A contract worth in the region of £250,000 has been secured by the independent IT solutions provider, Claritas, based in Bramham, West Yorkshire, from Maplin, the major UK Electronics Retailer, to host its entire online sales and internet services.  Maplin’s original contract with Claritas involved a hosting re-evaluation, and resulted in a 30% cost reduction from their previous provider.

Claritas has now been entrusted to continue with the service for a further year, to host both the critical business to consumers and the business to business websites, acknowledged to be central for continued growth. Claritas works closely with Maplin’s own ecommerce and IT teams to ensure their investment is for the most appropriate technologies to mirror and achieve their business objectives.

Mark Smith, IT Director, Maplin Electronics says: “Claritas completed its initial contract extremely competently, always prepared to go above and beyond the confines of the agreement, to ensure our web platform maintained maximum availability for our over 30 million annual visitors. We have every confidence that the team will work closely with us over the next twelve months to support our planned business growth and exciting developments in our online presence.”

 Maplin has its HQ in South Yorkshire and its multi-channel retail strategy alongside its 192 stores and mail order division are all serviced from there.  Maplin also has operations in Taiwan, China & Hong Kong, and employs 2,100 worldwide.

Kevin Edwards, Sales Director, Claritas Solutions, says: “It is imperative for Claritas to ensure we always deliver to the highest standards, maintaining our enviable reputation within the hosting industry.  Maplin’s further contract is another testament to that. We look forward to continuing our partnership over the next term and beyond.”

for further information contact Jeni Cropper & Associates T: 07973 77 99 70 | E: jeni@jenicropper.co.uk | @jenicropper

London – 31 October 2012 hybris, the top-rated provider of omni-channel commerce software has today announced that as part of its UK channel development programme, it is partnering with Hampshire-based Conexus, a leading consulting systems integrator for multi-channel, ecommerce and information management solutions.

The partnership will allow Conexus to combine its technical strength and extensive business integration knowledge together with hybris’ proven, agile B2B and B2C multi-channel platforms in order to offer an end-to-end solution for customers. The company is increasingly helping companies who require not only implementation skills, but consultancy and ongoing management of solutions including a 24x7 capability.

Conexus was founded in 1998 and has built a strong team of experts who are working with wide ranging  customers from multinational telecoms companies and global fashion brands through to banks and public sector organisations. It has already begun to implement the hybris Multichannel Suite with two leading retail brands.

Frank Schoutissen, Vice-President Channel at hybris, said: “Conexus is a company that we have been keen to work with in the UK for some time, and we are pleased that this has now become possible. We are delighted that we can tap into their broad expertise and work with them to open opportunities in new sectors, across vertical markets and in the B2B and digital space.”

Paul Sessions, Founding Director, Conexus, said: “hybris offers a compelling proposition to customers who want a proven, stable and flexible commerce platform. It is exceptionally well regarded in the market and we consider hybris a crucial addition to our portfolio and medium-term business plan. The partnership will allow us to further strengthen our comprehensive integration model for customers and empower our clients to make the right business decisions efficiently. We are looking forward to a long, successful and close relationship with hybris.”

About hybris
hybris helps businesses on every continent sell more goods, services and digital content through every touchpoint, channel and device.  hybris delivers "OmniCommerce™": state-of-the-art master data management and unified commerce processes that give a business a single view of its customers, products and orders, and its customers a single view of the business.  hybris' omni-channel software is built on a single platform, based on open standards, that is agile to support limitless innovation, efficient to drive the best TCO, and scalable and extensible to be the last commerce platform companies will ever need.  Both principal industry analyst firms rank hybris as a “leader” and list its commerce platform among the top two or three in the market.  The same software is available on-premise, on-demand and managed hosted, giving merchants of all sizes maximum flexibility.  Over 400 companies have chosen hybris, including global B2B brands Nespresso, P&G, Pirelli, Rexel, 3M and Thomson-Reuters, as well as consumer brands Galeries Lafayette, Levi’s, Lufthansa, Migros, Nespresso, Nikon, Clarks, CostCo and Toys’r’Us . hybris has operations in 15 countries around the globe.  hybris is the future of commerce™.  For more information, visit www.hybris.com

For further information please contact:
Julie Kirby or James Cooper
Ascendant Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 7956 955625
E-mail: jkirby@ascendcomms.net / jcooper@ascendcomms.net

Further Information

Consultant
Tel: 07956 955625
Email: jkirby@ascendcomms.net

Montpellier, France - 31st October 2012. Cortus, a technology leader in cost effective, silicon efficient 32-bit processor IP, releases the world’s smallest 32-bit microcontroller IP core – the APS1. The launch of the silicon efficient, low cost APS1 completes Cortus’ 2012 processor roadmap. The APS1 is ideal for simpler embedded applications with limited code and data memory requirements. It offers a cost-effective way to replace many existing 8-bit cores by offering improved power consumption and simpler software development.

The Cortus APS1 is a native 32-bit core with a modern RISC architecture. In common with other Cortus processors, the APS1 has a 5 to 7 stage integer pipeline with out-of-order completion ensuring that most integer instructions (load and stores included) are executed in a single cycle. It is the fourth member of the Cortus microcontroller IP core family to be released in 2012 complementing the larger energy efficient APS3R, high performance APS5 and the floating point FPS6 cores.

“We are proud to break our own record in terms of 32-bit core size”, said Michael Chapman, CEO and President of Cortus. He adds, “Our first product – the APS3 – pioneered the market for silicon efficient 32-bit processor cores and with the APS1 we have an even more compact core”. Michael Chapman explains, “With the APS1 released, there is almost no reason to continue to use 8-bit cores. SoC developers benefit from an easier SW development cycle, more performance and lower power consumption”.

The APS1 has a fully 32-bit architecture with 16 general purpose registers. Its CPU gatecount starts at about 6800 gates. In the TSMC 90 nm technology this can be as small as 0.03 mm2 (Dolphin SESAME-HD library).

The APS1 is an ideal candidate for Internet of Things (IoT) applications such as managing sensors or handling simpler wireless protocols. It is also well suited to managing I/O and for implementing programmable state machines.

Applications running on 8-bit processor cores will benefit from moving to APS1. The Cortus APS1 fully supports developing with C or C++ and does not require any coding in assembler. With more processing performed per cycle, fewer cycles are needed compared to an 8-bit core and the processor spends more time asleep. With a larger register set fewer memory accesses are required; further conserving energy. For more complex processor applications requiring more than 64 KB data and 64 KB code memory, the APS3R provides an excellent upgrade path.

As a member of the Cortus family of processors, the APS1 interfaces to all of Cortus’ peripherals including the Ethernet 10/100 MAC, USB 2.0 Device and USB 2.0 OTG via the efficient APS bus. It also shares the simple vectored interrupt structure which ensures rapid, real time interrupt response, with low software overhead.

The APS toolchain and IDE (for C and C++) are available to licensees free of charge, and it can be customised and branded for final customer use. Ports of various RTOSs are available such as FreeRTOS, Micrium µC/OS.

http://www.cortus.com/aps1.html

Cortus is exhibiting at electronica 2012 in Munich, Germany from 13th-16th November in Hall A6, booth 511.

http://www.electronica-media.de/prj_804/view/index.cfm?nv=1.1.1&LNG=2&elb=804.1100.4597.1.1111

About Cortus S.A.:
Cortus S.A. is the cost/performance leader for 32 bit processor IP for embedded systems. Cortus cores are used in applications where one or more of small silicon footprint, low power consumption, good code density/small code memory size and high performance are important.

Cortus is the world leader in terms of DMIPS per square micrometre and DMIPS per microwatt.

http://www.cortus.com

Cortus S.A. Contact:
Roddy Urquhart,
e-mail: roddy[at]cortus[dot]com
tel: +44 753 158 7023

Distributed on behalf of Cortus S.A. by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)

Further Information

Director
Tel: +44 7747 017654
Email: nicky@evokedset.com

Uxbridge, U.K., Oct. 31st, 2012 – Xerox today introduced a new range of low cost, high quality and environmentally responsible remanufactured print cartridges for non-Xerox printers.

Called the Responsible line, the cartridges are designed for use with most original equipment manufacturer (OEM) desktop laser printers from Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, IBM, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Oki and Panasonic. Benefits of the Responsible cartridges include:

• Cost savings of at least 50% compared to OEM cartridges, delivering significant savings for managers of large fleets of document devices, such as managed print service providers
• Excellent print quality from the first page to the last
• Page yields equivalent to the stated yields of OEM cartridges
• A two-year guarantee with every cartridge

“The cartridges are manufactured using the same high-quality standards Xerox uses for all its products. With our brand behind these cartridges, users can be confident of superior performance.” said Patrick de Jong, European business manager, Xerox Document Supplies Europe.

More than 90 percent of the original cartridge parts are re-used, thus avoiding manufacturing costs and reducing waste. These long-life components are thoroughly inspected using an ISO 9001 certified remanufacturing process to ensure that they continue to perform as well as in their first use. Components susceptible to wear are then replaced and new toner added.

Availability
The Responsible line from Xerox is available immediately from Xerox authorised distributors and resellers.

About Xerox
With sales approaching $23 billion, Xerox is the world’s leading enterprise for business process and document management. Its technology, expertise and services enable workplaces – from small businesses to large global enterprises – to simplify the way work gets done so they operate more effectively and focus more on what matters most: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., U.S.A., Xerox offers business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, healthcare solutions, HR benefits management, finance support, transportation solutions, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organisations worldwide.  The company also provides extensive leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. The 140,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries.  For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com or http://www.realbusiness.com.  For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

Xerox Europe is headquartered in Uxbridge, U.K., and has manufacturing and logistics operations in Ireland, the U.K. and the Netherlands, as well as a research and development facility in Grenoble, France.  

Media Contact:
Robert Corbishley
Xerox Europe
T: +44 (0) 1895 843239
email: robert.corbishley@xerox.com

Note:  To receive RSS news feeds, visit http://news.xerox.com/pr/xerox/rss.aspx. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views visit http://twitter.com/xeroxcorp, http://realbusinessatxerox.blogs.xerox.com, http://www.facebook.com/XeroxCorp, http://www.youtube.com/XeroxCorp.

XEROX®, XEROX and Design®, are trademarks of Xerox in the United States and/or other countries.

Prices, features, specifications, capabilities, appearance and availability of Xerox products and services are subject to change without notice.

Wokingham, UK, (October 31, 2012) — Perforce Software, a leader in enterprise software version management, today announced that its Perforce Versioning Engine has achieved VMware Ready™ status. This designation indicates that after a detailed validation process P4D (2012.1), the Perforce Versioning Engine, has VMware’s highest level of endorsement, and can be found on the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX) at http://solutionexchange.vmware.com/store/products/the-perforce-versioning-engine-p4d.

“By using Perforce with VMware vSphere® enterprises can benefit from more efficient resource allocation, increased service levels, optimized storage use and lower costs,” said Randy DeFauw, technical marketing manager at Perforce Software. “While Perforce has been deployed on virtual machines for years, this certification shows our commitment to supporting enterprise virtualization infrastructures.”

“We are pleased that the Perforce Versioning Engine qualifies for the VMware Ready™ logo, signifying to customers that it has met specific VMware integration and interoperability standards and works effectively with VMware cloud infrastructure, which will speed time to value within customer environments,” said Sheryl Sage, director, Alliance Programs, VMware.

The VMware Ready program is a co-branding benefit of the Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program that makes it easy for customers to identify partner products that are certified to work seamlessly with VMware cloud solutions. Customers can leverage these products and solutions to lower project risks and realize cost savings over custom built solutions.  With thousands of members worldwide, the VMware TAP program includes best-of-breed technology partners with the shared commitment to bring the best expertise and business solution for each unique customer need.

The Perforce Versioning Engine can be found within the online VMware Solution Exchange (VSX) at https://solutionexchange.vmware.com/store/products/the-perforce-versioning-engine-p4d.

Maidenhead, UK – 31 October 2012 – Talend, a global open source software leader, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the “Visionaries” quadrant of the “Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools”[1] report. The annual report assesses the leading international providers of data integration tools.

According to the report, “The data integration tool market continues to fulfill enterprise-scale requirements, while project-oriented, rapid deployments have increased. Demands emphasise comprehensive data delivery, support of emergent analytics and big data, synergy across data management, and quality customer experience.”

"We are thrilled that Gartner's thorough evaluation has positioned Talend as a visionary in the Data Integration Tools Quadrant,” said Bertrand Diard, CEO and co-founder, Talend. “Talend’s flexible and robust next generation integration solutions help all types of organisations meet all their integration needs.”

Talend products evaluated in the Magic Quadrant include Talend Open Studio for Data Integration, Talend Enterprise Data Integration and Talend Open Studio for Big Data.

• Talend Open Studio for Data Integration dramatically improves the efficiency of data integration design; Talend Enterprise Data Integration extends Talend Open Studio with enterprise-ready capabilities.
• Talend Open Studio for Big Data is a powerful and versatile open source solution for big data integration that natively supports Apache Hadoop and other big data platforms such as NoSQL databases. Its unique code generation approach, optimized for these massively parallel environments, helps organisations of all sizes to reap the rewards of the vast amounts of data they have collected over time, at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.

In August 2012, Talend was also positioned in the visionaries quadrant in the 2012 Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Tools report. And in June 2012, Talend was positioned in the visionaries quadrant in the Magic Quadrant for Application Infrastructure for Systematic Application Integration Projects and Magic Quadrant for Application Infrastructure for Systematic SOA Infrastructure Projects reports. 

[1] Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools” by Eric Thoo, Ted Friedman and Mark A. Beyer, October 18, 2012

About the Magic Quadrant
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organisation and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Talend
Talend is the recognised market leader in open source integration solutions. The company’s enterprise integration platform helps organisations minimise costs and maximise the value of data integration, ETL, data quality, master data management, application integration and business process management, while supporting their shift toward the Cloud and Big Data.  More than 3,500 paying customers worldwide, including eBay, ING, The Weather Channel, Deutsche Post and Allianz, subscribe to Talend’s solutions and services. With over 20 million downloads, Talend’s products are the most trusted integration solutions in the world. The company has major offices in North America, Europe and Asia, and a global network of technical and services partners.  For more information, please visit http://www.talend.com.

PR Contacts:
Selene Regan
Talend
sregan@talend.com

Tom Webb
Whiteoaks
01252 727313
tomw@whiteoaks.co.uk

London, October 31, 2012 – The biggest challenge facing mobile operators in 2013 will be surviving the complexity of their networks, as exponential growth in data demand drives the deployment of LTE and small cells to bolster existing 2G and 3G networks, according to Actix. Using insights from over 400 mobile operator customers, Actix predicts that a lack of seamless integration between an increasing number of technologies, sites and cell sizes will significantly raise costs and impact customer experience.

In 2013, over 150 mobile operators will roll out LTE and the number of small cells is set to overtake macro cells, as networks are expanded with new access technologies. This will result in the average mobile operator network comprising four access technologies (2G, 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi), typically from a minimum of two vendors, with an increasing number of sites and multiple cell sizes, including macro, pico, metro, residential femto and enterprise femto.

Anticipating this shift, Actix has ensured its ActixOne platform is HetNet ready, enabling operators to react to and manage their rapidly evolving and increasingly complex environment quickly, with existing resources and at minimal cost. As a result, operators can select the right HetNet technology to deploy, ensuring it delivers as it is being rolled out and works seamlessly with other technologies on the network. 

According to Bill McHale, CEO at Actix, the company’s on-going investment into HetNet capability reflects where the industry is going: “This new paradigm will severely stretch operators’ existing tools, processes and people to breaking point and it is no longer viable to manually stitch together heterogeneous networks or manage technologies in silos. To ensure a seamless customer experience operators will need to scale out their activities through more effective use of customer insight and network analytics and multi-technology optimization. With LTE services rolling out and more tablets entering the market operators need to get this right, or risk losing subscribers.”

Actix is already assisting many mobile operators in understanding the complexity of their networks, to avoid issues such as using the wrong technology in the wrong places to deliver capacity, and dropped calls resulting in poor handovers between LTE, 3G and 2G.

For example, Actix is helping a major European operator understand how its 3G and 2G coverage combine to deliver a seamless voice and data experience. A long term customer experience issue has been resolved on one of the major highways by providing intelligence for the first time on where calls were dropped due to poor 3G coverage and failing 3G to 2G handover. The operator was able to tweak its 3G network to provide continuous coverage on the highway, minimizing handovers without the costly investment in a new site.

Award-winning Guardian Technology Platform Gives Enterprises Best Combination of Performance and Endurance at More Cost Effective 19nm Node, Lowering Storage TCO

SMART Storage Systems, an innovative and rapidly emerging enterprise SSD technology provider, today announced its award-winning Guardian Technology Platform™ has enabled the use of 19nm multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash for enterprise applications. Through support for the smaller, more cost effective 19nm process node, SMART Storage Systems’ next generation solid state drives (SSDs) provide enterprise data centre and cloud environments with the industry’s best combination of performance and endurance, and lower the storage total cost of ownership (TCO) for users.

For years, OEMs and enterprise organisations have looked to SSD performance to meet new throughput requirements being placed on the data center. However, due to the high costs associated with higher endurance enterprise MLC (eMLC) or single-level cell (SLC) SSDs, enterprise data centres frequently turn to consumer-grade MLC SSD solutions. Because they are not designed for mixed workload applications, consumer-grade MLC-based SSDs quickly burnout in enterprise environments. This issue is compounded as Flash geometry continues to get smaller, and native MLC Flash endurance is reduced, increasing organisations TCO due to drive replacement costs. SMART Storage Systems’ proprietary Guardian Technology Platform drives additional endurance from consumer-grade MLC Flash through a proprietary suite of enterprise features and endurance enhancement technologies, enabling organizations to avoid the need to replace SSDs prior to the end of the warranty period.

The Guardian Technology Platform is comprised of three key elements designed to optimise performance across all functions in the SSD: FlashGuard™, EverGuard™, and DataGuard™. FlashGuard enables the use of more cost-effective MLC Flash by allowing Flash wear out to be dynamically monitored and adjusted to maximise drive life, overcoming the endurance challenges presented as the Flash process node shrinks. Additionally, by managing the physics of the Flash and not just relying on extensive error recovery techniques, SSD performance remains stable over the life of the drive. DataGuard and EverGuard combine to provide superior data integrity by protecting user data from corruption, and preventing the loss of data in the event of unexpected power interruptions.

“As the industry moves to smaller Flash process nodes in an effort to drive down cost, it becomes exponentially harder for SSD vendors to meet enterprise endurance and performance requirements,” said John Scaramuzzo, president of SMART Storage Systems. “From day one, we have focused on making the most cost-effective Flash media enterprise ready. With the Guardian Technology Platform, we are able to manipulate the physics of NAND Flash in ways that no other SSD vendor can claim. By bringing this same capability to the 19nm Flash node, we can take advantage of the most cost-effective Flash, and pass the benefits directly to our users, without compromising on performance or reliability.”

For more information on SMART Storage Systems, please visit the company’s website at http://www.smartstoragesys.com, the company’s blog at http://www.smartstorageblog.com, find us on Twitter at @SMARTSSD, or connect with us on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-storage-systems. 

RapidSwitch, a leading supplier of self-managed dedicated server solutions, has become one of the first UK hosting companies to offer Windows Server 2012 to its customers.

The much-awaited new operating system, incorporating Microsoft’s new Hyper-V 3, will provide customers with reliable and easy to implement off-site disaster recovery at affordable prices.

Aimed specifically at SMEs, Hyper-V Replica is one of the key features of Windows Server 2012 to offer a dynamic, multi-tenant infrastructure to help scale and secure workloads and build private cloud solutions.

RapidSwitch parent company iomart Group plc recently announced a major investment in a dedicated fibre ringconnecting its data centres, so Hyper-V Replica will be implemented in a high-bandwidth, low-latency network environment.

Neil Christie, Commercial Director of RapidSwitch, says, “Many of our customers have been eagerly awaiting both the investment in our network infrastructure and the release of Hyper-V specifically to cater for multi-site disaster recovery. RapidSwitch can now offer this technology to its customers at a price they can afford.”

RapidSwitch offers both Microsoft and VMware products for virtualisation. 

RapidSwitch is a subsidiary of iomart Group plc which owns and operates data centres at six UK locations and is ranked as of the top 25 cloud services providers in the world.

Further Information

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

London, October 31, 2012: EPiServer, an innovator in multichannel digital marketing and e-commerce software, announced today the availability of EPiServer 7 CMS, the first content management system to allow marketers and editors to create content that works seamlessly across channels. Businesses can ensure that their online presence is optimised for conversions and results by delivering a consistent customer experience across mobile, tablet and desktop screens from one platform. With support for driving relevant traffic from social channels and personalising the communication based on the customer context, marketers can expect increased results and conversion rates.

EPiServer 7 CMS comes at a time when cross-channel engagement is critical for achieving maximum impact with customers, but the technology to seamlessly do so is lacking.  According to the August, 2012 Forrester Research, Inc. report: “Unify The Digital Experience Across Touchpoints” by Stephen Powers, “Pulling content from multiple sources and contextually transforming it to support unified digital experiences will be one of the biggest challenges in this space in the next several years.” 

EPiServer 7 CMS allows marketers, who are strategic about their online presence, to create, manage and optimise any number of sites for global or local markets. In addition to speeding up time-to-market through efficient content management, marketers can improve quality control, efficiency and security through an intuitive interface that automatically shows only relevant information for content creators. 

Travel group Fritidsresor (TUI Nordic) recently upgraded to EPiServer 7 CMS and found great support for managing their website in an enterprise environment.  "We manage a multichannel enterprise environment, where information management and structure are critical. With EPiServer 7 CMS, it is easier for us to provide a consistent customer experience which ensures impact," said Maria Alfredéen, IT System Manager TUI Nordic.  "Additionally, EPiServer 7 CMS allows our developers to work faster and more efficiently and reduce our time to market for new innovations, which allows us to stay competitive in the increasingly competitive travel industry."

“Our customers tell us that it is difficult and time consuming to create great sites that are relevant to the customer and ensure maximum impact across mobile, tablet and desktop as well as the social channel. With EPiServer 7 CMS, your site will look great on any size screen,” says Bob Egner, VP of Product Development and Global Marketing at EPiServer.  “By giving marketers and content creators the option to update all screens at once and reuse content across the web and social channels, we’ve streamlined the process, making it even easier for companies to create consistent, responsive sites that are customised and optimised based on the customer context.”

With EPiServer 7 CMS, marketers and content creators will also have the ability to:

• Organise, manage and edit all multimedia files from one location.
• Scale to enterprise needs and support large volumes of traffic and editors across many sites.
• Manage all online activity and meet all security needs, to include protecting customers’ data or financial transactions online.
• Easily test, measure and modify content to increase conversions, for a landing page, single campaign, multiple websites or all digital marketing assets.
• Personalise website content for each visitor to create unique experiences and improve conversions.

EPiServer 7 CMS offers standard connections for leading systems such as Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SalesForce.com.  Beyond standard connectors, the integration platform offers an open and flexible interface that can easily integrate with other systems such as SAP, Oracle, Amadeus, and a variety of other data sources.

With an add-on store that allows site owners to install, upgrade and uninstall add-ons without the need for a developer, EPiServer 7 CMS creates efficiency across the board with unprecedented innovation.  For more information on EPiServer 7 CMS, head to www.EPiServer.com. 

Further Information

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

London – October 31, 2012 – FICO (NYSE: FICO), the leading provider of predictive analytics and decision management technology, today announced the availability of the latest version of the industry-leading payment fraud solution, FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager 6.3.  The new version protects consumers’ card and deposit accounts/current accounts from various forms of payment fraud, including e-payments fraud. Already the leader in card fraud protection, FICO Falcon Fraud Manager now applies FICO’s dynamic profiling capability,  neural network analytics and self-calibrating models to protecting individuals’ deposit accounts/current accounts – all while helping banks deliver a positive customer experience.

The proliferation of electronic payments and mobile banking poses several challenges to financial institutions, including managing fraud and reputational risk, retaining operational efficiency and preserving customer experience. Falcon 6.3 enables financial institutions to leverage self-learning behavioral analytics to detect and prevent electronic payment fraud in real time. By taking advantage of FICO Falcon Fraud Manager’s advanced behavioral analytics, card issuers, processors and retail banks can improve the customer experience and operational efficiency by accurately and efficiently detecting suspicious out-of-pattern payments as well as automating real-time decisions on genuine payments. Financial institutions can also meet regulatory requirements by integrating sophisticated behavioral analytics for remote banking as well as leveraging a single transaction monitoring, investigation and decision-enabling solution within their enterprise fraud defense framework.

“Launched 20 years ago, FICO Falcon Fraud Manager continues to lead the market as the best-in-class solution for detecting and preventing payment fraud across evolving and changing channels,” said Doug Clare, vice president of product management at FICO. “As financial institutions offer their customers new online banking services, Falcon Fraud Manager will be on guard for fraudulent transactions, helping the banks provide greater safety and a hassle-free customer experience.”

“Internet and mobile banking provide customers the ability to bank anywhere and anytime, as well as an opportunity for financial institutions to reduce operating costs,” said CEB TowerGroup research director Jason Malo.  “As customers bank across many different channels, it is essential for financial institutions to assess and confront account risk based on the transaction request and method by which the transaction is initiated.”

FICO® Falcon® Fraud Manager is the most accurate and comprehensive solution for detecting payment fraud, reducing losses by up to 50 percent. Protecting more than 2.5 billion payment accounts worldwide, Falcon Fraud Manager detects fraud while minimizing both operational costs as well as adverse customer impacts.

About FICO http://www.fico.com/en/Pages/default.aspx
FICO (NYSE:FICO) delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company’s groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO’s innovative solutions include the FICO® Score — the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States — along with industry-leading solutions for managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world’s top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their personal credit health through www.myFICO.com. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count™.

For FICO news and media resources, visit www.fico.com/news.

Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company’s Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO’s SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011 and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2012. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO’s results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

FICO, Falcon and “Make every decision count” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other countries. 

London, England, 31 October 2012 - Collaboration between Netadmin Systems, Fluidata and Magdalene on the implementation of a joint Service Exchange Platform (SEP) has added more than 50 additional service providers to the groundbreaking EU funded Digital Region network.

Customers who use the SEP to connect to the network can receive maximum combined throughput speeds of 100Mbps and an unprecedented selection of service providers.

David Cowell, COO at Digital Region, said: “The service exchange platform offers a real boost for broadband users in South Yorkshire. We built a world-class communications infrastructure and have now added an excellent service provider choice to rival any network in the world. The operational support system connecting consumers to these service providers is now as advanced as the fibre network itself. This puts the region in pole position to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy.”

Phase one of the network build was completed in March 2012 giving 80 percent of South Yorkshire access to the network, covering 440,000 residential properties and 40,000 businesses. To enable the new boost in choice, Swedish open access network management specialist Netadmin Systems, integrator and managed services partner Magdalene and business Internet provider and ISP aggregator Fluidata, partnered to implement the solution.

The three companies had previously worked together to provide superfast broadband access to a ‘not-spot’ in Hampshire, but this is the first time the three companies have worked together to provide access to superfast broadband on a fully commercialised next generation network.  

Torbjorn Sandberg, CEO of Netadmin Systems, which developed the operational support system enabling the different ISPs to operate on one network, said Digital Region now offers more choice than almost any network in Europe.

“The Service Exchange Platform allows ISPs to interoperate on the Digital Region network, opening up unprecedented competition and choice for end-customers. Our solution enables end-users and ISPs to easily and automatically connect with one another, whilst also providing an ergonomic user interface making selection by customers exceptionally fast and easy. Residents and businesses in South Yorkshire now have more choice of ISP on their network than almost anywhere in the world,” said Sandberg. 

The new ISPs available have been aggregated by Fluidata. Piers Daniell, Director at the company, commented:

“More than 80 percent of users in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield and the rural areas in-between, now have access to our 50+ ISPs. Not only do the people of South Yorkshire have an enviable network, but they also have access to a very competitive broadband market. This means increased choice for those customers in the region and a larger market for our service providers to access.” 

Keith Lamport, Sale Director for Magdalene, added: “We are really pleased to see the first Digital Region customers on the platform. This is a really powerful step for independent network operators enabling their ambitions to compete with the larger operators.”

For more information about Digital Region visit http://www.digitalregion.co.uk. 

Further Information

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

31 October, 2012 – You could say that 2012 was the year that the iPad got serious. Originally intended as a fun device for consumers, the iPad has grown up and entered the highest echelons of business, including the boardroom. UK tablet sales to corporate buyers outstripped those to consumers in 2012, climbing from 35% of all purchases in Q2 last year to 64% in the same period this year. And iPad sales accounted for 72% of those tablets, up from 56% a year earlier. Capital Shopping Centres Group signed as Diligent Boardbooks Ltd.’s 33rd FTSE 100 client, bringing growth in the use of Diligent’s secure board portal and iPad app to 72% amongst FTSE 100 companies since the start of 2012. Independent surveys show that three-quarters of directors favour getting their critical board papers in electronic format instead of receiving board packs as printed papers. Based on our experience, these estimates are proving true.

“Diligent Boardbooks® offers an effective way to securely modernise internal communications due to its concierge-level service, intuitive interface and compatibility with the latest devices” said Charlie Horrell, European Managing Director, Diligent Boardbooks Ltd. “Making the switch to an electronic portal is a natural progression for businesses and one which is altering the way company leaders and boards communicate on their most critical decisions.”

Current FTSE 100 users of the Diligent Boardbooks secure iPad app include companies such as Barclays, Pearson, Standard Life and Kingfisher plc. The transition from traditional board papers to a digital version has a number of positive impacts on those who use and prepare the papers. Board directors appreciate faster delivery, easier access, and annotation, search and voting features, while staff who prepare the documents are able to make last minute changes and improve the quality and timeliness of board materials. There are other corporate benefits, measured in time and cost savings as well as environmental impact. While the transition from paper can be an obvious decision, selection of the right board portal provider to assist in that journey is critical.

At Kingfisher plc, the transition to Boardbooks technology is already paying dividends for directors. David Morris, Assistant Company Secretary said:  “The secure platform and simple usability of the Diligent Boardbooks has been an enormous time-saver for the Secretariat and the Kingfisher Board.”

Further Information

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

Crocus Consulting (www.crocus-consulting.com), a Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), is to hold its annual conference for Oracle BI and PeopleSoft users at the world famous Magic Circle in London, on the 15th November 2012. Amongst the executive presentations to be made at the event are:

1. A user’s eye view of the road from PeopleSoft to Oracle Fusion.
2. The integration between PeopleSoft and Oracle BI (Business Intelligence) tools which delivers advanced business analytics for both Human Resources and Financial professionals.
3. User views and input on the PeopleSoft implementation of RTI (Real Time Information), with in-depth comment and feedback from Crocus customers who are actively implementing RTI for HMRC.

Senior Crocus and Oracle management experts will be speaking at the event, which is open to all Oracle BI and PeopleSoft users. There will also be a number of Crocus customers who are keen to share their first hand experiences of the systems. Later, for the entertainment of delegates, there will be a display by a member of the Magic Circle and a chance to network whilst reviewing the venue’s collection of priceless exhibits such as Tommy Cooper’s fez and Houdini’s straightjacket.

Commenting on the event Chris Smith the MD of Crocus Consulting said, “It will certainly be both an interesting and entertaining evening and in a most spectacular venue too. It is an ideal opportunity to meet with other users alongside representatives from both Crocus Consulting and Oracle itself.

“Our aim, at the conference, is to deliver highly informative content on the significant business benefits that Oracle Business Intelligence and PeopleSoft systems deliver. We are confident that we shall achieve this, especially as a number of the presentations will be made by users, with ‘live cutting–edge experience of the systems in their own ‘real-world’ environment. Their ability to share from their own learning curves will no doubt prove invaluable for those who attend.”

Oracle and PeopleSoft users interested in finding out more or who wish to register for the conference, which commences at 5.00 p.m. on the 15th of November should email CrocusEvent@crocus-consulting.com.

Zurich, Switzerland – October 31, 2012 – After launching just six months ago, CloudSigma, the only international, customer-centric, pure-cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider, today announced high growth and demand for its Media Services Ecosystem. Increasing its ecosystem members by 150 percent, CloudSigma has shown the real value of providing a collaborative public cloud environment designed exclusively for media industry service providers and production companies.

CloudSigma’s Media Services Ecosystem provides high-performance compute, storage and data transfer capabilities for media professionals working on technically advanced productions, including three-dimensional renderings, encoding and high-quality streaming distribution. As part of the ecosystem, service providers and production companies working in the film, music and other media industries can easily collaborate and share data all under one roof. This model allows ecosystem members to work together more efficiently, regardless of their geographic location, eliminating the long waits and high costs that plague most productions.

“In working with content and service providers to integrate digital cinema technology into their production workflows and distribution networks, having an easy way to collaborate across geographies is essential,” said Jonathan Gans, CEO and co-founder, CineCert. “CloudSigma gives us that through its public cloud where we can exchange project components instantaneously and cost effectively with our customers. By having all the media project components together in one public cloud, we can work much more efficiently without worrying about where our customers are located or how long it will take our data to reach them.”

“The public cloud is the future of the media industry,” said Robert Jenkins, CTO and co-founder, CloudSigma. “It’s amazing to think that, in today’s day and age, physical disks are still being flown across the world between the various parties involved in media productions. Public clouds offer collaborative ecosystems so providers can more easily work together to improve the efficiency of their services with high connectivity and cost effective access to computing resources. Our Media Services Ecosystem is a major leap forward in using the public cloud to advance the media industry, and it’s great to see a growing recognition among key players in the media industry, like CineCert, of that value-add.”

Participating members of CloudSigma’s Media Services Ecosystem gain access to the most advanced public cloud on the market, with pay-as-you-go pricing, full scalability, 10GigE networking, cutting edge solid state drive (SSD) storage and a completely open software platform. CloudSigma customers have the flexibility to migrate to the cloud using the software and operating systems of their choice, with full control over their data and no risk of vendor lock-in. These components make collaboration among Media Services Ecosystem members completely seamless, allowing them to store, transfer and edit the essential pieces of a media project regardless of any geographic, resource or cost barriers.

Further Information

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

London, 31 October 2012 – As trends in browser adoption evolve, companies are under increasing pressure to embrace the latest web standards and start building richer web experiences that take advantage of the capabilities supported by modern browsers. This provides the focal point of the HTML5 Workshop at this year’s OTTtv World Summit, which is set to be hosted and chaired by Matt Frost, Senior Business Product Manager at Google.

With nearly 75% of end users in North America, and 83% in Europe, running browsers that support a large segment of the HTML5 feature set*, the growing market penetration of HTML5 is rapidly on the rise. This is further demonstrated in the number of HTML5-compatible browsers that grew from 57% to 75% between the second quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2012*.

The pace of innovation has also increased alongside this tremendous growth in modern browser adoption. New standards are being drafted, matured, and are gaining adoption much faster than in the past and as such OTT players, broadcasters and browser vendors are adjusting their management strategies.

Mr Frost’s exclusive presentation at the HTML5 Workshop will explore how those within the OTT ecosystem can maximise future opportunities, focussing on the role of adaptive streaming, the challenges of content protection and the future of MPEG DASH. He will also give delegates a unique insight into where Google intends to go with the future of online video, while assessing the major changes of online content distributors and how HTML5 will create a fundamental shift in the industry.

Mr Frost comments: “I'm very much looking forward to presenting at the OTTtv World Summit in London next month. It is a great opportunity to share our observations about recent developments with and the future of HTML5."

John Luther, Product Manager, Chrome Video Technology will join Mr Frost and together they will examine how Google’s approach to HTML5 will solve many of the problems content owners currently face, with its evolution in the Chrome platform creating major opportunities.

The HTML5 Workshop will take place on Monday 5 November, commencing at 16:00hrs. To view the full agenda please go to http://ottworldsummit.com/html5-workshop-run-by-google/.

OTTtv World Summit will be located at the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, London, on 5 – 8 November 2012. To view the full event programme and register for OTTtv World Summit, please visit http://ottworldsummit.com or call +44 (0) 20 7017 5506. Alternatively, keep up to date with event news on Twitter @OTTTV.

Further Information

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

We are part of a fast moving landscape where business time undeniably overlaps with leisure time. As more and more people are connected across different channels using a myriad of new devices and networks to work at home, in the office and on the move, the risks of data, content and identity getting into the wrong hands are rising dramatically. Research has shown that 59 per cent believe that current levels of social media use in the workplace increase the risk of information leaks, and 55 per cent of UK employers are concerned about email viruses and other email security breaches.

It's clear that employers want their online activity to be safer, but what can businesses do to safeguard their assets online and on social media platforms?

Tip 1: Defend your server. This can be easily done with a combination of anti-virus packages, anti-spam filters, anti-spyware protection, a firewall and a backup system of some kind.

Tip 2: Upgrade your protection software and keep your operating systems and browsers up to date. As there are hundreds of new viruses created every day, you will need to upgrade regularly for new remedies and protection. Your operating system will have new patches that will need installing as well. Keeping on top of this will reduce risks considerably.

Tip 3: Ensure that your networks are protected through strong passwords - at least 8 characters with a mixture of upper/lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Have a policy to change passwords regularly and not to use the same passwords across your business. Most importantly - keep passwords safe. Remember that access to networks can be limited to certain groups of users as well.

Tip 4: Have a comprehensive IT training policy for all staff which is part of your induction programme. Training should cover all company workplace technologies, how to and use mobile phones, tablets etc at work, and should include such things as how to be aware 'phishing' attacks, what to do if a virus does get onto a computer and who to escalate serious data security issues to. Get advice from your IT provider if you are in any doubt.

Tip 5: Write a Social Media Policy - it should outline what constitutes accepted behaviour and what will happen following abuse of the system. This will also ensure that your company complies with relevant laws/acts for individuals and businesses (i.e. Data privacy, IP, Confidentiality, Copyright infringement, Advertising Standards etc) and it should clearly show examples of bad and good practice.

Tip 6: Guide your staff through Social Media Usage regularly and spell things out clearly using practical examples. Don't assume that people will remember what the rules are. Depending on your business, you might want to cover the below:

• Which sites can be accessed using your corporate network (and which are no go areas). And how to check (payment) sites are secured i.e. https, padlocks etc
• The acceptable time for staff using social networks at work for personal reasons
• Which email addresses staff should use when signing up for social networking sites. It pays to make a clear division between personal or business usage
• The risks of viruses/spam when clicking links received from friends on social networking sites
• The risks of accepting people as friends (there are lots of fake profiles out there) and how to use settings and options to block people seeing information about you
• The risks of revealing info about your company, colleagues and competitors on social networking sites
• Social media etiquette and how to write corporate content

London and Mexico City, 31/10/12 – Servicios Electronicos Globales, e-Global, Mexico’s largest electronic payment processor, has gone live with the Authentic Open Development Payment platform provided by Alaric International (www.alaric.com) and Stratus Technologies Mexico (www.stratusmexico.com). e-Global provides switching and card processing services for a wide range of Mexican merchants and for its joint owners, BBVA Bancomer and CITI Banamex, two of the largest acquirers in the Mexican market.

The decision to go with Alaric’s Authentic solution followed an extensive review of the world’s leading payment systems by e-Global. e-Global required a solution that could meet its exacting quality and performance standards which included the requirement to process at a rate of up to 800 transactions per second which Authentic comfortably exceeded in a rigorous competitive benchmark carried out by e-Global.

Commenting on the news Mike Alford, Chief Executive of Alaric said, “e-Global is the largest processor in Mexico. They needed a new payment solution which would deliver exceptionally high levels of performance while at the same time would enable e-Global to have a high degree of participation in, and control over, creation of customizations. By working closely with Stratus Technologies Mexico, Alaric and Stratus were able to demonstrate that Authentic was the only product that could fully match e-Global’s criteria.

“Following user training by Alaric, e-Global was able to master Authentic’s Open Development features and to produce a fully operational system itself.  This is a testament to how user configurable Authentic is.”

Juan Pablo Gonzalez Gasque, General Director of Stratus Technologies Mexico believes that Alaric has proved to be a highly effective partner noting, “As one of e-Global’s well-established suppliers, they asked us to suggest a new payment system. We recommended Alaric’s Authentic as we felt it most closely met their requirements.  We have been very impressed by how closely Alaric has worked with us to demonstrate how Authentic could not only meet e-Global’s performance requirements but also how it could be configured and customized by e-Global itself. It is a tribute to Authentic that the system is now going live with only minimal input from Alaric and Stratus other than the original training.”

Arturo Lopez, CIO of e-Global echoed these comments adding, “Authentic has proven to be a great choice for e-Global. We needed to identify a payment system which we could customize ourselves. This would allow us to maintain strategic control whilst retaining all the cost and support benefits of using a product-based solution in standard form. We found this unique and powerful combination in Alaric’s Authentic product.

“Authentic’s power and flexibility will be central to e-Global’s growth in terms of its ability to handle our growing transaction volumes. Authentic’s configurability will enhance e-Global’s agility and responsiveness, enabling us to very rapidly roll out new products and services.”

UK-based technology manufacturer, Storage Options, has announced a number of exciting upgrades and improvements to three of its most popular tablets from the award-winning Scroll portfolio.

The Scroll Excel II has been significantly improved with Bluetooth and selected 3G connectivity being added to the new device. The 7” tablet has also had its on-board memory doubled from 4GB to 8GB and boasts a highly versatile multi-touch screen and a smooth 3D output to compatible TV or monitors via a mini HDMI cable.

The Scroll Extreme II has also been boosted with Bluetooth connectivity enabling hassle-free file transfers and access to a wider range of tablet accessories such as wireless keyboards. It features a 9.7” capacitive multi-touch IPS screen and comes with an Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 1.2 GHz processor which allows users to glide across pages and view multimedia content.

The new Scroll Essential II, which has been upgraded to Android 4.0, offers an extremely portable solution with its 7” capacitive multi-touch screen and now boasts selected 3G connectivity. With 8GB of built-in memory, which is expandable by up to 32GB through a Micro SD card, the Essential II also supports videos, e-books and games - making it the perfect entry level tablet.

In addition to the new tablets, Storage Options has also announced an exciting new range of wireless Bluetooth tablet accessories. The new Scroll Keyboard and Scroll Mouse make navigating and typing on a tablet that little bit easier, while the wireless Scroll Speaker provides music lovers with a rich and full bodied sound, making them the perfect partners for movie viewing.

Paul Evison, Head of Brand from Storage Options said, “To ensure the Scroll tablet range remains competitive, we are constantly looking at ways to enhance our products. By updating these latest devices we have now placed our entire range onto the Android 4.0 operating system. We now offer seven Scroll tablets with each one offering something a little different to the customer. We believe no matter what you are looking for in a tablet device the Scrolls offer you great value for money.

“The new range of accessories is an exciting addition to our portfolio that allows our customers to really get the most out of their tablet.”

The Scroll range can be found online at www.storageoptions.com and a number of retailers including Amazon.co.uk and Dabs.com.

Further Information

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

Harlow Council has reported on the success of its Taxi Check Live!™ service, which allows people to check instantly via a smartphone or PC whether a taxi is licensed.  The new service, designed and developed by Harlow Council, launched in June this year, was built using AchieveForms from Firmstep, a leader in online service solutions for local government, and has been accessed by nearly 950 individuals in just five months.

The Taxi Check Live! service is accessible from a smart phone, tablet or PC by browsing to www.harlow.gov.uk/tcl, or by scanning the Taxi Check Live! QR code which is displayed at taxi ranks and in licensed premises around Harlow.  This loads an easy-to-use webpage, created in AchieveForms, into which the user types the taxi’s registration number.

Firmstep’s AchieveForms then links directly to the Council’s taxi licensing system and, using live data, shows a user either a green tick, showing that the taxi or private hire vehicle is currently licensed;  or a red cross, meaning the vehicle is not licensed with Harlow Council.  

Following the success of the service, which has been endorsed by Essex Police and local public safety organisations and charities, Firmstep and the Council are working with neighbouring authorities in Essex and the wider Local Government sector to make the service available across the county.  The application is being further developed to expand the information available to include the make, model and colour of licensed vehicles, helping to further reassure users. 

Steve Drewett, Web Applications Officerfor Harlow Council said:  “The service is unique and has proven to be a real success, with user numbers growing all the time.  Because it’s easy to use and always up to date, it is ideal for anyone who wants to be assured they are about to use a fully-licensed taxi or private hire vehicle.  Also, because the service was developed in-house by the Harlow Council’s ICT and Licensing teams, with software that we are already using, we have been able to deliver it at no additional cost to Harlow residents.  It’s a great example of how the right tools can unlock the data held in Council systems, to bring real benefits to members of the public.”

Councillor Ian Beckett, Chair of Harlow Council’s Licensing Committee said “We are using mobile phone technology to give residents and visitors the peace of mind that they are using a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle in Harlow. We are always working with local taxi and private hire companies to maintain high standards and this is another way of making people feel safe when travelling around the town”.

Harlow Council has been using Firmstep solutions for over 10 years, including AchieveForms to help it manage interactions with citizens, and the AchieveCommunity web content management system.  When Taxi Check Live! was proposed early in 2012, the Council’s ICT team realised that AchieveForms could enable the secure, live web access and queries to its taxi licensing database, and was able to quickly build and launch the application.