• Leading Dutch full-service web agency becomes new Intershop implementation partner
• Customers will benefit from fast project turnarounds and first-class local support
• Further expansion of Intershop partner network planned

Jena, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands - October 30, 2012 - Intershop Communications AG, a leading provider of innovative e-commerce solutions and services, has entered into a partnership with the Netherlands’ leading full-service web agency, Mirabeau. The partner agreement was signed by Intershop Management Board member Jochen Moll and head of Mirabeau Heini Withagen the week before last during the International Partner Days hosted by Intershop in Frankfurt. The goal of the alliance is to strengthen Intershop's presence in the Dutch market and offer online sellers an all-round package for their e-commerce initiative by leveraging the partners’ combined expertise.

“With Mirabeau, we have another strong implementation partner to help us drive our growth in Europe. Using the additional resources, we can not only offer Dutch online sellers an innovative e-commerce platform but also guarantee fast project turnarounds and first-class local support,” emphasises Intershop Management Board member Jochen Moll.

Heini Withagen, head of Mirabeau, adds: “We’re excited about our new partnership with Intershop because we believe in the stability, performance, and scalability of the new Intershop platform. As a result of our long experience in the e-commerce field, we have extensive expertise in the implementation and maintenance of software solutions for online retailing, which means our customers can rest assured that their e-commerce business is in safe hands.”

For the Jena-based software company, teaming with Mirabeau is another milestone in the implementation of its new sales strategy. As communicated at Intershop's International Partner Days, business via partners will become increasingly important and the global network of partners is set to grow significantly over the coming years. Just recently, Intershop announced agreements with Swedish systems integrator Sigma and US company Avalara.

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Zylpha (www.zylpha.com), the UK’s leading innovator of legal document production and distribution has announced the latest version of its Rapid RTA (Road Traffic Accident) integration system for law firms. The software which automates the transfer of case management information for claims made on the MOJ’s (Ministry of Justice’s) RTA portal significantly speeds up the process, whilst reducing costs and eliminating manual input errors.

The new version, which incorporates a host of enhancements, fully recognises the raft of changes, to the portal, that the MOJ introduced in September 2012. Consequently, the introduction of the latest version of Zylpha’s Rapid RTA software delivers the latest functionality in time for the MOJ’s ‘go live’ date. The system is also ready for the new rules applying from 2013, which will significantly raise the maximum possible value of RTA claims to nearly £25,000.

With the MOJ set to spread the use of the portal to other areas such as Employers’ Liability and Public Liability cases, Zylpha believes that the automation of Case Management information is set to become a best practice standard. Zylpha’s latest RTA system has therefore been developed to encompass these new areas as they arise and therein to drive ‘best practice’ on behalf of Zylpha’s clients.

Tim Long CEO of Zylpha, himself a qualified lawyer, believes that both the present and future changes by the MOJ are fuelling the demand for automation and efficiency. In his view, “We felt it was important to react promptly to the recent and forthcoming portal changes by the MOJ and to show that we will be ready from the relevant go live dates. In the last month, we have seen a dramatic increase in interest in the use of our Rapid RTA product from Legal Firms and also the Case Management providers, who have come under pressure from their clients to provide the facility.

“It does seem that the prospect of higher claims is driving interest in automation greatly. In part, this reflects demand from those handling larger cases where the costs of running the case are higher. This has ensured that achieving the highest possible levels of efficiency through automation is now a serious priority.

“In addition, the controversial news that the MOJ is intending to extend the use of this portal to handle Employers’ Liability and Public Liability cases, will affect a large number of PI focused firms. Ultimately, this development will drive the need for the automation of case information. Indeed, we believe that we are very close to seeing case management automation, such as that provided by Zylpha, becoming a best practice requirement.”

Zylpha’s RTA Software is seamlessly integrated with leading the Case Management solutions SolCase and Visualfiles from Lexis Nexis.

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

When leading West Midlands law firm Higgs & Sons decided to renew its IT, working in partnership with Phoenix enabled the company to implement and benefit from the latest technology. “We were faced with end-of-life Microsoft technology, while servers and front-of-line applications were also ageing,” says Stephen Brown, IT Director. “So we needed a change. We want to use the latest tools
and technologies to work as productively as we can and deliver the best client service possible.” The decision followed a complete office move to its new Waterfront facility that saw the firm install a new telephony system, LAN and WAN. “It was a natural progression, we knew we’d have a more up- to-date physical infrastructure to build on.” This was also an opportunity to consolidate and reduce the number of vendors.

Phoenix was already a technology supplier to the business. “We did look at other providers,” Brown says. “The decision eventually came down to the relationship we’d forged with Phoenix and the mutual trust we’d built up. Phoenix knew our old infrastructure well, and provided support and maintenance, so it was known and trusted. Phoenix also has that important relationship with Microsoft, and we knew we could make use of that.”

Complete software refresh
Brown says the project involved “completely ripping out the existing network”, implementing a brand new network and terminals across the business, centralising the infrastructure and upgrading all server technologies. As a result, centralised desktop management became a key benefit. Following a detailed planning phase, rollout across the firm’s 200-staff was completed in one week.

Phoenix deliverables included implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2012, Office 2010, Systems Centre essentials and Data Protection Manager. The firm’s Active Directory was upgraded, while Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation and management solution, Remote Desktop Services with RemoteFX were also installed.

All physical servers and storage are HP: 20 physical servers were replaced with three hosts running 40 virtual servers. R-class terminals were installed across the board, along with an RDS Gateway remote access solution and web technology.

“It went very smoothly,” Brown continues. “We are always conscious of continuity of service and the user experience. Although the firm understood the IT department was extremely busy they did not notice any difference immediately. The project team saw this as a positive as we completely changed all of the server architecture with zero disruption to the firm’s operations. As with any major project there are always some technical issues that need to be resolved and, because of Phoenix, we had the right access into Microsoft to resolve them. We were able to use a Microsoft stack all the way through, and we clearly saw the benefits - not least in licensing agreements.”

He says this activity formed part of a wider renewal programme that extended from the new back-end infrastructure, which had to be completed first, followed by all-new front-office applications, upgrading the phone system and providing mobility, then implementing a new Digital Dictation system to replace tapes and analogue devices. Brown continues, “This can be quite a conservative sector, and you can meet resistance in terms of new technologies. But the reality is that our clients are more and more demanding, and want access to a lawyer 24/7.

“So your people need the right tools to work as effectively and deliver as good a client service as possible – which puts the requirement back onto IT.”

Benefits delivered
Brown says the firm saw productivity gains in various areas: for example, moving from Office 2003 to 2010: “We started to see really interesting and innovative usage of the Microsoft toolkit.

Our new phone software also improved the user experience, especially when people are working away from the office, and we’ve been able to push full mobility onto the iPads. From an IT perspective, we’re looking at savings of around £20,000 a year through reduced power and cooling requirements, and lower maintenance costs. And we’ve reduced tape costs by around £10k per annum. Our experience of the Hyper-V virtual platform technology has been very positive, so we’re seeing a number of gains.”

A critical measure of success is how these changes will further improve how Higgs & Sons interact with clients to deliver an even better service. “That’s what it’s all about, everything we do must be focused on our clients’ requirements and the client experience - and we’re definitely seeing improvements in how we work. Our fee earners have the ability to more confidently administer their workload. They have the right tools at their disposal. We’re already discussing our next project with Phoenix, looking at areas such as enhancing our business continuity and further opportunities in virtualization – online backup, hot standbys, replication. Looking further ahead, I think Cloud will also become far more commonplace in the legal sector in a few years’ time.”

Brown adds, “Phoenix does have a ‘can do’ attitude and is flexible.

A key attitude from the Phoenix people was ‘we need to get this to work, and we’re going to work closely with Microsoft to properly implement and fine-tune the technology.’ There was trust on both sides, which is so important. Phoenix is big enough to deliver the services we want, and to have the right connections with vendors like Microsoft and all the technical ability behind the scenes, but it’s not so big that it’s lost the ability to treat you like a valued customer.”

Overview
Client
Ranking highly in the Legal 500 and employing 200 staff at its purpose-designed offices near Birmingham, leading regional law firm Higgs & Sons provides an extensive range of legal services to individuals and businesses.

Challenge
Update and enhance IT hardware and software infrastructure to deliver new toolsets and capabilities, improving service levels to users and for demanding clients who want 24/7 access to focused, efficient and highly responsive lawyers.

Solution
Consultancy, design, planning and implementation: Phoenix was a key element in a complete IT refresh, ranging from new servers (including hosting and virtual platforms) and SAN to a complete Microsoft stack with powerful new features and functionality.

Benefits
Improved flexibility, enhanced IT service delivery; new functionality enabling higher productivity; significant cost reductions relating to IT operations: £20k per annum a year savings in reduced power/cooling and lower maintenance, tape costs reduced by £10k p.a.

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

London, UK – 30th October 2012 – Seal Software and Dolphin Software Limited, a provider of solutions to discover, capture, extract and manage contracts, today announced the latest major release of its highly successful Dolphin Contract Manager (DCM) solution for Microsoft SharePoint.

Following extensive user feedback analysis and a continual desire to improve the solution, DCM v3 is set to continue the recent success of its predecessor with a raft of enhancements, new functionality and improvements.

Ulf Zetterberg, Chief Executive Officer, Seal Software and Dolphin Software Limited commented, “With many successful implementations of Dolphin Contract Manager across the globe, we were not content to sit back but instead wanted to continue to strive to improve the solution and push the boundaries. We believe the effort and investment we’ve made into the new DCM v3 will make a real difference to both existing and new customers.”

Among the many improvements and additions now available in DCM v3 are:

•  Multiple document library support – providing extensive metadata fields across each library with discrete administrative functions, ideal for global and multi-national organizations.
•  Configurable library navigation – with extended user configuration providing a tailored library view for users.
•  Search extensions – offering configurable aggregated views such as “Contracts owned by user”, “Contracts managed by user” etc. Additional predictive search capabilities across document libraries.
• Contract creation enhancements – tabulated display improving user experience.
• Configurable user interface – enhancements including links to locations outside of DCM, user specific menu layouts etc.
• Report security – additional user groups allowing reports to be made available or hidden to specific users only.
• Document security – greater control over document level security, including additional confidentiality fields to control document visibility in reports.

Dolphin Contract Manager v3 is available immediately to both new and existing customers.

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

Chicago – October 30, 2012 – 4G World 2012 Conference & Expo – Aepona today announced that its API Monetization Platform (AMP) was named the best Mobile Cloud Enabler in the Best of 4G Awards. Winners were announced at the Best of 4G Awards Ceremony at 4G World, the only conference and expo covering the entire ecosystem of next-generation 4G mobile broadband technologies, taking place this week in Chicago.

AMP is a Telco-grade software solution that allows Service Providers to expose, manage and monetize their network, contextual, commercial and informational assets as easy-to-use APIs. New APIs that combine Telco, IT and external assets can be quickly created and launched to third party organizations, such as Enterprises, SaaS providers and application developers, allowing them to easily enrich their services with mobility features. AMP’s integral Payments and Settlement engine allows API Services to be monetized through a range of business models, and enables application and content providers to charge for their services through the consumer’s mobile bill. AMP can be deployed by network operators (Mobile/Fixed/Cable/MSO) or by cross-network Cloud Service Providers, either on-premise or as a cloud-based, managed solution.

The Best of 4G Awards, now in its fourth year, recognize businesses and organizations that are leading innovation and driving the adoption of 4G mobile broadband. The awards program includes a wide range of categories and was open to all members of the mobile ecosystem. All submissions were reviewed by an independent panel of judges comprised of the industry’s leading analysts and academics.

“We are delighted to have earned this prestigious accolade, which recognizes the market-leading capabilities of Aepona’s AMP solution", said Michael Crossey, Aepona’s Chief Marketing Officer. “AMP enables Aepona’s Service Provider customers to better serve the needs of their partners, to differentiate their API services from their competitors, and to monetize their core assets in multiple ways.“

“The Best of 4G Awards celebrates excellence in 4G innovation,” says Joe Braue, General Manager of 4G World. “The caliber of entries received in this year’s awards was very high, and we congratulate Aepona for demonstrating outstanding innovation and leadership with their API Monetization Platform.”

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

London, 30 October 2012: The cost of survival for the modern Brit is £1,772.50 a month, according to research from online payments provider Skrill. The study, which forms part of Skrill’s Future of Money campaign, reveals insights into the value Brits place on money, with three in ten saying it is more important than their friends and 28 per cent agreeing it is a bigger priority than spending time with their family. The study also showed men believe they need an additional £343.69 per month more than women feel they need to survive, requiring £1,969.78 versus £1,626.09.

The Skrill representative research of 2,000 British adults* also revealed the relationship and health aspects that people will sacrifice when they are low on cash, which included cutting down on socialising with their friends, going out less with their partner and giving up exercising or going to the gym.

While £1,772.50 was revealed to be the average minimum figure needed for British adults to survive through a month, only an additional £150.25 was perceived to be required to be comfortable. In contrast, it seems it is a big leap to live a life of luxury, with Brits on average believing they need £4,413.50 a month for a lavish lifestyle.

East Anglia is the UK region where Brits need the least, averaging £1,383.93, compared to the West Midlands, where residents require the most – a significant £1,910.53 per month.

Siegfried Heimgaertner, CEO of Skrill, said: "As a global online payments provider we're already aware of different payment preferences and needs. With the Future of Money campaign, it's interesting to see how people perceive money differently not only by country, but also by regions and even gender.”

Money is an important part of our day-to-day lives and something that it is impossible to live without, so it is interesting to see how much people perceive they need and the value they place on that figure. When it comes down to survival, for many, money is a bigger priority than their friends, and even their own family.”

Watch Skrill’s ‘Cost of Survival’ video, revealing how a UK student tried to survive on £100 for a week, here.

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

London and New York, October 2012 – GOAL Group Limited, a claims outsourcing provider and tax reclamation specialist, today announced the appointment of Michael T. Bancroft, CPA to head up its new presence in the Americas based in Wilmington, DE.

Mr Bancroft has specialised in class action claims administration since the 1980s, with his case experience embracing security, antitrust, product, consumer, governmental and employment class actions.

Stephen Everard, CEO, GOAL Group, comments: “Michael’s 30+ years of experience in all aspects of claims administration, with one of the top claims administrators in the country, puts him in a unique and elite class.  His expertise in claims processing, court approved plans of allocations, settlement fund distribution and tax reporting makes him the perfect choice to head up our new U.S. office.”

GOAL Group’s new US operation, launched on October 1, extends the company’s services, widely employed in Europe and Asia, to a fully global client base, providing class action claim filing services to corporate pension funds, global custodians, banks, local government authorities, brokerage firms and hedge funds.  With the passing of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the U.S., foreign financial institutions are increasingly looking for help and services in reporting income and investments for US citizens, making tax reclamation and claim filing services essential.

Mr Bancroft started his career in 1979 at the Certified Public Accounting firm Heffler, Radetich & Saitta LLP, in Philadelphia, PA, and became a Partner in 1986, with his sole responsibilities relating to claims administration.  He left Heffler as the firm’s Litigation Department Head.

Michael Bancroft comments: “Over the past 30 years I have processed claims filed in hundreds of security and antitrust class actions and I know the data requirements, costs and staff time it takes to file a complete and accurate claim. I also believe with the current climate of case complexities, timing of settlements, custodial staffing costs and turnover that prudent financial institutions will have to outsource its in-house claims processing to cut costs and maintain client requests.  I joined GOAL because I believe in their forward thinking, world-wide outsourcing model and most of all, I support their commitment to develop and maintain a proprietary case research and claim calculation platform.  In my opinion the functionality and accuracy of our current platforms, along with our website’s client portal, are second to none.  With our in-house team of IT, research and claim specialists, the day a case is filed, we start the process of providing clients with current and accurate case alerts, updates and claim calculations.”

Mr Bancroft continues: “With the compliance pressures of FATCA and every country’s economic pressures to generate revenue, the importance of effective tax reclamation on cross-border securities earnings is ripe.  Every custodian, trustee, money manager and advisor will now have additional fiduciary responsibilities added to their plate and we offer solutions, both in-house and outsourcing, to meet all tax reclamation requirements.”

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

Detroit--October 30, 2012--Compuware Corporation (Nasdaq: CPWR), the technology performance company, today announced that eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace where goods are bought and sold in large volumes, is using Compuware APM® dynaTrace Deep Transaction Management to improve application performance of its business-critical, customer-facing applications. Now eBay’s Global Performance Engineering Center can proactively monitor how core business systems are performing in real-time, ensuring performance issues are identified and resolved before customers are impacted.

“With more than 100 million active users globally, our customers expect efficient delivery of services. So, our infrastructure performance—which executes critical transactions like product listing, product selection, order booking, payments and shipping—is key to the success of our business.” said Rajshekhar Desai, Group Manager - Quality, eBay Managed Marketplaces. “Compuware dynaTrace® provides unrivalled visibility into performance issues within our network and beyond, as well as automates the rest of the job. This gives us faster root cause analysis and allows us to resolve performance issues before they impact our customers.”

dynaTrace’s patented PurePath Technology® offers deep transaction management with compete visibility into application behavior under load. This allows eBay to quickly pinpoint performance issues, as well as monitor, manage and optimize their applications proactively. eBay’s online portal includes a Java front-end running in WebSphere and a database layer in the back-end. Through eBay’s Global Engineering Performance Center in India, dynaTrace manages business-critical transactions in the Java tier of eBay’s performance testing environment to pinpoint the exact transactions that are having issues.

“Leading companies like eBay know that application performance matters. With today’s rapid and distributed development cycles, new modern approaches to application lifecycle management are required to prevent disruptions in revenue, customer loyalty and brand reputation,” said John Van Siclen, General Manager of Compuware’s APM business unit. “With Compuware’s new generation APM approach, eBay can proactively manage performance 24/7 at a level of depth never before possible.  This enables eBay to deliver a great user experience while accelerating time-to-market.”

Compuware APM® is the industry’s leading solution for optimizing the performance of web, non-web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. Driven by end-user experience, Compuware APM provides the market’s only unified APM coverage across the entire application delivery chain—from the edge of the internet through the cloud to the datacenter. Compuware APM helps customers deliver proactive problem resolution for greater customer satisfaction, accelerate time-to-market for new application functionality and reduce application management costs through smarter analytics and advanced APM automation.

With more than 4,000 APM customers worldwide, Compuware is recognized as a leader in the “Magic Quadrant for Application Performance Monitoring” report. To read more about Compuware’s leadership in the APM market, click here.

Follow Compuware on:

• Twitter - CompuwareAPM
• Twitter - Compuware
• Facebook – CompuwareAPM
• Facebook - Compuware
• YouTube - Compuware
• APM Blog
• dynaTrace Blog
• Outage Analyzer
• CloudSleuth  

Compuware Corporation
Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company, provides software, experts and best practices to ensure technology works well and delivers value. Compuware solutions make the world’s most important technologies perform at their best for leading organizations worldwide, including 46 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies and 12 of the top 20 most visited U.S. web sites. Learn more at: http://www.compuware.com.

SNW Europe, Frankfurt, Germany - 30th October 2012 - Avere Systems has discovered that the US may appear to be the biggest data hoarders and Europeans have more catching up to do when it comes to considering solutions for NAS optimization.

The NAS optimization company has been comparing storage attitudes on both sides of the Atlantic through the results of two independently-sourced surveys: the US-based Pulse Report and the European NAS Audit.

One of the biggest differences discovered was in the amount of data managed. In the United States over 41% of the respondents managed over 500TB of storage whereas the Europeans appear to be lagging behind with only 20% managing large capacity arrays. This is reflected in the number of NAS-only systems. The American sample only had 9% using nothing but NAS while the figure was a more substantial 27% in Europe though there was a further 23% using mixed NAS and SAN environments.

With its NAS Optimization product in mind, Avere was more interested in digging down into the needs of the user community. The majority of companies in each sample were running applications that required high performance or suffered from unpredictable file access. Although there was agreement that NAS controller upgrades were a possible way to meet these challenges, the US were equally impressed with NAS optimization while in Europe it was the fifth choice behind adding more disks, implementing solid-state drive arrays (SSDs) and switching to SAN.

“The US has a better understanding of the value that NAS optimization can offer to overcome performance issues. It is Avere’s mission to take the lessons learned in the US and share those with the European storage professionals,” commented Rebecca Thompson, VP of Marketing at Avere Systems. She continued: “SNW Europe is an ideal forum for this and my presentation on “When IT worlds collide: SSD, Virtualization and Cloud” will cover much of the best practice and real world experience Avere has seen in these areas.”

Avere Systems at Powering the Cloud Europe -
Avere Systems is exhibiting at Powering the Cloud Europe in Frankfurt on 30th and 31st October.

Thompson’s presentation “When IT Worlds Collide: SSD, Virtualization and the Cloud” will take place at 10:30-10:50am on Wednesday 31st October in Room Harmonie A.

About the Avere Systems NAS Audit
The Avere Systems NAS Audit was conducted online during August and early September 2012. 114 storage professionals from across EMEA completed the survey. These storage professionals worked across a variety of sectors including: finance, telecom, aerospace, legal, retail, engineering, technology, publishing, and education.

The Pulse report was conducted by Gatepoint Research among 1,000 executives in the US in 2012.

To receive a copy of the full results when they are published in November, please email marketing@averesystems.com

Further Information

Managing Director
Tel: +44 (0)1522 883640
Email: enquires@webitpr.com

Bracknell, UK – Customer Relationship Management specialist Maximizer Software has unveiled a new case study outlining how South African recruitment company The Recruiters Network (TRN) used its CRM platform to launch its new high-end consultancy.

Working alongside Camsoft Solutions, Maximizer’s South African Certified Solutions Partner, The Recruitment Network implemented Maximizer CRM to meet its complex business needs. In addition to candidate registration functions, the system provides sales opportunity management, Outlook integration, scheduling and reporting features. Four months after the initial installation, TRN upgraded to Maximizer CRM 12 to benefit from its LinkedIn® integration, an obvious advantage in the recruitment industry.

TRN was launched in February 2012 by Amanda Dreyer and Megan Davids as a unique, high-level recruitment consultancy targeting the financial sector. With over 20 years’ experience in the industry between them, Dreyer and Davids were looking for a system which could handle the multiple choice requirements needed by TRN, including effective contact and document management and improved searchability. Maximizer more than fitted the bill, with the added benefit of its mobile capability, which enables users to access critical data both from the office and on the road.

Amanda Dreyer, Managing Director, says: “From a data capturing perspective and through the use of automation, we have seen a reduction in errors which has led to better data quality and faster, more accurate search results. This is important in the South African recruitment industry which is a saturated, cut-throat market. It’s a case of the fastest finger first in recruitment and Maximizer helps us find and put forward quality candidates to clients before the competition does.”

Looking to the future, TRN plans to launch a monthly email marketing campaign, consisting of its top candidates, and to send personalised emails to candidates informing them of the latest available opportunities. Maximizer’s automation and merge fields will allow TRN to integrate the necessary data and pull candidate details directly from the system.

Dreyer concludes: “We look forward to continuing a prosperous partnership with Maximizer Software and Camsoft Solutions to support the growth of TRN in a very competitive climate and evolve with our needs. It is true to say, our logo is ‘Working for you’ but ‘Maximizer works for us!”

To download the full case study, go to www.max.co.uk or follow this link:http://www.max.co.uk/pdf/casestudy/Recruiters%20Network.pdf

30 October 2012 – Irish business management software developer, Intact Software, will today enter the Australian market through a collaborative partnership with one of the country’s largest hosted software providers, Micronet Systems. The company, which has over 2,000 customers, will have exclusive rights to Intact Software’s flagship product, iQ, throughout Australia and New Zealand and has aggressive plans to make it the system of choice for small to medium sized companies with complex accounting, inventory and sales processes in the retail, distribution, warehousing, franchise sectors and beyond.

The partnership allows for the sharing of intellectual property between the two companies as well as collaboration in the research and development process to provide a solution tightly tailored to the Australian and New Zealand market. Micronet Systems will offer Intact’s iQ framework to its customers as an on-premise or Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription based license.

Micronet Systems wanted to bring its systems up to date and was in search of a new technologically advanced business management software platform. The company spent three years looking for the right solution that would allow the opportunity, through collaboration, to provide a tailored solution to its customers in their specific niche markets and beyond. Following an introduction to, and extensive trials and tests of Intact’s iQ framework, Micronet Systems selected it as the development platform of choice and has invested considerable resources into supporting its entry to the Australian and New Zealand market.

Intact’s iQ product is a highly adaptable solution that allows businesses to maximise their productivity, pro-activity and profits by eliminating the need for numerous isolated systems and support providers and ensuring accurate, up-to-date information is available at all times.  The advanced .NET framework that iQ is built on allows Micronet Systems to quickly and cost-effectively develop a personalised solution for its individual customers and will give the company the opportunity to branch out into multiple new vertical markets.

“Both Intact Software and Micronet Systems respect that customers must be able to focus on running their businesses and not be hindered by inflexible, unsuitable software. iQ offers a level of flexibility that can provide an exact and tailored solution, guaranteed to scale with a business’ ever changing needs. With Micronet System’s proven expertise, we are confident this partnership will prove highly successful in Australia and New Zealand. We have aggressive expansion plans and hope to roll out similar partnerships in other countries,” said Paul Marry, CEO Intact Software. 

Drew Arthur, managing director at Micronet Systems, commented: “Our customers tend to be small to medium sized businesses with complex accounting processes so they need a business software solution that can deliver flexibility, personalisation and integrated functionality. We were extremely impressed when we came across Intact’s iQ framework. The ability to develop additional plug-ins in order to tailor the solution to each individual customer will make it a compelling proposition for the wholesale, retail, supply chain, warehouse, distribution and franchise markets that we work in, as well as open up new vertical markets for us. The subscription based licence model that we offer is attractive to SMEs because it means they pay on a per user, per month basis rather than one upfront cost. We are very excited about rolling this product out to the Australia and New Zealand market and we are building a strong team to support its launch.”

Micronet will sell Intact’s iQ under the HARMONiQ brand. It will be available from October 2012.

About Intact Software
Intact Software is a pro-active and revolutionary developer of business management/ ERP software.

The company’s flagship product, Intact iQ, fully integrates Financials, Commercials, CRM and Business Intelligence into a single, flexible, tailorable and financially justifiable solution. From 1 to 100's of users, Intact iQ has the ability to scale with a business, never needing to be replaced. Eliminating the need for costly, isolated systems and multiple service providers, Intact iQ can be implemented up to five times quicker than all comparable competitors and has been developed and driven by market, customer and partner feedback and requirements. Intact iQ provides SME’s across a host of industries, including wholesale, distribution, building and construction, tiles and ceramics, medical, retail and manufacturing, with a level of functionality, tailorability and flexibility normally only associated with enterprise level software solutions.

For over twenty years, through a dedicated Channel Partner Network, the company’s software has been successfully implemented in over 2,000 companies, extending to over 12,000 end users. 

Headquartered in Ireland, Intact Software is a global company with offices in the UK and Mediterranean. For further information please visit: www.intactsoftware.com

About Micronet Systems
Micronet Systems is a leading provider of business software solutions for inventory based, small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Since the introduction of its first generation product in 1983, over 2,000 companies have implemented Micronet Systems’ business software solutions. Servicing a diverse range of industries, Micronet Systems has customers throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific.

Micronet Systems established its Software as a Service (SaaS) model over 10 years ago and was one of the first companies in Australia to offer business management software hosting.

Today, a multitude of companies are utilising the Micronet SaaS Hosted solution world-wide. Micronet Systems host its turn-key SaaS solution in a state-of-the-art data centre, removing much of the IT complexity, cost and responsibilities for their clients.

More information can be found at: www.micronet.com.au

Contact
Ruth McAdam
Global Sales and Marketing Manager
Telephone: +353 42 942 0741
Email: ruth.mcadam@intactsoftware.com

Keysource, the data centre design, build, maintenance and management specialist, has made two board level appointments to support its ongoing growth and ambitious business strategy. Jon Barton has been appointed as Financial Director and Paula Mitchell as HR Director.

Jon will be responsible for developing Keysource’s commercial propositions to support its approach to transparency and ensure customers are provided with the best and most appropriate solutions.  He will lead all financial aspects of the business, implementing processes and procedures designed to enhance accountability, forecasting and accuracy within the company.

He joins Keysource with a wealth of board level experience in growing technology companies, having spent the last four years as Director of Financial Reporting and Control at Imtech ICT. Prior to this Jon spent five years as Group Finance Director of REAL Solutions Group.

Paula will be responsible for the design and implementation of an HR strategy that builds capability to support and deliver company change, as well leading Keysource’s training and development programme. She was previously HR Director for Moneycorp, a leading foreign exchange broker where she was successful in shaping and delivering an industry recognised HR and organisation design function. 

Paula possesses the ability to bring together the required corporate structure and understanding of a medium sized culture, to recruit, retain and develop top talent.  Although a generalist in HR, she specialises in training and development, change management and employee engagement and takes a metric driven approach to demonstrate value added HR.

Mike West, Managing Director of Keysource commented: “Jon and Paula bring a wealth of experience to our business and support our continued growth within the marketplace. The appointments are the latest steps to ensure we have the correct team in place to drive the company forward on our journey to becoming the leader in our industry.”

Material provides automotive, aerospace and other manufacturers with mechanically superior parts

Frankfurt, 30th October 2012 – Stratasys debuted black color ULTEM 9085, a high-performance thermoplastic, for use in its FDM additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) process at the SEMA Show today in Las Vegas, USA.

ULTEM 9085 from SABIC Innovative Plastics has superior strength, is light weight, and has other desirable characteristics, including FST rating. The FST (flame, smoke and toxicity) rating is a safety standard that ensures a material won’t promote a fire, release harmful smoke, or emit toxic fumes, and it is particularly valued in the transportation industries.

“The majority of our tan ULTEM users have requested the material also be available in black, because it gives a uniform look to product assemblies,” said Fred Fischer, business development director at Stratasys. “It also helps mask dirt or grease found in mechanical systems or under the hood, in the fuselage, or on the manufacturing floor. For many users, the black color will eliminate the need for non-value-added post-processing step of painting or coating.”

Truck fender and accessory manufacturer, Minimizer, uses ULTEM when creating both fender and mounting component prototypes. Mounting brackets are commonly made from glass fiber and tough, rigid plastics, which can be a challenge to prototype, according to Minimizer mechanical engineer, Martin Larsen.

“When we make an FDM part and mount it on a truck there’s a lot of drilling, using fasteners and even mating parts together,” he says. “We found that [because] the ULTEM has high tensile strength and is rigid, it’s a good alternative for us to prototype with. Having the black material is a big bonus for us. We don’t have to spend the time to finish the part, and we get the same material properties we look for in the [standard] ULTEM material.” 

Like standard ULTEM 9085, the black color material has a V-0 flammability rating. The material is heat resistant up to 320° F (160° C) and is inherently flame-retardant, offering full FST compliance including OSU heat release of less than 55/55, or 55 kw min/m2 for heat release and 55 kw/m2 for peak heat release.

The material’s impact strength also makes it appealing to the aerospace industry, where high-strength, lightweight parts are extremely valuable.

In addition to the automotive and aerospace industries, Stratasys anticipates that black ULTEM 9085 will be useful for construction, agriculture and industrial equipment manufacturers.

The material will be available for Stratasys' FDM 900mc and FDM 400mc systems. For information on Stratasys 3D Printers and materials please call +49 (0)69 420 9943 0 or visit www.stratasys.com

Park Retail, the UK’s leading multi-redemption voucher business for the Christmas savings market, has extended its contract with Red Box Recorders to provide voice recording at a second contact centre at its site in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Under the agreement, the company will also upgrade the existing Red Box voice recording solution following the migration to a new telephony platform across both facilities.

Red Box Recorders has been working with Park Retail for the past six years, initially providing a voice recording systems for a 60-seat contact centre handling all aspects of customer contact. This solution will now be extended to cover a corporate contact centre located in an adjacent building and integrate seamlessly with the new Mitel 3300 IP telephony platform.

The recorder will be used to improve efficiency within both call centres as well as achieve PCI Compliance for any card transactions. The flexible and simple to use system will enable Park Retail to enhance its quality management processes to improve staff training, quality assurance and customer satisfaction as well as resolve caller disputes.

Red Box’s PCI Suppression module will automatically block out specific parts of call recordings when taking credit card details and other sensitive information. This will enable Park Retail to comply with the requirement of PCI (Payment Card Industry) Data Security Standard, financial regulatory authorities and any other evidential regulations for unaltered audio.

June Potts, head of Customer Contact at Park Retail commented: “The flexibility of the Red Box solution has meant we are able to adapt our recording solution to meet the business’ changing requirements. Not only has this supported simple migration to the new telephony platform without disruption, but also enabled us to reduce our footprint by consolidating our contact centre voice recording requirements.”

Lee Jones, COO at Red Box Recorders said: “Park Retail chose Red Box based on our ability to deliver an affordable and easily maintainable solution that offered high levels of functionality and was also future proof. The flexibility and simplicity of our systems mean we are able to meet the precise needs of companies such Park Retail and become a valued technology partner.”

The TALL Group of Companies has obtained accreditation from the Zambia Electronic Clearing House to print cheques and drafts on behalf of banks and businesses based in the Southern African nation. This latest certification is part of the Group’s growing international payments service, which is now able to provide cheque solutions for local currency clearing in 17 countries worldwide. 

The TALL Group underwent a detailed audit by Zambia Electronic Clearing House’s Cheque Standards Committee to demonstrate its ability to print cheques that meet the necessary specifications in terms of layout, dimensions and security ink and features. It also had to show that the Group possessed a secure printing environment with strict operating procedures that protect against fraud and theft. 

Martin Ruda, Managing Director of The TALL Group of Companies commented: “We now design and print a wide range of secure documents such as cheques, receipts, licenses and ballot papers for international markets. By continually identifying new export opportunities and securing the necessary overseas accreditations we are able to develop trade relationships with governments, financial institutions and other corporate organisations across an increasing number of countries and continents.”

Blaze On, the fair trade retailer that specialises in ethically produced lights, candles and gifts, has selected Q3 Internet Services as its web hosting and SSL certificate provider. As well as hosting all the alias websites and URLs that Blaze On operates and owns, Q3 Internet Services is also managing the company’s webmail account via dedicated mail servers and providing a specially customised GlobalSign Organisation SANS SSL Certificate that works across all of the Blaze On websites.

Blaze On is a unique retail business that has been operational for over 10 years. It prides itself on selling ethically sourced, fair trade goods that are hand-made by a small group of villagers in Thailand. Working in partnership, the villagers set their own wages and work around the rice growing season, meaning the village is not 100% dependent on Blaze On, as the community still earns money from selling rice. The partnership works to ensure the village is self-sufficient and means that local people can remain in their village, rather than having to leave to find work.

Lisa Durr, Managing Director of Blaze On, comments, “Our business has evolved significantly over the 10 years we have been operating. Beginning as a small market stall in Portobello Road, London, we have gradually expanded into two physical stores, an e-commerce site and a wholesale business to respond to the changing market conditions. As such, our website is one of the key retail channels we have, so it is imperative that it is fully operational and live 24/7.”

Durr continues, “To ensure our ecommerce store is as inviting as possible for our customers, we decided to launch a new website in July 2012 which coincided with our SSL certificate expiring. Originally we were planning to stay with our hosting provider of five years, Rackspace, however through our discussions it was evident that the company could no longer host our website in the manner we needed. In particular, Rackspace wanted us to move servers due to the number of web aliases we have, which we were not keen to do because of the business disruption it would cause.”

Durr adds, “Q3 Internet Services were providing my previous SSL certificates, so when I spoke to the sales team to renew the licence they explained their hosting capabilities to me and suggested I move onto their servers instead. The service that I had received previously from the Q3 team was excellent and so it was an easy decision to have them provide both my webhosting and SSL certificate.”

As well as hosting the Blaze On site and its aliases, Q3 Internet Services has also created a bespoke SSL certificate for the company that operates across all of its websites, aliases and URLs. The Q3 Internet Services team also took over Blaze On’s webmail, upgrading the mail server and creating new rules to make it easier for staff to manage their inboxes.

Durr concludes, “I am delighted with the service that I have received from the team at Q3. I have moved server four times in eight years and this was by far the most painless and straight forward of moves. I have already recommended Q3 to friends and other business contacts, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with the team as my business continues to grow.”

Quattro Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing multi-disciplined plant hire businesses, has extended its agreement with Ctrack for the provision of an advanced tracking solution. This latest deal will cover 120 vans that make up the company’s field support fleet along with more than 400 specialist vehicles and plant within its civil engineering, rail and environmental hire operation.

The tracking tool has provided Quattro Group with the ability to monitor the whereabouts of vehicles and equipment from its head office in Stratford, East London, along with thirteen depots across the UK. This added visibility has enabled the company to better manage its field service team that is responsible for responding to any maintenance requirements or equipment collections at the end of each hire agreement.

In addition, Quattro Group has achieved added peace of mind by being able to view the exact position and status of all plant that is often left unattended at vulnerable sites or locations. This has ensured that the company can quickly identify any unauthorised usage or theft and effectively arrange for the safe return of vehicles and equipment using accurate, real-time tracking data.

Jason Gallagher, Systems Manager at Quattro Group commented: “The Ctrack system has provided us with added visibility and control over our vehicles and plant equipment. We look forward to working closely with the company to take advantage of the technology to meet our business and operational needs now and in the future.”

John Wisdom, Managing Director of Ctrack said: “Our proven tracking solutions are consistently achieving real benefits and return on investment for our customers in terms of productivity, efficiency and control. As a result, we are building longstanding partnerships with an increasing number of vehicle and equipment operators such as Quattro Group to support their ongoing growth strategies.”

The members of the ZVH series, with their compact form factor (194 mm × 300 mm × 69 mm) and lightweight construction (weighing just 3 kg), are specifically designed for use by field engineers – helping them to locate cable faults and connection losses, carry out antenna matching, reflection measurements, power metering, etc. With a maximum spurious signal level of +17 dBm, they are offered with a choice of 100 kHz to 3.6 GHz or 100
kHz to 8.0 GHz frequency ranges and have a 100 dB dynamic range. They provide either single or two-port vector network analysis, plus directional power measurement (compatible with GSM/EDGE, 3GPP WCDMA, LTE, DVB-T and DAB wireless standards).

These highly rugged units are supplied in a robust, splash-proof housing that is suitable for demanding outdoor environments. A 4.5 hour battery life enables them to undertake extensive periods of testing between recharges, while a built-in GPS receiver allows accurate location finding. Each ZVH has a highly intuitive user interface that consists of a 6.5-inch format colour LCD with VGA resolution and easily accessible function
keys.

The ZVH’s ability to pre-program test routines means it is possible to ensure that engineers execute tests in the same way. This means the amount of training involved can be reduced, as the instrument is effectively
telling the engineer what to do. This can help to markedly shorten test times and improve consistency levels.

“Since its launch the ZVH has seen a great deal of uptake for test activities carried out when deploying wireless infrastructure,” states Geoff Kempster, Inventory Manager at Livingston. “It has already managed to seize considerable market share off established products addressing this sector, thanks to its ease of use, high level of configurability, faster measurements and better reporting capabilities. As it is just available in one basic hardware version, with all additional functionality offered through software codes, it can be quickly adapted - any updates needed for specific test options can simply be made remotely.”

“We have received huge interest in the ZVH. Having a rental option for this product is highly advantageous, as this is often the preferred sourcing method for contract firms involved in installation work,” Reinier Treur, Marketing Director at Livingston comments. “It allows access to this highly sought after equipment without the need for heavy upfront investment, while simultaneously maximising flexibility - so that the number of units being
sourced can mirror any rise or fall in demand.”  “Since Livingston has a broad portfolio of antenna test devices,” he continues “our customers can move from their current option to ZVH without any difficulty, as we can offer them a
zero risk agreement – thus lowering the barriers to switching. If, for whatever reason, the customer decides that they want to move back, they can do so without any additional costs being accrued.”

Further Information

Account Manager
Tel: +44 7970 728 442
Email: m.green@pinnaclemarcom.com

London, UK, 25 October 2012  - End-to-end IT specialist Akhter Computers plc. has achieved Gold Certification Partner status with Becrypt.  The accreditation makes Akhter an official End Point Protection (EPP) Service Delivery Partner and supports the company’s commitment to providing the latest IT security products and encryption expertise to public sector organisations.  Becrypt Gold Certification will benefit Akhter as it actively expands on its success in the defence industry and seeks new business opportunities across Central Government including the NHS, education and blue light services such as the police. 

A partner of Becrypt since 2006, Akhter is one of the few companies in the UK to achieve List-X Central Government Information Supplier status.  This is in recognition of its stringent approach to in-house security and ability to provide world-class security technologies, which include Becrypt’s DISK Protect Baseline and DISK Protect Enhanced which are CESG certified to protect information up to Impact Level 6 (TOP SECRET), the only software based encryption to be approved at this high level.   

John Oakley, Group Sales & Projects Director at Akhter commented, “Our relationship with Becrypt has gone from strength to strength culminating in Gold Certification.  This latest accolade not only rewards our hard work and commitment to Becrypt but boosts our credibility within the industry, “Trust is a non-negotiable requirement, we deliver on time and are always responsive to the client’s requirements”.  Gold Certification will now give us the kudos needed to sell a broader range of products and expand our reach into other government departments.  These are exciting times for Akhter and we look forward to developing new and profitable markets with the Becrypt portfolio.”

Bernard Parsons, CEO of Becrypt said; “The Government has stated that it is keen to work with more SMEs.  Becrypt is committed to supporting this initiative through our channel partners, and Akhter will be key in this.  Smaller organisations, such as Becrypt and Akhter, are often able to provide more agile and innovative solutions that respond more quickly to industry demands.  With the ever increasing threat of cyber crime many more organisations are recognising the benefit of utilising the type of robust security solutions that used to be the preserve of military and government departments.”

Becrypt EPP provides a fully integrated package of cyber security solutions that protect commercial and sensitive data held on PCs, laptops, tablets, USB devices, CDs/DVDs and other media with powerful encryption.  The EPP suite also provides a comprehensive management console so that security for an organisation’s entire PC/laptop/tablet/handheld estate can be managed centrally, saving time and providing a more secure and effective solution.   

To learn more about partnering with Becrypt or to download the latest information on Becrypt’s Platform for Success programme, please visit www.becrypt.com/partners  

Notes to Editors

About Akhter Computers PLC
Akhter Computers PLC works closely with its customers to provide tailored computer solutions, including hardware and software, product development, project management, network consultancy and after sales support.  More than 80 employees based out of the company’s Harlow headquarters provide flexible, cost-effective end-to-end IT solutions to government departments, the MoD, schools, universities and businesses.

For more information, please visit www.akhter.co.uk

About Becrypt
Becrypt is a leading supplier of innovative Information Assurance solutions and services, providing secure, feature-rich, out-of-the-box products that are government-certified and suitable for all industry sectors.  Becrypt is a leading supplier of encryption technology to the UK Government, Ministry of Defence and UK Police.

Becrypt plays a leading role in the Information Assurance industry through membership and participation in various bodies including CIPCOG, DIPCOG and the Crypto Developers Forum.

Through technology and OEM partnerships Becrypt enables third-party solutions with encryption and other data security capabilities.

Becrypt has offices in London, UK; McLean, VA, USA; and Sydney, Australia serving clients worldwide.

For more information please visit: www.becrypt.com

For Media Resources including high resolution image downloads please visit: http://www.becrypt.com/news-events/news

Editors Contacts
Keith Ricketts
Marketing Director
Becrypt
Tel: +44 (0) 7809 391 037
Email: kricketts@becrypt.com

Further Information

Account Director
Tel: 01491 639500
Email: andreina@pra-ltd.co.uk

Blaze On, the fair trade retailer that specialises in ethically produced lights, candles and gifts, has selected Q3 Internet Services as its web hosting and SSL certificate provider. As well as hosting all the alias websites and URLs that Blaze On operates and owns, Q3 Internet Services is also managing the company’s webmail account via dedicated mail servers and providing a specially customised GlobalSign Organisation SANS SSL Certificate that works across all of the Blaze On websites.

Blaze On is a unique retail business that has been operational for over 10 years. It prides itself on selling ethically sourced, fair trade goods that are hand-made by a small group of villagers in Thailand. Working in partnership, the villagers set their own wages and work around the rice growing season, meaning the village is not 100% dependent on Blaze On, as the community still earns money from selling rice. The partnership works to ensure the village is self-sufficient and means that local people can remain in their village, rather than having to leave to find work.

Lisa Durr, Managing Director of Blaze On, comments, “Our business has evolved significantly over the 10 years we have been operating. Beginning as a small market stall in Portobello Road, London, we have gradually expanded into two physical stores, an e-commerce site and a wholesale business to respond to the changing market conditions. As such, our website is one of the key retail channels we have, so it is imperative that it is fully operational and live 24/7.”

Durr continues, “To ensure our ecommerce store is as inviting as possible for our customers, we decided to launch a new website in July 2012 which coincided with our SSL certificate expiring. Originally we were planning to stay with our hosting provider of five years, Rackspace, however through our discussions it was evident that the company could no longer host our website in the manner we needed. In particular, Rackspace wanted us to move servers due to the number of web aliases we have, which we were not keen to do because of the business disruption it would cause.”

Durr adds, “Q3 Internet Services were providing my previous SSL certificates, so when I spoke to the sales team to renew the licence they explained their hosting capabilities to me and suggested I move onto their servers instead. The service that I had received previously from the Q3 team was excellent and so it was an easy decision to have them provide both my webhosting and SSL certificate.”

As well as hosting the Blaze On site and its aliases, Q3 Internet Services has also created a bespoke SSL certificate for the company that operates across all of its websites, aliases and URLs. The Q3 Internet Services team also took over Blaze On’s webmail, upgrading the mail server and creating new rules to make it easier for staff to manage their inboxes.

Durr concludes, “I am delighted with the service that I have received from the team at Q3. I have moved server four times in eight years and this was by far the most painless and straight forward of moves. I have already recommended Q3 to friends and other business contacts, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with the team as my business continues to grow.”