Avnet Technology Solutions UK Introduces New Professional Services Offering for Microsoft System Center

March 21, 2012 - Avnet Technology Solutions UK introduces new Professional Services offering for Microsoft System Center

Bracknell, UK -- Avnet Technology Solutions, the global IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc.(NYSE: AVT), today announced that Microsoft System Center professional services are now available from Avnet in the UK.  This coincides with Avnet becoming the only distribution company in the UK to achieve the Microsoft Gold Competency in virtualization and management - a significant milestone that recognises Avnet's exceptional technical competency in this area. 

By combining best-of-breed Microsoft technology with Avnet's professional services capability, Avnet business partners will benefit from an effective framework for introducing server management lifecycle best practices and more simple and flexible licensing models that save time and money for end-user customers.  Avnet will work with its business partners to support SME and midsized organisations by offering a comprehensive range of services covering pre-sales consultancy, design, customisation, integration and support.

Taisha Betz, Microsoft business unit manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, commented, "Today's announcement rewards our investment in high quality training and reflects our commitment to adding real value to our business partners.  Our dedicated team of professionals has the market knowledge, resources and technology know-how to help business partners offer much more than software licenses, namely the ability to implement large-scale, complex IT solutions and services that deliver tangible business value."

Stephen Ennis, services business development director, Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA, added, "Being the first IT solutions distribution company in the UK to gain the Microsoft Gold Competency in virtualization and management is a truly remarkable achievement. Our comprehensive services portfolio enables business partners to rapidly enter and capitalise on the high growth virtualisation market. This portfolio is complementary to our business partners and augments their own in-house services."

To find out more about Avnet's new professional services offering for Microsoft System Center, please visit www.virtcentral.co.uk

About Avnet Technology Solutions

As a global IT solutions distributor, Avnet Technology Solutions collaborates with its customers and suppliers to create and deliver services, software and hardware solutions that address the business needs of their end-user customers locally and around the world. For fiscal year 2011, the group served customers in more than 70 countries and generated US $11.5 billion in annual revenue. Avnet Technology Solutions (www.ats.avnet.com) is an operating group of Avnet, Inc.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, Avnet generated revenue of $26.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

Adobe Kicks Off Digital Marketing Summit 2012

Adobe Kicks Off Digital Marketing Summit 2012

For immediate release

Company Announces Significant Innovations to Adobe Digital Marketing Suite

SALT LAKE CITY, Adobe Digital Marketing Summit — March 21, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated(Nasdaq:ADBE) today opened the Adobe® Digital Marketing Summit, where more than 4,000 digital marketers and senior leaders from the world’s foremost advertisers, publishers, agencies, systems integrators and technology companies have gathered  to learn the latest about digital marketing trends, share best practices and network. Keynote presenters include Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch, and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Adobe’s Digital Marketing Business, Brad Rencher, along with Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter.

Adobe’s digital marketing business continues to demonstrate significant momentum. In the company’s most recent earnings announcement, Adobe reported 30 percent year-over-year growth in its digital marketing business. Adobe introduced several new innovations within the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, including:

Adobe Social
A new product within the Digital Marketing Suite, Adobe Social (see separate release) combines social publishing and engagement with monitoring, social ad buying and analytics that can attribute social activity to business results. Adobe is giving those with social marketing responsibilities – digital marketers, community managers, customer service, public relations, ad buyers, analysts and others – a single platform to align and collaborate around the management, measurement and optimization of their social media strategies, and do so in the context of all other digital marketing efforts.

Predictive Marketing
New predictive marketing capabilities within the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite reduce the complexity of uncovering hidden behavioral patterns in big data (see separate release). These advancements will help marketers more quickly sort through an increasing amount of data to find the most impactful insights as well as leverage vast amounts of historical data to predict future results.

Personalization
Adobe announced a major update to its Web Experience Management (WEM) solution (see separate release), part of the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite that helps marketers drive engagement by delivering more consistent, contextually relevant experiences on the Web, mobile devices and social media. At the heart of the WEM solution is Adobe CQ 5.5, the latest version of the company’s industry leading Web Content Management software that is now deeply integrated with several other products in the Suite, such as Scene7®, Search&Promote and SiteCatalyst®.

Quotes
Brad Rencher, senior vice president and general manager,Digital Marketing Business, Adobe

·         “The Adobe Digital Marketing Summit is quickly becoming digital marketing’s premier event, gathering the best and brightest minds in the industry. This year we have almost doubled in size with 4,000 attendees who will connect with experts and peers, get direct access to case studies and best practices, and have great opportunities to network and socialize. Summit is also a chance to get a first peek at the latest digital marketing innovations from Adobe and our partners and to help guide the future of our Digital Marketing Suite.”

About the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite
The Adobe Digital Marketing Suite offers an integrated and open platform for online business optimization, a strategy for using customer insight to drive innovation throughout the business and enhance marketing efficiency. The Suite consists of integrated applications to collect and unleash the power of customer insight to optimize customer acquisition, conversion and retention efforts as well as the creation and distribution of content. For example, using the Suite, marketers can identify the most effective marketing strategies and ad placements as well as create relevant, personalized and consistent customer experiences across digital marketing channels, such as onsite, display, email, social, video and mobile. The Suite enables marketers to make quick adjustments, automate certain customer interactions and better maximize marketing ROI, which, ultimately, can positively impact the bottom line.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Waste Mgt. Named to Ethisphere's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies

Waste Management Named to Ethisphere’s 2012 World’s Most Ethical Companies for the Fifth Consecutive Year

Award recognizes exceptional ethical leadership across continents and industries

HOUSTON – March 16, 2012 – Waste Management (NYSE: WM) has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, the leading business ethics think-tank, as one of the 2012 World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies. This is the fifth year the company has been honored for promoting the highest of ethical standards. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, WM secured a spot on the list by implementing and maintaining business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company’s success, benefit the community and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry. 

“It is an honor to be recognized by Ethisphere for our strong corporate culture that values ethics, diversity and sustainability,” said David Steiner, chief executive officer and president of WM. “As an industry leader we strive to operate in a way that contributes to the success of our business and the communities we serve. I believe it is our responsibility to make positive change for the environment and for society.” 

This is the sixth year Ethisphere has published the WME rankings. Ethisphere reviewed hundreds of companies and evaluated a record number of applications utilizing its propriety methodology through in-depth research and multi-step analysis, naming the companies that surpassed their industry peers to this year’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list. The 2012 list features companies in more than three dozen industries, including 40 companies headquartered outside the United States. 

The methodology for the WME ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers. 

“A strong ethical foundation is a competitive advantage, and WM recognizes the important role corporate responsibility plays in improving its bottom line,” said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute. “As more and more organizations strive for this honor each year, WM’s inclusion as a World’s Most Ethical Company for 2012 demonstrates its industry-leading commitment to ethics and dedication to integrity.” 

Read about the methodology and view the complete list of the 2012 World’s Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-rankings/.

About Ethisphere Institute

The research-based Ethisphere^® Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. Ethisphere Magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking™, is the quarterly publication of the Institute. Ethisphere provides the only third-party verifications of compliance programs and ethical cultures that include: Ethics Inside^® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™. The Institute’s premier membership group, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance™, is a business ethics forum that includes more than 100 leading corporations, universities and institutions that collectively leverage their experience, expertise and innovative ways to address emerging compliance challenges. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found atwww.ethisphere.com. 

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also one of the largest residential recyclers and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com.

News Release from Compuware - New eBook

Compuware Launches New eBook: Java Enterprise Performance

DETROIT, March 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation (Nasdaq:CPWR), the technology performance company, today announced the availability of Java Enterprise Performance, a new online eBook authored by technology experts at the Compuware dynaTrace^® Center of Excellence. Java Enterprise Performance is a free resource for IT senior managers, team leaders and practitioners responsible for the performance of business-critical applications. To start reading, visit: http://book.dynatrace.com.

The online book is a comprehensive compilation of state-of-the-art approaches, best practices and pragmatic solutions to support application performance management and optimization initiatives throughout the lifecycle of systems from pre-production to production, encompassing all stakeholders: architecture, development, test, deployment and production teams.

"As businesses rely more than ever on applications, application performance management (APM) has become a top operational priority; performance delays of just two seconds can cause a revenue loss of 4 percent," said Alois Reitbauer, co-author and dynaTrace Technology Strategist. "As interest in application performance grows, more people want to further their careers in this field. Our eBook provides a pragmatic reference for those who are passionate about application performance and accountable for improving it."

All key topics covered in Java Enterprise Performance — from application performance concepts and memory management to hot issues such as cloud, virtualization and more — will empower architects, developers, test and operations teams to understand, measure and optimize the performance of Java-based technologies and meet the challenges they currently face in complex enterprise environments. The eBook is being published online with new chapters added monthly. 

The first two chapters are available today:

·         Chapter One —Application Performance Concepts: considers how to become performance experts. Besides technical expertise, IT leaders need a solid understanding of how performance and scalability works. The chapter reviews how to collect and interpret data properly and which performance data is needed in a variety of use cases.
 

·         Chapter Two —Memory Management: addresses the fact that memory management is often a major contributor to application performance problems. It highlights the inner workings of memory management and garbage collection to help understand memory-related performance problems such as memory leaks or excessive garbage collection, where they come from and how to optimize applications accordingly.

·          

The authors, all members of the dynaTrace APM Center of Excellence, include: Alois Reitbauer, Andreas Grabner, and Michael Kopp. They regularly share insight and expertise with a community of over 100,000 performance professionals at about:performance (http://blog.dynatrace.com). This online book contains more than 30 years of their combined knowledge in the application performance field. The authors have worked building large-scale applications and performance tools, developed numerous training courses and are regular speakers at leading software conferences worldwide on performance-related topics.

Mobile Apps Take Data Without Permission

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Thursday, February 16, 2012

Mobile Apps Take Data Without Permission 

By NICOLE PERLROTH and NICK BILTON

SAN FRANCISCO - The address book in smartphones - where some of the user's most personal data is carried - is free for app developers to take at will, often without the phone owner's knowledge.

Companies that make many of the most popular smartphone apps for Apple and Android devices - Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram among them - routinely gather the information in personal address books on the phone and in some cases store it on their own computers. The practice came under scrutiny Wednesday by members of Congress who saw news reports that taking such data was an "industry best practice."

Apple, which approves all apps that appear in its iTunes store, addressed the controversy on Wednesday after lawmakers sent the company a letter asking how approved apps were allowed to take address book data without users' permission. Apple's published rules on apps expressly prohibit that practice.

But in its statement about the issue, Apple did not address why those apps that collect address book data had been approved.

In that statement, Tom Neumayr, an Apple spokesman, said: "Apps that collect or transmit a user's contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines. We're working to make this even better for our customers, and as we have done with location services, any app wishing to access contact data will require explicit user approval in a future software release."

The Federal Trade Commission regulates the use of consumers' data on the Internet, and in the past it has sanctioned big companies like Facebook and Google over privacy issues. It said Wednesday that it would make no comment about the app makers' practices.