Ottawa-based Level Platforms Auto-Monitoring Accelerates MSP Sales And Slashes Operational Costs

Level Platforms Auto-Monitoring Accelerates MSP Sales And Slashes Operational Costs

October 22, 2012

Managed Workplace 2012 R2 simplifies life for MSPs with advanced automation support through the full sales and delivery process

Ottawa, ON, Canada - Level Platforms today introduced a new era of IT management for managed service providers (MSPs) with the release of On Premise and Cloud Editions of its Managed Workplace 2012 R2 remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. New features, including automatic device monitoring and persistent state management help MSPs streamline and automate key processes to better engage with prospects, deliver higher quality services to existing clients and save time on lower level activities to focus staff on new revenue opportunities.

Auto-Monitoring includes important new architectural features with significant implications for MSPs. Policy Sets define customized packages of standard monitoring rules, which combined with Auto- Grouping allow MSPs to create new ways to standardize and automate operations, eliminate time-consuming tasks and provide differentiated services for end-customers including isolating unique monitoring for high-end and older devices, and much more. Persistent State Management addresses one of the biggest problems in IT management for MSPs – network security compliance – by leveraging automatic monitoring and grouping functionality to implement an automatic configuration verification model to enforce company policies for end-clients.

These major advances in IT monitoring help streamline and scale an MSPs entire business by eliminating time-consuming administrative tasks during customer acquisition and onboarding and simplifying service delivery and expansion processes.

“Managed Workplace 2012 R2 saves us time and expense by significantly speeding up our customer onboarding process while giving us complete confidence that each customer site is being monitored to the fullest,” said Andy Hanley, Head of Remote Monitoring with Blue Chip Data Systems, a large MSP headquartered in Poole, UK. “With new smart policy modules and auto-grouping features, we can now automatically monitor all devices at a customer site in as little as 30 minutes. Alongside these time-saving capabilities, the ability to configure multiple policy sets for different levels of monitoring or to exclude specific devices gives us the flexibility necessary to meet various service level requirements across our customer base.”

Advanced automation for prospects and clients

Level Platforms Network Audits are widely recognized as the single most powerful customer acquisition tool available today for MSPs. New Network Audit Policy Sets preconfigured in Managed Workplace collect all the data required to deliver deeply insightful reports that identify problems and opportunities across the entire customer infrastructure to help MSPs propose solutions to close the sale.

After the sale Managed Workplace then shifts from Network Audit to provide comprehensive environment-wide monitoring and management. New customers are on-boarded in minutes with a single software install providing the specific customized policies for the appropriate class of service. And as new devices are deployed on the customer site they are automatically discovered, provisioned and brought under full management according to pre-configured rules without intervention by the MSP.

For the entire IT environment under management, Managed Workplace Persistent State Management maintains and enforces configuration regardless of external environmental changes. MSPs can now easily automate processes to remove blacklisted applications and overturn undesired configuration policies to help enforce security compliance and deliver higher service level consistency for their end customers. For example, many MSPs standardize and deploy antivirus and antimalware solutions across their customer base. If an end-user accidently removes security features from their system, Managed Workplace detects and automatically redeploys the MSP’s preconfigured solutions to protect the end-user’s device and customer network.

Additional new features in Managed Workplace 2012 R2 include alert functionality when devices are discovered after an initial network scan, an Update Center to provide easy access to product updates, MW Wire to notify users of important news related to Managed Workplace right from the Service Center dashboard, next-generation Service Modules and more.

“Managed Workplace 2012 R2 solidifies our position as technology leader in the RMM market, with new features that ease configuration, dramatically speed onboarding and enable new levels of integration to significantly broaden the capabilities of our MSP platform,” said Peter Sandiford, CEO Level Platforms. “With our comprehensive RMM platform, Managed Workplace, MSPs can automate operations, lower operating costs and deliver high-quality services to extend and enhance their offering and grow their business by managing the full range of end customer technology including workstations, servers, networking, imaging, VoIP, mobile devices and cloud. ”

For full details about Managed Workplace 2012 R2, and to learn how to become a Level Platforms Partner, visit http://www.levelplatforms.com.

Managed Workplace 2012 R2 Technical Training

Level Platforms is hosting a “technical deep dive” into new features in Managed Workplace 2012 R2. Designed specifically for technical staff now using Managed Workplace, but open to others by invitation, two two-hour sessions will be held on Tuesday, October 30th at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. EDT. For full details and to register, Level Platforms Partners should log in to the Partner Portal and visit http://www.levelplatforms.com/LPIPortal/Connect/mw_technicaltraining.aspx. Others should contact Level Platforms at marketing@levelplatforms.com.

SOURCE: Level Platforms

General Motors and HP Team Up on IT Transformation

10/18/2012

General Motors and HP Team Up on IT Transformation

DETROIT and PALO ALTO, Calif. -- General Motors and Hewlett-Packard Co. announced today new multi-year project services and software contracts that will accelerate GM’s ongoing IT transformation efforts and deliver seamless, global services and products throughout the automaker’s operations. These agreements provide GM a cost-neutral solution in which 3,000 HP employees already working on GM’s business will transition to the auto company’s employment rolls.

“These agreements with HP will enable us to accelerate the progress of our IT transformation by delivering increased innovation and speed of delivery to our GM business partners, and reduce the cost of ongoing IT operations,” said GM Chief Information Officer Randy Mott. “Transforming our internal IT operations will give us the resources, tools and flexibility we need to provide better services and products to our global GM customers.”

As previously announced, GM is moving from a highly out-sourced to a largely in-sourced business model, changing the mix so more employees are focused on innovation rather than operations. As part of this, GM has announced new IT innovation centers in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Mich., with the locations of two more centers yet to be announced.

“GM is an automotive icon and HP values the strategic partnership we have had for more than two decades,” said Mike Nefkens, HP acting Global Enterprise Services leader. “We look forward to helping GM deliver even greater products and services to market.”

GM also has purchased HP’s industry leading IT Performance Suite, Enterprise Security Suite, Vertica and Autonomy Software, all of which will further accelerate the transformation of applications development, support, and high-performance operations computing capabilities.

“GM needed a solution to provide confidence, insight and agility to perform better,” said George Kadifa, executive vice president, HP Software. “They didn’t need to look any further than HP’s Performance Suite and are the first customer to purchase the full suite of software to enable their business.”

About General Motors

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.


© 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.

Media contacts

Made in IBM Labs: New IBM Analytics Software Helps Doctors Transition to Predictive Healthcare

Made in IBM Labs: New IBM Analytics Software Helps Doctors Transition to Predictive Healthcare

- Analyzes large patient population data to find gaps in care, identify intervention opportunities for healthcare providers

LAS VEGAS - 23 Oct 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled Patient Care and Insights, new analytics software based on innovations from IBM Labs that helps healthcare organizations improve patient care and lower operational costs by considering the specific health history of each individual patient.

The IBM solution provides the core capabilities for devising predictive models of various health conditions that can be used to identify early intervention opportunities to improve the patient’s outlook by minimizing or avoiding potential health problems.  

IBM’s Patient Care and Insights is a comprehensive healthcare solution that features advanced analytics and care management capabilities to help identify early intervention opportunities and coordinate patient care. At the core of IBM Patient Care and Insights, developed by IBM’s software, research and services teams, are similarity analytics that help drive smart, individualized care delivery. Born in IBM Research, IBM similarity analytics is a set of core capabilities and algorithms that allow healthcare professionals to examine thousands of patient characteristics at once -- including demographic, social, clinical and financial factors along with unstructured data such as physicians’ notes -- to generate personalized evidence and insights, and then provide care according to personalized treatment plans.  

For instance, physicians can make personalized recommendations to improve a patient’s outcome by finding other patients with similar clinical characteristics to see what treatments were most effective or what complications they may have encountered. They can also perform patient-physician matching so an individual is paired with a doctor that is optimal for a specific condition. With this solution, caregivers can better tap into the collective memory of the care delivery system to uncover new levels of tailored insight or "early identifiers" from historical/long term patient data that enable doctors and others to help manage a patient's healthcare needs well into the future. 

Healthcare professionals can analyze both structured and unstructured data using some of the same foundational natural processing language technology as IBM Watson to understand text-based information and present it for analysis. The predictive analysis capabilities enable healthcare organizations to identify patients at risk for developing illnesses or needing additional interventions. Providers can use predictive modeling, trending and scoring to anticipate patient outcomes and evaluate the potential effects of interventions. 

“With the wide-scale adoption of the Patient Centered Medical Home, the need for comprehensive care management and analysis of the patient as they transition across settings has become a national priority. Programs like those at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for instance, that focus on robust care management are indicative of the significant returns on investment that these care models can deliver,” said Dr. Paul Grundy, MD, Global Director of Healthcare Transformation at IBM. 

Drawing on the insights gained from analytics, care teams can then use the care management capabilities in IBM Patient Care and Insights to create personalized, coordinated treatment plans for patients that span multiple physicians, specialists, hospitals, clinics and home care environments. IBM Patient Care and Insights eliminates paper-based processes and automates care delivery mechanics such as managing workflow tasks and providing ongoing patient assessments. 

“Healthcare professionals today need an integrated view of relevant clinical and operational information so they can make better decisions faster while improving quality of care. Discovering early intervention opportunities, for example, can dramatically change a resident's possible outcome and also help reduce costs for constituents across the healthcare community,” said Rustan Williams, VP Information Services/Technology Systems and CIO at The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society.  

IBM Patient Care and Insights continues IBM’s innovation in health care by delivering dynamic case-based, patient-centric electronic care plans and population analysis. IBM Patient Care and Insights will be demonstrated at the IBM IOD 2012 Conference alongside other healthcare-focused innovations that further exploit the power of analytics to advance information extraction, enhance care coordination and personalize care plan creation. IBM business partners will also participate in extending and delivering solutions based on IBM Patient Care and Insights. 

“IBM Patient Care and Insights delivers coordinated, patient-centric care from the doctor's office to the health plan,” said Dr. David Hanekom, Chief Medical Officer at MDdatacor, an IBM healthcare partner. “Its advanced analytics and care management capabilities give organizations an evidence-based understanding of patient populations and early intervention opportunities. It also supports emerging health care business models such as accountable care, complex care management, and the patient-centered medical home, which aligns with our core vision. The end result will be better care for patients and lower costs for health plans and providers.” 

IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager

IBM today also introduced IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager, a new software offering that accelerates deployment of solutions for enterprise fraud management as well as public safety related investigations. 

According to a report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the typical organization loses an estimated 5 percent of annual revenues to fraud. Applied to the estimated 2011 Gross World Product, this translates to a potential global fraud loss of over $3.5 trillion dollars.

Using IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager, investigators can gain insight into relationships among perpetrators, providers or fraud rings and produce easy-to-interpret visualizations of complex cross-channel fraud. Intelligent Investigation Manager enables organizations in banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, government and Public Safety to tap into internal and external content no matter its form -- opening up a wide pool to gain new intelligence and build cases for smart fraud protection. 

IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager includes investigative tools, content analytics, and advanced case management capabilities, which enable clients to efficiently fight fraud. IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager is a foundational technology for IBM Smarter Analytics Signature Solution -- anti-fraud, waste and abuse -- offered by IBM Global Business Services in collaboration with IBM Software Group. Intelligent Investigation Manager is also a key component of the IBM Smarter Cities initiative.

Enterprise Content Management Market Leader

Gartner recently named IBM the “largest ECM vendor in terms of market share and total content revenue” in its 2012 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management[1]. According to Gartner’s market share analysis, IBM is the leading software vendor with 19% market share for 2011 based on worldwide revenue, outgrowing the market and extending its lead over that of its closest competitor.  

For more information on IBM Patient Care and Insights and IBM Intelligent Investigation Manager, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/ecm/value.html.

For more information on IBM Research, visit www.research.ibm.com.

[1] Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Enterprise Content Management Software, Worldwide, 2011, G00233424

2013 Investissement Québec CEO of the Year: Call for nominations

 

2013 Investissement Québec CEO of the Year: Call for nominations


MONTREAL, Oct. 23, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Quebec Technology Association (AQT) is calling for nominations for the Investissement Québec CEO of the Year Award. Since 2003, this contest, organized by the Quebec Technology Association (AQT) in conjunction with Investissement Québec, has been shining the spotlight on CEOs of technology companies in recognition of their exemplary leadership and contributions to the visibility of the Quebec Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry.

Selection criteria

  • The CEO's role and contribution to project completion;
  • The innovative and original aspects of the achievement that highlight the CEO's leadership;
  • The importance of the achievement in relation to the challenges, the availability of human and financial resources, as well as the company's current state and size.

Benefits for participating companies

  • Media outreach: Media coverage of the Investissement Québec CEO of the Year Award event provides considerable promotional exposure.
  • Status and renown: Participation in the Investissement Québec CEO of the Year Award event enhances the credibility and renown of the company and its CEO.
  • Peer recognition: Projects are presented at the CEO Vision event and winners are voted by CEOs of ICT companies.

Nomination packages mailed, faxed or emailed to AQT must be received no later than 5 p.m., January 10, 2013.

Three finalists will be chosen by an independent selection committee comprised of CEOs of ICT companies and representatives of Investissement Québec and the Quebec Technology Association. All finalists will be featured in special reports and video coverage online, in print and in Les Affaires.

An award ceremony hosted by Investissement Québec's will be take place Thursday, February 21, 2013 during CEO Vision, an exclusive event for CEOs of Quebec technology companies, which will be held from February 20 to 23 at Mont-Tremblant. For more information, please visit www.ceovisionpdg.org/eng/pdg.htm.

Past laureates

2012 - Eric Bergeron, CEO, Optosecurity, inc. - 2011- Claude Mc Master, Technologies D-BOX - 2010 - André d'Orsonnens, Druide informatique - 2009 - Pascal Pilon, Averna Technologies - 2008 - Alain Paquin, Komunik - 2007 - Didier Gombert, Objectif Lune - 2006 - David Gellerman, Advantech - 2005 - Jean Mignault, Technologies 20-20 - 2004 - Karol Brassard, Nexxlink Technologie - 2003 - Dennis Wood.

About the Quebec Technology Association (AQT) www.aqt.ca

The Quebec Technology Association promotes innovative SMEs in the ICT industry by helping their CEOs and management teams reach business development objectives.

Now the largest ICT business network in Quebec, the AQT, a non-profit, self-funded organization, provides its 500 member and affiliate companies with local and international networking opportunities, as well as business comparison and improvement tools - true building blocks of success!

About Investissement Québec
Investissement Québec's mission is to foster the growth of investment in Québec, thereby contributing to economic development and job creation in every region. It offers businesses a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees and equity investments, to support them at all stages of their development. It is also responsible for tax incentive administration and foreign investment prospecting.

SOURCE: QUEBEC TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION (AQT)

For further information:

AQT - Valérie Danger, Director of Communications and Projects, 514 874-2667, ext. 118, vdanger@aqt.ca

2013 Starting Technology Salaries Projected to Rise 4.5%

ROBERT HALF RELEASES 2013 SALARY GUIDES

New Research Highlights Salary Trends, Jobs in Greatest Demand

TORONTO -- According to the newly released 2013 Salary Guides from Robert Half International, Canadian starting salaries for technology positions in the coming year will show the largest increases among all fields researched -- an average of 4.5 per cent. Administrative and office support professionals are expected to see base compensation rise by 3.9 per cent, on average, and accounting and finance professionals can anticipate a boost of 2.2 per cent.

“Demand for specialised talent continues to persist within many professional occupations, including technology and accounting,” said Lara Dodo, a Canadian regional vice president of Robert Half. “As many in-demand positions remain hard to fill, companies need to offer competitive compensation to attract the best employees.”

Dodo added, “Staying current on compensation trends can be challenging for busy managers, but our 2013 Salary Guides are a valuable tool organisations can use when recruiting and planning for the upcoming year.”

Robert Half has been publishing salary data since 1950. Following is an overview of hiring trends identified in the 2013 Salary Guides:

Accounting and Finance  

Starting salaries are expected to rise an average of 2.2 per cent for accounting and finance positions in the coming year, with a particular need for financial analysts who can support growth opportunities, as well as staff and senior accountants. In the healthcare industry, financial professionals with knowledge of health informatics and those who maintain and provide financial data, are being hired to handle initiatives related to the collection of electronic medical information. In financial services, there is demand for risk and compliance professionals who can interpret evolving regulatory requirements.

Technology  

Base compensation for information technology professionals is expected to increase an average of 4.5 per cent in the coming year. Mobile applications developers will see the highest increases (an average of 9.0 per cent), as companies look for people to help them build business using mobile media. Network engineers, business intelligence analysts, and senior IT auditors also are in demand.

Administrative and Office Support

Salaries for administrative professionals are anticipated to rise an average of 3.9 per cent in 2013. Employers are refilling some roles and creating new ones to ready themselves for future growth. Positions in demand include executive assistants and customer service representatives. Above-average salary increases also are projected for select administrative positions in the healthcare industry and in human resources.

About the 2013 Salary Guides

The newly released Salary Guides include:

·         2013 Salary Guide from Robert Half for accounting and finance (www.roberthalf.ca/salarycentre)

·         Robert Half Technology 2013 Salary Guide (www.rht.com/salarycentre)

·         OfficeTeam 2013 Salary Guide (www.officeteam.com/salarycentre)

Salary calculators that can be used to determine average starting salaries in several local markets can be accessed via the links above. The guides also are available at www.rhi.com/SalaryGuides.

Since 1950, Robert Half has produced Salary Guides to offer business owners, hiring managers and professionals information on prevailing starting salaries in their geographic areas and insight into the latest employment trends. Companies consult the annual guides to determine appropriate compensation for accounting and finance, technology and administrative professionals at all levels.

Information in the guides is based on the thousands of job searches, negotiations and placements managed each year by Robert Half’s staffing and recruiting managers, along with the company’s ongoing surveys of executives. Continuing or ongoing salaries are not reported because many external factors -- such as seniority, work ethic, job performance and training -- impact the salaries of full-time professionals as work histories develop. 

About Robert Half International

Robert Half International has more than 350 staffing locations worldwide and offers online job search services on its divisional websites, all of which can be accessed at www.roberthalf.ca. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/RobertHalf_CAN.

 

# # #

















































































Teralys Capital invests $15 million in Québec with Iris Capital in partnership with Orange and Publicis Groupe

Teralys Capital invests $15 million in Québec with Iris Capital in partnership with Orange and Publicis Groupe

A leading European investor in the digital economy establishes a presence in Montréal

MONTREAL, Oct. 23, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Teralys Capital is proud to announce a $15 million investment in Iris Capital III, a $200 million international venture capital fund well-capitalized to support high-growth enterprises. This commitment will be invested entirely with local companies from Québec and facilitates the immediate opening of the first North American office of this leading European investor in the new digital economy.

Iris Capital, with its head office located in Paris, is a successful investment firm with over 25 years experience in venture capital and growth financing. Specializing in Media, Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Iris Capital offers significant sector expertise with over 200 transactions and €900 million ($1.2 billion) invested to date in technology companies.

The project is strongly supported by Publicis Groupe and Orange, two leading international corporate groups in communications and telecommunications which chose Iris Capital to manage their Joint Corporate Venture initiative of a total amount of €300 million. In this context, Orange and Publicis invested in the funds OP Venture managed by Iris, have become minority shareholders in the management company Iris Capital Management, and have concluded an open innovation partnership; this will facilitate on the one hand a dialogue with Iris on strategy and investment opportunities, and on the other the development of portfolio companies.

"Québec offers unique world-class technology expertise which agrees with our investment strategy", said Pierre de Fouquet, Managing Partner of Iris Capital. "Furthermore, with Teralys Capital's commitment, we are very pleased that we can now maintain a permanent presence in Québec and thus facilitate our search for new investment opportunities."

Didier Lombard, President of Iris Capital's Strategic Committee, ex-Chairman/CEO of Orange, and Chairman of the Board of ST-Micro, said: "Growth of the digital economy is at the heart of Iris' activity. To reach this objective as quickly as possible, one must be where creative forces are most active, and choose the right partners. This announcement of our new office in Montréal and of our partnership with Teralys Capital is a stepping stone for our future investments on the North American continent".

Iris Capital has been active in Québec for over 15 years and realized investments of over $50 million in total in 7 Québec companies. "The new Montréal office will provide local entrepreneurs permanent access to Iris Capital's unique expertise and international reach, and privileged access to the business networks of Publicis Groupe and of Orange", added Jacques Bernier, Managing Partner of Teralys Capital.

As with every Teralys Capital portfolio fund, this financial commitment will be entirely reinvested in local Québec companies. Teralys Capital has financed 7 sector funds in Information Technologies since its launch, which total over $1 billion in financing now accessible to Québec entrepreneurs. These funds encompass every investment phase from startup financing to growth and expansion capital, offering local innovating technology companies the capital and expertise required at every stage of their development.

About Teralys Capital
Teralys Capital is a fund of funds created to finance private venture capital funds focused on investing in life sciences, information technology and cleantech companies. The fund has over $700 million in capital commitments from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Solidarity Fund QFL and Investissement Québec. Teralys Capital also manages two existing portfolios of venture capital funds with additional assets under management of over $600 million. It is currently the largest fund of funds in Canada. Visit www.teralyscapital.com for more information.

About Iris Capital
Iris Capital is a pan-European venture capital fund manager specializing in digital economy. Since its inception in 1986, the Iris Capital team has invested more than €900 million ($1.2 billion). Iris Capital targets opportunities in service or technology companies, seeking growth capital in order to realize their mid to long-term strategy. It provides active support to its portfolio companies on the basis of its strong sector specialization and experience. Iris has offices in Paris, Düsseldorf, Montréal, Dubai and Riyadh. In spring of 2012, Iris Capital entered into a strategic partnership with Orange and Publicis to manage their joint corporate venture capital initiative.

About Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of €45.3 billion for 2011 and has 170,000 employees worldwide at 30 June 2012, including 105,000 employees in France. Present in 33 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 224 million customers at 30 June 2012, including 166 million mobile customers and 15 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies. With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange. For more information: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv.

About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, part of the CAC 40 index] is the third largest communications group in the world, offering the full range of services and skills: digital and traditional advertising, public affairs and events, media buying and specialized communication. Its major networks are Leo Burnett, MSLGROUP, PHCG (Publicis Healthcare Communications Group), Publicis Worldwide, Rosetta and Saatchi & Saatchi. VivaKi, the Groupe's media and digital accelerator, includes Digitas, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. Present in 104 countries, the Groupe employs 56,000 professionals. Website: www.publicisgroupe.com.

SOURCE: Teralys Capital

For further information:

Teralys Capital
Éric Legault
Managing Partner
999 de Maisonneuve West, Suite 1700
Montréal, Québec, H3A 3L4
+1 (514) 509-2082
elegault@teralyscapital.com

Iris Capital
Alexander Wiedmer
Partner
3530 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Suite 300
Montréal, Québec, H2X 2V1
+1 (514) 705-4569
a.wiedmer@iriscapital.com















































































HP Unveils Cloud-based Service Desk Solution

HP Unveils Cloud-based Service Desk Solution

HP Service Anywhere, a new HP IT service management SaaS solution, helps manage and deliver quality services

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 22, 2012

HP today announced HP Service Anywhere, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) IT service management (ITSM) solution that delivers a simple-to-use, modern experience that enables IT professionals to increase productivity while managing and delivering high-quality services.

HP Service Anywhere integrates key technologies, such as the market-leading HP Universal Configuration Management Database (UCMDB), which manages services, applications and hardware across the IT environment. It is populated and maintained with HP Universal Discovery software, which automates discovery and dependency mapping of relevant IT elements.

To prevent service downtime and maximize employee productivity, organizations need simple, agile IT service desk solutions that help resolve incidents rapidly while adapting to changing enterprise requirements. Organizations also need to reduce the costs and complexity of deploying and upgrading mission-critical service desk solutions to avoid disrupting the delivery and quality of internal services.

As part of the HP Converged Cloud strategy, HP Service Anywhere is an ITSM software solution that can be delivered as a service via the cloud. It enables clients to quickly resolve IT incidents and ensure availability of critical services that drive innovation. The new solution features an intuitive user interface and is simple to deploy, manage and upgrade.

“Customers of all sizes are looking for cloud-based IT service desk solutions that are easy to implement and configure,” said George Flansburg, operations management practice lead, ResultsPositive, an HP partner. “HP Service Anywhere is a simple-to-implement service desk SaaS offering that allows both midsize and large customers to be up and running within weeks.”

HP Service Anywhere provides comprehensive service desk capabilities, including the handling of inbound requests and IT service configuration information as well as incident, problem and change management. The solution features social collaboration for sharing and recording advice and communications. Social collaboration can improve first call resolution (FCR) rates, shorten handling times and reduce escalations by immediately alerting and engaging the right people to resolve issues.

“Our customers expect IT service desk solutions that are simple to use, can scale and will reduce overall costs,” said Dan Cavanaugh, solution engineer, HP Optimize Practice at Linium, an HP partner. “With HP Service Anywhere, we can offer advanced service desk capabilities, such as incident and change management, through a highly scalable solution that is delivered as a service.”

HP Service Anywhere enables clients to:

  • Speed deployment and easily extend processes based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices, such as incident management, problem management and change management, through a new process-designer technology that is 100 percent web-based, 100 percent user interface (UI)-driven and codeless;
  • Facilitate rapid and seamless upgrades for future releases by creating efficient process work flows using the same codeless configuration approach, which enables data model extensions and easy-to-use forms design;
  • Increase staff productivity through unique “in-context” social collaboration directly in the tool, attaching conversation threads to relevant help desk objects in the system for rapid problem resolution; and
  • Deploy a robust hybrid ITSM solution that seamlessly combines HP Service Anywhere and on-premise HP Service Manager delivering flexibility in linking central IT with lines-of-business IT.

HP Service Anywhere manages and supports end-to-end delivery of required services and runs on a service that guarantees 99.9 percent availability for clients, as well as enhanced security.

“IT service desk solutions need to easily adapt to changing enterprise environments to ensure the best support experience to users,” said Lee Nackman, vice president and general manager, Service and Portfolio Management, Software, HP. “As a native SaaS application, HP Service Anywhere offers clients a feature-rich solution that is quick and easy to deploy, maintain and upgrade.”

HP also announced HP Service Anywhere Foundation Service, a quick-start service to assist clients with deploying and adopting their solutions.

Pricing and availability

HP Service Anywhere will be available worldwide directly from HP or via its ecosystem of channel partners. Named and concurrent license pricing will vary according to terms, quantity and location. Entry-level pricing is expected to start at $89 per user per month.(1)

HP Service Anywhere is a key component of the HP IT Performance Suite, the next-generation enterprise performance software platform that enables IT management to improve performance with operational intelligence.

An online demo and preregistration for a trial of HP Service Anywhere are available at www.hpserviceanywhere.com.

HP’s premier Europe, Middle East and Africa client event, HP Discover, takes place Dec. 4-6 in Frankfurt, Germany.

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.

Dell Unveils Enterprise Vision For the Future

Dell Unveils Enterprise Vision For the Future; Investments in Best-In-Class Infrastructure and Integrated Computing Platforms Result in the Launch of New Active System Solutions

Date : 18/10/2012
San Francisco, California






  • Dell continues to fuel enterprise growth momentum
  • Dell continues strategic investments in end-to-end solutions with a scalable design point
  • Dell Active Systems combine servers, storage, networking and management in an intuitive, flexible and comprehensive converged infrastructure offering

Dell today announced plans to help businesses globally quickly adopt modern, standards-based data center technologies that enable them to realize repeatable results and superior value at every scale. To do this Dell utilizes a standards-based architecture that optimizes the use of IT resources, anticipates growth, and supports future expansion. Dell’s core server, storage and networking infrastructure elements enable scaled-out solutions to be built from standard hardware building blocks and innovative software solutions.

The enterprise strategy, outlined today at an event in San Francisco, brings together hardware, software and services developed by Dell and gained through acquisitions under a common design philosophy to offer customers a robust and easy-to-manage data center infrastructures. The company also announced its next wave of converged infrastructure offerings, Active Systems, that provide an intuitive, flexible and power efficient foundation for application, virtual desktop infrastructure and private cloud deployments.

Dell’s scalable design point is built upon, and requires, industry standards. Through the acquisition and development of its own IP, Dell has built a set of unique assets to deliver the scalable IT infrastructure of the future based on standardized technologies. As a result, organizations can avoid the expensive lock-in of closed architectures that rely on proprietary shortcuts. Dell, in contrast, combines its innovative intellectual property and standards-based hardware to deliver intuitive solutions, where customers get the feature benefits of Dell IP and the efficiency levels of an industry standard approach.

“Dell’s intuitive and efficient approach to data center infrastructure builds on our leadership position,” said Marius Haas, president of Enterprise Solutions Group, Dell. “Our scalable design focus and powerful offerings from the Dell Software and Services groups uniquely position us to capture this market. Customers are voting with their wallets in endorsing Dell’s innovative approach.”

Active Infrastructure Family Speeds Implementation and Increases Agility
Dell’s new converged infrastructure family, called Active Infrastructure, helps IT organizations more rapidly respond to business demands, improve data center efficiency, and strengthen IT service quality. It is ideal for businesses that are standardizing on x86 server architectures and need a more dynamic infrastructure operated in a simplified and automated fashion. Dell offers two ways to deploy Active infrastructure:

  • Pre-integrated systems – pre-engineered, pre-assembled, and pre-tested systems coupled with enterprise deployment services
  • Active System Architectures – customizable blueprints for building virtualized infrastructure

Dell also offers optimized and validated Active Solutions for private clouds, virtual desktop infrastructure, and enterprise applications such as Microsoft Lync, Exchange and Sharepoint 2010.

 Active System 800
Active System 800
Part of the Active Infrastructure family, the new Dell Active System offers an intuitive, highly flexible, and comprehensive approach to converged infrastructure. Central to all Active Systems is the new Active System Manager, an intuitive tool for the most common infrastructure administrative tasks. It delivers substantial operational benefits such as helping to eliminate up to 75% of steps needed for “power on to production.”[1] Active Systems are built with the following best-of-breed infrastructure elements that deliver real results compared to competitive offerings:
  • The PowerEdge M1000e chassis and 12th generation blade servers provide up to 2.3X greater compute density per rack[2]
  • Dell Compellent or EqualLogic storage, including the new EqualLogic Blade Array
  • A new plug-and-play blade I/O module – the PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator – that is optimized for virtualization and delivers up to six times the bandwidth to the data center network[3]
  • Optimization at the system level that delivers up to 45% better performance per watt[4]

Dell is also introducing the pre-integrated Active System 800, a blade-based model that includes EqualLogic storage and Force10 networking and is designed for highly virtualized environments with applications that demand performance, agility and scalability.

Quotes:
“As a rapidly expanding cloud service provider, iland has seen dramatically higher demands and more complex use cases from our customers,” said Dante Orsini, Senior Vice President of Business Development at iland. “With Dell Active System, we can now leverage dense, converged blade-based infrastructure that helps us scale to customer needs by deploying infrastructure 5X faster, reduce operational costs by 37% through automation across the environment, and reduce provisioning errors by 25% through consistent deployment templates.”

“Dell is ahead of the curve recognizing how new demands for next-generation IT are reshaping customer approaches to business and infrastructure decisions,” says Matt Eastwood, Group Vice President and General Manager, IDC. “Dell’s comprehensive approach to integrated computing platforms and its growing portfolio of software and services are directly addressing the four pillars of industry growth that IDC sees as transforming the IT industry - from cloud and big data to social business and mobility solutions. Dell’s new offerings combine its core heritage enterprise products, including powerful server, storage, networking and management capabilities in an open and standardized converged offering that is flexible and which can efficiently and easily scale to meet the changing needs of a growing business.”

Product Availability
The Active System 800, the associated Active System Architectures, and Active System Manager will be available in the US in late November 2012 and worldwide early next year. The Active System 800 will be available worldwide from Dell and its global PartnerDirect channel partners. Please visit www.dell.com/convergence for more information.

In conjunction with today’s announcement, Dell Financial Services is making available financing to growing companies to help them reap the benefits of a converged infrastructure and Dell’s next generation solutions.[5] Dell Financial Services has a wide range of flexible programs aimed at making technology acquisition easy and affordable.

About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit www.dell.com.

Dell World
Join us at Dell World 2012 – The Power to Do More. Technology professionals will learn from one another and identify key challenges and opportunities connected to the top forces changing business today. Learn more at www.DellWorld.com or follow #DellWorld on Twitter.

1 Based on Dell internal testing completed Oct 2012. Dell solution only requires 16 steps to Install and setup chassis, blades, and ESXi cluster. HP BladeSystem Matrix requires 65 steps. Actual results may vary.
2 Based on Dell internal testing in Oct 2012. Each Dell chassis can hold 128 total blades per rack and each Cisco chassis can hold 56 total blades per rack.
3 Based on Dell internal testing in Oct 2012. Cisco chassis has eight 10 gigabit ports per Fabric Extender, with two fabric extenders per chassis, for a total of 16 ports, or 160 Gbps. The Dell chassis has sixteen 10 gigabit ports per PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator, with up to 6 IOAs per chassis, for a total of 96 ports, or 960 Gbps.Actual results may vary.
4 Based on Overall SPECpower_ssj2008 benchmark testing in Oct 2012 comparing a similarly configured solution from Dell and Cisco. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.
5 Leasing and financing provided by Dell Financial Services L.L.C. to qualified US customers. All terms subject to credit approval, availability and execution of documentation acceptable to and provided by DFS. Subject to change without notice.

Top Universities Choose Office 365 for Education for Enhanced Security and Privacy

Top Universities Choose Office 365 for Education for Enhanced Security and Privacy
Oct. 19, 2012
Academic consortia collaborate with Microsoft on agreement to support federally mandated requirements for protecting students’ health information.

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 19, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced new academic institutions and medical schools that are adopting Microsoft Office 365 for education, the company’s next-generation cloud productivity service, to improve communication and collaboration across campuses while helping meet security, privacy and other regulatory requirements as mandated by the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Duke University, Emory University, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Iowa and University of Washington chose Office 365 after a consortium of leading technology, legal and compliance experts from the academic, public and private sector worked closely with Microsoft to develop a business associate agreement (BAA) to address HIPAA requirements. These institutions and medical schools represent 188,000 additional students, faculty and staff that are using the cloud productivity service. As a result of the collaborative efforts, Microsoft now offers the most comprehensive agreement available to HIPAA-covered entities that manage electronic-protected health information.

Considerations for Moving to the Cloud

Many universities seeking to consolidate resources and save money in their infrastructure and email storage businesses need to combine the benefits of moving to the cloud with assurances around how data is secured and accessed from the cloud. As such, Duke University led a consortium of universities, which included the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa, to find an industry technology partner to help them navigate the current regulatory environment and provide a solution with robust security features that could help prevent data breaches and keep the universities’ sensitive data private in the cloud. Duke will be rolling out Office 365 to all students, faculty and staff to provide the opportunity for cost savings and more effective collaboration across the university and health system.

“A robust, reliable and secure email system is vital to the daily operations of the university and health system,” said Tracy Futhey, vice president of Information Technology and chief information officer, Duke University. “Moving to the Microsoft cloud environment will enable us to achieve greater efficiency and ensure that our users will have the level of protection necessary to keep Duke’s data private, including guaranteeing that our data servers would stay in the U.S.”

Although the federal HIPAA law in large part applies to health organizations that need to protect patient data, education institutions must also adhere to the same HIPAA regulations if school data systems store students’ records that include protected health information. In addition to the medical schools, university hospitals, research departments, school counseling centers and athletic departments are just a few examples of places on campus that store information about students’ physical and mental health. Human resources and benefits departments may also be governed by HIPAA, as they are likely privy to information about healthcare claims that employees are filing.

Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) and Jefferson Medical College, one of the oldest academic medical centers in the United States, were the first academic customers to sign the Office 365 BAA agreement, with more than 5,300 faculty and staff, including 900 practicing clinicians. The combination of research, teaching and clinical staff presented a unique challenge in TJU’s quest to move to the cloud and simultaneously maintain strong privacy protections for its constituents.

“A key deciding factor for TJU was that Office 365 helps enable us to be HIPAA compliant. With Google, we would have never have known where our intellectual property and records were stored,” said Doug Herrick, chief information officer, Thomas Jefferson University. “Microsoft had the willingness to understand our business and be transparent about how it handles security and privacy, which meets the demands of a real enterprise.”

“U.S. healthcare information spans numerous industries and agencies. This makes it essential that we work with healthcare providers and our customers to protect healthcare consumers’ and students’ data, and it all starts with making sure our products are built from the ground up with privacy by design,” said Cameron Evans, chief technology officer, U.S. Education, Microsoft. “Our collaboration with some of the most prominent academic institutions in the country has allowed us to meet the biggest compliance challenges our customers face and ensure that our cloud services offer unprecedented privacy and security capabilities to students, patients and businesses alike.”

Office 365 is the first and only major cloud business productivity service to address the rigors of the federal government’s HIPAA requirements. Microsoft offers a complete range of public, private and hybrid cloud solutions that support covered healthcare entities’ compliance needs. Rather than using separate cloud vendors for productivity, collaboration, application hosting, data storage and relationship management, Microsoft’s customers can consolidate on one cloud, with one infrastructure partner with a common security and privacy framework that is specifically tailored to help meet the compliance needs of healthcare-covered entities.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Internet community rallies behind Internet's current governance model


Internet community rallies behind Internet's current governance model


Canada's Clement offers strong endorsement during keynote address

OTTAWA, Oct. 19, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (www.CIRA.ca), the organization that manages the .CA Internet domain, welcomed the renewed support for the Internet's multi-stakeholder governance model that was demonstrated this week by global Internet leaders who have gathered in Toronto.

Since Sunday, CIRA has played host to ICANN 45, the latest of three annual meetings held each year by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as part of its multi-stakeholder approach to coordinating the Internet's addressing system.

ICANN 45 kicked off on Monday morning with a keynote by the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board. In his remarks, Clement offered Canada's unqualified support for the Internet's multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance.

"This multi-stakeholder model has served us very well," Clement said. "It has given the Internet the freedom and flexibility to develop into the transformative technology it is today ... perhaps even more importantly, it has ensured that no single stakeholder or group dominates the decision-making process - be it governments or others.

"I can assure you that Canada will continue to be a staunch supporter of this model, and that we will continue to vigorously support organizations that practice this model of consensus-based policy development," he added.

This position for the multi-stakeholder model received widespread support from government representatives during the High Level Government Meeting, the first of its kind at an ICANN event, which drew senior government officials from around the world to discuss and debate the need to preserve and improve the Internet's multi-stakeholder governance model.

CIRA is pleased by the broad international support for the multi-stakeholder model which has been expressed this week at ICANN 45. This endorsement is particularly important as it comes only two months before another major meeting, the second World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT 2012), hosted by the International Telecommunications Union in Dubai this December, that will draw the global Internet community and where Internet governance is expected to be a central topic.

"We believe a multi-stakeholder model is the only way to ensure that the Internet is innovative, secure, inter-operable and, most importantly, free and open," said Byron Holland, President and CEO of CIRA. "Governments and individuals alike must build on the positive outcomes of ICANN 45 to ensure Internet governance remains a global and collaborative effort that benefits everyone."

A full video of Clement's speech is available here: http://www.icann.org/en/news/press/kits/toronto45/video-clement-15oct12-en.htm

Photos from the opening ceremony, including the Minister's speech, are available here for download: .

About CIRA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the Member-driven organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

About ICANN

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the non-profit organization responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) such as .CA, generic TLDs (gTLDs) such as .COM and .ORG, and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers communicate over the Internet.

About the multi-stakeholder model

A multi-stakeholder model is an organizational framework that brings together primary stakeholders such as businesses, civil society, governments, research institutions and non-government organizations to cooperate and participate in the dialogue, decision making and implementation of solutions to common problems or goals. In keeping with this philosophy, ICANN practices consensus-based policy development, also known as a "bottom-up" model. This means that ICANN governs on the principle of cooperation and collaboration with different Internet stakeholders worldwide to be able to effectively and efficiently carry-out its responsibility as the international Internet governing body.

To learn more about ICANN's multi-stakeholder model, please visit http://toronto45.icann.org/bitcache/b4bd0309fef1b99fe93d5312d9a28ed81c1150a5?vid=42233&disposition=attachment&op=download.

SOURCE: Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

For further information:

or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Leo Valiquette
inmedia Public Relations
(613) 769-9479
lvaliquette@inmedia.ca