MAM
Mindshare APAC launches adaptive solution suite for brands
MUMBAI: Mindshare APAC has launched FAST (Future Adaptive Specialist Team), a unique solution suite, which aims to provide data led adaptive marketing services to brands looking to make sense of the deluge of data that is engulfing marketing communications.
One of the key headwinds that brands are facing due to this data deluge is the dynamism and uncertainty in the customer journey and the primary purpose of FAST is to help clients take control of the same.
Mindshare’s FAST is the first of its kind in Asia Pacific from any marketing communications company.
FAST comprises six services that clients can choose from or use as an integrated solution. As part of Data Management, powered by The Data Alliance from WPP, FAST provides data advisory services to help clients prepare their data management strategy, and to help them on how they can use technology to make sense of the data.
Performance Marketing is an insights-driven outcome-based service that helps clients harness the power of search, e-commerce and mobile marketing in an integrated manner. With Programmatic Strategy, Mindshare has developed a proprietary architecture that leverages GroupM’s global scale with advanced behavioral targeting that delivers dynamic advertising to the most valued target at the most opportune time.
Real-Time Marketing, hallmarked by The Loop, is an adaptive decision making engine that influences the dynamic consumer journey, using real time insights to drive real time actions.
Finally, FAST provides capabilities in Digital Analytics with tools to better understand the digital trail, attributed right down to the last mile action. And for clients who have rich Enterprise data, Mindshare will integrate its own proprietary data with 3rd party data to provide Big Data services in partnership with Crayon Data by developing brand specific affinity graphs.
Designed specifically for clients with centralized needs, Mindshare has gathered digital specialists from across the network to create five FAST hubs, located in Singapore, London, New York, Shanghai and Mexico City. FAST is particularly open sourced in building strategic partnerships in each of the Hubs to leverage local knowledge and expertise and they are fully integrated within the existing agency teams in the region.
Mindshare Asia Pacific COO Gowthaman Ragothaman said, “In the last 15 days, FAST has built up significant traction, demonstrating its value to our clients and their businesses. It is more than just a concept, it is a step in the right direction – one that is built on a sound understanding of our client’s business needs and their expectations of what the future of media should be. By adding new and evolved capabilities and leveraging off of our global scale, FAST showcases Mindshare’s ability to constantly and quickly adapt to the need of the day, and is poised to be our key differentiator as it begins to deliver results for our clients.”
Brands
Zscaler, Airtel launch India AI Cyber Research Centre
New hub to boost cyber resilience and trusted AI use
NEW DELHI: As India’s digital engine roars ahead, so do the risks riding shotgun. In response, Zscaler, Inc. and Bharti Airtel have joined hands to launch the AI and Cyber Threat Research Center – India, a national initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber defences and accelerating responsible AI adoption.
The centre is designed as a multi stakeholder platform that brings together industry, government and academia. Its mission is clear: protect critical sectors such as telecom, banking and energy, shield everyday digital users, and future proof India’s fast expanding online ecosystem.
India has long been a major innovation hub for Zscaler, with a substantial portion of its cyber research talent based here. With this new centre, that footprint evolves into a national collaboration engine. The idea is simple but ambitious, build in India, for India, and help power the country’s journey towards a secure and digitally self reliant future.
The timing is telling. India is building digital systems at population scale, not just enterprise scale. That scale has widened the attack surface dramatically. At the same time, cyber criminals and nation state actors are deploying AI to scan, probe and exploit vulnerabilities in minutes.
Zscaler’s research arm, ThreatLabz India, reports millions of infiltration attempts every month. These include espionage campaigns linked to regional geopolitical tensions, 1.2 million intrusion attempts from 20,000 sources targeting 58 Indian digital entities, and a rise in zero day exploit attempts across multiple industries.
In such an environment, perimeter based security models are struggling to keep pace. The new centre aims to push a shift towards secure by design systems and Zero Trust architecture.
Its strategy rests on four pillars: protect through real time intelligence, remediate by working directly with government agencies, facilitate adoption of AI driven security and Zero Trust frameworks, and build a stronger cybersecurity talent pipeline through specialised certifications.
As founding members, Zscaler and Airtel will combine global threat intelligence with local network visibility. Zscaler will deploy a dedicated India focused research team and draw insights from its Zero Trust Exchange platform, which processes over 500 billion daily transactions worldwide. Airtel, meanwhile, will contribute deep visibility into IoT and mobile traffic, helping detect suspicious activity faster and coordinate response across the ecosystem.
Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal, said the partnership extends Airtel’s commitment to safeguarding customers and the nation’s digital fabric. He added that the collaboration would address challenges unique to the Indian market and encourage secure and confident digital engagement.
Zscaler chief executive, chairman and founder Jay Chaudhry, said India’s digital ambition cannot be secured with legacy firewalls and VPNs. He noted that a modern Zero Trust architecture is essential for a hyper connected world and that the new centre would harness the scale of Zscaler’s global security cloud while empowering a new generation of Indian cyber defenders.
Additional members from critical public and private sectors are expected to join the initiative in the coming months, expanding its scope and deepening collaboration.
In a world where threats travel at machine speed, India’s answer is to think faster, collaborate wider and build smarter.
