Paytm Insider Conducts Survey to Find 69% Willing to Venture Out with Adequate Safety Protocols in Place; Resumes On-Ground Events with Safety Precautions

• The leading ticketing platform has already listed over 500 on-ground events across 60 cities in the country since October 2020
• Paytm Insider's survey observed that music, comedy, festivals, and travel and adventure were the most preferred categories with open-air, limited seating and drive-in experiences

India, November 10, 2020: After almost 8 months of restrictions, people are venturing out for various experiences in the post-pandemic world. Against this backdrop, Paytm Insider, India's leading entertainment ticketing platform, is set to resume listings for on-ground events.

For comedy shows and movie screenings, the platform has already listed stand-up comedy shows in Punjab and Mumbai, and drive-in movie screenings in Telangana's first drive-in movie theatre, and Diwali movie screenings at the Westin in Pune. To resume travel experiences in a major way, Paytm Insider has collaborated with frontrunning travel organizers to list over 100+ events since October. Through these associations, the platform will enable riveting shared experiences to those who have been confined to their homes for the last couple of months.

The site boasts of a wide range of adventure trips including Gokarna beach trek and camping, Pawna lake camping, Kudremukh trek, Ramnagara cycling, and water activities, Bir Billing paragliding and trekking, and Har Ki Doon trek. While facilitating thrilling and much-needed holiday experiences, travel organizers have strict safety precautions in places such as temperature checks, mandatory use of masks and sanitizers, social distancing, and regular sanitization of vehicles and homestays.

One of the travel organizers, 3-Wheeler Ride is also optimistic on the way forward as a spokesperson from their team said, "We know that days spent traveling and exploring are invaluable; traveling effortlessly and artfully is priceless. Hygiene and cleanliness, on a hotel's standards across both these parameters before booking or visiting, is our prime focus area now. Our staff have been provided with guidance concerning the continued monitoring of their personal health and maintaining safety norms. Here's hoping that we all emerge stronger from the pandemic and that things return to normal at the earliest."

Balraj Ghai from Habitat, a performance venue in Mumbai added "The impact of the virus and the subsequent lockdown has shown us the value of experiences, how memories are created that last a lifetime (or maybe even get passed on as stories) memories with family, friends, and anyone dear to us. Sanitization and safety precautions are a must, and where people earlier bunched up, currently there's more than ample room for an individual, whether seated or standing in a well-defined zone. So such measures have come in only to make it a vastly better experience."

Paytm Insider ran a survey to understand the demand for on-ground events. It noted that on-ground events in various categories such as music, comedy, festivals, travel, and adventure, were found to be the most popular preferences. 69% of the surveyed audience was willing to venture out for events that ensured safety protocols such as mandatory masks, social distancing, temperature screening, disinfected seats, and disinfection booths as these would make them feel safer. Preferred formats were open-air events, limited seating shows, and drive-in experiences.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Shreyas Srinivasan, CEO of Paytm Insider said, "We are thrilled to see on-ground events on our platform after a long gap. I am sure people are looking forward to stepping outside their homes and seeking out these experiences. While online events will continue to bring innovative event formats to our audiences, we are seeing the resurgence of on-ground events with limited capacity and safety norms. We see the two co-existing in hybrid variations going forward with on-ground events being streamed online to make them accessible globally."

About Paytm Insider

Paytm Insider is one of India's leading entertainment platforms to discover and find tickets to the latest movies and exciting live events and digital experiences. The company has welcomed fans to over 72,000 events across the country and sold over 12.5 million tickets to some of the most exciting and unforgettable experiences.

 

Indian Smartphone Users Seek Immersive Audio Experiences When it comes to Content Consumption During Lockdown, Reveals CMR Study

• CMR Study: Indian smartphone users consider audio quality as one of the most important factors in their next smartphone purchase, followed by Battery Life and Camera.
• Four in every five users feel Dolby Atmos would lead to increased video consumption.
• Six in every seven users agree that Dolby Atmos would lead them to decide their music/video service subscription.
• 81% smartphone gamers believe Dolby Atmos can enhance their gaming experience.
• 82% smartphone users believe movies are best enjoyed with advanced technologies, such as Dolby Atmos.

In the neo normal, working remotely and staying indoors has become the norm. This homebound work & leisure economy has led to a significant rise in online video content consumption by the populace. This, in turn, has given rise to the demand for richer smartphone audio quality that consumers do not want to compromise on.

To understand the changing consumer sentiment, Cyber Media Research (CMR) a front-runner in market research, partnered Dolby, a company with decades of expertise in delivering breakthrough audio & visual experiences to billions of people worldwide. The survey titled “What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone users?”, revels consumer insights on audio for smartphones and consumer preference for object based next generation immersive audio technology like Dolby Atmos.

 

According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, “The findings from the survey gave us an understanding of how consumer sentiments around smartphone audio are evolving with the times. There is increased awareness among users about Dolby Atmos and how it enhances audio quality for content experiences. With an upsurge in content consumption whether it is music, episodic content, gaming, or even UGC, consumers are now seeking infinitely better listening experiences, whenever and wherever they go and that’s where industry-leading innovations, such as Dolby are fulfilling consumer aspirations.”

 

The study conducted across six cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, was aimed at understanding how Indians are consuming content, the importance given to sound quality and what they seek going forward while purchasing their next smartphone. The study established for Indian smartphone users that Dolby Atmos is essential for an enhanced audio experience.

 

Here are some of the most interesting study findings:

• 75% smartphone users are aware of Dolby Atmos technology in smartphones and how it enhances audio experiences.
• Dolby Atmos enabled content is a preference for quality audio experience. Consumers believe that movies and episodic content are best enjoyed with Dolby Atmos constituting 82% and 77% respectively
• Better audio experience leads to increased content consumption. For instance, (70%) of consumers believe that Dolby Atmos enhances the overall listening experience with (81%) users agreeing that it leads to increased content consumption
• Four in every five users use audio during gaming and believe Dolby Atmos can enhance the experience.
• 84% smartphone users (six in every seven) believe that Dolby Atmos would lead them to decide their music/video service subscription.

The CMR study titled “What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone Users?” is based on a digital survey covering 1012 respondents, across six cities of India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, covering the age groups of 18 to 40, and socio-economic levels of SEC A and B. The study was conducted in early to late August 2020. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size, there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3% of what they would be if the entire population had been surveyed.

To know more, and download the report, please visit cmrindia.com/shelf/what-audio-means-for-indian-smartphone-users.

GCCs based in India can provide cost of savings up to 45% over 3 to 5 years, as per Nexdigm

50% of all Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are located in India

70% of India’s GCCs belong to US-headquartered companies

180+ innovation centers in India belong to Fortune 500 companies

India-based GCCs continue to have a digital focus, and over 75% are investing in analytics, cloud technology, and robotic process automation

The southern and western parts of India have been the primary locations for most GCC establishments

Software plus Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance verticals account for almost 30% of the total installed talent base 

With an increasing focus on digital, over 75% of India-based Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are investing across analytics, cloud migration, and robotic process automation, and over 50% in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) as discussed during Nexdigm’s webinar on ‘India – A Favorable Destination for Global Capability Centers’. Nexdigm is a global business advisory organization serving clients from more than 50 countries leveraging its multifunctional, professional capabilities to help organizations set up Global Capability Centers (GCCs), manage and optimize existing GCCs, or provide outsourced services for their clients.


The webinar highlighted that 70% of India GCCs belong to US-headquartered companies, followed by 20% from Europe and 10% from the Asia-Pacific region. The session aimed to showcase the potential of GCCs in India and highlight how multinationals can leverage India’s sizable knowledge-driven workforce to their advantage. This can be in terms of business continuity, expanding their talent pool, strengthening their operations, and globalizing their back-offices.


The Indian GCC market size is approximately USD 28.3 billion (as of 2019), with over 1,750 centers and over one million employees. India’s skilled talent pool across sectors is set to increase to over 600 million by 2025. At present, ~50% of all GCCs are located in India, and over 180 of these are not just capability centers but also innovation centers that belong to Fortune 500 companies. As per Nexdigm, with GCCs, there could be savings of up to 45% over an average time of three to five years.


Speaking at the Nexdigm webinar, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeITY), said, “Over the years, India has changed its perception from being a cost-center to an innovation center for GCCs. Today, we have more than 4 million people in the workforce within the IT sector, and nearly 1/4th of them work in GCCs. With more than 1,300 GCCs currently operating in India, we are seeing businesses expanding in diverse sectors, such as automobiles, semiconductors, aerospace, industrial automation, engineering, energy, and healthcare. With the vast talent pool, upgraded infrastructure, and right government policies, we have shown the world that India is a great marketplace to invest for GCCs.”


“Technological transformation will play a huge role in making us the e-commerce technology development capital of the world. Today, 80% of companies, either B2B or B2C, are doing business digitally in India. We are setting up ‘Startup SETU’ to enable Indian and global startups to engage, create, and build a better ecosystem in the country. We have also opened 20 centers of excellence across Tier II and Tier III cities to boost local talent,” he added further.


Factors such as a large educated talent pool, young demographics, infrastructure requirements across metro and smaller cities along with well established intra-country connectivity, and appropriate policy support have enabled India to maintain its leadership position in GCCs. India’s cost to value proposition is approximately 3 to 4 times lower than the US. As discussed in depth during the webinar, there has also been ~250% increase in GCCs in India in the last 10 years. India has also been attracting global unicorns, eight of which have already set up operations in India.


“Indo-US enjoys a comprehensive strategic partnership that cements cross-sectoral links between them. With current trade of ~USD 142 million, the countries have complementary strengths and capabilities that can make the combined vision and ambition of USD 500 billion trade a reality. The liberalized atmosphere and large talent pool are attracting a lot of global companies, resulting in them moving their manufacturing units to India. I believe Indo-US trade will play an important role in boosting growth for industries in India,” said Dr. T. V. Nagendra Prasad, Consul General of India, San Francisco, at the Nexdigm webinar.


The webinar also highlighted that 43% of GCCs are singularly focused while 57% offer integrated services with a combination of IT, Business Processes, Engineering, and R&D from one cohesive center. A majority of GCCs in India are from sectors such as Software and IT, BFSI, Pharmaceuticals, Telecom, Electricals & Electronics, and Manufacturing. An interesting fact is that the Software plus Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance verticals account for almost 30% of the total installed talent base.


Mr. Peter Bendor-Samuel, Founder & CEO, Everest Group said, “India has executives who have a deep-root level of understanding and are capable of driving operations on their own. Backed with digital transformation, matured market conditions, and cost-saving business models along with immense range of services and capabilities, GCCs have opened a gateway for not only global firms but also smaller players in India. I think that's really fuelling the next wave of growth and building investments in India due to the exhaustive ecosystem created by the government.”


“India as a country provides minimal business risk for companies due to suitable policy backing. Hence, I feel companies should not look at India as a makeshift set up but as a full-fledged business unit. Also, the talent here has exceptional leadership capabilities to lead strategic businesses, which enables companies to make collaborative investment in nurturing and building up right talent for future growth” said Mr. Jerry Kinnick, President, Continuum Global Solutions at the Nexdigm webinar.


The webinar also stated that the southern and western parts of India have been the primary locations for most GCC establishments. States such as Maharashtra, New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana house the majority of Indian GCCs. However, northern India has also emerged as a promising location for GCCs in recent years.


The esteemed panelists at the webinar were Rajiv Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT; Dr. T. V. Nagendra Prasad, Consul General of India, San Francisco; Peter Bendor-Samuel, Founder & CEO, Everest Group; Jerry Kinnick, President, Continuum Global Solutions; moderated by Marc Lessem, Senior Executive Director, Nexdigm, and Alpana Shirgaonkar, Executive Director, Business Process Management, Nexdigm. The webinar is a part of Nexdigm’s series – ‘Diversify to Differentiate – Think India, Think Next!’


Notes to the Editor: The data mentioned within this press release comes from prominent industry sources, including Nasscom and Invest India.

About Nexdigm

Nexdigm is an employee-owned, independent, global business advisory organization serving clients from more than 50 countries. Harnessing multifunctional and digital capabilities across Business Consulting, Business Services, and Professional Services, Nexdigm provides customers, both listed and privately held firms, with integrated solutions to navigate complex challenges. Nexdigm resonates with the plunge into a new paradigm of business; it is a commitment to Think Next.

IBM: Organizations in India to Spend Nearly Half of Their Cloud Budget on Hybrid Over the Next Three Years

• The value derived from hybrid, multi-cloud platform technology and operating model at scale is 2.5 times the value derived from a single platform, single cloud, survey reveals 


• Public cloud spend to reduce from 50 percent share today to 43 percent by 2023


• By 2023, Indian organizations expect to be using an average of 10 clouds, however, only 29 percent of businesses have holistic multi-cloud management strategies in place

​
Tech Trends revealed in the survey:

• Globally, 64% of advanced cloud companies recognize the need for enterprise transformation and application modernization to go hand-in-hand, 2.6 times higher than the respondents from India


• Globally, 68% of businesses on advanced cloud journey are building an open-source cloud platform, compared to 46% of India respondents


• The survey report identifies businesses that recognize the strategic importance of Cloud, which comprise 13 percent of the global survey respondents, two percent of which are from India, as ‘Cloud Aviators’


• Organizations in India expect to be using at least 10 clouds from a growing number of vendors by 2023 but only 29 percent of businesses have a holistic multi-cloud management strategy


• 31% of IT executives in India say they are seeking Cloud Management Platforms for improved visibility and to control their cloud costs


• Enterprises in India are seeking an application development platform that can run on any cloud, workloads that can execute seamlessly across multiple clouds


• Indian executives get over 2.6x of their investment in cloud management over a period of 10 years.

Business executives in India are increasingly planning to invest in hybrid multi-cloud platform strategies and capabilities to drive business transformation and to unlock value, reveals an IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey. The IBV surveyed Indian and global executives across industries to gain an in-depth understanding of their organizations’ current use of hybrid cloud, multi-cloud and their approach to multi-cloud management for the report titled, ‘The hybrid cloud platform advantage: A guiding star to enterprise transformation in India.’

According to the survey respondents, 17 percent of their IT spend is allocated to cloud at present and they plan to increase the share of spend on hybrid from 42 percent to 49 percent by 2023. The majority of their cloud budgets are being allocated to hybrid cloud platforms even as their public cloud spend is set to reduce from 50 percent share today to 43 percent by 2023. Most industries will exhibit growth in the number of clouds they will deploy, which can go up to 10 clouds particularly in insurance, telecommunications and retail as these industries will continue to expand multiple cloud deployments in the next three years.

Further, the study confirmed the return on investment (ROI) of a platform approach as respondents said that the value derived from a full hybrid, multi-cloud platform technology and operating model at scale is 2.5 times the value derived from a single platform, single cloud vendor approach. In fact, the platform approach is cited as accelerating value with scale.

Commenting on the survey insights, Viswanath Ramaswamy, Vice President, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software and Services, IBM India/South Asia said, “The adoption of cloud has been a central feature in developing new, digitally-driven business models. Interestingly, the findings show that hybrid multi-cloud is the fundamental enabler of an organization’s operating model, helping them to embark on a journey to become a Cognitive Enterprise of the future. Further, Hybrid Cloud enables improved business performance and greater ROI. This is proven in the instance of leading businesses that have successfully achieved demonstrable competitive advantage through robust hybrid cloud management and governance platform.

In India, leading businesses such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are achieving business transformation by leveraging hybrid multi-cloud platform technology and embedding AI. We are betting big on Hybrid Cloud which is secure, interoperable, open and free from vendor lock-in.”

The survey was conducted from February to April 2020 by the IBM Institute for Business Value in collaboration with Oxford Economics and covered 6,000 executives globally including 412 executives from India, across industries, job titles and geographies.

Download the full survey reports from here http://ibm.co/hybrid-cloud-platform-india

Indian Micro-Businesses Remain Resilient Amidst COVID-19 Economic Impact: GoDaddy’s 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Survey Finds

GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY), the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, today released the 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Survey which finds micro-businesses in India are optimistic about the future of their very small business, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 60 percent of the Indian very small business owners responding that despite the slowdown and negative impact brought on by the pandemic, they are confident that their business will continue (as compared to 52 percent globally). The survey further reveals strong values of resilience, self-reliance and zeal for digital skilling amongst Indian entrepreneurs – indicating a strong commitment to fight back in a post COVID-19 new normal environment.

Micro-businesses continue to remain positive despite setbacks. The overwhelming majority of Indian very small business owners surveyed (88 percent) believe that their business will grow in the next three to five years, with 43 percent responding they expect growth of at least 50 percent, and another 45 percent expecting to growth of at least 25 percent. Additionally, 57 percent of the respondents said they expect to be able to recover from the aftermath of COVID within the next three to 12 months. This clearly states how determined SMBs in India are to get back on track.

The survey also studies the challenges micro-businesses are facing during the current pandemic. Eighty-three percent of the Indian entrepreneurs surveyed reported a reduction in revenue and nearly half of them had to shut their business (45 percent) temporarily. Additionally, 45 percent had to make changes in the way they operated.

[caption id="attachment_152789" align="aligncenter" width="243"] click to view[/caption]

Many small businesses in India are being impacted by low financial investment due to the COVID-19 environment, with more than 70 percent of respondents reported experiencing an overall decrease in investment. Forty-eight percent of these small businesses said that maintaining cash flow was the most pressing need to keep their business running during this crisis period. But even with these challenges, the survey observed that very small Indian businesses are stepping up, with 56 percent of them believing it is more important now to positively impact their community, as compared to 41 percent globally. Additionally, 37 percent say they started donating to charitable causes as compared to 17 percent globally.

The survey also highlights how digital technology has proven to be a key growth enabler during these tough times. As a result of the national lockdown due to COVID-19, 53 percent said they will focus on accelerating online/social selling capabilities. Moreover, about one third of the respondents from India said that this year they might increase financial investment in digital education (35 percent) and cyber security & data privacy (32 percent). As the most common mode of communicating with their customers, 35 percent of Indian respondents prefer to engage through a phone call (as compared to 25 percent globally), rather than by email, direct message or an in-person visit. Thinking about the long-lasting implications on work post COVID-19, 40 percent of the entrepreneurs in India are ready to modify their policies related to allowing remote work.

“It is encouraging to see the resilience and optimism of Indian micro-business owners during these challenging times. While it is always good to maintain a positive outlook to help overcome present challenges, entrepreneurs in India are showing what the entrepreneurial spirit is about. They may have had to shut down even if only temporarily, but they are adapting and working to rebound and help their small business grow, ” said Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director, GoDaddy India.

The survey was conducted by the Savanta Group, a global research firm, during the month of June 2020 and surveyed 5,265 small business owners across 10 countries including India, Philippines, Australia, Germany, The United Kingdom and The United States, amongst others. The sample size in India was 500 small business owners with 25 or fewer workers, out of which majority of the respondents had 10 or less employees.

For more information about how GoDaddy can help your venture online, visit https://in.godaddy.com/

Omnivore launches The Future of Indian Agriculture and Food Systems: Vision 2030 Report

Omnivore, India’s leading agritech venture capital firm, today launched its report on The Future of Indian Agriculture and Food Systems: Vision 2030. The report, a bold vision for agritech, explores how new technologies, demographic trends, and climate change will impact Indian agriculture and food systems over the next decade.

The report highlights eight key trends, as detailed below, that will drive the future of agriculture in India, with the critical caveat that climate change could negate this positive direction if not reckoned with:

• Precision agriculture and automation creating a “farm of one”
• Biotechnology will produce tastier, more nutritious, and eco-friendly crops
• Farms & farmers will be connected, digitized, and smart
• Farmer-consumer intimacy will improve value for both
• Majority of rural jobs will be of higher value and non-agro
• More fresh greens, harvested and delivered, on-demand
• Diversity, quality, and sustainability of food sources will increase
• Food will increasingly (and scientifically) replace medicine

The report points out the need for investment in horticulture, dairy, poultry, aquaculture, and food processing. It anticipates a future with significant advances in farm mechanization and automation, including farm robots taking over labor intensive tasks and reducing drudgery. The report further notes that India’s agricultural workforce in the future will be smaller, younger, and more gender diverse, and will move towards higher productivity jobs. Beyond encouraging more womenpreneurs, the rural non-farm economy will become actively digitized, stimulating a mass entrepreneurship movement around agricultural technologies.

Another striking trend that the report points out is Khet to Kirana: the increased demand for traceability and transparency in the food supply chain for both the farmer and the consumer. With middle class driving consumption, the growing concern of food hygiene, nutrition, and sustainability will increase awareness about labels and food hygiene. Over 90% of kirana stores across the country will be digitized by 2025 and be linked to modern traceable logistics which will further benefit the transparency of supply chain between the farmer and consumer.

Commenting on the report, Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner, Omnivore said, “India’s agritech sector is witnessing a paradigm shift catalysed by digitisation and rural smartphone penetration. Spearheading this change are agritech startups who are driving a transformation in Indian agriculture towards profitability, resilience, nutrition, and sustainability. Our Vision 2030 report clearly shows that innovation, technology, and agritech entrepreneurship will deliver tremendous growth in the next decade.”

The Future of Indian Agriculture and Food Systems: Vision 2030 was built on the advice and inputs of a range of experts, entrepreneurs, and advisors in the agricultural ecosystem in India and abroad, who added practical knowledge and experience to statistical trends. This study was commissioned before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of the trends have been accelerated by the pandemic, particularly those associated with digitalization, food safety, and traceability. Fundamentally, Omnivore has a philosophy of optimism for the future, and belief in the importance of disruption of the status quo. Authored by Umang Prabhakar (previously with Dalberg) and Subinder Khurana (a Venture Partner at Omnivore based in Delhi), the entire Omnivore team helped brainstorm ideas and offered support throughout the study.

About Omnivore

Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in India, that funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems. Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in India, backing over 20 startups since 2011. Every day, Omnivore portfolio companies drive agricultural prosperity and transform food systems across India, making farming more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Omnivore’s current agritech investment themes include Farmer Platforms, Precision Agriculture, Rural Fintech, B2B Agri Marketplaces, Innovative Foods, Agribusiness SaaS, Post-Harvest Technologies, Agri Biotech, and Farm to Consumer (F2C) Brands.

90% of Industrial Enterprises will Utilize Edge Computing by 2022, Finds Frost & Sullivan

Multi-access edge computing market to reach $7.23 billion by 2024

Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, 5G and Edge Computing—Cloud Workloads Shifting to the Edge, Forecast to 2024, finds that edge computing is a foundational technology for industrial enterprises as it offers shorter latencies, robust security, responsive data collection, and lower costs. In this hyper-connected industrial environment, edge computing, with its solution-agnostic attribute, can be used across various applications, such as autonomous assets, remote asset monitoring, data extraction from stranded assets, autonomous robotics, autonomous vehicles, and smart factories. Despite being in a nascent stage, the multi-access edge computing (MEC) market—an edge computing commercial offering from operators in wireless networks—is estimated to grow at an astounding compound annual growth rate of 157.4%, garnering a revenue of $7.23 billion by 2024 from $64.1 million in 2019.

For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/4f9

"The recent launch of the 5G technology coupled with MEC brings computing power close to customers and also allows the emergence of new applications and experiences for them," said Renato Pasquini, Information & Communication Technologies Research Director at Frost & Sullivan. "Going forward, 5G and MEC are an opportunity for telecom operators to launch innovative offerings and also enable an ecosystem to flourish in the business-to-business (B2B) segment of telecom service providers using the platform."

Pasquini added: "From the perspective of the MEC ecosystem, software—edge application and solutions—promises the highest CAGR followed by services—telecom operators' services, cloud providers' infrastructure-as-a-service, and edge data center colocation services."

Frost & Sullivan predicts that approximately 90% of industrial enterprises will utilize edge computing by 2022, presenting immense growth prospects for MEC market participants, including:

• Telecom operators should work on solutions and services to meet the requirements for connected and autonomous cars.


• System integrators should provide end-to-end solutions, which would be a significant value addition for enterprises because 5G requires specific skillsets.


• The combination of 5G and the new specialized hardware-based mobile edge compute technologies can meet the market's streaming media needs now and in the future.


• Telecom operators must partner with cloud providers and companies with abilities related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision to design solutions for autonomous cars, drone delivery, and others.


• Companies in the MEC space must capitalize on the opportunity for innovation and new developments that utilize 5G and MEC, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), which can also be applied to games.

5G and Edge Computing—Cloud Workloads Shifting to the Edge, Forecast to 2024 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Information & Communication Technologies research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

About Frost & Sullivan

For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

,

CMR Study Reveals Consumers are Prioritizing Audio Quality Over Camera in their Smartphone Purchase

Indians consider audio quality as one of the most important factors in their next smartphone purchase with a score of 66 out of 100, followed by battery life at 61, and camera at 60

As per a new study by CyberMedia Research (CMR), Indian Consumers are now prioritising audio quality as a key smartphone purchase driver ahead of camera and battery. In fact across all parameters one in every four users have stated audio quality as the most important factor while selecting their smartphone. For the first time ever, consumers are more tuned into 'audio quality', possibly driven by long hours spent alone in a homebound economy. In doing so, they are also seeking better, immersive experiences.



"Given the advancements in smartphone camera and battery, I believe consumers are mostly satisfied with industry-leading innovations therein. On the other hand, in the current homebound economy, consumers are getting more aware, and paying more heed to audio quality. As such, they are putting it on priority for the neo normal, from a communication and content consumption point of view," said Satya Mohanty, Head-Industry Consulting Group, CMR.

According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, "These interesting study findings provide us with a basis to better understand evolving consumer aspirations around smartphone audio. Consumers are now seeking infinitely better and immersive listening experiences, whenever and wherever they go. Across use cases, ranging from OTT consumption to mobile gaming & even UGC, consumers seek more high-quality sound. This is where brands with industry-leading innovations, such as Dolby, will stand to shine and fulfill consumer aspirations."

The CMR study titled "What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone users" categorizes Indian consumers, based on their audio consumption patterns, into three broad cohorts:

• Digital Natives who spend >20 hours weekly (39%)


• Digital Dependents who spend 10-20 hours weekly (44%)


• Digital Laggards who spend <10 hours weekly (17%)

Online content consumption - movies and music, have witnessed a tremendous growth, driven by the ubiquitous smartphones. Over the past few years, the rise of affordable and value for money smartphones has fueled content consumption, on-the-go, and at home.

India loves to binge watch on video streaming platforms, cutting across genres, including episodic content and user-generated video content on social media. In the midst of the pandemic, OTT platforms are benefiting from increased viewership, as well as new subscribers. Amongst the three cohorts, Digital Natives tend to spend more time on OTT platforms & rate audio as the most important factor considered while buying their current smartphone.

Here are some of the most interesting study findings:

Audio quality matters. Indians consider audio quality as one of the most important factors in their next smartphone purchase with a score of 66 out of 100, followed by Battery Life at 61, and Camera at 60. Smartphone users consume audio mostly through

listening to music on popular audio OTT platforms (94%),

watching video - movies, OTT content, or user-generated content on social networks (96%).

Preferred audio accessories include wired earplugs and earbuds. 78% of the consumers prefer wired earplugs, while 65% indicate using earbuds.

Video consumption differ with consumer personas. For instance, Digital Natives prefer videos of shorter duration (38%) whereas Digital Laggards prefer videos of longer duration (23%).

Better audio experience means differently to different consumer personas. For instance, Digital Laggards associate better audio experience to voice and dialogue clarity (69%), whereas Digital Natives associate it to an immersive experience (61%).

Five in every eight users (62%), use audio during gaming. 72% of those users are satisfied with it.

Indians more tuned to audio problems. Three in every seven users face some problems in smartphone audio on a regular basis. Problems faced include

• Audio being too soft (33%)


• Audio being too loud (30%)


• Distorted audio (24%)

The CMR study titled "What Audio Means for Indian Smartphone Users" is based on a digital survey covering 1012 respondents, across six cities of India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, covering the age groups of 18 to 40, and socio-economic levels of SEC A and B. The study was conducted in early to late July 2020.

For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size, there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3% of what they would be if the entire population had been surveyed.

To know more, and download the report, please visit www.cmrindia.com/shelf.

About CMR

CMR offers industry intelligence, consulting and marketing services, including but not limited to market tracking, market sizing, stakeholder satisfaction, analytics and opportunity assessment studies. Its bouquet of consulting services includes incubation advisory, go-to-market services, market mapping and scenario assessment services. CMR is servicing domestic as well as international clientele in India and few global destinations. The clientele serviced represents SMBs, Large Enterprises, Associations and Government. CMR's core value proposition encompasses a rich portfolio of syndicated reports and custom research capabilities across multiple industries, markets and geographies.

A part of CyberMedia, South Asia's largest specialty media and media services group, CyberMedia Research (CMR) has been a front-runner in market research, consulting and advisory services since 1986. CMR is an institutional member of Market Research Society of India (MRSI).

For queries, please contact: releases@cmrindia.com.

Happiness and Online Loans in APAC have Strong Direct Correlation of 0.6

Studying the impact of online consumer lending on the happiness of the population in Asia Pacific (APAC), analysts of Robocash Group found a strong direct correlation between them.  In other words, happier countries see higher popularity of online loans. At the same time, access to online lending helps people feel happier.

To show the impact of online consumer lending on the happiness of the population across the world and Asia Pacific, in particular, analysts of the company compared the data of the World Happiness Report by the Earth Institute with the number of search queries "loan" and "online loan" according to Google Ads. The significance of the relationship ranges from -1 to 1, where “-1” means strong negative linear correlation, “1” - strong positive linear correlation, “0” - no correlation.

General correlation of consumer credit to GDP to the happiness ranking globally shows that a higher level of happiness in a country results in the more widespread consumer lending. At the same time, an overview of countries in APAC has revealed an average direct relationship – 0.502. As a rule, markets ranked high in terms of happiness have stable economies and high incomes among the population. It unfolds the positive effect of lending in full, and the credit load does not make people less happy.

Meanwhile, developing markets see a lower share of bank consumer loans that are less significant for local people. Then, the heterogeneity of the economic development, geography and social factors in APAC plays its role too. As a result, the relationship between happiness and the volume of consumer loans in the region bears an exponential character.

However, the lower usage of consumer loans does not mean low demand for credit in Asia at all. This is mostly due to the significant share of the unbanked and underbanked as well as informal employment. For instance, in 2019, the latter amounted to 30% in Europe, while Indonesia had 75%. Altogether it draws the population to non-bank lending. Thus, 40% of adult Filipinos borrowed from relatives and friends in 2017, while only 10.7% applied to financial institutions or used credit cards. At the same time, online solutions are rapidly expanding driven by the geographical specifics and the digital adoption, but the market often stays out of the official statistics.

Moreover, an analysis of the interest for online loans across APAC reveals a strong direct correlation (0.6) between the happiness level and the number of search queries per 1,000 people. Indonesia and Vietnam stand out with the popularity of online financing tools amid insufficient banking inclusion. Another example is India, which is 10^th from the bottom in the happiness ranking. At the same time, the number of queries there is 5.3 that is close to the result in Japan and exceeds the regional trend. The reason is state initiatives, such as AADHAAR, empowering the unbanked population to access online financing more freely.

Overall, there is a strong direct correlation, which suggests that happier countries in APAC observe higher demand for online loans. And the other way round, online loans help the local population feel happier. Partially taking on the tasks usually performed by traditional bank loans, online lending helps people afford things inaccessible under normal conditions. Sure, it mostly goes about small amounts common for the industry that keep the negative impact of credit burden rather low.

Robocash Group is an international financial group operating in the segments of consumer alternative lending and marketplace funding in Europe and Asia. The company develops robotic financial services providing micro consumer lending to customers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Indonesia, Vietnam and India and operates its own EU-based P2P investment platform. The group develops products completely in-house using artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven technologies to provide precise and comprehensive risk management, comfort and speed for customers and efficiency for business.

E-Learning Market Expected to Reach $350 Billion in 2025 - Report

The dynamic shift to 'Work from Home' culture has resulted in people adapting to new reality - connecting solely to online platforms to work, teach and learn. While working from home has become the new normal, millions of employees found themselves with more time in hand. Many have channeled their extra time into learning new skills, thus resulting in the sharp increase in the online course enrollment.

The online education industry has shown significant growth over the last decade, offering millions of people worldwide the opportunity to gain new skills from the comfort of their own home. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has encouraged this trend by placing E-learning in the spotlight almost overnight as many suddenly had to work and learn while under strict lockdown measures.

While online education has been growing steadily in the past few years, COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for stronger market growth. In fact, even before the outbreak, the E-learning industry was skyrocketing with the market expecting to reach a whopping $350 billion by 2025. E-teaching has become a great way to make supplement income. Interestingly, 52% of those who teach professional skills , generate income of $500+ per month and 21% earn between $1000 to $3000 per month.

Payoneer, which streamlines global commerce surveyed online teachers from 40 different countries inviting them to share how the crisis has impacted them and what they believe the future of E-learning holds once the outbreak subsides. As per the detailed survey, the E-learning market is expected to reach $350 billion in 2025 (E-learning platform typically cover two categories: Professional Skills and Foreign language). Up to 74% teachers joined the online education industry in the past two years (74% of professional skills teachers and 73% of foreign language teachers joined the online education industry within the last two years)

90% of all E-teachers would consider making e-teaching their primary source of income in the future. During COVID-19, 82% of professional skills teachers and 55% of foreign language learning teachers saw an increase in course registration. 87% of those teaching professional skills and 54% of those teaching foreign language expect that demand for their courses will increase in long-term.

About Payoneer:

Payoneer’s mission is to empower businesses to go beyond – beyond borders, limits and expectations. In today’s digital world, Payoneer enables any business of any size from anywhere to access new economic opportunities by making it possible to transact as easily globally as they do locally.

Payoneer’s digital platform streamlines global commerce for millions of small businesses, marketplaces and enterprises from 200 countries and territories.  Leveraging its robust technology, compliance, operations and banking infrastructure, Payoneer delivers a suite of services that includes cross-border payments, working capital, tax solutions, merchant services and risk management.  Powering growth for customers ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs in emerging markets to the world’s leading digital brands like Airbnb, Amazon, Google and Upwork, Payoneer makes global commerce easy and secure. Founded in 2005, Payoneer is profitable and has a team based all around the world.

Pandemic fuels Augmented Reality (AR) buzz in Local and Global markets

• Augmented Reality” buzz shot through the roof in AC at 14x in India and 6x at the global level in AMJ’20
• Top newsmakers associated with the term include Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla and Businessmen like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd, Eric Yuan - CEO and Founder of Zoom Video Communications
• Wizikey Augmented Reality report reveals that AR startup named BlinkIn emerges as the Buzz Maker followed by Immaginate and Queppelin in India

The Augmented Reality Report by Wizikey, Asia’s fastest-growing PR- SAAS Startup, highlights that Augmented Reality (AR) moved center stage in the after COVID-19 world. In an analysis of a million+ news articles, AR hit its high-point in the AC era. In AMJ’20, the AR buzz index moved 14x compared to the pre-COVID index in India. The global index moved 6x compared to the pre-COVID levels. 

Top newsmakers associated with the term AR include Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla and celebrated businessmen like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd, Eric Yuan - CEO and Founder of Zoom Video Communications and Byju Raveendran - Founder of BYJU’s.

The report also revealed that AR association with business & technology has exploded. While BC, AR was more associated with entertainment and sports, in AC it is with Business and Technology.

Commenting on the AR report, Anshul Sushil CEO & Co-founder at Wizikey said, “AR technology is now a vaccine for a faster recovery of companies. As highlighted in the report, it’s noteworthy how the overall buzz of AR has grown in global and local markets in the age of social-distancing. The cutting-edge innovation in the AR space by global leaders and Indian startups is surely sprouting a new normal.”

According to the Wizikey AR Report, the increase in safe remote assistance, customer live walk-through, contact-less supports, visual-guided support catapulted buzz of AR amongst start-ups during the pandemic. BlinkIn emerges as the Buzz Maker followed by Immaginate and Queppelin. 

The top-drawers in the AR product category are Aarogya Setu App, Apple’s ARkit, Google’s ARCore, Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft HoloLens 2. In the BC era, Google Maps, iPhone XS/ XR, Pokemon Go, and Microsoft Zoho gained maximum buzz.

Report Methodology

Wizikey’s proprietary tech was used indexing all the category news chronologically and as per their average audience views. After this, the articles were indexed according to their headline and byline to see which organizations were mentioned the most in the indexed articles and what was the frequency of the names used. Once the top buzz-makers were identified, the volume of news made by each of them was analyzed and information was drawn on the following aspects. Their share in the cumulative amount of news created by all the top 10 participants.

The Data Analytics Team at Wizikey identified the top trending words in the AR space  through analysing 156776 from leading publications from March 2019 to June 2020. The report highlighted the buzz and buzz makers  in the AR space in the local and global market before and after the outbreak. The timeline of the news created by them and when did they get the most amount of media attention. The report does a comparative analysis of the before & after COVID-19 era to understand the overall adoption of AR in the key domains.

About Wizikey

Wizikey is a subscription-based Communication SaaS that helps businesses identify and connect with relevant media influencers and subject matter experts. With Wizikey's data intelligence, companies can create campaigns, target and engage influencers and journalists, measure and optimize to scale their brand-building efforts. Launched in 2019, it has garnered 1000+ users over 250+ businesses who have created more than 2500 stories in over 9 languages. With investors like Ajai Chowdhry (Co-founder, HCL), Alok Mittal (Co-founder and CEO, Indifi), Ambarish Raghuvanshi (ex-CFO, Info Edge), Keshav R Murugesh (CEO, WNS), Raman Roy (Chairman, NASSCOM and Chairman, Quattro), Sanjiv Bajaj (CEO, Bajaj Finserv) and the Indian Angel Fund among others, it is striving every day to ensure businesses can get the credibility and trust which they deserve.

India Adds 205 MW of Solar Capacity in Q2 2020, Reports Mercom India

Cumulative solar installations in India as of June 2020 were ~37 GW

India added 205 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity in calendar year (CY) Q2 2020, an 81% decline compared to 1,090 MW installed in Q1 2020, according to Mercom India Research's newly released Q2 2020 India Solar Market Update. Solar installations were down 86% year-over-year (YoY) compared to the 1,510 MW added in Q2 2019.

Solar installations in the first half (1H) of 2020 totaled 1.3 gigawatts (GW), a 59% decrease compared to 3.2 GW of capacity added in 1H of 2019.

Large-scale installations totaled 120 MW compared to 896 MW in the previous quarter. Year-over-year, large-scale installations decreased by 90%. Large-scale project installation figures in Q2 were the lowest in the past seven years.

"Solar project construction activity came to a standstill in Q2 as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted every aspect of the economy. Labor availability was one of the biggest challenges for large-scale projects. With monsoons setting in, we may have to wait until Q4 for the activity to pick back up," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. "Considering the realities on the ground, the industry needs more than the 30-day extension post-lockdown period currently granted by the government for project commissioning."

With the lockdown lifted in phases in states, supply chain disruption, and workforce shortages due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, most solar projects scheduled for commissioning have been delayed and slipped into later quarters with a possibility of moving to next year.

According to the report, India still has a significant large-scale solar project development pipeline of 41.7 GW, with another 34.2 GW of projects tendered and pending auction at the end of Q2 2020.

Rooftop solar installations accounted for 85 MW in Q2 2020, a decline of 56% compared to 194 MW installed in Q1 2020. In a YoY comparison, rooftop installations declined by 71%, with 292 MW added in Q2 2019.

The rooftop solar market, which was already struggling, has a steep decline in Q2 as the C&I market fell amid COVID. Installations in Q2 were the lowest since the second quarter of 2016, noted the report.

"Mercom India Research is forecasting approximately 4 GW of solar to be added in 2020, which was the worst-case scenario laid out in our previous report. This assumes that the COVID situation will get worse to the point where most of the projects will be moved to 2021," added Prabhu.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent shutdown in many parts of the world, the government is pushing to localize the supply chain. With the new government policy shift towards "Atmanirbhar" or "self-reliant" India, domestic manufacturing has become the primary objective. To facilitate this, the safeguard duty has been extended, and in addition, a basic customs duty is expected to be imposed soon.

Delays in setting up transmission infrastructure and continuing difficulties in obtaining net metering approvals could further add to the sector's challenges.

Total power capacity additions in the first half of 2020 stood at 2.3 GW from all power generation sources. Of this, renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 85% of installations, with solar representing 56% of new capacity, and wind representing 14%. Coal accounted for 13% of new capacity additions.

Almost 70% of the new power capacity additions came from solar and wind in the first half of the year.

Rajasthan and Karnataka were the top states, contributing 68% of solar installations in Q2.

The report also covers the decline in solar component and project costs trends in detail.

Key Highlights from Mercom India Research's Q2 2020 India Solar Market Update

• Solar installations in India in Q2 2020 totaled 205 MW, a decline of 81% compared to 1,090 MW installed in Q1 2020
• In Q2 2020, large-scale solar installations came to 120 MW, while rooftop installations accounted for 85 MW
• Cumulative solar installed capacity in India was approximately 37 GW at the end of Q2 2020
• The large-scale solar project pipeline in India stands at 42 GW, with another 34 GW of tendered capacity pending auction at the end of Q2 2020
• Mercom India forecasts solar installations of approximately 4 GW in CY 2020
• Solar accounted for 56% of new power capacity additions in 1H 2020
• Almost 70% of the new power capacity additions came from solar and wind in the first half of the year.
• Electricity generated from solar in Q2 2020 crossed 15.7 billion units

Mercom India's Q2 2020 report has 107 pages and covers all facets of India's solar market. For the complete report, visit: https://mercomindia.com/product/q2-2020-india-solar-market-update

Mercom's India solar Quarterly Update is the most in-depth and accurate report available on the state of the Indian Solar Market. The report covers the entire solar market, pricing, policies, and forecast that will help companies navigate the challenges as well as take advantage of opportunities in the market.

Mercom Communications India, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Mercom Capital Group, is a clean energy research and communications firm in India recognized worldwide for its expertise in Indian cleantech markets. Located in Bangalore, India, Mercom has been providing communications and research services across India for clean energy organizations since early 2009.

Global Trade in Services to Increase by $2 Trn Over Next 5 Years - Report by Western Union and Oxford Economics

• Forecasts by Western Union and Oxford Economics project the value of international, cross-border trade in services rising from $6.1trn in 2019 to $8.0trn by 2025 – a 31% increase in value


• Amongst developed economies, USA, France, and UK set to see largest increase in value of cross-border trade in services by 2025


• Adoption of new technology and digitization of working practices likely to further fuel post-pandemic economic recovery and growth of cross-border trade in services


• Trade policy liberalization could see an additional $890bn increase in the value of services traded globally.

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, today launches a new report, “The Global Services Trade Revolutions: Fuelling post-pandemic economic recovery and growth,” in partnership with Oxford Economics – a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis.

The report projects the value of international trade in services* rising from $6.1trn in 2019 to $8.0trn by 2025, equating to an increase of almost a third (31%) in the value of global flows over this period.

It is predicted this growth will be accelerated by the adoption of new technology and digitization of working practices forced by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – which, combined with a shift in attitudes to online interactions, is likely to fuel economic recovery and growth of cross-border trade in services in the coming five years.

Western Union Business Solutions and Oxford Economics’ central forecast scenario envisages a relatively strong economic recovery, but it is also possible that a more pessimistic scenario will unfold, characterized by a steeper near-term contraction and a more prolonged and incomplete recovery (see Comparison of global services export forecasts graph). Still, this scenario would only magnify the relative outperformance of digitally-deliverable services.

“For far too long the global service industry has been undervalued and its importance underestimated. This report shows that this needs to change. The economic impact of COVID-19 will be felt for years to come, but we can clearly see that the regions and industries that recognize and appreciate the value of global services will be in a better position to drive future success and ultimately, recovery,”said Andrew Summerill, President, Payments at Western Union.

Sector breakdown

[caption id="attachment_150763" align="aligncenter" width="484"] Predicted growth in international services trade (Graphic: Business Wire)[/caption]

The analysis suggests while the global economy is suffering in the short-term, trade in modern digital services will prove comparatively resilient through the current crisis. It estimates that the value of cross-border flows of B2B, ICT and financial services will decline by just 6% in 2020, compared to the value of goods trade, which will decline an estimated 13% (see 2019-2025 Predicted growth in international services trade graph).

Meanwhile, hard-hit traditional services categories such as tourism will decline by around 40% in 2020, while air passenger transport will decline by over 50%. As a share of total services trade, these categories are projected to slide to 39% by 2025 – down from 41% in 2019.

Geographic breakdown

[caption id="attachment_150762" align="aligncenter" width="479"] Predicted growth in services exports by country (Graphic: Business Wire)[/caption]

The report also analysed these trends across eight large developed economies, finding B2B services will be the main driver of export growth, with financial services also important for key hubs like the USA, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. Outside this sample, other predicted ‘hotspots’ for digital services export growth over the medium term include Korea and Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The USA will post the largest overall increase in services exports during the forecast period, the result of its global leadership in many categories of professional services, as well as its investments in digital infrastructure and technological innovation (see 2019-2025 Predicted growth in services exports by country).

Furthermore, it is estimated a broad, multilateral liberalization of trade policies on services could provide an additional 11% boost to the value of global services trade by 2025, which would equal an $890bn increase in the value of these cross-border transactions.

“The pandemic has already super-charged the growth in digital services and highlighted the potential for remote services to transcend global borders. Over the next decade, we’re going to see swathes of new business models redefine the possibilities for cross-border transactions. And in the short-term, global trade in services will be a vital component of recovery, and it will be digitally focused industries that will be the driving force,” added Summerill. The report, which aims to shine a light on the valuable contribution that global digital services trade brings to the economy now and its potential for the future, uncovers that trade in services has typically been undervalued, when compared to trade in goods or manufacturing.

The report estimates that services currently account for more than half (55%) of all global trade flows, equating to US$13.7trn of cross-border transactions in 2019. Official statistics state that the share of services in total trade amounted to 24% in 2019, up from 19% in 1995.¹

“Our aim is to champion the industries fuelling economic growth and recovery and to provide support to boost the growth of the digital services sector,” concluded Summerill.

To access the report in full, please click here.

Note on research and methodology

The key framework in which Oxford Economics’ analysis is conducted is its own Global Econometric Model (GEM). The GEM replicates the world economy by interlinking 80 countries, 6 regional trading blocs and the Eurozone. These countries are interlinked through international trade in goods and services, competitiveness (measured by unit labour costs adjusted for the exchange rate), capital markets, interest rates and commodity prices. Historic data and forecasts are updated on a monthly basis by our country economists.

*Definitions of international trade in services used for this study:

• Business-to-business (B2B) services: Professional services (e.g. engineering, legal) and royalty & license fees (e.g. fees for the use of patented technology).


• Information and communications technology (ICT) services: Services related to computers (e.g. software development) and communication devices (e.g. telephone services).


• Financial services: Activities of the finance industry including banking, insurance and asset management.


• Transport & distribution: Services related to the international movement of goods (e.g. shipping, air cargo and cross-border road & rail transport) or transport of people (e.g. air passenger services).


• Tourism & travel: Spending by temporary visitors to another country for leisure, business or other purposes such as education or medical tourism (exports are defined as inbound tourism flows).


• Construction: Services relating to the construction/demolition of buildings and other structures, as well as installations and building repairs.


• Public services: Services commissioned by the public sector.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of June 30, 2020, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering our branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2019, is available in over 75 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends, and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About Oxford Economics

Oxford Economics is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis. Our worldwide client base comprises more than 1,500 international corporations, financial institutions, government organisations, and universities.

Headquartered in Oxford, with offices around the world, we employ 400 staff, including 250 economists and analysts. Our best-in-class global economic and industry models and analytical tools give us an unmatched ability to forecast external market trends and assess their economic, social and business impact.

¹ Oxford Economics estimates based on the OECD Trade in Value-Added (TiVA) database, together with services activities within manufacturing firms as reported in Miroudot and Cadestin (2017), “Services in Global Value Chains: From Inputs to Value-Creating Activities,” OECD Trade Policy Papers No. 197

India Microfinance Market to Grow at over 40% until 2025 - Research

Government push for the growth of small and medium enterprises and lower-income groups driving microfinance market in India

According to TechSci Research report, “India Microfinance Market By Type, By Bank Type, By Non-Banks, By End-Use, By Area, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025”, microfinance market in India is anticipated to grow at a brisk CAGR of more than 40% during 2021 – 2025, predominantly on account of increasing demand for microfinance loans from the country’s MSME sector. The main objective of microfinance organizations is to provide a chance to low-salary borrowers to become self-sufficient. This sector plays an important role in promoting inclusive growth by providing credit to borrowers who fall under BPL category. This industry is also helping the women, especially from rural areas, to avail small loans at affordable rates. 

 "India Microfinance Market"

Microfinance market in India can be segmented based on By Type, By Bank Type, By End-Use, By Area, and By Region. Based on types, India microfinance market is segmented into banks and non-banks. In India, bank are the preferred sources for microfinance. Banks dominated the market in 2020 and the trend is likely to continue in the forthcoming years as well. This is due to banks offering attractive interest rates compared to non-banking institutions.

In terms of Bank Type segmentation, the market is categorized into small finance banks, commercial banks, regional rural banks, and cooperative banks. Small finance banks accounted for the largest market share in 2020 and the trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. By End-Use, the market is segmented into Agriculture and Allied, Services, Trade & Business, Education, Production/manufacturing, and others. Agriculture and Allied segment dominates the end use segment of microfinance market in India. Region wise, India microfinance market is segmented into North, South, West and East regions. South region accounted for the highest market share in 2020, followed by West, North and East regions. The East region is foreseen to witness fastest CAGR during the forecast years. 

Major players operating in India microfinance market include Jana Small Finance Bank Limited, Belstar Investment and Finance Private Limited, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited, Satin Creditcare Network Limited, Annapurna Microfinance Pvt. Ltd, BSS Microfinance Pvt. Ltd, Fusion Microfinance, Future Financial Services Private Limited, Asirvad Microfinance Pvt. Ltd, Mudra Microfinance, and Others. Growing technological advancements and government initiatives towards digital innovations like ‘Broadband for All’, which aims to cover over 200,000 villages in India, will reduce the barrier for the adoption of MFI, which will further boost India microfinancing market over the next five years. Moreover, low interest rate scenario along with increasing urbanization would further steer growth in India microfinance market during forecast period.” said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

“India Microfinance Market By Type, By Bank Type, By Non-Banks, By End-Use, By Area, By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025” has analyzed the potential of microfinance market across the country, and provides statistics and information on market sizes, shares and trends. The report will suffice in providing the intending clients with cutting-edge market intelligence and help them in taking sound investment decisions. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers and key challenges faced by India microfinance market.

Growing Cloud Kitchen Opportunity and its Challenges - Insights By Homefoodi

Homefoodi’s Business Model has been resilient to COVID-19 impact, exponentially aided a strong business continuity during the Lockdown period and the period post Lockdown

Most research and consulting reports on India’s Cloud Kitchen Market Size expects it to be about USD 1 Billion by 2023. The Cloud Kitchen market is increasingly becoming a significant part of the overall food delivery market. The recent Coronavirus pandemic is likely to have altered some of these numbers, but there is no stopping this obvious phenomenon of Cloud Kitchens. 

The recent pandemic is likely to keep people away from dine-in restaurants and further cement the Cloud Kitchen Market not just in India but Globally. The below 2 reasons 

Given the pandemic around, most people have become very cautious about health and hygiene; this strong change in consumer behavior has made Homefoodi, a Home food delivery app that aggregates Home Cloud kitchens to grow by over 50% during the lockdown as compared to Pre-Covid levels. With an ever-increasing demand of Home-cooked meals, Homefoodi provides the consumers with an array of 1000+ Dishes from over 250 Home Chefs for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner. Homefoodi is about everything that can be cooked and baked at home and hence the options are limitless. 

Homefoodi being a renowned Home cloud kitchen aggregator has been growing since its launch in October 2019. Every month has been a growth story and they have been exceeding their defined business goals as well.

Commercial Cloud Kitchens face the following 3 Key Challenges.

1. Dependence on Food Aggregators for Orders
2. Inventory Management for orders and wastage
3. Hygiene and Food Quality Standards

Only once the above challenges are resolved, can a Commercial cloud kitchen have a successful and inspiring story to share. Here's a wider look into the challenges:

Dependence on Food Aggregators for Orders: For a cloud kitchen to shoot up with flying colours they depend majorly on food aggregators, which in turn provide a platform to them. However, one must review each aggregator before going on-board with the said aggregator.

Inventory Management for orders and wastage: A management of orders and wastage is of utmost priority without one a cloud kitchen can easily end up having more to give-up than to achieve. An appropriate management maintains the logistics that helps create a win-win situation for both the Food aggregator as well as the cloud kitchen.

Hygiene and Food Quality Standards: A challenge of utmost priority that needs to curbed and looked after at any cost. No consumer has been or will be ever attracted to food or a cloud kitchen that neglects hygiene and food quality standards.

Home Cloud Kitchens score over Commercial Kitchens as far as the above challenges are concerned. The concept of Home Cloud Kitchens is fast evolving as the next frontier in Cloud Kitchen market. However, to leverage the Home Cloud Kitchen opportunity, one has to partner with a Trusted and successful Home Food Delivery APP.  

For a Home Cloud Kitchen Food Delivery application to be successful the following demands must be met:

1. Supply ecosystem of Talented Home Chefs.
2. Simple Platform uniquely built for Home Chefs.
3. Adequate Demand generation.

The Supply Ecosystem of a home-food aggregator must be able to identify talented home chefs and convince them to collaborate which can be only solved by an expert Front-End team and a robust selection process that involves food tasting and checks for cleanliness and hygiene. The Technology Platform should be user friendly for Home Chefs to address limitations and allow customization that suits their working and cooking style. The aggregator should be able to create marketing awareness and adoption through adequate demand Generation. There is an untapped and growing demand for home food and companies should solve the above for the Flywheel to move. 

“We aim to create India's Largest Community of Talented Home Chefs who are passionate about cooking and committed to serve Healthy, Fresh, Hygienic and delicious Home Food Delicacies to customers” stated Narendra Singh Dahiya, Founder and Director, Homefoodi.

Every country has observed a noticeable shift in people trusting healthy and hygienic home food over restaurant and outside food in general. Homefoodi is empowering every Homemaker to overcome all their challenges to become a successful Home Chef. We have made it extremely convenient for every Homemaker to solve all their challenges to start a ‘Home Cloud Kitchen’ be it banking, FSSAI registration, food photography, packaging, delivery, online payments and marketing. Every Home Chef is ably supported to ensure a seamless on-boarding on the platform with adequate training to understand the market potential and leverage every opportunity.

“We are delighted that we are enabling a Healthy India by serving people Healthy and Nutritious Home Food” further added Dahiya.

About Homefoodi:

Homefoodi is a Mobile Application for Home Food made by Home Chefs that empowers and connects the society. Based out of Noida, the company has a mission of “Ghar-Ghar Start-Up” to create India’s largest self-employment opportunity for women to earn from home being a Home Chef. The company's foundation is built around empowering every homemaker towards nation-building and creating a healthy India. Safety and Health are the cornerstones of Homefoodi. Every Home Chef on Homefoodi is selected after a rigorous process of food tasting, food quality, hygiene and cleanliness of their kitchen and packaging standards. All Home Chefs are 100% FSSAI Certified.     

New figures released by GlobalData reveal collapse in new global IT services contracts in Q2 2020 due to COVID-19

• The global IT services market was worth $1.6 trillion in 2019, with the Asia region contributing around 32% market share


• Total new IT services contracts globally declined by 77% in volume and 72% in value during Q2 2020 with recovery not expected until 2021


• Very few high-value contracts were signed in Q2 2020

COVID-19 has caused companies in Asia and elsewhere around the globe to halt all but the most critical IT projects in the short-to-medium term, reflected in the dramatic 72% fall in global IT services spending, from $14.4bn in Q2 2019 to just $4bn during the same period in 2020, according to the latest research by leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

The global IT services market was worth $1.6 trillion in 2019, with the Asia region contributing around 32% market share. An analysis of GlobalData's IT Contracts Database, which tracks publicly announced IT contracts, reveals that the number of new IT services contracts signed globally in Q2 2020 declined by 77% year-on-year from 886 in Q2 2019 to 200 in Q2 2020 with total contract values falling by 72% to just $4bn during the same period - reflecting the low number of high-value IT contracts being signed during the quarter with only 7% of contracts above $100m.

Nishant Singh, Director of Technology at GlobalData, comments: "The fall in global IT services contracts volume and the value underscores the global economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, with IT vendors now having to work hard to rebuild healthy IT contract pipelines. IT vendors from Asia, particularly India, have relied on local skills and labor arbitrage to establish themselves. These IT vendors specialize in IT services, and the fall in IT services contract numbers will greatly impact their short term revenues."

Over half of the global IT services contracts signed during Q2 2020 were government and defence contracts. GlobalData does not expect the number of IT services contracts to recover until 2021 at the earliest, which is when most of the digital transformation deals from large enterprises should start flowing in.

Singh continued: "Q2 2020 saw a fundamental change in the way IT services contracts have been delivered up until now. Clients have accepted remote support and service delivery as opposed to the on-site delivery of services. This has allowed IT services vendors to permanently adopt a remote working model for a large part of their workforce, which will translate into cost savings from reduced real-estate and reduced employee travel expenses."

In the current climate, most IT service vendors are expected to focus their efforts on securing more contracts for digital service applications, including cloud and automation.

Singh adds: "GlobalData now expects an extended period of pricing pressure as IT vendors offer discounts and other concessions, including interest-free credit to secure desperately needed client contracts."

Please contact the GlobalData Press Office for comment, analysts available for interview, Office: +44 (0) 207 936 6400, Email: pr@globaldata.com

,

Post Covid-19: Non-bank Lending will Grow in Asia

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the psychology of average borrowers. One of the near-time effects will be the growth of non-bank lending. According to a customer survey of Robocash Group in Asia, 50% of respondents say about a higher need for financing. Moreover, the decrease in incomes during quarantine has prepared 45% for active borrowing when restrictions are lifted. At the same time, the other 9% will be motivated by the desire to satisfy their hunger for consumption.

To assess the psychological impact of the pandemic on the future credit activity of borrowers, company analysts identified nine main factors evaluating their positive and negative influence on a 5-point scale. Besides, the results of online customer surveys in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and India were taken into account.

On the background of the increased need for financing amid the pandemic due to various reasons among half of the respondents, one in four (28%) faced a real drop in income. The decline in financial wealth of the population became the main factor, which reduced the demand for all types of loans during the active phase of the quarantine. Other factors such as overall insecurity and anxiety, established habits to keep social distance and cut down on expenses have strengthened it. The effect will be long-term. Combined with tightened scoring requirements, it will also prevent a sharp surge in lending after the removal of restrictions.

However, the broader usage of digital services with the growing deferred consumption will still gradually prevail over the habits to social isolation and lower spending. The survey results confirm it. An increase in the volume of deferred expenses and the need for money has become stressful for many people. Thus, it will encourage 45% of respondents to borrow more in the post-COVID-19 period. Then, 9% of the surveyed are more likely to resume borrowing because they miss the usual spending.

Analysts of the company added: “Coronavirus has only expedited the expansion of digital and Internet services, boosting the demand for apps providing remote communications, video streaming, online shopping, etc. It has produced a solid base for the further penetration of non-cash payments and fintech.”

Although a far more complex set of factors will affect the outcome such as government policies, the state of alternative lending, the adaptation of traditional banks to the changes etc, psychological and related points allow predicting an increase in volumes for non-bank lending after the complete removal of restrictions. As the findings show, it won't be sharp but steady.