3, Dec 2024
Deck 88 at The Astor Goa: A Reimagined Culinary Experience in Exquisite Dining
Tucked away in the scenic bylanes of Candolim, Deck 88 at The Astor Goa is set to make waves with its refreshed identity, offering a perfect blend of coastal-inspired cuisine and a refreshed ambiance designed to captivate food enthusiasts and travellers alike.
Known for its innovative menu, Deck 88 presents a vibrant fusion of local and global flavours. From zesty coastal curries to tantalizing seafood creations inspired by coastlines around the world, every dish is crafted to take diners on a sensory voyage. Guests can look forward to signature offerings like Beef Pepper fry With Curd Foam, Andhra Style Chicken Tartlet, Coorgi Style Pumpkin Stew, Goan Red Rice Risotto, all served with a side of charm and creativity.
The revamped interiors draw inspiration from the timeless elegance of a glasshouse, blending natural light with lush greenery and chic coastal elements. Whether you’re seated under the sparkling fairy lights or beside the verdant greenery, Deck 88 offers a tranquil escape from the bustling streets of Goa, making it an ideal venue for intimate dinners, group celebrations, or a casual evening out.
“With Deck 88, we wanted to create more than just a restaurant—we envisioned a sanctuary where guests can enjoy exceptional food in a stunning yet relaxed atmosphere. This rebranding captures the very essence of Goa’s coastal spirit, offering an unforgettable dining experience,” shares Vaibhav Gupta, General Manager, The Astor Goa.
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- By Rabindra
3, Dec 2024
Vedatya and Leeds Beckett University Sign MOU to open opportunities for International Business Management Pathways for students
3 December 2024 New Delhi: In a groundbreaking move to enhance international education opportunities, Vedatya, one of India’s renowned institutes (affiliated with Gurugram University) has partnered with Leeds Beckett University, UK. The partnership aims to enrich Vedatya’s BBA program with international exposure and collaborative opportunities.
This transformative collaboration provides Vedatya students with direct access to globally recognised programs, equipping them with the skills and credentials to excel in the international arena.
Through this Memorandum of Understanding, eligible Vedatya students can seamlessly enter specific courses at Leeds Beckett University, gaining exposure to advanced academic frameworks and global industry practices. The partnership not only enhances academic offerings but also creates avenues for students to engage with diverse cultures, global networks, and international markets.
Highlighting the potential of this initiative, Managing Promoter, Amit Kapur, at Vedatya, shared, ”This collaboration with Leeds Beckett University is a monumental step in fulfilling our vision of providing students with a truly global education. It paves the way for them to access international opportunities, build cross-cultural competencies, and prepare for leadership roles in an interconnected world economy. We are confident that this collaboration will open new avenues for our students and faculty, fostering innovation and global engagement.”
Students who meet the rigorous eligibility criteria, including proficiency in English (minimum IELTS 6.0 with no band below 5.5 or equivalent), will be guided through academic counselling to align their aspirations with courses best suited for their career goals. Beyond academics, students will benefit from induction programs, accommodation assistance, and the unparalleled support of a globally reputed institution.
On completing their courses, students will graduate with globally recognised certifications, positioning them as competitive professionals ready to take on the challenges of international industries. This partnership reaffirms Vedatya’s commitment to bridging local expertise with global platforms and Leeds Beckett University’s dedication to fostering impactful international collaborations.
With this five-year partnership, Vedatya Institute has once again demonstrated its leadership in creating transformative learning experiences, ensuring that its students are future-ready in a dynamic global market.
3, Dec 2024
CloudThat Creates History as the First Indian Company to Win Consecutive AWS Training Partner Awards
Las Vegas, NV – December 3, 2024 – CloudThat is excited to announce it is a recipient of the 2024 AWS Training Partner of the Year (APJ) Award, recognizing the top AWS Training Partners around the globe that have provided significant contributions related to number of students trained, number of classes delivered, and YoY student growth.
Presented during the Partner Awards Gala at AWS re:Invent 2024, the Geo and Global AWS Partner Awards honor partners demonstrating specialization, innovation, and collaborative excellence. These awards recognize the AWS Partners that have continually evolved their business models to deliver outstanding customer support and success.
CloudThat’s relentless focus on transforming education and closing skill gaps in the cloud-driven era has earned this prestigious distinction. By offering advanced certifications in AI/ML, cloud security, and DevOps, and expanding access to AWS Skill Builder in untapped markets, CloudThat has consistently tailored its training programs to address the dynamic needs of modern cloud technologies. Through its comprehensive training solutions, CloudThat has empowered professionals and organizations to excel, establishing itself as a benchmark in the technology education industry.
“It is an extraordinary honour for CloudThat to become the first Indian company to win the AWS Training Partner of the Year Award (APJ) twice in a row,” expressed Bhavesh Goswami, Founder and CEO of CloudThat. He further added, “This recognition reaffirms our commitment to empowering individuals and organizations with the practical, dynamic, and industry-aligned skills needed to thrive in a digital-first world. Winning this award consecutively is a testament to the impact of our training programs and our team’s unwavering commitment to empowering learners with world-class cloud expertise. This milestone inspires us to aim higher, innovate further, and build a future-ready cloud workforce. I am deeply grateful to AWS for this acknowledgment and to our clients, learners, and partners who trust us as their upskilling partner,”.
Rujika Sajeev, Group HR Specialist, L&D at i engineering group, congratulated CloudThat, saying, “Congratulations on being named the AWS Training Partner of the Year 2024. We’ve had the privilege of working with you, and your consistent efforts to raise the bar in training excellence make this award well-deserved.”
Swaroop Nakka, Service Delivery Manager at Cloud4C, also expressed his congratulations, adding, “Winning this award two years in a row is truly a proud moment and a testament to the expertise of the entire CloudThat team. We look forward to continuing to work together and being part of CloudThat’s journey as you scale new heights in cloud training.”
The Geography and Global AWS Partner Awards included a self-nomination process across several award categories, awarded at both the geographic and global level. All AWS Partners were invited to participate and submit a nomination. Award submissions were reviewed by a third-party, Canalys, and selected with special emphasis placed on customer success use cases.
In addition, there were several data-driven award categories, which were evaluated by a unique set of metrics that helped measure AWS Partners’ performance over the past year. Canalys audited the datasets used to ensure that all measurements and calculations were objective and accurate. Finalists represented the top three ranked AWS Partners across each category.
The AWS Partner Network (APN) is a global program focused on helping partners innovate, accelerate their journey to the cloud, and take full advantage of the breadth and depth of AWS.
CloudThat is honored to receive the AWS Training Partner of the Year (APJ) Award for 2024, a recognition of its innovative approach to addressing skill gaps and equipping individuals and organizations to excel in the AWS ecosystem.
3, Dec 2024
Onsitego Partners with Adishwar to Offer Extended Warranty and Damage Protection Plans Across Karnataka
Bengaluru, 3rd December 2024: Onsitego, India’s 1 device care provider, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Adishwar, a prominent electronics retail chain with over 70 stores across Karnataka. The partnership aims to bring comprehensive protection plans including extended warranty and damage protection plans to the customers purchasing consumer electronics across all brands from Adishwar.
With these offerings, the two companies are set to enhance the device ownership experience of their customers covering a wide array of products, from smartphones and TV to large and small home appliances.
Gaurav Agarwal, Chief Revenue Officer, Onsitego, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “Our partnership with Adishwar represents a significant step forward in our mission to make device protection accessible to a broader audience. We aim to provide the best customer service experience to the loyal customer base of Adishwar across the country.”
Paras Jain MD, Adishwar, added, “We are excited to partner with Onsitego, a leader in device care, to offer extended warranty and damage protection plans to our customers. Devices have become complex over the past so many years and need experts to resolve any issues. Through these plans, we aim to uplift the after sales service experience of our customers and offer them complete peace of mind.”
The companies are working closely to roll out these protection plans across all Adishwar outlets in time for festival buying expected from the first week of October.
3, Dec 2024
HDFC SKY Unveils New Youth Plan to Inspire the Next Generation to MakeMoneyMatter
Mumbai, December 3rd, 2024: HDFC SKY, one of India’s premier discount broking platforms is excited to announce the launch of its groundbreaking Youth Plan, specifically designed to empower the next generation and millennials. This unique initiative aims to equip young individuals with the essential tools, knowledge, opportunities, and resources necessary for navigating the financial markets with higher knowledge and conviction.
In response to this launch, Sandiip Bhardwaj, COO & CDO of HDFC Securities, remarked, “Our younger investors, especially those aged 18 to 25, represent a dynamic and transformative segment of India’s demographic landscape. While the appeal of online tips and the promise of instant success can be enticing, it is crucial for them to place their trust in reliable research.”
“Navigating the complexities of the stock market requires a comprehensive understanding of market trends, effective risk management, and various strategies. These competencies are best developed through education. Relying on tips can result in misinformed decisions and potentially significant financial setbacks. We strongly encourage our youth to leverage the research recommendations available on HDFC SKY and to enhance their financial knowledge and skills through our learning module, SKY Learn,” he emphasized.
The newly launched Youth Plan, designed for customers under the age of 25, offers an exceptional opportunity for young investors. With no brokerage or account maintenance charges across various segments including equity, derivatives, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, currency, and commodities, this plan enables young investors to engage in both delivery and intraday trading without incurring extra costs during its first year. Customers can unlock all the features of the Youth Plan for a nominal fee of just Rs. 499 per year.
In addition to the core offerings, users will benefit from exclusive guidance tailored specifically for the youth, provided by our in-house experts. This guidance will include a practical, actionable journey, featuring expert research recommendations to help young and new investors successfully navigate the markets.
As part of our SKY Learn initiative aimed at expanding financial knowledge and skills, HDFC SKY has released a large amount of informative content across formats which will engage with the youth. The content covers a diverse range of topics, including ETFs, MTFs, Derivatives, Stock SIPs, IPOs, Mutual Funds, and more. Additionally, users will benefit from exclusive webinars, instructional videos, valuable learning tools, and complimentary access to expert forums, all at no additional cost. HDFC SKY is committed to providing its users with the resources they need to expand their financial knowledge and confidence.
3, Dec 2024
Celebrating Resilience and Passion: Jay’s Journey at Conrad Pune
In the dynamic world of hospitality, where every team member plays a pivotal role in crafting exceptional guest experiences, inclusion is a belief, a culture that celebrates the unique talents and contributions of every individual. On this World Disability Day, at Conrad Pune, this commitment shines brightly through the inspiring story of Jay, a 33-year-old employee with Down syndrome, whose inspiring journey is a reflection of how empathy and opportunity can transform lives while fostering a culture of belonging.
Building his career in the hotel’s laundry department, Jay’s role goes beyond the technicalities of his job. His favorite task, the calendar ironing machine, is something he approaches with enthusiasm and pride, yet the inclusive workplace is something that makes all the difference. Jay shares, “I love using the calendar ironing machine—it’s fun to work with and Whenever I need help, my colleagues and seniors are always there to support me. I feel grateful to work with such a helpful and supportive team”. This culture of support at Conrad Pune is done through empathy-building workshops and basic training in sign language for team members to ensure that everyone can communicate effectively and work together seamlessly.
Beyond his work, Jay is a gifted Bollywood dancer. His vibrant performances have become highlights of hotel events, with his Diwali celebration act being particularly memorable as his father proudly watched from the audience. “I’ve danced on various occasions here, and the experience is always fantastic. The last performance during Diwali was especially memorable”, Jay added.
Jay’s aspirations extend beyond his current role. Someday, he hopes to open his Indian cuisine restaurant. His journey so far has been guided by resilience, determination, and a belief that barriers can be broken with the right support. “There is nothing high or low among people—rich or poor—we shouldn’t discriminate. If anyone wants to work in a hotel, big or small, in any department, they should go ahead and do it,” shared Jay.
“At Conrad Pune, and as part of the Hilton family, we are deeply committed to fostering a culture where inclusivity and diversity are celebrated as strengths. Jay’s inspiring journey is a shining example of how empathy, opportunity, and support can unlock potential and transform lives. On this World Disability Day, we are reminded that when we create environments where every individual’s talents are recognized and valued, we not only enrich the workplace but also contribute to building more compassionate and thriving communities. At Conrad Pune, we believe that inclusion isn’t just a principle—it’s a powerful driver of growth, for our team and Hilton as a whole.” said Deepali Singhal, Director of Human Resources at Conrad Pune, in her response to the hotel’s ongoing inclusivity efforts.
At Conrad Pune, Jay’s presence has inspired reflection and growth among his peers. The hotel’s efforts to build an inclusive workplace, through thoughtful initiatives like empathy workshops, highlight the importance of creating spaces where everyone can contribute meaningfully.
Jay’s story reminds us of the value of inclusion – not just for those given opportunities, but for everyone involved. It’s a narrative of mutual respect, understanding, and the undeniable strength of diversity in building thriving, compassionate communities.
3, Dec 2024
Why Commercial Real Estate Stands Out as a Top Secondary Investment for Maximizing ROI
By Abhishek Tharwani, Director of Tharwani Realty
Commercial property is an excellent alternative investment for those who seek more than just the potential return on investment. Compared to conventional investments in residential property or equities, commercial property offers a powerful combination of greater rental yields, stability, and long-term appreciation that makes it the perfect complement to any type of investment portfolio. This article goes into great depth on what makes commercial real estate so fantastic an investment for investors who look for ROI.
The reason to invest in commercial real estate is much greater returns in rental income. The returns from renting out a residential building tend to average at 3.5%, whereas that of an office space, retail stores, and an industrial warehouse tend to provide returns averaging 6-7% or more in specific locations. They hence provide a great source of steady and meaningful cash flow. In addition, commercial space leasing companies typically enter into longer leases of five to nine years or more. This will provide steady rental income and will also prevent the risk of having too many tenant turnovers.
Another very important factor that draws so many investors to commercial real estate is its appreciation potential. Prime commercial properties in cities that are going through high prosperity and are growing into major business centers will dramatically appreciate over time because of the increased demand for better offices and retail outlets. Appreciation potential in infrastructure-related improvements, new transit links, and emerging commercial areas continues to create long-term riches for investors. Another major plus is the lower possibility of default tenants in commercial properties than residential. Commercial tenants, as businesses, usually sign up into longer and more extensive leases, which makes less chances of defaulting tenants. That is why this investment suits investors who are interested in steady income flows.
Commercial real estate is a very effective investment; besides the income returns, investors also benefit from the following tax benefits. It saves the interest paid against loans, depreciation of properties, and maintenance and management charges. These reduce lower tax liabilities and increase profitability.
For investors who will like to test commercial real estate as an additional flow of investments, the 2025 new year opens bright prospects. Demand for better quality office space, retail developments, and industrial assets will be only at a higher stage as the economy continues to recover with companies expanding their footprints. Government policies in favor of urban development and infrastructure advancement such as metro expansions and smart city plans are expected to appreciate commercial real estate properties to a great deal. Even more encouraging is that the sector is to grow at 13.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2028. Much of this growth comes from strong demand for retail stores, office space, and warehouses. The Grade A office space absorption was more than 40 million square feet, and this is to increase further in 2025, primarily in Tier-II hubs and metro cities. The asset class is going to provide stability along with excellent returns for investors as REITs increase in popularity, and interest rates stabilize. This is also reflected in the 15% annual growth in sales during the holiday season 2024 that does show confidence in markets has been re-established. It will continue up to well into 2025 in order to get corporate business confidence and therefore to offer tremendous opportunities to buy outstanding real estate.
Apart from this, the market remains as an investment hotbed since there is a highly demanding market for it. On the demand side, the city and semi-urban areas have started to have a spiking demand of commercial space from e-commerce, rapid urbanization, and scaling of startups and small entrepreneurs. This also ensures continuous stable returns in well-planned strategic locations and commercial properties. For starters, commercial properties rank unrivaled in stability, profit-yield, and growth irrespective of the level of experience anyone may have in investment, or their level of acquaintance with the market. Should the right methodology and an understanding of the market factors be applied correctly, such an asset class can perhaps be a golden ingredient to a profitable plan.
3, Dec 2024
IVCA GreenReturns Summit 2024: MDB Reforms–Millions to Trillions
New Delhi, 3rd December 2024: India’s apex industry body for alternative assets, the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), hosted the IVCA GreenReturns Summit in New Delhi.
Shri N.K Singh, Former Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, and Former Member of Parliament, Government of India, was joined by Shalabh Tandon, South Asia Regional Head of Operations and Climate Change, IFC, for a fireside chat on significant MDB reforms.
Discussing the recognition of MDBs and de-risking capital, Shri N.K Singh said, “The blended capital and blended finance have an important role to play. Hybrid capital has come into play and has the issue of guarantee. For the first time, the MDBs have recognised a target, although I wish it was not so modest as $20 billion in terms of guarantees, as we were hoping it would be much more. I think the fact that MIGA has been brought in to have an interplay with the IFC is a very positive step. De-risking capital, which is the first loss guarantee, needs to be talked about more. The issue of how to de-risk and how to improve this sentiment to be able to harness private capital where the uncertainties are somewhat mitigated by actions of the MDBs, I think are laudable steps. ”
Establishing strategic frameworks for climate adaptation and resilience, IVCA GreenReturns Summit aims to increase the flow of commercial and impact capital. To form effective market frameworks, industries must attain economic viability by collaborating closely with policymakers and mobilising climate funding. A pivotal platform for encouraging interactions, IVCA GreenReturns Summit seeks to align climate finance with impactful investments and unlock opportunities for strategic partnerships by hosting meetings with a range of investors and policymakers.
About Shri NK Singh, President, Institute of Economic Growth; Co-Convener, G20 Expert Group on MDB Reforms; and Chairman, 15th Finance Commission of India
Shri NK Singh is a prominent Indian economist, academician, and policy interlocutor. He is currently the President of the Institute of Economic Growth, and Co-Convener of the G20 Independent Expert Group for the reforms of multilateral development banks. He was Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission and presided as Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee (FRBM). Shri Singh was a member of the Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 2008 to 2014. He was Expenditure Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Member of the Planning Commission, and Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, besides holding other senior leadership roles. He is intermittently connected with a number of think tanks like the Columbia University’s Raj Centre for Indian Economic Policies, and is Member of the Ananta Aspen’s Board of Trustees; Senior Adviser to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF); and a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP). Shri Singh is the author of several books like his autobiography, Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at Ringside, as well as Recalibrate: Changing Paradigms, The New Bihar, and Not by Reason Alone: The Politics of Change.
3, Dec 2024
MongoDB Announces Expansion of the MongoDB AI Applications Program
New Delhi—December 3, 2024—MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) today at AWS re:Invent announced that a new cohort of organizations have joined the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP) ecosystem of leading AI and tech companies. By lending their experience and expertise to MAAP, Capgemini, Confluent, IBM, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and Unstructured will offer customers additional integration and solution options, boosting the value customers receive from MAAP. Since it was launched earlier this year, MAAP has already made an impact, helping customers like CentralReach—which provides an AI-powered autism care and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) platform—innovate with AI. The MAAP Center of Excellence Team, a cross-functional group of AI experts at MongoDB, has collaborated with partners and customers across industries to overcome an array of technical challenges, empowering organizations of all sizes to build and deploy AI applications. The expansion of the MongoDB AI Applications Program follows the introduction of vector quantization to MongoDB Atlas Vector Search (which reduces vector sizes while preserving performance—at lower cost), as well as new integrations with leading AI and technology companies.
MongoDB is also collaborating with Meta on Llama to support developers in their efforts to build more efficiently and to best serve customers. Currently, both enterprise and public sector customers are leveraging Llama and MongoDB to build innovative, AI-enriched applications, accelerating progress toward business goals. In the coming months, MongoDB plans to implement turnkey mapping from its database to the LlamaStack APIs, empowering developers to deliver solutions to market more quickly and efficiently.
“At the beginning of 2024, many organizations saw the immense potential of generative AI, but were struggling to take advantage of this new, rapidly evolving technology. And 2025 is sure to bring more change—and further innovation,” said Greg Maxson, Senior Director of AI GTM and Strategic Partnerships at MongoDB. “The aim of MAAP, and of MongoDB’s collaborations with industry leaders like Meta, is to empower customers to use their data to build custom AI applications in a scalable, cost-effective way. By joining the MAAP partner network, Capgemini, Confluent, IBM, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and Unstructured are helping the program evolve to meet the ever-changing AI landscape, and offering customers an array of leading solutions.”
Launched in the summer of 2024—with founding members Accenture, Anthropic, Anyscale, Arcee AI, AWS, Cohere, Credal, Fireworks AI, Google Cloud, gravity9, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Microsoft Azure, Nomic, PeerIslands, Pureinsights, and Together AI—the MongoDB AI Applications Program is designed to help organizations unleash the power of their data and to take advantage of rapidly advancing AI technologies. It offers customers an array of resources to put AI applications into production: reference architectures and an end-to-end technology stack that includes integrations with leading technology providers, professional services, and a unified support system to help customers quickly build and deploy AI applications.
Because the AI landscape and customer expectations of AI continue to evolve, MongoDB has carefully grown the MAAP program—and the MAAP ecosystem of companies—to best meet customer needs. By working with AI industry leaders, MongoDB has gained a unique understanding of both the technology and implementation partners that can best help customers build AI applications, and has built the MAAP partner network accordingly.
New MAAP partners look forward to helping customers build AI applications
A global consulting and technology services company, Capgemini offers integrated solutions for digital transformation, blending expertise with breakthrough technology. Confluent, meanwhile, is a cloud-native data streaming platform that allows users to stream, connect, process, and govern data in real time.
“Business leaders are increasingly recognizing generative AI’s value as an accelerator for driving innovation and revenue growth. But the real opportunity lies in moving from ambition to action at scale. We are pleased to continue working with MongoDB to help deliver tangible value to clients and drive competitive advantage by leveraging a trustworthy data foundation, thereby enabling gen AI at scale,” said Niraj Parihar, CEO of Insights & Data Global Business Line and Member of the Group Executive Committee at Capgemini. “MAAP helps clients build gen AI strategy, identify key use cases, and bring solutions to life, and we look forward to being a key part of this for many organizations.”
“Enterprise AI strategy is inextricably dependent upon fresh, trusted data about the business. Without real-time datasets, even the most advanced AI solutions will fail to deliver value,” said Shaun Clowes, Chief Product Officer at Confluent. “Seamlessly integrated with MongoDB and Atlas Vector Search, Confluent’s fully managed data streaming platform enables businesses to build the trusted, always-up-to-date data foundation essential for powering gen AI applications.”
Unstructured is the leading provider of ETL for LLMs, making it easy for enterprises to utilize their unstructured data with gen AI systems.
“Like MongoDB, we understand that data is essential to harnessing the power of gen AI,” said Brian Raymond, Founder and CEO of Unstructured. “We are excited to join the MongoDB AI Applications Program to bring our expertise in ingesting and preprocessing complex unstructured data for vector databases. The gen AI-ready data we continuously deliver and write to vector databases like MongoDB is essential to enabling our users to counter hallucinations, allowing the LLMs and AI projects that MAAP customers are working on to leverage sensitive, internal data while keeping models and projects up-to-date.”
Collaborating to make an impact with AI
Providing customers direct support from technical subject matter experts has been integral to MAAP’s success. Since the program’s inception, the MAAP Center of Excellence team—highly skilled AI experts from MAAP partners and groups across MongoDB—has worked with more than 150 organizations on a range of technical challenges, including model and technology stack evaluation, chunking strategies, advanced retrieval techniques, and the establishment of agentic workflows. Example projects include working on sound diagnostic-based maintenance recommendations for a large manufacturer, and customer service automations for companies across industries.
A recent example of how MAAP enables organizations to build with AI is IndiaDataHub, which is on a mission to build India’s largest market data and analytics platform.
Since the company’s founding, MongoDB Atlas has been the platform’s operational database for some of its key datasets, and earlier this year, IndiaDataHub joined MAAP to access AI expertise, in-depth support, and a full spectrum of technologies to enhance AI functionality within its analytics platform. This includes connecting relevant data in MongoDB with Meta’s AI models to perform sentiment analysis on text datasets.
”Data is the oil that will fuel the growth of the modern Indian economy,” said Pranoti Deshmukh, Chief Technology Officer at IndiaDataHub. “Working with MongoDB, the MAAP ecosystem, and Meta’s AI tools, we’ve been able to accelerate our AI strategy to make high-quality, timely data and analytics available to everyone in India who needs it. The professional support and deep AI expertise we’ve received through the MAAP program have been outstanding.”
“We are thrilled to see how many enterprises are leveraging our open source AI models to build better solutions for their customers and solve the problems their teams are facing everyday,” said Ragavan Srinivasan, VP of Product at Meta. “Leveraging our family of Meta models and the end-to-end technology stack offered by the MongoDB AI Applications Program demonstrates the incredible power of open source to drive innovation and collaboration across the industry.”
Another success story is CentralReach, which provides an AI-powered electronic medical record (EMR) platform that is designed to improve outcomes for children and adults diagnosed with autism and related intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Prior to working with MongoDB and MAAP, CentralReach was looking for an experienced partner to further connect and aggregate its more than 4 billion financial and clinical data points across its suite of solutions.
CentralReach leveraged MongoDB’s document model to aggregate the company’s diverse forms of information from assessments to clinical data collection, so the company could build rich AI-assisted solutions on top of its database. Meanwhile, MAAP partners helped CentralReach to design and optimize multiple layers of its comprehensive buildout. All of this will enable CentralReach to support initiatives such as value-based outcome measurement, clinical supervision, and care delivery efficacy. With these new data layers in place, providers will be able to make substantial improvements to their clinical delivery to optimize care for all those they serve.
“As a mission-driven organization, CentralReach is always looking to innovate on behalf of the clinical professionals—and the more than 350,000 autism and IDD learners—that we serve globally,” said Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach. “So being able to lean on MongoDBs database technology and draw on the collective expertise of the MAAP partner network—in addition to MongoDB’s tech expertise and services—to help us improve outcomes for our customers and their clients worldwide has been invaluable.”
The expansion of the MongoDB AI Applications Program builds on recent AI-related announcements from MongoDB.
In October, MongoDB announced vector quantization capabilities in MongoDB Atlas Vector Search. By reducing vector storage and memory requirements while preserving performance, these capabilities empower developers to build AI-enriched applications with more scale—and at a lower cost.
Outside of MAAP, since the start of the year MongoDB has built partnerships with more than 40 leading AI companies, enabling additional flexibility and choice for customers. Recent collaborations include those with Astronomer, Arize AI, Baseten, CloudZero, Modal, and ObjectBox. By working closely with its AI partners on product launches, integrations, and real-world challenges, MongoDB is able to bring a better understanding of AI to joint customers, deliver interoperability for end-to-end workflows, and to give them the resources and confidence they need to move forward with this groundbreaking technology.
3, Dec 2024
Relaxation, Family Travel, and Exploring New Destinations to Define Travel Next Year – Agoda Shares Seven Travel Trends for 2025
New Delhi, 3 December 2024 – Digital travel platform Agoda has unveiled its 2025 Travel Trends survey, highlighting the key factors set to shape the travel landscape in Asia in the coming year. The survey reveals a strong focus on relaxation, family-oriented trips, and the excitement of discovering new destinations as primary motivations for travellers.
Agoda’s findings indicate that travellers are prioritizing quality time with loved ones and seeking respite from daily routines. The survey also underscores the growing interest in exploring uncharted territories. Noteworthy is the popularity of theme parks, with one in eight respondents expecting to go on a trip to visit one.
Ittai Chorev, Chief Product Officer at Agoda, said, “At Agoda, we love seeing how travellers are planning their adventures for 2025. Whether it’s unwinding with family or exploring new places, we’re here to make every traveller’s dream trip memorable and are ready to help them every step of the way.”
Seven key insights from Agoda’s 2025 Travel Trends survey:
- The more the merrier: Traveling with family tops the list
For many travellers, family time equals quality time. More than a third of travellers (34%) plan to travel with family in 2025. Indonesians are the most fervent family travellers of all, with no less than 58% expecting to go on a multi-generational trip with loved ones. Indians follow closely with 30% opting for family trips. This trend is followed by couples (23%), and solo travellers (19%) in terms of most popular travel groupings across Asian travellers.
- Easy does it: Relaxation is the top travel motivation, by far
Escaping from the hustle and bustle of daily life is by far the most important reason to travel, according to the survey. 75% of respondents cited relaxation as their most important travel motivation. For Indians, this is the leading travel motivation with 80% of the respondents expressing their desire for relaxation when on vacation. Regionally, visiting family and friends follows in second (38%), with cultural exploration in third (35%).
- Computer says ‘yes’: Tech assisting in travel planning
Technology is playing a pivotal role in shaping travel plans. A substantial majority of travellers (80%) plan to use travel apps, while about one in eight (12%) are interested in virtual reality tours. Indian travellers appear to be most tech-savvy, with nine out of ten respondents claiming the use of travel apps when booking a trip.
- Travel For Less: Journey more, spend smart
Budget considerations remain a key factor, with a significant portion of travellers (65%) planning to spend less than $250 (INR 21,073) per night on accommodation. 70% of Indian travellers consider budget availability to be the most important factor when planning a trip. But price is not a barrier to international travel – 87% of travellers expect to take the same number of trips or more compared to 2024, with most of those journeys crossing borders (52%).
- In and Out of Office: Traveling on and off the clock
In addition to traditional business trips, which 28% of respondents expect to embark on, the survey also picked up on the emergence of digital nomads, borderless workers who work remotely. 1 in 25 expects to work remotely in 2025, with a focus on combining work and leisure, as more companies adopt flexible work arrangements. Most prospective digital nomads in the region are from the Philippines, where one in fourteen travellers expect to work while traveling.
- Inspiration: Many ways to discover new destinations
There’s nothing quite as exciting as exploring a place for the very first time. 84% of travellers expect to visit new destinations in 2025. Travel inspiration can come from many sources including personal interests and hobbies (71%), great value deals (56%), and recommendations from friends and family (33%). One in five (20%) gets their travel inspiration from social media. 28% of Indians consider loyalty programs and value deals an important factor when planning trips. This trend is reflective of the growing collaboration between banks, credit card companies, and travel platforms to offer better deals in the Indian market seen this year. Agoda also brings exclusive deals to customers of ICICI Bank, IDFC, HSBC, and Bank of Baroda, making travel more rewarding than ever.
- Life is a rollercoaster: Theme Parks are a reason to travel
Asia’s many theme parks – Disney in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, Lotte World in Seoul, Universal in Osaka and Singapore, Ferrari World in Abu Dabhi, to name a few – are a major draw for year-round tourism. Over one in eight travellers (13%) expect to travel specifically to visit a theme park in 2025. The UAE and Singapore are among the most popular destinations for Indians seeking thrilling theme park experiences. With attractions like rollercoasters and amusement rides, these destinations have captured the interest of Indian travellers, with over one in twenty planning trips specifically for theme park adventures.
Agoda’s offerings, including over 4.5 million holiday properties, more than 130,000 flight routes, and over 300,000 activities, provide travellers with the flexibility to tailor their trips to their unique interests and preferences. For more information and to take advantage of the latest deals, visit Agoda.com or download the Agoda app.
