Espresso: Electric vehicle forecast, M&A deals
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Global sales of EV to dominate by 2033
Consulting firm EY polled 9,000 respondents from 13 countries for its latest Mobility Consumer Index, which spawned some interesting findings.
- The EY Mobility Lens Forecaster predicts electric vehicles (EV) will dominate global sales by 2033,
- 66 percent of respondents said they are willing to pay a premium for an EV,
- Cost of ownership emerged as the top reason for those who don't plan to buy an EV (50 percent).
Randall Miller, who leads the Global Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility practice at EY, said most consumers are willing to pay a premium for an EV because of environmental concerns or an understanding that the total cost of ownership is lower in the long term. "This is a fundamental shift in attitudes, which will ultimately be beneficial for the consumer and the planet,” he added.
End-user spending on IT services to touch $18 billion
End-user spending on IT services is on track to touch $18 billion in India this year, an increase of 10.7 percent from 2020, according to technology advisory Gartner.
“The surge in remote working, need for business continuity planning and increased focus towards digitalisation has increased the demand for IT services,” said Arup Roy, Research Vice-president at Gartner.
“Organisations in India are moving towards a cloud-only or a cloud-first model, which is why spending on infrastructure as a service (IaaS) will experience strong growth in 2021,” he added. End-user spending on IaaS will total $1.6 billion, growing 57 percent over 2020.
Cognizant acquires TQS Integration
Cognizant acquired TQS Integration, based in Lismore, Ireland, in a recent deal.
Its smart factory capabilities drive digital transformation in the manufacturing operations of clients in industries like life sciences, food and beverages, and energy and renewables.
Cognizant will combine TQS' expertise with its own to "help clients transition to Industry 4.0, and expedite the production of life-changing medicines," the company said in a press release.
Microsoft to buy out CloudKnox Security
In another recent deal, Microsoft will buy cloud-security startup CloudKnox Security, which helps organisations manage access and permissions.
The deal will helps users of Microsoft Azure Active Directory, its cloud based identity and access management product, who would be able to monitor and mitigate risk during multi cloud permissions, Microsoft said in a blog post.
AU Small Finance Bank's digital thrust
AU Small Finance Bank has 2 million customers, of which 18.5 percent are registered as mobile/internet banking users, according to its latest annual report.
“Digital is central in our way forward,” said AU Small Finance Bank which largely serves rural populations. "The pandemic has significantly accelerated customer adoption of digital technology."
AU digitised its internal processes, and automated its lead management in the past year. It also introduced video banking services, such as video know your customer (KYC), account opening, query redressal, and so on. It closed the 2021 fiscal year (FY) with revenue of Rs 6,401.6 crore, and profit of Rs 1,170.7 crore.
Honeywell's remote rollouts
Honeywell Automation, which clocked sales of Rs 3,403 crore in FY 2021, rolled out several remote services to its customers last year because of the pandemic.
"The pandemic forced the industry to work remotely, with a need for social distancing, reduced manpower, and reduced travel opportunities," the company said in its latest annual report. The remote rollouts involved engineering solutions, factory acceptance testing solutions, commissioning solutions, and maintenance solutions.
"These remote solutions and services based on the digitisation approach also demanded that the plant control-networks and operational technology (OT) systems are protected from cyberattacks. We offered our expert consulting services and software solutions in the areas of industrial cybersecurity," the company said.
Edited by Kunal Talgeri