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Vol 2, #39, Sept. 28, 2010 |
New Organizational Structure for Sierra Wireless Sierra Wireless, a leading global provider of wireless solutions for mobile computing and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, today announced a new organizational structure designed to sharpen focus on distinct market opportunities and accelerate profitable growth. The new organizational structure establishes three business units - M2M Embedded Solutions, Mobile Computing, and Solutions & Services. Dedicated sales, marketing and research & development functions within each business unit bring teams closer to their customers. Common wireless platforms, an integrated supply chain, and a strong global presence provide unique leverage and highly competitive scale. "With the integration of our M2M businesses complete, the time is right to launch a new organization that strengthens customer focus and enhances responsiveness in key markets," commented Jason Cohenour, Sierra Wireless President and CEO. "This business unit structure allows us to rapidly address different customer and product requirements in mobile computing, embedded M2M and M2M solutions, and positions us to drive strong, sustained growth and improved profitability." Sierra Wireless also announced several executive changes related to the new organizational structure: Dan Schieler, formerly Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Computing business unit, focusing on mobile broadband devices for operators and embedded wireless modules for laptops, netbooks, and other mobile computing devices. Jim Kirkpatrick, formerly Chief Technology Officer, has been named Senior Vice President of Engineering for the Mobile Computing business unit. Didier Dutronc, formerly Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the M2M Embedded Solutions business unit, focusing on embedded wireless modules for a broad range of market segments, from automotive, to smart energy, healthcare and mobile consumer. Pierre Teyssier continues as Senior Vice President of Engineering and joins the M2M Embedded Solutions business unit, reporting to Didier. Emmanuel Walckenaer continues in his current role as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Solutions & Services business unit, with expanded responsibility for AirLink Intelligent Gateways and Routers. Philippe Guillemette, formerly Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology, has been named Chief Technology Officer. As a result of the consolidation of the Solutions & Services and AirLink business units, Andrew Berman, formerly Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AirLink business unit, will be leaving Sierra Wireless. "Andy joined Sierra Wireless from AirLink Communications and has provided strong leadership in growing the AirLink business over the past three years," said Jason Cohenour. "We thank Andy for his commitment to Sierra Wireless and for the significant contributions he has made to our combined success." Concurrent with the implementation of the new business unit structure, the company has eliminated approximately 60 full time positions. These reductions represent approximately 6% of the company's global workforce and are expected to result in an operating expense reduction of approximately $1 million per quarter, once fully implemented. These actions are expected to be largely completed during the fourth quarter of 2010. The financial impact of these reductions is expected to be partially offset in 2011 by investments to support new growth opportunities. The company expects to incur a pre-tax charge of approximately $4.5 million in the third quarter for severance and other costs related to this program. The company also reaffirms its Non-GAAP Q3 financial guidance and Q4 outlook provided on July 29, 2010. Top of Page Intelimax Media Inc. (OTCBB:IXMD) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Raymond Slee as new President, CEO and Director. Raymond Slee has been working with Intelimax for three years as CTO and lead project developer of the Intelimax Inteli-gaming Platform. Mr. Slee has more than 15 years experience in technological development, including ten years of Distributed Systems Architecture and Design. Before joining Intelimax, Mr. Slee served as Director and Chief Technical Officer for SwampFox Software Ltd. for five years (2002-2007). He was responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of an advanced graphical web site monitoring system called LiveSiteMonitor as well as LiveServiceDesk, a web communications product. Prior to SwampFox Software Mr. Slee worked within the London Financial Industry (1995-2002) as a Senior Systems Architect and Project Manager. Mr. Slee graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering degree in 1996. Resignations Intelimax announces the resignation of Charles Green as CEO, President and Director as well as Carl Schmidt as Director of the Company's Board. Intelimax would like to thank both Mr. Green and Mr. Schmidt for their contributions to the Company. Top of PageDesjardin launches Mobile Services Desjardins is launching mobile services that will allow individual and business members to carry out many transactions and access information from their smartphones or PDAs, such as the iPod Touch. Adfarm appoints Ben Graham as Managing Partner AdFarm has announced that Ben Graham has been appointed managing partner of the marketing and communications company. In his new role, Ben will be in charge of the day-to-day operation of AdFarm in Canada, which includes offices in Calgary, Alberta and Guelph, Ontario. Ben has over 17 years of communications experience and a lifetime of knowledge in the world of agriculture. “I’m excited to move into this new role with AdFarm,” says Graham, a native of Vulcan, Alberta. “I have held a number of positions with the company and I look forward to this next chapter and challenge.” During his time at AdFarm, Ben has overseen the public relations department and has held various account management positions. He has worked with some of AdFarm’s largest clients, including Bayer CropScience Canada and Dow AgroSciences Canada. “We’re thrilled that Ben has agreed to join the leadership team,” says Roger Reierson, president and managing partner of AdFarm. “Ben’s knowledge and experience in communications and agriculture is unique and will continue to be great assets for the organization.” Top of Page Allied Telesis launches Star Partner Program Allied Telesis, Inc., a global provider of secure IP/Ethernet switching solutions and an industry leader in the deployment of converged multi-play networks, has pledged a commitment to double its revenue in the competitive Canadian networking sector over the next three years, as well as fuel networking-based solutions innovation in the local marketplace. To accomplish these tasks, the Company has put a concerted effort toward expanding its Canadian technology and partner alliance channels by rolling out the Star Partner Program and PartnerPortal initiatives. In August 2010, the company embarked on a global rollout of its online PartnerPortal to serve the Allied Telesis Star Partner Program. The new portal is part of the Company's ongoing efforts to provide best-in-class solutions across key business markets in Canada, including healthcare, education, utilities, and the public sector. The portal provides resellers and system integrators unlimited access to localized sales and marketing collateral, deal registration and tracking features, customized content, RSS-delivered news, special promotions, webinars, and Adventure Based Learning training tools. "By offering value added solutions and tools during the sales process through our Star Partner Program, we can drive the revenue-generating practices of our partners in Canada," said Scott Fryer, national manager, Allied Telesis Canada. "We are adding new technology solutions to our portfolio and enhancing our partner marketing toolkit to help initiate new revenue streams for partners and infuse the marketplace. Our quarter-century of experience and strong channel relationships with partners such as Graybar Canada are a testament to our commitment to this marketplace." The Allied Telesis Adventure Based Learning program is a self-learning, interactive training course that teaches 'adventure' scenarios to help partner sales teams better understand the Allied Telesis solutions approach. This partner program directs partners to the best solution, whether vertically or horizontally, in various sectors including healthcare, transportation, or education. "We're very excited about the renewed commitment Allied Telesis is making to the Canadian marketplace," said Brian Donovan, national market manager, Technology and Security Solutions, Graybar Canada. "We value our longstanding partnership with Allied Telesis, and recognize the ongoing enhancements offered by the Allied Telesis Star Partner Program to help broaden sales opportunities through the ability to offer solutions that meet customer demands." "Adding new program elements to help partners easily access component specifications and market tools, backed by industry leading support and services, was critical in the design of the enhanced portal," said Eric Floyd, senior vice president of partner development and alliances at Allied Telesis. "We remain focused on growing our global partner and end-user base, and continually look to add value in every sales and distribution engagement." KineticD™, the online storage, recovery and access service designed for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), today announced that customers of its popular KineticSecure™ and KineticExtend™ cloud-based services are now able to use an iPhone® and iPad™ App to access valuable data files and applications securely from any location. The new support for the Apple® iPhone and iPad provides quick and secure access to a user's PC or Windows® server. In addition to enabling users to restore and share files in their cloud storage, KineticExtend can also provide access to a remote system such as their PC at work, with Windows authentication. Accountants, medical and legal professionals, service providers and consultants use the service daily to access critical business data and specialized applications such as QuickBooks® without the complication or cost of a Virtual Private Network (VPN). "While it's cool to access your office PC on the iPhone," said Jamie Brenzel, CEO of KineticD, "KineticExtend elevates the iPad from a surfing gadget to a justified business productivity tool. The new iPad App puts the full power of your office PC or server into your hands – wherever your business takes you." The iPhone App for KineticExtend is available immediately at no additional charge when you activate an account with KineticD. The iPad App will be available in early October. Sign up for a free trial online at www.kineticd.com. To use KineticExtend on your iPhone, simply download the free App for iPhone at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kineticextend. KineticExtend requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Top of Page Quebec Tech Assoc. launches AQT Accelerator During its 20 th anniversary celebration bash attended by some 375 guests, the Quebec Technology Association (AQT) issued a strong call to action in support of the growth and commercialization of ICT companies. The Association took the opportunity to launch "Step into the AQT Accelerator" - a new positioning campaign that clearly confirms and highlights the Association's role as a driving force in the growth of the Quebec Information and Communications Technologies industry. With its keen grasp of the realities faced by ICT executives, the Association is well aware of the impact of economic recovery and international competition on its member companies. Company executives must take quick action to meet their customer's needs, grow their markets, and retain a sufficient pool of qualified employees. They have little time to devote to seeking out financial and professional partners, let alone best practices to improve overall management and increase sales. In doing so, they could miss out on business opportunities or risk not having the resources they need to propel their growth. "This is why companies and their partners need to mobilize. They need to join forces and ensure their voices are clearly heard, and this is precisely where the AQT Accelerator comes in by bringing all of our services together under a single heading", stated Nicole Martel, Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Technology Association. "It was designed for companies, their CEOs, and their management teams. The AQT Accelerator provides a venue to meet with peers and future partners and showcase companies. The Accelerator highlights best management practices for companies targeting national or international markets, while also providing access to a network of specialized resources." "The Accelerator is built on our 20 years experience in building business-to-business networks, our knowledge of the field, and the expertise of all of our partners", added Luc Filiatreault, Chairman of the AQT Board of Directors. "I invite companies at every stage of growth to step into the accelerator to Go Faster and Spend Less!" Mr. Filiatreault also applauded Federal and Quebec government initiatives to support the growth of the ICT industry, which is a major source of innovation and job creation. He noted that the AQT would monitor developments closely and underscored the importance of mobilizing companies within the association to ensure effective representation of their interests to government authorities. Top of Page87% of Organizations using Social Media Online Social media tools (intranet 2.0 tools) are exploding in popularity according to the 2010 Intranet 2.0 Global Study conducted by Prescient Digital Media. The study has found that 87% of organizations have at least one social media tool on the intranet. Blogs are the most popular tool, present on 53% of intranets of all sizes, but only deployed enterprise wide (available to all employees to read or write) on 18% of intranets. Highlights / Key Facts:
"The results are exciting because they confirm Prescient's belief that we are entering the age of the Social Intranet," says Toby Ward. "While most organizations are still in the early days of deploying or experimenting with social media, many executives and employees alike are eager to see greater use and adoption of these tools." Accompanying Webinar Prescient Digital Media will present the results of this study in a free webinar (https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/968259387) hosted by president and CEO Toby Ward (http://www.prescientdigital.com/about-us/Our%20Team/toby-ward-president-ceo) on September 28, 2010. The webinar will summarize the survey's key findings and highlight global intranet trends that have emerged in recent months Download the summary report of the 2010 Intranet 2.0 Global Study at http://www.prescientdigital.com/downloads/summary-report-press-only. Top of Page MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com caters to Visitors MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com has announced the addition of international education to its resources for visitors to British Columbia. As a member of the award-winning MyDestinationInfo.com travel network, MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com pooled its resources to assist international students considering studying abroad. As B.C.'s local travel guide, MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com sees a parallel between international education and the travel sector, connecting the opportunity for students to combine travel and continuing their studies whilst immersing themselves in another culture and gaining the experience of living in another country. In all the things to do in British Columbia visitors can also find unique events, general tourist services, and businesses in areas of special interest. Now, in response to enquiries in the study abroad sector, MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com will provide information on a range of schools in British Columbia that offer international study programs, including learning English as a Second Language (ESL). With BC's high standards of living, competitive course costs and world-class education system, it is no wonder that British Columbia welcomes thousands of international students annually. In addition, the opportunity for students to broaden their travelling experiences and explore the vast expanse of spectacular mountain vistas, coastal areas and natural landscapes of BC continues to be a contributing decision-making factor. MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com will connect students directly with universities and colleges in British Columbia and assist those schools in their marketing and recruitment efforts for international students. Visitors to MyBritishColumbiaInfo.com can also find additional services to assist them in longer term stays, including destination tours, real estate property and RV motor homes. Top of Page |
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