SIMPRO DEBUTS SIMPROSIUM ROADSHOW TO ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (Bernama) -- Simpro, the total business management software for commercial and residential trade service businesses, hosted its first user conference, Simprosium, across four cities in Australia and New Zealand.

The roadshow, titled "Turn Chaos into Clarity," attracted a diverse audience of more than 700 Simpro customers, industry experts and ecosystem partners eager to learn about the latest platform features and celebrate the company's momentum.

The overall theme of Simprosium centred around supporting customers as they navigate the adoption of new technology innovations shaping the future of the trades industry while providing an open forum as Simpro continues to build a community.

Simpro Chief Executive Officer, Gary Specter said the Simprosium roadshow was all about meeting its customers and understanding what is top of mind for them.

“It was an invigorating and humbling experience to be met with such honesty, enthusiasm and excitement around the community we will be building together,” he said in a statement.

New Simpro product features were announced including security enhancements to improve customer experience, integration of Stripe payment processing software and new business intelligence (BI) reporting features and dashboards, as well as the incorporation of ClockShark time tracking capabilities to the platform and new digital form enhancements.

The adoption of these new Simpro product features is vital to helping trade service businesses reduce time spent on admin tasks, meet the needs of their digital-savvy customers and grow exponentially.

Attendees of the inaugural roadshow heard from Simpro’s leadership, partners and customers on topics around inflation, staff retention and how leveraging data to drive company insights can support company innovation.

Customer discussions centred around adaptability, highlighting how business leaders respond to change and how Simpro facilitates and drives these transformations, which also focused on BI reporting and underscored the significance of BI tools in steering growth and investments within this industry.

With the success of this inaugural event, Simpro plans to activate these conferences in its growing United States and the United Kingdom markets in 2024, in which this move is a testament to Simpro's dedication to fostering a thriving community with its customers.

-- BERNAMA

GMAC UPDATES GMAT EXAM, REPLACES CURRENT VERSION ON FEBRUARY 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global association representing leading business schools, is geared up for testing of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) Focus Edition to begin on Nov 7.

In a statement, GMAC said the updated edition will replace the current version of the GMAT Exam on Feb 1, 2024 and become the only version of the GMAT available for candidates aspiring for their dream business education.

“Our shared priorities are to ensure that the GMAT Focus Edition assesses the most relevant and in-demand skillsets like data analytics, problem solving and critical reasoning, and to help each candidate perform at their best by putting them in control of more flexible testing and score sending options,​” said GMAC Chief Executive Officer, Joy Jones.

On the other hand, Singapore Management University associate provost of postgraduate professional education and GMAC board newly elected chair, Themin Suwardy said since its launch in 1954, the GMAT has been the gold standard in graduate business education exam.

“Top business schools around the world accept it more than any other alternative because it’s the only assessment designed for today’s graduate business programme and proven to reliably evaluate business school candidates and predict their success in the classroom,” he said.

Backed by seven decades of leadership in graduate business school education and admissions, the GMAT is accepted by more than 7,700 programmes and 2,400 business schools worldwide.

The test was redesigned with a more efficient test taking experience and flexible features to better support as well as encourage more candidates on their business school journey.

Owned and administered by GMAC, the GMAT exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment.

-- BERNAMA

BEST'S MARKET SEGMENT REPORT: AM BEST MAINTAINS STABLE OUTLOOK ON JAPAN'S LIFE INSURANCE MARKET

HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has maintained its stable outlook on Japan’s life insurance market segment, citing in part the prospects for higher premium income based on rising interest rates, according to a new AM Best report.

In a new Best’s Market Segment Report, titled, “Market Segment Outlook: Japan Life Insurance,” AM Best notes an increase in sales for foreign currency-denominated savings products amid the rise in foreign interest rates, which should bolster premium income for Japan’s life insurers. Additional factors include potentially higher domestic interest rates and expected improvement in core profits due to the decline in COVID-related benefit payments.

Japan’s life insurers have posted positive top-line growth in recent years; however, their core profits were adversely affected by pandemic-related losses and higher foreign-currency hedging costs in fiscal year 2022, which ended 31 March 2023. In view of Japan’s current operating environment and the significant drop in COVID-related claims, AM Best expects that the Japanese life insurers’ premium income will be stable for the remainder of the current fiscal year (ending 31 March 2024).

“Most life companies have maintained very strong capital positions amid heightened financial market volatility over the last 12 months,” said Charles Chiang, senior financial analyst, AM Best. “In our view, the Japanese life insurers’ adequate capital buffers will help them withstand the potential impact of volatility in both the domestic and global financial markets, as well as potentially higher domestic interest rates.”

The report also notes that, despite several long-term challenges—including an aging and shrinking population that limits the growth of Japan’s economy and life insurance market—life insurers’ operating performance will benefit from the improvement in core profits and a rise in investment income due to potentially higher domestic interest rates over the near term. 

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Smart City Expo to hold in 2023 its biggest edition ever

BARCELONA, Spain, Oct 17 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), the international summit on cities and smart urban solutions, organized by Fira De Barcelona, will hold its biggest edition to date in 2023. Taking place from November 7^th to 9^th, the event's theme is "Welcome to the New Urban Era" and it is set to break records with a 55% increase in exhibition floorspace and 20% more attendees compared to previous years. Over 1,000 exhibitors, 25,000 delegates, and representatives from more than 800 cities and 140 countries are expected to travel to Barcelona.

SCEWC is a global showcase for innovative urban solutions and projects that focus on transforming cities into more sustainable, efficient, and livable spaces. To achieve this goal, the congress will structure its program into eight main tracks: Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Mobility, Governance, Living & Inclusion, Economy, Infrastructure & Buildings, Safety & Security, and Blue Economy.

The event will feature a lineup of 600 speakers, including notable figures such as computer scientist and expert in Algorithmic bias Margaret Mitchell, AI-specialized lawyer Micaela Mantegna, and sustainable development expert Claire O’Neill, the former UK Minister for Energy & Clean Growth.

Airbnb and FC Barcelona, keynotes

Amongst the highlights of SCEWC are the keynotes from Airbnb and FC Barcelona. The co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Airbnb, Nathan Blecharczyk, who will discuss how the company faces the future and wants to help tackle overtourism through new features to help disperse guests and benefits across Europe.

The representatives of FC Barcelona will explain how the club is leading the transformation of the surroundings of its stadium to redefine the urban fabric through enhanced infrastructure and sustainability aiming to build a new city landmark and improve the quality of life for its residents.

In addition, SCEWC has fully booked its exhibition floorspace, with companies such as AWS, Aramco, Axis, Cisco, Dassault Systemes, Dell, Deloitte, FCC, Honeywell, Microsoft, Nvidia, PWC, Roshn, Siemens, Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, and Veolia.

The event will also feature pavilions from cities and countries including Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nordics, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and USA, among others.

SCEWC will feature three co-located events, Tomorrow.Building, Tomorrow.Mobility, and Tomorrow.BlueEconomy, that focus on specific topics such as construction, transportation, and the opportunities of the sea for coastal cities, further establishing Barcelona as a global hub for innovative urban solutions.

For media requests please contact:

Salvador Bilurbina
email: sbilurbina@firabarcelona.com
phone: +34628162674

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d0b5b3fa-5e84-4649-919e-accfcf53592e

 

Source: Fira De Barcelona

 

NX SINGAPORE MARKS 50TH ANNIVERSARY SINCE INCEPTION

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express (Singapore) Pte Ltd (NX Singapore) a group company of Nippon Express Holdings Inc (NXHD), celebrated its 50th anniversary to commemorate the company’s founding, on Sept 22 at Singapore.

NX Singapore President, Hiroyuki Yamazaki expressed his gratitude to the company's customers, business partners, and employees for their support heretofore, and gave a presentation on its vision and initiatives for the future.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Singapore, Hiroshi Ishikawa delivered a congratulatory address on behalf of the guests of honour, according to a statement.

The ceremony was attended by about 450 people, including guests from the Embassy of Japan in Singapore, the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Singapore, and other relevant organisations as well as NXHD President, Mitsuru Saito from the NX Group.

As a global logistics company, NX Singapore will continue contributing to society through logistics to support the development of its customers and Singapore.

-- BERNAMA

LIVERAMP AND YAHOO PARTNER TO SCALE ADDRESSABILITY ACROSS THE AD ECOSYSTEM

Publishers, marketers, and more will be able to leverage better post-signal connectivity


NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP), the leading data collaboration platform, and Yahoo today announced an expanded partnership to scale addressability and enhance reach and interoperability within the advertising ecosystem. With this partnership, publishers using LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) will now be able to take advantage of cookieless identity solution, Yahoo ConnectID, and unlock additional addressable demand.

Further, brands that leverage the Yahoo DSP can achieve greater reach through Yahoo ConnectID, which benefits from RampID and the expanded scale of LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution.

Yahoo ConnectID is powered by direct consumer relationships of nearly 200M authenticated users in the U.S., enabling omnichannel addressable inventory across all of the Yahoo owned-and-operated properties and thousands of other publisher domains. RampID and LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution power LiveRamp’s person-based approach to identity, enabling authenticated addressability across browsers, mobile devices, and CTV, at scale across hundreds of destinations. Clients will be able to develop deeper customer relationships, create value throughout the customer journey, and maintain control of data.

Publishers who have adopted LiveRamp’s Authenticated Traffic Solution will be able to integrate with Yahoo ConnectID with minimal effort and better monetize their addressable supply. More than 450 brands already work with LiveRamp to use their first-party data to personalize consumer experiences.

Publishers and marketers can benefit from this partnership without any additional configuration or resources for authenticated audiences at scale, delivering customized experiences everywhere it matters. Publishers should expect to see increased monetization on their authenticated inventory via Authenticated Traffic Solution as Yahoo ConnectID will now be available as an identifier. Further, marketers looking for post-signal loss solutions will have increased reach of authenticated users across publishers that have adopted RampID and/or Yahoo ConnectID via the Yahoo DSP.

“We strongly believe in authenticated addressability, and this partnership enables greater reach that will endure beyond third-party signal loss,” said Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, Chief Revenue Officer at Yahoo. “We’re making it easier for marketers and publishers to leverage these solutions and maximize results, while simultaneously supporting more seamless transactions across the open web.”

“Yahoo is a powerful advocate for authenticated identity, and the connectivity we’re partnering to enable across their DSP and Yahoo ConnectID will help make the post-signal world a better experience for marketers than the world of today,” said Travis Clinger, SVP, Activations and Addressability, LiveRamp. “Marketers and publishers now have even more flexibility to engage, personalize, and measure their customer journey.”

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp is the data collaboration platform of choice for the world’s most innovative companies. A groundbreaking leader in consumer privacy, data ethics, and foundational identity, LiveRamp is setting the new standard for building a connected customer view with unmatched clarity and context while protecting precious brand and consumer trust. LiveRamp offers complete flexibility to collaborate wherever data lives to support the widest range of data collaboration use cases—within organizations, between brands, and across its premier global network of top-quality partners.

Hundreds of global innovators, from iconic consumer brands and tech giants to banks, retailers, and healthcare leaders turn to LiveRamp to build enduring brand and business value by deepening customer engagement and loyalty, activating new partnerships, and maximizing the value of their first-party data while staying on the forefront of rapidly evolving compliance and privacy requirements. LiveRamp is based in San Francisco, California, with offices worldwide. Learn more at LiveRamp.com.

About Yahoo

Yahoo reaches nearly 900 million people around the world, bringing them closer to finance, sports, shopping, gaming and news—with the trusted products, content and tech that fuel their day. For partners, we provide a full-stack platform for businesses to amplify growth and drive more meaningful connections across advertising, search and media. To learn more, please visit yahooinc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231016463270/en/

Contact

Michelle Millsap
pr@liveramp.com

Source : LiveRamp

CLOUDFLARE DETECTS VULNERABILITY BEHIND LARGEST ATTACK IN INTERNET HISTORY

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the connectivity cloud company, announced it has helped lead the disclosure of a new novel zero-day vulnerability, dubbed “HTTP/2 Rapid Reset”, alongside industry peers to make the Internet more secure for everyone.

According to Cloudflare in a statement, this global vulnerability gives attackers the ability to generate attacks larger than anything the Internet had seen before.

To help mitigate the impact of this new threat for the entire Internet ecosystem, Cloudflare developed technology purpose-built to automatically block any attack leveraging Rapid Reset for its customers.

Cloudflare successfully mitigated these issues and halted potential abuse for all customers, while simultaneously kicking off a responsible disclosure process with two other major infrastructure providers, to extend mitigations for this vulnerability to a large percentage of the Internet prior to disclosing its existence to the general public.

“Successfully mitigating this threat for every critical infrastructure organisation, customer and the Internet at-large is the lifeblood of what Cloudflare stands for.

“We are one of the only companies equipped to identify and address threats of this magnitude, at the speed required to maintain the integrity of the Internet,” said Cloudflare Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Prince.

In late August, Cloudflare discovered a zero-day vulnerability, developed by an unknown threat actor. The vulnerability exploits the standard HTTP/2 protocol, a fundamental piece to how the Internet and most websites operate.

“Rapid Reset” provides threat actors with a powerful new way to attack victims across the Internet at an order of magnitude larger than anything the Internet has seen before.

Based on Cloudflare's data, several attacks leveraging Rapid Reset were nearly three times larger than the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in Internet history.

At the peak of this DDoS campaign, Cloudflare recorded and handled over 201 million requests per second (Mrps), as well as the mitigation of thousands of additional attacks following.

-- BERNAMA