Cisco Introduces Connected Video Surveillance Delivered on Cisco Unified Computing System

Cisco Introduces Connected Video Surveillance Delivered on Cisco
Unified Computing System

Virtualized Applications on the Network Support Massive Scalability and
Performance Increases; Reduce Total Cost of Ownership For Large Scale
Safety and Security Operations

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 21, 2012 - Cisco today announced that Cisco®
Video Surveillance software is available on Cisco's award winning
Unified Computing System™  (Cisco UCS™) platform, now in use by more
than 11,000 customers. By virtualizing Cisco Video Surveillance
software, Cisco is providing significantly improved levels of
performance, scalability, agility and manageability.

Cisco Physical Security solutions enable organizations to transform the
way they protect people, property and critical infrastructure. The
virtualization of these solutions with Cisco Unified Data Center
applications is part of Cisco's strategy to move toward a solutions-led
building block approach for the complete Cisco Physical Security
portfolio, resulting in an optimized IP network and Physical Security
foundation.

This announcement is the next step in Cisco's physical security
strategy, providing customers with hyper-scalability and capacity, lower
cost of ownership and simplified management. This news follows the Cisco
physical security strategy evolution announced in Fall Sept 2011 which
aligned Cisco strengths with market opportunities and customer
requirements to focus on large-scale strategic deployments. This
provides customers with a combination of Cisco physical security
products, services, third-party products and systems, and core
networking, data center, video and collaboration offerings to support
business needs.

The Video Surveillance Manager on UCS solution represents the first
Cisco Video Surveillance Building Block that meets the deployment
requirements for large-scale city, transportation, healthcare and energy
requirements.

Key Facts:

* Modular UCS platform building blocks support massive scalability
increases of up to 1,000 percent versus dedicated server solutions,
allowing customers to scale to tens of thousands of cameras, delivering
networked video surveillance for commercial, disaster and first
responder needs, as well as large events.

* With a new rapid provisioning deployment model for large-scale city
surveillance, transportation, critical infrastructure, energy,
healthcare and other industries, Cisco Video Surveillance Manager
provides centralized management with improved situational awareness and
real-time response capabilities.

* UCS Express extends video surveillance as a service on the network as
an easy-to-deploy, virtual solution with application consolidation on a
blade-form factor for equipment that already exists in many branch
offices.

* As part of an end-to-end solution, Cisco UCS offers infrastructure
consolidation in the data center with innovative virtualization, memory,
provisioning, I/O and management capabilities. Cisco UCS Express
integrates the compute platform with all-in-one device convergence to
facilitate the extension of data center applications into the branch.

* Management provided by the Cisco Unified Data Center, Unified
Management, Unified Fabric and Unified Computing Systems delivers IT
agility for fast provisioning, flexibility and lower operating costs.

* Highly secure separation capabilities for multi-tenant environments
increase logical security and access control.

* Modular, scalable, high-density, and energy efficient, Cisco Physical
Security Storage series platforms, as well as industry leading storage
options from EMC and NetApp, will be available for use with Virtualized
Video Surveillance as this solution is extended to the UCS B-Series and
C-Series platforms.

* Cisco Capital® offers a variety of flexible financing offers to
streamline the acquisition of Cisco products and services.

Supporting Quotes:

* Guido Jouret, general m
anager, Enterprise Video Group, Cisco, said:
"Virtualizing video surveillance offers organizations reduced
infrastructure costs, faster disaster recovery and deployment, reduced
staffing needs and cooling costs, and improved application performance.
Our solutions-led building block strategy focuses on virtualizing all
Cisco software applications with Cisco Unified Data Center applications
to support optimal end-to-end video quality."

* Dragisa Lojanica, head of IT, Banka Postanska Stedionica, Serbia,
said: "The value of our recent Cisco deployment became evident soon
after it was enabled. Cisco experts proved their in-depth understanding
of our need to create a modern and efficient security surveillance
infrastructure to help ensure that our customers and employees are
protected, while streamlining operations, improving business efficiency
and cutting costs."

* Dave Temple, assistant director of Technology Strategy, Loughborough
University, United Kingdom, said: "Cisco Video Surveillance solutions
increase our confidence that our students are protected with the highest
quality products and support. Loughborough University is actively
embracing the cloud model of service delivery using Cisco UCS at the
core of its co-operative cloud system. The virtualized deployment model
of the 6.3.2 release, based on Cisco's proven designs for modular
building block solutions supported by lifecycle services, will
dramatically improve management, scalability, performance and lower
total cost of ownership while helping to significantly reduce risks."

* Rohan Mendis, telecommunications strategy manager, Transport for
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, said: "Cisco has provided a scalable
platform solution to Transport for Greater Manchester, in support of our
efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for the travelling
public, our staff and visitors to our City. We see the introduction of a
virtualised cloud solution as part of the latest Cisco 6.3.2 release as
a natural and positive development that will further improve the
resilience, availability and cost effectiveness of the existing
architecture, and is exciting both for us and for the technology sector
as a whole. In our opinion, this approach will reduce design and network
risks, improve affordability, and we welcome the scalability and
management opportunities for improvement that this change enables."

Availability:

* Video Surveillance Software release 6.3.2 is available now on UCS
Express.

* The software is scheduled to be available on other platforms
including Cisco UCS B and C Series in June 2012.

* Pricing for the UCS Express-based solution block starts from $2500.

Supporting Resources:

* To learn more, visit Cisco Physical Security: www.cisco.com/go/physec


* Cisco Video Surveillance for Unified Computing System Express data
sheet:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9145/ps9152/data_sheet_c78-703863.html


* Network readiness for IP video surveillance solution brief:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9145/ps9152/solution_brief_c11-652089.pdf


* Network readiness assessment for video surveillance:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Video/IPVS/IPVS_Network_Assessment.html


* Cisco-based high-performance network and video surveillance system
installed in Russia's leading TV company, NTV:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=706226


* Serbian Postal Savings Bank deploys Cisco Connected Physical Security
solutions:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=736354


* Case Study: Transportation agency centralizes video surveillance:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9145/ps9152/casestudy_c36-610593.html


* Case Study: University cost-effectively expands video surveillance:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/vpndevc/ps6918/ps9145/ps9152/Case_study_c36-562710.html


* Video: the Cisco Serbia team for the Ban
ka Postanska Stedionica
discuss the physical security deployment:

Technorati Tags: Cisco, Physical Security, Video Surveillance, Safety &
Security, UCS, Virtualized Security, UCS, UCS Express, BYOD,
Multi-Tenant Data Center Architectures, Cisco Cloud, Cisco Video, Cisco
Enterprise Video, Business Video, virtualization, unified data center


About Cisco

Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that
transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco Canada
Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, has offices across Canada
dedicated to customer support, sales and service. For ongoing news,
please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com/canada/.

-30-

Cisco, the Cisco logo and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United
States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in
this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of
the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco
and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

Clicks Grow Like BRICS: G-20 Internet Economy to Expand at 10 Percent a Year Through 2016

  • Clicks Grow Like BRICS: G-20 Internet Economy to Expand at 10 Percent a Year Through 2016

  • New Research by The Boston Consulting Group is Most Comprehensive to Date on Impact on Businesses, Consumers, and the Economy

BOSTON, March 19, 2012— In the G-20 nations, the Internet economy will grow more than 10 percent a year through 2016, according to a new report published by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as part of its Connected World series.

In the developed markets of the G-20, the Internet economy will grow approximately 8 percent annually; in the developing markets, it will grow more than twice as fast—at an average annual rate of 18 percent. Argentina and India will grow the fastest, at 24 percent and 23 percent a year, respectively. The leading developed markets—Italy and the U.K.—will grow about 12 percent and 11 percent a year, respectively.

BCG projects that the Internet economy will contribute a total of $4.2 trillion to the G-20’s total GDP in 2016. “If it were a national economy, it would rank in the world’s top five, behind only the U.S., China, India, and Japan, and ahead of Germany,” said David Dean, BCG senior partner and a coauthor of the report.

In 2010, the Internet economy in the U.K. accounted for the highest percentage of national GDP, followed by South Korea (7.3 percent) and China (5.5 percent). In each of these three countries, the Internet economy would rank among the top six industry sectors. At 4.7 percent, the 2010 share of U.S. GDP contributed by the Internet was about the same as the share contributed by the federal government—and ranked slightly ahead of the developed markets’ average share of 4.3 percent.

Although it is home to some of the world’s leading Internet nations—such as the U.K., the Nordic countries, and the Netherlands—the EU-27 as a whole trailed the average of developed markets at 3.8 percent and only slightly exceeded the emerging markets average of 3.6 percent.

BCG projects significant shifts, however. By 2016 the Internet economy in the EU-27 and India will leapfrog into fourth and fifth place, respectively. Japan and the U.S. will grow more slowly and drop to sixth and seventh, respectively.

“The Internet economy offers one of the world’s few unfettered growth stories,” said Dean. “Policymakers often cite GDP growth rates of around 10 percent per year in the developing markets, but they look past similar, or even higher, rates close to home.”

The Value of Internet for Small and Medium Enterprises

In multiple countries—including China, Germany, Turkey, and France—small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have engaged actively with consumers on the Internet also have experienced three-year sales growth rates up to 22 percentage points higher than those of companies with low or no Internet presence, according to the report.

“Around the world, SMEs that embrace the Internet are growing faster and adding more jobs than those that don’t. By encouraging businesses to turn to the Internet, countries can improve their competitiveness and growth prospects,” said Paul Zwillenberg, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report.

Assessing Consumers’ Value of the Internet

Connected consumers place a considerable value on the Internet. “The results are eye-opening in the sense that they demonstrate how completely the Internet has ingrained itself into daily life almost everywhere,” said Zwillenberg. “We assessed its value by how much consumers said that they would have to be paid to live without Internet access. In the G-20, they would need to be paid $1,430 each.”

This value varies among countries, from $323 in Turkey to $1,215 in South Africa to $1,287 in Brazil, and $4,453 in France. The aggregate value across 13 of the G-20 countries is $1.9 trillion, or about 4.4% of their GDP.

The new report, titled The $4.2 Trillion Opportunity: The Internet Economy in the G-20, includes profiles of Internet usage and economic impact for each of the G-20 economies, which together account for more than 80 percent of the global economy. A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.bcgperspectives.com.

To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Alexandra Corriveau at +1 212 446 3261 or corriveau.alexandra@bcg.com.

About bcgperspectives.com

Bcgperspectives.com is a new website—available on PC, mobile phone, and iPad—that features the latest thinking from BCG experts as well as from CEOs, academics, and other leaders. It covers issues at the top of senior management’s agenda. It also provides unprecedented access to BCG’s extensive archive of thought leadership stretching back almost 50 years to the days of Bruce Henderson, the firm’s founder and one of the architects of modern management consulting. All of our content—including videos, podcasts, commentaries, and reports—can be accessed via PC, mobile, iPad, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About The Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 75 offices in 42 countries.

BC's Viscount's Freedom Selected for Department of Homeland Security Agency

Viscount's Freedom Selected for Department of Homeland Security Agency

Agency to Deploy Unified Microsoft Active Directory Freedom Platform

Burnaby, British Columbia CANADA, March 19, 2012 /FSC/ - Viscount Systems Inc. (VSYS - OTCBB Pink),a leading edge high technology supplier of security systems and software today is pleased to announce that Viscount's Freedom has been selected to secure its first US Department of Homeland Security agency facility.  

"We are very pleased that the top echelon of US Government agencies are now recognizing the benefits of Freedom compared to traditional control panel architecture," noted Stephen Pineau, CEO of Viscount Systems. "In addition to cost savings, Freedom eliminates the cyber security vulnerabilities of panels and our new unified Microsoft Active Directory platform provides a simplified and more secure architecture for administering the system. The Freedom platform is Cloud ready and Microsoft Azure compatible to allow a seamless migration. Finally, physical security at US Government facilities is being driven by the requirement to be compliant with the new FIPS 201 standard and there are estimates that tens of thousands of systems will be required to be upgraded in the coming years. With the budgetary issues facing government agencies, Freedom is incredibly well positioned as a fully compliant, cloud based and low cost alternative to become a major factor in the US Government physical security market."

"This project involves the potential deployment of approximately 300 US government sites which expands our total potential deployments to close to 1500 US government facilities based on other pilot projects underway. We expect this number to increase rapidly through the coming months. The typical revenue per site should average approximately $10,000."

About Viscount Systems

Viscount Systems Inc., designs unified software platforms for building security and emergency planning. Recent awards include SIA Convergence Solution of the Year 2011 and Homeland Securities Platinum Award for Emergency Response and Gold Award for Access Control at GOVSEC 2011.

Safe Harbor Statement

Forward looking statements: This press release and other statements by Viscount Systems Inc. may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to the outlook for earnings and revenues, other future financial or business performance, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "estimate," "position," "assume," "potential," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or similar expressions.

For further information
Viscount System's web site:   www.viscount.com
email news alerts:  investors@viscount.com
Investor Relations:  Foothills Group San Jose Ca. 888-516-7415

Contact:
Viscount Systems Inc.
Steve Pineau, CEO
604-323-7223


To view this press release as a web page, click onto the link below:
www.usetdas.com/PR/viscountsystems19032012.htm

BC's Payfirma Makes Mobile Payments Available on Android

Payfirma Makes Mobile Payments Available on Android

Businesses using Android phones or tablets can now accept credit cards on their mobile devices with Payfirma

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 19, 2012 /CNW/ - Payfirma, the leader of mobile point of sale apps for businesses in Canada, is proud to announce the release of its Android Mobile Payment App. Already available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Blackberry, anyone with a Payfirma merchant account can now accept all major credit cards and VISA Debit on their Android mobile and tablet devices, anytime, anywhere.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120319/SF72599)

The Android app has all the updated features from the recent mobile payment re-vamp released in January of this year. Users will be able to swipe a card, sign on the screen, and send their customers a rich e-receipt complete with a map of the location of the purchase. Android powered businesses will have access to the real-time sales summary that tracks merchants daily, weekly, and month-to-date sales, location tagging, and multiple language support.

"We've been working around the clock to release Android support for our mobile payment application suite," notes Michael Gokturk, founder of Payfirma. "All of our payment software is designed in collaboration with businesses – we build based on what their needs are," Michael explains, "by focusing on speed, security and efficiency, our customers can easily accept payments on their phones or tablets and focus on making their businesses great."

Payfirma is also working on NFC (near-field communication) support for all its mobile payment applications, enabling users to simply wave or tap their NFC enabled credit or debit card to Payfirma's point-of-sale system to accept payments – further adding to Payfirma's mandate of making payment acceptance simple and cost efficient. "PayPass or payWave greatly allows our merchants to quickly and efficiently checkout at the cash register," notes Gokturk, "by enabling our applications to communicate using NFC, lines at the register become a thing of the past."

The payment app is free to download in the Android Market or on Payfirma's website and is compatible with most Android devices.

About Payfirma

We help businesses accept credit and debit cards in their stores, online and on their mobile devices. Our team designs and develops solutions that bring payments to a new personal and customizable level. We offer a full range of traditional point-of-sale solutions, eCommerce capabilities such as hosted checkout and recurring billing, and at the forefront, our mobile payment suite. Payfirma is a simple solution with top-notch service. To learn more about Payfirma, please visit http://www.payfirma.com, follow us on Twitter @Payfirma, or call us at 800-747-6883.

For more information, please contact:

Carmela Samonte
Communications Director
Payfirma Corporation

T (604) 668-5814
E carmela.samonte@payfirma.com
W www.payfirma.com

PAYFIRMA LOGO SOURCE:

Media_httpwwwpayfirma_wgaqm

SOURCE Payfirma

IBM expands investment in analytics to address fraud detection, financial operations and customer service

 

 

IBM Introduces New Predictive Analytics Services and Software to Reduce Fraud, Manage Financial Performance and Deliver Next Best Action

 

NEW YORK and LONDON - 20 March 2012 - IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new consulting services and software that take the power of predictive analytics to new levels of impact for the highest-priority issues of C-suite decision makers. The new analytic offerings address the emerging opportunities of big data to manage financial operations, decrease fraud and nurture next-generation customer relationships.

 

Based on experiences drawn from more than 20,000 analytics engagements, the new solutions combine innovations developed by IBM Research with new predictive technologies from dozens of companies IBM has acquired.

 

IBM will significantly broaden the group of clients – specifically C-suite leaders – who can adopt analytics, extending IBM's leadership position in the strategic market for business analytics. IDC estimates enterprises will invest more than $120 billion by 2015 to capture the business impact of analytics, across hardware, software and services.

 

“These new capabilities target the agendas of global business leaders operating in a world of accelerating complexity, unpredictability and massively available information,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “By integrating analytics into business processes and converting new insights into action, IBM is helping organizations transform big data from a threat into an opportunity, one that will be their most valuable natural resource.”

 

Enterprises across all industries are under increased pressure to extract new insights from the explosion of available data. To address this imperative, IBM has expanded its multi-billion dollar investment in business analytics to address three vital client issues – fraud detection, financial operations and customer service – and help organizations increase revenues. The IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solutions include:

 

IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – Anti-fraud, Waste & Abuse
Each year, health care fraud tops $250 billion, according to the FBI. Tax fraud costs billions more. IBM’s adaptive systems learn from the latest data, helping to protect against emerging fraud. The solution embeds advanced algorithms directly into business processes, providing government agencies and insurers with the ability to detect fraud in real time – before funds are paid out. Using sophisticated analytics, the solution recommends the most effective remedy for each case, optimizing an organization’s finite resources. For example, the system might recommend that a simple letter requesting payment be sent to resolve one case, while recommending that a full investigation be opened in another case.

The solution will help clients replicate success stories like Infinity Insurance. One of the nation’s leading “nonstandard” insurance providers, specializing in covering higher-risk drivers. The company is applying IBM analytics to more than 25,000 automobile claims processed monthly in order to identify patterns in historic data. In the first three months, Infinity reduced the time needed to identify fraudulent claims from 14 days to 24 hours.

 

IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – Next Best Action
All organizations understand the value of collecting customer data, but many struggle to extract new insight and use it to create more meaningful relationships. IBM’s solution helps organizations gain a comprehensive view of a customer, derived from traditional enterprise data and customer sentiment gleaned from social networks, logged customer service interactions and web click stream data. Then, real-time analytics predicts customer behavior and preferences to inform decisions on the next best action on behalf of that customer. 

These capabilities bring together Marketing and Customer Service functions and have helped companies like Sprint, which is using IBM analytics to determine the most effective offers for existing and new customers.

 

IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution – CFO Performance Insight
Financial information is growing at an astounding rate of 70 percent each year, according to IBM research. The industry’s intricate data sets have to be collected and cross-referenced against analyst reports, economic market data, financial reports, news stories, board notes and company balance sheets. IBM’s capabilities provide increased insight, visibility and control over financial performance with predictive capabilities applied to key metrics and data on past performance. The predictive analytics, combined with what-if analysis, and traditional business intelligence in an executive-style dashboard, guides users with root-cause analyses. Organizations can uncover relationships among performance metrics, anticipate performance gaps and assess alternatives with scenario planning.

This kind of improved financial visibility is used by Alfred Angelo, one of the largest U.S. wedding gown manufacturers and retailers. The company is using IBM analytics to move beyond spreadsheets to a more comprehensive view of its operations across product lines. By analyzing which wedding dress styles or accessories have been profitable over time, Alfred Angelo can take the SKU level “investigation” down to a particular color, size, or design and then optimize its inventory to meet client demands and increase revenues.

 

IBM works with clients across industries and geographies to apply analytics and gain a competitive advantage from analyzing big data.

 

“IBM is helping Sprint manage and analyze network data 90 percent faster than before,” said Von McConnell, executive director of the Innovation and Advanced Labs at Sprint. “We can now customize new products and services in real-time and respond instantly to changing market dynamics. The insights we gain from big data allows us to create and deliver new mobile applications in minutes, instead of hours, giving Sprint the ability to stay well ahead of our competitors.”

 

The new solutions can be delivered by IBM consultants, supported by industry-leading applications management services capabilities, and cloud offerings. Clients can access these capabilities through IBM’s big data technology platform that includes Hadoop, stream computing, data warehouse, and information integration and governance capabilities, along with visualization and discovery, application development, systems management and industry accelerators. To date, the IBM big data platform has been adopted by more than 100 business partners, bringing a new class of analytics solutions to market and extending the reach of IBM analytics offerings for clients.

 

Clients can access IBM’s solutions through a global network of eight Analytics Solution Centers. Credit qualified clients can take advantage of financing for services solutions and zero percent loans for IBM software with IBM Global Financing.

 

IBM Smarter Analytics

The new analytics services and solutions are part of IBM's larger focus on business analytics and optimization, which spans hardware, software, services and research. IBM projects $16 billion in business analytics revenue by 2015. To meet that target, IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of analytics solutions; grown its business and industry expertise to almost 9,000 business analytics and optimization consultants, 400 researchers, and created global analytics solution centers in Berlin, Beijing, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo, Washington and Zurich.

 

IBM has acquired 28 companies to build targeted analytics and information expertise since 2005, and continues to expand its ecosystem, which today consists of more than 27,000 IBM business partners. IBM has also secured hundreds of patents a year in analytics.

 

These investments have enabled IBM to develop breakthrough technologies like IBM Watson, a new class of industry specific analytical capability that uses deep content analysis, evidence-based reasoning and natural language processing to identify relationships buried in large volumes of data that can be used to improve decision making.

 

For more information about IBM and Analytics visit www.ibm.com.

 

To download an IBM Infographic on Big Data: The New Natural Resource visit http://bit.ly/Gzp4HA

 

Follow IBM and Analytics & Information on Twitter #smarteranalytics and #ibmbigdata.

 

IBM YouTube Analytics Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ibmbusinessanalytics.

 

 

 

----------------------------

HP Helps Enterprises Enhance User Experience with New Application Transformation Solutions

 

 

HP Helps Enterprises Enhance User Experience with New Application Transformation Solutions

Integration of traditional application solutions with mobile enterprise applications drives user engagement

         

 

 

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 20, 2012 – HP today announced new Application Transformation solutions designed to help enterprises drive an enhanced user experience by integrating mobile-based enterprise applications into the traditional computing environment.

The growing adoption of smartphones and mobile applications is changing the way enterprises create value and drive competitive differentiation. In fact, the economic survival of enterprises now depends on their ability to respond to customer and citizen demands, generated through enterprise applications as well as social applications such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  

The expanded HP Applications Transformation solutions portfolio enables clients to design, build and manage applications that drive interaction between people and enterprises while optimizing traditional application environments to deliver an improved user experience.

“Modern enterprise applications require a different approach to design and testing than traditional applications,” said Jonathan Rende, vice president and general manager, Application Transformation Solutions, Software, HP. “HP ensures that enterprise applications provide the highest level of quality, availability and scalability while elevating the user experience to an entirely new level.”

New software products for IT management and social collaboration

The enhanced HP Application Lifecycle Intelligence (ALI) improves collaboration among delivery teams and reduces cycle times by offering real-time visibility and traceability of activities across the application life cycle.

As part of HP’s IT Performance Suite, HP and Perfecto Mobile, a provider of cloud-based testing and automation solutions, have extended HP Unified Functional Testing to support multifunctional applications by allowing developers to emulate and test the user experience of mobile applications across devices and networks.

Additionally, new software offerings from HP complement the agile development of mobile applications and drive social collaboration:

  HP Anywhere increases productivity and facilitates faster decision making by enabling clients to manage IT on the go. New mobile-based applications perform operations such as portfolio request management, defect tracking, service health monitoring and the composition of an Executive Scorecard.

  HP Enterprise Collaboration enhances knowledge sharing and accelerates application development through a social collaboration environment that enables real-time, context-based conversations traced back to actions and work items.

New services to design, deploy and manage mobile applications

The HP Application Transformation solutions portfolio of software products is complemented by new services to meet the quality demands of enterprise applications. The HP Mobile Application Services portfolio now includes:

  HP Testing for Mobility Services accelerate time to market of mobile applications by reducing test cycles and automating testing across multiple devices with market-leading solutions from HP Software and Perfecto Mobile.

  HP Enterprise Mobility Services for SAP® Applications improves employee efficiency by allowing mobile users to obtain data from mission-critical SAP applications. By extending its mobile solutions to the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform and the Sybase® Unwired Platform, HP now offers an end-to-end enterprise mobile solution that enables clients to access key enterprise information.

A fundamental component in the development of an application strategy, the HP Applications Transformation Experience workshop offers enhanced capabilities to exploit new enterprise mobile applications and cloud computing technologies.

HP’s premier client event, HP Discover, takes place June 4-7 in Las Vegas.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

 

 

Editorial Contacts

Vidya Sawhny, HP

+ 1 408 805 1599

vidya.sawhny@hp.com

 

Missy Somers

Burson-Marsteller for HP

+1 415 591 4069

missy.somers@bm.com

 

www.hp.com/go/newsroom

 

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including execution of cost reduction programs and restructuring and integration plans; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP’s businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the protection of HP’s intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed from third parties; integration and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; the hiring and retention of key employees; expectations and assumptions relating to the execution and timing of cost reduction programs and restructuring and integration plans; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2012 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

 

© 2012 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

 

 

 

 

Groupon introduces Scheduler - a FREE tool for Canadian small businesses

 

Groupon Offers Small Businesses Free Version of Groupon Scheduler

 

TORONTO (3/19/12) – Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) (www.groupon.com) today announced that a free beta version of Groupon Scheduler, an easy-to-use online booking and staffing management tool, will be available to all appointment-based small businesses in the US and Canada (excluding Quebec). Scheduler is the most intuitive and complete free product of its kind and represents the latest addition to Groupon’s extensive suite of merchant marketing tools, which help business owners acquire more customers and run their businesses more successfully.

 

Scheduler provides merchants with a convenient, free way to accept online bookings 24/7 and seamlessly integrates into the Groupon deals process.  Once a Groupon has been purchased, a customer can schedule an appointment in just seconds through their account on Groupon.com.  Merchants can also add a “Book Now” button to their website and use Scheduler to manage online booking for all of their services—not just those offered through Groupon.

 

“Effectively managing appointments and staffing schedules is critical for small businesses, but it takes a tremendous amount of time and energy,” said David Katz, General Manager, Groupon Scheduler. “Scheduler streamlines these time-consuming tasks and lets business owners dedicate more time to what matters most—developing a thriving business.”

 

Groupon Scheduler works for a wide range of appointment-based businesses especially spas, salons, services and businesses offering classes or scheduled activities. Merchants can customize almost every aspect of Scheduler, including business hours, locations, services offered and appointment confirmations. Scheduler sends consumers immediate booking confirmations, as well as automated email reminders up to 72 hours before scheduled appointments, which helps reduce late arrivals, no-shows and cancellations.

 

In addition, Scheduler provides merchants with a client list and business dashboard showing real-time numbers of total appointments, new customers and percentage of bookable time filled. Scheduler also gives merchants the ability to easily track Groupon redemptions.

 

“We began using Groupon Scheduler in February and it has been a great tool to help manage customer appointments and employee schedules,” said Jane Kane, Loving Lotus Center & Spa in Coral Gables, Fla.  “It was extremely easy to implement and Groupon Scheduler has helped reduce the amount of time I spend on administrative tasks, giving me more time to do what I enjoy most—work with my clients.”   

 

The product is based on technology obtained through Groupon’s September 2011 acquisition of OpenCal, a Vancouver, Canada-based company and was successfully piloted in Sacramento and Miami.

 

Businesses can access the free beta version of Groupon Scheduler by visiting www.groupon.com/scheduler.

 

About Groupon

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) launched in November 2008 in Chicago, features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in 48 countries around the world.  Groupon uses collective buying power to offer huge discounts and provide a win-win for business and consumers, delivering more than 1,000 daily deals globally.  To subscribe for the best deals in your city, visit www.groupon.com.  To learn how to become a featured business, visit www.grouponworks.com.  To learn more about Groupon Scheduler, visit www.groupon.com/scheduler.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the factors included under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the company’s registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 1, 2011, copies of which may be obtained by visiting the company’s Investor Relations web site at http://investor.groupon.com or the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. Groupon’s actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

 

###

Contact: 

 

Weber Shandwick

Patrick Martins, 416.642.7958

pmartins@webershandwick.com

 

Cisco Helps Companies Move Beyond Basic Bring Your Own Device Connectivity to Create a Better Workplace Experience

Cisco Helps Companies Move Beyond Basic Bring Your Own Device Connectivity to Create a Better Workplace Experience

Cisco goes beyond BYOD to allow people to work the way they want, when and where they want, and on the devices they want

SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 20, 2012 – Employees are demanding not only to use their own devices at work, but also to have more flexibility in the way they work and when and where they work. The Cisco® Connected World Technology Report found that more than 40 percent of college students and young employees said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

To help companies meet these demands, Cisco is taking IT organizations beyond the basic step of connecting user-owned devices to the network by introducing a comprehensive approach that unifies policy, supports a better user experience and simplifies management to deliver an uncompromised user experience in any workspace. With this holistic approach, based on the Borderless Network architecture, Cisco can help IT organizations move beyond basic BYOD connectivity to deliver the following:

  1. A unified policy across wired, wireless local area network (LAN), cellular and VPN, achieved via enhancements to Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), which allow for easy self-provisioning of a user's device, and policy integrations with mobile device management (MDM) solutions.
  2. An uncompromised user experience over the entire wired/wireless network through updates to the wireless LAN infrastructure with Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2. The updates offer double the video scalability for multicast video, allow one controller to support up to 30,000 devices, and provide IPv6 support for client devices.
  3. Simplified operations and network management with the introduction of Prime Assurance Manager and Prime Infrastructure, which help IT professionals understand application performance from a user perspective, accelerate troubleshooting and lower operating costs.

Highlights:

  • Unified Policy: Cisco's approach to moving beyond basic BYOD connectivity provides a unified policy across the organization's entire network – wired, wireless LAN, cellular and VPN – helping set and enforce specific policies across the entire company based on users' roles, the devices they are using, the applications in use, and posture information. With this announcement, Cisco is enhancing ISE to include the following:
    • Zero-touch On-boarding: ISE 1.1MR guides users through an easy step-by-step process to quickly self-provision their own device at a time that's most convenient for them without burdening the IT team, allowing IT to focus on more complex, time-sensitive matters.
    • MDM Policy Integration: To better protect data and enforce compliance on mobile devices, Cisco is working with several MDM vendors including AirWatch, Good, MobileIron and Zenprise to integrate their solutions with ISE. With this integration, IT can use Cisco ISE to define policies that help ensure mobile devices are enrolled in MDM, and gain visibility and control over endpoint access based on policies such as requiring a pin lock, disallowing "jailbroken" devices, or remotely wiping the data on lost or stolen devices.
    • Considering the Connected World Technology Report findings that 70 percent of employees worldwide admit that they break IT policies, with one in five citing the need to access unauthorized programs and applications to get their job done, a unified policy based on both the user needs and company needs will create a more secure work experience that supports employee and IT needs.
  • Uncompromised User Experience: Cisco helps IT optimize the experience for a diverse set of users with any type of device, and any type of desktop (native or virtual), across the wired/wireless network, allowing them to evolve their business beyond just the current BYOD needs. As part of this, Cisco is updating its wireless LAN infrastructure with the release of Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2, which includes:
    • Better Video: Double the video scalability compared to competitive solutions with Cisco VideoStream, which optimizes the network for multicast video so users can tune into company video events on the device and location of their choice. VideoStream also allows IT to prioritize video streams efficiently over the wired network. Video scalability is becoming increasingly important, especially when considering the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecast that details how video will account for the majority of overall traffic, with business video conferencing alone increasing sixfold from 2010 to 2015.
    • More Devices: With this update, one controller can support up to 3,000 access points and 30,000 clients, allowing for a flexible, scalable wireless network that can support higher capacities while lowering operational costs.
    • IPv6 Support: Optimized IPv6 client support with full functionality, providing seamless roaming without drops, improved video and network communication and enhanced IPv6 security protection to close any security holes. Having full IPv6 client functionality is critical to a company's BYOD strategy as 71 percent of smartphones and tablets – 1.6 billion in total – will be IPv6-capable by 2016, according to Cisco VNI.  
    • Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2 is also available on controllers embedded in the Integrated Services Routers G2 and Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series Switches.
  • Simplified Operations and Network Management: Cisco offers simplified, centralized operations and network management to understand application performance from a user perspective, accelerate troubleshooting and lower operating costs. Today, Cisco is announcing innovations in the Cisco Prime™ portfolio, including:
    • Simple and Thorough Visibility: Prime Assurance Manager 1.1, a brand-new management platform, provides simple and thorough visibility into application performance across wired/wireless networks and end devices. This added visibility allows IT to understand and track the user's application performance, quickly spot the exact location of an application performance problem, and correct it on the first try, saving time and money while increasing user satisfaction.
    • Complete Lifecycle Management: Prime Infrastructure 1.1 delivers a bundled package for complete lifecycle management across the wired/wireless infrastructure, with new branch management portfolios to control individual branch components. This package provides IT with one place for planning, deployment and on-going management of Cisco infrastructure.

Product Availability:

  • Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software Release 7.2 is currently available globally.
  • Cisco ISE 1.1MR is scheduled to be available globally in the summer of calendar year 2012. The integration with MDM is scheduled to be available globally by the end of calendar year 2012.
  • Prime Assurance Manager 1.1 and Prime Infrastructure 1.1 are both currently available globally.

Supporting Quotes:

  • Rebecca Jacoby, senior vice president and CIO, Cisco

"BYOD is not just about connecting user-owned devices and allowing guest access. It's about what you do after that – that's when things get interesting. Cisco goes beyond that first step to provide companies with a complete solution to tackle the BYOD phenomenon today and tomorrow."

  • Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco

"The BYOD trend is here to stay, but companies must move beyond the basic act of connecting user-owned devices to a comprehensive BYOD strategy to meet employee demands. Unlike competitors, Cisco is approaching BYOD holistically. With a comprehensive strategy designed around the network, unified policy and simplified management, Cisco delivers an uncompromised user experience in any workspace, setting companies up for success now and into the future."

  • Mitch Davis, CIO, Bowdoin College

"Before BYOD even became an industry trend, the majority of Bowdoin College students brought their own personal mobile devices. Over a two-year period, the number of devices and demand for wireless access quadrupled. Seeing this trend, we knew we had to develop a comprehensive BYOD strategy. We worked with Cisco to enable anytime, anywhere wireless access on any device so students and faculty can learn and collaborate with ease without even thinking about wireless connectivity or if their device will work on the network. And best of all, we can scale the solution based on our needs, set specific policies based on the user, and manage the solution efficiently."

  • Paul DeBeasi, Research VP, Gartner

"Mobile communications traffic will continue to grow exponentially. This growth in traffic will strain wireless networks (WLAN and mobile cellular). It will require that enterprises and mobile communication service providers invest capital to improve network capacity, reliability, and manageability. In addition, enterprises have begun to embrace the policy of bring your own device (BYOD) as a way to satisfy user demands, potentially save money, and stop managing end-user hardware. Enterprises should consider a comprehensive approach to BYOD that balances security, user experience, and supportability."

Supporting Resources:

Tags / Keywords

BYOD, Beyond BYOD, Wi-Fi, WiFi, Cisco Mobility, Cisco Enterprise Mobility, Cisco Wireless, Cisco Wireless Networking Business Unit, Sujai Hajela, wireless local area network infrastructure, wireless LAN, WLAN, Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2, Cisco Identity Services Engine, Cisco ISE, ISE, mobile device management, MDM, Cisco Prime, Prime, Prime Assurance Manager, Prime Infrastructure

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

#  #  #

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

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Cisco Completes Acquisition of Lightwire

Cisco Completes Acquisition of Lightwire

SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 19, 2012 – Cisco today announced the completion of the acquisition of privately held Lightwire, Inc. Headquartered in Allentown, Penn., Lightwire develops advanced optical interconnect technology for high-speed networking applications.  The acquisition will allow Cisco to deliver cost-effective, high-speed networks with the next generation of optical connectivity, allowing service provider and data center customers to meet the growing demands of video, data, voice, mobility and cloud services.

Upon the close of the acquisition, Lightwire employees will be integrated into Cisco's Transceiver Modules Group Business Unit and Supply Chain Operations Group.  Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco paid approximately $271 million in cash and retention-based incentives in exchange for all shares of Lightwire. 

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

# # #

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the expected completion of the acquisition and the time frame in which this will occur, the expected benefits to Cisco and its customers from completing the acquisition, and plans regarding Lightwire personnel.  Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including, among other things, the potential impact on the business of Lightwire due to the uncertainty about the acquisition, the retention of employees of Lightwire and the ability of Cisco to successfully integrate Lightwire and to achieve expected benefits, business and economic conditions and growth trends in the networking industry, customer markets and various geographic regions, global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment and other risk factors set forth in Cisco's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.  Any forward-looking statements in this release are based on limited information currently available to Cisco, which is subject to change, and Cisco will not necessarily update the information. 

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Embry-Riddle Implements Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to Provide Students and Administrators with Real-Time Information

Embry-Riddle Implements Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to Provide Students and Administrators with Real-Time Information

Leading Aviation and Aerospace University Delivers Self-Service Capabilities to Students, Enhances the Class Registration Process

ALLIANCE ’12 CONFERENCE, Nashville, TN – March 19, 2012

News Facts

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, serves more than 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students. With residential campuses in Arizona and Florida, and in more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Canada, Asia and the Middle East, Embry-Riddle supports a multitude of learning methods for its diverse student population.
The institution’s legacy student administration program was unable to meet its global enterprise needs. Specifically, class registration was a cumbersome process that took up to 25 steps and three logins to complete. In addition, the university manually entered financial aid rewards into the system each year, taking significant administrative time and preventing consistent student access to real-time financial information.
To provide superior service to students, faculty and staff, Embry-Riddle worked with Oracle Consulting to implement Oracle's PeopleSoft Campus Solutions – on time and within budget. With the implementation, Embry-Riddle acquired a number of new capabilities to enhance the educational experience for its students and faculty, while streamlining administrative processes.
Embry-Riddle chose PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to facilitate better student self-service and to standardize business processes across the entire university, providing more consistent, reliable and timely data to support executive-level decision making. The solution also provides the flexibility needed to support campus-specific business processes.
PeopleSoft Campus Solutions streamlines the student accounting and financial aid process by providing comprehensive, real-time access to financial aid award information, enabling students to select their award package and receive accurate details about their bill, charges and payments.
With enhanced degree audit capabilities, Embry-Riddle faculty and students can access real-time information concerning a student’s progression toward graduation, which enables more effective academic advising and results in greater student success – a key factor in Embry-Riddle’s ability to compete both locally and internationally with other institutions.
Embry-Riddle also used PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to help improve the admissions process, providing students at any step in the process – from prospecting to matriculation – with real-time progress updates on their application status and next steps toward enrollment.
With PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, Embry-Riddle can help meet its students’ expectations for a high-tech university. The new system supports evolving priorities and prepares the university to respond to future business needs.
Embry-Riddle’s implementation of Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions includes the following modules: PeopleSoft Campus Community, PeopleSoft Student Records, PeopleSoft Student Financials, PeopleSoft Financial Aid, PeopleSoft Academic Advisement and PeopleSoft Recruiting and Admissions.
Embry-Riddle is a long-time Oracle customer. In 2001, the university deployed Oracle E-Business Suite to streamline financial management and human resources. Embry-Riddle has since invested in a variety of Oracle Identity Management modules to efficiently manage system access for its geographically diverse student population. In addition, the university uses Oracle WebLogic Server to efficiently build applications and runs its software on Oracle Database 11g. By leveraging a full set of Oracle solutions, Embry-Riddle has enhanced IT efficiency with a common user interface and open integration between systems.

Supporting Quotes

“As a global aviation and aerospace institution, we have a responsibility to provide our students with effective self-service applications and our administrators with real-time financial information. Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions fits easily within our IT architecture and provides the functionality we need to increase our operational efficiency and improve the student experience,” said Cindy Bixler, chief information officer, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
“Real-time information is critical to a positive educational experience. Students need constant access to their financial stance and progress toward their degree, while administrators require both micro-level information on each student and macro-level information on the entire institution. Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions provides higher education institutions with resources to make critical information readily available to students and administrators, enabling them to make smart decisions that enhance the overall student experience,” said Thomas Ball, vice president, Oracle Higher Education Consulting.

Supporting Resources

About Oracle

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.

About Oracle in Industries

Oracle industry solutions leverage the company's best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to the education and research industry, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

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