Microsoft Surface Technology in Retail Baking and Insurance Domain

Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch computer that responds to natural hand gestures and real-world objects, helping people interact with digital content in a simple and intuitive way. With a large, horizontal user interface, Surface offers a unique gathering place where multiple users can collaboratively and simultaneously interact with data and each other.

Microsoft Surface has four key capabilities:

• Direct interaction. Users can grab digital information with their hands and interact with content on-screen by touch and gesture – without using a mouse or keyboard.
• Multi-user experience. The large, horizontal, 30 inch display makes it easy for several people to gather and interact together with Microsoft Surface - providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
• Multi-touch. Microsoft Surface responds to many points of contact simultaneously - not just from one finger, as with a typical touch screen, but from dozens of contact points at once.
• Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the screen to trigger different types of digital responses – providing for a multitude of applications and the transfer of digital content to mobile devices.

Microsoft Surface can bring the new light to the complex ‘customer solicitation’ process in the entire customer acquisition cycle, in retail banking and insurance industry. It can change the way customers learn, service and make decisions about the product. The way content is delivered in collaborative and explorative way, it can create the whole new positive perceptions about your product. Imagine you are sitting across you banking relationships manager or insurance advisor, browsing through product information, discussing various financial scenarios in a participative way, product comparisons. This technology has potential to revolutionize the entire customer experience.

I have often seen confused faces of customers during solicitation process. More often than not they are pretending to be understood, to be with you, but usually they are lost. I hope this technology brings new light for retail banking and insurance industry.

On a rainy Sunday morning e-Zest gathered at Shaniwar wada to join the league committed towards environmental activities. The local NGO 'Alert' had called all Puneits for Cycle Rally and Walkathon in green cause.

e-Zest with all its O₂mania volunteers participated in the rally to support the cause. e-Zest is already observing second and forth Friday as environmental day where team members commute on foot or bicycles on that day.

Debanjan had organized everything that was required to make this walkathon a success. Many people participated in the rally and high percentage of people participation from e-Zest helped number to cross thousand's figure.  It was around 6 KMS Walkathon and 10 KMS of Cycle rally.

e-Zest is proud to had its youngest participant, merely 9 months old, enjoying his presence in the rally. This little baby of Devendra was especially called and rewarded a sapling by the Mayor of Pune city.

e-Zest O₂maniacs enjoyed every single step of the rally with strong commitment towards making a world better place to live. 

29th February is a very special day at e-Zest. Not because it is a rare day found in only leap year calendar but because we have started something constructive today at our company. We initiated Green Day!

Nature is the most important and highly neglected entity I can think off. We do nothing to preserve it; we don't feel need to preserve it. I am not any different sparing few weeks since when we started thinking of this initiative.

Rakesh, a collegue and friend of mine, and me were discussing about the manufacturing advancements happening at India and other countries. The recent vehicle that created a wave worldwide, Nano - Rupees one lac car, was center point of the discussion that day.

We thought now the people who could not think of a four wheeler even in their dreams can actually buy it and ride it. For variety of reasons people will buy it. An individual who was commuting on a motor bike soon can be found moving swiftly with his hands on a steering wheel. The chances are high that he will be driving it alone with nobody accompanying him in a car. So then a bike that gives mileage of 50 km/ltr would get replaced by a car that gives mileage of around 18 km/ltr. As a result many people would be wasting 32 km/ltr for no real benefit. Red alarm!

Rakesh thought of running a campaign for awareness and I could not resist supporting the cause. We had found an aim to work for.

As I thought Devendra who has a heart for noble cause readily gave permission for promo activities within company. He promised all kind of support required including his personal enthusiasm in planning meetings.

We had got Vishant, Vijay, Debanjan, Arya, Shruti and Maithili joining the promo theme. We all met regularly to shape up the initiative.

Since it is a start of summer we decided with lower frequency i.e. every fortnight for our event. Everybody was called to come to company in any of the following mode

1. On foot

2. On bicycle (hey, I bought a new one yesterday for Green Day initiative)

3. By public transport

4. By shared transport

We also designed a promotional email. Have a look at it below. 

We wanted to keep our message simple that was to keep our nature green so we came up with 'Keep it simple | Keep it green'. We did all sort of activities for internal branding of the initiative.

Today we found that almost everybody at e-Zest contributed towards 'Green Day'. Few even chose to walk for long 8 kms. I could see that every member of e-Zest's team is really young and has a 'zest' for social thing.

In the evening we had an eye opener slide presentation screened from Rajendra's e-mail collection. Debanjan put our idea before team members and everybody has promised to observe Green Day every fortnight.

This initiative is in no way limited up to e-Zest. We would be happy if others pick up the thread and run similar initiatives at their own companies. World really needs to be green and if we do not do this now then tomorrow never comes. To keep it simple keep it green; just do it!

Thanks to Mandar, Vishant, Rakesh, Arya, Debanjan, Maithili, Shruti, Vijay & other 'Green Day' team members: e-Zest Prayas initiated Green Day concept at e-Zest from today. It will be fortnight activity & team members are expected to take green initiatives like Vehicle sharing, Bicycle riding to office, use of public transport, social plantation, etc.

Vishant wrote very beautiful e-mail to explain the concept about Green Day. Also he mentioned exciting plan to make it weekly affair & extend it outside e-Zest as well.

So, I volunteered to ride Bicycle. It was great fun & lots of benefits either. Some of them are A)No need to carry driving licence B) Free of cost fat burning (no need to join those costly gym) C) You tend to become more genteel, as you know its better to be relaxed & let others overtake to you.

 I  liked one quote displayed as a part of internal campaign "In an underdeveloped country, don't drink the water; in a developed country, don't breathe the air" . I thought of extending it as ""In an underdeveloped country, don't drink the water; in a developed country, don't breathe the air & in an developing country like India, don't drink the water don't breathe the air as well"

Best wishes to everyone at e-Zest for green day. Let’s  together make this world better place for everyone.

It’s time to wake-up!

Keep it Simple | Keep it Green