Appernity technology & Red Media Inc announce strategic partnership

May 18, 2021 | Tech

Appernity technology based in Delhi and Red media inc based in California are pleased to announce they have entered into a global strategic partnership to delivery next-gen technology services.

With technology playing an increasingly critical role in every aspect of business, companies recognize that they need to accelerate the development of digital solutions to ensure they remain on the competitive vanguard. The Red-Media Inc partnership brings together deep skills in business and technology strategy, product ideation, technology development and deployment, and organizational change management to help support clients through successful transformations.

“Partnering will deliver transformation for our clients and allow us to provide the very best business, program and portfolio strategies on which we’ll conceive, design, and build the next generation of transformative enterprise and digital products and platforms,” said Manish Kaushik, Appernity Founder & Director. “Together, working as one team, we will unlock the full potential of digital transformations and place our clients on the best path for success in the new digital business landscape.”

! We are a startup – Of the people, With the people, For the people!

Pimcore Releases Pimcore X: Improved Performance and New Enterprise Features

May 18, 2021 | Tech

Pimcore, the Austrian software company releases Pimcore X, its latest edition. This significantly more powerful version comes with new features, boasts of improved performance, and includes fresh interfaces to marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay for automated workflows.

Open-Source benefits complemented by optional Enterprise Subscription
Pimcore X gives its customers a choice: Along with all the familiar and free Pimcore features, the update also offers an optional, paid Enterprise Subscription, which contains additional functions such as easier syndication of product data or automatic translation of content.

The new functions briefly:

Easy data import – no coding required: Pimcore X takes a low-code approach to PIM and MDM. It accelerates data exchange and adds comprehensive import functions to the Pimcore Datahub.

Improved collaboration with partners in PIM and DAM: To ensure that external or subsidiary companies also have access to relevant data, the new Pimcore Experience Portals allow content to be shared with (and worked on) by partners outside the organization.

Integrations for Amazon, eBay, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Microsoft Office with the Enterprise Subscription: Pimcore natively integrates with Productsup to publish product data on over 2,500 digital sales channels, a new DAM integration is offered with CI HUB and another new standard interface Translations.com provides automated translation workflows.

New Perspective Editor: It enables custom views and perspectives for individual user groups in a variable user interface.

Easier deployment in the cloud: By massively simplifying the configuration of object storages such as Amazon S3 and Content Delivery Networks (CDN), Pimcore X is much easier to install in cloud environments.

Dietmar Rietsch, founder and CEO of Pimcore, on the launch of Pimcore X: “Pimcore X simplifies collaboration within your organization as well as with partners and diverse audiences. Even though the Enterprise Subscription allows an extended range of benefits, our Open-Source offerings stay as it is, as that’s where our roots lie.”

Open Source technology for better performance and efficient customizing

In Pimcore X, Symfony 5, PHP 8 and ExtJS 7 provide faster performance and leaner underpinnings. Pimcore is now completely based on the leading and fastest PHP framework, Symfony 5.

Smooth update to Pimcore X

To ensure a smooth transition to the new Pimcore X version, the existing version must first be updated to Pimcore 6.9.

Get Pimcore XFind out more in this blogpostView the release notes for Pimcore X

About Pimcore

Pimcore is the world’s leading Open-Source platform for data and experience management. With the Pimcore Platform™, companies centrally manage their digital product data and customer experiences.

Headquartered in Salzburg, Austria, the company currently employs more than 200 people along with Pimcore Global Services, which operates worldwide.

Centrend Becomes Registered Provider Organization for CMMC Auditing in Massachusetts

May 16, 2021 | Tech

In sports, its often said the best offense is a great defense. As an IT consultant based out of Worcester, Mass., Centrend applies that philosophy to the cyber security it employs for its clients. In an effort to better serve all their clients, particularly those clients with U.S. Department of Defense contracts, Centrend recently became a Registered Provider Organization and is able to assist companies in attaining Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

“The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) established certain criteria for cyber security that its contractors must meet by 2026. With the CMMC, we can audit the cyber security for those contractors to ascertain whether or not they meet the CMMC requirements and at what level,” said Centrend Owner Paul LaFlamme. “We assist the organization in creating a System Security Plan (SSP) that addresses the more than 110 points of the security standard. We analyze the document work with the company to prioritize a Plan of Action & Mitigation (POAM).”

To attain its certification, Centrend completed a program that covered a number of topics critical to cyber security. Those included: physical workstation security; email encryption; password complexity; training with confidential unclassified information (CUI); monitoring for and reporting attempts to compromise security; and much more.

“Where this becomes critically important is that there are many vendors who serve companies that have DOD contracts,” said LaFlamme. “Those vendors must also meet the CMMC requirements by 2026.”

For complete information on the CMMC program, visit https://cmmcab.org/

With offices in both Worcester and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Centrend provides on-site Information Technology (IT) managed services and consulting to business customers throughout New England. Those customers include companies in the manufacturing, real estate, finance, insurance, legal, non-profit, construction and hospitality industries.

In addition to its medium- and small-business customers, Centrend has a home consumer division, Whiz Kid Support. Material for future podcasts will also include the issues impacting many remote workers and home-based businesses.

For more information on Centrend, visit www.centrend.com.

Softline increased turnover by 9% in 2020 in USD and 22% in constant currencies, strengthening its market position as a global provider of enterprise IT solutions.

May 16, 2021 | Tech

Softline (Softline Group, the Group or the Company), a leading global IT solution and services provider with a focus on digital transformation, cloud and cybersecurity, announces key operating highlights for fiscal year ending 31 March 2021.

2020 operational HIGHLIGHTS

Softline’s turnover in 2020 fiscal year ending 31 March 2021 increased by 8.9% year-on-year to $1.8 billion. The largest growth in 2020 was in the segments of cloud services (47%), hardware solutions (12%) and software Subscriptions (5.1%). These segments now represent respectively 25%, 13.6% and 28.9% of total company turnover. 56% of the total revenue was from recurring business. In line with its global expansion strategy, Softline increased its turnover share in the markets of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and in the APAC region. Most businesses delivered strong double-digit growth in constant currencies, adding 22% or more. The Group’s portfolio includes products and technologies from more than 4,300 international vendors, including Microsoft, AWS, Google, Oracle, VMware, Cisco, Dell, HPE and others. The Group’s services have already been used by more than 95,000 business customers from 55 countries.

Igor Borovikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Softline Group, noted:

“Despite the global economic downturn in 2020, Softline has successfully adapted to the new challenges and continued to show strong growth, effectively taking advantage of the opportunities opening up for the IT industry amid the pandemic. As part of the Group’s global expansion strategy, we have increased our international business share to 40% through both organic growth and significant M&A transactions.

The Group has made significant progress in the development of cloud services, a key area of our business that has been delivering double-digit growth for the past three years. At the same time, we have strengthened the service segment and considerably enhanced the quality of our offering in the field of custom development.

Today, we see significant potential for further value creation based on Softline’s global presence and are considering various strategic development opportunities, including a potential initial public offering of the Company’s shares.”

Softline Global CEO Sergey Chernovolenko said:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in business processes for entire industries, creating additional demand for cloud services, remote work solutions, process automation and data management tools. In this context, Softline has focused on developing key services and competencies, continuing international expansion, and strengthening partnerships with the world’s largest vendors.

Our priorities are to further expand our global software development workforce, strengthen our cybersecurity expertise, and create exclusive digital transformation solutions based on the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and RPA technologies. “

Key events in 2020 and Q1 2021

In January 2021, Softline acquired Embee, an Indian IT company specialising in cloud services, software licensing, cybersecurity and system integration services. The deal will significantly strengthen Softline’s position in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world (the alliance will make the Group Microsoft’s second-largest partner in India). In December 2020, Softline agreed to acquire a controlling stake in the German company Softline AG, which specialises in IT consulting in the areas of software and IT asset management (SAM/ITAM), cloud technologies, information security and digital workspace technologies. Softline AG operates in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The company employs more than 200 IT consultants. The transaction has been completed on 7 April 2021. In November 2020, Softline acquired the software development outsourcing business from Aplana Group. As a result, more than 200 employees joined Softline in three development centres in Russia with expertise in a number of key industry verticals. In October 2020, Softline successfully placed exchange-traded bonds in the amount of RUB 4.95 billion for a period of 3 years and 2 months. The final coupon rate was set at 8.9% per annum. The placement was well received by investors. In April 2020, Softline already placed bonds in the amount of RUB 1.35 billion for a period of 2 years and 9 months. In September 2020, the Group opened headquarters in London, from which it manages Softline’s international business (Softline Group’s business outside of Russia). In June 2020, the international rating agency S&P confirmed Softline’s credit rating at “B” with a stable outlook. Softline is the only IT company in Russia that has received a “B” rating with a stable outlook, confirmed by S&P, for two consecutive years. In May 2020, Softline became the only IT company in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region to receive the Google Cloud Work Transformation Enterprise qualification, which confirmed the Group’s strong competencies in the field of digital transformation of teamwork.