In The News Archives - Page 112 Of 213

Why is Innovation Important Today? | In the News

March 20, 2019

In an age in which sustainable advantage is increasingly transient, organizations need to adapt endlessly – to the point of embedding innovation in their business DNA. Consequently, the historically predominant CXO “delivery” mindset is shifting to a “business outcome” mindset. Firms that fail to adapt to rapid technological advances, constantly evolving customer expectations and intensifying global competition may find themselves unable to compete.

Rohitashwa Aggarwal and Parul Jain explain more about innovation in an article in Intelligent Sourcing

Why Millions of Indian Traders are Setting Chinese Goods on Fire | In the News

March 19, 2019

The prevailing bilateral frost between India and China is having a chilling effect on local trade as the south Asian nation prepares to celebrate its annual festival of colours.

Around 60 million members of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) have called for the boycott of Chinese goods on the eve of Holi, one of India’s most popular festivals. Some business owners even plan to use such products to make the traditional bonfire—Holi symbolises the burning of an evil demon in Hindu mythology—today (March 19) across 1,500 locations in the country.

The row only highlights the significance Chinese products have assumed in Indian trade and other areas.

India imports nearly $70 billion worth of Chinese goods and services every year. Trade with China accounts for over 40% of the country’s total trade deficit.

“The entire garment and electronics industries are highly dependent on China. Lots of Chinese apps like TikTok are gaining traction, too,” said Yugal Joshi, vice-president of Texas-based consultancy Everest Group. Four out of five of the top smartphones in India are China-made. Even plastic buckets, idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, and winter coats are mostly manufactured in China.

Why Two Music-Streaming Giants have Entered India in Less than a Month | In the News

March 18, 2019

International music-streaming platforms have turned up the volume in India.

Less than three weeks after Stockholm-based Spotify launched its app in India, Google-owned YouTube Music entered the country on March 12, with premium plans starting at Rs99 ($1.44). The new entrants will now compete with Apple and Amazon Music, besides homegrown rivals Gaana, JioSaavn, and Hungama.

Spotify garnered 1 million users in India within a week of its launch on Feb. 27. “Whether the growth converts to revenue numbers is a different question,” said Yugal Joshi, vice-president of Texas-based consulting firm Everest Group.

Employers Struggling with Absence, Disability Management | In the News

March 18, 2019

Employers might consider a multi-faceted approach to better manage absences and accommodate for worker disabilities, and the index provided a few suggestions. They included using data to benchmark against industry competitors; investing in formal return-to-work and stay-at-work programs to support employee engagement and productivity; adhering to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) best practices; and building a robust training program to teach managers how to identify conditions and communicate with employees, among other solutions.

Many companies, though, have turned to third parties to help them better manage their leave practices. Forty percent of companies with 1,000 or more employees outsource their FMLA management, as do 27% of companies with 50 or more employees, according to recent research. Additionally, the Everest Group has predicted that the global HR outsourcing market will continue at a rate of 6% to 8% growth for at least the next few years, exceeding $5 billion by 2020.

Will Swiggy’s Non-food Bet Deliver Right Dividends? | In the News

March 15, 2019

It has been a long 12 months in waiting. And in February, it finally came true for Swiggy. The company wanted to corner everything that could be delivered in a city: from fresh fruits to health supplements to becoming your personal courier.

Swiggy’s plans were rooted in a tenet integral to building a solid habit-forming product: acquire users through a core offering, cultivate loyalty, which then leads to higher transactions — this was exactly what Swiggy did with food since its launch in 2014. Then, in 2017, it started working on taking the business beyond food delivery.

“Swiggy does have the basics in place, the biggest being it’s a trusted brand for food delivery, which is more time and experience critical than grocery. This good brand perception will have a positive rub-off effect,” Yugal Joshi of consulting firm Everest Group told ET.

The Three ‘I’s of CX Digital Transformation | In the News

March 14, 2019

Ask any retail CEO what keeps them awake at night and most will come up with a list that includes:

how to transform customer experience, infrastructure and operations at the same time as reducing costs
demands on them to facilitate new business opportunities and better customer experience at the same time as implementing an agile, flexible, scalable digital platform
how to nurture innovation and creativity to attract and keep customers and the kind of employees who can build a digital future

They’re big issues which demand bold solutions, yet according to analysts Everest Group, only 10% the C-suite are ready to take action and make digital transformation happen. It takes a degree of business bravery to set the digital store ball rolling, knowing that it may take out a number of existing structures on its way through the business.

Even as Everyone Goes Gaga over Digital, TCS may Have Taken the Lead | In the News

March 11, 2019

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh in a recent interview harped on the growing importance of digital services, and how the company plans to ramp up its digital capabilities both organically and inorganically.

Though companies are seeing success, analysts said that a few companies are faring better than their peers. Chirajeet Sengupta, Partner, Everest Group, said that companies which are faring better in the digitisation space are TCS and Accenture.

Companies like TCS Harder hit By H1-B Rejections than Google or Microsoft | In the News

March 9, 2019

While the denials of temporary H 1-B visas for high-skilled workers increased steadily in the last few years of the Trump administration, the action hit consulting companies like TCS, Infosys, and Cognizant Technology Solutions harder than IT giants like Microsoft or Google, reports say.

A Forbes report on Feb. 25, however, noted that “a major disconnect exists” between those making U.S. immigration policy – now designed to make it very difficult to hire people with sought-after technical skills – and the role digital platforms play in determining the competitiveness of companies.

It quoted Peter Bendor-Samuel, founder and CEO of Everest Group, one of the world’s top research firms focused on information technology, business process and engineering, as saying in an interview that the U.S. faces an acute shortage of digital and IT skills and these digital transformations and digital platforms require a significant amount of these skills to build and maintain.

Almost Half of Women in IT Think Gender is their Biggest Barrier to Promotion | In the News

March 8, 2019

Nearly 1 in 2 women (45%) working in IT believe their gender is the main barrier to getting ahead in their career. That’s according to a recent opinion survey by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, released on International Women’s Day.

“These findings are seriously worrying. If 30% of women think that gender is the biggest barrier to getting a first job in IT, and 45% believe gender is the biggest barrier to progressing a career in IT, they are not going to even try,” said Sarah Burnett, Chair of BCS Women and is Executive Vice President and Distinguished Analyst at Everest Group.

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Category: In The News