President Joe Biden has nominated Kurt Campbell, the current coordinator of Indo-Pacific affairs at the National Security Council (NSC) and widely considered to be among the architects of Quad’s new avatar and the administration’s approach to India,

Biden nominates Asia hand Kurt Campbell to be deputy Secretary of State

And now, India under Rohit are marching ahead with six successive ... That’s when I heard someone in the group say, ‘acha manage kiya na’. I realised they had only 24 tickets and 25 of us went for the match. Being vertically challenged can be an ...

‘Proud to see the brand of cricket India is playing'

The notifications suggested that many opposition figures could be under “state-sponsored” surveillance, but even Apple said the warning could have been a false alarm.

‘Vague’ iPhone Alert Triggers Serious Accusations of Spying in India

A recent statement by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has set the stage for a debate about work productivity and the merits of long working hours, a topic that resonates with many in our fast-paced world.

May be not 70 hours, but Indians are among hardest workers in the world

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (BIRET), India’s first 100% institutionally ... BIRET has a right of first offer on an additional 4.0M sf, currently owned by members of the Brookfield Group. BIRET is sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield Corporation ...

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust Ranked #1 for Management Score in Asia

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of the Hamas founder said that said the Indians should stand united and firm against the militant group. He added that the Hamas had a long history of targeting civilians.

‘Want Indians To Rise, Stand Up For Truth’: Mosab Hassan Yousef Seeks India’s Support Against Hamas | Exclusive

India never acknowledged contracts with the NSO Group, but Pegasus has been found on the iPhones of targets. Moreover, the Indian government has been seeking new spyware contracts, per a March Financial Times report. Apple did not connect the attack to the ...

Apple detects sophisticated iPhone attack, warns Indian opposition of state-sponsored spying

Friedman wants Israel to finish the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas but is against the ground invasion of Gaza, which is densely populated and is home to two million Palestinians.

'Remarkable restraint after 26/11': US author praises Manmohan Singh amid Israel-Hamas war

Besides the income gap, there is a cultural gap. Unlike China, where 92% of the population belongs to the Mandarin-speaking Han ethnic group, India has a very diverse population that speaks many languages. Cultural differences, language problems ...

India’s Bureaucracy Will Hold Back Its Growth

Tata Group will start making iPhones in India, according to a statement from the nation's Deputy IT minister, as the Mumbai-based international conglomerate has acquired Taiwanese firm Wistron's iPhone manufacturing facility in the southwestern state of Karnataka.

Ta-ta, Wistron: Indian iPhone operations go local

Times Of India Group

indiatimes

The IISc Memristor: The Dawn of a New Era in Computing and AI Accelerators

Is Growing EV Adoption Really Good for India? There is no doubt about the fact that EV adoption has taken off in India. The evidence of this is most prominently visible in the shape of e-rickshaws and electric two-wheelers that seem to be proliferating all around us. We also see a sizeable number of electric cars parked in Indian residential areas or moving around the roads of the larger cities of India. The EV sales in 2023 surpassed 1.5 million in 2023, a whopping 50% increase over the previous year. Overall, EVs contributed to an already impressive 6.38% of India's total auto sales. [1] All of this seemingly is in line with the nation's strategy of reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and contributing to the fight against environmental pollution. But is it really? While it is a fact that electric vehicles have no tail-pipe emissions, the source of the electricity being used to charge the batteries of these vehicles determines how much net pollution is caused by EVs. With coal accounting for 75% of the electricity produced in the country, [2]the increased use of electric vehicles may not actually contribute much to a cleaner environment. Add to that the fact that electricity is heavily subsidized or even provided free to many in India's rural hinterland and you begin to create a problem for yourself. There is already a proliferation of demand for electric two-wheelers in the rural areas. Sensing opportunity in this fast-growing segment a large number of emerging entrepreneurs have entered the electric two-wheeler segment, pushing up the number of start-ups to over 150 from 54 in 202. With the political parties of the day falling over each other in a race to provide the most subsidized or free power to rural areas, the environmental cost of coal-based generation is something that doesn't seem to have been taken into account. Till the time that all EV charging stations source clean electricity produced using non-polluting renewable sources, the unbridled expansion of electric mobility should receive a second look. While electric cars by themselves are a lot more environmentally cleaner than internal combustion ones, one should also bear in mind the environmental problems associated with the materials (lithium) that go into the making of an electric car battery. The growth of EVs in India is all very welcome but should be tempered with a lot of caution. Apart from ensuring that the vehicles are charged with clean electricity, an effort should also be made to encourage people to use public transport run using cleaner fuels like CNG. The growth in information technology has meant that people don't really need to commute as much as they used to in the past and the less people travel, the better it is for the environment. Till the time EV charging stations can boast to be 100% clean and green, ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) manufacturers can continue to refine their engines with regard to their producing fewer environmentally harmful emissions. The road to a green future is a long and arduous one and is anything but a linear journey. [1] , https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/indias-ev-sales-surge-to-1-5-million-in-2023-up-50-report/106971357#:\~:text=adoption of EVs.- [2] . https://www.coal.nic.in/en/major-statistics/generation-of-thermal-power-from-raw-coal#:\~:text=In India%2C power is generated, of the total power generation

EV Adoption in India: Is It Actually a Good Thing?

To the woke-liberal lot, any assertion that India was once the richest country in the world will evoke hysterical laughter and probably a familiar jibe that it was impossible for India to ever have been the proverbial (golden bird). soney ki chidya But facts speak otherwise. India was indisputably the largest economy in the world between the first century AD and the seventeenth century AD accounting for one-third or one-fourth of global wealth. India’s GDP in 1700, in terms of 1990 international dollars was $90,750 as compared to $82,800 of China’s and $83,395 for the whole of Western Europe. Considering that the world GDP in that year was $371,369, India’s share of the global economy was an astounding 24.43%.[1] What Caused the Downfall? From a high of more than 24% of the world economy in 1700 to 4% of global GDP at the end of British rule, India’s fall from its preeminent position at the top to the very bottom was a direct consequence of the pernicious impact of colonial rule. Britain’s rise to be the largest empire ever known to mankind occurred during the course of its 200-year rule in India and was financed by the wholesale looting of India and the asset stripping of its economy. It is not surprising that the Hindi word loot meaning large-scale theft, made its way to the English language. Evidence of that loot can still be found in the museums, private collections, and imperial treasury of modern Britain. The most emblematic of this is the famed diamond. Kohinoor So thoroughly did the British devastate and enervate the Indian economy that even today, seventy-six years after independence, large numbers of its people suffer from poverty, lack of access to clean drinking water, access to healthcare, and education. That is not to take away from the vast change that has come over the country, which is now acknowledged as a global economic power boasting the fifth largest economy in the world having overtaken its erstwhile colonial master Britain. It has seen the emergence of a 432 million strong middle class (2020-21 figures) which is expected to hit 1.66 billion in 2047.[2] Creditably as many as 415 million people were lifted out of poverty in 15 years between 2005 and 2021[3]. India is a technology and space powerhouse that commands global respect for its accomplishments. Its diaspora has reached every part of the globe with people of Indian origin reaching the highest positions in corporations and governments of some of the leading first world nations. India also has a sizeable military that acts as a force of global stability-something that was evidenced by India’s naval operations against international pirates in the Red Sea region. Can India Become the Richest Country in the World Again? At a time when most people in the world expect China to replace the US as the numero uno nation, it is important to remember that India was largely a bigger economy of the two in the years leading up to the colonial era. Given the slew of recent bad news trickling out of China, in terms of its collapsing demographics and slowing down industries, India, which is the fastest-growing large economy in the world with a much younger demographic profile, stands a good chance of racing ahead in the not-so-distant future. India is one of the very few countries in the world that not only grows enough food to feed its own people, but also export it. Besides, its geographical position that allows it to straddle the important sea routes that pass below its peninsula means that it will never be vulnerable when it comes to sourcing its energy supplies. What do the facts state? An Ernst and Young report suggests that India could become a $26 trillion economy by 2047, boasting a per capita income of more than $15000 by then. [4] Goldman Sachs, on the other hand, predicts that India will become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075, overtaking the US in the process.[5] A study by Citi Group actually expects India to be the largest economy in the world by 2050 with an $85.97 trillion GDP by Purchasing Power Parity, followed by China at $80.02 trillion and the US at $39.07 trillion. That will translate to a per capita income of more than $50,000 per capita income considering the nation’s population to be 1.63 billion.[6] Will India do it? It’s not going to be easy. But it has done it in the past and held on to that position for a millennium and a half. It is said that what goes around comes around. It is India’s time now. Let it rise and rise. [1] https://cgijeddah.gov.in/web_files/267622636-History-of-Indian-Economy.pdf [2] https://www.business-standard.com/economy/news/indian-middle-class-will-nearly-double-to-61-by-2046-47-price-report-123070500864_1.html [3] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/415-million-people-exited-poverty-in-india-in-15-years-un-report/articleshow/101678289.cms [4] https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_in/topics/india-at-100/2023/01/ey-india-at-100-executive-summary.pdf [5] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/10/india-to-become-worlds-second-largest-economy-by-2075-goldman-sachs.html [6] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/with-85-trillion-how-india-can-become-worlds-largest-economy/articleshow/10699821.cms

Time for India to Gain Back Its Position as the Richest Country in the World

has already earned a formidable global reputation as one of the largest exporters of IT and ITES in the world. As many as 5 million people are employed by global corporations tapping into Indian technology prowess.[1] It is now well-positioned to move up the value chain and offer more skill-intensive services to global corporate and business sectors. India India is undergoing a significant transformation, transitioning from being known solely as the technology back-office headquarters of the world to evolving into a hybrid workforce powerhouse. This transition positions India as a leading force in fueling the transformative digitization efforts of premier corporations worldwide. As this shift continues, India is poised to become a hub for high-value services such as consulting, product development, and the incubation of business process management use cases, making it an attractive destination for global businesses seeking innovation and expertise.[2] This is something that the world has sat up and taken notice of as is evident from an Ernst & Young report that says that multinationals are likely to set up what it terms "Global Capability Centres" across all types of industries in tier 2 cities like Kochi, Vadodara, Jaipur and Chandigarh. It is expected that the number of such centres will hit 2400 by 2030 providing 2.6 million new jobs generating more than a whopping $100 billion for the Indian economy.[3] India is already solidifying its position as a significant global exporter of business services, particularly in the domains of taxation, data analytics, cybersecurity, and customer management. Global consultancy has come of age in India The market for global management consultancy was valued at $316.5 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to $811.3 billion by 2031, clocking a CAGR of 10.2%. Indian professional and consultancy management services exports reached an impressive $36.95 billion in 2021-22.[4] The industry has seen significant growth both in terms of magnitude and the range of services offered. These include everything from IT consulting and manufacturing consulting to engineering consulting and healthcare consulting. It is not surprising that 47000 Indian consulting firms are serving the interests of major global businesses across industries. This led to the consulting services industry revenues achieving an overall market growth rate of 15.2% in 2021.[5] Despite making strides, substantial challenges continue to confront many Indian consulting firms as they endeavor to vie with the formidable presence of global consulting giants. In order to surmount these hurdles and assert their competitive edge, it is imprative for Indian firms to expedite their digital transformation endeavors, carve out specialized expertise in niche domains, and strategically target emerging sectors for growth opportunities. By embracing a culture of innovation, harnessing top-tier talent, and elevating the overall standard and quality of their consulting services, the Indian consultancy industry can effectively bolster its capacity for global scalability and success. References https://www.ey.com/en_in/india-at-100/how-india-is-emerging-as-the-world-s-technology-and-services-hub [1] https://www.ey.com/en_in/india-at-100/how-india-is-emerging-as-the-world-s-technology-and-services-hub [2] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/consultancy-/-audit/global-accounting-firms-set-up-shop-in-indias-smaller-cities/articleshow/101687263.cms?from=mdr [3] https://www.tpci.in/indiabusinesstrade/blogs/indian-consulting-industry-time-for-a-new-playbook/#:~:text=The%20global%20management%20consulting%20services%20market%20was%20valued%20at%20%24316.5,and%20soaring%20towards%20new%20horizons. [4] https://www.tpci.in/indiabusinesstrade/blogs/indian-consulting-industry-time-for-a-new-playbook/#:~:text=The%20global%20management%20consulting%20services%20market%20was%20valued%20at%20%24316.5,and%20soaring%20towards%20new%20horizons. [5] Also published here.

India's Rise to Global Consultancy Powerhouse 

India with its 1.43 billion people is now inarguably the most populous nation in the world.[1] Of these 68%[2] (or about 970 million people) are in the working age of 15 to 64 years of age. The unemployment rate stood at 6.6% in 2021-22.  As many as a whopping 42% of India’s graduates under 25 were unemployed in the same period.[3] Does the advent of AI-encompassing technologies like Generative AI threaten to inflate this number to catastrophic proportions? What does the future hold for India's unemployed millions (35 million in both 2021 and 2022)?[4] In a world of global uncertainties and changing power dynamics as well as realigning global supply chains, the state of the Indian economy and by extension its ability to provide gainful employment to millions of people of working age is an area of pressing concern. The rollout of AI in India is in its initial stages but has nevertheless significantly affected employment in some sectors on account of its ability to automate several routine tasks. At the same time, it has created new opportunities in AI-related job functions. According to CNBC outsourced coders based out of India are slated to lose their jobs in about two years.[5] That may sound worrisome, but on the other hand, a survey conducted by the leading job site Indeed found that Indian companies and employers hold a positive outlook on the impact of AI on jobs. As many as 85% of the Indian companies who participated in the survey believed that AI would impact the job scene positively in the short term (next 5 years).[6] This is borne out by the fact that the advent of AI has led to the creation of a whole host of opportunities in engineering, data science and machine learning, putting a huge premium on people possessing the required skill set. World Economic Forum assumes that AI will create 12 million more jobs for people than the ones it will displace. India is fortuitously placed to capitalize on it because it is home to 416000 AI professionals (August 2023) figures against a demand of about 629000 such people. This figure is likely to hit 1 million by 2026 if one goes by a report by the Wheebox National Employability Test.[7] Cause for anxiety The promise of availability of plentiful employment across the short-term horizon notwithstanding there is genuine anxiety amongst employees and job seekers in the country about the impact of AI on their future prospects. These pertain to the need for them to reskill or upskill to stay relevant. Then there is the ever-present gnawing fear of facing redundancy on account of the adoption of AI. For instance, the launch of Chat GPT in November 2022 made a whole host of professionals across the spectrum ranging from programmers and financial advisors to accountants and legal assistants fear for their jobs. People would naturally feel alarmed when leading financial institutions like Goldman Sachs anticipate AI impacting if not altogether eliminating as many as 300 million jobs.[8] Conclusion Viewed objectively, the adoption of AI by businesses in India will require some realignment regarding roles and the need for reskilling but will end up creating way more opportunities than any marginal displacements. It opens up huge opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs to leverage it to offer way better products and offer far more efficient services. Doing so will create more employment not just by way of AI professionals needing to be deployed, but also by creating whole new categories of products and services, that one can't even conceive of right now. When computers first arrived on the scene people thought that banks would stop hiring people, but the sector realigned itself and expanded like never before, giving rise to the fintech industry that is revolutionizing banking services in ways not thought possible in the past. The future is bound to be good for the youth of this country- Artificial Intelligence will ensure that it is so. [1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-population/ [2] [2] https://www.businesstoday.in/india-at-100/story/inclusive-india-2047-empowering-the-demographic-dividend-395359-2023-08-24 [3] https://indianexpress.com/article/business/42-3-of-graduates-under-25-unemployed-finds-latest-state-of-working-india-report-8949124/ [4] https://www.newindianexpress.com/web-only/2023/Jul/29/the-19-million-plus-question-has-finding-a-job-in-india-gotten-harder-or-easier-2599577.html [5] https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/ai-will-take-away-jobs-of-outsourced-coders-in-india-in-next-2-years-stability-ai-ceo-390384-2023-07-19 [6] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/mid-career/ai-to-have-positive-short-term-impact-on-jobs-finds-global-survey/articleshow/104471561.cms?from=mdr [7] https://www.livemint.com/ai/artificial-intelligence/ai-in-india-jobs-evolved-not-erased-opportunity-and-reskilling-key-experts-claim-11703326684794.html [8] https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/ai-anxiety-workers-fret-over-uncertain-future/article67157022.ece

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment in India

It’s no secret artificial intelligence may be the biggest technological advancement of the century. Still, many schools aren’t using it to the extent they should. If they did, they could revolutionize their current systems and bring themselves into the digital age. Why Do Schools Need AI-Powered Innovations? Most schools seem like they’re still stuck in the stone age. Luckily for them, they can replace their decades-old textbooks and outdated administrative systems with AI. They can use its crazy-powerful capabilities to bring themselves into the digital age. Despite AI’s usefulness, have policies on it as of 2023. Most educators feel uncertain about it because it’s so new and has adapted quickly. They might not realize it, but the rapid technological advancements will leave them in the dust if they don’t act. less than 10% of schools If you’re tech-savvy and aware of AI’s benefits, you likely want to incorporate it into your systems. In fact, think their schools should upgrade their current technology. You’d be wise to listen to them — after all, they’re their institutions’ reigning technology experts. 57% of IT departments How Can AI Revolutionize School Technology Systems? AI can revolutionize school technology systems by making them faster, more consistent, and more accurate. It can overhaul everything from scheduling to software to assistive devices. Optimize bus routes Most schools use clunky software or manual drawings to plot their bus routes. Even though those methods have held up over the years, nothing can adapt on the fly like AI. If you upgrade the system with machine learning technology, you can adapt to any road blockage or schedule change. You could even power a vehicle directly with AI. For example, one city in India and got students home much faster after putting it into 15 buses. It helped them plan routes, optimize diesel use, and shrink tailpipe emissions. used significantly less fuel Improve grading While manual grading is a slog for teachers, there was no substantial progress in the area until AI came about. Since it can receive specialized training and rapidly process massive data sets, it’s the perfect technology for the job. It can get through heaps of assignments with accuracy and speed — without human bias. Class clowns and disruptive students can rejoice at the fact they won’t be unfairly docked points for being general nuisances. Best of all, the IT department can program it with fun functions like plagiarism detection. Upgrade assistive technology Sometimes, students need some extra help in the classroom. Luckily, you can use AI to help people with vision, hearing, or learning impairments. For example, you can use it to read text aloud, translate words in real time, or build a custom lesson plan. Boost classroom management While you shouldn’t expect technology to replace teachers anytime soon — unless the AI takeover is successful — intelligent algorithms can already guide classrooms. They can take over most of the management duties humans usually handle. More specifically, generative AI can create lesson plans, learning activities, and assignments. Alternatively, you could use ML to track someone’s progress and adjust their path to reflect their goals and capabilities. Refine testing Standardized testing — also known as the bane of every student’s existence — is far past due for an overhaul. Schools would benefit significantly from using the innovative power of AI to revolutionize their current test technology. They could use natural-language processing during the grading process or generative technology to create personalized tests. Where standardization lets students fall through the gaps, AI-powered testing empowers and leads to greater success. Improve utility use Utility management might be on the less exciting end of AI innovation, but it’s essential nonetheless. Unsurprisingly, the powerhouse that is AI can simultaneously monitor electricity, water, and Wi-Fi school-wide. If anything goes wrong or breaks, you would immediately get an alert and be able to fix it before things get out of hand. Also, AI can optimize utility use. For instance, one and 3,400 megawatt-hours of energy by using it. If schools use it to track their electricity and water use, they stand to save thousands of dollars. business saved over $356,000 Enhance administrative systems All those tedious administrative systems like payroll and scheduling could benefit from becoming AI-powered. ML technology can ensure records are accurate and manage everything autonomously. Plus, it reduces human error and bias in the process. Best of all, it can adapt to changes and grow with the school with time — unlike traditional software that eventually becomes outdated. If you switch to AI-powered technology systems, you won’t need to upgrade for ages. The Power of AI Could Revolutionize Education AI has enough functions and applications to make your head spin if you think about it for too long. You could use it to revolutionize the entire education sector if you wanted to. If schools want to stop playing catch-up, they need to overhaul their current systems with AI-powered technology. Sources: 1st Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/-hgJu2ykh4E 2nd Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/apP7443MXIQ https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-survey-less-10-schools-and-universities-have-formal-guidance-ai https://www.ravennasolutions.com/blog/why-upgrade-your-schools-accounting-technology-today-3-questions-to-ask/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengalurus-school-bus-operators-rely-on-ai-technology-to-beat-traffic-blues/articleshow/94441288.cms https://energydigital.com/articles/managing-utilities-leave-it-to-artificial-intelligence https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/artificial-intelligence-education/ https://www2.ed.gov/documents/ai-report/ai-report.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666412722000137

How AI-Powered Innovations Can Revolutionize School Technology Systems for the Digital Age

A SEARCHING OF SCHOOLMASTERS

The rise in subscriber base due to COVID is not an advantage that will last for long. Life will get back to normalcy as conditions improve. As per the Research & Markets report, while the global OTT streaming market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 55% from $104.11 billion in 2019 to $161.37 billion in 2020, this growth is mainly attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. The market is expected to stabilize and is estimated to reach $169.4 billion in 2023 growing at a CAGR of 14.0% from 2021. In our previous post, we discussed and the various catalysts that have contributed to its phenomenal growth. In this post, we will take a shot at how the growth momentum in the OTT space can be sustained and what OTT platform players can do to keep subscriber churn at bay. The answer lies in adopting technology that can help provide a great customer experience. the impact of COVID-19 on the global OTT Industry "Amid content and marketing, tech is the underdog that ensures a sublime consumer experience."  - Ali Hussein, CEO of Eros Now As the number of subscribers increases, there will be unpredictable demand with spikes and surges in viewership. These contingencies must be dealt with in real-time else customer churn is bound to happen. Complete that with consumer’s expectations for flexibility and a wide array of choices and cloud computing sounds like the perfect answer. By migrating to cloud OTT players can take advantage of the on-demand characteristics of cloud computing making their applications scalable and flexible. It also helps lower the total cost of ownership by removing the dependency on on-site datacentres for running legacy apps. Leveraging benefits of the cloud: According to , Research Director, Consumer & Entertainment services at Ovum, Rob Gallagher “As more viewers watch more content on more devices, spend on content delivery network (CDN) services to deliver video over the open Internet will grow from just under US$11 billion in 2018 to nearly US$16 billion in 2023, according to our latest forecasts. CDNs will also be critical to ensuring streams start fast, play buffer-free, and generally meet consumers’ increasingly high standards as demand scales. The ability to analyze and manage multiple CDNs to deliver the best quality experiences for the best possible costs will be an important strategy for a growing number of TV and video service providers.” Media streaming infrastructure companies have been working incessantly on the network side to address growing challenges of increased volume, diversity, and availability of content. OTT companies have come up with various Multi CDN strategies to deal with the ever-increasing problem of load, latency, and quality. Implementing these strategies is believed to give an edge to broadcasters, content providers, and telecom and cable operators in a multi CDN environment as they have complete control over real-time, in-session, and per-segment delivery when streaming media. Multi-CDN Strategies as the way forward: According to the “5G Economics of Entertainment Report,” commissioned by Intel and conducted by Ovum, 5G enabled Media and entertainment experiences would generate up to USD 1.3 trillion in revenue by 2028. Apart from the COVID pandemic, advances in 5G technologies that usher in profound bandwidth & low latency will lead the race to provide immersive media experiences to consumer devices. Adoption of new-age networking technologies: 5G along with mobile edge computing will be instrumental in delivering immersive live content experiences and unravel new & exciting opportunities for a gamut of media services that can be delivered over mobile networks. Powered by 5G newer applications such as 4K video, AR/VR based virtual user experiences, 360 live streaming, collaborative viewing and working, location-based experiences, multiplayer video game streaming, high definition live broadcasting of events, and so on will drive the OTT growth. In fact, the same Intel report also extrapolates that 2025 will be a watershed year for 5G in media & entertainment as it will contribute to 57% of global wireless revenue. As is with any industry, providing a world-class customer experience is a requirement that OTT players cannot ignore. Both existing and new players in the OTT space are investing in new-age technologies such as machine learning, AI, deep video analytics, etc. to understand their customers and their individual prefer preferences better which will help remain competitive in the market. Technologies such as artificial intelligence help in enhancing customer experience by analyzing their video preferences and suggesting videos via recommendation engines. A strong recommendation engine increases the stickiness of the platform hence reducing the customer churn. Producing fresh content is increasingly becoming difficult in the ongoing COVID scenario. Therefore, having recommendation engines will help showcase the less explored parts of the vast content library even after the pandemic situation has eased. Gamification of content also helps in tackling exigencies that happen when content production is hampered. For instance, ZEE5 as part of their Ad Suite, introduced PLAY5, an interactive tool that allows brands to engage with consumers via customized gamification, branded polls, quizzes, etc. Tuborg the beverage brand chose this tool to create a gamified karaoke platform and witnessed 5X more page views and 80 percent more consumer engagement. Having these intuitive features would further help in increasing the subscriber base, platform stickiness, and providing an enhanced quality of experience. It will also give OTT platforms a new way to monetize their platform. Implementation of hyper-personalization techniques by OTT service providers: To gain efficiency and tackle bandwidth consumption, content providers have been innovating on video compression technologies long before the onset of COVID, more than 20 years ago to be precise. We have witnessed major codec standards created about every 10 years, with MPEG-2 released around 1995, AVC in 2005, and HEVC in 2015. Key improvements such as dual-pass encoding, statistical multiplexing, and software migration have been made to compression technology in order to boost video streaming performance. In the last couple of years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) — is driving the next frontier of video compression enhancements with the promise of faster advancements. AI is being used to achieve better video quality (VQ) at a given bit rate or even better, achieve a lower bit rate without compromising the video quality. Advances are also being made in other directions, like higher density to where the same VQ/bitrate efficiency will use less computing resources, and in providing a better quality of experiences (QoE). Such innovations have assumed significance in the current pandemic situation where streaming media consumption has reached stratospheric levels. As more and more people shift from linear broadcast/Pay TV to OTT, streaming companies must invest in OPEX optimizations to ensure a seamless, buffer-free video viewing experience for their subscribers. Innovation in video compression technologies: Along with a great viewing experience, it is important to keep the content secure & tamper-proof. Hackers & pirates are always on the prowl to compromise the OTT platform, steal content, and user information. The revenues generated via OTT services are severely compromised when premium content gets leaked to piracy platforms. The exposure of premium content also jeopardizes compliance with content rights owners. Content owners trust OTT stream providers to ensure the security of their copyrighted content. The exposure of such premium content jeopardizes the compliance with content rights owners thereby leading to legal actions against the attacked OTT provider. The illegal sale of video content in 2019 cost the industry $9.1bn. Analysts have predicted that it would further hit $12.5bn by 2024. Enabling key security features such as server-side security & firewall, authorization tokens, watermarking techniques, being SSL certified, having studio-approved DRM integration can help mitigate the threat from piracy and illegal streaming. Providing secure media streaming experiences: As they battle for consumers’ attention, media companies and brands must find a way to focus on direct to consumer (D2C) engagement. This is perhaps one of the best ways for media companies to sustain solid relationships with consumers, prevent competitors from poaching them, and reinvigorate the disengaged customers by providing tailored offerings. Seamless interaction with customers via orchestration between apps, web, TV bots, and traditional contact centers, using OTT technology such as in-app messaging and bots to personalize user experiences are ways in which D2C engagement is made possible. Real-time engagement is the future of on-demand video streaming: According to Iván Markman, the chief business officer at , Verizon Media “The lack of live sports is pushing up consumption in other areas on Verizon Media properties, with 54% month-over-month growth in news, 60% increase in gaming and 134% increase in entertainment content”. It is possible that once the pandemic situation eases, the breakneck speed in which the Media and Entertainment sector is growing may slow down a bit. Possibly, subscription fatigue will pave the way for innovation in OTT monetization with providers looking at the pay-per-view and advertising monetization as viable alternatives to subscription monetization. Bundling of different subscription packages to create channels is a trend that is upcoming now with Disney+ bundling its videos with ESPN, National Geographic etc. Eventually having led an OTT way of life once, consumers will continue to consume content based on their choice of content type, genre, and other options. Viewers can enjoy a seamless viewing experience owing to the flexibility and ease-of-use provided by the OTT video platforms. References: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-over-the-top-ott-market-to-rise-and-hit-a-revenue-of-438-5-billion-during-the-covid-19-catastrophe--research-dive-301092889.html https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005350/en/Global-OTT-Streaming-Market-2020-to-2030---COVID-19-Growth-and-Change---ResearchAndMarkets.com https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/industry-blog/media/2020/07/20/5g-brings-a-new-vision-of-the-future-for-media-entertainment/ https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/10/intel-5g-economics-backgrounder.pdf https://www.everestgrp.com/2020-03-role-transition-for-cloud-vendors-in-ott-media-streaming-blog-60978.html https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/always-connected-indians-consume-over-11gb-data-daily-spend-70-mins-a-day-on-ott-platforms/articleshow/74333875.cms?from=mdr http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Accelerator_Program_5G_Outlook_Report_2020.pdf https://blog.jscrambler.com/keeping-ott-content-secure-ssl-cdns-and-encryption/ https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/how-ott-platforms-are-using-gamification-as-an-engagement-strategy-102809.html https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8977463/ Also published here .

OTT Streaming Market to Reach $169.4 Billion by 2023: How to Capitalize

DNS resolution is the first thing that happens when a request is made to a remote server. It is a process of finding the computer-friendly address of the remote server using a human-friendly domain name. There are few performance improvement possibilities like perfect cache invalidation time. Preferring A record over CNAME. But before all these let's understand how DNS resolution actually works. A network request is made to the server using its domain name. The browser first checks its DNS cache, if present use the IP address else asks Operating System. Operating System checks it’s cache (and few more things like host file) if present return it else asks resolver. Resolvers are ISP(Internet Service Provider) servers but can be configured to any other DNS service provider. Resolvers check if the domain is in its cache return it else look for root servers. Root servers are top in the DNS hierarchy and know the address of TLDs(top-level domain like .com, .net, .org, etc.) servers. Based on the type of domain, Root servers direct resolver to corresponding TLD servers. For a .com domain, root servers direct to .com TLD servers. TLD servers know the address of name servers. Name servers know the real IP address of the requested domain. The browser receives the resolved IP address. Ahh too confusing and too much to remember. Let's keep it simple and know what is in our control and find the scope of performance improvements. DNS Management Tools A registrar is a place where one buys a domain. The registrar provides name servers and a few other DNS management tools. Example Registrars and DNS management tools Amazon Web Service(AWS) — Route 53 Google Cloud — domains.google.com The main job of DNS management tools. Provide name servers details to TLDs. Add domain validation and authorization config for third parties. Define cache invalidation time or (TTL). It’s a duration for which resolvers, browsers, etc can cache IP address in their cache. Time To Live Define how to resolve a particular request. For mails check MX record. For HTTP/HTTPS check A, AAAA, or CNAME record. DNS Performance Optimization Opportunities 1. Increase cache invalidation time Increasing cache invalidation time will ensure that the domain IP addresses will be served from the nearest cache. This will result in low latency DNS resolution. This will be a problem in cases where domain to IP mapping is frequently changed. To handle such cases follow these steps. Set TTL to 0 to avoid the cache of any new request. Wait for the previous TTL value time to ensure the previous cache is invalidated. Make the new changes. This will fix any downtime possibilities from any known changes. But what if the server crashed or something unexpected happened. For such cases keeping a static IP and assigning it to a new server will help. Let's look at the TTL value of some popular domains. apple.com — 60 min microsoft.com — 60 min Booking.com — 24 hrs google.com — 5 min indiatimes.com — 20 min godaddy.com — 10 min azure.microsoft.com — 60 min Increasing TTL is a tradeoff between availability and performance. Controlling availability with high TTL is possible but needs extra effort and care. 2. Use A or AAAA record wherever possible in place of CNAME CNAME or Canonical Name is like recursion where one domain resolves to another domain. The DNS resolution algorithm keeps looking until it finds the real IP address. In most cases replacing CNAME will not be possible because of no control over the resolved IP address. This rule is only applicable for cases where IP address is known but still, CNAME is preferable due to unmanageable DNS records. DNS records if not maintained properly becomes unmanageable in most mid to large-scale organizations. Some CDN and DNS service providers use a concept of CNAME Flattening to resolve IP directly without going through the whole chain of DNS resolution. Opt for it if your CDN or DNS service provider has support for it. 3. Use CDN which uses their own name servers. CDN works in two ways. Ask to replace registrar name servers with their name servers. Ask to add CNAME for domain resolution. Both approaches have their own Pros and Cons. The first one is good for fast DNS resolution. The second one gives more flexibility and control to the maintainer. CDN has other limitations they are yet not equipped to serve dynamic content. There is some development in this area like using lambda on the edge(AWS) but still, there is a long path to cover. 4. Use custom name servers (only for large scale applications) The purpose of name servers is to provide a real IP address that corresponds to a domain. Using custom logic a domain can be resolved to a different IP each time it receives a request. CDN uses this approach to serve content from the nearest host to the user but they can’t be used for dynamic content. Using custom name servers to resolve IP addresses based on the region can significantly reduce latency. In California for users in North America In Paris for users in Europe In Mumbai for users in Asia In Sydney for users in Australia Now people in North America can get their content directly from servers in California and people in India get content from Mumbai. Data belongs to a region can be stored along with the region and fallbacks to other regions. This gives a lot of flexibility for dynamic logic without any compromising on performance. There are lots of complexities in this approach. One problem is database sharding keeping a region's data close to it but still able to serve content from other shards. Many large scale organizations use this approach to distribute traffic and serve the request quickly. Conclusion Improving DNS resolution can have a huge impact on the performance of a site. But every possible optimization has some cost. Increasing Time to Live(TTL) reduces latency but impact availability. CNAME is not always replaceable with the corresponding A record. CDN’s are not yet ready for dynamic content. Custom name servers are hard to put in place. Figure out appetite for performance at your org and accordingly tune DNS settings. Previously published at https://ashu.online/blogs/optimize-dns-resolution-for-fast-website

DNS Resolution: Optimization Tools and Opportunities

How Blockchain will disrupt Retail! By Co-Founder Mithil Thakore, Quillhash.com A study by American Express revealed that 62% of millennials tend to only ever buy a preferred brand compared to 54% of the wider population. In addition, 58% of millennials say that they will buy the same brand of products no matter what. A key driver of this notable millennial brand loyalty here seems to be loyalty rewards. While price matters (across all generations), millennials are more likely than any other generation to stay loyal to a brand because of its loyalty rewards In contrast, the older Gen X’s brand loyalty is driven by price and bargains. As a result of strong millennial brand loyalty and the loyalty rewards that drive it, 57% of Fortune 500 brands surveyed indicated that they will increase loyalty program budgets in 2017–18. So What’s the problem ? It’s no surprise that 33% of millennials dislike rewards programs because there are “too many cards to carry,”. The existing loyalty program models are not only pain for consumers, but they raise many challenges and pain points for retailers too. These include the costs associated with establishing, operating, and securing loyalty points programs, low redeem rate of earned loyalty points, customers finding the signup process overly complex, and the general overabundance of loyalty programs in the market. In the US alone, consumers hold more than 3.3 billion memberships in customer loyalty programs. There is a term called “breakage” used in the loyalty industry to refer to reward points that are not redeemed. An average American is reportedly a member of seven loyalty programs and many of them reportedly have 10–15 loyalty cards in their wallet. As industry insiders know, breakage can be as high as 30%. And till the day these points expire, they will sit as a liability in balance sheets of brands. And for an industry that tops $300 Billion, the problem is undoubtedly immense. And we haven’t even touched the security aspect yet. In 2017, 11% of attacks on existing financial accounts (not involving payments on credit and debit cards) were on loyalty accounts, compared with 4% in 2016. Blockchain based Loyalty Programs Generally while establishing a joint loyalty program, it requires establishing the B2B communications needed to maintain the accounting aspect of the loyalty points, where each party has to audit transactions and secure data from fraudulent attacks. This is one of the reasons that establishing and operating joint loyalty programs can quickly become a complex and expensive effort. Blockchains technology is an excellent solution for running loyalty programs because they address many of these technical challenges. One of these solutions include creating a shared transaction ledger between all involved brand, implementing interchanging rules based on “smart contracts”, which is fraud and cheating protected. This network will be a shared scalable infrastructure between brands from different sectors. network Blockchain Why Blockchain ? Interoperability and Third party cost - This blockchain model for loyalty programs enhances the value of points to users and brings in new value to the involved brands by creating trusted transactions. Loyalty points today are not interoperable among multiple stores of different groups. Customers often suffer from ‘loyalty program fatigue’ due to the vast number of programs available, which subsequently leads to loyalty program inactivity. One of the major reasons for this is that when this complex system is to be implemented(set-up) technically, it can be both expensive and tedious to set up, and demand a significant investment of time and money. Blockchain can be used to connect different owners of loyalty programs and make the points they distribute interoperable. Transaction costs related to the issuance and redemption of reward tokens are much lower on the blockchain since they do not require a third-party. Blockchain also significantly reduces system management costs, thanks to smart contracts that automise processes, all while reducing costs related to instances of error. On top of this, brands themselves benefit from having access to an ecosystem of already loyal customers, which again reduces data acquisition costs. Enabling a frictionless system :- Through a trustless, decentralized technology solution, blockchain is centralizing the customer’s loyalty programs. All brands on the network decides how and with whom the customer uses these rewards, but from a consumer perspective, his/her ability to access and manage them is practically frictionless. Making the process near real-time Blockchain can enable a transaction to be recorded and accessed by multiple involved parties in near real time, increasing the chance that a loyalty rewards program provider can cut through coordination inertia to credit points faster. Providing a secure environment Blockchain creates an immutable and time-stamped distributed database entry of every single transaction ever made, making each transaction and its record easily traceable, but also rendering them irreversible, preventing double spending, fraud, abuse, and any other type of manipulation of the transactions. Conclusion - Loyalty programs based on Blockchain where smart contracts will automate all transactions will make the management of loyalty programs smooth and autonomous.The data stored on blockchain will maintain privacy of users which will increase trust of brand among users.Implementing joint loyalty program with other brands will be a piece of cake because smart contracts will take care of everything, from transferring of tokens, converting tokens, validating users during rewarding and redeeming of tokens, thus creating a trustful environment between multiple involved brands. Also one doesn’t have to rely on any 3rd party which gives each brand full access to their most valuable asset, data apart from saving the management cost. “Blockchain and Loyalty programs go hand-in-hand. We would need more secure, transparent, autonomous loyalty system and only blockchain could ensure that.” . . . is working extensively in this area to develop a Blockchain based global solution for loyalty program owners. Learn more about it through link given below - Quillhash Technologies, India https://loyalty.quillhash.com/ For further discussion and queries on the same topic, join the discussion on Telegram group of Quillhash — https://t.me/quillhash About author — Mithil is a serial blockchain entrepreneur who has co-founded ‘QuillHash’ — an enterprise blockchain services company working on multiple public and private blockchains, which is recently recognised amongst most promising blockchain services companies of India. Mithil is an avid researcher of blockchain’s use cases in multiple industries and key-note speaker. Through Quillhash, his team has built solutions for Enterprises in Retail, Healthcare, Telecom, Logistics and Supply chain domains. For more information, Follow Mithil Thakore on Linkedin , Twitter , Quora . For more articles from Mithil Thakore , Follow him on medium — Mithil Thakore — medium.com Reference Links :- https://medium.com/nrf-events/4-ways-retailers-can-use-blockchain-to-their-advantage-1b4139a0b57d https://www.livemint.com/AI/TbFABkgi4vCChqwfqvTRNJ/Blockchain-set-to-disrupt-retail-businesses-around-the-world.html http://www.paymentsjournal.com/thesis-card-rewards-a-realistic-use-case-for-blockchain/ https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/financial-services/articles/making-blockchain-real-customer-loyalty-rewards-programs.html https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/15430/how-blockchain-can-crack-the-holy-grail-of-loyalty-programs https://blog.griddynamics.com/blockchain-technology-use-cases-in-retail/ https://www.coindesk.com/singapore-airlines-blockchain-based-loyalty-program-takes-off/ https://www.cmo.com.au/article/605859/how-landmark-group-transforming-marketing-through-loyalty/ https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/retail/how-your-loyalty-rewards-you https://medium.com/sendy-token/why-customer-loyalty-programs-are-ripe-for-blockchain-disruption-ae4befe8d450 https://cointelegraph.com/explained/how-a-loyalty-program-on-blockchain-works-explained https://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianswinscoe/2018/08/13/should-you-be-considering-the-use-of-blockchain-to-power-your-customer-loyalty-program/#17f238067104 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/shoppers-stop-landmark-spencers-extend-loyalty-schemes-to-retain-customers/articleshow/10660647.cms https://www.nitinbhatia.in/marketing-case-study/7-reasons-why-loyalty-reward-programs-failed-in-india/

Stories, News & Mentions about INDIATIMES

Indiatimes’s Stories on HackerNoon

Indiatimes's News & Mentions