McAfee Network Security Platform Doubles IPS Performance Capability for Data Centres

 

McAfee Network Security Platform Doubles IPS Performance Capability for
Data Centres

McAfee Introduces Next Generation Network IPS for Data Centres with
Scalable 80 Gbps Solution

INTEROP 12, LAS VEGAS - May 8, 2012 - McAfee today announced several
new capabilities to its McAfee Network Security Platform, including a
scalable 80 Gbps intrusion prevention system (IPS) solution that has
been validated at over twice the performance capability of other high
capacity network IPS solutions available. In this new offering, McAfee
offers advanced threat protection across physical, virtual and cloud
environments and addresses the needs of private clouds in the data
centre, Telco core networks and service providers networks.

"As organizations increase the capacity of their networks, we have seen
an increase in the need for high throughput security solutions,” says
Vikram Phatak, Chief Technology Officer, NSS Labs. “At NSS Labs we go
to great lengths to determine the maximum performance a device can
maintain under real world conditions without degrading protection. We
put the McAfee Network Security Platform XC Cluster through our full
network IPS test rigour and it successfully passed over 72 Gbps of
inspected traffic while maintaining an overall protection rating of 95
per cent.”

Data centres have increasingly high-density server environments that
require high switching and routing capacity. Organizations face
difficult choices when it comes to performance and security, sometimes
even limiting security in order to meet performance demands. In
today’s threat environment, organizations can no longer afford to
sacrifice security for performance. Visibility and management are also
key concerns, as networks become more dynamic. McAfee uniquely addresses
these issues with its new XC Cluster solution.

The new McAfee Network Security Platform XC Cluster is a high
performance solution that gracefully scales to 80 Gbps throughput and 32
million concurrent connections. The latest release of McAfee Network
Security Platform allows organizations to scale as they grow, providing
the following Next Generation Network IPS features for their
environments:

Multi-tenancy for Telco and Service Providers - McAfee Network Security
Platform includes granular multi-tenancy options that are purpose built
for service provider environments.  Create up to 1,000 virtual IPS
policies per appliance, with granular policy control in each and unique
rule-set capability, including features for mobile service providers,
allowing management of network policies for separate customers or
services.

Inspection of Virtual Environments - McAfee Network Security Platform
includes native inspection of virtual environments through the VMware
vShield API. Enforce policy regardless of where the VM physically
resides, allowing organizations to leverage native VCenter tools to
integrate network security within virtual environments.

Behaviour-based Threat Detection - A new Network Threat Behaviour
Analysis virtual appliance extends IPS with enhanced visibility,
leveraging the network’s Flow data, including rich layer 7
information, to give context to IPS threats. The correlation of network
application flows to build a richer picture of threats within the
network allows for time-based analysis of threat and application
activity.

Additional Resources:
For more information about McAfee Network Security Platform visit:
www.mcafee.com/datacenter_networks

McAfee Network Security Platform Update Video:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid65694806001?bctid=1622009241001&iframe=true&width=700&height=410


McAfee Network Security Platform XC Cluster Data Sheet:
http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/data-sheets/ds-network-security-platform-xc-cluster.pdf


McAfee White Paper, Scalable Network Security for the Virtual Data
Centre:
http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/white-papers/wp-network-securi
ty-for-data-center.pdf


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.

VMware and VMware vShield are registered trademarks and/or trademarks
of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.

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.

Avaya Secures Mobile Collaboration and Bring Your Own Device for Enterprises

 

Avaya Secures Mobile Collaboration and Bring Your Own Device for Enterprises  

  

·   Avaya Identity Engines 8.0 delivers unified wired and wireless network access to employees, guests and their devices without compromising enterprise security

·   Avaya addresses the challenges of BYOD with a complete solution for customers that spans applications, infrastructure and professional services

 

LAS VEGAS (May 8, 2012) – Enhancements to the Avaya Networking portfolio will enable enterprises to maintain greater security and control of their networks as they adopt BYOD initiatives. Avaya Identity Engines 8.0, announced today at Interop Las Vegas, makes it simple and cost effective for organizations to provide employees and guests with secure, controlled access to wired and wireless networks from their personal devices.

 

Enterprises need to know who is accessing their network and how—whether it is with laptops, desktop computers, smartphones or iPad devices. Avaya Identity Engines 8.0 introduces two significant new capabilities that help eliminate the security risks of personal devices on a corporate network and enable enterprises to grant secure, flexible network access to individual users and their devices:

 

·         Ignition Access Portal delivers a unified access experience for both wired and wireless users. It simplifies the administration of BYOD with auto-registration and device fingerprinting capabilities, providing IT staff with detailed visibility into the type and profile of devices on the network and allowing them to act accordingly. Access Portal can be customized and deployed throughout the network and across geographical locations based on the needs of the enterprise.

 

·         Ignition CASE Client automates the configuration of devices for secure network access. It is a dissolvable client that helps ensure that devices meet specific security requirements before being allowed onto the network, and configures them without revealing the necessary certificates or shared keys to users. This is particularly useful when business partners with unmanaged laptops need secure but limited access to network resources, for example—the laptops can be configured automatically in seconds and the CASE client disappears from the user’s equipment.

 

These new capabilities build on Avaya Identity Engines’ existing security and policy features to deliver a cost-effective way for organizations to manage identity and network access for employees, guests and an ever-growing assortment of devices in the enterprise.

 

Avaya Identity Engines is part of Avaya Mobile Collaboration for Enterprise, an integrated solution for mobile workforces designed to provide business people with choices for where and how they can work. This solution makes applications and mobile devices work together securely, reliably and cost-effectively and provides new ways to leverage personal devices in the workplace using Avaya’s collaboration applications, unified communications infrastructure, networking technologies, and professional services.

 

This announcement highlights Avaya’s commitment to bringing The Power of We™ to every Avaya customer to help drive faster collaboration, smarter decisions and better business results.

 

Quotes

“Given the funding cuts in education, it’s simply impossible to provide devices to every student. We are putting together a BYOD initiative that will solve this problem by allowing students to use their own personal devices to gain access to educational resources. Network security is extremely important to us and cannot be overlooked. Avaya Identity Engines’ ability to provide detailed visibility into the devices students will use to access the network will enable us to restrict the level of access as required. We will be able to retain security and control of our network at all times, and students will get to use the devices they want while they learn.”

—Michael Papoulias, computer and telecommunication networks coordinator, Lester B. Pearson School Board

 

“Physicians and healthcare staff are increasingly bringing personal devices—from smartphones, to tablets, and notebooks—into work and requiring access to patient records. Hence they need to be provisioned onto the network and integrated into clinical workflows. The challenge is how to ensure secure, seamless connectivity across a diverse mix of devices. Avaya Identity Engines allows us to tailor the level of network access based on both the user and device, minimizing the risk of security breaches and ensuring confidentiality of patient data. A physician can be given unrestricted network access when connecting using a hospital-owned PC, and restricted access when connecting using their personal Apple iPad.”

—Mark Starry, chief technology officer, Concord Hospital

 

“IT consumerization is creating a real headache for companies around the globe. Unfortunately BYOD has incorrectly become synonymous with mobile device management, which is only one part of the solution. Once a device has been on boarded, then what? How does one manage security, management, user experience, network flows? Avaya is the company that is stepping in with a true, holistic BYOD proposal that covers all the pieces.”

Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst, ZK Research

 

Additional Resources

·   Learn more about Avaya Identity Engines

·   Learn about Avaya Mobile Collaboration for Enterprise

 

Tags

Avaya, Avaya VENA, Identity Engines, mobile collaboration, Interop, BYOD, security

 

About Avaya

Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

 

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should" or "will" or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya's filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

###

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Media Inquiries:

Sami Asiri

408-496-3684

sami@avaya.com

 

Avaya Highlights Avaya VENA Customer Momentum at Interop Las Vegas 2012

 

·   Thousands of customers worldwide have deployed networks with Avaya VENA products and technologies

·   Oslo University Hospital, Sparebanken Vest, Leeds Metropolitan University, Schiphol Airport and Concord Hospital benefit from Avaya VENA deployments

 

LAS VEGAS (May 8, 2012) – Avaya today announced at Interop Las Vegas 2012 a number of  new customer deployments from across the globe that showcase the benefits of Avaya's Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (VENA) and its growing adoption by enterprises. Worldwide, thousands of customers have deployed key components of Avaya VENA in their networks.

 

Avaya VENA is an enterprise-wide virtualization solution that simplifies the design and management of networks, streamlines the deployment of cloud-based services and improves the delivery of always-on content.

 

Today’s enterprise networks are evolving dramatically, growing in scale and becoming increasingly complex. Traditional networks do not provide the flexibility, resiliency or performance that customers require for critical business applications, cloud networks and the glut of new, high-bandwidth devices. Avaya VENA eliminates these traditional constraints to make networks more flexible, reliable and resilient.

 

Avaya VENA Enterprise Fabric

Based on the IEEE 802.1aq Shortest Path Bridging standard, Avaya VENA’s Enterprise Fabric simplifies the provisioning of services and the configuration of networks. It enables services to be added up to 25 times[1] more quickly with less risk, since changes only need to be made to the edge of the network rather than to every device and link.

 

·         Avaya’s Enterprise Fabric allows Sparebanken Vest, one of the three largest Norwegian banks, and one of the oldest, to more quickly plan and implement upgrades and changes to the advanced cloud-based network that supports its 68 locations.

·         It facilitates the adoption of technology-enhanced learning initiatives at Leeds Metropolitan University’s, and has contributed to a 200-fold improvement in network failover time that ensures that students and faculty are not impacted during planned or unplanned transitions.

·         Oslo University Hospital leveraged Enterprise Fabric to create a shared, virtualized network that supports different user groups, projects and applications for three merged hospitals, and maintains a high level of availability for critical care services at all times.

 

Avaya VENA Switch Clustering

Avaya’s Switch Clustering technology virtualizes the network core to protect against failures, delivering true end-to-end reliability and active resiliency for always-on access.

 

·         Switch Clustering provides Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport with a rock-solid network for a critical new luggage handling system that handles over 8,000 bags per hour and 70 million pieces of luggage per year.

·         It also enables Concord Hospital to perform in-service maintenance and software upgrades in their network core while maintaining the highest levels of network availability; something that is critical in a paperless hospital environment.

 

This announcement highlights Avaya’s commitment to bringing The Power of We™ to every Avaya customer to help drive faster collaboration, smarter decisions and better business results.

 

Quotes

“Avaya VENA allows us to upgrade our existing set-up by building a very advanced and future-proofed cloud-based network. It gives us the flexibility and reliability we are looking for but in a simple, straightforward way. Avaya’s genuine open standards approach gives us confidence that we are protecting our existing investment and still future-proofing our network to easily accommodate future innovations.”

Harald Nordås, network manager, Sparebanken Vest

 

“High availability is a critical requirement for our network. The doctors here make life and death decisions every day and we can’t afford any downtime. Hospitals are inherently risk-averse and are rarely early adopters, but we were struck by the benefits that Avaya VENA Enterprise Fabric implementation of Shortest Path Bridging could provide our network. We knew the risks of undertaking this project, but found Avaya to be the ideal partner to help us succeed. As soon as the technology was available, we signed up.”

Espen Holthe, network engineer, Sykehuspartner IKT

 

“In designing for the future, Leeds Metropolitan did not feel bound to the past, and despite a long and successful history with Avaya Networking products, we undertook a rigorous analysis to find the solution that best matched our strategic goals. After conducting a comprehensive review, we determined that by using the Avaya VENA Enterprise Fabric capability to empower our network, we can develop new solutions to the challenges and demands of delivering cutting-edge learning services. We now find ourselves in the pleasantly refreshing position of being able to consistently say ‘yes we can’.”

Phil Taylor, Communications Consultant, Leeds Metropolitan University

 

“Enterprises are choosing Avaya VENA to build the advanced networks they need to support critical, next-generation business applications. And they are doing so because it delivers networks that are less complex, more efficient and better at handling today’s real-time application traffic. Avaya VENA eliminates the constraints of traditional enterprise networks to make them more flexible, reliable and resilient—so that businesses can spend less time managing their network and more time improving the experience of their customers.”

Marc Randall, senior vice president and general manager, Avaya

 

Additional Resources

·   Learn more about Avaya VENA

·   Read about the deployments at Sparebanken Vest, Leeds Metropolitan University, Oslo University Hospital, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and Concord Hospital

Tags

Avaya, Avaya VENA, SPB, shortest path bridging, virtualization, Ethernet fabric, switch clustering, Oslo University Hospital, Sparebanken Vest, Leeds Metropolitan University, Schiphol Airport, Concord Hospital

 

About Avaya

Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

 

 

 

(download)

Protecode Receives Funding from Government of Canada

Government of Canada Invests in Innovation, Jobs and Growth in Ottawa 

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - May 7, 2012 - The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of State and Member of Parliament for Carleton-Mississippi Mills, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), today announced an investment of up to $1,947,250 that will help three Ottawa-area start-up businesses get their innovative products and ideas to market faster, and create jobs and economic growth in southern Ontario. 

The investment will allow these businesses to leverage a total of $3.9 million in additional private sector investments from venture capital and southern Ontario angel investors. These projects are expected to create 40 high-quality jobs in the information technology sector in southern Ontario over the next two years. 

"Our government is investing in the residents, businesses and communities of southern Ontario to create high-quality jobs and sustain economic growth," said Minister of State O'Connor. "This investment will allow Benbria, Protecode and Toushay to develop new products, branch out to new markets, enhance their competitiveness and create high-value job opportunities for southern Ontario." 

The funding, which is being provided through the FedDev Ontario's Investing in Business Innovation initiative, breaks down as follows: 

- $750,000 for Toushay Inc., to create a software platform that lets businesses easily design, create and manage their own mobile applications for marketing and related interactions with customers; 

- $680,000 for Protecode Inc., to develop and commercialize software that lets developers identify intellectual property issues, reduce licensing uncertainties, enhance quality and security, and ensure compliance with open source and third party licenses; and 

- $517,250 for Benbria Corp., to develop an intelligent notification system that allows organizations to spread information to targeted audiences instantly, and act on the responses.

The Investing in Business Innovation initiative is designed to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses to accelerate the development of new products, processes and practices and bring them to market. This initiative is also designed to help angel investor networks and their associations attract new investment and support the growth of angel investment funds.

Please refer to the backgrounder for more information about Toushay Inc., Protecode Inc. and Benbria Corp. 

Created in 2009, FedDev Ontario supports the southern Ontario economy by building on the region's strengths and creating opportunities for jobs and economic growth. The Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to encourage partnerships and support projects that help the region's businesses and communities become more competitive, innovative and diversified. To learn more, please visit www.feddevontario.gc.ca or call 1-866-593-5505

Follow us on Twitter @FedDevOntario 

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL. 

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired)

This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Toushay Inc., Protecode Inc. and Benbria Corp.

FedDev Ontario is investing a total of up to $1,947,250 in repayable contributions to three Ottawa-area start-up businesses under the Investing in Business Innovation initiative. This investment will allow the businesses to leverage a total of $3,914,700 in additional investments from venture capital and angel investors. 

The three start-up businesses include:

Toushay Inc.

Contribution: up to $750,000

Toushay is a leading provider of innovative solutions for enhancing customer experience and service through the use of fixed and roaming mobile applications. The Toushay cloud-based solution enables enterprises to greatly reduce the complexity and cost of creating, deploying, and updating mobile applications, with minimal impact on IT departments. FedDev Ontario's investment leverages an additional $1.5 million venture capital investment from Wesley Clover International Corporation and angel investors from the Capital Angel Network. This will enable the company to develop a software platform which will let businesses design, create and manage their own mobile applications for marketing and related interactions with customers. The project is expected to create 20 new jobs. 

Protecode Inc.

Contribution: up to $680,000

Protecode solutions enable organizations to accelerate development through the managed use of open source software. Protecode uses code scanning that works behind the scenes in real-time with code libraries, build processes and desktops to detect and report open source licenses relative to company-defined policies. Software auditing services performed by a staff of open source licensing experts are also offered. FedDev Ontario's investment leverages an additional $1,380,200 from Brightspark Ventures to develop, test and commercialize a suite of software products that enable software developers to review and assess their inventories of developed software. This will allow developers to identify any intellectual property issues, reduce licensing uncertainties, enhance software quality and security, and ensure compliance with open source and third party licenses. The project is expected to create 11 new jobs. 

Benbria Corp.

Contribution: up to $517,250

Benbria enables companies to capture real-time customer input from a variety of sources, such as Twitter, Facebook, mobile apps, text, web, email, etc., and makes it actionable by directing it to front-line staff for action, resolution and follow up. The company's flagship products, BlazeLoop™ Customer Engagement and BlazeCast™ Customer Notification, helps companies to transform customer input into action by turning employees into active supporters, customers into advocates, and great customer experiences into repeat business and referrals. FedDev Ontario's investment leverages an additional $1,034,500 from BDC Venture Capital and Wesley Clover International Corporation. This will enable the company to develop and commercialize an intelligent notification system that enables organizations to spread vital information instantly to targeted audiences, such as employees, students, subscribers, and customers), and to track and act on their responses. The project is expected to create nine new jobs. 

Investing in Business Innovation

Investing in Business Innovation is designed to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses to accelerate the development of new products, processes and practices and help bring them to market. The Government of Canada is focusing on a portfolio of early-stage businesses that are recognized by the investor community as having the potential for high-growth and a net long-term economic benefit for southern Ontario. The investor community includes accredited angel investors from recognized angel investor networks in southern Ontario registered with the National Angel Organization - Ontario and venture capital providers who are member of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. 

Funding under the initiative is also available for angel investor networks and their associations to attract new investment and support the growth of angel investment funds. 

Applications for funding are being accepted and assessed on an ongoing basis. For more information and to apply, please refer to the program guidelines available on the FedDev Ontario website at www.feddevontario.gc.ca

Contact Information

Michele-Jamali Paquette
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
613-947-2956

Media Relations
FedDev Ontario
519-571-6879

Gartner Says Only 50 Percent of Fortune 1000 Organizations Will Get a Worthwhile Return From Their Social CRM Initiatives by the End of 2012

Gartner Says Only 50 Percent of Fortune 1000 Organizations Will Get a Worthwhile Return From Their Social CRM Initiatives by the End of 2012

Analysts to Discuss the Future of Social CRM at Gartner Customer Strategies & Technologies Summit 2012, June 11-12, in London, UK

Egham, UK, May 3, 2012—

Although the adoption of social applications by sales, marketing and customer service departments continues to grow rapidly, Gartner, Inc. said that, by the end of 2012, only 50 percent of Fortune 1000 companies will receive a worthwhile return on investment (ROI) from their social customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives.

“For the 50 percent of Fortune 1000 organizations not determining, or even measuring, ROI, ignorance will mean failed projects,” said Adam Sarner, research director at Gartner. “Among the companies who will not see a worthwhile return, only 20 percent will even have the data to evaluate where their social strategy is falling short. These organizations will be unable to justify future funding.”

During the next two years, the success of social CRM will depend on how well companies and social CRM technology providers can make social CRM projects more than just social objectives by tying them to clear and measurable business objectives. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2012 three-quarters of new social CRM initiatives that receive funding will have a business case incorporating measurable ROI.

Many organizations have established a form of social presence. However, many also lack a clear business performance objective for social CRM, being at early stage in their measurement of its business outcomes.

“Social data, such as numbers of fan pages and weekly Tweets, is not enough to correlate with the contribution of top business objectives,” said Mr. Sarner. “ROI, measurable business value and budget justification for social projects are becoming unavoidable topics for many organizations.”

Gartner analysts said they expect the worldwide market for social CRM software licenses and subscriptions to total $2.1 billion in 2012, up from 850 million in 2011, and that social CRM revenue will represent 10% of the overall CRM market.

Initially, social CRM was mostly a concern of marketing, but it now affects every discipline, from marketing and sales to customer service and support. Social CRM is increasingly important to lead generation and cross-selling and up-selling capabilities, and to other functions that are key to successful sales organizations. Gartner said that business-to-business applications for sales use will have the fastest growth and will account for 30 percent of social CRM spending by 2015, up from 5 percent in 2011.

Today, social CRM vendors differentiate themselves on the basis of functions, analytics, ease of use and superior experience delivered through professional services. Over time, however, they will find it harder to gain an advantage by providing unique core functions. They will need to show quantified business cases and, more importantly, deliver repeatable social CRM processes that are not yet broadly available.

“Vendors that can assemble a full set of social CRM functions and make progress in two or more areas, such as marketing and customer service or sales and marketing, will be best-positioned for success,” said Mr. Sarner.

Gartner analysts will discuss the development of social CRM at the Gartner Customer Strategies & Technologies Summit 2012, to be held from June 11 to 12 in London, UK. For more information about Summit, please visit www.gartner.com/eu/crm. Information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gartner_inc using #GartnerCRM.

About the Gartner Customer Strategies & Technologies Summit 2012

CRM is entering a new era in which the focus is much more on the relationship and less on the management. As organizations balance growth and retention objectives, they need to get smarter, think socially and be mobile-oriented. The Gartner Customer Strategies & Technologies Summit will help organizations gain a fuller understanding of the technological, social and economic trends influencing the next generation of CRM.

Contacts:

Rob van der Meulen
Gartner
+44 0 1784 267892
rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com

Christy Pettey
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is a valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 11,500 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,500 associates, including 1,250 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

Socialcast by VMware Announces Joint Integration with Lithium’s Social Customer Suite

Socialcast by VMware Announces Joint Integration with Lithium’s Social Customer Suite to Extend the Customer Voice Throughout the Enterprise

Integration aims to bring new levels of visibility into what drives a customer’s business

SAN FRANCISCO — May 3, 2012 — Socialcast by VMware today announced a joint integration of Socialcast’s enterprise social network with Lithium’s social customer suite, which can provide new levels of employee collaboration driven by direct customer engagement. Announced at the annual Lithium Network Conference (LiNC) 2012, the integration is expected to be available to Lithium customers by the third quarter of 2012. 
 
Socialcast’s rich set of APIs and Reach integration platform, conversations and customer interactions will be used in Lithium-powered communities, and will be able to be brought inside the Socialcast network so customer ideas and feedback can be discussed and refined. As part of a social enterprise platform, Socialcast enables real-time, in-context conversations and collaboration tools from enterprise applications into the activity stream, providing employees access to the most relevant information regardless of location, and helping companies realize even greater value from their Lithium communities.

“While we see social technologies changing the way business is done, there’s a significant difference between internal and external networks,” said Tim Young, vice president, Social Enterprise, VMware. “By collaborating with Lithium, we’re able to intelligently integrate two best-of-breed solutions to provide a better connection between external communities and internal networks. Ultimately companies will be able to make better decisions based on this new way of working.”

“The balance of power has shifted in consumers’ favor, and Lithium is always looking for ways to transform business for success in this new reality,” said Rob Tarkoff, president and chief executive officer, Lithium. “Integrating with Socialcast gives our customers the ability to connect customer insight with internal expertise and make business decisions faster, with better information pulled from across the organization.” 

The integration combines Lithium’s external social graph, which provides access to Twitter, Facebook and other customer communities, with the Socialcast internal social graph of employee groups and enterprise applications in a way that can dramatically advance the social enterprise and further define the future of work. Companies can become empowered to deliver an improved customer experience by unifying the insights, feedback and market influences captured by external communities with the internal data, discussion and expertise held within internal social networks.

About Socialcast:
Socialcast by VMware (NYSE: VMW) is a social network for business uniting people, information, and applications with its real-time enterprise activity stream engine. Behind the firewall or in the cloud, Socialcast enables instant collaboration in a secure environment. Socialcast is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information visit www.socialcast.com or call 1-888-779-3220.

# # #

VMware and Socialcast by VMware are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

Canadian businesses missing important steps to protect personal information stored digitally, poll finds

Canadian businesses missing important steps to protect personal information stored digitally, poll finds

Privacy Commissioner of Canada reminds businesses that when using technology to safeguard personal information, sometimes small steps can prevent a big loss.

Ottawa, May 4, 2012 – Canadian businesses are storing more and more personal information digitally, but many are not using the technological tools or implementing the recommended practices to protect this information, a new survey has found.

In a telephone survey of 1,006 companies across Canada, commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and published today, companies are storing personal information on a variety of digital devices, such as desktop computers (55%), servers (47%) and portable devices (23%). Most (73%) are using some type of technological tool, such as passwords, encryption or firewalls, to prevent unauthorized access to the personal information stored on these devices.

However, the survey also suggested that many businesses may not be adequately using technology when it comes to protecting the personal information they store digitally.

For example, passwords are the most popular technological tool used by businesses to protect personal information (96%). However, of those using passwords, 39% do not have controls in place to ensure that those passwords are difficult to guess, and 27% never require employees to change passwords.

“Using passwords is like locking your front door. They can be a very simple and effective way to protect valuable personal information,” says Commissioner Stoddart. “But simply setting a password is not enough to thwart today’s savvy online criminals—passwords must to be complex and dynamic.”

The poll, conducted in late November and early December 2011 by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives, also found that nearly one quarter of businesses are storing personal information on portable devices, such as laptops, USB sticks or tablets, which are more vulnerable to theft and loss. Nevertheless, almost half of those who do (48%) indicated that they did not use encryption to protect the information on these devices. Encryption refers to the use of a secret code as a key to scramble information to make it unreadable. Once the information is scrambled, only the same key can be used to unscramble the information and make it readable again.

“Encryption is one step better than locking your doors— it is like putting information into a safe—and it can really help limit the risks if a laptop is stolen or a USB key is misplaced,” says Commissioner Stoddart. “Businesses that lose their customers’ data, lose their customers’ trust, so they need to take every precaution to ensure they safeguard personal information they hold.”

The survey did find that many Canadian companies attribute considerable importance to protecting privacy (77%).

“I am encouraged to see that companies are beginning to realize the importance of building privacy into their business processes,” said Commissioner Stoddart. “Smart businesses know that taking the time to build privacy in from the beginning is much easier than cleaning up a privacy breach down the road.”

In fact, survey responses seem to suggest that companies are becoming more sensitive to the potential for data breaches. Only 40%, however, indicated that they were concerned about data breaches that might compromise the personal information of their customers and 31% indicated that they have guidelines in place for responding in the event of a breach.

Other highlights of the poll include:

  • One third (32%) of businesses have staff that has had training on appropriate information practices and responsibilities under Canada’s privacy laws.
  • Almost half (48%) of businesses have procedures in place for dealing with complaints from customers who feel that their information has been handled improperly.
  • Just over three in five businesses have a privacy policy.
  • The majority of companies that have a privacy policy update it at least once a year (57%) and of those that do, 35% have notified their customers about the changes.
  • Many companies (39%) view protecting privacy as a competitive advantage, with 24% seeing it as a significant advantage and 15% a moderate advantage.

The OPC commissioned the survey in order to better understand the extent to which businesses are familiar with privacy issues and requirements, and the types of privacy policies and practices they have in place. Similar surveys were conducted in 2010 and 2007.

The complete survey, which is considered to be accurate to within +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20, can be found on our website at www.priv.gc.ca.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is mandated by Parliament to act as an ombudsman and guardian of privacy in Canada. The Commissioner enforces two federal laws for the protection of personal information: the Privacy Act, which applies to the federal public sector; and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which applies to commercial activities in the Atlantic provinces, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Territories. Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia each has its own law covering the private sector. Even in these provinces, PIPEDA continues to apply to the federally regulated private sector and to personal information in interprovincial and international transactions.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact:

Heather Ormerod
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
E-mail: heather.ormerod@priv.gc.ca

ThinkTel increases service offering to Public Health Ontario

ThinkTel increases service offering to Public Health Ontario

Health Agency Boosts Operational Efficiency with ThinkTel SIP Trunking

TORONTO, May 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - ThinkTel, a Canadian leader in IP-based business telecommunications operating an advanced carrier network in over 1,000 centres across the country, announced today that Public Health Ontario (PHO), an important customer since 2009, has just completed the move of 15 additional locations from across the province of Ontario on to ThinkTel's SIP Trunking service. Over the course of the year, an additional 11 locations are scheduled to be moved on to the service.

ThinkTel's network-neutral SIP Trunking solutions effectively streamline an organization's voice infrastructure and manage capacity with unsurpassed efficiency. By linking PBXs in multiple locations with each other and the PSTN, the innovative solution allows large organizations to replace costly ISDN PRIs and traditional lines to reduce costs and handle any call volume.

"SIP Trunking is an important component of our unified communications deployment," said Jim Tom, PHO's Chief Information Officer. "First, SIP trunks eliminate lines that are idle almost 80% of the time in favour of a model which promotes high levels of concurrent usage and eliminates long-distance charges between offices. Second, the service eliminates MAC (move, add, change) charges, which can be prohibitive for an organization that continues to evolve. Recently, we moved 175 employees and paid no MAC charges on either network or telephony services--and for traditional telephony, these charges could easily amount to $200 per person. Finally, we will able to better respond to our stakeholders through real-time activation of services and have already improved employee productivity through their use of unified communications."

The healthcare delivery sector has long been a business focus for ThinkTel. This focus has provided the company with the practical expertise to offer innovative and seamless telephony solutions at significantly reduced costs to organizations in this sector.

"We fully understand the extraordinary economic pressures that are brought to bear on healthcare delivery agencies, and we believe that the flexibility offered by our SIP Trunking provides PHO with essential cost savings and operational efficiency." said Dave Damer, President and CEO of ThinkTel. "As an early adopter of a sophisticated unified communications system, they are also taking the lead in driving significant productivity gains. We are very pleased to be able to work with PHO, and look forward to further assisting this important healthcare agency in realizing their objectives in the months and years ahead."

About ThinkTel

ThinkTel, a division of Distributel Communications, is a provider of advanced voice and unified communications services catering to enterprise, wholesale and SMB customers. With service in over 1,000 centres across Canada, ThinkTel continually innovates to meet the demanding standards of the country's largest organizations. A proud Microsoft Partner since 2008, ThinkTel has earned a Gold Competency in Communications and Silver Competency in Hosting and is the first Canadian company independently qualified by Microsoft's standards to deliver SIP Trunking directly to Microsoft Lync. For more information, visit www.thinktel.ca.

For further information:

Sophie Charrier
Marketing Communications Specialist
514-317-7817
sophie.charrier@distributel.ca

BCE surpasses 3 million Internet customers

BCE surpasses 3 million Internet customers

Investing more than $3 billion a year to roll out new broadband network technology

QUÉBEC CITY, May 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - BCE Inc. today confirmed its position as Canada's largest Internet service provider, announcing that more than 3 million customers now subscribe to Bell Canada and Bell Aliant Internet services in Québec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

"As we mark this latest milestone in our growth as Canada's #1 Internet provider, I would like to congratulate the Bell teams for delivering such high-quality, world-class Internet services," said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell and BCE, who announced the news at BCE's annual general shareholders' meeting here in Québec City. "Canadians use the Internet more than anyone else in the world, and we're proud that more Canadians use Bell Canada and Bell Aliant Internet service than any other."

The total will continue to grow in 2012 as Bell companies continue to invest billions in broadband network expansion and enhancement, including Bell Canada's Fibe Internet rollout in Québec City and in other locations across Québec and Ontario, and Bell Aliant's FibreOP launches across its service territory. Together, Bell and Bell Aliant are investing more than $3 billion a year to deliver the world's best broadband communications innovations to Canadians.

Canada #1 in Internet use
Canadians are true world leaders when it comes to the Internet. According to figures released in March 2012 by comScore Inc. (comScore.com), Canada is ranked #1 in the world for time spent online. comScore found Canadians use the Internet for 45.3 hours per month, significantly ahead of second-place finisher the United States at 38.6 hours.

About Bell
Headquartered in Montréal, Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell Mobility wireless, Bell Internet high-speed, Bell Satellite TV and Bell Fibe TV, Bell Home Phone local and long distance, and Bell Business Markets IP-broadband and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio and digital media, including CTV, Canada's #1 television network, and the country's most-watched specialty channels.

The Bell Mental Health Initiative is a multi-year charitable program that promotes mental health across Canada via the Bell Let's Talk anti-stigma campaign and support for community care, research and workplace best practices. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For Bell product and service information, please visit Bell.ca. For Bell Media, please visit BellMedia.ca. For BCE corporate information, please visit BCE.ca.

For further information:

Marie-Ève Francoeur
Bell Media Relations
1 855 391-5263
marie-eve.francoeur@bell.ca
@Bell_News

TELUS investing $2 billion in Alberta over next three years

TELUS investing $2 billion in Alberta over next three years

Hiring 750 employees, bringing world's fastest wireless service to 3 million Albertans, and bridging the digital divide for rural Albertans

EDMONTON, May 3, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS will invest $2 billion in advanced technology over the next three years in Alberta.

This significant investment builds on the more than $26 billion the company has invested in technology and operations in the province since 2000. It will fuel the expansion of TELUS' advanced wireless and wireline broadband networks across the province.

"The economic backbone of Alberta relies on investment and innovation. TELUS' $2 billion investment over the next three years will support significant economic and community development in every region of Alberta," said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. "We will continue to expand wireline broadband access to rural and remote communities and deliver 4G LTE, the world's fastest wireless technology, to more than 80 per cent of Albertans by the end of this year. We are building the communications technology and infrastructure that will help Alberta companies compete on the world stage, create local employment opportunities, and advance healthcare and education across the province for the benefit of citizens."

One of Alberta's largest private sector employers, TELUS' investments will result in the hiring of 750 people across the province this year to support its Optik TV and wireless growth.

"As important as our technology investments are to our success, our commitment to local communities is near and dear to our hearts. TELUS believes deeply in the symbiotic relationship between the success of business and the welfare of our communities," continued Mr. Entwistle. "We embrace a simple philosophy - we give where we live - and we take great pride in the social outcomes we are helping to realize, such as contributing $875,000 to the Alberta Cancer Foundation through our Go Pink community campaigns and the TELUS World Skins Game, held last year in Banff. Since 2000, our TELUS family of 14,000 employees and retirees in Alberta has donated over $82 million dollars and, more importantly, volunteered 1.2 million hours, with our hearts and our hands, to community and charitable organisations here in Alberta. Additionally, the TELUS team will contribute a further $10 million dollars to local, grassroots community projects in 2012."

TELUS' $2 billion investment will:

  • Extend its new 4G LTE wireless network from Calgary and Edmonton to an additional seven communities in 2012. This year, TELUS will extend service to Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster and Brooks, with more to come over the next few years if TELUS is able to secure the necessary wireless spectrum through Industry Canada's upcoming spectrum auctions. 4G LTE is the most advanced, fastest wireless technology available in the world today.

  • Connect 18 remote and geographically challenging Alberta communities to broadband internet this year, including Bear Canyon, Blue Ridge, Brocket, Bruce, Donalda, Ferintosh, Hays, Holden, Hussar, Jarvie, Keephills, Marlboro, Pickardville, Walsh, Waterton Park, Mulhurst, Seba Beach and Wildwood. By 2014 we will connect a further 37 communities to ensure citizens have access to high speed internet.

  • Further extend Optik TV service to reach nearly 70 per cent of Alberta households by the end of 2012. At the end of 2011, TELUS had 509,000 TV customers, adding 56,000 in the final three months of the year alone.

  • Continue to improve lives and save healthcare dollars through the company's healthcare technology. On February 2, TELUS acquired Wolf Medical Systems, a company that provides cloud-based electronic medical records to 1,500 doctors in Alberta and B.C. All 75 people working for Wolf have joined TELUS to create a new division called TELUS Physician Solutions, which will provide Canadian doctors and other healthcare providers technology to help them use and share patient information to improve service delivery and patient outcomes. This acquisition builds on the $1 billion TELUS has invested to become Canada's leading healthcare IT provider. TELUS' healthcare solutions are backed by a team of 1,500 health innovators who are dedicated to helping transform healthcare and delivering better patient outcomes.

  • Support unique community fundraising projects contributing to the Sturgeon Community Hospital Foundation in St. Albert; the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Grande Prairie; the Lethbridge Public Library; and in Edmonton, to the Campaign for Prostate Health. Similar programs in 2011 raised $350,000 dollars for the University of Lethbridge; $250,000 dollars for the G.H. Dawe Community Centre in Red Deer; and $250,000 dollars for a new aquatic and wellness multiplex in Grande Prairie, to name a few.

The capital investment disclosed in this release is consistent with TELUS' overall capital expenditure guidance for 2012.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.4 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 500,000 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.

Forward looking statement:
This news release contains statements about expected future events of TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

For further information:

Chris Gerritsen
TELUS Media Relations
(403) 808-9591
chris.gerritsen@telus.com

B-roll of TELUS infrastructure projects can be downloaded from the following FTP site:

FTP://209.52.48.241
Username: 12-079
Password: t3lu5

HP Expands Print and Mobile Offerings for HP MagCloud

HP Expands Print and Mobile Offerings for HP MagCloud

More print and publisher options, updated iPad application offer improved user experience

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 3, 2012

HP today announced updates to its HP MagCloud portfolio, with features that provide publishers improved options in both print and digital offerings.

  • The redesigned MagCloud iPad application (app) is more intuitive, offers improved functionality and supports the Retina display of the new iPad. The new app lets users sign in to their HP MagCloud account to download and read digital publications previously purchased through MagCloud.com, and enables them to store and manage purchased publications in a cloud-based library. The app also allows publishers to insert hyperlinks into their publications, providing a richer reader experience and new monetization options for advertisers. The HP MagCloud iPad app is available at no additional cost in the iPad App Store.
  • The square product is a new compact publication format that is ideal for portfolios, look books, small catalogs, handbooks and more. It can be perfect bound or saddle stitched and is 8 inches wide by 8 inches tall.
  • Expanding the flyer product options beyond standard letter size, new formats are 8 inches by 8 inches, 5.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall and 8.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall. All are printed on premium paper stock, helping users give their publications a more professional feel. In addition, flyer products now come with the option of UV coating for increased durability. These new product sizes are ideal for wedding programs, real estate postcards and event flyers.

“HP MagCloud is committed to providing a service that helps businesses and publishers tailor their brand narrative and deliver it to their audience in the format they prefer, both print and digital, increasing brand awareness and, ultimately, their bottom line,” said Andrew Bolwell, chief MagClouder, HP.

How HP MagCloud works
Invented by HP Labs, the company’s central research arm, HP MagCloud is a web service that empowers users to self-publish and distribute content—for business or personal use—as a professional-quality print publication or digitally for mobile and online viewing.

With HP MagCloud, users can publish a portfolio, newsletter, catalog, branded magazine and more with just a few clicks of the mouse, and without a minimum order or cost barrier.

HP MagCloud can take a customer’s content from PDF to delivered printed publication in just three days. All content is printed to order using HP Indigo technology, delivering professional print quality with no waste or overruns, while reducing the impact on the environment. The same content uploaded for printing also can be made available for resale in the MagCloud storefront, as a digital download via the MagCloud iPad app or as a PDF for reading on any desktop or mobile device.

Additional information is available at www.magcloud.com.

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