Village Gamer

Many businesses have not tapped the full potential of a growing number of mobile business applications rapidly becoming available. According to Enterprise Mobility, a study conducted by the Canadian Financial Research Foundation (CFERF) and sponsored by SAP, many workers continue to mainly use their mobile devices for email and web browsing. Why? Concerns about risk management, data security, cost, logistics and technology limitation are stalling the adoption by businesses of a wide range of applications which can greatly enhance productivity, improve responsiveness to customers and reduce employee downtime.

The study shows that a lack of knowledge and awareness of the potential benefits of mobile business apps have hindered the development and use of customized applications. Some companies prefer to use cloud computing and/or web-based interfaces for employees instead, believing that this offers increased security and the flexibility to be compatible with any mobile device and across platforms.

“More and more, companies are allowing employees to access company data through mobile business applications housed on smartphones and tablets. While this brings benefits such as improvements in productivity and flexibility, these advances are accompanied by security risks that executives should be aware of,” said Michael Conway, Chief Executive and National President, FEI Canada.

CFERF, the research arm of FEI Canada, conducted the survey of financial executives across Canada and gathered insights from executive research forums held in both Toronto and Calgary. Mobile devices in the study referred to smartphones, such as the Blackberry and iPhone, and tablet devices. Laptop computers and net books were not included. Read the rest of this entry »

Pizza Pizza has made its mark on mobile shopping with the launch of its first-ever iPhone app. This month, the Canadian-based pizza chain was honoured with a Webby Award, a prestigious international web-based award that recognizes excellence on the internet. The company’s one-of-a-kind smartphone ordering application was named the best shopping tool for a handheld device, just over a month after its launch.

The win comes in the category of mobile shopping for handheld devices. Other nominees considered for the award included big-box American retailers Target and Walgreens. Pizza Pizza and Plastic Mobile, the mobile marketing agency that developed its app, are the lone Canadian companies to receive a Webby award in this category this year.

“We’ve really made a push to enter the online world through our web ordering system and now our mobile app,” said Pat Finelli, Chief Marketing Officer for Pizza Pizza. “This is a big win for us. It proves that we’ve delivered when it comes to reliability and convenience, which are characteristics of ours that customers have really come to expect and value.”

The easy-to-use, interactive app was launched earlier this year, the first of its kind from a national Canadian-based pizza chain. The Pizza Pizza app is available at no charge for all iPhone^(R), iPod touch^(R) and iPad^(TM) models that run iOS 3.0 or later.

Rand McNally now offers its line of award-winning truck GPS devices for sale throughout Canada. The IntelliRoute® TND™ line is distributed in Canada exclusively by SYNNEX Canada Limited and will first be available at Traction, Heavy Duty Parts stores, Lordco – Auto Parts and at Amazon.ca.

“Professional drivers in Canada will now be able to access our products at home, rather than coming stateside to make purchases. The IntelliRoute® TND™ has been designed for the North American market with full translation into French and Spanish. In addition, we have features that uniquely address driver needs in Canada, such as the ability to warn of border crossings ahead,” explained Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally.

The IntelliRoute® TND™ line was built from the ground up for professional drivers. Beginning with award-winning truck-specific navigation from Rand McNally, the units feature a speaker and mounting device designed for truck use, an extra-long power cable, and a suite of specialized Trucker Business Tools to assist drivers in managing the business aspects of trucking. Many of the features in the IntelliRoute® TND™ 510 and 710 units were developed as a direct result of tens of thousands of comments from “Tell Rand,” a unique on-device feature that provides continuous feedback to Rand McNally from the driver community.

Xplornet Communications Inc. (formerly Barrett Xplore Inc.), is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a $230 million private financing.  One of the largest Canadian telecom financing announcements this year, the funds will be used to support and aggressively expand Xplornet’s broadband network across Canada to the 2.4 million households that do not have access to real, affordable broadband.  A start-up just 6 years ago, Xplornet is now one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies.

“This is an investment in rural Canada that will be nothing less than transformative,” said Xplornet’s Chief Executive Officer John Maduri. “This will allow us to complete a job we started 6 years ago -bringing affordable broadband to every Canadian who wants it, no matter where they live.  That is a monumental accomplishment in the telecom industry.  Not only is this a ringing endorsement of our business model, it will permit an historic leap forward toward the full digital engagement of rural Canadians.”

This funding comes on the heels of Xplornet’s recent announcement that it had successfully started activating its new national 4G network.  The company, which by the end of 2012 will have a total of approximately 1,000 towers, is deploying a 4G WiMAX network and two next-generation 4G satellites.  This network will allow Xplornet to reach 100% of Canadians with fast, affordable broadband by the end of 2012.  “Wireless is the future of digital telecommunications,” said Maduri, “and only Xplornet has invested this significantly in a hybrid satellite and fixed wireless network for Canada.  The fact that we can reach anyone on the second largest country on Earth – despite all the geographic and topographic difficulties – at an affordable price to customers – proves that wireless is the answer to Canada’s rural broadband challenge.”

The ability of Xplornet to secure a financing of this size reflects the willingness of investors to bank on a market that is both large and which has significant pent-up demand.  Gerry O’Reilly, Chief Financial Officer for Xplornet added, “This funding, which includes a very attractive refinancing of some existing debt, will enable Xplornet’s continued aggressive growth in rural Canada, and position us for continued success as one of Canada’s leading telecommunications companies.”

Interactive media is the fastest-growing segment of the media and entertainment industry, according to a recent report from Ernst & Young, Spotlight on profitable growth (PDF). Its rise to the top of the heap is fuelled by a renewed push to provide consumers with access to information and entertainment content through a variety of Internet-based formats.

“It’s all about content, and while that’s nothing new in the industry, this time, it’s becoming clear that the majority of future revenue both from advertisers and consumers will come from services rather than products. So everyone ? from venerable newspapers to social media networks to conglomerates ? is scrambling to find new and innovative ways to marry content with distribution channels,” says Neal Clarance, leader of Ernst & Young’s Media and Entertainment practice.

Interactive media continues to benefit from consumers’ ongoing shift away from traditional media and towards online platforms. A good example is companies that provide streaming video services, which are changing the way people watch television. These companies in particular are pushing hard to find a wealth of content to entice users. Newspapers are trying new subscription models to push readers to their online content. Internet retailers also want in on the content action.

“To be sure, there is increased competition for established media conglomerates, but in spite of a difficult operating environment, media and entertainment companies continue to show resiliency,” says Clarance. “With advertising and consumer spending on the rebound, and digital initiatives gaining speed, improved growth and profitability lie ahead for the industry.”

Spotlight on profitable growth is a five-year study on the growth and profitability of the media and entertainment industry, based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of margin percentage and dollars. The new report ranks the top 10 media and entertainment industry sectors on both their profitability and profitability growth rate, and provides a performance comparison of the overall media and entertainment business to other stock market indices.

The ranking of overall average profitability during a five-year period according to margin percentage:

1)     Cable operators, 37.6%
2)     Interactive media, 34.6%
3)     Cable networks, 31.4%
4)     Satellite television, 27%
5)     Publishing, 20%
6)     Conglomerates, 18.8%
7)     Television broadcasts, 17.6%
8)     Film and television productions, 10.6%
9)     Electronic games, 10.6%
10)   Music, 10.6%

PARTA Dialogue Inc., an expert in Social Media and Social Learning for businesses, has announced its intention to completely acquire the GreenPod WEB platform in the coming weeks – subject to regulatory approval including that of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Parta Dialogue Inc. will complete acquisition of GreenPod Web platform in exchange for 810,000 Common Shares of Parta. In addition, Parta will pay 2000 € HT for expenses related to the platform remaining due. The Vendor, Robin Placet, is the director of Parta Dialogue SAS, a subsidiary owned at 90% by Parta Dialogue Inc, and as such is also an insider of Parta. The Vendor also agrees that its 10% stake in the share capital of Parta Dialogue SAS will be acquired by Parta for 500 € HT.

GreenPod.fr was conceived and developed by Web Me Up, a company specialized in producing web videos for brands. GreenPod.fr is a precursor in its field for two reasons. Its treatment of sustainability related news for the general public and its ultra-portable formats including a custom player for the Web, iPod and Smartphones. The core concept of the service is to deliver “green news” to subscribers wherever they are at. Reception of the service by mainstream media and brands marketing to green audiences has been positive from the start. After a year and a half of existence, GreenPod has become a hit with the blogging community in France. The acquisition of GreenPod will permit Parta to gain traction with social media communities based around sustainability discussions and multiply the delivery formats for its social media contents to reflect the new mobile nature of information browsing and sharing.

Absolute^® Software Corporation, provider of firmware-embedded endpoint security and management solutions has announced that the company has signed a million dollar deal to provide a leading K-12 school district with the Company’s Computrace^® and Absolute Manage offerings, validating the requirement for organizations to apply both security and management best practices to all of their endpoints.

“The endpoint security and management markets are converging,” said John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute. “Customers have long told us they need to be able to securely manage their PCs, laptops and now tablets and smartphones in a more simplified, reliable and cost effective manner. With the addition of Absolute Manage to complement Computrace’s leading device tracking and data protection capabilities, we are evolving our offerings to meet this need. This contract win demonstrates that the expansion of our product base is delivering results.”

The customer had identified a need for lifecycle management for their entire estate of PC notebooks. In a competitive marketplace, the customer selected Absolute Manage due to its unique persistent PC capability, and its ability to securely manage their PC population with the addition of Computrace. By combining Absolute Manage with Computrace, the customer is able to rely on valuable cloud-persistent tracking and emergency response services to ensure their PCs can be reliably and securely tracked, managed, and protected.

Mr. Livingston continued: “It was the synergies the customer could realize by combining our security and lifecycle management solutions that tipped the scales in our favor.  This illustrates how Absolute Manage is creating new customer acquisition opportunities for Computrace. We believe our unique ability to provide organizations with both endpoint security and management tools for their computing assets and other mobile devices has us well positioned to emerge as a leader in the broad endpoint security and management market.”

Millions of iPhone and iPad users around the world have unleashed their inner trouble-maker in the feel-good app of the year Office Jerk, the latest game on iPhone and iPad from Fluik Entertainment, continues to exceed expectations and delight audiences around the world. Since its release less than a month ago, the free app has been downloaded over six million times. It has become the number-one free app in more than 50 countries, as players take revenge on that one guy in the office that makes the rest of us look bad.

Not content with letting players toss pies, eggs, paper, dynamite and more, Fluik is offering an entirely new arsenal of destruction with today’s release of Office Jerk 1.2. The update includes all new items to hurl at that office mate you love to hate:

• Smack him right between the eyes with the Sucker Dart!
• Unleash your inner Tiger and nail him with a golf ball!
• Toss the fan and blow him away!

Also, in response to countless requests from fans, an Android version will released later this week, giving millions more gamers a chance to discover what the rest of the world has already realized – there is always room for a little juvenile behavior in the modern office space.

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is pleased to announce that enterprise cloud computing company salesforce.com has completed the acquisition of BDC investee company Radian6. Salesforce.com purchased Radian6 for approximately US$276 million in cash and US$50 million in stock, net of cash acquired.

BDC Interim Executive Vice President, Investments, Jérôme Nycz says, “We are extremely pleased with this transaction and our return on investment, which is among the most profitable BDC Venture Capital has recorded. This successful exit is an excellent outcome for both Radian6 and salesforce.com, as well as for BDC Venture Capital and Canada’s venture capital industry. It is also good news for Atlantic Canada where Radian6 is based. The company has grown its employee base to several hundred and continues to serve its 2,400 customers from offices in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We expect its growth will continue and the organization will become a sustaining pillar in the business community in these provinces.”

BDC was a syndicate partner that invested in Radian6 in a first institutional round of financing in 2008. Co-investors included Summerhill Venture Partners and BrightSpark Ventures.

Jérôme Nycz adds, “BDC is grateful to have invested in the serial entrepreneurs that founded Radian6 and to have co-invested with local angel investors and savvy institutional investors focused on early stage opportunities.”

Radian6 was founded in 2006 and is the industry-leading social media monitoring platform. The company has more than 350 employees and is based in Fredericton, NB. Salesforce.com has more than 5,000 employees (including those at Radian6), was founded in 1999 and is based in San Francisco, CA.

DHX Media has announced that its hit preschool series Rastamouse has been licensed to EMI Music for a new album to be released on July 4, 2011.

In the four months since its launch, Rastamouse has quickly developed into one of the most popular children’s shows in the UK where it airs on CBeebies and BBC2. Based on the successful range of books by Michael De Souza and Genevieve Webster, the critically acclaimed TV series follows the adventures of cool, music-making, skateboarding, crime-fighting Rastamouse & Da Easy Crew as they share their philosophy of ‘Makin’ a Bad Ting Good’. The official YouTube channel for Rastamouse has received over 750,000 views.

Music is a crucial element of the TV series, with Reggae, rap and hip-hop featured prominently, and most of the stories have strong musical themes. The brilliant new album features extended versions of super cool reggae tunes from the smash hit TV children’s animation series.  Rastamouse is voiced by actor / presenter / DJ Reggie Yates, who appears on the first single ‘Ice Popp’ and other tracks.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3HWsVe_Mrs]

The album release will be preceded by the fantastic, fun, summer reggae sound of Rastamouse single ‘Hot Hot Hot’, to be released on 26^th June, following Rastamouse & Crew’s live appearances at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. The single comes with accompanying promo video and features hot new vocals from Scratchy. Rastamouse is also on the bill for the Lollibop Festival, Regent’s Park (5^th-7^th August) with other appearances to be announced shortly.