TELUS earns two-year contract extension with Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the operation of the Health Network System

TELUS earns two-year contract extension with Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the operation of the Health Network System

Extension recognizes excellence in on-line and real time drug claims adjudication under the Ontario Public Drug Programs (OPDP)

TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS Health today announced a two-year extension to its agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the Health Network System (HNS). HNS provides computerized claim adjudication, pharmacy payment, and several batch and administrative support applications, to the OPDP. Pharmacies submit drug benefit claims electronically and the HNS validates eligibility, provides drug utilization review information messages, authorizes payment and calculates the government share of eligible prescription costs.

TELUS Health's management, operation and maintenance of electronic processing systems and technology support services enable the processing of drug claims under the OPDP. Under this 2-year extension, approximately 125 million Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) claims will be adjudicated and paid annually at TELUS' advanced data facilities in Ontario.

"We are extremely pleased that TELUS Health's contract to manage the largest, real-time online transaction processing system in the Ontario government has been extended by two years," said Paul Lepage, senior vice-president, TELUS Health. "This extension demonstrates our position as a trusted supplier in providing health information technology services and solutions to government agencies and private insurance companies. It also demonstrates our commitment to enable timely, efficient delivery of drug claims services and responsive administration of prescription drugs to qualified patients via pharmacies, hospitals and other registered healthcare facilities."

OPDP is supported by a portfolio of business solutions and IT services, comprising the HNS. Under the HNS Agreement, TELUS Health provides facilities management and operations as well as application development, support, and maintenance for a significant portion of the HNS. In addition to managing the Health Network, TELUS provides dedicated staff to support and enhance the system to meet the changing needs of the OPDP program.

By the end of 2011, more than 3,865 agencies and 161 hospitals were connected to the HNS and more than 150 authorized users had system access. The system adjudicates about 125 million online real-time transactions per year from the approximately 2.2 million Ontarians using ODB programs. Operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, the HNS adjudicates more than 55,000 claims per hour at its busiest periods.

About TELUS Health
TELUS Health is a leader in telehealth, electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, mobile home and community care, consumer health, benefits management and pharmacy management. Its solutions give health authorities, providers, physicians, patients and consumers the power to turn information into better health outcomes. For more information about TELUS Health, please visit www.telushealth.com.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

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

For further information:

Janice Murray
TELUS Health
416-487-5007
Janice.murray@telus.com

NEC Develops Technology Enabling Gesture-Based Control of Information

NEC Develops Technology Enabling Gesture-Based Control of Information


Tokyo, May 15, 2012 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today the development of an interactive technology that allows the control of information through a combination of user gestures and the display of images from a projector.

The newly-developed technology is controlled through the combination of a movable camera, which measures and recognizes three-dimensional shapes, and a compact image projector. In addition to enabling the gesture-based control of information between devices, without the use of an input device such as a remote control or mouse, images that facilitate input, such as a keyboard image, can be flexibly displayed in a wide range of locations. This results in natural interactions that are intuitive and allow users to easily see the effect of their actions.

The features of this newly-developed technology are described below.

1. Achieves intuitive operation by integrating gesture-based input and image projection
A camera that measures three-dimensional shapes is used to recognize the movement and shape of the hands and fingers as control input. This means that tasks such as the movement of data between terminals and the control of devices can be performed without the use of an input device such as a remote control, mouse or keyboard. Further, images from the compact image projector that facilitate input, such as a keyboard or selected photo, can be projected onto a variety of surfaces such as a desk or a user's hand, achieving natural interaction where the results of operations are readily understood.

2. Achieves a wide range of high-precision control through a movable camera and projector
The movable measurement camera and projector are controlled in an integrated fashion. As a result, high-precision input and images can be projected while tracking a user's gesture-based movements over a wide range. Additionally, the locations of multiple distant devices can be specified to enable control.

With the recent expansion of cloud-based services, information terminals have become increasingly diversified, ranging from PCs to smartphones and tablet devices. However, the presentation of information is limited to the displays on such devices, and operation needs to be performed with the use of an input device such as a remote control, mouse or touchscreen.

Using this technology, multiple devices can be controlled based on a user's movements, without the use of an input device, producing interfaces that boast more natural interaction. Looking ahead, NEC will also develop a range of applied technologies, such as the free gesture-based control of digital signage, and the operation of lights, air conditioners and other devices not equipped with displays.


About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at
http://www.nec.com.

NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. (C)2012 NEC Corporation.

SAP Further Extends Real-Time Data Platform With “Big Data” Capabilities

SAP Further Extends Real-Time Data Platform With “Big Data” Capabilities

Customers Showcase “Big Data” Implementations Powered by SAP HANA® Platform at SAPPHIRE® NOW

ORLANDO, Fla. - May 16, 2012 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced advanced support and integration with Hadoop environments including an expanded "big data" partner council and customer showcases. These "big data" integration capabilities are planned in SAP® Data Services and SAP® Information Steward software with the release of service pack 4 for the SAP HANA® platform. SAP also showcased game-changing business results among customers, made possible by "big data" implementations based on the SAP real-time data platform. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE® NOW, being held in Orlando, Florida, May 14-16, 2012.

The SAP real-time data platform, based on the flagship SAP HANA platform, includes data management capabilities from SAP Sybase IQ, SAP Sybase ESP, SAP Sybase ASE and SAP Enterprise Information Management. It unlocks business value from "big data" by providing for real-time decision support within the window of opportunity with extreme capabilities to ingest, store and process big data in real-time.

"Groundbreaking innovations like SAP HANA help our customers access and deliver information at unprecedented speeds - up to 100,000 times faster than before - and empower them with fundamentally new ways to run their businesses and master 'big data,'" said Steve Lucas, global executive vice president and general manager, Database & Technology, SAP "The SAP real-time data platform delivers an information value chain that uncovers and harnesses the right information at the right moment by moving data among SAP HANA, SAP Sybase IQ and Hadoop file systems."

Customer Showcases "Big Data" Results Powered by SAP HANA
MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY analyzes genomes for cancer research and treatment. By building an information value chain that uses SAP HANA with R, open source programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics, for real-time analysis and Hadoop for preprocessing DNA sequences, the company found a way to shorten the genome analysis time from several days down to only 20 minutes.

"Going from a process measured in days to one measured in minutes is radically transforming our customer relationships," said Yukihisa Kato, CTO and director, MITSUI KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY. "Using the SAP real-time data platform with SAP HANA at its core will be critical to our DNA going forward and to future business growth."

SAP Enterprise Information Management Solutions to Power Access to All "Big Data" Sources
SAP envisions SAP Data Services and SAP Information Steward as the industry's first and only unified solution for data quality, data integration, text data processing, data profiling and metadata management. The company aims to allow users to unlock the full business potential of "big data" by making it easier to integrate and synthesize information across an enterprise's SAP and non-SAP applications. SAP Data Services and SAP Information Steward are intended to provide both business users and IT with an intuitive and comprehensive information management solution with planned enhancements that include:

  • Hadoop integration: reading from and loading to Hive and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), rapid batch updating and loading to SAP HANA, SAP® Sybase® IQ server and any other data store, resulting in faster performance
  • Text data processing: extending the data view to analyze data sources by performing linguistic analysis and extracting relevant content from files, Web logs and social media
  • Authoritative and trustworthy data: helping users understand, assess and improve the quality of data by integrating data quality scorecards directly within business intelligence (BI) and enterprise applications so users can immediately determine the accuracy of the data and if necessary take corrective action

"Our goal is to help organizations access build and govern information value chains across all data sources," said Lucas. "With our enterprise information management solutions, customers will have the ability to easily understand and access any data source - be it from an SAP, custom or partner application, enterprise database or new data sources such as Hadoop - so they can now better manage information throughout the organization."

SAP Extends "Big Data" Partner Ecosystem
SAP has set up a "big data" partner council that will co-innovate to produce solutions uncovering use cases and architectures that leverage the SAP real-time data platform and Hadoop. The council will include a cross-section of companies, including startups, hardware vendors, software providers and technology services organizations that will collaborate together with SAP on select projects in the SAP® Co-Innovation Lab. The cornerstone of this strategy is building a strong integration with the Hadoop ecosystem, starting with Cloudera, the leading provider of enterprise-grade Hadoop data management software, services and training. By co-innovating with Cloudera, the top contributor to the Hadoop development community, SAP plans to enable customers to go beyond business analytics and into the world of next-generation applications that innovate on data and open the door to myriad new possibilities.

"We are very excited to work with SAP to provide customers with real-time insights from their Hadoop environments using our complementary solutions," said Mike Olson, co-founder and CEO, Cloudera. "The SAP real-time data platform, combined with the Cloudera Hadoop Distribution, will deliver unmatched capabilities in next-generation 'big data' applications and analytics to the enterprise."

SAP today also announced a number of innovations on the SAP HANA platform. For more information, see "SAP Continues to Expand Capabilities and Scale of SAP HANA Platform."

For announcements, blog posts, videos and other coverage during SAPPHIRE NOW, visit the Events Newsroom.

SAPPHIRE® NOW
With SAPPHIRE® NOW, SAP offers its customers, partners and prospects even more opportunities to engage in dialogue with peers, participants and thought leaders around the globe. Being held in Orlando, Florida, May 14-16, 2012, this enhanced, real-time event connects attendees on site with global participants through state-of-the-art broadcast studios and an online experience that incorporates the latest social media and community functionality. Whether on site or online, participants can gain insight as to how SAP is delivering on its product strategy and helping organizations around the world to run better. For more information, visit www.sapphirenow.com. Follow SAPPHIRE NOW on Twitter at @SAPPHIRENOW and visit the Events Newsroom at www.events.news-sap.com.

Note to Editors:
Webcasts, announcements, media roundtables, keynote presentations and blog posts from SAPPHIRE NOW will be available in the Events Newsroom at: www.events.news-sap.com. To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos. On this platform, you can find high-resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via email links and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

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 (includes customers from the acquisition of SuccessFactors) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

© 2012 by SAP AG. All rights reserved.
SAP and the SAP logo are registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects Software Ltd. Business Objects is an SAP company. Sybase and the Sybase logo are registered trademarks of Sybase Inc. Sybase is an SAP company. Crossgate is a registered trademark of Crossgate AG in Germany and other countries. Crossgate is an SAP company.

Hadoop is a trademark of the Apache Software Foundation.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

For more information, press only:
Samantha Finnegan, +1 (650) 276-9350, samantha.finnegan@sap.com, PDT
Jeff Neal, +1 (925) 236-5035, jeff.neal@sap.com, PDT
SAP Press Office, +49 (6227) 7-46315, CET; +1 (610) 661-3200, EDT; press@sap.com
Anthony Suarez, Burson-Marsteller, +1 (212) 614-4331, anthony.suarez@bm.com, EDT

During SAPPHIRE NOW (from May 14 to 16), to speak with press contacts on site, please dial the SAP press room: +1 (610) 661-0469.

CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada



CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada


Announce plans to launch the first, secure mobile payment solution of its kind to Canadians

TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - CIBC and Rogers Communications today announced an agreement to launch Canada's first joint mobile payment solution, allowing Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers "Near Field Communications" (NFC) enabled smartphone. Beginning later this year, customers will be able to use this payment capability at merchants across Canada where contactless credit card payments are accepted.

This announcement represents the first time a bank and a wireless carrier have joined forces to offer a commercially available mobile payments solution to Canadians that leverages the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled Rogers smartphone. This new solution aligns to guidelines announced yesterday by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology.

"As the leader in delivering mobile financial services innovations in Canada, we are pleased to introduce yet another innovation in the market that will shape the payments experience of the future," commented David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice President, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. "By teaming with Rogers, CIBC clients will soon enjoy the convenience of paying at the checkout with their mobile device while enjoying the existing benefits of their CIBC credit card, including loyalty rewards."

"Canadians are embracing new technologies at an accelerated pace and we know they're interested in using their smartphone for mobile payments," said Rob Bruce, President of Communications, Rogers Communications. "We've been laying the foundation for mobile commerce and the ecosystem is ready to give Canadians the convenience, security, and peace of mind they deserve," said Bruce. "Today's announcement with CIBC represents an important first step toward a whole new world of mobile transactions which is a key growth area for the company."

Some of the key features of the new mobile payments solution include:

  • Full access to a client's existing CIBC credit cards on their smartphone at no extra cost - whether Visa or MasterCard - this gives clients the opportunity to earn loyalty points on purchases as they do today.
  • Multiple layers of security - Paying with your NFC-enabled smartphone will be as secure as using your credit card today. Clients will receive the same fraud protection they do with their contactless credit card, and secure encryption technology will add to the layers of security already in place on credit card purchases. Clients will also have the option to set additional password protection.
  • No "stickers" on your phone - this new payment capability will leverage the secure SIM card inside a mobile device for payments, meaning clients can manage their credit card credentials on a secure platform, and won't need to worry about stickers attached to their phone.

This new CIBC mobile payments capability will be available on select BlackBerry® smartphones on the Rogers wireless network when the solution launches later this year, with additional device choices for clients available following launch.

MasterCard's Mobile Payments Readiness Index ranks Canada ahead of the United States and second out of 34 countries.  A key finding emphasizes that partnerships among the key players in the mobile payments ecosystem - financial institutions, payment networks, telcos, governments, technology providers - are essential to accelerate the commercialization of mobile payments.

Today's announcement builds on CIBC's leadership position in delivering mobile innovations to clients. CIBC was the first bank in Canada to launch a mobile banking App in 2010, and more recently became the first bank in Canada to deliver an App that allows clients to trade stocks on their mobile device through the CIBC Mobile Brokerage App. The bank also offers the CIBC Home Advisor App, free to all Canadian homebuyers, giving them access to information about housing prices and other key neighbourhood data in an area they may be considering. CIBC was named "Best in Mobile Banking" globally by Global Finance magazine in 2011.

In 2002, Rogers launched its GSM wireless network, and last year was the first carrier in Canada to launch LTE, bringing the largest and fastest network and a global wireless standard to Canada. Today's announcement builds on this foundation of world-class networks, Rogers history of innovation and mobile commerce expertise, specifically in the area of mobile proximity payments. Over the past six years, Rogers has worked with the GSM Association, including the "Pay-buy-Mobile" initiative to get industry standard payment cards - like MasterCard or Visa - on industry standard GSM devices. In the past year, the GSM Association further named Rogers as one of many operators worldwide committed to SIM-based NFC solutions and services.

"The GSMA congratulate CIBC and Rogers on the launch of their mobile NFC services and we look forward to many more markets following Canada's lead in bringing exciting and interoperable NFC services to life," said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. "This is the year when mobile NFC is set to take off and the GSMA will continue to support our members around the world who will be launching their mobile NFC services later this year."

CIBC (CM: TSX;NYSE) is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.

Rogers Communications is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. We are engaged in wireless voice and data communications services through Wireless, Canada's largest wireless provider. Through Cable, we are one of Canada's leading providers of cable television services as well as high-speed Internet access and telephony services. Through Media, we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, magazines and trade publications, and sports entertainment. We are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For further information about the Rogers group of companies, please visit www.rogers.com.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited

Image with caption: "CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada - David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, Retail & Business Banking, CIBC and Rob Bruce, President of Communications, Rogers Communications showcase the first mobile payment solution, allowing Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers smartphone. (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at:

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Image with caption: "CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at:

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Image with caption: "CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada (CNW Group/CIBC)". Image available at:

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For further information:

Kevin Dove, Head of External Communications, CIBC, 416-980-8835 or kevin.dove@cibc.com

Paula Lash, Director, Rogers Communications Inc. - 416-935-8796 or Paula.Lash@rci.rogers.com.

Have women rejected technology as a career choice and is it harming growth?

Have women rejected technology as a career choice and is it harming growth?

Have women rejected technology as a career choice and is it harming growth? 
New research reveals significant gender imbalances in the technology sector and an acute skills shortage - reports Harvey Nash 

London, 15th May 2012 - Seven out of ten technology leaders believe they are missing vital skills as a result of low representation of women in their teams. Of major concern is the lack of female leaders in technology to inspire the next generation of female graduates, with little sign of growth in numbers in the immediate future.

This is according to the latest Harvey Nash Technology CIO survey, presenting the views of 2,438 senior level Information Technology leaders from twenty countries.
 
Dr Jane Shaw, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Intel Corporation said: 

"Whilst many companies in the technology sector are beginning to understand that gender balance in the work force is a valuable corporate resource, clearly more needs to be done. This is the challenge for both technology companies and IT support functions around the world. Attracting, and most importantly retaining, women in the workplace must continue to be a priority."

The survey reveals:

• Untapped potential: Sixty eight per cent of respondents identified at least one major positive impact they are missing from not having enough female representation in their teams.  The skills / attributes most missed were: relationships with internal customers (51 per cent); team cohesion & morale (48 per cent); and creativity & innovation (46 per cent)

• Gender imbalance at top table: The proportion of CIOs and technology leaders that are female has remained virtually unchanged for the last seven years at just seven per cent (in 2005 it was eight per cent) 

• Lack of female role models in middle management: Over a third of those surveyed confirmed they have no female technology managers at all in their organisation, and 81 per cent have less than a quarter of management roles populated by women

• Technology not seen as attractive to female graduates: Almost a quarter of CIOs (24 per cent) have no women at all in their technical and development teams, even in more junior roles. CIOs of both genders believe the main cause of gender imbalance is the supply of talent; 75 per cent of women CIOs believe there are a lack of qualified women candidates available for technology roles, 88 per cent of men share this view

Dr Jane Shaw, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Intel Corporation continues: 

"A strong emphasis is required on early education in the fields of engineering, maths and science, through to programmes to ensure that women have access to the executive ranks and the boardroom".

Concluding on the results, Albert Ellis CEO of Harvey Nash Group plc said: 

"The technology sector is currently suffering from acute skills shortages across the world in many areas, most notably the fast growing digital and mobile segments. What this survey shows is that fifty per cent of the population is badly under represented which means their potential is largely untapped. This acts as a major drag on growth.

"The rejection of technology as a career choice for female students has certainly been a major factor, and the technology industry, including specialist recruitment organisations, must play their part in expanding the pool of available talent."

-- ENDS --

NOTES TO EDITORS 

About the research:
Survey conducted online by Harvey Nash, in partnership with TelecityGroup plc, between 02 December 2011 and 30 March 2012 amongst 2,438 senior level IT professionals from businesses across the world.  To request a copy of the findings or to find out more, please visit www.harveynash.com/ciosurvey 

Media Relations contact:
Rob Grimsey
Group Marketing Director, Harvey Nash plc

About Harvey Nash:
Established in 1988, Harvey Nash has supported many of the world's leading organisations to recruit, source and manage the highly skilled talent they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive and technology driven world. With 4,000 professionals in 40 offices across the USA, Europe and Asia the Group has the reach and resources of a global organisation, whilst fostering a culture of innovation and agility that empowers its people to respond to constantly changing client needs. We work with clients, both large and small, to deliver a portfolio of services: executive search, professional recruitment and outsourcing.

BSA Report Finds 40 Per cent of Computer Users in Canada Admit They Pirate Software

BSA Report Finds 40 Per cent of Computer Users in Canada Admit They Pirate Software

Canada NewsWire

Value of PC software theft in Canada totals $1.141 Billion Dollars in 2011

TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - 40 per cent of computer users in Canada admit they have acquired pirated software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) reported today in the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study. Some users say they pirate all or most of the time. Others say they do it occasionally or rarely. The net effect was to fuel a software piracy rate of 27 per cent last year in Canada, meaning that nearly one in three copies of software were unlicensed. The commercial value of this piracy was $1.141 billion.

"If 40 per cent of consumers admitted they shoplift — even rarely —authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties. Software piracy demands a similar response: concerted public education and vigorous law enforcement," said Jacquie Famulak, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee.

14 per cent of admitted software pirates in Canada surveyed in the study say they acquire software illegally "all of the time," "most of the time" or "occasionally," while 26 per cent say they do so only "rarely." The study also found that admitted software pirates in Canada are predominantly male between the ages of 25 and 34.

"Software piracy persists as a drain on the global economy, IT innovation and job creation," said BSA president and CEO Robert Holleyman. "Governments must take steps to modernize their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face real consequences."

Globally, the study finds that piracy rates in emerging markets tower over those in mature markets — 68 per cent to 24 per cent, on average — and emerging markets account for an overwhelming majority of the global increase in the commercial value of software theft. This helps explain the market dynamics behind the global software piracy rate, which hovered at 42 per cent in 2011 while a steadily expanding marketplace in the developing world drove the commercial value of software theft to $63.4 billion.

Other findings from this year's BSA Global Software Piracy Study include:

  • Globally, the most frequent software pirates are disproportionately young and male — and they are more than twice as likely to live in an emerging economy as they are to live in a mature one (38 to 15 per cent).
  • Business decision makers admit to pirating software more frequently than other users — and they are more than twice as likely as others to say they buy software for one computer and then install it on additional machines in their offices.
  • Globally, there is strong support for IP rights and protections in principle, but a troubling lack of incentive for pirates to change their behavior in practice. Just 20 per cent of frequent pirates in mature markets — and 15 per cent in emerging markets — say the risk of getting caught is a reason not to pirate software.

This is the ninth annual study of global software piracy conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs, two of the world's leading independent research firms. The study methodology involves collecting 182 discrete data inputs and assessing PC and software trends in 116 markets. This year's study also included a survey of 15,000 computer users in 33 countries that together constitute 82 per cent of the global PC market.

A full copy of the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study, including Canada-specific data, is available for download on BSA's website: www.bsa.org/globalstudy.

About BSA

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading global advocate for the software industry. It is an association of nearly 100 world-class companies that invest billions of dollars annually to create software solutions that spark the economy and improve modern life. Through international government relations, intellectual property enforcement and educational activities, BSA expands the horizons of the digital world and builds trust and confidence in the new technologies driving it forward.

CEOs of tech start-ups say recruitment and retention is their biggest challenge - even more than making sales

CEOs of tech start-ups say recruitment and retention is their biggest challenge - even more than making sales

PwC Connecting vision to reality: 2012 CEO survey of emerging Canadian technology companies (CNW Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Management Services LLP))

TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Revenue is not the biggest concern for Canadian tech start-ups according to a report on emerging technology companies released today by PwC. For the first time, the 150 CEOs interviewed listed managing talent as their biggest issue (26%) compared to revenue (25%) and funding (18%). Now in its 9th year, the annual report found that:

  • Compensation was said to be the cause of most voluntary turnover (26%), followed by a lack of new challenges (23%).

  • Nearly half of involuntary turnover involved underdeveloped or under skilled talent - poor performance (41%) and poor skills fit (13%) were most often cited as the reason why CEOs let staff go.

"On the one hand you could say that Canadian start-ups need to do a better job of finding and keeping the right people with the right skills. However it's disconcerting that the current talent pool may actually lack the skills, knowledge or experience needed by today's tech companies," says Peter Matutat, PwC's National Emerging Company Practice Leader.

Nearly two-thirds said that over the past two years it has become more difficult to find the programmers and technical personnel they need. More and more technology and business-savvy engineers and developers are choosing to launch their own businesses. CEOs also say that the well established "brain drain" of Canadian talent to US companies continues to hurt their businesses.

"It's promising to see so many entrepreneurs in the market but it makes the talent shortage and the need for training, development and support for Canadian-based innovation that much more acute," says Matutat.

Matutat also says the smaller size of start-ups gives employees a bigger chance to make an impact but only if CEOs can capitalize on it. "CEOs should create a working environment where their team has a sense of ownership, the opportunity to be creative, and they are recognized and rewarded for being a part of the company's success."

Non-existent or ineffective total compensation packages are also a part of the problem - only 29% of the CEOs said they had a total rewards program in place. Forty-two per cent said that while they had one, they were not sure how effective it was. More than a quarter (28%) said there was no total rewards plan in place.

The 44-page report polled over 150 CEOs of emerging Canadian software companies on a variety of topics including growth, recruitment, M&A and exits, and raising capital. Overall, revenues in this sector are increasing with revenue growth at approximately 25% in 2011.

For more information and a copy of the 2012 edition of the report, please visit www.pwc.com/ca/cv2r. A copy is also available from the media contacts.

Follow our 9th annual Connecting Vision to Reality conference for the Canadian emerging tech community on Twitter at #v2r.

About PwC Canada
PwC Canada helps organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for. More than 5,700 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with close to 169,000 people in 158 countries. Find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com/ca.

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NetSuite Announces Commerce As A Service

NetSuite Announces Commerce As A Service

New NetSuite SuiteCommerce Combines Core Operational Commerce Platform with Externally Facing, Touchpoint-Agnostic Experience Management System

Delivers Unified Platform for B2B, B2C and Machine2Machine Commerce Models

Completely Flexible Front-End Technology Enables Support for Any Touchpoint, Embraced by Leading Commerce Design Firms

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NetSuite SuiteWorld 2012 -- NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), the industry's leading vendor of cloud-based business management software suites, today announced NetSuite "Commerce as a Service" (CaaS), enabling businesses to manage their interactions with other businesses and directly with consumers via a cloud platform that delivers the customer experience, via any current or future device, directly on the core NetSuite cloud ERP/CRM business management application.  At the heart of the CaaS initiative is NetSuite SuiteCommerce, a new commerce-aware platform that provides a central system to manage all transactions and associated customer interactions with consumers and other businesses regardless of touchpoint (website, smart phone, social media site, in-store, etc.). 

"Over the past decade, NetSuite has transformed how our customers operate their businesses internally. Over the next decade, NetSuite will transform how businesses operate with other businesses and with their customers through NetSuite Commerce as a Service. Our new NetSuite SuiteCommerce offering is at the heart of this transformation," said Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite. "By transforming the NetSuite business application into a commerce-aware platform, we enable our customers to extend the richest set of cloud operational capabilities available anywhere directly to their customers, regardless of the device those customers are using – be it a smart phone, a tablet, a personal computer, a point-of-sale system, or touchpoints not yet developed."

At the turn of the century, driven by widespread adoption of the Internet by businesses and consumers, commerce evolved from a process that was conducted on the phone or in a retail setting to the ability to sell online via websites. This drove the introduction of stand-alone "eCommerce" applications designed to support the emerging requirement to sell online.

Consumers quickly adopted eCommerce for its global accessibility, 24x7 availability and diversity of products. Because the industry evolved rapidly and companies were typically running their back end operations on legacy systems such as Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains, Sage or SAP systems locked behind firewalls with no Web capabilities, companies were forced to implement disconnected solutions for selling online, resulting in fragmented customer information built with a distribution channel focus – one set of applications dedicated to retail channel, a separate set of applications for eCommerce channels, and yet another  for telesales operations. Increasingly, companies recognize that implementations of first-generation eCommerce systems such as Demandware, and Magento have resulted in frustrated customers and ever-increasing integration costs as eCommerce becomes a core business competence.

In addition, the proliferation of new end-user preferred "touchpoints" such as smart phones and social media has increased customers' expectations of a tailored, individualized experience. Consumers assume businesses have full visibility to their transactions across touchpoints and will use that knowledge to provide an optimized experience. Likewise, businesses expect their suppliers to have insight into their business relationships, and assume that they will deliver a B2B experience as compelling as a B2C website.  Finally, physical products increasingly include commerce-embedded capabilities, which enable machine-to-machine (M2M) commerce without the involvement of humans, based upon defined business rules for predictable needs. Enterprises of all sizes have been challenged to respond to this avalanche of requirements because of the speed of change and the daunting burden of integrating inter-related systems to efficiently transact business across these various interaction points.

Rather than take the bolt-on approach of first generation eCommerce systems that attempted to cobble together multiple systems to address emerging customers and business requirements, NetSuite SuiteCommerce enables companies to manage their interaction with customers regardless of channel directly from the most widely used cloud-native business management system. By doing so, NetSuite's integrated ERP/CRM system is transformed into a commerce engine that is exposed to customers in a device-independent way – supporting traditional browser-based commerce as well as any emerging touchpoint such as smart phones, tablets and POS systems.  Because of both the presentation layer and business logic flexibility, the architecture supports any business model, be it B2C, B2B, M2M, or any combination thereof.

"Every company wants to deliver the commerce experience that Apple delivers to customers – an experience that recognizes the customer regardless of channel or device, and efficiently delivers goods and services in world-class fashion, projecting a powerful brand message. NetSuite SuiteCommerce is architected to enable companies of all sizes to deliver this type of rich, touchpoint-agnostic experience to their customers," added Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite. "The secret sauce behind the Apple and NetSuite approach is an integrated back-end system that combines core business processing capabilities with rich customer profiles, to deliver the brand promise of a personalized experience, anytime from anywhere."

NetSuite SuiteCommerce is the result of several years of development. SuiteCommerce exposes native NetSuite commerce capabilities – including merchandising, pricing, promotions, payment processing, support management, and customer management – as services that can be leveraged by any presentation layer, while providing an integrated back-end business management system.

The NetSuite SuiteCommerce platform includes several new important technologies:

  • SuiteCommerce Experience – The SuiteCommerce Experience is the page serving and development framework that enables companies to deliver rich user experiences, regardless of touchpoint. The SuiteCommerce Experience is so flexible that it enables designers to create any type of customer experience – from page layout to interaction design. Leading eCommerce design agencies including Fluid, Sweden Interactive, Live Area Labs and Pod1, among others, joined as initial customer experience partners supporting the SuiteCommerce Platform. In addition to supporting any experience design, SuiteCommerce Experience is extremely scalable and high performance. Whereas the industry standard is sub 2-second page load time, SuiteCommerce Experience offers sub-second page times by avoiding the redundant rendering and downloading associated with traditional presentation frameworks.
  • SuiteCommerce Services –The SuiteCommerce Platform includes a new group of services called SuiteCommerce Services that expose NetSuite's back-end commerce functionality and data as services to the SuiteCommerce Experience and any other commerce front-end application. These services, combined with associated SuiteCloud development tools, enable customers to develop new business logic and leverage that business logic across multiple touchpoints. For example, promotions can be implemented once and enabled across online, telephone and in-store transactions to augment the core transactional capabilities, and customize the system to their exact requirements. Leading B2C and B2B commerce providers such as Square, Stripe, SPS Commerce and Retail Anywhere have announced new product offerings to support omni-channel commerce on top of the SuiteCommerce Services platform.
  • NetSuite Commerce Platform –The NetSuite Commerce Platform provides the core native business processing capabilities to run modern commerce operations.  Including order management, inventory management and payment processing with personalized promotions, merchandising, account management and support management technologies, NetSuite SuiteCommerce delivers the industry's most robust cloud-based commerce management technologies. 

The power of providing an integrated experience and cross-channel business logic with SuiteCommerce is apparent in an infinite number of modern use cases:

  • Retail:  When customers appear in a retail setting, not only will they be recognized, but store clerks will also be able to see on their point-of-sale system what is in their eCommerce shopping cart or wish list as they serve them. 
  • Multi-Channel Business Logic:  Since SuiteCommerce offers a single back-end system for processing orders, managing inventory and generating offers, a business rule such as a maximum number of purchases on a sale item, can be implemented once and enforced across the website, in-store and via telesales.
  • Rich Customer Profile driving promotions:  SuiteCommerce provides a single system for customer history, product/item details, and promotions management.  For example, a promotion could be created in seconds targeting customers who have purchased more than $1,000 across any channel and offer a limited time 30 percent off promotion on any item with a gross margin greater than 50 percent.

Product Configurations:

There are two versions of NetSuite SuiteCommerce, one designed to meet the needs of small and mid-sized enterprises and one designed for large and very large enterprises. 

NetSuite SuiteCommerce Mid-market is available immediately and includes the core functionality of SuiteCommerce Services, as well as access to a number of add-on modules including product feeds, ratings and reviews, and loyalty programs.  It is designed to support companies with smaller order volumes and product catalogs.

NetSuite SuiteCommerce Enterprise includes the entire SuiteCommerce offering (SuiteCommerce Experience and SuiteCommerce Services Platform).  It provides support for enterprise scale order volumes and product/item catalogs.

NOTE: NetSuite, the NetSuite logo and SuiteCommerce are registered service marks of NetSuite Inc. 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the expectations relating to the impact that NetSuite Commerce as a Service will have on how businesses operate with their customers and other businesses and relating to the expectation that the applications within such service will function on all future devices and touch-points. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of NetSuite's management as of the date of this release, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, future technological developments, disruptions in the growth of ecommerce activity, reduction in consumer and business preferences for conducting commerce over the Internet or through social media, and unexpected delays or challenges in solving technical issues including integration of software applications.  All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and NetSuite disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE NetSuite Inc.

KanREN selects Roaring Penguin Software's CanIt-Domain-PRO Software to Combat Spam

KanREN selects Ottawa's Roaring Penguin Software's CanIt-Domain-PRO Software to Combat Spam

OTTAWA, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Roaring Penguin Software Inc., the email filtering experts, announced that KanREN (the Kansas Research and Education Network) has selected CanIt-Domain-PRO to combat spam on its networks.  KanREN is a specialized Internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within Kansas. KanREN's mandate has been to bring new ideas and technologies into the education network. For instance, KanREN was an early adopter of IPv6, having been IPv6-ready since February 2004.

"We don't deploy new applications without IPv6 support.  CanIt provides a cost effective Anti-Spam solution for our member's needs including IPv6 support. The Roaring Penguin team has been great to work with." - Andy Fleming, Senior Systems Administrator, Kansas Research and Education Network.

CanIt-Domain-PRO allows a research education network like KanREN to delegate control of spam filtering to each university that can in turn delegate control of spam filtering across multiple domains (departments) within the university and ultimately to end users.

Roaring Penguin's Products

  • CanIt-PRO, an anti-spam software solution suitable for small and medium businesses.
  • CanIt-Domain-PRO, spam filtering software for MSPs to host anti-spam for their customers.
  • Hosted CanIt, a fully outsourced hosted spam service.

About KanREN
Founded in 1991, KanREN is a consortium of Kansas educational institutions including the Kansas Board of Regents universities, many of the state's community colleges, and several private colleges and universities. KanREN is a self-funded organization with the sole focus of serving its members advanced networking needs.

KanREN is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of representatives from its member institutions. All user communities are represented in the make-up of the Board.

About Roaring Penguin
Founded in 1999, Roaring Penguin Software Inc -- The Email Filtering Experts, specializes in developing anti-spam software and e-mail filtering solutions.  The company focuses on fighting spam at the mail server, with the acclaimed CanIt and MIMEDefang product lines.  Today, Roaring Penguin develops, deploys and supports its anti-spam and e-mail archiving products for customers that include enterprises, ISPs, campuses, web hosts, and government offices.

For further information:

Bill White
Roaring Penguin Software Inc.
Tel:  +1 613-231-6599 ext 102
Email:  billw@roaringpenguin.com

Atlantic Canada’s Technology Companies Benefit from Federal and Provincial Support

Innovation, Business and Rural Development
May 14, 2012

Atlantic Canada’s Technology Companies
Benefit from Federal and Provincial Support

The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and La Francophonie, and the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, today announced a combined investment of $750,000 in the Atlantic Canada Venture Gateway (Gateway), the Memorial University-based program assisting high-growth technology firms in Atlantic Canada to become investor-ready and attract private investment, particularly from international markets.

“Our Government is pleased to support a project which fosters entrepreneurial growth and business development throughout Atlantic Canada,” said Minister Valcourt. “Gateway’s guidance and expertise in international business development helps companies to compete and succeed in a tough global marketplace, supporting economic growth, job creation and long-term prosperity in Canada.”

“Creating greater access to venture capital leads to greater opportunities, especially for innovative, high-growth companies,” said Minister Hutchings. “These resources will help local businesses capitalize on new and emerging opportunities, improve their overall global competiveness, and contribute to the continued diversification of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy.”

Gateway is a joint initiative of Memorial University, the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is managed by a team of experienced professionals located at Memorial University and is supported by a network of specialized consultants as well as international in-market experts in delivering a comprehensive offering that includes:

  • An Investment Readiness Program delivering mentoring and advisory services tailored to meet individual client requirements, as well as intensive workshops and seminars that help entrepreneurs address key business issues and positions them to attract investment; and,
  • A unique investor Partnering Program that provides investor ready firms with facilitated access to strategic partners and investors in selected markets across Canada, the United States and the Middle East.

“Our commitment to management and leadership education does not end with degree programs,” said Dr. Wilfred Zerbe, Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University. “Through outreach and engagement initiatives such as Gateway, we stay connected to the business community and act as a catalyst in solving critical business issues such as raising risk capital. With the support of ACOA and Innovation, Business and Rural Development, we will continue to contribute to the success of innovative firms in our region.”

Gateway is being supported by the Government of Canada through a Pan-Atlantic investment of $500,000 from ACOA’s Business Development Program and by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador through a $250,000 investment from Innovation, Business and Rural Development’s Innovation Enhancement Program.

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Media contacts:

Scott Barfoot
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-4570, 690-6290
scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca
 
Doug Burgess
Director, Public Affairs
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
709-772-2935
Moira Finn
Communications Coordinator
Faculty of Business Administration
Memorial University
709-864-2616