Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, today launched seven new solutions, and two new features for the international markets at the Mobile World Congress. The launches range from serverless computing, data analytics, global networking, high performance storage, and enterprise database that let customers easily and reliably derive actionable business insight to thrive in the age of intelligent business. These new services are part of the technology backbone underpinning Alibaba Group’s various business units including retail, fin-tech, logistics, media and entertainment, and digital branding and marketing. With these new capabilities, global customers can take advantage of the proven, scalable, and secure technologies and accelerate business growth.

Nowadays, global enterprises and internet startups alike need to quickly derive insights from data and make intelligent business decisions in timely manner. They typically face challenges managing and analysing data at massive scale and processing real-time streaming data. To solve these for the customers, Alibaba Cloud launched Realtime Compute that can easily process millions of events/sec and support real-time decision making, such as for fraud detection, social analytics, and QoS monitoring of Telco networks. To help customers manage and analyse large corps of data, Alibaba Cloud introduced the improved DataWorks and MaxCompute 2.0 that can handle processing 100PB/day. For customers who want to explore unstructured, heterogeneous data sets on-demand, Data Lake Analytics allows them to easily query petabytes of data in serverless fashion with standard SQL and only pay for the amount of data scanned.

“Businesses around the world are increasingly relying on data intelligence to drive innovation, digitalise operations, and delight customers,” said Henry Zhang, Senior Staff Product Manager of Alibaba Cloud International. “We work with customers from many industries along this digital transformation journey. We are keen to turn our proven in-house technology into broadly applicable services and pass the benefits on to customers globally so they can quickly build applications on top, such as for 5G, edge computing, and IOT, and shorten the time-to-market.”

In addition to new products for data analytics, Alibaba Cloud also introduced a number of powerful infrastructure enhancements to support intelligent businesses at a global scale. Customers can now deploy enterprise-grade database applications on ApsaraDB for MariaDB TX and take advantage of SQL Server Enterprise Always On to deploy enterprise level high availability and disaster recovery plans. Customers developing file based High Performance Computing workloads such as autonomous driving and scientific discovery can now use Cloud Parallel File System for first-class concurrency and bandwidth. Finally, Elastic Container Instance allows customers to easily run containers without the hassle of managing servers and clusters; and Global Connection Solution help businesses easily deploy a reliable, low latency global network to support their international business operations.

“We believe in a virtuous cycle of building world-class infrastructure, deploying intelligent applications on that architecture, and using real-time analytics to make data-driven decisions,” said Yeming Wang, General Manager, Alibaba Cloud EMEA. “In addition, we offer robust cross-border solutions for enterprises and ecosystem partners who are looking to expand globally and into the rapidly growing Asian markets. These proven and compliant solutions are already used by Alibaba Group and we hope our customers can leverage our expertise to create more differentiated value for their end-customers.”

These solutions and services have already generated positive results for customers in China and are now becoming available to more international customers.

Various national government initiatives, mandating E-Invoicing and realtime tax controls, pose a big challenge for many corporates within their future digitization strategy. However, innovative technologies such as blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) are at the ready to provide completely new perspectives for the whole E-Invoicing sector.

From May 13 to 15, 2019 the E-Invoicing Exchange Summit Miami once again brings together experts, thought leaders and professionals in E-Invoicing, Purchase-to-Pay (P2P), E-Procurement, Supply Chain Finance and AR/AP. A special highlight is the presentation of Dra. Margarita Ríos-Farjat, the recently appointed head of the Tax Administration Service (SAT), describing Mexico’s E-Invoicing journey so far and Mexico’s future E-Invoicing strategy.

On Monday May 13, the pre-conference day, all delegates are invited to join a dedicated seminar run by OpenPEPPOL on “Invoicing with PEPPOL - From a European Start to Global Reach” and the meeting by the Business Payments Coalition E-Invoice Work Group, in which the U.S. requirements for an E-Invoice Interoperability Framework will be discussed. Furthermore, participants can also attend the deep dive workshop “Blockchain for Corporations” held by Enrico Camerinelli, Senior Analyst, Aite Group (USA).

During the two main conference days of the E-Invoicing Exchange Summit Miami the great variety of presentations, user case studies, round-tables and panel discussions ensure everyone’s needs and challenges will be met. In two tracks the participants get an update among other things on the U.S. E-Invoicing standardization, the design for a global interoperability framework, on technology trends such as RPA and AI as well as on legal identity solutions. In addition, the attendees of the E-Invoicing Exchange Summit Miami are going to learn how to successfully handle real-time E-Invoicing compliance and discover how blockchain technology impacts P2P and Supply Chain Finance. For further information, visit www.exchange-summit.com/miami 

Style Analytics, the provider of factor-based analysis software for investment professionals, announces the opening of new offices in Paris and Shanghai.  

The Paris office will be run by Zenja Sabah Randjelovic who joins as Sales Director for Continental Europe. Zenja has over 20 years in selling financial software solutions. Zenja will be based in the new office located at 6 rue Duret, 75116 Paris and will focus on extending the Style Analytics footprint throughout Continental Europe. 

Additionally, the Shanghai office located at JinMao Building, 88 Century Avenue, Pudong, Shanghai, will be run by Nicole Wang, Business Development Manager, who has relocated from our London office to Shanghai. Nicole’s combined bilingual and product expertise are essential to grow the Style Analytics footprint as well as supporting our growing number of clients in Asia. Jamie Sparks, Managing Director, Asia Pacific will continue to lead the growth plans for the region. 

Sebastien Roussotte, CEO of Style Analytics, comments, “We have seen a surge in interest in our platform as institutions are increasingly using factor approaches to support their communication about the drivers of their performance and we are pleased to announce that we have won 25 new clients in the past twelve months. We are now concentrating on expanding geographically and I am delighted to have made these two significant appointments in key regions for our future growth.” 

Style Analytics’ products and services are designed to help institutional investors and investment managers determine which factor exposures are impacting portfolio risk and performance.  The growth in uptake can be seen in the amount of recent client acquisitions, which include 15 in North America, 3 in the Asia Pacific region, and 7 in Europe. 

The combination makes CACEIS a leading asset service provider in the Netherlands and allows KAS BANK to export its expertise in servicing institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies to all the European markets CACEIS is currently servicing. CACEIS’ pan-European ambition is therefore confirmed, with a reinforced position in the Netherlands, a major country in Europe for financial activities, that will serve its clients’ international development strategy. The acquisition is expected to create value through substantial potential synergies.

 KAS BANK, a leading specialist in the field of custody and administration services for institutional investors and financial institutions in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, and CACEIS, a European leader in asset servicing and one of the major players worldwide, jointly announce that they have reached conditional agreement on a recommended public offer (the "Offer") to be made by CACEIS for all issued and outstanding ordinary securities in the capital of KAS BANK (the "Securities") for EUR 12.75 in cash per security (the "Offer Price"), representing a total consideration of EUR 188 million, subject to the terms and conditions to be set out in the offer memorandum. The offer memorandum is expected to be submitted to the AFM in the second quarter of 2019.

In connection with the announcement of the Offer, KAS BANK today, in a separate press release, also published its annual results over 2018 (full year).

Sikko van Katwijk, Chairman of the Managing Board of KAS BANK said: “Founded in 1806, KAS BANK has developed from a ‘kassiersbedrijf’ to a leading Dutch administration bank. The agreement we reached today marks the start of a new era for all of us. Teaming up with CACEIS increases our competitive strength and enhances our investment and innovation power in a market where scale is an increasingly important factor. Our Dutch, German and UK clients will benefit from the critical size with more than EUR 2.8 trillion assets under custody, the solid capital position and the extended product range this combination will bring. Our staff will benefit from this improved positioning as well as from enhanced career opportunities within the combination. Our conversations with CACEIS have strengthened our belief that a combination of CACEIS and KAS BANK puts our organisation in trusted hands. The Supervisory Board and the Managing Board of KAS BANK believe that a combination of KAS BANK and CACEIS is beneficial for KAS BANK and all of its stakeholders.”

Jean François Abadie, CEO of CACEIS: “With the announcement today, we significantly upgrade our position in the Dutch market. In addition, CACEIS will further strengthen its expertise in servicing institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, in order to distribute these services on a global basis. The combination is anticipated to create value for our shareholders and will broaden and deepen our offering in Europe. We are convinced that the Offer is in the interests of both companies’ stakeholders.

The Offer is in line with the investment criteria of the Crédit Agricole S.A. group with, in particular, an attractive return on investment. The prudential impact is negligible at group level.”

Strategic rationale
The Dutch market for asset servicing is attractive due to its asset volume, complexity and high pension savings to GDP ratio. The market is known for its pension funds, private equity and real estate funds among others, resulting in a significant size. KAS BANK is a local champion, with an expertise in servicing institutional investors. For KAS BANK’s business, being part of a large and well capitalised player, revenues are expected to grow while costs synergies will lead to increased profitability.

Both parties believe that the Combination will lead to an enhanced positioning of CACEIS as service provider to European institutional investors. The extensive knowledge and expertise of CACEIS with respect to additional services will be available to Dutch investors such as private equity funds, real estate companies and other professional investors. The unparalleled strength of CACEIS’ parent company, Crédit Agricole, will offer a solid financial position, business continuity and support business development, evolving KAS BANK into CACEIS' Dutch branch.   

Bittium exhibits its advanced R&D services and technology expertise at Embedded World, on February 26-28, 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany. Strong competence in wireless devices, network infrastructure, internet of things and information security enable us to create next generation’s products and solutions. We can help at every stage, from technology consulting and concept strategy, through to turnkey product and service development. Standards-based quality management systems combined with transparent and agile way of working ensures design quality and customer satisfaction.

”We believe the Embedded World exhibition is an excellent opportunity to showcase our offering to our local customers. We opened a new branch office in Munich last fall, and it was the first step in supporting and developing our business operations in Central-Europe. Our goal is to significantly increase sales in this area”, says Klaus Mäntysaari, Senior Vice President, Bittium Connectivity Solutions. “Central-Europe is an important market for us, and we want to focus on being closer to our customers.”

Products and services presented at the event:

• R&D and Design Services: Bittium provides professional design services and technology expertise in the areas of wireless devices, network infrastructure, and IoT solutions. Bittium specializes in the development of power optimized, small form-factor wireless devices capable of supporting both cellular and complimentary wireless technologies. An extensive experience in advanced radio communication technologies, information security, wireless devices and multi-national projects across the globe has created a reputation as a trusted design partner in the development of secure IoT development prototypes, proof-of-concepts, products, and solutions.
• Information Security Solutions: Bittium SafeMove® Solutions enable the utilization of all IP based applications and networks by securing the connections between the work station and corporate services before Windows logon. SafeMove® delivers highly secure and seamless connectivity to mobile workers regardless of time, place or network. SafeMove® Analytics tool continuously gathers connectivity data such as connectivity status, speed, throughput and bytes transferred, network type and Wi-Fi network information. In addition, the new security features of the software can immediately report possible security deviations in the mobile devices used by employees. This makes it possible to react to cyber threats without delays, e.g. by blocking the device which reported the deviation from the corporate network during the investigation. SafeMove® product portfolio has been designed for outstanding performance even in the most challenging network conditions. It is widely used in demanding environments, such as public safety, healthcare, utilities and defense forces.

Winners in the 13th annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, recognized as the world's top customer service awards and sales awards, were unveiled on Friday night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, NV, attended by more than 650 executives from around the world.

The complete list of Stevie Winners by category as well as photos of the awards ceremony are available at https://stevieawards.com/sales/2019-stevie®-award-winners.

Nine British companies were named as Stevie Award winners. Deliveroo of London was one the two top UK winner with three Stevie Award wins. They received the Gold Stevie for Customer Service Department of the Year - All Other Industries and a Silver Stevie for Best Use of Technology in Customer Service - Other Service Industries. They won a Bronze Stevie for e-Commerce Customer Service Award - Other Service Industries.

Shepherds Friendly Society of Cheadle, Cheshire, also won three Stevie Awards. They won the Gold Stevie Award for Innovation in Customer Service - Financial Services Industries and the Silver Stevie for Customer Service Success - Financial Service Industries. They won a Bronze Stevie for Collaboration Solution – New.

Active Digital of Lamberhurst, Kent, won the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Success - Technology Industries.

Customer Thermometer of Witney, Oxfordshire, won the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Software - Up to 100 Employees.

Darlings of Chelsea of London won the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Success - All Other Industries.

Confirmit of London won the Gold Stevie Award for Business Intelligence Solution – New Version.

Winners in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, as determined by more than 76,000 public votes, which were announced on February 12, were also presented at the event.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream and are available to watch online.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business award shows including the prestigious International Business Awards® and The American Business Awards®.

More than 2,700 nominations from organizations in 45 nations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 150 professionals worldwide, in seven specialized judging committees. Entries were considered in 93 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 60 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

Nearly two thirds of technology, media and telecommunication (TMT) businesses (62%) say that Making Tax Digital is a good idea but that they need more support with their plans ahead of the deadline of April 1^st 2019 for VAT, according to new research from KPMG.

Making Tax Digital is a key part of the government’s plans to make it easier and more effective for individuals and businesses to get their tax right and keep on top of their affairs.  

From 1st April 2019, most VAT-registered businesses above the threshold of £85k will have to keep digital records and submit VAT returns using compatible software (a small percentage of businesses with more complex needs are deferred to October 1st 2019). After a soft-landing period of a year, a further requirement for digital links throughout the VAT return process, or a digital audit trail, will be required until the deadline of 31 March 2020.

As part of the research, 228 TMT businesses were asked what described their attitude to Making Tax Digital and the 2019 deadline to comply with the new VAT legislation. The results showed that:

• Almost two thirds (62%) said that it is a good idea but that they need more support
• Almost a fifth (19%) said that it offers their business no benefit
• 15% were supportive and ready for the deadline
• 4% said that it would be damaging to their business

Ian West, head of TMT at KPMG UK, said: “With just over a month to go until the deadline, it’s worrying to see that almost two thirds of businesses say that they need more support and are still in the process of working out what they need to do. This could potentially be both costly and time-consuming, depending on the changes that need to be made.

“Although 98% of VAT registered businesses already file VAT returns electronically, Making Tax Digital will involve significant changes to their existing processes. For example, keeping digital records, maintaining a digital audit trail of all business transactions, and implementing new software to submit their VAT returns digitally.”

Inmarsat, the world leader in global mobile satellite communications services, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Microsoft, which will enable Inmarsat’s customers to transfer data collected through their Industrial IoT solutions to the Microsoft Azure IoT Central platform. 

Under the agreement, Microsoft Azure customers will also be able to access Inmarsat’s global satellite communications network, enabling them to connect their IoT infrastructure to cloud-based applications via the world’s most reliable mobile connectivity network. 

The collaboration will initially focus on the delivery of Industrial IoT-based solutions to the agriculture, mining, transportation and logistics sectors, supporting digitalisation and visibility across the global supply chain. Customers will gain access to a variety of tools that will help connect anything to anything, bringing together assets in the physical world with applications in the digital world, no matter how remote the location. 

Commenting on the relationship with Microsoft, Tara MacLachlan, Inmarsat’s VP of Industrial IoT Strategy, said: “This collaboration with Microsoft Azure is central to our Industrial IoT strategy and will enable our customers to access the data generated and processed by our intelligent edge IoT solutions, regardless of where their infrastructure is located. Analysing this data and using it to optimise operations is where the fundamental value of IoT resides, and the applications that Microsoft can deliver through Azure and IoT cloud solutions will be critical to delivering this value to our customers.”

Paul Gudonis, President of Inmarsat Enterprise, added: “Our relationship with Microsoft Azure will provide customers with the reliable global connectivity and cloud services they need to take advantage of the Internet of Things wherever they are. Industrial IoT solutions have the potential to bring transparency and intelligence to the global supply chain and by partnering with Microsoft we are making it easier and faster than ever for businesses from all sectors to exploit the technology and achieve competitive advantage.” 

Sam George, Director, Azure IoT said, “Microsoft Azure is being built as the world’s computer; extending the reach of our cloud through IoT and intelligent edge services. Our goal is to enable customers to take advantage of connected IoT solutions no matter where they are in their journey. With Inmarsat, customers across industries from agriculture to mining and logistics sectors, will benefit from the power of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge with global satellite connectivity in the most remote parts of the globe.”  

Inmarsat is a leading provider of mobile satellite connectivity for Industrial IoT deployments across the global supply chain. It has a proven and unrivalled track record of operating the world’s most reliable commercial mobile satellite networks, sustaining business critical applications for 40 years. Its award-winning services are enabling end-to-end transparency across the production, extraction, manufacture and multi-modal transportation of goods. Inmarsat owns and operates the world’s most reliable L-band satellite network offering 99.9% availability suitable for critical IoT applications, rugged and energy efficient terminals, and low latency data transmission.  It is the ideal connectivity solution for enabling monitoring and automation applications in remote and hostile environments.