Tech News
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Proofpoint Essentials Adds Social Media Protection, Email Attachment Defense and Automated Email Encryption
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proofpoint, Inc., (NASDAQ:PFPT), a leading next-generation cybersecurity company, today announced the latest version of Proofpoint Essentials™ to protect how small and medium enterprises work today. Today's release features policy-based email encryption, protection against threats on corporate social media accounts and defense against attachment-based advanced threats.
According to Proofpoint research, on average, a 150-employee company suffers a targeted attack once a month. The FBI's Criminal Investigative Division also recently indicated that cybercriminals use publicly available information and vulnerabilities in email systems to trick small businesses into wiring large sums of money into fraudulent bank accounts. From October 2013 through June 2015, companies around the world lost more than $1 billion as a result of such schemes, and this is just one of several types of highly successful cyberattacks using email as the entry point.
"Proofpoint Essentials has completely transformed our cybersecurity posture, and we are confident we are doing everything possible to protect our employees, systems and customers from the array of increasingly malicious attacks," said Charles Hoots, Impac Services. "The solution was simple to deploy and has been very easy to maintain using our existing resources, minimizing the impact on our budget. Proofpoint Essentials gives us peace of mind."
With cloud-based Proofpoint Essentials, all cyberattack protection capabilities are accessible through a single, easy-to-use interface. Three new capabilities released today include:
- Social media account protection via continuous, real-time monitoring of corporate social media accounts with automated removal of unwanted posts (based on Proofpoint Nexgate's award-winning service).
- Attachment defense to identify malicious content within email attachments using next-generation analysis and to prevent users from falling prey to attacks.
- Automated email encryption of communications that contain sensitive data, enforcing data security policies and preventing inadvertent data loss.
"Attacks against SMEs are just as common as those against large enterprises, but the consequences for smaller organizations can be more devastating," said Andres Kohn, general manager of Proofpoint Essentials. "By stopping social media threats and malicious attachments, as well as spam and malicious email links, Proofpoint Essentials protects SMEs and the information they create from cyberattacks, data loss and compliance violations."
Proofpoint Essentials is an easy-to-deploy and manage, cloud-based next generation security solution that helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to extend their security policy from email into social media properties. This extension protects employees and social followers from malware, spam, phishing attacks, and malicious links and attachments. Designed for organizations with fewer than 1,000 users, Proofpoint Essentials enables SMEs to benefit from the same Proofpoint enterprise-class security technology that protects more than half of the Fortune 100. It reduces the cost and complexity typically associated with deploying, configuring and maintaining cybersecurity solutions.
Proofpoint Essentials is available in three packages – Business, Advanced, and Professional – to enable organizations to meet their specific security and budget requirements. For more information about Proofpoint Essentials, please visit www.proofpoint.com/essentials.
About Proofpoint, Inc.
Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ:PFPT) is a leading next-generation security and compliance company that provides cloud-based solutions for comprehensive threat protection, incident response, secure communications, social media security, compliance, archiving and governance. Organizations around the world depend on Proofpoint's expertise, patented technologies and on-demand delivery system. Proofpoint protects against phishing, malware and spam, while safeguarding privacy, encrypting sensitive information, and archiving and governing messages and critical enterprise information. More information is available at www.proofpoint.com.
Proofpoint is a registered trademark of Proofpoint, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT: Patricia Hogan Proofpoint, Inc. 408-763-3863 phogan@proofpoint.com
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Informatica Broadens Data On-Ramp, Strengthens Data Management Backbone Offering for AWS Customers
Las Vegas, NV - Booth #937, AWS re:Invent, Oct. 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Informatica, the world's number one independent software provider focused on delivering transformative innovation for the future of all things data, today announced a broad series of cloud integration and data management capabilities on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help customers transform their IT infrastructures to run in the cloud. Informatica provides a comprehensive integration, data management and cloud compute portfolio on AWS for empowering enterprises with fast and flexible access to the cloud.
Informatica capabilities for AWS will be showcased at the Informatica booth #937 at AWS re:Invent, October 6-9, 2015 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV.
Highlighted new capabilities include:
- Simplified ingestion of IoT data for AWS
The Informatica Cloud Fall 2015 release, available now, delivers new capabilities for IoT sensor log data discovery and parsing for easier integration of IoT data for Amazon Redshift, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Aurora and Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR).
- Enhanced big data and SaaS connectivity for AWS services
Informatica Cloud Fall 2015 also introduces new versions of Informatica's pre-built connectors for AWS services, including Amazon Kinesis and Amazon DynamoDB, as well as leading cloud applications and big data sources, such as Concur, Eloqua, Salesforce Marketing Cloud and others.
- Hybrid architecture data flows across on-premise, Hadoop and AWS
Informatica Cloud and Informatica PowerCenter now orchestrate complex petabyte-scale data processing to enable hybrid IT data flows across on-premise enterprise applications, Hadoop implementations and AWS Cloud, with native support for Amazon EMR.
- Informatica bundles for AWS Marketplace and AWS Test Drive
Informatica is now offering new, usage-priced packaged solutions on AWS Marketplace, including solutions for Amazon Redshift, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Aurora. Additionally, customers can now explore the use of Informatica Cloud for AWS and Tableau for free on AWS Test Drive.
"Informatica is committed to being the leading data backbone for companies that use AWS," said Ronen Schwartz, senior vice president and general manager, Informatica Cloud. "With our comprehensive connectivity support for AWS services, such as Amazon Kinesis and Amazon DynamoDB, custom pricing and packaged bundles for AWS, availability on AWS Marketplace and AWS Test Drive, Informatica is enabling a seamless and ever-widening on-ramp from traditional data infrastructure to IT cloud computing services for customers in every industry."
Informatica IoT, Big Data and SaaS Advantage
Providing a broad portfolio of data integration, application integration, data quality and master data management for cloud and hybrid architecture use cases, Informatica empowers enterprise customers and ISVs to take advantage of AWS services as they move their IT infrastructures to the cloud or run their SaaS offerings on AWS.
Informatica Cloud, in combination with Informatica PowerCenter, enables AWS customers with hybrid architecture environments easy access to almost any data source, on-premise or cloud-based. By the same token, ISVs with SaaS applications built on AWS are able to leverage Informatica's Connector SDK for ISVs and the Informatica Technology Partner Networks (TPN), to easily connect apps with hundreds of on-premise, cloud and social data sources.
Informatica's extensive and well-proven big data capabilities bring further advantages to AWS customers seeking to increase the effectiveness, lower the cost and reduce the risk of their big data initiatives. Using Informatica, AWS customers are able to automate and operationalize data integration and data management activities from pilot to production, ensuring that the activities are repeatable across diverse and constantly changing data sources and that they apply best practices that can be shared across an organizations' big data projects.
Supporting Quotes
"Our data warehouse as a service is built entirely on the cloud. We leverage the elasticity, scalability and flexibility of Amazon S3 and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) to deliver a data warehouse service that gives our customers a self-service data warehouse that can support them at any scale," said Jon Bock, vice president of Products, Snowflake. "Informatica Cloud and its support for AWS provides our customers with a seamless way to easily and securely connect data from hybrid architectures and on-premises systems to Snowflake, helping them take advantage of Snowflake's native support for structured and semi-structured data, multidimensional elasticity and compelling price-performance."
"We're pleased to work with Informatica supporting customers with their increasing number of big data initiatives," said Terry Wise, vice president of Worldwide Partner Ecosystem, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "As an all-in AWS Partner Network (APN) ISV, Informatica provides innovative solutions to help customers accelerate cloud adoption, and take advantage of the many benefits of the cloud."
Additional Information
- Find the Informatica Cloud Connector for Amazon Redshift on the awsmarketplace here
- Find out more about Informatica and AWS Test Drive here
Tweet this: News: @Informatica strengthens data management backbone for @awscloud customers http://infa.media/AWSrelease #AWS #reinvent
About Informatica
Informatica is a leading independent software provider focused on delivering transformative innovation for the future of all things data. Organizations around the world rely on Informatica to realize their information potential and drive top business imperatives. More than 5,800 enterprises depend on Informatica to fully leverage their information assets residing on-premise, in the Cloud and on the internet, including social networks. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica at https://www.linkedin.com/company/Informatica, https://twitter.com/Informatica and https://www.facebook.com/InformaticaLLC.
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Note: Informatica, Informatica Cloud and Informatica PowerCenterare trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Debbie O'Brien Informatica +1 650 385 5735 - office +1 650 995 6736 - mobile dobrien@informatica.com
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Gemalto to provide solution for Samsung Gear S2 with 3G connectivity
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct. 6, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, has provided the solution to Samsung Electronics for the launch of their latest Gear S2 smartwatch. Gemalto's solution will allow users to securely connect to the cellular networks. As a result, they will be able to make voice and data calls, check emails and notifications, or access applications, directly from their wrist, without being tethered to their smartphones.
The wearables market is poised for a rapid growth with worldwide shipments set to exceed 126 million units by 20191. Many smart wearables are coming to market, driven by consumer demands for a more convenient and connected lifestyle. According to a survey conducted across five countries – China, Germany, South Korea, UK, and the US, 56% of smartphone owners say that cellular connectivity is an important factor in buying a smartwatch2. Samsung Gear S2, which comes in a circular design with unique rotation bezel and intuitive UX that offers extended battery life of 2-3 days, is optimized for seamless, everyday use. Consumers will be able to stay connected in a fun, personalized and secure way, anytime and anywhere.
"This is yet another milestone in our successful cooperation with Samsung, following the recent launch of Samsung Pay in Europe," said Suzanne Tong-Li, President for Greater China and Korea at Gemalto. "As the Internet of Things evolves and focus shifts towards smart wearables that go beyond reporting and monitoring, we will support Samsung to design many more innovative products to reach specific markets."
About Gemalto
Gemalto full range of solutions for consumer electronics includes the embedded subscriber identification module (eSIM) which can reside inside the wearable device and the advanced On Demand Connectivity platform which is used to activate, deactivate and remotely manage the device mobile network subscription and related information. Gemalto range of solutions can also be used to manage the other secure information residing in the device, such as payment, enterprise network or building access credentials.
Find out more at http://www.gemalto.com/iot/consumer-electronics
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security, with 2014 annual revenues of €2.5 billion and blue-chip customers in over 180 countries.
Gemalto helps people trust one another in an increasingly connected digital world. Billions of people want better lifestyles, smarter living environments, and the freedom to communicate, shop, travel, bank, entertain and work – anytime, everywhere – in ways that are enjoyable and safe. In this fast moving mobile and digital environment, we enable companies and administrations to offer a wide range of trusted and convenient services by securing financial transactions, mobile services, public and private clouds, eHealthcare systems, access to eGovernment services, the Internet and internet-of-things and transport ticketing systems.
Gemalto's unique technology portfolio - from advanced cryptographic software embedded in a variety of familiar objects, to highly robust and scalable back-office platforms for authentication, encryption and digital credential management - is delivered by our world-class service teams. Our 14,000 employees operate out of 99 offices, 34 personalization and data centers, and 24 research and software development centers located in 46 countries.
For more information visit www.gemalto.com, www.justaskgemalto.com, blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.
1 http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25519615
Gemalto media contacts: Philippe Benitez Peggy Edoire Vivian Liang North America Europe & CIS 大中华地区 (Greater China) +1 512 257 3869 +33 4 42 36 45 40 +86 1059373046 philippe.benitez@gemalto.com peggy.edoire@gemalto.com vivian.liang@gemalto.com Ernesto Haikewitsch Kristel Teyras Pierre Lelievre Latin America Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific +55 11 5105 9220 +33 1 55 01 57 89 +65 6317 3802 ernesto.haikewitsch@gemalto.com kristel.teyras@gemalto.com pierre.lelievre@gemalto.com -
SHM's Project BOOST Integrates Into Cerner EHR Processes
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) announced the integration of SHM's Project BOOST™ toolkit into Cerner's Readmission Prevention Solution, available within the Cerner Millennium® electronic health record (EHR).
The integration of Project BOOST into Cerner Millennium provides clinicians with a comprehensive intervention strategy to optimize the patient discharge process. Developed by a panel of expert clinicians, Project BOOST content embedded into clinical workflows includes:
- Automated early identification of specific readmission risk factors and corresponding interventions
- General Assessment of Preparedness checklist to help identify patient concerns about their readiness to leave the hospital
- Simplified patient-centered discharge instructions to help safely transition a patient home
- Teach Back education process and documentation to help patients comprehend pertinent information related to their hospitalization and transition
"As part of Cerner's journey to advance our population health solutions, we originally collaborated with Advocate Health Care to innovate and develop the readmission prediction model powering Cerner's Readmission Prevention Solution. We are excited that this journey continues with the integration of SHM's award-winning Project BOOST content," said Bharat Sutariya, MD, FACEP, vice president and chief medical officer of Population Health, Cerner. "The enhanced readmission solution provides our clients with access to nationally recognized content and an industry-leading predictive model to help identify and manage patients that are at risk for readmissions."
Project BOOST is an award-winning national initiative designed to improve the care of patients and reduce risks for medical complications as they transition from hospital to home. Announced in August 2013, Cerner and SHM collaborated to create a robust paperless platform designed to help health care providers reduce 30-day readmission rates, improve clinical workflow and improve patient satisfaction while cultivating the flow of information from hospitals to outside care providers.
"Cerner and SHM have added intelligence to the readmission solution to enhance the clinical workflow and encourage patient-centered care," said Mark V. Williams, MD, MHM, principal investigator, Project BOOST. "What used to be a paper checklist process is now available to clinicians in their everyday workflow within the Cerner Millennium. The collaboration represents another step toward our goal to improve care for hospitalized patients."
Northern Arizona Healthcare, the first Cerner client to pilot Project BOOST-enabled Millennium in July 2014, realized a reduction of all-cause readmissions by more than 45 percent. Northern Arizona Healthcare will present its experience and success with the BOOST-enabled EHR at Cerner's Health Conference in October.
"The automation of Project BOOST workflow is saving our clinicians an average of one hour per patient," said Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, ACM, social work manager, Northern Arizona Healthcare. "This allows our clinicians to reach more patients and spend more time at the bedside, resulting in better patient care and outcomes."
Cerner clients will also have access to a step-by-step instruction and project management implementation guide, the BOOST Online Community to learn from and collaborate with other sites, and the BOOST Data Center that allows users to store and benchmark data against control units and other providers. Provider sites can also elect to join the Project BOOST Mentored Implementation Program, which includes in-person training and a year of expert mentoring and coaching. Project BOOST Mentored Implementation Program is implemented in more than 200 hospitals.
About Cerner
Cerner's health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 18,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients' clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner's mission is to contribute to the systemic improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities. On February 2, 2015, Cerner Corporation acquired substantially all of the assets, and assumed certain liabilities, of the Siemens Health Services business from Siemens AG. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com, read our blog at cerner.com/blog, connect with us on Twitter at twitter.com/cerner and on Facebook at facebook.com/cerner.
Certain trademarks, service marks and logos set forth herein are property of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other non-Cerner marks are the property of their respective owners.
About SHM
Representing the fastest growing specialty in modern healthcare, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is the leading medical society for more than 44,000 hospitalists and their patients. SHM is dedicated to promoting the highest quality care for all hospitalized patients and overall excellence in the practice of hospital medicine through quality improvement, education, advocacy and research. Over the past decade, studies have shown that hospitalists can contribute to decreased patient lengths of stay, reductions in hospital costs and readmission rates, and increased patient satisfaction.
SHM's Center for Hospital Innovation and Improvement is nationally recognized for improving care delivery to hospitalized patients and offers a wide array of quality improvement toolkits and resources for providers. Free online tools and information are available at www.hospitalmedicine.org/qi.
For more information about SHM and hospital medicine, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org and follow SHM on Twitter at @SHMLive. Any hospital, regardless of its EHR, can join SHM's Project BOOST. For more information visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/boost.
CONTACT: Angela Vogen Cerner angela.vogen@cerner.com @Cerner Brendon Shank Society of Hospital Medicine bshank@hospitalmedicine.org @BrendonAtSHM
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Case Study: Manufacturer Automates Accounts Payable, Customer Service Workflow for Time and Cost Savings
TAMPA, FLA., Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IntelliChief, LLC, provider of enterprise-class document management and workflow solutions, announces the release of a case study focusing on a manufacturers' struggles with costs associated in their purchase-to-pay workflow, and manual process inefficiencies Accounts Payable rectified with automation throughout the company. Results include simplified daily functions, maintained integrity of all purchasing documentation, secure timely approvals and maximized vendor discounts. Another issue addressed is manual order processing workflow in the Customer Service department; when automated reduced their order processing time by 50%.
IntelliChief's paperless process management software provides a smooth transition from costly manual document management and workflow functions, enabling users to capture documentation in any format, index the contents and validate with data in their enterprise resource planning system (ERP), for lifecycle-managing all related documentation, and facilitating an optimized workflow of mission-critical processes in areas including Accounting (purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash), Customer Service, Human Resources, Legal, Operations and other paper and process-intensive departments.
View the case study PDF at http://bit.ly/1OySJ1r . For more information, visit www.IntelliChief.com.
About IntelliChief, LLCIntelliChief's Paperless Process Management provides enterprise-class business processes document management and workflow solutions for any IT platform. With decades of expertise in the market and seamless integration with leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, IntelliChief takes companies of all sizes paperless with a typical ROI of less than one year. Users can create, capture, manage, archive, retrieve and distribute mission-critical documents directly from their familiar ERP screens, automating and streamlining business processes workflow throughout their organization. www.intellichief.com.
CONTACT: IntelliChief, LLC Tim Nissen Marketing Manager tnissen@intellichief.com (813) 971-9500 x335
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Tech Data's Jill Hayward Named to CRN's 100 People You Don't Know But Should List
CLEARWATER, Fla., Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ:TECD) today announced that Jill Hayward, the company's director of Sales, Major Accounts, has been named by CRN to its 2015 100 People You Don't Know But Should list. Chosen by the CRN editorial staff with input from vendor, distribution, and solution provider executives, the annual list recognizes those who have demonstrable impact on channel strategies, initiatives and programs. According to CRN, the list aims to recognize people working within the channel who are not necessarily in the spotlight, but are working behind the scenes to make positive things happen for their partners.
A 20-year veteran of Tech Data, Hayward has served as director of Sales, Major Accounts since October 2010. In this role, she leads the strategic direction of the Major Accounts sales division, focused on growing the business of existing solution providers and developing new business for the company. Hayward was named Tech Data's Director of the Year in 2014 and is a co-founder of the company's first employee resource group for women. Earlier this year, she was named one of CRN's Women of the Channel. She holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Eckerd College.
"This recognition is a reflection of Jill's hard work and dedication to our partners throughout the IT channel," said Marty Bauerlein, senior vice president, U.S. Sales at Tech Data. "Jill's strong leadership and performance inspire others within the sales organization, and we couldn't be more proud to congratulate her on this accomplishment."
"CRN recognizes that many unsung heroes deserve to be spotlighted for their behind-the-scenes efforts," says Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. "This list honors those in the IT-channel trenches, toiling each day to achieve success for their companies and partners."
Showcased in the October issue of CRN, the 100 People You Don't Know But Should list can be viewed at www.crn.com/100people.
Additionally,CRN recently featured Tech Data in the 2015 Cloud Computing Partner Program Guide for enabling and accelerating the growth of solution providers' cloud initiatives. The CRN 2015 Cloud Computing Partner Program Guide provides a valuable resource for solution providers to navigate the booming cloud marketplace by identifying technology suppliers that offer innovative cloud solutions and partner programs.
About Tech Data
Tech Data Corporation is one of the world's largest wholesale distributors of technology products, services and solutions. Its advanced logistics capabilities and value added services enable 115,000 resellers to efficiently and cost effectively support the diverse technology needs of end users in more than 100 countries. Tech Data generated $27.7 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. It is ranked No. 107 on the Fortune 500® and one of Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies." To learn more, visit www.techdata.com, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company, with established brands including CRN®, XChange® Events, IPED® and SharedVue®, is the channel community's trusted authority for growth and innovation. For more than three decades, we have leveraged our proven and leading-edge platforms to deliver prescriptive sales and marketing solutions for the technology channel. The Channel Company provides Communication, Recruitment, Engagement, Enablement, Demand Generation and Intelligence services to drive technology partnerships. Learn more at www.thechannelcompany.com.
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT Amanda Lee Public Relations Manager (727) 538-5803 amanda.lee@techdata.com
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Gopher Protocol Develops and Files Patent for Automatic Activation or Deactivation of Airplane Mode for Mobile Devices
PERRIS, Calif., Oct. 05, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTC:GOPH) (“Gopher”) today announced that it has filed a patent for method relating to the automatic altitude and motion activity detection as well as activation or deactivation of Airplane Mode for mobile devices.
Upon development, we expect that a device using our proprietary microchip system and mobile software application will automatically detect the altitude of a mobile device and would be able to activate or deactivate the mobile device’s Airplane Mode. In addition, the system enables or disables other mobile device functionalities according to its altitude and motion activities. This is accomplished by direct communication with satellites and radio frequency waves to determine the mobile device altitude and motion activities which in turn enables or disables the mobile device’s functionalities.
As part of the SOS real time emergency communications (reported last week), the proprietary microchip will directly communicate via satellite with all other proprietary microchips within mobile devices, worldwide, in order to provide the emergency communication, location identification and tracking feature, which we believe will be a useful tool for air travelers. The implementation of this system would be subject to approval of the Federal Aviation Administration as well as other standard business metrics including obtaining the needed financing and market acceptance of the system.
This new patent is a derivative of the GopherInsight™ platform, which is a new, integrated circuit technology developed by Gopher. GopherInsight™ is the heart of a new concept mobile system targeted to learn and adapt to each consumer's shopping habits.
About Gopher Protocol Inc.
Gopher Protocol Inc. ("Gopher") is a heuristic-based technology platform that connects consumers with the products and services they need through a novel way of master scheduling deliverables according to demand at the customer's location based on a smartphone application, the internet or by phone call. Gopher is presently developing mobile applications including The Magic Leaf, The Corporate Courier, Taximania and RoadFriend that are part of the GopherExpress platform -- http://hermesroll.com/ which content has been shifted into the Gopher branding under http://gopherex.com/ and gopherex.net as well as gas delivery via Neft - http://neftapp.com/.
CONTACT: Contact:Dr. Dan Rittman, CTOGopher Protocol Inc.888-685-7336
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Blackbaud Completes Acquisition of Smart Tuition
CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 05, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB), the leading provider of cloud software and services for the worldwide philanthropic community, today announced it has completed its acquisition of Smart Tuition, a leading provider of payment software and services for private schools and parents.
Blackbaud purchased all of the outstanding equity interests of Smart Tuition for an aggregate purchase price of $190 million and financed the acquisition with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing credit facility.
The acquisition of Smart Tuition significantly expands Blackbaud’s addressable market and positions the company to offer the K-12 private schools community a single, well-integrated solution that fully connects schools; including enrollment management, student information, billing and tuition management, learning and content management, fundraising, and more.
“With this acquisition, we’re embracing a vision that leverages more than 50 years of combined innovation and expertise in the K-12 private schools market,” said Blackbaud President and CEO Mike Gianoni. “The end result will be the most powerful, comprehensive and well-integrated cloud solution for schools on the planet—one that will undoubtedly redefine the experience for teachers, administration and families for decades to come.”
Smart Tuition’s full product suite, including Smart Tuition, Smart Aid and Smart for Dioceses will fold into Blackbaud’s K-12 lineup. “The addition of our payments solutions to Blackbaud’s leading product and service portfolio presents immediate and significant upside for K-12 private schools and families,” said Smart Tuition President and CEO Matt Knapp. “This means unmatched offerings from one trusted partner that helps schools manage and connect information, improve internal processes and strengthen the parent experience. And as we continue to innovate as one coordinated company, school clients can expect to see even greater overhead reductions, better-empowered faculty and students, and satisfied families who are advocates for life.”
The Smart Tuition business will align with Blackbaud’s General Markets Business Unit with operations continuing out of New Jersey and other locations across the United States. Matt Knapp, CEO of Smart Tuition, will continue leading the group, reporting into Kevin Mooney, executive vice president and president of Blackbaud’s General Markets Business Unit.
Established in 1989, Smart Tuition is headquartered in Woodbridge, NJ. Financial advisors for this transaction were Sagent Advisors, LLC for Blackbaud, and Raymond James for Smart Tuition.
About Blackbaud
Serving the worldwide philanthropic community for more than 30 years, Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) combines innovative cloud software and services, and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works in over 60 countries to power the passions of more than 30,000 clients, including nonprofits, K-12 private and higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, foundations and other charitable giving entities, and corporations. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud and on-premise solutions, as well as a resource network that empowers and connects organizations of all sizes. Blackbaud's portfolio of software and services support nonprofit fundraising and relationship management, eMarketing, advocacy, accounting, payments and analytics, as well as grant management, corporate social responsibility, and education. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise, invest, manage and award more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
About Smart Tuition
Founded in 1989, Smart Tuition is a leader in providing a robust student billing and payments processing platform through its SaaS school accounts receivables offering. The company was recognized among Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing private companies in America in 2014. Smart Tuition supports the educational mission of faith based schools, as well as independent private schools across the United States. For more information about Smart Tuition, please visit: http://www.smarttuition.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the expected benefits of the acquisition to Blackbaud. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.
CONTACT: Blackbaud Media ContactNicole McGougan Public Relations 843.654.3307 nicole.mcgougan@blackbaud.com Smart Tuition Media ContactMarla LeungPublic Relations941.302.4304mleung@smarttuition.com
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FireLayers and Check Point Join Forces to Extend Security to Enterprise Cloud Applications
NEW YORK and HERZLIYA, Israel, Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In today's ever-connected world, employees are using their devices for personal and business activities, and hackers are targeting these employees using enterprise cloud applications to distribute sophisticated malware. IT needs to combat this malicious activity with new and innovative solutions that are able to secure documents transferred via the cloud.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=36657
To halt these attacks in their tracks, FireLayers, which provides real-time protection for enterprise cloud applications, and Check Point Software Technologies, the largest pure-play security vendor globally, today announced their joint Extend Perimeter Security solution, which spreads security to cloud applications and provides enterprises with unprecedented protection from zero-day threats and malware distribution via these apps. In pairing the FireLayers Secure Cloud Application Platform with Check Point's SandBlast™ Threat Emulation service for advanced sandboxing, documents downloaded through file-sharing apps are scanned for and cleaned of any potential malicious behavior, ensuring the recipient of a document is not met by foul play.
"Today's organizations are increasingly dependent upon SaaS and the cloud and need the tools that will allow them to continue to be efficient and facilitate collaboration," said Alon Kantor, vice president, Business Development at Check Point. "Our Extend Perimeter Security solution will help organizations extend their security infrastructure to protect against many of the threats associated with SaaS application use today so that they can protect critical business information from any device."
As part of Extend Perimeter Security, the FireLayers Secure Cloud Application Platform scans all file repositories in the cloud, using Check Point SandBlast Threat Emulation to identify and detect any malware infected files. Depending upon the results of the scan, FireLayers enforces security policies to mitigate risk. The joint platform continuously evaluates all files at rest and as they are used. This includes malicious file uploads, shared file downloads, opening infected files and more, protecting the enterprise from active threats.
"We are excited to provide enterprises with a totally new level of much-needed protection against malware being distributed by cloud apps," said Boris Gorin, vice president, Security at FireLayers. "Today, enterprises need security solutions that can manage BYOD and anywhere/anytime access across the extended corporate network. FireLayers extends security protections to cloud app data, access and usage and delivers highly granular policy-based rule enforcement and auditing down to the single command level. The combined technologies from Check Point and FireLayers detect malware and prevent it from infiltrating organizations via cloud apps."
FireLayers protects enterprise cloud applications by integrating context and risk factoring into security policies and triggering user-facing mitigations to prevent data breaches. FireLayers proactively identifies file sharing related actions, in real time, in any application. This includes homegrown applications running on Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, among other IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) customized applications and off-the-shelf SaaS tools like Box, Google Apps, Office 365 and ServiceNow.
After intercepting files in transit or resting in document repositories, FireLayers, as part of the joint solution, delivers them to Check Point SandBlast Threat Emulation for inspection on premise or in the cloud. Check Point SandBlast inspects the file in a sandbox environment at the CPU level, evaluating whether the content is malicious or not. It then informs FireLayers of its analysis, triggering the following mitigations as needed: blocking, quarantine, admin alerts, user notifications or a combination of these actions.
Enterprises that deploy the Extend Perimeter Security solution derive the following benefits:
- Extending the perimeter: Widen their circle of protection off premise to include SaaS, IaaS and PaaS apps
- Secure collaboration: Safely leverage and empower collaboration with cloud-based platforms such as Office 365, Box, Dropbox, Jive, etc.
- Identifying and monitoring files: In real time, detect malicious content in cloud applications and mitigate risk with quarantines and alerts
- Preventing malicious uploads: Intercept malicious content before it is uploaded to cloud apps and notify administrators and users of risky behavior
- Enabling business: Real-time user mitigations and a transparent user experience reduce false positives and ensure cloud application usage remains uninterrupted
- Easy deployment: With no configuration on the client side, deployment is fast and seamless
For more information, download the Extend Perimeter Security solution brief or contact Jason Stolarczyk at Check Point via email at jstolarc@checkpoint.com; Ofer Smadari at FireLayers via email at ofers@firelayers.com.
RESOURCES Check Point + FireLayers Extend Perimeter Security Solution Brief FireLayers Solution Datasheets FireLayers LinkedIn Come visit FireLayers at: Data Connectors NYC Tech Security Conference, Oct. 15, 2015 Boston Cyber Security Summit, Oct. 21, 2015 CiConnect, Oct. 21, 2015 Tweet This: .@FireLayers prevents the spread of malware via cloud apps with @CheckPoint http://bit.ly/1LlIRLG
ABOUT FIRELAYERS
FireLayers enables the responsible adoption of cloud apps, while ensuring security, compliance and governance of any cloud application on any device by any user. The FireLayers Secure Cloud Application Platform delivers full control over homegrown and popular apps like Salesforce, Office 365, SuccessFactors, NetSuite and endless others. Our Secure Cloud Application Platform, which features risk-based authentication, threat detection and user-centric threat prevention empowers enterprises with new levels of security, visibility and control across their cloud resources. FireLayers provides the granular control IT teams need to create safe zones for productive work while protecting enterprise data, networks and financial transactions from malicious attackers, external threats and accidental risky employee behavior.
CONTACT: FireLayers Media Contact: Montner Tech PR Deb Montner, dmontner@montner.com 203-226-9290, ext. 110
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Informatica Delivers the Fuel for the New Informed Digital Purchase Journey
Booth #1244, Shop.org Digital Summit 2015, Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Informatica, the world's number one independent software provider focused on delivering transformative innovation for the future of all things data, is showcasing the latest release of its flagship master data management (MDM) solution, Informatica MDM 10.1, at the Shop.org Digital Summit 2015 this week in Philadelphia, including master data-fueled applications for 360-degree views of customers, products and suppliers.
At the BIG !deas Session
Additionally, at the summit, Jakki Geiger, senior director of Solutions Marketing, Information Quality Solutions, Informatica, will be teaming with executives from leading retailers W.W. Grainger and Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply in an Exhibitor BIG !deas Session, titled Data is the Fuel of the New, Informed Digital Purchase Journey, on Wednesday, October 7, at 1:45 pm Eastern Time, in the Expo Hall - BIG !deas Room.
In the Data is the Fuel of the New, Informed Digital Purchase Journey session, Troy Barker, director, eCommerce at Murdoch's, and John Reynolds, head of Email Marketing at W.W. Grainger, will discuss the master data-centered strategies and technologies that have enabled:
- Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply to position itself as a modern retailer by offering its customers over 1,500 brands and 110,000 SKUs across all channels and customer touchpoints.
- W.W. Grainger, Inc. to leverage the real value of its customer information while ensuring its effectiveness through real-time email verification across all customer email acquisition points, including branch terminals, contact center tools, and online checkout experiences.
The Shop.org Digital Summit 2015 marks the debut of Informatica MDM 10.1 to the retail industry, which delivers complete and accurate views of master data that are so critical to successful multi-channel retailing. Informatica will showcase three master data-fueled applications built on top of Informatica MDM, particularly relevant to retailers:
- Informatica MDM - Customer 360 for a single view of customers across all channels and touch points to drive Total Customer Relationship initiatives. Gartner, Inc. positioned Informatica as a leader in its October 2014 Magic Quadrant for Master Data Management of Customer Data Solutions report, based on ability to execute and completeness of vision.
- Informatica MDM - Product 360 (formerly Informatica PIM) for acquiring, managing and publishing accurate product information across all channels. Informatica was recently rated a "Hot Vendor" and identified as a "new market force" in Ventana Research's 2015 Value Index for Product Information Management (PIM).
- Informatica MDM - Supplier 360 for a centralized and streamlined way to onboard, manage and share information about vendors, suppliers, and the raw materials and products they supply.
At the show, Informatica will also showcase Informatica Data as a Service (DaaS), which validates and enriches customer contact data. Informatica DaaS enables organizations to easily append demographic and firmogaphic data to ensure the accuracy of customer contact data, including email addresses, postal addresses and phone numbers in over 240 countries and territories.
Supporting Quotes:
"According to a recent survey, 95 percent of shoppers use multiple channels. But, there are a number of data-related roadblocks along the value chain that are holding some retailers back from delivering great customer experiences across channels," said Rob Karel, vice president, Product Strategy and Marketing, Information Quality Solutions, Informatica. "By solving their data challenges and fueling their applications with complete and accurate views of customers, products and suppliers, Informatica enables organizations to deliver great experiences. This empowers retailers to better segment customers for personalized offers, to bring products to market faster, and to offer the right product to the right customer at the right time and place, across all channels."
"Murdoch's customers expect to find the depth, breadth and variety of products to help them get the job done and to live the western lifestyle," said Troy Barker, director, eCommerce at Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply. "Informatica's PIM offering, Product 360, has enabled us to centralize the way we manage our product information, enrich it with highly searchable and appealing descriptions, including multimedia, and accelerate the time it takes us to get products posted on our online channel. We couldn't have successfully launched our eCommerce business without it."
Tweet this: News: @Informatica delivers the fuel for the new Informed Digital Purchase Journey http://infa.media/ShopOrg15 #shoporg15
About the Magic Quadrant
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Informatica
Informatica is a leading independent software provider focused on delivering transformative innovation for the future of all things data. Organizations around the world rely on Informatica to realize their information potential and drive top business imperatives. More than 5,800 enterprises depend on Informatica to fully leverage their information assets residing on-premise, in the Cloud and on the internet, including social networks. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica at https://www.linkedin.com/company/Informatica, https://twitter.com/Informatica and https://www.facebook.com/InformaticaLLC.
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Note: Informatica, Informatica MDM and Informatica Data as a Service are trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Debbie O'Brien Informatica +1 650 385 5735 - office +1 650 995 6736 - mobile dobrien@informatica.com Shira Frantzich Informatica +1 650 385 5674 - office sfrantzich@informatica.com
