June 2016
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Cloud Adoption
The four Cloud contact centre models CIOs need to consider to keep up with digital transformation
Trackable Smart Wallets Smart wallets prevent clients from ever losing their wallet or phone again Plus: Sailors’ Society Releases Free Wellness at Sea App for Seafarers - Premier League Top Invoice Payers Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
Welcome to the latest issue of Soft Tech Magazine. In this latest issue we turn the spotlight on some of the latest deals, appointments and developments in these vital markets. These include a handy guide from David Paulding, Regional Director UK & Middle East at Interactive Intelligence on cloud adoption and how CIOs can keep up with the rapid pace of digital transformation. H&Q Asia Pacific are moving into the technological hub of America, Silicon Valley. We examine the implications of this move, both for the firm and its industry peers. For clients prone to endlessly losing their wallet, TrackR, the creator of intelligent tracking devices and software applications, has partnered with Ekster to create the smallest, smartest trackable and secure RFID-blocking wallets. In addition, we showcase the new app for Seafarers and an innovative ecommerce platform for a UK based clothing firm, both of which highlight the creative nature of the market. We hope you enjoy this issue.
Contents 4. News 8. Cloud Adoption 10. Islington Based IP Expert 12. Leading Asian Private Equity Firm Moves Into Silicon Valley 14. Crypto-Ransomware 16. Swansea and Southampton Top Premier League of Invoice Payments 18. Ucopia Partners with Toluna to Provide Clients with Real-Time Survey Capability 20. Sailors’ Society Releases Free Wellness At Sea App 22. UK Printwear Triples Parcel Orders with Snaffle and Netdespatch 24. TrackR 26. Deals
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
News
MAPR UNVEILS NEW CONVERGE PARTNERS PROGRAM TO ADDRESS RECORD GLOBAL DEMAND MapR Technologies, Inc., provider of the industry’s only Converged Data Platform, has unveiled the MapR Converge Partners global program that will provide partners the technical and go-to-market resources necessary to jointly deliver outstanding customer experiences and address growing demand for the MapR Platform.
The Converge Partners program focuses on nurturing alliances worldwide with select consultancies, platform and software providers, resellers, and distributors.
Strong momentum in the past several months have continued in multiple regions with 100% growth in both the Americas and EMEA, and 140% growth in APAC. Hundreds of big data channel, system integration and technology companies with an established presence in these geographies have chosen to partner with MapR, adding breadth and depth to the MapR ecosystem.
The new Converge Partners program is comprised of three tiers: Affiliate, Preferred, and Elite. Benefits of this program include world-class enablement and strategic support with marketing and sales alignment for maximum joint ROI. The Affiliate Level is for new partners with demonstrated industry expertise. The Preferred Level is for established partners with regional presence and provides leading value-add and solution sets. The Elite Level is by invitation only and is represented by companies with significant global presence, a proven MapR track record, and companies that impact and provide industry standards.
“Earlier this year we shipped the new MapR Converged Data Platform, which serves as a single agile platform to unify data and provide the flexibility to easily adapt to emerging technologies and changing business conditions,” said Geneva Lake, vice president, worldwide alliances, MapR Technologies. “The industry recognizes that we provide a highly differentiated data platform and we have built up this worldwide alliance program to help our partners drive new revenue and accelerate big data deployments worldwide.”
The Converge Partners program is designed to help partners leverage production-ready converged data solutions for enabling their customers’ mission-critical, global real-time applications. Additionally, technology partners can receive product certification through detailed product evaluation and testing, which verifies interoperability with MapR. With a significantly expanded MapR ecosystem to leverage, customers can select certified products and solutions to lower project risks and realize cost savings over custom-built solutions.
The MapR Converged Data Platform is uniquely built from the ground up to integrate file, database and event streaming data in a single platform for storage, processing and analysis. The Platform ensures production success with an architecture designed specifically for business-critical applications, seamless data access, and the ability to run in real-time both operational and analytical processing and applications reliably on one platform.
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FLUENTA APPOINTS STEPHEN FOX AS EUROPEAN SALES MANAGER Fluenta, a global leader in ultrasonic measurement and management technology, today announces the appointment of Stephen Fox as European Sales Director. Fox will lead the European sales operation to extend Fluenta into the chemicals market. Before joining Fluenta, Fox has enjoyed a varied career with companies including Tyco, Voith and Hunt Thermal Technologies. Fox is experienced in process engineering, particularly the management of full engineering automation and he will use this experience to support Fluenta’s expansion beyond Oil & Gas into the chemical sector. Fox comments: “With an increasing focus on environmental issues, alongside growing concerns around quality there has never been a greater emphasis in the chemical market on the monitoring and measurement of flaring for rogue gases and particulates. As the proven leader in flare gas measurement and monitoring, Fluenta is uniquely placed to provide a robust and viable solution to the chemical market.” As more data can be stored and analysed in near real time, chemicals companies are looking for granular information from sites that can help deliver insight into improved production and reduced cost. Fluenta’s range of ultrasonic Flare Gas Monitors are the most accurate on the market and, with the launch of the new Fluenta 160X monitor earlier in 2016 the company has a product with the temperature range to effectively service the chemicals market. “Big data is being applied by large chemicals companies to drive increased insight, not only into wastage but also to drive efficiencies in production and quality management,” continued Fox. “The need for continuous and accurate measurement has therefore never been more relevant.” Sigurd Aase, CEO of Fluenta, comments: “Fluenta’s product portfolio is now highly suited to measurement and monitoring within the chemicals industry and Stephen will play an important role in helping us exploit this new market. His experience, not only in Europe but also in Asia and North Africa, will help Fluenta globalise its chemicals market offering.”
PIXEL UNION JOINS THE SHOPIFY PLUS PARTNER PROGRAM Digital Experience Design Agency Pixel Union Partners with Leading Commerce Software Provider Shopify Plus, Helping to Create New Shopify Plus Partner Program Pixel Union, a Canada-based digital experience design agency, has been named as a strategic partner for Shopify Plus. Shopify Plus selected Pixel Union as an expert, due to their extensive experience working with Shopify Plus merchants to build digital experiences, and their history in developing exceptional themes for the Shopify ecosystem. “We’re excited to welcome Pixel Union to the new Shopify Plus Partner Program,” says Loren Padelford, General Manager of Shopify Plus. “Their track record with Shopify, and improving the customer experience for their clients was a key factor in having them be a launch partner.” Since 2011, Pixel Union has worked closely with Shopify to redefine what a best-in-class ecommerce experience should be, earning a reputation as one of the foremost experts in the space. Pixel Union themes have helped over 10,000 brands grow their businesses online, so the transition to a new role as a Shopify Plus Expert, where they can help merchants develop custom solutions for their online stores, was a natural one. “The tools, features and integrations that come standard with Shopify Plus are fantastic for a digital agencies like ours. We’re able to launch a site two to three times faster compared to legacy ecommerce platforms like Magento, allowing us to generate traffic and sales for our clients way ahead of their expectations,” says Ben Moore, CEO of Pixel Union. “The built-in integrations and analytics tools then let us continue helping those clients grow, optimize the experience and drive growth for their business.” Shopify Plus was designed for high growth, high volume merchants, with a mission to eliminate the headaches and hassles associated with managing traditional enterprise applications. Instead of worrying about uptime, trying to integrate other operational software, or discovering numerous hidden fees, Shopify Plus provides the intuitive, powerful and reliable infrastructure required for growth, for a low monthly fee. With these technological and operational concerns out of the way, merchants and marketers can take advantage of integrated features and tools for long-term business growth. “We’ve already seen a ton of success for our clients using the platform,” says Moore. “We’re excited to be in a position to help more brands and businesses take advantage of everything Plus has to offer.”
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
News
SOFTWARE AG LAUNCHES NEW APAMA COMMUNITY EDITION Community Edition enables developers to build streaming analytics applications and go into production for free.
Software AG has announced the availability of Apama Community Edition, a free version of the Apama Streaming Analytics platform, that enables developers to download the Apama software, build streaming analytics applications and put those applications into production. Apama Community Edition contains most of the functionality and features of the premium version and enables developers to run small-scale projects and applications.
Streaming Analytics is fundamental to enterprises deriving maximum knowledge, value, contextual insights, and competitive advantage from the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT). Continuous analytics on streaming data can be performed to identify business patterns, which have happened or are about to happen. Visualizations and visual analytics for business users support both human-oriented and automated intelligent actions.
Coupled with the release of Apama Community Edition, Software AG has also started a new online community for customers, prospects and advocates to interact and engage. The Apama team will share a wealth of experience on best practices and tips from their experience supporting and developing Apama over the years, as well as how to solve different, disparate business problems and getting the most from the software. The new community can be found here.
The Apama platform has always been a leader in the event processing and streaming analytics market and its continued innovation allows enterprises to leverage real-time insights to identify and act on opportunities to stay ahead of the competition. As the world’s number one big data streaming analytics platform, Apama has more than 150 deployments in Fortune 500 companies. It is also used in a variety of commercial applications globally including real time visibility in manufacturing ERP systems, customer experience management, and market surveillance and risk management.
Apama is the market-leading platform for streaming analytics and intelligent, automated decision-making on fast-moving Big Data. It combines event processing, messaging, in-memory data management and visualization and is the most comprehensive platform for managing vast, fast-moving data streams and turning meaningful insight into action.
Dr. Giles Nelson continued: “We’re developing a new release every six months, which makes Apama the most comprehensive and competitive platform in the market for building applications that monitor, analyze and act on vast, fast-moving data streams. Apama helps business analysts and developers monitor connected devices in the ‘Internet of Things’, operate across Cloud or on premise IT deployments, and, include predictive analytics.
Dr. Giles Nelson, senior vice president of Product Strategy and Marketing, Software AG, said: “We have purposely made Apama easy for business analysts and developers to benefit from big data streaming analytics in real-time. And with this Community Edition version, we have now made it even easy for anyone to learn. We believe passionately in the benefits of event processing and streaming analytics and we want everyone to be able to build and deploy commercially at zero cost.”
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TRAFFIC ENCRYPTION SPARKS GLOBAL GROWTH FOR PROCERA Procera tops 100 million ContentLogic subscriber licenses across 40 major network deployments. Procera Networks today revealed the key role it’s playing in helping major network operators to combat the challenges faced by encryption. The company’s ContentLogic traffic identification software has reached 100 million subscriber licenses over the past four years, and is now being used by more than 40 mainstream customers around the world after being deployed across large fixed, mobile, Wi-Fi, and higher education networks. ContentLogic is the constantly evolving database that’s a vital part of Procera’s encryption fighting methods, and is deployed alongside the company’s PacketLogic technology. It identifies internet traffic according to predetermined categories and customer-defined lists, and can recognize content by web traffic or application even when encrypted. The fact that it’s now reached 100 million subscriber licenses shows how major network players are increasingly finding themselves needing more advanced content management and filtering technologies in the age of widespread encryption. ContentLogic is already being used by customers worldwide to enforce parental controls and block access to sites containing questionable material. Other use cases include letting EMEA and North American operators meet regulatory compliance by controlling network access to certain types of content, particularly those governed by the Internet Watch Foundation and Child Internet Protection Act. ContentLogic also supports network security, filtering out phishing traffic or dangerous sites before subscribers reach them through the Anti-Phishing Workgroup Database. “ContentLogic is giving the network visibility back that was lost following the rise of widespread encryption in recent years,” said Alexander Havang, CTO at Procera Networks. “It’s become a onestop shop for operators looking to quickly and easily expand their network intelligence capabilities while also meeting the various laws and regulations around content access.” Beyond these use cases, ContentLogic has a part to play in managing the overall Quality of Experience. By having a clear picture of what traffic is crossing the network and what applications and services are being used, operators can adopt filtering and policy controls to ensure a consistent high quality experience for high-value content. For this reason, ContentLogic is being used to help operators introduce new revenue generating and value-added services too. ContentLogic also simplifies the zero rating of content like social networking sites for operators that want to add value to classes of content rather than specific application, as specified in the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) recent European Union’s Network Neutrality draft regulations.
ZYLPHA’S LATEST BUNDLING SYSTEM ADDS EASY INTEGRATION WITH SHAREPOINT & E-DISCOVERY PLATFORMS Zylpha, the UK’s leading legal technology innovator has announced the latest version of its bundling technology which reduces the time taken to create document bundles from hours to minutes. Pride of place amongst a host of new features included is a new SharePoint integration. This has been designed specifically to recognise and work with the different ways that SharePoint can be set up between legal practices. This latest version also now includes extensive import and export functionality for Microsoft Excel. This is especially useful where users seek to combine Zylpha bundles with eDiscovery platforms. A range of enhanced data accessibility options has also been incorporated. This includes icon based file management that enables users to identify file issues easily, including password protection or outstanding file requirements that need attention. Commenting on the new version Nigel Spicer, Zylpha’s Head of Development noted, “To a great degree our development is driven by our success across an ever broader range of bundling requirements. In this case, we have recognized and met the demand from SharePoint and E-Discovery users. This user led evolution of features and functionality works extremely well, as it continuously expands the appeal of our software to a greater variety of organisations. We are confident, therefore, that this latest version will be greeted with exceptionally strong demand both from traditional practice sectors and key inhouse operations such local authority legal services teams.”
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The cloud-based contact centre market is expected to grow from $4.68 billion in 2015 to $14.7 billion by 2020. That’s a CAGR of 25.7 percent.
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CLOUD ADOPTION The four Cloud contact centre models CIOs need to consider to keep up with digital transformation 47 years ago, J.C.R. Licklider had a vision that the entire world could be connected through an “intergalactic computer network”, allowing users to access programs and data from any site, from anywhere and at any time. Today, this vision has evolved into a reality, and echoes similarities to what we call “cloud computing.” Cloud computing is a massively growing market, particularly among contact centres. In fact, the cloud-based contact centre market is expected to grow from $4.68 billion in 2015 to $14.7 billion by 2020. That’s a CAGR of 25.7 percent. Contrast that to most analyst forecasts of on-premises contact centre growth at about 4 percent over the same period (and declining). This massive shift to the cloud has presented a dizzying array of contact centre options for CIOs. And one size does not fit all when it comes to cloud customer engagement solutions. Underlying architectures vary greatly and have major implications relative to security, availability, functionality, customisation, speed and innovation. The following are four cloud architectures and their associated attributes. 1. Private Cloud This model appeals to those wanting certain cloud benefits -- increased agility, virtualized operations, economies of scale, and a more simplified, manageable IT environment -- but either aren’t ready, or simply don’t want to move to a public cloud model. It also appeals to those requiring the highest level of customization. 2. Single Tenant Public Cloud Unlike private clouds, public clouds support multiple customers on common platforms. What’s unique about the single tenant model is that each customer has its own separate virtual instance of the contact centre application. This provides a highly secure environment, the freedom to customize applications, and control over the timing of updates – outside of busy seasons, for example. This model appeals to organizations with highly stringent security, compliance, functionality, customization and control requirements. 3. Monolithic Multitenant Public Cloud Originally designed for cost-conscious contact centres with basic needs over 10 to 15 years ago, these older cloud solutions require that multiple customers use a single monolithic contact centre application. This means they offer limited innovation, scale and reliability. A failure in one area can have a devastating impact in other areas, resulting in service outages
for many or even all customers. This model appeals to companies with less mission-critical centres and moderate functionality requirements. 4. Microservice Multitenant Public Cloud Revolutionary new contact centre cloud platforms are emerging that divide applications into hundreds of independent microservices that are distributed across massive public cloud infrastructures such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). One microservice might handle outbound dialling, while another routes incoming customer calls. A failure in one microservice has no impact on the other, providing unsurpassed reliability. Microservices are independently scaled to dynamically adjust to any area needing more resources. New and improved microservices are continuously added to the mix, with zero downtime, providing rapid innovation and modern user experiences. Gone are the days of 12 to 18-month upgrade cycles. Code pushes are made weekly and sometimes daily. Applications built on these modern microservice (or Cloud 2.0) platforms are quick to deploy, simple to use and easily learnable. This model appeals to contact centres whose priority is delivering the most innovative functionality as fast as possible – together with uncompromised reliability and security, and the ability to cost-effectively scale up and down quickly. As is clear from the above, each architecture is very different. The future is definitely moving in the direction of the microservice cloud model. That’s because contact centres are increasingly being driven to innovate and adapt faster. With digital disruption in full swing, they face a choice: disrupt or be disrupted. What’s imperative for CIOs to understand is that many monolithic multitenant solutions are being marketed as modern 2.0 cloud platforms. That’s far from the truth. The only way to deliver a true 2.0 cloud platform is to develop it from scratch using a microservice architecture and modern cloud technologies and methods. Don’t be fooled. Look under the hood and ensure your vendor has done the hard work that needs to be done – typically, a total re-start. Ultimately, while not all contact centres can immediately throw out their existing systems, they must start evaluating and incorporating modern cloud architecture. The good news is that validation and initial progress can be achieved quickly as these services are relatively inexpensive, fast to deploy, and easy to use. Global digital disruption is upon us. CIOs must choose: reinvent your contact centre now, or wait and risk obsolescence.
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
ISLINGTONBASED IP EXPERT What Oracle V Google Teaches Business Owners about IP Law The digital revolution is redefining businesses. Companies that were once confined to marketing to a local audience now have the potential to operate international business from little more than a mobile set up.
However, the simplicity involved in starting up online can be a trap for the unwary says Shireen Smith, Intellectual Property (IP) law expert of Islington-based law firm Azrights.
the US ruling is one that you would need to heed if you wanted to use an API. “The upshot is that you may need permission from the owner of a platform if you want to create another system which is compatible with it, for example Facebook. The legal protection of computer software is a complex and fast-paced area of law.”
One area that Shireen believes needs more legal attention is business concepts that require setting up a social media platform. Social media platforms are experiencing exponential growth, with 72% of UK internet users now having a social media profile in 2015 according to Ofcom research.
With regards to other social media platforms, ‘tropicalisation’ is an occurrence that has been significant in China and Brazil. The term refers to the practice of investing in start-ups which take an established business model and adapt it to an emerging market – a feat that is easily achievable in today’s digital economy.
And success can turn a penniless business into one valued at almost £300 million in a year, like that of US-based app YikYak.
“Examples include Peixe Urbano, a Brazilian clone of ‘daily-deal’ site Groupon, Weibo the Chinese Twitter-like microblogging platform, RenRen the Chinese version of Facebook, Baidu the Chinese take on Google and Alibaba a Chinese copy of eBay.
“Firms may want to interface with other sites in order to access media. This involves knowing about your legal position when using an Application Programming Interface, or API for short. Put simply, an API is a language a programmer can use to talk to a system.
“From an IP perspective there are few legal barriers to this tactic. The law does not protect bare business models. Elements of a business model might be protected. A patent can sometimes protect the technology, copyright can protect the expression of a concept, designs can protect the aesthetic aspects and trademarks protect business and product names.”
“The law in this area is constantly evolving and with the web design and development industry being unregulated, it is crucial to seek legal advice.” Oracle and Google have had an ongoing legal dispute concerning APIs since 2012, which Shireen discusses in her new book Intellectual Property Revolution published by Rethink Press.
Shireen sums up by saying “Securing a range of intellectual property rights in different elements can combine to provide the most powerful protection as each IP right protects you in subtly different ways and situations.”
“Google made use of Oracle’s API and the question concerned whether the API was protected by copyright. If so, then Google was not free to make use of it without Oracle’s permission.
A video which was especially commissioned for Azrights and can be found here and explains further how the digital economy is changing IP.
“The courts ruled that APIs are in fact protected by copyright in the US. According to the US-based digital rights group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, this gives tech firms ‘unprecedented and dangerous power’ over developers by making it substantially more difficult for upstarts to create new software.”
‘Intellectual Property Revolution’ by Shireen Smith is available from Amazon and is priced at £12.99. The book contains expert advice for businesses on how to successfully manage IP assets, protect brands and add value to businesses in the digital economy. It is written in plain English and is intended for use by business owners and ‘brand guardians’.
Shireen Smith continues: “Although it would be interesting to have a ruling from the EU on the same facts, given that most APIs that you might want to use are US-based,
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LEADING ASIAN PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM MOVES INTO SILICON VALLEY H&Q Asia Pacific acquires 260,000 Square feet class A office complex in Silicon Valley from Hudson Pacific Properties for its Global Innovation Centre. H&Q Asia Pacific, an international private equity firm, has announced the successful launch of its Global Innovation Centre initiative, simultaneously with an investment of US$100 million including $90m to acquire Bay Park Plaza in Burlingame (which has been renamed GIC Burlingame Bay), and $10m to develop and operate the GIC. GIC Burlingame Bay is a 260,000 square foot grade-A commercial real estate complex in the city of Burlingame, approximately ten minutes from San Francisco International Airport.
The GIC Burlingame Bay site will be a hub for technology companies from around the world and will offer its members and tenants the opportunity to benefit from the disruptive technology innovation, entrepreneurial experience, and human capital of the Silicon Valley through a platform of advisory services, programs, and commercial and strategic partnership opportunities. The acquisition of GIC Burlingame Bay from Hudson Pacific Properties follows an acquisition earlier this year of another commercial property in Burlingame as part of the GIC platform.
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Dr. Ta-lin Hsu, chairman and founder of H&Q Asia Pacific, commented on the new project and what it will mean for the firm. “I am very pleased to announce the next step in the development of the Global Innovation Center. This project represents the culmination of 30 years of cross-border technology investments by H&QAP and our portfolio of relationships with governments, technology parks, leading technology companies, financial and academic institutions and technology service providers. Our goal is to create a unique ecosystem to foster innovation and provide growing technology companies with access to crucial relationships and value-added services. H&QAP plans to continue exploring opportunities to develop Global Innovation Centers in other technology centers around the world.” Robert Shen, Managing Director of H&QAP, added his comment on the new site and how the project would affect development for the business. “The Global Innovation Center will be a platform for global technology companies, both big and small. We believe that this Class A commercial complex in Burlingame near San Francisco International Airport offers the best of the Silicon Valley with its history of innovation and San Francisco, which has become a new hub for technology, social media, biotech and mobile commerce. GIC will offer both superior returns as a multi-faceted, disruptive technology park as well as create technology investment opportunities for H&QAP’s various funds. I believe this is a significant development in the evolution of H&QAP and Dr. Hsu’s vision for technology migration and innovation.”
H&Q Asia Pacific, which was founded by Dr. Hsu in 1986, currently operates six offices around the Asia Pacific region and has 30 years of experience in venture capital and private equity investment in both the Silicon Valley and throughout Asia. The firm is credited with bringing US-style venture capital investing to Asia and played a significant role in developing various technology parks in Asia, including Taiwan’s Hsinchu Park and a large commercial complex in the Shenzhen Science Park. Since inception, H&QAP has invested in more than 700 companies through 26 funds with a total AUM of US$3.5bn. The company, which also operates offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Silicon Valley, Seoul and Taipei, invests across a variety of sectors, including technology, manufacturing, branded consumer products, financial services, media, healthcare and real estate. It is the company’s unique approach to the Asian market which has led to their vast success, which they aim to replicate in their new location. The firm uses investment professionals who are either local to the region or deeply entrenched in the culture and business landscape of their respective markets. As a result, H&QAP is often regarded as a local partner in the Asia Pacific region as evidenced by its long-standing presence in Japan, Korea, and North Asia. With over two decades of investment under this ingrained philosophy, H&QAP has earned itself a sterling reputation as a preferred partner in providing exceptional access to key decision-makers of global Asian corporations seeking to enter and establish operations in China; and conversely, help Chinese entrepreneurs and companies with their globalization plans beyond the China market. The company has found that this competitive advantage translates into an extremely well-positioned ability to identify and capture unique cross-border opportunities presented in Greater China and the Asia Pacific region.
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Attacks Rise Five-Fold To Hit Over 700,000 Users In One Year Kaspersky Lab has published its ransomware research report, which found a drastic increase in encryption ransomware attacks, with 718,536 users hit between April 2015 and March 2016. This is an increase of 5.5 times compared to the same period in 2014-2015, showing that crypto-ransomware has become an epidemic.
It is no secret that crypto-ransomware, which encrypts data on users’ systems has become a huge problem for cybersecurity over the last few years. In order to accurately understand its scale, Kaspersky Lab has researched how this malware threat has evolved over a period of 24 months. The company’s analysis includes attack statistics for classic screen-blocker ransomware as well as crypto-ransomware. The report covers a full two-year period, which for comparison reasons has been divided into two parts of 12 months each: from April 2014 to March 2015 and from April 2015 to March 2016. Key findings: • The total number of users encountering any type of ransomware between April 2015 and March 2016 increased by 17.7% compared to the period April 2014 to March 2015 – from 1,967,784 to 2,315,931 users around the world • The number of users attacked with crypto-ransomware rose 5.5 times, from 131,111 in 2014-2015 to 718,536 in 2015-2016 • The share of users encountering ransomware at least once as a proportion of the total number of users encountering malware rose 0.7 percentage points, from 3.63% in 2014-2015 to 4.34% in 2015-2016 • The share of users encountering crypto-ransomware as a proportion of those encountering ransomware rose dramatically – up 25 percentage points, from 6.6% in 2014-2015 to 31.6% in 2015-2016 • The number of users attacked with blockers (ransomware that locks screens) decreased by 13.03%, from 1,836,673 in 2014-2015 to 1,597,395 in 2015-2016 • The United States, Germany, and Italy are the countries with the highest percentage of users attacked with encryption ransomware. “The biggest problem with crypto-ransomware today is that sometimes the only way to get the encrypted data back is to pay the criminals, and victims tend to pay. That brings a lot of money into the underground ecosystem that has grown up around this malware, and as a result we are seeing new cryptors appear almost daily,” said Fedor Sinitsyn, senior malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab. “Companies and regular users can protect themselves by implementing regular backups, using a proven security solution and keeping themselves informed about current cybersecurity risks. The ransomware business model seems to be profitable and safe for criminals, and the security industry and users can change that just by implementing these basic measures,” he added.
Crypto-ransomware is a dangerous type of malware, and Kaspersky Lab recommends the following ways to protect yourself or your organization against this threat. Tips to consumers: • Use a reliable security solution. When using it do not turn off the advanced security features which it most certainly has. Usually these are features that enable the detection of new ransomware based on its behavior. • Back-up is a must. The sooner back-up becomes yet another rule in your day-to-day PC activity, the sooner you will become invulnerable to any kind of ransomware. • Keep the software on your PC up-to-date. Most widely-used applications (Flash, Java, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office) and operating systems (like Windows) have an automatic updates feature. Keep it turned on, and don’t ignore requests from these applications for the installation of updates. • Keep an eye on files you download from the Internet and receive via email, especially from untrusted sources. Make sure downloaded content has the right extension and has successfully passed the checks run by the protection solution on your PC. • If, for some reason your files are encrypted with ransomware and you are asked to a pay a ransom, don’t pay. Look to see if a decryption tool has been created for the kind of ransomware you’ve been attacked with and also report the attack to police in order to start an investigation. Tips to businesses: • Use a reliable, corporate-grade security solution and undertake regular patch management. • Make sure to back up files often. If it is technically impossible to back-up all the files you have in the corporate network, choose the most critical (accounting documents, clients’ data, legal documents etc.), isolate them and back-up regularly. • Educate your personnel: very often the ransomware infection happens due to a lack of knowledge about common cyberthreats and the methods criminals use to infect their victims. • Avoid paying a ransom and report the attack to police.
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
SWANSEA AND SOUTHAMPTON TOP PREMIER LEAGUE OF INVOICE PAYMENTS Ormsby Street analysis reveals the payment performance and credit risk of premier league football teams Swansea City and Southampton are the two best teams in the English Premier League when it comes to paying invoices on time and having a good credit rating with their suppliers.
“For the most part, English Premier League teams pay on time, but credit-checking customers and partners is something that every small business should do as a matter of course,” continued Martin Campbell. “Late payment threatens a small business’ ability to grow and sometimes even survive. When Portsmouth FC faced financial difficulties a few years ago, there were many small businesses in the area that ended up not getting paid so there is a clear precedent for not letting local loyalty get in the way of sound business insight.”
Data analysis by fintech startup Ormsby Street, the company behind free credit-checking tool, CreditHQ, showed the two teams ahead of more successful on-pitch rivals, important information when most football clubs number hundreds of local small businesses among their suppliers. Small businesses wait an average of 72 days for payment of invoices, while 2015 Ormsby Street figures showed the average overdue invoice to a small business was worth £6,142. The Payment Premier League was compiled by combining figures for payment performance and credit risk.
CreditHQ is a free online tool that allows a small business to check the credit status, payment performance and general financial health of any customer or partner. It takes credit data from Companies House and major credit data supplier Dun & Bradstreet and presents the analysis via a simple traffic light ratings system. The traffic lights show clearly the level of risk associated with the company in question, with users are given two different ratings, one addressing credit risk and the other payment performance.
“If a small business wins a contract with their local football team then it is easy to let the heart rule the head, and just go ahead with the work regardless – people love the idea of working for the team they support,” said Martin Campbell. “But our analysis shows that just because a team is good on the pitch, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they will be as strong when it comes to paying invoices on time. Not every business is as efficient as Swansea and Southampton are at paying invoices to local businesses on time.”
“Late invoice payment is a blight on small business in the UK,” concluded Martin Campbell. “Many larger companies do not pay when they should so, so small businesses must protect themselves against this by learning more about the financial health of their customers.” For any small business with concerns about a customer’s ability to pay on time, Ormsby Street recommends the following measures: • Stay on top of your invoice process to get invoices out on time. • Follow up before the invoices are due. • Chase invoices when due and always charge interest on overdue invoices (or issue a letter of intent). • Review payment terms for this company, including payment up front if you are really worried about the impact of late payment. • For major concerns about a customer’s financial health, don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal.
“Winning a major contract with any sizeable local company is a big deal for a small business, but few would think to run a credit check. Yet the average time for a small business to be paid is 72 days, a period of time which could be seriously problematic for a small business, if the figures involved were big enough.” Sunderland and Crystal Palace prop up the payment premier league, meaning small businesses should be more mindful when trading with those teams. There was insufficient data around payment performance for West Ham United, Watford and West Bromwich Albion to be included in the final table, although Watford’s credit rating of two out of ten suggested that it would be bottom of the league should data have been available.
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UCOPIA PARTNERS WITH TOLUNA TO PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH REAL-TIME SURVEY CAPABILITY UCOPIA, the market-leading European vendor of WiFi access management, analytics & marketing announces its partnership with Toluna, a leading provider of on-demand, real-time digital consumer insights.
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The partnership provides UCOPIA clients with the ability to get direct, real-time feedback from their Wi-Fi users via Toluna’s integrated insight platform, and obtain deeper insight into what users think, feel and do. Users can also leverage Toluna’s global survey community of 9+ million respondents to access opinions of non-Wi-Fi customers. “We are delighted to partner with Toluna as it makes great sense for UCOPIA customers” said Didier Plateau, CEO, UCOPIA. “Indeed, one of our main focus for these past four years has been Wi-Fi Analytics and Marketing. Wi-Fi Analytics as we offer our clients the opportunity to get to know their end users and collect useful business-oriented data on the profile and behaviour of their customers. And Wi-Fi Marketing as we want to help them in the use of that data. Collecting data is not an end, it’s part of a whole Marketing journey where our clients can engage with their end users. And that is exactly what we are offering: data and a direct access to the targeted audience!” And adding “Our partnership with Toluna is a great extension of our offer. Now our clients can build surveys and collect feedback from their customers. They get to know them, engage with them and gain insight into customer experience. This is a real advantage to build their business strategy.”
“We are pleased to partner with UCOPIA. Providing real-time access to customer feedback is a must” says Frederic-Charles Petit, CEO, Toluna. “We’ve designed our DIY survey and analytics platform, so that partners like UCOPIA can obtain real-time insight seamlessly – globally. They’ll have ready access to survey respondents, in addition to best-in-class reporting, analysis and visualization tools all within a single user interface – all without leaving the UCOPIA platform. Toluna makes real-time research real.” UCOPIA develops solutions enabling a secure and seamless connection to public and private Wi-Fi networks. UCOPIA is a complete, highly scalable solution to manage tens of thousands of Wi-Fi concurrent access while offering Analytics and Marketing Services. UCOPIA’s Wi-Fi Analytics functionality enables the collection of users’ interests to better define future marketing campaigns that can be personalised on the Wi-Fi Marketing tool to best engage with end-users and enhance their digital experience. 12,000+ UCOPIA solutions have been deployed serving various industries including enterprise, public venues, retail, government organizations and more.
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
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SAILORS’ SOCIETY Releases Free Wellness At Sea App For Seafarers New app puts health and well-being at sea in the hands of seafarers
Sailors’ Society, one of the largest seafarer support charities operating internationally, has launched Wellness at Sea app, a free app for seafarers. Wellness at Sea app is the next step in Sailors’ Society improving on board health and well-being at sea and puts seafarers’ wellness in their own hands. Sandra Welch, Sailors’ Society’s deputy chief executive, said:
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Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea coaching programme has been well received by the industry and we were keen to take it to the next level by putting the tools to enhance and monitor well-being in the hands of seafarers themselves. The Wellness at Sea app is a fun and interactive way for seafarers to improve wellness whilst providing practical information including local maritime welfare services and ship tracking data.
With interactive challenges on each of the five elements of Wellness at Sea - Social, Emotional, Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual - users receive daily feedback enabling them to monitor their progress. The app also holds port directories and contact details for services offered by maritime welfare organisations including Apostleship of the Sea, Mission to Seafarers, NAMMA and Sailors’ Society, and enables users to track their journey and know their ETA using MarineTraffic AIS data. The Wellness at Sea app seeks to combat issues such as fatigue, poor mental health and stress which affect seafarers on a daily basis and can be the difference between safe transit and a major incident. The app is Android and iPhone compatible. To download, search for Wellness at Sea. For more information on Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea programme, visit www. sailors-society.org/wellness Sailors’ Society aims to transform the lives of seafarers and their families at home, in port and at sea through the delivery of chaplaincy, education and the relief of poverty and distress. The charity works internationally to provide practical, emotional and spiritual welfare support to the world’s 1.5m seafarers, regardless of background or faith. Sailors’ Society chaplains and ship visitors have a presence in 85 global ports, with wider projects and services covering 26 countries.
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Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
UK PRINTWEAR TRIPLES PARCEL ORDERS WITH SNAFFLE AND NETDESPATCH Simplified carrier integration and automated eCommerce platform builds confidence and revenue for retailers, saving man hours and unnecessary fulfilment costs
Bespoke promotional clothing company, UK Printwear has doubled their turnover overnight after implementing a joint NetDespatch and Snaffle solution.
lessly integrate with carriers such as Royal Mail, APC Overnight and Yodel, printing the correct labels and producing any shipping documentation required, all of which are produced without the need for manual intervention or any data re-entry.
Mark Stanhope, Director of UK Printwear, comments: “Before using Snaffle’s Despatch Cloud ecommerce platform, we were completing up to 130 orders per day, picking, printing and packing orders, and then manually updating the on-line web orders as dispatched and e-mailing our customers with their tracking details. This was very time consuming, taking around 12 man-hours every day.”
Matthew Dunne, Director at Snaffle comments: “In the three months that we have been working with NetDespatch, these new integrations have made a big impact on our company and we’ve not looked back. We are signing up new customers every week, and the NetDespatch solution has allowed our clients to quickly integrate with carriers, including Royal Mail and APC Overnight, in just a couple of days as opposed to six weeks.
“Now using Snaffle, integrated with the NetDespatch solution, we can pick, print and pack an order in under four minutes, enabling us to get many more orders through the door. As a result we have more than doubled our output to around 300 orders daily, with the existing staffing levels. Our turnover has doubled overnight and we are able to offer a much faster and more affordable service. End to end business has improved dramatically, and without this automated process, we would not be able to meet growing customer demand.”
This successful partnership has enabled Snaffle to not only provide a comprehensive management and despatch system for its client base, but grow its business, expanding staff numbers to cope with the customer demand for the platform. “Implementing these types of ecommerce solutions is a game changer for any retailer, such as UK Printwear. That said automating solutions can be very daunting, especially when you have previously been used to manually picking and packing items. The quick integration times have enabled our customers to get behind and gain confidence in our ecommerce solution. In terms of Snaffle itself, since we started using the NetDespatch solution we have saved weeks of development time, giving us the ability to concentrate on our core skills as a business, and dedicate more support towards our customers.”
Snaffle has recently joined the NetDespatch Partner Programme, allowing its customers, such as UK Printwear, to immediately see the benefits the integrated solution brings to retailers. Snaffle’s eCommerce solution, Despatch Cloud, is designed to save online retailers time and money. The automated solution despatches ecommerce orders, drastically reducing retailers’ time to pick and pack orders. Integration with the NetDespatch solution, allows Snaffle customers using the Despatch Cloud product to seam-
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TRACKR Announces Works with TrackR Partnership with Ekster to Create Trackable Smart Wallets Smart wallets prevent clients from ever losing their wallet or phone again
TrackR, the creator of intelligent tracking devices and software applications, announces a partnership with Ekster to create the smallest, smartest trackable and secure RFID-blocking wallets. The new Ekster smart wallets integrate TrackR technology into the ultra-slim, leather design for effortless tracking. The Ekster wallet pairs with the TrackR app to allow for two-way ringing, custom separation alerts and the world’s largest Crowd GPS network to recover wallets lost or misplaced outside of Bluetooth range. These wallets also offer the fastest card-access mechanism on the market and RFID blocking technology to prevent wireless theft.
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When a wallet is as small as the Ekster smart wallets, it makes it easier to misplace. That is why we chose to embed TrackR’s market leading technology into our wallets,
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The Works with TrackR platform is a complete SDK and partnership platform that allows companies to build trackable products and utilise the scale of TrackR’s Crowd GPS network for locating items worldwide. Additional companies already part of the Works with TrackR platform include: HP, Cross and Mezzi. Ekster smart wallets are now available for on Indiegogo. Pricing starts at $99 for the Senate model and $109 for the Parliament model in either coffee brown, napa, black, steel blue or cognac leather. The first wallets are slated to ship in June 2016. Please visit Indiegogo for all of the details. TrackR is a Santa Barbara, CA-based startup company founded in 2009 by Chris Her-bert and Christian Johan Smith, whose mission is to completely automate the process of personal organization and item management. TrackR’s innovative technologies — app software, cloud databases and wireless devices — redefine personal organization by transferring the task of remembering where all of your items are to your smartphone. Most recently, TrackR was named #155 on Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Companies in America. TrackR has received investments from Brad Feld of the Foundry Group, Amazon, Inkwell, and Orange. Today, TrackR is a leader in the IoT space helping users track and manage their items in an intuitive way. With TrackR, your search is over.
says Ekster co-founder Oliver Momma. Ekster is the latest company to build TrackR technology into an everyday item, allowing the TrackR platform and services to become more accessible to consumers, with or without TrackR hardware. “The Works with TrackR platform is a big step towards no longer having to attempt to remember where items are, but having computers remember where every item is locat-ed for us,” says TrackR CEO, Chris Herbert.
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
Deals COMPLETION OF THE ACQUISITION OF MINDWALK STUDIOS
ACQUISITIONS OF ASCENSION SOFTWARE AND ELEVEN BUSINESS CENTER DIVISION
Keywords Studios, the international technical services provider to the global video games industry, is pleased to confirm that it has now successfully completed the acquisition (“the acquisition”) of the business and assets of Mindwalk Studios Inc and Mindwalk Studios Ltd (together referred to as “Mindwalk” or “the Sellers”).
NASHVILLE, Tenn.–Nashville-based Uniguest (www. uniguest.com), the hospitality industry’s leading provider of secure and fully managed guest-facing technologies, completed two acquisitions today in a bold move to grow its hospitality market leadership and expand its opportunity in associated markets requiring customer or guest connectivity.
Consideration for the acquisition has been satisfied by an initial $3.4 million in cash for the net assets and goodwill of Mindwalk. A further $0.5m of deferred cash consideration will be due upon the third anniversary of the acquisition. In addition, 513,189 new ordinary shares in Keywords will be issued to the Sellers on the second anniversary of the completion of the acquisition.
Nashville-based Uniguest acquired Ascension Software, Inc. and the hospitality business center division of Eleven, Inc. Each of these companies bring synergistic technologies and expertise to the Uniguest portfolio, and supports the company’s long-term strategy of providing innovative technology solutions to consumer-facing industries.
Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords, commented: “I am delighted to complete the acquisition of Mindwalk, which significantly enlarges the scale of our art services business line, giving us greater penetration of this attractive market and represents our first significant move into the fast growing Chinese market.
“These additions to our business enhance Uniguest’s portfolio of services for secure managed computing and expand our customer base among major hotel brands and locations, solidifying our position as the industry’s leading technology provider and advancing our strategy of building a leveragable platform for diversifying into verticals like business services, urban living, financial services, retail and healthcare,” said Joseph P. Morgan, Jr., CEO of Uniguest.
“We warmly welcome Mindwalk’s highly talented team and collaborators to the growing Keywords family, and we look forward to continuing to build upon its excellent reputation and loyal client base.” About Keywords Studios (www.keywordsstudios.com) Keywords Studios is an international technical services provider to the global video games industry. Established in 1998, and now with facilities in Dublin, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Portland, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo, Singapore, New Delhi, Pune, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Hamburg, Paris and London, it provides integrated art creation, localisation, testing, audio and customer care services across 50 languages and 14 games platforms to a blue chip client base in more than 15 countries. It has a strong market position, providing services to 20 of the top 25 most prominent games companies, including Microsoft, Supercell, King, Bandai Namco, Sony, Konami, Electronic Arts, 2K, and Square Enix. Recent titles worked on include Tom Clancy’s The Division, Halo 5: Guardians, Batman: Arkham Knight, Street Fighter V, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Clash Royale, Mobile Strike. Keywords is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (KWS.L).
With these acquisitions, Uniguest has more than 25,000 managed technology installations in more than 60 countries. “Today we have added tremendous talent while expanding our customer base, technology portfolio and ongoing innovation capabilities,” Morgan said. “Collectively, this positions Uniguest to be a single-source provider of technologies that, together, move us closer to realizing our vision of providing the perfect guest and customer experience.” ABOUT UNIGUEST Uniguest is the leading provider of secure fully managed technology solutions to the hospitality industry, backed by world-class service delivery and 24/7/365 support. Uniguest’s solutions include secure public-use computers, static and interactive digital signage, kiosks and purposed tablets. Uniguest manages more than 25,000 guest-facing technology devices in nearly 15,000 client locations across more than 60 countries for many of the world’s most recognizable brands. For more information, visit www. uniguest.com
About Mindwalk Studios (www.mindwalkstudios.com) Mindwalk Studios is a leading video game art and animation services provider based in Beijing, China. With over a decade in business, the studio engages with the gaming industry’s top-tier developers on a varied range of beloved global properties across all major platforms.
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VGL ACQUISITION OF STAKE IN POWSTER LIMITED Vista Group International Limited (“Vista”) has acquired a 50% stake in London-based Powster Limited (“Powster”) and will support the growth of the company via its extensive portfolio of film industry software and wide-ranging customer relationships. The terms of the acquisition will enable Powster to report as a subsidiary of Vista. This new strategic partnership continues Vista’s strategy of creating a synergistic suite of technology solutions for the global film industry. A key driver is the ability of Vista to enhance the value and diversity of services to the global sector and in doing so achieve new efficiencies and increased income for customers. Powster focuses on the entertainment industry by providing bespoke marketing concepts and creative builds, including marketing campaign capability, music videos, social media strategies and interactive content. For the film industry, Powster bridges a gap between distributors (studios) and exhibitors (cinemas) via its comprehensive range of movie-specific marketing tools and its movie ticketing platform where cinema and screening time for a particular film is listed by territory. The “Powster Movie Platform” is an integral part of movie marketing for over 40 movie studios in the USA and internationally. Powster has won an extensive number of awards since being founded in 2009. The Powster agreement is effective on 31st March 2016; while the exact terms of the agreement are confidential it is based on an initial payment on settlement, with earn-out payments aligned with actual performance in the 2016 and 2017 financial years. Payments are calculated based on multiples of EBITDA for the business. Powster is a high growth, profitable company, and should be accretive to Vista’s revenue and earnings in 2016 and beyond. With the creative, film-focused, talents of Powster joining Vista, the capability to deliver innovative digital marketing and operational solutions for distributors and exhibitors globally is significantly enhanced. “To have the opportunity to work with Powster to realise these and other opportunities that ultimately enable Vista to offer new and improved technology solutions to our customers, is a development we’re delighted to announce”, said Murray Holdaway, Group Chief Executive of Vista. “Powster’s expertise in the management and manipulation of content directly benefitting our sector is proven and we love to partner with companies like Powster who share our passion for the movies and can enable us to add yet more value.” “We’re excited by the opportunities Vista brings to Powster and our customers, said Ste Thompson, CEO Powster. This partnership reinforces Powster’s goal of being the world’s leading and most powerful tool for driving audiences to purchase cinema tickets”.
DIMENSION DATA EXPANDS ITS CLOUD SERVICES FOR MICROSOFT - ACQUIRES CERYX imension Data, the USD 7.5 billion global ICT D services and solutions provider, today announced it has acquired the privately owned Ceryx Inc, a Toronto headquartered provider that offers a suite of services across the Microsoft Messaging and Collaboration Suite, including Office 365, Exchange, Sharepoint and Skype for Business for an undisclosed sum. Ceryx will reside within Dimension Data’s ITaaS Service Unit. Dimension Data will combine Ceryx’s offerings with its Microsoft Services to deliver a full services portfolio that spans on-premise, private cloud and public cloud, Office 365 (O365) – or a hybrid of any - for Microsoft Exchange, Sharepoint and Skype for Business (S4B). This includes the Group’s private cloud offering called Cloud Services for Microsoft (CSfM). Ceryx’s focus is on Fortune 500 clients, mainly in Canada and the United States, with recent wins in Europe. When combined with Dimension Data’s global client base which covers many industry verticals, this accelerates Dimension Data to a dominant global position in this market. Ettienne Reinecke, Dimension Data’s Group CTO said, “We’ve seen strong adoption of our private cloud offering for Exchange, Sharepoint and Skype for Business. This strategic acquisition fast tracks Dimension Data’s hybrid offering, and positions the combined entities as one of the few companies globally that can offer the full suite of different delivery models that allows organisations to provision, manage and optimise these workloads through a single management portal, irrespective of platform or location. “Dimension Data’s clients are on a journey to migrate various workloads to the cloud. In most instances, the optimal fit for them is not one underlying platform, but rather a combination - or hybrid - of platforms for Microsoft Office 365, Exchange, Sharepoint, and Skype for Business. The combined capabilities of Ceryx and Dimension Data’s end-user computing suite of services accelerates our time to market, and facilitates the client’s journey to the cloud,” explains Reinecke. Gus Harsfai, founder and CEO of Ceryx, “We’re thrilled to join Dimension Data and the wider NTT Group. Our combined technology offerings and approach to end-user computing strengthens our ability to support businesses across the world on private, public and hybrid technology platforms.”
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
Deals SALESFORCE ACQUIRES A.I. STARTUP METAMIND
CLEO ACQUIRES EXTOL
Cloud business software company Salesforce.com has acquired MetaMind, a startup focused on artificial learning that had been funded by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and venture capital firm Khosla Ventures.
With the acquisition of EXTOL, Cleo extends its Cleo Integration Suite, a set of B2B, application, and data integration solutions that help businesses meet the most demanding enterprise integration production requirements. Loves Park-based Cleo has provided data communication and integration solutions to companies for decades, with more than 100,000 proven and tested installations worldwide. Prior to this acquisition, Cleo had already tripled its revenues and workforce over the past three years, due to the success of its expanding Cleo Integration Suite.
Terms were not disclosed, but it has all the markings of an “acqhire” sort of deal. Founder and CTO Richard Socher announced the deal in a post on the MetaMind website. Socher says on his personal website that his new title is Chief Scientist at Salesforce. MetaMind’s area of expertise is deep learning, the subset of artificial intelligence focused on data processing that is en vogue with Google, Facebook and other tech companies. The startup’s specialty is natural language processing — allowing computers to analyze relationships between words. Some of its capabilities disclosed in published research describe advancements in the field that outrank those of some of the larger tech giants.
“We are thrilled to bring Cleo and EXTOL together to further enhance the Cleo Integration Suite, which uniquely provides highly scalable and secure B2B, application, and data integration solutions on a powerful single platform yet enables an exceptionally easy user experience,” said Mahesh Rajasekharan, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Cleo. “With the combined proven technologies and talents of these two great software organizations, Cleo is uniquely poised to not only deliver on customers’ current converging data movement and pervasive enterprise integration needs, but also effectively address the emerging requirements of cloud and big data integration.”
Socher, a Stanford PhD, has said MetaMind’s plan was to sell this technology as a service to other companies. At MetaMind, he led a tiny group of researchers who gained a reputation for some rapid breakthroughs in the area of artificial intelligence. A Re/code report from 2014 described how after only four months, the team came in only slightly behind Google in the ImageNet competition, in which companies compete to build systems that can recognize images.
Those usage patterns for the reliable, secure, and efficient management of data flows include B2B integration, application integration, data integration, cloud integration, big data integration, data transformation, secure file sharing, systemic and secure managed file transfer (MFT), accelerated and extreme file transfer, and document management. By providing the unique capability of serving all of these major integration usage patterns into one single-platform experience, Cleo delivers greater business agility to both business and IT users.
“Over the past year and a half, we’ve been on a mission to empower business users with state of the art deep learning technology to simplify, improve and automate decision making,” Socher wrote in today’s post. “And now, we’ll be able to continue our journey at Salesforce on a much larger scale, with the resources and ecosystem of one of the world’s most innovative and influential enterprise software companies.”
Over the past year, Cleo and EXTOL have partnered to prove the success of these combined solutions, and this acquisition is an affirmation that the Cleo Integration Suite has surpassed all customer expectations. With today’s announcement, these advanced enterprise integration technologies are now being offered from one company in a way that makes it even easier and more efficient to consume the highly capable and scalable integration value to meet the production requirements of small, midsize, and large companies.
Salesforce will integrate MetaMind’s capabilities into its own, and so the startup’s products will be discontinued for unpaid Web users starting in May and for paid users in June.
“It is so exciting to have found Cleo and to have built this great partnership with them over the past few years,” said Tony Baran, chief executive officer of EXTOL. “Now as we join forces, we’re reminded again of how similar our company cultures are with great professionals and can-do spirit, and how closely EXTOL and Cleo software technologies work together to bring even more value to our customers.”
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FRONTLINE TECH ACQUIRES CENTRIS GROUP Frontline Technologies has acquired Centris Group, a top provider of special education administrative software and professional development offerings. Frontline Technologies is a leading K-12 education software company currently serving more than 7,500 school districts nationwide with professional growth and human resources solutions. “Frontline’s goal is to bring together all of the tools necessary to serve the education community on a daily basis,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Frontline Technologies. “Special education is a key component of the educational ecosystem and Centris offers a best-in-class solution for this segment. This acquisition goes a long way towards rounding out our education software portfolio and introducing our solution set to the special education market.” Frontline has broad national reach and its deep resources will help strengthen the products, services and state-specific solutions that have set Centris apart. Frontline will retain the Centris team, gaining significant special education expertise and adding nearly 70 people to its employee base. The Centris team will work hand in hand with Frontline to advance special education solutions within the education community across the United States. “The acquisition will allow us to expand the depth and breadth of the products and services we offer in special education,” said Thomas Reap, Psy.D, Founder of Centris Group. “Uniting these two leading organizations will provide the resources to deliver an even higher level of service to our customers and expand our suite of innovative software to create an end-to-end solution that before now has not been considered in the special education space.” Centris products, primarily focused on the administration and management of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Response to Intervention (RTI), will continue to be supported and enhanced as part of Frontline. The focus will remain on state special education regulations, supporting best-practices, returning time to teaching and meeting the unique needs of each state. The acquisition will allow Centris’ special education administrative software, which is the leading solution in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, to expand into additional states while maintaining its unsurpassed customer service levels. Frontline and Centris already serve many of the same districts, with 84% customer overlap in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, which allows for greater understanding of the intricacies and nuances of each state. Both organizations are also committed to the ongoing support and growth of partnerships in the administrative solutions arena. Frontline currently integrates with over 180 K-12 administrative software providers. Solutions from both companies support more than 200 vendor relationships.
SWERVEPAY ACQUIRES HEALTHCARE COST TRANSPARENCY LEADER STATPAYMD -SwervePay, LLC, an innovative patient-centric payment solution in healthcare, announced its acquisition of StatPayMD to further provide healthcare consumers with the information, tools and transparency needed to manage their financial responsibility. StatPayMD (formerly Symbiosis Health) is a graduate of Blueprint Health, a healthcare IT accelerator in New York, and most recently based at MATTER in Chicago. StatPayMD makes it easy for patients to understand “outof-pocket” costs before and at care. With SwervePay’s payment tool, patients can better communicate around cost of care, understand payment options, and pay their bill on the go and in a way that is convenient for them. SwervePay offers an innovative suite of tools for making patient payments – no mobile apps, no paper, just one-click payments via text message. The portal-free platform also alleviates manual tasks in the revenue cycle process for providers and health systems. The majority of negative reviews for healthcare providers often stems from surprises in one’s medical bills, not because of bad patient care. Even though 92 percent of insured consumers are both able and willing to pay their out-of-pocket medical expenses, 15 cents of every dollar is lost on claims processing, payments, billing and revenue cycle management, totaling a nearly $300 billion loss for the healthcare industry each year (McKinsey). To solve this problem, educating patients about their insurance plans and offering convenient payment choices needs to be an integral part of the patient experience. “By using technology to automate processes, such as bill payments, we can allow healthcare providers to stay focused on patient care,” said Jaeme Adams, co-founder and CEO of SwervePay. “We’re excited about the team and technology StatPayMD brings to SwervePay, furthering our commitment to creating a consumer-friendly payment experience in healthcare.” The biggest bottleneck to a reliable cost estimate is accurate benefits data. Benefits plans are becoming increasingly complex in design with special carve outs and coverages for different procedures. StatPayMD uses a combination of technology, services and direct partnerships with insurance companies to access relevant and accurate eligibility data from every health plan. The analytics engine blends that data with providers’ negotiated contracts and claims history to create an accurate, personalized cost estimate for each patient.
Soft Tech INTL / June 2016
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