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Cyvatar Launches All-in-One Cybersecurity-as-a-Service to Disrupt the Industry with $3 Million Seed Round

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today announced that it has raised $3 million in seed funding from Bill Wood Ventures to launch its all-in-one cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) offering. The company will use the capital to disrupt the $130 billion cybersecurity industry with guaranteed business results, to speed customer adoption of subscription-based security services, and to fuel the development of its outcomes-driven solution, Genesis Platform. Cyvatar Co-Founders Corey White , former chief experience officer at Cylance, and Craig Goodwin , former chief trust and risk officer at Fujitsu, formed the company to combat decades of wasteful spending in the industry—waste generated by an overabundance of point products that do not integrate quickly or easily into most security environments and too much noise from security vendors whose genuine differentiation can be difficult to determine. There are also staffing shortages exacerbated by a prolonged skills gap. Cyvatar leads a fundamental shift in the market, offering holistic, tailored security solutions rooted in best-of-breed technologies from across the industry. “It’s no secret that CISOs and their teams are the losers in today’s cyber arms race,” said investor Bill Wood. “In fact, most organizations use less than half of the functionality in the technology solutions they own. Cyvatar has developed a winning CSaaS model by combining customer-centric strategies with skilled security experts and market-leading technologies to deliver guaranteed business outcomes.” The Cyvatar approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions and enables small and medium-size businesses to achieve security compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently. And in the crowded and noisy security space—where more than 4,500 security solutions are currently available—the need for organizations to show value from their security stacks is a top priority. “As a longtime builder of successful security programs, I understand the difficulty many organizations face trying to get all the tools in their security stack to work together effectively and provide sufficient risk controls,” said Al Valerio, head of IT and cybersecurity at Virtualitics. “Cyvatar’s all-in-one offering gave us a comprehensive security framework—not just a few pieces—enabling us to remediate vulnerabilities in record time, achieve synergy among all of our security tools, maintain compliance standards required by our government customers, and reduce user friction. If it weren’t for Cyvatar’s vision and execution, completing our mission quickly and within budget would have been impossible.” The company’s strategy includes a robust partner network to bring bespoke solutions to customers who are not large enough to invest in in-house security teams, do not have the runway to experiment with multiple security tools as they scale, or cannot compete against larger firms for the scarce number of skilled resources available. Cyvatar’s partner ecosystem spans nearly two dozen companies. “We believe in the democratization of cybersecurity,” said Cyvatar Founders Corey White and Craig Goodwin . “Protection from threats and breaches should not be accessible only to organizations with deep pockets and dedicated security personnel, and it shouldn’t be delivered in a shrouded black-box approach understood only by the vendor. We’re on a mission to demystify cyber defense by offering an all-in-one subscription-based service that provides organizations of any size the ability to achieve measurable security outcomes that drive quicker time-to-value without sacrificing their security postures or compliance standards.” Whether customers need to meet intricate compliance requirements in order to grow their sales pipelines, to remediate after a breach, to prevent future incursions, or to respond to a third-party risk assessment, Cyvatar helps them achieve outcomes quickly, without the noise, complexity, or hurdles in traditional security approaches. What security challenges are you trying to solve? What barriers do you face? Visit https://start.cyvatar.ai/ to explore the ways Cyvatar can help. About Cyvatar Cyvatar.ai is a transformative cybersecurity company that operates at the intersection of our customers and technology to define what a cybersecurity solution should be: guaranteed business outcomes that are measurable. We break down barriers to create positive experiences for passionate companies globally. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California. Learn more at https://cyvatar.ai and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter . About Bill Wood Ventures Based in Austin, Texas, Bill Wood is one of the most experienced venture capitalists in Texas. His track record spans over three decades and parallels the emergence of Austin as one of the world's strongest technology-driven economies. He has provided start-up financing, board-level guidance and mentoring to dozens of start-ups, several of which have sustained multibillion dollar market capitalizations. Bill is a past recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur-of-the-Year award. He was also the winner of the Austin Technology Summit's "Pillar of the Community" award, recognizing his lifetime contribution to the community. Finally, he was the inaugural inductee into the Austin Technology Hall of Fame. Contact Details Aileen Casmano +1 323-300-4927 aileen@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

October 06, 2020 08:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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UK SMEs lose £2.2bn as customers fall into administration during lockdown

Stockwood Strategy

SMEs across the UK are counting the cost of the lockdown as they prepare for a testing final quarter of 2020. Risktech business Nimbla , surveyed* 2,000 UK SMEs and found that £2.2bn in revenue (for goods and services provided during lockdown) has been lost because those customers fell into administration. A number that is set to increase dramatically over the course of the next year. More than a third (38%) of SMEs are still waiting to be paid an average of £59,013, for work they completed before the lockdown. Worryingly, a fifth (21%) of these companies believe they will never recover the full amount, losing on average £24,903 because those customers have gone into administration. Looking at the bigger picture, this is worth £2.2bn in revenue across all SMEs (with outstanding payments) that will not be realised. Lost time and revenue Businesses reported, on average, 6 invoices go unpaid every year with half of these worth £41,193 written off due to their customers becoming insolvent. Yet, surprisingly, only 4% of business owners take out trade credit or invoice insurance, which protects the supplier against their customers’ insolvency. Business owners do spend time thinking about a potential insolvency event with their customers. In the event that happened, most of them (83%) would continue trading but the impact on cash flow would lead to changes in asking customers for deposits, requesting shorter payment terms, declining larger projects and fear their credit scores falling. Business owners spend, on average, two weeks chasing an invoice payment which eventually was never paid because the customer became insolvent. Flemming Bengtsen, CEO at Nimbla commented: “The impact the lockdown has had on SMEs, who are the heart and soul of the UK economy, is astonishing. Many have survived several attacks during the pandemic and, now, knowing they won’t get paid for the work they did is another huge body blow. There could be more bad news on the horizon for smaller businesses as high street chains face difficulties and potential insolvencies.” Looking ahead Businesses anticipate making, on average, £263,000 revenue between now and the end of the year. However, as customers seek longer payment terms from 30 to 60 days to settle invoices, three in five (60%) business owners are nervous about not getting paid at all with expectations that one in six customers will become insolvent before the end of the year. This is a major issue as more than a third (36%) of businesses were heavily concentrated, reporting that more than two-thirds of their revenues came from a handful of customers. Overall, business owners reported 61% of their customers said they were doing well in terms of their revenue, going steady with sales and generally content with the business environment. Yet, business owners were sceptical about their buoyant spirit, with only a quarter (26%) believing what they say. Flemming Bengtsen added: “The current uncertain economic environment means doing business isn’t easy, it’s made all the more difficult with SMEs anxious about getting paid. Trading on trust and confidence has deteriorated. It is time, as a collective, to bring this back. Business owners cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand; they should protect themselves and insure against the potential insolvency of their customers.” ENDS Notes to the Editor *Research findings based on a survey of 2,000 UK companies (who are employers with a minimum turnover of £250,000) conducted for Nimbla in September 2020 by LM Research & Marketing Consultancy (Market Research Society approved partner and ESOMAR corporate member). About Nimbla Nimbla makes sure businesses get paid for their hard work, even if a customer becomes insolvent. Founded in 2016, the risktech company is on a mission to give SMEs the confidence to trade with a peace of mind using invoice insurance. Nimbla’s digital insurance platform backed by expert risk analysts, allows businesses to check a buyer’s ability to pay and insure individual invoices against non-payment in a fast and affordable way. This will enable business owners to safeguard against insolvent customers, expand into new and existing markets and secure better borrowing terms. The platform can be accessed directly ( www.nimbla.com ) and through partnerships with Barclays and Starling Bank. Based in London, Nimbla aims to bring the trade credit industry into the 21st century. Challenging traditional insurance models, the cover is flexible and adapts to fit your business — whether it’s a one-off invoice or multiple transactions. Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 bilal.mahmood@nimbla.com Company Website https://www.nimbla.com/

October 06, 2020 04:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Construction industry rallies in rebuilding Britain, finds Skrap survey

Stockwood Strategy

The construction industry is rallying from the aftermath of the lockdown as builders report steady workflow and recovering revenues, finds a survey* of 2,000 UK construction companies by Skrap , the on-demand construction hire specialist . Almost half of construction businesses (44%) reported that workflow has reached pre-lockdown levels. The bounce is such that almost a quarter (23%) of businesses felt they would hit at least 2019 revenue levels and possibly see a 20% increase. This is despite nearly two-thirds (63%) of businesses still waiting to be paid, on average, £47,784 for work they did pre-lock down. However, this is an improvement from June 2020 when they were waiting for £157,642. Of the work that is being done, building contractors are seeing the greatest demand from residential projects (48%) and public sector work (30%) such as roadworks and in schools. However, of those businesses seeing a partial slowdown in work, they pointed to the uncertain state of the economy which is delaying investment decisions. Construction industry business owner Jamie Herd, MD of Lords builders’ merchants commented: “We’ve seen sales of supplies increase steadily over the past 3 months and orders to the end of 2020 look good especially in London and the home counties. The government’s favourable loan schemes have boosted the cash flow of construction businesses to enable them continue their work and overall, there is a bullish mood that work is returning to normal in the industry”. Hussain Hilli, co-founder at Skrap commented: “Although building activity shrunk during the lockdown, this survey provides a cautious note of optimism for the construction industry. It’s not surprising this wave of optimism comes from residential work as people continue to work from home and consider their new needs. The decision to scrap stamp duty on homes below £500,000 has also got home owners active. Government policies are taking effect and builders are benefiting but a lot will rest on how investors see Brexit playing out on the UK economy”. 2020 expectations Boris Johnson’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ initiative is making a difference. Almost half of builders (46%) said they had benefited from the policy announcement and were expecting more contracts from this in the next few months. However, they do feel that investment in house building developments is being held back. This is chiefly down to investors being vary of valuations given the impact Brexit could have on the economy coupled with the lack of urgency from the government to support this crucial infrastructure need. Looking ahead to the end of the year, builders fear the biggest disruption to business will be a second wave of COVID19 cases leading to another mass lockdown impacting delivery and demand of projects. Brexit The majority of construction businesses are confident that there will be little fallout from a no-deal Brexit. They felt the Government would negotiate a good trade deal in time and it will be business as usual. However, they do feel the greatest concern in the run up to Brexit centres on workforce availability. This is understandable as up to a quarter (25%) of their workforce are non-UK nationals. Ends Notes to the editor * Research findings based on a survey of 2,000 UK construction companies (who are employers with a minimum turnover of £250,000) conducted in September 2020 by LM Research & Marketing Consultancy (Market Research Society approved partner and ESOMAR corporate member). About Skrap Founded in 2017, Skrap offers on-demand services for skip and construction hire resources. Every year almost 100m tonnes of construction waste is collected in the UK and construction businesses spend £5b in collecting this waste, and a further £15b on other hire services. Skrap intends to remove the hassle from ordering a skip and other construction hire needs to make this experience simple and user friendly. Skrap’s strategic ambition is to automate the entire construction hire supply chain across major cities globally over the coming years. Founders Marwan Field, Hussain Hilli and Ahmed Rao came across the problem while running a construction business where logistics were unorganised and fragmented; prices were asymmetric, and the marketplace of suppliers and brokers were doing everything manually. Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 bilal@skrap.xyz Company Website https://www.skrap.xyz

October 06, 2020 03:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Convey Services Launches Virtual Event Platform Exclusively for Sales & Annual Conferences

Convey Services

Convey Services , a SaaS solutions company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions product line by launching Cloud Kickoffs™ , an online portal solution exclusively for sales and annual conference management. Cloud Kickoffs brings elements of a live sales kickoff or conference into a virtual environment to promote engagement, make connections and support team interaction. It’s content-rich experience maximizes the effectiveness of virtual events for yearend or sales kickoff programs. “Canceling live annual meetings or sales kickoffs has become a reality, but it doesn’t mean that those events can’t be effectively executed virtually,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey. “In many ways you can achieve better, more focused results without the time and expense of bringing everyone together physically. Using Cloud Kickoffs, the management team can align the organization around a common strategy, allow remote teams to foster relationships and at the same time deliver and reinforce critical training. Cloud Kickoffs helps you deliver the tools needed to succeed and provides access to training and content long after the live event is over.” Cloud Kickoffs manages live and on-demand education, brings teams together for forum and roundtable discussions, promotes one-on-one connections and offers a platform for networking and social interaction. After a Cloud Kickoffs event is over, the portal can retain its structure, extend the life of content and training and easily be repurposed for virtual sales events throughout the year. A virtual kickoff event can be fully managed by Convey or by your sales or marketing team. “Sales staff or association members look forward to annual conferences because they value the insights, connections and opportunity to walk away energized with a clear focus for the coming year,” added Bradfield. “Cloud Kickoffs provides an efficient solution to bring teams together virtually, saving tens of thousands on logistics planning, travel and entertainment.” Cloud Kickoffs comes complete with templates for branding, delivering email messaging, creating attendee dashboards, setting-up live and virtual sessions and gamification while always tracking attendee engagement. It’s designed for the non-technical user and doesn’t require any coding or development. Participating partners and sponsors can have virtual booths that remain intact or can be refreshed for future events. Each portal has online training and a support database to answer frequently asked questions. Sales and event managers can experience Cloud Kickoffs by visiting https://cloudkickoffs.com or explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com . About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions is a Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services that brings new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Originally launched as ConveyLive, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, attendee registration, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

October 01, 2020 11:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Steve N. Economou Joins G-Squared Partners to Launch Investment Banking Practice

G-Squared Partners, LLC

G-Squared Partners, LLC announced today that Steve Economou has joined the firm as a Managing Director, M&A to establish an investment banking practice. The new practice – a natural extension of G-Squared’s outsourced CFO, finance, and accounting work – is dedicated to offering skilled investment banking services to middle market companies that are often underserved by national investment banking practices. The effort will focus on M&A advisory services, capital raising, recapitalizations, and evaluating strategic alternatives for these businesses. Steve brings more than 35 years of corporate finance experience to G-Squared, including investment banking, venture capital, private equity, capital raising, and mergers and acquisitions. He began his career with one of the leading investment banking boutiques in Philadelphia and subsequently worked in the investment banking subsidiaries of a global commercial bank and two large CPA firms. Steve has advised on more than $2 billion of transaction value and completed more than 100 board and strategic advisory engagements. With his expertise, G-Squared is now capable of advising firms throughout the entire financial lifecycle from start-up to exit. This includes outsource CFO, capital formation, recapitalization, efforts, preparing for a sale, assessing buyout offers, and initiating a sales process. Gene S. Godick, CEO of G-Squared, said, “Steve is a great fit for G-Squared, our team, and our clients. We have been receiving more requests from clients to assist them with M&A and raising capital. Adding Steve to the team to spearhead our investment banking practice complements our work in accounting, finance, and operations. We now are able to offer a full array of services that provide family-owned and entrepreneur-owned businesses with strategic financial expertise. Said Steve: “I am excited to join a rapidly growing entrepreneurial firm truly dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and investors. Gene and I have known each other for twenty years, and I could not pass up the opportunity to join the team at G-Squared.” G-Squared Partners is a leading outsourced CFO, finance, and accounting team. G-Squared has been a member of the INC 5000 company list for the past four years. The firm provides strategic financial, accounting, operational, and investment banking expertise to CEOs and investors who recognize that an outsourced finance team can accelerate their success. G-Squared has a demonstrated track record of success in improving financial reporting, enhancing profitability and working capital, securing funding, and supporting transactions. G Squared clients are national and focused in SaaS, technology enabled services, professional services, and growing consumer products companies. Securities Products and Investment Banking Services are offered through BA Securities, LLC. Four Tower Bridge, 200 Barr Harbor Drive, Suite 400, W. Conshohocken, PA 19428. (P) 877-738-5841. Member FINRA SIPC . G-Squared Partners, LLC and BA Securities, LLC are separate, unaffiliated entities. Contact Details Gene Godick +1 215-284-4903 ggodick@gsquaredcfo.com Company Website https://www.gsquaredcfo.com/

September 28, 2020 07:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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MSC Cruises, Port Everglades, Matson, International Chamber of Shipping and Ocean Voyages Institute Among 2020 NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Awards Recipients

North American Marine Environment Protection Association

Carleen Lyden Walker , Co-Founder and Executive Director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), announced that MSC Cruises, Port Everglades, the International Chamber of Shipping for its Seafarer Welfare work, and Matson for Environmental Innovation are among the eight recipients of NAMEPA’s 2020 Marine Environment Protection Awards. Other recipients are: Ocean Voyages Institute, Sea Education Association, the U.S. Arctic Research Council and the Business Network for Offshore Wind’s Liz Burdock for the category of Individual. The Awards Program will be held virtually in conjunction with NAMEPA's Annual Conference on November 5th, which will focus on looking ahead to 2023 and preparing for the future. “Particularly in these turbulent times, it is uplifting to celebrate the accomplishments and positive actions of our maritime community,” stated Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder and Executive Director of NAMEPA. “The marine industry works tirelessly to deliver more than 90% of the world’s goods and energy safely and with a keen eye to reducing its environmental impact. It is NAMEPA’s honor to highlight their efforts, along with community partners who share our values to “Save our Seas”. NAMEPA’s Marine Environment Protection Awards are given in recognition of an individual or organization’s innovative and extraordinary efforts to commit themselves to preserving the marine environment as exemplified by a commitment to programs which have specific objectives set for environmental performance and improvement. Eligible candidates include members of the commercial maritime industry, government agencies, educational organizations, innovation providers, ports, associations and individuals. Submissions are judged by the organization’s Board of Directors against the criteria behind the award. MSC Cruises is being recognized for its multifaceted environmental work throughout its fleet and organization. MSC Cruises has begun construction on up to 9 LNG powered ships which are being designed to be compatible with low carbon bio and synthetic fuels as they become available. Additionally, they completed the $200 million+ restoration of Ocean Cay in the Bahamas to its original, pristine state; and took meaningful steps to eliminate single-use plastics from their fleet. Matson is receiving the Environmental Innovation Award for the breadth, scope and investment in its entire environmental program, which includes innovative new technology, modernization of its fleet and terminals, participation in grants and clean-up programs, and detailed planning for long term future goals. In 2020 their vessel new build, vessel retrofit, and terminal improvement programs have all come to fruition, bringing Matson’s environmental program to its industry-leading position. Ocean Voyages Institute recently conducted two voyages into the Pacific Gyre (often referred to as the “Pacific Garbage Patch”) with a record setting haul of abandoned nets, fishing gear, and other plastic debris which collects in the gyre. The non-profit organization seeks to expand its program by partnering with the marine industry to increase the capture of these harmful pollutants. The first NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award was presented 13 years ago posthumously to the founder of the MEPA movement, George P. Livanos who created HELMEPA over 30 years ago due to his interest and concern for the marine environment. Since then, award recipients have included Maersk, Euronav, CLIA, Joe Cox, the Port of Los Angeles, International Seaways, the Port of Montreal, the OAS-CIP, American Salvage Association, NOAA and the New York Harbor School among others. The NAMEPA Annual Conference including a Leadership Roundtable panel will precede the Awards Program, consisting of senior leadership individuals from many of the of the award recipients. For more information on attending, contact NAMEPA . There is a charge to attend, but students, active mariners and government personnel are guests. Admittance is by reservation only and is limited. The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) was officially launched in 2007. NAMEPA is a marine industry-led organization of environmental stewards preserving the marine environment by promoting sustainable marine industry best practices and educating seafarers, students and the public about the need and strategies for protecting global ocean, lake and river resources. For more information, go to www.namepa.net. Contact Details Carleen Lyden Walker +1 203-255-4686 executivedirector@namepa.net Company Website https://namepa.net/

September 22, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Forcepoint Announces Launch of Forcepoint Data Diode to Safeguard One-Way Data Flow

Forcepoint

Global cybersecurity leader Forcepoint today announced the launch of Forcepoint Data Diode , a hardware solution that provides uni-directional data flow to enable rapid, automated data transfer while ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines. Configurable for simplified operations and maintenance, Forcepoint Data Diodes help protect networks, devices and other digital assets from external cyber threats within a flexible, easy-to-use and cost-efficient design. Data diodes are designed to control the flow of information between two networks with different levels of security. Diodes can also be used to connect a secured network to external systems or the cloud making them an ideal component of hybrid IT and telework environments. Regulations such as Raise The Bar (RTB) in the U.S. and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU mandate hardware-based data separation and require a solution that provides one-directional data flow. Data diodes check this regulatory box. But while they control the direction of data transfer and also offer some security assurances, they don’t inspect the content. To address both enterprise security and information-sharing requirements, a comprehensive security posture must also incorporate cross domain guards, which ensure that only permissible data is moved—and only in the prescribed manner. Forcepoint’s Data Diodes are designed to work with Forcepoint’s Data Guards to not only prevent data from flowing in the wrong direction but also to perform deep inspection on that information. “In the same way that airports have taken a layered approach to passenger security, Forcepoint’s security portfolio supports a defense-in-depth strategy,” said George Kamis, Chief Technology Officer for Global Governments and Critical Infrastructure at Forcepoint. “Think of Forcepoint’s firewall as comparable to the airport check-in; it provides basic verifications and checks. The cross domain guard, similar to airport security checks, provides a deeper inspection and can validate and modify information, and the diode locks down the flow of information, similar to the one-way path travelers take when departing the airport.” To learn more about Forcepoint Data Diode and Cross Domain Solutions for U.S. government, visit: https://www.forcepoint.com/solutions/need/cross-domain . Additional resources Whitepaper: Ensuring Secure Data Transfer: Diodes and Guards Event: Government at the Edge: Forcepoint Summit September 24, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30p ET Featuring Forcepoint, government and industry executive speakers sharing insights on how to securely enable today’s remote workforce and strengthen organizations’ cybersecurity posture for an unknown future. To register: https://forcepointcybersummit.com/register/ About Forcepoint Forcepoint is the global cybersecurity leader for user and data protection. Forcepoint’s behavior-based solutions adapt to risk in real-time and are delivered through a converged security platform that protects network users and cloud access, prevents confidential data from leaving the corporate network, and eliminates breaches caused by insiders. Based in Austin, Texas, Forcepoint creates safe, trusted environments for thousands of enterprise and government customers and their employees in more than 150 countries. Contact Details Rachael Lyon +1 512-498-8821 rachael.lyon@forcepoint.com Company Website https://www.forcepoint.com/

September 21, 2020 03:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time

VTS NAMED TO THE 2020 FORBES CLOUD 100 LIST

VTS

VTS , the commercial real estate industry's leading leasing, marketing, and asset management platform, has been named to the Forbes 2020 Cloud 100, the definitive ranking of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in partnership with Bessemer Venture Partners & Salesforce Ventures. “We’re thrilled to be recognized on the Forbes Cloud 100 list for the second year in a row,” said Nick Romito, CEO and Co-Founder of VTS. “2020 has undoubtedly been a year filled with uncertainty, however, these unprecedented times have underscored the critical need for online leasing and marketing software. Our entire team across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. has worked tirelessly to provide our customers with the support and resources they need to navigate the pandemic. This recognition is testament to their dedication and commitment.” Since its founding in 2012, VTS has revolutionized commercial real estate – one of the world’s largest and least tech-enabled asset classes. VTS established the technology category of leasing and asset management and enables landlords and brokers to manage the end-to-end leasing process and tenants from any device. VTS offers solutions for owners of office, retail, and industrial space, and is driving the industry-wide shift towards using real-time data to make portfolio decisions. Today, more than 12 billion square feet of commercial real estate–an amount equivalent to roughly 20 New York Cities in size–is managed on VTS, including one in every three office buildings in the U.S. More than 45,000 users across more than 40 countries use VTS to convert leads to leases 41-percent faster and build data-led asset strategies, transforming their leasing and asset management processes. VTS has eight out of 10 of the world’s largest property owners as clients, boasting an impressive roster of global leaders including Blackstone, Brookfield, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties Group, JLL, and CBRE. As part of the rigorous selection process for the Forbes 2020 Cloud 100, Bessemer Venture Partners received submissions from hundreds of cloud startups. The Cloud 100 Judging Panel, made up of public cloud company CEOs, reviewed the data to select, score, and rank the top 100 private cloud companies from all over the world. The evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: market leadership (35%), estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), and people & culture (15%). “The private cloud ecosystem continues to mature in light of rapid digital transformations, making the competition to land one of the coveted spots on the Cloud 100 list steeper than ever,” said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor, and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Private cloud valuations are getting bigger as the market’s appetite for cloud continues to grow. Over the past five years, the average Cloud 100 valuation has grown by a tremendous 2.5x, from $1 billion in 2016 to $2.7 billion in 2020. In fact, our 2020 Cloud 100 includes over 87 private cloud unicorns! These founders represent the absolute best in cloud computing today, and they will most certainly follow in the footsteps of our esteemed Cloud 100 alumni. More than a third of the companies of the Cloud 100 have exited either via strategic M&A, financial M&A or Initial Public Offering. Congratulations to these cloud leaders!” VTS’ ranking as #90 on the 2020 Cloud 100 list follows a multitude of noteworthy milestones. The company hit the ground-running in 2020, launching VTS Retail—software built specifically for retail landlords to solve complex problems in their leasing process—in January. In response to the pandemic, in June 2020 the company accelerated the release of VTS Market —the CRE industry’s first integrated, online marketing platform that enables landlords and their agency teams to market and lease their available spaces remotely for the first time ever. “In the face of this unprecedented time, digital is an urgent imperative, and the pace of innovation is accelerating. Companies around the globe, across all industries must adopt cloud technologies to enable their digital transformation,” said Matt Garratt, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures. “The opportunity is massive for the cloud -- there are now more than 25 public SaaS companies valued at over $10 billion whereas even five years ago there were only three. Sectors from collaboration and security to retail and healthcare, are being disrupted and becoming more digital. Salesforce Ventures is excited to be partnering with Bessemer Venture Partners and Forbes for the fifth year in a row to recognize those who are not just predicting what’s coming but working to create the future.” “For five years now, we have ranked the best and brightest emerging companies in the cloud sector,” said Alex Konrad, Forbes editor of The Cloud 100. “With so many businesses growing fast in the cloud, from data infrastructure to marketing, it’s harder than ever to make the Cloud 100 list – but with more elite company if you do. Congratulations to each of the 2020 Cloud 100 honorees and the 20 Rising Stars honorees poised to join their ranks!” The Forbes 2020 Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the September 2020 issue of Forbes magazine. The Cloud 100 and the 20 Rising Stars companies are publicly recognized at this year’s first-ever virtual Cloud 100 with memorable discussions from top cloud CEOs at thecloud100.com on September 16th from 9:00am PT - 12:00pm PT hosted by Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Forbes. A special thank you to our virtual event sponsors Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bank of America, Cooley, FuelxMcKinsey, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq, Qatalyst Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, Simon-Kucher & Partners, and WisdomTree. About VTS: VTS is commercial real estate’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management platform where the industry comes to make deals happen and real-time data come to life. VTS is powered by the largest single source data network in the industry, which delivers real-time data and insights that fuel faster, more informed decision making and connections throughout the deal lifecycle. Our MarketView™ offering, the industry’s first market benchmarking product, and VTS Market and Marketplace, the industry’s first integrated online marketing solution, gives landlords, brokers, and tenants unparalleled visibility into real-time market information and the direct connectivity to execute deals with greater speed at each point in the planning, marketing, leasing & asset management cycle. More than 60% of Class A commercial space in the US and 12B square feet of commercial real estate globally is managed on the VTS platform. Our user base includes over 45,000 CRE professionals including respected industry leaders like Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, JLL, and CBRE. To learn more about VTS, and to see our open roles, visit www.vts.com. About Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer Venture Partners is the world's most experienced early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter, and supports them through every stage of their growth. The firm has backed more than 120 IPOs, including Pinterest, Shopify, Yelp, LinkedIn, Skype, LifeLock, Twilio, SendGrid, PagerDuty, DocuSign, Wix, and MindBody. Bessemer's 15 partners operate from offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Israel, and India. For more information, please visit www.bvp.com. About Forbes : The defining voice of entrepreneurial capitalism, Forbes champions success by celebrating those who have made it, and those who aspire to make it. Forbes convenes and curates the most influential leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact on the world. The Forbes brand today reaches more than 160 million people worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature LIVE and Forbes Virtual events, custom marketing programs and 40 licensed local editions in 70 countries. Forbes Media’s brand extensions include real estate, education and financial services license agreements. For more information, visit the Forbes News Hub or Forbes Connect. About Salesforce Ventures : Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of Salesforce, invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce Ventures is building the world's largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to customers. Portfolio companies receive funding, strategic advisory, and operating support, and can easily join Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 400 companies, including DocuSign, GoCardless, Guild Education, nCino, Twilio, Zoom, and others across 22 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures. Contact Details Elise Szwajkowski +1 212-402-3495 eszwajkowski@marinopr.com Company Website https://www.vts.com/

September 21, 2020 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The Truth About How 5G Will Impact Your Industry (and Your Marketing)

Merritt Group

5G will change how we live; in practice, it may look like the advanced Internet of Things (IoT) devices we use at home such as a smart refrigerator, the security systems to protect our loved ones like our Ring doorbell or the robotic surgery done from across the world in an emergency room. As 5G improves the way we live and work, opportunity for communications increases on a global level. The storytelling that PR and marketing professionals will be tasked with will help educate the masses about the impact of 5G technology across industries. It’s a big job, but someone has to do it! As communicators, we are responsible for highlighting how increased data, low latency and faster edge computing is going to make a tangible difference. Merritt Group put out a recent infographic detailing this topic and I'm here to dive deeper today. Edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT continue to be at the forefront of 2020’s technology trends and headlines, specifically around how 5G-enables new technologies and existing use cases. 5G technology enables a list of possibilities for explosive data since 1.4 billion devices will be connected to 5G by 2025, according to GSMA . While the 5G conversation has been heavily focused on autonomous vehicles and telecom capabilities, the truth is that there is more beyond improving our mobile connectivity with this emerging technology. To drill down, the rate of technology innovation will increase because of 5G and it will enable AI and machine learning (ML) at the edge and bring with it new companies and tech capabilities like we’ve never seen. As these devices and technology are being developed across industries, what used to take years or months to go to market, will now be done at record speeds. Bill Menezes, a senior principal analyst at Gartner Inc. said in the Wall Street Journal , “5G in the field, in real-world deployments, enhances the value of all these other technologies.” While the rate of advancement is clear, the speed and quality of data processing will also be greatly enhanced and bring new and reliable products. 5G should be seen and positioned as a technology enabler that will up-level most of what we already do and take us to where we’ve always wanted to go. The edge brings speed...and opportunities for marketers 5G will enable large amounts of data to be processed at the edge, driving new capabilities such as real-time notifications of available parking locations or smart pills with miniature chips that doctors can use to manage patient health. IoT will be empowered with the needed connectivity and processing ability that will bring us new devices that we’ve only imagined, including wearables with preventative and proactive decision-making capabilities based on your body’s temperature. Gartner predicts that the 5G IoT endpoint installed base will approach 49 million units by 2023 and within that, the largest market for 5G IoT solutions is outdoor surveillance cameras. These cameras will represent 70 percent of the 5G IoT endpoint installed base in 2020, before contracting to 32 percent by the end of 2023. By increasing the amount of data and speed processed at the edge in real-time, surveillance cameras will be able to not only visually see a situation on video, but, using AI, can analyze the data and proactively generate a response or predictive warning. Data processing speeds will increase at the edge because of 5G, but more importantly, is the data that it’s pulling. This will be a new opportunity for marketers to highlight how 5G takes company data to the next level, empowering existing technologies and enabling new products. Addressing the customer data narrative in 5G communications The speed and processing ability from 5G and edge computing will bring in more data than we’ve ever known what to do with. How IoT, telecom and medical companies use and organize their data will become even more crucial because it can either strengthen a product or weaken it. Likewise, how marketing and communication professionals express their brand’s story about how they use or protect their customer’s data will be incredibly valuable. For example, pharmaceutical development will take on an entirely new pace and a medicine or vaccination that once took years to test will be sped up as 5G speeds and data processing meets data science modeling. Finding the right formula and testing various outcomes will be so directly impacted that it will make the speed of vaccination creation prior to 5G look like the stone age. The pace of launching new products into the market will increase, along with their marketing and PR campaigns, calling for new strategies and processes to be quickly implemented. If processed data is coming in at a higher speed in real-time, remote patient monitoring, robotic surgeries guided from a doctor across the world or equipment maintenance for assisted living facilities or those with chronic illness and special needs become realities. Machines will become smarter, make better decisions and will be designed to assist humans within the medical world at an increasing rate. According to Samsung , virtual reality, at-home monitoring, rehabilitation, virtual doctor visits and more will be enhanced by 5G, reducing overall healthcare costs and bringing access to rural areas. Highlighting use cases, educating consumers and promoting the data inspired by the benefits of these technologies will be a marketer’s bread and butter. Once 5G becomes the standard level of connectivity, medical accessibility will be possible in regions that were once isolated and the hospital will meet your living room. A recent report from Market Research Future predicts that the telemedicine industry will experience a 16.5 percent compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2023, due to an increased need for medical services in rural and underserved areas. But, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans, and the use of telemedicine, or virtual doctor appointments, may reach one billion by the end of 2020 . This is just the beginning and with the help of 5G, more new life saving capabilities will be coming to our doorsteps. It will take time before many of these examples are implemented, however it’s important to note that they are on the horizon and the future with 5G will make the 2000’s look archaic. The speed, low latency and other capabilities that come with 5G are going to optimize most of life as we know it - from healthcare, government, IoT, supply chain and more. So what does this all ultimately mean for PR and marketing pros? Since there are many industries expected to be impacted, marketing and communications professionals need to be prepared to evolve their message and communicate the results of 5G clearly to key influencers and stakeholders. Here’s how: Embrace Thought Leadership: The potential of 5G — with everything from high-power edge computing to lightning-fast speed — is an opportunity for consumers and businesses alike. Brands should position themselves as visionaries and discuss trends and predictions while highlighting the evolution of their business, building interest and excitement around the positive impact of 5G. Validate Your Approach to 5G: Like many other emerging technologies over the years, brands associated with 5G oftentimes overstate or overhype their 5G story. From a market and media perspective, be sure to validate your story with partnerships, analyst references, tangible solutions that solve real-world problems and, of course, customer case studies (always easier said than done). Prioritize Your Data And What It’s Telling You: Because 5G-enabled technologies are in their infancy, validation can prove difficult for the players and the space will be crowded. Invest time and resources in the data that validates your business’ solution is an answer to a major market problem. Data about how the technology can address your customer’s pain points will help frame your story, which in turns amplifies your external communications, marketing and PR efforts. For more information and to create a marketing and communication plan fit for what 5G will bring, email Suzanne Block and block@merrittgrp.com . For more on how to create differentiated 5G messaging, read our blog here . Contact Details Katie Pesek +1 703-390-1505 pesek@merrittgrp.com Company Website https://www.merrittgrp.com/

September 16, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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