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Earlier this week, the death of yet another corporate employee shook the nation. Various other incidents also made headlines last month, where employees of some big companies reportedly died of work pressure. With a rise in such incidents, people are talking about the importance of <keyword id="19901232" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-life-balance" source="keywords">work-life balance</keyword> and <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> at workplace. <keyword id="20253489" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zoho" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Zoho" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Zoho">Zoho</keyword> CEO and Co-founder <keyword id="19914274" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sridhar-Vembu" source="keywords">Sridhar Vembu</keyword>, in a new interview with PTI, has called for a fundamental shift in how companies treat their employees. In the interview, the entrepreneur warned that organisations pushing their workforce to unsustainable limits will not be able to keep up the pace. He also called for a shift in mindset and said that people are being put in a "very big pressure cooker." <h2>Zoho CEO on putting employees in pressure cooker </h2> <keyword id="21154651" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vembu" source="keywords">Vembu</keyword>, who has spent over two decades building Zoho into one of India’s leading tech companies, expressed deep concern over the increasing pressure faced by employees, particularly in large cities. He said that we are creating environments where workers are trapped in a ‘pressure cooker’, referring to the convergence of long working hours, grueling commutes, and the isolation many young professionals experience after migrating from smaller towns. "You already have loneliness, long-commutes, stressful work condition. So, you are throwing people into a very big pressure cooker, and very tragically, some people break, other people are broken," he told PTI. Reflecting on his own experience, Vembu stressed the importance of pacing oneself in order to sustain a long and productive career. “I have been working for 27-28 years, and I hope to work for another 28 if possible. But to do that, I cannot allow myself, or my employees, to burn out,” he explained. He argued that companies prioritising short-term gains at the expense of their workers’ health are doomed to falter in the long run. <h2>What's the solution?</h2>Vembu’s advocacy for a healthier work culture is grounded in his broader vision for corporate India. A long-time proponent of decentralising business operations, he believes that one solution to the high-stress environment is to diversify away from major urban centres. “We bring young people from small towns into big cities, and their first challenge is loneliness. Then, they face commutes that can stretch up to two hours each way, particularly in cities like Bengaluru. It’s no surprise that many feel overwhelmed,” he said. The Zoho chief pointed out that by expanding operations into smaller towns and rural areas, companies can alleviate some of these pressures, allowing employees to stay closer to their homes and communities. This approach, he believes, not only reduces stress but also fosters a more sustainable, human-centric model of growth. Beyond <keyword id="22447710" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="workplace-stress" source="keywords">workplace stress</keyword>, Vembu touched on the role of technology in shaping the future of business. He reiterated his call for tighter regulations on big tech companies, particularly in preventing the monopolisation of digital services. Drawing parallels between email, which is an open standard, and messaging services that are often locked within proprietary ecosystems, he urged the government to push for greater interoperability. “Messaging platforms should not operate in silos. We need standards that prevent monopolies and ensure a level playing field for all,” he remarked. Vembu also praised India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiatives, calling them a “shining success story” and a model for other nations. He highlighted how India has become a global leader in digital infrastructure, with initiatives such as the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) and the health stack setting new standards for the world to follow.

People being thrown in pressure cooker, different mindset is needed: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu on India’s work culture

<ul><li><keyword id="35621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="Orion">E-commerce</keyword> platform <keyword id="541988" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="snapdeal" source="Orion">Snapdeal</keyword> made its debut on the government-led <keyword id="3415669" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="open-network" source="Orion">Open Network</keyword> for Digital Commerce (<keyword id="5862596" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ondc" source="Orion">ONDC</keyword>) on July 19. </li><li>An initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), <keyword id="14523575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ondc-aims" source="Orion">ONDC aims</keyword> to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders and help them get on to online platforms. </li><li>ONDC is a UPI of e-commerce that seeks to democratize virtual commerce, shifting it from a platform-centric model to an open-network.</li></ul>With the launch of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the Indian government brought all virtual banking and payments under one roof. The government is now pulling off a similar feat in yet another walled garden, the e-commerce category, with the launch of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). ONDC aims to democratize virtual commerce by bringing all platforms under one open network. It would create a new, equal-level playing field for the e-commerce landscape, which is currently dominated by international players Amazon and Flipkart. Open Network goes beyond the current platform-centric model where the buyer and seller must be part of the same platform/ application to enable transactions between them. By moving away from platform-centric models to an open network, ONDC intends to stop digital monopolies. Currently, Amazon and Flipkart have end-to-end control over the entire e-commerce ecosystem which includes seller onboarding, customer acquisition, order fulfillment, payment, returns and complaint redressal. Imagine a platform that not only shows products from Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho under one umbrella, but also from all your local kirana stores. That’s exactly what the open network intends to do. You would be able to compare the prices of Amazon finds and product specifications of Flipkart finds through one application. Courtesy: ONDC, Ministry of Commerce It will unbundle the supply chain, shifting the power from the likes of Amazon and Flipkart to consumers, merchants, and providers of support services. With an open network, smaller players will also have access to Amazon or Flipkart controlled data. ONDC, therefore, aims to support MSMEs and small traders and help them get on online platforms. Snapdeal is the first e-commerce platform to get on the open network. E-comm platforms Dunzo and Ekart have also partnered with ONDC. How does ONDC work? Not only will the open network enable smoother transactions and online buying experience for consumers, it would also digitize the entire value chain and improve efficiencies in logistics for sellers. Small merchants will be able to skip separate lists of mandates and commissions for every platform they join. With ONDC, retailers will have access to processes and technologies that are deployed by e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Flipkart. It would also mean better discoverability for all retailers and enhance transparency in pricing. Silos will be broken down and an open list with delivery partners, aggregators, customers, restaurants, and logistic providers will be put together. According to the government, “ONDC will ensure confidentiality and privacy of data in the network. ONDC shall not mandate sharing of any transaction-level data by participants with ONDC. Will work with its participants to publish anonymized aggregate metrics on network performance without compromising on confidentiality and privacy.” When was ONDC announced? An initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), ONDC would enable both sellers and buyers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network, regardless of what platform or application they use. The initiative was announced by a nine-member advisory council that included Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani, National Health Authority CEO R S Sharma, QCI Chairman Adil Zainulbhai, National Payments Corporation of India CEO Dilip Asbe and others. As per DPIIT, ONDC “...aims at promoting open networks developed on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols, independent on any specific platform. ONDC is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiency in logistics, and enhance value for consumers.” The open network is not just for retail transactions, it is also for food, delivery, travel, hotel booking, and more, which would potentially challenge the dominance of all large e-commerce players. As more small traders and retailers accept the online world, ONDC plans to increase e-commerce <a href="https://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ONDCStrategyPaper.pdf">penetration </a>to 25% of all consumer purchases in the next two years, up from about 8% presently. Within the next five years, it expects to sign up 900 million buyers and 1.2 million sellers on the shared network, with a gross merchandise value of $48 billion. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/a-19th-century-shivaji-ii-painting-18th-century-tamil-bible-traced-to-us/articleshow/93044032.cms">A 19th-century Shivaji II painting, 18th century Tamil Bible traced to US</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/india-vs-west-indies-heres-the-entire-schedule-for-the-upcoming-odi-t20i-series/slidelist/93024475.cms">India vs West Indies: Here’s the entire schedule</a>

Snapdeal is now available on ONDC, here’s all you need to know about the network

<ul><li>A rapidly evolving technology landscape and consumer trends will shape how businesses perform, going forward.</li><li>A report by Wavemaker titled Spotlight23 has underlined the major trends that businesses will have to adapt to this year.</li><li>Some of the most prominent emerging technologies and consumer trends to watch out for in 2023 include artificial intelligence as a service (<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">AI</keyword>aaS), generative AI like ChatGPT and increasing use of Reels.</li></ul>A rapidly evolving technology landscape and quickly changing consumer trends require businesses to evolve with them at the same pace or risk falling behind. From the way customers interact with businesses to how businesses attract customers with new innovations, several emerging trends like artificial intelligence as a service (AIaaS), and increased focus on privacy and free speech have been identified in Wavemaker’s report titled Spotlight23. While ecommerce has existed for a long time, the Covid-19 pandemic changed how Indians look at it. According to a<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/covid-pandemic-hot-housed-e-commerce-growth-across-amea-region-survey/articleshow/94643528.cms"> survey</a>, 83% of Indian consumers have increased their purchases from ecommerce platforms in the last three years, and this momentum is expected to gain pace. But that is just one aspect of the evolving technology and consumer landscape. Here are other hot and emerging trends of 2023, according to the Spotlight23 report. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Generative AI to grow 10x in the next three years" comment="subhead" text="Generative AI to grow 10x in the next three years">Generative AI to grow 10x in the next three years</cmsannotation> Generative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, like ChatGPT and Dall-E are expected to see a massive uptake in the next three years, growing from 1% of the data generated to 10% by 2025. Generative AIs like Dall-E, ChatGPT generate images and text using the inputs provided by users. For instance, ChatGPT can write articles, code or even compose music based on the inputs provided by users. OpenAI, which launched both Dall-E and ChatGPT, said that the latter was used by over 1 million users within the first 24 hours of its launch. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="AI as a Service (AIaaS)" comment="subhead" text="AI as a Service (AIaaS)"><keyword id="16177246" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-as-a-Service" source="Orion">AI as a Service</keyword> (AIaaS)</cmsannotation> The gaining traction of low-code/no-code artificial intelligence (AI) tools has given businesses an opportunity to implement off-the-shelf AI tools in their services, instead of developing an in-house AI. This brings down the costs and also allows businesses to see what works and what doesn’t. Some of the use cases of AI as a Service include optimizing campaigns, predicting customer churn and engaging customers based on their usage patterns as predicted by the AI model. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Privacy and free speech to continue to gain prominence" comment="subhead" text="Privacy and free speech to continue to gain prominence">Privacy and free speech to continue to gain prominence</cmsannotation> Users are increasingly worried about their privacy, with 66% of internet users globally worried that their identity will be stolen, according to<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/296700/personal-data-security-perception-online/"> Statista</a>. Further enactment of privacy-focused laws like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has put the spotlight on data privacy. The Spotlight23 report states that businesses will invest in privacy-centric technologies as customers become increasingly sensitive about their data. Another aspect that has gained prominence is free speech, as evidenced by the Twitter takeover by Elon Musk, and the rise of decentralized social media platforms like Mastodon, which has seen an 800% increase in users since October 2022, with the user base now standing at 2.5 million. However, the report adds that advertisers will likely stay away from Twitter until a balance between free speech and brand safety is found. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Reel it – engagement and social commerce is evolving rapidly" comment="subhead" text="Reel it – engagement and social commerce is evolving rapidly">Reel it – engagement and social commerce is evolving rapidly</cmsannotation> Instagram Reels’ rise in popularity can be explained with this metric alone – in Q3 2022, Meta reported over 140 billion reels were played, which means over 1.55 billion reel plays every day during the quarter, or 1.08 million reels played every minute. This makes it critical for brands to create Reels to drive user engagement, according to the report. The opening up of WhatsApp Business API to everyone provides business with another opportunity to generate new leads. Many of those examples are already live – for instance, JioMart’s catalogue can be browsed through WhatsApp, allowing them to place orders and make payments. Reliance’s media arm Viacom18, which bagged IPL streaming rights, could help Jio accelerate social commerce via partnerships with brands, leveraging its user base of over 450 million. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Social commerce growth to result in increased influencer collaborations" comment="subhead" text="Social commerce growth to result in increased influencer collaborations">Social commerce growth to result in increased influencer collaborations</cmsannotation> Gaining prominence of social commerce is expected to result in an increase in brands collaborating with social influencers. According to Statista, sales through social media stood at $992 billion in 2022, and they are expected to increase to $2.9 trillion by 2026. “Influencer collaboration can boost a company's revenue. For instance, Petco worked with Gabby Douglas and used livestream shopping events to reach and engage customers,” the Spotlight23 report said. Conversational AI is also expected to further drive user engagement, with several brands like H&amp;M, Levi’s and others already using chatbots to give personalized recommendations to buyers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="VR, AR and XR to deliver a more immersive shopping experience" comment="subhead" text="VR, AR and XR to deliver a more immersive shopping experience"><keyword id="6380951" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="VR" source="Orion">VR</keyword>, <keyword id="11853" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AR" source="Orion">AR</keyword> and <keyword id="1786062" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="XR" source="Orion">XR</keyword> to deliver a more immersive shopping experience</cmsannotation> Technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) are expected to enhance the shopping experience of users and make it more immersive. These technologies allow users to try on products virtually to see if they suit them or not – for instance, Lenskart has a 3D try-on feature that lets users check out eyeglasses and sunglasses virtually before buying them. Asian Paints’ app allows users to take a photo of their wall and picture how it looks with the diverse range of colours and textures offered by the company. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="ONDC could realize its potential in 2023" comment="subhead" text="ONDC could realize its potential in 2023">ONDC could realize its potential in 2023</cmsannotation> During a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/democratising-commerce-ondc-could-be-the-upi-moment-for-small-retailers-msmes/articleshow/95393032.cms"> panel discussion</a> in November 2022, Thampy Koshy, the Chief Executive Officer of ONDC, said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is the Indian government’s attempt to democratise commerce. ONDC is an open platform that allows sellers to make their catalogues visible to every buyer on the platform. Koshy likened ONDC to UPI, saying “what UPI did was to essentially streamline and democratise the payment side of it. What ONDC is trying to do is a similar kind of transformation on the transaction side of goods and services.” ONDC is currently live in 83 cities, and it has 25 network participants along with over 700 merchants onboard. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budget-2023-morgan-stanley-sees-focus-to-be-on-fiscal-consolidation-investment-led-growth/articleshow/97082715.cms">Budget 2023: Morgan Stanley sees focus to be on fiscal consolidation, investment-led growth</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/competitive-intensity-a-big-risk-for-dmart-say-analysts-after-company-misses-streets-q3-forecast/articleshow/97052145.cms">Competitive intensity a big risk for DMart say analysts after company misses Street’s Q3 forecast</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/hiring-by-it-cos-down-96-in-q3-compared-to-preceding-7-quarters-even-as-attrition-cools/articleshow/97023873.cms">Hiring by IT cos down 96% in Q3 compared to preceding 7 quarters even as attrition cools</a>

AI as a Service to free speech platforms and social commerce, these are the big emerging trends of 2023

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People being thrown in pressure cooker, different mindset is needed: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu on India’s work culture

Divyanshi Sharma

Snapdeal is now available on ONDC, here’s all you need to know about the network

Karuna Sharma

AI as a Service to free speech platforms and social commerce, these are the big emerging trends of 2023

Rounak Jain

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