YUKKA Lab, the FinTech startup for Augmented Language Intelligence and context-based sentiment analysis for the financial industry, launches their News & Trend Lab. The News & Trend Lab is a web based application that offers an organized and efficient real-time overview of topics and trends in financial news. 

Maybank expects the number of its online banking transactions to increase to 6.4 billion in 2018, aided by the new and reimagined Maybank2u website which will be launched to the public on 19th April.

Rival Systems (Rival), an award-winning provider of trading and risk management software, today announced the availability of Value-at-Risk (VaR) within its Rival Risk platform. By enabling users to calculate VaR, Rival adds yet another enhancement to its long list of risk features, creating one of the most comprehensive, all-in-one tools in the risk management space.

“Our team is always innovating and providing unique software solutions for a better, more thorough client experience,” said Robert D’Arco, CEO at Rival. “ImplementingVaR into Rival Risk is a perfect example. The ability for users to calculate VaR for all of their accounts at any point in the day by simply clicking a button will save risk managers time and provide valuable insights to better analyze their firm’s exposure.”

Rival Risk’s VaR calculation utilizes Monte Carlo simulation, the most advanced and accurate way to calculate VAR, generating thousands of possible future market scenarios to determine the risk of loss in a set timeframe and confidence level. Rival’s Monte Carlo simulation is able to calculate VaR for an account in seconds and provides a unique view into the calculation with graphical displays of the distribution and statistical output.  The simulation runs on the entire portfolio at once, so it captures non-linear interactions among positions in correlated products.

Rival Risk launched in 2015 and is the first real-time, fully hosted HTML5-based risk platform to bring enterprise risk management capabilities across trading platforms and clearing firms. To learn more about Rival’s comprehensive suite of integrated products for all financial technology needs, including multi-asset trading and algorithmic strategy development alongside enterprise risk management, please visit RivalSystems.com. 

Gunvor Group, one of the largest physical commodities trading companies in the world, announces its support of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the global standard for improving transparency of revenues from natural resources.

"Gunvor's support for the EITI reflects our commitment as a trading house to uphold progressive policies and practices in the oil and gas sector," said Torbjörn Törnqvist, CEO of Gunvor Group. "As one of the largest physical energy trading companies in the world, we recognize we have a role in promoting transparency and accountability. The EITI will help us accomplish this in a commercially responsible manner."

Gunvor becomes the second company focused exclusively as a commodities trading house to express support for the EITI, and will join around 60 oil, gas and mining companies that support the organization from the extractive industries.

The disclosure of the payments to governments for oil sales aims to reduce the risk of corruption and improve the accountability of state-owned enterprises that sell oil and gas on behalf of the government. Gunvor trades with more than 100 countries, a number of which are EITI members.

The EITI was established in June 2003 as a global coalition of governments, companies and civil society organizations working together to improve openness and accountability in management of revenues from natural resources. It has a Standard for the governance of the mining and oil production industries.

Gunvor's support for the EITI includes a new policy that will establish the voluntary disclosure of information that aligns with EITI principles and transparency requirements. This includes information about its first purchases from national oil companies for crude oil and petroleum products, including gas, among other relevant tax and license information. The EITI is an evolving Standard. Gunvor expects that its disclosure will change over time in line with the EITI and stakeholder consultation. The information will be published in Gunvor's annual Group Sustainability Report.

nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, today announced that it is collaborating with VASCO, a global leader in digital solutions including identity, security and business productivity, to integrate the eSignLive™ electronic signature solution into its Bank Operating System.

“By incorporating new levels of automation into our product through key integrations like eSignLive, financial institutions can quickly increase loan volume and remove unnecessary manual work from their processes,” said Trisha Price, EVP of product development and engineering at nCino. “The added benefit of allowing customers to securely sign documents anywhere, at any time and on any device, is a huge advantage to the financial institutions that use our platform.”

In addition to streamlining and digitizing the entire lending and account opening process, together eSignLive and nCino:

•           Support the creation of an e-signature transaction seamlessly within the Bank Operating System;

•           Increase organizational efficiency and customer satisfaction by speeding up transaction processing and completion time; and

•           Enable compliance with the most stringent global security standards.

"After implementing nCino, we saw an immediate, positive impact on our business,” said Benjamin Miller, commercial portfolio analyst at Wright-Patt Credit Union, a $4-billion institution based in Ohio. “The new efficiency gains allowed our commercial lending team to take on additional volume and larger loans. The eSignLive integration further improved our processes because we were able to leverage what was already populated in nCino, but also send documents electronically. Our members are really excited to have this functionality, and anything that improves their experience helps us build stronger relationships.”

“Banks and credit unions are under constant pressure to increase revenue while delivering efficiencies and meeting client expectations for a modern service experience,” said Scott Clements, CEO at VASCO. “Integrations like that of eSignLive and nCino not only offer a frictionless customer experience but also increase a financial institution’s loan capacity, helping drive revenue as a result of increased efficiency and coherence both on the front-and back-end.”

Intellectsoft, global software development company with a focus on the latest tech, will co-host "Blockchain: Rethink Trust 2018" - a new, enterprise-grade conference on blockchain engineering that is a part of By the Bay event series, well-known in the Silicon Valley. The event will take place in Amsterdam at the historic venue Beurs van Berlage on Friday, June 29.

The conference will challenge the traditional understanding of blockchain and corporate world, gathering top engineers, C-level executives, and blockchain enthusiasts. The event will cover topics like integration and adoption of blockchain across key industries, properties of blockchain protocols, distributed systems in Big Data, and have coding workshops on building Hyperledger and blockchain solutions.

"Blockchain: Rethink Trust 2018" will be keynoted by executive leaders from IBM and ING and feature top tech talent from around the world in Internet of Things (IoT), energy, fintech, and other industries. The conference's attendees will share their experiences of the best ways to monetize blockchain, discuss regulatory trends, and facilitate strategic partnerships for consortium private blockchain development.

The event is led by Intellectsoft Blockchain Lab, consulting and development unit that offers access to a wide pool of engineering, cryptography, and cybersecurity talent in Eastern Europe.

The Nordic IT services and software company Tieto today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire NSEC AB, a Swedish security services company employing about 30 security professionals. The acquisition further adds to Tieto’s growing portfolio of security services. Headquartered in Stockholm, NSEC AB brings Tieto further capabilities in managed security operations, security consulting, as well as product resell and deployment services. These strengthen Tieto’s position as a leading Nordic best of suite security services provider.

In a world digitalizing rapidly, cybersecurity is becoming more and more important. While enabling more flexible business models and their faster implementation, digitalization requires that the trust between the players – be they partners, customers or consumers – is undisputed.

With the acquisition of NSEC AB, Tieto Security Services further increases its capabilities to help its customers to securely unleash their digitalization potential. One of the key elements is a 100% Swedish Security Operations Center, a key element for many public sector customers, available now to all Tieto customers.

“We are a leading Nordic managed cybersecurity services partner, with the aim of making our customers’ digital world simple by building and operating an agile and transparent cybersecurity environment suited for their particular industries,” says Markus Melin, Head of Security Services, Tieto. “With highly experienced and passionate security specialists, NSEC is a trusted partner with solid customer relationships in the private and public sectors in Sweden. Them becoming a part of Tieto Security Services expands Tieto’s security offering and services portfolio in Sweden.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for all of us: NSEC, Tieto, and all our customers. Increasing awareness of security as a business enabler, the rapidly changing threat landscape and new data protection regulations mean that a cybersecurity provider needs to continuously strive to stay ahead of the demand,” says Kent Magnusson, CEO, NSEC. "With NSEC, Tieto will integrate an organization dedicated to, and specialized in cybersecurity since 1999. NSEC is proud to distinguish itself as a leader in the Swedish cybersecurity market. Tieto and NSEC complement each other in a unique way, providing our customers the perfect mix of global scale and local expertise.”

NSEC AB is well regarded as a focused security player in the Swedish security market. The acquisition is one step in Tieto’s strategy to build and strengthen its position in the Nordic market, and in the Swedish market especially. NSEC AB provides Tieto key leverage on the security market in Sweden.

ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini told an audience of more than 350 at the company's annual IT Nation Europe conference in London that ConnectWise Unite is now available to technology teams across the globe. Unite is a cloud management solution that gives technology teams the ability to manage, monitor and bill a broad range of cloud-based solutions through a single pane of glass and in their own currency.

"Technology teams typically take advantage of a broad range of cloud solutions to meet their customers' unique needs. What we've done with ConnectWise Unite is give our partners the ability to access these disparate solutions from a single pane of glass and greatly simplify the complexity that comes from dealing with the growing number of solutions they use," Bellini said.

He explained that connecting the ecosystem seamlessly within Unite enables teams to more effectively and profitably deliver managed services to their clients, all while driving recurring revenues.

"We believe in a completely open ecosystem that offers technology teams choices in how they meet the unique needs of their customers, so we understand that teams need a tool to help them efficiently manage all their solutions. ConnectWise Unite does just this and returns to our partners the time they need to focus on providing their customers with great support and growing their businesses," Bellini said.

ConnectWise Unite integrations today include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Meraki, Cisco Spark, Cisco Stealthwatch Cloud, Cisco Umbrella, Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Office 365. Additional vendor solutions will be added based on partner needs and feedback.    

Advanced Security Dashboard

Bellini told audience members the company is preparing to launch the ConnectWise Advanced Security Dashboard, giving technology teams the ability to monitor a client's multiple security solutions from a single pane of glass. The Dashboard will incorporate endpoint security, network security, edge and application security, and testing and reporting.

He said ConnectWise has teamed once again with Cisco and will launch the Advanced Security Dashboard with many of Cisco's security solutions, including Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Endpoints, Cisco Advanced Security Appliances (ASA) and Cisco Next Generation Firewall (NGFW).

The ConnectWise Advanced Security Dashboard will be piloted in May for a select group of Cisco partners. Its launch is slated for September.  

International Growth

Bellini also touted the success ConnectWise is experiencing outside of the United States and told IT Nation Europe attendees about plans to beef up the company's presence in Australia and increase its presence in South Africa.

"Today, ConnectWise solutions are used by more 22,000 businesses in over 70 countries, and international revenue grew by 23 percent last year," he said. "The reception we've received outside the United States has been phenomenal, and we're doubling down on our commitment to ensuring technology teams across the globe have access to our award-winning solutions, stellar support team and amazing community."

Bellini reported that ConnectWise has experienced more than a 37 percent increase in the number of partners in Australia during the last two years, and that Australia and New Zealand all together accounted for almost 7.4 percent of ConnectWise's revenue in 2017. To ensure it can continue to meet the needs of its partners in this part of the world, ConnectWise opened a new office in Sydney, Australia, this month and is increasing the number of colleagues dedicated to the Australia and New Zealand market. The new office overlooks Darling Harbour and allows partners to receive on-site product training, education and face-to-face time with their account managers.

ConnectWise also is expanding its outreach to South Africa, where it already has a several dozen partners. The company is looking to double that number over the next year and has hired a team to support this effort, according to Gregg Lalle, Vice President of International Sales and Strategy for ConnectWise.

"Over the past several years, we stepped up our commitment to Europe and APAC, and we're proud of our impact there. When ConnectWise is successful, our partners have been successful, and that's what we strive for each and every day," said Lalle. "ConnectWise has wanted to expand into South Africa for some time now and we're thrilled to begin this push. We're applying the learnings from our previous international efforts to ensure we can increase the efficiency and productivity of companies based in South Africa as quickly as possible."

IT Nation Europe 2018, the largest European conference of its kind, provides three days of collaboration, networking and educational content for technology team members. To learn more about IT Nation Europe, visit the ConnectWise IT Nation Europe website. 

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Ant Financial Services Group today signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to explore ways to contribute to economic development in rural areas and the reduction of rural poverty in China and other developing countries.  

IFAD, a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries, and Ant Financial, a leading technology company which provides digital inclusive financial services, share a common vision to develop rural areas and improve the living standards of rural people.

Charlotte Salford, IFAD’s Associate Vice President, External Relations and Governance Department, and Peng Bo, General Manager, Ant Financial Rural Finance Department signed the declaration.

“Partnerships with private sector entities, like Ant Financial, are vital to reach our objective of eradicating rural poverty,” said Salford. “Using our complementary expertise, together we can improve the lives and livelihoods of rural people.”

“We are pleased to be partnering with IFAD. By combining Ant Financial's commitment to promoting digital inclusive finance and IFAD's vision of every rural family living in dignity, we hope to leverage the power of technology and innovation to improve rural people's livelihoods, ” said Bo.

Areas of proposed collaboration include improving market access for rural producers through e-commerce platforms and value-chain financing for promising rural agribusinesses. 

Since 1981, IFAD has supported 29 rural development projects in China, investing over US$862 million and reaching approximately 4.4 million rural households. IFAD-supported projects focus on enhancing income opportunities through improving rural people’s access to markets, strengthening value chains and promoting more inclusive financial services.