Springworks’ Connected Car platform ‘SPARK’ launches with first customer, Telia Company, enabling the operator to deliver subscription-based connected car services to car owners in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Wednesday 23 November 2016 – Springworks AB has announced that its cloud-based Connected Car platform SPARK, for mobile operators and service providers in the automotive industry, has gone live with Nordic and Baltics mobile network operator, Telia Company. The platform allows Telia Company and its automotive Service Provider partners to launch a host of new subscription-based connected car services for drivers in Sweden. Car services will include amongst others: 4G, in-car Wi-Fi, service warning alerts, parking information and warnings, tyre change notifications, eco driving features, insurance services, tampering alarm and dashboard data.   
   
Springworks is currently focusing on the large European car market of 258 million cars. By 2020, the Springworks’ SPARK platform will have enabled mobile operators to monetise a large portion of the untapped international connected car ecosystem. New legislative requirements on automatic emergency reporting are driving this market. From April 1, 2018, all new passenger cars in Europe will need to be fitted with a modem that can send a crash alert to emergency services.

The white label service will go beyond basic connectivity, allowing mobile operators to lead the connected car ecosystem of insurance companies, parking services, fleet management companies and car repair businesses. This enables operators to deliver a range of smart services to owners of new and old cars, using a plug in On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) dongle and app or API. The end-user plugs this telematics unit into the car’s standard OBD socket, which then connects the car through the operator network to aggregated services via the cloud.

“Operators understand the opportunity of connecting cars from several perspectives, mainly Usage Base Insurance, Wi-Fi, fleet management and providing car makers with connectivity,” commented Erik Ramberg, CEO of Springworks. “As a white label solution, it enables operators to master the national connected car ecosystem as well as implement and monetise new digital strategies with service providers by selling them smart data.”

“Connecting cars makes perfect sense from a business perspective with stakeholders ranging from insurance companies, car repair shops, fleet managers to roadside assistance companies,” commented Hans Dahlberg, Vice President, Division X (IOT) from Telia Company. “Insurance companies in certain regions have already shown that telematics systems can reduce claims expenditure by up to 30% whilst repair shops can save time for both themselves and their customers by doing a remote diagnosis before the car arrives. By adding SPARK to our connected car capabilities, Telia has a very attractive and unique platform to build offerings for both our service partners and millions of customers and thereby improve car ownership.”

Springworks offers its connected car solution as a white label Software-as-a-Service platform to mobile operators charging an activation fee and monthly fee per active user. The enterprise grade platform includes APIs for onboarding and integrating multiple service providers.

Star Micronics' SM-L200 mobile printer is recommended for TFL approved Card Payment Solutions for London’s licensed taxi drivers

High Wycombe, UK, 23 November 2016 - International POS printer manufacturer Star Micronics is pleased to announce that its SM-L200 mobile printer has been selected as the approved printer for card payment solutions available to London’s licensed taxi drivers. Following the announcement by Transport for London that all licensed taxi drivers must accept credit and debit card payments, including contactless, Star has stepped up to the mark by providing a mobile printer that meets the demands of a busy taxi environment.

Star is mindful that London’s licensed taxi drivers are required to have an in-depth knowledge of London with the ability to take their occupants to their desired destination amid the congestion and chaos that characterises London’s streets. Having to go through stringent training to obtain their licence with the need to pass ‘The Knowledge’ test, Star recognises that London’s licensed taxi drivers are renowned worldwide for their expert knowledge and friendly, helpful manner. 

By selecting the Star SM-L200 Bluetooth receipt printer, taxi drivers benefit from a number of valuable and unique features in a super compact lightweight design. These include a fast print speed, LCD display and 1.2m drop test capability. Beyond a low power usage, the advantages of BLE technology include simple installation thanks to an auto pairing facility with multiple Bluetooth 4.0 devices including Apple iOS, Android and Windows.

As Annette Tarlton, Marketing Director, Star Micronics EMEA, states: “Star Micronics is proud to be the recommended printer manufacturer for the majority of TFL approved card payment solutions available today, offering London’s licensed taxi drivers a reliable and cost effective card payment and printing solution.”

Card Payment & hardware providers can be found on the TFL website and include Cab:app Ltd. Farepay Ltd, iZettle, Payleven and PayPal with details of recommended system fitting service companies.

London, 23 November 2016 – Pushfor, a new secure messaging and content sharing platform for businesses, has announced a £1.2 million pre-Series A investment round to fund the company’s expansion and product roadmap. The London-based tech company has raised investment from NT Asset, c12 Ventures and Metdist Limited.

Kenneth Ng (NT Asset), Stephen King (c12 Ventures) and Uday Singhi (Metdist Limited) will bring significant expertise and knowledge to Pushfor as it continues to establish itself across key market sectors including financial services as a secure content distribution and messaging platform. Pushfor has ambitious growth plans, and this round of investment will fund Pushfor’s initial expansion into new markets – particularly North America, Asia and India - increased sales and marketing and the continued development of its product roadmap.

Pushfor has created a secure content sharing and instant messaging platform that pushes, controls and tracks the distribution of any content type or size, automatically showing that content to fit any device. Its patented technology ‘pushes’ information to users, letting them view the content without physically sending it to them. Security and viewing permissions can be applied along with geo-location tracking. Users have instant and easy access to the content without the need of the authoring software on their device. Content can be removed by the originator at any time. If an unauthorised recipient tries to screenshot or download the content, viewing rights are pulled, so it can no longer be viewed. It is the brainchild of John Safa, serial entrepreneur and security expert.

“The amount of press coverage of businesses having confidential information being leaked is staggering,” says John Safa, founder of Pushfor. “Pushfor solves this problem so you can share information securely, and pull or limit access as needed.

“We had a lot of interest and were oversubscribed in this funding round, but as we are already generating revenue we kept it deliberately small. We are very focused on our growth strategy. As such we want to work with investors that not only bring the geographical reach but also significant experience of operating in these markets. This round wasn’t all about the money but about bringing in investors that could help us achieve our goal of becoming a billion-dollar global company.”

Investors Kenneth Ng and Stephen King will join the board at Pushfor.

“With Financial institutions operating in such a highly-regulated market they face challenges around distributing content that is easily and quickly accessible whilst still being fully compliant around data security. Pushfor helps overcomes these challenges and the potential use cases for this powerful secure content and messaging platform are limitless” says c12 Ventures, Stephen King.

Uday Singhi, President and CEO of Metdist Limited says “Pushfor is a powerful technology platform with a truly global appeal. Given our experience in India we see great scope for such a digital solution. The Indian government is firmly committed to the dual objectives of financial inclusion and technological empowerment. In a densely populated and culturally complex society achieving these objectives will require a renewed emphasis on security. The Pushfor proposition fits perfectly into this conversation and has application in a wide variety of sectors including insurance and banking”.

Pushfor will be undertaking a Series A funding round in Q1 2017

HUBER+SUHNER is set to demonstrate its latest solutions for data centers at the two-day event

Leading international manufacturer of components and systems for optical and electrical connectivity, HUBER+SUHNER, is set to demonstrate the market standard defining capabilities of its latest fiber management system IANOS® at Data Centre World Paris, taking place 29-30 November 2016 at the Portes de Versailles exhibition center.

The Swiss company will also display transport solutions for interconnecting data centers and have experts on hand to discuss its latest products, including optical switching technology.

“With the modern world increasingly relying on data centers for crucial communication of vital services, the development conducted by companies such as HUBER+SUHNER becomes ever more important,” said Thierry Klejtman, DC sales manager at HUBER+SUHNER France. “The insuring of the continued reliable and efficient provision of these services for both suppliers and consumers is what drives the ongoing development of systems such as IANOS®, and exhibitions like Data Centre World allow us to demonstrate the significant strides made possible by our developments.”

The new IANOS® concept facilitates Base-2, 8, 12 and 24 pre-terminated cable systems for best in class density, speed of installation, handling and scalability, all of which are key factors in future-proofing data centers.

“With future-proofing data centers becoming nothing short of essential, IANOS® is a unique fiber management system designed to accommodate a quick, simple and inevitable upgrade path from 10G serial to 40G and 100G parallel optics,” said Klejtman. “It is undoubtedly our most advanced and adaptable fiber management system to date, improving both existing data centers when retrofitted and providing the most effective, efficient solution possible for new builds.”

Alongside IANOS® at the HUBER+SUHNER booth (F60) will be transport solutions for interconnecting data centers from HUBER+SUHNER Cube Optics. These solutions allow for the communication between transport vehicles without the need for further software, which reduces OPEX, requires less maintenance and drastically reduces energy consumption as it makes air-conditioning obsolete.

Visitors to the HUBER+SUHNER stand will also have the opportunity to discuss optical network switches from Polatis, which was recently acquired by HUBER+SUHNER and is now a business unit within HUBER+SUHNER’s Fiber Optics division. The switches enable improved capacity utilization in data centers and advanced data management in large telecommunication networks.

“We are very much looking forward to Data Centre World Paris and hope to demonstrate why HUBER+SUHNER is and will continue to be one of the industry’s most valuable and pioneering developers of efficient and reliable fiber optic technology,” added Klejtman.

Data Centre World Paris visitors can view IANOS® and other HUBER+SUHNER products at Stand F60 at the Portes de Versailles, Paris from 29 – 30 November, 2016.

Farnborough, UK — Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim), a global developer of military training and simulation software, announced today that the UK Ministry of Defence acquired an enterprise licence of the company’s flagship software Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3) as the UK MOD’s Defence Virtual Simulation (DVS) solution.

DVS will be the UK MOD’s common virtual simulation tool to provide interoperable, accessible and deployable virtual simulation capability across the MOD. The DVS capability will enable simulated activity across all levels of training, including live and virtual simulation, education and experimentation.

“Our association with the MOD began in 2007 with their acquisition of an enterprise licence for VBS2, and we are very pleased to continue this association by now providing our VBS3 software that is used for military training the world over,” said Rusmat Ahmed, BISim’s vice president of sales in EMEA. “By investing in DVS for UK Defence, MOD brings UK expertise to the very active group of European and Allied countries using VBS3 for training, as well as benefitting from the pool of international innovation and best practice of VBS3 users.”

Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3) is a comprehensive desktop training package and simulation host based on commercial video game technology. Simply load VBS3 onto a PC and use the supplied tools and models to set up a scenario and start training. Shaped and refined by over 10 years of customer feedback, VBS3 is the de facto standard in game-based military simulation and meets hundreds of training use cases. For DVS, VBS3 will support a wide range of domains for training including mounted and dismounted land, naval vessel, fast air and rotary wing for both individual and collective tasks.

John Brookes, Joint Training Section Deputy Head within the Soldier Training and Special Programmes team at the UK MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support, said that, “VBS3 software is exceptionally capable and fulfils a large and diverse range of our simulation requirements for individual and collective training, experimentation and force development. The software’s new role as the Defence Virtual Simulation solution means it will help the MOD realise the Defence Training & Education Coherence vision, allowing us to deliver more and better simulation to our users across the UK’s armed forces.”

VBS3, which is used each year by hundreds of thousands of military personnel worldwide for training and simulation, provides an immersive virtual environment that helps military personnel train on tactics, rehearse for missions, and practice standard operating procedures. Included with VBS3 is VBS Radio for voice communications between remote users participating in training exercises, supporting filtered voice playback for after action reviews and which is DIS-enabled for networked exercises. The DVS solution includes the enhanced VBS Radio Pro version, which offers unlimited channels and degradation based on distance and weather, features not included with the baseline version of VBS Radio.

VBS3 also includes VBS Gateway, a user-friendly application that allows for interoperability with external HLA(e)/DIS simulations, as well as supporting CIGI allowing VBS3 to drive CIGI compliant image generators. DVS also benefits from the latest optimizations for large, networked multiplayer scenarios, with increased stability and performance.

VBS is used in more than 30 countries by military organizations such as the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, Australian Defence Force, French Armed Forces, Bundeswehr, Swedish Armed Forces, Canadian Armed Forces, and New Zealand Defense Force.

Orlando, Florida — Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim), a global developer of military training and simulation software, will showcase a new virtual reality (VR)-based combined arms training concept for Virtual Battlespace 3, networked with BISim’s image generation software VBS IG and extended by the company’s whole-earth rendering technology, during I/ITSEC 2016 in Orlando from Nov. 28 - Dec. 2 at booth #2348.

BISim’s combined arms demonstration will involve air, artillery, infantry and ground assets that interconnects the first-person virtual environment of Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3) with our multi-channel solution VBS IG powered by VBS Blue, BISim’s whole-earth rendering technology.

“By enabling military personnel from across domains to train in larger, networked virtual environments, they can develop greater situational awareness and, in turn, perform their roles in the battlespace more effectively,” said Pete Morrison, BISim’s Co-CEO. “This kind of networked training allows soldiers, commanders, and other military personnel to understand the consequences of decisions and actions collectively, enabling them to more effectively train to protect their fellow soldiers and protect the lives of civilians.”

The demonstration highlights BISim’s recently updated U.S. Army Stryker model with driver and gunner positions operated by players seated in Talon motion simulators and using the Oculus CV1 for immersion in the VBS3 visual environment. The scenario will also be linked to VBS IG powered by VBS Blue, so that an F/A-18 pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO) can provide close air support against the artillery of opposing forces in the scenario. The F/A-18 pilot and WSO will also be equipped with Oculus Rift CV1s and Leap Motion for tracking hand and arm movement inside a highly detailed, virtual cockpit.

This will be part of a wider networked scenario that take place on a massive, correlated and geo-specific terrain in California generated by TerraTools from TerraSim, a BISim company.

Visitors to BISim can watch the action from a stealth view and UAV feed via VBS IG, BISim’s highly capable and cost-effective image generation solution. BISim recently announced a new software development kit, VBS IG SDK, which provides developers with a comprehensive set of tools for customizing and integrating VBS IG for a wide range of simulators applications and configurations.

Customers who wish to arrange for a private or group demonstration should contact [email protected].

Plustek launches the eScan A250 network scanner for ISVs and system integrators wishing to add scanning to their business systems

London November 22, 2016 – Plustek, the Taiwanese photo and document scanner manufacturer, announces today the launch of the eScan A250 - a new version of its network attached document scanner offering 300% higher processing speeds and integration enhancements.

The eScan A250 is primarily designed for systems integrators, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Value Added Resellers (VARs) who want to easily incorporate a feature-rich standalone scanner into business systems they then provide to their enterprise customers.

The Plustek eScan A250 comes with Wi-Fi and Ethernet built in and an easy customisable open platform API. This offers developers the convenience of integration with the choice to develop apps as a connector that can streamline scanning files directly to any registered document management system or the choice to create a customisable eScan network scanner interface.

Shooping Lin, Plustek’s UK sales director, explains, “Our architecture means companies can create their own personalised end-user interfaces, configure buttons on the screen and, most importantly, set up scripts and rules to determine how a document or groups of them are then handled and stored once scanned. This is crucial where network scanners are deployed in scale in bigger businesses.”

To date, a variety of software firms in the construction, healthcare and accountancy sectors have incorporated Plustek’s network scanners as part of end-to-end solutions to help clients boost productivity, enhance efficiency and reduce cost by removing paper from business workflows.

This includes ERP vendor, EasyBuild, who sells its suite of software to the UK construction industry. Plustek network attached scanners are used remotely on building sites so documentation like timesheets and good received notices (GRNs) can be captured and sent back to head offices using Wi-Fi or a VPN connection.

Fast scanning with one-touch job buttons
Compared to the existing model, document processing speeds have been boosted by 300% with the recommended daily volume now 6,000 sheets. The eScan A250 also offers faster colour document scanning at 26 pages per minute (ppm) at 200 dpi – that’s up from 4 pages – and equates to a 550% improvement. Black and white and grayscale speeds have doubled to 30 ppm.

In addition, the roller lifetime is 70,000 scans up from 50,000 which results in less maintenance and scanner down-time – ideal for office environments were reliability is key. 

The eScan A250 comes with a 7-inch wide built-in colour touch screen and a 50-sheet document feeder designed to take paper from 40 to 157 g/m2 thick. It delivers complete scanning in three simple steps: scanning , viewing (editing if necessary) and saving to a variety of destinations. The complete process can be saved as a job button allowing users to complete repetitive tasks by using the same button. Destinations includes email, mobile, PC, network folders, flash drive, FTP and the cloud. The eScan A250 supports DropBox, Google Drive, Evernote, Box, Microsoft SharePoint and Office 365. The device is also integrated with a variety of document management systems such as FileDirector, InfoRouter, FileBound, Receipt Bank and more.

The scanner also comes with a variety of features to guarantee perfect images once documents are digitised such as punch hole and blank page removal and image enhancement.

Out of the box, a powerful software bundle is provided which includes ABBYY OCR Sprint for PC and Presto! Page Manager for PC.

Pricing and availability
The Plustek eScan A250 network scanner is available today. To discuss pricing and ISV and VAR integration, please contact [email protected]

CAMBRIDGE, UK, and SAN JOSE, CA, 22nd November 2016 - Codasip, the leading RISC-V processor IP provider, and UltraSoC, the leading provider of semiconductor IP for on-chip analytics, performance optimization and hardware-based security and debug, announced a broad collaboration to integrate the Codix-Bk series of RISC-V compliant processor cores seamlessly with the UltraSoC environment. As RISC-V based SoCs enter the mainstream, the need for commercial support with production-quality debug, analysis and bring-up tools become critical. This collaboration provides the RISC-V community with capabilities that go beyond those available to proprietary processors and instruction set architectures (ISAs).

While selecting a processor and ISA is one of the first challenges for engineers in architecting a new SoC, the real difficulties come when they try to bring the design to life, to productize and optimize it in the real world. While RISC-V provides an ISA for processor IP, it does not in itself solve all the other problems of support, commercialization or development. This partnership focuses on that need. Rather than simply adapt legacy solutions to the RISC-V environment, this collaboration delivers a complete solution that will not only accelerate time-to-market, but extend analysis and improvement capabilities beyond initial deployment.

“Our customers demand more than just traditional processor-based debug in order to meet the needs of the IoT era,” said Karel Masarik, CEO, Codasip. “UltraSoC’s broad range of capabilities combined with our commercially proven processor infrastructure, supported on our RISC-V series of Codix-Bk processors, drastically accelerates SoC deployment. We are excited by what this collaboration enables and the benefits it delivers to the new era of RISC-V based SoCs.”

While RISC-V is establishing itself as the choice for new SoC designs, engineers need proven development infrastructure and commercial support. This collaboration addresses both needs: Codasip provides proven processor IP and infrastructure, while UltraSoC extends this to enable a rich and versatile toolkit for debug, optimization and analytics. This collaboration is an example of how the open-source RISC-V ecosystem can innovate quickly to deliver more than is available with legacy proprietary architectures.

“RISC-V is rapidly becoming an exciting ISA choice for new designs, but suffers from the lack of a proven implementation platform,” said Rupert Baines, CEO, UltraSoC. “Combining UltraSoC IP with proven Codix-Bk IP and debug environment results in a powerful SoC debug, analysis and chip-bring up environment that will dramatically accelerate development time while reducing risk for new SoC starts.”

The combined solution is available immediately. Both companies are committed to continually evolve their solutions to conform to the RISC-V foundations specifications (riscv.org).

"RISC-V adoption continues to accelerate with ultimate success requiring the ecosystem evolve beyond initial processor specifications with a focus on the challenges of the SoC creators,” said Rick O’Connor, Executive Director of the RISC-V Foundation. “We're excited to see Codasip and UltraSoC working together to make customers’ RISC-V based designs a reality."

HUBER+SUHNER to showcase Connected Mobility solutions for reliable railway connections at SmartRail Asia

Global connectivity supplier HUBER+SUHNER will be exhibiting its comprehensive portfolio of products for the rail industry at SmartRail Asia 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, December 1-2.

Illustrating the Switzerland-based company’s commitment to creating the future of railway communications, HUBER+SUHNER will demonstrate a wide-ranging collection of highly efficient and robust solutions for on-board, train-to-ground, and trackside communications.

“Passengers have developed a certain expectation when travelling by train, and with the mounting pressure on operators to deliver the most comfortable experience for passengers, it is extremely vital that customers have confidence in their rolling stock and wayside infrastructure,” said Amos Goek, Sales & Marketing Director, South East Asia at HUBER+SUHNER. “SmartRail Asia is one of the rail industry’s leading events in the region and so we are looking forward to demonstrating our comprehensive portfolio of products that Asian companies in the industry can use to fully equip themselves today and in the future.”

HUBER+SUHNER’s booth at SmartRail Asia will focus on solutions for Connected Mobility – the notion of bringing communications and railway together. On display will be its new five port SENCITY® Rail MIMO antenna, which accompanies its well-established SENCITY® Rail antenna portfolio. The cost-saving robust platform provides five antenna elements in one housing, and allows direct connection to a Wi-Fi radio without using an RF diplexer to split the two different signals from a broadband antenna.

Also on display at the booth will be HUBER+SUHNER’s state-of-the-art SENCITY® Omni-S MIMO – a configurable multiband antenna for WiFi MIMO, Cellular/LTE and GNSS – and the new Q-ODC-12 fiber connectors, specially designed and manufactured by HUBER+SUHNER for harsh environments.

SmartRail exhibition visitors can see the HUBER+SUHNER solutions for Connected Mobility at Stand T70, Makkasan Airport Rail Link Expo Hall, Bangkok, 1-2 December 2016.

Technologies must come together and integrate now to tackle increasingly complex challenges within PMR, urges ETELM Director

Cologne, Germany, 22 November 2016 – Nicolas Hauswald, Sales and Marketing Director of ETELM, a leading manufacturer of advanced Mission Critical communications systems, says LTE should offer additional broadband services but not replace TETRA. Instead, the two technologies should come together in a unified way, on the LTE Core as an open, international standard platform and work alongside other technologies to enhance legacy solutions in a bid to tackle the challenges posed by PMR.

Speaking at the PMR Expo, Nicolas Hauswald said: “We are currently in a transition period within the PMR sector. Consider the stagnation of the global TETRA market, coupled with the fact we are still in the very early stages of LTE market adoption.

“Until now, the industry has been speculating as to whether LTE will replace TETRA, or run with it. What we’re seeing today is a clear need for the two technologies to come together in a unified way, on a common platform, along with other technologies to update ageing, and increasingly outdated, legacy systems.”

Two years ago, in 2014, ETELM developed and successfully launched its 4G Linked portfolio, a range of revolutionary products designed for the radio communications market, that links both Narrowband and Broadband into a single, fully distributed core network. The solution is unique in that it enables standard TETRA, DMR, Analogue and P25 base stations to directly connect to the same LTE core network as 4G eNodeB cell equipment, avoiding the need for black boxes or gateways.

Earlier this month ETELM launched its new eNodeB LTE base station, the e-LBS, which boasts the longest reach ever developed for PMR 4G technology worldwide. The new LTE base station is a major breakthrough for LTE technology in Mission Critical applications, giving operators the ability to boost their coverage areas from existing locations.

ETELM President, Pierre Minot added: “The new challenges of PMR and the resulting transition period has given us time to grow, strengthen and future-proof the company. We have moved to a new, bigger office, hired new staff in sales and development and launched the 4G Linked family, which we’ve had very positive feedback on since introducing it to market.

“The recent launch of the e-LBS further strengthens our position and our visionary approach to connect all PMR technologies on an LTE EPC core to fit within the ever-changing market ecosystem. For example, because of LTE, operators are now playing a strategic role in the deployment and operation of Mission Critical solutions.”

If you’d like to know more about 4G Linked and e-LBS, ETELM will be exhibiting with its partner BESCOM at this year’s PMR Expo (22-24 November, 2016 in Cologne, Germany) in Hall 10.2, Stand F01. For further information, please visit http://www.etelm.fr/.

7digital tunes in with Catchpoint Systems for global digital music streaming performance monitoring

22nd November 2016 - Catchpoint Systems, a digital performance analytics company, today announced that B2B digital music and radio company 7digital is now using the Catchpoint to monitor and improve the customer experience of its audio streaming services globally. 7digital provides a robust and scalable technical infrastructure and extensive global music rights for its clients to create music streaming and radio services for customers.

To compete against other services, it is critical that 7digital reduces the Time To First Byte (TTFB) latency for songs that aren’t in the cache and ensure their customers’ music starts as quickly as possible. The company also has ambitious plans to expand into new growth markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and therefore needed a powerful but cost effective tool to monitor customer experience in those geographically diverse markets.

7digital selected Catchpoint as its partner for monitoring and analysing its global audio streaming platform for both speed and availability. The system is used alongside internal monitoring tools to ensure the performance of third-party vendors such as domain name systems (DNS) and content delivery networks (CDNs), allowing 7digital to provide the best and highest quality listening experiences to their customers. 7digital is also taking advantage of the Catchpoint system’s ability to offer testing nodes worldwide, enabling the company to access realistic data about how the service is performing in other markets without needing to send 7digital engineers to those locations.

Through switching to Catchpoint, 7digital has been able to streamline their monitoring and operations initiatives into one cohesive initiative, as well as protect revenue streams and its brand reputation for a superior digital music experience.

Sam Madeley, Head of Technology at 7digital, explains: “We service tens of millions of API requests everyday around the globe. As we move into developing markets it’s important that we can monitor performance in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the more developed markets such as North America and Europe. Previously, if we wanted to monitor changes in Dubai, we had to put someone on the plane with a laptop – as you can imagine this is impractical. Catchpoint have nodes in every major city. This gives us the truly global solution that we need.”

Simon Cole, CEO, 7digital adds: “It’s absolutely vital we have a totally reliable service for our end customers globally and to know that this is happening we rely on the data analysis from Catchpoint. Their data helps us improve our services and evaluate its quality to sell 7digital audio streaming to our clients. In a digital world, people are realising the speed at which you can collect and analyse quality data is what differentiates you from your competitors, and Catchpoint really helps us achieve this for 7digital.”

Medhi Daoudi, CEO and co-founder of Catchpoint Systems, comments: “7digital operates in the kind of highly competitive market where even the smallest slip in quality can be damaging. We are pleased to be working together with 7digital to ensure its customers can always get an experience of the highest quality through our deep insights into the performance and usage of its audio streaming.”

Largest network on the continent allows merchants, banks and mobile operators to scale transactions cross-border, cross-currency and cross-network

Johannesburg, South Africa, November 22nd 2016 – MFS Africa, the leading Pan-African fintech company, today announced that its MFS Hub is now connected to 120 million mobile wallets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through partnerships with mobile network operators including Airtel, Econet, MTN, Orange, Tigo and Vodafone, MFS Africa now has unparalleled reach into mobile wallets across the continent. The MFS Hub scales transactions across networks and borders to create greater value for customers and service providers, support regional and international trade, and boost financial inclusion.

There are mobile money services available in nearly every market in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 33 markets featuring two or more networks (GSMA, 2015). However, the majority are confined to a domestic market with almost no interoperability between networks in either a single country or across borders.

Without interoperability, mobile operator customers cannot send money to another consumer on another network in their country, nor to a person in another country. Money transfer operators face greater friction in lowering distribution costs and allowing consumers to make international remittances to and from wallets. Financial institutions seeking to offer services ranging from airtime top-ups to micro-insurance to the unbanked, and merchants who want to allow consumers to pay using their mobile wallet, need to integrate with each mobile money network.

This severely inhibits the potential of financial services providers to drive efficiencies, contribute to economic growth and include those currently financially excluded.

“Interoperability, especially across domestic borders, is the key to unlocking the next wave of mobile financial services. For many service providers, it has been unclear if interconnection will actually lead to the desired network effects in their payments business. But this is changing as the financial ecosystem across Africa realises that scaling is essential for digital payments to boost economic growth,” said Faisal Khan, a global authority on cross-border payments. “There is a growing realisation, evidenced in certain markets, that mobile money needs to follow the lead of the credit card industry 40 years ago. It needs to move from a fragmented landscape of closed, proprietary systems to an open, consolidated one to meet the needs of consumers, businesses and governments.”

The MFS Hub allows these service providers to facilitate transactions across networks, across borders and across currencies via a single API ensuring compliance with all necessary regulations. Operators, banks and money transfer organisations can provide customers with more flexible payment options, increasing the velocity and volume of electronic money in the ecosystem. Merchants can dramatically improve the reach and user experience of e-commerce and m-commerce services, and regulators are likely to see more cash drawn into formal financial systems.

“It is proven that interoperability can bring many benefits, helping the wider ecosystem to reduce costs, deliver greater customer value through enhanced functionality and convenience, and increase choice for end customers,” said Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa. “The simplicity and sheer scale of the MFS Hub means we are the ideal partner for service providers looking to improve service access, accelerate customer acquisition, and expand rapidly into new markets, without the headaches around foreign exchange and regulatory compliance. This is an important milestone in our mission to connect African people to each other and the global economy.”

Research reveals millennial demographic "meaningless" for financial institutions and FinTechs

• Younger millennials are not financially independent and slower to embrace FinTech
• Tech savvy older millennials are more interested in spending and saving
• 29-34 year olds use more FinTech but lower tolerance for security and convenience issues
• 42.2% of millennials have switched provider due to a poor mobile experience

London, 22nd November 2016 - New research has found that the millennials classification is not a meaningful way for financial institutions and FinTechs to understand those aged between 18 and 34. The findings suggest that younger and older millennials have divergent financial priorities, exhibit disparate financial behaviours, especially around digital finance, and have different tolerance levels for customer experience issues. Financial services providers need to re-evaluate how they market to and serve this demographic.

The research ‘Misunderstood Millennials: Have financial institutions got it wrong?’ commissioned by Mitek, surveyed 1001 UK millennials and found that younger millennials – aged 18-22 – are not yet financially independent, with 47.6% most concerned about paying for education. Younger millennials’ financial mindset is also dominated by a reactive, short- term focus demonstrated by their other main concerns, paying rent (43%) and entertainment (33%). Long-term financial planning is not on their agendas, contrary to received wisdom evidenced by the plethora of educational FinTech start-ups.

It’s only when millennials reach 29-34 that financial services become a necessity. 43.1% of 29-34 year olds are most concerned with saving to buy a house but only 30% of young people are. Surprisingly, 40% of 29-34 year-olds are also looking to save money for travel and 33% with saving for their retirement, compared to 26% and 17% respectively for those aged 18-22. Between 23 and 28, millennials are not yet financially independent and around a third are still concerned about paying for education. At this age, only 23% are concerned about saving for their retirement.

Financial services companies are increasingly serving their customers through mobile channels and 29-34 year-olds are certainly receptive to this. Older millennials are, on average, 5% more likely to use mobile financial services than their younger counterparts with one in five making a mobile purchase at least once a day. However, security concerns are preventing 29-34 year olds from taking full advantage of mobile with 88.5% saying that worries about ID fraud or data security prevent them from making transactions on their mobile, compared to 72.8% of younger millennials.

The research also found that, counterintuitively, those in the older age bracket are much more comfortable using the camera on their mobile, with 72.7% seeing it as one of the most important functions. This is compared to 54% of 18-22 year olds. This is also manifested in the fact that older millennials are 25% more likely to allay their security fears by using their camera to fill in personal information or verify their identity with a selfie or a photo of their ID.

Getting the mobile experience right, however, is key. Millennials are highly intolerant of poor mobile experiences with 56.3% stating that if they were unable to sign up for a financial product on their mobile, they would go to a different, more mobile-friendly competitor. Indeed 42.4% of all millennials have already switched providers because of a poor mobile experience.

Key Findings

Financial Independence
• 47.6% of millennials aged 18-22 are concerned about paying for education, whereas only 19.4% of 29-34 year-olds were.
• 43.1% of older millennials are concerned about saving to buy a house but only 30% of younger people are.
• Around 40% of 29-34 year-olds are also looking to save money for travel and 33% with saving for their retirement, compared to 26% and 17% respectively

Mobile usage
• Older millennials are 5% more likely to use their phones to apply for services or purchase goods than younger millennials
• One in five millennials aged 29-34 make at least one purchase on their mobile per day, compared to 12.4% of millennials aged 18-22

Security and Fraud
• 88.5% of older millennials say that worries about ID fraud or data security prevent them from making transactions on their mobile, compared to 72.8% of younger millennials
• 87.4% of younger millennials cite convenience factors as a barrier to usage compared to 79.9% of older millennials
• Older millennials are around 25% more likely to use their camera to fill in personal information or verify their identity using a selfie or a photo of their ID document

Mobile User Experience
• 56.3% of all millennials would abandon an application for a financial services product if they could not complete it on their mobile and would join a more mobile-friendly competitor
• 42.4% of millennials have left a financial services provider due to a poor mobile experience

“Millennials have been the target of financial services providers for as long as they have been recognised as a category. However to date, efforts to attract them have largely been unsuccessful” said Sarah Clark, General Manager, Identity, Mitek. “The reasons for this are now clear. By trying to appeal to this group as one single demographic, financial institutions’ marketing has been misdirected. They now have the opportunity to focus their efforts more sharply and cater for millennials’ diverse needs at different stages in their lives. It can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach anymore. Financial institutions need to tailor their offering to appeal to the lucrative 29-34 year-old market, which is mobile-first, concerned about the security of their identity and willing to disengage due to poor service. ”

With impending regulations such as Anti-Money Laundering Directive 4.1, Payments Service Directive Two and the EU’s Funds Transfer Regulation, there is pressure on financial institutions to improve KYC practices. Electronic identity verification and on-boarding reduces the risk of financial fraud and improves operational efficiencies. Institutions not only need to cater to the demands of this generation and ensure they are best positioned to meet the regulatory requirements of today and tomorrow.

The research was conducted by Osterman Research and covered 1001 UK millennials. A copy of ‘Misunderstood Millennials: Have financial institutions got it wrong?’ is available to download.

Fujikura Europe adds a new suite of modular test products to its product offering

Chessington, UK. 22 November 2016: Fujikura Europe today announced it will add Rogue™ and aeRos™ – a suite of modular test products built completely around the way network operators build, operate, and maintain their networks – to its product offering. The patent pending architecture from sister company AFL enables technicians to control their test hardware directly from any Android smart device.

“By eliminating the baggage associated with legacy systems, AFL were able to leverage the latest and most powerful state-of-the-art technologies to create a flexible and scalable solution that addresses the business challenges of our customers,” said Neil Bessant, Fusion Splicer Divisional Manager at Fujikura Europe. “We are very excited to be able to offer Rogue and aeRos to our customers across the region and add these innovative solutions to our product offering.”

Rogue is an open, flexible, modular test platform that enables customers to pick and choose the functionality they need. By pairing Rogue modules with apps running on a smart device, they can create the test capability that a technician requires for a specific job. With just a push of a button on a smart device, Rogue’s Dual Engine OLTS solutions test two fibres in both directions on two wavelengths, enabling users in the field to certify and test networks two to three times faster than traditional approaches.

The Rogue solution works in tandem with aeRos, an overarching cloud-based management system that allows customers to direct all testing activities from the central office. aeRos unifies the Rogue solution by enabling managers to build test programmes and configurations, push them to technicians in the field and address challenges as they arise. This dramatically reduces setup time, mistakes in the field and costly travel costs.

The combination of Rogue and aeRos provide unparalleled test time improvement and huge gains in overall setup and reporting efficiency, leading to a dramatic reduction in both CAPEX and OPEX expenses.

For more information about Fujikura Europe, its products and services, visit http://www.fujikura.co.uk/.