SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA TURN TO SDN TO MEET BUSINESS GOALS

Companies seek network flexibility, security and automation in software-defined technologies and services, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Enterprises in Singapore and Malaysia are embracing software-defined networking (SDN) to improve network integration, automation, orchestration and management, in a trend expected to continue for several years, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Network — Software Defined Solutions and Services report for Singapore and Malaysia finds companies in the region are adopting SDN so they can seamlessly add applications and network resources to meet business and user goals more efficiently and securely. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, remote work and customer experience requirements have intensified demand for network agility.

“To remain competitive, enterprises need to become data driven, with optimal connectivity, multi-cloud capability and end-to-end security,” said Deepraj Emmanuel, director, ISG Asia, based in Singapore. “These requirements are creating huge opportunities for carriers and managed service providers operating in Singapore and Malaysia.”

Throughout the region, LAN, WAN, WLAN and cloud connectivity are beginning to merge, the report says. Over the next five to 10 years, SDN will allow organizations to monitor workflows and segment networks from end to end, among other capabilities. Key features made possible by SDN include intent-based networks, rapid hotspot provisioning, edge computing and solutions powered by AI and machine learning. 

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43751

Bermuda's international business edge in spotlight during Hong Kong webinar

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 (Bernama) -- Bermuda’s key advantages as an international business domicile was underscored during a Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong webinar.

The webinar was spearheaded by Bermuda’s Premier and Minister of Finance E. David Burt and Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) chief executive officer David Hart.

Premier Burt highlighted Bermuda’s stability, security, and reputation for regulatory excellence via its Bermuda Monetary Authority, an integrated, independent financial services regulator.

“It was great to reiterate the government’s continued support of international business in Bermuda and inform a new audience why Bermuda is the world’s risk capital and home to some of the world's top (re)insurance companies,” he said. 

Hart, in a statement, said it was a privilege to speak to the Hong Kong-based audience of legal and financial sector professionals about Bermuda’s unique strengths and opportunities, especially high-net-wealth services, asset management, tech and Bermuda’s Economic Investment Certificate. 

“This webinar will be followed up with a BDA mission to Singapore this fall, as part of our broader Asia strategy,” added Hart.

The webinar also featured Flora Wong, corporate partner at Conyers (Hong Kong), who emphasised the strength of Bermuda’s 400+ year legal system, usage of English common law and ease of doing business.

-- BERNAMA

Vaxart provides update on proxy voting

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 (Bernama) -- Clinical-stage biotechnology company Vaxart Inc urged its stockholders of record on April 11, 2022, to vote on its proxy if they have not yet done so and encouraged them to vote yes on all Proxy Proposals, including Proxy Proposal #2.

Proposal #2 is an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorised number of shares of its common stock to 250 million shares.

“Proposal #2 is important for shareholders and for the company, because it would enable us to continue to work to unlock and create value by investing in the business so that we can progress our programmes,” said Vaxart’s Chief Executive Officer Andrei Floroiu in a statement.

“It would also allow us to maintain a strong balance sheet and remain in a strong competitive position, and it would enable us to continue to attract and retain key talent. We strongly urge shareholders to vote before the Aug 3, 2022, deadline.”

Both leading independent proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, recommend that shareholders support Proposal #2.

Vaxart’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders was adjourned to Aug 4.

-- BERNAMA

upGrad Announces Merger With Harappa Education

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- upGrad, Asia’s largest integrated higher edtech major, has announced a 100 per cent merger with Harappa Education at a value of US$38 million (RM168.3 million). 

According to a statement, upGrad closed this transaction with the present Harappa shareholders - Bodhi Tree Systems, (a newly formed platform between James Murdoch & Uday Shankar) and co-founders Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh.

Co-founders of upGrad, Ronnie Screwvala & Mayank Kumar said: “We see strong demand from our clients and with Harappa coming in, we believe we’ll be able to grow exponentially within the segment as we cross-leverage the synergies.”

“Pramath and Shreyasi come with a strong business legacy, which in turn, further fuels our ambition of becoming the global edtech leader.”

Meanwhile, Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh: “As a combined force, Harappa and upGrad will anchor our purpose and conviction to create a truly wholesome learning ecosystem for lifelong learners in India and abroad, with our time-tested pedagogy, flagship programmes and rich partnerships to guarantee unmatched outcomes for our learners and clients.”

Harappa Education, the New Delhi-based online learning institution offers self-paced courses to address the spiralling problem of poor employability, inadequate leadership and an ill-equipped workforce. Harappa has an active clientele of 100 mid-large sized organisations.

Started in 2015 as a pioneer in the online education revolution, upGrad has offices in the UK, United States, Middle East, India, Singapore and Vietnam, and with a presence in many more countries.

-- BERNAMA

Axie Infinity selects GeeTest solution for balancing fraud protection

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Axie Infinity, the frontrunner in blockchain-based play&earn gaming, has chosen GeeTest CAPTCHA solution to preserve crypto assets security and fight mass online bot threats while enhancing the user experience.

According to a statement, GeeTest CAPTCHA solution plays a critical role in preserving crypto exchange security and mitigating bot attacks.

GeeTest has been committed to bringing advanced biometric data and AI-powered bot management technology to the global market and has occupied Top1 market share in APAC and services with over 320,000 enterprises worldwide presently including Airbnb and Nike.

Most notably, GeeTest has achieved absolutely comprehensive coverage in the blockchain industry with over 20 per cent of the Top 50 crypto exchanges that chose GeeTest to fight fraud attacks, including BINANCE, FTX, and Poloniex.

Currently, GeeTest has operations around the world and cooperates with over 320,000 enterprises worldwide.

More details at https://www.geetest.com/en/

-- BERNAMA

TRANSPOD UNVEILS FLUXJET FOR ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED TRANSPORTATION

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- TransPod, the startup that is building the world’s leading ultra-high-speed ground transportation system (the TransPod Line), has unveiled the FluxJet, an industry-defining innovation that transforms the way we live, work, and travel.

According to a statement, based on groundbreaking innovations in propulsion and fossil-fuel-free clean energy systems, the FluxJet is a fully electric vehicle that is effectively a hybrid between an aircraft and a train.

“All the hard work over the past few years has led to this milestone moment where talk is becoming a reality. The technology is proven, and we have the confidence of investors, governments, and partners to continue pushing forward to redefine transportation effectively,” said TransPod co-founder and chief executive officer Sebastien Gendron.

Meanwhile, TransPod co-founder and chief technology officer Ryan Janzen said: “The FluxJet is at a nexus of scientific research, industrial development, and massive infrastructure to address passengers' needs and reduce our dependence on fossil-fuel-heavy jets and highways.

“The FluxJet is a first for Canadian innovation and is the next great infrastructure project to be brought worldwide.”

Featuring technological leaps in contactless power transmission and a new field of physics called veillance flux, the FluxJet travels in a protected guideway at over 1,000 km per hour – faster than a jet and three times as fast as a high-speed train.

The FluxJet will operate exclusively on the TransPod Line, a network system with stations in key locations and major cities, featuring high-frequency departures designed to enable fast, affordable, and safe travel. 

At TransPod’s unveiling event in Toronto, a scaled-down FluxJet was featured in a live demonstration showing its flight capabilities. The almost one-tonne FluxJet vehicle demonstrated a take-off, travel, and landing procedure within its guideway. 

More details are available at www.transpod.com.

-- BERNAMA

Niveus Solutions partners HashiCorp to drive automation adoption

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 (Bernama) -- Niveus Solutions, a fast-growing cloud engineering services organisation headquartered in Karnataka, India, has joined the HashiCorp Partner Network to drive automation adoption.

“Our partnership with HashiCorp is helping us deliver new service and product lines. In fact, our first foray into launching our own platform, namely Lander - anautomated GCP landing zone - has been built on top of HashiCorp Terraform,” said Niveus Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer, Suyog Shetty.

HashiCorp, a leader in multi-cloud infrastructure automation software, has partnered with Niveus to deliver HashiCorp’s products, beginning with Terraform Enterprise, to its customers.

Overcoming critical challenges on the cloud such as idle resources and overprovisioning has become a major need among businesses across industries.

With HashiCorp Terraform Cloud, teams can optimise multi-cloud environments with automation for better resource provisioning and minimised cloud waste.

Niveus and HashiCorp will enable customers to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of the cloud ecosystem, according to a statement.

As part of the shift to the cloud, organisations of all sizes, from well-known brands to ambitious start-ups, rely on HashiCorp’s products to provision, secure, connect, and run their business-critical applications so they can deliver essential services, communications tools, and entertainment platforms worldwide.

-- BERNAMA

UserTesting survey: Inflation affects Singaporeans’ spending habits, personal finances

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- Growing inflation has directly impacted the daily and monthly expenditure of some 80 per cent of Singaporeans, according to a survey by UserTesting.

The leader in video-based human insight conducted a survey to study the effects of the rising inflation on Singaporeans’ spending habits and personal finances.

A host of cost pressures such as rising commodity prices, global supply disruptions, and more has been translated to end consumers in the form of elevated prices for goods and services across the board, according to a statement.

Therefore, to meet their basic needs, Singaporeans are cutting back on their everyday expenses. Interestingly, 60 per cent of the respondents mentioned that they are cutting entertainment and leisure spending. Personal care spending is also taking a backseat for Singaporean consumers.

Nearly four out of five respondents said they have seen an impact of inflation on their expenditure for groceries, entertainment, and utilities since the start of this year. Adding to this, they also mentioned a sharp increase in gas prices, readymade food packets, electricity, and water bills.

The diminishing purchasing power and limited earnings have also made Singaporeans realise the need for additional income to meet increased costs.

As per the survey, four out of five (85 per cent) of the respondents revealed that they are resorting to side hustles along with their full-time professional stints for some extra income.

Another interesting insight drawn out from the UserTesting survey was that Singaporeans are shifting their preferences to generic or local products from brand name products.

Fifty per cent of Singaporeans said they are buying local products now to cut costs, while 25 per cent of respondents are on the verge of making this shift, which basically depends on product categories.

More details are available at www.usertesting.com.

-- BERNAMA

Synchronoss expands platform support for Alibaba and Google Cloud

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- Global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging and digital products and platforms Synchronoss Technologies Inc has announced that its namesake personal cloud and email suite have been certified on the Alibaba Cloud and Google Cloud, respectively.

In addition to Amazon AWS and Oracle OCI which are already in use, the new certifications provide customers with multi-cloud environments to deploy and scale Synchronoss Personal Cloud and Synchronoss Email Suite globally.

“Our global customers have specific requirements when it comes to performance, cost, compliance, and critically, data sovereignty,” said Synchronoss chief technology officer Patrick Doran in a statement.

“By extending personal cloud on Alibaba and email suite on Google Cloud, Synchronoss is able to deliver secure, cost-optimised, in-country solutions that are reliable and scalable, upholding our strategy of supporting hybrid and multiple cloud environments,” Doran said.

Synchronoss Personal Cloud and Synchronoss Email Suite are utilised by leading service providers worldwide, supporting more than 250 million subscribers.

Supporting Alibaba and Google Cloud allows service providers to extend their deployment across multi-cloud environments and geographies while ensuring security, accessibility, and reliability, the statement said.

Synchronoss is well-positioned to deliver its products to customers throughout Asia and beyond, now that its personal cloud is certified on the Alibaba and Google platforms.

More details at www.synchronoss.com.

-- BERNAMA

Newly named best global airports use Avidbots’ Neo cleaning robot

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- Canadian-based robotics company Avidbots highlighted the contribution of its autonomous floor scrubber, Neo, to top winners of the 2022 World Airport Awards.

The winners were recently announced in Paris by Skytrax, an aviation rating firm.

Reviewing more than 500 airports globally, the annual survey evaluates a variety of traveller-specific topics, ranging from terminal comfort, cleanliness and hygiene to check-in, staff friendliness, taxi availability and much more.

“Airports see the value of our autonomous floor-scrubbing robots, which deliver efficient and measurable clean every time. Its use by the top airports on this list is a testament to the benefits Neo can unlock for the industry.”

For the second consecutive year, Avidbots Neo supports custodial teams within the world’s best and cleanest airports.

Six of the world’s top 10 airports, including two of the top three, have deployed Neo. Additionally, the top two cleanest airports use Avidbots’ autonomous cleaning solution to optimise, streamline and improve their floor care operations.

Today, Neos are being used throughout the world in various high-traffic, dynamic environments including airports and transit hubs, along with manufacturing, warehousing, healthcare, education and retail.

-- BERNAMA

UserTesting’s advanced instant insight features to accelerate human insight analysis

UserTesting's Instant Insights accelerates time to key customer insights by using data-driven automations and machine learning (Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- UserTesting, a leader in video-based human insight, has unveiled its advanced Instant Insight features to help companies expedite the analysis of human insights at the test level.

Using data-automation and proprietary models, the UserTesting Human Insight Platform can detect patterns and anomalies in the customer data, and automatically highlight high-value insights within the customer experience narratives.

The latest product updates are designed to help companies uncover key customer perspectives more quickly, allowing team members to focus their efforts for greater success, the company said in a statement today.

In addition to English and German, UserTesting is now available in French, and customers can test in the French language with access to French-speaking contributors.

UserTesting’s test-level Instant Insight utilises data-driven automation and machine learning models to accelerate post-test analysis by automatically detecting patterns, anomalies and key insights within customer data across multiple tasks and sessions.

Customers can quickly identify important takeaways from their tests, reducing the burden of lengthy post-test analysis.

Additionally, UserTesting’s navigation has been redesigned to enable customers to access core functionalities more readily, with a new user interface, folder management, easily accessible resources and a workspace switcher.

The company has also enhanced its card sorting capabilities within the UserTesting Human Insight Platform, enabling users to view video feedback alongside card sorting metrics and gather a complete understanding of contributors’ mental models with this streamlined solution.

More details are available at www.usertesting.com.

-- BERNAMA

Nippon Express Holdings launches Global Business Headquarters

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express Holdings Inc has earlier this month launched the Global Business Headquarters (GBHQ) to consolidate and strengthen global business governance.

According to a statement, in pursuit of its long-term vision of becoming a “logistics company with a strong presence in the global market”, the NX Group will increase group sales to 3.5-4 trillion yen (100 yen=RM3.23) and achieve an overseas sales ratio of 50 per cent by 2037, the group's 100th anniversary.

GBHQ will oversee the NX Group's global logistics business and lead the group in fulfilling the “core business growth strategy” set forth in the group's business plan.

It will also promptly put in place the necessary functions and management resources, bolstering logistics functions to provide solutions that optimise complexly changing customer supply chains.

With the aim of becoming a truly global logistics company, the NX Group will continue striving to maximise its value by pursuing group-wide optimisation and improve its competitiveness in the global market.

More details at https://www.nipponexpress.com/

-- BERNAMA

Aura Network to release Euphoria Staging Network

(Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- Aura Network, a layer-1 blockchain that focuses on expanding the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) across various industries, is launching its Euphoria staging network on July 13.

With the vision of “Building the Internet of NFTs”, the project aims to create a comprehensive ecosystem -- a one-stop destination for minting, evaluating and transacting NFTs.

In a statement, Aura Network said, in order to achieve this goal, it has partnered with traditional brands, game studios and major Intellectual Property (IP) owners on a global scale to bring more accessibility to NFT and Blockchain in general to their existing portfolio.

As of April, Aura Network had successfully launched its two main testnets for dApp testing, namely Serenity and Halo. Both are tightly controlled networks with a limited number of validators controlled by the Aura team and some other partners.

In order to create a close resemblance to its mainnet, Aura Network has announced to release its Staging Network with the code name of Euphoria. This new environment will be equipped with the latest features for external validators bootstrapping, vesting, and voting, among others, aiming to become a near exact replica of Aura mainnet.

During the last week of June, Aura Network had invited 55 selected validators to join Euphoria and evaluate the security and decentralisation aspect of the product.

As tokens used in Euphoria are not Aura mainnet tokens, Aura Network will encourage validators to take part in Euphoria through the Incentivised Validator Programme (IVP).

The Euphoria Staging Network is the next in line after Serenity and Halo to give developers an ideal environment leading up to the real thing. This launch will be followed by the Aura mainnet launch, which is expected by the end of September 2022.

-- BERNAMA

SCRUT AUTOMATION UNVEILS TRUST VAULT, INTEGRATED OFFERING ON SMART GRC PLATFORM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- Scrut Automation, APAC’s leading information security (infosec) compliance automation platform, has launched a new product called Trust Vault as an integrated offering to its smart GRC platform.

“For SaaS companies, particularly the ones serving enterprise customers, building trust is critical. But building trust is hard, time-consuming, and honestly, painful, as it often involves answering multiple lengthy security questionnaires and sharing various artifacts on demand,” said Aayush Ghosh Choudhury, Co-Founder & CEO, Scrut Automation.

“With Trust Vault, our goal is to enable SaaS companies to build trust on day one of the engagement and to use it as a lever to differentiate from their competitors.”

Trust Vault is a unique offering in the compliance automation space and the first of its kind in the APAC region, that provides a transparent and public view of an organisation's security controls.

It improves the organisation’s ability to prove its commitment to information security, reduces time spent in security reviews by approximately 75 per cent, and accelerates sales cycles, according to a statement.

The Trust Vault is built to reduce the hassle of manually updating security details, and eliminates the need to build and maintain a dedicated security page. 

With this offering, an organisation can embed a customisable Trust Vault page on their website, aligned with its brand identity; provide NDA-backed gated access to detailed reports; and, showcase real-time status against various security controls, among others.

More details at www.scrut.io.

-- BERNAMA

Nippon Express USA: Multimodal transport service from North America to Asia via Mexico

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express U.S.A. Inc (NX USA), a group company of Nippon Express Holdings Inc, has launched ‘US EXPORT SERVICE Via MEXICO’ (U.S.E.ME), a new BCP-compatible multimodal transport service for shipments from the United States and Canada to Asia via Mexico.

This BCP-compatible integrated multimodal transport service conveys cargo overland by trailer from various locations in North America (U.S./Canada) to a Nippon Express warehouse in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where it is transshipped to containers and transported by sea from Manzanillo Port in Mexico to ports in Japan and other Asian countries.

According to a statement, the service features namely, reliable lead time; high-quality integrated transport by the NX Group; and, flexible collection.

This transport service avoids port congestion on the U.S. West Coast and thus offers dependable lead time (e.g., about 37 days from Chicago to Yokohama Port).

In addition, NX Mexico provides customers with reliable service by issuing House Waybills and consistently clarifying its transport responsibilities from departure points to arrival points.

Goods can be collected from major cities across the United States and Canada on dates specified by customers. Primary collection areas include Toronto, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville, Atlanta, and Houston.

Together with providing reliable transport with stable lead times, NX USA will utilise its strengths as the only Japanese company with its own warehouse in Mexico to offer high-quality integrated transport services by the NX Group.

The NX Group remains committed to providing BCP-compatible solutions and supporting customers' business continuity by developing alternative routes and combining and using transport modes in response to customer requests.

More details at https://www.nipponexpress.com/

-- BERNAMA

Proteintech Group Inc announces opening new Singapore office, warehouse

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Proteintech, the benchmark in antibodies, Nanobodies, and cytokines & growth factors, has announced the opening of its new Singapore office and warehouse at The Strategy, 2 International Business Park.

With the new office, Proteintech can better serve and support customers in the fast-growing APAC market, according to a statement.

Singapore is a location renowned for its strong presence of reputed and vibrant academic institutes, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; together making Singapore an ideal location for life science research and the expansion of Proteintech’s commercial footprint.

“For the same reasons researchers are choosing the Lion city, Proteintech has established its new office nearby Biopolis, Singapore Science Park, and TuasBiomedical Park in Singapore,” says Jason Li, CEO of Proteintech.

He continues: “As an effort to support our customers’ needs and speed up research, more than 12,000 of our antibodies and reagents are stocked locally for next day delivery making the new site the sixth global distribution centre of Proteintech.”

With the new location Proteintech takes the next step of its go-to-market strategy to foster its position in the APAC region, which has been served by its sites in China and Japan so far.

Establishing the new office in Singapore puts dedicated resources to the fast-growing APAC countries. The new office will also act as a liaison to facilitate global collaboration and product development.

With the new location and ongoing product portfolio expansions, Proteintech continues to put forth resources to cultivate customer advancement and enable faster breakthrough discoveries, overall supporting world class life sciences in the best manner possible.

To learn more about Proteintech, visit www.ptglab.com.

-- BERNAMA

Slingshot Biosciences Inc extends distribution channel via Chameleon Science partnership

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Slingshot Biosciences Inc, the developer of synthetic cells, has announced extending its distribution channel through a new agreement with Chameleon Science.

The agreement entitles Chameleon Science the rights to distribute and resell Slingshot Bio’s products in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, according to a statement.

Chameleon Science is an innovative new company specialising in the development and distribution of emerging technologies in Life Sciences.

Through Chameleon Science’s network of customers, Slingshot Bio will be able to build its presence in these markets with the well-established presence and expertise of Chameleon Science who has been selling into the flow cytometry industry for many years.

“Chameleon Science’s network will provide us with the market penetration needed to reach our full sales potential in key markets,” said Jeffrey Kim, CEO & Founder, Slingshot Biosciences Inc.

“Slingshot Biosciences has considered many distribution partners and we are confident that Chameleon Science’s extensive knowledge in the field, prominent presence and large customer base will help us leverage our position in the flow cytometry market.”

Meanwhile, Kathryn Friend, Director, Chameleon Science said: “Chameleon Science is excited to introduce Slingshot’s cellular controls to the region. This disruptive technology fills a large gap in the market for flow and spectral cytometry researchers.”

Slingshot Bio’s synthetic cellular controls provide consistent, precise, accurate control for research and clinical end-users that rely on flow cytometry by mimicking blood.

The ability to manufacture consistent controls for flow cytometry has been missing for decades and is now accessible with Slingshot Bio’s unique manufacturing platform.

For more information, visit www.slingshotbio.com.

-- BERNAMA

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRADUATES ENTER WHITE-HOT JOB MARKET AS EMPLOYERS SIGNAL GROWTH, CONFIDENCE IN THEIR CREDENTIALS

MBA and business master’s degrees remain hot commodity despite recession fears and COVID challenges

RESTON, Va., June 30 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global association of leading graduate business schools, today released its annual hiring report, the GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey – 2022 Summary Report. The report explores the state of employer demand for graduate business school talent (MBA and business master’s degree recipients) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and includes responses from nearly 1,000 corporate recruiters and staffing firms around the world. While rising inflation and the war in Ukraine were just at the onset during the time when the survey was conducted in February and March 2022, hiring projections of graduate management education (GME) graduates remain bullish this year, with 92 percent of corporate recruiters expecting to hire newly minted MBAs. Promisingly, 2 in 3 responding corporate recruiters describe the current direction of their organization as expanding or growing (67%) and a similar proportion plan to increase their overall headcount (65%). Also, most recruiters (63%) project that demand for new business school talent will increase in the next five years, with business master’s hiring intention the highest among recruiters for East and Southeast Asia and Middle East companies.

“The latest GMAC findings of the Corporate Recruiters Survey show that nearly 9 out of 10 corporate recruiters feel confident or highly confident in the ability of business schools to prepare students to be successful in their organizations,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC. “That’s an extraordinary figure. It shows that despite the pandemic and the limitations it brought on student mobility, public and mental health, and remote learning, business schools managed to find ways to build an impressive cohort whom corporate recruiters and staffing agencies worldwide continue to bank on as prime sources for talent.” 

Other Key Findings

MBA starting salaries continue to provide a premium and Business master’s median starting salaries are on the rise

Recruiter responses suggest companies in the United States plan to offer increased starting salaries to business master’s graduates in 2022 compared to last year. In addition, median MBA starting salary levels eclipse those being offered to bachelor’s graduates by 22 percent to 40 percent across the world regions for which there is sufficient sample to report. Median starting salaries are largest in the United States, where the median starting salary offered to new MBA hires this year ─ US$115,000 — has remained unchanged for the past three survey years. In the current inflationary environment, the relative stability of median MBA salaries suggested by the survey findings means the real value of MBA salaries is declining. 

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43555

Kepler Group promotes Joshua Lerman to Global CEO

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Digital marketing services pioneer Kepler Group has announced that company veteran Joshua Lerman has been named Global CEO.

This comes on the heels of Kepler co-founder Remy Stiles’ appointment as CEO for North America, the company’s largest region.

Lerman joined Kepler in 2014 to lead its Client Solutions group and was promoted to co-President for Kepler U.S. in 2019. During this time, Lerman played a critical role in key company achievements, including growth to over 700 professionals in 10 global offices, expansion of its proprietary Kepler Intelligence Platform, and service extension into TV buying, media in-housing, and marketing systems integration.

As Global CEO, Lerman will focus on stewarding Kepler’s continued expansion, enhancing its ability to deliver outsized client value via tech and data science, and further strengthening the company’s focus on employee development, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Lerman succeeds founding CEO Rick Greenberg, who will retain an active role as Executive Chairman and primarily focus on further strengthening Kepler’s international presence, accelerating Google-focused subsidiary Napkyn’s continued expansion, and advising Kepler Academy—the pro-bono, immersive training unit launched in 2021 to help improve representation in the marketing industry.

Greenberg will also continue to serve on the kyu Council, which helps manage Kepler’s parent group kyu, a strategic operating unit within Hakuhodo DY Holdings that also includes IDEO, Sid Lee, SYPartners and Godfrey Dadich.

“Josh is perfectly suited to lead Kepler in this next phase of the company’s journey,” said Greenberg in a statement. “He has tremendous experience leading large teams, and a singular focus on listening, learning and driving improvement—for the company, for clients, and for colleagues. Partnering with him these last eight years has been an amazing privilege, and I look forward to continuing that partnership in the years to come.”

“My time at Kepler to date has been one of the most fulfilling chapters of my career,” said Lerman. “I am honored to take on the role of Global CEO, and to continue working alongside such a gifted team.”

Since its inception in 2012, Kepler has grown from six founders in a single office to a truly global footprint with locations in North America, EMEA and APAC and a broad range of clients.

For more information, visit http://www.keplergrp.com.

-- BERNAMA

BOSAGORA LAUNCHES BIZNET TO BUILD BUSINESS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- BOSAGORA Foundation announced on June 29 that it has launched its unique BizNet for building and expanding the business ecosystem.

The BizNet launch announcement was streamed live on YouTube to ensure free communication with its users.

“With the launch of the BizNet, the value of BOA coins is expected to rise as it will create more efficient and richer network ecosystem. Through the BizNet, we will strive to move closer to BOSAGORA’s vision of ‘Making a Better World’,” said Kim In-hwan, President of BOSAGORA Foundation in a statement.

The blockchain network of BOSAGORA, the first initial coin offering (ICO) project in South Korea, aims to realise decentralised autonomous organisation by executing commons budget accumulated through active participation in the project by node operators via parliamentary activities and generation of blocks.

The Foundation developed the BizNet to provide a blockchain network that supports developers to easily learn and adapt to smart contracts, which are essential for delivering non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and DeFi.

The consensus engine of the BizNet is designed to provide a variety of conveniences, including compatibility with the Ethereum network, reduced latency time needed for finalising blocks, block generation cycle identical with the Ethereum network, and avoidance of inflation.

Moreover, its compatibility with the Ethereum network, which has the largest business ecosystem, is expected to contribute to the expansion of the business ecosystem of BOSAGORA as it allows for collaborations and combinations with various Ethereum-based global services.

The BizNet publishes Biz-BOA, its proprietary native token. Users can convert points or tokens accumulated by using services offered in the BizNet into Biz-BOA through the swap function of the BizNet. 

Based on the BizNet, the Foundation plans to sequentially launch S2E (Service-to-Earn) services including DeFi, P2E (Play-to-Earn), and M2E (Move-to-Earn), as well as NFT.

-- BERNAMA

Launched: Deck Sherpa, specialised design agency focused on presentations

 

A text-heavy presentation converted into a beautiful visual narrative by Deck Sherpa. (Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Venture Studio Prototyze has announced the launch of Deck Sherpa, a specialised design agency focused on presentations.

“What looks good, sells. Or at least – is easier to sell. It’s the same with presentations. An anti-boring presentation is like a well-tailored suit that makes the presenter noticeable and the pitch sharp,” said Tanmay Modi, CEO of Deck Sherpa in a statement.

“Deck Sherpa’s presentation specialists have had a small part to play in many storied transactions and newsworthy corporate moves. A modest investment in a professionally designed PowerPoint deck is an increasingly popular hack that senior leaders are turning to.”

Microsoft PowerPoint is the go-to software for presentations, globally. Whether serenading investors, inducting new employees, explaining product features, or providing financial updates – senior executives in business and governments alike have used on-screen PowerPoint slideshows for decades.

Simplicity and beautiful visuals make intricate concepts accessible to a wider audience. An idea with merit may go unappreciated due to mediocre presentation aesthetics resulting from poorly selected imagery, to amateurishly chosen typefaces and lack of alignment.

Part of Synapse, Prototyze’s communication design firm - Deck Sherpa is a fast-growing presentation-only design studio has been the secret weapon for many use cases ranging from sales decks to RFP responses.

The ability to deliver high quality, memorable outcomes in relatively short time – many senior business leaders rely on Deck Sherpa’s team for presentations that matter.

More details at www.decksherpa.com.

-- BERNAMA

USABC grants US$3.5 million technology development contract to Zenlabs Energy Inc

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC) has announced the award of a US$3.5 million technology development contract to Zenlabs Energy Inc in Fremont, California for a low-cost/fast-charge (LCFC) technology development. (US$1 = RM4.402)

“The low-cost/fast-charge contract award with Zenlabs is part of USABC’s broad battery technology research and development programme,” said Steve Zimmer, executive director of USCAR.

“Programmes like this are critical to advancing the technology needed to meet both near and long-term goals that will enable broader scale vehicle electrification.”

The contract award, which includes a 50 per cent cost share, funds a 24-month project that began earlier this year.

The programme will focus on electrolyte and active material development to form a stable passivation layer on the surface of both the anode and cathode, and address the remaining challenges associated with high-energy, high-power and low-cost silicon-dominant anode cells for EV applications.

This is Zenlabs’ third contract with USABC, according to a statement.

USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE), USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that advance commercialisation of next generation electrified vehicle applications.

In support of its mission, USABC has developed mid and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress.

-- BERNAMA

QUORUM SOFTWARE, SCHLUMBERGER IN NEXT GENERATION PLANNING AND ECONOMICS PARTNERSHIP

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Quorum Software (Quorum) announced entering into an agreement with Schlumberger to jointly integrate Quorum’s industry-leading Planning Space, a business planning and petroleum economics offering, with the FDPlan field development planning solution, which is enabled by the DELFI cognitive E&P environment.

The integrated solution will be offered directly by Schlumberger with Planning Space as its petroleum economics engine. As part of the agreement, Quorum will also acquire Merak planning, risk, and reserves software from Schlumberger.

“Quorum and Schlumberger have developed longstanding relationships with our customers and partners over decades of serving the energy industry,” said Gene Austin, Chief Executive Officer at Quorum in a statement.

“Bringing together our market-leading planning and economics solutions gives customers around the world access to the industry’s most complete technology ecosystem, backed by our team of energy experts.”

Meanwhile, Trygve Randen, Director Digital Subsurface Solutions at Schlumberger said: “The partnership between Quorum and Schlumberger will enable our customers to seamlessly integrate cross domain data and workflows, to accelerate decision making across planning, operations, and the boardroom.”

With the agreement effective immediately, Quorum and Schlumberger are already actively engaged with several major energy companies to enhance their performance and profitability through improved business planning across their organisation.

Quorum Software is a leading energy industry software provider worldwide, serving more than 1,800 customers across the entire energy value chain in 55 countries.

-- BERNAMA

Qianhai Becomes 'Dream Big Place' For Youths Integrating Into Greater Bay Area

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- On June 27, ‘2022 Qianhai Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition’ was officially kicked off, marking the start of series of activities ‘Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation to Create the Future’0 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, according to Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.

For many ambitious young people, this promises more opportunities and a better start, according to a statement.

Sunny Zhou, a young lady from Guangdong, is director of a Macao-funded company. Her project won the silver medal in the finals of the competition last year. "The contest has provided us an opportunity to meet many industry experts and entrepreneurial partners from different places, and has brought us new ideas for entrepreneurship," she said.

To provide greater support to participants, this year's competition is fully upgraded. The winning projects can directly advance to the Industry Finals of China (Shenzhen) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Professional mentors are introduced to provide one-on-one counselling.

Besides, the winners can be given priority to settle in Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (QSHKYIEH) and enjoy relevant preferential policies. The competition has set four sub-regions, with a total prize of more than CNY7 million.

The event has been held for six consecutive years since 2016, taking in altogether about 6,000 entries, including nearly 3,000 from Hong Kong, Macao and other places. By promoting the transformation of relevant scientific and technological achievements, Qianhai has become a ‘dream-big place’ for many youths.

Lee Jee Bong from Hong Kong, who has once taken part in the contest, is one of such entrepreneurs in Qianhai. Last year, the project of his company was awarded the silver prize in the Enterprise Growth Category of the competition finals.

"The technical requirements of our product are high, and we need plenty of professional talents. Qianhai has policies and services appealing to talents, so excellent heads and minds gather. It is easy to get access to the Greater Bay Area and the broader domestic market. That's why we are based here," he said.

"QSHKYIEH is where our dream started and will be the place where we can fulfill our dream," said Lee Jee Bong.The QSHKYIEH he mentioned is well-renowned in Hong Kong's entrepreneurial youth circle and considered by many Hong Kongers as the first choice to start a business.

"Qianhai is the bridgehead of Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation and the first stop for Hong Kong youth to develop in the mainland. I hope more Hong Kong youth can pursue their dreams and fulfill them in Qianhai and the Greater Bay Area," said Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, at the launch ceremony.

-- BERNAMA