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IBM Continues Business Expansion in Poland with New Branches in Krakow and Poznan

Increases support for regional customers in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector

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Warsaw, Poland - 12 Sep 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the opening of two new branch offices in the cities of Krakow and Poznan as it extends its presence in the country’s fast-growing regional cities. The new offices will help increase support for IBM’s customers and partners in the two locations especially those in the small and medium-sized business sector which plays a key role in the Polish economy.

The move follows the opening of new IBM branches in the cities of Wroclaw and Katowice earlier this year - extending IBM’s reach far beyond the country’s capital Warsaw.  

"In recognition of the continued importance of Poland to IBM and to ensure the highest levels of support for our clients and partners, we are strengthening our branch network in a number of strategic locations across the country," said Anna Sienko, Country General Manager, IBM Poland & Baltics. “Krakow and Poznan are dynamically developing cities where we are working with local entrepreneurs to strengthen their competitive positions.” 

Anna Sienko, Country General Manager IBM Poland & Baltics and Aleksander Skorupa, Lower Silesian Governor at launch of Katowice branch in March 2012

Through its geographic expansion initiative, IBM is targeting the opportunity in white space territories in emerging markets - high-growth cities and regions where there is significant opportunity for growth and where businesses and government organizations are turning to IT to transform their operations and increase competitiveness. 

The two new offices in Poland supplement the growing network of locations that IBM has across Central and Eastern Europe. Today, IBM also announced the opening of new offices in the cities of Adana and Bursa in Turkey.

“Poland’s resilience in the face of global and Euro-zone troubles, coupled with its large domestic market, has made it a stand-out country for business in Europe,” said Aidan Manktelow, Europe Director, Economist Corporate Network. “Despite some slowing of the economy at present, Poland looks well placed for sustained robust growth. We see the IT market expanding from US$9.8bn in 2012 to almost US$13bn by 2016.” 

Cultivating Business in Krakow

Part of the Malopolska region in the South of Poland, Krakow is one of Poland’s main economic and cultural centers. In recent years, Krakow has been the focus of hi-tech investments with a dynamic IT industry and a growing number of small and medium sized businesses alongside foreign investors. IBM already has two global facilities in Krakow – a  software laboratory and a business process services center. 

IBM is already working in the public and private sectors in Krakow. As part of IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative, IBM is working with the City Hall, the University of Science and Technology (AGH) and the Management of Municipal Infrastructure and Transport to help develop an intelligent solution to support waste management on Krakow’s streets. Thanks to smarter technologies and business analytics, city dwellers may now use the internet to report incidents of road surface waste and debris. The system also helps to schedule work for municipal employees and contractors in order to keep the city’s streets clear of waste. 

“IBM’s analytical tools allow us to better manage and maintain our road systems giving us the insights we need in order to make optimum decisions,” said Michał Pyclik from the Management of Municipal Infrastructure and Transport, Krakow.  

IBM is also working with the University of Science and Technology (AGH) on joint research in the area of cloud computing technology development. 

Positioning for Growth in Poznan

The city of Poznan, in the Wielkopolska region in west-central Poland, is important center of trade with active automotive, transportation, logistics and manufacturing industries.  

IBM is already working with a number of clients in Poznan such Volkswagen for whom IBM has provided a new computing infrastructure and information management system. The system provides efficient access to important information about the company’s operations and customers in the country. The new system has 50 percent more storage capacity and is 8 times faster than the previous system. 

“IBM is one of our strategic partners in Poland. It has helped us to transform the way we work as a company – enabling our employees to perform more effectively and provide the highest possible level of service to our customers,” said Edward Lachowicz, CIO of Volkswagen Poznan. 

IBM is also collaborating with the Faculty of Mathematics and IT Science at Poznan University to help students gain technical and business skills in cloud computing.  

IBM first established its operations in Poland in 1991 with its headquarters in the country's capital Warsaw. Today IBM also has a number of key facilities across Poland serving clients around the world such as the IBM Delivery Center in Wroclaw, the IBM Business Transformation Outsourcing Center in Krakow, the IBM Software Laboratory in Krakow and the IBM Competence Implementation Center in Gdansk. 

ABOUT IBM

For more information on IBM, please visit: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/index.wss

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Obama & Romney Must Concentrate on SMEs

Clay Carter, Head of International Equities, Perennial Investment Partners believes the next president will have to focus on building up confidence amid SMEs in order to spur job creation.

Video from CNBC (4:26).

Obama & Romney Must Concentrate on SMEs

Lenovo Expands ThinkServer Line with Low-Cost Rack Servers for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Press release from Lenovo:

Lenovo Expands ThinkServer Line with Low-Cost Rack Servers for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

New Collaboration with Hitachi Data Systems for Lenovo EasyManage Server Monitoring Software Complements Growing Server Portfolio

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., August 28, 2012 - Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) today announced the expansion of its server portfolio with the new ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 rack servers. Designed to deliver workhorse performance for growing small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the new rack servers are supported by a comprehensive services portfoliodesigned for ThinkServer products, including warranty support upgradeable to four hour onsite 24x7 response¹ and the ability to deploy custom Windows imaging and BIOS settings at the Lenovo factory. Lenovo also announced that it has entered into an OEM agreement with Hitachi Data Systems to deliver ThinkServer EasyManage, a branded monitoring solution built from Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer monitoring software. Designed to simplify the most frequent management issues for IT administrators, EasyManage is now bundled with all ThinkServer rack and tower server models, including the new RD430 and RD330.

ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 – Value Priced Scalability and Efficiency

Lenovo’s ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 servers deliver high performance, improved power and cooling efficiency technologies, and easy serviceability with rapid response professional services. Based on the Intel^® Xeon^® E5-2400 processor family, which deliver up to a three times performance increase versus the Intel^® Xeon^® processor E3-1200 v2 product family², the new Lenovo two-socket servers are available in either 2U (RD430) or 1U (RD330) chassis configurations with tool-less rail kits for easy installation. Both servers feature up to 192GB of RAM deployable in 12 DIMM slots, and either 24TB or 8TB of hard disk storage capacity for the RD430 and RD330, respectively. Industry standard protocols and IPMI 2.0 compliant interfaces make it easy for customers to easily integrate the new servers within existing IT infrastructures.

Adding to their outstanding value, the RD430 and RD330 are energy efficient systems that achieve a 160 percent performance improvement in performance per watt compared to previous generation Lenovo servers. Lenovo’s Smart Grid technology provides power planning intelligence and scales Intel^® Node Manager to the rack level. With Smart Grid, IT administrators can set power cap policies so the servers can dynamically respond to changing workloads, which helps increase utilization while lowering energy consumption and operating costs. Further enhancing the power efficiency of the ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 is a new chassis design that improves cooling efficiency by up to 20 percent and reduces fan power as much as 20 percent.³

Synonymous with the Think brand, the ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 also deliver exceptional reliability and durability with features including a new anti-vibration alloy design in the hard drive tray to improve fault tolerance, resulting in a 40 percent lower risk of failure due to vibration and shock issues. In addition, built-in redundancy reduces 90 percent of server downtime due to single point system failure.

“These new ThinkServer rack servers are designed for growing small and mid-sized businesses who need a low priced yet highly scalable and efficient rack server to build their IT infrastructure,” said Lu Yan, senior vice president, Think Product Group, Lenovo. “In addition to the substantial increases in computing performance and energy efficiency, businesses with only one or two IT staff members will also appreciate the manageability features that simplify server deployment and operation. The mix of built-in capabilities with high performance, efficiency and reliability yields a package that pays dividends in return.”

Lenovo ThinkServer EasyManage – Best-in-Class Capability for Lenovo Server Administration

To maintain peak performance, the ThinkServer EasyManage server monitoring and management tool now comes standard with all new ThinkServer products—including the RD430 and RD330. Working with Hitachi Data Systems, an information technology and IT operations software leader, ThinkServer EasyManage leverages the proven capabilities of Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer to provide a holistic view into the status of up to 1000 Lenovo server nodes. Priority features of ThinkServer EasyManage include:

• Simplified Web-based interface that monitors the health of Lenovo ThinkServers and installed applications from a centralized dashboard, keeping administrators abreast of key performance indicators for server components including temperature, voltage, fan speed, CPU and memory utilization, and free disk space.
• Agentless architecture with easy, wizard-based installation, discovery and configuration eliminates performance impacts while helping IT administrators proactively manage critical system issues and respond to critical events in real-time.
• Change monitoring that uses server and device-level intelligence to monitor and record changes of the end-to-end infrastructure, helping to avoid service degradation or help prevent unscheduled downtime.
• Scheduled monitoring with user-defined alerting allows IT administrators to define two different threshold levels based on their specific needs, helping to prevent unnecessary alerts while ensuring notification before a problem actually happens.

“Both IT administrators and end users expect their server infrastructure to provide maximum efficiency, availability and performance, regardless of the constraints commonly found on IT resources,” said Frank Amato, director, Global Software, Hitachi Data Systems. “By utilizing the flexible functionality of the award-winning Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer as the foundation for ThinkServer EasyManage, Lenovo provides a proven monitoring solution that helps simplify IT operations, improve service levels, and boost efficiencies tied to IT management time, cost and effort.”

Pricing and Availability⁴

The ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 are available now at www.lenovo.com or through Lenovo business partners. Prices for models of the ThinkServer RD430 and RD330 start at $1,499 and $1,099, respectively. For additional information regarding Lenovo Services, please visitwww.lenovo.com/services.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter andFacebook.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) is a $US21 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries, and the world’s second-largest PC vendor. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.

¹ Subject to availability. Warranty eligibility lookup available athttp://www.lenovo.com/services_warranty/ca/en/4-hour-activation.html

²According to Intel internal measurements on SPECjbb*2005 benchmark as of March 2012.

³ When compared to a normal thermal design.

⁴ Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Iomega Announces North America Availability of All-In-One Security Video Surveillance and Network Storage Solution for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Others

Note to visitors: We have moved!  For current news and information, please visit our successor blogs:  http://JBK-BizTech.blogspot.com and http://JBK-Current-Events.blogspot.com.  Thank you.

Iomega Announces North America Availability of All-In-One Security Video Surveillance and Network Storage Solution for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and Others

LAS VEGAS, NV - March 28, 2012

News Highlights:

• Introducing all-in-one, pre-packaged Iomega® StorCenter™ PX series desktop NAS integrated with video management system (IVMS) software and eight-camera license*
• Iomega StorCenter network storage devices with MindTree SecureMind software deliver feature-rich management of local digital video surveillance cameras and recordings for small and medium businesses (SMBs), remote offices and distributed enterprises
• Top-of-the-line Iomega® StorCenter™ PX series of network storage products offer optional server class series drives delivering high duty access and longer life cycles for dependable data storage

Full Story:

Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the North America availability of an all-in-one network storage video surveillance product that includes both hardware and software, providing SMBs and others with an easy-to-deploy, high performance yet economical video surveillance solution that incorporates network storage for capturing, storing and managing video surveillance files.

Iomega will be showcasing all its video surveillance solutions at this week's ISC West security tradeshow in Las Vegas, March 28-30. (See it all at Iomega booth #3035.)

The new Iomega® StorCenter™ px4-300d Server Class Series with MindTree SecureMind Surveillance Manager, Integrated Video Management System (IVMS), combines a desktop four-bay Iomega StorCenter px4-300d device, populated with two 1TB** server class drives and an eight-camera SecureMind license. This flexible network storage surveillance SKU can be expanded with additional hard disk drives (HDDs) and/or licenses for additional camera channels.

The MindTree SecureMind Surveillance Manager software is ideal for small to mid-level camera count installations and now available to the Iomega worldwide network of distributors and resellers. Iomega's channel partners can purchase MindTree SecureMind video management software directly from Iomega along with Iomega's broad line of StorCenter network storage products to create a complete solution for the recording, management and access of surveillance video information. The combined solution, targeted for stand-alone surveillance applications of 48 cameras (channels) or less, is ideal for small to medium businesses (SMB) and distributed enterprise environments.

The MindTree SecureMind application is now included at no additional charge with Iomega StorCenter network storage products as a fully-featured application for one video surveillance camera. This enables users to set up a video surveillance environment and experience the ease-of-use and full capabilities of the Iomega all-in-one video surveillance network storage solution. Users have the option to purchase licenses for additional cameras to upgrade their installation up to the maximum capability of each of Iomega's StorCenter network storage models.

Executive Quote

"Iomega's new all-in-one StorCenter network storage plus video surveillance solution is specifically designed to meet the needs of SMBs and distributed enterprises," said Mike Nikzad, Chief Operating Officer, Iomega Corporation. "Combining Iomega's high performance and durable StorCenter px4-300d NAS, integrated with MindTree's SecureMind VMS application, which supports a broad selection of leading IP camera brands, creates a versatile IT appliance for SMBs as well as an easy to deploy and manage video surveillance appliance priced at a fraction of traditional DVR-based surveillance systems."

Iomega StorCenter Network Storage and MindTree SecureMind Software

Iomega StorCenter devices combined with MindTree Limited's SecureMind Surveillance Manager video management system (VMS) application deliver a feature-rich video surveillance management application, enabling users to manage surveillance activities while simultaneously storing the video. The SecureMind Surveillance Manager is completely integrated with the Iomega StorCenter device to simplify installation and configuration. The Iomega StorCenter+SecureMind combination supports up to 48 cameras and up to 36TB of storage capacity per device (depending on the Iomega StorCenter model). Among the features and benefits of this combined surveillance solution:

• Simple installation and configuration
• View Live Video from anywhere using a web browser
• Support for multiple branded H.264, MPEG4 and MJPEG IP and USB connected cameras for monitoring your office premises
• ONVIF 2.0 Ready
• Activity-based recording with Activity Alerts
• Timeline mode for easy viewing of recorded videos
• Video Loss and Tamper Alert Detections
• "Alert-Me" reporting of Alerts via email
• Control and Configure Cameras Remotely

Iomega StorCenter Network Storage Products

Iomega StorCenter products make it easy to archive, protect and share physical security video and audio files from anywhere (with an Internet connection). Iomega StorCenter units deliver the innovation and convenience of optimizing video surveillance installations at a fraction of the cost of traditional DVR/NVR installations. Iomega StorCenter units deliver the missing element from today's video management systems – the ability to offer storage with advance data protection.

Iomega StorCenter network storage products range from the new double drive desktop Iomega® StorCenter™ ix2, which is available from diskless configurations up to 6TB of storage, to the new top-of-line Iomega® StorCenter™ PX Server Class Series of desktop and rackmount models.

The Iomega® StorCenter™ px4-300d utilizes four HDD bays and up to 12TB of storage; the Iomega® StorCenter™ px6-300d features six HDD bays and up to 18TB of storage capacity. Both models are available diskless, partially populated and fully populated. Empty bays in both models are fitted with a drive carrier that can accommodate 2.5-inch and 3.5 inch HDD drives, as well as Solid State Drives (SSDs) for performance-intensive applications.

With up to 12TB of storage capacity, the rackmount Iomega® StorCenter™ px4-300r Network Storage Array Server Class Series features four bays for use with HDDs or SSDs. The px4-300r comes in a space-saving 1U form factor ranging from diskless to fully populated with HDD and/or SSDs. Iomega's flagship rackmount unit, the Iomega® StorCenter™ px12-350r Network Storage Array Server Class Series, utilizes 12 bays in a 2U form factor that ranges from partially populated with 4TB to fully populated with up to 36TB.

Pricing and Availability

All Iomega StorCenter network storage products and SecureMind licenses are available immediately. A one-camera MindTree SecureMind license is included with all Iomega StorCenter products. Upgrade licenses start at $69.99 for two camera channels and are also available in 4, 8, 16, 32, and 48 camera increments. The new IVMS Iomega Desktop Surveillance SKU, which includes one Iomega StorCenter px4-300d network storage, two 1TB Server Class hard disk drives and a SecureMind license for 8 camera channels, is priced at $1,199.99.

Stand alone Iomega StorCenter network storage products start at less than $400.00. (All pricing is U.S. suggested retail.)

About MindTree

MindTree Limited is a global IT and Product Engineering Services Company with deep knowledge in specific domains. MindTree is acknowledged as the best mid-size software services company in India for its capability to build, test and deploy solutions. The Company also places significant emphasis on culture, customer centricity and corporate governance. Please visit us at www.mindtree.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.  Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 425 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes industry leading desktop and rackmount network attached storage products ideal for content sharing, data protection at small and medium businesses and distributed enterprises, as well as vertical applications such as video surveillance installations; a broad selection of direct-attached portable and desktop external hard drives; and multimedia drives, making it easy to move video, pictures and other files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of Iomega's storage products and network storage solutions, please go to the Web atwww.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at www.ioclub.net.

Technolody for Mom & Pop Businesses

Technology for Mom & Pop Businesses

The latest technology—driven by location-aware mobile devices, cloud computing and low cost apps—is helping drive sales back to bricks and mortar merchants.

By Amy Cortese
View All Contributing Writers

March 20 , 2012

Related Information

Main Street's New Helpers

Company: Belly
Based: Chicago

Pitch: Making rewards fun (rewards have included a date with a cupcake girl and punching a comic book store owner in the gut)

Pricing: Monthly subscription fee (plus merchants get an iPad)

http://www.bellycard.com/

Company: Perka
Based: Portland, OR

Pitch: tiered perks build loyalty

Pricing: Monthly subscription fee (includes iPod)

http://getperka.com/

Company: Perkville
Based: San Francisco

Pitch: Customers access multiple merchant rewards programs with just their email address

Pricing: Monthly plans based on number of transactions

https://www.perkville.com/

Company: Punchd (acquired by Google)

Based: San Francisco

Pitch: "a way-cooler loyalty program"

Pricing: Free while in beta

http://getpunchd.com/

Company: Tagtile
Based: San Francisco

Pitch: Customers earn "tags" by tapping an Apple-esque Tagtile cube that merchants display on counter

Pricing: In pilot phase

http://www.tagtile.com/

For years, bricks & mortar merchants watched in dismay as sales were siphoned off by online retailers, who lured customers with convenience and cut-rate deals. Now, the tables are turning. The latest technology—driven by location-aware mobile devices, cloud computing and low cost apps—is helping drive sales back to physical stores.

Companies such as Groupon, with its daily deals, and FourSquare, with its place-based social media, showed independent merchants how the Internet could help them attract customers. The next wave of startups is focusing on keeping those customers coming back again and again with digital loyalty tools.

"I'm always looking for ways to attract new business, but especially to encourage repeat business," says Gaia DiLoreto, the owner of By Brooklyn, a store based in Brooklyn that sells products from old-fashioned chocolate syrup to stylish handbags made in the borough. "A regular customer is my best customer." She recently signed up with Perka, a Portland, Oregon-based startup that offers an easy-to-use app that lets customers earn rewards the more they buy. 

Disqus: Will digital loyalty programs encourage people to shop more at local merchants?

Perka is one of at least a dozen startups, including Belly, Tagtile and Punchcard, that have introduced tools to help small businesses reward frequent customers. Established players are getting into the game as well: FourSquare has long offered special Check-in Deals, while Groupon recently unveiled a Rewards program aimed at encouraging repeat visits rather than one-time deals. Google, meanwhile, acquired Punchd, a cloud-based loyalty platform that uses QR codes.

The offerings vary, but they all aim to replace the paper punch cards that merchants have used for decades—you know, the dog-eared cards you always seem to lose right before you've finally earned a free cup of coffee or pedicure—with apps that run on ubiquitous smart phones and digital devices. 

Best of all, these digital loyalty cards generate streams of data that give merchants a new window into their sales, customers and the effectiveness of their promotions—something paper punch cards could never do. Many merchants are surprised to find that as much as 70% of their revenue is generated by just 10% of their customers, says Rob Bethge, a cofounder of Perka. "If you can increase the frequency of their visits, even from once a month to twice a month, that can have a big impact," he says.

For merchants like DiLoreta, just being able to greet regulars by name can be a big plus. "People will spend more when they feel good, and knowing their name makes them feel good," she says.

Perka is simple to use. When customers come into a business, they "check in" from an app on their mobile phones, alerting the merchant to their presence. When they make a purchase, the merchant simply taps the Perka Merchant Validator app, which runs on a Perka provided iPod, iPhone or iPad, to issue a digital "stamp." Merchants track daily and weekly sales patterns from a visual dashboard on their pcs.

Perka works with merchants to create a custom rewards program. Customers of By Brooklyn, for example, receive a stamp each time they spend $20. When they collect five stamps, they get a $10 coupon. And the deals get sweeter the more they spend: the next five stamps earn a $15 coupon, and the next round a $20 coupon.

Down the street from DiLoreta's shop, Oaxaca, a taqueria, is offering Perka rewards including a ‘buy 10 tacos, get one free' deal. 

Leveling the Playing Field

Sophisticated loyalty tools used to be the exclusive domain of deep-pocketed corporations like airlines, Amazon or Starbucks. But the availability of low-cost building blocks has sparked a wave of innovation, and small merchants—and their customers—are benefiting. As Groupon's head of Merchant Services Zach Finley says, the company's rewards program aims to "put small, local businesses with limited resources on equal footing" with big boxes and online retailers. 

Online commerce is not going away, to be sure: Last year, 167 million consumers — 53% of the U.S. population — made an online purchase, according to Forrester Research. And by online sales are expected to hit $327 billion by 2016. But now, at least, Main Street merchants have a fighting chance.

The contents or opinions in this feature are independent and do not necessarily represent the views of Cisco. They are offered in an effort to encourage continuing conversations on a broad range of innovative technology subjects. We welcome your comments and engagement.

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