Orlando, FL - August 30, 2017 - ZeroChaos, a global provider of workforce management solutions, today announced that it has acquired Loki Management Systems, a leading developer of workforce management software for global enterprises with complex staff scheduling and payroll requirements. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Loki provides software under the Advanced Payroll for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and StaffRight brands. Advanced Payroll is a flexible payroll system designed to meet the complex requirements of multinational organizations and is fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365. StaffRight is a comprehensive time, attendance and staff scheduling solution. Loki has more than 200 active clients in 17 countries, covering over 210,000 employees across a range of industries, including healthcare, public sector, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and retail.
Loki will continue to be led by its current CEO, Richard Swann, who will join the leadership team at ZeroChaos.
Michael Werblun, ZeroChaos CEO, said, “Loki is a strong software platform, providing functionality that fits well with our existing ZCWeb technology. This acquisition will allow us to better serve our customers by enabling us to offer more advanced scheduling capabilities – particularly relevant for industries with complex requirements. We also look forward to driving continued organic growth in the Loki business by providing it with greater financial resources.”
Loki’s CEO Richard Swann added, “We are very excited to be joining ZeroChaos. The scale and resources that ZeroChaos provides will allow us to accelerate growth, as well as be a stronger partner to our existing customers.”
ZeroChaos was acquired by global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) on August 11, 2017.
About ZeroChaos
ZeroChaos is a global provider of workforce management solutions that help organizations achieve greater management and financial control of their workforce and talent supply chains. ZeroChaos' award-winning solutions, including its vendor-neutral Managed Services Program, enable procurement and human resources to improve visibility into contingent labor spend and talent pools, effectively manage and optimize contingent workforce program performance, and mitigate risks. Headquartered in Orlando, ZeroChaos has global operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information visit www.zerochaos.com, follow on Twitter @ZeroChaos, or connect with ZeroChaos on LinkedIn.
About Loki Management Systems
Loki Management Systems is a leading developer of workforce management software under the Advanced Payroll for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and StaffRight brands. Loki serves enterprise-level organizations with complex staff scheduling and payroll requirements. All of Loki’s solutions are configurable and adaptable to complex workforce environments around the world for a variety of industries. Loki is Microsoft Gold Certified ISV and ERP partner, and its products have been awarded the highest standard of development certification offered by Microsoft for their Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP. Loki is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia with support offices in the US, UK and Australia.
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $162 billion of assets under management across 114 funds and 173 fund of funds vehicles. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs approximately 1,600 people in 31 offices across six continents.
ZeroChaos Acquires Loki Management Systems
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Ellie Mae to Acquire Velocify
Pleasanton, CA - August 31, 2017 - Ellie Mae® (NYSE:ELLI), the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Velocify®, the leading sales acceleration platform. With the acquisition of Velocify, Ellie Mae is accelerating our vision of offering a fully digital mortgage by combining Velocify’s lead management, engagement and distribution capabilities with Ellie Mae’s Encompass CRM’s unique approach to automated one-to-one personalized marketing and the Encompass Consumer Connect digital consumer experience. Together, the robust solution will meet the needs of today’s lenders by delivering a complete digital lead capture and conversion solution for creating interest, turning that interest into an application and then funding that loan quickly and at a low cost.
Velocify’s lead management solutions help sales teams keep pace with the speed of opportunity by driving rapid lead response, improving productivity and offering actionable selling insights. The company helps sales teams sell more by streamlining and optimizing the sales process from start to finish by enabling teams to accelerate lead engagement, and implement effective workflows, ultimately helping lenders find and convert more leads, faster. Many of Ellie Mae’s Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution customers use the Velocify solution today.
“As part of our comprehensive strategy to deliver the first true digital mortgage to the industry, we are helping lenders to originate more loans, reduce costs, and complete the entire mortgage process faster,” said Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. “The combination of Velocify’s solution with our Encompass CRM and Encompass Consumer Connect solutions will accelerate our delivery of the most robust digital mortgage solution in the market. The acquisition will enable us to provide the first combined solution that helps lenders turn consumer interest into applications by offering a personalized, high-tech and human-touch experience. Going forward we will empower lenders’ sales teams to keep pace with the speed of opportunity, drive down costs of origination through greater lead capture and conversion, and improve productivity through actionable selling insights.”
“A digital transformation is occurring across the financial services industry, especially in the mortgage vertical in which Velocify has a leading position,” said Nick Hedges, president and CEO of Velocify. “Successful sales teams offer an end to end digital experience combined with as much human touch as the consumer desires throughout their buying process. The team at Velocify has built the leading software solution for consumer sales engagement during the early stages of the sales process. By joining forces with Ellie Mae we are very excited to extend that capability throughout the consumer buying cycle.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Ellie Mae will acquire Velocify for $128 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 and will have no impact on third quarter financials. Ellie Mae will provide additional financial details when the company reports its third quarter results.
Conference Call Information
Ellie Mae will host a teleconference at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time today, August 31, 2017, to discuss the acquisition of Velocify. To access the call, please dial 888-601-3869 or 719-325-2431 at least five minutes prior to the start time. A live webcast of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://investor.elliemae.com. An audio replay of the call will be available through September 14, 2017 by dialing 888-203-1112 or 719-457-0820 and entering access code 9529733.
About Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and shorten the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call (877) 355-4362 to learn more.
About Velocify
Velocify® provides a sales acceleration software platform that helps high-velocity sales teams turn more prospects into customers. More than 1,500 companies streamline, automate, and optimize their sales processes using Velocify. Velocify’s software delivers a prescriptive approach to selling and surfaces actionable performance insights to ensure salespeople stay focused on activities that lead to more sales.
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GP Strategies Acquires YouTrain
Columbia, MD and Stirling, Scotland - September 5, 2017 - Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, GP Strategies Training Limited, has acquired the entire share capital of YouTrain Limited (YouTrain), an independent training company delivering IT, digital and life sciences skills training throughout Scotland and North West England.
YouTrain highlights:
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Stirling, Scotland with regional offices in Glasgow, Inverness and Halifax
Offerings include apprenticeships and employability training in partnership with Skills Development Scotland as well as corporate training and contract staffing services for commercial clients
Holds an established and diversified customer base including large multinational corporations and public sector organizations
Generated revenues of approximately $3.9 million in its most recent fiscal year
Employs 43 people in the United Kingdom
Accredited Microsoft Silver Learning Partner and the only Cisco Authorized Learning Partner based in Scotland
Scott Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of GP Strategies, stated, "This acquisition expands our training capabilities in Scotland and provides us with additional capabilities in the IT (including cyber security) and digital apprenticeship market which we can offer to our levy and non-levy paying customers in England utilizing our existing Skills Funding Agency contracts and our Approved Apprenticeship Provider status. The acquisition of YouTrain further strengthens GP Strategies' position as a major provider of vocational skills training in the UK."
Duncan Macleod, the retiring Managing Director of YouTrain, said, "I'm very proud of what we've grown in the past few years in YouTrain: a profitable business which does a great job for its customers - learners and employers alike - and is a great place to work. I am delighted that we are now becoming part of a global company like GP Strategies which will give opportunities to continue profitable growth."
To learn more about YouTrain, visit: https://www.youtrain.com/.
About GP Strategies
GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.
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GP Strategies Acquires CLS Performance Solutions
Columbia, MD and London - September 5, 2017 - Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced that it has acquired certain assets and the business of CLS Performance Solutions Limited (CLS), an independent provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) end user adoption and training services in the United Kingdom. CLS will operate as part of GP Strategies' Performance Readiness Solutions group effective September 1, 2017. This acquisition will extend GP Strategies' ability to deliver ERP systems training and user adoption services in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe.
CLS highlights:
Established in 2011 and headquartered in London, England
Develops and delivers successful learning solutions for ERP implementations for large multinational clients
Holds expertise with a variety of ERP solutions
Awarded the prestigious Gold Standard Accredited Learning Provider status by the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI), for its 6th year
Maintains a team of Training Accreditation Programme (TAP) Certified L&D Practitioners
Generated revenues of approximately $3 million (£2.3 million) in its most recent fiscal year
Deborah Ung, Executive Vice President of GP Strategies' Performance Readiness Solutions group, said, "We have a long history of partnering with CLS to support client user adoption and change initiatives associated with ERP implementations. It is a natural fit to have them join the GP Strategies team so we can more strategically support both our customers and partners in Europe."
Carol Ann Tomlinson, CLS founder, stated, "We are thrilled to be joining GP Strategies. This acquisition allows us to better serve our global customers and strategic partners with greater depth in capabilities and talent."
Additional information may be found at http://www.clsperformance.com/.
About GP StrategiesGP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.
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Hujiang Online Class Partners with LinkedIn China to Provide Online Training Certificates
Shanghai - September 1, 2017 - Hujiang Online Class ("HJCLASS"), a massive online course platform from Hujiang EdTech ("Hujiang") - China's leading online education company - has announced a partnership with LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network.
The cooperation agreement ("the Agreement") integrates skills verification to professional networking by enabling professionals to update their LinkedIn profiles with Certificates of Training earned on HJCLASS to increase their competitiveness in the workplace.
The Agreement makes HJCLASS LinkedIn's first designated partner in education in the Greater China region and follows LinkedIn's partnerships with Chinese Internet giants Tencent, Alibaba, and NetEase. With more than 500 million members in over 200 countries and territories, LinkedIn aims to help its users to build their professional image, gain business insights, expand professional networks and attract more business opportunities.
"'Certifications' is an important section under the 'Accomplishments' banner on a LinkedIn profile, as it allows one to showcase his/her competitive strength. We are very happy to work with HJCLASS, a key player in the online education space, to enrich our users' profiles as they hunt for employment opportunities," said Kun Zhao, Head of Business Development for LinkedIn China.
Going forward, students that complete 80% or more of a designated training course provided by HJCLASS can obtain a Certificate of Training, which will be synchronized to their LinkedIn profile to acknowledge their achievements and supplement their vocational education. Verified by LinkedIn, the Certificates are of great value in demonstrating ones' language or professional skills.
Offering an extensive range of educational resources and over 3,000 courses, including language training, professional training as well as guidance for College Entrance Examination and overseas studies, HJCLASS provides a vast range of structured online courses and professional teaching services for millions of users. This year, HJCLASS has launched two new programs, a Uni Smart Learning System for college students and the online oral English brand Hitalk for adult learners. Both programs will offer Certificates under the new Agreement with LinkedIn.
Arnold Fu, Founder and CEO of Hujiang, said, "Through years of effort, Hujiang has earned the trust of our users and partners, as well as the industry at large. This cooperation with LinkedIn China will bring greater recognition to our students and strengthens the Hujiang brand in the marketplace. HJCLASS will continue to provide a competitive edge to our students by offering more high-quality online classes and developing our online teaching platform, helping them to stand out in the job market."
About Hujiang EdTech
Founded in 2001, Hujiang EdTech started as an online BBS community offering online courses and has grown to become one of China's leading online education companies. Hujiang EdTech strives to make high-quality education more accessible and enjoyable through mobile learning applications, online courses, and its interactive online teaching platform. Serving over 150 million users (including 120 million mobile users) in China, Hujiang EdTech offers a wide range of online educational programs, including international & domestic examination preparation, foreign language learning, professional skills training, and more.
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Lee Hecht Harrison Acquires Career Resources Group Business
Maitland, FL - September 5, 2017 - Lee Hecht Harrison, the world's leading talent development and transition company, announced today that it has acquired the Des Moines, Iowa-based Career Resources Group (CRG) business and will integrate it into its Midwest Region.
"We are very excited to integrate CRG's operations into Lee Hecht Harrison," said John Morgan, Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) Executive Vice President, US. "CRG provides exceptional service to our customers with operations in Iowa and this acquisition will enable LHH to further expand our market share leadership and capture profitable growth in a vibrant, growing market that is experiencing some of the strongest momentum in the Midwest."
Founded in 1994, Career Resources Group serves all of Iowa with offices in West Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. CRG Co-President Dick Reasons noted, "The transition to LHH will be seamless for our customers, clients and the job search candidates we serve. Our long-standing commitment to outstanding client service is a core value and will remain fundamental to our future growth and success. Local management and coaches will all remain in place with the same commitment to the customers, clients, and communities we have always had."
Both CRG owners, Dick Reasons and Bob Wigger will join LHH. Wigger commented, "From an operations standpoint, it will be business as usual. Our excellent delivery team remains the same, and we have already integrated much of our front and back-office operations. As we take this next step, we are excited for the continuing opportunities to help organizations across Iowa simplify the transformation of their talent and workforce in a way that accelerates results and reduces risk; and to help individuals build their careers within their companies or to transition to new opportunities."
About Lee Hecht Harrison
Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) helps companies transform their leaders and workforce so they can accelerate performance. In an era of continuous change, successfully transforming your workforce depends on how well companies and their people embrace, navigate, and lead change. Change within the organization, and their career. At Lee Hecht Harrison we use our expertise in talent development and transition to deliver tailored solutions that help our clients transform their leaders and workforce so they have the people and culture they need to evolve and grow. We are passionate about making a difference in peoples' careers and building better leaders so our clients can build a strong employer brand.
A division of The Adecco Group – the world's leading provider of workforce solutions – Lee Hecht Harrison's 4000 colleagues work with more than 7000 clients in over 60 countries around the world. We have the local expertise, global infrastructure, and industry leading technology and analytics required to manage the complexity associated with executing critical talent and workforce initiatives, reducing brand and operational risk. It's why 60% of Fortune 500 companies choose to work with us.
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Absorb Software Receives 59 Million Growth Investment Led by Silversmith Capital Partners
Calgary, Alberta - September 6, 2017 - Absorb Software Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based learning and performance management software for corporations and higher education institutions, announced that it has secured a $59 million investment led by Silversmith Capital Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm. Absorb’s learning management system (LMS) centers around an intuitive user experience and a highly configurable, brand-specific interface, offering administrative, course builder, and reporting tools to its stakeholders. Absorb serves over 2.5 million learners each month across 600 global customers, and since 2015 has organically tripled its workforce to approximately 140 employees.
The investment will be used to accelerate development of Absorb’s innovative flagship product, Absorb LMS. Absorb LMS helps learning and development teams better train, retain, and manage both internal employees and external stakeholders such as customers, channel partners, franchisees, and membership associations. Additionally, the company plans to increase hiring across all departments and further expand its geographic footprint.
“We are thrilled to partner with Silversmith Capital Partners for the next phase of Absorb’s growth. This investment will allow us to accelerate our track record of innovation, doubling down on our roots in intelligently crafted software that enables customers to create learning environments which match the sophistication and complexity of their organizations,” said Mike Owens, CEO, President & co-founder of Absorb Software.
“Absorb has a rapidly growing customer base of blue chip clients, addressing a diversity of use cases and learner audiences,” said Jim Quagliaroli, Managing Partner of Silversmith. “Absorb has an experienced team, scalable SaaS platform, and relentless customer focus – a combination which we believe sets them up well for continued success.”
“In the highly competitive corporate LMS market, Absorb has rapidly scaled revenue and profits, without having ever raised outside capital,” said Marc Munfa, a Principal of Silversmith. “We are excited to partner with Absorb as its first institutional investor, and look forward to supporting the company's market-leading position."
Choate Hall & Stewart and the Canadian office of Gowling WLG served as legal counsel to Silversmith Capital Partners, while Dentons Canada served as legal counsel to Absorb Software. Financing was provided by PNC Bank Canada Branch. Vista Point Advisors, a San Francisco based boutique investment bank, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Absorb Software. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
About Absorb SoftwareFounded in 2003, Absorb Software is a learning technology company based in Calgary with a subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland. Absorb’s flagship product, Absorb LMS, is an industry leading and award-winning learning management system for businesses, higher education, and government / non-profit agencies around the world.
About Silversmith Capital PartnersFounded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $460 million of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. The firm seeks to invest $15 million to $75 million per company. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Digital Map Products, Impact Radius, LifeStance Health, and Partners Surgical. The founders have over four decades of collective investing experience and have served on the boards of numerous successful growth companies including Ability Network, Dealer.com, Liazon, Liberty Dialysis, MedHOK, Passport Health, SurveyMonkey, and Yapstone. For more information, visit http://www.silversmithcapital.com.
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Guild Raises 21 Million to Transform Corporate Tuition Assistance and Increase College Access for Frontline Employees
Denver - September 6, 2017 - Guild, the leading education benefits company, today announced that it has closed a $21 million Series B financing round led by Bessemer Ventures, investors in HR, education and cloud standouts including LinkedIn, Skype, 2U, Instructure, Box, Twilio and SendGrid. The most recent investment brings Guild's total funding to $31.5 million, ranks Guild as one of the most significant investments in a female-funded company this year. Redpoint Ventures, Harrison Metal, and Cowboy Ventures also joined the financing round.
Since launching in 2015, Guild has partnered with a diverse set of employers -- including Chipotle, DaVita, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the Denver Public Schools -- to transform corporate tuition assistance and increase college access for working adults. "As the labor market tightens, employers are investing over $22 billion annually in traditional tuition assistance programs," said Rachel Carlson, co-founder and CEO of Guild Education. "Our platform empowers employers to make smarter education investments and measure the positive return on investments in their workforce - it's 'Education as a Benefit.'"
Guild's platform is designed to make going back to school easier for all employees. By enabling employees to earn college credit for on-the-job training, Guild creates pathways from management training or GED programs into degree granting programs at nonprofit universities that enable professional and economic mobility. Additionally, Guild's deferred tuition model eliminates the financial barriers of traditional tuition reimbursement programs. Guild works directly with employers to cover tuition costs, rather than expecting frontline employees to front the bill while they wait for reimbursement.
Guild's universities are expanding their impact through Guild's network. "Guild has brought together a network of leading employers and innovative, nonprofit universities dedicated to advancing the education and career goals of working adults across America," said Gary Brahm, Chancellor of Brandman University. "This model provides employees the flexibility they need to select an institution that best serves their learning style vs. a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. And, through Guild, Brandman benefits from the opportunity to serve a broader, national group of students."
"In defining the education benefits space, Guild is pioneering a massive, new category of benefits for Fortune 1000 employers that reflects the changing world of work, and the rapidly evolving relationship between businesses and their employees," said Byron Deeter of Bessemer Venture Partners who will join Guild's board. "Employees value, above all, economic opportunity and career development. Guild's unique approach is enabling HR and L&D leaders to translate meaningful investments in people into measurable and significant business outcomes."
Guild's platform allows companies to easily run their education benefits program and track outcomes data -- including recruitment, retention, and promotion -- to measure the return on educational benefits. Last week, Chipotle released data finding that employees who enrolled in education programs were nearly 2x as likely to retain with the company after nine months, with 89% retention rates. These employees were also more than twice as likely to receive a promotion compared to their peers. Across the board, Guild's employers are now seeing the positive ROI of investing in their employees' education.
"At Chipotle, our people are the vital component to our long term strategic success. Expanding our employees' skills base and helping them reach their educational aspirations is an essential component of that strategy," said Sam Worobec, Director of Training at Chipotle. "Guild's unique approach to education benefits has not only allowed us to carry out that mission, but also led to meaningful gains in employee retention, promotion and satisfaction."
ABOUT GUILD EDUCATIONGuild Education is transforming the way employers offer Education as a Benefit to their employees. Guild's technology makes offering education benefits and tuition reimbursement an easy choice for leading companies, with a platform that helps HR leaders turn their education cost centers into a positive ROI. Guild's diverse network of online, nonprofit universities offers a range of programs from GEDs through bachelor's and master's degrees, along with advising and retention coaching to help each student navigate the worlds of work and college. To learn more about Guild, visit www.GuildEducation.com
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co collective Launches the First SaaS Platform for Intrapreneurs
New York - December 19, 2017 - A powerful new tool from strategy and innovation company co:collective is making it easier for millennials to unleash their creative power at work. Formally announced today,Doable is a cloud-based software platform that empowers employees to publish and promote their most innovative ideas while collaborating with other intrapreneurs to ready them for capital commitment. It's a significant step forward for millennial workers – 18-34 year-olds representing the largest working population in the U.S. – who often struggle to advance their ideas within traditional workplace structures. Doable is also a powerful tool for the 53 percent of hiring managers challenged to attract and retain millennial talent.
"Millennials have gotten a bad rap in business. They are often cast as job-jumping narcissists. We think smart companies are beginning to see the problem the other way around: it's employers, not employees, who need to embrace change in the tools and processes they use," said Ty Montague, co-founder and co-CEO of co:collective. "Today, it is just too hard for millennials' voices to be heard inside big companies. Yet, there is huge value in engaging with them. They are highly creative and entrepreneurial, value constant feedback and collaboration, and aspire to make a tangible impact on the companies they work in and on the wider world. That's why we made Doable."
Whether the goal is to develop new external products or services or to incubate ideas for internal initiatives, Doable helps anyone at any level transform an idea from pipedream to possible. Through an intuitive, enterprise-ready platform, users have a transparent and repeatable process to take concepts from ideation through validation to creation.
"As millennials, we have fundamentally different beliefs about work," said Jonathan Chia, innovation director at Doable. "Doable is designed for our work preferences. We can meaningfully contribute to the organization and progress at the same time. Our team started incubating Doable for internal use and then realized it's something the world needs."
Created by a team of young business strategists, designers, and technologists tired of working with legacy enterprise platforms built for a generation that didn't grow up with digital tools, Doable launched in Beta October 2015. It's currently used in over 200 companies across multiple sectors, including retail, hospitality, PR, advertising, engineering, manufacturing, and education.
For more information or to start using Doable with a free account, please visit www.doable.com or contact media@doable.com.
About co:collective
co:collective is a growth accelerator, founded by four seasoned executives from the worlds of brand strategy, content development, business strategy, and technology innovation. We help companies create top line and bottom line growth using a methodology we have developed calledStoryDoing©.
co:collective has three main practices: co: - which specializes in innovation in the customer experience, including new products, services and business models; The Pub - a creative agency that helps brands publish with purpose, often using native creators to build communities around brands; and Doable - a software platform that helps companies use their quest to engage employees in internal and external innovation challenges.
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Ethos Farm turns traditional customer service delivery on its head
Hampton Wick, U.K. - September 6, 2017 - A new global consultancy, Ethos Farm, is set to turn the traditional view of service delivery on its head by challenging companies to transform their approach to the customer experience.
“Business leaders across the globe undervalue service. Yet it can deliver real differentiation in an increasingly commoditised world,” said Sally Alington, Founder and CEO, Ethos Farm. “Companies talk about having a customer-facing workforce but what’s actually needed is staff who fully understand the corporate values and business objectives. Only then can they deliver exceptional service levels that meet both customer and company needs.”
The idea behind the Ethos Farm name is about positively transforming attitudes and corporate cultures, supporting the development of a successful company ethos in which workforces become advocates of the company.
“We help organisations to do this by combining best practice in employee learning and training with the latest communications technologies to transform workforces into brand custodians,” Alington explained.
Former Managing Director of Blackjack Promotions, Alington has brought together a team of globally-recognised experts with in-depth understanding of the latest management practice and training theories, coupled with years of real-world experience at rolling out service improvement programmes for some of the world’s best-known companies, brands and organisations, including Heathrow and Dubai Airport, the BBC and Westfield, to name a few.
At the core of Ethos Farm is a unique ‘Customer Service Architecture and Engineering’ concept.
Architecture refers to the company’s Consultancy team, headed by Alington, which helps companies develop a blueprint for customer service to align workforces with their values and aspirations.
Engineering relates to the Learning Development and Technology teams, led by Josie Barton and Mat Garner respectively. These provide the building blocks to make the new service blueprint a reality and transform the customer experience.
Ethos Farm Learning and Development is designed to inspire the highest levels of performance from teams using a range of next-generation training tools and techniques. These include specially developed ‘Performance Rooms’, where the Ethos Farm team can deliver immersive training experiences.
The latest state-of-the-art technology will play a vital role in supporting the efficient and effective delivery of Ethos Farm’s customer service design and development concepts. This includes both bespoke and ‘templated’ solutions to drive enhanced service levels and colleague engagement from frontline workforces, as well as providing data analysis to drive insights into staff behaviours and avoid service problems.
“Using a range of tools, we will guide clients and their teams to develop the insights and approaches that will ensure they stay close to their customers and are able to adapt and thrive in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world,” adds Alington. “Our role is simply to help clients find the unique formula that will inspire the highest levels of performance from their people.”
The fourth member of Ethos Farm’s founding team is Lauren Walsh, who heads up the company’s operation in the Americas, based out of New York.
The new venture has already secured backing from global facilities solutions provider ABM, with Andy Donnell, Group Managing Director of ABM UK, joining the company’s Board of Directors.
For UK clients, Ethos Farm is able to advise companies on the complexities of the new Apprenticeship Levy and will soon be accredited as an approved Apprentice Training Provider.
Find out more at: http://www.ethosfarm.com/.
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Guru Lands Series A Its Customers Including Shopify Will Benefit From ML-Based Coaching
Philadelphia - September 7, 2017 - Guru, the industry’s only solution to contextually coach support and sales teams with bots and browser extensions, announced today it has secured $9.3 million in Series A funding led by Emergence Capital, with participation from previous investors FirstMark Capital and MSD Capital, Michael Dell’s personal investment fund. The company plans to use the funding to further build machine learning-based coaching capabilities for its customers and to fuel next-stage growth.
Guru delivers the information sales and support staff need to do their jobs, using bots and browser extensions to embed it directly into the industry’s most popular applications, including Slack, Zendesk, Salesforce and Gmail. Over the past two years, Guru has added more than 300 actively engaged customers, including Shopify, Square, Intercom, Dell, Optimizely, InVision and Procore. The solution helps employees get the knowledge they need to respond to customer queries, and using analytics to continually fine-tune information, it ensures that it keeps pace with ever-changing products and processes. As a result, it has created the industry’s only solution with the proprietary engagement data and delivery mechanisms required to provide the accurate, up-to-date, trusted knowledge employees need to respond to customers’ inquiries -- at the moment they need it.
“What sold me on Guru was how it’s embedded into a support agent’s workflow. Unlike our previous solution, our agents don’t have to switch tabs or go anywhere to find the information they need,” said Dana Tessier, Director of Knowledge Management at Shopify. “The results have been a 5x lift in the amount our knowledge was utilized while responding to customers. Our handle time has improved, and I’m more confident that the knowledge conveyed to customers is accurate and up-to-date.” As the way teams work continues to evolve, Guru is uniquely situated to be the single source for company knowledge and to leverage machine learning to help coach workers in real-time -- and in context of the task being performed. With an average worker spending more than 30 percent of their workweek just searching for information, Guru’s web app, browser extension, and Slack bot eliminates the need to search through email threads, google docs, Slack, and multiple knowledge bases, increasing productivity and ensuring consistency. As a result, customers like Intercom have seen a 60 percent reduction in the amount of time it takes for their support teams to respond to customers.
“With tens of thousands of people relying on Guru everyday, we are now excited to deliver on the next part of our mission: to intelligently suggest critical company knowledge to the employee when they are most likely to need it, right into their workflow," said Rick Nucci, Guru co-founder and CEO. “Imagine being a new support agent and instantly getting access to the prior learnings of your entire support organization, in context. Or being a salesperson and getting real-time coaching on product knowledge honed from interacting with similar customers in the past. We believe that the idea of having to search around for answers to important questions will become a legacy concept in the future.”
“After 40-years of forms-based software, we believe the next generation of enterprise cloud winners will be built around behavioral data networks and machine learning to coach workers toward doing their jobs more effectively. We call this phenomenon the Coaching Cloud, and we’re thrilled to add Guru to our portfolio of early leaders in the space,” said Gordon Ritter, Co-Founder and General Partner of Emergence Capital.
“Guru’s clever in-context user interface (UI) has driven a level of engagement and passion amongst its users that blew us away when we spoke with them. Guru is delivering information when and where users need it, and they love it as a result,” said Jake Saper, Principal at Emergence Capital.
About GuruGuru is reinventing the way teams share, access, and capture knowledge. Through a browser extension, Slack bot, and web app, customer-facing teams can engage more confidently with prospects and customers, knowing that information they need to do their jobs is accessible everywhere they work. Guru reduces the time it takes to respond to customers by up to 60 percent, ultimately improving customer satisfaction scores and increasing sales velocity. Visit www.getguru.com for more information.
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Lambda Solutions Obtains 2 2 Million Capital Investment from Quantius
Vancouver, British Columbia - September 12, 2017 - Lambda Solutions, a leading provider of Learning Management Systems (LMS) technology and services, announced today that a $2.2 million non-dilutive capital investment from Quantius has been finalized. The additional financing will enable Lambda’s management to expand its international reach, and accelerate product growth and innovation. It is a significant step towards achieving Lambda’s strategic objectives and will help with the official launch of Zoola Analytics, Lambda Solutions’ reporting and analytics product.
Zoola Analytics provides secure access to all of an organization’s LMS data and allows users to quickly and easily create actionable reports and customizable dashboards. As more organizations invest in eLearning technology to train and develop their talent, Zoola uniquely provides LMS reporting and analytics capabilities for Moodle, Totara and xAPI learning data. Zoola was recognized by Quantius as a high-growth opportunity and sees the product as a potential technological disruptor in the LMS space.
“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Quantius,”said Lambda CEO and Co-founder, Shevy Levy. “The leaders at Quantius possess a deep understanding and expertise of our SAAS consulting business, which efficiently facilitated a smooth due diligence process. It is very exciting for me and the entire Lambda team that Quantius supports our growth story.”
Lambda began in a corner of a basement in North Vancouver, Canada and in 15 years, has grown to be one of the most established and respected LMS Solutions organizations with clients spanning the globe.
About Quantius:Quantius is a commercial lender that attributes value to both tangible and intangible assets of innovative companies. The Quantius team combines technology and operations expertise with credit management and originations depth, and levers a proprietary best-in-class IP analytics platform to identify companies whose commercial outperformance is driven by superior IP. For more information on Quantius please visit http://www.quantius.ca.
About Lambda Solutions:Lambda Solutions is an e-learning solutions company, providing learning management systems (LMS) technology, training and services for education, healthcare, and global enterprise organizations. Hosted in the cloud on world-class, secure infrastructure, Lambda Learning Solution is a scalable, customizable online learning and training platform for employees, students, partners, and customers, and includes Zoola Analytics, a powerful reporting solution. Founded in 2002, Lambda Solutions is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with offices in Serbia, and the United States. For more information, please visit: Lambdasolutions.net
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Cadmus Closes Investment Deal with Enlightenment Capital
Waltham, MA - September 12, 2017 - The Cadmus Group LLC (Cadmus), a leading consultancy in energy, climate, homeland security, the natural and built environments, public health, and international development, has closed a strategic investment deal with Enlightenment Capital, an aerospace, defense, and government-focused investment firm based in the Washington, D.C. area. The investment will support Cadmus’ exploration of opportunities for strategic acquisitions and expansion into new markets.
Cadmus’ growth strategy leverages mergers and acquisitions as well as investments in internal capabilities and tools development. With this approach, Cadmus continually enhances its service offerings to provide comprehensive support to help clients address critical and highly complex challenges. Past Cadmus acquisitions include Obsidian Analysis, a Washington, D.C.-based homeland security consultancy, in 2016; built environment specialist Constructive Technologies Group, in 2011; and energy analytics firm Quantec, LLC, in 2008.
“We are excited to partner with Enlightenment as we continue to expand our capabilities and grow our firm,” said Ian Kline, Cadmus president and CEO. “Enlightenment understands the evolving needs of our markets, and they will be a key partner during this next chapter of our evolution.”
“Ian Kline and the Cadmus team bring a level of dedication to and depth in their scientific fields that is unmatched in their industry. Both government and private customers have consistently turned to them in solving some of their toughest problems,” said Devin Talbott, Managing Partner of Enlightenment Capital. “We look forward to supporting Cadmus’ continued growth both organically and through M&A.”
About Enlightenment Capital
Enlightenment Capital, a Washington, DC-area based private investment firm, provides senior debt, mezzanine debt, and equity to middle market companies in the Aerospace, Defense & Government (ADG) sector. The firm partners with management teams, equity sponsors, and those businesses that provide vital services, protect critical infrastructure, innovate cyber and data solutions, engineer aerospace systems, safeguard national security, and endeavor to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.enlightenment-cap.com.
About Cadmus
Cadmus provides professional consulting services that help clients achieve their goals and create social and economic value today and for future generations. By applying exceptional technical expertise and a highly collaborative approach, we deliver customized solutions to our clients that address complex challenges in energy, climate, homeland security, the natural and built environments, public health, and international development. Cadmus’ more than 500 consultants serve government, commercial, and nongovernmental organizations in the United States and abroad.
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Maturity Model from SAP and ERCIS Helps Companies Develop Skills for Digital Transformation
Walldorf, Germany - September 12, 2017 - SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that it has collaborated with the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) to create a maturity model that enables companies to assess, track and develop the critical digital skills their workforces will need for their companies to succeed.
The maturity model helps companies prepare for the digital future by assisting them in defining their skill development strategy and by reinforcing supportive learning environments critical for growth. The model is based on a survey of 116 business and IT decision makers from 18 countries, as well as a series of in-depth interviews with 24 global companies.
The model was created to address the 64 percent of companies that do not have the personnel with the necessary skills for digital transformation, according to research conducted by the Technical University of Munich.
“Each company’s path is unique, but all companies need to prioritize digital skill development to be successful,” said Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Joerg Becker, chair, Information Systems and Information Management, ERCIS. “Our maturity model gives companies a framework to assess where they are and the support to guide them to where they need to go.”
Some best practices outlined in this model entail identifying and closing skill gaps. Other best practices facilitate learning experiences that fit employee preferences by using on-demand, mobile, social, e-learning and classroom elements to create a self-directed, continuous, collaborative environment. Companies can use the maturity model as a guideline for defining, implementing and adapting their skill development approach to digital transformation.
“A successful digital transformation requires a systematic approach,” said Bernd Welz, executive vice president and chief knowledge officer, Products and Innovation, SAP. “Investing in education enables employees to succeed in evolving roles and ensures a clear path forward for both the company and the individual.”
Using best practices from various companies for guidance, the model outlines stages across three enablers of effective skill development: management of digital transformation, organization and culture. “It also outlines four dimensions of a learning architecture required to support this advancement: skill management, learning experience, absorptive capacity and learning measurement.”
More information about the maturity model and best practices will be shared in a webinar on September 14, 2017. Read the complete study and learn more about its findings here.
For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.
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iland Launches Cloud-Based LabEngine
Houston and London - September 12, 2017 - iland, an award-winning global cloud service provider of secure and compliant Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) and cloud backup services (BaaS), today announced the availability of iland LabEngine. The new service is available from iland’s U.S., U.K., Netherlands, Australia and Singapore cloud datacenters.
iland LabEngine enables organizations to rapidly deploy and scale cloud-based environments for training, demos, and sales enablement. Until now, building a virtual training environment was expensive and time-consuming. Demo labs were costly and underutilized. And proof-of-concepts required heavy investment in time from the customer. With on demand virtual labs powered by LabEngine, companies can deliver high quality content in an easy-to-manage, highly-scalable, cost-effective and reliable environment.
“At Nimble Storage, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, we are always looking for innovative ways to enable our internal and channel engineering teams to train and demo our technologies, including InfoSight Predictive Analytics. We partnered with iland to provide a scalable, on demand, cloud-based training platform to support our global sales engineering training. This has let our team focus on delivering the highest quality content without worrying about the infrastructure needed to support it," said Randy Hopkins, vice president of Nimble Storage systems engineering. "Based on the success we've already seen with LabEngine, we plan to use it to power our proof-of-concept lab, which we expect will optimize and compress our sales process.”
iland LabEngine enables users to create elaborate environments including nested hypervisors, complex networking and multiple virtual machines. Customers can easily migrate existing virtual machines or quickly create new ones in the iland platform and develop lab templates to save and deploy at scale.
Through a simple user interface, these environments can be scheduled for remote access for internal or external customers to access exact copies of these environments. Lab owners can provision environments on demand, tying into the iland Secure Cloud Console. The iland LabEngine is a cost effective, scalable and agile solution organizations can use to deliver content to consumers, instead of worrying about infrastructure. Pay-as-you-go pricing and rapid scale means these environments can be used when needed, without fixed capital overhead.
“At our global conference, VeeamON 2017, iland powered the Hands-on Labs, which allowed our customers to gain a deeper understanding of our entire product portfolio and learn how to utilize Veeam to its fullest," said Scott Lillis, vice president, systems engineering at Veeam Software, North America. "By utilizing iland LabEngine, we provided high-performing, scalable, hands-on labs built to withstand the demands a full tradeshow like VeeamON. It enabled us to deliver top-notch instruction to our customers throughout the entire event.
Sales teams can leverage these scalable environments to provide repeatable, flawless product demos, or even deliver a demo environment to a potential customer.
"Organizations that provide software or virtual appliances, are often challenged in orchestrate proof of concepts and free trials. Proof of concepts can be costly and time consuming, while free trials may be a lackluster experience for the end-customer without enough data to see the real benefits of the product," said Dante Orsini, iland senior vice president of business development. "With iland LabEngine, organizations can quickly and cost-effectively deploy a completely controlled, data-rich test environment streamlining their sales process and dramatically improving the effectiveness of their demos and proofs of concept."
IT departments are expected to deliver swift and scalable solutions to internal teams that prefer temporary infrastructure solutions. iland LabEngine helps them quickly create and deploy environments that can be used for a variety of use cases:
Training departments can deliver high-quality, repeatable training environments without building an environment from scratch for every class.
Field sales can provide proofs of concept, demos or test drive pre-sales engagements with potential customers.
Field events can produce hands on labs training at various trade shows and events.
Marketing and product management can receive beta feedback or even fail proof demonstrations.
iland LabEngine Key Features:
Manage all available templates - upload, create, deploy and revert all from an intuitive user interface over a single pane of glass.
Easily migrate or create virtual machines to develop templates to be saved and deployed in scale.
Create complex environments including nested hypervisors, virtual appliances and complex networking schemes.
Deploy and revert environments on demand or schedule them with a built-in calendar function.
Manage users directly from the UI and email enablement materials like training guides and product brochures.
Access environments from anywhere in the world.
Open consoles to any running environment to help proctor or assist a user.
Provide full API access for integration into other applications such as training or sales management systems.
Spin up and spin down entire environments as needed, eliminating costly idle resources during down time with pay-as-you-go access.
For more information on the iland LabEngine, please visit http://www.iland.com/solutions/iland-labengine/
About ilandiland is a global cloud service provider of secure and compliant hosting for infrastructure (IaaS), disaster recovery (DRaaS), and backup as a service (BaaS). They are recognized by industry analysts as a leader in disaster recovery. The award-winning iland Secure Cloud Console natively combines deep layered security, predictive analytics and compliance to deliver unmatched visibility and ease of management for all of iland’s cloud services. Headquartered in Houston, Texas and London, UK, iland delivers cloud services from its data centers throughout the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. Learn more at iland.com.
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Venture and Impact Investors Lead Investment in Digital Credentialing Firm
New York - September 13, 2017 - Credly, the leading digital credential platform, today announced $4.6 million in new financing, bringing the total amount raised to more than $7 million from investors including New Markets Venture Partners, University Ventures, Lumina Foundation, City & Guilds Group, and Lion Brothers. The investment reflects a growing focus on credential technology or “credtech” among employers grappling with widening skills gaps, education institutions preparing learners with skills required by the modern labor market, and job seekers eager to digitally share verified evidence of what they know and what they can do.
"Credly is leading an international movement to address the growing skills gap and to credential relevant skills and competencies with portable, digital, and verifiable records," said Mark Grovic, General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners, which led the recent financing round. "Credly enables an interoperable currency of skills that better connects a diverse workforce with employment opportunities based on demonstrated abilities."
Increased adoption of credtech, technology that allows verified skills and credentials to be presented in a secure, portable manner, has been fueled in part by a growing focus on skills-based hiring practices designed to increase the size and diversity of talent pools, as well as efforts to better identify and anticipate skills gaps within organizations. Professional associations, colleges and universities, and training organizations are also tapping credtech to make it easier to identify and validate individuals’ skills learned on the job or in the classroom.
“Credtech is critical to connecting the pipeline between education and employment, and helping individuals turn their skills and competencies into currency they can leverage with employers globally,” said Ryan Craig, Managing Director at University Ventures. “Credtech can plug into several aspects of talent management, including recruitment, promotions, employee recognition, professional development, and more. We are continuously impressed by Credly’s innovative technology to serve these dynamic needs.”
Through a partnership with the American Council on Education (ACE)’s CREDIT program, major employers including Walt Disney, KFC, AmeriCorps, and Jiffy Lube are using the Credly platform to help employees obtain academic credit for on-the-job training and to take ownership of portable and secure digital credentials they can carry with them as they advance along professional pathways.
Credly also recently expanded its international operations in partnership with UK-based Digitalme, a City & Guilds Group business, helping individuals and employers in the EU demonstrate and manage talent. Under the new relationship, Digitalme will help organizations who enable skills development to design and implement achievement and recognition systems using digital credentials issued through Credly.
John Yates, member of the Management Board of City & Guilds Group, added, "An individual’s career opportunities and an organization’s performance ambitions are better realized when both can see every skill. Digital credentials and badges are central to that vision. Credly is a pioneer and clear leader in the digital credentialing space, and we are pleased to further our work together with them through this investment and through Credly’s partnership with Digitalme in Europe."
The funding follows other recent announcements including Credly being named as the first platform to be certified under the Open Badges Standard by the IMS Global Learning Consortium, and integrations with association management platform YourMembership, Canvas LMS, and assessment authoring platform Questionmark. Digital credentials are used by schools, training organizations, professional associations, and corporations to provide portable, digital, and verified evidence of achievements while engaging individuals as they progress along a learning or career pathway.
Susan Ganz, CEO of Lion Brothers said, "Since 1899, when Lion Brothers first began manufacturing embroidered patches, we've been keenly aware of how important it is for people to represent their skills, interests, and achievements as part of their professional and personal identities. Today we are excited to be bringing our expertise together with Credly, the market leader in digital credentials, to advance a unified approach to helping convey identity in every setting."
“Credtech has become a must-have solution for education and training providers as economic, social, and technological changes shift the way we seek, obtain, and communicate skills,” said Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly. “Credly is building a currency for the skills-based labor market, and this investment accelerates our team’s progress toward empowering every individual with evidence of their achievements and helping organizations manage and showcase skills with more precision and better data.”
About Credly Credly is a leading digital credential service provider, helping the world recognize lifelong achievement with the most popular platforms for verifying, sharing and managing digital credentials and badges. The enterprise-class system allows organizations to officially verify skills and competencies; distribute portable and secure digital credentials and open badges; and gain actionable data and insights. Thousands of education institutions, industry associations, employers and workforce development programs use Credly to make achievements visible. http://www.credly.com.
About New Markets Venture Partners New Markets Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in and actively assists innovative education, information technology, and business services companies. The New Markets Team has decades of experience investing in and building high growth companies, maintains proprietary relationships with centers of innovation, and has particular domain expertise around technology and education. It prides itself on working to add value before, during and after the investment process. http://www.newmarketsvp.com
About City & Guilds Group The City & Guilds Group’s purpose is to help people, organisations and economies develop their skills for growth. Backed by a Royal Charter, the City & Guilds Group has more than 135 years’ experience in making sure that people are prepared to contribute to successful businesses and thriving economies. The City & Guilds Group partners with more than 200 companies to develop the skilled workforces that they need, and invests in learning technologies to help people learn whenever and wherever they can. The City & Guilds Group is made up of City & Guilds, ILM, Kineo, The Oxford Group, Digitalme and e3Learning. Combined, the City & Guilds Group operates in over 100 countries, through 10,000 training centres, delivering qualifications in 26 different industries. http://www.cityandguildsgroup.com
About University Ventures University Ventures (UV) is the only investment firm focused exclusively on the global higher education sector. UV pursues a differentiated strategy of 'innovation from within'. UV has the deepest respect for the missions and traditions of colleges and universities around the world and is confident that through innovation, these same institutions will be successful in fulfilling and expanding their missions. By partnering with top-tier universities and colleges and then strategically directing private capital to develop innovative programs of exceptional quality that address major economic and social needs, UV is setting new standards for student outcomes and advancing the development of the next generation of colleges and universities on a global scale. http://www.universityventures.com
About Lion Brothers Company Founded in Baltimore in 1899, Lion Brothers Company Inc. is a world leader in apparel identity and badging systems for leading global brands and organizations. Wherever one goes throughout a day, Lion’s products appear as identification on apparel and uniforms. From your favorite professional NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball sports teams to brand identity for membership organizations including the Girl Scouts of the USA and Boy Scouts of America, Lion designs and produces apparel identity and badging systems that create community, reward achievement and communicate brand values. http://www.lionbrothers.com
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Convergence Training Releases New Safety Incident Management System
Camas, WA - September 12, 2017 - Convergence Training, a leading producer of online training and learning management software, announced today the release of the Convergence IMS (incident management system), its newest safety incident reporting software. The Convergence IMS and its companion mobile app are designed to centralize documentation, investigation, and compliant reporting for OSHA and MSHA incident recordkeeping.
The Convergence IMS can either be integrated within the Convergence LMS (learning management system) or licensed as a stand-alone software tool. In either case, the IMS can be paired with the Incident mobile app, putting safety incident management in the hands of a company’s entire workforce.
Convergence Training owner and president, Randy Kohltfarber, offers some insight into the development of the software. “We have a long history of developing eLearning and software to meet clearly defined customer needs. And our new IMS is no exception. We designed the interface to be very intuitive, making it easy to document any type of injury, property damage, or near miss. Compliant reporting can be a confusing process, so we wanted to create something to help guide users and administrators through all the steps of incident recordkeeping, investigation, root cause assessment, corrective action assignments, and reporting in compliant OSHA and MSHA formats. And we’ve already seen a huge demand right out of the gate.”
The Convergence IMS can be configured with company-specific details and information required by OSHA. Built-in incident categories, injuries and illnesses, root causes, and corrective actions can be customized and local treatment facilities can be added to the system. Incident scene photos and videos can be attached to any incident and witnesses can electronically sign statements in the field through the app. Automatic incident notifications can also be created for specified employees and managers to receive real-time incident investigation and reporting status.
The release of the Convergence IMS and its mobile app help strengthen Convergence Training’s commitment to help companies reduce the human and financial costs of safety incidents and stay compliant with federal regulations.Convergence Training is an award-winning producer of online training, training management software, and operational efficiency tools for mining, pulp and paper, general industry, and manufacturing.
For more information on Convergence Training’s eLearning content, compliance software, and online training courses, please visit ConvergenceTraining.com or call 800-619-2280.
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UL EHS Sustainability Partners with US Preventive Medicine to Provide Increased Health and Wellness Solutions
Franklin, TN - September 13, 2017 - U.S. Preventive Medicine (USPM), a leader in Population Health Management, has partnered with UL EHS Sustainability to integrate its wellness solutions into UL's award-winning PURE™ software platform. U.S. Preventive Medicine uniquely combines innovative wellness programs with health coaching and care management. UL EHS Sustainability is the industry's leading provider of workplace health, safety, and sustainability solutions. The agreement will increase the services that UL provides to Employee Health and Occupational Medicine customers by delivering USPM's products, services, and expertise.
Companies are beginning to see employee wellness as an extension of Health and Safety and a benefit both to employees and to business operations. UL and USPM previously worked together to develop an Integrated Health and Safety Institute, housed within UL, and to develop an online course intended to help employers integrate their health and safety programming in ways that can bolster bottom-line results while improving the health and wellbeing of their workers. This new partnership is in line with the trends and research of the Integrated Health and Safety Institute and builds on the ideas presented in the course material.
"We are honored and excited to partner with UL EHS Sustainability," said Ron Loeppke, M.D., MPH, FACOEM, FACPM, Vice Chairman of U.S. Preventive Medicine. "By combining USPM's precision analytics derived through our Health and Wellbeing Assessment with the UL EHS Sustainability platform, we will create better visibility into the relationship between wellbeing and occupational health. Further, we believe that the combination will create enhanced value for employers by both targeting and addressing health risks and chronic conditions that are linked to safety incidents. Together, USPM and UL EHS Sustainability will help reduce the burden of healthcare costs and the burden of employee health risks and health conditions for organizations nationwide."
"Companies today need to understand all of the risks associated with their business, whether from the environment, workforce safety, or employee health and wellness. This partnership will allow us to help our customers identify key risks and offer assistance," said Mark Ward, General Manager of UL EHS Sustainability. "This agreement with U.S. Preventive Medicine lets us help companies better manage their wellness programs, allowing them to improve the bottom line and keep their most important assets—their people—healthy, safe, and on-the-job." Visit www.ULEHSSustainability.com for more information.
About USPMU.S. Preventive Medicine is a leader in Population Health Management and uniquely combines innovative wellness programs with health coaching and care management. Through USPM's Population Health Management services, clinical analytics and proven outcomes, populations with active participants get and stay healthier, improve their well-being and require less costly medical treatment. USPM delivers Population Health Management services through the combination of an online flagship product The Preventive PlanTM, and human engagement by health coaches and care management nurses to deliver an integrated and robust preventive medicine solution.
USPM utilizes precision analytics derived from claims data, a dynamic health and well-being assessment, biometric screenings and other sources to identify member health risks and prevalence rates. Thus, each member receives their own personalized Preventive PlanTM. This personalized plan helps create sustainable behavior change through engagement techniques that include online and live-call health coaching and care management to help members actively participate in enhancing their health status and well-being thereby improving their Preventive ScoreTM. Visit http://www.uspm.com to learn more.
About ULUL fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. The UL Mark engenders trust enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. We test, inspect, audit, certify, validate, verify, advise and train and we support these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more about us, visit UL.com.
About UL EHS SustainabilityUL EHS Sustainability empowers organizations to protect the well-being of workers, reduce risk, improve productivity, enhance compliance, and drive measurable business improvement through its EHS, occupational health, environmental, supply chain, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility platforms. Its new PURE™ Platform is a full suite of environment, health, safety, sustainability and supply chain software solutions designed for users who want total connectivity and visibility into the overall health, safety, and sustainability of their organization. More than 2,000 organizations in over 20 major industries including manufacturing, healthcare, and construction & energy, trust UL's tools to meet their expanding needs. To learn more, visit www.ULEHSSustainability.com or call 888.202.3016.
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Digital Marketing Institute Secures 26 Million from Spectrum Equity to Accelerate Global Growth
Dublin - September 14, 2017 - The Digital Marketing Institute, the global certification standard in digital marketing and digital sales education, today announced that it has received a €26 million investment led by Spectrum Equity, a prominent growth equity firm whose previous investments include Lynda.com, SurveyMonkey and Bitly. The financing will fuel investment in the Digital Marketing Institute's professional learning and certification programs, accelerating the company's international expansion.
The Digital Marketing Institute has experienced rapid growth, with over 18,000 professionals in 115 countries having completed its learning programs to date. Since 2014, the Digital Marketing Institute has grown 73% annually on the back of strong uptake of its online and corporate learning programs, as well as licensed courses offered via a network of 100+ education partners globally.
The Digital Marketing Institute has trained more sales and marketing professionals to a single digital education standard than any other global certification body. Students benefit from comprehensive, up to date courses designed by expert practitioners, and validated by an independent Industry Advisory Council including representatives from leading digital companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Over 80% of Digital Marketing Institute alumni work in digital roles, with 20% at director level or above, across thousands of businesses globally.
In conjunction with the investment, Adam Margolin and Parag Khandelwal of Spectrum Equity will be joining the Digital Marketing Institute's board of directors. Ted Weissberg, former CEO of ACAMS which was acquired for $330M last year, will join the board as Executive Chairman and work closely with Ken Fitzpatrick, CEO of the Digital Marketing Institute, and the rest of the team on the company's global expansion.
"There is an urgent need for digital marketing and digital sales education for professionals," said Adam Margolin of Spectrum Equity. "The Digital Marketing Institute is uniquely positioned to address this growing global skills gap through its innovative, industry-validated certification programs. We are excited to partner with Ken Fitzpatrick, Ted Weissberg and the rest of the Digital Marketing Institute team as we look to scale the business globally and build the leading training and certification provider for sales and marketing professionals across all industries."
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Skillsoft CodeX Delivers Enhanced Coding Skills with Virtual Coding Practice Labs
Boston - September 14, 2017 - Skillsoft, the global leader in corporate learning, today announced CodeX, a new virtual coding practice lab for customers worldwide. CodeX provides coding exercises with embedded video content that challenges software developers to learn, practice and perfect their coding skills hands-on in an integrated development environment (IDE).
Learners can follow along with CodeX’s instructional videos while writing and compiling code. By using live machines and fully functioning IDEs, Skillsoft allows developers to also use the sandboxes for other practice and validation needs.
"CodeX is contextual learning at its best. Learners can practice coding in a seamless, integrated platform that provides a live working development environment and puts learning into context for a deeper experience,” said Bill Donoghue, executive chairman of the Skillsoft group. “This beautiful technology comes on the back of significant investments in our platforms and content - which positions Skillsoft at the forefront of innovation for learning and human capital management."
The New CodeX Delivers
The following highlights why CodeX is a relevant and critical training platform for users to continuously update their coding skills to meet changing organizational needs:
Integrated Developer Environment (IDEs): Learn how to code in the real-world applications that development teams use on the job. CodeX labs provide access to multiple IDEs so users gain fluency in the interface as well as the language.
Engaging Labs with Embedded Videos: CodeX combines lab guides and embedded instructional videos for an engaging experience.
Safe testing ground for projects: CodeX is a true developers sandbox, which means users can run and test code residing outside the scope of Skillsoft’s coding exercises, including proprietary projects.
In addition to the benefits to the learner, CodeX offers several benefits to IT organizations:
Security: All CodeX activity takes place on virtual machines instead of local networks, eliminating network performance degradations, security risks and data threats.
Test drive IDEs: For IT organizations considering investing in an IDE for their development team, CodeX enables them to see if IDE suits their needs.
Savings on infrastructure: CodeX significantly reduces costs associated with dedicated servers, networks, equipment and software licenses for testing code in-house.
Reporting and Tracking: CodeX delivers usage data, such as how many times the labs are accessed and for how much time, so administrators can analyze how learners are using the labs.
"CodeX is an innovative technological approach to making technical training more effective and engaging for the learner. Learners can hone their coding skills in an enriching learning environment that maximizes learner retention,” said Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal HCM Analyst for the Brandon Hall Group. “This is a clear example of how technology can transform the learner experience – CodeX is a platform that reflects Skillsoft’s position as an industry leader in learning and talent development."
CodeX is available on Skillsoft’s existing dynamic virtual lab platform, which offers a broad range of hardware labs for products from Cisco, Microsoft, VMware and CompTIA. The new virtual coding practice labs leverage IDEs such as Android Studio 2.3.3, Eclipse, Eclipse Neon, IDLE 3.4, IPython (Anaconda 4.4) and Microsoft Visual Studio.
CodeX complements Skillsoft’s market leading IT Skills and Certification content portfolio that is designed to help organizations and their IT professionals keep up with the fast-moving world of IT. Skillsoft’s content supports more than 100 professional IT certification exams. It also provides standardized test preparation and access to leading experts and mentors to help learners develop and maintain IT skills throughout their careers.
For information, visit https://www.skillsoft.com/business-solutions/codex.asp.
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft is the global leader in corporate learning, providing the most engaging learner experience and high-quality content. We are trusted by the world's leading organizations, including 65 percent of the Fortune 500. Our mission is to build beautiful technology and engaging content that drives business impact for today’s modern enterprise. Our 500,000+ multi-modal courses, videos, authoritative content chapters and micro-learning modules are accessed more than 130 million times every month, in 160 countries and 29 languages. With 100 percent secure cloud access, from any device, whenever, wherever. www.skillsoft.com
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