London, UK – 29 November 2012 - Nexenta Systems, the leader in Software-defined Storage solutions for the enterprise, today announced that highly respected web hosting specialists Space2U has upgraded its entire storage IT infrastructure to NexentaStor. Installing NexentaStor’s HA cluster, with two nodes and three-way mirroring, has dramatically increased performance.

Based on the High Coast region of North Sweden in Nordingrå, Space2U is an established web hosting company providing a large portfolio of services, such as virtual private servers, hosted exchange, and offsite back-up. Faced with growing volumes of data, the company needed to find a way to manage it effectively. Space2U required a storage solution that could protect present day data, and also expand with future growth.

The incumbent decentralised solution, which consisted of numerous physical servers with direct attached storage units, provided a low utilisation ratio and hindered the company’s ability to expand and develop new offerings for its customers. Immediate access to mission critical data is essential for Space2U’s customers. To achieve this, the company needed a high performance, high capacity solution, which would support its annual growth rate of 15% while allowing for a cost-efficient scale out.  

With help from value added partner Johan Tungström, CEO at Layer 8, Space2Uevaluated several solutions from legacy providers, including EMC and Dell Compellent. Eventually, Space2U selected a dynamic storage platform, based on Supermicro and powered by NexentaStor, a Software-defined Storage solution.  

The solution consisted of an HA Cluster with two nodes and features three Zeus RAM devices to increase write acceleration. With NexentaStor, Space2U now is able to easily pool and tier large amounts of data. The solution also has increased performance—with IOPS of 20,000+ now being achieved. These superior I/O speeds improve customer satisfaction and NexentaStor’s straightforward implementation and management system has reduced Space2U’s staff labour requirements.

The entire storage infrastructure was purchased and implemented at a much lower cost compared to offerings from legacy vendors, allowing the company to escape the costly vendor lock-in associated with these providers. Erik Meijer, CTO of Space2U explains: “The upgraded storage solution, underpinned by NexentaStor, has resolved all of our storage issues. We now are able to provide our customers with instant access to mission critical data. This has helped us to not only save money and time, but also remain competitive in an increasingly growing industry.”

Evan Powell, CEO of Nexenta says: “Nexenta’s Software-defined Storage provides the high performance and flexibility that web hosting providers, such as Space2U, require in order to remain competitive. We are positive that the solution has helped Space2U maintain its reputation in the web hosting industry and that it will continue to play a key role as the company moves towards an increasingly virtual environment.”  

About Layer 8 IT-Services
Layer 8 IT-Services was founded in 2010 by three highly motivated IT consultants that together have more than 35 years of experience within the IT Industry. Layer 8’s focus is to deliver IT Solutions, Cloud Services, Managed Services as well as IT Consulting within Networks, Security, Storage and Virtualisation. Layer 8 is based in Stockholm, Linköping, and Gävle, SWEDEN. For more information visit: http://www.layer8-it.net.

About Nexenta Systems
Nexenta Systems is the leader in Software-defined Storage solutions. Its flagship software-only platform, NexentaStor, delivers high-performance, ultra-scalable, cloud- and virtualisation-optimised storage solutions. Built upon ZFS technology, and running on industry-standard hardware, NexentaStor eliminates vendor lock-in and provides open, unified storage management at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems.

More information about Nexenta Systems, and free trials of the ZFS-based NexentaStor, can be found at www.nexenta.com. Partners selling NexentaStor-based hardware/software appliances can be found at: www.nexenta.com/partners.

Media Contacts:
Emily Gallagher / Laura White
Touchdown PR
+44(0)1252 717040
nexenta@touchdownpr.com

Further Information

Consultant
Tel: +44(0)1252 717040
Email: team@touchdownpr.com

MilDef has announced the release of its DT6 tablet, designed to provide military personnel with a rugged, easy-to-use and completely secure touchscreen device for use in the field. The fully ruggedized tablet features an 8.9” WSVGA LCD touchscreen with anti-glare and anti-reflective coating, making for easier use in all environments. It is also equipped with the ViaSat Eclypt IL6 Encrypted Hard Drive: the only CESG CAPS approved hard drive currently available. As a result, data contained is protected up to Top Secret level meaning that users can have peace of mind that regardless of events it is as safe as can be from falling into enemy hands.

“Any piece of kit used on the modern battlefield needs to promote confidence in the user,” said Rob Jones of MilDef. “They must be confident that it can answer any task required of it. That it will not fail under duress and that neither it nor the information it contains will become a hazard in their own right. By including a whole range of connectivity options, ensuring that the DT6 is designed for the toughest environments and working with ViaSat to include top-of-the-line data encryption, we are providing users on the ground with a device that will help them concentrate on the job at hand, with the reassurance that their kit is fit for the task at hand.”

The DT6 is fully customizable to meet specialist customer requirements. The standard unit is equipped with Bluetooth, USB, Serial Port and Ethernet, with further options including GPS, WLAN and WWAN connectivity. The Panther DT6 is manufactured from magnesium alloy and is designed to meet strict environmental standards such as MIL-STD-810G (for coping with altitude, high/low temperatures, humidity, salt fog, vibration and shock), MIL-STD-461E (for electromagnetic compatibility), and IP54 (for protection from dust and water).

The 2.5” IL6 Eclypt Hard Drive from ViaSat is CESG CAPS – accredited to hold data up to Top Secret level, while also providing the whole DT6 Tablet with a two-level drop in protective marking, on power down, to make data easier to use in the field. The drive is easy to remove and replace when needed and incorporates the use of token readers and keystones). It is also available in a variety of sizes and Solid State (SSD) variants in order to fit users’ specific needs.

“When using equipment like laptop computers or tablets in the field, the last thing you want to have to worry about is whether it will be a risk to you and others if captured,” said a member of 3 Commando Brigade. “Devices that offer a high level of encryption are increasingly vital as information and communications become ever-more integral parts of the modern battlefield. When combined with ruggedness and a full range of other capabilities we can make sure we have devices that do what we need, when we need it, and only for us.”

Want to know more contact  robert.jones@mildef.co.uk Telephone: +44 (0)7775 337362

ViaSat produces satellite and other communications products that enable fast, secure and efficient communications anywhere, anytime. ViaSat UK designs, develops and produces cyber security and information assurance solutions for government and corporate applications worldwide. Learn more at  www.viasat.uk.com.

PA Wright & Sons, a farming, recycling and haulage specialist, has upgraded its vehicle tracking solution with Ctrack to boost fleet performance and gain valuable business insight. Under the agreement, the company will adopt both the Ctrack MaXx and Ctrack Online tracking systems, as well as extend the solution to cover a total of 70 vehicles within its fleet.

The tracking solution is designed to provide added visibility and control across all PA Wright’s tankers, rigid tippers and vans, including 17 new vehicles that have been added to the fleet. It will enable the company to better manage vehicles working on behalf of local water authorities and waste recycling contractors from its headquarters in Twycross, Warwickshire, whilst responding more effectively to incoming business opportunities.
 
PA Wright will utilise Ctrack MaXx’s powerful reporting package to measure performance against key performance indicators and service level agreements. Meanwhile, the web-based Ctrack Online system will provide added flexibility and enable key personnel to access the tracking tool remotely via any Internet-enabled device.

Robert Wright from PA Wright & Sons commented: “The Ctrack systems provide a tracking solution that possesses the flexibility and simplicity of an online tool with business intelligence capabilities of an advanced server-based solution. This means we will not only be able to enhance the operational performance of the fleet, but also unlock valuable knowledge and insight.”

“Our relationship with Ctrack began in 2007 when we undertook a detailed review of available tracking technology. We found the their system to be ahead of others in the marketplace with far superior mapping quality and speed of download.”

John Wisdom, Managing Director at Ctrack said: “We work closely with our customers to develop and implement tracking solutions that meet their precise business and operational needs. Our advanced range of tracking technology ensures we are best placed to help businesses reduce costs, increase productivity, boost customer service and protect mobile resources.”

The product scored an impressive 16.5 points out of a possible 18 for all three categories tested meaning it not only successfully passed AV-Test certification, but scored considerably higher than the other solutions.

Eight coporate solutions from industry-leading vendors took part in the tests which consisted of three test categories; protection against malware infections cleaning and repair of an infected system and product impact on the usability of a computer.

The first category of tests saw the security solutions installed on a clean system running Windows 7 Ultimate with Service Pack 1. The AV-Test experts then emulated attacks on the computer by opening malicious attachments, visiting infected sites or copying malicious files from removable devices. The products were expected to detect and block all threats.

The second group of tests was conducted on operating systems infected with 40 different malicious objects. Each participating product had to remove all active malware components and remediate any modifications to the system.

The concluding round of tests assessed how the solutions affected system performance. In these tests AV-Test also checked for false positives when installing legitimate software.

Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 for Windows detected all the widespread threats in the AV-Test collection. 92 per cent of the very latest complex malicious samples were neutralised in September’s tests, with the figure rising to 100 per cent for testing conducted in October. Kaspersky Lab’s corporate solution detected all the malware on the infected system and removed the vast majority of malicious objects, earning top marks for the second group of tests.

In addition, Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8 did not generate any critical false warnings when scanning Windows and Office applications that were downloaded and installed by the AV-Test experts. During a full system scan of more than 650,000 popular programs and sites the product made just one slip which the experts described as the least critical.

Oleg Ishanov, Head of Anti-Malware Research at Kaspersky Lab commented; “The experts at AV-Test don’t just focus on the protection capabilities of the product, but also look at other important factors such as the ability to repair a system. That’s why we attach great importance to the results from AV-Test. We’re also pleased to see that no matter how tough the tasks set by independent experts, our corporate solution continues to achieve excellent results.”

The full report can be found online here.

Sydney, Australia: 17 January 2012 – Clarity, the award winning provider of Unified Telecommunications Operational Management solutions designed to simplify operations, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Visionaries quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Operations Support Systems1.

“We value our positioning in the Visionaries quadrant by Gartner as an endorsement of our vision to simplify the operations of our customers and help them dramatically improve their business performance,” said Jon Newbery, CEO of Clarity. “We believe the architecture of our Fulfillment and Assurance Suites which supports common data and workflows to optimize operations, along with the continued execution of our product roadmap, places Clarity as a true innovator in our market.”

1Gartner, "Magic Quadrant for Operations Support Systems” by Martina Kurth, 23 October 2012.

For further information please contact:
Nicholas Vangelis
Skywrite Communications
Email: clarity@skywritecomms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7608 4650

Alison Ruttens
Group Marketing Manager
Email: aruttens@clarity.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7766 037028

About the Magic Quadrant
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its 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 organization 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 Clarity
Powerlan Limited (ASX: PWR) (awaiting ASIC approval to be called Clarity OSS Limited (ASX: CYO) enables its customers to simplify their operations with a unified operational management solution. Clarity provides an integrated, modular solution to optimise and automate core operational processes to manage network build and movements, develop and sell next generation products, and deliver and assure the quality of customer services.

Clarity solutions provide the lowest total cost of ownership using embedded best practices and process-driven workflow to reduce the complexity, risk and cost of operations. Clarity empowers its customers to generate and protect revenue and enhance the complete customer experience. With over 35 Telecom customers worldwide, Clarity solutions currently help companies around the world manage over 250 million subscribers.

Established in 1994, Clarity has offices worldwide. For more information, please visit www.clarity.com.

London November 27, 2012 – Venafi, the leader in enterprise key and certificate management (EKCM) solutions, is presenting with Forrester Research, Inc. and Deloitte, at an educational summit regarding cyber security market trends and analysis, and will provide insights that significantly reduce the likelihood of data breaches and failed audits.

The summit, hosted at Deloitte’s London offices on Wednesday, 28th November, will discuss industry best practices and provide a useful guide to assessing IT security and audit risks. The afternoon will feature presentations from Deloitte on Cyber Security, Risk Management & Assurance and Venafi entitled Next-Generation Access Controls: Effective Encryption & Compliance Controls.

Special guest, John Kindervag, Principal Analyst of Forrester Research, Inc., will present on Ubiquitous Encryption and Emerging Threats, and cover key information from Forrester’s recent research report, “Kill Your Data To Protect It From Cybercriminals.”

Download “Kill Your Data To Protect It From Cybercriminals” here.

Speaking about the conference, Gregory Webb, Vice President of Marketing at Venafi said, “In a high-risk, cloud-powered, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) world, organisations are unprepared to handle the compliance risks and threats inherent with so many networked systems, applications and devices. Much like IDs and passwords, applications rely on encryption to protect data and authenticate systems, yet most companies lack comprehensive inventories of their trust instruments and can’t ensure proper controls, access or segregation of duties.”

The event will take place on Wednesday, 28th November. For further information and to attend the workshop and luncheon please register here.

Contact:
Regine Hartmann
Tel: +44 20 7183 2834
Email: regine@eskenzipr.com

St. Albans, UK – 28th November 2012 – Serena Software, the leader in Orchestrated IT solutions, today announced the results of a new survey of 200 IT professionals that focused on the current state of IT Service Management (ITSM), with a particular focus on what ITIL calls Service Transition.

In an environment where nearly every business has become application-driven, the survey reveals that IT is struggling to keep up with the resulting pace of service demand. In addition, the survey shows the majority of those polled (91 percent) agreed business groups do not perceive IT as a true partner and in some cases report that IT actually impedes their success.

Further, Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops) blame each other. Three quarters cited operations as a roadblock to agile development, and 72 percent cite development as not supporting the goals of operations. The research shows a clear divide between Development and Operations, helping to explain the aspirational popularity of DevOps this past year.

“There is massive interest in DevOps within enterprises today, as there should be. What our survey revealed, however, is the distance that IT organisations need to evolve to realise the promise of DevOps,” said Amita Abraham, group product marketing manager at Serena Software and the author of the survey report. “This data was telling in that we were able to learn about today’s key ITSM issues, in particular, the need to improve Service Transition, the ITIL set of processes that cover the juncture of Development and Operations.”

The Serena survey was conducted at itSMF’s popular FUSION 12 Conference last month, where enterprise IT professionals from around the globe joined to discuss current and best in IT service management practices. Respondents were polled from a variety of industries, including financial services, government, healthcare, online services, manufacturing and more. The sampling of participants included general attendees and speakers.

Key findings include:

• Inconsistent and manual ITSM practices are too slow for online, agile business. 70 percent reported poor release management processes.
• Disconnected processes limit Development and Operations’ success. 72 percent revealed that operational change and release management, which are central to the Service Transition prescribed by ITILv3, were the most disconnected.
• Rudimentary communication practices lead to limited visibility into planned changes.60 percent cited they had “little to no” visibility into planned changes. Survey data showed antiquated communication practices such as email, spreadsheets, and word of mouth are still relied upon for sharing critical and time-sensitive information about planned development of operational changes.
• Poor reporting leads to inaccurate status updates to the business. Only six percent reported having shared release calendars across development and operations. Shared calendars add transparency to development changes, helping to ensure they are not missed.

To download Serena’s “IT Service Management Trends 2012: The State of the Dev-Ops Union” report, which includes Serena’s top recommendations for streamlining Development and Operations, go to: http://www.serena.com/itsmtrends2012. An infographic is also available at: http://ser.so/WTG4z3

Serena orchestrates IT for enterprise organisations across the end-to-end application delivery lifecycle. IT organisations can coordinate disparate processes, multiple tools and globally distributed teams from initial business request, all the way to final production release. Serena helps IT engage more rapidly and accurately with the business, accelerate globally distributed water-scrum-fall development and deliver applications more frequently into production – all while maintaining enterprise visibility and compliance to corporate and regulatory standards.

Helpful Links

• Serena Software 
• Serena Blog
• Serena Twitter
• Infographic: IT Service Management Trends 2012: The State of the Dev-Ops Union
• Report: IT Service Management Trends 2012: The State of the Dev-Ops Union
• Serena Orchestrated IT

Tweet this: New Serena #research reveals the ‘State of the Dev-Ops in 2012’ http://ser.so/UqRGqZ #infographic #survey @SerenaSoftware #DevOps

About Serena Software
Serena Software provides Orchestrated IT solutions to the Global 2000. Serena's core purpose is to advance the business value of IT. Our 4,000 active enterprise customers, encompassing one million users worldwide, have made Serena the largest independent ALM vendor and the only one that orchestrates DevOps, the processes that bring together application development and operations.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Serena serves enterprise customers from 29 offices in 14 countries. Serena is a portfolio company of Silver Lake Partners, the leader in private investments in technology-enabled industries.

Media Contact:
Tanya Espe (for U.S. inquiries)
Kulesa Faul for Serena Software
tanya@kulesafaul.com

Mark Kember (for UK inquiries)
Goode Communications for Serena Software
+44 (0) 1491 873323
mark.kember@goode.co.uk

Marlow, UK, 29 November 2012 – The Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) has selected Softcat, along with a small number of other suppliers, to provide software licence reseller services to over a hundred higher and further education institutes in the UK. Potentially worth £60m per year, this is the first contract of its kind for UK universities to purchase software under a national agreement.

The new framework contract will help higher and further education institutes across the UK to attain the best value for their software licensing over the next three years, although SUPC retains the option to extend the framework for a further year. Educational institutions already purchase much of their software from resellers and it is expected that framework resellers will provide added-value services. Softcat, with its supplier status for Microsoft, Adobe, VMware and other software, successfully tendered for all four lots under the agreement. 

“This contract is hugely important to Softcat as part of our continued investment in and commitment to working with higher education institutions,” Nick Berry, Softcat’s education business development manager, said. “Softcat has in excess of 20 specialist account managers who are dedicated to working with higher education institutions. They are trained to the highest level on Microsoft, Adobe, VMware and other leading software products in order to provide the best possible advice and support on education licensing agreements to our valued customers. We look forward to working closely with SUPC member institutions and assisting them in providing best value software licensing solutions for both staff and students.”

Andy Bruen, Softcat’s public sector frameworks manager, said, “We are delighted to have been awarded a place as a supplier on the software contract. It reflects our historic association and strengths in selling software. Inclusion on more and more national university contracts is allowing Softcat to have more meaningful cross product conversations with university customers, helping to deliver considerable ‘value add’ in our relationships.”

Softcat is one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing public sector large account resellers, with top tier accreditation as an Adobe Platinum Reseller and Education Platinum Reseller. Earlier this month, Softcat won the acclaimed Reseller of the Year 2012 at this year’s CRN Channel Awards, a record breaking third year in a row. Other recent awards include Adobe’s Commercial Partner of the Year, VMware’s Partner of the Year and SMB Partner of the Year, Mimecast Partner of the Year (for the fourth year in a row), Symantec Commercial Partner of the Year, Websense EMEA Triton Partner of the Year, and Sophos Mid-Market Reseller of the Year. 

About Softcat
Softcat (www.softcat.com) is a leading provider of software licensing, hardware, security and related IT services. Softcat, founded in 1993 by chairman and majority shareholder Peter Kelly, remains privately owned and currently employs more than 500 people. It achieved a turnover in excess of £307 million in its last financial year and has been profitable since inception, resulting in a strong balance sheet and very firm financial foundations.

The company sells and supports products and solutions from all the world's leading IT companies. On all its portfolio products and solutions it offers a full range of services, including advice and guidance, technical design, product sourcing, implementation, support and project management. It enjoys a trading relationship with over 5,000 longstanding customers, predominantly from the UK corporate sector but also including large enterprises, small businesses and public sector organisations.

As an organisation Softcat cares passionately about two things – outstanding employee satisfaction and world class customer service. It believes the former drives the latter.

About SUPC
(SUPC) Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (http://supc.procureweb.ac.uk/aboutsupc) is the largest of the six regional higher education purchasing consortia that operate throughout the UK. SUPC was formed in 1974 when a handful of universities came together for the collaborative purchase of stationery. It has now grown to a membership of over one hundred higher and further education institutions and offers its members a wide range of collaborative purchase agreements covering most commodity areas.

The Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) awards and manages framework agreements for the education sector and is acting as lead organisation for the Software Framework on behalf of its members and also for members of the London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC), North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC), the Higher Education Purchasing Consortium Wales (HEPCW) and Advanced Procurement for universities and Colleges Limited (APUC). A full list of the participating Consortia members is available on the Consortia websites.

Skillweb has launched a new real-time planning tool to enable courier, parcel and postal organisations to reduce the time required to schedule and manage time-definite and same-day deliveries by as much as 75 per cent. The innovative solution is an extension to the company’s end-to-end item tracking solution Houndit Enterprise and will provide the ability to better coordinate deliveries and collections within strict time windows and service level agreements.

The system will provide complete visibility of all incoming orders from in-house and third party websites, so schedulers can quickly and efficiently allocate collections and arrange deliveries wherever they are. It will identify the most appropriate courier or delivery operative based on location, workload and skillset, with a job order sent directly to their handheld terminal which can then be reviewed, accepted or rejected.

All outstanding workload can be monitored centrally through the system providing an overview of live jobs and any at risk of delivery failure. This will offer the opportunity to recall a collection and rearrange with an alternative courier or operative to ensure it is completed within the necessary time window. Meanwhile, it can also communicate directly with third-party customer systems to confirm completion of a job, provide proof of delivery and trigger invoicing.

Paul Ridden, Managing Director of Skillweb commented: “With increasing demand for time-sensitive, same-day services, courier, parcel and postal operators are faced with the issue of how best to manage employees in the field to ensure that deliveries are completed within strict timescales. Therefore, we have extended our proven tracking solution Houndit Enterprise to help overcome this challenge by providing a simple and effective tool that will support the best possible service delivery and customer communication.

Initial trials have shown that the real-time planning system can achieve considerable reductions in the time required to effectively schedule and manage couriers and operatives, helping organisations to confidently deliver more time definite services.”

At Integrated Systems Europe (29 - 31 January 2013, RAI, Amsterdam), Cabletime, developer of the powerful MediaStar Evolution range of IPTV distribution solutions is to unveil its brand new Evolution Media Manager software, which will provide customers with enhanced functionality for controlling and scheduling the content they wish to distribute across their enterprise network.

The Media Manager is a core feature of Cabletime’s MediaStar Evolution, delivering a fully integrated content management system from a single interface which schedules all media sources and monitors every aspect of the distribution network, from the head-end to multiple screen locations.

The new version has been completely re-designed with a fresh interface (GUI), enriched functionality and improved ease of use. Additional features mean that as well as a central control function, users can also remotely control the system via an iPhone, iPad or smartphone, and estate floor plans will be integral to the application aiding with the location of units, screens and DMD.

The drag and drop function has been enhanced, allowing users to manage media –  including PowerPoint presentations converted to HTML or WMV, live MPEG 2 or H.264 streams, SD/HD MPEG files, JPEG images and web pages – onto digital media decoder (DMD) units for easy manipulation and editing of the playlist and selection list.  

Mike Cuckow, Sales Director, EMEA Asia Pacific at Cabletime, said: “The ease of use and functionality of the new Evolution Media Manager belies the very clever technology that sits behind it. Users will find it intuitive, easy to control and easy to upgrade and it makes monitoring of the system and scheduling, using the time-based playlist, so much more straightforward.” 

Cabletime will be showing the Evolution Media Manager on its booth Booth 4-R36.

LAN-Caster DVB SD/HD
Also making a debut at ISE will be the latest additions to the MediaStar Evolution LAN-Caster range, which now allows the live streaming of news, sport, entertainment and information in both SD and HD from digital terrestrial and digital satellite channels into the LAN.

The new Evolution LAN-Caster DVB-T/T2 (Terrestrial) and DVB-S/S2 (Satellite) will feature a DVB-CAM slot for single or multiple channel decryption per single MUX, and within each MUX will deliver up to 15 concurrent TV and/or radio channels. Users will be able to deliver to the LAN a range of 2, 8 or 12 concurrent encrypted SD and HD channels from one single unit. All units support Session Announcement Protocol (SAP).

Cabletime is expecting to demonstrate the new features, focusing particularly on the advantages they provide in reducing project costs per channel by maximising the 15 channel count per device. Prices for the LAN-Caster range start at £1295 and upgrades for existing customers are available for under £150.

HLS Encoder for iPads & iPhones
Cabletime is introducing a new encoder in its Evolution IPTV range, which will allow MediaStar system owners to stream video and audio viaan H.264 IP stream over WiFi to show media on Apple devices including iPads or iPhones. The Encoder will be available to existing Evolution users from March 2013 through a software upgrade. It will automatically adapt the viewer’s experience depending on their personal device, available bandwidth & settings. “This new Multi Format encoder will allow in-house videos, digital signage and broadcast media to be securely accessible on Apple devices” said Mike Cuckow. “We have introduced the HLS (Adaptive BitRate) encoder to meet the needs of users who are increasingly using iPads in their day-to-day working lives, particularly as part of the BYOD & OTT trend.”

Digital Media Decoder range rationalised
Increasing global demand for Cabletime’s MediaStar Digital Media Decoders has prompted the company to rationalise the range, improve the feature set and reposition the pricing. A powerful and versatile Digital Media Headend sits at the heart of all MediaStar digital media distribution solutions, but it is the Digital Media Decoders that provide the client interface and viewing experience. Full details of the new prices and benefits for end users and channel partners (including a new high quality ticker) will be available on the booth.

“We have so much to shout about at ISE 2013,” said Mike Cuckow. “The Media Manager software will be brand new and will enhance all of our MediaStar products, providing fantastic new features to help users navigate and manage their content distribution across the network easily and with confidence. We are also delighted to be demonstrating the LAN-Caster line up for the first time in public, highlighting the flexibility and upgrade options and showing customers how they can take advantage of the growing number of digital SD and HD channels.”

The MediaStar range provides TV/AV and multimedia distribution products primarily for medium to large enterprises, which require future-proof, stable and proven solutions for live TV, corporate communications, multicasts, music TV, training and digital signage.

Further information about Cabletime and MediaStar can be found at www.cabletime.com

Further information:
Mike Cuckow
Cabletime
+44 (0) 1635 35111
m.cuckow@cabletime.com
and on Booth 4-R36

Julie Kirby
+ 44 (0)7956 955625
j.kirby@cabletime.com

Further Information

PR Consultant
Tel: + 44 (0) 7956 955625
Email: juliekirby1@sky.com

Business software solutions provider, m-hance, announces that its Intellect payroll software is now fully compliant with Real Time Information (RTI) regulations relating to PAYE reporting from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The new mandatory RTI procedures mark the biggest overhaul since PAYE was introduced into the UK in 1944 and will affect 1.4 million SMEs.

From April 2013, employers will be legally required to report PAYE in real time. Using RTI businesses must provide detailed information to HMRC for each employee about any deductions such as tax or National Insurance contributions on or before each payment date, instead of delaying until the end of the tax year. The switch is intended to simplify the PAYE process and make it less time-consuming for both HMRC and employers. RTI will also reduce the number of tax year reconciliations with resultant underpayments and repayments, whilst enabling HMRC to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of employment income and tax deductions.

Andrew Hayward, Managing Director of m-hance, comments, “RTI is the most radical overhaul to Payroll since PAYE was introduced over 65 years ago and is less than six months away. It is vital for businesses to prepare for this major change now and check that their payroll system is fully compliant. Not all software providers are automatically updating their systems to cope with RTI which could leave companies vulnerable to being charged unnecessary penalties.”

m-hance’s payroll software has been updated so that businesses can submit information about PAYE payments throughout the year as part of their payroll process rather than at the end of the year. The company has also run successful RTI pilot schemes with early adopter customers which include AD Group, Norking Alluminium, A. Andrews and Sons, Randall Orchard and Edburton Contractors.

Hayward comments, “SMEs can be reassured that m-hance has been actively working with HMRC to ensure that our payroll software is fully compliant with RTI regulations. This has been reflected by the success of our RTI pilot schemes which have enabled our customers to make significant time savings during the submission process and reduce their administration costs.”

m-hance will be running a series of specific seminars throughout January and February 2013 to familiarise all users with RTI. Businesses wishing to attend should contact Cath Robinson on 0161 406 2347 or email cathy.robinson@m-hance.com for further details.

Notes to Editors

About m-hance www.m-hance.com
m-hance is a UK-based company providing innovative and functionally rich business software solutions to 2400 mid-market sized organisations including Innocent Drinks, RFU, Viridor, Millennium Hotels, Make-A-Wish, Hewden and Endsleigh Insurance. m-hance’s core solutions offering consists of financial management, CRM, enterprise social networking, SharePoint, HR & Payroll, managed services and software development in a variety of vertical markets including distribution, manufacturing, not-for-profit, professional services and infrastructure.

m-hance has been formed following the acquisitions of Calyx Software, Gyrosoft, Trinity Computer Services and elements of MentecPlus, Touchstone Group and Maxima Holdings plc. m-hance is currently supported by 230 staff from offices in Manchester, London, Loughborough, Dublin, Glasgow and the United States. m-hance also has offshore development capabilities in India.

In September 2012, m-hance was ranked in the Tech Track 100 league table as one of the fastest-growing private technology companies in Britain after achieving record sales growth of over 45%.

Press Contact:
Ben Carey
PR Manager
T: 07713 196971
e: ben.carey@m-hance.com

Redwood City and New Delhi, November 30, 2012 - Actian Corporation, author of the record-breaking Vectorwise analytic database, today announced that Comviva, a global leader in providing mobile financial and VAS solutions, has chosen and deployed Vectorwise to power their Customer Value and Retention solution – Revenue Plus. This new solution enables telecom service providers to interactively analyze massive volumes of Call Detail Records (CDR) faster and more cost effectively for understanding and acting on customer value and retention.

With 130+ customers in over 90 countries and over a billion end users, Comviva works with leading operator groups in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. Its Revenue Plus offering is an analytic-driven solution for Customer Value Management and churn reduction, and equips operators with tools to develop strategies to maximize customer lifetime value, loyalty management and win-back customers.

“Our operator customers require support to analyze massive volumes of data interactively,” said Ganesh Jayadevan, Head of Messaging and Business Solutions at Comviva. “Through our association with Vectorwise for our Revenue Plus solution, we would empower our customers to analyze data faster and in a more cost effective manner. With Data Analytics as one of our key differentiators in addition to the mobile value added services, our solution will allow greater customer retention for the telcos at controlled operational costs.”

“We selected Actian’s Vectorwise analytic database, as it enabled our customers to analyze data 10 to 80 times faster and cost effectively. This allows operators to better understand customers, model pricing to optimize network usage, and help operators make faster decisions and decrease churn,” Jayadevan added.

Vectorwise is currently being used to support telecommunications services across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Comviva aims to expand their presence in 2013 by offering differentiated VAS solutions that leverage best of breed big data analytical technologies that are faster and more cost effective.

The Vectorwise analytical database delivers great performance while optimizing for the x86 chip architecture on commodity hardware. With this disruptive combination of high-performance and affordability, data-centric companies are able to tackle big data more effectively.

“We are proud to add Comviva to our list of thriving and innovative data centric customers,” said Fred Gallagher, General Manager of Vectorwise. “Comviva’s cutting edge solution combined with Vectorwise’s record-breaking speed and cost-effectiveness provides a compelling tool for service providers in the highly competitive global telecom business environment.”

To learn more about Actian Vectorwise please visit: www.actian.com/vectorwise 

To learn more about Revenue Plus solution please visit: http://www.comviva.com/products/CVR/revenue_plus.htm

• Project also won ‘Gold Project of the Year’ at the 6th Annual DM Awards, and was finalist in the Techworld Awards 2012

November 30, 2012 – CCube Solutions today announces that Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been named ‘highly commended’ in the public sector project of the year category at this year’s prestigious BCS and Computing UK IT Industry Awards.

The Trust was recognised for its innovative approach implementing an electronic medical records (EMR) system to enable instant access to patient information, guarantee case note availability at the point of care, improve efficiency, and reduce the costs, security risks and space associated with paper handling and storage.

The BCS and Computing UK IT Industry Awards provide a platform for the entire profession to celebrate best practice, innovation and excellence. In total, this year’s awards featured 23 categories which covered: project, organisation, technology and individual excellence. The categories were open to organisations and individuals involved in IT across the public, not for profit and commercial sectors.

Used by around 3,000 health professionals on a daily basis, the Trust installed an electronic document management system from CCube Solutions, with outsourced scanning services provided by Capita Total Document Solutions powered by Kodak production scanners and imaging software.

Stuart Sumner, editor of Computing commented, “I would like to congratulate the winners and those who were highly commended on their achievements. The UK IT Industry Awards are rigorously judged and truly celebrate innovation and best practice in IT today.”

The project is grounding breaking for two main reasons.  First, Aintree is the first NHS Trust to successfully use forms recognition technology, including OCR, to automate the process of recognising pre-printed forms – which make up 95% of the paper file - when digitising records. This ensures contents are correctly indexed even if forms are incorrectly filed in the physical records. This is in contrast to other Trusts where staff manually go through the paper files prior to scanning to check and order contents.

Forms recognition technology allows the system to automatically “find” forms in the scanned patient record rather than clinicians having to “search” for them.

Professor Mike Pearson, consultant physician, says, “Some Trusts have just scanned the whole patient record which is useless as doctors are presented with thousands of PDF pages and accessing information is almost impossible. The innovative indexing developed for our solution means we can find many results as quickly or faster than using paper, with the system allowing doctors just three or four clicks to information.”

Second, Aintree is the first NHS Trust to successfully work with a third party using a scan-on-demand approach to outsource the huge task of scanning its records library.

In addition, a cleverly designed portal makes the record easy to use with a ‘timeline’ tool showing a patient’s medical journey over time and the treatment given - key for chronic disease management given patients see more than one speciality.

Around 282,000 patient files will be scanned which equates to 45 million pages. As outpatient case notes are used – on average – 2½ times a year, once a person’s file is scanned, the notes are available digitally for subsequent visits.

In close partnership with CCube Solutions, the project was driven by the Trust’s informatics department, under the leadership of Ward Priestman, informatics director, and Professor Mike Pearson, who led a clinical advisory team. The solution cost £1.5 million.

While the primary driver behind the project was patient safety and care, operational costs will be substantially reduced with the Trust expecting to save of £1 million annually by closing its traditional paper library, reducing staff and avoiding the transportation costs associated with moving 4,200 patient files every day around the organisation.

Aintree has also gained 30% additional space [a whole floor] in a new £45 million building which is now used for clinical activities not paper storage - a £13.5 million estate benefit.

The project took 15 months and was completed on budget and to acceptable timescales.

Ward Priestman, Aintree’s director of Informatics, says, ”We’re delighted to be commended. This type of project is risky, difficult, and we went out on a limb to do it. We didn’t just buy off-the shelf software, but created the solution in partnership with our IT suppliers such that we are at the vanguard of using this technology in the NHS. It means we are one of the first Trusts in the country to truly get legacy records management right – forms recognition, timeline view, and quick access to information to deliver a streamlined and modern solution which clinicians accept and like.”

David Clarke, MBE, Group Chief Executive Officer of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said, “On behalf of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, I would like to congratulate all the winners, those who were highly commended and those who were finalists. Our awards celebrate the professionalism and innovation that exists in the IT profession and demonstrates the extent to which IT is the enabler in so many businesses in the UK today. To qualify as a finalist is tremendous - to win one of our prestigious awards is a fantastic achievement.”

This is the third time this year the project has been recognised as being innovative. Aintree University Hospital NHS Trust won ‘Gold project of the year’ at Document Manager (DM) magazine’s annual awards scheme, and was shortlisted in the enterprise project of the year category at the Techworld Awards 2012, run by international publisher, IDG.

Hamburg, 30 November 2012 – German IT security specialist gateprotect, http://www.gateprotect.com, now presents the IT security solutions from its GPZ model series with new hardware: The third generation of the next-generation firewalls GPZ 1000, GPZ 2500 and GPZ 5000 offer top performance and redundancy. A RAID system provides optimal data availability, even when individual hard drives fail. This ensures a high level of stability and reliability at all times, even with large data throughputs.

For the first time the new hardware of the GPZ series also offers a flexible designed front end. Replaceable network cards have been integrated, which can be freely configured according to customer wishes. All models have VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) and Application Control to control and stop dangerous, unwanted applications from Web 2.0 in a targeted manner. The new next-generation firewalls from the GPZ series have been specially developed for the requirements of large company networks and particularly high-performance network environments with large user numbers. The clear, easy-to-operate network communication makes the firewall significantly easier to configure and manage, and ensures maximum protection with user-friendly application.

The new GPZ series is gateprotect's response to the ever increasing volume of network data traffic and the resulting growth in security requirements of large companies. "Company networks and data are today being threatened both internally and externally in a variety of different forms and via different channels. To guarantee problem-free business processes, a network must offer high availability at all times and be designed to offer the highest possible reliability", says Dr. Peter Smeets, CEO gateprotect AG Germany. "With the current GPZ series, we are offering a highly secure, user-friendly solution with redundant components for maximum security."

Strong performance and high reliability: overview of the GPZ series

GPZ 1000
The gateprotect GPZ 1000 appliance is designed for large networks with up to 1,000 users. The next-generation firewall includes all the latest features, such as VLAN, Single Sign On, Bridging, VPN SSL via x.509 certificates and VPN IPSec, IDS/ IPS, Traffic Shaping, Antivirus, Zero Hour Mail Protection, Web Filtering, Application Control, as well as the patented, easy-to-operate user interface with eGUI® technology. Based on hot-swap enabled hardware RAID with 24/7 server hard drive, redundant power supply and the high-performance HA mode, the appliance offers high reliability. The GPZ 1000 also features 4 SFP ports, for even faster fibre optic connections, for example.

GPZ 2500
For large networks with up to 10,000 users, the GPZ 2500 with 4 SFP ports and a firewall throughput of 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps) is the perfect solution. The easy-to-operate graphic user interface with eGUI® technology guarantees highly efficient management, which is supported extremely effectively by the monitoring and analysis functions of the gateprotect Command Center. Exceptionally high reliability is guaranteed at all times with Hardware RAID (hot-swap enabled) with 24/7 server hard drives, a redundant power supply and a powerful HA mode.

GPZ 5000
For complex company networks with the highest demands on throughput, flexibility and reliability, the GPZ 5000 is a reliable, easy-to-operate choice. The GPZ 5000 next-generation firewall feature 4 SFP ports and 2x 10 G SFP+. The 10 G ports provide an option for connecting the firewall directly to the backbone.

Feature highlights of the GPZ series
Version 9.2 with Application Control
While URL and content filters merely prevent or restrict access to unacceptable pages and content, Application Control enables a more fine-tuned approach and allows only specific parts of a service or website to be blocked. The system records the data traffic, evaluates it and analyses the data packages. An IT administrator can use this as a basis for creating a set of rules for the concrete network environment, which complies with the company policy and offers maximum protection from potential attacks. Recording all areas relevant to safety is only possible by combining URL and content filters with Application Control.

Download the press release at: http://www.gateprotect.com

London, 30 November 2012: A report looking at customer service trends, commissioned by Kcom in association with the Customer Contact Association (CCA), highlights a significant shift in consumer behaviour with the increasing demise of the loyal customer against the rise of the price-hungry savvy shopper.

Price and quality buys loyalty: The report finds that price (26%) and quality (24%) are the top two reasons for choosing to return to a company, followed by customer service (16%). The finding is aligned to results from a CCA member’s survey which reveals that 44% of organisations feel customers are becoming less loyal, identifying a growing need for businesses to rethink the rules of customer engagement.

Generation Groupon: Nearly two-thirds of consumer respondents (59%) claim that that they would be more willing to use an automated service if it guaranteed them a discount. This is reflective of the growing trend of discount websites, such as Groupon and Vouchercodes.co.uk which are used by millions in order to seek out the best deal. Yet 52% of businesses admit to not currently offering new or existing customers discount codes as an incentive.

“In this discount-led era customers are clearly more picky and price driven, because the market has allowed them to be so,” says Mark Pritchard, Business Development Director at Kcom. “This study shows us that if what you’re selling is identical to that of your competition, the primary consumer driver will always be price. However, while customer service may not have come out top in the survey, it is still a deciding factor in why people choose one company over another. If you offer a low price, but a customer is unhappy with customer service, they are unlikely to return. Companies need to decide which area they can best compete on, whilst also keeping in mind the other two.”

Quick, convenient and personal service: The number one customer service priority for consumers is being able to speak to a live person, followed by the first person they contact resolving their query and receiving a faster response. 88% of CCA members echoed these priorities, stating that in the future contact centre workers will be armed with the right knowledge in order to deal with more customer enquiries.

It’s a 24/7 joined up world: With a variety of ways in which consumers can now make contact with an organisation, 57% of respondents stated it to be vital or very important that a company knows how and when they have interacted with them before. However, this is in paradox to the CCA member’s survey in which 77% admit to still having a silo approach to their customer’s experience.

Pritchard comments: “Consumers have high expectations when it comes to customer service, wanting to be able to contact a company in whatever way they choose and have their query resolved quickly by someone who has the knowledge to do so. Legacy systems should be joined up and contact centres armed with collaborative technologies; they will be better equipped to deal with customer queries quickly and efficiently, helping to improve customer retention.”

Anne Marie Forsyth, Chief Executive of the Customer Contact Association says: “Consumer behaviour is changing rapidly which is creating significant challenges for the customer contact sector but it is also presents a golden opportunity to re-engineer service strategy. CCA is leading a radical rethink of organisational dynamics, the systems we deploy and the people we recruit. We’re not just helping organisations to anticipate the future, we’re creating a strategic blueprint for a new and more enlightened customer-centric service model.”

London, UK (30 November 2012)—ISACA, a nonprofit association of 100,000 IT professionals in 180 countries, recently released COBIT 5, the business framework for the governance and management of enterprise IT. To meet the global demand for COBIT 5 training, ISACA has partnered with APMG-International, a global exam institute, to offer the COBIT 5 Foundation Course and exam. Passing the exam earns candidates the COBIT Foundation Certificate, which demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the COBIT 5 framework.

Launched in April 2012, COBIT 5 helps enterprises maximize the value of their information—the currency of the 21st century. Though its 16-year history, COBIT has been used by enterprises around the world to improve management and governance. COBIT 5 provides globally accepted principles, practices, analytical tools and models designed to help business and IT leaders maximize trust in, and value from, their enterprise’s information and technology assets.

COBIT 5 training enables IT and business professionals to learn what COBIT is and how it can be used to add value to their enterprises. COBIT 5 training and examinations are available through a global network of accredited training organizations (ATOs), which have met rigorous assessment standards. Trainers and training organizations are approved, accredited and licensed by APMG to deliver COBIT 5 training and examination services to candidates. Training organizations and individual trainers who are interested in offering COBIT 5 courses will need to become accredited prior to offering any COBIT 5 course. Trainers are available at www.isaca.org/cobittraining andwww.apmg.com.

COBIT 5 exam candidates also can self-study for the COBIT 5 Foundation exam. After completing the self-study course available through ISACA, candidates can elect to take the exam online or sit for the exam at an authorized testing center.

“ISACA’s new COBIT 5 training will ensure high standards and quality processes for conducting courses and exams on a global scale,” said Urs Fischer, CISA, CRISC, CPASwiss, COBIT 5 examiner and member of ISACA’s Credentialing and Career Management Board. “Individuals who complete the training, pass the exam and earn a certificate will validate their COBIT 5 knowledge to their employers and clients, and can show how enterprises can benefit from the framework.”

Additional information on COBIT training is available at http://www.isaca.org/cobittraining.

The COBIT 5 framework is available as a free download from www.isaca.org/cobit.

To apply to become a COBIT 5 ATO or an accredited individual trainer, or to inquire about ISACA’s COBIT licensee program, contact COBITtraining@isaca.org or servicedesk@apmg-international.com.

About ISACA
With more than 100,000 constituents in 180 countries, ISACA® (www.isaca.org) is a leading global provider of knowledge, certifications, community, advocacy and education on information systems (IS) assurance and security, enterprise governance and management of IT, and IT-related risk and compliance. Founded in 1969, the nonprofit, independent ISACA hosts international conferences, publishes the ISACA®Journal, and develops international IS auditing and control standards, which help its constituents ensure trust in, and value from, information systems. It also advances and attests IT skills and knowledge through the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditor® (CISA®), Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT® (CGEIT®) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control™ (CRISC™) designations.

ISACA continually updates and expands the practical guidance and product family based on the COBIT framework. COBIT helps IT professionals and enterprise leaders fulfill their IT governance and management responsibilities, particularly in the areas of assurance, security, risk and control, and deliver value to the business.

• Participate in the ISACA Knowledge Center: www.isaca.org/knowledge-center
• Follow ISACA on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ISACANews
• Join ISACA on LinkedIn: ISACA (Official), http://linkd.in/ISACAOfficial   
• Like ISACA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ISACAHQ

Contact:
Kristen Kessinger
+1.847.660.5512
news@isaca.org

Hannah Rafferty
+44 (0) 207 183 2836
hannah@isaca.org

Review of 2012
2012 will be remembered as the year the Olympics came to Britain – although for the Channel, this is not likely to be a happy memory, with many projects being held up until after the games had ended. However, the good news is that 2012 was overall a stronger year, with the prevailing “if it isn’t broke don’t replace it” strategy employed by many potential customers finally fading.

This has proved particularly true for Unified Communications (UC) technology, with the warnings around congestion from this year’s Olympics bringing its advantages to the fore, with UC software selling in larger scale environments than ever this year in the channel.

This shows the movement from UC’s usual home in the SMB space into the 250-1000 user mid-market. These companies are opening up to the concept of UC - to keep their costs down as well as to keep pace with their smaller rivals. Integration with key productivity software such as Microsoft’s Outlook has become more important than ever as these larger companies investigate UC.

Sneak preview: 2013
Whilst we certainly are not out of the recession-fueled business climate, it is great to see 2012 as a year highlighted by a general trend towards investment in IT than by a few isolated success stories as we saw in 2011. In particular, there are a few opportunities for the channel to take advantage of that deserve a more in-depth look:

Cloud
Let’s begin with the obvious: The cloud is still continuing to turn from hype to a real and tangible offering to customers.

I believe we are now firmly at the stage where the technology itself is mature and generally accepted as safe – the problem is it will not “sell itself”. The cloud is in many ways the biggest challenge and opportunity for the Channel’s sales teams: the company that can deliver a clear and understandable solution will reap the benefits in 2013.

This will likely mean a greater degree of sales personalisation than ever before. The channel will have to move to become experts that can guide the customer to the correct cloud solution, as well as clearly detail the commercial advantages which ultimately secure a sale.

BYOD
Bring your own device (BYOD) is another well-known enterprise trend that simply continues to gather momentum. The amount of devices that now connect and interact with a company, both internally and externally - continues to balloon upwards. With connectivity and bandwidth generally increasing on these devices, monitoring and regulating these devices is one of the greatest challenges an IT department now faces, and one the channel is well prepared to meet.

I personally see this as a huge opportunity in 2013. With a huge range of devices and operating systems set to compete more fiercely than ever for consumer attention, this will inevitably become an enterprise problem. This large variety of operating systems and display formats will make a client agnostic, flexible solution critical for the channel to then be able to take advantage of BYOD in 2013.

Finally, the channel has a real opportunity to add value in this space: seamlessly integrating BYOD into an enterprise environment remains a tricky technological challenge. The channel partners that are able to address customers concerns around security, network capacity and availability by working closely with vendors will make significant gains in this space in 2013.

SIP Trunking
Finally, and somewhat specifically, there is SIP Trunking. An alternative to the traditional ISDN line, SIP Trunking has been undersold in previous years, but the barriers towards this are lifting. The price of bandwidth is reducing rapidly as availability increases, and in line with this it appears that guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLA) are becoming both more common and coming in at a lower cost to the customer.

This, combined with the lower calling costs, transferrable dialing codes and other benefits of SIP Trunking could mean that 2013 is the year the technology really takes off, especially in the Call Centre market.

In Conclusion
2013 appears a great opportunity for the Channel, much more so than previous years that have been embattled by a global recession and the Olympics. The first signs of progress are being seen as the crucial mid-market opens up to innovative cloud and communications technologies, a trend I see continuing as we head into 2013.

Further Information

PR Consultant
Tel: 02076805500
Email: joshua.breckman@chameleonpr.com

At Integrated Systems Europe (29 - 31 January 2013, RAI, Amsterdam), Cabletime, developer of the powerful MediaStar Evolution range of IPTV distribution solutions is to unveil its brand new Evolution Media Manager software, which will provide customers with enhanced functionality for controlling and scheduling the content they wish to distribute across their enterprise network.

The Media Manager is a core feature of Cabletime’s MediaStar Evolution, delivering a fully integrated content management system from a single interface which schedules all media sources and monitors every aspect of the distribution network, from the head-end to multiple screen locations.

The new version has been completely re-designed with a fresh interface (GUI), enriched functionality and improved ease of use. Additional features mean that as well as a central control function, users can also remotely control the system via an iPhone, iPad or smartphone, and estate floor plans will be integral to the application aiding with the location of units, screens and DMD.

The drag and drop function has been enhanced, allowing users to manage media –  including PowerPoint presentations converted to HTML or WMV, live MPEG 2 or H.264 streams, SD/HD MPEG files, JPEG images and web pages – onto digital media decoder (DMD) units for easy manipulation and editing of the playlist and selection list.  

Mike Cuckow, Sales Director, EMEA Asia Pacific at Cabletime, said: “The ease of use and functionality of the new Evolution Media Manager belies the very clever technology that sits behind it. Users will find it intuitive, easy to control and easy to upgrade and it makes monitoring of the system and scheduling, using the time-based playlist, so much more straightforward.” 

Cabletime will be showing the Evolution Media Manager on its booth Booth 4-R36.

LAN-Caster DVB SD/HD
Also making a debut at ISE will be the latest additions to the MediaStar Evolution LAN-Caster range, which now allows the live streaming of news, sport, entertainment and information in both SD and HD from digital terrestrial and digital satellite channels into the LAN.

The new Evolution LAN-Caster DVB-T/T2 (Terrestrial) and DVB-S/S2 (Satellite) will feature a DVB-CAM slot for single or multiple channel decryption per single MUX, and within each MUX will deliver up to 15 concurrent TV and/or radio channels. Users will be able to deliver to the LAN a range of 2, 8 or 12 concurrent encrypted SD and HD channels from one single unit. All units support Session Announcement Protocol (SAP).

Cabletime is expecting to demonstrate the new features, focusing particularly on the advantages they provide in reducing project costs per channel by maximising the 15 channel count per device. Prices for the LAN-Caster range start at £1295 and upgrades for existing customers are available for under £150.

“We have so much to shout about at ISE 2013,” said Mike Cuckow. “The Media Manager software will be brand new and will enhance all of our MediaStar products, providing fantastic new features to help users navigate and manage their content distribution across the network easily and with confidence. We are also delighted to be demonstrating the LAN-Caster line up for the first time in public, highlighting the flexibility and upgrade options and showing customers how they can take advantage of the growing number of digital SD and HD channels.”

The MediaStar range provides TV/AV and multimedia distribution products primarily for medium to large enterprises, which require future-proof, stable and proven solutions for live TV, corporate communications, multicasts, music TV, training and digital signage. 

Further Information

PR Consultant
Tel: + 44 (0) 7956 955625
Email: juliekirby1@sky.com

SYNETY, the hosted telephony software and services specialist, has announced that SalesAngel, a leading SugarCRM partner, has integrated SYNETY’s CloudCall on-demand business telephony suite into its range of sales and marketing management software solutions.

The integration enables users of SalesAngel’s solutions, which include CampaignAngel, aimed at contact centres and outbound marketing functions, and AdvisorAngel aimed at financial consultants, to take advantage of CloudCall’s advanced click-to-call capabilities and in-depth reporting to streamline outbound calling, improve customer interactions and enrich their customer records. 

Users will also benefit from CloudCall’s ultra-low outbound costs of just 0.75p per minute for landline numbers and 2p per minute for mobiles, delivering significant savings on communications costs. 

The integration also enables automatic recording of all telephone calls made using CloudCall, enabling users to instantly access and replay recordings for training or verification.  Recordings can also be appended to customer records to give a comprehensive overview of client interactions.  This feature is of particular benefit to users of AdvisorAngel, as it enables consultants to easily meet Financial Services Authority requirements for recordings of calls.

Furthemore, it enhances tracking of progress and performance against individual and group targets, helping senior staff to better manage their teams. 
Steve Edge, Director of SalesAngel said:  “Integrating click-to-dial telephony directly into the CampaignAngel and AdvisorAngel user interface helps to boost staff efficiency, and CloudCall’s reporting functions give a comprehensive log of client transactions while delivering significant cost savings.   Together with its call recording capabilities, integrating CloudCall with our solutions helps to give users a complete picture of all their transactions with customers, making it an even more powerful tool for driving business.”

CloudCall offers a fully-featured hosted business communications solution that delivers real cost savings and productivity benefits.  The CloudCall Click service enables software integration which works with customers’ existing phone systems or can be used as a standalone system with the included CloudCall Communicator softphone.  It delivers click-to-call and call recording functions integrated into a customer’s CRM, sales or business software. 

CloudCall Enterprise operates as a stand-alone hosted PABX service over a broadband connection, using either SYNETY VoIP handsets or SYNETY’s softphone.  It can be provisioned within a few minutes and installed, configured and running in two working days, offering a hassle-free alternative to line rentals with a competitive per-user per-month service charge. 

To maintain its "sensitive" network in a state of permanent security, the National Defense Inter-arm Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate retains the LANDesk Process Manager solution, interfaced for the first time with Microsoft SCCM.

London – 3 December 2012 – LANDesk Software, the industry's leading provider of solutions for systems lifecycle management, endpoint security, enterprise mobility, and IT service management, today announced that it has been retained by the National Defense Inter-arm Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate (DIRISI) to pilot the deployment of security patches for its Windows systems.

For the first time, LANDesk Process Management, LANDesk's automation management tool for changes, workflows and processes, will be associated with Microsoft's SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager), the security patch deployment solution used by DIRISI for its Windows environment.

Security of "sensitive" information
The DIRISI's scope of power is vast. As its name indicates, it is in charge of the IT systems management for three armies, those of the General Secretariat for Administration (SGA) and soon, the General Directorate for Armament (DGA). In addition to this very large scope of intervention, the DIRISI handles data and information which must be secured at all times. Therefore, the three main networks are separated into the Internet network, the Sensitive Intranet, and the Classified Intranet.

As part of the Sensitive Intranet, the deployment of security patches relied on DECOS-S for several years, a project stemming from a study undertaken by the Land Forces in 2006 on the WSUS system (Windows Server Update Services), and recently completed by the Microsoft SCCM solution.

"We wanted to go further with the governance of our systems," explains the colonel in charge of the project at DIRISI. “We wanted to have indisputable visibility associated with a workflow system, for a finer management of security patch deployment."

A project in collaboration
The first technical studies were initiated by the DIRISI in 2010 and probed the market opportunity in an effort to determine which tools could meet its needs. The objective was not to replace the deployment solutions, but to complete them by installing the patches on the basis of a balance between the risks on security and continuity. It was also important to know the state of security of all systems in real-time. As a result, LANDesk Process Manager was selected as it allows the piloting of an application of patches to make the operational security state more mature. “The interconnection with SCCM that relies on DECOS-S was thus an inevitable pre-requisite," the DIRISI team continued.

Immediately after the first meeting, the LANDesk team accepted the challenge and began the development of the interface with SCCM in the first half of 2012. “The reactivity and the technological capacities that LANDesk demonstrated during this first phase strongly influenced our final decision,” said the DIRISI team.

"From the launch of the project, a real culture of trust was established between our teams and those of the DIRISI," added Frédéric Pierresteguy, managing director of LANDesk France. "We were therefore able to understand and rise to the challenge in order to propose a solution that fully meets their expectations."

After the classic pre-study phase, the deployment of the LANDesk Process Manager will be a progressive one, for an operational implementation at the end of the first half of 2013. "We are confident about this target timetable as the LANDesk teams have provided us with everything to ensure project will be completed according to schedule," concluded the colonel.