That's Technical

Datawatch announces

2009-11-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

New Features Deliver Improved Data Delivery, Compliance and Distribution at Dramatically Reduced Cost, Time and Complexity

Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ-CM: DWCH), a leader in Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Information Management (EIM), today announced Monarch™ Data Pump V10.5 Standard Edition, the latest upgrade to the company's server-based data distribution, ETL (Extraction, Transformation, Loading) and application integration solution. In addition to new data, analytic and styling capabilities, and access to new data sources, Monarch Data Pump V10.5 includes powerful new compliance and auditing features. Users can now use Monarch Data Pump to create and export Microsoft Office Excel 2007 spreadsheets containing a copy of the original report source of the data-eliminating spreadsheet-induced uncertainty, reducing the audit cycle and easing compliance. Digital Signatures can now also be added for maximum data integrity. Monarch Data Pump V10.5 is compatible with the new Windows 7 operating system.

The Best Report & Excel Distribution Tool Available

For companies that distribute reports on a regular basis, either internally or externally, using Monarch Data Pump V10.5 saves money on distribution costs, makes users more productive and reduces compliance issues. Monarch Data Pump V10.5 can automatically deliver corporate reports in the format users want (Excel), along with the original report source(s) for viewing and auditing within the same Excel file- making it the perfect way to distribute reports generated from any system without programming, database work or altering any current system output.

"Automating the process of acquiring, analysing and distributing high quality data to data marts or to end users in Excel can be very difficult and expensive when using traditional database-oriented tools," said John Kitchen, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Datawatch. "Monarch Data Pump V10.5 solves these challenges and adds new data, analytic and styling capabilities to the superior automated reporting, data delivery and ETL capabilities our customers continue to rely on. Monarch Data Pump V10.5 also provides new features to address the spreadsheet compliance and auditing challenges organisations face-at a fraction of the cost, time and complexity of alternative solutions."

New Key Capabilities Overview

• Include the source report file(s) in XLSX/XLSM export for enhanced compliance and audit ability of Excel spreadsheets
• Embed Digital Signatures in XLSX/XLSM export for enhanced security
• Export of data to PivotTables in XLSX/XLSM files for ready to go analysis
• Insert document properties in XLSX/XLSM files to improve search ability, especially in SharePoint
• Import and export Monarch Data Pump Processes
• Compatible with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
• And more

About Monarch Data Pump

Monarch Data Pump was developed from the ground up to provide automatic, server-based information delivery & data integration. It automatically mines and combines data from reports, PDF files and other data sources including spreadsheets and databases with no new programming needed. It provides effortless customisation of data views by providing calculated fields, data summarisation, sorts, filters, lookups and more. Monarch Data Pump easily uploads data to any ODBC or OLE DB compliant databases such as SQL Server, Oracle or DB2, or delivers the data in end user friendly formats such as Excel. And best of all, it is very easy to set up, use and maintain.

ABOUT DATAWATCH CORPORATION

Datawatch Corporation (NASDAQ-CM: DWCH), a leader in Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Information Management (EIM), helps companies make better decisions and solve business problems by simplifying access to and analysis of information. Unique among BI vendors, Datawatch transforms the massive amounts of data and documents generated inside or outside a company into actionable insight, without any changes needed to existing systems. Datawatch customers benefit from the right information, in the right context, at the right time. More than 35,000 organisations worldwide rely on Datawatch products including its market-leading Monarch report and data mining solutions. Founded in 1985, Datawatch is based in Chelmsford, Mass., with offices in London, Sydney and Manila. For more information, visit www.datawatch.com.

Linking continents – Vonage launches its unique service to India

2009-11-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

Vonage, the world leader in VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) caller technology, has launched a unique package that will enable customers to make unlimited calls to India from the UK.

The revolutionary new package – the first of its kind in the UK – uses the very latest in communications technology to provide customers with a package of services including:

• Unlimited calls to Indian landline and mobile numbers, the US, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong,
• Unlimited Vonage-to-Vonage calls,
• Cheap international rates for calls to landlines and mobiles outside the V-Plan 4i package area
• Unlimited calls to landlines in over 35 countries

The V-Plan 4i package has been specifically designed to make the most of the latest, cutting edge technology employed by Vonage and to connect friends, families and business associates across the world. The package, which costs only £18.99 a month in the UK, comes with a range of extras at no additional cost including caller display, three-way calling, ring back, international call barring and much more.

A new way of doing business

The package has been designed for every Vonage customer, but has particular relevance for international businesses looking to save money on their calls. “We’re delighted that the interest has been so great in VoIP technology, and predict it will become a major business tool for the 21st Century,” explains Vonage UK’s Managing Director Vincent Potier. “The opportunities for trade between India and the rest of the world are opening up new partnerships that transcend international borders and develop a truly global marketplace, and VoIP is helping to facilitate that,” he adds.

The start of a telecommunications revolution

The V-plan 4i scheme is designed to bring this revolutionary technology to a much wider audience, and Vonage believes that the Indian market is eager to be at the leading edge of that movement. “We’ve had an explosion of interest from people who are currently spending more than they would like on international phone calls from normal carriers”, says Vincent Potier. “By encouraging more people to take up the scheme, both businesses and private domestic customers, we believe that VoIP will become a major part of the way people communicate across the world in the future,” he concludes.

pointOne offers seasonal sweetener on EPoS to beat the January blues

2009-11-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

pointOne, a leading supplier of EPoS (electronic point of sale) technology is offering hospitality operators free installation and the first year’s support on the purchase of a new pointOne EPoS solution which supports loyalty programmes designed to boost trade during quieter periods such as January.

Aimed at restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes, clubs and hotels, pointOne EPoS is an innovative and easy to use solution offering a plethora of features, including an integrated customer loyalty and incentive programme for staff. Using pointOne Loyalty customers can accumulate points every time they visit, which can then be traded against food or beverages at a later date. This can motivate customers with new promotions and offers, helping to keep operators’ tills ringing during the festive season and beyond.

Steven Rolfe, Managing Director at pointOne EPoS commented “The seasonal offer provides a great opportunity for hospitality operators to upgrade their existing EPoS systems, and embrace features such as Loyalty that will help to boost sales. Moving into the New Year, pointOne EPoS will also give you greater control over your business, with reporting and stock control analysis, as well as integration with other technologies such as Sage accounting software, enabling hospitality operators to export and analyse data for ‘wet and dry’ sales.”

At peak times, pointOne can also be used for queue-busting in conjunction with pointOne Mobile, the wireless handheld that supports table sales. pointOne EPoS now comes with a new 15” screen providing greater clarity to users which is consistent with pointOne's policy of developing solutions that are user friendly, improving bar throughput and reducing staff errors.

Using pointOne EPoS hospitality operators can realise the following benefits:
• High throughput of customers at its bars
• Enhanced customer service
• Ease of use reduces training and errors
• Automated & comprehensive customer billing
• Security and accountability
• Discourages fraud
• Improved management reporting
• Improved stock control

The offer is available until the end of January 2010.

For more information visit : www.pointone-epos.co.uk or call on
0845 862 0005

Modera to exhibit and guest speak at IMS 2009

2009-11-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

Content software and customer relationship management company Modera to guest speak and exhibit at Online Information 2009 (IMS)

Content management system (CMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) software company Modera http://www.modera.com is to exhibit and guest speak at IMS in December.

Modera will exhibit at stand 266 from 01 to 03 December 2009 at the Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK. It’s the first time that the content management company will be attending the information management systems exhibition and conference.

Siim Vips, CEO at Modera will also be guest speaking on Thursday, 3 December 2009 from 14:00 to 14:30 in Theatre A with a presentation entitled, “Past, current and future content management technologies.

Vips will impart his decade worth of experience and knowledge of the content management arena and how Modera’s software is used to power brands such as Bank of Happiness, Nissan, Citizen Watches, Group 4 Securicor (GS4), Hong Kong Express Airline, Jamiroquai.com, Bose and The Mama Group Plc. He will also share what has previously been successful in the industry, or not; where the marketplace is now and what will unfold in 2010 and beyond.

Siim Vips, CEO at Modera comments, “It’s been a very successful year for Modera despite the challenging economic environment. We have released a number a well-known brand sites in addition to securing £1.3 million research and development (R&D) funding for our new platform. We have started developing the next generation of products and services for our clients based upon it.

IMS provides us with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate what Modera software is able to achieve at very competitive pricing as well as walk through our clients and partner network behind the scenes development that hasn’t been experienced yet. This includes PIM and PDM modules of our Extranet products, in addition to showcasing our full suite of services.”

IMS is now an important fixture in Modera’s diary, with the CMS and CRM company welcoming visitors to its stand to experience the range of services that its clients benefit from.

ISI Announces Strategic Partnership—and Webinar—with Pharma To Market

2009-11-24T16:41:00.001-08:00

Through the new alliance, ISI will provide vital support for pharma organisations as they make the transition to standardised electronic submissions

Educational Webinar marks launch of partnership

ISI, a leading provider of software and services for the life sciences industry announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Australian systems integrator, Pharma To Market Pty. Ltd., in anticipation of Australia’s adoption of the electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD) submission standard.

Under the agreement, Pharma To Market will act as ISI’s exclusive Australian reseller of ISI’s market-leading Regulatory Solutions Suite and provide full implementation, maintenance, and accredited training courses for ISI’s software products. Pharma To Market also offers outsourcing solutions for eCTD and paper publishing to companies in Australia and New Zealand. With extensive experience in global regulatory affairs, Pharma To Market is currently the only eCTD vendor in Australia to offer local support and an extensive range of eCTD solutions to companies in Australia.

As Australia gears up for eCTD adoption, pharma companies have moved a step closer to the opportunity for a smoother regulatory process and improved submission lifecycle management. Global players in particular will now be able to streamline and harmonise their regulatory process and filing submissions for multiple regions—North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia, among others—merely adapting applications for region-specific elements.

Pharma To Market’s director and principal consultant Nick Ward says: “This alliance is very well timed as Australia gears up both to implement eCTD and to benefit from all of the associated efficiencies. ISI is a global market leader in its field, with a range and depth of software capability that is second to none, so we are delighted to be able to draw on the company’s market-leading tools, techniques, and expertise.”

For ISI’s part, the partnership with Pharma To Market enables the firm to extend its offerings across the Australian market, bringing online a further market for its global clients.

“There is still a lot to do before eCTD is put into practice in Australia,” says ISI’s managing director for Europe Adam Sherlock. “The Australian regulatory authority [the Therapeutic Goods Administration] must focus on getting its review tool installed and ready to accept submissions, developing its business protocols, and ultimately beginning formal eCTD pilots. This gives Australian pharma organisations some time to play with as they get their own houses in order, so this is a great opportunity for them to strike up a conversation with Pharma To Market.”

For industry, the onus is on getting the business ready to adopt eCTD. This will require improving business processes. Large, global companies will need to ensure that their Australian affiliates are familiar with the tools and processes used at global headquarters and that staff are properly trained and ready to implement the formal electronic submissions. Meanwhile, locally based companies will need to decide on how they will implement eCTD—the tools, the processes, training, and so on—and adjust business practices accordingly.

“The opportunities for companies are immense, but the benefits will only be realised if companies are prepared in advance for the changes eCTD brings about. Furthermore, if they haven’t already done so, Australian companies should act swiftly to take advantage of the Australian government’s small-business and general-business tax break and invest in any hardware needed to produce compliant eCTDs. The tax break is available for eligible tangible assets until December 31st, 2009,” Nick says.

First half revenues for Managed Hosting and Cloud Computing provider iomart Group rise 47%

2009-11-24T16:40:00.001-08:00

A 47% increase in revenues has helped managed hosting and cloud computing business iomart Group plc report a profit of £1.4M (£0.65M loss Sept 2008) in its half yearly results to September 30 2009.

The Group also revealed that it’s managed hosting arm, iomart hosting, has doubled its customer based and moved into profitability, following a period of investment. Overall, the results show the Group is delivering on its strategy of growing its managed hosting business as it bids to become recognised as the UK’s foremost managed hosting company.

In May, iomart Group acquired dedicated server hosting company RapidSwitch for £5.25m. RapidSwitch has quickly integrated into the Group and is performing well by continuing to grow revenues and profit.

The Group’s Maidenhead data centre has also been fitted out to provide another 3500 square feet of hosting space to allow for further expansion; in addition, the data centre now houses RapidSwitch’s entire hosting infrastructure, eliminating external rental costs and delivering substantial savings for the Group.

The Group launched two cloud computing products under its iomart Hosting brand; CloudXtra, designed for short-term, fluctuating computing demand and CloudSure, which provides a resilient high availability platform for business critical applications.

Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: “We’re very pleased with the progress we’ve achieved and all of our hosting brands have performed well over the period. We achieved a major milestone during the period moving into recurring monthly EBITDA profitability in our existing operations, further accelerated by the acquisition of RapidSwitch.

“We have continued to win new business since the end of the period and have good visibility of revenues for the second half of the year. In addition to the revenue growth that we have experienced from new customers, we’re especially delighted at the levels of additional business we are gaining from our existing customer base, as they turn to us, as trusted supplier, to provide the additional services that they need for their own expansion. Our current trading is well in line with expectations and we remain confident for the full year.”

“The enhancement of our cloud computing offerings during the period underlines our intentions to innovate in the provision of UK hosting services" and we believe we are well placed to take advantage of the market opportunity in this area.”

During the period the Group also renegotiated a deferred payment for its 2007 acquisition of data centres from Ezee DSL, from £4.8m to £3.8m.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• EBITDA profit of £0.84m (H1 2009 loss of £0.36m
• Revenue growth of 47% to £8.4m (H1 2009 £5.7m)
• Net cash at end of period of £4.5m (H1 2009 £13.7m)
• Acquisition of RapidSwitch for £5.25m

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• RapidSwitch integrated into Group and operations completely migrated into own datacentre in Maidenhead
• iomart Hosting customer base has more than doubled in size from September 2008
• Continuing development of cloud capability with new services launched

Angus MacSween, CEO commented: “We achieved a major milestone during the period moving into recurring monthly EBITDA profitability in our existing operations, accelerated by the acquisition of RapidSwitch. We have continued to win new business since the end of the period and have good visibility of revenues for the second half of the year. Our current trading is well in line with expectations and we remain confident for the full year.”

FACT FILE:

Founded in 1998, and listed on AIM in 2000, iomart plc has built an enviable reputation for its core internet hosting skills and experience. The company holds a unique place in the hosting market in that it genuinely offers a ‘one source’ approach. By physically owning and managing its own network infrastructure, including state-of-the-art data centre facilities, it offers world-beating levels of service to its customers. iomart provides a blend of hosting services, ranging from domain name management through to complex managed data centre solutions, to both the private and public sector.

The group operates in the hosting market through its iomart Hosting, Easyspace, RapidSwitch, Internetters and virtualserver.com brands.

Jennic, Enabling Wireless Transportation of Real-time Logistics Data

2009-11-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

• Ultra-low power wireless technology creates ‘intelligent’ sensor network for Transportation applications
• Comprehensive platform, to serve rapid development and quick time to market
• Jennic’s Patented Sleeping Beacon Technology, maximises battery lifetime of sensor nodes
• IEEE802.15.4 standards based solution to serve a global market

Sheffield, UK, 24th November 2009: Jennic, a manufacturer of innovative 32-bit wireless microcontrollers announces the release of its Logistics Reference Design, providing a comprehensive platform for use in monitoring and tracking of Goods in transportation. Based upon Jennic’s Patented Sleeping Beacon Technology, the platform allows battery powered, time-synchronised sleeping wireless sensor networks to be evaluated for Logistics applications. Sensors in the network periodically communicate environment data such as temperature to a central controller, which communicates with a back-office system to provide real-time transportation data to logistics personnel and for auditing purposes.

The Reference Design is provided as two packages, to enable first evaluation, followed by development and customisation. The evaluation package is designed to allow the benefits of the ultra-low power wireless solution to be rapidly assessed with use of Jennic’s standard evaluation kit and a PC for the back-office GUI. The Windows based GUI displays real-time data relating to the sensor network; including node temperature, battery voltage and RF channel. It also allows the frequency agility features of the solution to be evaluated, through the effects of RF interference and channel blacklisting.

The developer package is supplied as a drop-in application for the Jennic SDK, along with project files and application source code. Provision of source code ensures developers can access right into the heart of the solution, to perform customisations; typically the integration of a GPRS/GSM modem link to the back-office.

Colin Faulkner, Jennic Product Marketing, commented, “Our sleeping beacon technology offers the perfect solution for mobile, battery powered sensor networks, addressing logistics requirements such as cargo and vehicle security, and environment monitoring. The Logistics Reference Design provides OEMs with a fast, effective platform for developing bespoke solutions, providing all the enabling technology on which to build their system.”

When deploying a monitoring system based on Jennic’s Logistics Reference Design, transport companies can expect to see a fast return on their investment, through a reduction in quality issues, insurance claims and fuel costs by reducing unnecessary transportation.

At the heart of the design is Jennic’s IEEE802.15.4 standards based wireless microcontroller technology operating in the unlicensed 2.4GHz ISM band, providing a solution for a global market. To enable rapid time to market, Jennic offers a range of pre-certified surface mounted wireless modules that have full compliance with all RF regulatory requirements meaning lower certification costs.

For further information, please email info@jennic.com or visit www.jennic.com/applications/logistics

Norwegian Post Office chooses StepStone E-recruitment solution to manage its 25,000 employees

2009-11-23T15:34:00.001-08:00

StepStone, a global leader in talent management solutions, has announced that Norway’s Posten (Post Office) has selected StepStone e-recruitment to underpin, manage and enable a professional recruitment process across the business. Implementing an e-recruitment solution will enable Posten, which employs around 25,000 people, to attract and filter qualified candidates, dramatically reducing the HR department’s administrative workload. The resulting resource savings will enable an increased focus on key tasks that support Posten’s business strategy and continuing business growth.

“A thorough evaluation of the various e-recruitment solutions available lead us to make the decision to implement StepStone’s e-recruitment solution, and we are extremely satisfied with that choice," says Inger Lovise Lunde, HR Director, Posten Norge As.

StepStone delivers world class technology and services for sourcing, recruiting, retaining, managing and developing talented people. StepStone’s software will enable Posten to work more efficiently in its recruitment processes and empower it to establish a more targeted and professional communication with candidates, which will in turn strengthen Posten’s internal and external employer brand.

"We are delighted that Posten has chosen StepStone as its e-recruitment supplier. Its choice strengthens and confirms our position as the leading solutions provider in e-recruitment and talent management, said Anders Koppang-Grønn, Country Manager, StepStone Solutions in Norway.

For more information on Posten Norge As: http://www.posten.no/.

iome launches Plotstar – the industry’s first white-labelled digital media platform that lets consumers discover, plan, share and save

2009-11-20T13:29:00.001-08:00

- Enables brands to socially interact with consumers and generate additional revenues through digital marketing -

iome has today launched Plotstar (www.plotstar.com), a new digital media service that enables consumers to discover, plan ahead and share events, activities and plans, based on their current or intended location. Plotstar, which is available via any Internet-connected device, will also enable individuals to book restaurants, cinema and theatre tickets through the service, share event plans with friends via social networks and access relevant discount vouchers and offers that are personal to them.

The service is initially being launched to business, brands, retailers and marketers who wish to deliver highly targeted digital services, offers and advertising to their consumers’ device of choice. This intelligent platform has the ability to learn consumer behaviour, in addition to understanding likes and dislikes, delivering a highly personalised and relevant service.

Plotstar lets individuals discover places, events and activities based on their current or planned location and create plans around these. Discount coupons are also integrated to give consumers the ability to make savings as part of their personal plans. Plans can be shared with friends via Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email, making it an ideal tool for planning anything from business meetings to a day out with friends. Also, Plotstar has the ability for users to add their own content, including photos from the event, venue ratings and messages.

Phil Eames, CEO of iome, confirms: “Plotstar is the first platform of its kind to enable businesses to deliver highly targeted offers, advertising and services to their consumers via PC and mobile. As the system learns from behaviour, it is a great marketing tool for businesses wishing to create closer relationships with their consumers and, in turn, provides a great event planning tool that can suggest nearby venues or events, assist with bookings, help save money, and all whilst keeping in touch with friends and family”.

Concludes Eames: “Plotstar is the first service of its kind to bring together social networking, discount coupons and location-based services and fills a gap in the market. By delivering this interactive service to its customers, businesses have a more detailed understanding of their behaviour and are able to provide tailored offers and services as a result. We are excited to launch this innovation to the digital brand marketing sector”.

The iome platform provides access to over 2.5m locations and listings, 500,000 events and many online and mobile vouchers, all of which are geo-located.

For further information, visit http://www.io-me.com, http://www.plotstar.com and http://www.plotstar.com/m.

Protect your children online

2009-11-20T13:26:00.001-08:00

As the BBC’s annual telethon charity initiative ‘Children in Need’ is televised today, Optenet, a pioneer and global leader of enabling Software as a Service (SaaS) security offerings in-the-cloud, would like to remind parents and guardians to ensure protection of minors whilst using the Internet.

Last year’s Children in Need Appeal raised an amazing £38 million which is already starting to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people. Throughout the years, children using the Internet have been faced with different challenges, as the level of threats online has risen. This is due to increased use of technologies such as social media websites including Facebook, MySpace and Bebo.

As children and young people are encouraged to spend more time on the Internet, both for education and entertainment, there is some simple advice for parents who would like their children to enjoy the benefit of the Web without the growing risks associated with it.

The increasing amount of inappropriate and harmful content being disseminated via the Web makes it difficult for parents to single-handedly safeguard their children online. Optenet, a provider of technologies that protect more than 100 million end users and is deployed globally at over 75 ISPs, believes that although parents are ultimately responsible for what their children view, they need the help of security solution providers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to give them the technologies that can make this a manageable task.

“Web Filtering functionality identifies and blocks inappropriate content on the Internet in real-time and this security service can be activated on-demand by contacting your ISP. The service requires no installation or technical knowledge from parents,” explains Ana Luisa Rotta Soares, special projects director at Optenet.

“Cyber-bullying is another growing concern,” adds Soares. “Parents not only have the responsibility to protect their children from being bullied, but also have the duty to guide their children in becoming responsible online citizens. Building a ‘culture of responsibility’ for online child safety should begin early, as soon as they start using the Internet.”

Optenet’s ‘in-the-cloud’ security solutions empower ISPs to offer a secured Web experience to their customers without the hassle of downloading software on multiple machines. End-users simply have to order the service from their ISPs in order to be protected throughout their household, as long as all the computers are using the same connection.

Originally launched more than 12 years ago as an Internet service provider dedicated to creating a safer Web experience for minors, Optenet is now a Web content security vendor that brings filtering and security capabilities to service providers and enterprises across the globe.

Since its founding in 1997, Optenet has been firmly committed to eliminating the digital divide through effective education and safe usage of the Internet, especially for children. For this reason, Optenet has helped create a number of child safety initiatives, including Securenet, a European network of child sexual abuse hotlines, as well as NetProtect II, Sift and Infonet, programs that aid in the production of filtering and online classification systems. All of these efforts have been endorsed by the European Commission’s Safer Internet Program. In addition, Optenet’s latest project, Selecta, uses language analysis techniques and tools to automatically classify Internet content.

Optenet is also affiliated with NGO Protégeles, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, INHOPE, as well as a member of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).

DoubleCAD CAD Design Software gives you an AutoCAD LT work-alike seat for free!

2009-11-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

DoubleCAD XT is a free CAD drawing and drafting software that is fully compatible with AutoCAD LT and Google SketchUP.

If you want another CAD seat in your drawing office, there is no need to spend £800+ for an extra AutoCAD LT license, simply download a free copy of DoubleCAD XT from Software Paradise.

• If you have an older copy of AutoCAD LT that can't read the latest AutoCAD files, DoubleCAD XT will solve the problem

• DoubleCAD will also allow you to work with concept-to-construction drawings in Google SketchUp.

DoubleCAD XT PRO is a 2D and 3D CAD software application for drafting and detailing – suitable for architectural and mechanical design projects.

DoubleCAD XT Pro is not claiming to be an AutoCAD clone. It has been developed as an AutoCAD companion so users can continue to work within their familiar AutoCAD interface.

DoubleCAD XT Pro helps streamline workflows, which enhances productivity. For example, if the DoubleCAD documentation process begins with an Xref (an Xref allows the AutoCAD user to apply any changes made to drawings shared by multiple users), the design may continue to evolve in AutoCAD without having to start over again in DoubleCAD. The drafting palette views, elevations, details, etc, will update automatically.

• Supports .DWG (file format for storing two and three dimensional design data and metadata) and AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) extensions

• Reads and writes up to 30 file formats – including .DXF and .DWF, support from R14 through 2009 (with 2010 coming soon)

• It can open .SKP files directly in Google SketchUp

• Protects your intellectual property in existing drawings

• Affordable – DoubleCAD XT Pro costs £425+vat, AutoCAD LT costs £835+vat.

You can compare DoubleCAD with AutoCAD LT here:
http://doublecad.co.uk/downloads/doubleCAD_xls_matrix1.pdf

Software Paradise also offers CAD training courses. 2D and 3D courses take place in Winchester, Hants. Further information can be found at http://paulthecad.co.uk/training

DoubleCAD is being launched in the UK by Software Paradise, an extensive online software source for users of business and home software. Software Paradise carries more than 38,000 software lines, including an extensive range of CAD titles. If you can’t find what you are looking for, Software Paradise will find it for you!

For a limited period of time, Software Paradise is giving away a free copy of Corel Designer Technical Suite x4 (worth £735) with every purchase of DoubleCAD XT Pro. Corel Designer Technical Suite x4 will automatically be added to your basket when you add DoubleCAD XT Pro.

iPhone app. for label printers

2009-11-18T15:06:00.001-08:00

Both the iPhone and label printers have revolutionised the world of business in their own right, making previously mundane and time consuming tasks effortless.

A recent collaboration has now made the two technological breakthroughs playmates. Thanks to EuroSmartz’ recently released iPhone app Print n Share, label printers just got slicker.

Apple now proudly boasts over 90,000 iPhone apps, but this is no ordinary app. In its short life it has won critical acclaim throughout the software world, is now sixth on the TechCrunch.com "The 35 Best iPhone apps of the Year" list and has been seen by millions worldwide after featuring in the latest Apple "Office" iPhone commercial.

Dymo arguably the best known label printing manufacturer has wasted no time ensuring their products get the Print n Share official stamp of approval. A recent tweet on EuroSmartz’ Twitter page announced that Print n Share now fully support DYMO 400 & 450 LabelWriters.

Millions of people worldwide now use label printers everyday to print mailing labels, barcodes, CD labels, filing labels, PAT testing labels, the list goes on. With over 21 million people using the iPhone today not only can they all view, store and print emails, documents, files, attachments, photos, contacts and web pages, but those with a label printer can now also print labels remotely using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Stuart Wilson, Managing Director of LabelZone, the biggest independent supplier of label printers in the UK and the first to specifically review Print n Share for label printers is now anticipating action by all label printer manufacturers.

“People use label printers as part of their business processes and the development of Print n Share has just entered label printers and the iPhone into a whole new world. We’re very excited for our customers, as this will give them even more functionality. I just hope that all other label printer manufacturers follow Dymo’s lead so there’s wider support across the industry for this amazing new application”.

Videos of Print n Share in action have now found their way onto all major video sites including YouTube and Vimeo for all to see why this app is one of the most highly regarded of recent times. It’s fair to say that Print n Share has firmly won its way into the iPhone app hall of fame. Let’s hope all label manufacturers make it their number one priority to work with EuroSmartz and give their customers all the advantages of Print n Share.

iomart shows it stripped down

2009-11-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Managed hosting and data centre services provider, iomart Hosting, has backed a charity calendar featuring 24 London technology entrepreneurs in the nude.

iomart Hosting is the main sponsor of the Nude London Tech calendar, the brainchild of technology writer Milo Yiannopoulos, who is currently studying English at Cambridge, has been put together to raise money for Take Heart India ,a charity which provides IT training to disabled people in India.

Milo stated: 'Someone suggested the idea as a joke, and I just thought why not. “There is a perception that the people who run these internet start ups are unattractive geeks, and I wanted to show that's not the case.”

Milo used his formidable networking skills, and sites such as Twitter, to whip up interest in the project, and it has since grown into a major industry talking point. All the models, photographers and other contributors have given their time for free.

The calendar, available for £10 from Firebox features the IT business men and women naked save for strategically-positioned computer equipment. Others’ blushes are spared thanks to some convenient camera angles.

Phil Worms, director of corporate communications at iomart Hosting, said: “What appealed to us was that the calendar perfectly captures the vibrancy and fun spirit that is present within our Industry, in complete contrast to the stereotypical geek image that is usually associated with IT people.

It is also a great positive example of what can be achieved through the use of social networking and the internet.”

“These folks are successful IT entrepreneurs in their own right which shows just how far a small idea can go. It very quickly attracted a real buzz in the IT industry and it’s been a terrific project in which to be involved. With Christmas fast approaching and thoughts turning to gifts, I just hope that everyone in the IT world goes online and buys a copy. It’s for a great cause and far more fun and appealing than a port and Stilton box set.”

“Mercifully, though, no-one from iomart Hosting volunteered to strip off. We thought it best to keep our racks well and truly covered in our data centres.”

COA Solutions and SMART Partnership to Help Reduce NHS Absenteeism

2009-11-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Business applications software provider, COA Solutions (www.coasolutions.com), today announces a partnership with workforce management specialist, SMART (www.smart-workforce.com). This partnership enables COA Solutions to provide its National Health Service (NHS) customers with SMART’s workforce management solutions.

SMART’s solutions, which comprise staff bank management, electronic rostering and time and attendance software, link to the NHS-wide human resource (HR) and payroll system, ESR, helping acute trusts, primary care trusts and mental health trusts to maximise the potential and efficiency of their staff. SMART’s solutions release highly skilled nurses from administration duties back to patient care whilst reducing absenteeism, improving staff retention and cutting labour costs by up to five per cent.

With figures from Think-tank Reform highlighting that NHS staff take 50 per cent more time off sick than workers in the private sector*, NHS organisations are being urged to find ways to reduce high absence levels. SMART’s workforce planning systems are key to reducing absenteeism as they promote a more flexible, fairer and healthier way of working, cutting staff absence in relation to disengagement, inflexible working patterns and illness.

Using SMART’s staff bank management system, NHS organisations can better manage how and when they use their staff, especially expensive temporary staff thereby reducing costs. With the electronic rostering and time and attendance solutions, staff can look at their own working hours, request shifts and arrange a shift swap via the Internet. With staff having direct access to view all pay related information prior to the payroll run, this ensures that pay queries are reduced. The electronic rostering provides a fairer system for staff whilst ensuring that the staff who are rostered to work have the appropriate skill set to meet patient care demands.

By feeding data from SMART’s time and attendance solution and the ESR system into COA Solutions’ HR business intelligence solution, People Analytics, NHS organisations are provided with a complementary, powerful analytics tool so that they can further understand the root causes of absenteeism and implement measures to best tackle this issue. People Analytics combined with SMART also provides NHS organisations with the insight to more effectively tackle high staff turnover, cut recruitment costs and optimise training costs.

Peter Leigh, Health Sector Manager from COA Solutions, says, “This partnership with SMART provides our NHS customers with a comprehensive suite of workforce management solutions tailored to meet their challenging HR needs. As well as helping to reduce absenteeism which is costing the NHS £3 billion every year, SMART’s solutions have a range of other important cost, efficiency and regulatory benefits, helping NHS organisations to meet tough Government targets.”

Next generation encryption technology to be fitted into Eurofighter Typhoon

2009-11-16T17:01:00.001-08:00

• Innovative technology designed and developed by crypto experts in South Wales is being delivered to the Eurofighter Typhoon

• Designed to manage multiple communication systems on board an aircraft using one secure single point.

The Eurofighter Typhoon will be the first aircraft in the world to be equipped with next generation encryption technology called Aircraft Crypto Variable Management Unit (ACVMU) a variant of Ectocryp Steel.

Delivered with the support of Raytheon Systems Ltd, the technology has been developed by crypto experts EADS Defence and Security, Ectocryp steel is cutting edge technology that has been designed to manage electronic key distribution for multiple communication systems on board an aircraft using one secure single point.

Traditionally, modern military aircraft and ground installations require multiple communications systems to enable them to operate in a network centric environment; these systems include radio, IFF, GPS and data links.

The need for high demands of security also requires multiple cryptographic protection devices, each of which have different requirements for key variables and fill devices.

This has made key management a time consuming and labour intensive task, often requiring erasure and re-keying between missions when aircraft are powered down.

Against a backdrop of reducing staff numbers and response times, there is a requirement to minimise the key management burden without compromising security.

Ectocryp Steel allows crews to pre-load and store multiple mission scenarios. This helps improve mission responsiveness, reduces key filling errors and also brings exceptional through-life cost savings.

The typical through-life costs for an aircraft fleet of 350 over 20 years without using Ectocryp Steel costs over £200m – compared to approximtely £26m when using Ectocryp Steel.

The technology has a suite of approved security mechanisms and has a full erase function.

Today, the Eurofighter programme not only represents the largest industrial programme in Europe, supporting 100,000 jobs in 400 companies, but it is also the most advance example of technology within the European industry base. Some of these jobs are at the EADS Defence and Security facility in Newport, South Wales, where cutting edge encryption technology is developed.

Ectocryp steel is due to be installed into Eurofighter early next year and will also be made more widely available to a range of military aircraft.

Offer Optimisation Becomes a Reality

2009-11-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

-New Benchmark Report Highlights the Technologies and Processes Marketers Need to Show Significant ROI; Neolane to Offer Complimentary Access to the Report for a Limited Time-

Today’s enterprise marketers have the unenviable task of attempting to improve marketing effectiveness within their organisations while staying within the parameters of their existing budgets. A new study published by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company, discusses how offer optimisation can help marketers achieve significant marketing return on investment (ROMI) through customer analytics. Enterprise marketing software provider Neolane sponsored the report.

Due to a lack of effectiveness related to traditional marketing campaigns, many companies are starting to invest in technologies and resources that enable offer optimisation. The Aberdeen report, “Offer Optimization: Using Customer Analytics to Improve Marketing Performance,” highlights how Best-in-Class companies are capturing and analysing data to help realise significant benefits like customer acquisition, cross-sell/up-sell effectiveness and customer retention, while working towards achieving significant ROMI and improved marketing performance. For a limited time, Neolane is making the report available on a complimentary basis at http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30411016&cid=6...

“In our studies, we found that ROMI emerged as the top pressure compelling Best-in-Class companies to invest in technologies like marketing automation software, that enables offer optimisation,” said Jeff Zabin, research fellow, customer management technology group at Aberdeen. “It’s this overwhelming pressure that speaks to the need for marketers to move beyond traditional marketing tactics and harness the power of customer data to interact and transact with both existing and prospective customers across multiple touch points in the most effective ways possible.”

The report offers a roadmap for marketers, identifying the best technologies, analytics capabilities and business processes to help marketers work towards making offer optimisation a reality. According to the report, one of the five key characteristics Best-in-Class companies shared was in selecting and deploying technology. Specifically, marketing automation software is viewed as one of the most essential technologies in helping marketers use and analyse customer data in the most effective way possible. The most valuable marketing automation software uses the best tools to help marketers analyse customer intelligence to design the most effective and personalised, cross-channel campaigns.

Neolane’s Cross-Channel Marketing Optimisation solution enables marketers to plan, create, execute and measure campaigns in a consistent, highly-coordinated manner while improving campaign effectiveness at all stages of the customer lifecycle spanning email, contact center, Web sites, direct mail and mobile communications. Neolane recently announced the availability of Neolane Interaction™, a new application available as part of its Cross-Channel Marketing Optimisation solution that is specifically designed to help marketers unify inbound and outbound offers. During inbound contact via the Web, contact center or at the point of sale, Neolane Interaction is able to recommend offers in real-time over any channel, or as timely follow-ups via outbound channels such as email, direct, call center and mobile. It enables personalised, relevant and consistent customer conversations at every interaction and allows organisations to customise offers, including up-sell and cross-sell offers.

“B2C marketers are continuously looking for ways to prove marketing effectiveness and ROI, which is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s challenging and dynamic environment. This Aberdeen report supports Neolane’s views on the market and commitment to empowering marketers through technology as they work to improve customer loyalty and establish the skill sets required to become Best-in-Class,” said Stephan Dietrich, president, Neolane, Inc. “We work closely with our customers to provide them with the database that enables them to leverage their valuable customer data to create a single view of declared and inferred behavior across channels to help them execute highly personalised campaigns and customised offers and increase revenue-generating potential.”

FACT FILE:

Neolane provides the only enterprise marketing software specifically designed to manage, automate and optimise programs across traditional and emerging channels including direct mail, email and mobile. With Neolane’s cross-channel marketing and lead management solutions, marketers can manage campaigns, resources, customer data and analytics from a single platform to dramatically improve effectiveness and ROI. Built by marketers for marketers, Neolane is used by more than 170 of the world’s leading companies including Accor Hotels, Alcatel-Lucent, Orange and Sephora. Visit www.neolane.com.

H.Samuel has joined the Twitterati with its own Twitter page

2009-11-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

H.Samuel the jeweller has launched its own Twitter page, joining other leading high street brands such as Tesco and Next on the popular social networking site.

H.Samuel is following a growing trend in retail for engaging directly with customers. Any retailer looking to maintain its brand presence in the future and to stay competitive will be using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to engage with customers and manage brands and reputations.

The H.Samuel Twitter page is designed to inform customers about offers, promotions, new products and brands as well as keeping consumers up to date with news about competitions and charity affiliations. The messages will be a mixture of information and fun and will be aimed at consumers, journalists and anyone interested in H.Samuel and its products, promotions, offers and brands.

According to Jason Edworthy, Signet Digital Comms Manager, "We want to engage with our customers, promote our offers and build our brand and online presence with witty, fun and informative Tweets aimed directly at our customer base."

The benefit for consumers is access to up-to-the minute information about new brands, new offers, competitions and an insight into products that they might otherwise not consider or realise that H.Samuel stock, such as gifts and collectibles. Other benefits include news on exclusive products and competitions and the possibility for customers to engage in conversations directly with the brand if they have queries.

Regardless of the topic, the company intends for each Tweet to link to a promotion, information page or product. The Tweets themselves will not all be directly sales orientated and are intended to entertain and please the customer as well as inform them.

As well as promoting products and offers, H.Samuel is hoping to increase brand awareness at a crucial time in trading for all high street retailers. It is hoped that the Twitter page will drive footfall to stores and visits to the website.

Preference For .UK Domains At An All Time High

2009-11-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Consumers go global, but opt for local: 77% of British consumers select a .uk search result over .com when searching over the Internet.

Global domain name industry weathers the economic storm with 8% increase in worldwide registrations

country code Top Level Domains exceed global domain name growth with 10% increase in registrations

.uk market penetration remains strong with more than 100 domain names per 1,000 inhabitants.

Nominet's annual domain name industry report today reveals that 77% of British consumers prefer to use a .uk rather than a .com when searching for information on the Internet. Consumers stated they would most likely click on .uk rather than a .com reinforcing that .uk is a relevant and trusted environment that presents the most appropriate and local information.

Findings for the report also showed that despite the current economic climate the global domain name industry has seen an 8% growth with 187.6 million domain names registered worldwide. Generic top level domains (gTLDs), such as .org and .com, have grown on average by 6% whilst the country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) including .uk and .de (the German registry) fared slightly better and together generated a 10% average growth in registrations.

ccTLDs that have achieved significant growth in 2009 include: The Russian Federation, with an increase of 40.5%, Poland with 29.1%, Brazil with 25%. The .uk domain registry also scored highly with a 10.7% growth and strong market penetration with more than 100 domain names per 1,000 inhabitants. The only ccTLD to decrease in size is .cn, the Chinese registry. It has dropped by 0.5% in the past twelve months allowing .de, with its steady growth, to regain its position as the largest ccTLD by volume.

This strong growth is enabling country code domains to close the gap between the more well-established Top Level Domains (TLDs) and proving that the world's connected consumers are becoming more familiar and trusting of localised domain names. Furthermore, they are increasingly expecting businesses to be represented by a site with a domain name that is appropriate for the region in which they are operating.

Phil Kingsland, Director of Marketing and Communications at Nominet, comments: "It's encouraging to see that despite market saturation and the global economic recession, the .uk registry and other ccTLDs have remained strong. The report demonstrates that both consumers and businesses are willing to invest in 'local' domains because they are seen as reliable, relevant and trusted and will give them a direct route to their target audience."

"The findings show that businesses must now pay attention to Internet brand awareness and marketing strategies that are in line with consumer expectations. It is a global marketplace, but what we are seeing is that consumers trust and rely on a more local touch point with a brand."

"We look forward to working closely with the Internet community next year to uphold this trusted reputation and continue to make the Internet a safe place for all."

Please see here (http://www.nominet.org.uk/intelligence/industryreport) for a full copy of the Nominet Domain Name Industry Report 2009.

You are welcome!

2009-11-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

Presentations from the BBC on how content demand is driving its data center investment strategy and how carbon commitments will impact the future of the data center sector dominated the first sessions of the UK’s largest conference for the sector.

The two day event features a range of panel sessions, presentations and interactive round tables which provide practical advice on how energy can be saved in UK data centres.

One of the first presentations revealed the studies behind figures which revealed that how UK operators could easily do away with water chillers to keep their data centers cool thus driving down energy use within mission critical facilities across the UK.

Building an operational strategy based around energy saving and cutting carbon to deal with carbon reduction commitments will dominate design and operation of mission critical facilities in the future.

In a new development for 2009 the conference includes interactive roundtable discussion groups covering a roadmap for Carbon Reduction Commitment compliance, the Green Grid’s newly released European free-cooling maps and a frank appraisal of energy efficiency metrics and their use. For vendors a special session on how to ensure data centre technology and equipment complies with the Enhanced Technology List (ETL) scheme will be led by Paul Huggins, ECA Product Manager at The Carbon Trust.

DatacenterDynamics London is the UK’s largest conference and exhibition dedicated to the design, build and operation of mission critical facilities. Now in its 8th year the event attracts over 1,200 end user delegates from all quarters of UK industry and the public sector.

Council Replaces CA Solution, Gains Economic and Operational Advantages

2009-11-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

ASG Software Solutions, the originator of ASG's Business Service Portfolio™ (BSP) and a worldwide leader in business solutions for global enterprises, today announced that Bristol City Council has achieved a 60 percent reduction in costs over a five-year period and a 15 percent increase in operational efficiency in the past year from its implementation of ASG’s operations management solutions.

These operational milestones were attained through the deployment of ASG-Zara™ and ASG-Zack™ , which provide tape management and console automation for Bristol City Council’s IBM® z/OS® operating infrastructure, replacing products and services previously supplied by Computer Associates (CA).

Currently, the main users of ASG’s solutions are 2,500 operational support staff members who use the mainframe system for financial management. These users deliver IT services to Bristol’s population of 400,000.

Geoff Endicott, Group Leader, Bristol City Council Infrastructure Services said: “We wanted to save money, but we didn’t want our service level to suffer. ASG offered us great solutions at a very attractive price point. And ASG’s project team, planning, and on-site technician were excellent. We couldn’t be happier.”

Ed Hallock, Senior Director of Solutions Management, ASG: pointed out: “Over the past 20 years, ASG has a strong heritage in IT operations. It doesn’t matter whether our customers’ needs are large or small. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to work with Bristol City Council. Whatever matters to Bristol City Council and its customers, matters to us.”

www.asg.com

NHS Oxfordshire deploys INOVEM

2009-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

INOVEM, a pioneer of Web 2.0 technologies that enable public sector organisations and private businesses to collaborate, consult and engage with internal and external stakeholders, today announced that its Inclusionware technology has been selected by NHS Oxfordshire.

NHS Oxfordshire plans and provides local healthcare services and hospital treatment in the community. The trust works with GP practices, dentists, pharmacists and opticians across Oxfordshire as well as providing services such as district nursing, health visiting, school nursing and a range of specialist and therapy services.

Under its commitment to world-class commissioning NHS Oxfordshire has a duty to involve and consult stakeholders when new services are proposed and in the development of changes to existing services. These consultations include engagement and involvement activities with a wide range of stakeholders across Oxfordshire - including the public, patients, charities and other relevant groups - to ensure services reflect the needs and wishes of the diverse community served by the trust.

INOVEM Inclusionware is a secure online environment accessed using various levels of role-based access control, so that consultation managers, administrators and stakeholders only see those areas that are appropriate and relevant to them. It provides organisations with new and innovative ways to target and seek views of key stakeholders and local populations. The software also helps to standardise involvement practices, record and analyse the views of all relevant groups and audit how they have been taken into account.

The new service will be used by NHS Oxfordshire’s Communications and Engagement team to communicate and consult across the web with greater efficiency, transparency, accuracy and accountability.

Sara Price, Communications and Engagement Projects Coordinator at NHS Oxfordshire, explained the decision to adopt INOVEM Inclusionware: “Without a common consultation management framework in place, we were prone to duplicating effort when managing consultations and found it hard to handle large volumes of data gathered using a wide variety of consultation methods, multiple document formats and information management styles. We were concerned that this approach was too time consuming and could begin to affect the quality and efficiency of our engagement and involvement projects.”

John Glover, sales and marketing director at INOVEM, said: “Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have a challenge to involve and engage a huge range of people and organisations, and to demonstrate a vision and commitment to healthcare services while delivering local value, and showing financial prudence. At INOVEM we empower people and groups to work together better and nowhere is this more important than across our health service. INOVEM Inclusionware can play a pivotal role in making the daily lives of engagement professionals in PCTs easier, making the business of consulting with stakeholders more efficient and speeding up processes that ultimately lead to improved public services for all of us.”

INOVEM solutions are specifically developed to help organisations such as NHS Oxfordshire manage complex consultation projects while streamlining their administration of large volumes of responses. The system is easy-to-use and simplifies the creation and management of online consultations providing a framework for continuous and meaningful engagement.

Sara Price concluded: “INOVEM Inclusionware will free our consultation managers from repetitive administrative tasks and allow us to be more creative, productive and targeted with our consultation approaches. It will enable us to form better relationships with our stakeholders so that we engage with them on subjects that they are interested in and using consultation methods that they prefer. We will now get greater value from previous best practice and a secure, yet flexible framework in which to manage our consultations. INOVEM is a very attractive solution for NHS Oxfordshire.

"It is simple to set-up, use and manage and is also very cost-effective, which is a key consideration for us as a public sector organisation. We look forward to passing on the benefits to the people of Oxfordshire, making it easier for the public and patients to have their say and influence change in their local NHS.”

Cezanne Software Announces FREE Webinar - Practical Tips for HR - How to achieve a successful roll-out of global HR software

2009-11-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

With over 20 years’ experience in rolling out international HR systems to many of the world’s leading organizations, Cezanne Software today announced that they will be presenting an online webinar on “How to achieve a successful roll-out of global HR software solutions on Thursday, 26th November 2009 at 2:30pm GMT.

Cezanne Software will share their best practice approach and discuss with you a number of key client global HR software implementations so that you can identify the steps that you need to take to ensure the success of your own international HR system projects. Cezanne Software will also provide companies with practical tips on how to take advantage of global systems, address key strategic HR issues, and be in a stronger position to leverage resources and streamline operations across geographies.

Julie Windsor, Director of Operations for Cezanne UK & Benelux, comments, “In the past, all but the largest of international organizations have had to make do with managing their global workforce using disconnected and disparate HR systems. In the old economy this worked – just about. In today’s more competitive and rapidly moving environment, this approach is no longer sustainable, or necessary.”

As a result, organizations are seeking global human resource software solutions that deliver HR cost efficiencies, as well as higher levels of employee engagement, retention, and productivity. Such a solution is the perfect tool to help organizations sharpen their competitive edge in the global business landscape.

For more information on the webinar, please visit http://www.cezannesw.com/webinars/webinar-pages/global-hr-so...

To register for the webinar, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/349539961

Can unbiased editorial flourish on non-media sites?

2009-11-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

A new series of editorial features commissioned by information risk management specialist ArmstrongAdams aims to show that quality independent journalism can continue to be supported in spite of the growing challenges faced by the traditional IT publishing sector.

The first feature to be published, entitled “How Secure Are Your Applications?" has been written by leading IT security journalist Danny Bradbury. A technology writer since 1989 and a freelancer since 1994, he writes regularly for a number of titles including the Guardian and the Financial Times. He focuses heavily on information security, consumer technology and enterprise systems.

According to ArmstrongAdams Director Tim Kipps: “We believe that quality independent editorial is vital to the health of any business sector. Given the decline in the number of traditional IT media outlets, some people fear that this will have an impact on the sources for independent review and viewpoint. However, there is no reason why commercial vendor and service sites can’t commission journalists to write bylined features. But vendors must resist the temptation to create blatant puffery. Or attempt to influence journalists to write biased features.”

Continues Kipps: “People want to read genuinely independent and valuable content. Our view is that by giving journalists and writers the same kind of editorial freedom they would have with a normal publisher, we will encourage the best quality editorial. That in turn will generate the right kind of traffic to our own website.”

BBC Watchdog's Wi-Fi insecurities can 'easily be countered' says IronKey

2009-11-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

An in-depth report on BBC TV's Watchdog consumer affairs programme on Thursday evening (http://preview.tinyurl.com/ykps7tm) revealed how insecure thousands of UK's Wi-Fi hotspots really are.

Colin Woodland, EMEA director of field operations with IronKey, highlights that many easy to use solutions exist to counter the problem.

“Entertaining though the Watchdog programme was, I think they got it wrong when they said that securing a laptop Wi-Fi session was technically tricky. Laptop security technology is no longer the domain of the techies as the technology is now easy to install and use for most laptop users.

"The WatchDog report referred to technically complex systems such as virtual private networks (VPNs) being a solution to the problem of Wi-Fi session eavesdropping and interception, but many solutions are a lot simpler than that," he said.

Laptop Wi-Fi users simply need to use technologies such as a secured and trusted web browser, hardware based session encryption, virtual keyboards and two factor authentication or similar authentication technologies to ensure you - and only you - can log into a Web-based email session, with no chance of being intercepted" he added.

According to the secure flash drive specialist's director, whilst VPNs are technically complex to set up, the use of private secure session’s technology and strong authentication technologies are easy to use and will help to make it impossible for the man-in-the-middle type of attack shown on Watchdog.

Using a trusted and self contained web browser which is stored on a flash drive and securely encrypted until needed means that it cannot be tampered with to install malware or spyware.

Virtual keyboards - where a simple software plug-in to the Web browser allows users to tap in their IDs, passwords and other critical information by `clicking out' letters and numbers on the computer's screen, rather than the keyboard - are always an excellent security option on any machine where there is a chance of malware being installed said Mr Woodland.

The use of a plug-in USB Hardware based encryption (https://www.ironkey.com/demo-personal) or similar technology, meanwhile - using a true random number generator and very secure hardware based encryption to outfox would-be data thieves - can also be used to secure an online session, he went on to say.

"These simple to use security building blocks can help to ensure that laptop and netbook data sessions - no matter what the underlying data technology is being used - are secure from prying eyes," he concluded.

For more on the BBC TV Watchdog Wi-Fi security revelations: http://preview.tinyurl.com/ykps7tm

For more on IronKey: www.ironkey.com

Appointment at Cimex

2009-11-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

Cimex is delighted to announce the appointment of leading digital industry figure, Brian Hoadley as Board Director.

Having worked for over 15 years in the digital arena at a senior level, Brian is an acknowledged expert in thought leadership, innovation and customer experience. In the 90’s he worked in the Educational Technology division of the prestigious BBN Technologies – developers of the underlying technology of the Internet (ARPANET) and the people who put the “@” symbol in your email.

As one of the founders of phunQube Brian was a key part of the project team that designed, built and launched the 4oD application for Channel 4 as well as working for a number of blue chip companies helping them to understand the power of customer experience to enhance their brands.

His last role as Head of Product Design and Innovation at Directgov gave him the opportunity to bring together his knowledge to help forge government digital strategy.

Steve Puxley, MD of Cimex says: “Brian’s experience of both the needs of the public sector and the demands of commercial business make him a unique asset to our business. Our clients will benefit enormously from his insight and strategic thinking.”

Brian Hoadley responds: “Cimex has long been at the vanguard of the constantly evolving digital industry, which is why I am so delighted to be a part of this agency and I am looking forward to helping us retain our place as one of the top-tier agencies in the business. I see the current economic climate as both an opportunity and a challenge for us to provide more targeted products and services and to grow our capabilities and client-base through collaborative innovation.”