation of accounts, calculations using complex algorithms and reports & dashboard for tracking performance analysis, trends & exceptions. Automation will be crucial in enhancing corporate processes, decision-making, customer service, and reducing security concerns. This will allow organisations to function seamlessly around the clock. Conclusion The future workforce will be a cohesive fusion of real and virtual workforce, with one augmenting the strengths and skills of the other. And, this will allow human employees to prioritise innovation, value addition, and learning new skills. Humans and machines are incapable of navigating future enterprises single-handedly. A blend of both will be needed in the coming time and the most successful businesses will be those who will successfully integrate both.

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Digital First Magazine June 2022

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

Robert R. Wilson

R2C INC Offering Clients HighEnd Responsive Services Supporting the U.S Warfighter First Magazine 40 Digital June 2022

ESTABLISHED IN 2011, R2C INC PROVIDES THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO ITS CLIENTS TO ENSURE THE WARFIGHTER RECEIVES THE MOST ADVANCED, TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR TOOLS TO PERFORM THEIR MISSION BY WHICH THEY DEFEND OUR COUNTRY’S FREEDOM AND SAVE LIVES

assion is born out of something that is intensely close and meaningful to us. What makes passion even more meaningful is when it is led by a mission. Huntsville, Alabama-based R2C Inc., a full-service Aerospace & Defense Company, was incepted on similar lines of passion led by a mission. Robert R. Wilson (Founder, CEO, & President of R2C) comes from a U.S Army background. Given his years of experience, Mr. Wilson understood the roadblocks that could hinder the progress of a mission and the kind of capabilities required by a Warfighter. High Technology led defense and aerospace solutions could provide avenues in keeping the Warfighter safe and furnish them with the equipment needed to successfully prosecute their mission. Established in 2011, R2C Inc provides the highest quality of products and services to its clients to ensure the Warfighter receives the most advanced, technologically superior tools to perform their mission by which they can

defend the country’s freedom and save lives. R2C’s wide range of services includes aerospace, support services, and technical solutions. Today, R2C Inc. exceeds Mr. Wilson’s expectations as its performance continues to flourish and expand to multiple disciplines and geographic locations across The United States and around the world. R2C employees now provide premier customer support at military installations in Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Colorado, Louisiana, North Carolina and OCONUS locations. “We continue to perform above the call of duty, and our progress has an onward and upward trajectory,” adds Mr. Wilson. Highest Commitment to Clients’ Success Serving clients with the highest quality, responsive solutions has been R2C’s first priority. This is where customers are heard and their requirements are fulfilled.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

Robert R. Wilson,

Founder, CEO and President Mr. Robert R. Wilson, a combat Veteran, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of R2C, Inc., an award-winning Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business headquartered in Huntsville, AL. Mr. Wilson provides strategic leadership and oversight for all aspects of the business. He ensures compliance of laws, regulations, and other applicable obligations in which R2C, Inc. conducts business. Mr. Wilson formulates and determines the company’s values, mission, vision, and short-term and long-term goals. He facilitates the company’s integration into the community’s fabric by using effective marketing and communication activities. Mr. Wilson leads and motivates team members to develop, establish, and maintain our award-winning corporate culture, ensuring employee engagement and a high-performing team.

First Magazine 42 Digital June 2022

Their ‘ifs’ are always turned into ‘cans’. Through collaboration and continuous improvement, Team R2C is dedicated to performing in a legal, ethical, and moral manner to meet and exceed all customer expectations. Moreover, R2C’s workforce continues to envision and create innovative approaches that increase efficiencies and optimize technical capabilities that enable it to stand out and succeed in the market. R2C’s recent venture into construction management projects at multiple military installations and its exemplary, innovative approach in supporting the U.S. Army’s Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) efforts are testament to its commitment to serving clients. Even though RFID technology has existed for a long time, it is yet to be part of the mainstream in Department of Defense (DoD) logistics and supply chains operations. Presently, R2C is working with Redstone Arsenal to improve its overall inventory and processes. The adoption of RIFD technology enhances inventory accuracy, order processing and most importantly, the ability to track each asset throughout the complete cycle in the supply chain. Another advantage of using RFID technology is its ability to perform physical inventories

Digital First Magazine June 2022

in minutes, decreasing time to completion and overhead costs. R2C’s automation of the RFID infrastructure has proven a phenomenal success for Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Army. As a result, R2C’s commitment towards supporting the U.S army’s Warfighter is also achieved. Values-Centric Foundation Nurturing Healthy Work Culture Core values are like a heartbeat for an organization. It creates a sense of purpose & commitment, improves team cohesion, and focuses the company and its employees towards a common goal. R2C’s core values are based on service, professional competence, integrity, trust, can-do attitude, loyalty, and family. Based on these, this Defense and Aerospace company can successfully serve its clients, create a healthy work culture, achieve goals, and continue to drive forward with its mission. At R2C, employees are regarded as ‘family’ (one of the core values) since almost half of their waking time is spent together at work. Mr. Wilson and the management team of R2C place tremendous value in creating and maintaining a positive work culture. Employees at R2C celebrate victories, mourn losses, and build trust and commitment with each other to form a team that focuses on supporting America’s Warfighter. This constitutes a strong bond that lasts a lifetime.

First Magazine 44 Digital June 2022

Marketing with a Mission In today’s customer conscious environment, organizations have to update their marketing and advertising strategies to remain relevant and successful. R2C follows the primary marketing strategy, a competent formulation of good oldfashioned network and referral approaches. Over the years, the award-winning company’s reputation and its people, processes, and products speak for themselves and make them the best marketing tools. Besides these, R2C utilizes gorilla marketing techniques, human interaction, media, multi-media, and a solid social media presence, allowing it to move into a more significant presence in the global market space. A Purpose-Driven Future The coming years are going to be very exciting for R2C Inc. Mr. Wilson shares, “If we are so blessed by Our Creator to continue to support America’s Heroes, I have no doubt that R2C will continue to provide unparalleled solutions and support to America’s Warfighter around the world.” R2C’s strategy in achieving this goal is to work alongside its customers to gain a greater understanding of necessities to support the DoD, Other Government Agencies (OGA) as well as America’s friends and allies and turn those necessities into deliverable, high-quality products.

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IN MY

VIEW

Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter more than Ever Naveen Jangir, Co-founder, Incluzon

iversity and inclusion (D&I) practices incorporate more than policies, strategies, and workforce count. Hiring and fostering an inclusive human workforce for your businesses is the trend for 2022. For example, India makes up approximately 17.7 per cent of the global population, with around 1.40 multilingual people who speak more than 450 languages. Diversity means recruiting more women and employing workers from diverse cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic backgrounds, folks with different sexual orientations, physical abilities, and differently-abled candidates. A company that claims to have recruited more women in their workforce could not have implemented diversity and inclusion practices unless they employ individuals from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic groups and folks with different sexual orientations and physical abilities. Unbiased employers surpass their counterparts by respecting each team member’s individual needs, perspectives, and abilities. As a result, employees will be more likely to trust and contribute to inclusive and diverse workplaces. Therefore, one of the most integral elements in employee retention is inclusion.

First Magazine 46 Digital June 2022

Unbiased employers surpass their counterparts by respecting each team member’s individual needs, perspectives, and abilities

NAVEEN JANGIR

Naveen Jangir is the co-founder of Incluzon, a start-up that aims to democratise the entrylevel workforce hiring process and eliminate systematic bias. Before incepting Incluzon, Naveen has had the experience of working with some noteworthy organizations across sectors. He started his career with L&T Realty as Senior Design Engineer – Structural in 2014 and was responsible for supervising and leading a team of skilled professionals to strategize and design the residential and commercial projects for the company. After serving them for three years, he went on to work with Kalptaru in 2017. During his various roles, he analyzed the disconnect between the college curriculum and industrial requirements. To bridge this gap, he used his experience and business administration skills to grow Incluzon. After earning his BTech and MTech degrees from IIT Bombay, he finished his Micromanagement course online from IIM Bangalore in 2017. During his college years, he volunteered for various social drives like cloth donation (Poorani Jeans), blood donation (Khoon Chala) amongst others.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

Diversity Vs Inclusion Diversity and inclusion are closely linked yet not interchangeable. Diversity refers to an organisations’ structure or representation. Inclusion refers to how effectively different groups of people’s ideas, presence, and opinions are appreciated and incorporated into an organisation’s ecosystem. A heterogeneous setting with many different genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations and identities, but only the viewpoints of specific groups are valued or have any authority or influence, is not inclusive. What Does Diversity & Inclusion Signify in The Workplace A diverse and inclusive workspace is where all individuals feels equally included, accepted, and supported in all parts of the workplace, regardless of who they are, where they’re from, or what they do for the company. The global pandemic is proving to be one of the most significant and demanding tests of company executives

First Magazine 48 Digital June 2022

worldwide. Organisations must not only preserve the health of their workforce and consumers, but they should also grapple with widespread interruption to their operations, plan for recovery, and prepare to reinvent their business strategies for the next normal. Best Practices & Benefits of Implementing Diversity & Inclusion at The Workplace Human resource executives are at the forefront of implementing effective DEI policies in the workplace. Companies whose leadership welcomes varied talent and includes multiple perspectives are more likely to emerge stronger and faster from the crisis. ● With the economy being strained by covid-19, dwindling margins, and tightening up operations, the need to source numerous candidates and hire top talent is at an all-time high. Use of AI-powered solutions to aid DEI in the workplace. Many job seekers now prioritise workplace diversity when considering potential employers. As a result, organisations will develop a more diverse personnel mix by

Companies whose leadership welcomes varied talent and includes multiple perspectives are more likely to emerge stronger and faster from the crisis

accessing, searching, and removing biases in the selection process using tools such as CV masking. Additionally, in 2022 AI will be used by Learning and Development teams to generate custom training experiences and offer hyperpersonalised development programmes. ● It’s imperative to focus on recruiting from a diverse talent pool to manage and achieve true diversity and inclusion in the workplace. For example, consider ‘culture add’ versus ‘culture fit.’ Culture fit” pertains to how easily a candidate can conform to the company, which can result in prejudice and homogeneous culture. In contrast, “culture add” is a mindset that consciously accepts people from various cultures, communities, and demographics to foster an inclusive culture. As a result, teams become far more creative and imaginative in their ideas while building business strategies. ● It is also feasible to have diversity and performance without resorting to tokenism. However, this necessitates strategic thought and action. Identify high-potential diverse applicants, for example. Ensure that leadership is committed to training and providing mentorship, coaching, and growth for high-potential workers who perhaps lack a few required competencies or propose transferring those candidates to a more significant role. ● Organisations got compelled to transition to remote employment by 2020. However, as time has passed, numerous people have chosen a variety of approaches to the job, with several returning to the office and others permanently embracing remote working. However, most companies have adopted a “hybrid” workplace approach. ● The decriminalisation of Section 377 of LGBTQ+ rights in 2018 offered new avenues for firms to broaden their inclusion strategies. Allys of the community has shown immense support, which will only grow stronger in 2022. Understanding & Voicing Employees’ Issues Will Help Built Effective & Diverse Workforce Social listening is another critical component of gaining insight into if your current HR practices are all-inclusive and diverse. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, digitalisation in 2022 has reinforced organisations to listen to their employees’ grievances and understand and address their perspectives on what biases they face daily. Due to technological and unprecedented social changes, every industry’s landscape is constantly changing more than ever due to the global pandemic. To fulfil the full promise of the era’s new technologies, boost agility and inventiveness, and face the problems of a more demanding, loud marketplace, organisations will require the human judgement, empathy, passion, and creativity of all the individuals to reach their highest potential and to work cohesively.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

Dr. Sam Swapn

STRATEGISM INC.

Creating the Workforce of Tomorrow, Today First Magazine 50 Digital June 2022

STRATEGISM COMPRISES A TEAM OF MORE THAN 100 EXPERT PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE WHO BRING INDUSTRY-LEADING KNOWLEDGE AND CAPABILITIES TO THE TABLE

n 2008, Strategism Inc. began its journey in the middle of the great recession in the US. At that time, Dr. Sam Swapn (CEO, Strategism) had no job or stable income. What he had was a vision and drive to turn a unique idea into reality. Fighting against the odds, Dr. Sam established Strategism and describes his journey as challenging yet rewarding, nerve-racking yet fulfilling. Keeping come what may attitude, he fought everyday battles without losing motivation and drive. “Those times have taught me control, equanimity, and attaining equilibrium with the ecosystem we live and survive in,” reveals Dr. Sam. Today, you look at him as a man who beat the odds and built a million-dollar business in just 5 years. Strategism is a strategy-business consulting firm advising leading as well as startup companies on issues of strategy, organization, management, financial management, marketing, cleantech, and technology management. Headquartered in

Fremont, CA, the company operates across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and other states of America. Many Fortune 500 companies and world-class brands have taken full advantage of Strategism’s IT consulting services to improve their digital strategies and create comprehensive product roadmaps. Thanks to Dr. Sam’s dedication to the company and field expertise, Strategism is on the Inc5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the USA. Expert Corporate Trainers Strategism comprises a team of more than 100 expert professionals worldwide who bring industry-leading knowledge and capabilities to the table. These instructors use real-life scenarios to clarify theoretical points. Therefore, it becomes easy for students to grasp and remember the topics for a long time. As a corporate coach and leader, Dr. Sam also motivates and inspires his team to deliver quality lessons to the mentees.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

“At Strategism, employees are given the freedom to grow via innovation and positivity, and the sky is the limit for them. Additionally, our incentive system is such that the best performer can make more money than the CEO,” elaborates Dr. Sam. Services that Change Lives & Shape Futures Strategism offers best-in-class training, certification, staffing & consulting services. Students and professionals can opt for these courses in advanced technologies such as Scrum, BA, QA, Salesforce, AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, Blockchain, DevOps, AWS, Hadoop, Java, Android, and PMP®. Strategism’s tutors also make it a point to keep the training sessions engaging and interactive and use a hands-on approach. “We follow Smarter Learner technology to train our students and continuously improve our content and delivery models as we learn from the market,” further adds Dr. Sam. Going ahead, under Mentorship, executives get to engage in a 10-hours one-on-one session with Dr. Sam,

First Magazine 52 Digital June 2022

and a confidence-courage-mindfulness training weaved into the curriculum. Dr. Sam has specially curated this course— a combination of personalized life coaching and career guidance. Strategism's IT consulting services cover assurance and software testing, business intelligence & performance management, business analysis and project management, application development, engineering, industrial services, and a lot in between. Placement support includes resume building, interview preparations, and job applications, followed by a timely review of the candidates' progress. Moreover, students from the nonIT background are also given the opportunity to intern at Strategism's partner companies.

STRATEGISM IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO BENEFIT FROM THIS OPPORTUNITY AS WE HAVE A VAST NETWORK OF RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BUSINESS AND 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Opportunities in the Post-Pandemic World The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of next-gen technologies by several years—and by the looks of it, they are here to stay for the long run. Dr. Sam asserts, “People working from home created an opportunity for companies to build automated digital systems, leading to more investments in internal projects and giving a fillip to the IT/software industry.” Therefore, the need to upskill and reskill the workforce operating in the new normal has never been more urgent than before. “Strategism is uniquely positioned to benefit from this opportunity as we have a vast network of relationships in the business and 15 years of experience,” remarks Dr. Sam. Uniquely Positioned & Marching Ahead Commenting on what sets Strategism apart from the crowd, Dr. Sam answers, “We are unique because our trainers work day jobs in real companies and apply those skills, and in the other hours, they teach this to our students." Owing to this, Strategism has uniquely established itself as a multinational company in the IT consulting and services industry. Strategism's Smart Learner platform will be the students' and professionals' ticket to career advancement and success in the coming years. At the same time, it will also take the company's training business to the next level. Pearls of Wisdom Dr. Sam feels that hard work, dedication, catching the pulse of the market, and continuously reinventing the wheel can help new companies and their leaders to grow and succeed. “There is always room for improvement, and something is always missing––you can find that niche and fill the gap to keep your foot in the door and grow from there,” he continues.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

LEADERS’S INSIGHTS

How Businesses Can Leverage The Power Of Virtual Events To Ensure Employee Engagement And Satisfaction Nishchal Dua, Director of Marketing , Airmeet

Nishchal Dua is the Director of Marketing at Airmeet – a one of its kind virtual event hosting platform, offering a unique experience to its users through its authentic representation of on-ground events virtually. The platform is designed to allow community managers to conduct frequent microinteractions between knowledge professionals, industry stakeholders and thought leaders. As a seasoned marketing professional & entrepreneur, Nishchal has founded & exited two successful start-ups, Amicus Shopping Assistant (acq’2016) and The Remote Life (acq’2020). His remote work company, ‘The Remote Life’ hosts The Remote Work Summit, the largest online conference on remote work, organized annually with a global audience of 16,000+ entrepreneurs, HRs & CEOs along with speakers from Microsoft, Facebook, BCG, Intel, Shopify, GitHub, WordPress, Trello, Evernote and more. Nishchal believes that telling great stories is the best way to market good products.

First Magazine 54 Digital June 2022

In a conventional office space, employees have the opportunity to mingle and network amongst themselves and the senior management daily

t is anticipated that by 2028, 73% of all departments will have a substantial number of remote workers. Working remotely and in a hybrid model has a significant number of undeniable advantages. While both employers and employees have mastered skills of staying productive and efficiently connected virtually, the day-to-day can sometimes feel monotonous. In a conventional office space, employees have the opportunity to mingle and network amongst themselves and the senior management daily. These interactions are both professional and social – ensuring that the staff builds an emotional connection with the team and organization. However, this aspect suddenly goes amiss when working remotely, and conversations are limited to ‘times of need.’ Therefore, it falls on the enterprise to encourage frequent employee interactions to ensure engagement and satisfaction.

Corporate events have been a highlight of every staff member’s career trajectory. They have always represented more than the ‘event’ itself. Socially meeting people from inside and outside the organization, building connections, and more are integral aspects of the experience. Over the last two years, on-ground events took a backseat, and webinars became the new rage. The exciting part is that everyone attending was aware that they would learn something new during the session. Banking on this observation, here is how organizations can leverage the power of online events to improve employee retention, build long-term loyalty, and ensure engagement and satisfaction during their stint. ● Know your Audience – Every employee has a different goal for joining an event. It might be a chance for some to gain new skills while exchanging ideas would take precedence for others. Intimately understanding their needs can put you on the right path to formulate

Digital First Magazine June 2022

a plan that covers all essential aspects of their desires. Key considerations should revolve around topics the participants are most fascinated with, how tech-savvy they are, the gathering’s size, and the format they would most interestingly engage with.

For virtual events, tech integrations are fundamental. The platform you host your event on can determine the extent of participation ● Find The Right Platform – For virtual events, tech integrations are fundamental. The platform you host your event on can determine the extent of participation. When selecting a platform, enterprises go into as much detail as possible and take demos before finalizing one. Platform essentials should also include tools for dynamic interaction along with high-quality audiovisuals. These are critical for keeping your audience hooked to their seats through the course of the event. In addition, it is imperative that employees feel valued at every stage and have the means to put their points across. ● Establish networking opportunities – Effective networking is critical for achieving professional goals. The whole point of attending corporate events boils down to two things – learning & connecting with the right people. While the learning aspect can be taken care

First Magazine 56 Digital June 2022

of by getting aboard a passionate orator as a speaker, networking opportunities must be pre-determined so that your audience knows the best practices to indulge in it. Utilizing personalization features pre-event can be a great way to establish connection-building possibilities. If you have chosen the right platform partner, networking features in accordance with your corporate event’s goals can also be leveraged strategically to encourage interactions. Moreover, including ice-breaking sessions, Q&A, and more throughout the event would allow attendees to participate consistently. ● Stress on the Value of Audio Visuals – An essential aspect of employee satisfaction is ensuring they feel comfortable communicating and building a connection with the right people in the organization. Emphasizing the need to have your cameras and microphones switched on during networking sessions at events can be vital to achieving this. When remote employees have faceto-face conversations with their peers and superiors during events, they tend to build a connection with them, encouraging flowing communication within the enterprise. ● Curate relatable and engaging Content – When we say content is king, we mean it. Employees stuck in the humdrum of their daily task lists often do not get an opportunity to indulge in upskilling and thus feel their growth is stunted. Virtual events designed by corporates can be the answer to this challenge. When hosting an event online, it is imperative that the agenda and talking points are given the stature it demands. Figure out the best content set and key messaging that aligns with the goals of your event and the interest of your employees. Ensure there are plenty of opportunities to insight responses from them so that they keenly participate in all sessions. ● Gamification – Challenges are always fun. Utilizing tech integrations within your event to score employees basis their participation can be a very effective tool to keep them motivated. Gamification at events can take various forms, such as creating a leaderboard, rewarding the most active participants basis the scorecard, giving out badges and titles. These inclusions can make any event exciting and can make even the least engaged employee feel inclusive and inspired. Remote working is extremely rewarding. However, industry gurus across the globe understand that every employee undergoes a bout of demotivation and disengagement during their stint with an organization, especially spanning over a long period of time. Therefore, regular virtual events organized in line with the aboveenclosed guidelines can significantly contribute towards re-ignite passion among the workforce.

Higher Education Digest July 2020

Digital First Magazine June 2022

MOST

INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2022

Dipti Agrawal

TUDIP TECHNOLOGIES Assisting Businesses to Transform with Innovative Software Services First Magazine 58 Digital June 2022

TUDIP TECHNOLOGIES’ MISSION IS TO CREATE A NICHE BY OFFERING CUTTINGEDGE INTEGRATED SERVICES ACROSS TECHNOLOGIES EMPOWERED BY INNOVATION, BEST IN CLASS PROCESS, AND BEST OF BREED TECHNOLOGY

ith the emergence of cutting-edge technologies, there has been a significant change in software development. Organizations need to keep pace with these changes to stay relevant and compete in this dynamic marketplace. Pune-based Tudip Technologies stays well informed about the latest market trends and adjusts its business strategies accordingly. As a value-driven software services company, Tudip Technologies offers flexible, customized and personalized outsourcing solutions and ensure the utmost confidentiality of sensitive business data and on-time and on-budget delivery. Talking about the mission that drives Tudip Technologies, Dipti Agrawal, Co-Founder & CEO, says, “Our mission is to create a niche by offering cutting-edge integrated services across technologies empowered by innovation, best in class process, and best of breed technology.”

Tudip Technologies offers a wide range of services, namely IoT and wearables, product engineering, cloud enablement, UI/UX, web development, mobile and devices, quality assurance & RPA, AI/ML, and support and maintenance. In addition, its engagement models are flexible enough to meet the needs of both small and large business clients. Why do clients choose Tudip Technologies? Incepted on the core values of integrity, innovation, and serenity, Tudip Technologies provide legendary customer service to its global clientele base. When it comes to services delivery, its team never misses deadlines, nor do they compromise on quality. They are agile, responsive, and great troubleshooters. If a mistake is committed, they fix it. If an error occurs, they troubleshoot it. They guarantee consistent product and services delivery.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

Dipti Agrawal

Co-Founder & CEO Dipti did her Chemical Engineering from NIT, Durgapur and MBA in Finance, Marketing from IBS Hyderabad. She began her career as a Techno-Functional Consultant and worked for several prominent organizations across manufacturing, finance, banking, insurance, e-commerce and social networking. In 2010, she co-founded Tudip Technologies with a notion to provide value to her clients. Since then, she has been relentlessly working on her mantra and successfully leading Tudip Technologies to great heights of success.

First Magazine 60 Digital June 2022

Moreover, Tudip Technologies’ team is always open to customer feedback. Based on it, the team improves product functionalities and services. Furthermore, Dipti and the management of Tudip Technologies motivate their team of task managers, leads, and engineers to communicate with clients, listen to them, and fulfil their requirements. And this is why clients chose Tudip Technologies time and again. Driving & Sustaining Employee Engagement At Tudip Technologies, employees are given ample opportunities to build their skillsets and knowledge base via Tudip Academy. During the training programs, the new team members are taught corporate etiquette and how to write business proposals & frame emails. After all, they become the face representing the company and its value. Additionally, Tudip has instituted several employee recognition and appreciations awards to boost engagement. These include performer of the month, the star performer of the month, and managerial excellence star performer. Tudip Technologies is again a step ahead in terms of employee welfare policies. Right from financial policies where employees can apply for loans, encash leaves, and request advance salaries to maternity pay and paternity leave benefits, staff’s well-being is covered on all fronts. Likewise, cab facility and medical claim policies are also offered. Not long along, Tudip’s management has started a CSR initiative called, “We stand by you”, in which the company provides a year’s salary to the family members of its employees if they pass away during their work period and also educate their children (if any) till they graduate. Such a supportive, healthy, and positive work culture

Digital First Magazine June 2022

INCEPTED ON THE CORE VALUES OF INTEGRITY, INNOVATION, AND SERENITY, TUDIP TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDE LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE TO ITS GLOBAL CLIENTELE BASE

enables employees to give their best and work even harder to drive success for the company. Employing Powerful Marketing Strategies Like many, Tudip Technologies is also leveraging digital marketing to garner new traffic, generate leads, and increase sales for its business by reaching out to clients who are looking for innovative software products and services. It uses various social media platforms to engage new and existing clients and educate them on its service offerings. Therefore, Dipti and her team at Tudip Technologies advise the tech startup companies to also invest in and develop robust digital marketing plans to promote their businesses, products and services right from the beginning. Delivering Excellent Business Performance Since its establishment in 2010, Tudip Technologies has been a recipient of numerous recognitions for its top-notch services. Tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Adobe, and Tech Mahindra are some of its prestigious clients. It has also been recognized as one of the top software development companies, leading service providers, most promising Google service providers by leading business and tech magazines. On all accounts, Tudip Technologies has and continues to perform exceptionally. Envisioning a Brighter Future Just like the software landscape, Tudip Technologies is also growing fast. A strong business future roadmap is needed to remain on this growth track. Sharing Tudip Technologies’ vision, Dipti reveals, “Our vision is to be a global partner and the first choice for our customers by providing leadership in multiple domains to help our customers accelerate the value creation process.”

First Magazine 62 Digital June 2022

Digital First Magazine June 2022

LEADERS’S INSIGHTS

Pandemic Becomes an ‘Unexpected Catalyst’ for Deep Tech Start- ups Shashikant Burnwal, Co-Founder & COO, Trillbit

Shashikant Burnwal heads the business development, sales and operations at Trillbit. His work experience includes a stint as Senior Manager at Ola Cabs, where he led projects that included launching Customer Relationship Management and Customer Complaint Management System along with structuring the entire Customer and Driver (Partner) Support. He has worked with different business teams for various category launches and defined the entire support experience for both customers and partners. He also worked as Manager at Tata Motors, where he led projects of new product development and business launches of commercial vehicle driveline systems. He also developed low-cost sourcing for mechanical parts and led cross-functional teams to deliver costoptimized manufacturing.

First Magazine 64 Digital June 2022

When the pandemic forced educators to go with virtual classrooms, deep-tech start-ups came to the rescue with features, animations and learning experiences that make students attentive during virtual classes and maintain their interest in attending the classes from home

e all may agree that the Covid-19 pandemic is truly a ‘black swan’ event and impacted the entire world in an unprecedented way as per this term popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb-a black swan event is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. The way our lives have changed in the last two years really looks like fiction. Who would have believed in 2019 that people will be restricting themselves at home for such prolonged time and all activities like our jobs and education will be carried out primarily virtually? Things that we were not accepting as standard or normal before the pandemic has become the new normal. We were already on the path of digitalisation with all kinds of tools and platforms built by technology companies, spanning from social media, chatting and meeting tools, digital gaming and online education. However, this

pandemic accelerated these avenues that would have taken five or ten years to become mainstream but now those already adopted by millions have become a reality in our lives. Think! who would have thought that our kids would be getting their schooling through platforms like Zoom or people would attend events like CES (Consumer Electronic Show) and would be able to see new electronics and product launches completely in a virtual format. When the whole world was crumbling with the onset of Covid and complete lockdown, deep-tech companies got their boosters and released products and features that really helped people to navigate through the pandemic. Almost all technology companies either came up with new products or some product features that were attuned to the Covid era. Whether it was contact tracing platforms brought by Apple and Google together or Covid vaccines brought by pharmaceutical companies or initiatives taken by Indian start-ups like Chalo who introduced contactless ticketing for public buses in India at scale based on a pretty new technology called ‘data over sound’.

Digital First Magazine June 2022

virtual classes and maintain their interest in attending the There are plenty of innovations happening classes from home. In some cases, online classes are more in a very short span of time fuelled by deep fun and have immersed learning with 3D animation as if technologies. students can really see or feel the lessons through these I would like to start with technology play in meetings and tools. Even when schools will open again, I hope teachers events. The way meetings and events evolved virtually will keep on using these tools to make their teaching more with digital technologies during this pandemic are really receptive and fun for the students. commendable. We may feel that these virtual solutions The third sector which emerged and gained traction cannot beat the in-person meetings and events but we also during the pandemic is related to crypto and blockchain. have to accept that the way companies brought new solutions NFT started in 2014 but it is 2021 when they saw the was really intriguing and pleasant. The introduction of surge and the biggest reason was a lot of enthusiasts could AR & VR to give an immersive experience while adding join this wave because they have available time due to enriching features in meetings or events. Start-ups like everyone working from home and at the same time many Airmeet helped companies conduct their events online artists, creators started looking out for digital avenues for with features that not only make organisers conduct these monetising their creation. events at scale but keep oneCompanies like Discord, to-one interaction possible. Decenterland, OpenSea not Similar to the physical world, only provided the necessary expo booths can be created, platforms to create or trade pamphlets can be distributed, NFTs, but they played a and you can walk around the critical role in making these event as if you are present mainstreams and will have there physically. big impacts and may change A related area where the entire art and music technology came into play is When the whole world was industry in years to come. meeting tools like Zoom that Now, when we talk added many new features crumbling with the onset of Covid about general companies, to have online meetings in a and complete lockdown, deep-tech especially manufacturing, cool way. You can put virtual pharmaceuticals and supply backgrounds that can reflect companies got their boosters and chain companies, they have your mood and preference, introduced automation and create groups within the call released products and features innovation with AI and to have closed discussions that really helped people to automation tools to keep and take and distribute notes up the production level and and minutes of the meetings navigate through the pandemic movement of goods even quite easily. In some sense, when there is a shortage of these led to more productivity labour. And we know that companies like automobiles as people did not have to travel or commute and could and pharmaceuticals are investing billions of dollars to save time. Now few companies like Facebook have taken bring more innovation in automation and production. a big leap on this trend and are building solutions for Robotics, process automation technologies are getting virtual offices. Office meetings with truly a virtual reality matured with this kind of investment and becoming experience. And in the upcoming years, we are going to implementation worthy in real working environments. witness a tectonic shift in the way we will be conducting Robots and machines have been used widely in public meetings and hangouts with each other in the metaverse places, hospitals, airports to monitor persons’ temperature, created by these companies. maintain social distancing, sanitise the physical places and The second sector that really revamped itself is in certain cases do automated manless swab testing. education. While parents are cautious in sending their It would not be an exaggeration to say that these kids to schools, they also have a concern that their kids’ deep technologies not only helped us to go through the education should not suffer. When the pandemic forced Covid-19 pandemic and keep our lives rolling but also educators to go with virtual classrooms, deep-tech startstrengthened our zeal to survive and excel, no matter what ups came to the rescue with features, animations and comes our way. learning experiences that make students attentive during

First Magazine 66 Digital June 2022

Digital First Magazine Higher Education Digest June 2020 2022 October

First Magazine 68 Digital June 2022