Travel & Hospitality – Cyfuture Blog https://cyfuture.com/blog Tue, 19 May 2020 08:36:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Exciting Applications of Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare https://cyfuture.com/blog/exciting-applications-of-internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/exciting-applications-of-internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2020 09:03:42 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=22933 The post Exciting Applications of Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare appeared first on Cyfuture Blog.

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The healthcare industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace. A thriving technology, Internet of Things (IoT), is spawning a plethora of opportunities in the healthcare space.

As per the latest reports, IoT in healthcare is estimated to grow from $41.22 billion in 2017 to $265 billion in 2024.

Medical sensors, smart devices and wearables are facilitating the collection of valuable data that offers eye-opening insights on symptoms and trends, facilitates remote care and gives patients better control over their health.

Advances in IoT have allowed healthcare players to operate with greater efficacy and patients to obtain better treatment.

Here are 5 exciting IoT applications in healthcare that are revolutionizing this space:

1) IoT Application in Healthcare: Remote Patient Monitoring

One of the salient IoT applications in healthcare is remote monitoring of patients.

Of late, there has been a trend towards treating the patient in a private, remote environment instead of in hospitals or emergency care environments. Such an approach reduces the workload on healthcare workers who, in many cases, cannot cope up with the rising number of patients.

Monitoring in a remote environment not only minimizes the cost of treatment by reducing the need for visitation but also improves the overall quality of treatment. It is particularly beneficial for patients who have limited mobility or live in far-off places.

To a certain extent, remote treatment of patients also helps contain the rise of chronic illnesses, especially among the ageing population.

Internet of Things (IoT) offers a wide range of wearables and biosensors that facilitate remote monitoring of patients. Remote monitoring enables healthcare specialists to harness the data gathered through wearables and other devices and study trends, patterns and correlations offering precious insights on a patient’s health.

Here are some devices that facilitate remote monitoring:

a) Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)

Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)

Image Courtesy: freestylelibre.us

Continuous Glucose Monitor or CGM is a device that helps diabetic patients monitor their blood glucose levels continuously after it has been implanted in a patient’s arm. IoT-enabled CGMs from Eversense and Freestyle Libra send data on blood glucose levels to an app on an Android or iOS device, allowing the patient to track his statistics and detect patterns in real-time. Freestyle Libra also allows the remote monitoring of diabetics by caregivers such as relatives of elderly people or parents of diabetics.

b) Smart Insulin Pens

Smart Insulin Pens

Image Courtesy: medgadget.com

Smart Insulin pens from Gocap and InPen and are IoT-enabled devices that automatically record the time, amount and type of insulin injected in a dose. This data gets automatically collected and sent to a paired smartphone app through Bluetooth. By examining their long-term data, diabetes patients can keep track of their insulin dose and analyze how their insulin dosage affect their sugar levels.

c) Ingestible Sensors

Ingestible Sensors

Image Courtesy: wired.com

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical has developed an antipsychotic aripiprazole pill (pill for treating mental disorders) embedded with an ingestible event-marker sensor. The sensor gets activated upon ingestion and transmits data to a wearable patch. The patch sends this data to a mobile app that allows the user to monitor medication ingestion data, activity level as well as mood of the patient.

The app data can also be communicated to healthcare professionals through a web portal.

2) IoT Application in Healthcare: Hospital Operations Management

Hospital Operations Management

As ageing populations and chronic illnesses continue to soar, even the most developed nations across the planet face issues in managing their infrastructure. Most of the healthcare professionals remain overwhelmed with the workload be it tedious paperwork, unending queues or wide array of tests patients have to go through.

While IoT can never be a panacea, it can ease this workload to a considerable degree. Integration of IoT solutions can facilitate remote monitoring and automate a number of operations.

IoT can be used to create an automated, centralized database management system that can track all the documentation, optimize queues and track hospital staff and patients through their mobile devices. Real-time location systems can be deployed to remotely monitor all the hospital hardware.

Here are some IoT innovations that are facilitating operations management in hospitals:

a) AutoBed

AutoBed

GE Healthcare has collaborated with Mt. Sinai Medical Center to create an IoT-based software AutoBed that aims to reduce the patient wait time for emergency rooms. The IoT solution tracks the availability of beds for incoming patients to ease the task of allocating beds to patients.

The software tracks a wide range of metrics to match the right patient with the right bed and ensure the bed gets allocated to the patient who needs it more urgently.

b) RFID

radio frequency identification

Stanley Healthcare in Massachusetts, USA has developed an IoT-based solution that tracks the real-time location of the patient using radio-frequency identification (RFID). This allows healthcare professionals to monitor the patients efficiently and offer personalized care.

3) IoT Application in Healthcare: Medication Management

Medication Management

It has been observed that around 50% of the patients who are not directly monitored by their doctors or are being treated in a remote environment fail to adhere to the medication prescribed by their doctor, as a result of which their treatment does not yield the desired results.

This problem is so acute that it results in 125,000 premature deaths in the USA each year.

IoT-based solutions allow monitoring of such patients from far-off locations and send them reminders to ensure they comply with medical advice such as dosage and frequency of medication.

Here are some IoT innovations for medication management in patients:

a) Smart Bottles

Smart Bottles

 Image Courtesy: medcitynews.com

AdhereTech has created a smart-pill bottle that is given to patients along with their specialty medication. The bottle issues reminders for missed doses through text or phone and tracks medication adherence of the patient. Avella specialty pharmacy that uses these smart bottles for certain medications believes the IoT solution has improved medication adherence by 15% and fill rates by 9%.

b) Plug-and-Play Platform

Plug and play platform

Aeris Communications has devised an IoT based plug-and-play platform for healthcare providers that lets them communicate with patients and ensure these patients adhere to their advice on medication dosage and frequency. The sensor-embedded platform allows patients to be monitored from a remote location and, in many cases, reduces the cost of treatment. This allows for a better assessment of the patient and facilitates transparent insurance reimbursements.

4) IoT Application in Healthcare: Sleep Management

Sleep Management

Sleep deprivation is a global health issue. Over 68% of Americans have reported having trouble sleeping at least once a week.

IoT-enabled sleep monitoring devices gather data pertaining to a user’s physiological stats while he is asleep; this data can be processed and analyzed to determine the best course of action for a sound sleep.

Here are some IoT innovations for better sleep management:

a) Beddit Sleep Monitor

Beddit Sleep Monitor

Image Courtesy: Amazon.in

Beddit Sleep Monitor from Apple Inc. is a Bluetooth-enabled device connected to an iOS app that tracks a user’s heart rate, breathing patterns, snoring and sleep environment while he is asleep. The device then analyses the gathered data to identify the best course of action for a better sleeping experience.

b) Eight Sleep MonitorEight Sleep Monitor

Image Courtesy: Amazon.in

Eight sleep monitor has a mattress with a sleep-sensing app that gathers user data and sends it to your mobile app so that your ideal sleep temperature can be determined. The app can be integrated with other smart devices such as lights and door locks.

5) IoT Application in Healthcare: Chronic Disease Management

Chronic Disease Management

A rise in the incidence of chronic diseases has put immense stress on every country’s healthcare resources. Internet of Things has the ability to initiate efficient, information-driven patient care that costs less to the patient and offers more insights to the doctor, creating a win-win situation for both the stakeholders.

Wearables, ingestible sensors and network-enabled medical devices transmit user data directly to a patient’s electronic health record creating a repository that can be processed to reap valuable insights. Highly affordable, convenient-to-use IoT devices are being used to continuously monitor the heartbeat, blood pressure, sugar levels and other vital stats in chronically-ill patients.

Here are some IoT innovations being used to manage chronic illness:

a) Connected Inhalers

Connected Inhalers

Respiratory disorders such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis affect millions of people each year. Propeller Health, a digital therapeutics company, has created a sensor that gets attached to an inhaler and tracks the frequency of rescue medication. The data from the sensor gets transmitted to a mobile app; by analyzing the app data, the user or his doctor can identify what might be causing their symptoms.

b) ADAMM

Automated Device for Asthma Monitoring and Management

Image Courtesy: healthcareoriginals.com

Automated Device for Asthma Monitoring and Management or ADAMM is an IoT-enabled wearable that detects the symptoms of an asthma attack before its onset and duly notifies the wearer and his designated caretaker of the attack. This allows the patient to tackle the situation before it worsens.

The device also detects and tracks the use of an inhaler; it also allows patients to record their voice and track their feelings and behaviors. Operated in conjunction with a mobile app and a web portal, the device helps patients set reminders and monitor their treatment plan.

c) ResearchKit

ResearchKit

Image Courtesy: Apple.com

ResearchKit is an open-source software tool from Apple Inc. that doctors, scientists and medical researchers can use to gather data on people suffering from chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.

ResearchKit has been leveraged to build health monitoring apps for iPhone that can collect data from an Apple Watch. As a result, patient data related to speech, gait, memory and motor impairment can be collected in real-time and analyzed -this can bring in significant breakthroughs in treatments of these diseases.

IoT Shaking up the Healthcare Industry

So you see IoT is opening avenues for path-breaking changes in the healthcare industry. IoT-enabled devices and sensors have allowed patients to track their vital health parameters in real-time, healthcare workers to offer personalized treatment and researchers to come up with novel ways of treating illnesses.

As technology continues to advance, we will witness more sophisticated use cases and applications of IoT paving way for IoT-centered healthcare.

Can you think of some other exciting IoT applications in healthcare space? If yes, please let us know in the comment section below. We will be glad to incorporate your ideas into our posts.

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The Bleeding Bid for Air India: What is the Future of the Aviation Industry in India? https://cyfuture.com/blog/the-bleeding-bid-for-air-india-what-is-the-future-of-the-aviation-industry-in-india/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/the-bleeding-bid-for-air-india-what-is-the-future-of-the-aviation-industry-in-india/#respond Mon, 02 Mar 2020 07:52:38 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=21861 The post The Bleeding Bid for Air India: What is the Future of the Aviation Industry in India? appeared first on Cyfuture Blog.

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The crowned flag carrier of the Indian aviation industry, Air India, is struggling to keep up itself at one base. The government-owned airline, Air India has endured a loss of a net loss of 8,556 crores in the FY 18-19. With its impending privatization and the shutdown of Jet Airways, the future of aviation industry in India is in a rattrap. The most important aspect to pick over here is that this haphazard situation of the Indian aviation industry is created in 14 months, changing its dynamics.

India domestic market share 2019

Figure 1: The following pie shows the market share (%) of different airline players in the Indian aviation industry up until 2019. After the shutdown of Jet Airways temporarily on 17th April 2019, the aviation industry in India is living through a haphazard situation. With government organizing bids for the leftover Air India operations and its two subsidiaries, the future of aviation industry in India appears to be gloomy. IndiGo, on the other hand, holds a good margin of the market share and stays unaffected by the falling aviation yields. 

Amidst the crisis faced by the aviation industry in India, as a whole, is India still on the right track to become the world’s third-largest aviation market by 2024, as predicted? 

It was reported by the Indian Aviation Department, in October 2018, that 20.1% growth was witnessed for the Jan-Oct tenure, as compared to 2017. This growth was further divided into 13.3% of monthly growth. However, this was all before Jet Airways surrendered 15000 crores of dues to its lenders, and the talks of privatization of Air India circulated the Indian aviation market air. At the end of 2019, the domestic air traffic in India recorded a growth of 3.74%, closing the number of domestic passengers with 1447.17 million as opposed to 1389.76 lakh passengers in 2018. 

Market share gain loss 2019

Source: Network Thoughts

Figure 2: The following chart shows the Market share gain and loss statistics 2019 for the most popular airlines in India, Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo, AirAsia India, Vistara, and Others. Air India had a flat 2019, in terms of market gain/loss. Jet Airways subdued a huge loss and was subsequently shut down, Other than Jet Airways and Air India, other airlines had a pretty turbulence-free year.

Domestic Passengers flown 2019

Source: Network Thoughts

Figure 3: The following chart shows the Domestic Passengers flown in 2019. In terms of the total number of passengers, TATA Airlines (Air India) flew 21 lakhs, IndiGo flew 100 lakhs, and SpiceJet flew 44.3 lakhs more passengers in 2019 than in 2018. This data plays an important note in how the Aviation industry of India will be mapped out for 2020. 

With the closing of Jet Airways, the lack of complete digitalization of the airports, and the inability of the government to lend any more funds to Air India, more than 25% of the aviation industry in India is under threat. However, the question that bothers an Indian mind is, does the future of aviation industry in India need a new airline to make things better?

Every Aviation Industry has its Own Ailing Story

During the summer of March 2009, the Indian airports put together handled a total of 68 million passengers. As of today, the New Delhi Airport can along handle this much traffic. Furthermore, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that from January 2018 to September 2018, domestic Indian airlines flew more than 10 crore passengers, a growth of 20.94%, the highest in the world. Although the air passenger numbers are booming, the sector itself is struggling, trying to keep pace with the changing dynamics of the Indian aviation industry.

carriers whose market share increase after shutdown of Jet Airways

Figure 4: The following article is dated for April 2019, after the collapse of Jet Airways. The Indian carriers whose market share increased after the shutdown of Jet Airways is IndiGo and Air India.  SpiceJet saw the lowest domestic share in April 2019 in the last five years.

  • Jet Airways had impending 15,000 crores of dues leading to which, the company had to close its quarters, sacking the careers of 20,000 Indian employees in an instant. 
  • Air India is already lined with 9000 crores in dues. The privatization of Air India is of utmost importance in 2020 otherwise it will, under no circumstances, be able to handle the pressure. 
  • GoAir has grounded 10 of its 48 planes due to no network availability to fly them. 
  • More than 15 top executives have bid their goodbyes to the aviation sector. Almost all the airlines in India are running with an empty CEO seat. 
  • The country’s largest market shareholder of the aviation industry, IndiGo, is flying aircraft suffering from several technical glitches. The case is much worsened by the public spatter between the two shareholders of the IndiGo. 
  • SpiceJet’s fleet consisting of Boeing 737 Max craft has been grounded by the aviation authorities after the two plane crashes of Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air.
  • Furthermore, since IndiGo holds 33% (72 aircraft), and GoAir holds 61% (30 aircraft), grounding these planes will affect 15% of the industrial capacity of the aviation industry in India. 

Why are the Indian Airlines Losing Money Instead of Making Some?

Since 2014 India has had a constant GDP growth of 8%, surpassing China in being the fastest-growing economy. However, there have been some instances that have made it difficult for the aviation industry in India to achieve the same stardom. First, the revoking of the license of Kingfisher Airlines in 2012, then the bankruptcy of Jet Airways in 2019, and then the talks of privatization of the Maharaja, Air India. This has left India with only two full-service carriers, IndiGo and the newly established Vistara. 

So, what is ailing the Indian aviation industry? What makes such high passenger count an uncertain future of aviation industry in India?

the fleet size and the operated fleet

Figure 5: The following shows the fleet size and the operated fleet of all the major airline players in the Indian aviation market. The combined fleet is not much to fund the domestic travel population of India. 

With a booming Indian population of 1.3 billion, Air India’s fleet of 136 aircraft for passenger transport doesn’t make any sense. The Indian aviation market consists of a huge hollow when it comes to its fleet of aircraft. It is easy to blame the fragility of the sector, but with the rising fuel costs, the depreciating value of Indian Rupee (INR), and low yields Indian airlines are not able to make up for the losses. However, the elephant in the room is government intervention and their act of protecting Air India despite huge debts. 

The domestic airline model that works for Indian passengers is the low cost one. 80% of the Indian aviation market is a low-cost market. Both Kingfisher and Jet Airways tried to expand their route to raise more cash, rapidly eroding the financial assets of their companies. IndiGo and SpiceJet might have succeeded in their low-cost model, however, to stay solid the race, they will have to abstain from making the same mistakes that airlines before them did. Moreover, the Indian government will have to privatize the Indian aviation sector, for the future of aviation industry in India to flourish independently. Until the government allows the sector to flourish on its own, it will remain inefficient and unhealthy for competition. 

growth of the Indian aviation industry in the 2007-2017

Figure 6: The following figure illustrates the growth of the Indian aviation industry in the last decade. Despite popular airlines suffering through the crippling debts, it is said that the market will boom in the coming years. The major problems suffered by the aviation industry lies in the fact that they are chasing to acquire market share and not profits. 

Air India for Sale Again: Is it the Dawn of the Indian Aviation Market?

Air India, the crowned prince of the Indian aviation market, the government-protected airline company, is again entering the bidding market, after the failed attempts in 2018. However, in this fresh bid, the Indian government softened the terms to make sure that the debt-laden Air India is sold to private buyers easily.

As per the documents released by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Air India will be sold as an unprofitable carrier along with its entire interest in a low-cost arm and 50% in the ground handling unit. The most important change from the last time is the lowered debt amount that a prospective buyer will take on. The previous bid saw no prospective buyer for the nation’s third-largest air carrier by market share. Supposedly, Air India has more than 8 billion debt on it. The last date for the submission of the application is March 17, 2020.

Deal for 100 percent stakes including a 100 percent ownership of Air India

Figure 7: The government has sweetened the terms of selling the national carrier, as opposed to 2018. In 2018, it invited bids for selling 76% stake of the company. IndiGo showed some interest in the prospect but later backed out. This time the government has invited bids for 100% stakes, including a 100% ownership in the overseas budget carrier and a 59% stake in ground handling

The government has also reduced the fixed debt amount. Each buyer will have to take 23,286.5 crores along with certain identified current and non-current liabilities. This is a substantial reduction in the debt amount from 33,392 crores, in 2018

This time the government has also lessened the eligibility criteria for prospective buyers. In 2018, a buyer needed to have a net worth of 5,000 crores which, in 2020, has been reduced to 3500 crores. 

Terms from 2018-2020 for Air India Bid

Figure 8: The sweeter terms from 2018 to 2020 for Air India bid.

Furthermore, according to the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, foreign carriers are allowed to invest up to 49% in a carrier. In this situation, Indian shareholders will constitute more than 50% in Air India. Even if the government relaxes the FDI norms, a foreign buyer has to look for an Indian shareholding to take up more than 50% of the stakes to avail bilateral agreements. To avail bilateral benefits, it needs to be owned by an Indian national (as per the Substantial Ownership and Effective Control guidelines). Bilateral agreements are set between the government of two countries.

What buyer gets in the Air India bid

Figure 9: This table illustrates what a buyer will get in this bid. In 2019, Air India increased its fleet size, primary coverage, and secondary coverage. Also, it had a 50.6% share on international routes and 12.7% on domestic ones. 

Unabsorbed depreciation is what cannot be claimed as expenditure in the P/L accounts due to the lack of income. Such a cost is carried forward for several years. It has also reduced the tax liability for prospective buyers. 

How Does the Future of Aviation Industry in India Look Like?

If you think that with such a huge and ever-increasing population, the aviation industry in India is going to remain stagnant, then you are mistakenly ignoring the growing statistics Indian aviation domestic market. India is the second-most populous country and therefore, the air traffic is bound to increase. The Indian airline industry indeed has a rollercoaster ride in 2019, but there is still a strong gleam of light. The ups and downs endured will not pollute the air holding the future of aviation industry in India.

Future of Aviation Industry in India

2020 can lead to some remarkable changes in the Indian aviation market picture, making it emerge, stronger than ever.

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CoronaVirus: The Economic Aftermath on Indian Market https://cyfuture.com/blog/corona-virus-the-economic-aftermath-on-indian-market/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/corona-virus-the-economic-aftermath-on-indian-market/#respond Tue, 18 Feb 2020 13:35:45 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=20488 The post CoronaVirus: The Economic Aftermath on Indian Market appeared first on Cyfuture Blog.

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With over 48,000 cases infected cases alone in China, CoronaVirus, a global health epidemic has created a panic situation around the globe. The number of deaths due to coronavirus has crossed the toll of 1,000, the total confirmed cases are more than 60,000, and it’s spreading its infective course onto the surrounding territorial nations of China.

While people are talking about the reeling impact of the virus on human life, the massive disruption to the economic activity of various countries is also worth mentioning. The biggest supply shock is handed over to the Indian market, with 13.7% of the Indian imports at risk due to the outbreak in China. 

Indian imports at risk due to the outbreak in China

The biggest question over here is, “With India importing goods worth more than USD 356.77 billion from China, now with the extended shutdown of factories, how is the Indian market going to brace itself with this Chinese supply shock?”

The Importance Of China In India’s Foreign Trade Market

China has been the largest source of imports for the Indian market since 2004-05, according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CIME) database. Furthermore, as per the latest annual data of the Indian import available, 13.7% of the country’s total imports is from China. 

As per an analysis of the World Bank’s World Integrated Solution database, the average share held by Chinese imports is:

  • 40% of India’s capital goods
  • 1/5th of the consumer goods 
  • 15% of the intermediate goods 

This data is powerful enough to understand the fact that any major disruption in China will cast a glooming investment impact on the supply chains, manufacturing, and supply of the consumer goods market. 

Furthermore, the Chinese units are an integral export market for India. According to the data released by CIME, China is the third-largest export market for India, after the US and the United Arab Emirates. The biggest setback will be suffered by the raw material export division of the country if China doesn’t recover from the Coronavirus disruption. With China acquiring more than 10.03% of India’s export potential, the raw materials producer will be slapped by the slowdown in the Chinese manufacturing units. 

According to the Founder and CEO, PrimaDollar, “India will suffer not only because its health care system might be overloaded, but also because efforts to contain the virus will be disruptive. This will, in turn, lead to an increase in the price of the commodities. It will also lead to rising interest rates because the policy response to the supply-shortage inflation is to dampen the demand.”

CHINA'S IMPORTANCE IN INDIA'S FORIEGN TRADE

The Indian Import Market To Suffer The Economic Nightmare Of The Decade

Indian Import Market To Suffer The Economic Nightmare Of The Decade

Figure 2: The persistent prevalence of the locked doors of the Chinese manufacturing units will hamper the Indian import market far more than its exports. Furthermore, the total value of the India-China imports in 2018-19 was $87 billion, 18 times more than that in 2002-03 ($4.8 billion).

CoronaVirus was first reported in China, in December, eclipsing the global death toll from its variant, SARS, that started in China almost two decades ago. Since most of the factories are locked, the production units are sitting idle in China. According to Ajay Sahai, Director, Federation of the Indian Export Organizations, those Indian sectors that maintain a low inventory, like electronics, might start experiencing the trade trauma of the outbreak in Wuhan, China shortly.

Furthermore, the Indian economy, mostly imports, is highly dependent on its northern neighbor, China, mostly because of the establishment of trade links between the two countries. The trade scale has expanded to more than 18 times, from $4.8 billion in 2002-03 to $87 billion in 2018-19

Since most of the phone companies, depend on parts, that are imported from China, they will soon run out of the electronic components, within 15 days. The initial plan was to import parts every month, but with the worsening situation, ramifications like price surge, supply shortage, and slow demands are a bit obvious aftermath.

How CoronaVirus Outbreak Will Impact the Supply Chain Structure Of India?

As per the India Ratings and Research, the economic shock of the CoronaVirus on the Indian supply chain wasn’t predicted to be such a disaster. Also, it is said that if the virus is contained in China over the next three to four months, the impact on the Indian supply chain could be higher than that during the 2003 SARS outbreak.

impact on various import sectors of the Indian market

Figure 3: The following table shows the quantum nature of impact on various import sectors of the Indian market. The correlation is dependent on the nature of the business activity and the presence of suppliers in the rest of the world.

Very High- above 75%, High- 50-75%, Moderate-25-30%, Low-below 25%

 

Electronic imports from china last five years

The impact of the CoronaVirus can be devasting for various sectors of the Indian market. Among imports, organic chemicals will be the most affected commodities since India imports 40% of its organic chemicals from China.  Although mobile handsets, the largest category by sales value in the Indian market, is still untouched by any immediate threat. However, if the conditions further than February, it will surely hamper the electronics sector of the country. In 2019, 158 million units of smartphones were shipped from China and only 145 million were sold. All in all, these sectors will experience a swell up in their production over the near medium term. 

CoronaVirus Threatens To Stall The Asian Economy

China accounts for 11% of the global import and 13% of the global exports in 2018. If the outbreak continues for more than two quarters, it will highly impact China’s industrial activity due to a fall in labor availability and low consumer demand. 

India versus south east asian countries

Figure 5: The Indian economy will get impacted by the massive outbreak of the CoronaVirus. India will, however, remain insulated as compared with the other Asian countries. India is the least exposed and dependent on the Chinese vendors amongst the others, and so its supply chain will not be impacted in the near term. However, if the virus is transmitted in the next three to four months, then the disruptions will be much worse than the 2003 SARS outbreak. 

Furthermore, with China being the 2nd ranked nation with the highest GDP, it will experience a 0.5%-point decline in its economic growth this year. This will lead to a 0.2%-point decline in the expansion of GDP in the 10 countries of Southeast Asian Nations including China, South Korea, and Japan. 

Is CoronaVirus an Opportunity for India?

While the hard commodities sector is facing a tough blowout from the CoronaVirus outbreak due to a pause in their imports, the soft commodities market of India is currently on a boom. Global buyers are exploring the Indian market for ceramics, homeware, fashion and lifestyle goods, and furniture. 

Indian manufacturers and exporters of such goods have received an increasing number of inquiries, mostly from the US and European Union, to replace China as a supplier. Even the textile market is ready for a boom, enough to compete with China. 

Furthermore, Indian exporters of chemicals, engineering goods, and marine products will benefit the most from the CoronaVirus outbreak. 

Corona virus opportunity for India

What Level Of Impact Will CoronaVirus Have On The Indian Market?

The impact of the CoronaVirus on the Indian economy is ongoing speculation around the world. Indeed, an uneven calm is still prevailing amongst businessesincluding India, as the outbreak, has the potential to derail bilateral trade worth $87 billion. Furthermore, $70 billion worth of goods is imported by India on an annual basis. With China as the second-largest trading partner of India, the dependency index of the latter on the former has the power to shut down the local markets and shops. 

However, India might have found its importing options apart from China, the outbreak will have a significant impact on the Indian markets. It is predicted by many economists, that CoronaVirus can further slowdown the already struggling economy of India. But others believe that it is a great opportunity for India to scale up their game. What happens next can either be beneficial for India or disastrous. 

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Travel and Tourism Industry Is Touching The Clouds https://cyfuture.com/blog/travel-tourism-industry-is-touching-the-clouds/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/travel-tourism-industry-is-touching-the-clouds/#respond Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:29:10 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=1403 The post Travel and Tourism Industry Is Touching The Clouds appeared first on Cyfuture Blog.

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There is a beautiful word in Swedish, which means the restless pace of a traveler’s heart due to anxiety and anticipation of what is to come whilst beginning a journey; this word is Resfeber. This is something that a lot of people experience before beginning any journey, no matter how well they have prepared for their expedition. Haven’t you experienced a sudden hike in your heartbeat as the airplane takes off or while boarding a train to a land far away from where you reside? Traveling, as much as it is delightful, is known to bring out stress and anxiety in a lot of people; the reason being the fact that there is a constant concern for safety and comfort.

Travel and tourism businesses have flourished rapidly due to the fact that travelers wish to have a safe and comfortable journey; and why wouldn’t they, because who doesn’t wish to cruise securely through distant lands and arrive safe and healthy at their destination? Keeping up with the rapidly growing consumer base of the industry and their escalating need for comfort, timeliness, and safety whilst traveling; commercial organizations in this domain are shifting their focus towards blending their legacy systems with new age technology like managed cloud hosting.

Cloud Hosting Drives Travel Industry Towards Efficiency

In earlier times, separate power plants for industrial and household consumption posed numerous challenges and hazards on enterprises and individuals. However, as technology progressed, a shared electric grid system came into existence; making electricity more accessible whilst annihilating the associated challenges.

Similarly, we used to depend on single units of the computer system to store and process data; however, technological advancements have turned these units into access portals to move information stored in the hardware of data centers in the cloud. This allowed us to connect to the data from wherever we want and whenever we want and from whichever device we want, even from our smartphones.

The travel industry is moving in a similar direction and adapting to the cloud just like household and industrial electrical consumption adapted to the shared electric grid system. The industry is no more dependent on legacy systems and proprietary technology that forced businesses to depend on in-house operations. Cloud technology has allowed them to not just make data highly accessible but also move operations to business process outsourcing companies.

Not just this, managed cloud services have also opened up new avenues for the travel industry to launch new products and introduce scalability in business operations. Fine-tuning businesses as per the evolving consumer needs and behavior, cloud management platforms are connecting us to a new era of advanced computing, innovating the future of the travel industry. The intersection of travel and technology through viable outsourced business solutions like cloud hosting is changing the way we travel.

 Travel Apps Reach For The Clouds

Millennials are part of a generation that has lived through times when innovations were at their fetal stage. This is a generation that is well-acquainted with innovative technologies and has seen rapid progress in the app development domain, specifically. We have an application for everything, whether we need to refill groceries, binge eat at the oddest hour or commute to work. In the travel industry, the advent of application development has been a groundbreaking metamorphosis that facilitated travelers in endless ways.

Today, you can just log on to any of the travel apps and book a full-fledged vacation, right from the travel tickets to accommodation and even sightseeing. Convenient? Yes, it is. Fast? Yes, it is; thankfully we don’t have to make so many calls for bookings or depend on a travel agent anymore, who promise a lot and deliver nothing. These applications have simplified traveling and have laid the whole travel itinerary like a buffet on the table for us.

However, do you ever wonder how do these applications run so smoothly, helping you navigate seamlessly to travel and accommodation options that you like? Well, the secret is in the clouds! No don’t look up, look here at your smartphone or your computer system or whichever device that you are reading this content on.

Passé are the days when data storage and sharing were dependent on hardware; it is all in the cloud nowadays. The virtual clouds offer abundant data storage space whilst enabling seamless information transaction and distribution. Modern-day travel apps depend on the cloud advantage to bring together an exceptional user experience.

Cloud solutions help travel apps procure a centralized system for operations like reservation, payment processing, customer database management, and marketing. This, of course, helps manage data and the associated processes in a more efficient way, which is why migrating data and processes to a virtual cloud is considered so remunerative.

Let’s take a look at how cloud solutions are helping travel applications run efficiently, offering users exactly what they want whilst making operations dynamic and conducive for the business.

 Economizing

Cloud solutions for travel and tourism businesses, especially for app management, have immensely helped in economizing on the cost; thereby boosting profit generation. A lot of services in the cloud infrastructure are pay per use; so, travel businesses have to pay for only what they deploy, not more, not less. In the travel app realm, this certainly has a lot of advantages because metered services help economize both CAPEX (capital expenditure) and OPEX (operating expenditure).

 Scalable Services

Cloud solutions can help travel apps downsize or upsize as per the requirement; as there is a lot of scope for scalability. For instance, if you own an application that allows users to book accommodation that is high in the quality quotient and low on cost; you will always look for something unique to introduce to your service line. The reason behind this fact is that there is a lot of competition and scalability can immensely help you get an edge over your competitors.

Enhanced CX

Cloud computing is now making it possible for hotel guest feedback kiosks to collect customer feedback and deliver it to hoteliers and their staff in real-time. These travel app enabled devices engage guests at important touchpoints in their journey by presenting them with digital surveys. These surveys allow guests to quickly and easily rate specific aspects of their travel experience. The results are then automatically compiled and sent to a staff feedback dashboard via the cloud. This cutting-edge technology makes it possible to identify and resolve customer painpoints in real-time, effectively improving and enhancing the customer experience.

Enhanced UX

UX is the ultimate battleground for websites and web applications, as it decides user engagement and traffic generation that further boosts consumer base as well as profits. UX, an abbreviation for user experience, is a crucial aspect when it comes to engaging visitors as well as to keep them coming back. Cloud solutions can aid in enhancing the user experience by making data readily accessible and by enabling smooth navigation, which sure matters a lot when it comes to app performance.

These are just a few ways that have made managed cloud hosting immensely popular in the travel app domain. However, with the ongoing innovation, there is a lot more to come; it can be said that in the coming years cloud solutions might completely revamp not just the way travel apps work but also the way we travel. Travel technology has bought together a host of advantages for today’s travelers and the advent of cloud management platforms and solutions sure is lucrative.

This incredible blend of legacy systems and new age innovation is opening up promising prospects of profits for businesses in the travel and tourism industry. Dealing diligently with the exploding demand for services in this domain, tech innovations coupled with the proprietary technology of businesses are helping millions of people travel safely and contentedly from different corners of the world each day.

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The Propulsion of Travel Sector on the Wings of Outsourcing https://cyfuture.com/blog/the-propulsion-of-travel-sector-on-the-wings-of-outsourcing/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/the-propulsion-of-travel-sector-on-the-wings-of-outsourcing/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2019 05:30:57 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=643 The travel industry is booming today! Numerous travel agents believe the explorers of today are being reintroduced to travel and tourism, and this field is rapidly transforming with the rise in technology, enhanced connectivity, and smartphone usage and with the help of companies giving outsourcing services for Business Process Management. What do you think? Well, […]

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The travel industry is booming today! Numerous travel agents believe the explorers of today are being reintroduced to travel and tourism, and this field is rapidly transforming with the rise in technology, enhanced connectivity, and smartphone usage and with the help of companies giving outsourcing services for Business Process Management. What do you think? Well, I personally feel, this field has transformed aggressively over the years and will continue to grow. As this industry is evolving astonishingly, the revelation of new business models is relevant.

The business process management (BPM) sector, coupled with a boom in travel and tourism, is expected to explore new opportunities for growth. Today, online travel companies have turned to a new business model, which needs new digital technologies to expand. Moreover, with the advancement in technology, there are numerous channels to enhance business-customer communication. However, business firms look forward to customer-preferred channels for communication, so that information delivery ensures their satisfaction.

Travel companies outsource their services with an efficient business management outlook, although there are numerous aspects that businesses need to have in-depth knowledge of, when working in the travel industry. Travel services are complex and a number of challenges prevail for companies that need to be checked when it comes to regulating an effective business environment. For the travel industry, the growth in market challenge that has increased over the years, taking BPM service for efficient outputs to the customer is essential.

Talking about the travel industry operated by agents before, how did these traditional travel agents work? Well, they were dependent on wholesales, dealers, traders, and customers where manual data entry and customer relation executives performed tasks. These outdated methodologies lack flexibility, alertness, and transparency, due to which getting the correct service for the customer and giving on-time solutions was not possible. This lack of effective response hampered the travel agency’s overall revenue generation, resulting in an un-stable market. However, now the latest technologies help the travel industry overcome these challenges to some extent.

See also- The Enigma of AI-backed BPS

Enhance customer satisfaction with the BPM approach!

Today’s tech-savvy and digital world has raised customer expectations, which emphasizes the fact that both the travel industry and BPM sector need to work together for a company to beat its competition.

Manage the interplay of channels used by customers

Companies giving outsourcing services for the travel industry need to manage the channels used by the customers. By integrating these into an omni-channel view, BPM companies heighten customer understanding, hold on to a customer for long terms, enhance returns, and boost brand image. This way businesses can track their channels and deliver essential travel details as per the customers’ needs. The companies can track their business-customer interactions in a channelized ecosystem. The customer connects to the travel business through voice, web, chat, video, email, mobile etc. These channels have various links to get the customer information and updates about services anytime. Using customer friendly channels is highly recommended, of course.

The need for Big Data Analytics

To enhance customer insights, combining big data analytics with other business historic data is essential for positive results. In a market where we have to fight competitors, the use of correct tools to integrate and analyze problems is vital. All digital channels deliver huge data and a prognostic assumption with adequate tools about customer preferences can help deliver the exact product and service to the specified customer. This helps to boost conversion rates and automatically enhances customer experience to its best. If a person searches repeatedly about a particular country/place to travel within a defined budget, using their data and analyzing their requirements, the adequate travel package can be advised to them using the appropriate communication tool. Isn’t it the best way to enhance customer experience?

Getting results with emerging technologies

Any travel company can benefit from innovations in BPM technology. These tech-updates have altered functions for the travel industry and have even changed consumer travel behavior, which demands a change in business models. When a customer has any travel related query, she/he is dependent on mobile channels to extract the required data. However, this service is enriched with new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Internet of Things (IoT). For example, if your business has “artificial” chatbots or virtual supporters to help customers 24X7, it increases business efficiency, and providing satisfactory answers boosts brand image for your travel firm. Moreover, travel companies implement CRM, which is an RPA app that automates repetitive customer support tasks like itinerary switches, bookings, cancellations etc. Companies like TripAdvisor, Trip Savvy, Travel Triangle etc. allow customers to access all queries related to their travel inquiries in one place, which is a big reason these entities excel in delivering customer satisfaction.

Challenges: Where the travel industry lags!

With BPM companies serving the travel industry closely to ensure positive results, there are some potential challenges too. With an increase in the number of travelers over time, and enhancement of technologies, there are certain challenges that need to be taken care of, like:

  • Omni-channel contact
  • Different business models
  • Mobile channels
  • More choices than ever before
  • Traveler Independence
  • Risk of losing customer loyalty
  • Market dominance by a few companies
  • Security and safety
  • Travel marketing

Talking about the potential challenges for the travel industry, these are some key trends that require focused tackling.

Trends in the Travel Industry:

Supremacy of digital devices

How do you generally book your trip? It’s obviously most common with a mobile device, as bookings and consumer behavior is more or less dependent on smartphones today, making it the highest in emerging trends for the travel industry.

Technology: Power to customers

A business’s success totally depends on how many loyal customers it has. Technology empowers customers and even the companies giving outsourcing services to get the best results for enhanced user satisfaction. It acts as a backbone and even strengthens businesses to develop something unique, becoming a key trend for the travel industry.

Development with online channels

Online channels like social media and internet have transformed the way customers looked forward to travel services. Flexibility, reach, cost, requirements, on time solutions etc. is all ensured with these online channels. Therefore, it is significant for businesses to have an alluring social media presence to woo the customer.

Word-of-mouth recommendations: Experience!

BPM companies understand that travelers today do not want services but look for experiences. Therefore, outsourcing companies need to work on the personalization and authenticity of their clients company. Word-of-mouth recommendations on social channels have emerged as a good tool to allow companies to earn loyalty, as customers desire to check out places that are highly recommended and are traveled to by similar people. Wouldn’t you love to finalize your next trip from a travel company recommended and experienced by your friend?

Travel Industry: The forthcoming BPM revolution!

Business process management looks after the smooth functioning of travel business operations by providing a way to analyze data for efficient results. This service has a systematic approach for responsive outcomes. However, when we talk about BPM services in the travel industry, two factors define success. One is how you bring innovation in service delivery and the second is market share. Companies giving outsourcing services for the travel industry need to keep these in mind for a better maintenance of their clients’ travel firms.  With ways to determine campaign performance, analyze loyalty, and pinpoint the satisfaction-driving factors, combining these with data-driven automation and AI can help companies in the travel industry grow amid competition and excel in the future! Can Cyfuture be of help if you are in the travel business? Let us know!

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AI: Can A Machine Ever Be Human, Convincingly?  https://cyfuture.com/blog/ai-can-a-machine-ever-be-human-convincingly/ https://cyfuture.com/blog/ai-can-a-machine-ever-be-human-convincingly/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2019 11:29:10 +0000 https://cyfuture.com/blog/?p=67 The inclusion of ‘learning abilities’ – mostly thought unique to humans and very few other evolved primates – defines artificial intelligence to a large extent. Faced with unfamiliar situations, how the program deals with the problems and attempts to solve them is key to identifying a stretch of software code as ‘artificially intelligent’. Artificial Intelligence […]

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The inclusion of ‘learning abilities’ – mostly thought unique to humans and very few other evolved primates – defines artificial intelligence to a large extent. Faced with unfamiliar situations, how the program deals with the problems and attempts to solve them is key to identifying a stretch of software code as ‘artificially intelligent’.

Artificial Intelligence has made the leap from science fiction to real life in a short matter of time. It was initially envisioned as a panacea for the intricate but repetitive processes that aided scientific research and technological advancement – a role it has fulfilled and, in many instances, surpassed.

Training a program by making it understand a variety of sensory inputs, whether in the form of digital or analog data, does not mean that program has ‘intelligence’. The result of this factor being used to decide the intelligence of software leads to various technologies that were quite revolutionary at their inception now being classified as routine programs, because their previously groundbreaking tasks have become rudimentary in today’s advanced day and age.

A Brief History of AI

Automation has been a pursuit of humanity since classical Greek antiquity. The word ‘automaton’ itself is used by Homer to refer to machines acting according to their own will. There is ample evidence in literature and history that shows how we have striven to recreate machines that not only look like us, but walk, talk and act like us. The more successful efforts towards such aims are said to be in the ‘uncanny valley’, an uncomfortable state which results from the almost, but not entirely, accurate depiction of human beings by doppelganger machines.

Interesting Article to Read : Chatbots & Live Chat | A Sprint to Sublime Customer Service

Alan Turing was instrumental in making artificial intelligence a practical field. Approaching AI in purely mathematical binary terms, digitization was used as the platform to erect expert systems, which use inference engines and knowledge bases to make decisions. Moore’s Law, which predicted computing power rising up while component sizes reduced, still remains applicable, albeit to a slightly lesser extent.

Now, with data surging forth from all sorts of sources right from our handheld devices to astronomical observations and literal rocket science, machines that have been developed specifically to ‘think like a human’ are rapidly being deployed in a variety of fields, form bioengineering to synthetic medicine. Nearer our daily lives, search engines [one (followed by a hundred zeros) in particular, but all of them in general] and flagship smartphones use all the learnings gleaned from AI to deliver ‘personalized experiences’ right into our hands!

We Are Already AI-ed, Daily!

In 2014, Stephen Hawking gave a subliminal quote on AI: “It [AI] would take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded.

While such a day still seems far off as of now, the quest for replicating human thought patterns and response heuristics continues unabated. Programmers in diverse fields toil away every day at their projects, attempting to reproduce the thought processes that make up the human mind. They have to take many factors into consideration, not the least of which is the ethical complication in ‘fooling’ a human into thinking they are conversing – or, at basic levels, interacting – with a machine.

We are already carrying out a great deal of everyday interactions with artificial intelligence. The level to which it affects the technology in the palm of our hands is difficult to identify at the user level. To delve deeper, we have to break down the integral components of interactions amongst humans and machines – a task easier said than done.

The question I asked at the beginning is hard to answer, because it is rooted in the future. At Cyfuture, we are accustomed to asking questions that require a certain kind of ‘never giving in’ mindset to answer – for laterally solving problems or creating innovative solutions to increase the effectiveness of existing legacy systems, as well as drive businesses better.

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