NewzIntel.com

Category: KB

  • MIL-OSI: ibex Ranked #2 in Forbes America’s Best Employers for Tech Workers List

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ibex (NASDAQ: IBEX), a leading global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer engagement technology solutions, today announced it has been ranked at No. 2 on the 2024 Forbes list of America’s Best Employers for Tech Workers, placing it ahead of global tech industry giants.

    To create the list, Forbes surveyed more than 25,000 tech workers in the United States employed at companies across all sectors with at least 1,000 people. Survey respondents were asked how likely they would be to recommend their current employer, their previous employer, and companies they knew through peers in their industry, or through friends or family who worked there. Respondents assessed their companies’ general work environment and topics like career development, salary, image, diversity, openness and technological prowess.

    “We are thrilled to be recognized by Forbes as one of America’s top employers for tech workers,” said ibex Chief Technology Officer Andy Wilkens. “This ranking is a testament to our tech-led strategy combined with an unwavering commitment to employee success and well-being. ibex has been a pioneer in leveraging technology and AI to enable our global team to deliver the best CX for our clients. We recently introduced the ibex Wave iX solutions suite, which harnesses the power of Gen AI to deliver next-generation customer experiences for top global brands.”

    ibex Wave iX seamlessly integrates innovative AI-powered solutions with ibex’s industry-best talent to facilitate advanced, hyper-personalized, and intelligent interactions that cultivate stronger connections between brands and their customers.

    “From comprehensive benefits and career growth opportunities to our innovative employee engagement programs, we strive to create an environment where top tech talent can thrive and make a real impact,” said ibex Chief People Officer Paul Inson. “ibex is deeply committed to providing cutting-edge technology, tools and training to support career growth and development. We are proud that 85 percent of our frontline leaders began their careers as agents within the company, demonstrating the opportunity for career advancement across the organization.”

    Another key aspect of ibex’s outstanding workplace is the company’s commitment to listening to employee feedback. ibex conducts its annual iVoice employee survey to gather input from its workforce, and more importantly, takes concrete actions based on that feedback. ibex also conducts quarterly employee pulse surveys, ensuring that the company remains closely attuned to its team’s evolving needs and expectations.

    For more information about ibex and career opportunities, visit www.ibex.co.

    About ibex
    ibex delivers innovative business process outsourcing (BPO), smart digital marketing, online acquisition technology, and end-to-end customer engagement solutions to help companies acquire, engage and retain valuable customers. Today, ibex operates a global CX delivery center model consisting of approximately 30 operations facilities around the world, while deploying next generation technology to drive superior customer experiences for many of the world’s leading companies across retail, e-commerce, healthcare, fintech, utilities and logistics.

    ibex leverages its diverse global team of over 30,000 employees together with industry-leading technology, including the AI-powered ibex Wave iX solutions suite, to manage nearly 175 million critical customer interactions, adding over $2.2B in lifetime customer revenue each year and driving a truly differentiated customer experience. To learn more, visit our website at ibex.co and connect with us on LinkedIn.

    ibex Media Contact:
    Dan Burris
    daniel.burris@ibex.co

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e704c285-850f-4151-afdc-753676638fd8

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: AvidXchange Announces Winners of the Inaugural Change Maker Awards

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AvidXchange, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVDX), a leading provider of accounts payable (AP) automation software and payment solutions for middle market businesses and their suppliers, today announced the winners of the inaugural Change Maker Awards, recognizing individuals who have driven innovative and transformative change in the AP industry.

    Change Makers:
    For this award program, AvidXchange honors those who embodied being a “change maker,” or someone who facilitates or brings about change in their AP department through innovative processes, automated procedures or other creative solutions.

    • Alexis Bates, Director of Construction and Development Accounting, Robert High Development: In response to the demand for faster, more secure subcontractor payments, Alexis spearheaded the implementation of AvidXchange’s end-to-end AP automation solution built for construction. The payment process is now more streamlined, saving her company over $100,000 annually in hard costs like check stock and postage and eliminating the need to hire additional staff due to increased efficiency. Additionally, with a more robust approval process, her team has experienced fewer errors and implemented a stronger system for checks and balances.
    • Ella Hu, Corporate Accountant, HH Red Stone: Ella played a key role in implementing AvidXchange’s payment automation solution, replacing manual processes that were prone to errors and delays. The adoption of a more efficient process resulted in annual savings of $45,000 and reduced payment processing time from 14 days to just 5. Ella’s efforts also led to a 30% increase in supplier satisfaction, as suppliers now receive more timely payments with clearer status updates.
    • Farzana Sarpas, Staff Accountant – Development Accounting, Rancho Mission Viejo: Farzana led the implementation of AvidXchange’s end-to-end AP automation solution built for construction. She played a key role in integrating an innovative system that utilizes a newly created company portal designed to automatically import, code, and route invoices to AvidXchange, fully automating the AP process and saving approximately 40 hours each week. In addition to eliminating a variety of time-consuming tasks, Farzana created personalized virtual trainings and user guide manuals for her company and suppliers, ensuring a seamless transition to the new AP software.
    • Ja’Net Penn, Accounting Manager, Peak Property Management: Under Ja’Net’s innovative leadership, Peak Property successfully transitioned to a fully automated, paperless AP process with AvidXchange. This shift reduced invoice approval times by 30% and improved customer retention, allowing the company to focus on stable revenue streams rather than new client acquisition costs. Ja’Net also introduced a key KPI to track unapproved invoices, increasing accountability in the approval process and improving relationships with suppliers and property owners, with on-time payments reaching 95%.
    • Kelly Brummer, Controller AVP, Premier Bank: Kelly’s efforts to modernize the accounts payable and expense reimbursement processes with AvidXchange had a transformative impact on Premier Bank, resulting in annual savings of approximately $79,000. Administrative tasks for all employees were reduced from 40 hours per week to just 10, freeing up valuable time for the finance team to focus on more strategic work. Her CFO praised her for driving a more efficient and delivering a seamless experience for the team.
    • Shannon Powers, Manager of HRIS & AP, Energo: Shannon implemented enhanced workflows within AvidXchange’s invoice automation solution, reducing invoice approval time to under 24 hours. The streamlined process has also improved accuracy, with error rates now nearly “non-existent”. Reporting now takes just 15 minutes, down from an hour, increasing operational efficiency and saving on payroll costs. Shannon implemented enhanced workflows within AvidXchange’s invoice automation solution, reducing invoice approval time to under 24 hours. The streamlined process has also improved accuracy, with error rates now nearly “non-existent.” Reporting now takes just 15 minutes, down from an hour, increasing operational efficiency and saving on payroll costs.

    “Innovation in accounts payable goes beyond improving processes—it’s about making change that has a lasting impact on both financial and operational success,” said Michael Praeger, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of AvidXchange. “Our inaugural class of Change Makers embodies this forward-thinking mindset, and we are proud to honor these individuals whose bold contributions will continue to shape the future of our industry.”

    In recognition of their outstanding contributions to the accounts payable industry, each winner will be showcased on the iconic Nasdaq Tower, as well as have $1,000 donated to the charity of their choice on behalf of AvidXchange.

    Nominations for the 2025 Change Maker Awards will open in August 2025.

    To learn more, visit avidxchange.com/awards.

    About AvidXchange
    AvidXchange is a leading provider of accounts payable (“AP”) automation software and payment solutions for middle market businesses and their suppliers. AvidXchange’s software-as-a-service-based, end-to-end software and payment platform digitizes and automates the AP workflows for more than 8,000 businesses and it has made payments to more than 1.2 million supplier customers of its buyers over the past five years. To learn more about how AvidXchange is transforming the way companies pay their bills, visit avidxchange.com.

    Contact:
    Kevin Logan
    Manager, Corporate Communications
    pr@avidxchange.com  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortinet Report Finds Nearly 70% of Organizations Say Their Employees Lack Fundamental Security Awareness

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer at Fortinet
    “As threat actors harness new technologies like AI to augment the sophistication of their attacks, it’s increasingly crucial that employees serve as a robust first line of defense. Fortinet’s new research underscores the importance of creating a culture of cybersecurity and the need to deploy organization-wide security awareness and training. These findings reinforce the importance of our award-winning Security Awareness and Training service for enterprises, including the free educational version available at no cost to primary and secondary schools around the world, and its role in strengthening cyber resilience.”

    News Summary
    Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today released its annual 2024 Security Awareness and Training Global Research Report, highlighting the crucial role a cyber-aware workforce plays in managing and mitigating organizational risk.

    Key findings from the global report include:

    • As malicious actors use AI to increase the volume and velocity of their attacks, leaders believe these threats will be harder for their employees to spot. More than 60% of respondents expect more employees to fall victim to attacks in which cybercriminals use AI. However, the good news is that most respondents (80%) also say enterprise-wide knowledge of AI-augmented attacks has made their organizations more open to implementing security awareness and training.
    • Employees can be an organization’s first line of defense, but leaders are increasingly worried that their employees lack security awareness. Nearly 70% of those surveyed believe their employees lack critical cybersecurity knowledge, up from 56% in 2023.
    • Leaders recognize the importance of security awareness training but believe specific attributes make some training programs more effective than others. Three-quarters of leaders say they plan their security awareness campaigns, delivering content monthly (34%) or quarterly (47%). Executives also point to high-quality content playing a leading role in the success or failure of the program.

    The Latest Threats That Employees Must Battle
    One prominent way cybercriminals use AI is to make phishing schemes more believable and harder to detect. Because phishing targets individual users directly, organizations are heavily focused on teaching employees how to recognize and avoid falling victim to these attacks.

    • End-users remain attractive targets. More than 80% of organizations faced attacks last year, such as malware, phishing, and password attacks that directly targeted individuals.
    • As attacks evolve, security awareness and training will only become more vital. Nearly all (96%) of those surveyed say their leadership team supports employee security awareness training.
    • Nearly all respondents (98%) say phishing prevention is a component of their training programs and plans. Other top training priorities include data security (48%) and privacy (41%).

    Employees Can Serve as a Strong First Line of Defense against Attacks
    While security and IT teams are crucial to safeguarding organizations against cyberthreats, an enterprise’s employees also play an important role in preventing breaches.

    • Employees are open to cybersecurity awareness and training opportunities. Most leaders (86%) say their employees positively view security awareness and training.
    • Organizations see positive results when they implement security and awareness training programs. An overwhelming majority of leaders (89%) say their organization saw at least some improvement in its security posture after security awareness and training were implemented. Not a single respondent claimed to see no improvement.

    Cyber Awareness Training Is Vital, but Not All Programs Are Created Equal
    Most organizations are motivated to introduce security awareness and training based on their experience of being breached or knowledge of threats in their industry or sector. Almost all decision-makers (96%) say their leadership team supports implementing training to raise employees’ cybersecurity awareness.

    According to this year’s survey, 97% of leaders think increased employee awareness would strengthen the organization’s cybersecurity posture. Yet respondents also agree that there are key attributes of training programs that are important for effectiveness.

    • Engaging content is paramount. While 86% of decision-makers say they are satisfied with their current security awareness and training solution, the biggest complaint was a lack of engaging content among those not satisfied.
    • Consider the time commitment required. Avoid training fatigue by considering the amount of time required from learners. Demanding too much time from employees can overburden them. Between 1.1 and 2.0 hours is the most common time proposed, with three hours as the average.

    Develop a Cyber-Aware Workforce with the Fortinet Security Awareness and Training Service  
    One breach incident alone has significant repercussions for a business. It is vital to build a three-pronged defense strategy that includes security awareness and training for all employees, technical cybersecurity skills for IT and security staff, and advanced security solutions for the network.

    Beyond teaching individuals what to do when they encounter threats, awareness and training lay the foundation for creating a culture of cybersecurity throughout the organization. Fortinet offers its Security Awareness and Training service to businesses that want to develop a cyber-aware workforce. Designed by the Fortinet Training Institute’s world-class trainers, this service covers a broad range of topics, offers content customization opportunities, and reinforces learnings with periodic reminders and checks. Organizations using the service also have access to a variety of dashboards to track learner progress and reporting to address cyber insurance and compliance needs.

    About the Fortinet Cyber Awareness Survey:

    • The survey was conducted among more than 1,850 executive-level and management-level professionals from 29 different countries at organizations with security awareness and training.
    • Survey respondents came from a range of industries, including manufacturing (17%), financial services (13%), and technology and professional services (11%).

    Additional Resources

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including CERTs, government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs. 

    Copyright © 2024 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSEC, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM and FortiXDR. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: White & Associates Insurance Selects Tarmika to Simplify Commercial Lines Remarketing

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Chicago, IL., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Systems® today announced that White & Associates Insurance has selected Tarmika, the industry’s leading commercial lines quoting tool, to remain competitive amid challenging market conditions. Tarmika will provide White & Associates Insurance’s agents with a snapshot of carrier appetites for standard commercial lines in one place to help agents stay on top of rapid appetite changes and remove the friction of rekeying data and switching between multiple carrier platforms, allowing for more accounts to be remarketed more quickly.

    “Constantly changing carrier appetites due to today’s hard market have made it imperative for our agents to remarket nearly all our commercial lines clients annually, which has increased the pressure on our staff,” said Cate Robertson, Vice President, Marketing & Training, White & Associates Insurance. “We chose Tarmika because its single-entry capabilities will speed up the commercial quoting process, empowering our people to successfully provide clients with the attention they deserve during renewals regardless of market conditions.”

    Tarmika is a single-entry commercial lines quoting application that enables agencies to simultaneously quote multiple small commercial markets, through their Direct and Market Access carrier appointments. Directly integrated with Applied Epic and EZLynx, agents can easily pass key risk data points between applications to streamline the quoting process in Tarmika while tracking activities and important quoting details directly in the management system. By enabling agents to collect and store data, find in-appetite markets, quote and submit to multiple insurers or MGAs in a single workflow, agents create a simpler, more connected commercial lines quoting experience that improves productivity and speed to market.

    “The insurance industry is entering a new normal where rates are accelerating at a decelerate rate, leaving agencies looking for smarter ways to approach remarketing,” Raghav Tanna, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Commercial Lines, Applied Systems. “By selecting Tarmika, White & Associates Insurance will be able to streamline risk data entry for quicker access to markets, saving staff time and freeing up resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.”  

    # # #

     

    The Applied products and logos are trademarks of Applied Systems, Inc., registered in the U.S.

     

    About Applied Systems
    Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.

    About White & Associates Insurance
    Established in 1976, White & Associates Insurance is a locally owned and operated insurance agency with 12 locations in West Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. White & Associates strives to provide a “doing more” approach to all aspects of operation, including enhancing employee job satisfaction, providing clients with innovative insurance packages and improving the communities in which they serve.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: LEARN selects Nokia to deploy new high-capacity network to foster research and education in Texas

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press Release
    LEARN selects Nokia to deploy new high-capacity network to foster research and education in Texas

    • Multi-year agreement sets Nokia as a key collaborator for LEARN’s high-capacity IP/MPLS network to meet growing capacity demands supporting research and education purposes.
    • Enables high-speed access to foster scientific discovery and pedagogical developments in the state.
    • Nokia industry-leading IP routing technology delivers 400G interfaces today with ability to seamlessly upgrade to 800G in the future.  

    23 October 2024
    Dallas, Texas – Nokia today announced its collaboration with The Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN), the statewide Research and Education Network for the state of Texas, to upgrade LEARN’s existing packet platform. The collaboration is part of LEARN’s strategic NextGen Network initiative, which aims to replace routers across the LEARN backbone and modernize the existing statewide network, significantly advancing the network’s infrastructure and the ability to serve its members. Nokia’s solution will enhance the levels of scalability, security, and reliability over a 400GE backbone, as part of a broad project redesign led by LEARN to serve its more than 300 organizations that directly or indirectly rely upon its network.

    The collaboration with Nokia represents a significant milestone as LEARN celebrates the upcoming 20th anniversary of its passage of first light. The relationship with Nokia highlights LEARN’s commitment to providing advanced, high-performance networking technology solutions for research and education. The next generation of the network will meet the highest performance and reliability standards, benefiting LEARN members by enhancing network performance, ensuring seamless integration, providing future-proof technology, increasing operational efficiency, and improving network reliability and resiliency. 

    The LEARN network spans over 3,200 fiber route miles, serving over 300 direct and affiliate member organizations throughout Texas, including public and private higher education institutions, colleges, and K–12 public schools. The enhanced IP/MPLS core network from Nokia delivers the performance, scale, and speed that are required to support cloud-hosted applications, compute-intensive processing, and the exchange of massive data sets required by LEARN Member Institutions.

    Kerry Mobley, President and CEO of LEARN, said: “LEARN is looking ahead to ensure we continue to meet the evolving demands of research, education, and collaboration for years to come. As network traffic increases due to technological advancements, we are committed to providing scalable and resilient services to support the needs of our members. Partnering with Nokia to help modernize our next-gen network allows us to implement cutting-edge, future-ready solutions that enhance our ability to empower the research and education communities across Texas.”

    Matt Young, Head of Enterprise Sales for North America at Nokia, said: “Research and Education networks like LEARN are experiencing unprecedented data growth with advancements in cloud and AI, which is compounded by the compute intensive processing and exchange of huge data sets within their communities. Our leadership in networking technologies and the extensive experience providing some of the highest performance networks on the planet have allowed us to gain momentum in the market, providing our customer with a robust network infrastructure with enhanced scalability, security, and reliability. We are pleased to be a part of LEARN’s network evolution project as they help foster scientific research, collaboration and innovation in Texas.”

    Resources and additional information
    The Nokia IP/MPLS platform leverages in-house developed leading-edge FP5 network processing silicon and is designed to scale in support of the most demanding workloads. A layer of network protection is integrated directly into the chipset, ensuring the integrity of research data as security threats – such as DDoS attacks and data breaches – grow in size and severity. Innovations in power consumption deliver a 75 percent reduction in energy use over earlier routing chipsets.

    National/regional research and education networks (NRENs) are non-commercial networks created for the advancement of knowledge. They demand performance, sometimes on the edge of what is commercially practical. They require unusual bandwidth capacity, scalability, flexibility, and data security without the constraints often found in commercial service offerings. Advances in photonic transport and switching, combined with IP routing and open software control, bring NRENs the ability to better serve their communities with a powerful communications infrastructure that will further education, scientific and industrial research, commerce, and overall quality of life – fostering collaboration among institutions.

    Webpage: IP networks
    Webpage: Advance discoveries with future-ready research and education networks
    Product page: EVPN: a powerful foundation for network services and infrastructure

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    About LEARN

    The Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) is a consortium of 43 organizations in Texas, including public and private higher education institutions, colleges, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), K-12 public schools, and research organizations. LEARN provides high-speed networking & technology services to support education, research, healthcare, and government communities. 

    Media inquiries
    Nokia Press Office
    Email: Press.Services@nokia.com

    Follow us on social media
    LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Micron SSDs Qualified for Recommended Vendor List on NVIDIA GB200 NVL72

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today announced that its 9550 PCIe Gen5 E1.S data center SSDs have been added to the NVIDIA recommended vendor list (RVL) for the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system and its derivatives.

    The GB200 NVL72 uses the GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip to deliver rack-scale, energy-efficient AI infrastructure. The enablement of PCIe Gen5 storage in the system makes the Micron 9550 SSD an ideal fit for optimizing performance and power efficiency in AI workloads like large-scale training of AI models, real-time trillion-parameter language model inference and high-performance computing (HPC) tasks.

    Micron 9550 delivers world-class AI workload performance and power efficiency:

    Compared with other industry offerings, the 9550 SSD delivers up to 34% higher throughput for NVIDIA Magnum IO™ GPUDirect® (GDS) and up to 33% faster workload completion times in graph neural network (GNN) training with Big Accelerator Memory (BaM).1 The Micron 9550 SSD saves energy and sets new sustainability benchmarks by consuming 81% less SSD energy per 1TB transferred than other SSD offerings with NVIDIA Magnum IO GDS and up to 43% lower SSD power in GNN training with BaM.1

    “Micron’s memory and storage products play a critical role in meeting the growing requirements of demanding AI workloads from the data center to the edge,” said Jeremy Werner, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron’s Storage Business Unit. “By integrating the Micron 9550 SSD on the GB200 NVL72, server companies can integrate a high-performance, energy-efficient Gen5 data center storage solution into their AI server systems.”

    “Ultra-fast and energy-efficient NVMe storage is crucial to the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 rack-scale design,” said Keith Morris, vice president of Product Management at NVIDIA. “The Micron 9550 SSD can be integrated by our solution partners into their systems based on the GB200 NVL72 reference architecture to enable higher performance and efficiency.”

    In addition to the Micron 9550 PRO PCIe Gen5 3.84TB, 7.68TB, and 15.36TB E1.S SSDs, the Micron 7450 PRO 3.84TB E1.S and 1.92TB M.2 SSDs have also been listed on the same NVIDIA RVL. Micron is working closely with server ODMs and OEMs to qualify the Micron 9550 and 7450 SSDs into their NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 solutions.

    The NVIDIA GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip will also ship with Micron’s LPDDR5X memory to provide a unique combination of high capacity, low power and enhanced RAS (reliability, availability and serviceability) capabilities for AI server infrastructure.

    For more information, visit these additional resources:

    About Micron Technology, Inc.

    We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com.

    © 2024 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. Micron, the Micron logo, and all other Micron trademarks are the property of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    Micron Media Relations Contact
    Kelly Sasso
    Micron Technology, Inc.
    +1 (208) 340-2410
    ksasso@micron.com

    1 Competitive comparisons with performance-focused 1 DWPD 7TB SSDs from Kioxia and Samsung available in the market and as tested in Micron labs.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Alation Launches Season 3 of Data Radicals Podcast to Spotlight Data and AI’s Impact on Business and Society

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alation Inc., the data intelligence company, today announced the launch of Season 3 of the Data Radicals podcast. The new season, hosted by Satyen Sangani, Alation’s CEO and co-founder, focuses on AI’s transformative power to unlock business value, featuring firsthand accounts and practical insights from leaders and practitioners implementing AI in their organizations. This season will explore how organizations leverage trusted data and AI to drive innovation and realize new business opportunities.

    Data Radicals has become a go-to resource for business leaders seeking insights into AI, data governance, and building data-driven cultures. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Alation.com/podcast, Season 3 delivers in-depth conversations with industry visionaries tackling the most pressing data problems in business today. This season’s guests include Dr. Geraldine Wong (CDO of GXS Bank), Stewart Bond (Research VP of IDC), Jeremy Kahn (AI Editor at Fortune), Chris Wiggins (Chief Data Scientist at the New York Times), Dr. Raza Habib (CEO and co-founder of Humanloop), and Tom Davenport (author of All-in on AI), who explore how AI use cases drive smarter decision-making, maximize business value from data initiatives, and reshape industries while creating societal change.

    “AI has unlocked extraordinary potential for organizations to reimagine how they use data,” said Satyen Sangani, host of Data Radicals and CEO of Alation. “This season, we explore how AI enables businesses to innovate and disrupt industries and the critical role of trusted data in fueling AI. We’re thrilled to hear from leaders driving AI’s accessibility, trust, and transformative impact. Season 3 will cover the most cutting-edge topics in data and AI, from practical applications like AI-powered chatbots and fraud detection in banking to realizing tangible value from AI initiatives.”

    “I applaud Data Radicals for helping to highlight both the opportunities and the risks AI presents,” said Jeremy Kahn, AI Editor at Fortune and author of the book Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future. “We desperately need public education and discussions like those Data Radicals if we are to hope to avoid AI’s dangers and realize its positive potential. It was a pleasure to be on the podcast to help advance this vital conversation.”

    “Being a guest on Data Radicals was truly enjoyable,” said Wendy Batchelder, Senior Vice President and Chief Data Officer at Centene. “As a leader who has navigated many of the same data and AI challenges other executives face, it was an honor to discuss the critical role of trusted data in driving organizational innovation. We explored the importance of breaking down silos, understanding organizational dynamics, and the pivotal role data governance and DE&I play in creating impactful business outcomes.”

    Upcoming guests for season three of Data Radicals include: 

    • Dr. Geraldine Wong, Chief Data Officer at GXS Bank 
    • Stewart Bond, Senior Vice President, Data Integration and Intelligence Software Research at IDC
    • Jeremy Kahn, AI Editor at Fortune
    • Chris Wiggins, Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times
    • Dr. Raza Habib, CEO and co-founder of Humanloop
    • Tom Davenport, Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, author of All-in on AI, and contributor to Harvard Business Review

    Tune into Data Radicals to stay at the forefront of data and AI innovation and discover how these technologies drive business value and reshape the world. Episode one of Season 3, featuring Dr. Geraldine Wong, Chief Data Officer at GXS Bank, is available today anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

    Sign up for the Data Radicals newsletter here. 

    See new episodes at alation.com/podcast.

    About Alation
    Alation is the data intelligence company. Nearly 600 global enterprises — including 40% of the Fortune 100 — rely on Alation to realize value from their data and AI initiatives. Customers such as Cisco, DocuSign, Nasdaq, Pfizer, and Samsung trust Alation’s platform for self-service analytics, cloud transformation, data governance, and AI-ready data, fostering data-driven innovation at scale. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Alation has been recognized five times by Inc. Magazine as one of the Best Workplaces. To learn more, visit www.alation.com. 

    Media Contact
    Lauren Lloyd
    Director, Corporate Communications
    541-490-6115
    lauren.lloyd@alation.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Americans Commonly Choose Top of Wallet Credit Cards Based on Loyalty and Rewards, According to CORA Group Survey

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WARMINSTER, Pa., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CORA Group (“CORA”), an operating portfolio of Jonas Software, a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., today shared results from its recent survey conducted online by The Harris Poll. More than 2,000 U.S. adults were surveyed on their card preferences and usage related to loyalty and rewards.

    Key findings from the survey include:

    • Loyalty and rewards lead in influencing which credit card Americans use to pay (55%), followed by convenience (40%), and credit limit (37%).
      • Brand loyalty (17%) is one of the lowest considerations.
      • Baby Boomers (ages 60-78) are the most likely to be influenced by loyalty and rewards programs, followed by Gen X (ages 44-59), Millennials (ages 28-43), and lastly Gen Z (ages 18-27). (Baby boomers 64%; Gen X 56%; 52% Millennials; 40% Gen Z.)
    • Nearly three quarters of Americans (73%) cite rewards-related factors (i.e., ability to earn, redemption options, sign-up bonus, percent earned) as considerations when opening a new credit card compared to factors like interest rates (47%), security and fraud protection (44%), user experience (31%), existing relationship with issuer (22%), and status (19%).
    • Earning points or miles on purchases is one of the most appealing credit card benefits to 45% of Americans.

    This data demonstrate how comprehensive loyalty management solutions can increase share of wallet, transaction frequency, and customer spending. “These findings underscore the importance of offering consumers relevant loyalty and rewards programs,” said Denis Bronsan, portfolio manager at CORA. “Rewards are viewed as a form of currency, their value plays a crucial role in payments — they actively shape purchasing decisions, spending habits, and brand loyalty.”

    Aligned with this trend, CORA’s recent acquisition of Carlson Marketing Solutions further expands its global portfolio, adding enterprise-level loyalty program management. The acquisition enhances the company’s ability to efficiently manage complex transactions while delivering greater personalization, program value, and targeted customer experiences.

    Survey Method
    This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of CORA Group from September 24-26, 2024 among 2,088 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact George Chalmers.

    About CORA Group
    CORA Group is a collective organization redefining advancement through the acquisition, strengthening, and growth of over 30 independent software brands worldwide. Our roots in construction and food service have expanded to include debt collection & recovery, wine/spirits, moving/storage, loyalty, legal, and long-term care verticals. Today, we are proud to serve over 50,000 customers in 10+ markets with industry-leading enterprise software and related services. CORA Group operates as one of the primary operating groups under Jonas Software, a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc. This relationship reinforces CORA’s commitment to delivering industry-leading solutions and benefiting from the extensive resources and support provided by Jonas Software and Constellation Software Inc.

    MEDIA CONTACT:
    George Chalmers
    Associate Director, M&A Corporate Development
    george.chalmers@thecoragroup.com
    https://thecoragroup.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: The new iPad mini is available today

    Source: Apple

    Headline: The new iPad mini is available today

    QUICK READ October 23, 2024

    Beginning today, the ultraportable new iPad mini, powered by the A17 Pro chip and built for Apple Intelligence, is now available. Starting at just $499 with double the storage of the previous generation, the new iPad mini delivers incredible value and the full iPad experience in an ultraportable design.

    A17 Pro delivers a huge performance boost for iPad mini, unlocking entirely new experiences — including pro apps used by designers, pilots, doctors, and others — and making it faster than ever for users to edit photos, dive into more immersive AR applications, and more. A17 Pro also brings support for Apple Intelligence, the easy-to-use personal intelligence system that understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant while protecting user privacy. Deeply integrated into iPadOS 18, Apple Intelligence harnesses the power of Apple silicon and Apple-built generative models to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks. The first set of Apple Intelligence features will be available in U.S. English as a free software update this month with iPadOS 18.1 on the new iPad mini, with more features rolling out in the coming months.1

    With faster connectivity, users can do even more on iPad mini while on the go. The new iPad mini supports Wi-Fi 6E, so users can download files, play games online, and stream movies even faster, and the USB-C port delivers 2x faster wired connections than the previous generation, with data transfers up to 10Gbps.

    The 12MP wide back camera on the new iPad mini now supports Smart HDR 4 and uses machine learning to detect and scan documents right in the Camera app.

    The versatility and advanced capabilities of the new iPad mini are taken to a whole new level with support for Apple Pencil Pro, and iPadOS 18 brings powerful features that enhance the iPad experience.
    Available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, the new iPad mini starts at $499 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and $649 (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The new iPad mini starts with 128GB of storage — double the storage of the previous generation. The new iPad mini is also available in 256GB and 512GB configurations. For full details, visit apple.com/shop/buy-ipad.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Video: MOS Highlights: 12T | U.S. Army

    Source: US Army (video statements)

    : Video by 1st Lt. Timothy Yao, Office of the Chief, U.S. Army Reserve

    Army Reserve Sgt. Halona Wilcox-Molina from the 411th Engineer Battalion, is a Technical Engineer working with the Mongolian Army to survey the land in order to plan a future road construction project.

    As a Technical Engineer, you’ll supervise and execute construction site development with technical investigation, surveys, drafts, and construction plans/specifications. You’ll also use digital equipment and software to draw topographic maps and charts to prepare detailed plans for construction projects.

    About the U.S. Army:

    The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt & sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.

    Interested in joining the U.S. Army?
    Visit: spr.ly/6001igl5L

    Connect with the U.S. Army online:
    Web: https://www.army.mil
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/
    X: https://www.twitter.com/USArmy
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army
    #USArmy #Soldiers #Military #USAReserve #USEmbassyMongolia

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJDbbiCT_Y

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Plaid Cymru demand fairness for Wales in Autumn Statement

    Source: Party of Wales

    Plaid Cymru call on the Labour Welsh Government to put pressure on the UK Labour Government to ensure five key asks are included in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

    Today (Wednesday 23 October 2024) Plaid Cymru will call on the Labour Welsh Government to put pressure on the UK Labour Government to ensure five key asks are included in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

    Plaid Cymru will call for:

    • HS2 to be re-classified as an England-only project, and for Wales to receive the £4 billion it is due from the project.
    • Fair funding for Wales – replacing the Barnett Formula with a needs-based formula that prioritises the needs of the people of Wales
    • Devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales, as has happened in Scotland.
    • An end to the two-child benefit cap which forces thousands of children into poverty in Wales.
    • Restoration of the Winter Fuel Payment.

    Plaid Cymru finance spokesperson, Heledd Fychan MS said:

    “For years in the run up to the UK General election, we were promised that things would be better once we had a UK Labour government. But this so-called ‘partnership in power’ hasn’t yet delivered for Wales.

    “Labour in the Senedd used to agree with Plaid Cymru on HS2 reclassification and the £4bn owed to us in consequential; on replacing Barnett; and on the devolution of the crown estate. But evidently, they are not able to persuade their London bosses on any of these matters.

    “In fact, on HS2, the Welsh Government claim to be making the case for HS2 cash, but only a few hundred million rather than the billions they were previously calling for.”

    She continued:

    “While Welsh pensioners are terrified that they won’t be able to heat their homes this winter; while a third of Welsh children are living in poverty; and while Wales is being robbed of billions of pounds in funding, Welsh Labour are happy enough staying quiet, putting party before country.

    “Our calls today represent the necessary steps towards securing fairness for Wales and the funding owed to us. Plaid Cymru is clear – Labour must now deliver on the promises made to the people of Wales!”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Tibet

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Joint statement delivered by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America in the UN Third Committee General Discussion.

    Location:
    United Nations, New York
    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    I have the honour of delivering this joint statement on behalf of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, and my own country, Australia.

    These countries are all committed to universal human rights and have ongoing concerns about serious human rights violations in China.

    Two years ago, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ assessment on Xinjiang concluded that serious human rights violations had been committed in Xinjiang, and that the scale of the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”. 

    Subsequently, United Nations Treaty Bodies have taken similar views and made similar recommendations, including the CERD in November 2022 through its concluding observations and Urgent Action Decision on Xinjiang; and the CRPD, CESCR and CEDAW in their September 2022, March 2023 and May 2023 Concluding Observations.

     The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued communications concerning multiple cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, and over 20 Special Procedure Mandate Holders have expressed concern about systemic human rights violations in Xinjiang.

    Relying extensively on China’s own records, these comprehensive findings and recommendations by independent human rights experts from all geographic regions detail evidence of large-scale arbitrary detention, family separation, enforced disappearances and forced labour, systematic surveillance on the basis of religion and ethnicity; severe and undue restrictions on cultural, religious, and linguistic identity and expression; torture and sexual and gender-based violence, including forced abortion and sterilisation; and the destruction of religious and cultural sites. 

    China has had many opportunities to meaningfully address the UN’s well-founded concerns.

    Instead, China labelled the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ assessment as “illegal and void” during its Universal Periodic Review adoption in July.

    According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ statement in August, the problematic laws and policies in Xinjiang continue to remain in place. The statement again called on China to undertake a full review, from the human rights perspective, of the legal framework governing national security and counterterrorism.

    Chair, as with our concerns for the situation in Xinjiang, we are also seriously concerned about credible reports detailing human rights abuses in Tibet.  

    United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and United Nations Special Procedures have detailed the detention of Tibetans for the peaceful expression of political views; restrictions on travel; coercive labour arrangements; separation of children from families in boarding schools; and erosion of linguistic, cultural, educational and religious rights and freedoms in Tibet.

    We urge China to uphold the international human rights obligations that it has voluntarily assumed, and to implement all UN recommendations including from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ assessment, Treaty Bodies and other United Nations human rights mechanisms.

    This includes releasing all individuals arbitrarily detained in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and urgently clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing family members.

    Transparency and openness are key to allaying concerns, and we call on China to allow unfettered and meaningful access to Xinjiang and Tibet for independent observers, including from the United Nations, to evaluate the human rights situation.

    No country has a perfect human rights record, but no country is above fair scrutiny of its human rights obligations.

    It is incumbent on all of us not to undermine international human rights commitments that benefit us all, and for which all states are accountable.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosaccreditation has once again confirmed the competence of the SPbGASU Testing Center

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –

    The Federal Accreditation Service (Rosaccreditation) confirmed the competence and expanded the scope of accreditation of the SPbGASU Testing Center. The corresponding order was received on October 17.

    As reported by the employee of the Testing Center, Associate Professor of the Department of Construction Materials Technology and Metrology Irina Aubakirova, the Testing Center of SPbGASU has been accredited in the national accreditation system since May 2015. This year, it once again confirmed its competence, which was the merit of all three divisions: the sector of testing construction materials and products, the sector of mechanical testing of building structures, the sector of physical and technical testing of building structures.

    “The competence confirmation procedure proves that the accredited person consistently complies with the requirements of GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019 and the accreditation criteria. However, by the time of the inspection, it is necessary to analyze the technical equipment of all departments (the availability of verification, calibration and certification of all measuring instruments and testing equipment) in accordance with the scope of accreditation, update the regulatory framework and verify test methods according to newly introduced standards. An important task for the entire Testing Center was to demonstrate the implemented management system. In 2024, the management system documents were updated: Quality Manual, Testing Center Regulation, internal audits were conducted, risks and opportunities were analyzed, information on customer satisfaction was collected, and the competence of the personnel was assessed,” said Irina Aubakirova.

    “This is a guarantee that we conduct experiments in full compliance with all standards. We have not had a single complaint, a 100% hit,” noted the director of the Test Center, Sergey Bezpalchuk.

    The Testing Center is a structural subdivision of SPbGASU. It conducts independent tests of construction products: materials, products, structures, independent of manufacturers and consumers.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HKSAR Government’s response to 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    HKSAR Government’s response to 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index
    HKSAR Government’s response to 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index
    ***************************************************************************

         In response to media enquiries on 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index (Index), a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government spokesman made the following reply today (October 23):      Hong Kong’s ranking in the Index remains unchanged, continuing to rank the 6th in East Asia and the Pacific, and the 23rd out of 142 countries and jurisdictions globally. Hong Kong remains high in the overall ranking and continues to be ahead of some European and American countries which often unreasonably criticise the rule of law and human rights situation of Hong Kong.      Hong Kong climbs one place in the global rankings in respect of “Regulatory Enforcement” and “Civil Justice”. In respect of “Open Government”, Hong Kong continues to maintain last year’s score and global ranking, which clearly demonstrates that Hong Kong has a comprehensive regulatory enforcement mechanism and civil justice system under “one country, two systems”. The continuous improvements in these areas are conducive to the construction of the rule of law and the business environment, which consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s “eight centres” positioning under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.      Hong Kong’s score in respect of “Absence of Corruption” is higher than last year and ranks the 10th globally. This shows that Hong Kong remains to be one of the most corruption-free places in the world and that the effectiveness of its anti-corruption efforts has been recognised internationally. The Government will continue to promote the exchange of anti-corruption experience among experts and scholars from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s international status in integrity building and further contributing to the national and global anti-corruption cause.     Hong Kong’s scores and global rankings slightly drop in relation to “Constraints on Government Powers”, “Fundamental Rights”, “Order and Security” and “Criminal Justice”. However, Hong Kong’s rankings in East Asia and the Pacific remain almost unchanged, reflecting the successful implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle in Hong Kong, as well as the effectiveness of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance and other relevant laws of the HKSAR in safeguarding national security and maintaining long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. The minor drop in the scores does not seem to fully reflect the institutional strengths of Hong Kong’s rule of law. For example, in respect of “Criminal Justice”, Hong Kong has a fair and comprehensive criminal justice system as well as a criminal legislative framework that keeps up with the times, fully protecting the rights of the parties involved. Hong Kong’s comprehensive, robust and well-funded legal aid system also plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the rule of law. In addition, Hong Kong residents enjoy fundamental rights to commence legal proceedings and seek judicial remedies before the courts, which are protected by the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance.     All in all, Hong Kong’s overall score (0.72) is the same as the countries ranked the 22nd and the 24th globally. The scores in most of the aspects have only been slightly adjusted.     Hong Kong has maintained a trusted legal system under “one country, two systems”, its rule of law is also widely recognised and respected by the community. The HKSAR Government will continue to be steadfast in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as fully and faithfully implementing the “one country, two systems” principle and upholding the rule of law in the HKSAR.

     
    Ends/Wednesday, October 23, 2024Issued at HKT 21:30

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Wakaw — Update: Wakaw RCMP – Serious Motor Vehicle Collision Involving Pedestrian

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On October 20, 2024 at approximately 5 p.m., Wakaw RCMP received a report of a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian on Highway #2, 10 kilometres south of Wakaw.

    Officers responded immediately, along with local EMS. The pedestrian, an adult male, was declared deceased by EMS at the scene. He has been identified as a 41-year-old male from Domremy, SK. His family has been notified.

    The driver of the involved vehicle remained at the scene. No other injuries were reported to police.

    Wakaw RCMP continue to investigate with the assistance of a Saskatchewan RCMP collision reconstructionist.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Readout of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.’s Meeting with Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan

    Source: US Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff

    Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs

    October 22, 2024

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joint Staff Spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey provided the following readout:

    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., met with Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan yesterday at the Pentagon.

    Gen. Brown and Gen. Carignan reiterated that the defense of North America remains the No. 1 priority for both militaries. The leaders also discussed opportunities for further coordination.

    Gen. Brown thanked Canada for its commitment to support security interests in the Arctic in partnership with other NATO allies and for its contributions in supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom. Gen. Brown also commended Canada’s efforts of meeting its defense spending goal of two percent of gross domestic product by 2032.

    Canada is a vital ally and plays a key role in defending North America and upholding the shared values of democracy and the rule of law.

    For more Joint Staff news, visit: www.jcs.mil.
    Connect with the Joint Staff on social media: 
    Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,
    LinkedIn and Flickr.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: c/side Selected for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Startup Battlefield, Will Showcase AI-Driven Solution for Securing Vulnerable Third-Party Web Scripts

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — c/side, a cybersecurity company with tools for monitoring, optimizing, and securing vulnerable browser-side third-party scripts, today announced its participation in TechCrunch’s upcoming Startup Battlefield 2024. Selected from thousands of startup applicants, c/side will demo its innovative AI-driven solution to a rapidly accelerating web security threat vector as part of TechCrunch Disrupt, held October 28-30 in San Francisco.

    c/side is also co-hosting a social + learning event for the cybersecurity community at Disrupt alongside two other AI-centric security startups, FireTail and Socket, at the offices of Uncork Capital (a c/side investor). The event will be at 6:30pm on October 30th, the final day of Disrupt.

    Founded earlier this year by cybersecurity expert Simon Wijckmans, c/side addresses one of the most challenging and consequential risks to business’ client-side web security. The company’s advanced proxy service and AI-driven threat detection engine offer a comprehensive toolkit to identify and neutralize malicious scripts in real-time—significantly enhancing website security and performance.

    Accelerated growth following recent venture funding

    c/side’s selection for TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield follows the company’s successful $6 million seed funding round, led by Uncork Capital with participation from Mantis VC, Scribble Ventures, Roar Ventures, and PrimeSet. The round brings c/side’s total funding to $7.7 million since launching a few months ago, underscoring the criticality of c/side’s solution and the confidence investors have in its innovative approach.

    “Startup Battlefield selection is a tremendous honor and a validation of our mission to secure the browser supply chain,” said Wijckmans, founder and CEO, c/side. “Recent high-profile attacks have highlighted the urgency of our work. At Disrupt, we look forward to showcasing how our AI-powered solution is making web security more accessible and effective for businesses of all sizes.”

    Addressing a critical security gap

    c/side’s technology tackles the growing threat of browser supply chain attacks, where malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in third-party scripts to redirect website visitors, steal sensitive information, or manipulate website content. The company’s solution not only bolsters security but also simplifies compliance with stringent industry regulations like PCI DSS 4.0.

    Experience c/side at TechCrunch Disrupt

    Attendees of TechCrunch Disrupt at Moscone West in San Francisco are invited to see c/side’s technology in action. The c/side team will demonstrate how their solution revolutionizes client-side security, offering unparalleled protection against this sophisticated threat vector. c/side’s free tier is also now fully operational and available—anyone can sign up and begin securing their site in minutes. Business, Enterprise, and Partner tiers are in development; those interested can contact c/side here.

    About c/side

    c/side is a forward-thinking cybersecurity startup focused on browser-side detection and protection. Led by industry expert Simon Wijckmans, c/side is pioneering technologies to shield against sophisticated cyber threats, ensuring unparalleled security standards for users across the web.

    Contact
    Kyle Peterson
    kyle@clementpeterson.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Sarmayacar latest initiative Climaventures Fund Secures $15 Million Anchor Commitment from Green Climate Fund to Accelerate Climate-Tech Innovation in Pakistan

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Lahore, Pakistan, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Venture capital firm Sarmayacar is today announcing it has successfully secured $15m for its new Climaventures Fund from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), marking a significant milestone in the growth of Pakistan’s climate-tech ecosystem. This GCF funding will play an anchoring role in the new fund that Sarmayacar is targeting to have a hard cap of $40 million. An additional $10 million has been allocated to an affiliated venture accelerator program run by the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) to support even earlier-stage climate-tech startups with a similar thesis. The final approval from the GCF Board, following its meeting in Songdo, South Korea, highlights the growing global interest in addressing Pakistan’s critical climate challenges with scalable, impactful solutions.

    With this capital, the Sarmayacar Climaventures Fund will focus on empowering local startups in critical sectors such as renewable energy, electric mobility and sustainable agriculture. These ventures will receive both financial backing and strategic guidance to help accelerate their growth and environmental impact. By strengthening Pakistan’s climate-tech landscape, Sarmayacar aims to position the country as a key player in regional sustainability efforts while attracting international investment into climate-focused ventures.

    Sarmayacar CEO and founder Rabeel Warraich with General Partner Bernhard Klemen

    Sarmayacar, founded in 2018 as Pakistan’s first institutional venture capital firm, has been instrumental in advancing the country’s startup ecosystem. Its initial $25 million tech-focused fund, anchored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), catalysed over $800 million in venture capital investments into Pakistani startups, and supported high-growth ventures across sectors such as fintech, e-commerce, healthtech, and logistics. Led by CEO and Founder, Rabeel Warraich and General Partner, Dr. Bernhard Klemen, the firm is now leveraging its experience and market-knowledge to address Pakistan’s climate challenges through its Climaventures Fund. 

    “Addressing Pakistan’s climate emergency requires an approach that fosters entrepreneurial innovation,” said Rabeel Warraich, CEO and Founder of Sarmayacar. “Our new climate fund – a first for Pakistan – will back founders building localised, scalable climate solutions for the country. We hope to spawn an entire climate venture ecosystem by leveraging our experience and connectivity in the country and beyond.”

    Sarmayacar’s latest initiative taps into the global momentum behind climate-tech investment. According to the Climate Policy Initiative’s Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 report, global climate finance averaged $1.27 trillion annually in 2021-2022, nearly doubling from previous years. This surge underscores the urgent need to scale climate solutions globally. In Pakistan, where climate challenges are particularly acute, the Sarmayacar Climaventures Fund aims to back startups that contribute to the country’s broader environmental goals, driving both impact and sustainable growth. Despite contributing only 0.9% to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan ranks as the 8th most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. 

    Dr. Bernhard Klemen, General Partner at Sarmayacar added, “Since launching Pakistan’s first VC fund in 2018, Sarmayacar has built a track record of identifying and supporting market-transforming startups in the country. With this new climate-themed fund, we plan to replicate the playbook of our first fund and invest in commercially attractive opportunities that can also create significant impact. There is already an actionable pipeline which we hope to capitalise on with the support of reputable and like-minded partners like the GCF.”

    The Green Climate Fund’s endorsement underscores the critical role that venture capital must play in addressing climate change, particularly in emerging markets. The fund will also help mobilise additional private capital, de-risking early-stage climate ventures and attracting further investment from global institutions.

    Looking ahead, Sarmayacar aims to position Pakistan as a leader in climate-tech innovation, driving scalable solutions to tackle pressing climate challenges. With the Sarmayacar Climaventures Fund, the firm is committed to supporting the next generation of climate-tech entrepreneurs, ensuring they have the resources and expertise to succeed both locally and globally. By continuing to attract capital and fostering impactful ventures, Sarmayacar is helping to shape a more sustainable future for Pakistan and beyond. 

    Ends 

    Notes to the editor
    Media images can be found here. 

    About Sarmayacar
    Sarmayacar is Pakistan’s first institutional venture capital firm, backing early-stage tech startups across a variety of sectors. Since its inception, Sarmayacar has supported high-growth ventures with a focus on driving innovation and sustainable growth in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem. 
    For more information, please visit www.sarmayacar.com 

    About GCF
    The Green Climate Fund is a global initiative established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to help developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. GCF invests in low-emission, climate-resilient projects across various sectors, mobilising public and private sector resources to support climate action. For more information, please visit www.greenclimate.fund

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Navy Warfare Center Drives First Over-the-Horizon Install, Naval Strike Missile Launch Demonstration From Destroyer

    Source: United States Navy

    PORT HUENEME, California – Among the flurry of fleet activities in the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii was a milestone that Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) spearheaded — the first demonstration firing of a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from a U.S. Navy destroyer.

    Working under a compressed timeline, NSWC PHD and its partners installed the first Over-the-Horizon (OTH) Weapon System on a destroyer, USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), in time for it to launch an NSM at a decommissioned ship on July 18 during RIMPAC.

    Other major players in the effort included Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) 3H, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake, General Dynamics Mission Systems and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS.

    “This was a high-visibility requirement for the Navy,” said Eric Romero, customer advocate for OTH with NSWC PHD in Port Hueneme, California.

    OTH is a long-range surface-to-surface warfare system that launches NSMs, which are anti-ship guided missiles. The Navy has added the system to about a dozen Independence-variant littoral combat ships over the past five years.

    In late September 2023, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations challenged PEO IWS, which in turn tasked NSWC PHD, with installing an OTH on Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald in time to demonstrate it at RIMPAC 2024. That left only about nine months before the biennial international fleet exercise.

    “We knew we were working on an aggressive schedule, but we had all the right personnel on the team to make sure we were successful in executing it,” Romero said.

    NSWC PHD employees took on various projects to pull off the endeavor at this accelerated pace, from developing ship installation drawings to getting cybersecurity approval to installing and testing the equipment.

    The overall effort encompassed nearly 20 organizations, including five program offices, four warfare centers and a dozen external entities, according to Todd Jenkins, platform integration lead with NSWC PHD in San Diego.

    “We were expecting a great deal of roadblocks due to the compressed timeline, but everyone came together to accomplish this monumental event,” Jenkins said.

    Typically, this type of first-of-class installation takes at least two years, according to Robert “Tony” Honeycutt, Alteration Installation Team manager at NSWC PHD’s Virginia Beach Detachment in Virginia. A key factor in speeding up the process was proposing the OTH as a temporary change to USS Fitzgerald, which reduced the requirements for documentation and drawings compared to a permanent change.

    Beyond streamlining the paperwork, Honeycutt and Jenkins met frequently with stakeholders from PEO IWS 3H and NAWCWD China Lake to overcome obstacles and stay on schedule.

    “Basically, we were just driving it as hard as we could,” Honeycutt said. “As soon as we ran into a problem, we had a group powwow and figured out the solution.”

    Another task that the team sped up was securing the cybersecurity accreditation known as authority to operate (ATO) for the OTH software that would be installed on the ship. The rigorous six-step process typically takes about a year, but in this case it had to be completed much quicker so the installation could start.

    “We had to do the cyber ATO in two months,” Romero said.

    The team installed the OTH on USS Fitzgerald at Naval Base San Diego from mid-March to late May. The main components of the system are the launcher and an operator interface console. To make it compatible with the destroyer, the system also required a navigation adapter.

    After installing the OTH, NSWC PHD trained crew members and helped them test the system while underway.

    “We made sure they were trained up, such as to be self-sustaining as operators,” Romero said.

    In Hawaii for RIMPAC in July, USS Fitzgerald participated with other ships and aircraft in a sinking exercise, known as a SINKEX. The target was a decommissioned amphibious ship about 50 nautical miles off the coast of Kauai.

    With NSWC PHD team members monitoring remotely, USS Fitzgerald launched its first NSM from the OTH. The NSM successfully searched the target area, detected and prosecuted the target.

    “It was a successful NSM live-fire shot launched from the OTH Weapon System,” Romero said.

    Following the inaugural firing at RIMPAC, NSWC PHD personnel will help prepare USS Fitzgerald to go on deployment with the OTH.

    While the new weapon system is still authorized as a temporary installation on USS Fitzgerald, the team is working to secure approval for it to stay on the ship indefinitely.

    “We’re migrating the ship change document to a permanent change, as we want to keep the system aboard DDG 62,” Romero said.

    The work done on DDG 62 will help inform the way forward on providing this capability to other DDGs.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Changes are coming to WeatherCAN, Canada’s official weather application

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    News release

    From making everyday decisions to staying safe during extreme weather, it’s essential that Canadians have convenient, reliable access to weather information. For five years, Canadians have turned to the WeatherCAN application on their mobile devices to get trusted weather information directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s meteorologists.

    Today, Environment and Climate Change Canada will launch a new version of the WeatherCAN app with significant changes that are designed to enhance user experience. With feedback from users, the update will include a brand-new look, improved navigation, and a temperature notification feature.  

    In the updated app:

    • Air quality information will appear near the top of each location page. This will give quicker access to essential safety information during wildfire smoke or other air pollution events.
    • A new temperature notification will allow users to be notified when the temperature, humidex, or windchill reaches certain thresholds of their choosing.
    • Users will notice a more contemporary visual style and can choose between light and dark mode for improved accessibility.

    New features for the in-app radar are in development and will launch next year.

    The WeatherCAN app is free to download and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices. Existing users will be prompted in their app to update to the newest version. New users can download the updated app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

    Environment and Climate Change Canada is committed to continuously improving how we deliver weather information. WeatherCAN users are invited to submit feedback on the new design through the app’s feedback feature or using the “Contact Us” form on weather.gc.ca.  

    Quotes

    “Climate change is affecting the frequency, duration, and intensity of severe weather and climate events around the world, including in Canada. Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, heavy rainfall, and flash floods were all part of reality in Canada this past summer. Weather information and alerts are only becoming more important to our safety. These improvements to the WeatherCAN app represent a commitment from the Government of Canada to improve our service to Canadians, and ensure they have the information they need to stay safe.”
    – The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

    “Whether it’s wildfires, floods, or other natural disasters, Canadians can be better prepared when they know their risks. The new and improved app will allow Canadians to stay ahead of the storm by providing them with quick and reliable access to trusted weather information, helping them make informed decisions and stay safe.”
    – The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada

    Quick facts

    • The WeatherCAN app first launched in 2019.

    • WeatherCAN draws its weather data and information directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada, ensuring Canadians receive the most up-to-date alerts and forecasts.

    • Features of WeatherCAN include:

      • Current and hourly conditions, and seven-day forecasts for over 10,000 locations in Canada
      • Weather alert notifications for current and favourited locations
      • High-resolution radar animation on a zoomable map background
      • Message centre providing weather facts and climate information relevant to the current weather
      • Customizable Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and temperature notifications
      • Accessible in English and French, and an in-app ability to switch between languages

    Associated links

    Contacts

    Hermine Landry
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
    873-455-3714
    Hermine.Landry@ec.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Environment and Climate Change Canada
    819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
    media@ec.gc.ca

    Environment and Climate Change Canada’s X (Twitter) page

    Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Facebook page

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI: TGS ASA rated ‘BB-‘ from S&P

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    OSLO, Norway (23 October 2024) – TGS ASA, a leading provider of energy data and intelligence is assigned a ‘BB-‘ rating from S&P with stable outlook. S&P’s rating on TGS ASA reflects the company’s conservative financial policies and relatively strong credit measures after the transformative acquisition of PGS.

    S&P is raising their issuer credit rating on TGS Newco (formerly PGS ASA) and its USD 450 million senior secured notes by three and two notches respectively, from ‘B-‘ to ‘BB-‘ and from ‘B’ to ‘BB-‘ with stable outlook.

    The upgrade by S&P follows the upgrade by Moody’s from a B2 to a Ba3 rating as announced on 26 September 2024.

    S&P’s press release announcing the rating action is available on their home page https://www.spglobal.com/.

    For more information, visit TGS.com or contact:

    Bård Stenberg
    IR & Communication
    Mobile: +47 992 45 235
    investor@tgs.com

    About TGS
    TGS provides advanced data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. With leading-edge technology and solutions spanning the entire energy value chain, TGS offers a comprehensive range of insights to help clients make better decisions. Our broad range of products and advanced data technologies, coupled with a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, make TGS a trusted partner in supporting the exploration and production of energy resources worldwide. For further information, please visit www.tgs.com (https://www.tgs.com/).

    Forward Looking Statement
    All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include volatile market conditions, investment opportunities in new and existing markets, demand for licensing of data within the energy industry, operational challenges, and reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Red Deer — Red Deer RCMP and Calgary Police Service joint investigation leads to arrest

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Between the period of November 2022 and February 2023, Red Deer RCMP General Investigations Section (GIS) received multiple reports of indecent phone calls being made to real estate agents and others in similar occupations. These calls were made by an unknown male who made threatening and sexual comments. At the same time, the Calgary Police Service Cyber/Forensics Unit began investigating similar offences reported within the city of Calgary.

    As a result of a joint investigation with Calgary Police Service, Red Deer RCMP GIS have charged one individual in connection to these phone calls.

    A 29-year-old resident of Edmonton, has been charged with the following offences:

    • Harassing communications x 22
    • Indecent communications
    • Uttering threats x 12

    The individual was served a summons and is schedule to appear on Oct. 29, 2024, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.

    “This arrest underscores our unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our communities. No one should have to endure threats, harassment or malicious phone calls while carrying out their work. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable, and we will continue to take action to ensure that everyone can perform their duties in a safe and secure environment.” said Cst. Amanda Burke of Red Deer RCMP GIS.

    “In cybercrime investigations, we commonly see individuals using technology to victimize individuals from multiple different jurisdictions. Working with other law enforcement agencies is key in addressing these crimes, and in this case, investigators were able to work together with the RCMP to collect important digital evidence, which ultimately led to these charges.” said Sgt. Ryan Nolan of the Calgary Police Service Cybercrime Team.

    If you have information regarding illegal activity within the city of Red Deer please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Cloudbeds unveils industry’s first ‘smart hospitality engine’, powered by causal and multimodal AI

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    San Diego, CA, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cloudbeds has today revealed plans to become the world’s first property management system (PMS) to connect every facet of hotel operations into a single intelligence network, powered by causal and multimodal AI.

    Unveiled at Cloudbeds’ Passport User Conference on October 23, the technology provider’s first-of-its-kind ‘smart hospitality engine’, Cloudbeds Intelligence, will sit at the core of its platform, empowering hoteliers with real-time insights and actionable recommendations across their entire operations.

    The innovative platform layer harnesses multimodal AI, which integrates and processes multiple types of data including images and text, and causal AI, which identifies the cause-and-effect relationships within data, to enable accurate and informed decision-making to drive unified commercial strategies for hoteliers. By allowing hotels to better understand and react to price elasticity in the market, the model is projected to increase RevPAR by up to 15% and boost occupancy rates by up to 10%, while maintaining efficient workflows with existing hotel staff.

    Cloudbeds Intelligence marks a breakthrough in eliminating the traditional silos of hotel management, empowering properties to take specific, data-backed actions across every function of their business – including revenue management, marketing, operations, and guest experience.

    Adam Harris, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloudbeds, said: “Today, we’re redefining the standards for decision-making in hospitality. We’re not just giving hoteliers data-driven insights; we’re enabling them to take precise actions that deliver a unified, commercial strategy – from setting dynamic room rates to launching targeted marketing campaigns. Cloudbeds Intelligence will unlock new revenue potential for hoteliers across every aspect of their business.”

    Amit Popat, Head of Machine Learning at Cloudbeds, added: “What Cloudbeds Intelligence does is far beyond traditional forecasting. By bringing together data from every department of the property and combining it with our rich data lake of forward-looking demand signals such as competitor rates, search data, events and holidays, Cloudbeds Intelligence can unlock the cause-and-effect relationships affecting not only the property’s revenue strategy, but also marketing, operations and guest experience. And more importantly – it can help pick the optimum combination of strategies to drive the property’s profitability. Whether it’s  mitigating cancellations with predictive marketing suggestions or personalizing guest experience with tailored upsell recommendations, our supercharged platform will help hoteliers take the best actions to meet their goals. This level of decision intelligence simply hasn’t been available until now.” 

    By leveraging rich datasets from Cloudbeds and its partners, Cloudbeds Intelligence will empower hoteliers to take actionable steps to boost revenue, optimize their operations, and improve guest satisfaction.

    Some of the capabilities Cloudbeds Intelligence will enable include:

    • Unified revenue management and marketing: Hotels will be able to set optimal rates based on forward-looking demand signals and deploy targeted promotions to mitigate cancellations. If forecasted occupancy drops, the platform will not only suggest adjusting rates but also activate a marketing campaign with curated audience segmentation to attract last-minute bookings.
    • Data-driven upselling and personalization: Cloudbeds Intelligence will enable hyper-personalized guest experiences by accurately predicting preferences and delivering highly targeted offers to guests, ensuring that hoteliers seize every upselling opportunity.
    • Empowering staff: The new multimodal AI layer will equip the team with real-time search across their property’s unstructured training data on operational guidelines and guest preferences, including text content such as manuals, guest special requests and reviews, and also their property’s image library. This reduces staff onboarding time and improves service consistency.

    To learn more about how Cloudbeds Intelligence will usher in a new era of decision making in hospitality, visit cloudbeds.com/ai.

    ENDS

    About Cloudbeds

    Cloudbeds is the leading platform redefining the concept of PMS for the hospitality industry, serving tens of thousands of properties in more than 150 countries worldwide. Built from the ground up to be masterfully unified and scalable, the award-winning Cloudbeds Platform brings together built-in and integrated solutions that modernize hotel operations, distribution, guest experience, and data & analytics.

    Founded in 2012, Cloudbeds has been named a top PMS, Hotel Management System and Channel Manager (2021-2024) by Hotel Tech Report, World’s Best Hotel PMS Solutions Provider (2022) by World Travel Awards, and recognized in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 in 2023. For more information, visit www.cloudbeds.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Pay still drives employee attraction and retention, but current pay programs fall short

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — About half of global employers report they are effectively delivering on each of the six individual core objectives of pay programs, despite pay being the most commonly cited reason employees join and stay with an employer. This is according to the 2024 Pay Effectiveness and Design Survey by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.

    The survey found that of the six core objectives related to pay program effectiveness — driving employee attraction, driving employee retention, promoting fair compensation among employees, promoting competitive compensation compared to employees at other organizations, aligning with business strategy, and rewarding employees for current-year performance — about half of employers report that they are effective at two of these objectives and fewer than half are effective at each of the other four.

    Yet, related research shows that 48% of employees cite pay as one of the main drivers for attraction and retention — the most commonly cited factor for both, and more than half of employees (56%) would consider another job offer for better pay.

    This disconnect is likely in part due to changes that have affected the nature of work over the past several years. Labor market conditions, such as talent shortages, generational shifts, and new work models, have contributed as well as socio-economic trends like the global pandemic and high inflation.

    In addition to these external factors, lack of communication internally impacts overall pay effectiveness. Fewer than one in four say they are effective at communicating how employee pay is determined. Moreover, over half of employers (58%) think that salary compression is an issue and a similar percentage think it will be a problem in the next few years.

    “Organizations likely haven’t been able to focus on the factors that drive pay program effectiveness for the past few years given the recent dynamics of the labor market,” said Lori Wisper, Managing Director and Work & Rewards Global Solutions Leader, WTW. “As current economic conditions have eased the labor market pressures, companies should take the opportunity to make the necessary changes to address those factors. Companies should start with updating their compensation philosophy, because it is critical for pay program effectiveness and can contribute to improved retention of key talent, employee productivity, and financial performance.”

    Among companies that have updated their compensation philosophy in the last five years, the most commonly cited reasons for those changes are to enhance attraction or retention (69%) and to enhance the employee experience (51%). Other reasons include ongoing or regularly scheduled review and refresh (47%), building employee understanding (45%), and enhancing pay transparency (44%).

    “With salary-increase season approaching, it’s an ideal time for companies to assess how their pay programs support values, ensure they align with the business strategy, and start improving the effectiveness of these programs to future-proof their workforce,” added Wisper.

    About the survey

    The 2024 Pay Effectiveness and Design Survey was conducted from May to June of 2024. Nearly 1,900 companies, representing more than 30 million employees across 65 countries, responded. In the U.S., 332 organizations responded.

    About WTW

    At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.

    Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you. Learn more at wtwco.com.

    Media contacts:

    Ileana Feoli
    Ileana.feoli@wtwco.com

    Stacy Bronstein
    stacy.bronstein@wtwco.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ACMD advice on reform to hemp licensing fees

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs responds to the government on their proposal to amend the licensing regimen for industrial hemp.

    Documents

    ACMD advice on reform to hemp licensing fee (accessible)

    HTML

    ACMD advice on reform to hemp licensing fee

    PDF, 207 KB, 5 pages

    This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

    Request an accessible format.
    If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

    Details

    On 9 April 2024 the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was commissioned to provide advice on a proposal to amend the licensing regimen for industrial hemp.

    The ACMD is supportive of the proposed change to increase the maximum THC content of industrial hemp grown outdoors for seed production or in order to use the non-controlled parts of the plant to produce fibre for use in the construction and textile industries from 0.2% to 0.3%, as the potential benefits outweigh an increased risk of harms.

    The ACMD recommends the Home Office to conduct an assessment of the impact of the legislative change after 2 years. The ACMD foresees no issues with applying the lower fee of £580 to a raised level of THC not exceeding 0.3%, to align with other international examples.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 October 2024

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: MHCLG appoints Mo Baines as MHCLG Lead Non-Executive Director 

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Mo Baines confirmed as new Lead Non-Executive Director of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 

    The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has today confirmed that Mo Baines will join the Board of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as Lead Non-Executive Director (NED) for a one-year term, taking effect from 21st October. 

    Mo Baines is an expert in public policy and local government, with a particular interest in service delivery models, local government finance and research.  She is currently Chief Executive at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), and visiting professor at the University of Staffordshire’s Centre for Business, Innovation and the Regions. 

    The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said: 

    “I’m delighted that Mo will be joining the MHCLG Board. Her knowledge and experience of how local government and public services operate will inform the work and direction of the department, and I look forward to working with her to drive forward our ambitious agenda over the next year.” 

    MHCLG Lead Non-Executive Director, Mo Baines said: 

    “I’m honoured to be joining the Department at this time to deliver such an important, challenging and exciting agenda. I look forward to working with the skilled and dedicated team of colleagues from across MHCLG, and wider partners within and across the local government, housing and communities sector.” 

    For more information:

    About Mo Baines

    Mo Baines joined the Board of the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government in October 2024. 

    Mo has extensive experience of working in public policy and local government, with a particular background in service delivery models, local government finance and research.  She is the Chief Executive at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and visiting professor at the University of Staffordshire’s Centre for Business, Innovation and the Regions. 

    Mo has served in a number of other public sector roles over the course of her career, including as Head of Communications and Deputy Chief Executive of APSE, prior to her appointment as Chief Executive. Mo has authored and contributed to a number of public policy research papers and publications on service delivery and insourcing, housing and planning, workforce matters and local government finance. Mo has throughout her career worked closely with public sector trade unions, local councils and councillors across the UK and is passionate about the value of local government services to communities. 

    About the MHCLG Board 

    The Departmental Board is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, and comprises all junior ministers, senior officials, the Lead Non-Executive and non-executive board members (appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines).  The board meets quarterly, with overarching responsibility for departmental performance and delivery. 

    The Board provides overall leadership for the department’s business, as well as advice, support and challenge on the delivery and performance of key policy areas and programmes against priority outcomes.   

    About the appointment process  

    The Deputy Prime Minister has undertaken this appointment on an interim basis without competition in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments and following consultation with the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The appointment will now ensure that there is NED representation at the first Ministerial Board in November. A competitive recruitment for all other permanent NEDs will take place within the next year and a competitive recruitment for the Lead NED will run once these are in place.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cyber Essentials 10 years on

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A speech by cyber security Minister Feryal Clark at the 10 year anniversary event for the Cyber Essentials scheme.

    Location:
    Cholmondeley Room, House of Lords, London.
    Delivered on:
    (Original script, may differ from delivered version)

    See also:

    Good afternoon everyone.  

    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Cyber Essentials.  

    What an occasion. I’m very excited to be here with all of you today.   

    It’s important we take time to recognise and reflect on the success of Cyber Essentials – and how it plays an important part in making the UK more cyber resilient.  

    Two years ago the government hosted a similar event to mark the award of the one hundred thousandth Cyber Essentials certificate. This represented a significant moment in the growth of the scheme. 

    Since then, we’ve awarded almost ninety thousand more – so it looks like we may have to host yet another celebratory event in a few months time!  

    It is great to see the rapid growth in the scheme, and I firmly believe that with your help, its growth can be accelerated and its impact further reaching.  

    Now – we are often asked about how effective the scheme is.  

    We have always believed Cyber Essentials helps drive better cyber security across the economy.  

    However, we can now prove that it does.  

    Recent insurance data shows us that organisations with Cyber Essentials are 92% less likely to make a claim on their insurance than those without it.  

    Additionally, where organisations require their third parties to get Cyber Essentials, we know they experience fewer third party cyber incidents.  

    We’ll discuss this later in the panel discussion.  

    In short, Cyber Essentials is working. 

    The government has made a concerted effort over the past couple of years to assess the efficacy of the scheme.  

    Today, we have published an [independent impact evaluation report](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-essentials-scheme-impact-evaluation, which I encourage you all to read.  

    It provides fascinating insights into the impact Cyber Essentials is having in many different areas. 

    The evaluation concludes that Cyber Essentials is providing cyber security protection to organisations of all sizes.  

    82% of certified organisations are confident the controls provide protection against common cyber threats.  

    It further concludes that Cyber Essentials is improving organisations’ awareness and understanding of the cyber security risk environment, enabling them to become more informed and confident in mitigating cyber risks.  

    We know it works, and we now need more organisations to embed the Cyber Essentials controls and grasp the economic benefits of secure digital adoption. 

    I’d now like to talk about supply chains.  

    All organisations face cyber security risks, and will benefit from getting the Cyber Essentials controls in place.  

    However, long gone is the time when protecting your own perimeter was sufficient. Supply chain attacks are increasing in prevalence, and their impact can be far reaching. 

    For example, the recent cyber attack on IT provider Synnovis had a devastating impact on London hospitals, with many thousands of appointments and operations cancelled.  

    We know many organisations across the economy are struggling to manage the cyber security risk presented by suppliers.  

    This is clearly reflected in the fact that just 6% of UK businesses are assessing cyber risks in their wider supply chain. 

    This is simply too low and presents a concerning scenario.  

    Supply chain attacks are increasing, while limited efforts are being made to address this increased risk.  

    We know it is difficult – it requires skill and valuable resources to do effectively.  

    Against this backdrop, we firmly believe Cyber Essentials has a more important role to play.  

    By requiring suppliers, or other third parties, to have Cyber Essentials themselves, customers gain tangible assurance that fundamental cyber security controls are in place, and they are protected from common cyber attacks.  

    Such assurance is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a necessity. Embedding Cyber Essentials requirements across supply chains will drive up the cyber maturity of our whole economy. 

    This is a real priority for me.  

    Which is why I’m pleased to announce that my department and the National Cyber Security Centre today published a joint statement with the UK’s largest banks and building societies. These include Santander UK, Nationwide, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, TSB and NatWest.  

    I thank them all for their efforts.  

    This collaboration aims to raise the levels of cyber security in critical national supply chains by exploring ways to expand the role of Cyber Essentials within their supplier assurance processes.  

    We will hear more about this shortly, but I wanted to make clear my enthusiasm and support for this collaboration, which we hope to replicate with other sectors across the economy. 

    On that note, I wanted to end with a request.  

    This new government is determined to make the UK safer, more secure and prosperous. To that end, we want to work with you, to partner with you, in raising the cyber security baseline across our economy.  

    We are taking huge strides to improve the cyber resilience of the UK, including through the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The Bill will have a significant impact on enhancing the cyber resilience of the UK.  

    However, the proposed legislation must be complemented by other efforts to improve cyber security across the wider economy.  

    We must do this together.  

    Many of those in attendance today represent large, influential organisations with large supply chains.  

    I invite you all to join us on the journey to embed Cyber Essentials across the UK, by incorporating it within your own supplier requirements.  

    As you do this, we will do our utmost to ensure all organisations, especially SMEs, are supported in their efforts to become certified.  

    Together we can make a huge difference in reducing the economic and social harm impacting our businesses and citizens.  

    Thank you for being here and supporting us today. We look forward to closer collaboration in the future. 

    Thank you. 

    [ends]

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Monetary Policy Report Press Conference Opening Statement

    Source: Bank of Canada

    Good morning. I’m pleased to be here with Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers to discuss the October Monetary Policy Report and our policy decision.

    Today, we lowered the policy interest rate by 50 basis points. This is our fourth consecutive decrease since June and brings our policy rate to 3.75%.

    We took a bigger step today because inflation is now back to the 2% target and we want to keep it close to the target.

    In the past few months, inflation has come down significantly from 2.7% in June to 1.6% in September. Recent indicators suggest it will be around 2% in October. Price pressures are no longer broad-based, and both our measures of core inflation are now under 2½%. Our surveys also find that business and consumer expectations of inflation have shifted down and are nearing normal. All this suggests we are back to low inflation. This is good news for Canadians.

    Now our focus is to maintain low, stable inflation. We need to stick the landing.

    That means the upward and downward forces on inflation need to balance out. Household spending and business investment have picked up this year, but remain soft. This softness has helped take the remaining steam out of inflation. But with inflation back to 2%, we want to see growth strengthen. Today’s interest rate decision should contribute to a pickup in demand.

    The Bank forecasts inflation will remain close to the target over the projection horizon. The upward pressure from shelter and other services is expected to gradually diminish. With stronger demand, the downward pressure on inflation is also forecast to dissipate, keeping the upward and downward forces roughly balanced.

    If the economy evolves broadly in line with this forecast, we anticipate cutting our policy rate further to support demand and keep inflation on target. The timing and pace of further interest rate cuts will depend on incoming information and our assessment of its implications for the inflation outlook. We will take our monetary policy decisions one at a time.

    Let me expand on what we’re seeing in the economy, and how that played into our deliberations.

    After stalling in the second half of last year, the economy grew by about 2% in the first half of this year, and we expect growth of 1¾% in the second half. The economy remains in excess supply and the labour market is soft. The unemployment rate was 6.5% in September. Job layoffs have remained modest but business hiring has been weak, which has particularly affected young people and newcomers to Canada. Simply put, the number of workers has increased faster than the number of jobs.

    Looking ahead, GDP growth is forecast to gradually strengthen to around 2% in 2025 and 2¼% in 2026, supported by lower interest rates. This forecast largely reflects the net effect of a gradual pick up in consumer spending per person and slower population growth. We also expect growth in residential investment to rise as strong demand for housing lifts sales and spending on renovations. Business investment is expected to strengthen as demand picks up, and exports should remain strong, supported by robust demand from the United States.

    The decline in inflation in recent months reflects the combined effects of lower global oil prices, slightly lower shelter price inflation in Canada, and lower prices for many consumer goods like cars and clothes. Going forward, we can expect to continue to see some monthly fluctuations in inflation. But overall, inflation is expected to remain close to target over the projection horizon as upward pressure from shelter and other services gradually diminishes and excess supply in the economy is absorbed.

    There are risks around our inflation outlook. The biggest downside risk to inflation is that it could take longer than anticipated for household spending and business investment to pick up. Our recent surveys suggest businesses expect subdued sales and their hiring and investment plans are modest. On the upside, lower interest rates could fuel a stronger rebound in housing activity or wage growth could remain high relative to productivity. There is also elevated geopolitical uncertainty and the risk of new shocks.

    Overall, we view the risks around our inflation forecast as reasonably balanced. With inflation back to 2%, we are now equally concerned about inflation coming in higher or lower than expected. The economy functions well when inflation is around 2%.

    Let me conclude.

    High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.

    The Bank is committed to maintaining price stability for Canadians by keeping inflation close to the 2% target.

    With that summary, the Senior Deputy Governor and I would be pleased to take your questions.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 50 basis points to 3¾%

    Source: Bank of Canada

    The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 3¾%, with the Bank Rate at 4% and the deposit rate at 3¾%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization.

    The Bank continues to expect the global economy to expand at a rate of about 3% over the next two years. Growth in the United States is now expected to be stronger than previously forecast while the outlook for China remains subdued. Growth in the euro area has been soft but should recover modestly next year. Inflation in advanced economies has declined in recent months, and is now around central bank targets. Global financial conditions have eased since July, in part because of market expectations of lower policy interest rates. Global oil prices are about $10 lower than assumed in the July Monetary Policy Report (MPR).

    In Canada, the economy grew at around 2% in the first half of the year and we expect growth of 1¾% in the second half. Consumption has continued to grow but is declining on a per person basis. Exports have been boosted by the opening of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline. The labour market remains soft—the unemployment rate was at 6.5% in September. Population growth has continued to expand the labour force while hiring has been modest. This has particularly affected young people and newcomers to Canada. Wage growth remains elevated relative to productivity growth. Overall, the economy continues to be in excess supply.

    GDP growth is forecast to strengthen gradually over the projection horizon, supported by lower interest rates. This forecast largely reflects the net effect of a gradual pick up in consumer spending per person and slower population growth. Residential investment growth is also projected to rise as strong demand for housing lifts sales and spending on renovations. Business investment is expected to strengthen as demand picks up, and exports should remain strong, supported by robust demand from the United States.

    Overall, the Bank forecasts GDP growth of 1.2% in 2024, 2.1% in 2025, and 2.3% in 2026. As the economy strengthens, excess supply is gradually absorbed.

    CPI inflation has declined significantly from 2.7% in June to 1.6% in September. Inflation in shelter costs remains elevated but has begun to ease. Excess supply elsewhere in the economy has reduced inflation in the prices of many goods and services. The drop in global oil prices has led to lower gasoline prices. These factors have all combined to bring inflation down. The Bank’s preferred measures of core inflation are now below 2½%. With inflationary pressures no longer broad-based, business and consumer inflation expectations have largely normalized.

    The Bank expects inflation to remain close to the target over the projection horizon, with the upward and downward pressures on inflation roughly balancing out. The upward pressure from shelter and other services gradually diminishes, and the downward pressure on inflation recedes as excess supply in the economy is absorbed.

    With inflation now back around the 2% target, Governing Council decided to reduce the policy rate by 50 basis points to support economic growth and keep inflation close to the middle of the 1% to 3% range. If the economy evolves broadly in line with our latest forecast, we expect to reduce the policy rate further. However, the timing and pace of further reductions in the policy rate will be guided by incoming information and our assessment of its implications for the inflation outlook. We will take decisions one meeting at a time. The Bank is committed to maintaining price stability for Canadians by keeping inflation close to the 2% target.

    Information note

    The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is December 11, 2024. The Bank will publish its next full outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, in the MPR on January 29, 2025.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Commissioner of Customs and Excise meets Director General in Shanghai Customs District (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, today (October 23) met with the Director General in Shanghai Customs District, Mr Wang Wei, in the Customs Headquarters Building (CHB) to exchange views on expediting the development of Smart Customs and deepening co-operation in risk management.

         Ms Ho welcomed Mr Wang’s visit to Hong Kong Customs with his delegation and chaired the meeting. To fully enhance the scope of mutual co-operation, the two Customs administrations had in-depth discussions on multiple issues, including fostering the implementation of the Smart Customs Blueprint and application of relevant technologies, expanding Shanghai-Hong Kong Customs big data collaboration, and strengthening co-operation in risk management.

         The delegation today toured the Exhibition Gallery and Customs Computer Forensic Laboratory in the CHB, and will visit the Kwai Chung Customhouse and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port tomorrow (October 24) to learn more about the operation of passenger and cargo clearance of Hong Kong Customs.      

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –