Untitled

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

IoT Suppliers in Chemicals

IoT in chemical industry majorly focuses on real-time tracking of asset performance, validating process parameters, monitoring product quality, optimizing production costs, data-driven management of inventory, telemetry, inbound/ outbound logistics, and workers safety among others. Most of the IoT software & solution providers are focusing on capabilities around data management and services, including advanced algorithms to simulate, predict, and prescribe maintenance to increase asset resilience.

Over 23% of the demand side market have adopted IoT solutions in the plant maintenance, which helps in monitoring and analyzing enterprise assets. Coupled with deep learning and AI, IoT is likely to help enterprises in the chemicals industry to minimize operational costs while offering a more room for innovative client centric solutions.

IoT Suppliers in Chemicals Industry

Chemicals industry has a slow but potential market for digital future with focus on 3D printing, IoT, ML, Blockchain and AI to automate most of the service lines with a strong focus on security and plant safety. 

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Automation of ports

Automated port systems is a robotic technology used to manage certain operations in ports and harbours, such as loading and unloading of cargo, stacking, tracking goods, and navigation among others. The automated cranes in the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, is an example as they manage the process of unloading and loading of cargo. The idea of automation is not only limited to cranes but also it can be expanded into ships freight as well. Soon we can see ships which run on automated technology which will require fewer crew members for its maintenance or no members at all in fully-autonomous ships.

How are AI and automation changing the shipping industry?

Faster delivery, which can enable cost cuts which are involved for delivery.

More accurate prediction on estimated times on arrival of cargo ships along with quicker spotting of risks related to ships.

Easy identification of conflicts well in advance so that such issues can be reduced well in advance.

Easy understanding of customer’s tastes and challenges which can be used to expand the value to customers.

Incorporation of AI can help in the reduction of the chances of facing natural or man-made calamities.

Optimization of container related operations, such as cash handling, predictive maintenance, supply chain, warehousing and many more.

The major limitation of high installation and maintenance costs along with such technologies being prone to cyber-attacks is pushing the need for security.

The automation of ports has resulted in a severe push for research and development to enable fully-autonomous operations in all port operations& processes of automation.

ABB

One of the largest and most pivotal shipping companies in India, Cochin Shipyard Limited has got into a partnership with ABB. A Swiss-Swedish based robotics and electrification company, ABB has agreed to cover 1200 passenger ferries. Their scope goes into generators, transformers, power management and propulsion control systems, Integrated Alarm, Monitoring and Control System (IAMCS) among others.

ABB follows an Electric, Digital and Connected approach which bridges the digital and connected future of shipping. Their partnership with Cochin Shipyard Ltd will help in playing an important role in meeting the demands of the growing local infrastructure which is needed for improving the transportation links in the Bay of Bengal. This means that if Cochin Shipyard Ltd continues to improve its ties with ABB, it means that it will help the former induct more modern management techniques to bring out the best in the fleet once they are put into service. ABB’s experience of adhering to International Maritime Organization’s Safe Return to Port (SRtP) standards is a noteworthy mention as that increases the safety, availability and reliability of the technology incorporated by them.

Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce partnered with Intel to bring out a design related to intelligent shipping systems. This means that this ship will run on fewer crew members compared to other ships as it will be driven by advanced data-centric systems, for which, system engineering will come from Intel.

Field Programmable Gate Array (FGPA) of Intel will help in solving challenges related to shipping intelligence and navigation. Its Scalable Processors will be used for High-Performance Computing (HPC) to manage complex modelling of ships and the memory components, such as Intel Optane SSD Intel 3D NANDSSD will ensure reliability in ship intelligence system.

Analyst comment:

The collaboration of port authorities and tech companies are enabling high-level automation, navigation and process re-engineering to enable safe operation of autonomous ships.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

100,000 ATMs need to be revamped in India

Indian digital payments industry is growing at a higher growth from 2016. The government of India and the Reserve bank of India have taken up a couple of initiatives to push the demand for digital payments, including Demonetization, reducing cash withdrawal limit at ATMs, permitting payment bank operations, and launching government-backed digital payment mobile apps, among others. These two-year-old initiatives have brought millions on Indian consumers and retailers on digital cash settlement platforms and digital wallet providers have witnessed millions of active customer accounts every day. However, these initiatives are not enough to push a significant percentage of the population on to digital platforms. Recently, the government has launched UPI 2.0 and announced key information on cash withdrawal limit at ATMs, these initiatives are more likely to drive the growth for digital cash transactions in the country. Also, the period has witnessed Banks and cross-border financial services companies entering Indian payments and settlements, payment gateways and mobile wallet services among others. Also, the technologies including Artificial Intelligence, predictive risk mitigation and Blockchain are expected to push the digital journey of Indian payment systems.

Business opportunity in Indian ATM operations

ATM: There are over 2.2 lakh ATMs in India and above one lakh ATMs are located at on-site, which means they are deployed where the banks are located; and over 95,000 ATMs are off-side and close to 15,000 ATMs are white labelled. ATMs play a significant role when it comes to cash management and settlement. The leading 5 banks in India have about xxx ATMs, which is also represented as xx% in total number of ATMs. According to Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi), over half of ATMs in India are expected to shut by 2019, in the new compliance guidelines that focus on cash operations. What has changed in ATM operations? ATM service providers are required to upgrade their ATM hardware and software:

minimum net worth of $14 million for ATM operators and cash-in-transit companies

A requirement for increasing the fleet of cash vans by up to 300% and establishing connectivity

CCTV connections

introducing lockable cassette swap in ATMs

Since 2012, the revenue generated by ATMs has not increased and the post de-monetization period, at the same time the operational expenditure to run an ATM has increased, which has resulted in shut down of over 2,000 ATMs in the country.

Also, the ATM interchange is at INR15 for cash transactions and INR5 for non-cash transactions since 2012.

Cost of ATMs

It costs over INR 5 lakh to INR 7 lakh to set up an ATM, excluding monthly renal charges for a place, electricity, security, and maintenance charges among others.

And the ATMs revenue is paid on per-transaction basis and each ATM need a minimum of 100 to150 transactions a day to run profitably. However, since November 2014, the RBI has allowed banks to charge their customers for making more than five transactions at ATMs.

Due to this, ATM operators will have to spend an additional amount of up to $489 million, to meet the compliance requirements, which results in investing $2000 – $2500 per ATM in the initial year. However, most ATMs in the on-urban locations are expected to close or relocate as the cash operation cycles are long in these locations. Also, ATM Managed service providers are required to invest an amount of up to $1,200 towards deploying lockable cassettes in ATMs. Which will be adopted by a minimum of 30% ATMs every year to achieve 100% deployment of lockable cassettes by March 2021.

In spite of the regulatory challenges and requirement for investments, ATMs are more likely to relocate their ATMs, or shut down for a defined period of time. Also, the same period is expected to see the emergence of payment banks as full-fledged digitalized banks.

AGS Transact Technologies, developing UPI technology for cash withdrawals at ATMs as both UPI 2.0 and the ATM networks run on the same financial switch. UPI 2.0 is expected to classify recipients against merchant codes, which will also enable ATM-deploying banks to recover the interchange fee.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

IoT in Construction

IoT in Construction

Overview:

The use of Internet of Things in construction industry is pushing the industry towards. Most of the IoT use cases are formed around maintaining safety and security while enabling plant monitoring and centralized control over the specific operations.

Construction industry today is moving towards IoT enabled asset maintenance, monitoring material supply, logistics and centralized connectivity/ branch data -connected to central branch office, connected devices and others.

During 2018- over 65% of the use-cases are around cost-cutting and efficiency improvement.

Over 500 IoT suppliers are active in construction and building vertical

Their use cases include connected safety devices to tallow continuous monitoring to understand key metrics for efficiency improvement in the construction sector.

The construction sector is focusing on IOT enablement in safety, time saving, real-time monitoring, of a site. Coupled with Augment reality features IoT solutions market is going to bring up digital driven strategies in construction and building verticals. 

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Branchless Banking

Overview:

Branchless Banking helps customers make transactions through a distribution network without going to a branch brick. It is a step towards financial inclusion, providing financial services to low-income groups at an affordable transaction cost.

Agents and technology are the two major pillars of this. The agent might refer to petrol stations, vendors, merchants, and shopkeepers, who have some technology to encourage financial transactions. Branchless banking provides personalized digital services to niche customers groups, it helps create a digital economy by bringing innovation in the fintech space.

Branchless banking – drawbacks:

1. Lack of financial literacy

2. Lack of distribution channel

3. lower insurance scheme penetration

4. Lack of requisite financial services

5. Stringent regulations

Creation of technology-based solutions to enable branchless banking is considered to be the challenge before banks & fintech.

The Indian Government has been promoting the idea of branchless banking extensively by promoting the idea of a cashless economy. Today the idea of cashless economy is popular in rural areas as well, with the increasing adoption of digital payment channels & mobile applications like UPI, BHIM, Google Pay, Paytm among others. Also, the payment banks including Airtel Payments Banks, Paytm Payments Banks are pushing the branchless services in the country, including 1hour online-credit services, e-KYC to open up a bank account, mobile banking services and others.

Analyst comment:

It is obvious that branchless banking has become a global trend and the Asian economies are expected to witness strong demand for digital banking services primarily due to increasing internet and smartphone adoptions.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Bitcoin in Gambling

Overview:

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency/digital currency which does not have a bank or administrator. It can be sent from one person to another without any middlemen using a network. Today there are more than 6.2 million users of this cryptocurrency.

Apart from its mainstream uses, bitcoins are now venturing into gambling. Although online casinos have existed for a long time, some of them have used the recent trends of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies aiming at the automation of transactions.

PayPal is a leading payment method in gambling:

Despite the fact that PayPal is a payment method which is used frequently for online casinos as it is a secure mode of payment and it also enables faster processing of transactions, there has been a rise in the trends of bitcoin casinos. It started from casinos accepting payments in bitcoins and now it has ended up with bitcoin only casinos. It is leading the market because cryptocurrencies are used as payment methods, which are directly linked to the user account. This also enables people to withdraw winnings in any currency.

Here are some casinos which gamble on bitcoins:

Usage of online casinos comes with some limitations such as verification details which is a complicated process. This is eliminated in bitcoins as the transaction fee, deposits and withdrawal are extremely cheap, despite the high installation costs. They also offer anonymity and security, which other casinos cannot offer.

The legal scenarios of bitcoins vary from country to country. Some countries like the UAE, Egypt, Bolivia etc have imposed a complete ban on cryptocurrencies and some countries like China, Taiwan, Iran, Macau etc have an implicit ban.

However, the worldwide scenario of the bitcoin gambling market has made an interesting double-digit growth rate. CXOs have ended up predicting that this trend will continue until 2021 as there is an expected rise in the trend for online gaming & gambling.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Leading Electric Cars in India

Indian electric vehicles market is witnessing an increased demand for two and three wheeler vehicles owing to the driving conditions in urban areas. Over 85% of the vehicles in India are two and three wheelers, followed by electric four-wheelers accounting for just 15% of the market. Government incentives and regulations are largely pushing electric mobility in the country. Under Flame, a policy for financing electric vehicles, the Indian government is financing over 40% of the cost of ownership.  Also, the state governments are pushing for electric public transportations in the Metropolitan cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad among others.

The popular automotive OEM Mahindra and Mahindra have stopped its EV e2o production, due to poor sales. However, it is expected that Mahindra and Mahindra will come back with a strong electric car offering, by leveraging the EV technology from its existing E2o by 2019.

Only Mahindra & Mahindra EV cars are available for sale in India, as of May 2019. However, the other electric cars are soon launching in the country. Also, the Korean automotive OEM, KIA Motors has established its manufacturing plant in the country and it will launch its electric vehicles by early 2020.

The country’s EV market is at its nascent stage with very few EV offerings and the country is more likely to put a cap on its diesel car sales by 2020, which will drive the electric mobility. In addition, leading EV offerings including Nissan Leaf, Audi E-Tron, SAIC (MG) motors are to launch its EV cars in the market by 2019. However, Indian market has only over 1,000 public charging stations as of 2019, which can be addressed through establishing partnerships between startups and automotive OEMs.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Customer Relationship (CRM) Software: Competitive Benchmarking

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Challenges of UPI platform in India

UPI Platform:

The introduction of UPI has revolutionized the way transactions are done, paving way for a cashless economy in India. It has been welcomed by a lot of merchants, ranging from established departmental stores to street food vendors such that it there was a time when it was perceived that there would be no possibilities for the latter taking up such ventures in accepting payments. Now we can see a lot of merchants jumping into the bandwagon along with banks collaborating with payment portals to join the UPI race. Factors such as the increase in the usage of smart phones along with the govt initiatives fueled the same. However, it was taken up with seriousness after demonetization, during 2018 which made a lot of people and merchants use digital payments extensively. Also, UPI offers immense opportunities to the fintech, Banks and ecosystem players.

Growing cases of transaction failure:

While there has been a massive 700% rise in UPI’s value of transaction, which is currently at 800 million transactions on March 2019; there has also been a 2% fall in the total volume of payments, seen during early 2019, which was at 3.6%, a year ago. Despite having its transaction success score of 85% in 2019, the declined

People perceive UPI payments to be a revolution in technology, despite having its own disadvantages. This is because after demonetization a lot of leading Indian banks could not cope up with the pace of digital adopting, which is currently slowing down UPI payments. Majorly, on-going challenges are with the bank server management and connectivity. There has been instance where money gets deducted but takes time to reflect on user accounts, causing delays. Also, there has also been a moment where the UPI portal will malfunction when it tries connecting itself with bank servers, which is also a significant reason for users to moving away from such UPI Apps.

It is estimated that the over 15 million UPI transactions were failed in March-April 2019; and the average value of transaction was at $25 during the same period. A significant share of it has failed due to server-side challenges.

Technology challenges can be addressed in three ways:

Cloud migration would also be a cost-effective initiative as Banks now can cut-down on their on-going operational expenditure.

Bringing Datacentre close to the user groups could be possible solution to address this on-going challenge.

Also, adding a layer of analytics within Bank’s UPI to understand the on-going transaction trends in real-time to understand customer demographics would address the on-going disadvantages with server management

Speaking about UPI for Fintech enterprises, there is a serious debate between the ownership of customers. Experts clarify that for bill payments and recharges, payment platforms have a relationship with customers, but the settlement part is claimed by the banks, thus it’s a mix of both as there are multiple service providers to make a successful transaction. For example, Yes Bank got into a partnership with PhonPe; similarly, SBI, HDFC bank and ICICI bank have partnered with Google Pay. By doing so banks are able to restrict payments instead of allowing payments to go into an insulated wallet ecosystem.

Analyst comment:

UPI has already surpassed many global digital payment service providers with huge adoption rates. However, there are certain on-going challenges affecting the ecosystem, majorly due to the technological disadvantage of Banks to support digital payments. However, UPI 2.0, has already been launched in 2019, which is likely to address some of the connectivity & technology problems as well as it will open up huge opportunity for banks, Fintech, payment ecosystem players and technology companies. Also, In the next 2 years Indian Banking and non-banking players are likely to partner with fintech startups.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Global Centralized Workstations Market, Forecast up to 2022

Growing demand for cost effective workplace solutions:

Enterprises are looking for reducing their operational costs and thus to improve their business agility. The traditional method of deploying workstations is becoming an affluent solution for enterprises as the device cost and service prices are growing. However, in the recent times, as-a-service solutions have become lucrative to enterprises by offering cost-effective data solutions by bringing down the cost of data storage in datacentres. Such solutions are pushing enterprises to implement digital workstations, which is a cost-effective solution compared to a physical workstation.

Trend:

Growing trend for BYOD & work from anywhere:

Enterprises are moving towards digitalization in the recent years. Since 2012, due to the emergence of mobile population and increasing pc/laptop usage, the global workforce environment has transformed its shape, by moving towards work from anywhere. The growing trend for work from anywhere is pushing the demand for more centralized work environment by increasing focus on end point security.

Workstation type revenue by type in $Million

Analyst comment:

Enterprises are moving towards cost-effective and centralized technologies as a part of their strategy to move to digital workplace platforms. This segment has already witnessed partnerships between the leading workstation and cloud solution providers in recent years; the partnership between IBM and NVIDIA is the best suitable example for this. Going forward, the market is more likely to witness partnerships like this to provide end-to-end centralized workstation solutions.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Fintech in Switzerland

Overview:

Apart from being one of the primary holiday destinations for a lot of people across the world, Switzerland is a place which encourages innovation in fintech. This country has a favourable opinion amongst the innovators in fintech as this country provides a holistic and supportive environment for the implementation of their innovative projects. To reduce the hassles related to administration, Switzerland does not have any restrictions related to fintech. One such example is the Sandbox exemption, under which there will not be a need for a license for companies who have public deposits up to $1 million in Switzerland. This enables new business opportunities.

With some industries booming in the country, this has lead to the rise of some startups in the country, such as follows:

Bitcoin Suisse: This startup is a pioneer in the crypto financial scenario. It provides a lot of services related to cryptocurrency, such as secure storage of cryptocurrencies, ICO services, brokerage etc.

Loanboox: It is a P2P debt financing startup, aims at offering easy loan services to its clients. It is now venturing into Germany and is aiming for more expansion too.

Monito: This startup aids in different money transfer services on an international scale. They also look into partnerships with other operators.

NetGuardians: This startup aims to manage crimes related to finance. It is AI-powered which helps in the prevention of fraudulent activities, such as investigation, positives etc before they take place.

Switzerland is one of the most vibrant destinations for fintech, the following reasons with the corresponding industries explains why:

Cryptocurrencies: The setting up of Crypto Valley has made Switzerland a hub of innovation in the field on cryptocurrencies. Through its strict laws, it aims to offer the best services for its clients in operations related to cryptocurrencies. Some well-known companies like Metaco, Nexo, Xapo etc are registered in Switzerland.

Innovation: Switzerland is one of the most important countries for fintech investors as a lot of patent applications are processed in Europe, making the highest contribution from Switzerland. The construction of a digital asset trading platform is a noteworthy measure in the fintech space.

Banking: The banking industry in Switzerland has pushed the economy for many years and it is widely believed that it will set up benchmarks in innovation and modernization. The banking sector is working towards digitization and automation. The privacy maintained in its banks, particularly the Swiss bank, makes it one of the safest countries for any fintech business.

There are a few laws which are strengthening the Swiss fintech industry, including anti-money laundering act, security trading provisions under the stock exchange and collective investment schemes. The increasing demand for fintech will push the country’s digital economy going forward.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

AI in Data Science & Business Intelligence

Overview:

With the increase of Big Data and analytics, coupled with faster computing power, CTOs and IT managers are thinking to innovate their business processes for better decision-making. Combination of AI and Analytics help business enterprises come up with data driven, deep learning-based decision making, in the areas including customer buying patterns, identifying niche consumer groups, customer engagement and centralizing a few business units in order to improve productivity among others.

Leading companies:

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Electric Vehicles Market India

Overview:

Electric vehicles market in India is majorly driven by two reasons, on one side, it offers cost-effective travel for customers, on the other hand, it supports fleet operators with financially manageable business models. During 2018 – 19, In India over 85% of the electric vehicles are two-wheelers followed by three wheelers and four wheelers.

Despite the favourable policies and EV finance models by the Indian government, the Indian electric vehicles market is yet to see a growing demand for EVs, mainly in the four wheelers segment.

Mahindra & Mahindra pulled off its EV car from India:

The Indian leading four-wheeler electric vehicle OEM, Mahindra & Mahindra has stopped its electric car e20 Plus production due to fewer sales. This particular model offers regenerative braking which cervical whenever driver applied break, it comes with smartphone app connectivity that offers to unlock the vehicle cooling features from a remote location. Mahindra also has registered a patent called Revive, that offers additional charge to the car. Also, Mahindra offers connected electric mobility which ideally cover shared connected and electric vehicles to support electric lead mobility. OLX Mahindra offers if you other models including e-Supro (EV cargo van), e-Verito (EV car), EV three wheelers- Treo & e-Alfa Mini, and also the company is looking forward to launching an electric bus in 2019.

Despite the fewer sales registered for existing EV four-wheeler models, the country has seen a couple of electric vehicles OEMs entering the market or have announced to enter the market, including Tata Motors, Kia Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai among others. Providing charging stations and supporting a vehicle owner in case of battery drain is an existing challenge among the vehicle OEMs. Two-wheeler electric vehicle manufacturer Ather, came up with supplying charging equipment in a few cities in India, creating awareness about the necessity of creating a strong EV charging station ecosystem in the country.

Trend for on-demand electric two-wheelers:

The ongoing trend towards battery two-wheeler is pushing the market for electric fleet operations in the country, companies including Zappy, e-BikeGo, and Mobycy, among others. Also a few on demand and ride-sharing companies have emerged with two-wheeler or scooter offerings.  also, the market is going to witness the country’s largest ride-sharing providers like Ola and uber are entering the market download. Also, India’s largest EV OEM Mahindra and Mahindra has entered in a partnership with smartE, a two-wheeler EV fleet operator. These electric two-wheelers are available for rent at almost all Metropolitan cities in the country. From the consumer side, the adoption for EV two-wheelers is comparatively higher than smart bikes.

Analyst comment:

When compared to Indian electric vehicle market with any of the Asian or European developed markets, a few drawbacks we could find is the quality of the roadways, average number of kilometres a user travels in a day, ownership of charging stations, and market for used electric vehicles. Also, Indian EV manufacturers have to consider the need for vehicle safety which otherwise will lead to a lot of problems in case of accident.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

IoT applications & companies

Overvide:

Demand for IoT applications is growing across industries, primarily driven by the massive digital disruptions taking place. Industrial IoT is one such technology, that is already been adopted by as much as 35% of the enterprises in each industry in the developed IoT markets.  IoT applications around maintenance, logistics, warehousing, product development, engineering, and quality assurance are growing.

Leading IoT Application Providers:

Internet of Things has the potential to fundamentally transform the business models and digitalize a multiple processes in a value chain across industries.  As moving towards next generation network (NGN) where IoT will serve as a great platform for machine to machine communication with the help of machine intelligence.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Tesla ADAS

About Tesla Motors:

Tesla Motors is the first company to come up with electric vehicles on a large scale. These are categorized into models namely; Model X, Model Y, Model S, Roadster and Model 3, offering range up to 400 miles. Tesla has its own gas stations to charge its vehicles in most of the urban cities in the US; these are located near hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and parking areas. Which is driving its EV sales owing to the wide availability of charging equipment where the customers are located.

ADAS system in Tesla was first to come in Model S in 2014. This system was developed with the partnership with Mobileye, an Israeli company, develops sonars, front and rear camera sensors, etc.

ADAS in Tesla Motors

Tesla always had focused on manufacturing cars with luxury, automation, while being environmentally friendly. This made Tesla to achieve a global success of first large commercial electric PV OEM and also the innovative OEM pushing towards driverless future.

ADAS or Advance-Driver-Assistance-System is an electronic system that helps the vehicle while driving through. To overcome human mistakes by helping in safe and better driving is the purpose of the ADAS system. This system has many features which are; automatic parking, adaptive cruise control, driver monitoring systems, lane change assistance, surround view system, traction control and vehicular communication system. Tesla Autopilot, Nissan ProPilot Assist and Mobileye are the implemented examples of this system. The system came to existence since 2014 and is successfully helping drivers till date. A few other companies including Google Way Mo, Nissan ProPilot, BMW, and Hyundai are also leading the race with capabilities ranging from autopilot to fully self-driving vehicles.

Tesla is moving towards driverless-vehicle future by developing its ADAS systems to its full limit. With 8 inbuilt cameras, 360-degree vision, sonar and radar signal they are using features to build a better future for cars. And the company is hoping to deliver a fully-autonomous car in the next 5 years.

Need for ADAS:

ADAS will play an important role in providing assistance to drivers who get distracted while driving or those who have poor peripheral vision. Also, people will be alerted about the potential problems well in advance and it is useful for new drivers.

Hence, autopilot not only deliver new capabilities in driving technology but also aims to increase safety. This system can further address issues like driver fatigue, handicap and even negligence of drivers. ADAS system as of Tesla Autopilot will be improving to newer versions which can change the way people commute. The company is fast moving towards driverless future by developing Robocars, announced in early 2019.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

Dying Diesel Cars Market in India

India is the second largest Market in Asia for the automobile with over 3.4 million personal cars sold in 2018. Despite the increasing prices of Diesel, the country’s diesel cars are still in demand, primarily due to the inexpensive nature of diesel car offerings compared to petrol ones, followed by vehicle mileage. Automotive OEMs are also pushing for more diesel car sales as it accounts for a significant share in its financials.

However, alarming levels of air pollution in the country is to bring BS-6 regulations to reduce diesel and petrol car emissions. Also, imposing BS-6 regulations have further increased the production cost of diesel vehicles, by up to 120%.

In addition, the Indian government is expected to put a cap on diesel car production and sale by March 2020. Despite the regulatory push, India’s leading automobile OEM Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have decided to stop its diesel car production by 31st March 2020, primarily due to the increased cost of production to meeting BS-6 standards.

The current price difference between petrol and diesel cars is around 1 lakh, however, after the implementation of BS 6, the price difference will go up to 2.7 lakhs, which is more than 150% hike in the production cost. Which is not viable for automotive OEMs to produce cars below 1500cc. Also, currently, vehicle OEMs are ending up investing billions to meet carbon emission norms in the country, which will increase the cost of vehicle production.

The decision of Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors will impact aftermarket vehicle parts business in the country. Also, the on-going market trends are showing an increasing demand for petrol and CNG vehicles and the after-market spare parts business for these vehicle types are expected to grow at a double-digit rate through 2022.

[qual2quantconsulting-blog]

5G vs 4G

5G or 5th generation of internet determines the high-speed mobile connectivity. The URLLC (Ultra-Reliable) and Low Latency Communication) within 5G facilitate the increasing requirement for high-speed communication by connected things and smart cities. 5G uses millimeter waves to offers speeds up to 20 gigabits per seconds, which is much higher than the current 4G system. However, according to the country level infrastructure the speed and operational bandwidth of 5G is expected to stand between 1.4 Gb/second to 3.5 Gb/second.

Currently, a few cities in the US, Western Europe are adopting 5G services. However, Asian and Middle Eastern countries namely, China, Japan, Indonesia, Qatar, UAE, India are expected to become leading adopters of 5G by 2020.

5G technology hotspots globally:

Western European and the US are expected to become the primary adopters of 5g for commercial purposes.

European Union is more likely to become the leading adopter of 5G considering the government push for enabling 5G by 2020; followed by the US, with a greater number of vendors announced to launch 5G by H1 2019.

5G vs 4G:

Despite the high speed of connectivity, 5G will result in a high cost of ownership for enterprises and telecom companies. The current enterprise communication is based on MPLS/3G/4G networks, which is currently undergoing a heavy disruption due to the push for 5G.

the smartphone manufacturers have already started producing 5G supporting mobile devices, which will immediately disrupt smart cities and smart transportation markets.

The range of 5G is way lesser than 4G, which will limit its initial implementations only in Smart Cities and Enterprise connectivity

Making enterprises 5G ready by upgrading the enterprise networks can be a lucrative opportunity however, it is a cost-intensive effort, also 5G is currently at pilot state in a couple of countries globally. So, adopting 4G connectivity along with centralized bandwidth management would be a cost-effective move in 2019.

5G will improve mobile to edge connectivity by transforming local devices as servers, which will partially address enterprise server needs but will open up the market for device connectivity and security.

Growing number of smart cities results in an increasing volume of data from both consumers and governments; in order to enable high speed internet connectivity in the smart cities for enabling connected transportation, governance and others, smart city infrastructure has to be upgraded. Over 75% of the 126 smart cities have announced to adopt hardware infrastructure to support high-speed internet by 2021. Hence, hardware infrastructure and software-defined network vendors are expected to gain huge growth in the next 2 to 3 years.