Technopark - India's Greenest and Biggest IT Park

[ASGeorge]

Ethiopia for ties with Technopark companies

A high-level delegation from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia visited the Technopark campus here as part of their four-day visit to Kerala to study the successful models adopted by the State for empowerment of women and youth. The 11-member delegation led by Zenebu Tadesse, Minister for Women, Youth and Children; and Gennet Zewide, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Ethiopia, New Delhi, visited the IT park and held discussions with Technopark officials on the role of IT industry in empowering youth.
Technopark CEO K.G. Girish Babu received the team, along with M.Vasudevan, Senior Business Development Manager. In his presentation before the delegation, Mr. Babu said the IT sector in Kerala was driven by the young workforce in the State.
Mr. Vasudevan said the companies in Technopark had improved their work culture by balancing the ratio of men to women. “There are many women who occupy higher positions in the companies and they are a great example for other IT parks who are trying to minimize the gender difference”.
The delegation also held discussions with representatives of the Group of Technopark Companies and the office-bearers of the recently formed e-WIT (empowering Women in IT group) to understand how the park was working towards providing more opportunities for the youth in the State. After her interactions with Technopark officials and other park companies, Mrs. Tadesse said: “We are extremely impressed by what we saw today at Technopark. The very fact that 45% of the IT workforce here comprises women of less than 26 years age is very heartening. We hope to implement some of the best practices followed in terms of empowering women and youth in our country as well.”
Ms. Zewide said the team would explore the possibility of closer ties with companies in Technopark in the area of IT.

Source : The Hindu

[RajeshVR]

Technopark incubator wins award
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 4:

Technology business incubator (TBI) at Technopark here has won best incubator international award from Asian Association of Business Incubation. The award has been instituted to promote development of incubators and recognise overall excellence.

K. C. Chandrasekharan Nair, managing director, Technopark TBI, received the award on Thursday at an international conference held at Seoul.

The only previous winner from India has been the agri-business incubator International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Hyderabad.

Chandrasekharan Nair said that Technopark TBI has created an ecosystem to promote the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. It has incubated more than 165 start-ups over the past nine years with a success rate of over 96 per cent.

It is the nodal TBI authorised to guide other TBIs and student entrepreneurs as part of a State Government drive to promote spirit of entrepreneurship at a young age.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...ue&ref=wl_home

[remobecks]

Toonz to release animated film on Swami Ayyappan


Technopark-based Toonz Animation is gearing up to set another milestone with a 75-minute animated film ‘Swami Ayyappan’, based on the life story of a boy Manikandan, who became a god worshipped by millions.

The film is a co-production between Toonz and Mumbai-based company Animagic.

P. Jayakumar, Toonz CEO told IANS that the filming is almost done and the movie will be ready for release early next year.

"The film has the right mix of fantasy, action, adventure, mythology and history and is sure to delight audience of all ages. More than being a film on a mythological superhero, it is the message of religious tolerance and secularism that Swami Ayyappan highlights," said Jayakumar.

Incidentally the news comes at a time when the two-month-long Sabarimala pilgrimage season just began last month. It will end in the middle of January 2013.

According to estimates, around 1.5 crore pilgrims visited the hill shrine in the last pilgrimage season.

The temple, situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level, is located four kms uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district and is surrounded by dense forests.

Asked why did Toonz take such a long time to do a film on lord Ayyappan, Jayakumar shot back by saying: "For every good thing there is a time, and the time is now come for a great film on Swami Ayyappan to happen."

Former Chief Secretary of Kerala, K. Jayakumar has penned the lyrics for this film, which is directed by Mahesh Vettiyar and Chetan Sharma.

The movie follows the life of Manikandan, who is believed to be born out of the union between Lord Shiva and Vishnu in his Mohini avatar.

The incarnation is said to be for the purpose of slaying the demoness Mahishi, who was burning with anger to avenge the death of her brother the asura king Mahishasura, and thereby destroying all the three worlds. The larger purpose of his embodiment was to banish evil from this world and establish good.

"The production is almost over and it would be made in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and English, and will be released across the country," said Jayakumar.

Founded in 1999, Toonz`s client list includes the biggest names in media and entertainment like Marvel, Hallmark, Paramount, Disney, BBC and Cartoon Network.

Toonz offers its clientele end-to-end animation services including 3D animation, 2D animation (digital and traditional), Flash, Stop Motion and VFX on a full spectrum of media platforms.

[ajithv]

Xmas items online at fair prices

Too busy for Christmas shopping? Two city-based youths are here to help you with an online portal for Christmas celebrations. Anish John and Arun A S, employees of Technopark-based Breezego Solutions Private Limited, have launched www.pulkoodu.com, where customers can place orders for Christmas sets, comprising crib, clay statues, decorations etc. Doorstep delivery of the products is available in the city limits.

Anish and Arun are on a high as they are getting queries and orders within days of launching the website. Anish, who is an active member of the local church, has experience in arranging Christmas decorations. “The prices of crib and other products shocked me when I went to Chalai for purchasing them this time. The prices have skyrocketed. Then I contacted my uncle in Nagercoil and found that the prices were comparatively low there,” said Anish.

Anish, a web developer, spoke to his friend Arun about the viability of launching a website for exclusive Christmas products. Arun, an expert in online marketing, agreed to join in. Thus they created e-pulkoodu. “We bring products from Nagercoil. So they are available at lower prices,” Anish said.

The website offers a basic Christmas set for Rs 1,000 which has a portable crib, 12 pieces of clay statues, LED set, rice light serial sets, balloons, star etc. The deluxe Christmas set priced at Rs 1,300 has a Christmas tree of 4 feet height, tree decoration set etc in addition to the basic set. The ultimate Christmas set priced at Rs 1,800 has a Christmas tree of height 6 feet, decoration sets etc.

“We are also planning to introduce cakes, crackers etc in the coming days. Other than the package, individual products too are available,” Anish said. He said more demand is for the basic Christmas set. Five per cent of the amount would be donated to charity, he added. For details, call 9746182252 or log on to www.pulkoodu.com.

[VRL]

Technopark phase 3 Land/Space request details received from various companies are published in below link
http://technopark.org/component/content/article/366

[RajeshVR]

Accentia Technologies marks its entry into Education sector

Trivandrum: In a major step following their foray into the Education sector, the Technopark based IT & ITeS Company, Accentia Technologies, has lined up four new innovative products under the Accentia Education banner - iNotePad, iNoteBook, Safecomm and iSchoolPad. These products will be formally launched by Chief Minister, Shri Oommen Chandy today in Thiruvananthapuram.
Interacting with the media, Pradeep Viswambharan, CEO, Accentia Technologies said, “Our focus is on quality with a passion for technology and long-term relationship with the customers. We are not looking at entry level devices. The new tablets, the safety device, and the educational software, will change the way our students learn in their schools. We have presented the new devices to the Union Government, and they are currently under discussions on whether to adopt it to the country’s education segment. We are also talking to the Kerala Government and some private schools here.”

The iNotePad is an Android Jellybean tablet that would perfectly meet the needs of today's digital home, office and person. The iNotePad range of tablets is integrated with the superlative hardware parts which enable them to go the extra mile while maintaining the best performance for the price paid. The iNotePad has been designed to fit snugly in your hands like a folded magazine

[RajeshVR]

MobME to become first Kerala IT Company to launch IPO

Trivandrum: For the first time in the 22 year long history of the IT industry in Kerala, a home grown mobile internet company, MobME Wireless, a campus start-up just six years ago, has announced its plans of launching its Initial Public Offer (IPO). If everything goes according to the plans, MobME might as well become the first IT Company to list on an SME Exchange.

Announcing the plans of the company at the very same location where a bunch of youngster started their company six years back, Sanjay Vijayakumar, CEO, MobME Wireless said, “Our journey started from here when we signed the documents to set up our technology company from our college, the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET). It was from here that we moved to the Technopark TBI. By scripting the campus-to-IPO success story in the country, MobME will possibly the only IT Company from Kerala planning to go public after the IT industry began here with the start of the Technopark in Trivandrum in the early 90s.”

“As MobME pitches itself on a new orbit of growth through the IPO, it also marks a new trajectory growth for Kerala’s IT industry. We have set up the ‘Startup Village’ at Kochi to help a new breed of youngsters who are budding entrepreneurs over the next ten years”, added Sanjay.

Sony Joy, co-CEO, MobME said, “We have viewed the company as a vehicle to create employment, knowledge and wealth in our homeland. Today we have about 150-175 professionals working out from different locations. We are now ready to take the flight into the next level of growth with this IPO.”

MobME started off under the name Torque and was the first student incubated company at Technopark-TBI. Of the 15 core members of the company, eight of them are from CET and the rest from SCT, another leading engineering college in the city. MobME specialises in mobile VAS with in-house R & D. M-Governance SDP development and delivery is another key area for the company.

Dr. V Gopakumar, Principal, CET; K G Girish Babu, CEO, Technopark and K C Chandrashekaran Nair, Registrar, Technopark-TBI, were among those present on the occasion.

[ASGeorge]

MobME Wireless Solutions becomes the first campus start-up in India to go public with an Initial Public Offering.


Sony Joy, Sanjay Vijayakumar and Vivek Steve Francis at MobME's Initial Public Offering (IPO) announcement at College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram on December 12. Girish Babu, CEO, Technopark (2nd from right), was also present at the event.

Source : The Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-sty...cle4191925.ece

[ajithv]

Source: Metro Manorama

[ajithv]

Technopark companies to help Tehri Dam evictees

THIRUVANANATHAPURAM: A year after being empanelled by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to implement projects for central public sector enterprises, Technopark's Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) India Ltd, to help Tehri dam evictees earn a livelihood by producing paper bags. Around 10,000 families are expected to benefit from the project.

Two Kottayam-based companies - Bio Way Packs Pvt Ltd and Ideal Safety System - will carry out THDC's corporate social responsibility projects from early next year, said Technopark-TBI managing director KC Chandrasekharan Nair. Ideal Safety System will introduce waste management systems to curb garbage menace in the region."The T-TBI was empanelled as an implementing agency by TISS after a department of public enterprises directive that central public sector enterprises should set aside a portion of the net profit of the previous year for corporate social responsibility activities," Nair said.

The Kottayam-based companies have been virtually incubated at the T-TBI but, virtually incubated companies would not be beneficiaries of T-TBI's seed money of Rs 50 lakh and will not be about to use the Technopark infrastructure. However, the T-TBI will help them network and piggyback on the Technopark brand.

Bio Way Packs, which manufactures Bag Master, a patented paper bag making machine costing Rs 35,000,will initially supply eight machines. The machine will have the capacity to produce 1,000 bags in 8 hours. "The machine will run on 125 Watts and will be cost effective. The plan is to conduct a pilot project for the next six months. Around 50 people, split into eight groups, will be identified to carry out the project," said K J Thomas, who patented the product.

Binu Francis, CEO of Ideal Safety System, said his company plans to introduce products that directly related to rural empowerment and disease prevention."We have offered them a range of machines such as biogas plant, vermi compost, pipe compost, sanitary napkin vending and destroying machine, etc. It is up to them to figure out what they want to introduce in the community," he said.

The MoU between THDC and T-TBI will be signed before December 25 this year, said T-TBI technical officer S Sreejith.

[ajithv]

Source: Facebook

[remobecks]

New Mexico headquartered IT company expands in Technopark


New Mexico=headquartered Speridian Technologies, having operations in Technopark here, Tuesday announced its expansion by taking in new space and adding another 200 professionals.

The company designs, develops and deploys enterprise-wide, technology-enabled software solutions.

"Though Speridian started off as a US-based company, today India is the hub, housing most of our talent pool," said Chandra Vempati, India Head of Speridien.

[rajkrish]

Yesterday visited TP. TCS is coming up pretty fast.

Originally Posted by remobecks

New Mexico headquartered IT company expands in Technopark


New Mexico=headquartered Speridian Technologies, having operations in Technopark here, Tuesday announced its expansion by taking in new space and adding another 200 professionals.

The company designs, develops and deploys enterprise-wide, technology-enabled software solutions.

"Though Speridian started off as a US-based company, today India is the hub, housing most of our talent pool," said Chandra Vempati, India Head of Speridien.

[ajithv]

Season Celebration "Spirit of Seasons" by UST Global on 19.12.2012

[ajithv]

Automatic car wash soon at Technopark

Busy bee techies can now excuse themselves from the time-consuming task of cleaning their vehicles. Technopark will soon get an automatic car wash. Works to set up an express wash is progressing on the park premises.

Amgios Express Car Wash Service is setting up the facility near M-Squared building on Technopark campus. Amgios and Technopark authorities had signed an MoU for setting up an automatic car wash back in July. According to M Vasudevan, senior manager, business development, the automatic car wash facility will come up within a month. “The work is going on. It may be operational within a month,” he said.

“I do not have much idea about the rate. But they have promised that it would be reasonable. They are also planning to introduce schemes for regular customers,” he added.

Already, there is another express wash near the Infosys campus. Currently, Technopark has two car wash agencies, where around 30 women are working.

While Technopark is getting car care facilities, techies are worried over the minimal parking facilities. Basements of most of the buildings of Technopark are reserved for parking. However, it has failed to meet the requirement. As many as 550 cars can be parked at Tejaswini (two floors allotted for parking); Gayathri building has 96 covered and 62 open car parking slots; and Bhavani has 203 covered and 123 open car parking lots.

Technopark authorities are planning to introduce a multi-level parking facility to solve the parking woes. However, the proposal is still on paper.

[remobecks]

ZoomTech launches search engine for Doctors and Hospitals


ZoomTech, an IT start-up company based here, has launched Doctorscabin.com, a comprehensive search engine for locating Doctors or Hospitals by selecting City or State or Speciality. The health portal provides information and communication tools for patients to help them connect better with hospitals, doctors, healthcare and medical service providers.

Announcing the launch at Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram; Mini Balaraman, CEO, ZoomTech and the brain behind of Doctorscabin.com said, “Our vision is to make Doctorscabin.com a household name for the health needs of people across India. We aim to have all hospitals and doctors across India registered with us. As of now, we have over 12,000 doctors and 1,200 hospitals registered on the website where patients can search, inform and educate themselves for their medical needs. We want to help the common people make an informed decision when selecting their doctor or hospital.”

Doctorscabin.com was born out of a necessity when Mini, an IT professional, relocated to Trivandrum after working in USA for 14 years. “Being new to this place, we had a hard time finding a paediatrician for my kids. I found out that it’s mostly through word of mouth that people select their doctors here unlike in the US where majority of the people use the web to find doctors / hospitals, book appointments, see ratings of doctors, etc. I felt those kinds of systems were very useful, time saving and efficient. At that time I decided that I can use my IT and Healthcare background to start a search engine for Doctors and Hospitals”, said Mini.

The portal is also being planned as a platform for patients to meet similar patients online, to interact and share their experiences with others. Using this feature any patient can discuss, share and inform themselves about their sickness by discussing with similar patients.

The portal is also expected to give a boost to medical tourism. During the beta launch period last month, the site had over 200,000 page views and 60,000 visitors.

[ajithv]

Celebrating to the hilt



It is the season of merriment and giving at Technopark as employees kick off Christmas and New Year celebrations. The week has seen companies, big and small, organising a variety of programmes – Christmas sales, get-togethers, exchanging of gifts, competitions, carol singing, decorating offices and so on to celebrate the season.

One event that almost all the companies organise without fail is decorating cubicles and bays. “The best bay takes the prize. It has almost become a mandatory feature in the celebration. The participants have to ensure that traditional components such as a Christmas tree, crib, star and so on are there,” says a techie. In The Allianz Trivandrum, the decoration of bays had a theme – it was on the four elements of earth, water, wind and fire. The bay that won the first place chose the ‘wind’ and depicted wind festivals, wind-powered technology and wind-related mythology. Meanwhile, in IBS, there was a competition among seven blocks. “While the traditional elements such as Christmas trees, crib and stars were there, one block had a tableau depicting the nativity scene,” says Dileep C., manager, human resources, IBS.

Exciting contests too were on the list. While Allianz had a ‘Bake a Cake’ contest in which employees baked cakes and decorated those in Christmas themes, Infosys had a star-making contest.

UST Global made it different with a ‘Man and Woman of All Seasons’ contest, a personality contest for employees of the company. Parwathy Gopan and Vishnunarayan Babukumar walked away with the titles. Alexander Varghese, Country Head of UST Global, said: “The holiday season is very significant for a culturally diverse workforce such as UST Global. It is also a fine platform to showcase talents and leadership skills.”

Carols were also sung. IBS had a carol singing contest in which seven teams participated. In some companies, carollers went around the office, spreading Christmas joy.

No festival is complete with a feast. So, IBS had a sale of home-made delicacies. Allianz had a biriyani fest, wherein the amount collected went towards charity. UST set up stalls where Christmas cakes and other goodies were on sale, along with designer garments.

Gifting is an integral part of the celebration. The employees of Allianz collected gifts from the employees and presented it to 18 children of Poornasree Balika Sadan. This time, IBS introduced ‘Be A Buddy’ programme wherein an employee registers with a common database listing his/her likes and dislikes. Each of them would be assigned a friend. By surfing the database he/she would come to know what the friend likes and then buy a gift for him/her.

And what has come as a blessing for the techie community is the portal www.pulkoodu.com., started by Anish John and Arun C.S. of Breezego Solutions in Technopark. On sale are Christmas sets of three kinds – basic, advanced and premium. “The advanced set (Rs. 1,300) is in great demand,” Anish says. It has a crib with clay figurines, a Christmas tree, decoration kit, LED lights, star and balloons. The items are delivered at your doorstep. The duo is even planning to market crackers via the website. Technopark Store, an online store for techies, has got a good collection of gift options, an attraction being handmade greeting cards.

It is also the season when many employees, mostly of European/American-based companies, go on a break as the world celebrates the season of joy.

[ajithv]

Source: City Kaumudi

[RajeshVR]

Govt to elevate Technopark Technology Business Incubator as nodal incubator


Kerala government is planning to raise Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) as a nodal incubator for other technology incubators across the state. With this, technology start-ups registered with T-TBI or other incubators under it will be eligible for soft loans and grants from the central government.

"T-TBI will be made a state-level technology business incubator soon, and both private and government-run incubators could be affiliated to it," revealed K C Chandrasekharan Nair, managing director of T-TBI.

T-TBI incubator is the second one set up in Kerala, following the incubator at the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode. Over the last six years, T-TBI has incubated 180 companies of which 30 through its 24 extensions spread over the state. MobME, a value-added telecom services provider planning for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) soon, was also incubated at T-TBI.

"With T-TBI acting as a state-level incubator, it will be easy for start-ups to get seed funding and grants from the Union government.

Start-ups will get up to Rs 50 lakh as soft loans from the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB). If the products are innovative, there is the prospect of getting Rs 60 lakh from the Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP), funded jointly by the department of scientific and industrial research and the National Innovation Council," Nair said.

Apart from the funding, these start-ups will get mentoring from the mentor pool of 60 technology mentors and 30 business mentors. "Even a small start-up could be mentored by successful businessmen including Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-chairman of Infosys, and V K Mathews, executive chairman of IBS Software," Nair added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

[ASGeorge]

Senior management personnel talk about Technopark’s strides in 2012



From a new chief executive officer to an earthquake alert that had techies sprinting for the exits and the fun and frolic of Tech-a-break; from the pitfalls of recession, a security breach, awards, sports tournaments, TED talks…it’s been a happening year for Technopark and the 40,000 plus techies who work there.

Agreeing that it has been a eventful year K.C. Chandrashekar, Chief Finance Officer, Technopark, and Secretary and Registrar, Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) says: “It’s not merely been a good year for Technopark, its really been a spectacular year. Quite a few companies seem to have taken on global recession as a challenge and an opportunity to get ahead of the game. To use a metaphor, this is a good phase in Technopark’s horoscope!”

M. Vasudevan, senior manager, Business Development, at Technopark says: “Indeed, 2012 has been a good year for us. The built up area of Technopark is going to increase manifold thanks to initiatives already in the works. In a matter of months we’ll be able to cater to an additional 40,000 techies. Earlier in the year Infosys announced plans for a second campus near Technocity; TCS too is coming up with India’s largest techie training centre that can cater to 16,000 new recruits; UST Global’s campus is progressing well… The continuing interest of both major corporations and small and medium enterprises in Technopark reinforces our success.”

Anoop P. Ambika, managing director of Kreara Solutions, secretary of GTech and founder of Technopark’s cultural club Natana, opines: “This year Technopark’s turnover – all the companies put together – is close to Rs. 2,000 crore! On the cultural front, Natana organised many well-attended programmes. We started Nakshatra, our film club, which has become hugely popular. Recently, there was an impressive turnout at our cultural stage show, Jalwa.”

Perhaps one of the biggest achievements of the year has been the T-TBI winning the prestigious Asian Association of Business Incubation Award for the Best Incubator of 2012. “Technopark TBI currently hosts 70 companies inside the incubator and virtually incubates 28 companies in a range of areas such as mobile applications, holography and optics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, embedded systems, bio-informatics, medical electronics, and so on. I’m proud to say that we have a success percentage of 96.42,” says Chandrashekar.

Recently the Government of Kerala announced their landmark student entrepreneurship policy and it has appointed T-TBI as the nodal incubator to provide guidance to other TBIs and students till 2014. “We are launching a TBI for non-resident Indians on January 7, 2013 by the Prime Minister (waiting for confirmation from Prime Minister’s Office) and also planning the laying of the foundation stone for the innovation zone in Kochi,” adds Chandrashekar.

Alexander Varghese, Country Head, UST Global, too is “excited and impressed” by the increasing number of entrepreneurial initiatives. “Both UST and Technopark have had a good run this year. The sheer number of entrepreneurial activities in Technopark and in Kerala in general is a matter of pride for the State. UST has been able to improve revenue and maintain growth – and that’s despite global recession and a conservative economy. We have also stepped up employee engagement activities this year (which seems to be a common trend across the board in Technopark),” he says.

By the looks of it, 2013 will most probably be a happening year too. “Phase III will soon become operational, Technopark Club will be getting a world class revamp… there’s much to look forward to,” says Anoop.

Source : The Hindu Metroplus