Venture Capital In China: Local Currency
Investing in China is nothing new for U.S. venture capital firms, but recently these have firms begun raising local-currency funds to make it easier to invest in homegrown start-ups.
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Investors like DCM are turning to Chinese yuan funds to invest in industries that might otherwise be off limits, like media and financial services companies, and to cut through some of the red tape that investing via foreign-currency denominated funds in China entails.
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Read the full story on the WSJ Blog.
Frost & Sullivan Reports NA Location Based Carrier Services $1.58 Billion in 2015
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan 2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services (LBS) Market – The Wireless Carrier Opportunity, finds that the wireless carrier-generated segment of the North American consumer LBS market amounted to on-deck application software revenues of approximately $718 million in 2009 and forecasts this to reach $1.58 billion in 2015.
Read the full press release here.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – July 20, 2010 -
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com), 2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services (LBS) Market – The Wireless Carrier Opportunity, finds that the wireless carrier-generated segment of the North American consumer LBS market amounted to on-deck application software revenues of approximately $718 million in 2009 and forecasts this to reach $1.58 billion in 2015.
If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Jake Wengroff, Corporate Communications, at jake.wengroff@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.
Wireless carriers must become more creative and aggressive in leveraging their unique assets if they want to successfully carve out and keep a significant portion of this sector’s potential revenue. Powerful technology and greater customer awareness are driving the consumer LBS market and providing even more opportunities for carriers to partner with top-tier application developers and create, launch, and promote new LBS solutions.
“In tandem with smartphone advances, carriers are making their networks and locationing capability more accessible to LBS application developers,” says Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Jeanine Sterling. “Partnerships with location aggregators, open application programming interface (API) platforms, and simpler, quicker certification reviews make it easier for LBS developers to stake a claim to the market.”
However, new monetization models and higher channel fragmentation encourage smartphone users, in particular, to bypass wireless carriers and download LBS solutions directly from the phone’s application store. The majority of location-based applications available through smartphone storefronts are free or available for a one-time fee. In such an environment, carriers will have to strategize cleverly to justify their monthly subscription model. They will also have to find ways to appeal to a smartphone user population that is quickly growing in terms of size and demands.
Wireless carriers have to bring a strong marketing sensibility to the consumer LBS sector. Their gatekeeper role and control over products and partners have disappeared in the smartphone sector and has been weakened with feature phone users. Carriers need to decide where they can compete successfully in this sector.
“Some LBS solutions – such as the kid finder services – are just an automatic and perfect fit. Other applications and capabilities may not be as obvious. To thrive in this market, carriers have to be real marketers – monitoring customer needs, identifying product voids, working with creative partners, and publicizing the distinct benefits that carriers bring to today’s mobile user,” advises Sterling.2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services (LBS) Market – The Wireless Carrier OpportunityAbout Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan
, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company’s Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO’s Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com. is part of the Mobile & Wireless Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: U.S. Mobile Advertising and Search Markets, North American Consumer Mobile Communications Outlook, U.S. On-Deck Premium Mobile Content Markets, and An Insight into the U.S. Mobile Video Content Services Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. The consumer location-based services (LBS) sector has experienced tremendous change during the past eighteen months, forcing North American wireless carriers to cope with a vastly different competitive landscape. Carrier dominance in the North American consumer LBS sector, which was carefully developed during the past decade, is now being directly assaulted by smartphone application storefronts and free off-deck solutions.
State of Florida Selects Upp Technology’s IRMS for Statewide Pharmaceutical Management
DOWNERS GROVE IL & TALLAHASSEE, FL – UPP Technology, a leader in emergency preparedness and response solutions, announced Tuesday that the state of Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Statewide Pharmaceutical Services has selected the IRMS 360 Enterprise solution suite in a hosted environment to manage the state’s pharmaceutical inventory. Software selected from the suite includes IRMS EM Emergency Management, IRMS WM Warehouse Management and IRMS BI Business Intelligence to provide the BSPS with real-time visibility, enhanced accuracy and increased productivity.
New Missile Facility Increases North Alabama’s Position In Defense
Gov. Bob Riley has successfully recruited the aerospace company, Raytheon, to build a new missile production facility in Huntsville that will create 300 new jobs.
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Production for the SM-3 is expected to increase substantially over the next 10 years, and according to Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, the SM-3 will be the centerpiece of the nation’s new missile defense strategy.
Read more: The Auburn Plainsman – Missile Facility Creates 300 New Jobs in Alabama
New Missile Facility Increases North Alabama’s Position In Defense
Gov. Bob Riley has successfully recruited the aerospace company, Raytheon, to build a new missile production facility in Huntsville that will create 300 new jobs.
…
Production for the SM-3 is expected to increase substantially over the next 10 years, and according to Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, the SM-3 will be the centerpiece of the nation’s new missile defense strategy.
Read more: The Auburn Plainsman – Missile Facility Creates 300 New Jobs in Alabama
New Missile Facility Brings North Alabama Closer To Ground Zero In National Defense
Gov. Bob Riley has successfully recruited the aerospace company, Raytheon, to build a new missile production facility in Huntsville that will create 300 new jobs.
…
Production for the SM-3 is expected to increase substantially over the next 10 years, and according to Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president, the SM-3 will be the centerpiece of the nation’s new missile defense strategy.
Read more: The Auburn Plainsman – Missile Facility Creates 300 New Jobs in Alabama
Goverment entities finally start working together to promote wireless medical technology
According to a story in “The Hill“, a Washington D.C. based blog, the FCC and the FDA are joining forces to promote the use of wireless technology within the health care arena. According to the article “FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg signed a memorandum of understanding and released a joint statement of principles …”
All I can say is that it is great to see that two large government agencies coming together to agree upon an understanding and agree to some principles. What that understanding might be and those principles are, we are not really sure at this time. However, we expect the content to be about as relevant as anything else that comes out of the FCC and the FDA.
Coming Soon to a Screen near You: PGi Reinvents Collaboration with iMeet
ATLANTA, Jul 22, 2010 — As any business person who spends a lot of time on conference calls knows, remote meetings can be frustrating and inefficient. Amid the chorus of “Who joined? … Did someone just join? … Are we all here?” participants struggle to make conference calls productive in their increasingly packed schedules.
Premiere Global Services, Inc., a global meetings expert, today announced that it is inviting members of the public to participate in an expanded beta test of iMeet, its proprietary new meeting application designed to take the pain out of getting together online.
Technology visionary Boland T. Jones, PGi founder, chairman and CEO, had a simple mission: Make meetings more enjoyable, and in turn, make them more productive.
“With iMeet, we started from scratch — with a blank slate and a radically ambitious goal of changing the way companies do business by improving the way they meet and collaborate,” said Jones. “We painstakingly designed every step of the iMeet experience to alleviate users’ common frustrations with their remote, virtual meetings. The result is that iMeet gives people a more natural and intuitive way to connect that maximizes engagement, minimizes distractions and promotes productivity.”
iMeet gives users their own personal meeting room online, where they can get together any time, whether one-to-one or in a group setting. iMeet has a refreshingly simple and elegant design and a visually rich interface that enables everyone to see who is in the meeting.
“iMeet puts people, not technology, front-and-center. It delivers a unique, personal experience that we think will result in better, more enjoyable and more impactful meetings,” said Jones.
Designed by real people for real people, iMeet advocates personal choice: Users get their own web address and a meeting room they can personalize; they can use their webcam or profile photo, or choose between talking on their telephone or through their computer’s connection; users can share photos, bios and contact information so others can get to know them better, and easily show and share videos and documents; and they can connect with one another in today’s most popular social networks without ever leaving their iMeet room.
Having combined the best parts of video, web conferencing and social networking, iMeet is tailor-made for today’s collaborative worker that spends nearly 20 percent of their average day in meetings. iMeet is a browser-based application that requires no downloads, making it easy for any business or individual to use. It is the first application to be deployed on PGi’s next-generation collaboration platform.
Individuals interested in participating in the expanded iMeet beta can sign-up for consideration at www.imeet.com.
About Premiere Global Services, Inc. a”e PGi
The world collaborates with PGi. Our advanced meeting, conferencing and collaboration solutions energize people and organizations to connect more meaningfully and work together more productively. Our customers include more than 50,000 companies and nearly 90% of the Fortune 500. Every month, 12 million people around the world use PGi’s advanced solutions and next-generation platform to meet, work and collaborate. PGi is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with operations in 24 countries worldwide. You can learn more at www.pgi.com.
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management’s current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.’s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes; the development of alternatives to our services; general domestic and international economic, business or political conditions; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions or a prolonged recession, including customer consolidations, restructuring, bankruptcies or payment defaults; market acceptance of our new services and enhancements; our ability to complete acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired operations; concerns regarding the security of sending information over the Internet and public networks; our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; service interruptions; continued weakness in our legacy broadcast fax business; our dependence on telecommunications supply agreements; increased financial leverage; our dependence on our subsidiaries for cash flow; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; assessments of income, sales and other taxes for which we have not accrued; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; our ability to protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights; possible adverse results of pending or future litigation or infringement claims; federal, state or international legislative or regulatory changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers; risks associated with international operations and fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in and the successful execution of restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE: PGi
Hands On: Windows Phone 7 Preview
The past few months of buzz in the news covering the mobile space has been centered around Android, the iPhone 4, Foursquare and the future of Nokia and Motorola. However, developers and handset manufacturers have been quitely watching the advancements in MeeGo and waiting for the release of Windows Phone 7.
Android and the Apple ecosystem are certainly going to be market leaders, but what will we see from Microsoft’s release of their new mobile operating system. Those closest to the release say that Microsoft is planning a game changer that will (relatively) seamlessly extend your regular desktop to your phone and back again.
PCMag has a great in-depth preview of the new operating system in their article Hands On: Windows Phone 7 Technical Preview.
First Data Report Shows Banks Missing Opportunities With Debit Cards
A new report by First Data, a global technology and payments processing leader based in Atlanta, reveals banks missing major debit card opportunities.
The report is based on interviews with 34 across 10 mature and emerging markets including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. It suggests that need to apply many of the elements of their credit card programs to debit cards, such as reward programs and additional segmenting.
Click here to download the full report Worldwide Opportunities for Debit.
Press Release:
First Data Study Reveals Banks Missing Out on Major Opportunity to Improve Profitability of Their Debit Programs
Opportunities Can Be Found by Applying “Credit” Strategies to Debit Programs; Fraud and Increased Regulation Seen as Threats to Growth;
Innovation Greatest in Emerging Markets
ATLANTA, July 15, 2010 – Banks must apply more energy and innovation to developing their debit programs, to make debit usage a more valuable proposition for themselves and their cardholders, according to a multinational study released today by First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing.
‘Worldwide Opportunities for Debit’ is one of the first studies to examine the growth of debit around the world and assess both the drivers behind this increase and its implications for the banking industry. The report incorporates data from interviews of 34 banks across a mix of 10 mature and emerging markets around the world. Interviews were carried out for First Data by TowerGroup with participants from Australia, Brazil, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, industry analysts from Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas contributed perspectives and insight.
Beyond confirming the emergence of debit as the primary instrument to the payment account, Worldwide Opportunities for Debit also recommends growth strategies banks should adopt and warns of impending threats to their ability to take full advantage of the opportunity debit programs represent.
“Banks can capitalize on consumers’ move to debit if they develop a sophisticated understanding of the economics of their debit offerings and put the same innovative energy behind debit as they do behind credit,” said Paul Stanley, SVP Financial Services, EMEA, First Data. “However, our study warns that fraud and increased regulation could dampen the debit experience for both banks and their customers.”
Key findings from the study include:
Growth Trends
- In emerging markets, banks need a more vigorous approach to both customer education and co-operation with retailers to increase debit card usage, especially at the point of sale (POS). Debit card usage at the point of sale is as low as 10 percent in some emerging markets compared with 70 to 80 percent experienced by participating banks in the United States.
- Real opportunities exist to improve the profitability of debit programs through the use of new payment channels such as mobile, prepaid, contactless and e-commerce. These are particularly relevant to the youth market.
- Mobile and prepaid solutions will be central to bringing electronic payments to the unbanked and underserved populations in developing markets – and are already being introduced for this purpose by banks in Brazil, Mexico and Turkey.
- There is little evidence that banks are using the best practices developed in support of credit cards to drive debit growth and performance. Banks that are doing so are realizing success.
“We found a disappointing lack of product innovation and analytics in debit, even among institutions that are sophisticated on the credit card side,” said Brian Riley, Research Director, Bank Cards, TowerGroup. “In emerging economies, there is more focus on the opportunities, and on innovation.”
The Need to Understand Debit Economics
- Bundling debit offerings with other products makes it very difficult for banks to truly understand the economics of their debit programs.
- Greater awareness of the relationship between channels and products, the alignment of credit and debit strategies and improved account packaging are all essential to driving profitable consumer behavior.
- Banks that have outsourced their debit processing appear to have the clearest view of debit costs and revenues and, therefore, the best opportunity to focus their efforts on driving profitable growth.
Maximizing Debit Profitability
- Segmentation and rewards programs will become more important to promote customer loyalty but are likely to be profitable only when integrated with other retail banking offers or in partnership with retailers and other third parties.
- Increasing debit usage at the point of sale is a clear priority for banks in Europe, and in emerging markets where ATM withdrawals can account for up to 90 percent of debit card transactions. In India, banks reported that a one-percent increase in debit activation can drive a 20-percent increase in transaction volumes, demonstrating the potential upside for banks.
- Lotteries, instant rewards, advertising and in-branch promotions are being used to promote cards at the point of sale in multiple markets. Major retailers can also help to drive debit in emerging economies by socializing the use of cards at the POS.
The Impact of Regulation
- Regulation of debit usage is increasing in nearly all of the markets included in the study and is challenging current debit business models.
- Regulation in many markets threatens to reduce revenue opportunities and increase costs of debit programs.
- Regulation could threaten banks’ abilities to fund the very programs that would make debit a better experience for their customers – and more profitable for themselves.
Managing Fraud
- Tight margins on debit mean fraud levels can make the difference between profit and loss.
- ‘Chip and PIN’ is an effective weapon against fraud for card-present transactions, although limited merchant acceptance undermines the business case in the United States.
- The innovative use of card-not-present channels for debit brings increased risk of fraud. Banks need to consider encryption and tokenization technology to help keep payment card data secure in these environments.
For more information on Worldwide Opportunities for Debit or to download the full study, please go to http://www.firstdata.com/en_us/insights/global-debit-study.
About First Data
First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the aggregate data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.
Media contacts:
US
Nancy Etheredge
nancy.etheredge@firstdata.com
O +1 402-222-6214
M +1 402-321-2603
UK
Helen Owen
howen@firstdatacorp.co.uk
O +44 1268 297278
M +44 7904 574113
Sony Ericsson Bets Future on Android
Sony Ericsson posted €12 million profit for its Q2 2010 quarter, following a €213 million loss during the same quarter in 2009. Sales for the company were €1.76 billion on 11 million shipped for the quarter.
This is good news for the soon to be Atlanta based company, as their average selling price increased from €134 in Q1 2010 to €160 in Q2 – up from €122 the previous year. Their new profitability also owes much of its thanks to the restructuring of the company over the past two years and to Android.
Sony Ericsson’s Android Bet: The increase in average selling price and increased volumes are due primarily to market adoption of the Xperia X10 and X10 mini smartphones. Chief Executive Bert Nordberg says that his company plans to make heavy use of Android in coming smartphones and is targeting having the majority of the Android market in the coming years.
How will the company’s reliance on Android affect its long term stability? Only time will tell, but it seems like it is a good play for the short term.
Google helps you find a parking spot, maybe not!
New Louisiana State Health Secretary
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office said Friday that Bruce Greenstein will replace Alan Levine, who has resigned from his post as the Louisiana State Health Secretary, and is returning to the private sector. His last official day is Aug. 1. Greenstein is expected to start the new post Sept. 13. Greenstein has a reputation in health policy and experience in reforming Medicaid. Greenstein, currently serves as managing director of world wide health for Microsoft Corp.
Ernst & Young Survey Shows Optimism and Hiring in Technology
Senior executives expect economic recovery and increased profitability
NEW YORK, July /PRNewswire/ — Expectations about corporate growth turned positive this year, according to a new survey by Ernst & Young LLP that measures attitudes about key economic and performance indicators among US companies with $500 million to $3 billion in total revenues. Respondents were particularly optimistic about revenue, profitability, technology spending and hiring.
According to the Ernst & Young Growth Company Leadership survey, fully 75% of senior executives questioned indicate they are optimistic about achieving their companies’ growth expectations over the next two years. Among respondents, almost two-thirds (64%) expect their revenues to increase over the next 12 months by an average of 11.3%. Fifty-eight percent anticipate profit increases this year.
Further, 73% are optimistic that the current economic recovery will continue to expand this year.
“Growth companies are regaining confidence that they can deliver on their potential and their promise to investors,” said Maria Pinelli, Americas Director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young LLP. “Their beliefs about hitting strong numbers are great news and a potential bellwether for the markets and the economy as a whole.”
More than half (55%) of all respondents say domestic operations solely will drive revenue growth, with another 39% indicating a combination of domestic and international operations. Regionally, firms in the East Central and West regions are most likely to expect revenue increases this year. Nearly three in four (73%) respondents in the West expect profitability increases over the next twelve months. Growth companies in the West are the most optimistic that the current economic recovery will continue to expand this year (88% optimistic). The Southeast has the fewest believers (56% optimistic).
The industries that are most likely to expect growth in both revenue and profits, according to the survey, are technology (74% revenue and 72% profitability), financial services and retail/wholesale (both 69% revenue and 63% profitability). Financial services companies report the highest average revenue growth rate (13%).
Growth companies plan to hire over next 12 months
Forty percent of executives surveyed anticipate an increase in hiring new employees over the next 12 months. Only 22% anticipate a decrease in hiring.
“Job growth – not just maintenance – represents a turning point from the past 12 months,” said Pinelli. “The largest of these growth companies – over $1 billion in revenue – are even more positive, with 46% projecting hiring increases. With so many companies looking to hire, we foresee a substantial contribution to the overall economy. Growth companies and entrepreneurs could represent significant engines to push jobs in the right direction.”
Read the full press release here.
Where do you see the largest growth areas in the next two years?
Getting the word out about your start up!!!
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