The online survey conducted aimed to get a better understanding of the impact of business travels on individuals. 500 Indian business travelers participated in the online survey, which highlighted the travelers’ priorities in terms of comfort, convenience, and safety for each trip they take. It also noted the top concerns most business travelers in India encounter during their trip.

Indian Web 2 shares some of the highlights from the survey:

SAP Concur travel surveys adoption of travel technologies

When asked about their company’s adoption of technology into its operations, the SAP Concur travel survey revealed that 77{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the participants said that their employers are behind in terms of adoption of the latest business travel management technologies.

67{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the Indian business travelers said that they believe there is a visible experience gap in technology adoption for tools that handle bookings and expense reporting.

66{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} also rated that there is a lack of adoption for travel safety tools. These travel safety tools include automated safety alerts regarding their point of destination.

Opportunities of improvements on compliance, control, and productivity

32{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the business travelers who participated in the survey said that their company usually took 3 to 5 days to process a reimbursement for expenses from a previous business trip.

56{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of these participants said that there is a higher chance for their travel expense reimbursements to be processed on time than having their flights leave on the designated time.

In terms of reporting, 55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of Indian business travelers said that they lost money on travel-related business expenses because they forfeited it thinking it was not worth reporting or because their company previously failed to reimburse it.

Skipping safety as a priority

It is alarming that 29{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the participants said that they put business first and that only 28{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that they prioritise safety.

88{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that they had experienced some safety concerns during their business trip within the last 12 months. They also added that business travel is not becoming easier or less stressful as they expected it to be. 36{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} claimed that the most stressful part of their business trip is the actual trip itself.

When it comes to accommodations and location sharing, 68{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said they changed their travel accommodations because of safety concerns. Meanwhile, 98{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that they had shared their locations during the trip which 9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} greater than the global average of 91{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}.3 out of 4 travelers surveyed said that it was for safety reasons which make up 73{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} which is second to Mexico which has a response rate of 76{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}.

Millennials and current events

50{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of millennial business travelers claimed to have selected flights based on the aircraft type. This is 2{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} higher than the responses from Gen Xers and 21{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} higher than that of Boomers.

52{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} have claimed that they reduced traveling to a certain location due to potential health hazards and political unrest. This is 9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} higher than the responses from Gen X participants and 2{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} higher than Boomer participants.

When it comes to booking, 73{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the Indian business travelers said that they prefer to book via travel agencies online. 45{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that booking a hotel via a mobile app is their most desired service with booking air travel following behind with 41{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}.

Female travelers’ concerns and harassment

Alarmingly, 87{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of female Indian business travelers experienced harassment during the trip. 62{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said that they had suffered the indignity of being asked if they traveled with their husbands.

Mankiran Chowhan, SAP Concur India’s Managing Director, noted the potentials of the Indian market in adopting automated travel technologies. He also highlighted India’s fast-paced transition in the business travel market and that safety and security is a must for business travelers. He said:

“…at SAP Concur, we are constantly innovating to help organizations streamline and integrate their travel, expense, and invoice solutions, enabling them to prioritize duty of care.

Additionally, Christopher A. Juneau, SAP Concur’s Senior Vice President for Global Cloud Strategic Programs, noted how societal issues and employee experiences affect the way people travel. He said:

“While companies continue to try and maximize traveler satisfaction, the reality is that employees are hungry for more empathy, guidance, and better technology as they run into both common frustrations and unique individual concerns, leaving room for improvement among organizations of all sizes.”

The post Biz Travelers Respond to SAP Concur Travel Survey appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Two factors can push the adoption of artificial intelligence: a strong tech startup story and IT prowess. The good news is that India has both.

Economic Times shared how its Leadership Council in India (ETILC) rated India’s advantage as a market leader for IT services.

The ETILC said:

“We believe India has a major advantage over other countries due to its vibrant tech-related startup ecosystem, strong IT services, and an offshoring industry, to harness the power of AI.”

The ETILC consists of the members who are upper management leaders from companies such as Kuliza Technologies, SAP Labs India, NextGen, NEC Technologies, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic, and GreyMatter Software Services.

There are specific requirements for AI and machine learning algorithms for it to be able to run on big data. At present, Indian companies are requiring technology that can digitise and store data. Industries are continuously adopting this infrastructure. There is also an increasing surge in investor interest. According to YS Research, 2019 can end and be referred to as the year of a B2B unicorn.

Funding for tech startups in India the H1 of 2019 alone was already up by 9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} YoY to $4.9 billion when the average deal size is usually $12.8 million YoY with 381 total number of deals. Some large-scale tech companies have also started to set up accelerators or incubators to help startups. An example of this is the SAP Startup Studio.

India has the third-largest startup economy next to China and the USA. The country boasts of its capacity to potentially build the world’s best process automation and BPO AI applications.

In preparation for the upcoming digitalisation era, India is actively skilling and reskilling its workforce; however, one of the things that still need to be addressed is the hesitation to embrace technology because of fear of job losses. This is where the US’ preparation for policy responses may have to step in.

At present, the IT/ITeS industry is spearheading the initiatives for skilling and reskilling the young workforce. For example, Nasscom’s FutureSkills is contributing to the initiative by delivering live sessions on technologies. And everyone’s goal was to make India the center for digital talents.

The post How Tech Startups in India is Pushing the Country for AI appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

The Dare to Dream Awards is an initiative that is created to give recognition to the contributions of SME entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are expected to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to make India a $5 trillion economy.

The Zee Business team covers 24 different cities and has organised more than 37 meetings to find inspiring stories of entrepreneurship. They hold hosting awards across eight cities, namely, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Mumbai, and New Delhi from the 25th of September to the 24th of October 2019. 

The awards reinforced Zee Business’ commitment to India’s transformation towards empowered and mentored entrepreneurs who can make the right decisions. Zee Business has been inspiring the innovation of new initiatives while providing guidance that is easy to grasp and understand.

According to Mr. Anil Singhvi, a market guru, and Zee Business’ Managing Editor:

“In a country like India, there is no dearth of people who dream and also of those who make their dreams come true. But there is a lack of platforms that recognise known as well as unknown names who have dared to dream big and accomplish their goals. Zee Business Dare to Dream Awards in partnership with SAP is one such initiative, and we are thankful to SAP for such as ideology to encourage the shining stars. Such initiatives to motivate startups, SMEs across parts of the country can go a long way for the country’s progress. We look forward to igniting the spirit of passion and business while providing guidance on the way.”

Some of the winners are as follows:

• Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Mumbai: MR Jyothy from Jyothy Labs Limited
• Young Business Leader of the Year, Bengaluru: Varun Agni from Bounce
• Company of the Year – Retail, Kolkata: Manyavar
• Emerging Company of the Year, Chennai: Workafella
• Inspirational Leader of the Year, Ahmedabad: Chirayu Amin from Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
• Business Transformation through Technology, Pune: Giriraj Enterprises
• Business Person of the Year, Delhi: Rahul Gautam from Sheela Foam Ltd.

The post Zee Business Gives Recognition to Achievers appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

More than one million adolescents in India have benefited from SAP India’s Code Unnati, a programme launched in 2017. The programme has provided employment-led digital literacy and software skills and has set-up almost 500 centres for the said initiative.

Senior Vice President and Managing Director for SAP Labs India, Sindhu Gangadharan, said:

“Our collaboration with Nanhi Kali will help girl students to be digitally ready and empower them to bring about a positive change in the economy.”

She added that despite accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the Indian population, only 25 per cent of the workforce comprises of females.

Gangadharan referred to reports in saying that 10 per cent of Indian girls attending school can help increase the national income (GDP) by up to three per centage points.

The Project Nanhi Kali was established by Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra, in 1996. To date, the programme has supported more than 3.75 lakh girls across India, delivering academic and material support. At present, it is managed together by K C Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation.

V S Parthasarathy, Mahindra Group’s Group CFO and Group CIO said:

“To prepare for the wave of digital transformation that the country is currently experiencing, building digital skills is essential, and Project Nanhi Kali already provides secondary school girls in the programme with access to digital tablets pre-loaded with educational content.”

The coverage for the partnership will include Maharashtra, Guharatm West Bengal and some areas in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Estimated number of girls aged 5 to 15 is expected to reach almost 12,000.

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Right now, the hiring term that best fits it is referred to as “digital native.” A lot of countries has been welcoming the younger generation into their workforce. The Indian IT industry has been hiring many young engineers because they could be paid less and do what they were told to do. Nowadays, that is no longer the case.

The digital natives generation consist of young professionals who were born into the digital age. Compared to a digital immigrant who is already familiar with digital systems, digital natives know the value of processes. They are also very comfortable with technology.

The digital natives generation is also a natural multitasker and risk-taker. Plus, they have immense problem-solving skills. And compared to their predecessors who had to cultivate and nurture it, digital natives generation have these innate skills. Additionally, they are very open to learning and utilising new technologies and capabilities.

Supaul Chanda, TeamLease Digital’s business head, shares:

“India has a rich mix of millennials in their population – 37{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} off 134 crore people. Given the rapidly changing landscape of technology and the amount of new technology being introduced, digital natives are the preferred breed.”

Suresh Bethavandu, Cognizant’s vice-president and global head of talent acquisition, tells how digital natives are essential to the consuming population, given that they are the more significant consumers of digital products and services.

He said:

“This helps save significant time and effort. Digital natives fit this idea to a tee as they are multi-skilled by nature, have shorter learning curves, and are highly agile, thus bringing down the overall time-to-market. A case in point is the shortening shelf lives of mobile phones, electronic goods, and IoT/smart devices, down to months or weeks from a time when we had a ‘model’ release every year.”

SAP Lab India’s MD, Sindhu Gangadharan, agrees with Bethavandu’s statement.

She said:

“It’s important for us that our employees come with a strong cloud mindset, focus on tech to improvise, and increase profitability. This comes naturally to the young because they get their music from the cloud, data from the cloud, they have robots in schools teaching them physics.”

HR heads say that tech organisations are most likely to engage up to 30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} digital natives. BPO and KPO companies hire up to 70{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of digital natives because onboarding is a breeze, and they get endorsed to production fast. They are now needed even in support functions.

When asked about retaining digital natives, Shailesh Singhla, head of the human capital management business at Oracle India, shares:

“One of the best ways to retain them is to foster a culture of mentoring. Digital natives look for mentors, not managers. They prefer monthly/weekly goal setting, not the annual feedbacks. They want their work to be intuitive, flexible, and fun.”

The post India Welcomes Digital Natives Generation appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Udaan Logisure’s experience is evidence that the startup ecosystem has never had it better. There are thousands of startups in India that are being assisted and nurtured by homegrown, multinational companies such as Accenture Ventures, Bharti Airtel, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Reliance Industries and SAP to name a few. These companies have provided mentorships and acquihired the startups for their domain expertise.

SAP Startup Studio is a 75-seat accelerator programme that nurtures early-stage startups located in Bengaluru’s SAP Labs India campus. At present, the accelerator programme incubates ten startups.

Sindhu Gangadharan, SAP Labs India’s senior vice president and MD, said:

“To support employees who want to pursue their entrepreneurial desires, SAP Labs offers an entrepreneurship sabbatical.”

Other companies have also put up initiatives worldwide that aims to support startups. For example, Microsoft has ScaleUp programme which focuses on Seed or Series A funded B2B and select B2C tech-enabled startups. Another example is software-as-a-service major, Zoho, which engaged itself with startups in India and launched ‘Zoho for Startups’ which is associated with more than 35 startup bodies in India.

K.S. Viswanathan, industry body Nasscom’s vice president and industry initiatives, reported that the corporate accelerator and incubator programmes in India are increasing at an average rate of 37{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} to 40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} per annum.

Viswanathan said:

“Corporate accelerators leverage the innovation that is available in the ecosystem. Not all innovation necessarily needs to take place within the enterprise.”

VC firm Chiratae Ventures India Advisors’ founder and chairman, Sudhir Sethi, believes that more startup accelerator programmes are needed.

He said:

“The places that can mentor and help a new company start, whether it is from a corporate or educational institution or by a venture investor are all needed.”

The post SAP Labs Participate in Nurturing Indian Startups appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Yatti Soni from Inc42 shared her takeaways from the recently concluded 33rd India Economic Summit. 

Here are some of the key items from the World Economic Forum in India:

Technologies to make a more significant impact on communities

The plan for a six-month pilot aptly called ‘Medicines from the Sky’ was formalised by the government of the state of Telangana. The collaboration with Apollo Hospitals and the WEF for the project is expected to start in 2020.

WEF collaborated with drone startups to help increase healthcare access for communities in the Telangana state. 

Additionally, WEF released a report that shows India’s potential to become the largest electric vehicle (EV) market in the world. This paved the way for EV industry players and concerns on market adaptability.

Christoph Wolff, WEF’s Head of Mobility, said:

“The role of government is crucial for accelerating adoption. Right now, the uptake of electric vehicles is slow due to the high upfront cost and range anxiety, but a long-term investment in research and development (R&D) will create sustained growth.”

Startups to receive attention

Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of India’s secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra said that one of the government’s commitments include spreading its startup mission to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities within the next five years. He also said that the government is working on providing startups with room for experimentation and developments without implementing tight regulatory boundaries.

Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog’s CEO, said that the government is working to ensure funding for Indian startups. He also pushed for Indian startups to build the courage to take risks and enter the international market.

In separate sessions, Sequoia Capital India’s Shailendra Singh and Kalaari Capital’s Vani Kola urged the government to allow startup IPOs despite the lack of profitability. The latter raised the need for structural reforms for startup access capital.

WEF in India puts a focus on policies

US Secretary Wilbur Ross said that India needs to have more balance in its e-commerce policy with considerations to the changes in regulations.

He said:

“I think it is the question of how rapidly things change. It is a question of proportionality, question of timing, and a question of balance.”

India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, echoed Ross’ call for a balanced e-commerce policy stating that the government has to be very clear on creating e-commerce regulation for the protection of smaller retailers.

Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Group, said that personal tax rate should also be reduced because the decrease in demand has become visible. He further added that the government should push for it even if it meant increasing fiscal deficit.

India’s optimism about tech

An opinion poll organised by SAP and Qualtrics, with 10,000 respondents from 29 countries, revealed that Indians are among the world’s most optimistic people when it comes to technology.

More than 800 world leaders participants from academia, civil society, government, and private sectors attended the summit.

The post World Economic Forum in India Highlights appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

SAP, using the Qualtrics survey tool, revealed that Indians are some of the most optimistic people in the world when referring to technology.

The survey had more than 10,000 respondents across 29 countries. The poll results showed that Indian respondents have exceptional optimistic views on technology. The results have also revealed that Indian poll participants trust climate scientists and international organisations more than other people in other regions.

Additionally, the Qualtrics survey tool revealed that Indians are also one of the least skeptical people in the world when it comes to motives of technology companies. More than two-thirds have rejected the thought that profit is the only motivator for technology companies.

Qualtrics survey results

Compared to the global averages, Indian participants said that technology improved “jobs,” “personal relationships,” and “society.”

When asked “Does technology make life better?”, 55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the Indian respondents answered “much better.” This shows that they are giving the new technology a warm welcome despite the possibility of jeopardizing jobs, but they are looking forward to a growing economy that will provide opportunities.

More than half of the respondents said that their jobs would possibly be automated, which showed a higher rate compared to other regions surveyed. However, when asked how difficult would it be to get another job tomorrow, only 2{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents said that it would be “somewhat difficult.”

Sriram Gutta, Head of Community Development, India and South Asia, World Economic Forum, said:

“The rise of advanced technologies has the potential to create economic and social value and bolster India’s goal of maintaining its growth momentum. At this week’s India Economic Summit, it is one of the four key themes of the programme. These statistics indicate the foundation is there for accelerating the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. The next step is to ensure the governance of them assists India in leapfrogging to an advanced stage of development while maintaining high levels of trust.”

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MG Motor India’s technology partners participated in the initiative, which offered technology via its maiden model, the MG Hector SUV. This was also an opportunity for the partners to mentor and support young innovators’ ideas financially. 

The following are the key partners of MG Motor India and their respective roles in the initiative:

• Adobe will provide its Adobe Enterprise, which will help strengthen the core operating functions of a company. They also intend to offer Adobe APIs and mentorship for digital marketing, online marketing, and retail space. Programme participants will also receive an entry to Adobe’s symposiums and learning forums held yearly across the globe.
• Airtel has been thriving in the connectivity space and has been utilising 2G, 3G, and 5G connectivity technologies to drive innovation. The telecom company will also provide engineering aid in the area of gateways for future payment ecosystem for the automotive sector.
• Cognizant will offer its AI platform called “Big Decision.” This will be used to write algorithms and code for autonomous driving as well as its connected car IoT platform for the development of applications and product suites.
• Unlimit is an IoT solutions provider that will offer knowledge resources. Startup teams will have the opportunity to join Unlimit’s employees in its own office and co-develop solutions with its internal team.
• SAP will make its Business API Hub available for developers. They also have the ‘Partner Edge’ programme that will aid development teams to learn and get themselves acquainted with the SAP ecosystem. SAP Labs, which is known for breeding entrepreneurs, will also provide architectural and technology support.
• TomTom is a company that specialises in navigation systems. They will incorporate charging stations into maps to address problems related to electric vehicles (EV) and help EV owners plan their routes.

Rajeev Chaba, the president and MD of MG Motor India said:

“Together with our partners, we are going to mentor and support startups in the automotive space, be it in the area of shared mobility or connected cars. While each idea could see grants between Rs 500,000 to a maximum of Rs 25 lakh the whole idea is to make resources accessible to young entrepreneurs and innovators who are seeking help at every juncture of their startup journey.”

The shortlist of the winning entries will be revealed in November. The demo day will be held in December, and the final list of winners will be announced on May 2020 at the TiE summit.

The post MG Motor India Launches Programme for Tech Startups appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

With Carzonrent now available in the SAP Concur App Center, travellers and travel facilitators can link the SAP Concur profile with the app to easily view, report and analyse all travel expenses in one place.

Carzonrent serves more than 600 corporate clients across 39 cities and nine airports in India, offering more than 10 million trips annually.

“Carzonrent is the first Indian corporate car rental service to associate with SAP Concur and we bring our considerable experience on board. Together we will facilitate expense management for all SAP Concur clients with our innovative technology platform that simplifies the whole travel expense process,” said Rajiv K. Vij, managing director and CEO, Carzonrent. “This will provide a smart car rental solution to SAP Concur clients along with access to our large fleet of chauffeur driven cars.”

Neeraj Dotel, managing director, India and SAARC, SAP Concur, said, “We are always on the lookout to offer a holistic user experience. Now travelling for business will be much simpler with Carzonrent providing immediate access and availability to the company’s fleet of cars. We will be able to ensure more improved visibility into ground transportation spend and provide automated provisioning of business travel for Indian enterprise.”

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