While the Covid-19 crisis has taken its toll on many businesses in India, some of the information technology businesses have experienced phenomenal growth, driven by demand for tech solutions as lockdowns force employees to work from home.
Among them is Mumbai-based Flock – a virtual office app that allows users to make video calls, send messages and share files.
“Flock doubled its number of paid users in the last three quarters,” says Gaurang Sinha, a director at Flock. “As most organisations announced remote working throughout last year and with many of them continuing to work from home this year as well, we were in a position to be useful for businesses around the world.”
Flock says it saw more than 2,000 companies per month sign up on its platform last year, with India and the US being its biggest markets.
Demand for such solutions is likely to help India's wider $180 billion IT industry to grow as the pandemic continues to rage in most parts of the world, analysts say.
A report by Fitch Ratings projects that following a flat year, India's IT services sector is set to return to high-single-digit revenue growth in the financial year beginning in March 2021 “on higher demand for digital transformation”.
The growth, Fitch says, will be driven by companies' “focus on transforming their businesses digitally, moving services and work platforms online”, as the pandemic accelerates the technology adoption process.
IT companies that offer cloud-based services and automation software are expected to perform particularly well, according to Fitch.
“We believe Indian IT services companies will benefit by assisting their customers in achieving automation, adopting cloud services, migrating products and processes online and enhancing customer experiences on digital channels,” it says.
In another boost for the sector, US cloud-based software giant Salesforce said it made its first investment in India, leading a $15 million financing round for Hyderabad-based cloud start-up, Darwinbox. This is Salesforce's only investment in Asia outside of Japan, it said on Tuesday.
Darwinbox is a developer of human resources software, which includes attendance systems and hiring and employee engagement tools. The company, which counts Puma and Nivea among its clients, had seen growth of 300 per cent since 2019.
“Since the pandemic, we are seeing a shift to the cloud within a few quarters that would have otherwise taken three or four years,” Bloomberg cited Jayant Paleti, co-founder of Darwinbox, as saying.
The Salesforce investment itself is not huge, but that said, it shows that "things are starting to happen and there's a market maturity”, says Utkarsh Sinha, managing director of Bexley Advisors, a firm focused on the technology sector.
“It's a powerful sign and sends a signal” that could encourage more investment to flow into the sector, he says.
“The pandemic has shown that the physical co-location of humans is not as critical as people used to think and that there's a lot of stuff that can be done online, as long as the infrastructure is there to support it.” This is an opportunity for India to tap, he explains.
India has long been known for its back office services in the IT sector, providing low-cost solutions to the US and Europe in particular.
"The pandemic provided an opportunity for Indian chief information officers to test long-pending projects such as remote working, which delivered on-promise for many enterprises and helped them stay afloat in the most testing times"
But now, “the space that is seeing some traction and some action is folks who are building something in either the software as a service space or in enterprise cloud solutions”, Mr Sinha says.
India still does not have a “breakout” software success from the pandemic such as Zoom but the forecasts are encouraging, he adds.
Projections from advisory firm Gartner show that IT spending in India will expand to $81.9bn this year, up 6 per cent from 2020. This comes on the back of an 8.4 per cent annual decline to $79.3bn in 2020.
Although there was an overall drop in IT spend in India last year, investment in enterprise software was up 7 per cent from 2019. This segment is expected to expand by a further 13.6 per cent this year, according to Gartner data.
“The pandemic provided an opportunity for Indian chief information officers to test long-pending projects such as remote working, which delivered on-promise for many enterprises and helped them stay afloat in the most testing times,” Arup Roy, a vice president at Gartner, says. “The success of these digital innovations has brought back the focus on investments in IT.”
Software firms are upbeat as they say cloud solutions have proved indispensable during the Covid-19 crisis.
“During the pandemic, cloud has been a critical enabler for remote operations and anytime-anywhere access,” says Virender Jeet, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Newgen Software, says. “Our cloud-based revenues are growing at a healthy rate and we are getting traction in India from both new and existing customers.”
He says that this demand is coming from several industries, including banking, insurance and government organisations.
The company believes the trend will continue even after Covid-19, as it expects firms to maintain on the path of digital transformation.
“The growing traction around cloud is going to continue gaining momentum even after the pandemic, owing to its speed, agility and scalability,” says Mr Jeet.
There are obstacles though.
One of the main challenges – as companies move more of their business processes online – is cyber security.
“There are certain apprehensions about data and cyber security as the paradigm shift towards remote operations continues,” says Mr Jeet.
Experts say that this issue has to be addressed to help achieve the full growth potential of the market.
“The two most important imperatives to drive this growth forward will be the way security is handled and how we are able to build IT talent in this space,” Srividya Kannan, founder and director of Bangalore-based Avaali Solutions, says.
“There is wide consensus that when partnered with leading cloud service providers, enterprises are more secure than if they try to protect data on their own. There still is this risk of a cloud provider being compromised or of human error and the associated risks of data exposure,” she explains.
Despite this, the potential for India's cloud market to expand is huge, Ms Kannan says.
“The next wave of demand is coming up from the small and medium-sized business segment ... [which] still [has] a huge opportunity for growth,” she says. “Most business owners will rely on cloud for hosting data and this will become ... [the] foundation for the next wave.”
She estimates that more than half of companies' workloads could migrate to the cloud in the next couple of years.
However, with most workers likely to return to offices after the pandemic, there are questions about the sustainability of high-growth levels for companies whose expansion was fundamentally driven by the work-from-home scenario.
Mr Sinha at Flock remains confident, though.
“A lot of these companies may opt for a hybrid working model, and therefore, we do not see any reason for businesses to stop using platforms such as Flock,” says Mr Sinha.
He says that the firm expects “double digit growth in 2021” as it looks to tap more markets across the globe.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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DUNGEONS%20%26%20DRAGONS%3A%20HONOR%20AMONG%20THIEVES
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
