Category technology

Chennai, 26, August 2024: Cialfo, a leading global edtech company, has assigned its digital mandate to Social Beat, a premier digital marketing agency known for its innovative strategies and driving business outcomes. Social Beat will focus on increasing lead inflow through LinkedIn campaigns and improving organic ranking via comprehensive SEO strategies. Additionally, the agency will explore platforms like Meta and Google to boost brand awareness, targeting metrics such as cost per quality lead, keyword rankings, website visits, and keyword search volume.

Mr. Suneil Chawla, Co-Founder of Social Beat, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Cialfo, a pioneer in the edtech space. Our goal is to drive meaningful business outcomes by leveraging our expertise in digital marketing to enhance their lead generation and organic presence. We look forward to a successful and impactful collaboration.”

Pooja Gupta Pasari, Sr. VP of Strategic Operations at Cialfo, stated, “Our partnership with Social Beat marks an important step in our growth journey. Their deep understanding of digital marketing and commitment to excellence aligns perfectly with our vision. We are excited to work together to achieve our objectives and expand our reach.”

SEOUL, August 26, 2024 – SK Telecom, announced a complete overhaul of its innovative artificial intelligence (AI) service, ‘A.’ (A-DoT). The revamp aims to transform the A. app into an AI personal assistant focused on enhancing daily convenience for customers.

The most significant feature of this revamp is the enhancement of natural conversation experience based on a large language model (LLM) and the strengthening of daily management functions through multi-agents. The entire user experience (UX) has been overhauled to enable flexible conversations with an LLM-based agent.

A. has integrated all essential functions into the new ‘Daily’ feature, including calendar, tasks, schedules, routines and sleep. This enables comprehensive management of all aspects of a user’s daily routines.

Users can save and manage appointments, meetings, to-dos and more through voice commands, reducing the need for conventional, tedious typing. Moreover, the new service greatly enhances the daily AI personal assistant experience by providing customized suggestions tailored to the user’s personal situation, preferences and other factors, such as alerting the user to weather or traffic conditions before their appointments.

In the updated A. app, users can access an array of seven multi-LLM agents. These include Perplexity, A.X, ChatGPT 3.5 turbo, ChatGPT 4o, Claude Haiku, Claude Opus and Claude Sonnet. Each agent offers unique conversational AI capabilities tailored to the user’s specific needs. Users can select an LLM engine that aligns with objectives, enabling them to compare responses from various models for the same query. These features will be provided free of charge for the time being.

In addition, the app provides specialized agent services across various fields, including music, media and stocks, ensuring a comprehensive and immersive user experience.

“The A. overhaul ensures a more natural and convenient conversational experience as if the users are interacting with a real personal assistant,” said Kim Yonghun, Vice President and Head of the AI Service Business Division at SKT. “We will continue to innovate to provide AI services that save our customers’ precious time and enhance convenience and quality of life.”

GURUGRAM, India – August 21, 2024: Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, on announced the rollout of Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN) feature on the Samsung Health Monitor app for Galaxy Watches. The new feature, combined with the app’s existing Blood Pressure and Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring capabilities, helps detect heart rhythms suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib), offering Galaxy Watch users a more comprehensive understanding of their heart health.

Once activated in the Samsung Health Monitor app, the IHRN feature continuously checks for irregular heart rhythms in the background using the Galaxy Watch’s BioActive Sensor. If a certain number of consecutive measurements are irregular, Galaxy Watch warns the user of potential AFib activity, prompting them to take an ECG using their watch for a more accurate measurement. With the existing Blood Pressure and Heart Rate monitoring, this new feature provides users with even deeper insights into their cardiovascular health.

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and AFib — a type of arrhythmia — is widely considered a warning sign for major cardiovascular issues including an increased risk of stroke, heart failure and other complications. Moreover, many cases of AFib are asymptomatic or even silent, leaving people unaware of their risk.

With the addition of the IHRN feature, Galaxy Watch users can now monitor other crucial aspects of their heart health. Equipped with Samsung’s BioActive Sensor, it offers tools to help users better understand their heart health, including on-demand ECG recording and an HR Alert function that detects abnormally high or low heart rates.

The Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification feature is now available as part of the newly launched Galaxy Watch7 Ultra, Galaxy Watch7 as well as on Galaxy Watch6, Watch5 and Watch4 series.

Galaxy Watch users can simply update the Samsung Health Monitor app on their devices via Galaxy Store and then enable the IHRN feature from the settings menu on the app

What does the future hold for quantum computing, and are we on the brink of a major breakthrough? Recent advancements by industry giants and startups suggest we’re closer than ever to realizing the potential of this transformative technology.

In 2019, researchers at Google built a programmable quantum computer that achieved quantum supremacy. That is, it performed a task that no traditional computer could perform in a reasonable amount of time. In this case, quantum computing researchers performed a test computation in about 200 seconds that would have taken a supercomputer using today’s best algorithm thousands of years to calculate.

However, the continued development of quantum computers faces several technical hurdles. Qubits, which are the basic building blocks of quantum computers, are extremely sensitive to outside interference. To really use quantum computers, researchers need better ways to correct the errors created by that interference.

“The field has seen significant progress recently, driven by improvements in qubit quality, error rates and scalability, alongside substantial investments from large tech companies and startups,” said IEEE Senior Member Kevin Curran. “A key challenge remains in error correction, with advancements here being potentially transformative. Additionally, the development of new quantum algorithms could significantly enhance the utility of quantum computers.”

Here, he discusses recent advances in quantum computing, what’s holding the technology back and the leading edge of post-quantum cybersecurity.

Can you discuss any major developments in quantum computing that have increased the accessibility of quantum computers?

“In recent years, quantum computing has made significant strides across several key areas. The availability of quantum computing through cloud services by major tech companies has democratized access, enabling more widespread research and development. There has been substantial growth in hybrid quantum-classical algorithms, which combine classical and quantum computing strengths to tackle complex problems.

“Researchers have also expanded the portfolio of quantum algorithms with potential exponential speed-ups over classical methods, finding applications in diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, finance and material sciences. These developments signal a shift towards more practical and impactful quantum computing applications soon.”

What is your view on the future of quantum computing and the likelihood of a near-term breakthrough?

“Predicting a near-term breakthrough in quantum computing is complex due to the interplay of technological advancements and theoretical innovations. While many experts suggest that practical, scalable quantum computers that consistently outperform classical systems may still be a few years away, there is optimism about achieving specific milestones soon. The next five to 10 years will likely be crucial for witnessing significant advancements in this area.”

Y2Q stands for years-to-quantum, a shorthand for the point at which quantum computers can crack current encryption algorithms. What’s your perspective on this milestone?

“It’s crucial because quantum computers could potentially decrypt data previously thought to be secure, affecting everything from government communications to private internet transactions. Those most at risk include governments, financial institutions, technology companies, healthcare organizations and anyone relying on secure internet use.”

What’s the status of post-quantum encryption algorithms?

“Quantum-resistant cybersecurity algorithms, developed to secure communications against the potential threats of quantum computers, are rooted in mathematical problems believed to withstand classical and quantum attacks. The ongoing standardization efforts by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which began in 2016, are critical in evaluating these algorithms for security and practicality, enhancing confidence in their robustness.

“Besides the efforts by NIST to standardize post-quantum cryptography, there are several other emerging standards and algorithms in the field of quantum computing. These include the Internet Engineering Task Force and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which also focus on quantum-resistant cryptographic standards.”

How confident are you in these quantum-resistant algorithms?

“While these post-quantum cryptography systems are well-understood, they haven’t been tested as extensively as traditional cryptographic methods.

“As the cryptographic community continues to scrutinize and improve these algorithms, our confidence in them grows. However, this is a gradual process contingent on further research and adaptation to emerging threats. Therefore, while there is promising progress in the development of quantum-resistant algorithms, a cautious approach remains prudent as the field evolves.”

Authored By: Aadeesh Sharma and Prof. PB Sharma

If one thing that has created great interest in the minds of people around the world, young and old, and of all walks of life, it is the advent of AI, commonly referred as Artificial Intelligence. The AI revolution is sweeping across the globe and covering all sectors of economic activities and personal and professional endeavours. Be it mobile hand set, laptop, IoT connected devices and systems or tomorrows health informatics, large data analytics and decision-making systems for planning, design and manufacturing, service, supply chain management or governance tomorrow, everywhere AI powered systems of data analytics and decision making are going to empower the people around the world with great capabilities of smart, intelligent, and optimal decision making for creating a new world of happy and blissful habitat. The capabilities of machines as well as the intelligence of man shall witness and ultra new high as we move deeper into the age of AI and virtual reality.

Threats of Data Piracy and Skill Gap for AI Adoptation are Major inhibitors:

As per the IBM Global AI Adoptation Index 2023, Data piracy (57%) and trust and transparency (43%) concerns are the biggest inhibitors of generative AI according to IT professionals at surveyed organizations not exploring or implementing generative AI. 35% also said that lack of skills for implementation is a big inhibitor. Further, one in five organizations reported that they do not have employees with the right skills in place to use new AI or automation tools and 16% cannot find new hires with the skills to address that gap.

New Challenges and Responsibilities:

However, every epoch-making technological innovation and scientific advancement brings added responsibility on the shoulders of the people. Be it nuclear power, space exploration, hyperconnectivity, and network systems of ultra-intelligent smart machines, nano-scale smart systems, and smart and intelligent materials, all call upon people to shoulder a great responsibility for their use for the larger collective good of humanity. As such with the advent of AI, a new era of responsible behaviour and responsible global citizenship must be necessarily ushered in.

Responsible human Behaviour and Responsible Global Citizenship are a must:

Needless to say, that irresponsible use of advanced science and technology could be even more devastating today than the dropping of the nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during world war- II. The impact of the irresponsible use of technology powered by AI and driven by large data analytics in the connected world, even the hyper-connected universe tomorrow, shall play havoc to the future of humanity and shall undoubtedly pose an existential threat to the planet Mother Earth and other celestial bodies that today are giving us the bliss of the heavens from space.

Responsible Behaviour is the hardest currency:

It is this call for responsible behaviour, and ethical and professional moral conduct that is the highly valued currency as of today. The new generation of learners and their mentors both in the universities as well as in the industries, corporate, and government systems need to bear faith in this great responsibility that advanced technologies like AI bring with them for their responsible use for humanity at large.

The call for action:

The universities around the world today are undoubtedly greatly excited to offer AI and Machine Learning courses alongside with data science and large data analytics, robotics and automation and interdisciplinary courses like advanced nanoscience and technology and even more advanced layers of life sciences and biological and chemical sciences as the age of Pathbreaking Science and game-changing technology innovations has truly arrived.

The university leadership is therefore called upon to respond with great urgency by designing policies and putting them in place with effective strategies and empowered systems to inspire the new generation learners to imbibe the dimensions of ethics and professional integrity that are demanded with the empowerment of advanced science and technologies including Artificial Intelligence and its self-generative applications that are gaining great currency in the campuses of the universities around the world, including here in India. The excitement in the younger generation is undoubtedly very high and naturally so, as the university going new gen netizens are all 21st century global children who have descended on planet earth after the advent of internet and blessed with the empowerment provided by the connected world driven by technological innovations rolled out increasingly from the advent of 21st century.

Purity of Mind needed at all times:

The responsibility for maintaining purity of mind and responsible behaviour needs to nurture in every single corridors of the university campuses including the classrooms, labs, and research centers and more so in the innovation incubators coming up rapidly in the campuses of the colleges and universities. The time is also right to develop operative AI systems both for direct as well as generative AI in which the professional moral codes and ethical use of AI systems should be integrated as mandatory and integral part of the operating systems. The idea of AI on Chip can take this integration of ethical and professional codes into the development of AI on Chip, which is the future for penetration of AI for all and AI everywhere.

The author Aadeesh Sharma, currently pursuing his final year at Arizona State University has witnessed great emphasis on nurturing interdisciplinary, high tech, minds in education and research that goes beyond the classroom, to the collaborative projects and interdisciplinary pursuit of research. “Arizona State University, we are committed to a culture of academic integrity and scholarly ethics and provide a culture of academic excellence and integrity to foster and promote ethical and honest behaviour in connection with the scholarly work and interactions with peers”.

The co-author, Professor PB Sharma, who nurtured great innovations and fostered a culture of academic and research excellence with integrity and responsibility during his long innings at IIT Delhi, Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi Technological University DTU, and is nurturing an interdisciplinary environment for path-breaking scientific advancement at Amity University Gurugram, sees great potential for creating a bright and blissful future for the humanity, given the infinite potential and innovative genius of the new generation of learners and their inspired mentors.

The purpose of writing this article is to emphasize the importance of academic integrity and professional morality alongside with academic and research excellence in the university and college campuses as the era of AI has brought this great responsibility on the shoulders of young and old, more so on the new generation of learners and their peers.

The government of the day in nations of the world would also be within their charter to assert a new era of responsible human behaviour and a new dawn of integrity and professional morality as there is no escape from responding to the challenges of honesty, responsibility and integrity.

Aadeesh Sharma is pursuing his undergraduate degree in computer science at ASU, Phoenix, Arizona, USA and has been a Dean’s Scholar throughout his studies. Professor PB Sharma is an eminent academician, a former Professor of IIT Delhi, former Director of DCE, founder Vice Chancellor of DTU, past President of the Association of India Universities (AIU) and currently Vice Chancellor at Amity University Gurugram.

Austin, TX – August 17, 2024 – WSO2, a leading global provider of digital transformation technologies, said today that its acquisition by EQT, first announced May 3, 2024, has completed. EQT will support WSO2’s next phase of accelerated growth and innovation by drawing on EQT’s deep experience in the software space, global network of industry experts, and dedicated digital value-creation team.

Since its inception in 2005, WSO2 has been at the forefront of building innovative software that allows organizations to seamlessly deliver digital experiences. Today, WSO2’s platform offers a complete set of market leading solutions across integration, API management, identity & access management (IAM) and application development. Thousands of organizations, including hundreds of the world’s largest corporations, top universities, and governments, rely on WSO2’s cloud native software as a service (SaaS) and open-source offerings to drive their digital initiatives — executing 60 trillion transactions and managing over 1 billion identities each year.

WSO2 now joins EQT’s extensive global portfolio of enterprise software companies, which includes firms such as Virtusa, Billtrust, IFS, SUSE, Storable, thinkproject, and Waystar.

New WSO2 Board Positions WSO2 for Accelerated Growth

With the acquisition, a new board of directors has been formed to spearhead the next stage of WSO2’s growth. Leading the board as chair is Jonas Persson, who formerly served as CEO of Microsoft Sweden and has been the chairperson for several portfolio companies like Suse, Acumatica, IFS and Sitecore. He is joined by Hari Gopalakrishnan, a partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia advisory team and Global co-head of EQT’s services sector team, and Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, who founded WSO2 and will continue his role as CEO.

“WSO2 is a strong enterprise software company that has delivered a proven track record of innovation and scaled to address the digital transformation demands of enterprises worldwide,” said Jonas Personn, WSO2 board chair. “I am excited to partner with WSO2’s management team in building on this momentum to accelerate the company’s growth and global adoption.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Jonas, Hari and the EQT team in accelerating our innovation agenda, expanding our global footprint, and empowering enterprises to thrive in the digital economy,” said Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, WSO2 founder and CEO. “With EQT’s support and the deep expertise of our new board members, we are well-positioned for this next stage of WSO2’s evolution.”

New Delhi, Aug 17, 2024: To celebrate the second anniversary of OPPO Members’ Mega Sale Day, OPPO India also offers exclusive deals on its e-store and at retail stores until August 31st.

Starting today, OPPO members—both new and existing—can expect incredible deals on the Reno12 Pro, Reno12, F27 Pro+, IOT products, accessories, and other smartphones.

OPPO India has also introduced a new Livephoto feature in “Your Everyday AI Companion” the Reno12 series that allows users to capture short-moving pictures with its wide-angle, main camera, or telephoto lens. Users can then select different keyframes, apply creative effects, edit their photos, and share them with family and friends.

The Livephoto feature integrates AI Touch-ups’ advanced algorithms to automatically optimise lighting, colours, and other elements for clarity to make your everyday moments memorable.

Offline customers can avail the following offers:

• Up to 10% cashback and no-cost EMI for up to 6 months from leading banks such as SBI Cards, HDFC Bank, One Card, Kotak Bank, Bank of Baroda, DBS and Federal Bank.
• The benefit of Zero Down Payment schemes from leading financiers on purchasing the latest OPPO products

16th August 2024: The IT hiring landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the increasing demand for tech talent and the complexities of finding the right fit in a hyper-competitive market. According to a report by Numbers Orb, the global IT job market is expected to grow by 11% annually, with over 300,000 new jobs added each year in the U.S. alone. Yet, while opportunities abound, the traditional hiring process has struggled to keep pace, often leading to prolonged hiring cycles, talent shortages, and mismatches in skills and expectations. Startups are stepping into this gap, offering innovative solutions to streamline and enhance every stage of the hiring journey.

These startups are leveraging cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to transform how companies source, screen, and select candidates. A recent study by Tech Pulse highlights that 70% of recruiters now prioritize data-driven insights to improve hiring outcomes, with 65% reporting that AI-powered tools have reduced time-to-hire by up to 50%. This paradigm shift is not just about speeding up the process; it’s about making it more accurate and efficient, ensuring that the right candidates are matched with the right roles from the outset. Moreover, the economic impact of inefficient hiring practices cannot be overstated. Research by Talent Dynamics reveals that each day a position remains unfilled costs a company an average of $500, translating to billions in lost productivity across industries. As organizations seek to minimize these costs and improve their talent acquisition strategies, startups are offering solutions that not only accelerate the hiring process but also enhance the overall candidate experience. These five startups are at the forefront of this revolution, each bringing unique innovations to the IT hiring process from application to offer.

We have narrowed down the list of 4 HR tech startup that clout the technology to revolutionize HR industry globally in 2024:

iXceed Solutions: iXceed Solutions is a leading Talent and Workforce Solutions service provider to Fortune 500 companies globally focussing on Technology, IT Consulting, Engineering Consulting domains. iXceed has been functioning as one of the leading end-to-end recruitment solutions Internationally(UK), now operational in the Indian market.

It uses an efficient and robust process to develop solutions in the recruitment space. The facilities are primarily tech-skill-based, and customer satisfaction is always based on the best fit for the industry. The company uses Artificial Intelligence-based recruitment solutions to create a best-in-class experience for both the clients and candidates. Some of their clients are- Infosys, HCL, Oracle, Mindtree, NIIT, etc. It is co-founded by Yogita Tulsian, who is also its Director.

Darwinbox: Darwinbox is a cloud-based HR solutions firm. An end-to-end HR platform, Darwinbox offers solutions for recruitment, core HR processes, employee engagement, performance management, employee movement, and others.The platform’s AI engine allows a recruiter to analyze a job description and employee profile picking up keywords to arrive at a certain ranking metric. So, if there are 400 applicants for a job, the system will shortlist about 10-15 applicants for the recruiter to talk to, which saves time, increases productivity, reduces costs, and results in better talent acquisition. The three-year-old firm serves over 100 clients, including Paytm, Ekart, Spencer’s, Delhivery, and others.They provide services in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai, and many more.’

Freshworks: Freshworks makes it fast and easy for businesses to delight their customers and employees.Taking by a fresh approach to building and delivering software-as-a-service that’s affordable, quick to implement, and designed for the end-user. Unlike legacy software, Freshworks builds tech that works for everyone, making it easy for IT, customer service, sales, marketers and HR to do their job and delight their customers.They provide services in Australia, Germany and UK.

Keka: Founded in 2015 by Vijay Yalamanchilli, Keka has swiftly become India’s premier HR tech platform for small to medium-sized enterprises. With a team that has grown to over 550 professionals, Keka offers a complete solution, automating HR processes, and streamlining payroll, recruitment, leave management, and performance evaluation. Serving over 6500 customers globally, across sectors like IT services, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and more, Keka manages payroll for 1.5 million employees worldwide, leaving a significant mark on the HR tech landscape.

August 16, 2024: Masai School, a platform that builds a bridge connecting skills with opportunities, has succeeded in accomplishing the dreams of more than 5000 students across India. Working as an outcome-driven career institute, it has trained more than 100 batches and scaled up over the years with 6,000 current enrollments. Completing five years this month, the organisation has ensured to fulfil its sole goal of unlocking the human potential of India by making the education system outcome-driven.

Chirag Jain grew up in Udaipur, he excels in mathematics thanks to the continuous support of his father, who is a government teacher. Despite his talents, financial struggles made it impossible for him to attend top coaching institutes like IIT. Yet, he remained determined to build a brighter future for himself. Chirag’s journey took an unexpected turn when he pursued mechanical engineering during the rise of the computer era. Corporate roles at Tech Mahindra left him unfulfilled, and he found solace in teaching IIT JEE aspirants. His creative side grew on social media, where he created the character “Zolooo” and amassed 2 million TikTok followers. However, when TikTok was banned in India, Chirag faced a crisis, both professionally and personally.

Searching for a fresh start, Chirag found clarity at Masai School. Here, he mastered HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, transforming his skills and confidence. After rigorous training, he transitioned into a JAVA Developer role at Assertion Cloud, and eventually returned to Masai as a content creation specialist. Masai’s holistic approach didn’t just refine his technical skills—it reshaped his life, giving him the structure and direction he had been seeking. Chirag said “Masai School was my turning point. It gave me the clarity, structure, and skills I needed to transform my life. From feeling lost after the ban of Tiktok to becoming a confident developer, Masai School reshaped my journey.”

Akash Kumawat’s story begins in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where financial hardships withheld his early dreams of pursuing software development. He Holds a BA degree, Akash was preparing for government exams and while browsing through the internet was when he came across Masai School online. The stories of other students who had transformed their lives through Masai sparked a hope in him that he hadn’t felt in years.

Despite his initial doubts, Akash enrolled in Masai’s part-time course while finishing his college degree. The journey was challenging but eye-opening, as weekly evaluations gave him clarity about his strengths and weaknesses. He thrived during Construct Week, applying his newly acquired skills to real-world problems. Masai’s focused revision module ensured he was well-prepared for the job placement process, which led to a smooth interview experience and a successful placement at Tracxn.

Reflecting on his journey, Akash urges others to “just jump in.” His experience at Masai not only rekindled his passion for coding but also transformed his life, proving that with the right guidance, upskilling is possible. He said “Masai reignited my passion for coding when I thought all hope was lost. The journey was intense, but it was worth every moment. If you’re willing to commit, Masa School can truly change your life.”

Rahul Tulasyan, a national-level basketball player and violinist, grew up in Bhilwara, Rajasthan with roots in Bihar. The son of a successful entrepreneur, Rahul initially pursued Computer Science at VIT, Pune, with dreams of joining NIT. However, after graduating, he chose to support his family’s textile business, putting his tech aspirations on hold.

Years later, Rahul made a pact with his father to return to his tech dreams. But his outdated college knowledge made it difficult to find a job in the field. It was during this time that he discovered Masai School in 2019 through a news article on Masai School’s funding. The innovative Income Share Agreement (ISA) model and the promise of practical learning reignited his passion.

Joining Masai’s part-time course allowed Rahul to balance his responsibilities while honing his technical and soft skills. He worked on regular assignments and a significant project for OLX, developing the backend. Applied theoretical knowledge practically, solving DSA with Spring Boot and deploying projects on AWS. Regular interactions with industry experts provided personal insights and mentorship. This determination paid off when he secured a position as a Junior SDE at PagarBook. For Rahul, Masai was more than just a school—it was a second chance to pursue his dreams, proving that it’s never too late to start over. Rahul said “Masai gave me a second chance to pursue my tech dreams. The practical learning and constant mentor support made all the difference. It’s never too late to start over, and Masai School proved that to me.”

While speaking about Masai School, Prateek Shukla, CEO and Co-founder of Masai School, said, “We aim to offer a platform to sharpen the skills and to unlock the potential of the students with assured outcomes delivered. We are dedicated to introducing new schemes and expanding the teams by collaborating with established firms, thereby expanding the opportunities for the students. We envision ourselves progressively transforming the education ecosystem.”

Along with joining hands with major firms in the industry, Masai School has developed collaborations with three IIT firms, i,e., IIT Guwahati, IIT Mandi, and IIT Ropar and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), breaking barriers and pushing the limits of what’s possible.

OMRON is a leading automation company with its core competencies in ‘Sensing Control + Think’ technology, and is engaged in a wide range of businesses, including industrial automation, healthcare, social systems, and device & and module solutions. It has about 28,000 employees worldwide, working to provide products and services in more than 130 countries, contributing to the creation of a better society.

In 2020, OMRON created a global shared services center in the Philippines to provide financial and accounting services to various business departments and OMRON subsidiaries. It currently supports all employees across the Asia-Pacific and North American regions.

A key to its accounting and financial transformation project was migrating from manual processes to automated, streamlined, and simplified claims and expense management processes powered by SAP Concur.

To drive ROI from its new SAP Concur implementation, OMRON needed to provide end-user training on how to use the new application and its custom workflows. Additionally, OMRON had to offer contextual SAP Concur end-user training and support for different employee roles, use cases, and regions.

OMRON is a leading automation company with its core competencies in ‘Sensing Control + Think’ technology, and is engaged in a wide range of businesses, including industrial automation, healthcare, social systems, and device & and module solutions. It has about 28,000 employees worldwide, working to provide products and services in more than 130 countries, contributing to the creation of a better society.

In 2020, OMRON created a global shared services center in the Philippines to provide financial and accounting services to various business departments and OMRON subsidiaries. It currently supports all employees across the Asia-Pacific and North American regions.

A key to its accounting and financial transformation project was migrating from manual processes to automated, streamlined, and simplified claims and expense management processes powered by SAP Concur.

To drive ROI from its new SAP Concur implementation, OMRON needed to provide end-user training on how to use the new application and its custom workflows. Additionally, OMRON had to offer contextual SAP Concur end-user training and support for different employee roles, use cases, and regions.

The Solution

Driving SAP Concur Adoption With Contextual User Support in the Flow of Work

OMRON’s L&D department was already using Whatfix to provide in-app guidance and support for its employees on other mission-critical internal applications. They highly recommended using Whatfix for the financial shared services department to support its new SAP Concur rollout.

“With Whatfix, we created in-app guidance on Concur to walk our employees through processes. Additionally, we could export the guidance into PDFs and help documentation to create a library of Concur process support that end-users could rely on,” said Patrick Ruiz, Finance Manager of Global Shared Services at OMRON.

Ruiz said that one major issue OMRON faced early in its SAP Concur rollout was a high rate of rejected expense reports due to end-users incorrectly using its processes, specifically failing to attach supporting documents like receipts or invoices. With Whatfix, OMRON could identify where the issue occurred in the expense submission process.

“With Whatfix, we can monitor why expense case rejections occur and share these reports with stakeholders in different counties to improve the application’s use and optimize our processes to reduce case rejections,” said Ruiz.

It also used Whatfix to create an in-app Self-Help center featuring guided experiences that overlayed SAP Concur’s expense report submission workflows. This provided employees with moment-of-need support when filling out and submitting expense reports. When opening the Self Help center for the first time, employees were presented with a quick guided Tour that provided an overview of what it is and how Concur users can use it.

The Results

Maximizing SAP Concur ROI With Frictionless, Guided Expense Workflows

With Whatfix, OMRON achieved its expense management-related business outcomes through its transformation project. It was able to:

• Accelerate its SAP Concur transformation project, streamlining expense management tasks and transforming manual processes into digital workflows.
• Consolidate expense reporting and credit card payments for different business units.
• Reimburse employees faster by reducing rejected expense claims.
• Reduce duplicate and rejected Concur expense claims by 7% with in-app Smart Tips embedded into Concur’s workflows. This improved cash flow management and reduced the workload on the financial shared services team.
• Enable employees with an engaging expense management workflow that provided timely in-app assistance with guided Flows, contextual Smart Tips, and Self Help for basic Concur support and process-related queries.

“Whatfix simplifies everything. Our team addresses SAP Concur questions from employees in many different countries. Whatfix acts as an extra pair of hands, providing a starting point that enables employees to overcome Concur-related issues independently and allowing our team to focus on more complex issues. Having in-app guidance and pop-up experiences, and repurposing them into a library of help documentation has further enabled our employees,” said Ruiz.

After the initial Concur rollout settled down, Ruiz and his team surveyed end-users across the company to understand how the implementation went and how they could improve Concur support and future financial-related software rollouts. Employees across the organization frequently mentioned Whatfix as the key reason they were able to adapt to Concur and adopt its new digital expense management workflows.

“Six months post-implementation, we surveyed Concur end-users to understand employee sentiment on the transformation project. The feedback was quite positive, with employees being thankful for having Whatfix support the rollout, as it made life easier for them from an end-user perspective,” said Ruiz.

Looking forward, Ruiz is excited to expand account and financial shared services support across the European region and standardize the expense management process support for new employees using Whatfix’s auto-translation features.

Driving SAP Concur Adoption With Contextual User Support in the Flow of Work

OMRON’s L&D department was already using Whatfix to provide in-app guidance and support for its employees on other mission-critical internal applications. They highly recommended using Whatfix for the financial shared services department to support its new SAP Concur rollout.

“With Whatfix, we created in-app guidance on Concur to walk our employees through processes. Additionally, we could export the guidance into PDFs and help documentation to create a library of Concur process support that end-users could rely on,” said Patrick Ruiz, Finance Manager of Global Shared Services at OMRON.

Ruiz said that one major issue OMRON faced early in its SAP Concur rollout was a high rate of rejected expense reports due to end-users incorrectly using its processes, specifically failing to attach supporting documents like receipts or invoices. With Whatfix, OMRON could identify where the issue occurred in the expense submission process.

“With Whatfix, we can monitor why expense case rejections occur and share these reports with stakeholders in different counties to improve the application’s use and optimize our processes to reduce case rejections,” said Ruiz.

It also used Whatfix to create an in-app Self-Help center featuring guided experiences that overlayed SAP Concur’s expense report submission workflows. This provided employees with moment-of-need support when filling out and submitting expense reports. When opening the Self Help center for the first time, employees were presented with a quick guided Tour that provided an overview of what it is and how Concur users can use it.

The Results
Maximizing SAP Concur ROI With Frictionless, Guided Expense Workflows

With Whatfix, OMRON achieved its expense management-related business outcomes through its transformation project. It was able to:
• Accelerate its SAP Concur transformation project, streamlining expense management tasks and transforming manual processes into digital workflows.
• Consolidate expense reporting and credit card payments for different business units.
• Reimburse employees faster by reducing rejected expense claims.
• Reduce duplicate and rejected Concur expense claims by 7% with in-app Smart Tips embedded into Concur’s workflows. This improved cash flow management and reduced the workload on the financial shared services team.
• Enable employees with an engaging expense management workflow that provided timely in-app assistance with guided Flows, contextual Smart Tips, and Self Help for basic Concur support and process-related queries.

“Whatfix simplifies everything. Our team addresses SAP Concur questions from employees in many different countries. Whatfix acts as an extra pair of hands, providing a starting point that enables employees to overcome Concur-related issues independently and allowing our team to focus on more complex issues. Having in-app guidance and pop-up experiences, and repurposing them into a library of help documentation has further enabled our employees,” said Ruiz.

After the initial Concur rollout settled down, Ruiz and his team surveyed end-users across the company to understand how the implementation went and how they could improve Concur support and future financial-related software rollouts. Employees across the organization frequently mentioned Whatfix as the key reason they were able to adapt to Concur and adopt its new digital expense management workflows.

“Six months post-implementation, we surveyed Concur end-users to understand employee sentiment on the transformation project. The feedback was quite positive, with employees being thankful for having Whatfix support the rollout, as it made life easier for them from an end-user perspective,” said Ruiz.

Looking forward, Ruiz is excited to expand account and financial shared services support across the European region and standardize the expense management process support for new employees using Whatfix’s auto-translation features.