US-based Avaya set to empower growing Indian mobile workforce
New Delhi, June 14 : India, which is a mobile-first country, will soon have millions working on their smartphones from anywhere, any time, and global communications technology firm Avaya is all geared up to tap the huge potential, a top executive has stressed.
According to Vishal Agrawal, Managing Director (India and SAARC), Avaya, a strong mobile workforce will emerge from the cities in the next few years.
"The way traffic is increasing in cities, it is becoming difficult to commute to work and a stronger mobile workforce will soon emerge and more youngsters will work from home.
"This comprises the segment which doesn't care where they are working from, but focus on delivering. They are least bothered at what time they log in and log out but want to give their 100 per cent," Agrawal told IANS.
Speaking on the challenges that the mobile workforce is facing today, Agrawal said they do struggle a bit with patchy mobile networks and voice quality.
"However, we are confident it will be dealt with soon and the cultural shift will make more youngsters comfortable working from anywhere," the Avaya executive added.
India is a global innovation hub for Avaya and the company has built a sizeable R&D team in the country.
"We will continue to expand. We see the India start-up scene as very vibrant, with a lot of innovation happening in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics and Internet of Things (IoT)," said Agrawal.
Avaya has explored some Indian companies and start-ups working in AI, ML, analytics and IoT, and has held discussions with some of them that could add unique capabilities to Avaya's portfolio.
"Since our financial restructuring, we have more cash to invest in innovation and are interested in talking to companies with strong intellectual property and strong differentiation in key technologies," Agrawal told IANS.
In 2015, Avaya acquired Hyderabad-based KnoahSoft, a workforce optimisation provider. The acquisition gave the company its third R&D centre in India after Bengaluru and Pune.
"Avaya works closely with India's developers' community, inspiring them to build next-generation of communications-enabled applications that help businesses meet the challenges of the digital era," said the executive.
The company has hosted Hackathon events to encourage start-ups, developers and enthusiasts to create breakthrough ideas.
"We also work closely with partners to collaborate on developing solutions based on our market-leading platforms, including Avaya Oceana, Avaya Breeze and IP Office," he added.
For the past two years, the company has invested in building a strong ecosystem of partners.
"Our customer-focused, outcome-based strategy is making a great difference to our customers and partners' business," Agrawal noted.
According to him, the entire discussion with the young generation is happening around mobility.
"If you see new solutions on Cloud and chat, etc., the discussion is all on how you provide a mobile solution and how it works on its online subscription-based communication solution. This is a global phenomenon," the executive said.
When it comes to India, Avaya is only looking at expanding its presence.
"There are no restructuring but only expansion plans. We have increased sales representatives by 25 per cent in the country," said Agrawal.
"The solutions we are launching in the Indian market are Cloud-ready. Our traditional customer base is also modernising fast here," he added.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
