Business
A GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR ‘GENERATION S’

Microsoft SharePoint allows organisations to harness their knowledge and experience as a strategic asset while sharing this best practise in a social media model of internal communication.

A GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR ‘GENERATION S’
In this era of globalisation, organisations around the world are operating round the clock, around the world in a networked business environment. The need of the hour for these organisations therefore, is to adopt systems that offer functionality above and beyond traditional company intranet portals. In this context it becomes not only prudent but also imperative to merge the collaborative usability of social media with solutions that are designed to provide the functionality that organisations need to operate efficiently in the current ultra-competitive environment.
Microsoft’s collaboration platform SharePoint, offers a solution for companies that face this challenge. And as the growth of social media has forever changed the manner in which people share and consume information, the lines between a traditional knowledge sharing portal, social media platform and company intranet are fast blurring.
Traditional intranet and knowledge-sharing portals that are unidirectional can are no longer enough to engage employees. What would once have sufficed as a message board and memo circulation system does not address the demand for an engaging company portal that embodies a culture of connectedness and provides opportunities to collaborate in real time.
Human Resources (HR) professionals are also increasingly under greater pressure to harness organisational knowledge, learning, experience and information. These strategic organisational assets often reside in silos, with limited visibility and access from the rest of the company. A people-centric and collaboration oriented portal goes a long way in creating a vibrant work environment.
With collaboration software such as Microsoft SharePoint working in tandem with ITC Infotech’s custom-built accelerators and frameworks, enterprise collaboration can be rolled out in a much quicker manner to unify different regions, lines of business and departments.
Vice President – Microsoft Technologies at ITC Infotech, Mahesh Prabhu, highlights how well-defined workflows and smart integration can help companies create a truly collaborative online portal. “The success of a corporate intranet portal depends on the active participation of employees, both as a consumers & creators of content. Our custom developed Enterprise Social Framework and Social plugin components help in engaging the users, and gives them the power to voice their opinions, thoughts and ideas. The framework enables integration of employee data residing in HR systems with the SharePoint portal, opening up a plethora of possibilities. In most global organisations, it is often difficult to put a face to a name, find details of colleagues in different locations and figure out the right people to address queries. Through this integration, the SharePoint portal becomes the de-facto comprehensive repository of employee data.”
ITC Infotech has in fact transformed its own intranet portal using Microsoft SharePoint technology, and its deep integration and technology expertise. The new portal has created a truly collaborative environment for the company’s 6,500 plus workforce spread across the globe. With pre-defined workflows, seamless integration with backend systems and devices and notifications, ITC Infotech’s Enterprise Social Accelerator today provides a dynamic workplace for its entire organisation.
Mahesh Prabhu concludes, “At ITC Infotech, we have developed and deployed our intranet portal on SharePoint. Our new portal now supports a wide array of feeds, notifications, and social components. Employees can also view trending topics, post questions and quickly resolve issues and view details of colleagues in a dynamically generated organisation chart. An intranet portal, knowledge management system, business process workflows, records and information repositories, as well as intuitive dashboards have all been brought together on one platform with an underlying theme of enterprise-level social network bundled with a rich user experience. It is this experience that makes the cut for employees, especially for ‘Generation-s’ the social generation.”
About ITC Infotech
ITC Infotech, a fully owned subsidiary of USD 7 billion ITC Ltd, provides IT services and solutions to leading global customers. The company has carved a niche for itself by addressing customer challenges through innovative IT solutions.
ITC Infotech is focused on servicing the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance), CPG&R (Consumer Packaged Goods & Retail), Life Sciences, Manufacturing & Engineering Services, THT (Travel, Hospitality and Transportation) and Media & Entertainment industries.
For more information, please visit www.itcinfotech.com
Business
Bankers call for ‘hybrid’ shares to plug COVID corporate capital gap

Via Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) – European companies hit by COVID-19 could issue “hybrid” shares to plug a predicted capital gap of up to 600 billion euros ($723.48 billion) when government relief measures expire as vaccination programmes are rolled out, a report said on Tuesday.
The report compiled by consultants PwC and the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), which represents banks and other market participants, said economic recovery is under threat unless the capital gap is bridged.
It proposes a new European-Union-wide hybrid security like preferred shares, a form of stock that has features of ordinary shares and bonds, typically offering a priority in dividend payments but with no voting rights.
“This is where hybrid and equity markets can play a key role in supporting Europe’s recovery,” AFME CEO Adam Farkas said in a statement.
Despite relief from governments and the private sector since the start of the pandemic, 10% of European companies have cash reserves to only last six months, the report said.
The EU has already passed a package of “quick fix” measures to make it more attractive for companies to rebuild their finances by issuing shares on the stock market rather than the more common route of taking on debt such as bank loans.
But many mid-sized and SME corporates do not want to give up control of their business by issuing ordinary shares, the report said, and are willing to pay a premium not to dilute their voting rights.
“Hybrid instruments are ideally suited to address these needs,” it said.
Policymakers could also explore further use of dual class shares to address the control concerns of companies, as well as debt for equity swaps to reduce leverage, the report said.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Business
Bank of England sets out interim ‘bail-in’ debt targets for banks

via Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England on Tuesday set out interim levels of special debt that banks including HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds must issue over coming years for writing down in a crisis to avoid taxpayer bailouts.
The BoE said it would review how the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities or MREL is calibrated, and the final compliance date before setting “end state” amounts.
“In doing so, we will have regard to any intervening changes in the UK regulatory framework,” it said in a statement.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Business
British firms call for immediate $10.3 billion in COVID aid

via Reuters
By William Schomberg
LONDON (Reuters) – British firms called on Tuesday for another 7.6 billion pounds ($10.3 billion) of emergency government help, saying they cannot wait until finance minister Rishi Sunak’s March budget to learn if they will get more pandemic support.
With Britain back under lockdown and companies adjusting to life after Brexit, firms are taking big decisions about jobs and investment and need to know if their financial lifelines will be extended, the Confederation of British Industry said.
“We just have to finish the job. Now would be a very odd time to end that support,” CBI Director-General Tony Danker said in a statement.
Sunak has extended his support measures several times already and has said his response to the pandemic will cost 280 billion pounds during the current financial year, saddling Britain with a peacetime record budget deficit.
But he is facing calls on many fronts to spend yet more including from lawmakers, some from his Conservative Party, who want an emergency welfare benefit increase to be prolonged.
The CBI said Sunak should extend until June his broad job retention scheme, which is scheduled to expire in April, and then follow it up with targeted support for jobs in sectors facing a slow recovery such as aviation.
He should give firms more time to pay back value-added tax which was deferred last year, grant a similar deferral for early 2021 and extend a business rates tax exemption for companies forced to close by the lockdown as well as their suppliers.
“The rule of thumb must be that business support remains in parallel to restrictions and that those measures do not come to a sudden stop,” Danker said.
The CBI said its longer-term priority was an overhaul of the business rates system that it said was outdated and discouraging investment in low-carbon energy.
Danker said it was too soon to start raising Britain’s corporation tax rate, one of the lowest among rich economies after a Times report that Sunak was drawing up plans to increase it to start fixing the public finances.
“It would be wrong to raise business taxes when we don’t have a recovery,” Danker said.
($1 = 0.7380 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Alexander Smith)