Wednesday 28 February 2018

TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES NEW 2TB HARD DISK DRIVE FOR CLIENT STORAGE APPLICATIONS

-- The new MQ04 HDD Series 2TB model delivers more capacity for notebook PCs, game systems and other client storage applications --

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (“Toshiba”) today announced its new MQ04 Series 2TB[1] HDD model MQ04ABD200, designed for use in notebook PCs, all-in-one and slim-line desktop systems, and other applications requiring high capacity storage and 2.5-inch[2] mobile-class durability.

The MQ04ABD200 dual-disk model delivers 2TB of storage capacity in a compact 2.5-inch, 9.5mm height form factor. The drive’s 6Gbit/s[3] SATA interface and 5,400rpm performance, combined with a large 128MiB[4] buffer, result in a 34 percent increase in maximum transfer rates and a 50 percent improvement in power efficiency[5] compared to Toshiba’s previous 1TB mobile-class model generation, MQ01ABD100.

“Achieving 2TB capacity in the industry-standard 2.5-inch form-factor is a big advance in both value and performance, and helps improve watt per GB to contribute to better battery life in portable PCs,” said Shuji Takaoka, General Manager of Storage Products Division at Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation. “With a field-proven two disk 9.5mm design heritage, the new MQ04 2TB model offers excellent value and capacity.”

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31290

SFR Deploys Cisco NSO To Enhance Network Automation

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- SFR, a subsidiary of the Altice Group, has deployed Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO) to enhance the automation, agility and reliability of its network.

This is pursued while accelerating network services change management from months to minutes with automated on-demand services provisioning.

With the deployment, SFR is able to simplify the entire lifecycle management for its services, automating core functions across physical and virtualised networks for both existing and new customers.

This enables faster innovation and increases customer satisfaction by speeding time-to-market for new managed services like SD-WAN, and application-driven, on demand services.

"With Cisco NSO, customers like SFR can reap the business benefits of SDN and intent-based networking such as speed, agility, reduced risk and continuous compliance," said Cisco vice-president, Global Service Provider EMEAR, Yves Padrines.

"Our network automation solutions enable companies to simplify operations, increasing customer engagement and providing overall better experiences through network innovations," said Padrines.

-- BERNAMA 

RELIANCE JIO AND CISCO CONTINUE CO-INNOVATION FOR MULTI-ACCESS EDGE COMPUTING

BARCELONA, Feb 27 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mobile World Congress - Video will comprise 82% of all IP network traffic by 2021¹, as more people are watching on multiple screens. This presents unique challenges for mobile operators, including how to scale their networks to handle all this video traffic and how to manage a profitable business around video.

To address the changing dynamics of network traffic, Reliance Jio and Cisco's strategic relationship scales across multiple domains and technology areas. Over the past year, Reliance Jio's Cisco-powered, all-IP network has grown significantly in size, and with new growth is further expected to see tremendous growth over the next several months.
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WILLIAMS SCOTSMAN TO PARTICIPATE AT THE DEUTSCHE BANK 2018 MEDIA, TELECOM AND BUSINESS SERVICES CONFERENCE

BALTIMORE, Feb 27 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WillScot Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) (“Williams Scotsman”), a specialty rental services market leader providing innovative modular space and portable storage solutions across North America, today announced that Brad Soultz, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Tim Boswell, Chief Financial Officer, will present at Deutsche Bank’s 2018 Media, Telecom and Business Services Conference at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, FL on Tuesday, March 6th, 2018.  The presentation will take place at 9:45am EST.

About Williams Scotsman
Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, WillScot Corporation is the public holding company for the Williams Scotsman family of companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. WillScot Corporation trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol “WSC.” Williams Scotsman is a specialty rental services market leader providing innovative modular space and portable storage solutions across North America. Williams Scotsman is the modular space supplier of choice for the construction, education, health care, government, retail, commercial, transportation, security and energy sectors. With over half a century of innovative history, organic growth and strategic acquisitions, its branch network includes over 100 locations, its fleet comprises nearly 100,000 modular space and portable storage units and its customer base has grown to approximately 35,000.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Additional information about Williams Scotsman can be found on the Williams Scotsman investor relations website at https://investors.willscot.com 

Contact Information

Investor Inquiries:

Mark Barbalato
investors@willscot.com

Media Inquiries:

Scott Junk
scott.junk@willscot.com

Source : Williams Scotsman

--BERNAMA

WillScot To Release 2017 Financial Results In March

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- WillScot Corporation has announced that it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results before the market opens this March 5.

WillScot Corporation is the public holding company for the Williams Scotsman family of companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Its President and Chief Executive Officer, Bradley Soultz and Chief Financial Officer, Timothy Boswell will host a conference call and webcast on March 5, at 10 am EST to discuss the results for the fourth quarter and full year 2017.

"The live call can be accessed by dialing (855) 312-9420 (US/Canada toll-free) or (210) 874-7774 (international) and asking to be connected to the Williams Scotsman call.

A live webcast will also be accessible via the 'Events & Presentations' section of the company's investor relations website "https://investors.willscot.com," it said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA

AIRTEL AND CISCO TEAM TO IMPROVE MOBILE USER EXPERIENCE

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb 26 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mobile World Congress – With mobile data consumption surpassing usage of the U.S. and China in 20171, mobile service providers in India are working to enhance their network infrastructure to manage and support the growth surge and ensure quality of customer experience.

Bharti Airtel (Airtel), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, and Cisco have joined forces to improve customer experience by taking their SON collaboration to next level.
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Cisco, Vodafone Showcase Mobile Transport Networking Advancements

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Cisco Systems Inc, together with Vodafone, is demonstrating a new network slicing technique via segment routing, at the Mobile World Congress held from Feb 26 to March 1 in Barcelona, Spain.

Cisco, in a statement said the technique could help to lower and control latency for high-bandwidth applications running on Vodafone's network, to improve the overall entertainment experience for customers streaming video, games, and augmented, virtual or mixed reality streams.

To meet the growth in demand for bandwidth and more devices connected to the network, Vodafone has started to use Cisco segment routing technology to simplify its overall transport network operations by automating core functions to better detect and solve traffic congestion issues.

Segment routing, an innovative IP routing protocol, allows the transport network to differentiate the way it delivers applications, removing legacy protocols and making network operations easier.

Using a software defined network for transport, it will be possible to create a low latency 'slice' (a virtual route within the transport network) that will ensure chosen types of traffic, for instance, automated driving or critical health applications would always choose the route with the shortest end-to-end latency.

Segment routing also improves network resiliency by using 'self-healing' to intuitively restore connectivity in under 50 milliseconds if an issue occurs by rerouting traffic automatically.

-- BERNAMA

Cisco Unveils New '5G Now' Portfolio For Service Providers

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Cisco Systems Inc has announced its '5G Now' portfolio for service providers, offering emerging new services at significant faster speeds, expanded capacity and stronger coverage.

Cisco uniquely offers its customers a cloud-to-client approach for 5G networking, resulting from its investments and commitment to developing cloud applications and services, to help customers unify multi-vendor solutions into a single, standards-based architecture.

Multi-cloud, intellectual property core, 5G packet core and service edge, access, client services, security and professional services are the key elements in the portfolio.

"4G was about buying connectivity, and 5G is about buying experiences," said senior vice-president and general manager, Service Provider Business, Cisco, Yvette Kanouff.

"5G creates a new environment for service creation, giving operators what they need to deliver next-level entertainment experiences. Only Cisco has the services, infrastructure and automation portfolio to support our global customers with their 5G initiatives," she said.

The 5G services accommodate more than 27 billion connected devices expected on service provider networks by 2021. Beginning 2020, 5G connections will grow more than a thousand per cent from 2.3 million in 2020 to over 25 million in 2021.

-- BERNAMA

AIRSPAN AND SPRINT SELECTED AS THE WINNER OF "BEST MOBILE TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH" AT GLOMO 2018 AWARDS

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Airspan and Sprint are proud to have been selected as the winner of the Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award in recognition of the ground breaking and successful mass deployment of the first all-wireless indoor small cell, the Magic Box, specifically designed to improve network efficiency, increase data speeds and enhance user experience.
 
“We are delighted to have our innovative Magic Box recognized by the GSMA and judges in a highly competitive category with some of the largest companies in the world,” said Robert Kingsley, Director of Small Cell and WiFi Development at Sprint. “The simplicity of installation and built-in intelligence of the Magic Box is making our customers’ network experience better every day.”
 
“Our partnership with Sprint makes real the long-promised abilities of small cells to improve network efficiency and cost-effectively expand network coverage and capacity,” said Eric Stonestrom, CEO Airspan Networks. “The Magic Box finally answers the call for a self-installed, low cost, high-performance solution to network coverage issues.”
 
The Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award highlights the contribution that Mobile Operators, manufacturers, and suppliers make to increase mobile usage, expand the user experience, and help expand business opportunities.
 
This very wide-ranging category includes components, microprocessors, memory, chipsets, screens, audio, batteries, operating systems, APIs to name but a few and even looks at design innovation and form-factors. It recognizes the tremendous diversity of the global mobile ecosystem as it continues to innovate and add new dimensions to the customer experience, and Sprint and Airspan are honored to be 2018 GLOMO award recipients.

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DIVERSIFIED GATEWAY BERHAD BECOMES NTT COMMUNICATIONS' FIRST PARTNER IN MALAYSIA FOR MANAGED SERVICES

TOKYO & KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- NTT Communications (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group (TOKYO:9432), announced today that Diversified Gateway Berhad (DGB) has become the first partner in Malaysia to provide NTT Com's Global Management One (GMOne) managed services. This partnership is a part of NTT Com's expansion strategy for its managed services in the region, following Singapore and Hong Kong. Both companies will leverage complementary strengths to provide managed services based on automation to medium and large size enterprise customers in Malaysia.

GMOne services are designed to meet the requirements of enterprise customers who need to manage an increasingly complex and hybrid ICT environment. Leveraging NTT Com's global resources, GMOne is a one-stop global solution that helps companies manage their entire hybrid ICT ecosystem, from infrastructure through business applications to business services. Thanks to proactive 24x7x365 remote monitoring and management (RMM) of the entire infrastructure, GMOne helps customers maximize the benefits from their Hybrid ICT without compromising on security and reliability.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31277

WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN 12TH ANNUAL STEVIE(R) AWARDS FOR SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICE

World's Top Customer Service Awards and Sales Awards Presented in Las Vegas

FAIRFAX, Va., Feb 27 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winners in the 12th annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, recognized as the world's top customer service awards and sales awards, were unveiled on Friday night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, NV, attended by more than 600 executives from around the world.

The complete list of Stevie Winners by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

DP DHL, with Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award wins for activities in Argentina, Lebanon, the U.S., Vietnam, and other nations, was the most honored organization this year, earning the top Grand Stevie Award trophy for the fifth consecutive year. Other Grand Stevie Award winners, in descending order, include IBM, HomeServe USA, VIZIO Inc., Sales Partnerships, Inc., John Hancock Financial Services, FIS, Carbonite, Visualize, and Delta Vacations.

IBM won 10 Gold Stevie Awards, the most in the 2018 competition among Gold Stevie winners. HomeServe USA won six while Delta Vacations and GNResound won five eachSales Partnerships, Inc. and Vizio won four. DHL Express Bangladesh, FIS, Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company, Mercer Consumer, Runzheimer, and UPMC Health Plan each won three. Winners of two Gold Stevie Awards include: Apptus, Birevim A.S., Carbonite, Comcast, Dell Technologies, Delta Airlines, DHL Express Vietnam, Gladly, GO Fuel Stations Inc., GuideWell Connect, Imparta Inc., ISN, John Hancock Financial Services, M Partners Ltd, MTM, Network Alliance, Samsung Electronics America, SAP America, ServiceNow, Sun Basket, TTEC, VXI Global Solutions, and Yapi Kredi Bank.

Leaders among multiple winners of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevies include: Albridge, Allianz Global Assistance, BlueCat Networks, Druva Inc., eMoney Advisor, iHeartMedia, Nuance Communications, Overstock.com, Response, Rimini Street, SmartLinx Solutions, Wells Fargo Treasury Management Client Delivery, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership.

Winners in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, as determined by more than 124,000 public votes, which were announced on February 15, were also presented at the event.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream and are available to watch online.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business award shows including the prestigious International Business Awards® and The American Business Awards.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31284

Cisco, TIM Sign MoU To Accelerate Italy's Digitisation

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Service provider, Cisco Systems Inc and ICT company, TIM Group announced a major agreement aimed at accelerating Italy's digitisation, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), yesterday.

In a joint statement, the two companies said they were engaged in developing a joint business and innovation programme.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed in the framework of Digitaliani, the three-year investment plan launched by Cisco in January 2016, whose objectives are well aligned with TIM's digitisation programme.

Industrial players, public and private sector players, and research centre start-ups will be involved in creating and implementing evolutionary projects to accelerate digitisation to improve the lives of citizens.

"Cisco is deeply committed to helping drive digital acceleration in Italy, and we are proud to partner with TIM to foster an ecosystem that will combine Cisco's unique position in the IoT, Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities with TIM's leadership in managed digital services to create a new wave of solutions for the enterprise, public sector and small business.

"What Cisco is doing with TIM is setting the standard, in many respects, for the digital transformation partnership model we are building in many countries around the world.

"This partnership also truly places the network at the centre of Italy's digital transformation," said Cisco chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Chuck Robbins.

Meanwhile, TIM's CEO, Amos Genish said digitisation would be the most important factor of TIM transformation, helping the company to deliver the best customer experience, integrating service simplicity and a complete offer.

"We want to improve our customers' life but we also want to support Italy's development and a simpler way to access digital services for citizens, companies and public sector organisations," he added.

This MoU shows that the two companies share the same vision for the future of Italy where digital transformation is key to driving growth, and innovation is meant to better serve the needs of companies, public sector organisations and citizens.

-- BERNAMA

Tuesday 27 February 2018

TIM AND CISCO JOIN FORCES TO INCREASE THE IT SECURITY OF ITALIAN COMPANIES

TIM Safe Web, the new security service developed in collaboration with Cisco and integrated into the TIM network, going live in March

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb 26 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mobile World Congress - Starting from March, TIM, the leading provider of mobile and fixed telecommunication services in Italy, in partnership with Cisco will offer "TIM Safe WEB", a highly secure platform service, integrated in the TIM network, able to safeguard small business users from malware, such as ramsomware, phishing, and other malicious cybersecurity activities.

TIM Safe Web combines TIM's unique technologies and information with the capabilities of the Cisco Umbrella cloud-based security platform, which leverages a constantly updated global database of threat intelligence. This "over-the-network" service enhancement will be provided to about 600.000 TIM Business customers in order to improve both security and quality of service starting from small business market that is very exposed to cyberattacks.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31270

VRICON LAUNCHES TELCO SUITE AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

Visit us at MWC Booth 6L8 to learn about our 3D geodata solution

McLean, Virginia, Feb 26 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vricon is pleased to announce that it is launching its Telco Suite at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. MWC participants can see a demonstration of the Telco Suite in Vricon's booth, located at #6L8.

The Vricon Telco Suite is designed to help telecommunications companies navigate the rapid changes happening throughout the industry. With an increasing number of connected devices, high-definition content, and new services, the demands on networks are accelerating and growing exponentially. The Vricon Telco Suite is a cost-effective, next-generation solution that helps companies design networks for optimal performance, whether it's to densify existing 4G LTE networks, prep for 5G to empower smart homes and the Internet of Things, or work a more complex HetNet.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31267

Friday 23 February 2018

8th 'Communicating: A Guide To PR In Japan' Available From March


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The eighth edition of the award-winning publication, 'Communicating: A Guide to PR in Japan' will be available on general release from this March 1.

In announcing this today, Dentsu Public Relations Inc. under Dentsu Group, said the guidebook would be published in both paperback and digital versions by Wiley Publishing Japan, a subsidiary of United States-based John Wiley & Sons.

It was compiled and edited by an international team of communications professionals, since its first publication in 1988, and has consistently offered an in-depth English-language exploration of Japan's complex communications ecosystem.

The eighth edition has been updated and expanded significantly to address recent developments, particularly in the constantly evolving field of digital and social media.

There are also instructive case studies taken from the local experiences of international brands like Burberry, IBM, Jetstar Group and McDonald's.

The book is divided into three main sections

part one is on 'Media in Japan', part two on 'Communicating with Your Stakeholders' and the last section is a collection of key Japanese terms, illuminating data on Japan, and useful contact information.

"It is suggested that PR practitioners, business managers, and media studies researchers with an interest in Asia read 'Communicating', which will also be available from April 25 as an e-book via iBooks and other major online retailers" Dentsu PR said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA


Colliers International In IAOP Global Outsourcing 100 List

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Colliers International Group Inc, a global commercial real estate services firm, has again been selected for the 2018 Global Outsourcing 100 list by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).

The company has been named to the list each year since its inception and earned the honour for 13 straight years.

"We are honoured to again receive this prestigious recognition from IAOP," said Colliers International president and chief operating officer,"Dylan Taylor.

"Being named to this list for the 13th straight year speaks to the dedication we have at Colliers to provide best-in-class service to our clients and our professionals," he added.

The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-lists are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry.

The lists include global companies that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services from information technology and business process outsourcing and also facility services, real estate and capital asset management to manufacturing and logistics.

"In today's economy, it is more important than ever for outsourcing buyers to be able to easily identify and select the right company for their outsourcing needs," said IAOP chief executive officer, Debi Hamill.

-- BERNAMA

CISCO 2018 ANNUAL CYBERSECURITY REPORT REVEALS SECURITY LEADERS RELY ON AND INVEST IN AUTOMATION, MACHINE LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO DEFEND AGAINST THREATS

Findings show 39 percent of organizations are reliant on automation, 34 percent are reliant on machine learning, 32 percent are highly reliant on AI

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb 22 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malware sophistication is increasing as adversaries begin to weaponize cloud services and evade detection through encryption, used as a tool to conceal command-and-control activity. To reduce adversaries' time to operate, security professionals said they will increasingly leverage and spend more on tools that use AI and machine learning, reported in the 11th Cisco® 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report (ACR).

While encryption is meant to enhance security, the expanded volume of encrypted web traffic (50 percent as of October 2017) - both legitimate and malicious - has created more challenges for defenders trying to identify and monitor potential threats. Cisco threat researchers observed more than a threefold increase in encrypted network communication used by inspected malware samples over a 12-month period.
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Thursday 22 February 2018

OVUM SURVEY FINDS NETSFERE AMONG THE TOP 3 MOST WIDELY DEPLOYED SECURE ENTERPRISE MESSAGING SERVICES

NetSfere is the third most used enterprise platform, clearly outpacing legacy enterprise communication vendors

CHICAGO, Feb 21 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A report by Ovum, a market-leading research and consulting firm, commissioned by Infinite Convergence Solutions, a global leader in messaging and mobility solutions, finds that within just a few short years of launching, NetSfere is ranked as the third most used enterprise messaging service behind Skype Business and Cisco’s Spark.

In addition to the need for a secure messaging service, the report shows enterprise demand for communication services that enable collaboration beyond messaging. NetSfere’s combined HD voice, video and text capabilities – all preferred means of communication in one encrypted platform – validates its ranking among the top services for enterprises.

“With messaging services advancing into all-in-one communications platforms, there’s a greater propensity for widespread business use – but also major security risks,” said Anurag Lal, CEO and President of Infinite Convergence Solutions, creators of NetSfere. “NetSfere is widely successful because it brings together the ultimate combination of collaboration, productivity, security and compliance that is unmatched when compared to third-party consumer messaging services. We’re extremely proud that NetSfere is among the top three enterprise messaging platforms, a clear indication that the well-established legacy platforms have been outpaced by enterprises’ communication needs in the mobile era.”

Ovum’s report, “Secure Enterprise Messaging in the Age of the Chat App,” proves a quick-growing need for reliable and secure enterprise messaging services. While most respondents use chat apps for one-to-one messaging for daily work tasks, about 60 percent also use it for group messaging, including one-to-one voice and video communications, and nearly 75 percent of respondents share confidential and non-confidential documents.

“Enterprises have a strict responsibility to ensure employees’ communication is secure and confidential, especially those working in industries where communication records are required to be stored for auditing,” said Pamela Clark-Dickson, Practice Leader of Ovum. “But our research shows that enterprises are allowing the use of consumer messaging apps that don’t provide those vital security features.”

The report finds that 65 percent of respondents are concerned about chat apps representing security loopholes and 50 percent are concerned about their inability to monitor communication. Despite enterprises’ concerns over consumer messaging services, organizations have still allowed their usage. Sixty-seven percent of respondents allow employees to use consumer mobile messaging apps because they believe it is impossible to effectively block their usage.

In order to meet employees’ demands for a simple-to-use, familiar messaging service, NetSfere delivers a similar look and functionality to mirror the popular consumer app experience, but adds the security and compliance features necessary for the workplace, including global cloud-based service availability, device-to-device encryption, location-based features and administrative controls. Built to meet a variety of industry-specific needs, NetSfere also offers regulatory compliances, such as SOX and HIPAA.

For more information about the study, please visit the website.

About Infinite Convergence Solutions
Infinite Convergence Solutions, Inc. provides next-generation messaging and mobility solutions to carriers and enterprises globally, including an Enterprise Messaging Services suite, secure messaging through its standalone service NetSfere (www.netsfere.com) and SMS, MMS and RCS solutions. The company's technology supports more than 400 million subscribers and over a trillion messages on an annual basis. Infinite Convergence Solutions is a subsidiary of Infinite Computer Solutions (BSE:533154) (NSE:INFINITE) with offices in the United States, Germany, India and Singapore.

About NetSfere
NetSfere is a secure enterprise messaging service from Infinite Convergence Solutions, Inc. NetSfere provides industry-leading security and message delivery capabilities, including global cloud-based service availability, device-to-device encryption, location-based features and administrative controls. The service leverages Infinite Convergence's experience in delivering mobility solutions to tier 1 mobile operators globally and technology that supports more than 400 million subscribers and over a trillion messages on an annual basis. NetSfere is also compliant with regulatory requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbanes-Oxley and others. For more information, visit www.netsfere.com.

About Ovum 
Ovum is a market-leading research and consulting firm focused on helping digital service providers and their technology partners thrive in the connected digital economy. Through its 150 analysts and consultants worldwide, it offers expert analysis and strategic insight across the IT, telecoms, and media industries. Founded in 1985, Ovum has one of the most experienced analyst teams in the industry and is a respected source of guidance for business leaders, CIOs, vendors, service providers, and regulators looking for comprehensive, accurate, and insightful market data, research, and consulting. With 23 offices across 6 continents, Ovum offers a truly global perspective on technology, communications, and media markets. It provides clients with insight, including workflow tools, forecasts, surveys, market assessments, technology audits, and opinion.

Ovum is part of the Business Intelligence Division of Informa PLC, a leading business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge, and events group listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Contact
Christine Curtin
Uproar PR for Infinite Convergence
ccurtin@uproarpr.com
(312) 878-4575 x242

Source :  Infinite Convergence Solutions

--BERNAMA

LEGAL & GENERAL ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY PARTNER SLICE LABS TO ROLL OUT 'ON-DEMAND' HOMESHARE INSURANCE

LONDON, Feb 21 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Legal & General, the FTSE 100 financial services group and leading home insurance provider, has today announced a new technology partnership with Slice Labs Inc with the aim to offer a new on-demand homeshare insurance proposition for customers.

The last few years has seen an increase in the popularity of on-demand insurance which allows customers to use a mobile app to purchase insurance to protect their personal belongings, car, or home when ‘at risk’.

On-demand insurance offers customers flexibility of cover that is easy and convenient to buy and paying only for what they need when they need it.


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Wednesday 21 February 2018

GLOBECOMM JOINS AMAZON WEB SERVICES PARTNER NETWORK

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Feb 21 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globecomm announced today that it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN) as a Standard Technology Partner.  This agreement will enable Globecomm to seamlessly interoperate its global satellite and fiber network with AWS’s storage, compute and cloud content delivery services.  With multiple direct connections to AWS, Globecomm can provision customer content, work processes and resilient network connectivity into AWS.  Customers already using AWS to support their processes can benefit from seamless access to Globecomm’s teleports, satellite capacity, fiber points of presence and cloud software applications running on AWS. 
 
“We have been developing platforms and scalable customer solutions on AWS since late 2014,” said Globecomm CEO Jason Juranek.  “Like many of our customers, we turned to AWS for cost-effective, secure hosting of our own applications and content.  With this agreement, our customers can leverage our expertise in service design and delivery for both on-premise and cloud strategies while enjoying serious savings in implementation time and overall cost.” 
 
Globecomm is currently expanding its existing global points-of-presence with AWS within the North America, Central Europe and Southeast Asia Regions.  The company anticipates deploying hybrid cloud-satellite-fiber solutions for customers in media and entertainment, enterprise video and IoT.  These hybrid solutions will reach beyond the edges of the network to remote facilities, ships, offshore platforms and vehicles in motion around the world. 
 
"In the past," Mr. Juranek continued, "customers had to use traditional stacked hardware in their own data centers and then build their own teleport and operate the entire environment just to serve their markets.  Between Globecomm's global fiber and teleport network, and the huge capabilities of AWS, they can develop solutions, create content and connect it globally without ever owning a single physical asset."

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31245

CISCO LEADERSHIP IN AUTOMATION CONTINUES WITH NEW NETWORK AUTOMATION PORTFOLIO FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb 21 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cisco today introduced its new Cisco Crosswork Network Automation software portfolio to improve how global service providers run their large-scale networks. The solutions are designed to work together to offer greater network visibility at scale (mass awareness), data-driven insights (augmented intelligence) and outcome-based automation (proactive control). 
 
With 27 billion devices and connections1 expected to be running on service provider networks by 2021, the pressure is on for industry adoption of complete lifecycle network automation and intent-based networking to help networks predict change and react in near real time.
 
Traditional operations staff will not be able to keep up with adding nearly 10 percent more devices every year without changing how they work. When Cisco automation is utilized, typical results include a 70 percent improvement in operational efficiency, 30 percent revenue uplift and a 40 percent improvement in customer satisfaction2.
 
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31242
 

Tuesday 20 February 2018

DSG TO ATTEND PHAR-EAST CONFERENCE IN SUNTEC SINGAPORE

MALVERN, Pa., Feb 19 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- DSG, Inc., a leader in eClinical software and services to the life science industry will be exhibiting at the Phar-East - Asia’s Pharma & Biotech Conference. The conference is set to take place February 28th to March 2nd at the Suntec Signore Convention & Exhibition Centre, in Suntec City Singapore.
 
Revamped and revitalized from Biopharma Asia Convention, Phar-East will be exploring 11 of the most exciting pharma areas in Asia: immunotherapy, vaccines, precision medicine, cell & gene therapy, biodata, orphan drugs, partnering, commercialization & market access, antibodies, biosimilars and biotech innovations. In the past, the event has drawn over 22,000 attendees over its first 9 years from all over the world. As Asia’s global life sciences portfolio and biotech hubs continue to grow, Phar East anticipates showcasing the very best in Asian pharma.

“This is our first year attending the Phar-East conference; I look forward to educating attendee’s on our robust software and give a better understanding of what separates us from our competitors,” said Al Campbell, vice president, strategic alliances and director, business development.

DSG invites attendees to meet with Al Campbell, and Ricky Brohmer, vice president of Asia operations, who will be available at booth G08 to demonstrate our eCaselink™ EDC software, and its complete line of integrated solutions.

To request a meeting or find upcoming events and conferences DSG will be attending, please visit: http://dsg-us.com/dsg-events.html.

About DSG

DSG is a founder of the eClinical industry and through its innovative technology helped shape the current eClinical landscape. Its solutions support the development of life saving drugs and therapies and DSG was one of the first companies to deploy proprietary eClinical products. DSG’s suite of award-winning solutions includes its flagship eCaseLink™ EDC, Risk-Based Monitoring, eSource, ePRO, IRT Randomization and Trial Supply Management, Drug Safety System, and CTMS. Founded in 1992, the company is proud to be recognized as the first provider of a fully integrated EDC and IRT Randomization and Clinical Supply System with the SCDM Data Driven Innovation Award. For more information, please visit www.dsg-us.com.
 
Contacts
DSG, Inc.
Glenn R. Boyet, +1 484-913-2132
gboyet@dsg-us.com
 
Source: DSG, Inc.
 
View this news release online at:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180218005001/en

--BERNAMA 

CISCO OFFERS CLOUD-BASED ENDPOINT SECURITY SOLUTIONS FOR MANAGED SECURITY SERVICE PROVIDERS

Cisco’s comprehensive cloud-based security endpoint portfolio provides advanced malware protection, internet security, and enterprise mobility management

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb 19 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cisco today is helping address the challenges of Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) and their customers by offering MSSPs comprehensive security, visibility, and control of customer endpoints without added hardware or complexity. The Cisco endpoint security portfolio includes three industry-leading solutions—Cisco AMP for Endpoints, Cisco Umbrella, and Meraki Systems Manager to offer protection against advanced malware and threats.

Security teams know the endpoints in their environments are being targeted by advanced threats, but often lack the security talent, tools, and budget to address those challenges. As a result, organizations of all sizes are choosing to augment their in-house IT security with managed security services. Nearly half of SMBs and enterprises in the US¹ are outsourcing at least one aspect of their security practice to third parties, with most outsourcing multiple pieces of their practice.

MSSPs today are helping customers protect their network from advanced threats, reduce expense on detecting and mitigating threats, and, augment talent amidst a cybersecurity skills shortage. When MSSPs partner with the right vendor, security services can become a profitable way to differentiate their organization from the competition and strengthen existing customer relationships.


http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31223

Monday 19 February 2018

Ascom Smart Device Helps Hospitals Improve Hand Hygiene


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Ascom Holding AG, a supplier of healthcare information and communications technology solutions, is helping hospitals improve hand hygiene by delivering an advanced mobile solution that tracks staff compliance to hygiene procedures.
With the Ascom Myco smart device, location awareness and Ascom Unite Cleanminder software, hospitals can deploy an automated monitoring and reporting solution.
The solution provides hospital staff with mobile alert reminders on their smart device and delivers compliance data for measuring performance trends and improvements.
Ascom senior vice-president (Platform Solutions), Andre Neu said hospitals needed a way to measure hand hygiene compliance.
"Using an automated approach with our Ascom Myco smart device and Unite Cleanminder software, we can leverage reminders and measure hand hygiene compliance, without the need for manual recording or intervention. This approach embeds the monitoring of hygiene compliance into care processes," he added.
For many hospitals, reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is crucial to improving overall patient safety and hand hygiene remains to be one of the most important elements of infection control activities.
The ability to monitor hygiene compliance is an important step in reducing the overall risk of patients contracting HAI in the hospital.
-- BERNAMA

Friday 16 February 2018

McDonald's Supports Families With Changes In Happy Meals Menu

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Fast food company, McDonald's Corporation is expanding its commitment to families with a not-for-profit Alliance for a Healthier Generation by setting bold goals in 120 markets worldwide to evolve the Happy Meal menu.

The plan is to supports the company's long-term global growth plan by leveraging its reach to impact children's meals, access to reading, and keeping families together through Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

McDonald's in a statement said by 2022, it would make improvements to the Happy Meal menu to offer more balanced meals, simplify ingredients, continue to be transparent with Happy Meal nutrition information, and reinforce responsible marketing to children.

It will also leverage innovative marketing to help impact the purchase of food and beverages that contain recommended food groups in Happy Meals.

McDonald's began working with the Alliance for Healthier Generation in 2013 to develop a comprehensive plan for 20 major markets to increase customers' access to a balanced meal plan and many of those markets are ahead of schedule in their progress on those prior commitments.

Currently, the company is furthering its efforts to set five new Global Happy Meal Goals through 2022 by offering balanced meals, simplifying the ingredients, exposing the nutrition information, marketing responsibly, and leveraging innovative marketing to increase food and beverages that contain recommended food groups in Happy Meals.

"Given our scale and reach, we hope these actions will bring more choices to consumers and uniquely benefit millions of families, which are important steps as we build a better McDonald's," said McDonald's president and chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook.

By June 2018, 100 per cent of the meal combinations offered on Happy Meal menu boards in the U.S. will be 600 calories or fewer.

And 100 per cent of those meal combinations will be compliant with the new nutrition criteria for added sugar, saturated fat, and 78 per cent compliant with the new sodium criteria.

-- BERNAMA

MIPS, Netspeed Partner For AI, ML SoCs Solutions

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- MIPS Technologies Inc has announced a strategic partnership with NetSpeed Systems Inc to deliver interoperable solutions that enable leading-edge performance in system on chips (SoCs) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications.

The companies will provide deeper integration of their products for designers to utilise the advanced performance features of the MIPS Warrior I-Class I6500 processors effectively with NetSpeed's Gemini network-on-chip intellectual property (IP).

AI capability is becoming ubiquitous in a growing number of applications including autonomous driving, voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, facial recognition, predictive text and many more.

AI, and particularly ML, requires a different kind of processing platform than those commonly used for traditional software programmes.

With AI, the technology must analyse very large quantities of historical data to identify patterns, create behaviour models and, essentially programme itself, which requires a great deal of compute capability with very high performance and low latency for real-time applications.

"Today, all components of the SoC which typically include multiple instances of several different types of processors must work together in a highly orchestrated fashion.

The interconnect fabric is the common glue that can make or break performance, and when tightly integrated with versatile processors such as MIPS I6500-F, it provides the coherent fabric that lets designers mix the on-chip configurations of processing clusters to achieve leading-edge compute capabilities for AI," said chief executive officer of NetSpeed, Sundari Mitra.

MIPS chief financial officer, Krishna Raghavan expects the new AI solutions that MIPS and NetSpeed are working to have a far-reaching impact.

-- BERNAMA

Thursday 15 February 2018

SmartWeb Initiative To Start Blockchain Tokenisation Of Company Domain

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- DigitalTown Inc, a provider of people-centric solutions for smart cities, has provided a condensed update on the status of the SmartWeb initiative and the start of blockchain tokenisation of the company's domain name portfolio.

The domains are .CITY, .LAW, .MENU, .BIBLE, .FASHION, .SHOP, .WEDDING, .WORK, and .BAYERN, .BOSTON, .LONDON, .MIAMI, .NRW.

"The new domain extension economy will benefit greatly from a unified architecture that both streamlines adoption by merchants and publishers, and also empowers consumers to engage with these services on a frictionless basis," said DigitalTown chief executive officer, Rob Monster.

"We believe that domain investors have greatly undervalued the potential of the new domain extensions to improve people's lives, while also empowering businesses to more effectively compete."

"As with the .CITY portals, for cases where a single domain investor does not acquire a domain, we foresee potential for local vertically-focused marketing cooperatives that are jointly owned through Blockchain, Denver.Law, Seattle.Fit, Chicago.Menu, Bali.Wedding, Miami.Work, etc," he said.

Meanwhile, DigitalTown's domain portfolios were acquired on exceptionally favourable terms due to combination of the size of the portfolio acquisitions, DigitalTown's operating plan, and strategic relationships with the registry operators. .

In May 2017, DigitalTown launched an initiative called SmartWeb to make an Internet that is more intuitive, personalised and secure through the use of the new descriptive domain name extensions.

Developed in cooperation with selected Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers accredited registries, each network of descriptive domain names is paired with an intuitive software platform.

Each platform is designed to support blockchain-based shared ownership and shared governance.

-- BERNAMA


Wednesday 14 February 2018

One-year Sponsored Data Roaming For Whatsapp Worldwide


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Flexiroam Ltd, a mobile data roaming provider, is offering one year of free data roaming for WhatsApp in Flexiroam X2 BETA.

Flexiroam, in a statement, said exclusive invites would be sent out this March 15, 2018 to allow users to enjoy special 'sponsored data' to stay connected in 130 countries via WhatsApp.

Connectivity is a basic necessity for most but still represents a significant challenge to many travellers, so to combat this, Flexiroam provides affordable, borderless data roaming globally.

The official version of Flexiroam X2 will be released in the second quarter of 2018.

Flexiroam's new platform will sell a specific data pool to other mobile operators, over-the-top (OTT) players and advertisers so they can incentivise their users by providing them with free data to use its application.

Also, advertisers who aim to increase customer loyalty can purchase a data package from Flexiroam and offer value-adding services or incentives to their users so that they can continue using their service while travelling abroad without incurring any data roaming charges.

Flexiroam X currently has about 120,000 subscribers from over 50 different countries worldwide and counting.

-- BERNAMA 


Zerostack Sets Up Singapore Office To Meet Growing Demand


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Self-driving on premises cloud creator, ZeroStack Inc today announced the formulation of ZeroStack Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd.

In a statement, it said the establishment of its Singapore office was to respond to the rapid demand for ZeroStack products in Southeast Asia.

With more than 10 partners signing up since late last summer, ZeroStack has made the investment to form a separate legal entity to service the demand.

"Setting up a formal business presence in Singapore is a direct reflection of the demand we are experiencing across the ASEAN region."

"Having established a presence in the region, we now have a base from which to drive and support our continued growth," said director of ZeroStack Technologies Singapore, Joel Norton.

ZeroStack uses intelligent software to deliver its self-driving cloud platform that enables agile Dev0ps practices with self-service creation of custom workspaces.

-- BERNAMA


CARRIER AQUAEDGE® 19XR, 23XRV AND AQUAFORCE® 30KA, 30XA, 30XB, 30XW AND 30HXC CHILLERS ARE AVAILABLE WITH LOWER GLOBAL WARMING REFRIGERANT SOLUTIONS

Legacy R-134a as well as the newer refrigerants are supported in Carrier chillers in Asia

SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of Carrier Asia’s commitment to supporting the drive for lower global warming refrigerant solutions, Carrier AquaEdge® 19XR water-cooled centrifugal chillers, 23XRV water-cooled screw chillers and AquaForce® 30KA/XA/XB air-cooled screw and 30XW/HXC water-cooled screw chillers can be used with both R-134a as well as lower global warming potential (GWP) options including HFOs and blends such as R450A and R513A. Carrier, a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

“Our customers rely on Carrier for quality, reliability and predictability and they will be pleased to know our AquaEdge 19XR and 23XRV water-cooled chillers along with our AquaForce 30KA/XA/XB air-cooled and 30XW/HXC water-cooled chillers are able to transition from R-134a to lower GWP options including HFOs and blends such as R450A and R513A at the same time we pursue development of other low global warming refrigerant alternatives, ” said Sanjeev Yadav, director of Strategy, Marketing and Communications, UTC Climate, Controls & Security, Asia Pacific.

“We believe R-134a will continue to provide the best combination of availability, cost, performance and safety for many years to come. The ability to convert our R-134a chillers to other refrigerants provides owners and facility managers even greater options that ensure the full useful life of this chiller,” Yadav added.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31192

Tuesday 13 February 2018

NYNJA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR FIRST BLOCKCHAIN-ENABLED INTERNATIONAL MESSAGING APP WITH INTEGRATED DIGITAL MARKETPLACE AND ITS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY ECONOMY

Cross-platform App Enables Consumers and Enterprise Users to Communicate, Buy, Sell and Trade without Language Barriers in a Decentralized Cryptocurrency Marketplace

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NYNJA Group Ltd. (https://www.nynja.biz/), a global communications and mobile technology company, today announced NYNJA, the first international communications app with a built-in digital marketplace and cryptocurrency wallet. NYNJA is a cross-platform app that combines voice, text and visual messaging with robust and secure business management and e-commerce features, all powered by its own financial ecosystem and cryptocurrency, NYNJACoin. NYNJA, in development since Q1 2017, is currently in beta and the public token sale for NYNJACoin will launch on April 17, 2018.

"While there is no shortage of mobile messaging apps, there has never been an all-in-one communications app that seamlessly supports the messaging and transactional needs of both individual and business users with the utmost security protocols available today," said co-founder and CEO Salvatore Guerrieri. "NYNJA is the first app of its kind to harness the full potential of its user base, empowering them with a cross-platform multimedia messaging app and a built-in global marketplace backed by secure Blockchain protocols."
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31190

HAIER EXTENDS SPRING FESTIVAL GREETINGS TO GLOBAL CUSTOMERS, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS TO CELEBRATE FAMILY REUNION

QINGDAO, China, Feb 12 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- As the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is around the corner, the whole China nation and all the Chinese communities around the world are brimming with the festive atmosphere. Different countries with different cultural backgrounds will together celebrate the festival.

Despite the cultural differences and different ways of celebrating the new year across the world, people all over the world share the same attachment to their family. As a global leading home appliances brand and an active member of China's National Brands Project, Haier recently released a series of new year videos to promote the "family culture", which featured a loving American family, a romantic French family, a hardworking New Zealand family, and a cross-border Chinese family. The featured families span different continents and hemispheres, providing a unique global perspective on the occasion of the festival season.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31178

Monday 12 February 2018

CALIFORNIA STATE COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF CP KELCO IN TRADE SECRETS THEFT CASE

Former Employee Found Guilty of Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

ATLANTA, Feb 9 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CP Kelco, a leading global producer of specialty hydrocolloid solutions, announced today that a California state court issued a judgment in its favor in a legal case filed against one of its ex-senior scientists, Dr. Chienkuo "Ronnie" Yuan, Director of Innovation at DSM (China) Ltd. Dr. Yuan was an employee with CP Kelco for 14 years before departing in 2014 to join DSM, a subsidiary of Royal DSM, N.V. and a competitor of CP Kelco in the gellan gum industry.

In July 2015, CP Kelco filed a Complaint against Dr. Yuan in San Diego Superior Court, following several attempts to address CP Kelco's legitimate concerns that the Company's intellectual property may have been used for the benefit of DSM by Dr. Yuan.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31169

SNOMED CT SUPPORTS ATHLETE CARE AT THE 2018 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES IN PYEONGCHANG

London, United Kingdom, Feb 9 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SNOMED International announced today that its SNOMED CT global standardized clinical terminology will be used to support athlete care and treatment at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Used in more than 50 countries worldwide, SNOMED CT is an international standard for clinical terminology. It enables the global exchange and analysis of clinical information in electronic health records through a codified language that spans countries, languages and health information systems. SNOMED International demonstrates its commitment to excellence in healthcare at the Olympic Games through its charter support of the Olympic Healthcare Interoperability (OHI) Initiative, set to launch March 6, 2018.
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31166

Saturday 10 February 2018

B CAPITAL GROUP, A NEW TYPE OF GLOBAL VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM BACKED BY BCG, CLOSES $360 MILLION FUND

B Capital backs groundbreaking entrepreneurs building the next generation of technology companies

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- B Capital Group, a digital technology investment firm that invests in pioneering healthcare, financial services & insurance, industrial, and consumer enablement companies, today announced that it closed B Capital Fund, L.P. at $360 million, substantially exceeding the original target. Founded with the deep-rooted belief that innovation has no borders, B Capital Group’s new fund will continue to enable the firm to invest in innovation, bringing a global-first mentality to investing and partnering with entrepreneurs.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31172

VISTAJET PRESENTS EXCEPTIONAL TRAVEL EXPERIENCES FOR THE COLLECTION OF PEGGY AND DAVID ROCKEFELLER

Three highly personalized programs for art lovers to enhance the most significant philanthropic auction ever presented

LONDON, Feb 9 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

VistaJet, the first and only global private aviation company, showcases today three exclusive experiences to enrich the exhibitions and global tour of The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, the most valuable auction of a private collection entirely dedicated to raising funds for philanthropic causes.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=31163

PRODUCTIVITY NEXUS FOR RETAIL, F&B AIMS 7.2 PCT GROWTH IN LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Productivity Nexus for the retail and food & beverage (F&B) industry targets a 7.2 per cent growth in labour productivity in the industry to meet the 2020 national-level productivity target of RM92,300 per worker.
The retail and F&B sector currently employs no less than 2.7 million people which marks a value-added of RM89 billion – recording an 8.3 per cent contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product.
A privately driven initiative, Productivity Nexus for retail and F&B, is a one-stop centre that caters to enterprises to boost productivity while increasing innovation and capturing growth opportunities.
The implementation of the Productivity Nexus initiative, which rides on the premise of sharing the economy’s best practices and being inspired by industry experts to spur the rest of the industry, was slated to involve 80 to 100 selected flagship companies.
Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Seri Dr Richard Riot Jaem said the time had come for the country’s labour capital productivity to be further enhanced by embracing the digital economy ecosystem.
"These flagship programmes are all game-changers for the retail and F&B industry, as well as the people of Malaysia,” he said in his speech read by the ministry’s secretary general, Datuk Dr Mohd Ghazali Abas, at the official launch of the flagship programmes, here, yesterday. 
The flagship programmes are divided into three areas: Retail Digitalisation, O2O Growth Venture and Top Transformers.
Led by Malaysian E-Commerce (a chapter of PIKOM) chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah, the first flagship programme centres on guiding and equipping selected brick and mortar retail business owners to understand, adapt and master the online revolution. This programme aims to attain sustainable growth and increased sales by taking their businesses online.
The O2O Growth Venture programme, helmed by Fave founder Joel Neoh, emphasises on venturing into new online sales channels and business models to increase sales of businesses. It also educates on the adoption of digital tools and consumer insights.
Meanwhile, the Top Transformers programme was designed for leaders in retailing and F&B who are tasked to manage people and deliver results regardless of ranking to create a well-tuned working environment. The programme, championed by PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd group chief executive/managing director Datuk Michael Tio, kicked off in January and will go on until March.

-- BERNAMA