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CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Engagement Agreement with Ignyte Assurance Platform

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence ( CMMC COE ), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years, is excited to announce a partnership with Ignyte Assurance Platform, a leading provider of software and consulting expertise for cyber risk, cyber compliance, and cybersecurity standards mapping and assurance. This unique partnership will extend efforts to identify and include proven capabilities within the CMMC COE Marketplace to improve cybersecurity protection and resilience for the global defense industrial base network of contractors, vendors, and suppliers. Ignyte Assurance Platform delivers a software product to assist with data collection, analysis, and to help streamline processes across multiple security frameworks at once. The capability developed by Ignyte Assurance Platform supports an organization’s efforts around security, governance, risk management, and compliance and provides a tested and proven range of solutions to improve overall cybersecurity protection and resilience while meeting requirements of standards such as CMMC. The executed Engagement Agreement establishes a collaborative engagement between Ignyte Assurance Platform and the CMMC COE to partner in the furthering of their respective and complementary missions and objectives regarding the adoption, use, and expansion of CMMC based cybersecurity practices, risk management, and compliance for the DIB contractor, vendor, and supplier community of providers creating a broader CMMC ecosystem globally to improve security and resilience. “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. “While CMMC seems like a brand-new framework for someone outside the industry, we’ve been working on automation of its predecessor legislative and industry requirements such as DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST 800-171 and FedRAMP since 2012, eliminating manual components and automating governance processes” said Mr. Max Aulakh, Founder and CEO of Ignyte Assurance Platform. “We recommend implementing NIST 800-171 for now, because it’s the first logical step in CMMC adaptation. NIST domains cover 110 controls out of 130 required for Level 3 of CMMC. Joining IT-AAC / COE in this initiative, we are not just bringing educational resources to the table, but have the means to utilize our technology to speed up and simplify CMMC adoption for the DoD Supply Chain” Specific actions will include: The co-development of CMMC advisory services, cyber training and education programs to accelerate CMMC certification, increase cyber adoption and improve cyber protection & resilience. Co-sponsor symposiums, training programs and podcasts leveraging their combined cyber and IT expertise. Host regular working groups, with other partners, to enable collaboration and communications. Source qualified CMMC/ cyber professionals to serve as advocates. Establish an independent Industry Cyber Security Advisory Council with peer organizations to advise and educate leaders across government and industry on the continued evolution and effectiveness of CMMC. The CMMC-COE ( http://cmmc-coe.org ) and Ignyte Assurance Platform partnership will focus on bringing together the many disparate cyber and national security communities of interest to reduce complexity, improve awareness, and accelerate industry effort to become more cyber resilient against the growing threats from nation states and criminal enterprises. The CMMC-COE establishes both a Market Place and Knowledge Clearinghouse that will include resources that support the overall effort, including white papers; tutorials; recorded webcasts; presentations; and more that will help reduce the cost and burden on small and medium size contractors already struggling from the impact of COVID. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 For more information on Ignyte Assurance Platform, please visit https://ignyteplatform.com/ About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

February 08, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

CORRECTING & REPLACING: WitFoo Signs Distribution Agreement with SYNNEX Corporation

WitFoo

WitFoo, the world’s most intelligent SECOPS platform fueled by big data analytics, announced today a distribution agreement with SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading provider of distribution, systems design and integration services for the technology industry. This news builds upon the company’s success with enterprise customers and makes its flagship product, Precinct, available to federal, state and local government entities via the GSA Schedule. To keep defense contractors secure in the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape, the U.S. Department of Defense developed the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Framework to enforce cyber hygiene. WitFoo Precinct not only meets the rigorous CMMC requirements, but offers a pricing model that is accessible to most defense contractors, making it well suited for the federal market. “The cost-contained license model and flexible deployment options for the WitFoo platform make it particularly well-suited to the public sector market,” said Ed Somers, Vice President, Public Sector and Vertical Markets at SYNNEX. “We are pleased to be a global distribution partner for WitFoo and to add them to our GSA Schedule.” To make Precinct widely available in a market that continues to move to the cloud, WitFoo has also partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud and Google Cloud to list Precinct in their respective marketplaces. Precinct can be procured using traditional licensing based on the number of employees in an organization or using the cloud providers’ pay as you go hourly consumption models. “Spinning up Precinct in AWS was extremely straightforward. We had our data sources flowing into Precinct in minutes for searching and analysis,” said Tom Rudolph, CTO of CyberOpz. “Having the flexibility of BYOL and PAYG pricing was a great way to trial the platform and understand its capabilities in meeting our goal of protecting our customers.” “We are excited about the validation we continue to receive from our distribution, technology and reselling partners as they onboard new WitFoo customers,” said WitFoo Chairman and CTO, Charles Herring. “We are dedicated to a channel-only approach to sales that leans on the expertise of our partners to deliver the best possible experience for our customers.” WitFoo employs a 100% channel model for fulfillment, delivery and support of WitFoo Precinct. All WitFoo purchases are made through certified WitFoo partners who are supported by the distribution agreement with SYNNEX. For more information and to learn more about partnering with WitFoo, visit: https://www.witfoo.com/partners/ About SYNNEX SYNNEX Corporation is a Fortune 200 corporation and a leading provider of a comprehensive range of distribution, systems design and integration services for the technology industry to a wide range of enterprises. Founded in 1980, SYNNEX Corporation operates in numerous countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at synnex.com. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo and all other SYNNEX company, product and services names and slogans are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNNEX Corporation. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Other names and marks are the property of their respective owners. About WitFoo Built by veterans of the military, law enforcement and cyber security, WitFoo Precinct is the world’s most intelligent SECOPS platform fueled by big data analytics. By crowdsourcing intelligence from a global community of cybersecurity experts, applying time-tested methodologies from law enforcement and leveraging intelligent data and analytics, Precinct’s Investigative Engine results in a greater than 90% reduction in time and labor spent performing security investigations. The platform produces metrics on risk, tool effectiveness, operational efficiency and security gaps to fuel transformational business conversations. Infinite scalability, cost-contained licensing and flexible deployment options make Precinct an effective and economic solution for any organization looking to improve their security operations. For more information, visit www.witfoo.com Contact Details Merritt Group for WitFoo Mia Wilcox +1 610-564-6773 wilcox@merrittgrp.com Company Website https://www.witfoo.com/

February 05, 2021 02:32 PM Eastern Standard Time

2021 Will Be the Year of Meaningful Travel

YourUpdateTV

Airbnb released a new report and highlighted how 2021 will see a shift toward more meaningful travel as the pandemic continues to limit mass tourism and afflict the industry overall. When travel returns in 2021, it will be about connecting with loved ones through more personal trips, with mass tourism unlikely to return at any scale this year. Recently, Director of International Communications at Airbnb, Cassidy Blackwell, teamed with YourUpdateTV on a satellite media tour to discuss this trend and much more. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/f00q-568WXw In the report, US consumers say their near-term travel priority is to spend time with family and friends in comfortable, familiar and secure settings. Here are some additional findings from the report: Travel for pleasure is the out-of-home activity Americans have missed the most—over going to restaurants and bars, and attending sporting and other live events. A majority is ready to travel again: 54% have either already booked, are currently planning to travel, or expect to travel in 2021. This includes 57% of 18- to 29-year-olds, and 60% of 30- to 49-year-olds. The type of travel people have missed the most is visiting with family and friends. Business travel is the type of travel they have missed the least. Connecting with family and friends is also the type of travel that has grown most in importance as people look to travel after the pandemic: 41% say such travel has become “much more” important to them, almost twice the percentage who cite travel to accomplish personal goals (22%). Affordability is the top priority overall when it comes to choosing accommodation not just for the first trip but for future travel indefinitely (54%), beating health and safety protocols by 10 points. Nearly three in five Americans (58%) earning less than $50,000 per year say they are booked, planning or expecting to travel in 2021. Based on ongoing Airbnb guest survey data, a majority of guests—including 53% of all homes guests in 2019—tell us they choose Airbnb to save money while traveling. 56% of those under age 50 say they would be “much” or “somewhat more likely” to use an online platform which offers the ability to search for alternate energy and green accommodations. Only 28% of those aged 50+ say the same. For more information on these trends and much more, visit Airbnb.com About Cassidy Blackwell: Cassidy Blackwell is the Director of International Communications at Airbnb. In her role she is responsible for leading the teams across EMEA, APAC, LATAM and China to drive initiatives that help to advance business objectives, policy priorities and brand reputation. In her tenure as a marketing and communications professional, Cassidy has experience in working in both tech, CPG, retail and philanthropy, with specialized experience in empowering women, people of color and other underserved communities around the world. Cassidy has been named one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, Brand Innovator's 40 Under 40 and a finalist for the Sage Group's Marketers Who Matter. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

February 05, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

Scents of Space: Citizen Helps to Create a Relaxing Environment at Home

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/izrNOXrEqMI In a time where working remotely, virtual school and stay-in date nights have taken on a whole new meaning, your home environment has never become more important. Leading watchmaker, Citizen, launches a new innovative scent diffusing wellness clock – Sensory Time™ for home and offices. This multi-functional sensory clock is fully integrated, time saving and a life enhancing product. Our homes are our sanctuary; it is one of the few places where we feel comfortable, safe, and at peace. However, with the current events, many of us need to try to transform our homes into a more relaxing place, helping us to cope with all the stress that we might feel. Caroline Fabrigas, CEO of Scent Marketing Inc. and Co-founder of Scent Invent Technology partnered with Citizen, D S Simon Media, and YourUpdate TV on a nationwide media tour to discuss the ways the scents can be used to create a relaxing home environment and discuss the launch of the new scent-diffusing wellness clock from Citizen called Sensory Time™. The use of scent has become a vital part of everyday life as the pursuit for health and wellness increases. Created in partnership with IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances), one of the largest fragrance houses globally, the end result was an innovative, scent diffusion system that provides high quality aromas. Sensory Time is available with two essential oil blends: Lavender Escape and Citrus Boost. Lavender Escape is a calming, uplifting blend of aromatic and woody noted for a sense of calm and a feeling of comfort and balance. Citrus Boost is an uplifting surge of stimulating botanicals for a sense of rejuvenation. This noiseless aroma machine can use essential oil directly without any water. Water based evaporators or fans destroy all the properties of the essential oil which are important for well-being. By using solid state diffusion technology the scent machine preserves all the good properties of the essential oil while providing a subtle diffusion Sensory Time also uses 100% essential oil, leaving nothing to waste. Nano particles leave no residue and allow you to scent a 500 cubic square feet house or office space subtly and efficiently. Replenishment oil supply will be sold to separately. Sensory Time is offered in three modern designs: White on Expresso Wood (CC1038), White on White (CC1036), and White on Dark Grey (CC1037). All clocks retail at $99.00. Sensory Time’s other unique features include precision timekeeping with a 24-hour digital clock and alarm for the scent diffusing mode, a Bluetooth wireless speaker that delivers pitch perfect sound, USB power source for extra charging capabilities and a modulating wellness light that adjusts to suit your mood. Sensory Time is the perfect gift for this holiday season. It is available at www.citizenwatch.com/sensorytime. About Citizen Watch: Citizen, a pioneer in watchmaking and innovation since 1918, promotes excellence and creativity with a deep-rooted respect for craftsmanship. Citizen advocates “Better Starts Now,” searching for and accomplishing goals that cultivate positive change. Driven to create timepieces enjoyed by citizens all over the world, Citizen formed an alliance partnership with Disney in 2018, another powerhouse brand with similar values. With a long-term partnership in place, Citizen participates in activations surrounding the Disney Parks, Marvel, Star Wars and more. Citizen is the Official Timepiece of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland with branded clocks in both theme parks. In addition, in 2020 Citizen joined 1% for the Planet, pledging to donate 1% of its website sales in the U.S. to support global nonprofit organizations focused on the environment. At Citizen, our purpose started with a simple yet revolutionary challenge to ourselves: to think about power differently. For over 40 years, CITIZEN’s proprietary Eco-Drive® technology has harnessed the power of light from any natural or artificial light source to convert it to energy, eliminating the need for any battery replacement, using a renewable energy to keep batteries from landfills. All watches require power, but very few consider the source that power comes from, and what impact it may have on not just the wearer, but the world at large. Eco-Drive isn’t an ordinary power source — it’s one with purpose built in. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

February 05, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

WorkAway IT Leverages Comodo’s World-Class Cybersecurity Platform to Cost-Effectively Secure and Manage Endpoints and Mobile Devices

Comodo

WorkAway IT is leveraging the Comodo Dragon Platform and Advanced Endpoint Protection (AEP) to provide market-leading cybersecurity to its small business customers, while simultaneously reducing their costs. “A significant percentage of our client base are small businesses with fewer than 20 users, and do not have an active directory or office365. To provide remote management of machines, we needed a tool which is low cost, and enables us to perform routine maintenance tasks, generate reports, provide endpoint protection, and enable us to have visibility into any issues that our customers may be facing on their machines.” Said Brady Cusack, Managing Partner. WorkAway IT are using the Dragon Platform and Comodo Advanced Endpoint Protection from Comodo. They previously evaluated other services from Avast and Viper, ultimately choosing to work with Comodo due to its market-leading combination of simplicity and effectiveness. “The Comodo Dragon Platform lets us solve a tremendous number of issues in a single solution. Using Comodo’s Dragon Platform, we can apply standards across the board to our users no matter what type of device they are using.”, Brady continues. Dragon platform with Advanced Endpoint Protection, is a complete cloud-native framework that delivers a zero-trust architecture to protect and defend endpoints. Its patent-pending auto containment technology has active breach protection that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. The auto containment runs an unknown executable in a kernel API virtualized mode, thereby offering attack surface reduction (ASR) which neutralizes ransomware attacks. The Dragon Platform also utilizes a Default Deny security posture with Default Allow usability to provide a most comprehensive protection against zero-day threats, while having no impact on end-user experience or workflows. Brady explains some of the key benefits they see by working with Comodo Dragon Platform: “With Comodo, we can provide our customers with a high standard of service, without the hefty price tag that is associated with other platforms (e.g., Microsoft 365 E3/E5). We can perform the maintenance that we would typically use Microsoft for, provide security, a firewall, and detailed reporting that enables us to identify issues before they happen.” About WorkAway IT WorkAway IT offers solutions that allow businesses to operate anywhere, whether remote or local, more efficiently. WorkAway IT uses their experience with VMWare Platform management, automation of IT infrastructure, and security platform services to provide stable, secure managed services for their clients. WorkAway IT will ensure the business is safe and secure online. They provide with realistic, cost-saving solutions that empower companies to scale and adapt to an ever-changing world. Using their cloud-driven technology services, they ensure continuity of service so that businesses can continue to thrive as the world changes around us. As a company comprised of automation engineers, executive business leadership, cybersecurity specialists, and experienced educators who combine their knowledge in a variety of industries to provide adaptable solutions. For more information visit http://workawayit.net/ About Comodo Comodo is the world’s leader of next-generation open source cybersecurity, with the industry’s most disruptive innovations. We help customers stop breaches with groundbreaking auto containment technology that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. Our complete cloud-native framework delivers a zero-trust architecture with active breach protection for the most comprehensive defense against zero-day threats. Comodo’s cybersecurity products maximize intelligent sharing between every component of the platform, therefore providing superior security. We are the only company that analyzes and gives a trusted verdict for 100% of files on a network. Comodo leverages innovation to celebrate and support the cybersecurity community by offering the very first open source endpoint detection and response (EDR). We believe that an open source model using community-powered collaboration will ensure that every organization has access to the industry’s most sophisticated EDR. Headquartered in Clifton NJ, Comodo’s global development team and threat intelligence laboratories deliver innovative, category leading, security solutions for thousands of companies’ endpoints, network boundaries, and internal networks. For more information visit https://www.comodo.com/ Contact Details KOBI MEIR +1 888-551-1531 kobi.benmeir@comodo.com Company Website http://www.comodo.com

February 05, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

CORRECT AND REPLACE Stradling Chooses OnePlace Marketing & Business Development from Intapp as its All-in-One Business Development and CRM Solution

Intapp

Intapp, the leader in connected firm management solutions for professional and financial services firms, announced that the business law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth (Stradling) has selected OnePlace Marketing & Business Development — a connected client lifecycle management suite — to power, organize, and manage the firm’s business development and communications efforts. Stradling, based in Newport Beach, California, employs more than 100 lawyers across 10 offices in California, Colorado, Nevada, and Washington. Founded in 1975 to serve Southern California’s emerging growth companies, Stradling works with public and private companies across the western United States to provide innovative solutions for securities, finance, private equity, M&A, litigation, and public finance needs. The firm’s high profile financing work led Stradling to be recognized among the Top 25 Most Active Law Firms in VC Deals in 2020. The move to OnePlace Marketing & Business Development will give Stradling’s marketing team the ease of a single interface from which to support current and future business development initiatives, reach various audiences in highly targeted communications, and centralize data among the separate office locations. “With Intapp OnePlace, we’re ensuring our business development will be future-proofed,” said Robin Gerard, Chief Marketing Officer at Stradling. “In order to do our best work today and grow the firm for tomorrow, we need to reach the right people in the right way and with the right message. Intapp gives us the power to do that now and down the line.” “Given the current work-from-home world we live in, firms face an even greater need to drive collaboration and engagement with and between clients and colleagues,” said Lavinia Calvert, General Manager for Marketing & Business Development Solutions at Intapp. “Robin and the team at Stradling recognize that having the ability to consolidate and manage the firm’s experience data, relationships intelligence, communications, and marketing programs on in one place has become absolutely mission-critical. We’re thrilled to welcome Stradling to our growing family of Intapp OnePlace clients.” Stradling is expected to complete its OnePlace Marketing & Business Development implementation in March, aided by ClientsFirst Consulting. About Intapp Intapp powers connected firms. Trusted by more than 1,600 of the world's top legal, investment banking, private capital, accounting, and consulting firms, Intapp offers end-to-end, cloud-based connected firm management software built for the unique needs of partner-led firms. Intapp helps enhance collaboration, unleash collective knowledge, transform decision-making, and fuel success. Our products and services span the entire engagement lifecycle — from strategy through origination and execution — to drive optimal outcomes. For more information, visit intapp.com and connect with us on Twitter (@Intapp) and LinkedIn. About Stradling Stradling is a leading business law firm with more than 110 lawyers providing experienced counsel in critical transactions and disputes from 10 offices across California, Colorado, Nevada and Washington. By focusing on its clients’ core needs, Stradling’s size, structure, and culture provide big-firm counsel with small-firm flexibility and responsiveness. That deliberate focus on client success has helped the firm attract and retain many of the most accomplished lawyers in their fields. The Stradling teams work together to provide clients with innovative solutions to their corporate and securities, finance, private equity, litigation, M&A, employment, tax, venture capital, intellectual property, healthcare regulatory, bankruptcy and restructuring, environmental, real estate, and public finance needs. Contact Details Natalie Papaj +1 703-586-0048 natalie.papaj@intapp.com Company Website http://www.intapp.com

February 04, 2021 03:20 PM Eastern Standard Time

VinFuture to announce nomination criteria and officially launch the call for nominations

Media Outreach

The VinFuture Prize is officially open for nominations until June 7, 2021. There are nine key eligibility criteria for the Grand Prize and the three Special Prizes. The call for nominations is available at: www.vinfutureprize.org The prizes will be awarded for fundamental advances in science and engineering that align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach - 3 February 2021 - On February 3, 2021, the VinFuture Foundation announced the VinFuture Prize's nomination criteria which put the impact on millions of people in the past or next ten years at the core. The VinFuture Prize is officially open for nominations until June 7, 2021. The nomination criteria have been developed and agreed upon by the Prize Council, which comprises 11 world-renowned scientists. There are nine key eligibility criteria for the Grand Prize and the three Special Prizes. There are further criteria for each prize category. In the context of the global vision for the VinFuture Foundation, the prizes will be awarded for fundamental advances in science and engineering that align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, including eradicating poverty and hunger, enhancing health and quality of life, promoting access to quality education, clean water, and renewable energy, reducing inequality or addressing climate change. What makes the VinFuture Prize's nomination criteria unique is the requirement for clear evidence of the impact on millions of people in the past or next ten years. Breakthroughs in science must result in positive impacts for humankind on a global scale. This is an integral criterion, consistent with the mission of "creating meaningful change in the everyday lives of millions of people by promoting breakthrough scientific research and technological innovations" that VinFuture has set forth. The VinFuture Prize calls for nominations to be submitted by eligible nominators including recognised organisations such as universities, research institutes, national academies of sciences, networks, professional associations, technology and industrial corporates or businesses, incubators, as well as prominent individuals in relevant fields. Prof. Sir Richard Henry Friend - Chair of the VinFuture Prize Council commented: "We need cooperation on a global scale to tackle the global challenges we now face, such as infectious diseases, public health and climate change. For these, we now recognise that science and technology must deliver benefits to all peoples and all nations. The VinFuture prizes will recognise those whose brilliant science or engineering can have positive impact on the lives of millions of people across the planet." Concurrent with the release of the nomination criteria, the VinFuture Prize has officially opened its call for nominations worldwide from February 3, 2021 to June 7, 2021. VinFuture Foundation's Founder, Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong -- Chairman of Vingroup remarked: " Apart from recognising exceptional scientists worldwide, VinFuture wishes to promote and bring research work and inventions into life for the betterment of humankind. I hope that the VinFuture Prize can discover and recognise the most deserving scientists and inventors as well as projects that bring about great values to millions of people." The VinFuture Foundation and VinFuture Prize were introduced on December 20, 2020. As an annual global prize for science and technology, VinFuture Prize is one of the most valuable prizes to date with its total prize value of VND104.5 billion (equivalent to US$4.5 million). Its VND70 billion Grand Prize (equivalent to US$3 million) will be awarded to those whose groundbreaking research and technological inventions are proven to possibly better the life of humankind and foster a sustainable living environment for future generations. Three special prizes, each at VND11.5 billion (equivalent to US$500,000) will be awarded to innovators from developing countries; female innovators and innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields. The VinFuture Laureates are selected by an independent Prize Council - a global and diverse team of distinguished individuals from academia, research and industry, all of whom are globally renowned for their achievements and contribution in the field of science, technology and industry in advancing human progress. On January 20, 2021, the Inaugural Prize Council Meeting took place. It was agreed that nominations will be sought from all nations, as set out in www.vinfutureprize.org. After the meeting, there have been more than 200 scientists and professors from the recognised universities and research institutes from 20 countries of six continents showing their interest in becoming official nominators for the Prize. Nominators are from different countries and territories ranging from Algeria, Belgium, mainland China, Denmark, France, Ghana, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, to the United States. Nominators also come from universities such as Cornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Tsinghua University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, University of Toronto or Yale University, to name just a few. The laureates will be announced in December 2021 and the official award ceremony will be held in Viet Nam in January 2022. The call for nominations is available at: www.vinfutureprize.org Info box: Nine major nomination criteria of the VinFuture Prize: There should be clear evidence, or potential, for an end-product or service based on the solution, which has an everyday practical application; Solutions should have already benefited millions of people in the past 10 years for the Grand Prize, or have the potential to benefit millions of people in the next 10 years for the Special Prizes; Solutions should be aligned with one or more of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals; Solutions must be scientifically proven (i.e. there should be clear evidence of passing relevant scientific trials, and in the case of research, it must be empirically proven or widely reviewed); Open to researchers or inventors who were involved in developing the underlying solutions, and not entrepreneurs or corporates who helped in commercialisation/diffusion of the technology; End-products of the research should benefit people globally, including those from developing and less developed countries, as well as lower-income and disadvantaged communities; Open to individuals or teams of researchers/inventors; Preference for nominees in the active stages of their careers; Same individual/team can be nominated for one or more of the VinFuture Special Prizes if eligible. Contact Details VinGroup Media Contact v.chidqd@vingroup.net

February 03, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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MarketFinance Business Booster Fund announces first winners of grants

Stockwood Strategy

Fintech business lender MarketFinance has today made three grants of £5,000 each to winners of the MarketFinance Business Booster Fund. Over 500 virtual pitches were received and 5 were shortlisted. These businesses were put to a social media vote before three winners were selected. The three winning entries came from ethical breastfeeding clothing brand The Bshirt, smart food labelling specialist BlakBear and independent children’s literacy charity The Economist Educational Foundation. Inner city young people’s charity XLP and creative agency Collaborative Creations were the other two businesses to make the shortlist. Anil Stocker, CEO of MarketFinance commented: “We launched this initiative as a small boost to help the successful businesses pivot, scale or grow in 2021. We want to support more of the UK’s hardest working and most exciting SMEs. In addition to the grant, we will offer the time and skills of our expert staff to help their leadership teams. Whether they need tech, marketing, finance or communications support, we will provide the resources to help them get to where they want to go. The winners' applications were highly commended and we wish them all the very best for the year ahead. ” On being the first beneficiaries of grants from the MarketFinance Booster Fund, the winners’ comments: Lisa Lessaware, co-founder of The Bshirt said: “This means so much to our business. This grant will be used to launch exciting new ethical products to help women breastfeed more comfortably and ultimately for longer.” Michael Kasimatis, co-founder at BlakBear said: “We’re thrilled to receive this grant. It will help drive the technical and regulatory development. Initiatives like this truly help deliver research and innovation to the market. Thank you, MarketFinance". Harriet Boland, Fundraising & Partnerships manager, at The Economist Educational Foundation said: “We are delighted to receive a grant from the MarketFinance business booster fund! This money will help us grow and reach thousands more young people and enable them to have inspiring discussions about current affairs in schools." The Business Booster Fund was established in December 2020 and forms part of a commitment from MarketFinance to SMEs. The Fund makes grants of £5,000 available to UK small businesses, along with expert advice from MarketFinance’s team. The fund has been designed to develop innovative entrepreneurs even further. MarketFinance looked for entrepreneurs that represent our community as a whole, and is keen to support companies that value diversity, inclusion and giving back. Anil Stocker added: “We know that the winners, and all SMEs in general, face challenging times as we deal with both the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic challenges ahead. For that reason, it has been exciting to see a very wide range of innovative approaches from so many applicants to grow their businesses. It was difficult to narrow the awards down to a small number of outstanding winners and we look forward to supporting them with a variety of talent and resources at MarketFinance”. ENDS About MarketFinance MarketFinance is a business finance company with offices in London and Manchester. The online platform enables businesses to access a range of flexible finance solutions - quickly and easily. This smart technology is backed by help from real people so business owners can save time and focus on growing their business. Since 2011, MarketFinance has advanced over £3 billion to companies across a range of sizes and sectors, providing working capital and finance for everything from paying staff and suppliers to launching new products or services and accelerating growth. MarketFinance is backed by Barclays, Santander InnoVentures, European venture capital fund Northzone (invested in Klarna, iZettle and Trustpilot), and private equity group MCI Capital (also invested in iZettle, Azimo and Gett). Contact Details MarketFinance Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@marketfinance.com Company Website https://marketfinance.com/

February 03, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) Selects CSG as Partner in Their Digital Transformation

CSG

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) announced a multiyear extension to its partnership with CSG. Mobily will deploy CSG’s innovative suite of revenue and customer management solutions to accelerate growth, introduce new products and services, and evolve the customer experience through traditional and digital channels. “Mobily is committed to its strategic vision of becoming a fully integrated operator. Ongoing transformation programs will enable Mobily to continue providing world class communications services, combined with an exceptional digital experience for our customers,” said Alaa Malki, CTO at Mobily. “By capitalising on our two companies’ combined industry knowledge and customer engagement expertise, this new era in our strategic partnership will empower Mobily to provide exciting digital products and services that simplify and enhance our customer journey and experience. Our partnership with CSG supports our corporate strategy, technology innovation, and advancement of our service offerings to our rapidly growing customer base. It also supports our overall transformation goals of being an agile and dynamic company that capitalises on opportunities presented by 5G and beyond, whilst providing a unified customer experience across all Mobily communication channels,” added Malki. CSG will deploy a full-stack solution that optimises Mobily’s ability to increase process agility and go-to-market flexibility, while lowering expenditures. The CSG solution will shift Mobily’s billing and revenue management operations to a consolidated managed services model, replacing existing legacy systems with one that digitally transforms Mobily’s systems and business operations. "Mobily truly exemplifies industry leadership, fully aligning itself with Vision 2030 to help drive a vibrant and sustainable digital economy across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while providing an exceptional experience for its customers,” said James Kirby, head of CSG’s EMEA business. "CSG is pleased to open a new chapter in our twelve-year partnership with Mobily, driving their digital transformation, while strengthening their position in a highly competitive Saudi market.” # # # About Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) is a Saudi company launched commercially in May 2005. Mobily provides integrated services for three main sectors, individuals, businesses, and carriers. It has one of the largest wireless networks by coverage in Saudi Arabia as well as the region, and one of the widest FTTH networks, in addition to one of the largest data center systems worldwide. Mobily has been listed on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange since 2004. Major shareholders are Etisalat Emirates Group (27.99%) and the General Organization for Social Insurance (6.9%). The remaining shares are owned by institutional and retail investors. About CSG For more than 35 years, CSG has simplified the complexity of business, delivering innovative customer engagement solutions that help companies acquire, monetize, engage and retain customers. Operating across more than 120 countries worldwide, CSG manages billions of critical customer interactions annually, and its award-winning suite of software and services allow companies across dozens of industries to tackle their biggest business challenges and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. CSG is the trusted partner for driving digital innovation for hundreds of leading global brands, including AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Eastlink, Formula One, Maximus, MTN and Telstra. To learn more, visit our website at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 CSG Systems International, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“CSG”). All rights reserved. CSG® is a registered trademark of CSG Systems International, Inc. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and/or product names which are referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners, and all rights therein are reserved. Contact Details CSG Global / North America / Asia-Pacific Brad Jones +1 303-200-3001 brad.jones@csgi.com CSG Europe / Middle East / Africa Kristine Østergaard +44 (0)79 2047 7204 kristine.ostergaard@csgi.com CSG Investor Relations John Rea +1 (210) 687 4409 john.rea@csgi.com Mobily Amjad Shacker +966 505 442066 a.shacker@mobily.com.sa Company Website https://www.csgi.com

February 03, 2021 01:00 AM Mountain Standard Time

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