New ASES Online Community Platform Launch

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is pleased to announce that they will be launching a brand new interactive community platform, the ASES Online Community, supported by Higher Logic, on February 17, 2021. With this…

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is pleased to announce that they will be launching a brand new interactive community platform, the ASES Online Community, supported by Higher Logic, on February 17, 2021. With this online community, members of ASES have the opportunity to explore, connect, and engage with other members, chapters, divisions, and staff in an advanced community space.

All ASES members will be automatically enrolled in this new engagement platform, delivering powerful online communities and communications. Many online communities have been specially created for the launch this month. The site features a general open forum, along with specific forums for communities like ASES Technical Divisions, Programs, Chapters, Committees, Volunteer Opportunities and many more. ASES also plans to roll-out new communities for their members throughout the year.

«I am so very excited to be able to invite our entire community to this new engagement platform! The Online Community offers our ASES members, chapters and staff the opportunity to collaborate with each other on a regular basis, all online, keeping our community safe in this unprecedented time. I hope our members enjoy this new benefit!» –Carly Cipolla, Director of Operations at ASES and implementer of the Higher Logic platform

On the new ASES platform, members can sign up to receive emails from the site, updating them on discussion posts, latest news and community information as often or as little as they would like. Members will also be able to curate their own posts and share images, videos, and technical documents for others to see and engage with.

ASES members will be able to join communities, update individual profiles, and find new people to connect with on the platform. To learn more and join the discussion, join ASES at ases.org/join. Existing members can renew their ASES membership at ases.org/renew. Current ASES members will be able to use their membership login to join the discussion. For any questions or concerns about the new community platform, please contact membership@ases.org. ASES looks forward to engaging on the ASES Online Community launching on February 17, 2021.

 

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SOURCE American Solar Energy Society

American Cancer Society Announces New Diversity in Cancer Research Program – Made Permanent By a $5 Million Grant from the Elizabeth and Phill Gross Family

ATLANTA, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The American Cancer Society today announced the Diversity in Cancer Research program, a permanent umbrella that will support the American Cancer Society’s effort to foster a more diverse scientific workforce community. This has been made possible through a generous endowment contribution from Elizabeth and Phill Gross and their family.

ATLANTA, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The American Cancer Society today announced the Diversity in Cancer Research program, a permanent umbrella that will support the American Cancer Society’s effort to foster a more diverse scientific workforce community. This has been made possible through a generous endowment contribution from Elizabeth and Phill Gross and their family.

The initial investment will be made to launch Diversity in Cancer Research internships, which will offer biomedical cancer research internships for undergraduate students from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in the scientific community.   

«The American Cancer Society’s goal is to decrease the U.S. cancer death rate by an additional 40% by 2035,» said American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer Gary Reedy. «To accomplish this ambitious plan, we must tackle the racial health disparities that exist in cancer. This includes addressing the critical need for diversity and inclusion in the scientific workforce by increasing the proportion of researchers and clinicians of color. We are so grateful to Elizabeth and Phill Gross for their generous funding of this game-changing initiative.»   

According to data from the National Institute of Health, the number of grant applications from Black and Latino scientists are very low, just 2 percent and 4 percent, respectively. This inevitably translates to fewer people of color entering career stages in cancer research. The Diversity in Cancer Research program will build on the American Cancer Society’s existing research career development grant programs by promoting the training of undergraduate students underrepresented in biomedical cancer research and encouraging the pursuit of careers that will increase diversity in cancer research.  A more diverse scientific workforce is critical to invigorating problem-solving, driving innovation, and ultimately better equipping the scientific community to address inequities that exist in cancer prevention, treatment, and care.  

«In the fight against cancer, advancements in research provide the best hope for saving millions more lives,» said Elizabeth Gross. «Phill and I believe that creating opportunities for a more diverse community of cancer researchers will not only spur innovation and ingenuity, but it will help eradicate health disparities, build trust across these various communities and advance cancer care for everyone. It is our joy to assist in this important work alongside the American Cancer Society.»

To begin, 40 internships per year for 10 years will be granted under the «American Cancer Society/Gross Family Diversity in Research Internship» name.  

In addition, an advisory committee has been formed to focus on the implementation of the internship program and lead the development of new programs under the umbrella. New programs will  include additional targeted initiatives for underrepresented students, faculty and clinicians – all aimed at increasing the diversity of the workforce in cancer research and patient care.   

Anticipated concepts that could qualify for funding under the Diversity in Cancer Research Program umbrella include specialized institutional research grants for HBCU’s and other minority-serving institutions; physician scientist clinician grants made available to people whose racial or ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented in the scientific community; and career development assistance after completion of Diversity in Research internships.  

About the American Cancer Society 
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline, free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact, the Society is attacking cancer from every angle. For more information go to www.cancer.org 

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SOURCE American Cancer Society

Trade Ledger Raises £13.5 Million in Series A Funding

LONDON, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Trade Ledger, the global technology provider to the commercial banking and financial services industry, has raised a total of £13.5 million to complete its Series A funding round.

<img id="prnejpg5dffleft" title="Trade Ledger Logo" border="0" alt="Trade Ledger Logo" align="middle" imagelabel="General"…

LONDON, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Trade Ledger, the global technology provider to the commercial banking and financial services industry, has raised a total of £13.5 million to complete its Series A funding round.

Trade Ledger Logo

The equity round was led by Point72 Ventures, with strong participation from Foundation Capital, who led the debt tranche closed previously, Court Lorenzini, founder of DocuSign, Hambro Perks, and other existing investors.

Trade Ledger exists to enable lenders to provide credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by showing them at a glance the information they need to make good decisions. Its platform puts the customer experience at the heart of the process and expands credit distribution without increasing risk, unlocking a £1.2 trillion un-served segment of the £7 trillion global SME credit market. Trade Ledger brings together all the data that lenders need throughout the customer lifecycle, analyses that data, and automates key processes. Lenders can act faster with less risk and serve more businesses at greater profit. They can also move into new services such as embedded finance, including offering loans as part of the payment journey on websites selling to businesses. In the four years since it was founded, Trade Ledger has won global and regional banks and alt finance providers as customers. Revenues grew twelve-fold during 2020.

With the new funding, Trade Ledger will grow out its sales, marketing and customer delivery teams. Martin McCann, CEO of Trade Ledger, said: «This new investment will enable us to triple our customer base during 2021. Adoption of our technology is critical for the post-pandemic recapitalisation of the economy and we are driving growth as fast as our capital allows, to be able to support this critical economic need, particularly for SMEs. New digital solutions based on real-time business data are the only way to address it.»

Alex Tarhini, Operating Partner at Point72 Ventures, said: «We view Trade Ledger as part of an important wave of companies that are disrupting legacy financial technology and, in doing so, are moving the financial services industry forward. Trade Ledger’s data-driven lending capabilities coupled with their embeddable, flexible platform are bringing significant new opportunities to the business lending market, particularly the small and medium enterprises that are the engine of the global economy. Its customers already include the top global credit providers, and we believe it will continue to grow rapidly.»

George Davies, Partner at Hambro Perks, said: «We are delighted to continue to back Martin, Matthias, and the entire Trade Ledger team in their mission to build the leading technology to enable lenders across the world to provide funding to SMEs. Since our initial investment in 2019 the team has signed global blue-chip clients, built an outstanding team, and developed a market leading product. We are excited to continue to support Trade Ledger.»

Mr Tarhini will join the Trade Ledger board. He joins Court Lorenzini, founder of DocuSign, who joined as a non-executive director in 2020; George Davies, who joined as a non-executive director in 2019; and Trade Ledger founders Martin McCann and Matt Born. Angus Davis, partner at Foundation Capital, continues as a board observer.

About Trade Ledger

Trade Ledger was founded in 2016 to help the financial services sector reimagine complex business finance for SMEs and mid-market corporates in the digital economy.

The lending-as-a-service (LaaS) platform supports all secured and unsecured business lending products, transforming data sources from the supply chain into actionable insights and tasks. This enables the right lending products to be created and offered at the right time, over the right channel, quickly, at low risk. Its clients boost their profitability; realising on average a 60% origination cost reduction, a 50% reduction in dropouts and loan book growth potential of over 100% through embedded finance.

Backed by venture capitalists Point72 Ventures, Foundation Capital and Hambro Perks, and other notable investors such as Court Lorenzini (founder of DocuSign), Trade Ledger is currently scaling globally to accommodate a fast-growing client base of global trade banks, regional and national banks, and alternative finance providers. To date it has raised £16.6 million.

Trade Ledger was awarded LendTech Initiative of the Year 2020, Lending Platform of the Year 2019, and Startup of the Year 2019.

To find out more about Trade Ledger, see www.tradeledger.io

About Point72 Ventures

Point72 Ventures is a global venture capital firm led by a diverse set of domain experts with the capital to lead rounds through all stages of a company’s growth. The firm invests primarily in Fintech, AI/ML, Enterprise and Healthcare technologies. As an independent arm of Point72, the global asset management firm led by Steven A. Cohen, Point72 Ventures offers well-informed insights into the global economy. Point72 Ventures has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, California, and Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, visit their website at p72.vc.

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Firmenich Achieves Fourth CDP Top Score This Year, Setting the Pace in Environmental Leadership

GENEVA, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Firmenich, the world’s largest privately owned fragrance and taste company, today ranked on the CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard 2020, setting the pace in environmental leadership. The leaderboard highlights the top 7% of companies that engage with their global supply chains on climate reporting and managing carbon emissions via CDP. This is Firmenich’s fourth recognition from the gold standard in corporate environmental reporting this year, adding to the…

GENEVA, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Firmenich, the world’s largest privately owned fragrance and taste company, today ranked on the CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard 2020, setting the pace in environmental leadership. The leaderboard highlights the top 7% of companies that engage with their global supply chains on climate reporting and managing carbon emissions via CDP. This is Firmenich’s fourth recognition from the gold standard in corporate environmental reporting this year, adding to the Group’s third consecutive CDP Triple «A» score in climate, water, and forests management.

Firmenich Logo (PRNewsfoto/Firmenich)

«It is a great honor to be one of only ten companies in the world to be ranked by CDP on its Supplier Engagement Leaderboard and to achieve triple «A» status for climate change, water security, and forests,» said Gilbert Ghostine, CEO Firmenich. «This fourth top score marks world-class recognition of our environmental performance and illustrates how Firmenich’s sustainability leadership is well entrenched within our company and beyond, with a positive impact on our supply chain.»

«Companies’ emissions don’t end at the factory door. CDP data shows a company’s supply chain emissions are, on average, over 11.4 times greater than its direct emissions. Meaningful corporate climate action means engaging with suppliers to reduce emissions across the value chain,» said Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains, CDP. «We congratulate Firmenich for making it on to the CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. This demonstrates that they are setting the pace in environmental management and their commitment to reduce emissions and lower environmental risks across their supply chain.»  

«We were the first perfume and taste company to engage with our suppliers through CDP when we started disclosing our environmental performance more than 10 years ago,» said Neil McFarlane, Senior VP Quality, Health, Safety, Security & Environment, Firmenich. «As we power towards carbon neutrality in our direct operations by 2025, we are very proud of this achievement highlighting the incredible work done by our environmental and procurement teams, and hope it will inspire other companies to develop their own path towards zero impact.»

This is the Group’s third consecutive listing on CDP’s annual Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. CDP assessed more than 5,000 companies on their supply chain engagement strategies, with almost 400 (7%) companies earning a place on the Leaderboard. Discover the business case for supply chain action and how it improves competitiveness and resilience in CDP’s Transparency to Transformation: A Chain Reaction.

Learn more about Firmenich’s ambitious 2025 and 2030 ESG targets here.

The Group’s 2020 environmental initiatives and performance are detailed in its Performance and Sustainability Report 2020.

About Firmenich
Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 125 years. Firmenich is a leading business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors and ingredients. Renowned for its world-class research and creativity, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers superior innovation in formulation, a broad and high-quality palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies including biotechnology, encapsulation, olfactory science and taste modulation. Firmenich had an annual turnover of 3.9 billion Swiss Francs at end June 2020. More information about Firmenich is available at  www.firmenich.com

About CDP
CDP is a global non-profit that drives companies, cities and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$106 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Over 9,600 companies with over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2020. This is in addition to the hundreds of cities, states and regions who disclosed, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is a founding member of the We Mean Business coalition. http://www.cdp.net/en/cities or follow us @cdp to find out more.

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SOURCE Firmenich

REFORM Alliance Bolsters Leadership Team With Plans to Extend Legislative Winning Streak

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, REFORM Alliance announced that its Executive Board has appointed renowned criminal justice advocate Robert Rooks to serve as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and elevated founding CEO Van Jones to join the Executive Board. The changes will formally take place on March 1, 2021.

«Robert is a game-changing hire for our…

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, REFORM Alliance announced that its Executive Board has appointed renowned criminal justice advocate Robert Rooks to serve as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and elevated founding CEO Van Jones to join the Executive Board. The changes will formally take place on March 1, 2021.

«Robert is a game-changing hire for our organization,» REFORM co-chairs Meek Mill and Michael Rubin said. «He has a proven track record of changing laws and is universally-respected by leaders on both sides of the political spectrum. We’re incredibly grateful for Van’s leadership in laying the groundwork for REFORM and spearheading our first round of legislative victories. We’re thrilled for Van to join the Executive Board where he will continue to help build the organization

Most recently, Rooks served as the co-founder and CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ). There he partnered with governors, legislators, and community leaders to advance reforms that reduced over-incarceration and prioritized smarter safety investments for communities. Since launching ASJ in 2016, Rooks led the organization’s wide-ranging achievements, which include new policies in Illinois that reduced incarceration by over 30 percent, reforms that lowered California’s incarcerated population by more than 30,000 and reforms in states such as Florida, Michigan, Texas and Ohio which have reduced incarceration by more than 75,000 people and invested hundreds of millions in violence prevention and trauma recovery.

Robert also served on the Executive Committee of Florida’s Amendment 4 campaign that restored voting rights for more than 1.4 million Floridians with past convictions and was the Organizing Director for California’s Prop 47 campaign in 2014, one of the first ballot initiatives to enact sweeping justice reform. During his tenure, Rooks was instrumental in recruiting and developing a pipeline of staff leaders who have experienced the failings of our justice system. This has become a hallmark of the organization, and Rooks’ influence on building a leadership team that reflects the most-impacted communities will fuel ASJ’s continued growth and success. He will remain involved with ASJ as President Emeritus of its board of directors.

A longtime criminal justice reform advocate, Rooks also served as the first Criminal Justice Program Director for the NAACP, where he brought Right on Crime and NAACP leaders together for reform.

«I’m honored to lead REFORM into the next phase of growth,» Rooks said. «I have a tremendous amount of respect for the organization’s founding partners and know their commitment to criminal justice reform is truly unparalleled. I look forward to building on the foundation that Van established and helping drive meaningful legislative change that will positively impact the millions who are unjustly trapped in our country’s broken probation and parole system.»

Once Rooks transitions into his new role, Jones will formally shift to becoming a full-time member of the Executive Board. He will serve as the co-chair of the REFORM Action Fund – REFORM’s 501c4 entity – while continuing to support the organization’s advocacy, growth and communications opportunities. He will also continue to appear on CNN.

«With Robert Rooks as our CEO, the sky’s the limit for us at REFORM,» Jones said. «When we first launched two years ago, I set out to build a robust team, elevate REFORM from a start-up to a high-performance organization and generate major legislative wins. We’ve made incredible strides on all three fronts. But Rooks is going to put a rocket booster under everything we have done so far. He knows how to build, he knows how to lead and he knows how to win. I am very proud to join the REFORM board, where I will be supporting him and the whole REFORM team to take everything to the next level.»

During Jones’ tenure as CEO, REFORM successfully passed a series of bipartisan legislative wins in several states across the country, including AB 1950 in California, which is widely considered to be the most transformative probation reform bill in the United States and will decrease the state’s probation population by 33 percent, give 24,000+ life years back, and prevent 48,000+ prison admissions due to technical probation violations over the next five years.

Most recently in January 2021, REFORM successfully passed new laws in MichiganSB 1048, SB 1050 and SB 1051 – that will decrease overall probation caseloads by 8.4 percent, provide 12,500+ years of life back and save taxpayers $29.6 million that could be reinvested into evidence-based anti-recidivism programs that put people on a path to success.

REFORM also worked on HB 77 in Louisiana, which was the first bill in the country to create a remote reporting system for people on probation. It allowed people to report to their probation officer remotely rather than being forced to leave a job, struggle to find transportation or childcare to meet with an office in-person and risk the chance of a technical probation violation. Additionally, REFORM helped pass HB 643 in Louisiana to create a pathway to reduce supervision and fines/fees for people on felony parole.

Under Van’s leadership, REFORM’s revenue more than doubled from $9.3 million in 2019 to over $24 million in 2020. That increase enabled REFORM to develop an aggressive COVID-19 response plan to purchase and deliver over 12.5 million masks and PPE to every prison and jail in America to help ensure that the incarcerated population, correctional officers, healthcare workers and personnel working in state, federal and private facilities were protected from the virus.

Didier Morais, didier@berkcommunications.com

 

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SOURCE REFORM Alliance

Kiwi Energy Contributes to Hope for Haiti

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Kiwi Energy made its first contribution of 2021 to a non-profit organization working to reduce poverty in Haiti, <a target="_blank"…

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Kiwi Energy made its first contribution of 2021 to a non-profit organization working to reduce poverty in Haiti, Hope for Haiti, in its continued support of this organization. Kiwi Energy is a New York and Ohio energy supply company that has established a private fund, the Ecogold Environmental Fund, which allows them to support non-profit organizations working on different sustainability and/or environmental initiatives. A contribution is allocated to the fund each time a new customer joins Kiwi Energy.

Haiti has seen high levels of deforestation over the past couple of years. This can primarily be attributed to human activity and natural disasters (including hurricanes and earthquakes), and it poses a significant threat, not just to wildlife and the environment but to the people of Haiti as well. Fruit-bearing trees have started vanishing, which has lead to food insecurity, soil erosion, and a lack of biodiversity.

Hope for Haiti’s reforestation projects include a seasoned agriculture team who works in direct alignment with communities to organize school gardens, develop nurseries for fruit-bearing tree seedlings, and plant trees to support household development. Additionally, Hope for Haiti’s school gardens have become platforms for teaching students and parents about critical cultivation techniques and best planting practices to ensure successful crops.

Kiwi Energy’s contribution will support Hope for Haiti’s pilot program – Carbon Storage Committees. The focus of the program is to help develop community infrastructure, enhanced nutrition, gardening, and reforestation. The Carbon Storage Committee will educate students, parents, and community members on proper soil conservation to improve and reforest the community and is intended to increase community participation and knowledge of agriculture and improved agricultural techniques.

«Kiwi Energy is incredibly pleased to support Hope for Haiti in their Carbon Committees initiative. We believe that education and environmental awareness are critical in creating a more sustainable future for our planet. By cultivating trained and educated local leaders who are able to share their knowledge with the greater Haitian community, Hope for Haiti will help increase environmental education and refine agriculture techniques. We’re confident the program will have a positive impact for the Haitian community.» – Nichola Clark, VP Creative Director, Kiwi Energy.

About Kiwi Energy

Kiwi Energy is an energy retailer offering innovative energy solutions for electricity and natural gas. Please visit https://kiwienergy.us/ for more information.

About Hope for Haiti

With experience running poverty alleviation programs in Haiti since 1989, Hope for Haiti has emerged as one of the most trusted non-profit organizations working to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children, in southern Haiti. The organization’s team and network of partners provide people with better access to education, healthcare, water, and economic opportunities. Hope for Haiti is a 4-star rated charity by Charity Navigator and is a participant at the Platinum Level through the GuideStar Exchange, two leading independent evaluators recognizing the organization’s transparency and careful stewardship of donor resources. To learn more: www.hopeforhaiti.com

Media Contact
Nichola Clark
nikkiclark@rrhenergy.us

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SOURCE Kiwi Energy

One in Four Government Agencies Reported Accidental Cloud Data Leakage in 2020

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Netwrix, a cybersecurity vendor that makes data security easy, today announced government industry findings from its global 2021 Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report which found that detecting and resolving data…

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Netwrix, a cybersecurity vendor that makes data security easy, today announced government industry findings from its global 2021 Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report which found that detecting and resolving data leakage is a top security challenge for public sector organizations.

The survey found that in 2020, the most common incidents that government agencies experienced in the cloud were phishing (reported by 39% of organizations), accidental data leakage (24%) and targeted attacks on the infrastructure (22%). Data leakage was the hardest of the three to detect; 27% of organizations required days to flag it, while phishing and targeted attacks were spotted in hours or less by almost 100% of organizations. Resolving data leakage also took longer than other incidents, requiring days (32%), weeks (11%) or months (23%).

The top consequences of cloud breaches in the public sector were unplanned expenses to fix security gaps (28%), customer churn and/or loss of credibility (13%) and change in senior leadership (11%).

Most government agencies attribute their cloud security challenges to lack of IT/security staff (65%), employee negligence (59%) and lack of budget (53%). Indeed, only 24% of public organizations received extra budget for cybersecurity even though in our 2019 survey, 45% expected their budget to grow in 2020. On average, public sector organizations allocate only 14% of their cybersecurity budget to cloud security, which is the lowest result for any sector.

Other survey findings include:

  • Despite government initiatives encouraging cloud adoption and the recent increase in remote work, half of public sector organizations do not store any data in the cloud.
  • In response to the pandemic, 47% had to change their IT priorities but stick to their existing budget.
  • The top security measures government agencies are taking in response to cloud security challenges are auditing of user activity (65%), data classification (56%) and privilege attestation (53%).

«Cloud technologies may raise security concerns that make the public sector wary of leveraging the cloud to improve the services they provide. To adopt cloud technologies more confidently and with fewer risks, government agencies need solutions that deliver visibility into data, activity and risks across the cloud or hybrid environment. That way, these organizations will be able to quickly detect, prioritize and respond to threats across the IT estate,» said Ilia Sotnikov, VP of Product Management at Netwrix.

The 2021 Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report is based on feedback from 937 IT professionals worldwide who use private and public cloud services to store their data. To get the complete findings, please visit www.netwrix.com/2021_cloud_data_security_report.html.

About Netwrix

Netwrix makes data security easy, thereby simplifying how professionals can control sensitive, regulated and business-critical data, regardless of where it resides. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide rely on Netwrix solutions to secure sensitive data, realize the full business value of enterprise content, pass compliance audits with less effort and expense, and increase the productivity of IT teams and knowledge workers.

Founded in 2006, Netwrix has earned more than 150 industry awards and been named to both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.netwrix.com.

CONTACT:

Erin Jones
Avista PR for Netwrix
P: 704.664.2170
E: pr@netwrix.com

 

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SOURCE Netwrix

Marriott International Expects To More Than Double All-Inclusive Portfolio In An Agreement With Sunwing Travel Group

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced a significant planned expansion of its all-inclusive portfolio through a long-term agreement with Sunwing Travel Group’s hotel division, Blue Diamond Resorts, which has an extensive portfolio of resort properties throughout the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. The agreement is expected to propel…

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced a significant planned expansion of its all-inclusive portfolio through a long-term agreement with Sunwing Travel Group’s hotel division, Blue Diamond Resorts, which has an extensive portfolio of resort properties throughout the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. The agreement is expected to propel Marriott into the list of top 10 global all-inclusive players by adding 19 franchised resorts totaling nearly 7,000 rooms across six destinations and more than doubling the company’s presence in the all-inclusive segment to 33 properties by 2025. The majority of the properties are expected to be converted into Marriott’s Autograph Collection by mid 2021.

«We are thrilled to work with Sunwing Travel Group and expand into two new leisure destinations – St. Lucia and Antigua,» said Tony Capuano, Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services, Marriott International. «Blue Diamond’s expertise in the all-inclusive segment and high-quality resorts will help ensure that these properties serve as excellent additions to the Marriott portfolio. Today’s signing is a testament to Marriott International’s scale and loyalty platform, and we look forward to providing travelers seeking an all-inclusive experience with more choices in the Caribbean and Latin America

Marriott International launched its multi-brand all-inclusive portfolio platform in August 2019 and has 9 open hotels across Costa Rica, Barbados and Mexico with an additional 5 hotels in the pipeline in Mexico, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Brazil. With today’s agreement, another 19 are expected to join the portfolio. The platform will provide the company’s 145 million Marriott Bonvoy members the option to earn and redeem points for the convenient, pay-one-price concept.

«We are excited to enter into this agreement with Marriott International, and introduce Blue Diamond Resorts’ portfolio of hotels to their Autograph Collection brand,» said Stephen Hunter, CEO, Sunwing Travel Group. «Our luxurious, award-winning hotels will benefit from Marriott’s world-renowned reputation and esteemed travel program, all while bolstering our mission to bring unparalleled vacation experiences to customers.»

The following resorts are anticipated to convert to the Autograph Collection:

Mexico

  • 840-room Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa
  • 343-room Hideaway at Royalton Riviera Cancun
  • 566-room Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Cancun
  • 332-room Planet Hollywood Adults Scene Cancun
  • 457-room Royalton CHIC Suites Cancun Resort & Spa

Dominican Republic

  • 730-room Royalton Bavaro Resort & Spa
  • 320-room Royalton CHIC Punta Cana Resort & Spa
  • 525-room Royalton Splash Punta Cana Resort & Spa
  • 317-room Royalton Punta Cana Resort & Casino
  • 168-room Hideaway at Royalton Punta Cana

Jamaica

  • 352-room Royalton White Sands Montego Bay
  • 228-room Royalton Blue Waters Montego Bay
  • 140-room Hideaway at Royalton Negril
  • 407-room Royalton Negril Resort & Spa

St. Lucia

  • 290-room Royalton Saint Lucia Resort & Spa
  • 166-room Hideaway at Royalton Saint Lucia

Antigua 

  • 294-room Royalton Antigua Resort & Spa

Costa Rica

  • 294-room Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Costa Rica

Multi-Brand All-Inclusive Portfolio
Given growing demand for premium and luxury all-inclusive stays, Marriott International previously announced it would leverage eight of its 30 global iconic brands in the all-inclusive category: The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection, Marriott Hotels, Westin Hotels, W Hotels, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio and Delta Hotels by Marriott. Today’s agreement reflects the addition of 19 resorts into Marriott International’s Autograph Collection, a curated collection of remarkably independent hotels hand-selected for their inherent craft and distinct perspectives on design and hospitality. Guests will revel in an elevated all-inclusive leisure vacation experience with a unique design aesthetic, enriching programs and redesigned dynamic dining options, along with enhanced spa and wellness offerings.

Marriott Commitment to Clean Protocols
Hotels in the Marriott portfolio are following Marriott International’s Commitment to Clean protocols created together with leading experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention and hotel operations. These protocols include mandated mask-wearing for all associates within the hotel, and the use of electrostatic sprayers and disinfectants recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization to sanitize surfaces in the hotels. In addition, the company has modified its food and beverage operational practices creating a newly designed approach to buffets and in-room dining. Measures include but are not limited to contactless and low-touch service, digital menus, pre-plated mini buffet options and a hybrid buffet with elements of self-guided service around individually plated or packaged selections. 

Note on forward-looking statements: This press release contains «forward-looking statements» within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, including expected additions to Marriott’s system, hotel renovations and brand conversions, our growth pipeline, demand trends for certain product types and in certain markets, and similar statements concerning possible future events or expectations that are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous evolving risks and uncertainties that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including those we identify below and other risk factors that we identify in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Risks that could affect forward-looking statements in this press release include the duration and scope of COVID-19, including the location and extent of resurgences of the virus and the availability of effective treatments or vaccines; its short and longer-term impact on the demand for travel, transient and group business, and levels of consumer confidence; actions governments, businesses and individuals have taken or may take in response to the pandemic, including limiting or banning travel and/or in-person gatherings or imposing occupancy or other restrictions on lodging or other facilities; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to the pandemic on global and regional economies, travel, and economic activity, including the duration and magnitude of COVID-19’s impact on unemployment rates and consumer discretionary spending; the ability of our owners and franchisees to successfully navigate the impacts of COVID-19; the pace of recovery when the pandemic subsides or effective treatments or vaccines become available; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the effects of steps we and our property owners and franchisees take to reduce operating costs and/or enhance certain health and cleanliness protocols at our hotels; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships with clients and property owners; and the availability of capital to finance growth and refurbishment. Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release. We make these forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release and undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

IRPR#1

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,500 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 132 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy™, its highly-awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

About Sunwing Travel Group
The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing Travel Group is comprised of Sunwing Vacations and Vacation Express, two of the leading leisure tour operators in North America; Sunwing Airlines, Canada’s premier leisure airline; SunwingJets, a luxury private jet charter service; SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings, two leading travel retail businesses; NexusTours, a full-service destination management company; and Blue Diamond Resorts, the Group’s hotel management company, an innovative organization that operates popular resort brands across the Caribbean and Mexico. Since its inception in 2011, Blue Diamond Resorts has curated an impressive portfolio encompassing 45 properties, exceeding 15,000 rooms in ten countries, including the award-winning All-In Luxury® Royalton Luxury Resorts, adults-only brands Hideaway at Royalton and Royalton CHIC, Planet Hollywood Hotels and Resorts, and Mystique by Royalton. For more information on Sunwing Travel Group, please visit www.sunwingtravelgroup.com.

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

MEC Investments over $18 B Projected over Next Five Years According to Dell’Oro Group

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — According to a newly published forecast report by Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, networks, and data center IT industries, Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) investments over $18 B in Servers and Packet Core User Plane Functions are projected over the next five years. 5G service providers (SPs) need to be cultivating the emerging enterprise market.

«The…

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — According to a newly published forecast report by Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, networks, and data center IT industries, Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) investments over $18 B in Servers and Packet Core User Plane Functions are projected over the next five years. 5G service providers (SPs) need to be cultivating the emerging enterprise market.

«The five-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for MEC is expected to be 141 percent,» stated David Bolan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. «In 2020, we saw the first 5G Standalone network deployed with Public MEC and Private MEC at China Mobile. We expected more in 2020, but we are projecting a pick up in 2021 and 2022, albeit, at a slower pace than what we thought in our previous forecast.»

«The enterprise market opportunity for low-latency networks will greatly accelerate in the later years of the forecast. 5G SPs need to be cultivating the emerging opportunity or miss out on growing their revenues beyond mobile broadband,» commented Bolan. «Public Cloud SPs are expected to play a role in some fashion, and the extent of that role is dependent on the Public Cloud SPs meeting certain challenges,» added Bolan.

About the Report
Dell’Oro Group’s Multi-Access Edge Computing Advanced Research Report offers a complete overview of the market opportunity for the Infrastructure Edge to reduce latency. MEC is a new networking technology designed to capitalize on the opportunity. The market is segmented by Public MEC and Private MEC, and offers a worldwide view of the total available market in revenue and units.

The MEC Report includes Definition and Scope, Market Drivers, Use Cases, System Architecture, Vendor Ecosystem, US MEC System Deployment Model, and a 5-year MEC Revenues and Shipments Forecast for Servers and the packet core User Plane Functions.

To purchase this report, please contact us at dgsales@delloro.com.

About Dell’Oro Group
Dell’Oro Group is a market research firm that specializes in strategic competitive analysis in the telecommunications, networks, and data center IT markets.  Our firm provides in-depth quantitative data and qualitative analysis to facilitate critical, fact-based business decisions.  For more information, contact Dell’Oro Group at +1.650.622.9400 or visit www.delloro.com

 

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SOURCE Dell’Oro Group

Coupa Business Spend Index Reveals that Business Spend Sentiment is Gradually Improving for Third Consecutive Quarter

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP) published the findings from its Business Spend Index (BSI), Q1 2021 Outlook. The Coupa BSI analyzes billions of dollars of aggregated and anonymized business spend decisions across Coupa’s platform, often serving as an early indicator of macroeconomic health over the next three to six months. The Q1 Outlook shows that business spend sentiment is gradually improving (an increase of 2.9 percent), but is still below…

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Coupa Software (NASDAQ: COUP) published the findings from its Business Spend Index (BSI), Q1 2021 Outlook. The Coupa BSI analyzes billions of dollars of aggregated and anonymized business spend decisions across Coupa’s platform, often serving as an early indicator of macroeconomic health over the next three to six months. The Q1 Outlook shows that business spend sentiment is gradually improving (an increase of 2.9 percent), but is still below trend.

Specifically, the Coupa BSI Q1 2021 Outlook shows gradual improvement in business spend sentiment for the third consecutive quarter. This data suggests that the recovery of business spend sentiment is underway following the sharp decline noted in the Coupa BSI Q2 2020 Outlook that aligned to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, businesses remain cautious about the global economic outlook and all industry sectors, with the exception of high tech, remain below trend.

Data from the past quarter shows the following year-over-year changes in business spending:

  • 96 percent decrease in business spending on air travel
  • 25 percent decrease in business spending on office supplies
  • 11.5 percent increase in business spending on technology, including hardware, software, and services
  • 22.8 percent increase in contingent workforce spend
  • 12.3 percent increase in business spending for shipping and freight

«While the Coupa BSI Q1 2021 Outlook shows modest improvement overall, a return to trend is unlikely until the number of new COVID cases reported daily has been significantly reduced,» said Jeff Collins, chief economist at Coupa. «Although government action to combat the economic consequences of the pandemic has likely mitigated the depth of the downturn, we do not expect the U.S. economy to return to ‘normal’ levels of output or employment in the next three to six months.»

Spend Sentiment by Vertical Industry:

  • Financial Services: Although below trend for the last four quarters, the sector is improving bolstered by refinancing activity, stimulative fiscal policy, and continued accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. Improved spend sentiment for Financial Services implies the sector is expected to contribute more positively to U.S. GDP growth for the next three to six months.
  • Health and Life Sciences: Spend sentiment for Health and Life Sciences declined sharply from the previous quarter. The sector has been hard hit by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases and is expected to remain below trend for the next three to six months.
  • High Tech: Confidence in the tech sector, which has remained high throughout the pandemic, is now returning to trend. Companies in this sector are expected to benefit long-term from changes brought about by the pandemic and continue to contribute positively to U.S. GDP growth for the next three to six months.
  • Manufacturing: Spend sentiment for Manufacturing rebounded but is still well below the trend line. Demand is expected to increase as vaccinations and warmer weather reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on the sector.
  • Retail: The Retail sector continues to improve but is still below trend, as uncertainty caused by layoffs and business shutdowns persist. However, stimulus checks and low interest rates are expected to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in the months to come.

To view the Coupa BSI Q1 2021 Outlook in its entirety, visit www.spendindex.com.

Disclaimer: The findings of the BSI are not necessarily indicative of trends happening with Coupa’s business.

The Coupa BSI Methodology
The Coupa BSI is an early indicator of potential economic growth based on current business spending decisions of hundreds of U.S. companies. It analyzes billions of dollars of anonymized transactions from the Coupa BSM Platform, which has cumulatively processed over $2 trillion in business spend, to measure confidence around U.S. economic growth at an aggregate level, as well as an industry level within financial services, health and life sciences, high tech, manufacturing, and retail. The index is based on three key measurements related to business spend: (1) spend volume, (2) average time to approve spend decisions, and (3) average rate of spend approval/rejection.

The Coupa BSI is normalized to a baseline value of 100, which represents the weighted composite value of the three components in the baseline reference period (July 2016). The weighting methodology is periodically updated based on recalibration of the model. This was most recently done for Q4 2020.

About Coupa Software
Coupa empowers companies around the world with the visibility and control they need to spend smarter and safer. To learn more about how Coupa can help you spend smarter, visit www.coupa.com. Read more on the Coupa Blog or follow @Coupa on Twitter.

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SOURCE Coupa Software