Oral-B unveils latest technological innovation at Mobile World Congress 2022

Oral-B® announces its latest technological innovation - iOTM 10 with iOSenseTM (Photo: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 -- Oral-B, the No.1 Dentist-Recommended Brand Worldwide and a leader in oscillating-rotating electric toothbrushes, has announced its latest technological innovation - the Oral-B iO 10 with iOSense at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona.

The new iO10 with iOSense, the latest addition to the revolutionary iO range, is set to revolutionise the way we brush our teeth with a personalised experience like never before.

It is accompanied by a smart device called iOSense, which offers real-time guidance with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) and a personalised brushing experience that ensures healthier gums and teeth.

In a statement, Procter & Gamble Europe Oral Care senior vice-president Benjamin Binot said: “The innovation represents a new era of brushing that is more than just an electric toothbrush – it’s a fusion of ground-breaking technology, desirable design and amazing performance.”

“The iO 10 with iOSense is our latest commitment to building a digital health ecosystem that leads with advanced technologies, accessible solutions and more effective educational tools to improve oral care and health for all,” he added.

Oral-B iO’s revolutionary micro-vibration technology removes 100 per cent more plaque than a manual brush to give you that professional clean feeling, at home, improving your oral health and contributing to better overall body health.

In clinical tests, Oral-B iO provided a deeper clean of teeth and gums, allowing users to maintain oral health easily and effectively.

Versus manual toothbrushes, Oral-B iO users experienced six times more plaque removal along the gumline; 100 per cent healthier gums in one week; and whiter teeth in one week, thanks to the revolutionary iO technology.

The Oral-B iO 10 Design comes in two new galactic-inspired brush designs, cosmic black, and stardust white.

The interactive Colour Display enables easy navigation through the brush features, including welcome greetings, language settings, and a selection of cleaning modes, including sensitive, deep clean, and whitening.

More details at www.oralb.com.

-- BERNAMA

Chinmay J. Upadhyat is Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group Regional V-P, South Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (‘Group’), a part of the Nikkiso Co Ltd (Japan) group ofcompanies, announced that Chinmay J. Upadhyat has joined the Group as Regional Vice President, South Asia region.

He will be based in Nikkiso Cosmodyne India Private Ltd, their large manufacturing and competence centre in Gujarat, India, according to a statement.

This important addition to their management team is the result of growth in the market environment and is in line with the objectives of the Industrial Division of Nikkiso to better serve and support their customers in the Southern Asia Market.

Chinmay started his career in 1995 as a Production Engineer with Anup Engineering and Inductotherm India, then served as key account manager for 10 years with Dresser Rand India. Since 2008 he has been Regional then Assistant General Manager for Burckhardt Compression India where he was responsible for sales and business development of new machines for the Indian market.

With his broad experience in the CNG, LNG, H2 and industrial gas markets in India, Chinmay will lead the Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases sales and service teams in this important region and embark on a mission to deliver market share growth in a sustainable and profitable way.

“Chinmay will be a perfect addition to our management team with his proficiency in business development, equipment, service, aftermarket sales and market knowledge,” according to Emile Bado, Vice President, Sales & Business Development of the Group.

Chinmay has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Government Polytechnic, Ahmedabad, a Bachelor’s in Technology from JNRVD University, Rajasthan and an MBA from Sikkim Manipal University in Manipal.

For more information visit www.cryoind.com and www.nikkiso.com

-- BERNAMA

JUNIPER RESEARCH: PAYMENT CARD TECHNOLOGY REVENUE TO EXCEED $11.7 BILLION GLOBALLY IN 2026, WITH METAL & BIOMETRIC CARDS DRIVING CHANGE

 BASINGSTOKE, England, Feb 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- A new Juniper Research study found that global payment card shipment revenue for technology companies will reach $11.7 billion in 2026, from $9.7 billion in 2022. This 20% increase reflects new innovations emerging in the payment cards space while the contactless cards roll-out is reaching its latter stages.

The new research, Payment Card Technologies: Segment Analysis, Vendor Strategies & Market Forecasts 2022-2026, predicted the introduction of biometric cards, metal cards and dynamic CVV (Card Verification Value) cards as being majorly disruptive trends over the next 5 years. These new card types all have the same aim – to make cards fit for the new, digital-first payments ecosystem. The research found that these new card types will help evolve the payment experience for the digital age, increasing security and useability; making card usage more appealing in the face of increasing mobile-first payment innovations.

For more insights, download the free whitepaper: Premium, Tap & Scan ~ The Future of Payment Cards.

Metal Cards Driving Revenue

The research found that metal cards will account for over $4.4 billion in hardware revenue for technology providers globally in 2026, from $1.2 billion in 2022. The research identified the premium appearance of metal cards as highly appealing as a differentiator; driving their future growth.

Research co-author Damla Sat explained: “Banks and card issuers need to differentiate themselves in order to retain relevance in the digital payments era – adding value to their services by using new card types can add significant value and reduce churn with existing relationships.”

Biometric Cards Have Strong Potential

The research also found that use of biometric cards, which feature embedded fingerprint sensors, will grow significantly, with shipments expected to increase by almost 850% over the next 5 years to 173 million in 2026 globally. Biometric cards will enable card payments to better compete with mobile payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, eventually allowing payment cards to have no transaction limits. The report recognised this development as critical in removing the barriers to growth for contactless payments.

Payment Card Technologies report: https://www.juniperresearch.com/researchstore/fintech-payments/payment-card-technologies-market-research-report

Whitepaper download: https://www.juniperresearch.com/whitepapers/premium-tap-scan-the-future-of-payment-cards

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220227005033/en/

Contact

For further details contact Sam Smith, Press Relations
T: +44(0)1256 830002
E: sam.smith@juniperresearch.com

Source : Juniper Research

PanFriends unveils social network P2E game 'I LOVE Pandonia' worldwide

PanFriends launched the social network P2E game I LOVE Pandonia on Google Stores and iOS all over the world. The game is set in the Italian city of Venezia where users can enjoy various content such as romance, trade, product manufacturing, and battles unique to a maritime city. While playing the game, users can earn mPANDO, MainNet coin, by completing daily quests, reaching certain levels, and getting peerage titles. (Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 -- PanFriends has launched the social network P2E game ‘I LOVE Pandonia’ on Google Stores and iOS all over the world.

‘I LOVE Pandonia’ is a Social Network Game (SNG) with the Italian city of Venezia set as a background where users can enjoy various content such as romance, trade, product manufacturing, and battles unique to a maritime city. It also has cute and charming graphics.

According to a statement, in ‘I LOVE Pandonia’, anyone can create one’s own Venezia and freely trade resources obtained through production and products exchange with other cities.

The city grows with production and trade development, and the battles that occur during trade also give some kind of specific charm to the game.

A good ship is needed to facilitate trade and win naval warfare. Users can build a good ship or make an existing one stronger. Having a high-performing ship and quick manufacturing of various products in a large and good production building make a great impact on the city development.

In addition, ‘I LOVE Pandonia’ has a social network function. Users can make friends in the game, visit friends' cities to help them grow and receive special rewards.

While playing ‘I LOVE Pandonia’, users can earn mPANDO by completing daily quests, reaching certain levels, and getting peerage titles. mPANDO is MainNet coin designed to be used for various in-game activities such as ‘island expansion’, ‘ship purchase’, and ‘shop upgrade’, among others.

-- BERNAMA

Busan Tourism Organization releases promotional video 'Eyheymahamo' showing Busan vibe

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 -- The Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Tourism Organization (BTO) released a promotional video produced to introduce the unique vibe of Busan, an international tourism city, to the global market through Visit Busan YouTube channel on Feb 10.

This promotional video was planned as a unique content of Busan under the three themes of Sanbokdoro (Sanbok Road), Busan Eomuk (fish cake), and the vibe of Busan.

According to a statement, the video shows the thrilling bus drive that can only be experienced on Sanbokdoro, Busan’s signature food, Eomuk and warm atmosphere in a traditional market, and the vibe of Busan spread in Sajik Baseball Stadium, the world’s largest Karaoke.

In particular, Eyheymahamo, a catchphrase similar to Abracadabra or Hakuna Matata that is repeated throughout the video, arouses the curiosity of overseas viewers.

Eyheymahamo is a compound word of Eyhey, Ma, and Hamo, the dialect of Busan, and this phrase means, “Hey, don’t worry. You’re okay.”

Mudd the Student, a rapper from Busan who competed at 'Show Me the Money Season 10' composed the song using the dialect of Busan and appeared on the video. The video also features choreography created by Hook, a dance crew from Street Woman Fighter. These artistes will continue performing as the publicity models for Busan tourism.

Following the release of the video, the Busan Metropolitan City and BTO will start publicising it from Feb 25 in the form of a short-form challenge, together with famous global influencers using Tiktok, a global short video platform, and Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website.

With the video that shows the charm of Busan, the Busan Metropolitan City will increase the global recognition of Busan as a city most loved by Koreans and a city overseas tourists would want to visit.

-- BERNAMA

Cyber intelligence company Cyble secures US$10 million Series A financing round

 

Cyble Co-founders, Beenu Arora (right) and Manish Chachada (left) (Photo: Business Wire) 

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 -- AI-powered cyber intelligence company Cyble announced it has raised a US$10 million Series A financing round led by Blackbird, with continued participation from Spider Capital, January Capital, Cendana Capital, and VentureSouq. (US$1 = RM4.181)

The funds will be allocated to expanding Cyble’s product roadmap, enabling deeper penetration into existing & new markets, and amplifying its Cyble Research Labs (CRL) capabilities.

“The Series A funding round is a major milestone for our rapidly growing company, and affirmation of Cyble’s emergence as a pioneer and thought leader in the infosec industry,” said  Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Cyble, Beenu Arora.

“We are thrilled to receive this support and intend to direct these funds to drive our research, development, and intelligence capabilities to greater heights. Cyble is committed to deliver comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that resonate with our growing client base.”

Meanwhile, co-founder and COO of Cyble, Manish Chachada said: “We are incredibly excited to receive the support from our investors to continue to carry out Cyble’s vision, and honoured that Cyble is recognised as a leading voice in cybersecurity and a trusted partner that enables businesses to advance their Digital Risk Protection Strategy.”

The news of Series A funding marks almost a year since Cyble’s initial Seed funding round. In April 2021, Cyble announced it raised US$4 million led by Blackbird and Spider Capital, with participation from Picus Capital and Cathexis Ventures.

Founded by Beenu Arora and Manish Chachada in 2019, Cyble continuously monitors the darkweb and surfaceweb data in real-time across open and closed sources to map, monitor, and mitigate companies' digital risk footprint.

Currently, Cyble is present in six nations and has tripled in business YoY, according to a statement.

Alongside its continual focus to minimise and manage cyber risk for its clients, Cyble recently introduced a Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) and defence threat intelligence tailored solution, Cyble Hawk to aid law enforcement and government agencies in combating cyber risks that have national and geopolitical ramifications.

More details at www.cyble.com.

-- BERNAMA

FOR 2ND YEAR, NIPPON EXPRESS CDP'S SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENT LEADER OF HIGHEST RATED COMPANIES

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express Co Ltd, a group company of Nippon Express Holdings Inc has been included for the second consecutive year on the ‘Supplier Engagement Leader’ comprising highest-rated companies in the ‘Supplier Engagement Rating’ conducted by CDP.

CDP is an international NGO engaged in researching and disclosing environmental information on companies and cities.

One of the environmental rating institutions most trusted by investors, CDP is a non-profit organisation whose principal activities involve requesting that companies and local governments disclose information on their climate change, water security, forest conservation and other environmental measures at the behest of institutional investors and major purchasing organisations worldwide who take a great interest in environmental issues, thereby encouraging companies and local governments to pursue such measures.

The NX Group regards "responsibility for the global environment" as a priority issue and accordingly it pro-actively discloses environmental information, pursues green (eco-friendly) logistics initiatives such as cooperative delivery and modal shifts, and formulates projects that help reduce CO2 emissions.

According to a statement, the effectiveness of these efforts was acknowledged in CDP's latest rating.

Nippon Express will continue to practise sustainable management from a long-term perspective while meeting the expectations of all stakeholders globally by ardently addressing environmental issues.

The NX Group will work in concert to achieve further growth and enhance its corporate value as it aims to become the trusted presence that customers and societies in all ages demand.

For more information, visit https://www.nipponexpress.com/

-- BERNAMA

ERICK THOHIR PAVES THE WAY FOR GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

AsiaNet 94680

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022 / Antara News Agency-AsiaNet/ --

Good corporate governance (GCG) can help state-owned enterprises (SOEs) increase their value, investor confidence, develop their businesses, and manage risks.
 
Therefore, SOEs must implement GCG to fulfill their responsibility to the country, their shareholders, and the public, according to analysts.
 
GCG involves regulating, managing, and supervising a sustainable business control process to increase share value, as a form of accountability to shareholders without ignoring the interests of stakeholders, including employees, creditors, and the community.
 
In Indonesia, the implementation of GCG has been mandated at all SOEs under Erick Thohir’s leadership as the Minister of SOEs.
 
According to Thohir, all SOEs must apply the five GCG principles outlined in the SOEs Minister’s Regulation Number PER-09/MBU/2012 concerning Amendments to the SOEs Minister Regulation Number PER-01/MBU/2011 concerning the Implementation of Good Corporate Governance in SOEs.
 
The first GCG principle involves transparency in decision-making and disclosing material and relevant information regarding the company.
 
The second principle is accountability in terms of clarity of function to ensure the management in the company is working effectively.
 
The third principle pertains to the responsibility of the company’s management to obey applied law and regulations.
 
The fourth is independence in managing the company in a professional way without conflict of interest and pressure from certain parties.
 
The last is fairness or justice and equality in fulfilling the rights of stakeholders' interests that arise based on agreements, laws, and regulations.
 
Under Thohir’s leadership, several SOEs have implemented GCG.
 
To comply with GCG principles, state-owned energy company PT Pertamina has increased the involvement of legal institutions in its business processes and company projects.
 
According to Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati, during 2020–2021, the company carried out strategic cooperation with several law enforcement agencies, including the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the Government’s Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP), the Indonesian Attorney General's Office, and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
 
Pertamina and PPATK established cooperation in data exchange for investigations for preventing and eradicating money laundering or other criminal acts in the company, she said.
 
Pertamina will also continue to collaborate with BPKP for company audits, she added.
 
Meanwhile, the company’s cooperation with the National Police involves supervising and assisting procurements for strategic projects, such as the construction, development, and operation of oil refineries and petrochemicals.
 
State-owned port operator PT Pelindo I has also implemented GCG through mutual cooperation with KPK for the handling of complaints of criminal acts, such as corruption.
 
Pelindo I President Director Dani Rusli Utama said that this mutual cooperation is in line with the principle of GCG applied by Pelindo I in its work activities.
 
Pelindo I's anti-corruption commitment has also been integrated with 26 other SOEs through the Whistleblowing System, he informed.
 
The Whistleblowing System is an application for reporting violations of the code of ethics, regulations, and legal provisions, he said. The application does not reveal the identity of the whistleblower and aids fair reporting of corruption, he said.
 
The collaboration with KPK is a form of the ministry's support for SOEs as partners in preventing corruption, Thohir said.
 
"We are committed to continued transformation, transparency, and professionalism in the Ministry of SOEs as well as our SOEs. One of our breakthroughs in transparency is opening all SOEs' financial reports to President Joko Widodo and the Finance Minister,” he added.
 
During Thohir’s term, the SOEs Ministry has also made other major breakthroughs in bureaucratic reform by making bold moves. To simplify bureaucracy, Thohir has reduced the number of deputies from seven to three (focusing on legal, human resources, and finance), and appointed two deputy ministers for SOEs who handle the portfolios of 142 SOEs.
 
Evaluating SOE subsidiaries, he has contended that they can reduce the profits of the main company, which may be already large.
 
He further said he will issue a ministerial regulation regarding the establishment of SOE subsidiaries.
 
Eventually, the business model of each SOE will be improved, he informed. SOEs must go back to their business core to avoid similar businesses overlapping each other, he explained.
 
Thohir said he will also encourage SOEs' expansion in foreign markets to boost revenue.
 
Furthermore, troubled companies will not be liquidated, according to the previous policy, but will be merged instead, the minister added.
 
He pointed out how his ministry successfully engineered the merger of state-owned Islamic banks into a single entity called Bank Syariah Indonesia, or BSI.
 
BSI was formed through the merger of three Sharia banks owned by the State-Owned Banks Association (Himbara): Mandiri Sharia, BRI Sharia, and BNI Sharia. With the formation of BSI, for the first time, Indonesia finally has a large Islamic bank, with assets totaling around Rp 247 trillion, Thohir said.
 
BSI has also received official permission from the United Arab Emirates to open a branch in one of its Islamic finance centers, Dubai, he highlighted. The recognition has brought BSI a step closer to achieving its goal of becoming a key player in the global Islamic banking industry, he remarked.
 
The minister said his ministry also successfully merged four state-owned port operators Pelindo I, Pelindo II, Pelindo III, and Pelindo IV into one company, with each operating ports in different areas.
 
The Pelindo merger, which had been attempted for two decades, was successfully realized in October 2021, he noted. He said the merger aimed to reduce logistics costs in Indonesia, which were still higher than in neighboring Asian countries.
 
With this merger, Pelindo has emerged as the eighth-largest container terminal operator in the world, with a total of 16.7 million TEUs, and become one of the main players in the ports sector, with assets totaling Rp 112 trillion, Thohir said.
 
This merger also aims to boost connectivity and efficiency to lower national logistics costs in an effort to further drive the competitiveness of Indonesia’s industry sector, he said.
 
Social expert Budi Muliawan said all of these transformations at SOEs were realized through strategic plans and the well-organized vision of leaders.
 
Leaders must be able to internalize GCG in modern corporate principles, he said. In leading SOEs, leaders should also have a sense of crisis and a sense of belonging, he added.
 
SOURCE: Ministry of State-Owned Enterprise

CRADLEPOINT CELLULAR INTELLIGENCE SIMPLIFIES MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF LTE AND 5G WIRELESS WAN DEPLOYMENTS FOR IT TEAMS

 

Delivers Business-grade Wireless WANs, with management capabilities that exceed entry-level cellular solutions, New Ericsson Integration Provides SIM Management


SINGAPORE, Feb 25 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mobile World Congress -- Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network edge solutions, today announced the launch of Cellular Intelligence, a collection of software-based features that uniquely sense, orchestrate, and optimise connections, data plans, and traffic of cellular networking deployments. Now, Cellular Intelligence includes SIM Management based on the integration of Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator with Cradlepoint’s NetCloud and other databases. Customers can now activate and manage cellular routers, SIMs and data plans from a single pane of glass. This new extension of Cellular Intelligence highlights Cradlepoint’s commitment to providing enterprises with the freedom to simply connect people, places, and things from anywhere.

IT managers will need a new set of tools to meet the unique demands of cellular networking - especially as the Wireless WAN scales. As 5G adoption rates continue to rise, IDC predicts that by 2024, “wireless first” will be mainstream for wide area connectivity, accelerating 65% of organisations to “untether” their operations*. As this demand for cellular adoption increases, Cellular Intelligence gives IT teams the necessary tools to manage the unique demands of cellular through sophisticated management and control capabilities.

“5G is significantly increasing the use of Wireless WAN by global enterprises, and Cradlepoint’s Cellular Intelligence will accelerate further adoption,” said Joop Gerlach, Chief Operating Officer, Blue Wireless. “With increased visibility and control across the entire wireless WAN, we can better manage the full life-cycle from initial deployment to in-life support through a single-pane-of-glass, resulting in consistent uptime and improved performance for our global customers.”

Leveraging Cradlepoint’s decade-long history in enabling enterprise-class 4G/LTE and 5G connectivity, Cellular Intelligence has been built into every aspect of the Cradlepoint portfolio to equip IT teams with the management, control, and security capabilities they need, including:

• Live stats, health dashboards, and cellular data breakout (by carrier, connection type, by network type, by 5G mmWave vs. sub-6, and more) that increase visibility and control of cellular services.
• Integrated SIM Management provides peace of mind with centralised and precise consumption visibility and control of data plans across the Wireless WAN.
• Cellular signal mapping allows organisations, like public safety agencies, to map and display cellular reception across driven routes.
• Software-driven modem functionality optimises connectivity across multiple modems, and multiple carriers, for predictable and persistent cellular connectivity.
• Unique cellular-optimised SD-WAN capabilities enable traffic steering policies based on applications and real-time WAN conditions, ensuring quality of experience.
• Application-aware visibility, reporting, and controls gives administrators visibility to the performance of their applications, so they can easily take corrective action if needed.
• Application-based failover control allows IT organisations to control exactly which applications and functions utilise a cellular failover connection. For example, IT can suspend guest Wi-Fi access when on cellular failover.
• Cellular-efficient secure management protocol, with in-depth diagnostic, alerting and log data, improves troubleshooting without impacting customer data plans.

“We have now officially entered a 5G-driven world. IT teams are going to be faced with complexities of managing and controlling a distributed Wireless WAN,” said Donna Johnson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Cradlepoint. “Cellular Intelligence, which is embedded in everything Cradlepoint does, simplifies cellular deployments with more predictable connectivity, deeper insights, and more accurate cost containment. It goes well beyond adding an off-the-shelf modem to a router, and gives network administrators the tools they need to secure, manage and control a distributed Wireless WAN—at scale.”

One of the newest Cellular Intelligence features – SIM Management – is based on an integration with Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator platform. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and other channel partners that utilise IoT Accelerator will now be able to provide customers with the ability to view, activate and adjust cellular data plans in real-time for their Cradlepoint devices. There are also plans to integrate with SIM aggregation databases to provide broader visibility across all global carrier’s data plans. With these integrations, Cradlepoint Cellular Intelligence now exclusively provides real-time SIM Management capability.

“Cradlepoint, together with Ericsson IoT, has extended SIM Management to Cradlepoint’s portfolio of cellular-enabled routers and adapters for fixed site, mobile, and IoT use cases,” stated Kyle Okamoto, General Manager of IoT at Ericsson. “Now, any ecosystem member that utilises the Ericsson IoT Accelerator platform can extend SIM Management functionality to Cradlepoint devices, providing our global partners with service differentiation and giving enterprise customers yet another powerful tool to help manage the cost and performance of their Wireless WAN deployment.”

To learn more about Cellular Intelligence, shipping now as part of the NetCloud Service, please visit: https://cradlepoint.com/technology/cellular-intelligence/

Cradlepoint will be at Mobile World Congress Barcelona from February 28 - March 3, 2022, visit us in booth 2J20. For more information on the event, visit: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/exhibitors/cradlepoint

About Cradlepoint
Cradlepoint is a global leader in cloud-delivered 4G and 5G wireless network edge solutions. Cradlepoint’s NetCloud™ platform and cellular routers deliver a pervasive, secure, and software-defined Wireless WAN edge to connect people, places, and things — anywhere. More than 28,500 businesses and government agencies worldwide, including many Global 2000 organisations and top public sector agencies, rely on Cradlepoint to keep mission-critical sites, points of commerce, field forces, vehicles, and IoT devices always connected. Cradlepoint was founded in 2006, acquired by Ericsson in 2020, and operates today as a standalone subsidiary within Ericsson’s Business Area Technologies and New Businesses. Cradlepoint is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with development centres in Silicon Valley and India with international offices in Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. www.cradlepoint.com.

* IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Connectedness 2022 Predictions, Doc # US47438921, October 2021

Contact
Biana Chamlet
Cradlepoint APAC PR
biana.chamlet@cradlepoint.com
Ph. +61 452 516 069 


SOURCE : Cradlepoint

Intelex enhances global presence with further expansion, customer growth in EMEA & APAC

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 -- Intelex Technologies, a leading global provider of cloud-based Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality (EHSQ) management software, rounded off 2021 with continued growth, new partnerships, and strategic expansion in both Europe and Asia.

“Increasingly, global organisations are not only recognising, but actively addressing their impact on the environment, the well-being of their employees and the creation of safer working practices,” said President, Intelex, Melissa Hammerle in a statement.

“We believe strongly that the future will be one of safe and sustainable business management practices and we are committed to helping change business for good. This past year has seen increased adoption of Intelex Technology solutions around the globe – which validates our shared vision.”

During the last 24 months, Intelex, among others, brought in 72 new customers in EMEA and APAC in the Chemicals, Energy and Environmental, Food and Beverage, Industrial Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation industries.

It has also activated 81 new EMEA go-lives in the Automotive, Chemicals, Construction, Industrial Manufacturing, Mining and Transportation industries; and opened a new UK office in Reading and doubled the number of employees working from the European HQ.

In addition, the company has also announced a new EMEA partnership with VP&White, and a global partnership with Datamaran®, the only automated solution available to achieve a data-driven business process for external risk and materiality analysis.

Recognition/Awards received include Best Workplaces for Tech UK 2020; Best Workplaces for Women UK 2020; Excellence in Wellbeing UK 2020 – 2021; and, Top 10 UK’s Best Workplaces 2020.

Since 1992, Intelex employees across the globe have been committed to innovating and enabling organisations to send their employees home safely every day, leaving behind a more sustainable world to the generations that follow, and manage quality so that only the safest and highest quality products make it to market.

More details at www.intelex.com.

-- BERNAMA

Zoom Contact Center designed to meet modern agent, end-customer needs

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc has announced Zoom Contact Center, an omnichannel contact centre solution that is optimised for video and integrated right into the same Zoom experience.

Now available, Zoom Contact Center, previously Zoom Video Engagement Center, combines unified communications and contact centre capabilities with the useability of the Zoom platform.

According to a statement, Zoom Contact Center supports customer service use cases and workflows using channels like video and voice, with SMS and webchat currently in beta.

“Zoom Contact Center was carefully designed to meet the needs of the modern agent and end-customer, both of which expect a personalised, digital, and effective contact centre experience,” said Chief Product Officer of Zoom, Oded Gal.

“I am pleased to announce the general availability of Zoom Contact Center, building upon the reliable Zoom platform model and bringing the experiences our customers know and love to yet another industry.”

The Zoom platform is powering the future of communications beyond meetings with unified communications, the Zoom Developer Platform, Zoom Events, and now Zoom Contact Center.

These innovations – and there are many more – were created with the same level of scalability and simplicity that has made Zoom the trusted platform for more than a half-million businesses worldwide.

Zoom Contact Center will have over 100 agent, supervisor, and contact centre administrator features at launch. Future investments will include additional channels, CRM and workforce management integrations, and AI/ML to optimise agent productivity.

At launch, Zoom Contact Center will extend traditional capabilities typically optimised for voice to provide a unique end-customer experience through channels like video.

Zoom Contact Center streamlines inefficiencies by bringing communications into one central hub. In addition to helping end-customers with a rich agent experience, agents can collaborate with peers, supervisors, or other employees right in Zoom Chat and channels.

Zoom Contact Center is now available in the U.S. and CA, with more international availability coming later this year.

-- BERNAMA

AM BEST DOWNGRADES CREDIT RATINGS OF SHANGHAI ELECTRIC INSURANCE LIMITED

 HONG KONG, Feb 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent) of Shanghai Electric Insurance Limited (SEIL) (Hong Kong). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect SEIL’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The rating downgrades reflect the revision of SEIL’s business profile assessment from neutral to limited. SEIL was incorporated in Hong Kong in 2018 and is a single-parent captive of Shanghai Electric (Group) Corporation, which is wholly owned by the Shanghai municipal government and is one of the largest power generation and industrial equipment manufacturing enterprises in China. SEIL serves as the group’s risk management and insurance arm. It mainly assumes premiums from the group and affiliates through inward arrangements with onshore and offshore insurers and reinsurers.

In 2019 and 2020, SEIL’s underwriting book consisted primarily of the speciality line of key equipment insurance, supplemented by traditional risks including property, construction and engineering, cargo and liability. However, following a change in government subsidy policy for key equipment insurance in 2021, the captive has stopped writing new business for this speciality line in consideration of pricing adequacy, which led to a sudden and significant decline in its top line in 2021. Going forward, SEIL plans to grow its traditional lines of business and meanwhile underwrite risks from the group’s overseas engineering projects. AM Best views the change in business strategy as a material deviation from its original business plan, and expects the captive to face an increased level of execution risk in rolling out new plans for its underwriting portfolio strategy.

AM Best assesses SEIL’s balance sheet strength at the very strong level, supported by risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The captive’s risk-adjusted capitalisation is underpinned by its very low underwriting leverage and liquid investment portfolio. Half of SEIL’s invested assets are allocated to fixed income securities, one third are in cash and the remainder in listed stocks. While the majority of fixed income securities are investment grade, SEIL has a moderate exposure in non-investment-grade bonds, which enhance yield. In view of its low-frequency, high-severity risk profile, the captive has arranged a reinsurance programme to protect its capital in 2022. AM Best expects the captive to maintain a sufficient buffer in its risk-adjusted capitalisation to support its risk profile over the next three years.

SEIL delivered mid-to-high single digit return on equity (ROE) for 2019 and 2020, while its ROE dropped to a break-even level in 2021 as a combined result of its shrinking underwriting book and unfavourable investment result. Its operating expense ratio remained very low in 2019 and 2020 due to the minimal distribution costs from its group business. However, operating expenses increased in 2021 because of salary and office expenses, which had been fully covered by its immediate parent before but have since been assumed by SEIL. The captive has generated underwriting profits over the past three years. Nonetheless, its operating performance is exposed to potential volatility due to its small premium size and low-frequency, high-severity risk profile. In terms of investment performance, SEIL reported a net investment loss in 2021 as a result of unfavourable market conditions. The captive expects its investment return to recover gradually and stabilise going forward due to its liquid and fixed income-oriented asset portfolio.

Offsetting risk factors include the captive’s concentrated exposure to natural catastrophes and the potential risk of inadequate reserving as a start-up company due to lack of an experienced track record. Emerging risks from new markets overseas also pose a new challenge to its risk management framework.

As the first insurance licensee within Shanghai Electric (Group) Corporation, SEIL receives support in areas of inward business, operations and risk management, as well as investment and capital management. As the captive represents a fairly small business of the wider group, AM Best views the estimated loss for the group’s annual results for 2021 as having a limited negative impact to SEIL and unlikely to result in a capital repatriation; no rating drag has been applied thus far.

Negative rating actions could occur if there is significant adverse deviation in SEIL’s business plan that leads to ongoing adverse operating performance such that it no longer supports an adequate assessment. Negative rating actions may occur if its ERM fails to contain emerging risks arising from the new market. Negative rating actions also could occur if there is a material deterioration in Shanghai Electric (Group) Corporation’s credit profile.

AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated throughout the world. For current Best’s Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

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