World's Largest Internet Study finds Americans are Gullible, the Spanish are Stylish, and the Germans are Annoyed

World's Largest Internet Study finds Americans are Gullible, the Spanish are Stylish, and the Germans are Annoyed

MELBOURNE, Australia, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In the world's largest international study of online consumer behavior involving over 36,000 users, remarkable differences between the cultures were found, including the secret to success which appears to be simplicity.

The Webreep online consumer survey analyzed consumer behavior on the internet between May 2011 and May 2012. Participants were distributed across 7 regions, including France, Germany, Spain, Australia, China, and Russia.

The study found Americans are the most trusting, 20% more than Europeans, Chinese (23%), and Russians (33%).

Dr. Brent Coker, an online consumer psychologist who co-authored the report says, "Americans feel more safe on the internet than the rest of the world. In the past we've known that the Chinese are concerned about eavesdropping, and the Russians with hackers. Now we're also seeing these types of concerns spread to Germany, France, Spain and Australia. However, these concerns just haven't hit the US yet."

The study found the Spanish had an extremely high correlation between attractiveness and satisfaction.

"Spanish attitudes towards the attractiveness of websites are very low. But there is a very high correlation between attractiveness and satisfaction. This suggests the low satisfaction is driven by pride. The Spanish have an extremely well developed sense of style –the highest recorded," said Dr .Coker.

The study found that Germans perceived the quality of information online to be very low: 51% lower than the French, 13% lower than the Spanish and the USA.

"People who place high value on factual and accurate information are often very accurate and precise in their behavior. The data for Germany suggests they are very goal directed when using the internet, and exceptionally critical of the information available," said Dr. Coker.

The survey also found that the French have an unusually high correlation between website attractiveness and satisfaction.

"Satisfaction from attractiveness is very similar to romanticism. When we derive satisfaction from beauty, it makes us sentimental and evokes similar thought patterns as Love. The data suggests this is how the French respond to beautiful websites- the French are very romantic online," said Dr. Coker.

The report also found websites with the most word-of-mouth and loyalty were the simplest. The report can be downloaded at http://www.webreep.com/en-US/Home/WebreepReports. Webreep is the world's leading customer feedback tool.




Contact:

Dr Brent Coker



T) +61-3-83441933; +61-421764085



E) brent.coker@webreep.com









Eoin Hahessy-media officer



T) +61-432213616



E) eoin.hahessy@webreep.com




SOURCE Webreep.com

Microsoft Demonstrates Value of Windows 8 for Businesses

Microsoft Demonstrates Value of Windows 8 for Businesses
June 12, 2012
At TechEd, Microsoft also announces updates to several Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack products.

ORLANDO, Fla. — June 12, 2012 — Today at TechEd North America, Microsoft Corp. detailed the value Windows 8 brings to businesses through enhanced fundamentals, new enterprise features and strong application compatibility. The company also announced updates to several Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) products to help organizations manage, secure and enhance the Windows experience.

“Windows 8 is enterprise-ready by design,” said Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president for Windows Web Services at Microsoft. “Adding features that bring new possibilities in mobility, productivity and security, Windows 8 will delight developers, IT professionals and the employees they support.”

Now available for download are updates to several MDOP products, which enable organizations to virtualize, manage and restore data, applications and users’ experiences on Windows:

• The beta for Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) 2.0 makes it easier for enterprises to protect data with BitLocker and BitLocker To Go by using Windows 8 support to simplify the provisioning process, monitoring and enforcing compliance for improved security, and reducing the cost of managing an encrypted environment by integrating with existing managements systems, while empowering users to support themselves with a self-service recovery portal. A download of the beta is available at http://www.microsoft.com/getMBAM.

• Both the Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 4.0 Service Pack 1 beta and release candidate for the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 8 are available today, providing support for Windows 8 Release Preview. The download of AGPM beta is available here, and the download of the DaRT 8 release candidate is available here.

• The second beta for User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) also will be available by the end of the month. UE-V is designed to give individuals the ability to change their device and keep their experience without reconfiguring applications or settings in Windows 7 or Windows 8. New features in the second beta include roaming system settings between Windows 7 and Windows 8; support for additional operating system settings, like Start menu, Taskbar and folder options; Group Policy support to ensure agent configuration consistency; and the roaming and sync of settings between Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10.

Those wanting to download Windows 8 Release Preview and test it in the business environment should visit http://preview.windows.com. More information on Windows 8 for businesses can be found on the Windows for your Business Blog at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business or at the Windows 8 Enterprise site at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-and-technologies/windows-8/default.aspx.

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

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

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.

Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy receives License from New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society

Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy receives License from New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society

MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 13, 2012 /CNW/ - Express Scripts Canada, one of the largest providers of health benefits management services in Canada, today announced that the application for a license to operate a pharmacy in the Province of New Brunswick by Express Scripts Pharmacy Atlantic Ltd. has been granted by the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society.

The license is effective immediately.

The pharmacy, which is located in Dieppe, northeast of Moncton, is now open to serve plan members in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is an integral component of Express Scripts Canada's expanded pharmacy benefit management (PBM) service, which includes home delivery of maintenance prescription medications from an Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy. The PBM service is designed to enable plan sponsors to more effectively and efficiently manage prescription drug benefits provided to plan members.

Express Scripts Canada's expanded PBM service, which can be added by companies and organizations without changing insurance carriers, applies behavioral sciences to health-care decision-making to more effectively help manage benefit costs and improve health outcomes. Plan members, with the support of their physicians, will interact with a team of qualified professionals at Express Scripts Canada to learn about their maintenance medication alternatives so that they can make more informed choices. The result will be decisions that promote improved health outcomes, while often reducing costs for both the member and the member's plan sponsor.

Working in conjunction with the expanded PBM service, this new Express Scripts Canada Pharmacy will facilitate the dispensing and delivery of prescription drugs to treat ongoing medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The prescription is subsequently delivered, via free standard shipping, to patients' homes or to the address they designate.

A skilled team of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants verify the clinical quality of those prescriptions filled. Patients of the New Brunswick pharmacy, which is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. AT, will have access to pharmacists to answer questions about their medications.

For more information about Express Scripts Canada's pharmacy benefit management service and home delivery pharmacy, go to www.express-scripts.ca.

About Express Scripts Canada

Express Scripts Canada, a registered business name of both ESI Canada and Express Scripts Canada Services, each an Ontario partnership, is indirectly owned by Express Scripts, Inc., and is one of Canada's leading providers of health benefits management services. From its corporate headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, just outside Toronto, Express Scripts Canada provides a full range of integrated pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services to insurers, third-party administrators, plan sponsors and the public sector, including health-claims adjudication and processing services, Home Delivery Pharmacy Services, benefit-design consultation, drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug-data analysis services, to better facilitate the best possible health outcomes at the lowest possible cost. For more information about Express Scripts Canada, visit its Web site at www.express-scripts.ca.

About Express Scripts

Express Scripts manages more than a billion prescriptions each year for tens of millions of people. On behalf of our clients — employers, health plans, unions and government health programs — we make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable. We innovate to enhance patient care, reduce pharmacy-related waste and increase therapy adherence. Building on a strong clinical foundation, we apply our understanding of the behavioral sciences — an approach we call Consumerology® — to make it easier for people to choose better health.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Express Scripts provides integrated pharmacy benefit management services, including network-pharmacy claims processing, home delivery, specialty benefit management, benefit-design consultation, drug-utilization review, formulary management, and medical and drug data analysis services. The company also distributes a full range of biopharmaceutical products and provides extensive cost-management and patient-care services.

For more information, visit www.Express-Scripts.com.

Express Scripts Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to the Company's plans, objectives, expectations (financial and otherwise) or intentions. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements.  Factors that may impact these forward-looking statements can be found in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 10, 2012.  A copy of this form can be found at the Investor Relations section of Express Scripts' Web site at http://www.express-scripts.com/corporate.

We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For further information:

MEDIA INQUIRIES: 
Paul Stulberg, Director of Marketing & Communications
(905) 712-6301 pstulberg@express-scripts.com

Organizations Convert Big Data into a Business Driver with Solutions from NetApp

Organizations Convert Big Data into a Business Driver with Solutions from NetApp

Enhanced Data Protection and Simplified Management Capabilities Accelerate Big Data Innovation on E-Series Platform

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—June 13, 2012—Organizations across a wide range of industries are dealing with the realities that big data presents. Machine- and user-generated data growth is exploding in size and expected to increase at a rate of 40% year over year[1]. Because organizations must be able to quickly and efficiently turn this data into valuable information to drive smarter business decisions, they require a storage solution that delivers continuous data availability for optimal performance levels and simplified management.

To address these customer requirements, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) is now shipping Dynamic Disk Pools, a powerful new data protection technology that improves overall system performance and is available on big data solutions built on the NetApp E-Series platform. Additionally, NetApp today also announced that Whamcloud’s Chroma Enterprise management software is now available with the NetApp® High-Performance Computing Solution for Lustre to help customers reduce management complexities.

New Technology Enables Continuous Availability, Improves Performance
Dynamic Disk Pools is an innovative new technology that administers dynamic reconstructions of failed drives, enabling customers to maintain data availability by restoring a system to optimal performance up to eight times faster than with traditional RAID architectures. Dynamic Disk Pools also decrease the performance impact of a failed drive by up to 60%. This allows customers to maintain the required performance levels during drive failures, which helps lower overall storage system costs and enables them to more quickly analyze data to speed time to results.

"Technologies like NetApp Dynamic Disk Pools would help the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility deliver consistent, reliable performance even in the face of disk failures,” said Dave Dillow, advanced systems architect for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest science and energy national laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy system. “At the scale and component counts of our computing systems, gracefully handling these failures is fundamental to our mission goals. Our early testing of NetApp's technology has been very positive, and we look forward to seeing it in the market."

Whamcloud Partnership Simplifies Lustre Management
To help customers simplify overall management of their Lustre environments and deal with the complexities related to deployment and management, NetApp has partnered with Whamcloud to incorporate its Lustre Software Manager powered by Chroma as part of the NetApp High-Performance Computing Solution for Lustre.

The new central management system provides customers with a unified view of their Lustre storage environment. In addition to simplifying overall management, it also enables customers to simplify several tasks that are oftentimes complex and time consuming such as installation, configuration, maintenance, monitoring, and fault diagnosis. This allows customers to maximize the performance of their storage environment and reduce the costs associated with managing high-performance computing storage.

“High-performance computing applications are only getting larger and more complex, and, as a result, customers are looking for ways to simplify their environments,” said Brent Gorda, chief executive officer, Whamcloud. “Combining Chroma with the NetApp solution provides customers with a truly industry-leading storage solution optimized for Lustre environments and delivers unique management capabilities that offer new levels of simplicity. Now customers can spend less time managing their Lustre environment and more time analyzing data to achieve success.”

The enhanced NetApp High-Performance Computing Solution for Lustre bolsters NetApp’s portfolio of big data solutions on its E-Series platform. NetApp big data solutions are built on NetApp E-Series and Data ONTAP® platforms to efficiently process, analyze, manage, and access data at scale to meet customers' analytics, bandwidth, and content needs across a diverse number of industries, including oil and gas, financial services, media and entertainment, high-performance computing, and public sector. Customers can spark innovation, make better decisions, and drive successful business outcomes at the speed of today’s business with NetApp big data solutions.

Separately today, NetApp and Hortonworks entered a strategic partnership to develop and pretest joint Apache Hadoop solutions using Hortonworks Data Platform to help customers simplify access to their data and gain deeper business insight to make the right decisions faster. NetApp also unveiled the NetApp Open Solution for Hadoop Rack to provide customers with a ready-to-deploy enterprise Hadoop solution. Learn more about how your business can take advantage of big data analytics with enterprise-ready Apache Hadoop solutions from NetApp and Hortonworks by reading the separate press release here.

Supporting Quotes

  • Addison Snell, chief executive officer, Intersect360 Research
    "Our research into big data applications has shown not only the rapid growth in storage requirements, but more specifically a need for vendors who can balance performance requirements, reliability, and simplicity. Based on our own studies, three-quarters of respondents spanning commercial, government, and academia all plan to invest in new technologies for big data with storage solutions optimized for their environments at the top of the list.”
  • Rich Clifton, senior vice president, Solutions and Integrations Group, NetApp
    “The information and data that surround us are continuing to grow at incredible rates. Customers across various vertical markets have unique storage requirements to help them leverage this data to drive successful business outcomes. By providing a wide range of big data–focused solutions across our portfolio, including those built on the E-Series platform, NetApp is helping customers more effectively and efficiently process, analyze, manage, and access their data. Today’s announcement is further proof of NetApp’s commitment to continued innovation to provide customers with the right solutions and technologies to address their specific big data needs.”

Pricing and Availability
Dynamic Disk Pools technology is already shipping on all big data solutions based on E-Series, which are available from NetApp sales and channel partners. The enhanced NetApp High-Performance Computing Solution for Lustre is available today from NetApp sales and channel partners. Pricing is available from NetApp direct sales and channel partners.

Additional Resources

About NetApp
NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions that accelerate business breakthroughs and deliver outstanding cost efficiency. Discover NetApp’s passion for helping companies around the world go further, faster at www.netapp.com.

Press Contact:
Ryan Lowry
NetApp
(408) 822-7544
ryan.lowry@netapp.com

NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster, and Data ONTAP are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.

[1] McKinsey & Company, “Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity,” May 2011.

SAP Adds New Social Software Innovations

SAP Adds New Social Software Innovations: Web Conferencing and Brainstorming

SAP NEWSBYTE - June 13, 2012 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced new social innovations for the SAP StreamWork application to help teams collaborate better directly in their business applications and processes. New capabilities for Web conferencing and creative mobile brainstorming are the latest examples of how SAP is executing on its social strategy to deliver social, collaborative capabilities right where people work. Whether in an SAP application or third-party solutions, SAP helps users achieve higher work velocity and more rapid decision-making.

With the integration of Mikogo, people can schedule, host and participate in Web conferences – even share their desktops with other team members – directly within SAP StreamWork activities. Collaborating across borders in real time via virtual meetings is now easier for all users. For example, they can hold planning sessions with satellite offices, conduct global staff meetings, present project results to abroad customers and make sales deals more personal. Doing all of this within SAP StreamWork means people can simultaneously keep track of and update agendas, notes, files, tasks, deadlines and more via one screen. Users can even record their meetings for future reference, and take advantage of Mikogo tools for white-boarding and instant messaging.

Additionally, the new SAP StreamWork Brainstorming mobile app for iPad is now available via iTunes to help users generate fresh ideas and unleash their creative potential while bringing structure to the brainstorming process. Using the app, people can launch brainstorming sessions directly within SAP StreamWork activities. They can suggest and organize ideas, discuss and vote on concepts, assign action items and deadlines, and track the completion of tasks to move projects forward. Since the app handles these administrative functions and saves a running record of updates in users' activities, teams are freed up to focus on generating great ideas.

"Business workers are tired of using multiple, separate social collaboration solutions that are disconnected from the environments they know and use every day," said Sameer Patel, global vice president and general manager, Social Software Solutions, SAP. "To truly enable people to solve problems more rapidly and make business-critical decisions, they need to be able to work with the tools and applications they already have. As part of SAP's social strategy, we are committed to offering an open social environment that allows business workers to use their existing applications, directly in their business processes. SAP continues to release new innovations such as these to help make this a reality for more users."

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and @sapstreamwork.

Media Contact:
Susan Miller, SAP, +1 (610) 661-9225, susan.miller@sap.com, EDT
Jeff Shadid, Burson-Marsteller, +1 (214) 224-8419, jeff.shadid@bm.com, CDT

HP to Enable Multitouch Capability, Enhanced Security for Windows Embedded Standard on HP Thin Clients

 HP to Enable Multitouch Capability, Enhanced Security for Windows Embedded Standard on HP Thin Clients

HP thin clients with Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU offer easy deployment of kiosks, improved management

 

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 11, 2012

 

HP today announced it is enabling customers to expand multitouch business applications across HP thin clients with Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU.

 

The HP t610 Flexible Thin Client with Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU offers easy deployment of multitouch digital signage and kiosks for banking and retail self-service scenarios. It also includes enhanced security lockdown, enriched media capabilities and more efficient network management.

 

“HP thin clients with Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU are ideal for businesses who want to easily add multitouch capabilities to thin clients powering retail or hospitality kiosks, or who want to customize and control user access policies more effectively,” said Jeff Groudan, director, Marketing, Thin Clients, HP. “The increased versatility of the Windows Embedded Standard platform will provide HP thin client customers with new options to drive their cloud business strategies.”

 

HP thin clients running Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU also offer:

 

·         Microsoft DirectAccess, which makes it easier for customers to secure their remote workforce—without the need for a VPN. Remote users can securely access enterprise resources, and businesses can easily customize and control policies.

·         Multilingual capabilities, including out-of-box language support for the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and China, allowing employees to work more productively, regardless of language or location

·         Windows Server BranchCache for wide area network (WAN) optimization, which helps increase the network responsiveness of applications, giving users in remote offices an experience more like working in the main office.

 

“Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU not only offers a more enhanced user experience and multitouch support, but further enhances the security capabilities for IT managers of embedded devices across intelligent systems,” said Cuong Pham, product manager, Windows Embedded, Microsoft. “We are excited these new HP Thin Clients can help bring solutions to the enterprise that support key IT strategies.”

 

Availability

Windows Embedded Standard 7 WS7P SKU comes preinstalled on the HP t610 Flexible Series Thin Clients, and is available now.

 

HP client and server virtualization offerings will be on display June 11-14 in HP booth No. 111 at Microsoft TechEd 2012. Additional information on HP thin clients is available at www.hp.com/go/thin and www.hp.com/go/clientvirtualization.

 

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.

 

VewSonic(R) Unveils New LED Hybrid Laser and Pro Series Projectors at InfoComm

VewSonic® Unveils New LED Hybrid Laser and Pro Series Projectors at InfoComm

ViewSonic Expands Its Robust Projector Line With LED Laser and 1080p for Pro AV Market

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - Jun 13, 2012) - Today at InfoComm 2012 (booth #C7142), ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, expands its professional projector series with the new commercially oriented Pro8300, while previewing its LED hybrid laser technology in the Pro9000.

Pro9000 Professional AV LED Hybrid Laser Projector
Being previewed for the first time at InfoComm, ViewSonic will be demonstrating its new hybrid laser and LED Full HD Pro9000 projector. With this breakthrough technology, the LED light and lasers combine to create a single light source, resulting in vibrant and rich display color that far exceeds that of a normal mercury light projector. In addition to being environmentally friendly, this mercury-free technology also delivers a longer operation life of 20,000+ hours. Paired with dual HDMI ports and its convenient lamp-free design, the Pro9000 is ideal for home cinema environments and Pro-AV installations. The Pro9000 is expected to be available in Q3 2012.

"Laser hybrid illumination technology has changed the way that projectors are able to manipulate light and images. This new model is lamp-free for an even lower total cost of ownership. As a result, users get a higher quality picture and ultra high contrast ratio, making projectors with this technology ideal for home entertainment, professional audio-video, corporate or education use," said Roger Chien, product manager for ViewSonic.

Pro8300 Professional 1080p Commercial Grade Projector
The ideal choice for business data projection, this Full HD 1080p commercial grade DLP® projector is packed with convenient features and options. The Pro8300 incorporates BrilliantColor™ Technology with a powerful Pixelworks® 10-bit image processor for vivid colors, while its 1920x1080 native resolution, 3,000 ANSI lumens and a 4,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio produce razor sharp images that shine in virtually any ambient light environment. Paired with a wide 1.5X optical zoom adjustment for more than 36% additional zooming capability and integrated speakers, the Pro8300 delivers stunning audio and visual experience.

For the ultimate in ease-of-use and convenience, the Pro8300 has a multitude of connectivity options including dual HDMI, dual VGA, and dual computer VGA inputs. As a result, multiple presenters can easily connect an assortment of multimedia devices to the projector simultaneously -- from laptops and tablets to smartphones and more. Paired with auto keystone correction, a filter-less design, and energy-saving mode, the Pro8300 provides for zero maintenance, while delivering a lower TCO and longer product life.

The Pro8300 will be available this month in North and Latin America for an ESP of $869. The Pro8300 comes standard with a 3-year limited parts and labor warranty, in addition to a 1-year lamp warranty and Express Exchange® Service*.

"Full HD resolution has become somewhat of a standard feature across consumer home and cinema entertainment projectors; however, finding hi-def capabilities in a quality yet affordable projector offering for businesses is far less common," continued Chien. "Our Pro8300 breaks tradition by bringing precise standalone 1080p projection to business owners and corporations at a price that's within reach for any company."

For further information, visit ViewSonic.com or follow ViewSonic on the Company blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

About ViewSonic
ViewSonic® Corporation, headquartered in Walnut, California, is a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics, and communications solutions. Founded in 1987, ViewSonic's mission is to be the preferred global brand of visual solutions as we continue to focus on display-centric product offerings including LED monitors, tablets, projectors, digital signage displays, and cloud computing solutions. ViewSonic continues to pioneer in visual technology innovation to build a connected and ever-reaching digital future. For further information, please visit ViewSonic.com.

ViewSonic's Finch Club™ offers resellers an opportunity to benefit from specialized product training and discounts. To sign up, please visit FinchClub.com.

*One (1) year Express Exchange® Service requires product registration.
Trademark footnote:
All corporate names and trademarks are the property of their respective companies

Contact Information

  • Editorial Contact:
    Trish DaCosta
    LEWIS PR for ViewSonic Corp.
    619-677-2700
    Email Contact

Symantec Finds Accidental Entrepreneurs Leverage Scalable Technology to Fast-Track Growth

Symantec Finds Accidental Entrepreneurs Leverage Scalable Technology to Fast-Track Growth

 

 TORONTO  – June 13, 2012 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the findings of a landmark study it commissioned from Forrester Consulting, which reveals that the leaders of small businesses launched during the Great Recession are dramatically different than those who launched their company prior to 2008. The recent recession put millions of people out of work or threatened their employment. It also ravaged the home equity and retirement accounts of countless recently retired professionals, leaving them to wonder whether they walked out of their previous employer through a one-way door to financial ruin. These unprecedented economic shockwaves spawned a new breed of entrepreneur: the accidental entrepreneur-- defined as a company founder who started his or her small businesses out of pure necessity rather than a lifelong dream of “being their own boss.” These accidental entrepreneurs are agile, highly educated, tech-savvy and battle-tested business professionals and the companies they founded and will found are born to grow.

 

While the recent recession has extinguished the torch of an unprecedented number of small businesses, the number of new companies born during the last three and a half years is equally unmatched. In the U.S. alone, there were 60,000 more businesses started per month in 2009 than in 2007, according to the Kaufmann Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. The Forrester Consulting research indicates that the companies founded as the world economy struggled are poised for explosive growth, particularly companies with 10-49 employees, and that they aggressively leverage technology such as cloud computing to fast-track their success.

 

Click to Tweet Forrester Consulting research finds recession-born accidental entrepreneurs wired for growth, leveraging tech: http://bit.ly/Ost8t8

 

Key Findings (10-49 employees)

 

·         Profits not passion drive small businesses started post 2008. Fifty-four percent of small businesses founded in the dark days of the recession consider their company a growth business (having an exit strategy) rather than lifestyle business which is 15 percent higher than pre-recession companies. More than one-third of the founders of post-recession companies came from a position with a large (500+ employee) company. These skilled professionals are used to making a good living and need to re-invent themselves to maintain their standard of living – 35 percent left their large employers due to the recession, while another 8 percent came from other accidental entrepreneur backgrounds, such as the newly “unretired” or returning military.

 

·         Accidental entrepreneurs are bullish about growth. Of the small businesses founded post 2008, 46 percent expect to double their number of employees in the next two years and 75 percent expect revenue to grow more than 10 percent. Fewer small businesses founded prior to 2008 are as optimistic, with only 12 percent expecting to double employees and 39 percent expecting to grow revenues by more than 10 percent.

 

·         Recession-born small businesses take dramatic and immediate advantage of the cloud. Twenty-one percent of accidental entrepreneurs have zero servers versus 5 percent of those founded before 2008. These small businesses trust more applications to the cloud, with 51 percent deploying cloud software and 26 percent having implemented cloud security, compared to just 39 percent and 16 percent of pre-2008 small businesses, respectively. Interestingly, the research found that all small businesses are aggressively adopting cloud storage and backup.

 

·         Accidental entrepreneurs are better prepared to scale security. Accidental entrepreneurs are also 27 percent more confident that their current security solution will scale with their company’s growth over the next two years.

 

·         More self-sufficient in making software decisions. Whether financial/accounting/ERP, collaboration or security software, accidental entrepreneurs base their decision on what software the founder used in their previous job or that they used as a consumer. They also strongly prefer known brands. On the other hand, the majority of pre-recession small businesses base their software decision on the recommendation of a value-added reseller (VAR). For collaboration software, the difference is especially striking, with 50 percent of pre-recession small businesses acting on the recommendation of a VAR, while 36 percent of post-recession small businesses chose software that the founder used in his former job or as a consumer.

 

Quotes

·         “Small businesses are the driving force of our economic recovery, but unlike other recessionary times it’s not the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker starting new businesses,” said Brian Burch, vice president of marketing communications for SMB and .Cloud at Symantec. “Accidental entrepreneurs are reshaping the SMB market. They’re growing significantly faster than the less technically-confident, less agile, less ‘connected’ small business owner and they need simple, easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage solutions that can keep pace as they quickly scale their company. Symantec is committed to providing this new class of entrepreneur with information protection solutions built for SMBs from the ground up.”

 

·         “Three years ago, I wrote a report on a then-forthcoming SMB market phenomenon, characterized as the SMB phoenix or accidental entrepreneur.  Gleaned from interviews with new (at the time) small business founders, our research indicated that these new businesses ‘rising from the ashes’ of the 2008-09 recession were poised to mark a significant departure from the SMB market of yore,” wrote Tim Harmon, principal analyst with Forrester Research.  “This new breed of entrepreneurs were characterized by their optimistic growth projections, their bigger investment in and broader utilization of technology, their marketing prowess, and their relative self-sufficiency. In many ways, they act more like an enterprise business than a classical SMB.” [1]

 

·         “Too often, start ups buy technology for their immediate need, which is short-sighted for a growth business because you can’t scale quickly,” said, Josh Long, CEO, NRG Vision, an energy services company. “As a small firm, NRG Vision doesn’t have capital to throw around like larger players do, but our on-the-go workforce needs to be up-and-running without technology disruptions in order to compete. Cloud technologies give us global availability, scalability and affordability, which is essential to quickly grow a start-up founded during tough economic times.”

 

Forrester Consulting on The Accidental Entrepreneur

The study of 305 IT business decision makers at small- to medium-sized businesses (3-250 employees), split equally amongst respondents at companies founded pre- and post-2008, was administered by Forrester Consulting in North America from April 20 to May 10, 2012.

 

Related

 

Connect with Symantec

·         Follow Symantec on Twitter

·         Join Symantec on Facebook

·         Follow Symantec's The Confident SMB Blog

·         Subscribe to Symantec News RSS Feed

·         View Symantec’s SlideShare Channel

Visit Symantec Connect Business Community

 

About Symantec

Symantec’s Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.  For more information on Symantec products or current promotions, access Symantec’s Canadian Web site at www.symantec.ca. Symantec is an active member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world.  Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia.  


AMD, ARM, Imagination, MediaTek and Texas Instruments Unleash the Next Era of Computing Innovation

AMD, ARM, Imagination, MediaTek and Texas Instruments Unleash the Next Era of Computing Innovation 

 
Technology Leaders Establish the HSA Foundation to Create a Unified, Open Industry Standard Architecture for Heterogeneous Processing; Heterogeneous Processors, Which Combine Two or More Different Types of Processors into a Single Chip, Accounted for Nearly Half of All Microprocessor Revenue in 20111

BELLEVUE, WASH. —6/12/2012 

Today at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit (AFDS), global technology leaders came together to announce the formation of the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation. The HSA Foundation is a non-profit consortium established to define and promote an open, standards-based approach to heterogeneous computing that will provide a common hardware specification and broad support ecosystem to make it easier for software developers to deliver innovative applications that can take greater advantage of today’s modern processors.

AMD (NYSE: AMD), ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek Inc., and Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) are the initial founding members of the HSA Foundation. The companies will work together to drive a single architecture specification and simplify the programming model to help software developers take greater advantage of the capabilities found in modern central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), and unlock the performance and power efficiency of the parallel computing engines found in heterogeneous processors.

By standardizing the heterogeneous programming model, developers can more easily and cost-effectively develop new software tailored to take advantage of the expanding $55.5B heterogeneous (also known as “hybrid”) processor market1. The HSA Foundation will help usher in the next era of software innovation, from enabling unprecedented user experiences to improving cloud-based data management, streaming, and security.

“HSA moves the industry beyond the constraints of the legacy system architecture of the past 25-plus years that is now stifling software innovations,” said Phil Rogers, HSA Foundation President and AMD Corporate Fellow. “By aiming HSA squarely at the needs of the software developer, we have designed a common hardware platform for high performance, energy efficient solutions. HSA is unlocking a new realm of possibilities across PCs, smartphones, tablets and ultrathin notebooks, as well as the innovative supercomputers and cloud services that define the modern computing experience.”

As an independent consortium, the HSA Foundation is open to any and all computing industry professionals with an interest in driving the next era in computing performance and energy efficiency. The HSA Foundation welcomes forward-thinking semiconductor companies, platform and OS vendors, device manufacturers, independent software vendors, academia and open source developers. Members of the HSA Foundation plan to deliver robust development solutions for heterogeneous compute to drive innovative content and applications with developer tools, software developer kits (SDKs), libraries, documentation, training, support and more.

“One year ago, AMD boldly announced a roadmap for making HSA a reality, starting with combining the CPU and GPU as a unified processing engine to create an architecture that would greatly simplify the programming of heterogeneous platforms,” said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president of Heterogeneous Applications and Developer Solutions for AMD. “Today, we are continuing our heterogeneous computing leadership and dedication to driving broad industry adoption by making the HSA architecture an open standard.”

“We are all demanding more from the technology that connects us to our digital worlds. Graphical interfaces are critical to the user experience but can have a power impact. With open standards, developers can now provide outstanding graphics without compromising power-efficiency," said Jem Davies, ARM Fellow and vice president of Technology, Media Processor Division, ARM. "ARM welcomes the formation of the HSA Foundation and is pleased to be one of the founding members. ARM's extensive experience with heterogeneous systems brings a unique leadership perspective to developing the right compute processor for the right tasks based on the latest ARM technology, such as ARM® Mali™ GPUs and Cortex™ processors."

“Imagination is delighted to be one of the founders of the HSA Foundation. Our long-held view is that heterogeneous processing architectures are fundamental to scalability, flexibility and performance for future SoC (Systems-on-Chip) design,” said Tony King-Smith, vice president of Marketing, Imagination Technologies. “We believe that the combination of CPUs with increasingly powerful on-chip GPUs, using industry standard APIs such as OpenCL™, Renderscript Compute, and Direct Compute, is the vital first step along this path. The HSA APIs and tools complement these higher level APIs to help SoC systems engineers create future generation computing platforms. As applications developers embrace the benefits of embracing such architectures, the HSA Foundation will provide a valuable cross-platform, cross-OS means of ensuring maximum heterogeneous application portability and optimization. We look forward to working closely with all of the founders and other members of the HSA Foundation to deliver this key open standard that is set to fuel the future of mass market high performance computing.”

“MediaTek is excited about the potential of heterogeneous computing in enabling innovative mobile applications. We believe that an open standard is key to bringing the technology to the mainstream smartphone market, said Chien-Ping Lu, senior director, Corporate Technology Office, MediaTek. “As a chipset and platform supplier with a strong focus on mainstream smartphones, we are excited to join AMD, our IP partners, Imagination, ARM, TI and other industry leaders to promote HSA as the open standard for heterogeneous computing.”

“TI’s expertise in delivering low-power, high-performance experiences via the smart, multicore architecture of our OMAP™ platform undoubtedly makes our position as a founding member of the HSA Foundation a natural fit,” said Matthew Locke, director, Linux Development Center, TI. “We look forward to working with other leaders in the industry to drive adoption of heterogeneous computing as a standard platform across embedded, mobile, personal and cloud computing.”

In addition to the founding members, contributor and supporting-level members will assist with research, development, production, manufacture, use, and the sale of HSA and heterogeneous computing software. For more information about the HSA Foundation’s membership levels and benefits or to join the organization, please go to www.hsafoundation.com.

Supporting Resources

  • For additional information about HSA and the HSA Foundation visit the HSA Foundation website at www.hsafoundation.com.
  • Follow the HSA Foundation on Twitter: @HSAFoundation.
  • “Like” the HSA Foundation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HSAFoundation.
  • View Phil Rogers’ AFDS keynote presentation via AFDS-D. Register here.

About Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA)

Developers will benefit from the open standard programming of HSA for both the CPU and GPU, which allows the two processors to work cooperatively and directly in system memory. Additionally, HSA provides a single architecture across multiple operating systems and hardware designs. By maximizing the full compute capabilities of systems with both CPUs and GPUs, users can see performance and energy efficiency boosts across a variety of applications.

About the HSA Foundation

The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a not-for-profit consortium for SoC IP vendors, OEMs, academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs whose goal is to make it easy to program for parallel computing. HSA members are building a heterogeneous compute ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, for combining scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance at low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation utilizing CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, and support for a diverse set of high-level programing languages, thereby creating the next foundation in general purpose computing.

About AMD

AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its groundbreaking AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) that power a wide range of computing devices. AMD's server computing products are focused on driving industry-leading Cloud computing and virtualization environments. AMD's superior graphics technologies are found in a variety of solutions ranging from game consoles, PCs to supercomputers. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, , and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective ownersThe HSA Foundation logo is a trademark of the Heterogeneous System Architecture Foundation.

  1. Half of $111B 2011 processor revenue generated by hybrids, according to IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS. http://imsresearch.com/press-release/Half_of_111_Billion_2011_Processor_Revenue_Generated_by_Hybrids_According_to_IMS_Research

Saskatoon to Host Canada's Mobile and Social Media Conference, MoSo

Saskatoon to Host Canada's Mobile and Social Media Conference, MoSo

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwire - June 8, 2011) -

Editor's Note: There are 3 photos associated with this release.

June 16-17th, 2011, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan will host a two-day conference of engaging presentations from the world's most prolific social media and mobile companies including speakers from Yahoo!, Research-in-Motion (RIM), Syncapse, Freshbooks, Posterous, Queens University, The Globe and Mail and Deloitte.

MoSo, presented by SaskTel's 4G Network, brings together over two hundred of Western Canada's brightest creative minds to imagine the future of technology and marketing. The mobile and social media conference is being hosted at the University of Saskatchewan campus, which consistently ranks as one of the most beautiful campuses in Canada.

"Mobile and social media technologies are transforming business and the world we live in," said Ron Styles, SaskTel President and CEO. "As a communications company that has built Saskatchewan's biggest and best 4G network, offers great mobile applications, and has embraced social media by integrating it into many aspects of our business from marketing to customer service, SaskTel is very proud to be the title sponsor of the first ever MoSo conference in Saskatoon."

Aimed at developers and business audiences alike, the conference includes presentations by more than 20 speakers with expertise ranging from mobile applications, technology trends, entrepreneurship, social media marketing, and online user experience.

Craig Saila, Director of Digital Products at the Globe and Mail states, "For the past couple of years, The Globe and Mail has been exploring the future of news using social media and the latest mobile platforms. I'm looking forward to attending MoSo to not only share those experiences but also learn about how others are experimenting with these new media outlets."

The mobile and social media conference will also host the MoSoApp Showcase featuring locally developed applications and a mini WIPJam that offers a unique, interactive format that blends UnPanels with intimate discussion groups led by industry leaders and developers alike. In addition, from Thursday evening and continuing over the weekend will be MoSoFest, an indie music festival to help bring together attendees and speakers to further encourage socializing and idea sharing.

"The depth of social media talent in Canada is truly staggering, from talented individuals to innovative companies that are pioneering new approaches to connect, cultivate and share, "said Adam Moffat, Director of External Communications, Molson Coors Canada. "I'm most looking forward to leading the social side of social media at MoSo, and connecting personally over a beer to discuss our experiences and get inspired by other delegates."

Key Speakers

Rajeev Massand: One of RIM's Senior Application Development Consultants that takes PlayBook Development to the next level.

Craig Saila: Director of Digital Products at The Globe and Mail. Craig is a writer and speaker regarding online media strategy and emerging trends.

Sidneyeve Matrix: A Queen's National Scholar and regular digital trends analyst for national media outlets. She is recognized as one of the top marketing Professors on Twitter. Sidneyeve's mobile and social educational technology initiatives have been featured in Macleans Magazine, Yahoo!, MSN.ca, and elsewhere.

Saul Colt: The Head of Magic at FreshBooks.com, Saul was recently named as one of the iMEDIA 25: Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators and has been called one of Canada's best community builders/experiential marketers.

Michael Scissons: Founder and CEO of Syncapse, a global leader in social media management. Previously, Michael served as Canadian Director of Facebook media sales where he worked with companies to integrate their marketing into Facebook.

M. Jackson Wilkinson: Director of User Experience at Posterous in San Francisco who has been designing online products and services for fifteen years. Previous experience includes Design Lead at LinkedIn and also founded the UX group at Viget Labs in Washington, DC.

Jonathan Snook: Lead Prototyper at Yahoo! who is responsible for ensuring the swift transition from design to engineering across multiple products and multiple platforms, including mobile and desktop.

Canada's mobile and social media conferencehas already sold out this year, but there are plans to make it an annual event. For those that can't make it this year the MoSo website and various social media spaces will be updated frequently throughout the course of the conference with blogs, pictures, insights, and video. More information can be found at www.mosoconf.com.

Additional Links & Tags

http://www.mosoconf.com/

http://www.facebook.com/mosoconference

http://twitter.com/#!/mosoconf

http://www.wipconnector.com/wipjam/

To see a photo of Jam'n With WIP, click the following link:

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To see a photo of Saskatoon, click the following link:

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To see the MoSoFest logo, click the following link:

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Contact Information

SaskTel
Krystal Kolodziejak
Director of IDnoodle
306.539.2528
krystal@mosoconf.com