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. 

According to senior financial services professionals polled by valuation and corporate finance advisor, Duff & Phelps, financial regulation has done little to improve stability in the financial services market. The survey of nearly 200 professionals commissioned by Duff & Phelps demonstrates that 35% of respondents – believe recent regulation has had little or no impact on financial stability, with 17% stating that regulation has actually made the financial services world less stable.  

Kinetic Partners, now the Compliance and Regulatory Consulting Division of Duff & Phelps, has been publishing the Global Regulatory Outlook report since 2012. The fifth annual Global Regulatory Outlook report also revealed that, a decade on from the financial crisis of 2007/8, just 10% of senior executives surveyed say they believe changes to regulation have fully addressed the risk of a future crash.

55% of respondents agree that the risk has been partly addressed by new regulations – but 33% don’t believe the regulatory framework has adequately created safeguards to prevent a future crisis. With President Trump committed to reviewing Dodd-Frank and the future regulatory framework of the London market uncertain due to Brexit, financial regulation may be about shift once more for banks and fund managers.

Julian Korek, Global Head of Compliance and Regulatory Consulting at Duff & Phelps, comments on the findings:

“More needs to be done to build stability in financial services and ensure the system is resilient in future, for both banks and the alternative investment industry. Even now, a decade on, most people in the financial services sector are not confident that the risks that caused the crisis have really been managed. The major regulatory bodies have been very clear about future areas of focus and concern, but the fact that so many still think there is potential for another crash is worrying – even without Trump or Brexit potentially taking the market down a quite different regulatory path.”

Despite these challenges, the survey revealed that the industry believes financial regulation is having a positive effect on the investment community – only 6% believe financial regulation has reduced investor confidence, whilst 42% believe regulations have helped cement investor confidence.

However, only 23% of the executives surveyed believe that regulators have created effective global regulatory frameworks, although 57% do believe that regulators are better at collaborating and coordinating across borders.

Effective cross-broader collaboration will be essential for fund managers in particular post-Brexit, especially for those based in non-EU jurisdictions looking to be assessed as equivalent under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The European Commission is currently reviewing recommendations issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority on the application of the (AIFMD) marketing passport for non-EU markets, meaning the future of the financial passport is still unclear.

As such, the 2017 Global Regulatory Outlook report shows most firms (62%) agree that Brexit will have an impact on their compliance arrangements, though it is not clear whether this will be felt in the short or long term. More than a third (35%) believe that Brexit will have a short term impact on compliance arrangements, whilst a quarter (27%) expect the impact to be felt in over 18 months.

The Italian region of Puglia has granted FINCONS GROUP approval to invest in a ‘smart manufacturing’ project. It is to be run from its smart-shore delivery center, providing services to clients across Europe. The region has granted access financing available exclusively to businesses that propose highly innovative projects.

Partnering with the region, the Group will invest in R&D of ICT solutions for the sustainable manufacturing industry in Europe. The products will be developed in Fincons’ Bari offices and will leverage Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in order to respond to the increasing demands of the manufacturing market and to help manufacturers become ‘Smart Factories’ through the adoption of digital solutions. 

The project, led by Fincons Group’s Innovation Team also calls on the Manufacturing Business Unit to innovate once again its ICT system integration and development solutions specifically designed for the manufacturing sector. Key objective is to develop a new “Fincons Smart Manufacturing Platform”. This platform package will include innovative products and practices combined with integration, software customisation and consulting services. IoT technologies will help increase productivity and improve integration of different supply chain phases thanks to the collection, analysis and transmission of data on production lines. Fincons Group is already trialling this model of smart manufacturing via its InnovationLab in partnership with other businesses, universities, and research institutes in Europe.

“The partnership with the region of Puglia and the opportunity to invest in innovation – comments Michele Moretti, Fincons Group CEO – allows us to strengthen our position and role as innovators throughout the digital transformation journey, trademark of our organisation. The Bari Delivery Center, that is a smart-shore hub for IT service for our European clients, represents a key asset in our internationalisation strategy. More and more European businesses are selecting us as provider of choice on the basis of our ability to innovate and long-sighted approach towards continuous investments in order to offer the market solutions that really stand out from the crowd.”

eVestment continues its successful European expansion strategies, headed by Gabriel Gilarranz a new Vice President of Business Development in the company’s London office.   

“Bringing seasoned business development executives like Gabriel to our team is an important step in continuing our European and international growth,” said Christophe Frerebeau, eVestment’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. “Gabriel’s experience and contacts in the financial services and data industries will be crucial to our continued growth in this region of the world.”

Gilarranz will initially focus on asset managers in the United Kingdom and brings a wealth of financial industry experience to eVestment. Most recently, he served as sales director with Thomson Reuters, where he worked since 2012. He’s also held sales executive positions with IHS Markit, Bloomberg and Banco Santander covering clients in Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

“I’m excited to join eVestment and help the company grow even more in the United Kingdom and Europe,” said Gilarranz. “Asset managers, pensions, insurance companies, institutional investment consultants and others in the industry are increasingly embracing eVestment solutions to understand key metrics and trends in the global institutional investment world and make smarter decisions. I look forward to exposing more firms to our company’s solutions.”

eVestment has been ranked as one of the fastest growing fintech firms in its home country of the United States, appearing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of fastest growing companies in the United States for 10 consecutive years.

In addition to being among the top global institutional investment fintech companies, eVestment is also a globally recognized top workplace. Great Place to Work® and Fortune magazine have ranked eVestment the No. 15 mid-sized company overall to work for in the United States and the No. 5 mid-sized technology company to work for in the country. eVestment has also ranked as a top employer in the United Kingdom, earning a silver accreditation from the UK’s Investors in People organization.

Mahindra Comviva, the global provider of mobility solutions, today announced the launch of  MobiLytix^TM Customer Engagement for Digital Payments . This solution is meant to drive higher level of customer engagement in the realm of digital payments. MobiLytix^TM Customer Engagement for Digital Payments, which is a world-class marketing engagement automation platform for digital payments, revives existing mobile money life cycle that leads to topline, as well as bottom-line growth.      

MobiLytix^TM Customer Engagement for Digital Payments takes a data centric and analytics approach to search for new opportunities at each and every stage of the mobile money lifecycle. The aim is to drive higher levels of usage and retention, through highly contextual offers and promotions that are embedded with a deeper understanding of customer’s behavior and wants. It serves to put the right enablers in place for onboarding more subscribers and building a bigger mobile ecosystem by encouraging more usage of mobile money, developing subscriber, as well as agent engagement level, creating long term relationship with subscribers and thus improving customer stickiness.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Amit Sanyal, Business Head, Consumer Value Solutions at Mahindra Comviva said, “Increasing mobile money usage remains an important challenge, with the global customer active rate standing at a measly 32.6%. The key to reducing the chasm between mobile money registration and the actual usage is personal and timely communication to decrease uninstall rate and increasing retention rates in the long term. Our new offering defines mobile money service as a set of experiences, through timely, relevant and contextual messaging, and thus reinforces the need for a development approach that emphasizes customer needs and experience, helping in driving usage and retention in the long term.”

Mahindra Comviva’s Customer Value Solutions has over 40 deployments in 25 countries across the globe and empowers over 250 million customers. Its MobiLytix^TM Suite provides marketers with data-driven marketing tool that helps them to deliver highly contextual marketing across multiple channels and on any device. Using MobiLytix^TM suite marketers can acquire, analyze, and apply information about customer context to orchestrate personalized, real-time interactions to drive revenue performance and gain competitive advantage. It delivers 800 million digital marketing messages per day and provides over 60% accuracy for churn prediction.