MDA announces successful launch of Canada's DND Sapphire satellite


MDA announces successful launch of Canada's DND Sapphire satellite


RICHMOND, BC, Feb. 25, 2013 /CNW/ - MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. ("MDA" or "the Company") (TSX: MDA), a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that the Sapphire satellite developed by MDA for Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) has been launched into its proper orbit, and communication with the satellite has been established. The satellite was launched out of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India on February 25, 2013 at 4:26 a.m. PST.

Canada's Sapphire is the Department of National Defence's first dedicated operational military satellite. This space-based electro-optical sensor will track man-made space objects in Earth's orbit between 6,000 and 40,000 km in altitude, as part of Canada's continued support of Space Situational Awareness. Data from the Sapphire satellite will contribute to the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, enhancing the ability of both countries to detect and avoid the collision of critical space platforms with other satellites or pieces of debris.

Daniel Friedmann, MDA's president and CEO said, "We are very pleased to see the Sapphire satellite successfully launched. This is MDA's first solution for the growing space surveillance market. Studies have shown that with increases in space debris, and the threat to the systems and services growing, space-based space surveillance will become more and more crucial to provide collision avoidance capabilities and prevent system and service loss."

MDA will also operate and maintain the Sapphire System for five years following system commissioning, expected approximately three months from deployment. The Company's responsibilities include relaying assigned taskings from DND to the satellite, processing the collected information, and sending the data to the Sensor System Operations Centre (SSOC) operated by DND at 22 Wing in North Bay, Ontario. Upon receipt of the processed data, the SSOC will correlate, identify, archive and transmit the information to the United States' Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC).

MDA is the prime contractor for the Sapphire program. The Sapphire contractor team includes Terma A/S of Herlev, Denmark, COM DEV International of Cambridge, Ontario, and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of Surrey, England. The launch provider is Antrix Corporation Ltd. of Sriharikota, India.

About MDA
MDA is a global communications and information company providing operational solutions to commercial and government organizations worldwide.

MDA's business is focused on markets and customers with strong repeat business potential. In addition the Company conducts a significant amount of advanced technology development.

MDA's well-established global customer base is served by more than 4,500 employees operating from 11 offices located in the United States, Canada, and internationally.

The Company's common shares trade under the symbol TSX:MDA.

About Terma
Terma develops products and systems for defense, non-defense, and security applications, including command and control systems, radar systems, self-protection systems for ships and aircraft, space technology, and advanced aerostructures for the international aircraft industry. The company, headquartered at Aarhus, Denmark, has a total staff of 1,100 and realized 2011 revenues of USD 248 million, and maintains international subsidiaries and operations in The Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, and in the U.S.

About COM DEV
COM DEV International Ltd. (www.comdevintl.com) is a leading global provider of space hardware and services. The company has a staff of 1,300, annual revenues of $208 million, and facilities in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. COM DEV designs, manufactures, and integrates advanced products, subsystems and microsatellites that are sold to major satellite prime contractors, government agencies and satellite operators, for use in communications, space science, remote sensing and defense applications. The company has won contracts to supply its equipment on over 900 spacecraft. COM DEV's majority-owned subsidiary, exactEarth Ltd., provides satellite data services for global maritime surveillance.

About SSTL
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is the world's leading small satellite company, delivering operational space missions for a range of applications including Earth observation, science and communications. The Company designs, manufactures and operates high performance satellites and ground systems for a fraction of the price normally associated with space missions, with 500 staff working on turnkey satellite platforms, space-proven satellite subsystems and optical instruments.

Since 1981 SSTL has built and launched 39 satellites - as well as providing training and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA, international governments and commercial customers, with its innovative approach that is changing the economics of space. Headquartered in Guildford, UK, SSTL is owned by Astrium BV.

About Antrix
Antrix Corporation Limited is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India. Antrix Corporation Limited was incorporated as a private limited company owned by Government of India, in September 1992 as a Marketing arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO. Another major objective is to facilitate development of space related industrial capabilities in India.

Related Websites:
www.mdacorporation.com
www.terma.com
www.comdevintl.com
www.sstl.co.uk
www.antrix.gov.in

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and information, which reflect the current view of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. ("MDA" or the "Company") with respect to future events and financial performance.  When used in this news release, the words "believes", "expects", "plans", "may", "will", "would", "could", "should", "anticipates", "estimates", "project", "intend" or "outlook" or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Known risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: risks associated with operating satellites and providing satellite services, including satellite construction or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit failures or impaired satellite performance; risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, cyclicality of MDA's end-user markets, contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of MDA's factory and personnel; risk associated with financial factors such as volatility in exchange rates, increases in interest rates, restrictions on access to capital, and swings in global financial markets; risks associated with domestic and foreign government regulation, including export controls and economic sanctions; and other risks, including litigation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. The information contained in this news release reflects MDA's beliefs, assumptions, intentions, plans and expectations as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, MDA disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise the information herein.

For additional information with respect to certain of these risks or factors, plus additional risks or factors, reference should be made to the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.mdacorporation.com.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the form or content of this release.

 

SOURCE: MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.

For further information:

Wendy Keyzer
MDA External Relations
(604) 231-2743
wendy@mdacorporation.com











































































Toronto Based PlanIT Search Now Offers Turnkey Contract Administration to Streamline Implementation of ERP Installations

Toronto Based PlanIT Search Now Offers Turnkey Contract Administration to Streamline Implementation of ERP Installations

Toronto, Canada, February 22, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Leading IT recruitment experts PlanIT Search have announced that the company is now offering full turnkey contract administration to their clientele across the US. The Toronto based company is helping clients to streamline implementation of the latest ERP solutions by introducing a process that presents both clients and candidates with the requisite resources to seamlessly complete working contracts.

Companies are now putting more resources than ever before toward IT solutions that allow them to automate key in-house processes. With ERP systems from vendors such as Oracle, IBM and SAP now playing an instrumental role within top businesses across the globe, it is a mission-critical objective to ensure that these organizations have access to qualified experts to manage such ERP systems. Toronto based PlanIT Search is the foremost leader in helping business across both the US and Canada capitalize on the implementation of ERP systems.

The company’s new turnkey contract administration process will ensure that clients and candidates are presented with a dedicated account manager. The account managers are team members who have years of business experience within the IT sector and can offer advice in real-time on emerging workplace conflicts that may take place during the completion of the working contract. By offering their new contract administration services, PlanIT Search ensures that all parties have a recourse when issues arise, providing a third-party problem solving solution that ensures success in the working relationship.

To learn more about PlanIT Search and the company’s new turnkey contract administration services, please visit www.planitsearch.com.

Contact Information
PlanIT Search
Daiana Peruzzi
(416) 987-1085
Contact
www.PlanITSearch.com

Dell Makes Wireless Docking a Reality with the Industry’s First and Only WiGig Docking Station

Dell Makes Wireless Docking a Reality with the Industry’s First and Only WiGig Docking Station

  • New Dell Wireless Dock provides best-in-class untethered docking experience with the Dell Latitude 6430u Ultrabook™ for fast, flexible connectivity between devices and peripherals
  • WiGig standard led by Dell and Wilocity marks new era in mainstream wireless with speeds up to 10 times faster than Wi-Fi and the ability to transmit high quality video streams

Latitude 6430u Notebook Wireless Dock Dell today announced the availability of the Dell Wireless Dock, the industry’s first and only docking solution based on the latest multi-gigabit tri-band Wi-Fi standard (WiGig) and compatible with the award-winning Dell Latitude 6430u Ultrabook™ for a best –in-class wireless docking experience. The new WiGig standard begins an exciting new era in mainstream wireless connectivity with speeds up to 10 times that of today’s fastest Wi-Fi networks.

Designed for use in offices, meeting rooms and classrooms, the Dell Wireless Dock offers quick and easy connectivity to displays, projectors, networks, speakers and other peripherals for unparalleled connectivity and convenience. The new dock supports up to two external displays with both DisplayPort and HDMI, features ample peripheral connectivity via three USB 3.0 ports and facilitates easy collaboration with a front Audio In/Out port for voice over IP at speeds of up to 4.6 gigabits per second. The Dell Wireless Dock can also be easily managed connect with the updated Dell Connection Manager supporting that now supports both WiGig and Wireless LAN settings. 

Especially ideal as a connectivity solution in conference rooms and classrooms, the Dell Wireless Dock supports cable-free, seamless transitions between multiple presenters and hassle-free collaboration. An adapter is available for VGA-based infrastructures and an Ethernet connector helps ensure dedicated, stable bandwidth for fast data transfers and efficient communication with remote locations. Additionally, the Dell Wireless Dock has the same level of usability and easy integration as the current Latitude E Series Docking Stations with remote access, monitor and configuration for business class control. 

With the potential to offer many advanced uses, such as virtually instantaneous wireless backups, synchronization and file transfers between computers and handheld devices, the WiGig standard (802.11ad) is the result of close industry collaboration lead by Dell and Wilocity. Based on the proven IEEE 802.11 standard specification for long-term stability, WiGig offers the same level of security and manageability as today’s best WLAN technologies. WiGig is powered by the first 60 GHz multi-gigabit wireless chipsets developed by Wilocity and brought to the Dell Latitude 6430u by Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. 

Quotes
“We are proud to introduce the Dell Wireless Dock, the industry’s first and only WiGig dock that is the result of a five-year-long leadership effort. WiGig represents a new era in wireless connectivity and a shift in the way enterprises and consumers will experience connectivity and interact with their devices in the future,” said Kirk Schell, vice president, commercial PC group, Dell. “The Dell Wireless Dock is the latest example of our approach to develop cutting edge, innovative solutions that benefit our customers.”

"Multi-gigabit wireless connectivity in the 60 GHz spectrum is no longer about technology demos and future-state conversations," said Tal Tamir, chief executive officer of Wilocity. "We're proud to help Dell be first to market in bringing the wireless capacity and performance of WiGig to its customers in the Latitude 6430u and Wireless Dock. Dell's WiGig dock allows for closed lid operation, significantly reducing power consumption, as well as adding interfaces that do not reside natively in the 6430u. These attributes, in addition to the convenience of high-speed wireless connectivity, will provide Dell customers with an unparalleled computing experience."

“Today’s computer users require top-notch connectivity in their devices, whether for wireless docking within a room or office, or more broadly throughout the premises,” said Vivek Gupta, vice president and general manager of computing, Qualcomm Atheros. “Our tri-band solution provides reliable wireless connectivity and sets the stage to enable a broad range of applications, such as data syncing and video streaming, all while maintaining wireless docking capabilities. We’re pleased to be working with two ecosystem leaders—Dell and Wilocity—in providing this technology.”

Availability and Pricing
The Dell Wireless Dock is available today worldwide for $249US.


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

Leading Global Humanitarian Organization Selects Cloud to Help Enhance Capacity and Response

Leading Global Humanitarian Organization Selects Cloud to Help Enhance Capacity and Response
Feb. 25, 2013
Microsoft technologies to be implemented as the standard communications platform in Geneva and preferred option for Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies worldwide.

REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 25, 2013 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has expanded on a global Enterprise Agreement with a new Memorandum of Understanding to offer Microsoft Office 365 and other products as the standard communications and collaboration platform for its National Societies worldwide, helping provide greater licensing flexibility. The signing has the potential to serve more than 1 million volunteers and staff members in the network. 

Through this renewed and expanded partnership with Microsoft, the IFRC is aiming to help these National Societies grow stronger by more strategically using technology advances such as cloud services, while making the best use of the resources and investments made by donors. Already two of the estimated 80 early-qualifying National Societies — in Bangladesh and Namibia — have deployed Office 365, and many more are expected to follow close behind.

“The success we saw from real-world use of Office 365 in our American and Danish Red Cross Societies helped pave the way to this broader adoption,” said Edward Happ, Global Chief Information Officer, IFRC. “And now, for the first time in our history, all of our National Societies will have the ability to free up IT spending and time to focus more of their resources on the activities that are ultimately saving lives.”

Prior to signing the agreement for Office 365, the IFRC was actively seeking a solution to address its internal digital divide and provide smaller National Societies with access to the same tools, same technologies and same modern processes that the larger National Societies have. Based on its fundamental principle of universality, providing equal access to entirely new ways of working regardless of location ensures the National Societies become more efficient, participate more fully in the work of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, work more closely with their partners in the broader organization, and are better able to reach out to the vulnerable communities they serve.

“Microsoft is uniquely positioned to help create a secure framework for improved access to technology without compromising on capabilities or effectiveness,” said Laura Ipsen, corporate vice president, Microsoft Worldwide Public Sector. “I am proud that our collaboration with the IFRC will generate new opportunities to achieve their goals and deliver real impact for millions of beneficiaries around the world.”

Finding a company with global deployment expertise and an understanding of how important technology is for providing on-the-ground communications and organizational tools was a critical factor in the IFRC’s decision. Now, with the support of Microsoft’s reliable cloud computing technologies and robust security features, the IFRC will be able to provide all stakeholders with a world-class technology platform no matter where they are and improve the process of delivering new programs directly to recipients.

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on theMicrosoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

About the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network, reaching 150 mil¬lion people each year through our 187 member National Societies. Together, we act before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. We do so with impartiality as to nationality, race, gender, religious beliefs, class and political opinions.

About Microsoft

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

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

IBM and Nokia Siemens Networks announce world’s first mobile edge computing platform #MWC13


Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain – February 25, 2013
 
 
IBM and Nokia Siemens Networks announce world’s first mobile edge computing platform #MWC13
 
Nokia Siemens Networks and IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today a collaboration to deliver the world’s first mobile edge computing platform that can run applications directly within a mobile base station. This new platform allows mobile operators to create a truly unique mobile experience, relieve the ever increasing strain on network infrastructure and bring completely new solutions to market.
 
The new platform can accelerate the delivery of media-rich services by delivering content directly from the base station, ensuring enhanced quality of experience for consumers in the face of ever increasing data traffic growth. The platform also enables a new generation of low-latency services with device presence to be delivered to consumers, creating new possibilities for mobile gaming, augmented reality, smarter traffic and public safety offerings, and more.
 
Improved latency can enable high-value vertical solutions that rely on big data-driven analytics to work on very large amounts of information in real time. For example, IBM’s City in Motion solution can analyze radio information to estimate how people are moving through a city, identify their mode of transport, and configure a cities transport network in real time to ensure optimum performance. To see a demonstration at Mobile World Congress, visit IBM (Hall 3, booth 3B86) or Nokia Siemens Networks (Hall 3, booth 3B14) at the show.
 
Nokia Siemens Networks Liquid Applications and IBM’s WebSphere Application Service Platform for Networks (ASPN) together provide an environment for operators to manage the many applications that will be deployed to the mobile edge. Liquid Applications is part of Nokia Siemens Networks Liquid Broadband framework enabling a unique interaction between a mobile subscriber’s smart device, their applications and the mobile network. The company’s Radio Applications Cloud Server (RACS) is fully integrated with the Nokia Siemens Networks’ Flexi Multiradio Base Station and features access to real-time network data that has never been exploited before. RACS integrates IBM’s ASPN platform and provides a standards-based cloud runtime environment, and is designed to allow mobile operators to deploy, run and integrate applications to the mobile edge.
 
“Liquid Applications is set to redefine the mobile broadband experience,” said Dirk Lindemeier, head of Liquid Net at Nokia Siemens Networks. “It creates a completely new base for innovation in an increasingly commoditized connectivity market and enables the creation of new value from mobile networks.”
 
“Pushing applications, processing and storage to the edge of the mobile network allows large complex problems to be distributed into many smaller and more manageable pieces and to be physically located at the source of the information it needs to work on,” said Phil Buckellew, vice president, IBM Mobile Enterprise. “This enables a huge amount of rich data to be processed in real time that would be prohibitively complex and costly to deliver on a traditional centralized cloud.”
 
Network operators, customers, press and analysts are welcome to see a demonstration on Liquid Applications at the Nokia Siemens Networks Solution Experience Center, Hall 3, 3B14 at Mobile World Congress, Fira Gran Via, in Barcelona, Spain.
 
To learn more about Nokia Siemens Networks’ advances and innovations in Liquid Broadband and Liquid Applications, please join our #1GBperday$ webinar on March 6, 2013. Registration for all the #1GBperday$ webinars is open now: www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/1GBperday.
 
For more information on Nokia Siemens Networks’ mobile broadband capabilities, including a video overview, follow this link. To share your thoughts on the topic, join the discussion on Twitter using #MWC13, #1GBperday$, #LiquidBroadband, #MBBFuture and #mobilebroadband.
 
 
About IBM
To learn more about IBM‘s communications industry solutions please visit: http://www-935.ibm.com/industries/communications/
 
 
About Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is the world’s specialist in mobile broadband. From the first ever call on GSM, to the first call on LTE, we operate at the forefront of each generation of mobile technology. Our global experts invent the new capabilities our customers need in their networks. We provide the world’s most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services to make it all work seamlessly.
 
With headquarters in Espoo, Finland, we operate in over 100 countries and had net sales of approximately 13.8 billion euros in 2012. http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com
 
 
Media Enquiries
 
Nokia Siemens Networks
Media Relations
Nokia Siemens Networks
Media Relations
PO Box 1
FI-02022 Nokia Siemens Networks

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMC Introduces World’s Most Powerful Hadoop Distribution: Pivotal HD

EMC Introduces World’s Most Powerful Hadoop Distribution: Pivotal HD
 
Unlocks Hadoop as Key to Big Data’s Transformational Potential for Data-Driven Enterprises; Delivers Over 100X Performance Improvement with HAWQ
 
San Francisco, CA – February 25, 2013
 
News Summary:
 
-EMC’s new Pivotal HD is an Apache Hadoop distribution that natively integrates the industry-leading EMC Greenplum massively parallel processing (MPP) database technology with the Apache Hadoop framework.
 
-The engineering innovation and technology called HAWQ™, brings Greenplum’s decade of research and development on the industry’s best MPP analytical database platform to Apache Hadoop, the open-source Big Data platform.
 
-New HAWQ technology brings more than 100X performance improvement (in some cases up to 600X) to a wide range of query types and workloads, making Pivotal HD the single most powerful Hadoop distribution in the industry.
 
-Pivotal HD with HAWQ represents the world’s first true SQL processing for Hadoop, expanding the platform’s reach to SQL programmers and developers, as well as enabling compatibility with traditional BI tools.

 

Full Story:

 

EMC® Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced a new distribution of Apache Hadoop: Pivotal HD. Pivotal HD features native integration of EMC’s industry leading Greenplum® massively parallel processing (MPP) database with Apache Hadoop—the most cost-effective and flexible open source Big Data platform ever developed.  The new EMC Greenplum-developed HAWQ™ technology brings 10 years of large scale data management research and development to Hadoop and delivers more than 100X performance improvements when compared to existing SQL-like services on top of Hadoop, making Pivotal HD the single most powerful Hadoop distribution in the industry.

 

Hadoop has rapidly emerged as the preferred solution for Big Data analytics applications that grapple with vast repositories of unstructured data. It is flexible, scalable, inexpensive, fault-tolerant, and enjoys rapid adoption rates and a rich ecosystem surrounded by massive investment. However, customers face high hurdles to broadly adopting Hadoop as their singular data repository due to a lack of useful interfaces and high-level tooling for Business Intelligence and datamining—components that are critical to data analytics and building a data-driven enterprise. As the world’s first true SQL processing for Hadoop, Pivotal HD addresses these challenges.

 

By offering the full spectrum of the SQL interface, and by extension, the entire ecosystem of products that support SQL, customers no longer need an army of developers to build a dashboard or run a report. Unlike competitive Hadoop distributions, Pivotal HD does this without moving data between systems or using connectors that require users to store the data twice. Pivotal HD cuts out the complexity of using Hadoop, thus expanding the platform’s potential and productivity, and allowing customers to enjoy the benefits of the most cost-effective and flexible data processing platform ever developed.

 

About HAWQ

 

HAWQ (pronounced hawk) represents the EMC Greenplum engineering effort that brings 10 years of large-scale data management research and development to the Apache Hadoop framework. Leveraging the feature richness and maturity of the industry leading Greenplum MPP analytical database, this innovation has resulted in the world’s first true SQL parallel database on top of the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). HAWQ is the key differentiating technology in making Pivotal HD the world’s most powerful Hadoop distribution. Capabilities of note include Dynamic Pipelining, a world-class query optimizer, horizontal scaling, SQL compliant, interactive query, deep analytics, and support for common Hadoop formats.

 

Pivotal HD and HAWQ Deliver:

 

-True SQL Query Capabilities – With Pivotal HD’s advanced database services (HAWQ) enterprises can now unlock the potential of Hadoop’s scalable, fault-tolerant storage capabilities by bringing to bear the vast pool of “data worker” tools and languages into the Hadoop ecosystems.  With Pivotal HD’s support for true, SQL-standards compliant query interfaces data mining tools, SQL-trained data analysts, and standard BI tools can now easily connect to, query, and analyze data sets stored in the Hadoop file system (HDFS).

 

-Unprecedented Query Performance – Bringing over 10 years of parallel database processing technology to Hadoop, Pivotal HD delivers query response time improvements that are up to 600x faster than current SQL-like interfaces for Hadoop.

 

-Robust Operational Support – Command Centre enables administrators and developers to easily install and manage large clusters from interactive web user interfaces. Command Centre also exposes Command Line Interface for scripting and programmer friendly web services API for complex automation tasks. Using Command Centre administrators can deploy large cluster, configure services/roles, manage services and monitor HDFS jobs and tasks.

 

Hadoop—The Foundation for Change

 

EMC believes that Hadoop has the potential to reach beyond Big Data to catalyze new levels of business productivity and transformation. As the foundation for change in business, Hadoop represents an unprecedented opportunity to improve how organizations can get the most value from large amounts of data. Businesses that rely on Hadoop as the core of their infrastructure can not only do analytics on top of vast amounts of data, but can also go beyond analytics and the foundation for that data layer to build applications that are meaningful, and that have a very tightly coupled relationship with the data. Consumer Internet companies have reaped the benefits of this approach, and EMC believes more traditional enterprises will adopt the same model as they evolve and transform their businesses.

 

Pivotal HD is expected to be available at the end of the first quarter of this year as a software-only or appliance-based solution, backed by EMC’s global 24x7 support infrastructure.

 

Executive Quotes:

 

Scott Yara, senior vice president of products, Greenplum, a division of EMC

 

“Hadoop is a big deal and poised, for many enterprises, as the key to unlock Big Data’s transformational potential. Marrying the extraordinary capabilities of the Greenplum technology—essentially the Greenplum crown jewels—with this amazing open-source phenomenon has been no small feat. But we’re ‘all in’ — investing in a manner that no other company is — to help catapult Hadoop into wide-scale adoption.”

 

Steven Hirsch, chief data officer, SVP Global Data Services, NYSE Euronext

 

“With Pivotal HD, we can check off many of the items on our Hadoop wish-list—things like plug-in support for the ecosystem of tools, improved data management and greater elasticity in terms of the storage and compute layer. But above all, it provides true SQL query interfaces for data workers and tools—not a superficial implementation of the kind that’s so common today, but a native implementation that delivers the capability of real and true SQL processing and optimization. Having a single Hadoop infrastructure for Big Data investigation and analysis changes everything. Now add to all of this functionality the fact that the SQL performance is up to 100x faster than other offerings and you have an environment that we at NYSE Euronext are extremely excited about.”

 

Jeff Kelly, Big Data analyst, The Wikibon Project

 

“By integrating the Greenplum database natively within Hadoop, Pivotal HD opens up Big Data analytics to a new class of practitioner – the savvy business user –providing both real-time query responsiveness via a familiar SQL interface and eliminating the need to move data back and forth between Hadoop and separate analytic databases. Most importantly, by providing both real-time and batch analytics capabilities in a single environment, Pivotal HD moves Hadoop several steps closer to realizing its full potential as the de facto, comprehensive Big Data platform of the 21st century.”

 

Sam Grocott, vice president of marketing and product management, EMC Isilon

 

“The introduction of Pivotal HD, combined with EMC Isilon’s native integration of the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) protocol, continues the evolution of the industry's first and only enterprise-proven Hadoop solution on a scale-out NAS architecture. This powerful combination succeeds in reducing the complexities traditionally associated with Hadoop deployments and allows enterprises to easily extract business value from unstructured data.”

 

Partners Supporting the Pivotal HD announcement:

Find out what our partners are saying about Pivotal HD by clicking here.

 

Additional Resources

 

-Learn more about Pivotal HD

-Read more about Pivotal HD on EMC Pulse, EMC’s news and technology blog

-Read the blog from Greenplum Solutions Architect Donald Miner: Introducing Pivotal HD

-Interview: Former CTO for the Obama 2012 Campaign Harper Reed on the Power of Data, at Hadoop: the Foundation for Change

-For the latest industry news, research, webcasts and use cases covering Big Data, analytics, and the data scientist community visit the Greenplum Media Center

-Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Greenplum

 

About Greenplum, a division of EMC

 

Greenplum, a division of EMC, is driving the future of Big Data analytics with breakthrough products that harness the skills of data science teams to help global organizations realize the full promise of business agility and become data-driven, predictive enterprises. The division's products include Greenplum® Unified Analytics Platform, Greenplum® Data Computing Appliance, Greenplum® Database, Greenplum® Analytics Lab, Greenplum® HD and Greenplum® Chorus™. They embody the power of open systems, cloud computing, virtualization and social collaboration, enabling global organizations to gain greater insight and value from their data than ever before possible. Learn more at www.greenplum.com

 

About EMC

 

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

 

EMC Canada (www.EMC2.ca), headquartered in Toronto with nine offices from coast to coast, is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

-30-

For more information contact:

Mike Martin /Stephanie Williams

StrategicAmpersand Inc.

416-961-5595

mike@stratamp.com

stephanie@stratamp.com

 

EMC, Greenplum, HAWQ, Pivotal HD, and Chorus are trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.

 

This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Federal Securities Laws.  Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v) component and product quality and availability; (vi) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (viii) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (ix) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xii) threats and other disruptions to our secure data centres or networks; (xiii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xiv) war or acts of terrorism; and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

 

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

DATA CENTERS CANADA ACHIEVES SSAE 16 COMPLIANCE AT ITS TORONTO NORTH DATA CENTER FACILITY

DATA CENTERS CANADA ACHIEVES SSAE 16 COMPLIANCE AT ITS TORONTO NORTH DATA CENTER FACILITY 

Toronto, Ontario Canada - February 25, 2013 - Data Centers Canada a data center provider which operates, develops and manages 
Canadian real estate for the purpose of providing turn-key data center solutions including colocation and disaster recovery 
solutions for enterprises, today announced that it has successfully achieved SSAE 16 compliance at its Toronto North Data 
Center Facility. 

The SSAE 16 attestation standard which replaced the legacy SAS70 industry standard is governed by the Auditing Standards 
Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The attestation process validates the 
internal controls of service organizations (including data center providers) based on the company's technology, business 
processes, physical security and infrastructure. 

"We are extremely pleased in achieving this accolade", noted Tony Di Benedetto, Managing Partner at Data Centers Canada. 
"This achievement reinforces our commitment to providing operational excellence to our clients. Achieving SSAE certification 
validates our mandate on providing world class facilities to house mission critical data and infrastructure.", added Di Benedetto. 

Independent consulting firm, Assure Professional performed the comprehensive SOC 1 type 2 audit of Data Centers Canada's Toronto 
North Facility that included testing of its various controlled environments including; security, operations, management, 
infrastructure and network operations. "We were very pleased with the operational platform Data Centers Canada operates", 
commented Juan Vargas, Senior IT Security Auditor at Assure Professional. "The quality and scope of the various controls 
and systems in place at the Toronto North Facility have proven that this data center facility operates at the highest 
standards of excellence." 

Data Centers Canada Toronto North Facility based in Vaughan, Ontario Canada is a 20,000 square foot facility which provides data 
center colocation services to various enterprises globally including; Government, Fortune 1000 and numerous Technology Service 
Providers. The Toronto North Facility provides a flexible and scalable data center platform which allows enterprises 
to house their mission critical or disaster recovery infrastructure in a secure, resilient data center footprint in the Canadian 
geography. 

About Data Centers Canada (DCC) 

Data Centers Canada is a Canadian based data center owner / operator which provides turn-key data center solutions including 
colocation and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises who seek to cost effectively expand their data center capacity or 
outsource existing data center operations. 

For additional information please; 

visit: www.datacenterscanada.com 
e-mail: sales@datacenterscanada.com 
call: 1-888-591-4778

Gartner Says 25 Percent of Distributed Denial of Services Attacks in 2013 Will Be Application-Based

Gartner Says 25 Percent of Distributed Denial of Services Attacks in 2013 Will Be Application-Based

E-Commerce and Financial Services Companies to Be Hit by Increasingly Sophisticated Attacks and Attackers in 2013

Twenty-five percent of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that occur in 2013 will be application-based, according to Gartner, Inc. During such incidents, attackers send out targeted commands to applications to tax the central processing unit (CPU) and memory and make the application unavailable.

"2012 witnessed a new level of sophistication in organized attacks against enterprises across the globe, and they will grow in sophistication and effectiveness in 2013," said Avivah Litan, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "A new class of damaging DDoS attacks and devious criminal social-engineering ploys were launched against U.S. banks in the second half of 2012, and this will continue in 2013 as well-organized criminal activity takes advantage of weaknesses in people, processes and systems."

Gartner has identified some of the top 2013 criminal trends and potential safeguards and solutions for firms at risk of attack.

High-bandwidth DDoS attacks are becoming the new norm and will continue wreaking havoc on unprepared enterprises in 2013

A new class of damaging DDoS attacks was launched against U.S. banks in the second half of 2012, sometimes adding up to 70 Gbps of noisy network traffic blasting at the banks through their Internet pipes. Until this recent spate of attacks, most network-level DDoS attacks consumed only five Gbps of bandwidth, but more recent levels made it impossible for bank customers and others using the same pipes to get to their websites.

"To combat this risk, enterprises need to revisit their network configurations, and rearchitect them to minimize the damage that can be done," said Ms. Litan. "Organizations that have a critical Web presence and cannot afford relatively lengthy disruptions in online service should employ a layered approach that combines multiple DOS defenses."

Hackers use DDoS attacks to distract security staff so that they can steal sensitive information or money from accounts

Enterprises subject to DDoS attacks should take steps to mitigate potential damage from these attacks. In particular, Gartner advocates cooperation with industry associations to share intelligence that can be acted on collectively and quickly, as well as enterprise investments in fraud prevention technology and the strengthening of organizational processes.

People continue to be the weakest link in the security chain, as criminal social engineering ploys reach new levels of deviousness in 2013

In 2012, several different fraud scams that took social engineering tactics to new heights of deviousness have been reported, including criminals approaching people in person as law enforcement or bank officers to help them through account migration that then comprised their bank accounts.

Gartner recommends deploying layered fraud prevention and identity-proofing techniques to help stop the social engineering attacks from succeeding. In particular, fraud prevention systems that provide user or account behavioral profiling and entity link analysis are useful in these cases. Call center call analytics and fraud prevention software can be deployed to help catch fraudsters committing crimes via social engineering or by using stolen identities. Customers should also be educated on best security practices to help them avoid phishing attacks and social engineering ploys.

More detailed analysis is available in the report "Arming Financial and E-Commerce Services Against Top 2013 Cyberthreats" The report is available on Gartner's website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=2320416.

More information on security solutions and management will be presented at the Gartner Identity and Access Management Summit taking place March 11-13 in London, U.K. More information can be found athttp://www.gartner.com/technology/summits/emea/identity-access/. Members of the media can register to attend the event by contact Rob van der Meulen at rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com.

Information from the Gartner IAM Summit 2013 will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gartner_incusing #GartnerIAM.

Gartner analysts will also look at the outlook for security solutions at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit taking place June 10-13 in National Harbor, MD and September 18-20 in London, U.K. More information on the U.S. event can be found at www.gartner.com/us/itsecurity. Details on the U.K. event are athttp://www.gartner.com/technology/summits/emea/security/. Members of the media can register for press passes to the Summits by contacting christy.pettey@gartner.com (U.S.), or laurence.goasduff@gartner.com(U.K).

Information from the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summits 2013 will be shared on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/Gartner_inc using #GartnerSEC.

Contacts
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 the valuable partner to clients in 12,000 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 5,000 associates, including 1,280 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, www.gartner.com.

New Brunswick technology firm signs national distribution agreement with Cardinal Health


New Brunswick technology firm signs national distribution agreement with Cardinal Health


FREDERICTON, NB, Feb. 22, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - New Brunswick-based cloud technology firm iTacit Inc. today announced it has signed a national distribution agreement  with Cardinal Health Canada, to distribute iTacit's workforce optimization platform - 'iTacit for Healthcare', which includes Talent Management, Social Collaboration, Document Sharing and Surveys. Cardinal Health is a Fortune 21, $103 billion healthcare services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of healthcare and employs more than 30,000 people worldwide.

Cardinal Health Canada will offer the healthcare edition of iTacit's comprehensive, one employee, one record platform across Canada with a key focus on the Long Term Care and Seniors Living market.

iTacit, Inc., an emerging cloud technology company with presence in both the Unites States and Canada, develops next generation solutions in the areas of workforce optimization , organizational intelligence and Big Data analytics.

"Partnering with a world-class leader, such as Cardinal Health, will allow us to make our solution available to a much broader audience and further establish ourselves as a leader in the Canadian marketplace," said Trevor Cookson, iTacit's Chief Executive Officer.

"We continue to be committed in delivering comprehensive, out-of-the-box solutions tailored to the real needs of specific sectors." said Patrick Parent, iTacit's Chief Operating Officer.  "Our iTacit for Healthcare edition was built in direct response to feedback our team received in the field, taking into consideration suggestions from employees and management at every level".

About iTacit Inc.

iTacit is a next-generation technology company that builds cost-effective products to connect and engage your team, making your organization smarter. Our comprehensive multilingual workforce optimization cloud platform includes Talent Management, Social Collaboration, Document Sharing and Surveys. Furthermore iTacit develops Big Data technology that delivers unprecedented visibility into an organization. For more information please visit: www.itacit.com or contact us at info@itacit.com

SOURCE: iTacit Inc.

For further information:

Media contact:

Patrick Parent

506-453-7258











































































































































CRTC finalizes wholesale rates for independent service providers

CRTC finalizes wholesale rates for independent service providers

OTTAWAFeb. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) established final rates for the wholesale high-speed access services used by independent service providers to offer competitively priced Internet and other services. As a result of certain adjustments, some independent service providers will see significant reductions in the wholesale rates they pay.

"Large and small independent service providers now have the certainty they need to continue offering Canadians a choice of innovative and competitive services," said Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman of the CRTC. "We are pleased to finally close this chapter after a careful examination of the wholesale rates, which included a review of the costing information."

All large telephone and cable companies that provide wholesale high-speed access services to independent service providers must now use a single billing model and offer the same rates for business and residential end-users. This will result in a more straightforward billing process for independent service providers. Previously, certain large companies charged different rates under different billing models for wholesale and residential business services.

The final wholesale rates are based on the large telephone and cable companies' costs, plus a reasonable markup. The rates enable large companies to recover their costs and make further investments in their networks.

Today's decisions apply only to the wholesale high-speed access services the large telephone and cable companies sell to independent service providers. The CRTC does not approve the rates and packages for Internet services offered to Canadian consumers at the retail level. The CRTC expects, however, that the final wholesale rates will have a favourable impact on prices charged in the competitive retail market.

Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2013-70
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-71
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-72
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-73
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-74
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-75
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-76
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-77
Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-78
Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2013-79
Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2013-80

Reference documents:

News release, "CRTC moving ahead with capacity-based billing," January 27, 2012
Telecom Decision CRTC 2012-60
News release, "CRTC supports choice of Internet services," November 15, 2011
Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-703
Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-704

The CRTC 
The CRTC is an administrative tribunal that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications inCanada.

Additional information on wholesale high-speed access services

In the late 1990s, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decided that it would not intervene in Internet services. There was enough competition to give Canadians choice. Internet service providers set the rates paid by consumers, as well as other terms and conditions, without having to obtain the CRTC's approval.

With the introduction of high-speed Internet services, the CRTC required large telephone and cable companies to sell access to their networks to independent service providers on a wholesale basis. Independent service providers use these services, known as wholesale high-speed access services, to offer Internet and other services to their own retail customers. This decision was taken to encourage further competition and choice for Canadians. By the end of 2011, independent service providers had more than 700,000 high-speed residential Internet subscribers, or nearly 7 per cent of the market.

In 2011, the CRTC launched a public consultation to review how the large companies should charge independent service providers for the use of their networks. Further to this consultation, the CRTC selected two wholesale billing models—the capacity-based and flat-rate models—that give independent service providers the flexibility to develop innovative packages and pricing plans. At the same time, these models allow the large companies to recover their costs and continue to invest in their networks.

Since then, several large companies and independent service providers have asked the CRTC to review the wholesale rates associated with these billing models. Some wholesale rates were implemented on an interim basis while the CRTC considered these requests.

The CRTC has now finalized the rates for wholesale high-speed access services.

SOURCE: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission