Year: 2023

In a survey of workers in India, nearly all respondents (95%) agree that the quality of the air they breathe has a direct impact on health and well-being, according to a report released recently by Honeywell. Honeywell’s third annual Healthy Buildings Survey recently queried 2,500 office workers in buildings with 500-plus workers in Germany, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. The survey sheds light on the impact of buildings on both occupant well-being and the environment. The data found that office workers in India place high importance on indoor air quality (IAQ). In fact, respondents in India led the other regions surveyed with 64% saying they are extremely or very worried about their office building’s IAQ, a 9% increase (55%) from Honeywell’s 2022 Healthy Buildings Survey. Respondents in India place heightened importance on the actions of their employers and office building managers compared to other regions surveyed. More than eight in 10 (81%) respondents believe it is extremely or very important that employers or building managers keep workers informed of the office building’s IAQ. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, India the other regions with more than half (56%) of respondents saying employers or office building managers should monitor building IAQ continuously or often. Troublingly, 17% of respondents suspect monitoring happens rarely or never. More than six in 10 (64%) workers in India are extremely or very worried about office building indoor air quality, the most among regions surveyed. More than one quarter (27%) of respondents would look for another job if their employer doesn’t maintain a healthy indoor environment, leading other regions. India was mostly aligned with the other regions surveyed when respondents were asked what job perk or benefit, they would be willing to give up if it meant re-investing that expense into reducing the environmental impact. A majority of respondents (93%) believe that limiting investment of IAQ technology shows a low commitment to employee safety and well-being. Office workers in India are action-oriented about advocating for their own health and lead the other regions surveyed with 67% saying they would take direct steps to improve air quality on their own if their employer did not put measures in place to maintain a healthy indoor environment, compared to 50% globally. Further, 27% of respondents would look for another job if their employer didn’t put measures in place to maintain a healthy indoor environment (compared to 21% globally). India was mostly aligned with the other regions surveyed when respondents were asked what job perk or benefit, they would be willing to give up if it meant re-investing that expense into reducing the environmental impact of their building. Nearly all respondents in India were willing to give up at least one job perk or benefit for reinvestment (98%), with the most notable items being: Food perks, like coffee, tea or snacks (49%). State-of-the-art technology for their day-to-day work (47%). Free parking or public transit subsidy (42%). Part of my salary or bonus (38%). Of the five regions, surveyed workers in India are the most concerned that employers or office building managers actively take steps to reduce a building’s carbon emissions, with 85% of respondents noting importance. When asked to compare preferences for employer prioritization of better IAQ or reducing a building’s carbon footprint, nearly half (45%) of respondents prioritized IAQ compared to less than a quarter (21%) who prioritized reducing the carbon footprint. “IAQ has long been a priority for workers in India. These findings show that this concern isn’t waning and that workers expect employers and building managers to offer continuous information on building health and to take constant action,” said Ashish Modi, President, Honeywell Building Technologies, Asia, “Many building owners struggle to find a balance between IAQ and energy efficiency, but ready now solutions exist that can help achieve both of these goals.” Honeywell’s ready now Healthy Buildings solutions can help improve occupant well-being, meet energy efficiency goals and, importantly, change the way occupants experience a building. Surveyed workers’ concerns about the environmental impact of their workplace may be buoyed by the emphasis organizations are placing on sustainability as detailed in the 1Q 2023 Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Index, a quarterly survey of business leaders directly involved in their organization’s environmental sustainability initiatives measuring key trends pertaining to global efforts in climate change mitigation and other sustainability initiatives. Seventy-one percent of organizations surveyed in the second release of Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Index ranked sustainability as one of their top five priorities (highest percentage) and 63% of surveyed organizations said energy evolution and efficiency are a top priority. The Index shows organizations are increasingly taking a balanced approach to environmental solutions, embracing more technological solutions alongside process changes. Methodology The Honeywell Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research ( w w w. wa k e f i e l d r e s e a r c h . c o m ) among 2,500 workers in buildings of 500-plus workers across five markets – Germany, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States – between January 12 and January 22, 2023, using an email invitation and an online form. The data has been weighted. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained in each market if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. Honeywell Building Technologies (HBT) is transforming the way every building operates to help improve the quality of life. We are a leading building controls company with operations in more than 75 countries supported by a global channel partner network. Commercial building owners and operators use our hardware, software and…

Company has also provided its products in various other metro projects like Nagpur, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow DIGISOL Systems Ltd., a leading provider of Made In India IT Networking products and solutions is proud to announce that they have contributed to one of a milestone development by supplying the DIGISOL multi mode unitube armoured cable and DIGISOL solid cable, Cat6 UTP, 4 Pair for the networking requirement of Mumbai Metro. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) launched two new Mumbai Metro lines, Line 2A (Dahisar to Andheri West D.N. Nagar) and Line 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East) to benefit Mumbaikars as they are expected to reduce traffic on Link Road and Western Express Highway. Hon’ble Prime Minister along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated Mumbai Metro Rail lines 2A and 7 built at a cost of around `12,600 crores. These lines comprise a 35km long elevated corridor stretching from Andheri to Dahisar in suburban Mumbai. As these Metro trains are aligned with the government’s vision of vocal for local, MMRDA decided to go with products/ brands that not only provide high-quality products but are also Made in India. Digisol has also provided its products in various other metro projects like Nagpur, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow. DIGISOL Multi Mode, Unitube Armoured Cable: DIGISOL Multi Mode Unitube Armoured Cable is a direct burial cable with Thixotropic jelly in a central loose tube to prevent water ingress and armour with high-quality electro chromium corrugated steel tape. Embedded Strength members by using 2 steel wires provide better tensile strength and anti-buckling properties. Available in UV HDPE Sheath and LSZH Sheath. DIGISOL Solid Cable, Cat6 UTP, 4 Pair, 23AWG, Grey, 305m: DIGISOL Cat6 4 Pair UTP Cable has been designed for horizontal cabling networks for the transmission of high-speed data, digital and analog, voice and video signals over LANs. Supports gigabit ethernet (1000 Base-T) standard suitable for noisy environments, high EMI interference surroundings and complies to the requirement of ANSI/ TIA-568-C.2 and ISO/ IEC 11801. Performance verified upto 250MHz. Digisol believes in constant innovation and has continued to strengthen its foothold in the IT networking industry by introducing a new range of IT networking products. The company has previously introduced many Made in India products under the Structured Cabling product category and has recently launched Made in India FTTH range of products. Digisol is committed to the government’s vision for Vocal for Local and its parent company Smartlink Holdings has always encouraged local manufacturing in the Indian IT Sector for the past 3 decades to create an IT manufacturing ecosystem for Aatmanirbhar Bharat. DIGISOL’s range of products includes FTTH Solutions (Fiber to the Home), Wireless (Wi-Fi) Solutions, Switching Solutions, and SCS in Copper & Fiber. Digisol Systems Ltd. is a leading Trusted Made in India IT networking brand and its parent company Smartlink Holdings hold 3 decades of expertise in the IT Manufacturing industry and offers a wide range of IT networking solutions. Digisol has set a new benchmark by offering a wide range of products across the IT networking spectrum that includes FTTH Solutions (Fiber To The Home), Wireless (Wi-Fi) Solutions, Switching Solutions and Structured Cabling systems (in Copper & Fiber), The company’s expertise in design, development, sales, marketing and service support (Digicare) makes Digisol a leading brand in the IT networking Industry.  

Demonstrates its premium line of Pro AV switches with seamless integration in high-density environments NETGEAR, a company in Pro AV solutions organized a grand event for the AV community in Mumbai to discuss the growth of AV over IP solutions and its adoption and acceptance by customers. The brand understands the importance of key affiliations and associations that make the Pro AV industry work. From integration partners around the world, to AV companies helping to create new ways of working in a Pro AV environment, NETGEAR maintains relationships with a number of organizations. The event was a huge success, witnessed by more than 100 attendees, including System Integrators, Partners, AV Professionals and Consultants. During the event NETGEAR presented a live Product demo and discussed how its Pro AV line of products not only solves complex configuration issues with plug n play AV switches but also provides Professional Services from network design to installation assistance to the customers, System Integrator partners as well as AV OEMs. NETGEAR also assured to provide necessary assistance to the customers in all aspects may it be in terms of network design, presales, post-sales or training. Marthesh Nagendra, Country Manager – India, ME & SAARC, NETGEAR said, “We are delighted to host such events to tap into the vast potential present in the AV market by showcasing Pro AV product lines. Our business in India is purely driven by the channel partners and therefore it is critical that we educate our partners about our offerings. We are committed to the consistent delivery of best-in-class connected network solutions for the professional AV market. From our industry-leading product suite and unmatched service and support, the NETGEAR promise is to meet and exceed our commercial partners’ requirements at any stage of their growth journey.” The AV over IP is a fast-growing market and for good reasons: high quality, low latency video and audio distribution with increased scalability has far more room for innovation. The company has more than 200 switching products in the portfolio that can be leveraged to power cameras and other security and surveillance products. With such a large portfolio customers are able to customize and order exactly the combination of their needs with room to expand for the future. These switches also provide businesses the ability to connect any type of AV over IP device, which offers flexible speed options from 1 Gigabit up to 100 Gigabit per port. NETGEAR’s AV-focused division has been recently launched to concentrate on the needs of both the commercial and residential custom integration AV markets. This includes products that are only available in the AV distribution channel, design teams for Pro AV and Pro Wi-Fi installations, and software to help configure and manage wired and wireless networks. NETGEAR is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. The Company’s products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless (Wi-Fi and LTE), Ethernet and powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. The product line consists of wired and wireless devices that enable networking, broadband access and network connectivity. These products are available in multiple configurations to address the needs of the end-users in each geographic region in which the Company’s products are sold. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 30,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 25,000 value-added resellers, as well as multiple major cable, mobile and wireline service providers around the world.  

Hikvision India has Introduced Eco IP Video Door Phone (VDP) DS KIS302 P Series to meet the evolving security and communications needs in the market. VDP products address a crucial part of the security, communications and convenience needs in both residential and business sectors. They have evolved over time alongside the rapid development in technologies created for better and safer living environments. The Eco IP VDP Kit with 1 IP indoor station and 1 four-wire HD door station. It has a User-friendly control with a convenient touch screen. It offers convenient management via the Hik-Connect mobile client. It has more cost-effective. Easy installation as the doorbell requires no exclusive power supply. The transition from analog to IP technologies The VDP market is witnessing a significant transition from analog to IP. Traditional analog systems feature relatively poor audio and image quality and limited functionality. For example, they cannot be accessed using a mobile app or networked management systems. Although analog systems are often a more economical option, more manufacturers and installers have recommended their customers shift to IP-based VDPs for their wider range of capabilities – including higher image resolution, mobile control, remote operation, and a series of smart functions. IP VDPs bring a new level of convenience Mobile control: IP VDPs let owners receive calls, play video, and open locks from anywhere through just a simple touch. For example, people often receive calls on their mobile devices for package deliveries or other services when they’re not at home. IP VDPs, however, allow users to give temporary access remotely to those who need it, just using a simple mobile application. This is more convenient and much safer than manually giving out passwords or key cards. User-friendly interfaces: IP VDPs commonly provide a user-friendly screen with a clearly visible interface, simple touch interaction, intuitive operation, and multi-functional information display (e.g., weather, news, announcements etc.). These easy-to-use features help get modern consumers accustomed to using IP VDPs since they operate very similarly to mobile phones. High image quality: Compared to purely analog solutions, IP VDPs provide excellent imaging with higher resolutions and wider field of view. Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) and night vision are also supported to help users see clearly despite challenging light conditions, such as direct sunlight or high contrast environments during the day and darkness in the evening and night time. IP VDPs provide excellent imaging with higher resolutions and wider field of view. All-in-one management: IP VDPs also offer opportunities for integration with other security systems such as video and alarms. A unified control center ensures all-in-one linkage among various devices and systems and facilitates convenient device operation and management, improving security for businesses and home owners. Enter Hikvision Hikvision’s IP VDPs serve a wide range of scenarios including apartment buildings, single-family homes, and SMB offices. In residential applications, these advanced VDPs combine a better user experience with elegant design to suit any decor, as well as a touch-friendly screen for easy operation. Users can remotely open doors and talk to visitors by simply tapping the Hik-Connect mobile app on their smartphone or tablet. For Business applications, Hikvision’s IP VDPs enhance safety levels and management efficiency with strong integration capabilities. Hikvision’s All-in-One Indoor Station Series controls and manages all Hikvision access control, video security, and alarm devices through the built-in Hik-Connect app. The product series can also be converged with third-party applications to satisfy customized or personalized needs.  

Sustainability, Mobile IDs and a Changing Workforce Continue to be Among Top Concerns HID, a worldwide company in trusted identity and physical security solutions, recenlty announced its inaugural State of the Security Industry Report, which gathered responses from 2,700 partners, end users, and security and IT personnel across a range of titles and organization sizes representing over 11 industries. By looking at what’s driving the next innovations and the technology that supports them, the security industry is empowered to create more value for its organizations and its people. Conducted in quarter 4 of 2022, the survey reveals five common threads, as follows: Prabhuraj Patil Commercial Director, Physical Access Control Solutions, South Asia, HID “We are grateful for the opportunity to share insights with the security community as part of this year’s State of Security Industry Report. Mapping our industry’s dynamic trends helps provide a deeper understanding of customer needs and challenges. We are confident that our report will help security teams adapt faster and better capitalize on innovative solutions” 1. Nearly 90% of respondents acknowledge sustainability as an important issue: End users are increasingly demanding that suppliers provide footprint transparency in terms of their operations, product sourcing and research and development practices, with 87% of respondents stating that sustainability ranks as ‘important to extremely important.’ Mirroring this trend, 76% said they have seen the importance of sustainability increasing for their customers. To support this growing demand, security teams are leveraging the cloud To support this growing demand, security teams are leveraging the cloud and the Internet of Things, even more, to optimize processes and reduce resources. Additionally, new products and solutions are being strategically developed to address sensible energy usage, waste reduction and resource optimization. 2. Most organizations still need to fully embrace identity ‘as-a-service’ (IDaaS) to support hybrid work: The majority of survey respondents – 81% of them – stated they are offering a hybrid work model. As an example, 67% of respondents state that multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication are most important to adapting to hybrid and remote work, while 48% point to the importance of mobile and digital IDs. Interestingly, the survey also reveals almost half of the organizations aren’t quite ready to implement a comprehensive IDaas strategy. 3. Digital IDs and mobile authentication to propel many more mobile access deployments: Identification and authentication are more commonly completed via mobile devices, including smartphones and wearables. The growing popularity of digital wallets from major players such as Google, Apple and Amazon is a key driver of this trend. And expanded capabilities allow smartphone users, for example, to add keys, IDs and digital documents directly in the wallet app. These include, but are not limited to, drivers’ licenses in eight states, verifiable COVID-19 vaccination information, employee badges, student IDs and hotel room keys. Commercial real estate companies (40%) are outpacing other verticals as large commercial real estate firms are leveraging mobile access as part of their larger tenant experience apps, according to the HID survey. 4. Nearly 60% of respondents see the benefit of contactless biometrics: Biometric technologies represent a major break from more conventional means of access control. Using biometrics as an additional authenticating factor (e.g., biometric scans to verify an individual’s physical identity) can help organizations eliminate unauthorized access and fraud. The importance of this trend is exemplified in the survey data, which shows that 59% of respondents are currently using, planning to implement, or at least testing biometric technologies in the near future. 5. Supply chain issues continue to be a concerning factor, but optimism begin to emerge: According to the survey, 74% of respondents say they were impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, although 50% are optimistic that conditions will improve in 2023. Most affected are commercial real estate companies, with 78% citing supply chain problems as their main concern. More than two-thirds of organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees indicate that they were highly impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, but they are also the most optimistic that these issues will resolve in 2023. By better understanding the aforementioned topics, security professionals will be better prepared to adapt faster, deliver exceptional digital plus physical experiences, and capitalize on breakthrough innovations in solutions and services. Read the survey in its entirety here. HID powers the trusted identities of the world’s people, places and things. We make it possible for people to transact safely, work productively and travel freely. Our trusted identity solutions give people convenient access to physical and digital places and connect things that can be identified, verified and tracked digitally. Millions of people around the world use HID products and services to navigate their everyday lives, and billions of things are connected through HID technology. We work with governments, educational institutions, hospitals, financial institutions, industrial businesses and some of the most innovative companies on the planet.  

Fifth-generation security processing unit (FortiSP5) delivers unparalleled levels of power-efficient performance to open new frontiers for securing the branch, campus, 5G, edge compute, operational technologies, and more Fortinet®, the global cybersecurity company driving the convergence of networking and security, recently announced FortiSP5, the latest breakthrough in ASIC technology from Fortinet, propelling major leaps forward in securing distributed network edges. Building on over 20 years of ASIC investment and innovation from Fortinet, FortiSP5 delivers significant secure computing power advantages over traditional CPU and network ASICs, lower cost and power consumption, and the ability to enable new secure infrastructure across branch, campus, 5G, edge compute, operational technologies, and more. Unparalleled innovation in custom chip performance With an application-specific design and embedded multi-core processors to accelerate the convergence of networking and security functions, FortiSP5 delivers: 17x faster firewall performance compared to leading standard CPUs. 5x faster next-generation firewall (NGFW) performance compared to leading standard CPUs to handle higher levels of traffic inspection to detect and block threats. 32x faster encryption to protect sensitive data and secure virtual private networks. 5 Gbps of SSL deep inspection to deliver the processing power needed to inspect encrypted traffic for malware without performance issues. Secure boot to allow only approved operating system software to boot up, protecting critical infrastructure against malicious tampering. Volumetric DDoS protection to thwart distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. VXLAN/ GRE hardware-accelerated encapsulation to enable secure interconnectivity for distributed networks. Hardware-accelerated Quality of Service (QoS) to enhance user experience with dedicated QoS for sensitive applications such as video conferencing. Significant cost and energy savings As a fifth-generation 7-nanometer chip, FortiSP5 packs more capabilities in a smaller form factor to deliver: 88% less power consumption compared to the leading industry-standard CPU. Industry-leading performance per watt. Industry-leading price-performance. Supporting more applications to enable important customer use cases With the ability to accelerate and concurrently run 2x more applications – for example, NGFW, zero-trust network access (ZTNA), SD-WAN, and SSL inspection – compared to the previous generation, FortiSP5 will support use cases such as: Branch/ Campus: FortiSP5 ensures the transition to SD-Branch is efficient and cost-effective in a small form factor, enabling IT staff to simplify management and reduce OpEx while increasing network uptime. Additionally, as more organizations embrace the cloud and hybrid work model, FortiSP5 will continue to be a driver for Secure SD-WAN to empower customers to securely and seamlessly access applications any where while delivering consistent user experience with an optimized platform. Edge Compute: As edge computing improves efficiency and cost control through processing close to the edge, FortiSP5 supports high-speed networks and security threat protection for both commercial and operational technology (OT) environments, minimizing bottlenecks for traffic movement. Operational Technology: The convergence of IT and OT has opened the infrastructure to increased security risks that can disrupt operations. FortiSP5 enables scalable convergence, securing both OT and IT infrastructures with a single, high-performance platform. 5G: 5G adoption is on the rise in enterprise networks, fueling innovation at the edge as it provides higher bandwidth and lower latency. FortiSP5 enables a seamless transition to support 5G with an optimized and sustainable platform. Proven system on a chip technology FortiSP5 will power the next generation of entry and mid-range FortiGate firewalls being released later this year. Now on its fifth generation, we believe Fortinet’s proprietary system on a chip technology has a proven track record of powering the industry’s top-performing products and solutions. A few examples include: Fortinet has been named a Leader in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Network Firewalls,¹ marking the thirteenth time Fortinet has been recognized in this Magic Quadrant. A recent Forrester study2 highlighted that customers deploying Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution, which is backed by FortiGate and SOC technology, achieved a 300% return on investment over 3 years with a payback period of only 8 months. Fortinet supports sustainability goals The energy efficiency and performance per watt of FortiSP5 and the products that leverage the chip will help organizations reduce their power and space requirements. Fortinet remains committed to sustainable product innovation to ensure each generation of its products consumes less energy and is built sustainably. Today, Fortinet’s Sunnyvale headquarters is a net-zero emissions facility and plans for global operations to be completely carbon neutral by 2030. Fortinet was recently named to the 2022 Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices as one of the top sustainable companies in the world, highlighting Fortinet’s commitment to achieving a sustainable society Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia at Fortinet said, “With the introduction of FortiSP5, Fortinet once again sets new industry records for performance, cost, and energy efficiency. As the only cybersecurity vendor leveraging purpose-built ASICs, an over 20- year investment in innovation, Fortinet delivers the secure computing power that will support the next generation of secure infrastructure.” “Enterprise applications and the users and devices that access them are more distributed than ever, which is causing organizations to rethink their edge network and security architectures. A key to enabling enterprise edge networking is having strong security without compromising on network performance and user experience. Fortinet has a 20-year history in ASIC technology that helps achieve these goals, and the company’s newest FortiSP5 continues that legacy. Fortinet’s portfolio of converged network and security solutions with custom chips helps enterprises accelerate their edge network and security transformation,” said Brandon Butler, Research Manager, Enterprise Networks at IDC.