Government of Canada Announces New Business Innovation Money

Government of Canada Announces New Business Innovation Money

    

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/22/12 -- Canadian companies specializing in everything from natural resources to information technology are turning to researchers at local colleges to grow their businesses and create high-quality jobs, because R&D and innovation happen at all levels-from the academic labs all the way to the shop floor.

Funding from the Government of Canada is helping colleges across the country support business innovation at more than 300 companies. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, today announced a $15.3 million investment through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in support of 17 applied research projects at colleges, cegeps and polytechnics.

"Canada's colleges, cegeps and polytechnics play an important role as we forge ahead with Canada's innovation agenda," said Minister of State Goodyear. "Innovation needs to be a central focus-from the research laboratory to the production floor. It is the key to maintaining our country's position as a global economic leader."

Minister of State Goodyear announced the recipients of the CFI's new College-Industry Innovation Fund at George Brown College, where he celebrated a project in green building technologies worth close to $1 million. The project will allow the college to provide students and small and medium-sized enterprises with increased opportunities to pursue applied research projects, boosting regional economic development and graduate job-readiness.

"Canadian colleges are lending their expertise to local companies, helping them to compete and grow," said Dr. Gilles G. Patry, President and CEO of the CFI. "The CFI is ensuring that colleges have in place specialized facilities to support their role as important hubs of economic growth and job creation."

"These investments provide colleges with access to the people, resources and tools they need to be at the forefront of innovation," said Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. "The ultimate goal is to create sustainable partnerships that will help sharpen our innovative edge and have a positive impact on the bottom line of our country and industry."

The CFI's College-Industry Innovation Fund recognizes the role that applied research plays in supporting Canadian business. The CFI supports the spectrum of research activities, from fundamental discovery-driven research to applied research, along with private-sector innovation.

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation

The Canada Foundation for Innovation gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada's universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world's top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private-sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit innovation.ca.

Contacts:
Ryan Saxby Hill
Canada Foundation for Innovation
613-943-5346 (office)
613-294-6247 (mobile)
ryansaxbyhill@innovation.ca

Michele-Jamali Paquette
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
Minister of State (Science and Technology)
(Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
613-947-2956

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Oracle Buys Vitrue

Oracle Buys Vitrue

Adds Leading Social Marketing and Engagement Platform to the Oracle Cloud

Redwood Shores, CA – May 23, 2012

News Facts

Oracle announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Vitrue, a leading cloud-based social marketing and engagement platform that enables marketers to centrally create, publish, moderate, manage, measure and report on their social marketing campaigns and activities on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
Vitrue’s social media SaaS marketing applications help customers amplify their social community engagement by giving marketers the ability to develop campaigns from global to local, across multiple social networks and devices, and publish content that engages fans and drives leads.
Oracle’s leading sales, service, commerce, social data management and analytics capabilities, combined with Vitrue, are expected to create the most advanced and comprehensive social relationship platform.
The combination is expected to help organizations develop more meaningful customer engagements with consistent brand experiences, improve their return on investment across all channels and media, and enhance customer service through real-time responsiveness and high touch relationships.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. More information on this announcement can be found at http://www.oracle.com/vitrue.

Supporting Quotes

“The proliferation of social media and an increased demand by consumers to engage with brands across multiple social channels is driving chief marketing officers to look for an integrated social marketing platform,” said Thomas Kurian, executive vice president, Oracle Development. “Vitrue’s leading social marketing and engagement platform coupled with Oracle’s leading sales, service, and commerce products offers a complete social experience solution to our customers.”
“The world’s greatest brands have been built by creating meaningful relationships between organizations and their customers," said Reggie Bradford, founder and chief executive officer, Vitrue. “As a part of Oracle, we can help our customers ensure that consistent high-touch social engagement is delivered across marketing, sales and service interactions.”

Supporting Resources

About Oracle and Vitrue

General Presentation

FAQ

Customer Letter

About Oracle

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

Trademarks

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This document is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into a contract or agreement.

Contact Info

Carol Sato
Oracle Corporate Communications
+1.650.633.5551
carol.sato@oracle.com

Ken Bond
Oracle Investor Relations
+1.650.607.0349
ken.bond@oracle.com

Google Acquires Motorola Mobility

Google Acquires Motorola Mobility

May 22, 2012  

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.May 22, 2012 Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that the acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) has closed, with Google acquiring MMI for $40.00 per share in cash.

The acquisition will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Sanjay Jha, who revived Motorola’s Mobile Devices business and led the company through this acquisition, has stepped down as CEO, although he will continue to work with Google to help ensure a smooth transition.

Dennis Woodside, who has overseen integration planning for the acquisition and previously served as President of Google’s Americas region, has become CEO of Motorola Mobility.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “I’m happy to announce the deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation. It’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and I’m confident that the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.

“Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing a big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO. I would like to thank him for his efforts and am tremendously pleased that he will be working to ensure a smooth transition as long-time Googler Dennis Woodside takes over as CEO of Motorola Mobility.

“I’ve known Dennis for nearly a decade, and he’s been phenomenal at building teams and delivering on some of Google’s biggest bets. Dennis has always been a committed partner to our customers and I know he will be an outstanding leader of Motorola--and he’s already off to great start with some very strong new hires for the Motorola team.”

Dennis Woodside, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said: “Motorola literally invented the entire mobile industry with the first-ever commercial cell phone in 1983. Thirty years later, mobile devices are at the center of the computing revolution.

“Our aim is simple: to focus Motorola Mobility’s remarkable talent on fewer, bigger bets, and create wonderful devices that are used by people around the world.”

Dennis Woodside has hired a small number of leaders who will immediately join Motorola’s executive team, including Regina Dugan (former Director of DARPA), Mark Randall (former supply chain VP at Amazon and previously at Nokia), Vanessa Wittman (former CFO of Marsh & McLennan), Scott Sullivan (former head of HR at Visa and NVIDIA), and Gary Briggs (former Google VP of Consumer Marketing). In addition to these new leaders, many members of Motorola Mobility’s team will continue in their current roles: Iqbal Arshad (Product Development), Marshall Brown (Chief of Staff), Fei Liu (Mass Market Products), Dan Moloney (Home), Scott Offer (General Counsel), Mark Shockley (Sales), Mahesh Veerina (Software & Enterprise) and Jim Wicks (Consumer Experience Design).

Woodside added: “Motorola Mobility has many outstanding leaders, including people who were behind the original RAZR in 2004 and recent successes like the Droid and RAZR MAXX. Our colleagues joining the team come from varied backgrounds, from DARPA to Amazon and NVIDIA, but they all share a track record of leading innovation at speed, and a great deal of excitement about the mission ahead.”

About Dennis Woodside
Dennis Woodside oversaw Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and is former President of Google’s Americas region. He has worked with partners, governments and advertisers in more than 30 countries. Most recently, Dennis was responsible for Google’s Sales & Operations in the Americas. In the U.S. alone, Dennis and his team drove revenue from $10.8 billion to $17.5 billion in under three years. He also was the lead business partner for Google’s advertising product development team, helping launch new ad products globally. Dennis started his career at the company spearheading investment across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He was responsible for the overall go-to-market, product offering and acquisition strategies in these markets, which boasted a 20-fold increase during his tenure. Revenues grew to over $2 billion.

About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as Google or its management “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “forecasts,” “estimates” or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe the future impact of the Motorola Mobility acquisition, including its financial impact, and other statements of management’s beliefs, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on Google’s results of operations, financial condition, or the price of its stock. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the ability of Google to successfully integrate Motorola’s operations, product lines and technology; the ability of Google to implement its plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect to Motorola’s business and realize additional opportunities for growth and innovation; and the other risks and important factors contained and identified in Google’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Google does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Media Contacts:

Niki Fenwick
press@google.com
650-253-5000
Google, Inc.

Jennifer Erickson
847-772-1217
jennifer.erickson@motorola.com

Motorola Mobility

McAfee Q1 Threats Report Finds Significant Malware Increase Across All Platforms

 McAfee Q1 Threats Report Finds Significant Malware Increase Across All
Platforms

Record Quarter for PC and Mobile Malware; Mac Malware Shows Consistent
Growth

SANTA CLARA, CA. - May 23, 2012 - McAfee today released the McAfee
Threats Report: First Quarter 2012, which exposes an increase in malware
across all platforms. The report shows that in Q1, PC malware reached
its highest levels in four years, as well as a steep increase in malware
targeting the Android platform. Mac malware was also on the rise,
indicating that total malware could reach the 100 million mark within
the year.

“In the first quarter of 2012, we have already detected eight million
new malware samples, showing that malware authors are continuing their
unrelenting development of new malware,” said Vincent Weafer, senior
vice president of McAfee Labs. “The same skills and techniques that
were sharpened on the PC platform are increasingly being extended to
other platforms, such as mobile and Mac; and as more homes and
businesses use these platforms,  the attacks will spread, which is why
all users, no matter their platforms, should take security and online
safety precautions.”

Mobile Malware Explosion
Mobile malware raced up a significant incline during Q1 2012, with
8,000 total mobile malware samples collected.  This large increase was
due in part to McAfee Labs’ advancements in the detection and
accumulation of mobile malware samples.

Financial profit is one of the main motivators for spreading malware on
the Android platform, as identified by McAfee Labs malware researcher,
Carlos Castillo, in a recent blog post. Nearly 7,000 Android threats
have been collected and identified through the end of Q1, a more than
1,200 per cent increase compared with the 600 Android samples collected
by the end of Q4 2011. The majority of these threats stem from
third-party app markets and are typically not found in the official
Android market.

Malware Increase in PCs and Macs
By the end of 2011, McAfee Labs collected more than 75 million malware
samples.  Q1 2012 had the largest number of PC malware detected per
quarter in the last four years. This increase brought the grand total to
83 million pieces of malware samples by the end of Q1, up from 75
million samples at the end of Q4 2011. Major contributors to the total
were strong increases in rootkits, a stealth form of malware, as were
password stealers, which reached approximately one million new samples
in Q1. In Q1, email continued to be a medium used for highly targeted
attacks, and nearly all targeted attacks began with a spear phish.

As the Flashback Trojan began to wreak havoc among Apple Mac users in
March, Mac malware had already been growing at a consistent rate.
Despite the growth, Mac malware is still significantly less prevalent
than PC malware, with approximately 250 new Mac malware samples, and
approximately 150 new Mac fake anti-virus malware samples in Q1.

Spam Low, Botnets High
Global spam levels dropped to slightly more than one trillion monthly
spam messages by the end of March. Decreases were most
 significant in
Brazil, Indonesia and Russia, while increases in spam were found in
China, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Botnet growth increased in Q1, reaching nearly five million infections
at its highest point. Columbia, Japan, Poland, Spain and the United
States were areas with the largest botnet increase, while Indonesia,
Portugal and South Korea were regions that continued to decline. The
most prevalent botnet of Q1 was Cutwail, with more than two million new
infections.

McAfee’s report depicts the price breakdown for a botnet sold on the
black market. Citadel, a Zeus variant and financial botnet, will cost a
cybercriminal $2,399 plus $125 for “rent” of a botnet builder and
administration panel, with an extra $395 for automatic updates for
anti-virus evasion. For Darkness, by SVAS/Noncenz, a distributed denial
of service botnet, options range from $450 for a minimal package to
approximately $1,000 for more advanced offerings.

United States the Primary Source of Cyberattacks
A compromised machine is often used as a proxy for spam, botnets,
denial of service, or other types of malicious activities. These
machines can be located anywhere in the world, but for Q1, many were
located in the United States. Based on data collected from the McAfee
Global Threat Intelligence™ network, the United States was the primary
source of SQL-injection attacks and cross-site scripting attacks and
also had the highest number of victims of both attacks. The United
States currently houses the most botnet control servers and the location
point for the vast majority of new malicious Web sites, with an average
of 9,000 new bad sites recorded per day.

About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC),
is the world's largest dedicated security technology company. McAfee
delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that help secure
systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world, allowing users
to safely connect to the Internet, browse and shop the Web more
securely. Backed by its unrivaled Global Threat Intelligence, McAfee
creates innovative products that empower home users, businesses, the
public sector and service providers by enabling them to prove compliance
with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions, identify
vulnerabilities, and continuously monitor and improve their security.
McAfee is relentlessly focused on constantly finding new ways to keep
our customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com

McAfee Canada is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, with regional
offices across Canada. The company's Consumer Software Research and
Development facility in based in Waterloo, Ontario.

-30-

Note: McAfee is a registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. in the United
States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the
property of others.

For more information, please contact:
Maxine Cheung/Andrew Gouveia
StrategicAmpersand Inc. (for McAfee Canada)
maxine@stratamp.com/andrew@stratamp.com
McAfeePR@stratamp.com
(416) 961-5595

If you do not wish to receive news releases from McAfee Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.

SAP to Expand Cloud Presence with Acquisition of Ariba

SAP to Expand Cloud Presence with Acquisition of Ariba

Combination Creates the Business Network of the Future; Provides Open Business Commerce Community and Procurement Solutions in the Cloud; Network to Benefit from SAP’s Flagship In-Memory Platform, SAP HANA

WALLDORF, Germany and SUNNYVALE, California - May 22, 2012 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARBA) today announced that SAP’s subsidiary, SAP America, Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire Ariba, the leading cloud-based business commerce network, for $45.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $4.3 billion.  The acquisition will combine Ariba’s successful buyer-seller collaboration network with SAP’s broad customer base and deep business process expertise to create new models for business-to-business collaboration in the cloud.

The Ariba board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction. The per share purchase price represents a 20% premium over the May 21 closing price and a 19% premium over the one month volume weighted average price per share.  The transaction will be funded from SAP’s free cash and a €2.4 billion term loan facility.  The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2012, subject to Ariba stockholder approval, clearances by relevant regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.  The transaction is expected to be accretive to SAP’s non-IFRS earnings per share in 2013.

Business Network to Drive Growth
With the addition of Ariba, SAP will acquire the leader in cloud-based collaborative business commerce.  The acquisition establishes SAP as the leading business network, adding business-to-business collaboration to its existing solutions.  The move positions SAP in a fast-growing segment as buyers and sellers across the globe connect in new ways through the cloud.

SAP’s entry into the inter-enterprise business network space significantly expands its growth opportunities and accelerates its momentum in the cloud.  Last week, SAP announced the roadmap for its cloud applications business (Software-as-a-Service), focusing on managing customers, suppliers, employees, and financials, in addition to its cloud suite offerings SAP Business ByDesign and SAP Business One.  The acquisition will also significantly boost SAP’s cloud applications portfolio with the addition of Ariba’s leading cloud-based procurement solutions.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Ariba has approximately 2,600 employees.  The company is the leader in cloud-based collaborative commerce applications and the second-largest cloud vendor by revenue.  Ariba combines industry-leading technology with a web-based trading community to help companies discover, connect and collaborate with a global network of partners – all in a cloud-based environment.  With $444 million in total revenue, Ariba experienced 38.5 percent annual growth in 2011.  Its business network recorded 62 percent organic growth in the same period.

“The cloud has profoundly changed the way people interact.  The impact will be even greater as enterprises connect and collaborate in new ways with their global networks of customers and partners,” said SAP Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe.  “Cloud-based collaboration is redefining business network innovation, and we are catching this wave in the early stage of its evolution.  The addition of Ariba will create the business network of the future, deliver immediate value to our customers and provide another solid engine for driving SAP’s growth in the cloud.”

Businesses to Benefit from Combination
Industry experts estimate the cloud-based enterprise network and procurement segment at a current size of $5 billion in revenue.  The Ariba network is the largest and most global trading network, connecting and automating more than $319 billion in commerce transactions, collaborations, and intelligence among more than 730,000 companies.  SAP’s global customer base of more than 190,000 companies includes the largest buyers and sellers in the world, offering great potential to increase the number of participants, as well as the volume and types of transactions conducted through this network.  Already today 63% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP system.  SAP and Ariba will facilitate collaborative commerce within and between companies of all sizes.

The combination of SAP’s innovations and core applications with the Ariba cloud-based network will create new business value for customers:

  • Together, SAP and Ariba can deliver a truly end-to-end solution that enables companies to achieve a closed-loop from source-to-pay, regardless of whether they deploy in the cloud, on-premise or through a combination of both.
  • Ariba’s open network and SAP’s integration expertise will facilitate participation and extend the benefits of business collaboration to all companies, on any system, from any provider.
  • The Ariba network will benefit from the performance delivered by using SAP’s flagship in-memory platform SAP HANA.
  • Relationship and transaction information from commerce activity in the Ariba network together with SAP’s leading analytics will provide real-time insights to enable trading partners to discover, connect and collaborate more effectively.
  • All SAP customers will be able to easily connect to the business network through pre-built integration points.
  • Through the combination of the business network procurement solutions from Ariba and SAP, organizations can gain 360-degree business intelligence and effectively demonstrate that spending activities, contracts, and supplier interactions adhere to corporate compliance guidelines.

“In our personal lives, networks are playing an increasingly important role in how we connect, share, and shop – bringing more insight and efficiency into everything we do,” said Bob Calderoni, CEO, Ariba.  “Businesses are looking for the same connectedness, insight, and efficiencies in the processes and collaboration with customers, suppliers, and partners beyond the walls of their companies.  By combining Ariba’s open global trading network and SAP’s solutions and analytics, we are ushering in a new era of business-to-business collaboration and driving new levels of productivity.”

Upon completion of the transaction, it is planned to consolidate all cloud-related supplier assets of SAP under Ariba.  The existing management team will continue to lead Ariba, which will operate as an independent business under the name “Ariba, an SAP company.”  The SAP Executive Board intends to nominate Ariba CEO Bob Calderoni to the SAP Global Managing Board after closing of the transaction and subject to the approval of the SAP Supervisory Board.

Financial Analyst and Media Conference Call
SAP and Ariba will host a conference call for financial analysts and media to discuss the transaction on Tuesday, May 22nd, at 10:00 pm CET / 4:00 pm Eastern/ 1:00 pm Pacific. The call will be webcast at www.sap.com/investor

Conference ID: 7427781

Participant Dial-in Numbers
US: +1 646 254 3361
UK: +44(0)20 3140 8286
Germany: +49(0)89 1214 00699

Replay Dial-in Numbers
US: +1 347 366 9565
UK: +44(0)20 3427 0598
Germany: +49(0)89 2030 3201
Replay Passcode: 7427781

For more information, visit the SAP Newsroom.

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 190,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

# # #

Allstream teams with SunGard to launch Cloud Compute service through its national IP network

Allstream teams with SunGard to launch Cloud Compute service through its national IP network

Eliminates capital costs and management hassles of traditional solutions

Stock Symbol:  MBT

TORONTO, May 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Allstream, Canada's all-business communications provider, is proud to announce the launch of its Cloud Compute service.  Powered by SunGard and delivered by Allstream as a service through its reliable, high performance national IP fibre network, this enterprise grade, agile cloud infrastructure is built to support the most demanding applications and can be rapidly deployed when business needs require it.

Allstream Cloud Compute leverages Vblock technology to offer multiple layers of protection, including dedicated virtual machines with redundant firewalls for data integrity and security, hosted and monitored 24/7 within a secure data centre located in Canada.  Customers can connect with confidence to the cloud through Allstream's nationwide high-performance, reliable and secure IP network.

"Businesses are trying to manage costs while driving new growth opportunities, and the cloud is an enabler to accomplish such goals," said Dean Prevost, President, Allstream. "By connecting directly to the cloud through our Business IP-MPLS network, customers can take advantage of the efficiency and scalability of Allstream Cloud Compute without compromising security, performance or reliability."

"Our relationship with Allstream allows us to provide Canadian businesses with comprehensive, Canadian based cloud services, providing benefits for our joint customers," said Chris Toushan, SunGard Country Manager.  "Together we deliver enterprise-class cloud solutions for both production and recovery."

Allstream Cloud Compute enables increased agility, improved operational efficiency and cost savings by eliminating the physical servers, storage, network and ongoing maintenance costs associated with running an in-house data centre on dedicated hardware. Customers pay only for the resources they need, when they need them.

This offering from Allstream and SunGard is now available. For more information on Allstream Cloud Compute please visit www.allstream.com/cloudcompute

About Allstream
Allstream is a Canadian leader in IP communications and the only national communications provider that works exclusively with business customers of all sizes. With nearly 600,000 customer connections, Allstream's momentum is fuelled by the knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial spirit of its 2,500 employees across the country who collaborate with customers to determine their unique communications solutions needs. Supported by its more than 30,000-kilometre nationwide high-performance fibre-optic network, Allstream's broad portfolio of business solutions are built from an array of advanced communications technologies and services including a wide range of innovative, highly-scalable IP-based solutions to help organizations communicate more efficiently and profitably. Allstream takes pride in its commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience, and has long been recognized by its technology partners for the contributions made to their businesses. Allstream is wholly-owned by Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., which is listed on the TSX (trading symbol: MBT). For information on Allstream's products and solutions, please visit www.allstream.com.

Forward-looking Statements Disclaimer

This news release includes forward-looking statements and information (collectively, the "statements") about the Company's corporate direction, business opportunities, operations, financial objectives and future financial results and performance that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. As a consequence, actual results in the future may differ materially from any conclusion, forecast or projection in such forward-looking statements. Therefore, forward-looking statements should be considered carefully and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Examples of statements that constitute forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "project", "should", "anticipate", "could", "target", "forecast", "intend", "plan", "outlook", "see", "set", "pending", and other similar terms.

Factors that could cause anticipated opportunities and actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, matters identified in the "Material assumptions" section below, the "Risks and uncertainties" section, elsewhere in the Company's 2011 Annual MD&A and 2011 Annual Information Form, all of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Please note that forward-looking statements reflect Management's expectations as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

For further information:

Media:
Nathan Gibson
Corporate Communications
416-345-3364
Nathan.gibson@mtsallstream.com

IBM Smarter Commerce Helps Chief Marketing Officers Engage the Individual on Mobile and Social Media Channels

IBM Smarter Commerce Helps Chief Marketing Officers Engage the Individual on Mobile and Social Media Channels

New Software and Services Enable Marketers to Deliver a Personalized Digital Customer Experience

MADRID - 22 May 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new software and services to help chief marketing officers (CMO) deliver personalized digital experiences to individual customers on mobile devices and social media channels.

The growing focus on delivering personalized communications to consumers is being driven by the explosion of social media and mobile devices. Today, more than 1500 social media blog posts are generated every 60 seconds1 and mobile commerce is poised reach $200 billion by 20152.

Building on this digital explosion, IBM is accelerating its Smarter Commerce initiative with new software and services that help marketers gain immediate intelligence on consumer shopping trends and quickly act on that information based on customer preference through marketing and promotion activities. 

For example, while one consumer may browse for merchandise from their mobile device that same consumer may tend to make more purchases from their tablet. Gaining the ability to act on this information will allow marketers to be more competitive while improving the customer experience.

Today, more than 2,500 customers worldwide, including 21 of the top 27 retailers are moving toward Smarter Commerce. IBM Smarter Commerce initiative delivers software and services that help companies, such as TalkTalk, Blue Chip Holiday and Roca Group, transform their business processes to meet the unique demands of each individual customer in today's digital marketplace. 

With the mobile devices expected to exceed desktop internet usage by 2014, IBM is introducing new software that gives businesses the ability to capture a customer’s device type and analyze how they are responding to campaigns on each. For example, a marketer may learn that a customer ignores messages on their smartphone but clicks through on campaigns when using their tablet. With this insight, marketers can develop, market and execute personalized digital campaigns that cater to a specific customer’s mobile and tablet experience.

The importance of personalizing the customer experience across channels was recently addressed by Kiddicare, the largest online nursery and baby supplier in the UK. Kiddicare was looking to deliver more relevant, interactive dialogues across digital, social, mobile and traditional marketing channels in order better serve its loyal customers.

“IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative is playing a significant role in helping our team gain better insights into our customers so we can more effectively meet each person’s needs and drive repeat purchases,” said Simon Harrow, technology officer at Kiddicare. “With IBM we are now able to analyze customer buying patterns including what devices they are using and then deliver highly relevant, interactive dialogues to each. Through these insights we have been able to drive a 20 percent increase in online sales over a period of just four months.”

For companies looking to capitalize on the business potential of mobile devices, IBM Global Business Services is introducing a new Mobile Strategy Accelerator to help companies adopt and build a roadmap to build stronger customer relationships through mobile devices. Companies can also leverage IBM WebSphere Commerce tools to quickly launch a mobile storefront that can be easily customized to their company. Once their storefront is live, these businesses can deliver customers a personalized site experience across smartphones and tablets.

“We are living in the mobile and social age, where consumers are turning to friends for product advice and their smartphone and tablet to make purchases,” said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions. “As this momentum continues CMOs must trade in more traditional tactics in favor of smarter approaches that extend their personalization capabilities beyond the PC. It is this ability to deliver relevant deals across multiple channels that will transform these marketing efforts from an unwanted intrusion into a valued service.”

In addition to mobile, IBM also continues to address the needs of businesses looking to accelerate their social media efforts. According to IBM's CEO study announced today, 57 percent of CEOs are looking to use these platforms to connect with individuals within the next three to five years.

Through new features announced today, product marketers can balance current customer information with data from their public social media profile, such as their location and product interests. With this added insight, the team can create highly relevant promotions and deals and then post these on the recipient’s Facebook wall or forward directly through Twitter.

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

###

To join the conversation, follow hashtags #smartercommerce and #IBMSCGS

Contact(s) information

Mike Azzi
IBM Media Relations
(203) 702-3301
azzi@us.ibm.com

Doug Fraim
IBM Media Relations
(617) 501-6376
dfraim@us.ibm.com

Juniper Networks More Than Doubles the Capacity of the Network Core With New Upgrades for T Series Routers

Juniper Networks More Than Doubles the Capacity of the Network Core With New Upgrades for T Series Routers

Next Generation Multi-Chassis Support for T4000 and T1600 Routers Delivers Unmatched System Scalability and Superior Investment Protection

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - May 22, 2012) - Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), the industry leader in network innovation, today announced a new capacity upgrade to the TXP multi-chassis routing system for all existing Juniper Networks® T4000 and T1600 core routers. Multi-chassis systems continue to be a critical technology for service providers to scale their network infrastructure while ensuring operational continuity and optimizing capital expenditures. The new TXP system more than doubles the capacity of the previous generation and delivers customers greater scalability and investment protection by extending the lifespan and performance of their network infrastructures built on T Series Core Routers. This capacity upgrade is done in-service and provides service providers with the financial and operational flexibility to expand network capacity where it is needed to support the growing bandwidth requirements driven by immense online video, social media and ever expanding cloud services and content.

News Highlights

  • The rising adoption of always connected devices and rich media applications worldwide places tremendous demands on service provider infrastructures, causing network and equipment scaling requirements to grow rapidly. To address these challenges in an economical and operationally sustainable manner, service, content and application providers alike require solutions with unprecedented financial and operational flexibility and scale.

  • Juniper Networks T Series IP/MPLS multi-service core routers provide the leading features and multi-terabit scale that service providers need to handle massive growth in core bandwidth requirements. The field-proven in-service upgradability provides customers guaranteed access to future T Series platform innovation, resulting in unmatched investment protection.

  • With the introduction of the T Series in 2002, Juniper pioneered the "modern" IP core router and redefined the market with its innovative architecture that has allowed our customers to flexibly and economically grow their network by taking advantage of the unique in-service upgrade capabilities that were engineered into the platform from the start. Since the first shipment in 2002, well over 7,000 T Series routers have been deployed in the top 200 networks worldwide allowing billions of users to enjoy the services offered by their service provider every day.

  • The TXP multi-chassis routing system supports the following key functionality:
    • Up to 4X T4000 and 8X T1600 system capacity
    • Up to 22 Terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity
    • Future capacity expandable up to 64 Tbps
    • Simplified pay-as-you grow installation and expansion with standards-based cabling and pluggable optics

  • Juniper's scalable and flexible multi-service core architecture with carrier-grade reliability and guaranteed high-performance can efficiently deliver a wide breadth of revenue-generating services while minimizing both capital and operational expenditures, ensuring customers can achieve:
    • Continued scaling of existing multi-service core with a proven platform that is future ready
    • Investment protection for current T Series customer base
    • Operational simplicity with the flexibility to grow seamlessly
    • In-service upgrade to provide continuity and no user interruption

The upgrade for the TXP multi-chassis system will be available for shipment in the fourth quarter 2012.

Supporting Quotes

China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC)
"Juniper has been an excellent partner in helping us as we grow and evolve our network to meet increasing customer demands and the expanded capabilities of the TXP Multi-chassis system are a promising way to help us continue to expand our existing infrastructure."
-- Jianming Zhou while visiting Juniper in his capacity as General Manager of the Technical Department at China Mobile Communications Company (CMCC).

Juniper Networks
"Service providers are dependent on the infrastructure they build to deliver profitable services, but they must also be nimble and flexible to scale these services. Investment protection, operational continuity and future-ready scalability are critical components in infrastructure purchasing decisions. Expanding the capabilities of Juniper's TXP multi-chassis system, which is deployed in numerous networks worldwide, is clearly aligned with this strategy."
-- Daniel Hua, senior vice president and general manager, Core Business Unit, Juniper Networks

Infonetics Research
"In order to scale their networks today, large service providers use the multi-chassis capabilities of their core routers, as scaling requirements continue to grow. Juniper's expansion of the TXP multi-chassis system will help operators meet their growth challenges due to the TXP's flexible scaling, operational continuity, and investment protection -- three components of any service provider's expansion strategy. This latest generation TXP features the innovation in the multi-chassis interconnect of off-the-shelf pluggable optics and industry-standard cabling to nicely reduce the cost and operational complexity of deploying and managing multi-chassis systems."
-- Michael Howard, principal analyst, Infonetics Research

Additional Resources:

About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks is in the business of network innovation. From devices to data centers, from consumers to cloud providers, Juniper Networks delivers the software, silicon and systems that transform the experience and economics of networking. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net).

Juniper Networks and Junos are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The Juniper Networks and Junos logos are trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Media Relations:
Pavel Radda
Juniper Networks
(408) 936-0431
pradda@juniper.net

Investor Relations:
Kathleen Nemeth
Juniper Networks
(408) 936-5397
kbela@juniper.net

Brocade, NEC expand efforts to drive adoption of software-defined networking

Brocade, NEC expand efforts to drive adoption of software-defined networking


Brocade and NEC Expand Efforts to Drive Market Adoption of Software-Defined Networking

Collaboration Enables Customers to Build Highly Scalable, Programmable Networks and Foster Rapid Innovation and Deployment of Services

SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/22/12 -- Brocade(R) (NASDAQ: BRCD) and NEC Corporation of America (NEC) today announced an expanded collaboration to bring to market combined solutions around Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow switching, including network virtualization.

Brocade and NEC will jointly market solutions for network virtualization, large-scale data center infrastructure management, traffic engineering and Wide Area Network (WAN) flow management, with an open standards-based approach. Brocade and NEC will market these high-value solutions built around Brocade's OpenFlow-enabled products and NEC's award-winning Programmable Flow Controller.

As part of the collaboration, Brocade and NEC are committing to ongoing certification, interoperability and solution validation testing. To this end, Brocade and NEC will establish joint solution labs in key regional offices to test and demonstrate their solutions. The current Brocade and NEC OpenFlow-enabled products successfully completed interoperability testing in 2011.

Brocade and NEC are collaborating on technology and implementation alignment, including OpenFlow standards, tunnel technology and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to help ensure ongoing innovation and seamless deployment by joint customers.

Brocade and NEC recently demonstrated their technology and joint solutions at the Open Networking Summit 2012 in Santa Clara, California and Interop, Las Vegas. Additional demonstrations are planned for upcoming industry events, including Interop Tokyo (June 13 to 15, 2012).

"The combined NEC and Brocade SDN solutions will give customers the ability to design, deploy, monitor and manage secure, multi-tenant networks from a single point of control," said Mitsuhiro Murooka, vice president, NEC Enterprise Technologies IT. "Brocade and NEC customers will be able to achieve greater service agility, granular traffic control and significant productivity gains by adopting a software-defined network architecture."

"Through standards-based solutions like OpenFlow, the SDN and underlying network can be coupled to optimize service performance and cost. A key objective for Verizon is to virtualize the network and converge the orchestration of the virtualized networks with VMs in the data centers to create a true cloud," said Stuart Elby, vice president, network architecture and technology, Verizon, and founding board member of Open Networking Foundation (ONF).

"Stronger definition of network behavior in software is a growing trend, and open interfaces are going to lead to faster innovation," said Dan Pitt, executive director, Open Networking Foundation. "We are excited to be joined by leading global companies to help develop and implement advanced networking capabilities for today's operators and enterprises."

"SDN enables network operators to rapidly deploy innovative services and access powerful analytics through programmatic control, unlocking the intelligence of their data center and wide area networks," said Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager, service provider business, Brocade. "Our collaboration with NEC ensures we deliver high-value solutions that can be seamlessly deployed in our customers' networks to realize the benefit of SDN."

Software-Defined Networking and OpenFlow Solutions In June 2010, Brocade was one of the first major networking vendors to publicly endorse OpenFlow, which is a major component of a new approach to networking called SDN. SDN involves several components, including standards-based OpenFlow, which delivers to service providers and network operators granular control of their network infrastructures. Brocade delivers OpenFlow capabilities across its high-performance switching and routing products, enabling flow control up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) speeds. With its partners, Brocade builds compelling cloud networking solutions for service providers and network operators worldwide. These solutions alleviate the burden of operational complexity for customers that are building and managing hyper-scale cloud infrastructures.

About NEC ProgrammableFlow Controller NEC was first to market with a generally available OpenFlow network solution, called ProgrammableFlow. Version 2 of its ProgrammableFlow Controller, the PF6800, won the Grand Prize and the Management, Monitoring and Testing category at Best of Interop 2012. The ProgrammableFlow software separates out the physical network from the control layer, providing customers new levels of flexibility and control to quickly deploy network services and gain the benefits of Software-Defined Networking. The PF6800, which leverages OpenFlow standardized technology, used in combination with the Brocade OpenFlow-enabled product family, eliminates most of the configuration management in traditional networks and transforming network monitoring and management by integrating real time network monitoring with remediation.

About OpenFlow and the ONF The OpenFlow protocol is being standardized by Open Networking Foundation (ONF). Founded in 2011 by Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Verizon and Yahoo!, ONF is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to rethink networking and quickly and collaboratively bring to market standards and solutions. ONF will accelerate the delivery and use of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) standards and foster a vibrant market of products, services, applications, customers and users; it includes 70 member companies (including Brocade and NEC).

About NEC Corporation of America Headquartered in Irving, Texas, NEC Corporation of America is a leading provider of innovative IT, network and communications products and solutions for service carriers, Fortune 1000 and SMB businesses across multiple vertical industries, including Healthcare, Government, Education and Hospitality. NEC Corporation of America delivers one of the industry's broadest portfolios of technology solutions and professional services, including unified communications, wireless, voice and data, managed services, server and storage infrastructure, optical network systems, microwave radio communications and biometric security. NEC Corporation of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, a global technology leader with a presence in 44 countries and more than $37.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please visit www.necam.com.

Social Media Tags: Brocade, NEC, Open Networking Foundation, ONF, Software-Defined Networking, SDN, OpenFlow, Ethernet Fabrics, SAN, IP, Fibre Channel, Ethernet, WAN, LAN, Networks

About Brocade Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)

Brocade, Brocade Assurance, the B-wing symbol, DCX, Fabric OS, MLX, SAN Health, VCS, and VDX are registered trademarks, and AnyIO, Brocade One, CloudPlex, Effortless Networking, ICX, NET Health, OpenScript, and The Effortless Network are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. Other brands, products, or service names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Copyright 2012 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CONTACTS Brocade Media & Analyst Relations Katie Bromley Tel: 408.333.0429 kbromley@brocade.com

Calgary's Userful Revolutionizes Thin-Client Computing, with Solution that is Twice as Fast and Half the Price

Userful Revolutionizes Thin-Client Computing, with Solution that is Twice as Fast and Half the Price

New True Zero Client solution supports all the leading chipsets and devices

CALGARY, Canada, May 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Userful Corporation, the global leader in Linux desktop virtualization, today announced the release of Userful MultiSeat v5, the first Linux-based software to deliver desktops on Ethernet true zero client hardware. Less than half the cost of conventional thin clients, the true zero client devices powered by Userful MultiSeat 5 offer a dramatically richer and more responsive user experience, including flawless playback of 20+ simultaneous HD video streams from a single standard PC.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120131/PH44565LOGO )

Users can now experience blazing performance with dozens of Ethernet true zero clients, powered by just a single PC or server that can be located anywhere within the network (LAN). With Userful MultiSeat 5, end users have their own monitor, keyboard and mouse or touch screen, and can work in multiple locations on different applications at the same time from the same host computer.

MultiSeat 5 works with a broad range of low-cost zero client device makers including HP, Viewsonic, Acer, ThinGlobal, and LG. With Userful software running on the PC, these zero client devices (which can connect via Ethernet or USB) create the most cost-effective, powerful, and flexible thin-computing solutions in the industry. Userful is working with OEMs to apply this groundbreaking technology in digital signage, in-flight and in-room entertainment, multiseat computing, kiosks and interactive touch displays, call centers, cloud computing, and customer service desks as well as traditional markets looking for a simpler, less expensive virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

"Viewsonic is proud to support the latest release of Userful MultiSeat Linux 5 with our full line of MultiClient Servers and Adapters. The solution includes a number of configurability improvements as well as USB-over-LAN functionality, and provides exceptional performance for up to 20 or more stations from a single computer," said Erik Willey, LCD Monitor and PC Product Marketing Director for ViewSonic. "ViewSonic's MultiClient USB and LAN adapters when combined with the Userful platform deliver a fully-managed low cost network, and can now be used to replace or extend thin client installations or upgrade PC networks at a fraction the cost of other existing solutions."

"Our OEM partners expect high-performance, scalable solutions that deliver the ultimate desktop experience and also address critical equipment and power costs," said Userful President Tim Griffin. "Userful MultiSeat 5 exceeds these expectations and allows OEMs the flexibility to expand their current customer base accessing significant new markets with devices that out-perform and compete in any conventional thin-client environment, but at half the price. Anyone looking for high-performance low-cost endpoints needs to take a close look at Userful."

Anyone can download the install DVD of Userful MultiSeat Linux to experience firsthand the high performance, and ease of use of the solution. For more information visit http://userful.com/products/userful-multiseat-linux.


About Userful Userful Corporation is the global leader in cloud-managed zero client computing and Linux desktop virtualization. Userful solutions power the world's largest virtual desktop and thin-computing deployments, and are used by millions of people daily in over 100 countries. Userful is one of the pioneers of zero-client computing with more than 10 years of experience in multiseat solutions. The company's software, which turns one computer into many workstations, lowers desktop computing costs, improves manageability, and reduces electricity consumption and e-waste. More information is available at: http://www.userful.com.

Userful will be at Computex at booth #N1014

Press Contact:
Caroline Spence
Email: cspence@userful.com
Phone Number: +1.250.590.2297

SOURCE Userful Corporation

For further information:

http://www.userful.com

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120131/PH44565LOGO

PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com