ITV

Category: Software

  • Brandwatch raises $33 million to fuel social intelligence growth

    Brandwatch raises $33 million to fuel social intelligence growth

    MUMBAI: Social intelligence company Brandwatch has completed a $33 million Series C financing led by new investor Partech Ventures, with participation from existing investors Highland Capital Partners Europe and Nauta Capital.

     

    Brandwatch’s continued growth demonstrates the strong appetite organizations have for a best of breed social analytics platform as social networks have evolved into a critical source of consumer and business insight. The funding will be used to accelerate development of the company’s core technologies and products to keep setting the standard in an increasingly complex, global social landscape.

     

    Building on its strong US presence, which now accounts for more than half of the company’s revenues, Brandwatch will open more offices following the June 2015 launch in Singapore. The company also plans to invest heavily in strategic partnerships with other best-of-breed products to offer customers integrated social intelligence solutions.

     

    Recently, Brandwatch has added new brands to its 1,200-strong roster of customers – including Samsung, Cisco Systems, and Sony Music – and it is now one of the largest VC-backed SaaS companies in Europe. In 2015 the company launched the most sophisticated automated intelligence alerts on the market, Brandwatch Signals, which notifies users in real time of significant or unexpected changes in their social data.

     

    The company has built a reputation for excellence with its two products – Brandwatch Analytics (which includes Signals) for deep social intelligence functionality and Brandwatch Vizia, a beautiful display platform used by enterprises to inform real-time business decision-making in every department. Brandwatch plans to continue its ambitious innovation with Vizia, including the rollout of an app ecosystem.

     

    Brandwatch recently appointed two new senior executives, naming David Jones as chief technology officer and Amy Collins as head of product. These tech veterans bring with them many years of experience in analytics, information technology, and business intelligence to the company’s leadership team.

     

    “We decided to invest in Brandwatch because of its incredibly strong vision, technology and team. Social data is driving the future of every business function from marketing and sales to customer service. We are very proud to partner with the worldwide leader to tackle this massive opportunity,” said Partech Ventures general partner and Brandwatch new board member Omri Benayoun.

     

    “This is another big milestone for us. It’s a substantial investment from a great firm, Omri and the Partech team are world-class. We are going to continue building an extraordinary company – one that listens to and looks after its customers, cares for its staff and works hard to build innovative, elegant, useful products. I love working here and I love the energy that every Brandwatcher brings into our offices every day. Game on,” added Brandwatch CEO Giles Palmer.

  • LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    MUMBAI: Chinese cross-platform internet video service LeTV has set its sight on the Indian market and plans to launch here by early 2016.

     

    Apart from introducing its mobile devices to the Indian market, the company is also looking at replicating its content-device ecosystem in India and offer a new entertainment based experience. The company is keen to provide Indian consumers with local entertainment-based content. To this effect, LeTV is in search for local partners in India, who are active in the content creation business. 

     

    This was announced by LeTV founder Jia Yueting in Beijing at the launch of the company’s new smartphone – Le 1S.

     

    LeTV said it is also mulling setting up production lines and R&D centres in India as a long-term vision. This could be seen as a welcome move by the Narendra Modi led Indian government, which has been pushing the ‘Make In India’ premise to international companies. 

     

    Earlier in April, Letv had launched three smartphones, which will soon see its release in the US. The company is also in talks to start shop in the US this financial year. The company, which has interest in varied businesses, is alsomaking a huge 120-inch 3D 4K TV as well as a smart car in partnership with Aston Martin.

  • Government launches mobile app to enable citizens to file complaints

    Government launches mobile app to enable citizens to file complaints

    NEW DELHI: Citizens can now register their complaints and even keep track of action taken on a new mobile launched by the Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Ministry.

     

    The app launched by Minister Jitendra Singh is for the Centralized Public Grievances Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). 

    A further step has been taken by providing M-access to citizens through mobile phones. A Quick Response (QR) code has been provided on the pg-portal, which can be scanned on to the smart phone after which grievances can be sent from the smart phone directly on to CPGRAMS. 

    Singh said this is another step towards translating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “ART of Governance” as spelt out by him, with A for Accountability, R for Responsibility and T for Transparency, forming the bedrock of the Government. He said the goal is that the Administration should be citizen-centric, transparent and responsive. 

     

    Singh hoped the common public will make maximum use of the mobile app since the mobile phone has emerged as the easiest way of communication from anywhere across the country. 

    DARPG and Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare Secretary Devendra Chaudhary said the mobile app will not only allow lodging of grievances, but the people can also track the status of the redress of their grievance. 

     

    The DARPG is also carrying out analysis of the grievances and a systematic response is being worked out on how best to address the grievances, he added. 

    The Mobile App for the CPGRAMS is another innovative initiative of the DARPG, the nodal agency to formulate policy guidelines for citizen-centric governance in the country, redress of citizens’ grievances, being one of the most important initiatives of the department. The DARPG has been making endeavours to bring excellence in public service delivery and to redress grievances of citizens in a meaningful manner by effectively coordinating with different Ministries and Departments of the Government and trying to eliminate the causes of grievances.

  • VoxWeb’s Speaking Picture app reinvents photograph

    VoxWeb’s Speaking Picture app reinvents photograph

    MUMBAI: VoxWeb’s Speaking Orange Line Picture app was launched with an aim to innovate the way we look at photographs reinventing photographs and bring a radical shift in the online communication and social networking sphere. After being in public beta version for more than a month, the app has gone live in India, Europe and North America.

     

    Voxweb, a consumer internet company, which designs and develops online communication and networking products, has now rolled out the app on iOS and Android. The app gets its quirky name from the fact that it adds emotions and atmosphere to the pictures through vocal sounds, indicated by the orange line.

     

    Speaking Orange Line Picture inventor Yash Mishra said, “Designers have been working for years to reinvent the photo and lately the world has been presented with a few compelling options. However, people today have missed the point that turning a photo into an animation eradicates the very essence of a photograph, transforming it into a motion picture. Speaking Pictures, on the other hand sustains the soul of “one frame,” while adding magic to it, through the voice of the photographer or sounds of the surrounding or the atmosphere.”

     

    VoxWeb’s Speaking Orange Line Picture is geared to disrupt the existing communication and network product line. Ever since its launch, many amazing speaking pictures have been taken and shared from university campuses and streets in Paris, New York and San Francisco. Additionally, the app also facilitates creating selfies that can speak termed as ‘speaking selfies’ as ‘Voxies’. 

  • India – US to increase cooperation in cyber R&D to combat cyber crimes

    India – US to increase cooperation in cyber R&D to combat cyber crimes

    NEW DELHI: India and the United States have agreed to improve cooperation among technical, law enforcement, cyber research and development, and capacity building.

    Both countries have supported an open, inclusive, transparent, and multi-stakeholder system of internet governance. They have planned to work together to promote cyber security, combat cyber-crime, and advance norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace.

    This was stated in a joint statement after External Affairs Minister and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker for the first US – India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue held in Washington yesterday.

    Both sides commended the resumption of the US-India Cyber Dialogue. The Sides welcomed the decision to convene a Track 1.5 programme to further cooperation on internet and cyber issues and contribute to the goals of Digital India initiative.

    In the first meeting of the US – India Information and Communication Technology Working Group US presented a draft work plan to facilitate collaboration and development in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Digital India” initiative.

    The joint statement renewed the US-India Technology Safeguards Agreement to facilitate the launch of US satellite components on Indian space launch vehicles.

    The statement also referred to outer space collaboration and noted the launch of a new Space Security Dialogue in March 2015 and the exchange of technical data from both countries’ national Mars orbiters, and upcoming Civil Space Joint Working Group in Bangalore.

    The US side applauded India’s proposal to launch a satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in order to expand information sharing and connectivity within the SAARC region.

  • Prime Focus Technologies provides workflow solutions to 11 Emmy winners

    Prime Focus Technologies provides workflow solutions to 11 Emmy winners

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies’ (PFT) application rich Clear Media ERP Suite, including DAX with Digital Dailies, provided cloud-based production workflow for 11 of the 2015 Emmy Award-Winners. PFT’s Clear Media ERP Suite virtualises the content supply chain, helping companies drive creative enablement, enhance efficiencies, lower the total cost of ownership and discover new monetisation opportunities.

     

    Emmy winners that utilised PFT’s cloud-based solutions include American Horror Story: Freak Show, winner of five Emmys including Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role; Mike & Molly, winner of Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series; Orange is the New Black, winner of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; Mad Men, winner of Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series and The Big Bang Theory, winner of Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. Additional nominees that PFT provided services to include Homeland, The Good Wife and Empire.

     

    “We are honored to have played a small role in enabling our talented clients to create the best shows on TV. Our goal has always been to streamline workflow and allow content creators to do their best work. We’re glad to see our clients being recognized for their outstanding work,” said Prime Focus Technologies president, North America Patrick Macdonald-King.

  • Silicon Valley’s Peel buys Fission Labs R&D; names Kishore Poreddy as India head

    Silicon Valley’s Peel buys Fission Labs R&D; names Kishore Poreddy as India head

    MUMBAI: Just before the much-anticipated visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Silicon Valley to focus on supporting innovation & technology in India, California based company Peel has acquired the Cloud R&D division of Hyderabad-based Fission Labs, which will now become Peel India.

     

    Fission Labs CEO and co-founder Kishore Poreddy will become the head of Peel India.

     

    A key player in smart home control, Peel has been working on a variety of cloud computing projects with Fission Labs over the last few years. As a result of this acquisition, the founders of Fission Labs, specializing in high end, scalable cloud-based solutions, data analytics, web and mobile applications, cloud management and testing services, along with about 30 software engineers will become part of Peel in India.

     

    Peel makes it easy for Indian consumers to switch to a smartphone remote because it works with all popular brands of TVs and air conditioners sold in India, and 600 set-top boxes (STBs), including those from Airtel, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Hathway, DEN and Siti Cable. For Indian consumers, Peel features TV listings from WhatsOnIndia.

     

    In addition to being used to control TVs, STBs and other entertainment devices, the Peel Smart Remote app is also optimized to control multiple brands of air conditioners and heaters, with more smart home devices planned for the future.

     

    “Asia and South Asia, particularly India, are very important growth markets for us, which has 125 million registered users of the Peel Smart Remote app that brings universal remote control and intelligent content discovery to smartphones. A Wharton Business School graduate, Indian-origin Thiru started his career at Apple as an engineer and product manager, where he helped author the first Mac OS X build system,” said Peel CEO and co-founder Thiru Arunachalam. 

     

    “We’re big believers in the Make in India initiative, which has created the perfect environment to set up a local entity to help us innovate more effectively for the global market,” added Peel co-founder and chief product officer Bala Krishnan.

     

    Krishnan, who holds engineering degrees from the University of Madras and University of Arizona, spearheaded the acquisition.

     

    Peel offers a “full stack” solution to help smartphone manufacturers introduce IR remote control to their products, including SmartIR firmware, hardware sourcing, cloud services and the Peel Smart Remote app. Several Indian phone manufacturers and distributors, including Alcatel OneTouch, Celkon, Karbonn, Panasonic, and Xolo, have already integrated the Peel solution into their phones, along with HTC, TCL and Samsung.

     

    “This is an exciting time to be doing R&D in India. Peel’s user base in India and globally is doubling every nine months and we look forward to playing a major role in ensuring continued future growth and innovation, particularly in the area of cloud scalability,” said Poreddy.

     

    The company now has offices in the US, China, India, and South Korea, and this acquisition brings the company’s total headcount to about 100 employees worldwide.

     

    With a three-year sales growth of 1607 per cent, Alibaba-funded Peel ranked 287 among the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies this year.

  • Microsoft India launches Office 2016 apps

    Microsoft India launches Office 2016 apps

    Mumbai : Microsoft India announced the launch of the Office 2016 apps. These apps are the latest addition to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based subscription service that helps users do their best work, together. The company also announced new and enhanced Office 365 services built for team productivity.

    The way people work today has changed and that’s why Microsoft is focused on reinventing productivity and business processes for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. Office 2016 makes collaboration and teamwork easier than ever before. It is perfect with Windows 10 and is equipped with built-in intelligence. It works for you and is the most secure Office yet.

    Speaking at the India launch in New Delhi, Microsoft India managing director Karan Bajwa said, “We live in a world where infinite devices and data are vying for our finite time and attention. That’s why Microsoft has set a bold ambition to reinvent productivity and business process in this mobile-first, cloud-first world. Today, with the launch of Office 2016 we endeavor to provide our users with a connected set of apps and services designed for modern working and collaboration which they can access easily and across devices.”

    The Office 2016 apps run on Windows 10, including the new Sway to create shareable, interactive stories that look great on any screen. Windows Hello logs you into Windows 10 and Office 365 in one simple step. Office 2016 apps with Office 365 deliver new capabilities for better enterprise security and protection.

     

    The New Office 2016 apps make your work easier

    Office 2016 provides built-in intelligence to help you work faster and smarter.

    ·         Tell Me helps you quickly find the right Office feature or command, and Smart Lookup bring insights from the web right into your documents.

    ·         Excel 2016 now includes integrated publishing to Power BI and new modern chart-types to help you make the most of your data.

    ·         The most recently used documents list allows you pick up right where you left off, travelling with you across your devices, whether you are working in Office Online, in the Office Mobile apps or in the Office 2016 desktop apps.

    ·         Built-in Data Loss Prevention across Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, significantly reduces the risk of leaking sensitive data with tools for IT administrators to manage content authoring and document sharing policies

    The New Office 2016 apps: taking collaboration to a new level

    ·         Co-authoring is now provided in Word, PowerPoint and OneNote desktop software, including real-time typing in Word that lets you see others’ edits as they make them.

    ·         Skype in-app integration across the Office Online and rich client apps allows you to IM, screen share, talk or video chat right in your docs.

    ·         With quick search, Outlook 2016 provides the smartest inbox yet. It automatically moves low priority mail to a different folder. Everyone on the To: line is provisioned with the right access to documents with modern, cloud-based attachments.

    ·         Office 365 Groups are now an integrated part of the Outlook 2016 client app and available on your favorite mobile device through the Outlook Groups app, delivering a consistent team experience across the suite.

    ·         Office 365 Planner enables teams to create new plans, organize and assign tasks, set due dates and update status. First Release to roll out to customers before end of this year.

    ·         GigJam, a new way for teams to accomplish tasks and transform business processes by breaking down the barriers between devices, apps and people, is available in private preview today, and will become part of Office 365 in 2016

    Access the new Office 2016 apps from anywhere

    ·         With Office now available across platforms, your Office travels with you in full fidelity with Office mobile apps across Windows, Android and iOS.

    ·         Office Mobile apps on Windows 10 empower on-the-go productivity, additionally Continuum3 allows you to use your phone like a PC.

    ·         Cortana4 connects with Office 365 to help with tasks such as meeting preparation, with further integration with Outlook coming in November.

    Please find the attached details on availability and pricing.

    Also have attached analysts quotes for your reference.

    Photo Caption-   Left to right – Karan Bajwa-MD, Microsoft; Tylor Bryson – GM, Marketing & Operations; Alok Lall – Director, Digital & Social media marketing

  • Viacom to roll out mobile TV apps suite across 180 countries in Q4-2015

    Viacom to roll out mobile TV apps suite across 180 countries in Q4-2015

    MUMBAI: Viacom has launched a suite of mobile TV apps under the brand name Viacom Play Plex, which will allow its distribution partners to offer smartphone and tablet users around the world access to the best content from all its international TV brands, anytime and anywhere.

     

    Starting in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Viacom Play Plex apps will be available to launch in every one of the 180 international territories in which Viacom owns and operates TV channels, including India.

     

    There will be a separate mobile Play app for each of Viacom’s international TV channel brands namely Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Channel, Spike and BET – offering video-on-demand (VOD) access to a range of current and library content, as well as a live, local linear stream of the relevant channel, and other content including games for Nick Play.

     

    Viacom is exploring a number of different distribution options for Viacom Play Plex, with the suite of apps being offered on both a collective and standalone basis to existing pay TV partners in every territory to integrate into their TV Everywhere services where available. A number of pay TV providers have already signed deals with Viacom to offer subscribers authenticated access to the Nick app, including NOS in Portugal, while Viacom is collaborating with a number of other providers on upcoming launches including Foxtel in Australia and OSN in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Nick app, which has been rolled out in five international markets since 2013, is being updated and rebranded as Nick Play internationally to become part of Viacom Play Plex.

     

    Viacom will also look for new distribution partners for the Viacom Play Plex apps, including mobile network operators.

     

    Viacom International Media Networks president and CEO Bob Bakish said, “Viacom Play Plex offers us maximum flexibility in distributing our content as the way viewers consume their favorite TV shows continues to evolve. These apps are designed to complement our linear pay TV channels and to allow our existing distribution partners to deepen and improve the entertainment experience they offer their subscribers. But, Viacom Play Plex also opens up new distribution opportunities for us, particularly in the fast-growing mobile TV sector, and, ultimately, positions us to succeed in a world of more personalised entertainment services and greater consumer choice.”

     

    Each branded Play app will be localised for each country in which it is made available, both in terms of language and available content, giving users more ways to access Viacom’s shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Catfish: The TV Show and Lip Sync Battle, as well as local productions.

     

    Mobile TV viewers everywhere will enjoy an intuitive, video-focused user interface and enhanced video player, which reduces loading and buffering times, as well as an algorithmic menu that adapts to their tastes. Apps will include social and sharing components, and will be available in both iOS and Android to download from the Apple App store and Google Play store respectively.

     

    Bakish added, “Viacom Play Plex allows viewers across the globe to watch the TV shows they love from their favorite Viacom brands anytime and anywhere. We believe no other international entertainment company is offering this type of innovation at this scale, serving every major demographic in every major TV market.”

  • Tinyowl Homemade expands platform offering to Bengaluru

    Tinyowl Homemade expands platform offering to Bengaluru

    MUMBAI: The food ordering app, Tinyowl has launched Tinyowl Homemade in Bengaluru. The company is expanding this platform in Bengaluru after the good response in Mumbai.

     

    Tinyowl Homemade has attracted over 500 orders a day across the three localities of Powai, Andheri and Bandra in Mumbai.

     

    Tinyowl co-founder & CEO Harshvardhan Mandad said, “We have seen immense growth in this segment. Tinyowl Homemade will be able to provide more options to our consumers and other stakeholders in the food eco-system. We aim to take Tinyowl Homemade to other cities as well in the near future.”

     

    “We also believe that today’s chef is tomorrow’s restaurant and there is huge dormant talent and opportunity lying with the housewives of today. Tinyowl Homemade is the right opportunity for empowering such talented homemakers,” Mandad added. 

     

    Tinyowl Homemade did a pilot project at Bangalore in August with three cuisine options and one dessert option. The responses within the first month have been extremely encouraging for the company. 

     

    Tinyowl Homemade currently offers only lunch in Bengaluru and is live in BTM, Koramangla, HSR, and Indira Nagar. Homemade works with 150 chefs in Mumbai and 15 in Bengaluru will gradually increase to over 100 in the next few months. 

     

    The app lists 30 – 40 dishes a day, 74 per cent being vegetarian. The home-chefs are charged a commission of 15 – 30 per cent of dish value, average order value being Rs 250.

     

    The company was launched in 2014 by five IITians.