July 7, 2018 in News

Aadhaar Virtual ID to be accepted from July. Here’s how to generate

Aadhaar Virtual ID to be accepted from July. Here’s how to generate

New Delhi: With the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) mandating the implementation of Virtual ID from 1 July, the way financial institutions have been verifying information about customers is going to change. Virtual ID is a 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. It can only be generated, replaced or revoked by the Aadhaar number holder. “It will not be possible to derive the Aadhaar number from the Virtual ID,” a circular issued by UIDAI in January said. There will only be one active and valid Virtual ID for an Aadhaar number at any given time.

How to generate Aadhaar Virtual ID?

Aadhaar number holders can generate Virtual ID from the UIDAI website, Aadhaar enrolment center or the mAadhaar app. All that the user needs to ensure is that their mobile phone number is linked with the Aadhaar database so that they can receive an OTP or one-time password to generate VID. The facility has been rolled out by UIDAI from 2 April.

Why has Aadhaar Virtual ID been introduced?

The move is part of UIDAI’s initiative to put in place multi-layered security to reinforce privacy protection for Aadhaar holders. Virtual IDs allow Aadhaar number holders to share VID instead of their Aadhaar number during authentication, thus reducing collection of Aadhaar numbers by various agencies, said a UIDAI circular.

How to use it?

The Virtual ID can be used for the purpose of authentication in the same way the Aadhaar number is used. As of now, when a customer has to authenticate himself/herself to avail financial services, he/she has to give the 12-digit Aadhaar number and an OTP that he/she receives on the mobile phone.

From 1 July, the customer will not be required to give the Aadhaar number, instead the 16-digit Virtual ID will be provided to the agency or company.

Where to use Aadhaar Virtual ID?

UIDAI has introduced two categories of an Authentication User Agency (AUA)—an entity engaged in providing Aadhaar-enabled services. Local AUA, which is the limited KYC category and a global AUA, which will have access to e-KYC using the Aadhaar number.

An AUA may be a government, public or a private legal agency registered in India which uses Aadhaar authentication services provided by UIDAI.

All banks-commercial banks, payment banks, regional banks, rural banks, cooperative banks, small finance banks; life insurance companies and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have been categorized as global AUAs whereas prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFCs), telecom operators and non-life insurance companies are amongst those classified as local AUAs.

This means that if you want to authenticate yourself to avail services of any of these local AUAs, you will have to use Aadhaar Virtual ID. However, the use of Virtual ID for availing services of global AUAs is optional for users.

However, the global AUAs too have been instructed to upgrade their systems to provide authentication services using Virtual ID, said UIDAI in a circular issued on 6 June.

According to an industry expert, who did not wish to be named,Aadhaar Virtual ID has been introduced as an alternate ID for protecting privacy of Aadhaar number, especially for online customers doing OTP based e-KYC and authentication.

“ However, the distinction between local and global AUAs needs more clarity especially when KYC regulation and specific use cases are driving the classification among entities getting Global and Local AUA licenses,” added the person.

July 5, 2018 in News

SURVEY: MAINSTREAM ADOPTION OF SDN, SD-WAN FINALLY ARRIVES

SURVEY: MAINSTREAM ADOPTION OF SDN, SD-WAN FINALLY ARRIVES

The top IT initiatives of enterprise network managers are cloud and software-defined data centers, overcoming server virtualization’s dominance for the past 10 years, according to Enterprise Management Associates.

In 2018, for the first time cloud and software-defined data-center concerns have become the primary focus of enterprise network teams, bumping server virtualization from the top spot, according to an Enterprise management Associates (EMA) report based on a survey of 251 North American and European enterprise network managers

This is the first shift in their priorities for in more than a decade. Since 2008, EMA has been asking network managers to identify the broad IT initiatives that drive their priorities. Server virtualization has dominated their responses year after year. Cloud and software-defined data center (SDDC) architectures have always been secondary or tertiary drivers.

In 2018, this pattern has finally broken, according to EMA’s “Network Management Megatrends 2018” research. This shift in drivers is also leading to mainstream focus on software-defined networking (SDN), network virtualization and software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN).

Server virtualization and workload consolidation

Before there was vCloud, OpenStack, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or even ESXi, there was simply VMware ESX. At its outset, VMware’s server-virtualization technology allowed enterprises to run more than one application on an x86 host, which allowed data center operators to consolidate workloads onto a smaller number of servers. Virtualization allowed enterprises to remove hardware, save rack space and drive efficiency in power and cooling. Virtualization also facilitated the decomposition of monolithic applications into multi-tiered application architectures, where different layers of an application could run on separate virtual machines.

This consolidation of workloads and the decomposition of applications that followed had profound impacts on networks. Bandwidth demand at the server access layer expanded, and the amount of traffic traveling east-west between servers exploded. Network engineers have spent the last decade reacting to this, building flatter, leaf-spine networks and replacing spanning tree protocol with equal-cost multi-pathing schemes.

That is why network managers have told EMA over and over again since 2008 that the broad IT initiative that most drives networking is server virtualization by a wide margin.

2018: software-defined and cloud architectures

While server virtualization remains influential on networking in 2018 (35% of network managers), it is no longer the top driver. This year, several other initiatives moved into a virtual tie with it, which indicates that mainstream enterprises are asking the network to support next-generation technologies. EMA asked network managers to identify all broad IT initiatives that were driving their priorities. The top driver in 2018 is SDDC architecture (37%). Other leading initiatives are infrastructure as a service (35%) and private cloud architecture (35%). Note that all these newly influential initiatives are ideas that draw on server virtualization as a foundational technology.

This data suggests an inflection point. For years, technology companies anxious to sell next-generation solutions have claimed this inflection point had already arrived, despite limited supporting evidence. Finally, EMA sees this shift in the numbers. Network managers are turning their focus away from east-west traffic optimization in the data center to programmable, software-defined technologies.

SDN and SD-WAN finally have their day

Network teams will naturally adopt new technologies to support these next-generation initiatives, and EMA research affirms this. In 2014 and 2016, network managers told us that network security and WAN optimization were the two most important networking initiatives they were dealing with.

Security is always a major concern, since the threat landscape is always evolving and challenging the security team. But WAN optimization is by no means a technology of the future. Its popularity always suggested that enterprises were focused on extracting more value out of their high-priced and bandwidth-constrained MPLS networks.

Network teams tasked with supporting cloud and SDDC architecture need to expand their technology focus. This year’s Megatrends research found just that. Network security (43%) remains at the top of the list, but data center SDN (40%), network virtualization (37%) and SD-WAN (36%) are near the top of the list. In previous years they were afterthoughts.

This shift in priorities suggests that mainstream enterprises are at last focused on these solutions after years of hype. Data center SDN and network virtualization are essential to private cloud and SDDC initiatives. They make the network more dynamic, agile and programmatic. Meanwhile, SD-WAN brings many of the same benefits to the WAN, and it facilitates the connection of remote sites to public-cloud environments.

WAN optimization (36%) remains relevant, but the rise of SD-WAN suggests that a tectonic shift is happening in the WAN, since SD-WAN enables enterprises to supplement or replace MPLS with broadband internet.

(Shamus McGillicuddy is a senior analyst, network management, at Enterprise Management Associates and the author of the report “Network Management Megatrends 2018”.)

This story, “Survey: Mainstream adoption of SDN, SD-WAN finally arrives” was originally published by Network World.

June 29, 2018 in News

What Is Balance Transfer On Credit Card And How Can It Be Used?

What Is Balance Transfer On Credit Card And How Can It Be Used?

Credit Cards are merely not just plastic money any more, but offer you an array of credit facilities that make your life easier. One of these is the balance transfer facility which allows a card holder to clear his credit dues on one card by transferring them to another card. Let’s find out how this facility can be availed and whether it’s a suitable option for you.

What Is It?

Balance transfer facility available for select credit cards allows its holder to transfer a pending amount owed on one card to another card, provided the second card has a credit limit higher than the money owed.

Documents Required

Some premium card holders may not require any additional procedures or documentation to avail this facility but other cards may need to be supported with additional documents. These may be

• Credit card photocopies
• Last 3-6 credit card bill statements
• Address proof

Also banks do not mostly allow balance transfer to other cards issued by the same lender. Moreover, not all credit card holders can avail this facility even if they provide adequate documentation.

Should You Opt For It?

Although balance transfer is essentially moving debt from one card to the other, this option may help cardholders get out of circular debt cycles that keep growing worse due to compounding rates of interest. It is also a convenient way to get rid of accumulated credit card debt as compared to other means of paying back credit.

The process is quick which makes it easy for customers to avail and get rid of their pending dues and a buffer time is allocated to cardholders to pay off their outstanding amount. This period has zero or a very nominal rate of interest which you can find out from your bank before opting for the facility.

Things To Watch Out For

• While balance transfer is a convenient facility to use there are some key things to keep in mind when availing it.
• You can only transfer that amount to your new credit card which is within its credit limit
• One must be wary of processing fees. At times, the processing fees might be very high, making you shell out more than what you might have if you had continued with your existing card
• The lower interest rate for credit card balance is not applicable to new purchases as these transactions fall under standard interest rates offered by the credit card issuer
• Refrain from using your credit card until all balance transfer payments are paid and all subsequent charges are cleared
• Some lenders may offer an EMI mode of repaying your credit card balance when you opt for balance transfer. You need to check the interest rate as well as the terms and conditions and not blindly choose to do the transfer just because the option of instalments is being given.

Source by ndtv