Oracle Enables Partners to Drive Growth and Customer Success with Oracle’s SPARC Servers

Oracle Enables Partners to Drive Growth and Customer Success with Oracle’s SPARC Servers

Oracle PartnerNetwork Announces New SPARC T5 and M5 Enablement Resources, Helping Partners to Speed Time to Value for Customers

Redwood Shores, Calif. – March 27, 2013

News Facts

Helping partners quickly leverage the latest innovations in Oracle’s new SPARC systems, Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) today announced new enablement and Specialization resources for SPARC T5 and M5 servers.
Oracle’s SPARC T5 and M5 servers join its entry-level SPARC T4 servers to complete Oracle’s new SPARC family, spanning entry-level, midrange and high-end.
Oracle’s SPARC servers with Oracle Solaris are the world’s best platforms for enterprise computing at any scale and deliver significant cost advantages over comparable systems.
The new servers expand Oracle’s SPARC portfolio and enable near-linear scalability from 1 to 32 sockets, with one common core, one operating system, one management and one virtualization tool to easily address multiple application requirements and quickly meet demanding service-level agreements.
For partners, the new SPARC servers deliver to customers the reliability, availability and serviceability they need to manage the dynamic workloads of a broad range of new and existing enterprise applications.
Providing partners the tools and resources they need to extend business opportunities with SPARC servers, OPN unveiled:
SPARC T5 Demo Equipment Program: Working with their authorized Value-Added Distributor (VAD), qualifying Value-Added Resellers (VARs) can gain a significant discount on select SPARC T5 servers to use in demos and customer use-cases.
Specializations for SPARC T5 and M5 Servers: New enablement resources provide partners the tools and training they need to achieve SPARC T5 and M5 server Specializations, differentiating their offerings in the market and showcasing their expertise to customers.
Immediate Resell Opportunities: Existing SPARC T4 authorized resellers can begin selling Oracle’s SPARC T5 systems immediately; allowing them to grow their revenue stream through new and existing customers. Resell opportunities for SPARC M5 servers will also be available.
Incentive Rebate Opportunities: Beginning immediately, authorized Oracle resellers who are transacting through participating authorized Oracle VADs are eligible for select rebates on Oracle’s SPARC T5 and M5 server lines as part of the OPN Incentive Program.
SPARC T5 and M5 Server Demand Generation Resources: With a wide variety of supporting resources, partners can quickly design and support SPARC T5 and M5 server sales and marketing campaigns. A Fast Start, 1:1 demand generation kit, including a reference guide, templates and SPARC T5 video assets, will enable partners to easily position the value proposition of SPARC T5 for individual customers. A Sales Velocity kit also provides a bevy of resources to partners to extend demand generation activities across their wider customer and prospect base. Partners will also have access to Oracle-sponsored materials and events, from benchmarks, to eBooks, to roadshows and Tech Days, to help drive awareness of the value of Oracle’s SPARC T5 and M5 offerings.

Supporting Quotes

“Dewpoint has been a Sun/Oracle partner since our inception in 1996,” said Paul Zajdel, vice president, Sales, Dewpoint. “Dewpoint experts help implement and optimize Oracle database workloads within mission-critical environments. SPARC T4 and Oracle Solaris have long provided a reliable, high-performance infrastructure for our customers with lower total cost of ownership. We are looking forward to setting new milestones with SPARC T5 in terms of performance, scalability and cost savings.”
“Leveraging the success of its predecessor, Oracle’s new SPARC servers offer new levels of performance and scalability that allow partners to drive further value to customers managing critical application workloads -- from Cloud deployments to large database and business analytics projects,” said Joel Borellis, group vice president, Partner Enablement, Oracle. “With SPARC T5 and M5, and the vast array of OPN resources, partners have a great opportunity to transform customer environments with higher performance and a lower total cost of ownership.”

Supporting Resources

Connect with the Oracle Partner community at OPN on TwitterOPN on FacebookOPN on LinkedIn, andOPN on YouTube.

 

About Oracle PartnerNetwork

Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracle's partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle's growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visithttp://www.oracle.com/partners.

About Oracle

Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center.  For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.

Trademarks

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Port Authority of Allegheny County Selects Trapeze Group, a Subsidiary of Constellation Software's Volaris Group

Port Authority of Allegheny County Selects Trapeze Group, a Subsidiary of Constellation Software's Volaris Group, for Comprehensive Enterprise Asset Management Solution

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 27, 2013) - Constellation Software Inc. ("Constellation") (TSX:CSU) today announced that Trapeze Group ("Trapeze"), a subsidiary of its wholly owned division Volaris Group Inc. ("Volaris"), has signed a significant contract with the Port Authority of Allegheny County ("Authority") in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to provide a comprehensive enterprise asset management solution to effectively schedule, manage and track maintenance work for its fleet, fixed facility, and linear assets.

The Trapeze solution for the Authority helps to manage the processes required for keeping assets in a state of good repair; the solution handles all of the functions related to vehicle maintenance (including repair and preventative maintenance work orders), operating expenses (including fuel, oil and parts) and vehicle availability.

The Authority operates, maintains and supports bus, light rail, incline and paratransit services for nearly 220,000 daily riders in the city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and its suburbs through multiple modes of transit, including buses, light rail vehicles and inclined plane cars. Its fleet includes approximately 700 buses and 83 light rail vehicles.

About Trapeze Group

Trapeze delivers solutions that consider the full 360 degrees of passenger transport. Whether addressing the needs of a single department, an entire organization, or the community, Trapeze provides some of the most advanced software, intelligent transportation systems and mobile technologies in the industry. Hundreds of government and commercial organizations across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific have turned to Trapeze to realize efficiencies, enhance the quality and scope of their services, and safely transport more people with less cost. Please visit www.trapezegroup.com or call 905.629.5297.

About Volaris Group

Volaris acquires, strengthens and grows vertical market technology companies enabling them to be clear leaders within their focused industry. Volaris companies provide specialized, mission-critical solutions to vertical markets around the world including Agri-Food, Asset Management and Logistics, Benefits Administration, Cultural Collections Management, Insurance, Justice, Marine, People Transportation and Rental Management. Volaris is an operating group of Constellation Software Inc. Learn more at www.volarisgroup.com or call 905.629.5297.

About Constellation Software Inc.

Constellation's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CSU". Constellation Software acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses that provide mission-critical software solutions.

Contact Information

TELUS Selects Fujitsu for 100G Inter-City Regional Network Deployments

TELUS Selects Fujitsu for 100G Inter-City Regional Network Deployments

Mar. 26, 2013  

Fujitsu, a leading provider of business, information technology, and communications solutions, announced today that TELUS has selected Fujitsu to help bring 100G performance to the service provider’s network. By utilizing the Fujitsu 100G solution on the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE® 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP), TELUS will be able to meet the bandwidth requirements for high-speed data services, Internet video services, and smart phones, while ensuring a better cost per unit and a lasting technology foundation for their evolving packet-centric regional and national network.

“Our partnership with Fujitsu enables us to continue providing the reach, bandwidth and reliability that our customers require,” said Zouheir Mansourati, Vice President, TELUS Fixed Network Planning & Engineering. “Additionally, by utilizing the FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet ONP for 100G connectivity, TELUS can deliver a high level of service while achieving more efficient regional network utilization, better cost per gigabit of IP traffic, and lower operating cost. Our customers know that TELUS will always support their communications needs with the most advanced and reliable technologies available.”

The Fujitsu 100G solution is designed to meet the demand for bandwidth growth in core networks driven by high speed data services, internet video services, and the wide adoption of bandwidth intensive smart phones. The Fujitsu 100G solution can be cost-effectively deployed to expand network capacity by a factor of 10, eliminating the need for expensive, overlay networks.

“Carrier networks are facing tremendous increases in bandwidth transported,” said Rod Naphan, Senior Vice President of Product and Strategic Planning for Fujitsu Network Communications. “At the same time, these networks are under immense pressure to lower their cost per bit transported. Fujitsu’s 100G technology can help TELUS achieve better network utilization, higher spectral efficiencies and lower overall operating costs.”

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Over 170,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.5 trillion yen (US$54 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012. For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com.

About Fujitsu Network Communications Inc.

Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., headquartered in Richardson, Texas, is an innovator in Connection-Oriented Ethernet and optical transport technologies. A market leader in packet optical networking solutions, WDM and SONET, Fujitsu offers a broad portfolio of multivendor network services as well as end-to-end solutions for design, implementation, migration, support and management of optical networks. For seven consecutive years Fujitsu has been named the U.S. photonics patent leader, and is the only major optical networking vendor to manufacture its own equipment in North America. Fujitsu has over 500,000 network elements deployed by major North American carriers across the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please see: http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.9 billion of annual revenue and more than 13.1 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 678,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.










































































TWO HALIFAX BASED TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES MERGE

TWO HALIFAX BASED TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES MERGE
GBS Mobility and PC Medic Merge Together to Become Premier Small Business
Service Provider

Halifax, NS,
March 25, 2013

GBS Mobility, one of Canada’s largest TELUS dealers, announced today that the company has merged with PC Medic, a local leader in the information technology industry. Their growth will focus on solutions for small to medium-sized businesses at 29 locations throughout Atlantic Canada and Ontario.

“This merger will give us a competitive advantage in both home and business solutions,” said Eli Hage, President of GBS Mobility. “We will be able to take our level of customer experience to the next level by fulfilling all wireless and information technology needs.” The wireless industry is becoming more competitive as new carriers emerge into the marketplace. By merging with PC Medic, GBS Mobility will have the opportunity to accelerate business-to-business growth and become a trusted small to medium-sized business advisor. The ability to offer new products and service excellence will allow the company to become a one-stop shop for wire less and information technology solutions.

“This is a great opportunity for PC Medic and GBS Mobility to become a leader in wireless and information technology,” noted Tino Klironomos, Managing Director of PC Medic.“By combining forces, we expect to see both businesses grow and break new ground.”

GBS Mobility and PC Medic will continue to operate under their respective brands. The merger will be ongoing over the coming months across all locations. The companies will have access to a large product inventory and offer customers TELUS wireless products, hardware, software, servicing and more. PC Medic carries well-respected brand names such as Apple, Lenovo, Xerox, Toshiba, Microsoft and many others.

GBS Mobility is one of Canada’s largest and fastest growing TELUS dealers. With 26 locations covering both Atlantic Canada and Ontario, the company is headquartered out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. For more information about products and services, please visit:
gbsmobility.ca

PC Medic offers home and business solutions for computer technology, network solutions as well as PC and MAC products to meet your technology needs. The company is based in Atlantic Canada with three locations: Halifax, Moncton and St. John’s. For more information, please visit:
pcmedic.com

Ontario Ranks as Top Province for Company Momentum and Industry Growth in Canada's Fast-Rising Video Gaming Industry

Ontario Ranks as Top Province for Company Momentum and Industry Growth in Canada's Fast-Rising Video Gaming Industry

Ontario Technology Corridor Executives Attend Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2013 in San Francisco to Attract New Investments and Trade Partnerships

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 25, 2013) - -- Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2013 -- While it was a revelation when Canada shot past the UK to become one of the world's top three hotspots for video game development in 2010, in 2013 the Ontario Technology Corridor remains among the leaders and has a new revelation for global game development studios considering Canada. The hard-charging province of Ontario is the country's number one jurisdiction in terms of concentration of companies and overall industry momentum within Canada's $1.7 billion, 16,000-employee video game sector.

According to the latest "Essential Facts" report published by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Ontario has an above-average expected growth rate of 21% for its video gaming companies, which currently employ 2,600 people. In addition, Ontario has the highest concentration of micro and small companies of any province and, at 30%, has Canada's highest percentage of game development companies.

Earlier this month, Ontario's dynamic industry attracted Toca Boca of Sweden, the world's leading digital toy app developer, to acquire the 10-person development team of Toronto-based zinc Roe and create the newly named Sago Sago studio with a global mandate. The acquisition marks Toca Boca parent company Bonnier AB's first entrance into the Canadian market via the Ontario Technology Corridor. The Corridor includes the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa Region, Waterloo Region, City of London, and is home to expanding operations by Google Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), Gameloft Inc. and Arkadium Inc., among others.

Darius Basarab, Senior Business Development Specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment -- and Ontario Technology Corridor provincial partner -- says, "While our region's strengths in digital entertainment have attracted large studio wins like Ubisoft, Ontario's world class talent and targeted financial incentives have created a powerful concentration of highly innovative companies and a vibrant digital media and video gaming ecosystem. Our message at GDC 2013 is this: If your company is growing quickly and expanding, join us in Ontario."

It was this same confluence of Ontario talent, tax and momentum factors that helped push Canada past the UK as the third largest development community in the world in 2010. Canada, a leader in total video game development head count, now trails only behind Japan and the United States.

The Ontario Technology Corridor is North America's gateway to innovation. The province of Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment offers many financial assistance and government tax incentive programs to assist businesses, as does Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation and the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), including:

  • Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit (OCASE): Refundable tax credit of 20% to eligible companies for qualifying Ontario labour expenses for the production of computer animation and special effect activities in film or TV
  • Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDMTC): Refundable tax credit of 35% or 40% for eligible labour, marketing and distribution expenditures for the creation of interactive digital media products
  • Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) Interactive Digital Media Fund: Eligible applicants receive a non-refundable contribution of up to $150,000, to a maximum of 50% of the project budget, to create a market-ready interactive digital media product
  • Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC): Refundable tax credit of 25% based upon eligible Ontario labour and other production expenditures
  • Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax incentives: Incentives aimed at innovative companies to reduce R&D costs
  • Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) Tax Incentives: See full lists of tax incentives programs for Books, Magazines, Music, Interactive and Film & TV

About the Ontario Technology Corridor

Employing over 270,000 people among 18,000 companies within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, the Ontario Technology Corridor encompasses the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa Region, Waterloo Region and City of London. The Corridor also welcomes the partnership of the Province of Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment as well as the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. The Ontario Technology Corridor is supported by the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA), Invest Ottawa, Canada's Technology Triangle, and London Economic Development Corporation. For more information: www.ontariotechcorridor.ca

Contact Information

  • Ontario Technology Corridor contacts:

    Darius Basarab
    Senior Business Development Specialist
    Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment
    Cell phone: +1 416-418-3868
    Email: Email Contact

    Jill McCubbin 
    Conversation Architect 
    market2world communications inc. 
    Phone: +1 613-256-3939 
    Email: Email Contact

































































First SAP Integrated Report Demonstrates Commitment to Sustainable Value Creation

First SAP Integrated Report Demonstrates Commitment to Sustainable Value Creation

SAP_Integrated_ReportWALLDORF — SAP today announced its first integrated report, which brings together the information usually shared in an annual report with the information normally contained in a sustainability report. Combining these reports into a single online document allows SAP to highlight the connections between the company’s financial and non-financial performance. The integrated report is a milestone in the company’s journey from having a “sustainability strategy” to making its corporate strategy more sustainable.

The world is experiencing dramatic shifts in economy, technology, society and the environment. Organizations are struggling to fully understand the short and long-term business impact of those changes. To help its customers effectively do this, SAP has made a commitment to develop innovative technology solutions that help the world run better and improve people’s lives. In doing so, SAP helps companies take a more holistic approach to performance and customer success. SAP is working to reframe how it — and its customers — approach problems and create solutions that move beyond improving efficiency, and support transformational change.

As such, an integrated report both facilitates and reflects this new way of thinking about value creation. SAP assesses its performance through four company-wide objectives that balance financial and non-financial measures: revenue growth, margin expansion, customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Many of SAP’s non-financial performance indicators impact those objectives. The integrated approach to reporting allows the company to highlight the dependencies between financial and non-financial performance more easily.

One example of a holistic approach to value is the impact of a ride-sharing application that SAP developed to be used internally by employees. Within just one year, SAP employees in Germany generated more than 22,500 carpools, avoided more than 500,000 kilometers of driving, created an additional 1,400 days of networking and saved 47 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. SAP has estimated the value through cost savings in company fleet and travel, networking and emission reduction generated by the solution during the first year at EUR2.3 million.

“Our integrated approach shows that the business landscape has changed, and the information needed to evaluate performance must change with it,” said Werner Brandt, chief financial officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP AG. “Considering our past financial results and our financial outlook alone does not adequately capture our ability to respond to today’s challenges or demonstrate how we create value. Our future success depends on a holistic approach which helps us — and our customers — navigate the social, environmental and economic contexts in which we operate.”

“The lack of stability demonstrated by the financial crisis, allied to the need for more sustainable practices, has led to a crisis of confidence by investors of business,” said Paul Druckman, chief executive officer, International Integrated Reporting Council. “These events show we need a wider, more complete picture of corporate performance, rather than only the financials, focused on an organizations strategy, prospects, governance and value creation. SAP is one of the leading members of our Pilot Programme that has made substantial progress in their journey to drive truly integrated thinking in their decision-making process at the highest levels.”

For more information, visit www.SAPIntegratedReport.com and the SAP Newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and @sustainableSAP, and join the conversation with the hashtag #sapintegrated.

For more information, press only:
Robin Meyerhoff, +1 (650) 440-2572robin.meyerhoff@sap.com, PDT
Daniel Reinhardt, +49 (6227) 7-40201daniel.reinhardt@sap.com, CET
Jim Dever, +1 (610) 661-2161james.dever@sap.com, EDT
SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EDT; press@sap.com













































































Dell Special Committee Receives Two Alternative Acquisition Proposals in “Go-Shop” Process

Dell Special Committee Receives Two Alternative Acquisition Proposals in “Go-Shop” Process

Date : 3/25/2013
Round Rock, Texas
The Special Committee of the Board of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) today announced that the “go-shop” period provided for in the merger agreement between the company and entities owned by Michael Dell, Dell’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Partners, has elicited two alternative acquisition proposals. One proposal was submitted by a group affiliated with a private equity fund managed by Blackstone and the other by entities affiliated with Carl Icahn. Both proposals are attached. 
“We are gratified by the success of our go-shop process that has yielded two alternative proposals with the potential to create additional value for Dell shareholders. We intend to work diligently with all three potential acquirers to ensure the best possible outcome for Dell shareholders, whichever transaction that may be.”

The Special Committee, consisting of four independent and disinterested directors, has determined, after consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, that both proposals could reasonably be expected to result in superior proposals, as defined under the terms of the existing merger agreement. Therefore, each of the Blackstone and Icahn groups is an “excluded party” and the Special Committee intends to continue negotiations with both. 

The Special Committee also noted that Michael Dell has confirmed to the Committee his willingness to explore in good faith the possibility of working with third parties regarding alternative acquisition proposals. 

Alex Mandl, Chairman of the Special Committee, said, “We are gratified by the success of our go-shop process that has yielded two alternative proposals with the potential to create additional value for Dell shareholders. We intend to work diligently with all three potential acquirers to ensure the best possible outcome for Dell shareholders, whichever transaction that may be.” 

Pursuant to the existing merger agreement, subject to certain requirements, the Special Committee has the right to terminate the agreement in order to accept a superior proposal. The Special Committee has not determined that either the Blackstone proposal or the Icahn proposal in fact constitutes a superior proposal under the existing merger agreement and neither is at this stage sufficiently detailed or definitive for such a determination to be appropriate. There can be no assurance that either proposal will ultimately lead to a superior proposal. While negotiations continue, the Special Committee has not changed its recommendation with respect to, and continues to support, the company's pending sale to entities controlled by Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. 

Prior to entering into the existing merger agreement, the Special Committee undertook a rigorous process, over a period of more than five months, to evaluate Dell’s risks, opportunities, and strategic alternatives. These alternatives included continuing with or modifying the company’s existing business plan, implementing a leveraged recapitalization, changing the dividend policy, and potentially selling all or parts of the business. 

As a result of that process, the Special Committee unanimously determined that the sale of the company at a premium would be the best alternative for stockholders, and negotiated aggressively to ensure that stockholders receive the highest possible value, including securing provisions for a robust “go-shop” process. The result was that a number of strategic and financial parties entered into confidentiality agreements with the company and Blackstone and Icahn submitted proposals. 

The price of $13.65 per share in cash to be paid pursuant to the existing merger agreement provides value certainty at a 37% premium to the average price for the 90 days before rumors of the transaction surfaced. The Committee noted that the Silver Lake Partners raised its bid six times by a total of approximately $4 billion, or over 20%, during the course of negotiations. 

Subject to applicable laws and regulations, the Special Committee undertakes no obligation, to provide updates or make further statements regarding the proposals received from Blackstone or Icahn, any revised proposals that may be received from either of them or the status of discussions with either of them, unless and until a definitive agreement is reached or such discussions are terminated. 

The alternative acquisition proposals received from Blackstone and Icahn follow here: 

Blackstone Proposal

Icahn Proposal

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. Announces Definitive Agreement to Sell U.S. and Canadian CheckView Business

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. Announces Definitive Agreement to Sell U.S. and Canadian CheckView Business

THOROFARE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CKP) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its U.S. and Canadian CheckView business to an affiliate of Platinum Equity, a California-based private equity firm. The sale includes all continuing business operations and assets associated with the U.S. and Canadian CheckView business. The transaction is expected to close by the end of April 2013.

“Platinum has an extensive track record of acquiring corporate divestitures and maximizing their potential as standalone businesses. CheckView will act as a platform acquisition and allow us to focus on the core business while pursuing organic growth initiatives and strategic add-ons in a highly fragmented space.”

The divestiture follows an extensive review of Checkpoint’s businesses in 2012 at which time the Company’s Board of Directors determined that the U.S. and Canadian CheckView business will better serve its customers as an independent, entrepreneurial and more focused organization.

Checkpoint Systems’ President and Chief Executive Officer, George Babich, said, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement. Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a unique focus on business operations and a strong track record helping companies reach their full potential. The firm’s financial resources and operational expertise will present the CheckView business with tremendous new opportunities. We are committed to support CheckView throughout the sale process to ensure an orderly transition with full continuity of service to customers.”

“We are excited about the prospects for CheckView under our ownership,” said Platinum Equity Principal Jason Leach. “Platinum has an extensive track record of acquiring corporate divestitures and maximizing their potential as standalone businesses. CheckView will act as a platform acquisition and allow us to focus on the core business while pursuing organic growth initiatives and strategic add-ons in a highly fragmented space.”

Checkpoint will continue to pursue its redefined strategy to provide solutions that improve merchandise availability in retail stores. The Company’s portfolio includes electronic article surveillance systems and services to combat theft, radio frequency identification products to improve inventory accuracy, and tickets, tags and labels for merchandising apparel.

The U.S. and Canadian CheckView business was reported as discontinued operations in Checkpoint’s fourth quarter and full-year 2012 earnings report released on March 5, 2013 and in the Company’s 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Checkpoint Systems, Inc.

Checkpoint Systems is a global leader in shrink management, merchandise visibility and apparel labeling solutions. Checkpoint enables retailers and their suppliers to reduce shrink, improve shelf availability and leverage real-time data to achieve operational excellence. Checkpoint solutions are built upon more than 40 years of RF technology expertise, diverse shrink management offerings, a broad portfolio of apparel labeling solutions, market-leading RFID applications, innovative high-theft solutions and its Web-based Check-Net® data management platform. As a result, Checkpoint customers enjoy increased sales and profits by improving supply-chain efficiencies, by facilitating on-demand label printing and by providing a secure open-merchandising environment enhancing the consumer's shopping experience. For more information, visit www.checkpointsystems.com.

Platinum Equity

Platinum Equity (www.platinumequity.com) is a global M&A&O® firm specializing in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets, including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services, manufacturing and distribution. Since its founding in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has completed more than 145 acquisitions.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” or “will.” By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Any such forward-looking statements may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results encompassed within the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include: the impact upon operations of legal compliance matters or internal controls review, improvement and remediation, including the detection of wrongdoing, improper activities, or circumvention of internal controls; our ability to integrate acquisitions and to achieve our financial and operational goals for our acquisitions; changes in international business conditions; foreign currency exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations; lower than anticipated demand by retailers and other customers for our products; slower commitments of retail customers to chain-wide installations and/or source tagging adoption or expansion; possible increases in per unit product manufacturing costs due to less than full utilization of manufacturing capacity as a result of slowing economic conditions or other factors; our ability to provide and market innovative and cost-effective products; the development of new competitive technologies; our ability to maintain our intellectual property; competitive pricing pressures causing profit erosion; the availability and pricing of component parts and raw materials; possible increases in the payment time for receivables as a result of economic conditions or other market factors; changes in regulations or standards applicable to our products; the ability to successfully implement global cost reductions in operating expenses including, field service, sales, and general and administrative expense, and our manufacturing and supply chain operations without significantly impacting revenue and profits; our ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; and additional matters disclosed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Contacts

Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
Annette Geraghty, 856-251-2174






































































Sandvine receives $3 million expansion order from cable operator

Sandvine receives $3 million expansion order from cable operator

WATERLOO, ON, March 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Sandvine, (TSX:SVC) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators, today announced that it has received over $3 million in follow-on orders from a leading North American cable operator that has been a Sandvine customer since 2005. The orders were received in March and represent ongoing expansion of the operator's deployment of Business Intelligence and Traffic Optimization solutions.

Network Analytics, one of Sandvine's Business Intelligence products, forecasts long-term trends in consumer experience and resource utilization so that operators can proactively decide where to allocate resources and spending.  Sandvine's Fairshare Traffic Management product uses network data to apply business rules that protect subscribers' quality of experience under all network conditions. Together, the products help improve subscribers' Internet experience for the long-term.

"The strength and longevity of the relationships with our cable customers is attributable to ongoing product innovation that reflects more than a decade of experience working with top MSOs. As the cable market and Internet usage have evolved, we have continued to deepen the insight we offer into network traffic and enhance the flexibility of policies for improving the subscriber experience," said Tom Donnelly, Sandvine's COO, Sales and Global Services.

ABOUT SANDVINE
Sandvine's network policy control solutions add intelligence to fixed, mobile and converged communications service provider networks to enable services that can increase revenue and reduce network costs. Powered by Sandvine's Policy Engine and SandScript policy language, Sandvine's networking equipment performs end-to-end policy control functions including traffic classification, and policy decision and enforcement across the data, control and business planes.  Sandvine's products provide actionable business insight, the ability to deploy new subscriber services and tools to optimize traffic while enhancing subscriber Internet quality of experience.

Sandvine's network policy control solutions are deployed in more than 200 networks in over 85 countries, serving hundreds of millions of data subscribers worldwide, www.sandvine.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this release which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of such laws. Statements related to the scope of deployment of Sandvine's products by a specific customer and the potential revenue opportunity with any particular customer or in any market segment are forward looking statements.  In addition this release may also reference certain orders that have not yet resulted in revenues for Sandvine and there is no assurance that such orders will result in revenue or the timing upon which such may occur.  There may be conditions or other circumstances that may impact if and when such orders actually translate to revenue. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Sandvine to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, changes in internal deployment strategies or plans by specific customers; the growth of broadband internet usage and levels of capital spending on broadband network management systems; the timing of orders and manufacturing lead times; changes in customer order patterns or customer mix; insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; increased competition in the broadband network equipment industry; dependence on the timely development and market acceptance of new product offerings and standards; rapid technological and market change; manufacturing and sourcing risks including dependence on key suppliers and key technologies; dependence upon indirect channel sales and resellers;  factors such as business and economic conditions and growth trends in the broadband network equipment industry and in various geographic regions; global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment including the impact of regulation related to the internet and the delivery of internet services. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions, and Sandvine does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.

SOURCE: Sandvine Incorporated

For further information:

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT
Rick Wadsworth
Sandvine
+1 519 880 2400 ext. 3503
rwadsworth@sandvine.com 

MEDIA CONTACT
Sacha DeGroot
Sandvine
+1 519 880 2400 x 2232
sdegroot@sandvine.com



































































Oracle Buys Tekelec

Oracle Buys Tekelec

Adds Leading Network Signaling, Policy Control and Subscriber Data Management Solutions to Oracle Communications Portfolio

Redwood Shores, Calif. – March 25, 2013

News Facts

Oracle today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Tekelec, a leading provider of network signaling, policy control, and subscriber data management solutions for communications networks.
The proliferation of smart devices, mobile applications, and connected services has led to an exponential increase in network signaling and data traffic. Service providers require intelligent network control technologies to address these increased network workloads as well as to deploy and monetize cloud and over-the-top services.
Tekelec’s technology enables service providers to deliver, control and monetize innovative and personalized communications services and is utilized by more than 300 service providers in over 100 countries.
Tekelec’s network signaling (Diameter and SS7), policy control and subscriber data management solutions complement Oracle Communications’ mission-critical operational support systems, service delivery platforms, and business support systems, and are expected to help service providers efficiently allocate and monetize network resources.
By combining Tekelec with leading capabilities from Oracle Communications and Acme Packet*, Oracle expects to provide the most complete communications offering that will enable service providers to engage with customers, improve operations, control network resources and deploy innovative communications services.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. More information on this announcement can be found athttp://www.oracle.com/tekelec.

*Pending Acme Packet transaction close.

Supporting Quotes

“As connected devices and applications become ubiquitous, intelligent network and service control technologies are required to enable service providers to efficiently deploy all-IP networks, and deliver and monetize innovative communication services,” said Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications. “The combination of Oracle and Tekelec will provide service providers with the most complete solution to manage their businesses across customer engagement, business and network operations, service delivery and end user applications.”
“In an increasingly mobile and social world, customer experience is about optimizing network performance and personalizing services based on what engages, moves, and inspires people,” said Ron de Lange, president and CEO, Tekelec. “Together with Oracle, we expect to accelerate the pace of service innovation by helping service providers transform the way they manage and monetize the explosive growth in signaling and data traffic on their networks.”

Supporting Resources

• About Oracle and Tekelec

• General Presentation

• Customer and Partner Letter

• FAQ

About Oracle

Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center.  For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.