Archive: June 30, 2023

As team Jayco AlUla gets set for the Tour de France, AlUla accelerates its cycling ambition

AlUla, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 30th June 2023: AlUla’s sponsorship deal with the Australian Team Jayco AlUla, widely recognised as one of the world’s top teams, was developed to amplify the vision to put the Saudi Arabian ancient desert city of AlUla – located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia – on the map for 1.7 billion road cycling spectators and sports fans from around the world.

As the world-leading men and women cyclists from Team Jayco AlUla get ready once again to participate in the prestigious men’s Tour de France, July 1-23, and the Tour de France Femmes 23-30, AlUla’s passion for cycling is accelerated with the development of extensive road, gravel and mountain biking networks, in addition to key tourism focused cycling concepts.

AlUla is inviting the global cycling community to experience the exhilaration of cycling in a destination unlike any other. With a rich history spanning 200,000 years of human activity, which incorporates a remarkable 7,000 years of continuous human civilisation, AlUla offers a backdrop of awe-inspiring heritage sites alongside a landscape geared towards premium cycling activities and adventures for cyclists across all levels of ability and expertise.

The emphasis on two-wheeled transport and recreation is a significant aspect of AlUla’s Journey Through Time 15-year masterplan, which was launched in April 2021.

Phillip Jones, Chief Tourism Officer at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: “Cycling is an integral part of AlUla’s future vision. With its stunning natural landscape of sandstone mountains, volcanic plateaus, and winding roads the region is an ideal cycling destination for enthusiasts worldwide.”

Jones added: “With cycling being at its core a sustainable and environmentally friendly pursuit, this is perfectly aligned with our strategy to grow AlUla as a sustainable and responsible destination that protects its heritage and monumental assets that have been in place for aeons, while preserving its treasures for the benefit of generations to come.”

Building on its dedication to promoting sustainable options, AlUla prioritises developing environmentally friendly modes of transportation. These include the introduction of electric bikes at Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, alongside the recently introduced Wheels Bike Hub, offering visitors exciting desert biking tours, mountain biking options, servicing and roadside assistance, with opportunities to rent or buy mountain, road and electric bikes, and biking gear. The hub is perfectly located on a 26km cycling path that creates a circular route between AlAtheeb and Hegra.

AlUla has also successfully hosted a range of cycling events, including the prestigious Saudi Tour, a category 2.1 race on the UCI calendar, in 2022 and 2023. Participants of these events had the extraordinary opportunity to cycle through AlUla, seeing the breathtaking natural landscapes and rich heritage features.

Additionally, as part of the team Jayco AlUla partnership, the team welcomed Saudi female cyclist talent Moroj Adil, by supporting her move to Europe for a unique training experience. Adil had the opportunity to meet with the team, attend key presentations, and undergo valuable training alongside the star riders of Team Jayco AlUla. This initiative serves as a testament to AlUla’s commitment to promoting and empowering women and Saudi talents in the field of cycling.

To assist in the development of its cycling tourism strategy, AlUla organised and hosted a cycling tourism symposium in March 2023, which brought together experts from the global cycling community with the aim of charting a path toward establishing AlUla as a prominent global cycling hub.

Social Beat’s Digital Leadership Summit 2023 examines Growth Through Innovation

Social Beat held a ‘Growth through Innovation’ digital leadership summit in Chennai attended by more than 100 high-level marketers spread across industries from the city and elsewhere. The Key Note address of the summit was by Mr CK Ranganathan, the founder, CM&MD of CavinKare, while marketing heads of Google, Snap Chat, TVS Eurogrip and Sundaram Finance among others shared insights on their growth story with innovative strategies in expanding their customer base.

Mr. C K Ranganathan, Managing Director, CavinKare said, “Growth through innovation has be a structured process driven throughout the organization by company heads. Leaders have to be proactive, agile and develop strategic plans based on their market intelligence and trends. I think there are 5 key elements in ensuring the success of any organization and that is Strategy, Structure, People, Process and Technology. If a company understands these 5 steps and takes action in implementing them, then they are on the right track.”

Mr. Ajit Narasimhan, Chief Marketing Officer, Sundaram Mutual Fund said, “A lot has changed from around 2010 to where we are today. And I think there are three important changes with respect to the BFSI industry. One, technology. Two, Building presence. And when you build your presence, the audience wants to consume it so you need to start making investments in technology and thus the third, Adopting and embracing various digital platforms with content to reach out to our audience. Digital marketing and new technology is no more a cost centre, but an investment and revenue generator.”

Mr. Arjun Bhatia, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP, Matrimony.com, said, “The match making business has been in the online space for about 20 years now. But since there has been a traditional history to it we had to innovate to get people to accept our offering. Early on discovery was happening online and consumption was offline but now both the discovery and the consumption has moved online. Given the complexity of catering to the need of different groups with different beliefs, innovation via digital has helped us manage this transition and make match-making an easier process for the customer. Innovation at various levels have helped us get here.”

Ms. Kavitha Ganesan, Head-Brand Marketing, TVS Eurogrip said, “It is a challenge for an offline brand to get success via Integrated Marketing and that too for a low involvement category. A further challenge was how to move from brand communication to brand experience. At TVS Eurogrip we managed this via an innovative campaign that involved digital, traditional and innovation all focused towards making the brand speak and touch our prospects at various points. So the Integration with the Chennai Super Kings brand had to be supplemented with a well thought out innovative campaign that didn’t stop at TV Advertisements. We integrated the campaign though various touch points both in the digital and physical worlds. The end result was immensely satisfying and paid us rich dividends.”

Ms. Ruchita Taneja Aggarwal, Director, Google said, “India is going through rapid digitisation. Affordability of data has levelled the field and online content is consumed by everyone. Today, an individual has multiple devices. Therefore, its relevant for a brand to be present across various devices and various mediums. You Tube shorts that was first launched in India sees more than 6 million users and businesses need to create formats of communication workable in many verticals. At Google we see consumers coming to one platform to consume content of all kinds. So clearly YouTube is now a single stop destination that an organization cannot ignore.”

Mr. Gaurav Jain, Head of Emerging Business, Share Chat, said, “Growth today is coming equally from the urban and rural areas. We at Share Chat help companies to realize that significant improvement can be attained by generating content and promotions in regional languages. Today, Share Chat has a user base of more than 325 million. More than 30 crore people come to our platform on a monthly basis to get entertained, express themselves by posting videos which is why we are confident of guiding clients to help with messaging in the right context to generate maximum hits.”

Suneil Chawla, Co-founder, Social Beat, said, “Social Beat is committed to innovation in the digital world to help our Clients excel in their domain. We offer solutions and practices to help customers break through bottlenecks in their transformation journey. Social Beat seeks to constantly innovate and offer products that will enable customers to make significant strides in their business digitally.”

 

Tenable Named Snowflake’s Cybersecurity Partner of the Year

Bengaluru, June 29, 2023 — Tenable®, the Exposure Management company, today announced at Snowflake’s annual user conference, Snowflake Summit 2023, that it has been named the 2023 Cybersecurity Partner of the Year award winner by Snowflake, the Data Cloud company.

Tenable was recognized for its Tenable One Exposure Management Platform. Tenable One, Powered by Snowflake, helps joint customers gain a holistic view of their entire attack surface — including software and web application vulnerabilities, cloud misconfigurations, identity, and access weaknesses – and glean actionable insights with out-of-the-box dashboards, risk scoring, and attack path analysis. Tenable One delivers a scalable, global exposure management platform to help customers prevent cyberattacks and accurately communicate cyber risk to support optimal business performance.

“Our work with Snowflake is critical in helping customers quickly identify exposures, prioritize remediation, and reduce cyber risk,” said Glen Pendley, chief technology officer, Tenable. “Leveraging the Snowflake Data Cloud enabled us to be highly scalable and efficient, and deliver a seamless user experience. The flexibility provided by Snowflake allows us to focus on developing platform features, delivering greater value to customers faster. We look forward to further expanding our partnership to build even deeper product integrations that support our ecosystem.”

“Tenable and Snowflake’s partnership represents tremendous potential for data-driven security programs,” said Omer Singer, Head of Cybersecurity Strategy, at Snowflake. “As our Cybersecurity Partner of the Year, Tenable has made great strides towards unifying vulnerability insights, asset inventory, and other key aspects of the attack surface- all on the Data Cloud. We are proudly committed to breaking down silos together for cybersecurity teams across our customers.”

Are We Ready For Women Entrepreneurs

The era of start-ups is in its golden period, in spite of the slow down, crashing unicorns & unprofitable businesses. Why? Because the ecosystem of start-ups has now matured. The number of patents has tripled in the last 5 years, however, women hold only 22.9% patents internationally. In India, the percentage is much less.

But are we ready for women-led start-ups? With Falguni Nayar from Nykaa, Indira Nooyi from Biocon, and Melanie Perkins from Canva, being the poster girls for Unicorns, do they actually change the real scenario of women-led start-ups?

As per recent figures, only 14% of entrepreneurs in India are women, though globally the figure is one-third, which also means that there are 252 million women business owners in the world.
The venture capital ecosystem is still short of embracing gender equality. According to Pitchbook, in 2022, companies founded solely by women garnered just 2% of the total capital invested in VC- backed start-ups in the United States. In Europe, the percentage was even lower, at 0.9%
In India, out of estimated 8 million women entrepreneurs, only 2000 women start-ups have been able to raise funding for their venture. Out of these 2000 women entrepreneurs, only 36% have moved to Series A funding.

According to Ms. Anar Mehta Srishti Bharat

Foundation in Ahmedabad says it was very tough to convince people to fundraising ventures led by women. It is a general mindset that men are superior to women when it comes to handling money.
It is especially difficult for women founders who are single or they do not have any family members on the founding team.

This is the situation when studies have shown that with at least one female founder inclusive team has outperformed all-male founding teams by 63%. It is also established that women founders are

able to produce a more positive working culture. Sagarika Ghosh from Paaf Global Pvt Ltd, Kolkata was able to tie up with IIT Patna.

It is widely believed that most women lead start-ups are either towards marketing & liaising or extensions in households like cooking, decoration, stitching, designing, or social start-ups. Only 8% of tech start-ups in India are led by women start-ups which utilise deep tech.

Since STEM is discouraged among female students at the education level, gender equality is still a distant goal in women’s participation in technology.

Harassment on the basis of gender is equally a challenge. Namita Thapar is one of the victims. Calling her out or trolling her on the basis of her business would have been acceptable, but commenting about her worthlessness because she wears certain clothes or has access to money, is not what is right in any sense. Can we imagine people telling Aman Gupta of boAT that he dresses up too much?

Still, women are breaking the glass ceiling. Studies have shown that in Western countries, women have more opportunities now however in the Asian subcontinent they have fewer opportunities to raise funds as compared to men. However, of late, the doors for women have been opening a bit more than earlier. While Funds set up by women to fund women-led ventures like Saha Fund, She Capital, AWE Capital, Kalaari, and Enzia Ventures, make it that much easier, the Government of India has also started loan schemes like Dena Shakti Scheme, Mudra Yojana Scheme, Mahila Samriddhi Yojana to elevate woman entrepreneurship ecosystem in India.

The fact that in the past the Private Equity and Venture Capital firms were run by male-dominated Boards and the majority looked at women as incapable of creating unicorns from their start-ups, this mindset is surely changing now. We are on our way to seeing a day where a boss is a boss, a doctor is a doctor, a lawyer is a lawyer and an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur.

Homebuyer’s Remorse – Causes and How to Avoid It

by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you will ever make. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for some homebuyers to experience doubt and regret after the purchase. This is known as buyer’s remorse and can apply to any purchase, but buying a home is not the same as buying a mobile phone or air conditioner, for various obvious reasons.

The stress that comes from buying the ‘wrong’ home is considerable, with far-reaching financial implications, and it is very difficult to reverse. Obviously, the best strategy is not damage control but avoiding a regrettable home purchase altogether. Ultimately, the journey of homeownership is supposed to be joyous, fulfilling, and enriching. It is unthinkable to have to factor in and prepare for possible disappointment.

In short, buyer’s remorse, as it applies to a home purchase, must be avoided at all costs because the cost of not avoiding it is massive. Let’s delve into its causes and discuss some mitigating strategies you can use. To understand it, let’s look at the most common causes of homebuyers’ remorse.

The ‘Real’ Cost of a Cheap Home

The initial euphoria of having sealed a ‘steal’ deal on a home tends to dissipate quickly. Cheap homes are inexpensive for good reasons. To deliver that attractively low price tag, the developer has cut corners and ‘optimized’ costs. These cost-cutting measures will invariably reflect in location, specifications, project amenities and facilities, overall security, ‘smart’ features, and construction quality.

Location: The real drawbacks of a wrong location come to light only gradually, long after the sales deed has been signed, and irrevocable financial commitments have been made. In marketing material, the tag ’emerging location’ (usually coupled with qualifiers like ‘promising’ and ‘exciting’) certainly indicates that prices here will be lower than in ‘established’ areas.

But it can also mean that the area lacks the kind of social and civic infrastructure that makes life comfortable and convenient. If you’re interested in a project in an ’emerging’ area, ask others who live there whether they feel that it is developing quickly, slowly, or at all, and how easy or hard it is to live there.

Is there adequate water supply, or does the area rely on an endless parade of water tankers? Is the electric supply reliable or given to frequent outages? How close is the project to a major road that creates a lot of traffic noise and air pollution? Are you happy with the view from the apartment’s windows and balcony?

Check whether you can easily buy your daily necessities nearby, how close the children’s school is, and how easily and quickly you can commute to work and back. Evaluate the neighborhood: Is it safe, or do you see a lot of ‘informal’ housing like hutments and chawls, which could indicate a higher crime rate?

Project amenities and facilities: The lower the price tag, the fewer of these will be available. Compared to a bigger project by a well-known developer in the same area, the cheaper project you’re considering will fall short on the lifestyle quotient. The developer would have sacrificed space, effort, and expense in favor of churning out more flats.

While you may be able to live without a swimming pool, the absence of a clubhouse, jogging track, children’s playground, and well-maintained green open spaces will eventually impact the quality of your family’s life.

Smart features: A home without technology to make living there more enjoyable cannot stand the test of time. Smart features such as electronic surveillance, electronic kitchen hobs, and adequate Internet availability are absolutely essential nowadays.

Our kids are growing up with technology in their DNA. Education is increasingly Internet-based, and you yourself may have the opportunity to work from home or in hybrid mode. Modern electronic security systems make life safer. If you’ve bought a home that does not support the growing tech revolution, you will regret it sooner rather than later.

Green open spaces: If all you see around you is concrete or construction rubble, you will grow tired of the new home pretty quickly. The human senses long for the sights and sounds of nature, and adequate greenery also fulfills vital physiological needs. Do not be swept away by the cheap price if it means that your children will grow up without the sounds of birds chirping and tree leaves rustling in the breeze, and you cannot sit under a tree when you feel like it.

Construction quality: Most homebuyers, especially those buying their first homes, lack the knowledge to judge between good and substandard construction quality and the materials used. Here again, flaws will show up only after the sale is done.

Construction quality means many things, including the quality of cement and the ratio of sand mixed into it, the grade of internal steel rods used, the overall engineering and architectural design, the quality of fixtures and fittings, and many other aspects.

An inexperienced buyer cannot evaluate most of these. However, there are some rudimentary tell-tale signs to look out for:

a) Exterior structural flaws that have been patched may indicate a weak foundation for the project.
b) Small cracks in a flat’s walls, squeaking or sticking doors and windows, water leakage patches, and incorrectly positioned or uneven floors and bathroom and kitchen tiles.
c) Non-branded taps and electrical fittings and cheap paint on the walls.
d) Lifts manufactured by obscure local players whose names you have not heard before.
e) Walls and ceilings thin enough to hear the neighbor’s TV blaring or footsteps upstairs.

Any indication of obscure or unfamiliar brands is a warning sign. Such properties will deteriorate quickly, require frequent, costly repairs by the homeowners, and result in a significantly lower resale value. Buying a home in a cheaply constructed and badly designed project will lead to buyer’s remorse as surely as night follows day.

The only way to avoid this trap is to go for a property in a well-established, reputed developer with a strong brand and a reputation to uphold. Branded builders use high-quality construction materials and architectural designs, hire only reliable contractors, and guarantee thorough quality control throughout the construction process.

Major Remorse Factor – Downsizing Your Future

It is crucial to thoroughly assess your family’s current and future needs before buying a home to ensure it provides adequate space and functionality to support your lifestyle. While a smaller home will doubtlessly be cheaper, limited living space makes it difficult for family members to have their own personal areas or find privacy.

Cramped living environments lead to eventual conflicts among family members, make it challenging to store belongings, and limit the activities you can comfortably engage in. If your family expands or your needs change, a small home may quickly become inadequate.

You would eventually find it necessary to sell it and move to a larger property sooner than you expected. At that stage, you will find that smaller homes are harder to sell than bigger ones. The limited size will deter potential buyers, resulting in a longer time on the market and potentially affecting the home’s overall value.

There are obviously other aspects that can lead to homebuyer’s remorse, such as over-leveraged home loans, unforeseen financial setbacks such as job loss, and generally unrealistic expectations. However, those may have nothing to do with the property itself and need to be thought through no matter what kind of home you buy.

Avoiding homebuyer’s remorse requires thorough research and also enough insight into your own current and future needs, expectations, and potential lifestyle changes.

One of the best ways to ensure that the property stays relevant, useful, and enjoyable is to buy it in a modern integrated township. Not only do township developers include all the above-mentioned features, but they also ensure that the project runs flawlessly and sustainably.

To quote famous financial advisor Suze Orman – “Buyer’s remorse is the feeling of sadness or regret after making a purchase. The best way to avoid it is to think carefully before buying.” This may seem self-evident, but when it comes to buying a home, it is the best advice possible.

Immerse Yourself in Opulence: GROHE ALLURE and GROHE AIRIO Introduce Unparalleled Luxury to Bathrooms

GROHE has introduced their latest marvels, the NEW GROHE ALLURE, and GROHE AIRIO, products deemed to be the pinnacle of bathroom luxury. Modern design and innovation are at the crux of both these stunningly sophisticated products.

NEW GROHE ALLURE fittings feature a unique and versatile product that creates perfection by fitting into bathrooms that feature your own unique style. Along with being incredibly versatile, these fittings also offer advanced functionality and durability.

This product line has a clear design story and is based on three design values: Human, Easy, and Performance. It provides an elevated level of precision in form and function as well as comfort through its adjustable mousseur and swiveling spout. The NEW GROHE ALLURE fittings are available in a range of four premium color schemes, including chrome, brushed cool sunrise, brushed warm sunset, and hard graphite, to suit every bathroom style and concept. Designed with the latest technology to ensure smooth and precise water flow, this product line is also made with high-quality materials that are resistant to corrosion and wear. The smooth and familiar geometry of these fittings adds to their cosmopolitan nature. The advanced precision ensures complete control in the hands of the user, enhancing the overall experience of using this product.

GROHE introduced to the bathroom industry a unique product with world-class technology called the GROHE AIRIO. This product is a vessel basin that seamlessly complements and enhances any bathroom space with its unique and exquisite design.

The GROHE AIRIO washbasins give their users high levels of consistency and control by pushing the boundaries of manufacturing to deliver a sleek and extraordinary product. The GROHE AIRIO washbasins boast an ultra-sleek design, featuring impressively slim edges measuring just 5mm in thickness, that encircle the entire perimeter of the basin, lending an air of modernity to any bathroom decor. GROHE AIRIO is crafted with utmost attention to detail, utilizing a unique ceramic clay material that ensures consistent and precise thickness throughout the basin, resulting in an impeccably uniform and immaculate finished product.

Flawlessly complementing the aesthetics of the basin, GROHE AIRIO also includes a ceramic waste set, designed ingeniously with a remarkably slim drain and a meticulous eye for design harmony.

The GROHE AIRIO basins are equipped with HYPERCLEAN technology, which leaves no chance for germs to grow, and PUREGUARD, two surface technologies that deliver exceptional anti-bacterial and anti-drip performance. The new GROHE AIRIO ceramic vessel basin comes in three beautiful shapes – round basin, lozenge basin, and rectangular basin, and the advanced GROHE PROGUARD prevents dirt from sticking, making it easy to clean.

Mr. Bobby Joseph, Leader, LIXIL Water Technology (LWT) India and Subcontinent, said, “At GROHE, we are committed to bringing the best of German technology and craftsmanship to Indian households. The launch of NEW GROHE ALLURE and GROHE AIRIO in India is a testament to our commitment. These products represent the perfect blend of design, technology, and sustainability, and we are confident that they will resonate well with our Indian customers. With these products, we aim to provide an ultimate experience of luxury and cutting-edge water technology to our customers. We believe that the launch of these products will help us strengthen our market position in India and further enhance our brand’s equity in the country.”

The NEW GROHE ALLURE and GROHE AIRIO ranges are the perfect choices for those looking for a desirable product with world-class technology and high precision and control, all while providing comfort like any other GROHE product. It is the perfect way to add a touch of charm and polish to any bathroom.