ADVERTORIAL

Odel introduces mobile POS service

Hemanthi Guruge

For the first time in Sri Lanka, a roving mobile point of sales service has been introduced by ODEL to enhance the customer's shopping experience by removing the frustration of long lines on busy days.

ODEL joined hands with US based middleware technology company WSO2 to introduce this service as part of its focus on providing customers with the best shopping experience.

ODEL's Founder and CEO Otara Gunewardene said the growth of the use of credit and debit card in Sri Lanka makes mobile POS devise for card based transactions an important value addition.

"We are delighted to have teamed up with WSO2 to take this step," she said.

Built around WSO2's award winning carbon platform, the mobile POS system includes the WSO2 Enterprices service bus and WSO2 data service server product and allows ODEL sales executives equipped with simple apple iPod device to process credit or debit card payments over a secured wireless system from anywhere in the store.

The system issues credit card receipts as well as itemised ODEL bills similar to those generated at the regular payment counter.

For added customer convenience, a receipt can also be emailed to the customer if required. The roving mobile point of sales service has been initially introduced at its flagship store at Alexandra place and later they will introduced this to the other branches throughout the country.

Janashakthi benefit for motorcyclists

Janashakthi Insurance has offered motorcyclists a number of special benefits hitherto not offered to date in the country's highly competitive insurance industry.

Among the unmatched benefits are the Personal Accident Cover of Rs 100,000 for the rider, cash up to Rs 50,000 for hospitalisation, the superlative service of an islandwide garage network and cash upto Rs 1,500 for a damaged helmet.

Not only does it offer Rs 100,000 in the event of the death of the next of kin of the insured, but has gone a step further to offer Rs 100,000 to the rider as well. This means that regardless of the insured, the rider gets Rs 100,000. If the insured and the rider are the same person, their next of kin will get Rs 200,000 in the event of a death.

If the rider is injured and hospitalised due to an accident, Janashakthi Full Option will pay Rs 2500 per day up to a maximum of Rs 50,000 which is equivalent to 20 days of hospitalisation. Janashakhti has also tied up with over 60 motorcycle garages islandwide to provide a speedy and hassle free service to all motorcyclists in the event of an accident.

If one's helmet is damaged during an accident, Janashakthi compensates the insured for the damaged helmet.

This is especially due to the fact that once a helmet is damaged in an accident, the rider would either continue to use the damaged helmet or travel helmet-less.

If an accident re-occurs, the damaged helmet might not save him for a second time.

Added to these new benefits are the other covers such as the No Fault Pedestrian Cover up to Rs 25,000, irrespective of who is at fault, a 24-hour Customer Care Call Centre, on-site inspection, and a 15 day automatic Cover.

Outlining the rationale behind this campaign, Janashakthi's Marketing Head Paddy Weerasekera said, "According to statistics received from Registrar of Motor Vehicles, Sri Lanka has a recorded 2.1 million motorcycles on the roads today.

Statistics from the National Hospital of Sri Lanka and Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital reveal that in Colombo during April, May and June, there have been 2954 injuries due to reported accidents, out of which 1138 are from motorcycle-related accidents. This is a startling 39 percent of the total injuries (from all accidents) recorded at both hospitals. The rise in numbers is alarming and hence the dire need to protect our motorcycle riders."

According to current research most riders prefer to opt only for third party insurance.

In fact some of them don't even realise that an insurance policy is mandatory. Added to this is the total misconception that the benefits offered to motorcycle insurance policyholders are not as comprehensive as those offered to motorcar policyholders.

It is these factors that inspired us to take Sri Lanka motor cyclists under our care and give them and their loved ones the much needed peace of mind.

This is Janashakthi's dedication and commitment to the motorcycle riders of Sri Lanka", Weerasekera added.

NSB awards Hapan scholarships to 120 students

The Hapan Scholarship Awards Ceremony - 2010 , organized by the National Savings Bank (NSB) for the sixth successive year, was held recently. Secretary to the President Lalith Weerathunga the chief guest, awarded scholarships to 121 students, who scored the highest marks at both national and district levels at the Year 5 Scholarship examination 2010.

Under the Hapan programme, ten students who secured the best marks at district level qualified for these scholarships, which covers all 25 districts in the country. All the district level achievers received a cash prize of Rs 10,000 each and a school bag, a medal and a certificate.

In addition, the three students who scored the highest marks on an islandwide basis received three special prizes of Rs 50,000 (first prize), Rs 30,000 (second prize) and Rs 20,000 (third prize) respectively.

The winners were picked from the account holders of Hapan, a minor Savings Account for small children in the age group 7 to 16 years. Three out of four students , who had excelled on an islandwide basis this time were Hapan account holders.

A Hapan Account can be opened and operated by a parent or guardian on behalf of a child. It could also be opened and operated in their absence by a grandparent or guardian.

This means that the children with Hapan , SMILE and Foreign Currency Accounts, who are among the top scorers at the Year 5 Scholarship examination, will qualify for these scholarships .

In a parallel drive, NSB had also organized a series of seminars under the direction qualified teachers to offer guidance to students on how to prepare for the Year 5 Scholarship examination 2011. NSB also offers two other an innovative children's savings accounts namely , Kiri Keti Hapan for new born babies and Punchi Hapan , for kids under seven years of age.

Nokia brings dual SIM to Sri Lanka

Nokia recently launched the dual SIM Nokia C2-00 in Sri Lanka. Another dual SIM device, Nokia X1-01 also hit the stores last month. Both models offer the most convenient and intuitive experience available for switching between SIM cards - without compromising on features and fun.

"The Nokia X1-01 and Nokia C2-00 have more memory, extended battery life and far richer SIM swapping experience and entertainment features than other dual SIM products currently in the market," said Nokia Emerging Asia, Business Development Manager, Shiblee Shakik Ahmed, "In addition to their various unique features, both of these phones remember the settings for up to five separate SIM cards, each of which can be personalized with a dedicated name as well as preferred call, SMS or data settings," he said.

With the vision and campaign of Connecting the next billion, announced this year, Nokia aims to connect the next billion of people who are yet to own a quality mobile handset.

Over the years people's perspective and expectation on Nokia has risen, and to withhold that dominant position in the market, the company is continuously working on its commitment towards people and enriching lifestyle of the mass. These two devices have been labelled as Dual SIM Plus, because of its few unique features that sets them apart from the completion.

Nokia X1-01

With the Nokia X1-01 each SIM card can be given its own logo, music signature or ringtone personalization features that can only be got from Nokia. The phone also offers what is simply the best Dual SIM music experience on the market. One can store and shuffle thousands of songs with up to 16 GB of memory support, create your own favourite playlists, and play music back over a loudspeaker that is the loudest and clearest ever produced by Nokia.

Nokia C2-00

The Nokia C2-00 is the first to Dual SIM phone to have Easy Swap, which offers the convenience of changing SIM cards without the need to turn off the phone or remove the battery. Just open the SIM door at the side of the phone and swap SIMs. It's as easy as that. No more waiting for the phone to reboot. With the Nokia C2-00 one can also browse the internet, read emails and enjoy instant messaging with either SIM card. Not only is the internet browsing experience far superior than that available on competing Dual SIM products, but so is the memory support.

SIBT opens new career pathways

Siksil Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT) recently celebrated 10 years of providing quality tertiary education to Sri Lankan students.

The institute marked the occasion by adopting a new moniker, changing its name from Siksil Institute of Information Technology to SIBT.

The change in name reflects SIBT's expansion in terms of several areas in IT and management to SIBT's course offerings.

Reflecting this widened scope is the SIBT's Diploma in Business and Technology (DIBT). This eight month course is targeted at students who have sat for their Advanced Level exams and exploring career options. SIBT General Manager Upul Dassanayake said, 'SIBT recognized the gap that exists in the current tertiary education Sector. Educational institutes assume post AL students have a clear idea of what their career options are.

This is often not the case. Modern students want to explore the many paths open to them before settling on one that offers the greatest intellectual and professional reward.'

The DIBT's syllabi, centred on 465 lecture hours, is structured to give students a rounded introduction to the foundations of business and information technology, augmenting these with the much needed soft skills - leadership and presentation skills specifically - in order to ensure that SIBT's students meet the ever-increasing standards expected of fresh recruits by the modern labour market.

'We ensure that our course delivery is world class. Our panel of lecturers are university academics and industry experts, ensuring that a balance between theoretical foundation and practical applications of theory is emphasised to our students. In addition, SIBT's premises includes large lecture halls with multimedia and AV facilities, computer labs with internet connections and E-Learning facilities, a large, well-stocked library, and high quality learning material.

We are also a very Sri Lankan institute and take it upon ourselves to impart Sri Lankan values to the students who come under our wing', Dassanayake said.

Additionally, the institute's Diploma in Information Technology (DIT) is accredited by the Sunderland University. This enables students who graduate from the DIT to register for the UK-based university's degree programmes or the University of Colombo's Bachelors in Information Technology (BIT) examinations.

SIBT's additional course offerings include management disciplines such as marketing, Human Resource Management (HRM), computerized accounting, and administration and programming to provide more pathways to SIBT students, SIBT has collaborated with SLIM to conduct their programs and have so far been able to produce 100% pass rates for PCM exams. SIBT was awarded as the BEST accredited centre by SLIM.

SIBT is a Board of Investment (BOI) approved IT training institute and registered with the Tertiary and Vocational Education Committee on Sri Lanka (TVEC).

Niko makes flirting fashionable

With ‘Niko the Flirt’ - the latest clothing and accessories collection unveiled by Embark - the rescued dog Niko that found a home with ODEL founder and CEO Otara Gunewardene, takes the brand through a new phase of evolution that is intended to celebrate fun and capture the hearts of a new generation of customers.

He has asked for and received love, done Hollywood and been in naughty company, but former street dog Niko continues to inspire the popular fashion label ‘Embark’ for which he is the high profile mascot.

New slogans such as ‘Barkalicious,’ ‘Girls Me’ ‘Wag harder’ and ‘Will you be my dog walker?’ reflect the playfully seductive side of Niko’s personality that is manifested on a new range of T shirts and skinnies that retain the distinctive Embark character while being refreshingly fresh.

The new collection is much more than new slogans, however. “There is a further improvement in the quality of the fabrics and the finishes, external labelling has become finer, and new styling like split backs and tie-ins have been introduced,” said Embark Product Development Manager Thilina Dassanayake. “The new collection also has an exciting expanded children’s range and additions for infants and toddlers.” Dassanayake said. Light-weight fabrics, slim cuts and trendy colours, a strong graphical expression of the flirtatious theme and teasing but engaging slogans are the key features of the new collection targeted at young people and adults with attitude, he said.

The new collection is the second of three planned for 2011. Some of the items retain the feel of the ‘Niko and the Bandit’ collection that preceded it, which was the most popular of the Embark collections.

A range of neon coloured slap wrist bands, one of the latest fads, is one of the highlights of a new range of accessories that complements the Niko the Flirt collection.

As with all Embark branded products, this new collection once again invites people to show they care for homeless dogs by wearing the brand and helping fund the community initiatives of ODEL’s award-winning Embark programme.

The ‘Niko the Flirt’ collection is also available for purchase online at www.odel.lk

Models at the launch of the new Embark collection

Union Health Net covers medical treatment in India

Union Assurance launched Health Net-a new insurance policy providing cover against hospitalization expenses in India.

Even as medical care facilities in Sri Lanka improve rapidly, many like to keep open the option of specialized treatment from overseas hospitals for certain critical medical conditions and emergencies.

With this need in mind, Union Assurance recently launched Health Net, a new low-premium medical insurance policy that covers costs of hospitalization and medical care incurred in India.

This insurance policy exclusively covers expenses incurred by Sri Lankans, on medical expenses in India.

Expenses including hospitalization, bed charges, room, surgeons’ fees, medicines and surgical supplies, diagnostic tests and other incidentals are covered.

In meeting expenses in real life situations, policy holders can feel much better with the welcome inclusion of 30 days’ pre-hospitalization and 60 days’ post-hospitalization cover including doctors’ consultation fees, medicines, medical supplies and recovery tests provided for in the policy. Adding a touch of caring, a free ambulance is available on call both in Sri Lanka and India for patients in need of emergency and critical attention.

Dr. Suranga Ranasinghe at Union Assurance said “Traditionally, Sri Lankans seeking medical care in India have been only the very wealthy. Now, with this policy, many more Sri Lankans of less lavish incomes can also hope for the best medical attention and get it.

India’s close proximity, with its world class medical specialists and technology supporting a highly evolved industry makes India an excellent choice for Sri Lankans.

Available cure and care for critical ailments are not only convenient but also consistently of high quality.”

Unlike most other medical insurance policies, that only cover certain expenses, compelling customers to pay for others even after obtaining full medical cover Health Net has no hidden sub limits.

Health claim processing administration and facilitation provided by India’s No 1 health claim processing and wellness management center ICICI Lombard Ltd.