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RAJANT AND KIBER ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AROUND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) SOLUTION FOR ENERGY MARKET

Malvern, Pennsylvania (USA), Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rajant Corporation, the exclusive provider of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, and Kiber, powered by VRMedia, have partnered to offer the Kiber3 fully integrated augmented reality solution for remote assistance. Ideally suited for the energy market as well as warehouses and factories, the third generation augmented reality multi–feature wearable device runs over Rajant Kinetic Mesh to empower a workforce in daily industrial operations with instant expertise and remote collaboration through AR technology.

Federico Gulletta, Chief Executive Officer of Kiber, comments, "We are delighted about participating as Rajant's partner in ADIPEC 2021. Attending this premium event for the oil & gas industry allows us to present Kiber to professional visitors in Abu Dhabi. Kiber 3 is the latest third–generation of our all–in–one AR solution for remote collaboration. It is designed to be compliant with ATEX Zone 1 Certification requirements providing real quality and efficiency benefits to O&G companies and supporting them in operations in potentially explosive atmospheres."

The association between these two companies will be on display at the upcoming ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The strategic partnership, inclusive of demonstrations, can be found in Booth 13564, November 15th to 18th. Schedule time to talk at ADIPEC today.

"We've been impressed with what this web–based platform has to offer, especially when it comes to the energy industry," states Al Rivero, Rajant VP of Sales, Global Energy. "The Kiber3 is an all–in–one hands–free solution that is cyber–safe. Features of the wearable headset include a vision wide–angle camera, long–life battery, and hand cam with thermal imaging. Kiber brings expertise into field operations to speed up diagnostics, increases productivity, reduce costs, and improve safety. Given it is certified for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, teams can safely collaborate remotely and in real–time.'

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About Kiber

Kiber is powered by VRMedia, an Italian company developing deep tech solutions for the industry since 2002. Our mission is to empower the workforce in field service operations, we help companies to embark on an industrial transformational journey providing cutting–edge tools. Delivering Innovation and Quality through higher performances and smarter solutions is our manifesto. Kiber empowers the workforce through Augmented Reality technology–based solutions making remote collaboration easy, safe, and efficient. Kiber3 is a unique Hardware and Software fully integrated AR remote communication wearable solution allowing remote users to live the situation on–site as if they were present and on–site workers to receive support while staying focused on their job with an all–in–one "hands–free" solution. For more information, visit https://kiber.tech/.

About Rajant Corporation

Rajant Corporation is the broadband communications technology company that invented Kinetic Mesh networking, BreadCrumb wireless nodes, and InstaMesh networking software. With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real–time data to deliver on–demand, mission–critical business intelligence. A low–latency, high–throughput, and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications, Rajant's Kinetic Mesh networks provide industrial customers with full mobility, allowing them to take their private network applications and data anywhere. With successful deployments in more than 65 countries for customers in military, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, and agriculture. Rajant is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with additional facilities and offices in Arizona and Kentucky. For more information, visit Rajant.com or follow Rajant on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8392105)

Aurora Strategy Group Announces Expansion into the Middle East

TORONTO, Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marcel Wieder, President and Chief Advocate announced today that the Aurora Strategy Group will be expanding its practice to include Israel and the Arabian Gulf region. "We have concluded a strategic partnership with Beyad Halashon Communications in Israel to represent clients there, while Aurora will reciprocate in Canada. At the same time, Aurora founding Principal Craig Hughson, is establishing a presence in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to serve the Gulf region," said Wieder. "This gives us a strategic presence in one of the fastest growing markets for Canadian companies. At the same time, it offers opportunities for Middle Eastern firms to access the Canadian market."

Beyad Halashon Communications is headed by David M. Weinberg, a seasoned and well–respected public relations and government affairs consultant. According to Weinberg, "Trade between Canada and Israel, and Israel and the UAE, has been growing significantly and this is an opportunity to help clients understand the opportunities that are available to them." Weinberg went on to say, "Partnering with Aurora, with a national footprint and an experienced team, will help Israeli firms access the Canadian market."

"Opening up an office in Dubai is a terrific opportunity for Aurora," said Hughson. "As the only Canadian owned public affairs firm to have a footprint in the UAE, we will offer clients unprecedent access to an important and growing market. Plus, with the addition of the Israel office, we will build on the recent Abraham Accords signed between the UAE and Israel."

"The addition of Weinberg is an important milestone for Aurora," Wieder said. "Together with Hughson in Dubai, this is a strong Middle East team that can serve the needs of clients in both markets."

Aurora Strategy Group is also part of the International Public Relations Network that consists of more than 50 firms in over 40 countries. Aurora clients have access to this network to ensure their global message is delivered.

Aurora Strategy Group is a public affairs, government and public relations firm based in Toronto, Ontario with offices in Edmonton, Alberta and Moncton, New Brunswick.

For further information contact:

Marcel Wieder Tel: 416–907–2126 Email: info@aurorastrategy.com

David M. Weinberg Tel: 972–54–776–7273 Email: davidw@aurorastrategy.com

Craig Hughson Tel: 971–50–573–3647 Email: craig@aurorastrategy.com


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8391842)

New Research from Cornell University and FreedomPay Reveals Cybersecurity Confidence Gap in Retail, Restaurant and Hospitality Sectors

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

New data released today by Cornell University's Center for Hospitality Research and FreedomPay, a global leader in data–driven commerce, reveals that while nearly all (96%) surveyed retail, restaurant and hospitality stakeholders are confident in their companies' internal risk assessment processes, their satisfaction (95%) in the security of their systems is misaligned with reality, as one–third of companies (31%) have experienced a data breach in their company's history. Of companies that have been breached, 89% have been hit more than once in a year, and 69% of retail businesses have been breached upwards of three times in a year.

Check Please! How Restaurant, Retail and Hospitality Businesses are Managing Cybersecurity Risks "" a joint study between Cornell and FreedomPay "" is based on a new survey of small, medium, and large–size enterprises across the hospitality, retail, and food and beverage sectors.

"Especially over the past two years, cybersecurity has been top of mind for businesses as we navigate a highly complex eCommerce network," said Chris Kronenthal, President of FreedomPay. "Retailers and hospitality businesses increasingly view their payments systems as more than transaction processing "" they are important sources of data and customer insights. Merchants and consumers alike need the assurance that this data is being protected and managed properly."

“These findings provide a baseline understanding of how key decision–makers are handling cybersecurity issues and offer key insights for optimizing and fortifying systems as we continue down this path of accelerated digital transformation,” said Professor Linda Canina, the Dr. Michael Dang Director of the Center for Hospitality Research at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration.

Threats Are Rising, Complexity Abounds

With new cyber threats emerging daily both internally and externally, business leaders are juggling a full slate of concerns and challenges. Threats such as payment integrity (59%) and malware (58%) are the most cited concerns, with risk management (57%) cited as the biggest challenge leaders say their systems face. Companies also fear internal threats, with hospitality companies most frequently citing human error (86%) and lack of employee education (81%) as negatively impacting cybersecurity systems.

Businesses' best efforts to protect themselves and customers are spurring growing complexity and system proliferation. The findings revealed three–quarters (74%) of companies use more than one cybersecurity system. Medium merchants (80%) are significantly more likely than small merchants (67%) to use more than one system. More than half of companies (56%) have many cybersecurity systems in many locations. Overall, companies are split on whether systems are governed by a single department (51%) or multiple (49%). Small merchants (57%) are significantly more likely to keep governance to one department, while large merchants (63%) are significantly more likely to have multiple departments involved.

Roadblocks Remain

Businesses are challenged to balance security with customer preferences, with many implementing heightened cybersecurity measures to make their customers feel more secured and reassured when making a purchase. The study found that 91% of companies believe their customers deeply care about cybersecurity while 86% believe it increases customer loyalty. Yet, companies acknowledge the inherent tradeoffs "" namely, two–thirds (65%) of leaders believe that customers are annoyed by extra security measures, and they want systems to be easy to use (67%).

Budgetary concerns may also play a factor in determining any potential system enhancements "" among the few (15%) that currently do not have plans to enhance their system, they are most likely to cite preventative costs (61%) and an unwillingness to have a disruption in service (52%).

Despite these roadblocks, companies have said they are increasing or have increased their IT budgets, calling out the COVID–19 pandemic and technology as driving forces. Other notable findings include:

  • In The Dark: More than one–third (35%) of surveyed leaders do not know how much of their company's budget is spent on cybersecurity.
  • Bicameral Opinion: While 91% of respondents agree that their customers do care about cybersecurity, 48% also believe their customers do not care about cybersecurity.
  • Inaction: Nearly all (96%) companies say they value the importance of security systems to protect their data, and 85% agree that their customers would be more satisfied if they had extra security measures in place. Yet, half (50%) have either not increased their IT security budget or decreased their budget since 2019.
  • Show Me The Money: Still, companies are divided on what precautions and guidance are worth the cost. Four–fifths (83%) of companies who do use a third–party to manage and secure information say this option is "more cost–effective" for their business, while half (51%) of companies who do not use a third–party supplier cite it as being "more costly" than their current process.
  • Checking The Box? Almost all merchants (91%) are very or extremely confident that their company adequately trains end–users, relying on conferences and seminars (71%) to keep them trained and engaged. Notably, small (92%) and medium (95%) merchants are significantly more confident than their large (79%) counterparts, where the most common form of end–user engagement comes from training videos (82%).
  • Looking for a Leader: A majority of companies (87%) say they would welcome involvement from the U.S. government to fight cybersecurity threats as well as enhance policy (84%). Large merchants (threats–76%, policy–74%) and retail companies (threats–81%, policy–75%) are significantly less likely to want the U.S. government involved.

Click here to download the report.

Methodology

The survey was conducted by Hanover Research and included 300 respondents for small, medium, and large–size enterprises across hospitality, retail, and food & beverage spaces.

About FreedomPay

FreedomPay's Next Level Commerce platform transforms existing payment systems and processes from legacy to leading edge. As the premier choice for many of the largest companies across the globe in retail, hospitality, lodging, gaming, sports and entertainment, foodservice, education, healthcare and financial services, FreedomPay's technology has been purposely built to deliver rock solid performance in the highly complex environment of global commerce. The company maintains a world–class security environment and was first to earn the coveted validation by the PCI Security Standards Council against Point–to–Point Encryption (P2PE/EMV) standard in North America. FreedomPay's robust solutions across payments, security, identity, and data analytics are available in–store, online and on–mobile and are supported by rapid API adoption. The award winning FreedomPay Commerce Platform operates on a single, unified technology stack across multiple continents allowing enterprises to deliver an innovative Next Level experience on a global scale. www.freedompay.com

About Cornell Center of Hospitality Research

Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) was created in 1992 for the purpose of expanding both the quality and volume of research supporting the hospitality industry and its related service industries. The CHR's mission is to advance hospitality thought leadership by publishing and disseminating impactful and actionable research that industry leaders can put into practice today; facilitating the exchange of new ideas by bringing students, faculty, and industry professionals together at roundtables, panels, conferences, and other engaging events; and partnering with the other Centers and Institutes in the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration to maximize research, event, and networking collaborations.

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GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8391381)

Zenfolio Acquires Format to Expand Services for Photographers

Menlo Park, California, Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zenfolio, the leader in creative and business solutions for photographers, announced that it has acquired Format, a major website–building platform and marketplace based in Toronto, Canada, used by professional photographers and artists worldwide. Both companies offer Software as a Service (SaaS) business solutions "" Zenfolio since 2006 and Format since 2010. Combined, these two market leaders provide the most comprehensive service offering to photographers and artists, leveraging their respective brands and complementary strengths.

John Loughlin, Zenfolio CEO, shared the rationale for bringing the two companies together. "We deeply respect the Format brand, their employees and community, and the business they have built," he stated. "This combination will expand the capabilities and services offered to our respective customers."

Lukas Dryja, Format CEO and Co–Founder, shared his enthusiasm for the merger. "Since creating Format, we have cared deeply about our community and team," he said. "Partnering with Zenfolio is a tremendous opportunity for both. The Format community will benefit from Zenfolio's extensive technology services while Zenfolio customers will have access to world class tools and designs to showcase their work online."

The Format acquisition continues a strategy launched by Zenfolio three years ago to reimagine the company. Zenfolio recently unveiled a new cloud–based technology platform using artificial intelligence and machine–learning that is redefining the business of photography. Zenfolio leads the industry in workflow automation, helping photographers manage and grow their businesses, while spending more time behind the lens.

"Bringing together two leading platforms for photographers allows us to accelerate the development of new services by taking best in breed features and capabilities and making them available to customers of both companies," Loughlin explained.

The two brands will initially operate in parallel, each retaining its current employee workforce and subscription base. Format will continue to be headquartered in Toronto. Zenfolio headquarters will continue to be located in Menlo Park, California.

About Zenfolio

Zenfolio Inc., a Centre Lane Partners company, offers advanced business solutions enabling photographers to easily show, share and sell their images. For the past 15 years, Zenfolio has proudly served photographers around the globe.

About Format

Format empowers professional photographers and creatives by transforming them into successful entrepreneurs. Founded in 2010 in Toronto, Canada, Format is a proudly self–funded company with a remote team distributed globally.

Vista Point Advisors acted as the exclusive advisor to Format in its sale to Zenfolio.

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GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8391286)