Coupa Software is a major provider of cloud-based spend management solutions, today announced it has been recognized by Gartner, Inc. as a Vendor to Watch in a report titled “Market Opportunity Map: Enterprise Resource Planning, Worldwide.” Coupa was one of only five vendors named as a mega-vendor and emerging Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) provider.

Coupa complements ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Great Plains, and others to provide organizations with the measurable value. A natively integrated spend management suite that can integrate easily to ERP systems, Coupa delivers a unified user and supplier experience. The platform connects business processes across areas such as sourcing, contract management, invoicing and spend analytics to deliver quantifiable results.

“We transform the value that organizations get, in part, by enhancing their return on their ERP investment,” said Raja Hammoud, vice president of product management and product marketing at Coupa. “We see our inclusion in this report as recognition of our cloud platform’s ability to extend core ERP financials.”

ClearScore is the UK leading credit-checking service, today welcomed The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, to officially open its new London headquarters.

The new 8,500 sq ft facility in Vauxhall, has opened to accommodate ClearScore’s rapid growth. Around 4 million people in Britain now use ClearScore to stay on top of their money and thousands of people are joining the free service every day. ClearScore plans to create 200 new jobs over the next three years at the site, adding to the 100 people the company already employ.

Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture, noted, “ClearScore is a great example of the young companies driving forward our booming digital economy, which is already worth more than £118bn a year and growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy. Since launching in 2015, ClearScore has already helped more than 4 million people get control of their money and has also created more than 100 jobs. Their innovation, dedication and determination leaves them well placed to be the UK’s next cutting edge FinTech success story.” 

ClearScore, was last week named in the Future Fifty – an exclusive group of the UK’s hottest start-ups judged to have the potential to scale rapidly and build significant businesses. Alumni companies that are now household names include Ao.com, SkyScanner, Just Eat and Zoopla. 

In 2015, ClearScore launched the UK’s first ever service giving everyone completely free access to their credit report and credit score as often as they like, together with a guarantee that the service will remain free for life. ClearScore is helping drive financial inclusion and also provides tools to help people improve their financial situation. For example, earlier this month it launched ClearScore Coaching - the first bot-based programme in the world to help Brits improve their credit worthiness and ability to get the best financial deals available.

Justin Basini CEO and co-founder, said, “We’re already giving more than 4m people practical steps they can take to make a real positive impact on their personal finances. This is just the beginning of our ambition – this year we will be launching a host of new innovative services to help people sort their money. That means recruiting even more talent and our new London HQ gives us the capacity to do this.”

HMRC’s ‘Making Tax Digital’ (MTD) moves closer gaining its momentum. In light of this issue, IRIS warns accountants they must act now to close the digital gap pestering UK small businesses.

The initial deadline for MTD compliance remains April 2018 and there is work to be done throughout the industry to ensure businesses are prepared, regardless of their attitudes towards digital transformation. 

This comes on the day IRIS Software announces the launch of two new digital products to support accountants on their MTD journey; KashFlow for Accountants and IRIS WebPortal.

The former enables accountants to provide a branded, online bookkeeping bureau service which facilitates MTD compliance, sustainable for both clients at the forefront of digital adoption, or those still working with paper receipts, physical account books or spreadsheets.

Sion Lewis, CEO of IRIS Accountancy Solutions, says, “Small businesses find themselves at different stages of the digital journey. Many accountancy firms work with a diverse selection of clients – some have embraced digital as early adopters while some may never have even heard of MTD before. However, regardless of where they stand currently, by April 2018 the majority of small businesses and sole traders need to comply to the new digital tax regulations. This is why we’re releasing the KashFlow for Accountants package, to offer accountants the tools needed to manage their clients’ books and offer invaluable business advisory services, regardless of how digitally advanced their systems are.”

The package includes four key elements:

·         KashFlow - an online bookkeeping and payroll solution for accountancy firms and their small business clients; 

·         KashFlow Rapidfire - a platform for accountants with ‘batch-entry’ digital record keeping for paper-based clients

·         KashFlow Connect - to manage multiple clients from a single platform

·         Gearshift - to provide forecasting, analysis and reporting for business advisory services.

Sion Lewis, CEO of IRIS Accountancy Solutions, says, “With this capability, accountants can position themselves at the forefront of the digital tax revolution as indispensable advisors to their clients. They can take complete ownership for online bookkeeping and ensuring they avoid the pitfalls of failing to comply with government legislation.”

It isn’t just small businesses embarking on a digital journey, and IRIS WebPortal supports accountants on their road to MTD by providing a web-based platform to showcase and enable the digital services they can offer prospective clients.

Sion Lewis, CEO of IRIS Accountancy Solutions, says,, “In the connected age, websites are the digital shopfront for businesses in every sector. Showcasing a strong online presence has never been more important and enables clients to judge whether a firm is qualified to manage MTD compliance on their behalf. A poor digital representation could be the difference between continued business growth and failing to attract and retain clients. This is why IRIS WebPortal offers tailored websites, optimised for use on mobile devices and complying with the latest changes to Google Rankings to ensure strong SEO at all times.

“Uniquely for accountants, IRIS WebPortal features an  integrated Client Area providing access to KashFlow for bookkeeping and IRIS OpenSpace for document exchange between the practice and their clients. This fully branded portal creates a seamless digital journey for the accountant’s clients.

“IRIS has an unrivalled track record in delivering industry leading software that ensures full legislative compliance, empowers practice productivity and facilitates online client collaboration for the accountancy profession and MTD is no exception. These launches are yet another step on the journey towards MTD and one which will simplify what could be a very complex path over the next year.” 

SETL is the London based financial blockchain specialist. Today it has announced the opening of their Paris branch to develop its Eurozone activities. Pierre Davoust, formerly Deputy Head of the Financial Markets Unit at the French Treasury, who is appointed CEO France at SETL, will lead the new office. 

SETL was launched in July 2015 to deploy a multi-asset, multi-currency institutional payment, and settlements infrastructure based on blockchain technology. The SETL system will enable market participants to move cash and assets directly between each other, facilitating the immediate and final settlement of market transactions. The SETL system maintains a permissioned, distributed ledger of ownership and transaction records, simplifying the process of matching, settlement, custody, registration, and transaction reporting.

By opening an office in Paris, SETL intends to bring the benefit of its blockchain infrastructure to the French market and the wider Eurozone. The move will improve SETL’s capacity to deal with any future regulatory or other changes in the EU financial markets.

Pierre Davoust, CEO France, stated: “Paris is a large financial center, with a particularly strong asset management community. So it is a logical step for SETL to develop a local presence in Paris as we aim to put end-users of financial markets, such as issuers and investors, at the center of our strategy.”

He added: “France has a rich technological and regulatory ecosystem, with a high-level IT and cryptography community, and ongoing reforms in the field of securities law, which is a very well suited environment for the development of a best-in-class blockchain infrastructure”.

Peter Randall, CEO of SETL, stated: "We are delighted to open an office in Paris and to welcome Pierre Davoust into the SETL team. Having put sterling on to the blockchain, this latest development demonstrates that SETL wants to bring the benefit of its infrastructure to the Eurozone.”

A charity event that helps homeless people in Grantham has inspired Lincolnshire IT specialist Datcom to establish a fundraising challenge during 2017. The company, with offices in Grantham and Lincoln, has nominated Grantham Passage as its charity of the year, with the aim of raising as much money as possible.

Datcom Account Manager Andy Maddison, who has volunteered for the charity along with his wife Esther for six years, said: “Grantham Passage does really important work. Not only does it provide regular hot meals, but it also supports people who may be going through a difficult time.

“In one of its locations, a former storage building has been completely renovated to provide showers, washing machines and computers.”

The charity, which is a working partnership between several churches in Grantham, attracts around 10,000 visits per year, and volunteers serve up a similar number of meals. Between 70 and 100 regulars appear each day needing help and Datcom is hoping to provide funds that can cover running costs, meals and clothes for those in need.

Grantham Passage Trustee Mike Monoghan said: “In Grantham we have lots of people who are sofa surfing. This means that although they might not technically be homeless, they experience short periods of having no shelter or fixed address, often staying with friends. With this kind of arrangement comes a lot of stress and potential strains on mental health. As well as food and clothing, Grantham Passage offers pastoral support for those who request it, so people can come and talk to our volunteers about their problems with confidence.”

Andrew Townsend, Managing Director at Datcom, said: “When it came to thinking of a charity of the year to support, Grantham Passage immediately came to mind. Andy often tells us of the work he is involved with outside of the office and it’s inspired a few staff to start planning fundraising activities already. We’re hoping to raise more than £2,000 through the year to help the charity continue its vital work.”

Workday, Inc. is a leader in providing enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. Today the company announced that BP has selected Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), including Workday Time Tracking, to replace its on-premise legacy HR system as part of a company-wide HR modernization programme.

BP, one of the world's leading integrated oil and gas companies, provides customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants to keep engines moving, and the petrochemicals products used to make everyday items as diverse as paints, clothes, and packaging. Employing 79,800 staff in more than 70 countries, BP has embarked on an ambitious programme to modernise its HR function and deliver first-class, efficient, and engaging HR services to all employees.

With Workday, BP plans to:

• Standardize business processes globally to increase efficiency, speed of delivery, and consistency of experience.
• Increase employee engagement with easy access to a mobile, consumer-grade technology experience where staff can find information and perform tasks anywhere, at any time.
• Equip business leaders with instant, actionable people insights to drive better and faster decisions.
• Enable seamless execution of end-to-end processes and remove administrative burden for HR staff to focus on strategic business initiatives.
• Benefit from an agile and scalable technology platform that delivers continuous innovation, enabling the company to rapidly adjust to changing requirements and business growth.

"We are pleased to work with Workday," said Richard Bye, vice president, Global HR Services, BP. "As we deploy Workday's leading cloud-based applications we will be able to deliver the simplicity and consumer-grade employee experience that BP needs to compete and grow in the modern world."

"Global market leaders like BP continue to turn to Workday in order to drive a first-class HR experience," said Chano Fernandez, president, EMEA and APJ, Workday. "BP joins a large and growing community of customers who trust Workday to deliver the technology innovation and employee insights leaders need to continually engage their people and propel future growth."

HID Global®, a global provider of trusted identity solutions, today reported that Infineon Technologies AG became a new partner supplying the chips for its ultra-thin Polycarbonate (PC) ePrelaminate inlay for electronic ID (e-ID) cards. 

The inlays are more than 30 percent thinner than alternatives enabling space for added security features. The solution uses patented HID DBond™ technology, which is available for high frequency (HF) systems. The ultra-thin Polycarbonate ePrelaminate was introduced by HID Global in August 2015.  

Infineon is HID Global’s second qualified partner supplying ID chips for this product. Headquartered near Munich, Germany, Infineon has been one of the world’s largest suppliers of innovative chip technologies and solutions to the security document industry during the past 25 years.

HID Global’s new inlay takes advantage of its proven process of directly bonding chips to wire-embedded air-coil antennae for low-frequency animal ID and automotive applications, without the bulk of added modules. The company has successfully leveraged its HID DBond™ technology for HF applications, enabling manufacturers to develop the smallest HF formats available in the market while delivering uncompromised performance. By using this method in its new ultra-thin inlays, HID Global is providing the technology to deliver smart cards with a durable and reliable connection between the card’s intelligence – the microcontroller chip – and its antennae.

“HID Global is committed to providing global smart card manufacturers with solutions to expand the range of products they can offer their customers,” said Rob Haslam, vice president of Government ID Solutions for HID Global. “We are also proud to add Infineon Technologies as a semiconductor provider to our portfolio of reliable, quality partners assuring the highest quality inlay is available for secure, long-lasting smart cards for government ID applications and programs.”

In addition, the thinner inlay offers e-ID and smart card manufacturers more flexibility in card construction. The reduced dimensions of HID Global’s ultra-thin inlays – 200 microns instead of the typical 350 microns – provide manufacturers with room to add more security features on both sides of an e-ID card during construction, while still complying with international ISO thickness standards.

SIGFOX Foundation announces today at Mobile World Congress 2017, a 6-month experiment for a new rhinoceros tracking system. Involved in the conservation of the endangered species, the Sigfox Foundation is partnering with three of the largest international organizations committed to rhino’s conservation.

The first phase of the experiment, called "Now Rhinos Speak", took place from July 2016 to February 2017, on a conservation area protecting 450 wild rhinoceroses in Southern Africa.

The operations, jointly carried out by the Sigfox Foundation and Lowveld Rhino Trust, first deployed the infrastructure to enable Sigfox’s Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) network across the nature reserve in just four days. Three Sigfox antennas and base stations have been deployed, now covering the area. Christophe Fourtet, co-founder and scientific director of Sigfox, has been personally involved in the field operation, with the help of four volunteer technicians.

The Sigfox Foundation, closely partnering with the conservationists of Lowveld Rhino Trust, have also prototyped a GPS tracker. Implanted in the horn of 10 black and white rhinos, this prototype is now securely sending 3 GPS signals per day via the Sigfox network, on a dedicated secured platform also developed internally by Sigfox Foundation. EUTELSAT has provided pro bono satellite connectivity.

The battery life of the prototype low-powered sensor is estimated between 1 and 3 years.

Raoul du Toit, Director of Lowveld Rhino Trust said: “Sigfox devices allow automated downloading of GPS positions at specified intervals without the need for constant human effort, unlike VHF radio tracking that requires a person to listen to a radio signal, and a directional antenna to follow physically the signal and determine the position of the rhinoceros”.

“By only transmitting a few GPS positions every day, we drastically simplify the tracking and monitoring of endangered wildlife. We now give a voice to rhinoceroses, everyday, wherever they are. It is a big hope to better understand endangered species, so to protect them", added Marion Moreau, head of the Sigfox Foundation.

Fiserv, Inc. is the world’s leading supplier of financial services technology solutions. It has announced today that Brazosport Teachers Federal Credit Union, partnered with Fiserv, to increase efficiency and provide members with an innovative digital experience.   

Brazosport Teachers will further these goals by converting to the Portico^® core account processing platform with integrated digital and mobile banking solutions from Fiserv.

“Our credit union is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2017. As we prepared for this milestone we thoroughly evaluated the capacity of our current technology to deliver the level of service our members will expect moving forward,” said Donna Butterfras, CEO, Brazosport Teachers Federal Credit Union. “Based on our review of multiple technology providers, Fiserv showed the greatest level of innovation and demonstrated expertise with a hosted technology model. Moving to Fiserv will allow us to streamline our technology management and provide new services for our members.”

The integrated software-as-a-service (SaaS) suite selected by Brazosport Teachers includes Virtual Branch^® for online banking with enhanced bill pay, Mobiliti™ for mobile banking, Mobile Source Capture™ for mobile deposits, Loancierge^® for lending automation, Wisdom™ for accounting and call report management, and solutions for credit and debit processing, statements and web signatures.

“Our technology partnership with Brazosport Teachers will help lay the foundation of an enriched member experience, while providing an efficient operational environment for the credit union,” said Ryon Packer, senior vice president, Products, Credit Union Solutions, Fiserv. “The integrated SaaS Portico suite will support the credit union’s growth strategy and enable the services members need today and in the future.”

Brazosport Teachers was established in 1947, and has more than $40 million in assets and 4,200 members. The credit union serves employees and family members of Brazosport Independent School District, Angleton Independent School District, and Brazosport College, all based in the Houston area. The conversion to Portico with enhanced digital and mobile functionality will enable Brazosport Teachers to grow and deliver additional value to members.

Fiserv is the U.S. market leader in account processing services, and more than one-third of U.S. financial institutions rely on Fiserv for account processing solutions and expertise. Portico is built on a service-oriented, open architecture framework, which enables credit unions to integrate solutions from Fiserv and other vendors with greater ease and speed.

In a world that is moving faster than ever before, Fiserv helps clients deliver solutions that are in step with the way people live and work today – financial services at the speed of life.