Animal nutrition leader deploys cloud native and purpose-built industry solutions for global standardization, harmonized processes and sustainability best practices

Infor^®, the industry cloud company, today announced that Nutreco, a global leader in nutritional solutions and services for the aquaculture and animal nutrition industry, has deployed Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage. Supporting 3,600 users across more than 100 production plants in 37 countries, the deployment, which is powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), is a showcase of the scalability and robustness of Infor's public cloud services and multi-tenant industry cloud platform. Fully integrated with Nutreco's third-party systems, the platform, labelled Unite, facilitates standardization and the creation of worldwide aggregated reports. These provide insights to improve integrated business planning cycles for the feed leader and manage the most effective stock levels and deliveries on time.

In designing its digital strategy, Nutreco needed a global cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform that could consolidate, contextualize and communicate critical information for 3,600 users. The new Infor Unite platform is harmonizing business processes and derisking operations. In addition, functionality, maintenance, operations, security, and legal updates are all deployed automatically to ensure Nutreco's solution is always current.

Sustainability sits at the heart of Nutreco's strategy and agenda, and the company has been publishing an annual sustainability report since 2016. All relevant data points are organized within the Unite system in a multi-dimensional, tagged format, which enables Nutreco to generate transparent and automated sustainability reports effortlessly.

The collaboration, synergies and open dialogue between Nutreco and Infor were key to the project's success, according to Erik Beckers, CIO of Nutreco. "As well as Infor's willingness to collaborate and develop solutions to meet the specific requirements of our needs and translate these in the solution, its responsiveness to any issues or development needs sets it apart as a solid, innovative, and trustworthy partner. This was a key differentiator for us in selecting an ERP partner to move forward with.

"The combination of standardized business processes and process mining technology plays a crucial role, particularly when incorporating Nutreco's newly acquired operating units. Process mining is used continuously to optimize business processes, ensuring high user satisfaction and efficient business transactions, as well as allowing us to tailor training accordingly," Beckers continued.

"Ultimately, Infor offers a fully cloud-based, scalable, secure and modern ERP solution, which includes process mining, AI, and RPA (robotic process automation) functionalities. Because Infor manages the multi-tenant cloud solution, which has a modern API (application programming interface) structure, we can focus all resources on our digital transformational strategy and innovate for the future.

"We as Nutreco are able to deliver a digital solution for our business, by leveraging from the proven state-of-the-art technolgy, which is taken care of by Infor, and focus on delivering the value. That is what partnership is all about," Beckers concluded.

"Nutreco and Infor have been partners for several years," said Hein Kivits, Infor country manager and senior sales director for Benelux. "This is a partnership where we not only focus on mutual business value but also on co-development and the adoption of our new technologies within the Nutreco organization. With the move to our always-current CloudSuite Food & Beverage platform, Nutreco receives new capabilities automatically and can take advantage of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced robotic process automation."

KineMatik provides automated Business Process and Project Management Solutions integrated with OpenText's Content Cloud business

OpenText™, today announced the addition of automated Business Process and Project Management Solutions to the OpenText Content business through the acquisition of KineMatik.  

Based in Cork, Ireland, KineMatik provides workflow automation, Document Change Control, Project Management and Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) solutions built on OpenText's Content Server.

KineMatik works with leading organizations -- in life science, technology, finance, energy and other industries -- to create success in their digital and content services transformation by developing innovative and tailored automation solutions.

"Let me welcome KineMatik customers and employees to OpenText, and we look forward to bringing the KineMatik solution to our entire install base of content management customers," said OpenText CEO & CTO Mark J. Barrenechea.  "KineMatik helps enterprise customers in regulated industries meet the highest standards in business process and project management, a key component in Information Management."

Industry veterans from SAP, Coupa, SAS, Korn Ferry and EY are the latest in a wave of executive-level hires at FourKites to continue to drive accelerated global growth

Leading supply chain visibility provider FourKites today announced it has expanded its leadership team with the addition of three new senior vice presidents across its go-to-market organization. These hires will build on FourKites’ ongoing momentum over the last 12 months, including 27% growth in the number of shipments tracked in the platform, and nearly 30% growth in its customer base, which includes over 50% of the Fortune 500.

Phil Weir, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Customers, will head FourKites’ global Customer Growth organization, which is responsible for customers’ ongoing adoption of the FourKites platform and ecosystem. Weir is an experienced customer advocate with more than 25 years of supply chain and enterprise application experience. He previously led the North American Sales team for Coupa’s supply chain business, including the turnaround of its LLamasoft acquisition, as well as leadership roles with SAP, EY and two start-ups that were sold to Infor and Kibo Commerce.

“I’m honored to accelerate customer growth alongside this passionate, energetic team,” said Weir. “FourKites listens to and understands its customers, and it shows: this company has earned a trusted seat at the table with high-caliber brands and diverse supply chains, with incredible speed. I’m thrilled to be a part of that, and I look forward to helping FourKites reach even greater heights for its customers – starting with next month’s Visibility conference.”

Chris Basson, Senior Vice President, Professional Services, will serve as FourKites’ head of services and carrier operations, managing client solution delivery with a focus on customer outcomes and experience. Basson has more than 25 years of experience, with a focus on positioning and driving the successful adoption of digital technologies. His previous roles include leading Korn Ferry’s North America Client Success business, and a long tenure leading the North America Strategic Programs business for SAP services.

“I’m thrilled to join this team, whose creativity, tenacity and strong vision are driving FourKites to amazing heights,” said Basson. “Backed by FourKites’ focus on the customer and its high-quality data across the full supply chain, we have an incredible opportunity to capture market share, expand our offerings, and diversify up and down the chain. I look forward to leading my team in capturing those opportunities.”

Dan Abramson, Senior Vice President, Americas Market Expansion, will lead FourKites’ net new customer growth in the Americas. Abramson was most recently the Senior Executive Director and GM at SAS, where he led one of the largest revenue and people organizations focused on the manufacturing, transportation, entertainment and B2B software and services industries, and grew the revenue of the business 140% during his tenure.

“I am delighted to join FourKites, building on its amazing foundation of market-leading products and solutions to drive strategic customer growth across the Americas,” said Abramson. “The momentum of this company is truly exciting, and I look forward to leading my team in pursuing hyper growth industry segments and delivering measurable value and delightful experiences to our customers.”

Weir, Basson and Abramson are the latest in a line of industry heavy hitters to join FourKites in recent months. Last month, Bo Tao joined as FourKites’ new Chief Technology Officer and Manik Mair joined as Senior Vice President of Corporate Growth. Rocky Subramanian joined as President in April 2023. In July, the company announced the expansion of its teams dedicated to driving innovation for key verticals, and helping customers maximize the value they derive from the platform. In addition, the company has continued to onboard new leaders to its Product Management and Customer Service teams.

“I am tremendously excited to welcome these industry veterans to FourKites during this pivotal moment of evolution and growth for our company,” said Mathew Elenjickal, founder and CEO of FourKites. “More and more organizations across the globe are recognizing the quantifiable value that FourKites brings to their operations, and these talented leaders will help us capture and accelerate this momentum.”

FourKites’ ability to attract and retain top talent is reflected in a number of recent industry accolades. In March 2023, FourKites was named a Great Place to Work in India for the fifth consecutive year, and it made Fast Company’s list of Best Workplaces for Innovators in July. Gartner recognized FourKites twice in Spring 2023 — first as a three-time Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Real-time Transportation Visibility Solutions, and as a winner of the 2023 Gartner Marketing and Communications Awards for Excellence in Reputation and Thought Leadership.

In addition to earning industry accolades and attracting new talent, FourKites recently announced a new competitive replacement program, for organizations struggling with their current visibility vendors that are not delivering promised results.

In a strategic move aimed at driving the next level of growth and capitalising on the market opportunity, Rapid4Cloud's Board of Directors today announced significant enhancement to its executive leadership with the addition of the new CEO, Sean Harmon.

Since 2019, Rapid4Cloud has experienced strong growth and is now poised to propel the company to the next phase. "We are at a point where we can take the company to the next level. The first action in this strategic plan is the introduction of our new Chief Executive Officer," said Philip Martin, Founder of Rapid4Cloud.

Stepping into the CEO role is Sean Harmon, an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader with 30 years of experience in the sales and executive leadership. Sean's industry knowledge and operational expertise make him the ideal leader for Rapid4Cloud's next phase of growth.

Philip Martin, a recognised pioneer in Oracle Cloud automation, will transition from his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). His innovative vision will continue to guide the company's technology direction.

"Sean's strong leadership and operational experience make him the ideal leader for Rapid4Cloud's next phase of growth," added Philip. "In my new capacity as Chairman and CTO, I look forward to working closely with Sean and our talented team to continue to deliver cutting-edge solutions that simplify and transform the way businesses engage with Oracle Cloud Applications."

"I am extremely excited to join the Rapid4Cloud team. Philip has built an incredible product and team of technical and functional experts to address and assist in the significant movement of Oracle applications customers to the Oracle Cloud and also to help support them once they are live in Oracle's Cloud Application environment. Enhancing our go-to-market motion through improved market awareness, focus on partners (both System Integrators and MSPs) as well end users, and strengthening our relationship with Oracle is critical to both our success as well as the success of our Customers," said Sean Harmon, CEO.

With this strategic shift in leadership, Rapid4Cloud reaffirms its commitment to driving technological innovation, enhancing customer service, and fostering growth.

Business apps can automatically fill in forms from PDFs, receipts, emails, and chats in multiple languages

Vaadin, a provider of Java web application platforms, today announced the launch of AI Form Filler, an add-on to Vaadin Flow that can automatically fill out forms based on unstructured text in a wide range of languages. Using AI Form Filler, developers can easily incorporate features to fill in forms from receipts, emails, PDFs, and chat conversations into their Vaadin-based business applications.

While developers know it is possible to fill out a form by extracting relevant information from unstructured text using large-language models such as OpenAI’s GPT, integrating this functionality into each web application or use case can be challenging and time-consuming. Developers who want to leverage OpenAI’s GPT in their business applications must do all the work to set up the appropriate prompt engineering and context to extract the relevant information from unstructured text. They also must implement the logic to use the extracted data to fill in the many different types of UI components in their forms—all of which take significant developer time and effort.

Vaadin’s AI Form Filler allows developers to easily embed the AI experience into their business applications, increasing developer efficiencies while elevating the user experience.

Samples of how developers can use Vaadin’s AI Form Filler functionality include:

• Adding PDF invoices in multiple languages to an ERP application
• Automatically creating an expense item from a scanned receipt
• Extracting information from an email to an order form
• Using a chatbot conversation to fill out a support ticket

“For developers, the promise of OpenAI’s GPT has been limited by the amount of effort and time spent on the manual processes of setup and integration,” said Kim Weins, head of product at Vaadin. “Vaadin’s new AI Form Filler delivers extraordinary gains in developer efficiency and impact, accelerates feature development, and positions even the smallest companies for remarkable growth, innovation, and competitive advantage—-all while making business applications more valuable and more efficient for end users.”

AI Form Filler is currently available as an Experimental feature and works with Vaadin Flow 24 or later. It is free to all users through at least the end of 2023.

Pi-xcels, an innovative leader in digital receipt solutions, has successfully completed its Seed funding round, raising US$1.7 million. The round was led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from other prominent venture capital firms such as Hustle Fund, Amand Ventures, and Black Kite Capital, as well as strategic angel investors.

The round marks a momentous step towards realising Pi-xcels' vision of revolutionising the retail landscape and empowering merchants with its interactive Near Field Communication (NFC) receipt technology.

Additionally, it coincides with Pi-xcels' recognition as the recipient of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Green Finance Subsidy Grant and acceptance into the prestigious Visa Accelerator program.

"Pi-xcels is shaping the future of retail with paperless receipts and data-centric shopper journeys," said Pi-xcels CEO Daniel Lim. "We are among the few use cases of NFC beyond payments. Not only does our app-less technology enhance customer experiences, it also equips retailers with valuable data to better understand and cater to customers' preferences."

Pi-xcels' NFC-enabled POS device enables the issuance of interactive e-receipts in stores through a contactless tap via a smartphone, eliminating paper waste and fostering eco-friendly practices. This can be done without the need for app downloads, QR code scans, or personal information sharing, enhancing the shopper experience. It also simplifies the compilation of e-receipts for official claims with a single sign-on, resulting in clutter-free wallets for end-users.

Furthermore, the interactive receipt serves as a gateway to omni-channel marketing, enhancing pre- and post-sale experiences for shoppers and providing retailers with expanded marketing avenues. Simultaneously, Pi-xcels offers real-time, comprehensive transaction intelligence, providing valuable data-driven insights for retailers.

"Pi-xcels makes it seamless for businesses and payment platforms to adopt digital receipts. Apart from making the process frictionless for consumers, the solution is already integrated with payment terminals, making it easy for merchants to adopt. The company's technology, fortified by patents, positions Pi-xcels as an industry leader. We foresee this technology setting a new standard for retail and inspiring businesses to embrace eco-friendly solutions, contributing to a more sustainable future," said Andy Hwang, General Partner at Wavemaker Partners."

The fresh funds will fuel global business development initiatives, particularly expanding Pi-xcels' footprint in Europe and cementing key projects in Japan and Southeast Asia. The company has partnered with esteemed global brand names like payment terminal company Ingenico. Overall, it has witnessed a surge of interest from major corporations in the Asia-Pacific region as evidenced by non-disclosure agreements alluding to significant market demand.

Cloud video surveillance startup announces sales growth, new products and partnerships

Today, Cloudastructure is holding their midyear shareholder update. The update will feature the multiple recent wins the company has experienced in the first half of the year, most notably in the multifamily vertical market.

Rapidly Increasing Market Share in Multifamily

The AI Surveillance startup's dedicated sales team is currently experiencing multiple wins in the multifamily market. With a recent 50% win rate, the team is in the process of capturing 50% of top 10 Multifamily property management companies in the U.S., per the National Multifamily Housing Council's 2023 rankings on the "Top 50 Apartment Managers."

According to customers, the differentiators that make Cloudastructure stand out in the hotly contested vertical are:

• The cloud-based platform enables a uniform view of all properties
• The company's camera agnostic policy vastly reduces upgrade costs
• Integrated remote guarding software and services

The winning combination means that enterprise businesses within the vertical can transform their traditionally reactive surveillance security into a real-time 21st century crime-fighting tool, saving on losses, on-premises guard costs, software licensing, and hardware.

Recent wins in the vertical market include properties managed by CONAM, Sunroad, Birge and Held, Second Street Fund, and Greystar, the largest multifamily management company in the market.

Cloudastructure is also announcing the closing of their first deal in the senior living vertical market with Wolff Company.

Remote Guarding on the Rise

A year and a half after pivoting to build the first and only fully integrated remote guarding software in the space, Cloudastructure's gamble is paying off. A full 62% of all Cloudastructure proposals now include Remote Guarding software, services and hardware.

The news comes on the heels of Cloudastructure's debut statistics for the effectiveness of remote guarding: in the first half of the year, Cloudastructure's remote guard teams conducted 1260 "Voice Downs" to suspicious activity on client properties. In every single instance, the would-be assailants ceased their nefarious activities, earning the company a 100% deterrence rate on crime. Multifamily customers rewarded Cloudastructure's new service with a 100% Net Promoter Score.

Judges at the Proptech Breakthrough Awards were equally impressed with Cloudastructure's end-to-end real-time security and this month awarded Cloudastructure with the "Residential Data Management Platform of the Year" award.

Scaling Deployment

Cloudastructure's new installation team is equally making strides to ensure customer success, announcing the company has:

• Increased efficiencies and cut deployment time per location in half
• While managing to simultaneously install at 5x as many customer locations, year over year.

The company has a plan to further ramp up deployment in Q3 and Q4, with an impressive slate of 14 expected installations in September.

Cloudastructure is announcing new partnerships with Spectrum and Intelisys to further aid deployment schedules, so that customers can rapidly optimize their bandwidth as needed.

137% YOY Increase in Hardware Sales Leads to Partnership

While Cloudastructure remains committed to being camera agnostic for the sake of their customers, the company experienced a 137% YOY increase in hardware sales due to customers making additions or upgrades to their existing surveillance camera systems. The boom has led to a non-exclusive partnership with camera manufacturer Sunell Security to supply the AI surveillance and Remote Guarding company with surveillance cameras, speakers, and other hardware.

Conclusion:

With a 101% increase YOY in subscription and hardware sales for the first half of 2023, remote guarding as a significant differentiator from the competition, dedicated market penetration within the multifamily vertical market, increased efficiency in deployment, and new partnerships to support all security solutions, Cloudastructure is presenting a dedicated vision of the company's future and laying a solid foundation for continued growth.

Former Chief Information Security Officer of British Columbia Joins Global Firm

CISO Global, an industry leader as a managed cybersecurity and compliance provider, has named Gary Perkins as its Chief Information Security Officer. In his new role, Perkins will spearhead cybersecurity strategies and risk management initiatives within the company. Previously serving as the CISO for the province of British Columbia, Perkins brings a wealth of experience in ensuring network availability, data integrity and confidentiality within complex environments. He successfully protected the interests of 45,000 government end-users and 5.4 million citizens for the past decade.

"CISO Global is dedicated to recruiting top-tier thought leaders to fortify our commitment to creating a culture of cybersecurity within our own organization, as well as those of our clients," remarked David Jemmett, CEO of CISO Global. "With the game changing IP we have developed to improve cyber effectiveness, CISO is proud to have Gary leading the way. Gary's extensive background, spanning both the private and public sectors, makes him exceptionally suited to lead in this new role, ensuring our pioneering work in cybersecurity and compliance remains unassailable."

Prior to serving as CISO for British Columbia, Perkins assumed roles of increasing responsibility at TELUS in the Chief Security Office and instructed undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Victoria. He also has earned an impressive collection of more than 20 cybersecurity and information technology certifications and awards, including Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM),and CISSP Certification (ISC2).

"I am honored to embark on this journey as Chief Information Security Officer at CISO Global," said Gary Perkins, CISO for CISO Global. "As cyberattacks escalate in frequency, sophistication and impact, the pervasive challenge facing the cybersecurity industry has become increasingly more apparent. I am excited to leverage my experience in the public and private sectors to elevate the protection of critical assets and data for CISO Global and our clients."

Perkins participates on many industry-related boards and councils, presents regularly on the topic of cybersecurity, and received the Cybersecurity Community Leadership award from ISACA.

Perkins holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in the Management of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia as well as a Diploma in Criminology from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.