DT January Issue

06: FEATURE STORY

www.digital te rminal . i n

JA N UA RY

201 9

VO LU M E 1 0

ISSUE 1

25

PAG E - 3 6

2

I

I JANUARY 2019

I

JANUARY 2019 I

3

CONTENT VOL - 10 , I S S U E - 1, JA N UA RY 2 019

10: COVER STORY Publisher & Editor Executive Editor Consulting Editor

Rajeev Ranjan Jyoti Janda NK Goyal

Editorial Coordinator

Jai Prakash

Office Coordinator

Raju Thapa

Consulting Art Direction Visualiser

Vikas Sharma Akriti Arora

Graphic Designer

Abdhesh Kr Jha

Production Head

Rajiv Singh

Marketing Executive Circulation

“Tech Trends That Will Drive the Indian ICT Market in 2019”

Balvinder Singh

14: VENDOR FOCUS GIGABYTE Boosts Its Powerful SSD Lineup With AORUS RGB Series

Gopal Kumar

Printed, Published and Owned by Rajeev Ranjan from S-560, IInd Floor, School Block-2, Shakarpur, Delhi-92. Magazine printed at Sangat Printers Pvt. Ltd. C-105, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi. Editor Brajesh Kumar. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, is prohibited. Every possible care has been taken to print this magazine as the content have been sourced from in house writers, as well from other reliable sources including freelancers and content writers. We can not be held responsible for any mistakes or errors. We do not take responsibility for its absolute accuracy. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi only. While care is taken prior to acceptence of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its contents, Digital Terminal cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations for individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications. We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever

Editorial & Marketing Off ice

16: INDUSTRY NEWS Tenda Showcased Innovative Networking Solutions at The Cable TV Show 2019

18: GAMER’S CORNER Acer Introduces Two New Gaming Notebooks Predator Triton 900 and Predator Triton 500

19: REALLY HOT HyperX Gaming Keyboard and Mouse

Address :

News Dot Media Pvt. Ltd. 179 - A, 4th Floor, Jeevan Nagar, Opp - Tikona Park, MaharaniBagh, New Delhi- 110014

Landline :

011 - 45160276

Mobile :

09654690377, 09899600302

Email id :

info@digitalterminal.in, editorial@digitalterminal.in

Image Courtesy: www.freepik.com

30: GUEST COLUMN “How Channel Business Will Look Like in 2019”

MR. RAJESH GOENKA, DIRECTOR, SALES & MARKETING, RP TECH INDIA.

I

JANUARY 2019 I

5

FEATURE STORY

“New Year 2019: Industry’s Resolutions for 2019”

We all gear up to formulate our New Year resolutions at the beginning of every New Year.

The Indian ICT industry is also set to start a new success journey in 2019 and this journey will be more remarkable than the previous one. The top industry leaders also step into New Year with lots of expectations, wish and business goal. DT reached to all these top leaders to know their New Year resolutions, business goals and wishes for channel partners.

6

I

I JANUARY 2019

FEATURE STORY

“CONTINUE MAINTAINING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL STAKE HOLDERS” VISHAL PAREKH

MARKETING DIRECTOR, KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY & HYPERX – INDIA 2018 was a breather for partners to earn from the trends in memory and flash business as our constant focus on innovation and quality has dramatically fuelled the demand for our latest products. Reliability is the cornerstone of our product strategy which has played a key role in maintaining the long-term relationships with customers as well as partners and we will continue to do so in near future. In 2019 also, our business resolution is to continue maintaining a healthy relationship with all stake holders - partners, supply chain, customers and media ecosystem. With better communication model, innovative products and engagement activities, we are looking forward to enhancing our business.

“WE WISH THEM TO HAVE 2019 AS ONE OF THEIR MOST GOD-GLORIFYING YEAR”

“WE WANT TO THANK OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS & PARTNERS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT” KULDEEP MALHOTRA

VICE PRESIDENT, SALES, KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INDIA PVT LTD. The main business resolution for us at Konica Minolta is to accelerate our current growth trajectory. Last year we achieved the revenue milestone of INR 500 crore and currently hold 55 percent market share in the Digital Production Printing segment in India.

We have also made significant progress in the industrial printing business by adding more installs for MGI & R2R label press in 2018. Our aim is to build on the impressive market success that we have received in 2018 and make further progress towards our long-term vision of becoming an INR 1,000 crore organisation by 2022-23. We want to thank our valued customers and business partners for their continued support in 2018 and wish them a very happy and fruitful New Year. We are committed to ensuring that our continued association brings more mutual success, growth, and business.”

SUDHIR SINGH

MD, MARG ERP Since its inception, Marg ERP’s strategic vision has been to improve how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) work. We strive to equip every small business with our innovative and avant-garde software to ready them for upcoming challenges and develop their business gradually. So, for our prime business resolution for the New Year 2019, we’ll continue to stand by our values and ‘Extend a stronger Hand’ to small and medium-sized enterprise businesses (SME). At this moment of delight, we would like to express our deep gratitude to all our customers/ partners who stayed in/joined the Marg family in the year 2018. We wish them to have 2019 as one of their most God-glorifying year filled with achievements and recognition.

“WE WISH OUR PARTNERS A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2019” SUNIL GREWAL

DIRECTOR, GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY (INDIA) PVT. LTD. We wish our partners a happy and healthy 2019. They can rest assured that at GIGABYTE we will continue to innovate and invest in the satisfaction of our channel partners and our valued customers, who are enjoying to use our motherboards, graphics cards and other components. In the upcoming month we’re excited to bring high-quality gaming monitors to India to complete our PC offerings with the last piece of the puzzle. In 2019 we will continue to invest in our service, and our end consumer marketing, be it among professionals or gamers. We look very positively into this year and the outlook for India.

“WISHING EACH AND EVERY PARTNER A HAPPY AND POSITIVE YEAR 2019” BIJOY ALAYLO

VP SOHO SALES, TP-LINK Not falling back to the year 2018, we at TP-Link are targeting a stable business growth in current line of products and expanding aggressively with the new market trends of networking segment like the Smart Home, GPON and Gaming products. Wishing each and every partner a happy and positive year 2019. We will serve you much better this year.

“YOUR FAITH & COMMITMENT HAS HELPED US ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS IN THE PAST 25 YEARS” ARATI NAIK

COO, DIGISOL SYSTEMS A new year brings a fresh start, and often a re-focused approach to business. This year is a crucial year for us as we are focusing on our enterprise product range along with the SOHO range of products. Also, like preceding years, we will continue identifying the strengths and weaknesses of our business/ product offering, as it helps us determine what makes our business unique and also identify potential new untapped areas of the market.

Besides this, I believe this is the best time to take a closer look at channel partners engagement programs for the entire year, in order to improve relationship with the existing and new partners. On the occasion of New Year, I would like to thank our partners and customers for their constant support. It’s your faith and commitment that has helped us accomplish our goals in the past 25 years. We are looking forward to working with you in the upcoming years and touch new heights.

“WE WISH INDIA MOVES FORWARD ON ITS PATH OF DIGITIZATION SAFELY AND SECURELY” SHRENIK BHAYANI

GENERAL MANAGER, KASPERSKY LAB (SOUTH ASIA) Our prime business resolution is to help our customers protect what matters most to them, be it data assets, privacy, money and more. Team Kaspersky Lab India and I, wish all the readers and very Happy and Positive 2019. Hope this proves to be a successful year ahead for all of us and for the world. With the commencement of 2019, we wish India moves forward on its path of digitization safely and securely.

I

JANUARY 2019 I

7

FEATURE STORY

“OUR GAMING CAFÉ PROGRAM IS ANOTHER THING THAT WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO PUSH FURTHER THIS YEAR” HIMANSHU JAIN

CEO, ANT AUDIO We have gained a lot of momentum in the year 2018; and that is something that we wish to build upon in the year 2019. We have plans to reach out deeper into the Indian sub-continent and provide computing solutions to more and more people.

We also plan to extent our reach into the mobile accessories and lifestyle segment with our brand Ant Audio. Our Gaming Café program is another thing that we are very excited to push further this year. We actively promote our partner gaming cafes with online and offline activities. We have many people from both inside and outside the gaming industry who want to invest in the infrastructure development of the gaming industry.

For our partners, we have many great things planned in terms of incentive schemes and offers. We have many ways to support our partners with our diversified portfolio of products and our various end user activities.

“WE THANK ALL OUR PARTNERS FOR BEING THE PILLAR OF OUR STRENGTH” ASHOK RAJPAL

MANAGING DIRECTOR, AMBRANE Ambrane’s prime business resolution for New Year is upholding to company’s original vision to take on challenges in order to bring meaningful change to customer’s lives. The New Year for Ambrane as an organization recognizes no boundaries. We shall prioritize customer value, strategically pursuing efficient ways of working. We thank all our partners for being the pillar of our strength and keeping that Trust strong. It’s our ethical standards and doing business in honest manner which has built strategic partnerships ensuring business activity goals.

“WE WISH CUSTOMER & PARTNERS A FRUITFUL AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR” PRADEEP AGGARWAL

SENIOR DIRECTOR, CLOUD, ORACLE First, happy new year to you and your readers. The consumers and partners are the reasons of our success, they are paramount to us. We wish them a fruitful and prosperous new year. Our prime business resolution is to provide the best solutions to our customers and to enable them to leverage these solutions to solve their business problems. Our other resolution is to keep offerings not just up to date but also ahead of what other market players are offering.

“WE SHALL CREATE NEW GOALS WITH BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT HELP US GROW JOINTLY” MUKESH CHAUDHARY

COUNTRY HEAD, INDIA & SAARC, RAPOO The Year 2018 was very positive for Rapoo. Our prime resolution this year is to evaluate and update our business plans to ensure that they remain consistent with our business goals for both the immediate future and for the long term. In 2019, we shall focus on expanding our product range and looking at stronger ties with Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets. To all our customers, we would like to say, “Thank you” for helping us reach new business heights.

We are grateful to them for imbedding strong trust and acceptance to the Brand Rapoo. For the Partners, It’s the right partnership that brought the right mix for Rapoo in India. Fast forward 2019 we shall create new goals with business opportunities that help us grow jointly

8

I

I JANUARY 2019

“THIS NEW YEAR WE THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOU” ZAKIR HUSSAIN

DIRECTOR, BD SOFT, COUNTRY PARTNER OF BITDEFENDER This year our prime resolution is to give people more control over their online lives and shaping the future of the internet for the consumer’s benefit by bringing better cybersecurity solutions in the Indian market. We are also engaging with top corporates and generating leads for our partners and helping them to offer our solutions to their existing clients and new clients too. We aim to go Pan India in 2019. For our clients we would like to say that your generosity and support have been the key ingredients to our success. This New Year we thank you for providing us the opportunity to serve you and we promise we will try to work out ways in which we can serve you better in the coming days..

“WE PROMISE TO MAINTAIN IT AND WORK TOWARDS KEEPING OUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY AND SATISFIED” ARJUUN BAJAJ

CEO AND FOUNDER, DAIWA TV Our Prime business resolution for New Year is to grow as a team, evolve with the new technological trends and scale further. It’s the year to gain a foothold. Through taking new approaches and making new value propositions, unique to the future we aim to establish closer with consumers. We are grateful to our Customers for the trust and loyalty they showed in us, and we promise to maintain it and work towards keeping our customers happy and satisfied.

“NEW YEAR WISH FOR PARTNERS IS CLEARLY THAT TOGETHER WE WILL GROW” MANOJ PANSARI

CMD, ASTRUM HOLDINGS LTD. Astrum has put all the efforts to break the trade-off between innovation, quality, and cost. This effort has largely been successful. This year our prime business resolution will be to make “ASTRUM” more aware in the Indian market.

Also we will make sure that we move ahead with the vision and mission statements of the company in the market. We are also trying to adapt new and more unique ways to set in consumers mind so that we tune with the customer service. And this will be only possible by being more socially engaged to our customer. New Year wish for partners is clearly that Together we will grow.

“OUR PRIME BUSINESS RESOLUTION IS TO RELENTLESSLY STAY AHEAD OF THE CYBER ATTACKERS” RAHUL KUMAR

COUNTRY MANAGER INDIA AND SAARC, F-SECURE. Being a cybersecurity player, we don’t believe in making wishes. We rather believe in making them come true for our customers and partners. Today, cyber attackers are making their TTPs more sophisticated and targeting the nascent elements of the digital infrastructure. This has lately been adding a lot of dynamism to cyberattacks. So, at F-Secure, our prime business resolution is to relentlessly stay ahead of the cyber attackers and foil all of their bids to penetrate into the growing digital network. 2019 will deliver very positive results given our recent advances and be decisive in the battle against wide-ranging cybercrimes.

COVER STORY

“Tech Trends That Will Drive the Indian ICT Market in 2019�

Indian ICT industry is the fastest growing market in the world. Not only businesses have transformed in last one decade, but human lives have also changed due to technology advancement. Always we look towards technology players to create best solutions to our requirements. Digital transformation is also helping everyone to grow and ultimately this also help the nation in its overall economic growth.

Digitalization is the dire need of today and businesses understand this need. Various evolving technologies are helping such businesses in transforming themselves and create a better digital future. In 2019, there are huge opportunities for businesses to use and leverage new technology trends. Business operations have become more effortless by the help of some top technologies like AI and machine learning. There are many more trends which are driving the market growth and will continue to do in year 2019 as well. DT has complied the story on top tech trends and emerging opportunities to be adopted in this new year based on market leaders’ insight.

10 I

I JANUARY 2019

COVER STORY

KEY TECH TRENDS IN 2019 We are living in a world where things are changing very rapidly and the way of our living is also changing with the impact of technology. Technology is playing a vital role in our lives and everyone is getting dependent on it.

“With the GST revisions in December, there is a possibility of a speedy adoption of newer technologies like our wireless audio solutions Specific to storage, we see the 3D NAND based storage solutions getting more traction. As India is progressing towards digitalization, the demand for high performance components will continuously increase” says Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director, Kingston Technology & HyperX – India. “People will prefer utilizing efficient storage devices without compromising on performance for their evolving computing needs which will push manufacturers to innovate better products at an affordable price. Kingston investments in educating the Indian market about the benefits of using latest technology is paying good returns and we hope to help more corporates and enterprises with this.”

“The recent trends in motherboards is to improve the thermals, the cooling capability, to ensure the maximum performance possible. For example, our Z390 AORUS XTREME motherboard comes with a total of 16 IR Digital VRMs, a Direct Touch heatsink that makes use of a large aluminum fin array and embedded heat pipes for the best cooling performance on an Intel Z390 platform, enabling the lowest temperatures of any brand when all cores perform above 5 GHz. Several independent tests have confirmed our leadership in this regard, and want to go even beyond that in the near future” added Sunil Grewal, Director, GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. Bijoy Alaylo, VP SoHo Sales, TP-Link said, “Well, Mesh Wi-Fi is the newbie in town and this is where everyone should try to explore. India has come much ahead in the data usage space and just Wi-Fi has been a thing of the past. Faster Speeds, LAG Free connectivity is the need

of the hour. That is where TP-Link has been developing and providing the consumers a varied range of Mesh products which will add to number of products in the basket this year.

Gaming was the buzz of 2018 and Mesh will be the buzz of 2019.”

Shrenik Bhayani, General Manager, Kaspersky Lab (South Asia) stated, “The top technology trends that will be experiencing a steady growth in 2019 are 1. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the environments of just about everything. Likewise, in cybersecurity too AI is helping businesses across industries, to advance their threat detection and enhance the incident response time. It is interesting to see how will AI further enhance the cybersecurity industry. 2. Blockchain: In today’s world Blockchain can be implemented in various industry sectors in order to speed up processes, guarantee security, trust and transparency and keep accurate records that can be accessed by stakeholders, no matter where they are in the world. Blockchain as a cybersecurity service is the most viable way for the technology to scale. 3. Machine Learning: In cybersecurity it is always said ‘once bitten, twice shy’, this being practiced by a smart machine which learns from previous experiences is exactly what the industry needs. Kaspersky Lab has already inculcated Machine Learning technology in Kaspersky’s Threat Management and Defense solution.”

“With digital adoption increasing at a rapid pace, technologies such as mobility, cloud, AI, IoT, data analytics, machine learning, and automation are bound to drive a significant transformation in the market. Print and printing requirements are already changing, with the demand for solutions that can enable smooth, seamless, flexible, and efficient print operations growing at a rapid pace. This technological convergence is also making it possible to introduce a high level of print personalization, even for largevolume orders. This shift towards granular customisation is already gaining traction with brands across the globe and will become a major market trend in the future. Short-run, on-demand printing is also on the rise in the digital printing domain, while the demand for solutions which can improve workflow efficiency and productivity by facilitating realtime collaborations is also set to increase.

These developments are expected to accelerate the growth of the digital printing industry, both within India and on a global level” added Kuldeep Malhotra, Vice President, Sales, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

Ashok Rajpal, Managing Director, Ambrane commented, “The rise in demand for mobile phones is also boosting the demand for wireless accessories.

The upcoming trending accessories are wireless charging, fast charging, wearables & VR headsets, portable power banks and wireless audio. Overall Wireless and Audio shall be dominating trends. The innovation in the mobile accessories is pacing at a faster rate than we can imagine.”

“Competitive gaming has gained a lot of ground in captivating the mind of the Indian Audience in this year. We have seen many wanting to explore more ways to enhance their experience through high performance hardware. The Mobile accessories market has expanded exponentially in 2018” said Himanshu Jain, CEO, ANT Audio. “Mobile Gaming has caused an explosion of sales in the mid-range segment and wireless technology is the way forward. With Ant Audio, we have been able to cater to these needs through our various solutions in our headphones and earphones segment.”

“2019 will bring a host of technological upgrades that are aimed at simplifying various networking problems on both the fronts- enterprises and consumer. On the enterprise front, SD-WANs are now moving out from the early-adopter phase to mainstream adoption. As SD-WANs are agile, efficient, secure and offer better application performance compared to legacy WAN, thus enterprises are looking forward to this upgrade” added Arati Naik, COO, Digisol Systems. “While on the consumer front, Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax is expected to make its way into new installations in 2019. This Wi-Fi standard will offer faster data transfer speeds i.e. up to up to 40% higher compared to Wi-Fi 5. Besides this, 5G is another trend that will rule in 2019.

Yes, we have been talking about 5G for a while, however, telecom operators and other industry players are making big bets on next-generation services for 2019 with a renewed focus on making it accessible for the masses. Apart from enhancing end users experience, 5G will also play a key role on the business front. 5G will allow faster download and data transfer and will empower business applications through which we can experience better services than ever before. 5G is foreseen to bring numerous advantages to the large and small businesses, however it will take few more years for large scale expansion.”

I

JANUARY 2019 I 11

COVER STORY “While we incline towards empowering SMBs with our best software solutions to stay ahead in the game, we are improving our technology as well. After a breakneck year of technological advancements, Marg ERP will soon be available in a cloud-based version alongside cutting-edge mobile apps to ensure better & easier business operations. Considering the evergrowing requirements of our valuable customers, we are now implementing automated testing tools in our systems to avoid any aberrations in business operations. Furthermore, we are inviting integration of useful third-party collaborations which will be in favour of our customers and their business growth” stated Sudhir Singh, MD, Marg Compusoft.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Senior Director, Cloud, Oracle added “Cloud-enabled emerging technologies like AI, Automation and Blockchain will continue to change the way companies and especially ERP operate. In fact, the ERP is the basis of any disruption faced by organisations. Finance teams spend 85% of their time on labour-intensive, manual tasks, leaving little time for innovation. However, with advancements such as AI, machine learning, robotic process automation, and blockchain, that has changed and will continue to change in 2019 as well. The future of the finance function is “intelligent and connected”. The finance function will be data-driven, complete and secure by harnessing: Interactive Reporting, Touchless Transactions, Continuous Insight, Adaptive Intelligence and Process Control & Automation.

CFOs will balance operational efficiency, which means that they will be more and more focused on high quality at even lesser cost, by leveraging technologies like robotic process automation and machine learning. Next-generation ERP applications will leverage the following emerging technologies for efficiency: Machine Learning Automation, Intelligent Apps, Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain.”

Mukesh Chaudhary, Country Head, India & SAARC, Rapoo said, “Technology runs our lives these days. In a very short time, technology has exploded in the market and now, many people cannot imagine a life without it. In 2019, Technology trends are going to reshape the Industry with innovations like Machine learning (computer’s ability to learn on its own by analyzing data and tracking repeating patterns), Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, etc. Network marketing too is growing faster than we can imagine.”

“Artificial Intelligence will be one of the major new tech trends we will see in 2019.

It will strengthen cyber security solution. Artificial intelligence will improve

12 I

I JANUARY 2019

computer security tools by speeding up incident responses once malicious software is detected on computer networks. It could help thwart emaildelivered ransomware or swarming botnets that knock out access to websites. AI-based cyber security technology will also help to gain a better understanding of situational awareness in case there is a breach” commented Zakir Hussain, Director, BD Soft, Country Partner of Bitdefender.

“In 2019, cutting-edge technology, will transform the television experience. Looking at the current market trends, an enhanced integration of software which is very tangibly expected in the Future TVs, big-screens, rich in features with improved quality would be dominant in the years to come” said Arjuun Bajaj, CEO and Founder, Daiwa TV. “In terms of Technology, there are many virtual technology categories that promises to take the experience to a higher level such as Television which has become the fastest selling product line. It would be all about rich and enhanced visual experience in the coming year.”

“Technology-wise, the Security Solutions market is going to make deeper inroads into the Artificial Intelligence technology.

Developments will be more specifically aimed towards reinforcement learning which will aid use cases such as penetration testing, password guessing, and application fuzzing. Automation in detection and response will also continue to increase the cost of conducting cyberattacks.

It will make them unviable to a great extent.

Another development will be observed in the field of IoT as cybersecurity players will not merely address their vulnerabilities, but also use the technology to create virtual environment for gathering superior insights. Given this, we could see the honeypot infrastructure mounting on a global level” stated Rahul Kumar, Country Manager India and SAARC, F-Secure.

“The rapid proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices in the market is redefining the trend in mobile phone accessories. The new tech accessories which will be trending in smartphone accessories market will be waterproof devices, devices which are more multifaceted and also have the lifestyle edge. We shall see influx of Audio, Cameras, Smart devices etc. The trend shall be to balance the Innovation, seeking Value for Money” added Manoj Pansari, CMD, Astrum Holdings Ltd. “In the video surveillance market, it could be said that analytics are getting their shot at an industry reboot.

Having overpromised and under-delivered a decade ago, recent advances in artificial intelligence

(AI) and machine learning software have made intelligent video analysis a realistic capability for end-users to deploy at scale. Of course, the technology is still in its infancy and there are a number of challenges that must be overcome before it can be widely adopted. Aside from video analytics, issues surrounding the cybersecurity of camera networks remain a major priority for manufacturers, systems integrators and endusers alike” stated Richard Morgans, Group CMO, Oncam.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES These new emerging technologies have provided certain opportunities to vendors and partners to capitalize the momentum and grow with it. “The markets related to most products, are already growing steadily. As the new tech starts bringing better benefits to the users, it will help improve the customer adoption rate. At the macro level, it will be a catalyst for improvement and not just growth” says Vishal Parekh, Kingston Technology & HyperX – India.

“When a country as large and packed as ours is progressing towards digitalization, the increase in data is unprecedented and it fuels the demands for capacious storage and better data security solutions. Kingston is a proud lifestyle technology brand, invested in multiple product lines which helps us to serve a diverse market like India in best possible way.”

Sunil Grewal, GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. stated, “Consumer is today very demanding in terms of performance, quality and durability.

We see that all around the world and also at home in India, therefore we strive to develop the best product possible to meet this demand. We have a whole series of AORUS motherboards in several price tiers, and even those priced lower such as the great value Z390 AORUS Elite offer exceptional quality and performance in that price segment. This is where GIGABYTE is unique, and why we will remain market leader in India.”

“Firstly, we need to see that the Indian Internet users are increasing rapidly. Until we could be in the phase of a basic internet connection we already have lighting internet speeds ready to reach the consumer. People are becoming more aware of the need for a better router, a higher end device to route your internet and why are the additional features like a Mesh/an Antivirus etc. are needed” said Bijoy Alaylo, TP-Link. “This in itself is an added advantage for the networking market where companies like us have to be on our toes to get the best of technology on the table which would always keep our consumers interested. Here even our channel partners get an opportunity to pitch in to their customers the different type of variation products and introduce new technology to them in turn to grow their business to a new level”.

Shrenik Bhayani, Kaspersky Lab (South Asia) added, “Keeping pace with the growth of

COVER STORY digitization with these evolving technology trends should trigger growth in various fields, from healthcare system, education, to online businesses. However, it might be worth noting that as we adopt these technology, the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure should be in place to handle the security risks that tags along.”

“Rapid technological advancements are already transforming print operations. Print and printing requirements are evolving at an unparalleled pace. The market demand for solutions and services that can enable better print operations has been growing rapidly for quite some time now. Konica Minolta has been working towards creating an ecosystem of cutting-edge software applications and hardware products in order to cater to this demand. Most of our machines equipped with advanced digital capabilities, while our software solutions revolve around MFP authentication, end-to-end print management, and cloud-based document capture and management, etc. The shift towards digitallyled, tech-driven print and printing operations has unlocked a huge business opportunity for innovative OEMs like Konica Minolta, and we believe that we are well-positioned to cater to this niche market with our new-age solutions” says Kuldeep Malhotra, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd. Ashok Rajpal, Ambrane commented, “This year we expect drastic exponential changes in every technological direction. The new Tech Trends shall reshape the Business strategies revealing new opportunities in different Industries. Since the industries are accepting new technologies and trends, these are simultaneously popping new opportunities as well for eg. the batteries in the mobile phones are getting bigger & better so does the backups as well like we have launched PP-30 a massive 30,000 mAh power bank, further the demand for wireless audio is increasing. Recently, we have also launched products like WE-50 and will be coming up with more products shortly.”

“The recent rapid growth of the mobile gaming segment has brought about a great amount of curiosity in high performance commuters and a more holistic gaming experience that comes with it. We are seeing many people that are jumping across from mobile gaming to PC gaming for a better gaming experience. As a company that has spent the last two decades stressing over every single detail to optimize performance and output, we find ourselves in familiar territory.

We are here to provide a greater opportunity to have an improved gaming experience” added Himanshu Jain, ANT Audio.

Arati Naik, Digisol Systems stated, “The tech trends and their rapid evolution have had an increasing impact on the market growth and also on the way we do business, and this growth doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.

These trends are helping us to raise the bar

and push harder to make business better than yesterday. As all the businesses are trying hard to deliver the best outcome it’s leading to the overall market growth.

“The internet is changing, and it’s also changing the way SMBs operate. We have been the torch bearers for this segment and shall keep on building newer functionalities and tools through the adoption of revolutionary concepts & Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will bring home better collaborations and a progressive business environment” said Sudhir Singh, Marg Compusoft. “By the end of 2018, Marg ERP started touching the e-commerce industry which is undoubtedly expanding at a fast pace for last few years. It is likely to surpass $100 bn by 2022. By serving this untouched market segment with futuristic solutions, we plan to revolutionize traditional market trends”.

Mukesh Chaudhary, Rapoo commented, “The year 2019 will bring great progress in technological innovations. Technology will help businesses streamline their processes and enable market to move quicker, resulting in lower costs. Machine learning and artificial intelligence will transform the entire industries, making way for virtual helpers and a myriad of cases for automatization. These new technologies shall open new markets in India.

India’s digital revolution has had such an impact on every sector of society. As both business and government initiatives leverage digitisation, I believe that we will see even faster-paced economic growth in India, which can improve lives across the country. The possibilities are endless.”

Zakir Hussain, BD Soft, Country Partner of Bitdefender stated, “It is often misunderstood that AI will replace human beings in the workplace but the fact is AI would just make things easier and there will be a requirement for skilled Data Scientists and experts to make AI work. Organizations and government will continue to embrace IoT-enabled solutions to achieve automation and efficiency especially for critical infrastructure and smart cities. While this happens, we should see increased focus across stakeholders on securing IoT infrastructure.”

“The increased availability and integration of Amazon Alexa, Google Home and other popular digital voice assistants will further increase demand for smart TVs in 2019 and beyond.

Voice interaction is sure to be popular as many smart TV remote controls offer clunky interfaces for search which is critical for streaming access.

Smart TVs shall definitely be a market segment to watch as the battle of the voice assistants is quickly moving past smart speakers into other surfaces. These technological trends shall make the life of consumers comfortable and easy. With the help of these gadgets one can have access to anything and everything. Hence, the demand for such products will surely increase as consumers

look for comfort at budgeted prices these days” commented Arjuun Bajaj, Daiwa TV. Rahul Kumar, F-Secure said, “All of these trends will collectively have a positive impact on the market growth. However, it must be noted that the need of the hour is not entirely limited to the technological advancements. The ecosystem also needs to change its outlook of the prevalent challenges. For instance, if two businesses having a similar problem, say a high click-rate on phishing mails, it does not necessarily mean that both will have a somewhat similar resolution.

The root causes could be entirely different in both of the cases and require different solution. Similarly, the market awareness and adoption must also increase in conjunction as not preparing for future cyberattacks is, in a way, preparing to get compromised by them.

Luckily, this perception has been changing of late as businesses realise the importance of cybersecurity in market success. As far as the opportunities are concerned, data has become the new oil and the exploration of the same through unconventional techniques is definitely going to be a game-changer. The technological advancements and automation will, moreover, streamline wide-ranging cybersecurity processes. This is going to enhance the quality, volume, and velocity of cybersecurity operations and open new avenues for cybersecurity players to explore.”

“The technology advancements expands new horizons in the Market. With the manufacturing focus in India, Technology has made its presence felt in various sectors of India’s development.

These innovations qualifies India as technologically advanced country empowering Work, generating Job opportunities and much more” stated Manoj Pansari, Astrum Holdings Ltd. “Cloud-based video applications and products will take off in a big way, but perhaps not in the manner that many folks may have envisioned, which is the transmission of video over the public internet and storage in the cloud. This paradigm works really well for the residential and SMB markets and in these markets, the use of cloud services – both DIY and commercial – will continue to rapidly increase” commented Richard Morgans, Oncam. “In the medium- to high-end of the market, the growth in the use of cloud-based services will be driven by the increasing levels of intelligence at the edge.

Transmitting and storing large amounts of video in the cloud will remain uneconomical for most applications, which means that intelligent edge devices – for example, cameras capable of running analytics – will process the video and transmit only the interesting data and video.

The cloud will be increasingly used to analyze, compare and correlate the data, which is the cloud-based “service” that service providers will monetize.”

I

JANUARY 2019 I 13

VENDOR FOCUS

GIGABYTE Boosts Its Powerful SSD Lineup With AORUS RGB Series Gigabyte has reinforced its SSD range with the all new AORUS RGB Series. The newest AORUS RGB SSD comes in two form factors, AIC and M.2, and offers a nice selection of mainstream storage capacity options.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd. continues to build off the success of its M.2 PCIe Gen3 X4 SSD by infusing impressive aesthetics and style to its all-new NVMe based, PCIe Gen3 X4 AORUS RGB SSD. To be introduced at CES, the newest AORUS RGB SSD comes in two form factors, AIC and M.2, and offers a nice selection of mainstream storage capacity options. AORUS RGB SSD showcases colorful, digital LED lighting and is the first SSD on the market to have full lighting synchronization with motherboards.

The new SSD fulfills the GIGABYTE standard for durability and reliability, having undergone rigorous testing to ensure that users enjoy only the best and most stable SSD performance.

Freshly launched, AORUS RGB M.2 SSD comes in two mainstream storage capacities: 256GB and 512GB. The SSD delivers sequential read speeds up to 3480 MB/s and sequential write speed up to 2000 MB/s and is built with anodized, aluminum heatsinks for excellent heat dissipation to prevent heat from being detrimental to storage performance. The hairline finish on the heatsinks offers a cleancut, elegant look and the AORUS Falcon logo serves as a core part of the design by adding extra texture to the M.2 SSD with its contour and digital LED lighting, complementing AORUS motherboards in a seamless integration of AORUS lighting and style.

AORUS RGB AIC SSD takes it a step further by offering larger storage capacity sizes 512GB and 1TB as well as faster sequential read speeds up to 3480 MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 3080 MB/s. The heatsink design of the AORUS RGB AIC SSD draws heavy inspiration from the critically-acclaimed Z390 AORUS Motherboard series, which set many benchmarks in performance with its

14 I

I JANUARY 2019

cutting-edge thermal solution. AORUS RGB AIC SSD carries over many of these heat dissipation technologies and integrates them into its heatsink design to provide a proven thermal solution with superior heat dissipation compared to standard AIC SSD aluminum heatsinks. A 0.5cm thick dark gray aluminum matte heatsink as well as cross cut heatsink for increased heat dissipation area has been added and a thick LAIRD Thermal Pad has been placed between the heatsink and flash memory so that the SSDs can perform at max levels without bottlenecks from excess heat.

Excellent balance between performance and aesthetics is a trademark of AORUS design, never compromising performance for style.

The AORUS RGB AIC SSD features a heatsink that has been treated with fine sandblasting on the surface and multi-step anodization while utilizing laser engraving for a stylish, clean-cut look. The metallic silver, mirrored AORUS falcon logo further completes the aesthetics on the SSD. AORUS RGB AIC SSD also comes with CNC processed screw holes which look more tidy and symmetrical but most importantly, make positioning more precise for users.

Furthermore, AORUS RGB AIC SSD offers the best in RGB technology with frontside RGB lighting and default RGB wave patterns so that peripherals won’t get in the way by blocking the view of the SSD lighting effects. To prevent unsmooth or grainy lighting, GIGABYTE has used its experience from developing the AORUS RGB Memory Modules and multi-party verification to further improve the lighting effects of the AORUS RGB AIC SSD. With the RGB Fusion 2.0 App, users can bring smooth or even layered lighting effects to show off new styles of lighting.

To provide users with the most reliable and

blazing fast read/write performance, GIGABYTE puts the AORUS RGB SSD through rigorous testing while mix and matching them with various GIGABYTE motherboards and different chipsets, as is standard with GIGABYTE products. Clearing testing from test software as well as high temperature and voltage tests, AORUS RGB SSDs meet the standards that users have come to expect from GIGABYTE AORUS products.

“For users seeking the best storage solution, PCIe Gen3 X4 SSDs offer the best performance especially for users looking to build disk arrays since high bandwidth interface is an indispensable asset when it comes to high-end performance,” stated Jackson Hsu, Director of the GIGABYTE Channel Solutions Product Development Division. “AORUS RGB SSD is another step in the evolution of our SSD lineup as we build on the positive reception and feedback to our previous SSD products, especially in capacity size, bandwidth, aesthetics/lighting, and more to fulfill the expectations of users.

AORUS RGB SSD highlights what GIGABYTE products stand for: excellent performance and ultra-durability. Users can choose between AIC or M.2 form factors and tinker with the RGB Fusion App to enjoy lighting effects that can be synchronized with their peripherals for their own, unique setup. Stability, capacity, design, AORUS RGB SSD delivers on all aspects.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Quick Heal Foundation Announces the Winners of Cy-Fi Karandak 2018

D-Link Extends its Support to Self4society Platform

Marking the successful conclusion of yet another edition of its unique technocultural gala, Quick Heal Foundation, the CSR arm of leading IT security solutions provider Quick Heal Technologies, has announced the winners of Cy-Fi Karandak 2018. Organised in association with Maharashtra Cyber and Theatre Academy at Sakal Lalit Kalaghar in Pune on December 16, 2018, the grand finale saw ‘I Agree’ by ‘Amche Amhi’ from Pune named the winner of the award from amongst nine finalist teams. Leading actor Mr. Riteish Deshmukh and Mr. Jackie Shroff was present at the grand finale of the Cy-Fi Karandak 2018 as its Chief Guest, while prominent Marathi actors Vijay Kenkre and Anand Ingle were part of the judging panel. The winning team was felicitated at the hands of Kailash Katkar (Managing Director & CEO – Quick Heal Technologies Ltd), Mr. Sanjay Katkar (Joint Managing Director & CTO – Quick Heal Technologies Ltd), Sachin Pandkar, SP, Maharashtra Cyber and Prasad Purandare, President, Theatre Academy. Several renowned film, theatre, and TV personalities such as Shrirang Godbole and Jitendra Joshi were also present at the event.

D-Link recognizes that its actions as a responsible corporate entity can lead to progressive change in the society that it operates in. At D-Link social welfare is an integral part of its value system. D-Link now further pledges its support to Self4Society – a CSR platform recently launched by our Hon. Prime Minster that encourages employees from IT sector to actively volunteer towards social causes, and help build a New India. The Self4Society platform is a noble initiative by the present government that encourages corporate employees to engage and contribute in social welfare activities. Self4Society is an app based platform that acts as a workspace for Electronics and IT corporates to organize employee engagements (Initiatives) for social work. Organizations can create their own initiatives under the identified National Causes. While D-Link continue with its effort to meet CSR goals, it has lately initiated programs that allow its employees to volunteer and contribute to social causes through Self4society platform. Recently the CSR team at D-Link (India) Ltd. initiated a beach clean-up drive at Khar Danda beach, Mumbai which had over 40 enthusiastic D-Link volunteers participate.

Canon India Installs 80ppm imagePRESS C8000VP in Telangana

Kingston to Showcase Next-gen Solutions at CES 2019

Keeping up with the pace of fast moving printing industry & to match the evolving needs of the customer, Canon India announced the installation of its flagship imagePRESS C8000VP at iCards Printers, a first for Telangana. The machine was inaugurated in the distinguished presence of Mr. Puneet Datta, Director of Professional Printing Products (PPP), Canon India. The imagePRESS C8000VP series has yielded more than 75 installations since the launch, attracting the attention of the industry across the country. The machine combines exceptional quality, productivity and versatility to deliver truly outstanding results across a vast variety of applications, taking digital colour printing to the next level. Along with the installation of C8000VP, iCards is also a proud user of Canon imagePRESS C700VP. iCards is a well-known establishment in Telangana and a one-stop destination servicing customers across the state of Hyderabad. Having established a firm foothold in the industry, they are known for its premium services catering to varied requirements of customers.

16 I

I JANUARY 2019

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, will once again share upcoming products for consumers and business customers at CES®2019. For over three decades, Kingston’s industryleading products and technology solutions have provided great performance, reliability and consistency, and this year will be no different. “We are proud to be back for another year at CES to share our upcoming products,” said Craig Tilmont, Director of marketing, Kingston. “Whether it’s our SSDs, encrypted USBs, or other Flash or embedded solutions, we hope that those who visit the Kingston suite fully recognize our continued dedication to offering consistent, high-performing solutions. As needs change we are happy to support all our customers ― Client to Enterprise ― with products that deliver.

Konica Minolta Showcases its Wide Range of Digital Printing Solutions at Interprint Expo 2018 Konica Minolta Business Solutions recently participated in Interprint Expo 2018. Hosted in Chandigarh, the high-profile exhibition saw Konica Minolta once again underline its advanced technological capabilities in the digital printing space through live demonstrations of its wide range of state-of-the-art digital printing solutions.

During the four-day event, Konica Minolta showcased several innovative digital printing solutions, including the AccurioPress 6100, the AccurioPress C3070, and the bizhub PRO 1100. It also displayed various samples created by Dulari Digital, a Punjabbased business which had recently installed the MGI JETvarnish 3D. Through these demonstrations, Konica Minolta gave attendees at the event a first-hand experience of the differentiation that Konica Minolta’s cutting-edge digital printing technology brought to the table. Two top-of-the-line production printers from Konica Minolta, the AccurioPress C3070 and the AccurioPress C6100 combine highspeed colour print production with integrated finishing capabilities to deliver superlative quality prints with high consistency.

REVE Antivirus Rolls Out Anti-malware Software for Mac Users REVE Antivirus has launched anti-malware software for Mac users.

The anti-malware software protects Mac machines from any types of spyware, viruses, Trojans, and other types of malware providing complete security to your MacBook. Although considered strong, Mac operating system is not 100% immune to virus infection. Hence, it increases the need of an antivirus software for better protection.

The highlight of REVE Antivirus is that it scans files and folders without consuming too much time and system resources. In the words of Sanjit Chatterjee, CEO – REVE Antivirus, “With the release of REVE Antivirus for Mac, we have now covered all operating systems. There has been increasing incidents of cyber-attacks on Mac OS, which makes it important to use an anti-malware product for safe online experience.”

Kaspersky Lab Appoints Tsuyoshi Fujioka as Its New General Manager for Japan Kaspersky Lab announces the appointment of Tsuyoshi Fujioka as the new General Manager of Kaspersky Lab Japan, effective January 1, 2019. Fujioka is expected to extend the market footprint of Kaspersky Lab’s newest technologies, including the company’s solution for critical infrastructure. He will also take charge of strengthening relationships with key channel partners in the country. Commenting on his appointment, Tsuyoshi Fujioka said: “I am excited to take Kaspersky Lab Japan to the next level in terms of market growth, dynamic presence, and channel partnerships. Having worked in the IT sector of Japan for more than 30 years, I can attest that securing businesses, individuals, and the critical industry in the country is highly necessary. With Kaspersky Lab’s comprehensive security portfolio tailored to the cybersecurity needs of our customers, corporate partners, and even the critical verticals we have in Japan, I am sure that we can drive towards a brighter future here in the Land of the Rising Sun.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Unistal Celebrated Its 25th Anniversary With a Grand Show in New Delhi

Unistal Systems Pvt. Ltd. celebrated 25 glorious years of serving excellence.

The company shared its success stories and recognised the contribution of mentors, employees, partners, vendors, friends and family for their continuous support. The event was graced by the presence of well-known dignitaries from top corporates, partners, OEM heads and media houses.

On the occasion, Alok Gupta, Co-founder and Managing Director at Unistal Systems Pvt Ltd. said, “It is always special to see what you have created turning into a milestone. We feel that completing our 25th year calls for something special. We are taking this occasion as an opportunity to thank all the stakeholders, including our mentors, partners, friends, family, exemployees and present staff who have helped us in successfully steering through the testing times and achieving this milestone.” The company also launched two new products, in data security vertical, Protegent Enterprise Security Solution, a next level security solution developed to protect data & assets of SME’s and large enterprises. In Oil & Gas vertical, SmartGasNet Solution, a complete solution for city gas distribution network.

Tenda Showcased Innovative Networking Solutions at The Cable TV Show 2019 Tenda along with its national distributor Fortune Marketing presented a raft of innovative networking solutions at the 22nd Annual Cable TV Show 2019 which was organized by CTMA at Science City, Kolkata from 9th to 11th January 2019.

Mr. John Dong, Director, Tenda India said, “Tenda always wants to connect with its partner on more personal level, and thus participation in Cable TV Show Kolkata was one of such step we took, to interact with our dealers, distributors, SI’s, Partners and to know their demand and requirement. Cable TV show turned out to be a positive investment from Tenda, which not only gave us an idea on what partners are looking forward in the eastern market of India but also partners were able to see what Tenda is offering them new, to help them gain more business in their respective region. Tenda displayed many products in Cable TV Show which were suited as per expo crowd, and over that, we also gave a glimpse of our upcoming 2 products to partners which can turn out to be a game changer once launched.”

I

JANUARY 2019 I 17

GAMER’S CORNER

Acer Introduces Two New Gaming Notebooks Predator Triton 900 and Predator Triton 500 Featuring the new NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 GPU and a 4K IPS[i] display with NVIDIA G-SYNC™ technology, the Predator Triton 900 pulls no punches in bringing gamers a best-inclass gaming experience. With up to a six-core high performance 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 processor, NVMePCIe RAID 0 SSDs, and up to 32GB DDR4 memory, gamers can power up the most demanding games and expect smooth, tear-free gameplay. It comes with an Xbox wireless receiver that lets users play their favorite PC games on Windows 10 with an Xbox controller

Acer unveiled two new Windows 10 gaming notebooks, the Predator Triton 900, a 17inch performance notebook featuring a slim design and convertible 4K display — and the Predator Triton 500 — a 15-inch all-metal gaming powerhouse measuring just 17.9 mm (0.70 inches) thin. Both gaming notebooks combine new, functional designs with powerful internals that rival gaming desktops.

“We are pushing the envelope on what a gaming notebook can be with designs that offer more uses while still packing in the computing power,” said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business at Acer. “The Predator Triton 900’s one-of-a-kind flipping screen allows for multiple gaming scenarios and better ergonomics, while the Triton 500 offers superb gaming performance in a slimmer, all-metal body for gamers on the go.

“We’re excited that our new GeForce RTX 2080 GPU is helping Acer redefine gaming experiences on notebooks,” said Kaustubh Sanghani, General Manager, GeForce OEM at NVIDIA. “With breakthrough technologies including real time ray tracing and next-gen, and ultra-fast GDDR6 memory, gamers can confidently choose the Predator Triton 900 for a robust, feature-rich gaming platform.”

“8th Gen Intel Core H-series processors are designed as a complete platform that combines industry leading notebook computing performance and technologies that are increasingly critical for premium gaming

18 I

I JANUARY 2019

and content creation,” said Chris Walker, Vice President of Client Computing at Intel. “CPU performance is key to the best possible gaming experience, and the new Predator Triton gaming notebooks put this performance and robust platform on full display with innovative designs.”

The Predator Triton 900 and 500 both earn their gaming cred with Acer’s advanced cooling system that includes 4th Gen AeroBlade™ 3D metal fans that increase airflow by 45 percent, and Coolboost™ technology that keeps the notebooks cool during extended gaming sessions and while playing demanding AAA titles.

THE PREDATOR TRITON 900 — THE CONVERTIBLE GAMING NOTEBOOK EVOLVED The Predator Triton 900 is a gaming notebook in an inventive form factor with innovative new design features. It features a CNC-machined Ezel Aero Hinge™ that flips, extends, or reclines the 17-inch display. Users can switch between four usage modes: Display mode for sharing the screen with friends during gaming sessions, Ezel mode for playing games on the touch screen, notebook mode for traditional gaming scenarios, and stand mode — effectively turning the Triton 900 into a tablet for gaming or using creator tools.

THE PREDATOR TRITON 500 — THINNER AND MEANER The Predator Triton 500 is a powerful 15.6inch Full HD gaming notebook slimmed down to just 17.9 mm (0.70 inches) thin and weighing 2.1 kg (4.6 lbs.). It has a durable, all-metal chassis and narrow bezels measuring just 6.3 mm (0.25 inches) for an impressive 81 percent body-to-screen ratio. The slimmed down Triton 500 can easily be slipped in a backpack or briefcase, but once taken out and powered on, it becomes a gaming powerhouse.

And with up to 8-hours of battery life, users can play their favorite titles on the road or with friends away from home.

The Predator Triton 500 features up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPUs with Max-Q design, up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, NVMePCIe RAID 0 SSDs, and up to 32GB DDR4 memory. Its GPU is overclockable and VRReady, letting gamers enjoy the latest cutting edge gaming and VR experiences. The 15.6inch 300 nits IPS display brings games to life with 144Hz refresh rates in overdrive at 3ms.

REALLY HOT

HyperX Gaming Keyboard and Mouse

Acer Predator Thronos Gaming Cave

HyperX™, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., launched two gaming products in India, the Alloy Core RGB Gaming Keyboard and Pulsefire Core Gaming Mouse, both with customizable RGB lighting.

The HyperX Alloy Core RGB gaming keyboard is priced at INR 6,290 (MRP) and HyperX Pulsefire Core gaming Mouse is priced at INR 4,290 (MRP). Both the products are backed by a two-year warranty and are available at HyperX retail and e-tail partnered stores in India. Featuring HyperX’s signature radiant light bar, and smooth, dynamic RGB lighting effects, the HyperX Alloy Core RGB is ideal for gamers looking to enhance their keyboard’s style and performance without breaking the bank. With six different lighting effects and three brightness levels, it balances both brilliance and budget. The HyperX Pulsefire Core, a gaming mouse that delivers the essentials for gamers looking for a solid comfortable wired RGB mouse. It features Pixart 3327 optical sensor with native DPI settings of up to 6200 DPI and only 87g in weight.

Rapoo VH300 Gaming Headset RAPOO introduces its newest ‘VH300 Gaming Headset’. Designed to make even the most casual gamer feel like a pro, VH300 brings the eternal gaming experience, unbeatable! Sporting the clutter free and integrated design with Cool Blue LED backlight, the headset adds a touch of sophistication to gamers personality.

Weighing just 390 gms, the Headset is built with 90-degree rotating ear cups to provide hours of comfort for console and PC gaming.

The Noise isolating over-ear design sports large and signature memory foam ear cups that are perfect for marathon sessions of Gaming.

Performing with the customized driver configuration interface, the Headset allows the Gamer to customize voice modes freely. Its Virtual 7.1 Channel audio output, brings you stunning surround sound experience that delivers crisp highs and rich bass thanks to the Dual Chamber technology. VH300 Headset is multi-platform compatibility; out-of-the-box with PC, Xbox One, PS4, Wii U and mobile devices2. Backed by 1-year warranty, Rapoo VH300 Gaming Headset is now available in India across leading retail and ecommerce stores in India.

Acer India unveiled for the first time in India, Predator Thronos, the ultimate gaming cave. It is hands down one of the most unique products to hit the gaming market in a very long time. The all new Predator Thronos reimagines the gaming cave for the new breed of gamers. It has a steel structure that’s 1.5 meters tall, the chair is adjustable and includes an ergonomic seat design, foot rest, and a cabin that reclines up to 140 degrees. The Predator Thronos is much more than just a chair. The motorized throne packs leg rests, a mount for three computer monitors, and blue mood lighting galore. It puts the gamer in the game through deep impact vibration, where the chair vibrates upon in-game impact. The overhead brace supports three 27-inch gaming monitors and a space for a Predator gaming PC. Integrated with a Predator PC and triple Predator monitors plus gadgets, the Thronos becomes much more than a gaming chair—it’s a Gamer’s cave.

Zebronics True Wireless Earphone ‘Zeb-Peace’ Zebronics India Pvt. Ltd has launched a revolutionary true wireless earphone experience with ‘Zeb-Peace’. Zeb-peace is a true wireless experience meaning it operates like a stand alone wireless headset with no wires involved. It looks premium with a sporty design and an overall glossy finish. The earphones are designed like the crescent which are splash proof and absolutely lightweight at 4 grams each. The earpods are designed with precision for a secure, comfortable and snug fit. So while you’re lifting weights, running a mile or just taking a walk the earpods will not fall off. They’re designed precisely so that you can focus on what’s more important to you. Ask more questions and get instant replies with voice assistance support for Android and iOS devices. Find out which route to take or find the weather conditions in a jiffy with a double press assistant shortcut on this earpod. Don’t fret over the battery life because this model comes with a portable charging case when charged can offer additional battery life of about 6 hours.

I

JANUARY 2019 I 19

REALLY HOT

Ambrane 10000mAh Power Bank Ambrane announced its newest 10,000mAh Lithium Polymer: PP 12 Power Bank. The pocket-sized power bank is perfect for all your power back up needs with safety charging guaranteed. Featuring a large 10,000 mAh capacity PP12 can full-charge your 3000 mAh Smartphone on an average of 2-3 times at its full capacity. It can also withstand upto 500 times of charge-discharge cycle. With the 9 layers of advanced chipset protection, the power bank has a multitude of safety features integrated such as over discharge protection, overvoltage protection, temperature resistance etc. Never run out of charge again, with the integrated LED Light indicator which precisely denotes the battery status of the power bank. Available in enticing shades of red and blue along with 1 year warranty the 10000Mah, PP12 is already available in leading retail and e-commerce stores across India.

Sony WH-CH700N Noise Cancellation Headphones Sony India further expanded its noise cancellation headphones line-up with the launch of WH-CH700N. The all new Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones are specially designed for long hours of listening on the move. WH-CH700N comes with Sony’s revolutionary noise cancelling technology, making the headphones smarter by reducing ambient noise and giving an immersive sound experience. The Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancelation (AINC) analyzes background sound and adjusts it for optimal performance on airplanes and other noisy environments. One can activate the feature with just a press and hold of the NC button. The headphones combine an ultra-comfortable design with an adjustable slider headband that allows one to adjust headphones to the perfect size. Sony’s new headphones will be optimized for Google Assistant with an update. The headphones are also equipped with built-in microphone for voice assistant commands and hands-free calls. Users can attend to calls without even taking their phone out of the pocket or bag. The headphones provide up to massive 35 hours of battery life.

Tenda CPE & Ceiling Access Point Tenda launched the Tenda O1, an Outdoor CPE and the Tenda I9, a 300mbps wireless access point.

Both these devices are targeted at an affordable rate with value for money specifications.

The Tenda O1 2.4GHz Outdoor CPE is designed to provide WISP CPE solutions and distant wireless network solutions for video surveillance and data transmission till 500meters. The Tenda I9 is a wireless access point specially designed to efficiently perform in indoor environments like office, bar, coffee shop, etc. The Tenda O1 comes equipped with an 8dBi directional antenna to provide an efficient way to pick up and maintain a stable signal for a wireless network connection ranging up to 500 meters hence providing an optimized transmission quality. The Tenda I9 works in the 2.4GHz band and have 300Mbps bandwidth support. It has 2 built-in high gain omnidirectional MIMO antennas which give powerful WIFI signal penetration and coverage and provide a justified network to all devices as per their usage. The I9 supports hollow scheduling and limited weakness signal terminal access.

Digisol DG-BR5411QAC Wireless Router DIGISOL Systems Ltd. debuts the next generation wireless router- DG-BR5411QAC, that operates on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (Dual Band) along with a transmission speed of up to 1200 Mbps. Equipped with the next generation Wi-Fi standard IEEE802.11ac, the wireless router facilitates seamless surfing and sharing files such as HD video, movies, music and documents. The dual band router features QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization technology that analyses and separates multiple data streams based on sensitivity to delay, enabling multiple applications to stream smoothly across your network. DG-BR5411QAC supports wireless 802.11b/g/n and the security protocols like WEP, WPA, WPA2. The wireless router has Quick Install feature which quickly configures your new wireless router to get you up and running in minutes. The router also supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), which simplifies wireless client setup procedures. Users just need to use the push button in order to setup a secured wireless network. The DG-BR5411QAC wireless router is priced at Rs.3999/- and will be available in the leading retail and online stores.

20 I

I JANUARY 2019

I

JANUARY 2019 I 21

GUEST COLUMN

“HOW CHANNEL BUSINESS WILL LOOK LIKE IN 2019�

AUTHORED BY MR. RAJESH GOENKA, DIRECTOR, SALES & MARKETING, RP TECH INDIA.

The year 2018 was the most volatile year for the channel fraternity in India. While the repercussions of the GST continued to affect the channel business, the storm created by E-Commerce during the festive season and the nationwide protest by the brick and mortar, adversely impacted the channel business.

The traditional channel is transforming and expanding its business horizons to sustain in the industry. Here are four key trends which will dominate the channel in 2019.

Security business to be the all-time high With the advent of growing awareness about security (both physical and digital), the security and surveillance industry will continue to grow in 2019. The government initiatives like Smart City and Safe City projects have triggered a huge demand for security hardware such as CCTV cameras, storage and solutions such as cloud and AI. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, India video surveillance market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.4% during 2018-2024. As the IT business is growing through stagnancy, security is the next growth destination, channel partners should head to. In 2019, we will see channel partners expanding verticals and

22 I

I JANUARY 2019

stepping into the security area for better ROI and sustainable business in a big way.

Cloud computing to grow further With minimum operating cost, the cloud has emerged as the most cost-effective option to manage the workloads and processes. As a result, many small and mid-level organizations are shifting on the cloud. Though public cloud still dominates the market, the hybrid cloud and private cloud are also growing consistently.

While enterprises have started their cloud journey, there is still a significant untapped segment of the market which provides huge opportunities for partners in the cloud business. Various cloud environments offer vast opportunities for partners. A right choice of platform and vendor along with domain expertise will be the key for the success for cloud channel partners in 2019.

Artificial Intelligence is the new wave Though at a nascent phase currently, the AI business will bolster in 2019 due to rising demand for AI solutions from different industries. According to IDC, the worldwide

market for AI and cognitive systems reached $8 billion in 2016 and will expand to more than $47 billion by 2020. While the adopters of AI are largely the enterprises, the trend will change as vendors embed the technology in software applications and make it available as service via the cloud for mass consumption.

The enterprise channel has huge prospects in this flourishing business vertical which is the near future of the industry.

A retrospective of the business need of an hour While the industry is transforming on a rapid pace and moving towards software define everything where technologies such as Cloud, IoT, AI will become a key part of business operations, the partners will be seen embracing the new wave of technological transformation.

Value addition will continue to remain the key factor for growth and channel partners will focus more on services than mere box pushing.

Customer satisfaction will be crucial and partners will focus on improvising the overall customer experience. In short, partners will pay attention towards overall organizational health check in 2019.

CHANNEL FOCUS

Avaya Honored Leading Technology Partners at its Partner Summit 2019

At last week’s Avaya Partner Summit 2019 held in Dubai, Avaya Holdings Corp. recognized the leading technology partners from our EMEA and APAC regions. Nearly 30 awards were given to Avaya’s channel partners, who were recognized for creating new ideas to inspire in their quests to revolutionize the way that businesses build customer and employee experiences. At the Avaya Partner Summit, Avaya introduced updates to the Avaya Edge partner program to provide paths for its partners to bundle Avaya’s advanced technology solutions to create Experiences that Matter for their customers. These updates place an emphasis on partner value, aiming to enable growth for any channel partner, regardless of their size or business model. “In an increasingly digitized business environment, it is more important than ever for technology companies to collaborate in designing holistic solutions to their customers’ business needs. Today we recognize organizations who share this vision and who are using Avaya’s open communications platforms to innovative, to grow and to deliver additional value to the market,” said Fadi Moubarak, Vice President – Channels, Avaya International.

RP tech India’s TEL Event Received Footfall of 3000+ Consumers and 2000+ Channel Partners in 40 Cities

Over 5000 people including students, consumers, Gamers and channel partners experienced the latest technology in RP tech India’s Touching Everyone’s Life (TEL) 2018 event concluded recently. The multi-city technology show organized in association with world renowned brands such as HP, Western Digital, SanDisk, Lenovo, Fitbit, Belkin and Plantronics received an overwhelming response from visitors. The event received footfall of 3000+ consumers and 2000+ channel partners in 40 cities; highest in any consumer technology event in India. TEL is the ambitious initiative by RP tech India, which aims to bring modern technology closer to its consumers. The event showcased over 150 products and solutions including smart watches, Bluetooth speakers and Gaming accessories.

Organized in the 7 phases, TEL also tapped potential retail channel partners in C and D class cities through ‘Retail Connect’. Apart from Live tech experience, TEL also hosted ‘Retail Connect’, a dedicated platform for channel partners. The platform provided them with an opportunity to voice out their concerns directly to their respective brand representatives.

Kodak Alaris Hosts Technology Day for India Partners

Kodak Alaris hosted over 50 premier partners and distributors at its Technology Day. The event provided partners across India with a better understanding of Kodak Alaris’ comprehensive range of information capture solutions, as well as the company’s vision and business strategy for the coming year. Held in Mumbai on November 27, the event brought together senior management from Kodak Alaris APAC and India, with representatives from its leading partners, providing a platform to strengthen their relationship as they pursue the mutual goal of driving digital transformation (DX) in organizations across the country. Following the traditional and auspicious Lighting of the Lamp ceremony, Kodak Alaris hosted an awards presentation, recognizing partners that have demonstrated high performance over the past year with trophies inscribed with special citations. In a keynote address, Leonel Da Costa, Asia Pacific Sales Managing Director for Alaris, a Kodak Alaris business, provided insight into the future of information capture and digital transformation.

Crayon Software Experts Successfully Conducts 4 City Excellerate Partner Summits

Crayon Software Experts had recently organized 4 City Excellerate Partner Summits series in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. Crayon invited its most valuable partners for a networking evening to attribute its success and to thank them, who have played a significant role in transforming Crayon’s business into a successful endeavour. “The partner summits were a substantiation of the prowess we have built in the partner ecosystem.

The trust, credibility, integrity we have built with our partners coupled with the support and lifecycle management we do for them and their customers will only see this relationship getting stronger and mutually beneficial,” said Vikas Bhonsle, CEO at Crayon Software Experts India. Globally, Crayon has set its presence in more than 20 countries and has garnered over 16,000 partners. Since its inception in 2014, the company has grown rapidly with an active support from its trusted partners. Through Excellerate - A Partner Summit Event Series that was organized in multiple Indian cities, Crayon wanted to express how the company values each partner, who are ingrained in their DNA of success

I

JANUARY 2019 I 23

MARKET REPORT

Cisco Retained The Top Spot in Indian WLAN Market Followed by TP-Link According to IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly WLAN Tracker, the WLAN market in India stood at USD 54.0 million (by Vendor Revenue) in Q3 2018 with a healthy YoY growth of 12.0%. Enterprise and service provider segments continued to drive growth, however, the consumer segment witnessed a YoY decline.

India networking market which include Ethernet Switch, Routers and WLAN segments witnessed a 67.1% YoY growth in Q3 2018 with increased investments across the enterprise and service provider deployments.

India Ethernet Switch Market Q3 2018 According to IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker, the Q3 2018 Ethernet Switch market in India stood at USD 160.3 million (By vendor revenue) with an excellent YoY growth of 34.4%. ADC and Layer 3 categories predominantly drove the overall growth with high double-digit individual YoY rise, while Layer 2 also saw a YoY growth, though only marginal.

Government’s push towards digitalization through upgrade of public infrastructure and multiple smart city initiatives; telecom infrastructure modernization drives and banking sector’s continual investment in network infrastructure to improve customer experience, is expected to drive growth in the coming quarters.

Cisco continues to dominate the Ethernet Switch market with a 65.7% share in Q3 2018, followed by HPE and Huawei.

India Router Market Q3 201 8 According to IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly Router Tracker, India Router market in Q3 2018 stood at USD 214.9 million (By vendor revenue) with an exceptional YoY growth of 140.4%. The growth was primarily driven by the service provider segment, where telecom players are continually investing in network upgrades to meet the demands of an ever increasing 4G VoLTE footprint. With the launch of 5G roadmap and commercialization just a few years away, the service provider segment is expected to continue investments in the coming years.

Cisco accounted to 3/4th of the Router market in Q3 2018. Nokia and Huawei witnessed high double-digit YoY growth on the back of a few big-ticket wins in the Telecom space.

24 I

I JANUARY 2019

India WLAN Market Q3 2018

According to IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly WLAN Tracker, the WLAN market in India stood at USD 54.0 million (by Vendor Revenue) in Q3 2018 with a healthy YoY growth of 12.0%.

Enterprise and service provider segments continued to drive growth, however, the consumer segment witnessed a YoY decline.

Enterprise investment in mobility friendly networks and government investment in improving wireless infrastructure for the masses as well as in smart city projects, were the key drivers for growth in the WLAN market in India.

Cisco retained the top spot in the WLAN market with a 24.8% market share in Q3 2018, followed

by TP-Link and HPE. Dileep Nadimpalli, Research Manager, Storage, IDC India says, “Mobile workforce, anytime anywhere access to enterprise networks, security across multiple channels

and shift towards cloud-based application workload are key drivers for investment in network infrastructure. As organizations start their ‘Future of Work’ transformation journeys, IDC expects a growth in adoption of softwaredefined products and solutions, such as SDWAN and SDN-enabled Ethernet Switches.”

Ranganath Sadasiva, Director-Enterprise, IDC India says, “Software defined networking solutions are expected to gain prominence as the enterprise infrastructure evolves from siloed, human-dependent systems to selfservicing, fully automated and seamless integrated systems.”

IDC India Forecast The Ethernet Switch, Router and WLAN market are expected to grow in single digits in terms of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 20172022. Government and enterprise digitalization initiatives are expected to drive growth across product categories.

MARKET REPORT

Dell Continues to Lead The External Storage Market with a 30.3% Market Share Organizational demand for high performance and low latency storage solutions led to a triple digit YoY growth of All Flash Arrays in Q3 2018. Midrange external storage segment saw an exponential YoY growth and continued to lead the market constituting more than 66.9% of the total Q3 2018 external storage market.

As per IDC’s latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker Q3 2018 release, India’s external storage market witnessed a growth of 23.1% YoY (by vendor revenue) and stood at USD 81.8 million in Q3 2018.

Increased storage spending from professional services organizations drove the incremental growth in Q3 2018. Professional services, banking, manufacturing, telecommunications and government industries contributed close to 82% of overall external storage market in Q3 2018.

“Infrastructure modernization to improve agility and scalability is of high importance for today’s organizations. This trend is compelling organizations to deploy/consider new age storage solutions.” says Dileep Nadimpalli, Research Manager, Enterprise Infrastructure, IDC India.

Organizational demand for high performance and low latency storage solutions led to a triple digit YoY growth of All Flash Arrays in Q3 2018.

Majority of the vendors started offering NVMe based flash arrays to drive an incremental growth in the coming quarters.

Midrange external storage segment saw an exponential YoY growth and continued to lead the market constituting more than 66.9% of the total Q3 2018 external storage market, while both entry-level and high-end storage segments declined YoY in Q3 2018.

“The Storage scene in India is seeing growth and leading the Information Transformation.

Majority of the OEMs are focusing on new technologies and innovative pricing models to ensure traditional external storage consumption

in the market in the wake of increasing acceptance of cloud storage solutions across organizations.” says Ranganath Sadasiva, Director, Enterprise Solutions, IDC India.”

Major Vendors Analysis Dell Inc. continued to be the market leader with a 30.3% market share by vendor revenue, followed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise with 18.0% market share in Q3 2018. Smaller external storage OEMs witnessed a significant YoY growth due to large multi-million-dollar deals from professional services organizations in Q3 2018.

IDC India Forecast The external enterprise storage systems market is expected to grow at a single digit compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the 2017 - 2022 time-period. Increased spending on digital transformation initiatives across industries would drive incremental revenues in the coming quarters.

I

JANUARY 2019 I 25

MARKET REPORT

HPE Achieved The Number 1 Position in India x86 Server Market Government remains to be the major driver of growth for the server market with ongoing smart city projects, NSM, HPC and other Government led initiatives expected to fuel the growth of server market in the coming quarters. Dell Inc was the second largest vendor with share of 23.6 percent to reach $59.8 million.

The overall server market in India witnessed a year-over-year (YoY) decline of 8.1 percent in terms of revenue to reach $276.6 million in Q3 2018 versus $300.9 million in Q3 2017, according to the latest IDC Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) Quarterly Server Tracker, Q3 2018. The x86 server market has degrown for Q3 2018 which accounted for 91.6 percent of overall server market in terms of revenue.

The decline is majorly due to the absence of multi-million dollar deals from IT and ITeS service providers and spillover of telco deals in the coming quarters.

Modernization of traditional infrastructure remains as the core priority for the enterprises across different verticals in India. Almost more than 90 percent of the enterprises are planning to invest in digital initiatives from creating new business models, to reimagining their existing business through process reengineering to attract and retain their existing customers and enhancing their customer experiences creating a demand for the compute to meet these business objectives.

During Q3 2018, the x86 server market in terms of revenue declined YoY by 6.1 percent to reach $253.4 million in Q3 2018 up from $269.9 million during Q3 2017. Professional services accounted for 57.5 percent of overall x86 server market revenue contribution followed by telecommunications with 10.4 percent during Q3 2018. Manufacturing and Banking were slow during Q3 2018 owing to limited new deals and small upgrades. In x86 market, volume servers declined by 7.2 percent to $240.2 million, while midrange server increased by 24.6 percent to reach $13.2 million in Q3 2018. Non-intel platforms are still preferred for the high-end category of servers by most of the large endusers.

The non x86 server market generated $23.2 million revenue, with a YoY decline of 24.9 percentage points, in Q3 2018. IBM led the market with a revenue share of 63.8 percent, followed by Oracle with share of 22.5 and HPE with 13.8 percent during Q3 2018.

Banking remains top vertical with 51.8 percent revenue share followed by manufacturing and professional services with 22.5 percent, and 8.9 percent respectively, during Q3 2018.

26 I

I JANUARY 2019

“End users in India are slowly adopting hybrid IT for their datacentre strategy. Thus, it has become crucial for vendors to market their solutions by addressing end-users challenges such as compatibility, migration, application performance and IT support serviceability features” says Ranganath Sadasiva, Director, Enterprise Research, IDC India.

Vendor Highlights: In Q3 2018, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) achieved the number one position in the India x86 server market with revenue share of 25.5 percent to reach $64.6 million in Q3 2018. Dell Inc was the second largest vendor with share of 23.6 percent to reach $59.8 million. Lenovo and Cisco remain statistically tied at number third position with a revenue share of 8.4 percent and 8.2 percent respectively. Also, ODM direct market share declined YoY by 33.8 percent and accounted for 27.4 percent revenue share in Q3 2018.

“In 2018, end users have embraced memory centric computing with higher cores and CPU configurations resulting into Y/Y growth of server ASP. The industries journey continues to

evolve from large SMP machines to scale out in the coming years,” says Harshal Udatewar, Market Analyst, Server, IDC India.

IDC India Forecast Government remains to be the major driver of growth for the server market with ongoing smart city projects, NSM, HPC and other Government led initiatives expected to fuel the growth of server market in the coming quarters.

However, the general election in 2019 will be affecting the growth of server market because of lesser Government spend.

Tier-1 telcos spend would be directed towards expanding VoLTE across different circles, modernizing infra for the 5G roll outs and virtualizing the RAN for better control and network performance. We are expecting telco investments to continue throughout 2019 and 2020. Refresh from some of the banks are expected in 2019 while manufacturing spend would be focussed towards ERP upgrades and automation in SCM and operational processes creating a demand for compute throughout 2019.

INDIA’S LARGEST INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION ON

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

07 08 09

Bombay Exhibition Center Goregaon Mumbai,India

GAMING & MOBILITY SECURITY SURVEILLANCE BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW CONTACT DETAILS

Organiser

Digi Media House www.digipr.in

ANAMIKA DIALANI

ANOOP SHARMA

+91 9821204530

+91 9313351807

Managed By

EVENTS

anamika@buddhaevents.in

Media Partners

anoop@digipr.in

CYBER SECURITY

More Sophisticated Attacks Will Dominate 2019 Attackers will implement emerging technologies like AI to better anticipate the movements of executives. This will lead to more convincing targeted phishing messages, which can be critical to BEC attacks. Additionally, it is likely that BEC attacks will target more employees who report to C-level executives, resulting in continued global losses.

Trend Micro Incorporated released its 2019 predictions report, warning that attackers will increase the effectiveness of proven attack methods by adding more sophisticated elements to take advantage of the changing technology landscape. The report, Mapping the Future: Dealing with Pervasive and Persistent Threats, highlights the growing threats faced by consumers and organizations that are exacerbated by the increasingly connected world.

“As we head into 2019, organizations must understand the security implications of greater cloud adoption, converging IT and OT, and increasing remote working,” said Greg Young, vice president of cybersecurity for Trend Micro. “Cybercriminals will continue to follow a winning formula – exploiting existing flaws, social engineering and stolen credentials – to drive profits. As both the corporate attack surface and unknown cyber threats increase, it’s more important than ever for organizations to put more resources behind employee education to help protect against these growing attacks.”

28 I

I JANUARY 2019

The role of social engineering in successful attacks against businesses and individuals will continue to increase throughout the year. Since 2015, the number of phishing URLs blocked

by Trend Micro has increased by nearly 3,800 percent. This offsets the lessening reliance on exploit kits, which has decreased by 98 percent in the same time. Additionally, attackers will continue to rely on known vulnerabilities that remain unpatched in corporate networks for 99.99 percent of exploits, as this remains a successful tactic.

“The full range of known and unknown threats can never be addressed by one single technology. In 2019, enterprises should not look for a silver bullet, but a mix of threat defense techniques that complement each other and work together,” said Nilesh Jain, Vice President, India and Southeast Asia, Trend Micro.

Trend Micro also predicts attackers will leverage these proven methods against growing cloud adoption. More vulnerabilities will be found in

cloud infrastructure, such as containers, and weak cloud security measures will allow greater exploitation of accounts for cryptocurrency mining. This will lead to more damaging breaches due to misconfigured systems.

Attackers will also implement emerging technologies like AI to better anticipate the movements of executives. This will lead to more convincing targeted phishing messages, which can be critical to BEC attacks. Additionally, it is likely that BEC attacks will target more employees who report to C-level executives, resulting in continued global losses.

SIM swapping and SIM-jacking will be a growing threat to take advantage of remote employees and everyday users. This attack method allows criminals to hijack a cell phone without the user’s knowledge, making it difficult for consumers to regain control of their devices. Additionally, the smart home will be an increasingly attractive target for attacks that leverage home routers and connected devices.

PICK YOUR DEVICE: LED TVS

This month DT has complied the list of best LED TVs launched recently in this section to help our readers choose their LEDs as per their requirement and most important budget. This section comprises all the major specifications that consumers need to know right before purchasing the device. All the listed LED TVs are excellent quality Smart TV currently which are best and affordable as well.

F&D Smart HD LED TV

Kodak 4K 43UHDX Smart LED TV

Model Name:

FLT-4302SHG

Model Name:

43UHDX

Screen Size (Inch):

43

Screen Size (Inch):

43

Screen Resolution (Pixel):

1920 X 1080 FHD

Screen Resolution (Pixel):

3840 x 2160 UHD

Screen Type:

LED

Screen Type:

LED

No. of USB Ports:

2

No. of USB Ports:

2

No. of HDMI Ports:

3

No. of HDMI Ports:

3

Features:

Smart

Processor:

Dual Core 1.4GHz

Android Version:

7.0 NOUGAT

Speakers Output:

20W

RAM & ROM:

1 GB and 8GB

RAM & ROM:

1 GB and 8GB

Price:

49, 990/-

Features:

Smart

Availability:

At all leading retail stores.

Android Version:

5.1.1

Price:

23, 999/-

Availability:

At all leading retail stores.

Daiwa Latest HD LED TV

Xiaomi Newest Smart UHD LED TV

Model Name:

D40B10

Model Name:

4X PRO

Screen Size (Inch):

40

Screen Size (Inch):

55

Screen Resolution (Pixel):

1366 X 768 FHD

Screen Resolution (Pixel):

3840 x 2160 UHD

Screen Type:

LED

Screen Type:

LED

No. of USB Ports:

2

No. of USB Ports:

2

No. of HDMI Ports:

2

No. of HDMI Ports:

3

Speakers Output:

20W

Processor:

Cortex A53 Quad-core

Panel:

A+ Grade

Speakers Output:

20W

Price:

15, 490/-

RAM & ROM:

2 GB and 8GB

Availability:

At all leading retail and e-commerce stores.

Features:

Smart

Android Version:

8.1

Price:

39, 999/-

Availability:

Mi.com, Flipkart and Mi Home Stores.

I

JANUARY 2019 I 29

TELECOM TODAY

Honor Launched Feature Rich Honor 10 Lite Smartphone in India Honor officially announced the Honor 10 Lite in India. Packed with 24MP AI Selfie camera, an innovative dewdrop display and a shimmering color gradient back, the Honor 10 Lite is as stylish as it is affordable. The smartphone will be available in 4GB + 64GB at INR 13,999 and 6GB + 64GB at INR 17,999 in Sapphire Blue, Sky Blue and Midnight Black colors in India. The smartphone will be exclusively available on Flipkart.

The Honor 10 Lite comes with an impressive 24MP AI selfie camera, AI scene detection technology on both rear and front cameras, latest Kirin 710 processor with 12nm process technology, Dewdrop Display, first Honor phone with Intelligent EMUI 9.0 on top of Android 9 (Pie) out of the box and 3,400 mAh battery.

The Honor 10 Lite also offers a 15.77cm (6.21”) FHD+ screen Dewdrop Display, with a 91% screen-to-body ratio for a best viewing experience.

Honor 10 Lite also comes with TUV certified eye care mode to prevent your eye with any damage due to harmful blue light.

Powered by the Huawei Kirin 710 chipset, the Honor 10 Lite performs as well as any flagship phone. Fast LPDDR4X RAM improved performance and reduces lag in multitasking. This is the first Honor phone to have GPU Turbo 2.0 which keeps FPS at max(~60FPS), reduces lagging and frame

drops giving an immersive gaming experience to users. Honor 10 Lite is the first Honor phone to have latest EMUI 9.0 based on Android 9 (pie) out of the box which gives a unique and refreshing new feel to its users.

ASUS Introduces ZenFone Max Pro M2 along with ZenFone Max M2 in India Asus announced debut of ZenFone Max Pro M2 along with ZenFone Max M2 in India. With its 2.5D-curved front edges, ZenFone Max Pro M2 looks amazing with premium wave glass finish on the back. On the front, its display features the smallest full-function notch which includes an LED flash, Camera, Earpiece, Notification LED, Ambient and Proximity sensors, thus it makes no functional sacrifices to achieve a sleek notch design.

ZenFone Max Pro M2 is powered by the mighty 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform with AIE, incorporating the Qualcomm AI Engine, for smooth, responsive and power-efficient performance. With up to 6GB RAM, this CPU is up to 11% faster than the previous generation Snapdragon 636, and graphics performance powered by Adreno 512 GPU, is improved by a massive 33% for more realistic visuals and faster 3D rendering. ZenFone Max Pro M2 delivers effortless power for the ultimate mobile gaming and multitasking experiences.

ZenFone Max Pro M2 is the first ZenFone to use the eye-catching wave finish — a dynamic optical finish exquisitely created using a glossy 16-layer coating — that looks beautiful from every angle, showing an ever-changing interplay of light and shade.

The dual-camera system uses a high-resolution, incredibly lightsensitive F1.8 12MP Sony® IMX486 main sensor, with 1.9x light sensitivity, allowing ZenFone Max Pro M2 to take any subject in its stride, and capture more-realistic photos at any time of day or night.

30 I

I JANUARY 2019

The ZenFone Max Pro M2 on the front has an f2.0 13MP camera along with a LED Flash that lets you shoot amazing selfies even in low-light scenes. You can also choose to shoot flawless selfies with beautification mode. ZenFone Max Pro M2 still contains a monster long-lasting 5000mAH battery.

TELECOM TODAY

One Out of Three Consumers Consider Latest Specification While Buying New Smartphone According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Consumer PULSE research study on the smartphone consumer trends in India, one out of three consumers consider availability of good deals and experiencing latest specification or feature as the prime reasons for buying a new smartphone. This can be attributed to multiple sales events backed by high decibel marketing especially by eTailers with attractive financing schemes helping drive affordability.

Word of mouth continue to be the most prominent source influencing the consumer buying behavior for smartphones. This has been a key factor for success of brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus with their unique go to market approach and spreading the word of mouth augmented by dedicated fan-based community.

Brand trust is the highest influencing factor for two third of Xiaomi consumers, followed by value for money proposition and availability of latest specifications.

According to Sachin Mehta, Market Analyst, IDC India “In terms of specifications, consumers have many choices especially from China based vendors at affordable prices. Currently, RAM and processing speed are the most preferred specifications followed by bigger battery size and superior camera quality. Additionally, features like face unlock and waterproofing are yet to gain importance amongst consumers.”

Very popular with Indian consumers for a variety of reasons. Convenience being one of the most important and basic reasons almost 40% of consumers prefer online channel for the overall comfort and convenience, followed by prices offered by eTailers. In terms of mode of payment while buying a smartphone, EMI options as a choice for payment has increased, followed closely by use of Debit/Credit cards

consider Flipkart as their first choice.

However, premium smartphone (INR 30K+) consumers prefer Amazon for buying a smartphone.

owing to multiple tie ups by eTailers with Banks for cash back offers.” says Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Channel Research, IDC India.

Within offline channel, two out three consumers visit offline retailer stores to have a hand on experience of the device before making the final purchase. Also, more than half of offline consumers feel that the next vital factor is the near to home convenience which in turn drives the retailer/promoter push at the shop counter in deciding the brand and model choice for the consumer. Consumers continue to prefer paying through cash on retail counters, however a steady uptake is witnessed in payment options through EMIs (Equated Monthly Installment) and Debit/Credit cards. Also, more than half of the offline consumers visit a multi brand outlet, of which two third finally bought the smartphone from these outlets signifying the continued relevance of offline channel in India market.

•

Premium segment (INR 30K+) highlights: •

Apart from good deals/offers, experiencing a new technology/feature is another key reason while making purchase decision.

•

Online reviews emerge as one of the key source before making final purchase in the

•

OnePlus is the most preferred premium android smartphone brand, especially for consumers who are looking for an Android smartphone. 90% of OnePlus buyers’ first choice is OnePlus as it offers latest specifications and trust the brand

•

Apple continues to drive high loyalty amongst its consumers.

Survey highlights: •

With the wider availability of financing, around half of the consumers who had spent INR10K-20K on their previous smartphones upgraded to INR30K+ segment.

•

China based vendors such as Xiaomi, vivo and OPPO are perceived as great value for money brands for their superior quality and design and delivering on what they promise.

•

Offers and recommendation from family & friends remains the key influencers in the final purchase.

•

Overall consumers who visit online stores

In offline, apart from multi-brand outlets (MBOs), Reliance Digital stores are emerging as a strong choice for buying premium end devices owing to availability of better discounts and offers and store presence across India.

IDC India Smartphone PULSE is an extensive smartphone end consumer facing research program covering 8 major cities of India with a sample size of 1700 consumer. It gives detailed and definite insights on the FTBs (First time buyers), pre and post purchase process, channel preference, deep dive on specification choices, price shift patterns, upgrade cycle and future buying preferences of consumers, thereby helping in understanding the overall consumer buying habits for smartphones in India.

I

JANUARY 2019 I 31

ENTERPRISE NEWS

Infosys Successfully Concludes Annual Technology Fest Techzooka 2018 Infosys organized Techzooka 2018, an annual weeklong technology fest from December 3 to December 7, 2018. Aimed at nurturing a culture of innovation and collaboration, Techzooka is organized every year to engage employees and the broader technology community on emerging trends through diversified and innovative forums and channels. Aligned to the company’s strategy ‘Navigate Your Next’, the theme for this year was ‘Technology Next’. As part of the annual fest, Infosys, Pune Development Center (DC) collaborated with the Ministry of Forest, Maharashtra to organize a Green Make-a-thon, an online hackathon for employees. The objective of this hackathon was to provide technology solutions to ecological problems faced by the Ministry of Forest, Maharashtra. The problem statement focused on detection of encroachment on forest lands and data analysis of patrolling data. Spread across five days from December 3 to December 7, the Green Make-a-thon received overwhelming response from employees across DCs in India. Over 68 teams and 161 hackers participated in the hackathon.

HCL Technologies Becomes a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider Atos and Indian Government Sign HPC Agreement to Support India’s National Supercomputing Mission

Atos signed a HPC agreement with the C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), an organization within the MeitY (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology of India), in the presence of the French Minister for External Affairs Mr JeanYves Le Drian, and the Secretary of the Minister of Electronics and IT India, Mr Ajay Prakash Sawhney, in New Delhi. This agreement is part of India’s NSM (National Supercomputing Mission). “We’re delighted to officially become today the technology partner of C-DAC for HPC-related platforms and to participate in India’s prestigious NSM (National Supercomputing Mission) program. We are honoured that our BullSequana supercomputers, will be empowering Indian academic and R&D institutions across the country to accelerate their research and at the same time support India’s ambition to be a leader in HPC.” said Pierre Barnabé, Chief Operating Officer, Big Data & Security at Atos. This project will see Atos deploy its BullSequana supercomputers, including the recently announced BullSequana XH2000 in various academic and research institutions, making Atos a leading supercomputing provider in India.

32 I

I JANUARY 2019

HCL Technologies announced that it has become a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider (MSP). The Azure Expert MSP program recognizes HCL Technologies’ investment in resources, training, and technology to deliver successful outcomes for their customers on Azure. HCL qualified for this program based on its comprehensive enterprise services, focusing on digital transformation and cloud technologies. These services include helping enterprises build cloud native applications, modernizing legacy applications, enabling digital and analytics applications, and building platforms for IoT capabilities. “In these interesting times of enormous opportunities in the cloud native world, HCL is very proud to deepen our relationship with Microsoft.

The Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Service Provider recognition is an outcome of HCL’s commitment toward building and establishing strong customer relationships,” said Kalyan Kumar, Corporate Vice President and CTO, IT Services, HCL Technologies. “This is also a reflection of HCL’s strategy of investing in developing skills, competencies, partnerships, and solutions that will help solve the customer’s most pressing business and technology challenges.”

Western Digital Hosts ‘Data Innovation Bazaar’ In Association with ‘Startup India’ And ‘Invest India’ Western Digital announced that it hosted the Data Innovation Bazaar in collaboration with Startup India and Invest India. The initiative offered a unique platform to recognize the best innovative minds from across India, and showcase their ideas and concepts to leverage the power of data.

The Data Innovation Bazaar was launched with a focus on identifying data-driven solutions to priority challenges in the five identified sectors: Education, Renewable Energy, Healthcare, Transportation and Mobility, and Cleantech. Western Digital teamed up with Startup India, a flagship initiative of the government of India and Invest India, to support development of an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs and startups.

Data Innovation Bazaar acts as an aggregator that brings together government alliances, businesses and innovators on a unique platform.

Winners were unveiled on 12 December 2018 at Data Innovation Bazaar event, which was held at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi. Members of Western Digital India executive leadership, academia, and government, including Ramesh Abhishek, IAS and Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, attended the event.

ENTERPRISE NEWS

Kaspersky Lab Named a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice in Endpoint TO THE NEW Achieves AWS Premier Protection Consulting Partner Status Kaspersky Lab has once again been named a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Endpoint Protection Platforms, having received a high customer satisfaction rating of 4.7 out of 5 as of October 31, 2018. The Gartner Peer Insights Customer’s Choice recognizes vendors according to a score system that takes into account how many customer reviews a vendor’s product has, and the ratings they have received in these reviews.

Gartner Peer Insights is a platform for customers to give their feedback on products, and attribute these products with scores according to their experiences. For organizations looking to make a purchase, this is a transparent tool that can provide them with a comprehensive evaluation of different vendor solutions and services, based on the feedback of those who have already used them. Insights about the purchasing process, product implementation, performance, and customer support – all available on Gartner Peer Insights for Endpoint Protection Platforms – can help businesses choose a cybersecurity solution for their endpoints according to their business needs and technical requirements.

TO THE NEW announced that they have achieved the highest partnership tier, Premier Consulting Partner status in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN). Joining an elite group, this status recognizes partners globally that have made significant investments in their AWS practice and hold extensive experience in deploying solutions on AWS. It also takes into consideration the number of trained and certified technical consultants, other AWS competencies attained, and project management expertise. TO THE NEW has a team of more than 750 technologists, and provides end-to-end development for web, mobile, and smart TV platforms. The team also includes Quality Assurance (QA) automation engineers, big data scientists, and AI/ML experts. The team helps customers build their AWS Cloud adoption strategy, set up new applications on AWS, migrate legacy applications and infrastructure from data centers, DevOps automation, and 24*7 managed services.

Dell EMC Cyber Recovery Software Delivers Gartner: 37% of Organisations Have Last Line of Data Protection Defense Implemented AI in Some Form Against Cyber Attacks The number of organisations implementing artificial intelligence (AI) grew Dell EMC announced Dell EMC Cyber Recovery software, along with Dell EMC Cyber Recovery Services designed to help provide a last line of data protection defense against ransomware and destructive cyber-attacks.

The new software includes innovative automation, workflow and security analytics tools to ensure gold copies of critical data are isolated yet available so business processes can be resumed as quickly as possible in the event of a destructive cyber-attack. Cyber-attacks have become a common occurrence, the worst of which often result in extended downtime that can bring business operations to a standstill for days and even weeks – costing millions of dollars. While many large organizations have strong cyber security and anti-malware detection capabilities in place, the impact of not being able to recover business processes and data in the event of a successful ransomware or destructive cyber-attack can be devastating.

270 per cent in the past four years and tripled in the past year, according to the Gartner, Inc. 2019 CIO Survey. Results showed that organisations across all industries use AI in a variety of applications, but struggle with acute talent shortages. CIOs have realised that sustainable digital transformation and task automation go hand in hand. AI has become an integral part of every digital strategy and is already used in a variety of applications. Survey results show that 52 per cent of telco organisations deploy chatbots and 38 per cent of healthcare providers rely on computer-assisted diagnostics. Other operational use cases for AI are fraud protection and consumer fragmentation. The more organisations work with AI, the clearer the deployment challenge becomes. Fifty-four per cent of respondents to a Gartner Research Circle Survey view skill shortage as the biggest challenge facing their organisation.

Seqrite Detects Over 2.6 Crore Cyber Atos Rolls Out 100% Software-based High Threats Targeting Indian Enterprises Availability Solution for Cloud Apps Seqrite has underlined the growing risk that the escalating evolution of the threat landscape poses to Indian organisations with the launch of its Quarterly Threat Report. The report reveals the latest enterprise security threats and trends identified by Seqrite during the third quarter of 2018. Seqrite is the enterprise arm of Quick Heal Technologies, one of the leading providers of cybersecurity solutions. The most worrying statistic as revealed by the Seqrite Quarterly Threat Report Q3 2018 was the sheer volume of threats that organisations across sectors faced.

Seqrite detected more than 2.6 crore threats targeting Indian enterprises during the three-month period – translating to a per day detection rate of over 2.8 lakhs threats. According to the report, Ransomware, Exploits, PUA & Adware, Infectors, and worms remained popular attack vectors for cybercriminals, but what was interesting to note was the growing threat posed by cryptojacking. Seqrite detected over 24,000 Cryptojacking hits on a daily basis during Q3 2018, underlining the growing popularity of this relatively new threat.

Atos launches its new Evidian SafeKit 100% software solution to ensure high availability of enterprise business-critical services hosted in the Cloud. It is fully comprehensive and includes real-time replication, load balancing and failover all within the same one software product. In recent years, organizations have been moving their business-critical services and infrastructure to Cloud solutions, which are cost efficient, flexible and scalable. However, for critical services, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 99,99%, may be not high enough. In this context, Atos offers Evidian SafeKit, a 100% software-based solution that enables enterprises to implement business continuity for their critical services hosted in the Cloud. SafeKit provides templates for Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform that enables customers to create their first application cluster on two virtual machines in less than 10 minutes.

This cluster manages computer failure issues and ensures fast application recovery. All Atos Evidian Identity & Management applications are made highly-available via the SafeKit solution.

I

JANUARY 2019 I 33

India’s Leading Communications, Broadcast, IT & Technology Show OK O B UR YO CE SPA W! NO

Digital India - Connecting the Unconnected

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

29-31 January 2019 Co-located with

Backbone of NextGen Technology

CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED Technologies on Display Telecom | Broadcast | Satcom | Internet of Things (IoT) | Embedded Systems Virtual Reality (VR) | Augmented Reality (AR) | Wearable Tech | Blockchain Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Mobile Devices | Machine Learning (ML) | Drones Robotics | Electronic Manufacturing Service Supports

Media Partner

Co-Organiser

Organiser

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry of Science & Technology Government of India

For Exhibition & Conference, please contact: Mr. Yash Menghani, Senior Manager, yashm@eigroup.in | +91 11 4279 5077 | Fax: +91 11 4279 5098 www.convergenceindia.org 220mm x 305mm.indd 1

01-11-2018 13:52:30

A HANDBOOK FOR ICT INDUSTRY COMING SOON

RNI NO : DELENG/2010/31992