DENSO and Toshiba to Collaborate on IoT-based Manufacturing, Advanced Driver Assistance, Automated Driving, and Others

KARIYA, Japan & TOKYO -Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DENSO Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced that the two companies have begun talks to enhance collaborations in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT)-based manufacturing, advanced driver assistance, automated driving, and others.

The collaborations aim to combine DENSO’s high level of technology and manufacturing capability accumulated through its experience in the automotive market and Toshiba’s image recognition, IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), and software development technologies, in order to increase the competitiveness to make it through the paradigm shift that is taking place in the automotive industry.

In the fields of advanced driver assistance and automated driving, DENSO and Toshiba have jointly developed AI technologies used in image recognition systems. Moreover, the two companies have worked together in a wide range of areas including the development of automotive lithium-ion battery packs and software for ECUs used in automotive components.

DENSO and Toshiba will collaborate more closely in fields where they can share their visions and speed up the development of technology.

Contacts

Press Contact:
DENSO Corporation
Junko Uehara
junko_uehara@denso.co.jp
Yu Matsuda
yuu_matsuda@denso.co.jp
or
Toshiba Corporation
Public Relations & Investor Relations Div.
1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8001, Japan
Kaori Hiraki / Yukihito Uchida
media.relations@toshiba.co.jp






















Permalink : http://www.me-newswire.net/news/3802/en 

Special Olympics and MetLife Foundation Announce International Partnership

LONDON-Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Special Olympics and MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic arm of global insurer MetLife, announced a $1.5 million, three year international partnership to expand Special Olympics Young Athletes across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (“EMEA”). Young Athletes is an inclusive sport and play program for children, ages 2 to 7 years old, with and without intellectual disabilities. The program develops participants’ basic sport skills, such as running, kicking and throwing. It also offers families, teachers, caregivers and people from the community the opportunity to share the joy of sports and being part of a team.

“Special Olympics and MetLife Foundation have a shared commitment to building strong inclusive communities,” said Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis. “MetLife Foundation’s support of Young Athletes, together with its strong focus on employee engagement, encourages all children, their families and people in their community to promote respect, acceptance and inclusion for people with disabilities.”

Building on the successful activation of MetLife’s Community Week, MetLife employees in its EMEA region will be offered opportunities to volunteer at Young Athletes activities as part of this new partnership. In total, MetLife and MetLife Foundation’s financial and community commitment will help Special Olympics programs in the region to sustainably increase participation numbers to more than 15,000 children over three years. An increase in Young Athletes participation will ensure children will have access to critical early childhood programs and develop motor, social and cognitive skills that will help them be successful in the future.

Michel Khalaf, President, MetLife EMEA and MetLife Foundation Board Member, added: “MetLife has a rich tradition of supporting the communities it serves. This partnership builds on our long-standing relationship with Special Olympics and will enable MetLife’s employees to deepen their volunteering experience while helping to establish the Young Athletes initiative across our region.”

To read more about the partnership and learn about the Young Athletes, visit www.specialolympics.org and www.specialolympics.org/young-athletes/.

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.5 million athletes in nearly 170 countries. With the support of more than 1.4 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and more than 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year.

Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org. Engage with us on: Twitter @specialolympics, fb.com/specialolympics, youtube.com/specialolympicshq, instagram.com/specialolympics and specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com.

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Since its creation, MetLife Foundation has provided more than $744 million in grants and $70 million in program-related investments to organizations addressing issues that have a positive impact in their communities. Today, the Foundation is dedicated to advancing financial inclusion, committing $200 million to accelerate progress globally.

Together with our partners, we have now helped 1.5 million people in 39 countries gain access to financial products, services, and institutions that they need to build better and more secure lives.

To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit www.metlife.org

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Contacts

Media:
MetLife EMEA
Jonathan Bunn, +44 (0) 207-715 2463
Jbunn@metlife.com
or
MetLife US
Nandika Margavkar, 212-578-5707
nmadgavkar@metlife.com
or
Special Olympics
Burson Marsteller
Nicole Daniel, 212-614-4087
Nicole.Daniel@bm.com





















Permalink : http://www.me-newswire.net/news/3801/en

Toshiba Tec's Pioneering Carbon Zero Initiative Receives United Nations Recognition

TOKYO-Thursday, April 27th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Toshiba Tec Corporation (TOKYO:6588) has announced that its pan-European Carbon Zero Scheme is an official partner to the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is now listed on its website. This significant achievement is the latest development in Toshiba Tec’s longstanding objective of reducing its environmental impact, as well as helping its customers lower their own carbon footprints.

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 universal goals consisting of 169 individual targets that frame their agendas and political policies until 2030 with the aim of ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all. The Partnerships for SDGs online platform functions as a tool to inform all stakeholders on initiatives carried out by multi-stakeholder partnerships in support of SDGs and links progress of those initiatives to various follow up mechanisms of the 2030 Agenda.

Responsible business and investment are considered essential to attain transformational change through the SDGs. For companies, successful implementation will strengthen the enabling environment for doing business and building markets around the world. At present more than 2,000 partnership initiatives and commitments are listed on the UN’s website, including Toshiba’s Carbon Zero Scheme.

Since its launch in 2009, Toshiba Carbon Zero Scheme offsets the carbon generated from parts procurement and manufacture of devices through to delivery to the customer, in cooperation with CO2balance, the leading global carbon management company. Toshiba Tec has reached the milestone to offset 500,000 tons of CO2e which its amount is equivalent to the annual emission from almost 110,000 European homes or keeping 11.5 million energy saving light bulbs switched on for a year. All carbon emissions have been offset through projects that help benefit the lives of individuals in developing countries.

Initiatives include an energy efficient stoves project, in which villagers in Kenya reduce their use of wood for fuel through the provision of highly efficient stoves. Further projects currently underway include the creation of boreholes in Uganda that supply clean, safe water, as well as work on reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The Carbon Zero Scheme therefore aligns itself perfectly with the SDGs relating to no poverty, zero hunger and clean water and sanitation.

In addition to the European Carbon Zero Scheme, Toshiba Tec is actively involved in similar initiatives across the world. These are one of the activities to achieve its environmental policy, the “Three Greens”: Greening of Products, Greening of Process, and Green Management.

About Toshiba Tec

Toshiba Tec Corporation is a Toshiba’s group company, a leading provider of technology solutions, operating across multiple industries – ranging from retail, education and business services to hospitality and manufacturing. With headquarters in Japan and over 80 subsidiaries worldwide, Toshiba Tec Corporation helps organizations transform the way they create, record, share, manage and display information.

Please visit http://www.toshibatec.co.jp/en/
For Europe please visit: https://www.toshibatec.eu/
For Global site please visit http://www.toshibatec.com/global/

Unless otherwise specified and/or credited all images, artwork, text and graphics, logos and logotypes are the copyright and/or trademark of the respective owners. All rights reserved.

Contacts

Media Contact
Toshiba Tec Germany Imaging Systems GmbH
Andreas Kleinschmidt, +49-2131-1245-252
European Marketing & Business Development
andreas.kleinschmidt@toshibatec-tgis.com


or
Toshiba Tec Corporation
Toshihiko “Tommy” Minato, +81-(0)50-3681-5528
Marketing Department
Products, Marketing & Service Division
Printing Solutions Business Group
Toshihiko_Minato@toshibatec.co.jp

Permalink : http://www.me-newswire.net/news/3786/en

MATRIXX Software Launches Carrier-Grade Digital Commerce Platform For Cloud

Single platform delivers network-grade performance and reliability across cloud, private cloud and on premise environments



SARATOGA, Calif. -Saturday, April 29th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MATRIXX Software (http://www.matrixx.com/) today announced the launch of MATRIXX Digital Commerce, a single platform that delivers the same carrier-grade performance and reliability Communications Service Providers (CSPs) require for mission-critical business applications across cloud, private cloud and on premise environments.

MATRIXX Digital Commerce raises the bar, anticipating new Digital KPIs that CSPs expect their vendors to meet for cloud and virtualization across four main areas: scalability, reliability, digital ecosystem support and customer engagement.

To date, CSPs have been cautious to move network-grade business functionality into the cloud due to extreme requirements around transaction throughput, latency, and network response times, and the impact those have on customer experience. As CSPs aim to shift more functions to cloud and virtualized environments, the new MATRIXX platform provides a solution that is ready for prime-time. It supports real-time business operations across 100s of millions of end customers and devices, and it deploys across cloud environments while delivering telco-grade reliability and unmatched performance.

New additions to the platform include an enhanced business API gateway and customer engagement framework. The business API gateway speeds integration into the CSP operating environment, including omni-channel integration, and exposes key business processes such as ‘PayNow’ to 3rd parties in the digital ecosystem. The API gateway is based on common industry business processes and an extendable development framework.

The platform’s customer engagement framework enables CSPs to tailor customer experiences for complex digital commerce interactions, such as campaigns that are triggered based on behavior or location. It ensures the customer is always precisely and instantly notified as they make purchases, accept promotions and targeted offers, and turn features and services off and on. Armed with MATRIXX Digital Commerce, CSPs can personalize messages to their customers ensuring a transparent and high-touch customer experience.

Rich Karpinski, principal analyst, mobile operator strategies at 451, said, “CSPs of all sizes today are looking for a single digital commerce solution that deploys across cloud, private cloud, and on premise, delivering the same carrier-grade level of performance, reliability, and capability across deployment environments. MATRIXX Digital Commerce gives them maximum flexibility for deploying the solution that best fits their needs, while getting all the benefits of a modern platform such as quick deployment times, business agility, continuous innovation and new capabilities.”

Karpinski’s assessment of MATRIXX Digital Commerce can be found here.

MATRIXX Digital Commerce provides an alternative to traditional telco vendor solutions, giving CSPs the power to do business at the speed of the internet, and evolve and scale their offerings without vendor dependence. Leading operators including Three Group, Telstra, Swisscom and Vodafone use MATRIXX Digital Commerce to capitalize on opportunities they see in their markets. For example:

    Deploy a web-scale, virtualized IT stack to support new digital businesses. This uniquely guarantees network-grade performance across all service offerings, bypassing the need for a lengthy IT transformation project
    Create richer digital experiences for consumers. MATRIXX Digital Commerce enables a highly-personalized approach where campaigns are triggered in real-time based on customer behavior, providing CSPs with more cross- and up-sell opportunities while the customer is engaged ‘in the moment’
    Enable CSPs to design and deploy exciting customer bundles by using MATRIXX to develop content offerings from third parties. MATRIXX supports rapid integration using the business API gateway to adapt and extend offerings to collaborate on content initiatives with third party OTT services and providers
    Plan for future growth in Digital and IoT. Using MATRIXX’s extreme scalability, CSPs can support billions of personalized customer transactions a day from a single, agile platform

To learn more about MATRIXX Software, please visit www.matrixx.com. A press kit can be accessed here.

About MATRIXX Software

MATRIXX Software delivers an innovative digital commerce solution that enables always-on customer engagement. Our patented approach makes it possible for Digital Service Providers to simultaneously serve millions of customers, and process billions of customer interactions precisely and instantly. MATRIXX enables DSPs to build long-term strategic value through high-touch, digital customer relationships.

Follow MATRIXX Software online:

Website: www.matrixx.com

Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/user17468378

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/586602

Twitter: www.twitter.com/matrixx_sw




Contacts

Mercury Global Partners for MATRIXX
Mindy M. Hull, +1 415-889-9977
CEO and Managing Director
matrixx@mercuryglobalpartners.com
or
MATRIXX Software
Simon Marshall, +1 307-439-9000
Senior Manager, Marketing and PR
simon.marshall@matrixx.com



Permalink : http://me-newswire.net/news/3803/en

JAKKS Announces Closing of $19.3 Million Sale of Common Stock to Joint Venture Partner Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Friday, April 28th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) today announced that the Company closed the sale of 3,660,891 shares of the Company’s common stock to Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd. (“Meisheng”) for a total purchase price of $19.3 million, and that Xiaoqiang Zhao, Executive Director of Hong Kong Meisheng Culture Company Ltd. and Chairman of the Board of its parent company Meisheng Cultural & Creative Corp., Ltd., joins JAKKS’ board of directors.

Stephen Berman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We are pleased that Meisheng has increased their equity position in JAKKS and that Mr. Zhao has become a member of our board of directors. We are excited about the expanded opportunities in China that we anticipate will be available to us through our relationship with Meisheng.”

Xiaoqiang Zhao stated: “We are delighted to add to our shareholdings in JAKKS. We expect this step will strengthen our two companies’ strong strategic partnership. I’m also honored to join JAKKS’ board of directors. I will bring my decades of experience in the fields of consumer products and management to JAKKS and anticipate that we will work together to strengthen both companies’ businesses in the United States, China and other markets.”

Meisheng announced in March 2017 that it acquired 1,578,647 shares of the Company’s common stock in open market transactions. In addition to the joint venture companies established by Meisheng and JAKKS, Meisheng Cultural & Creative Corp., Ltd. has for many years been a key manufacturer for the Company.

About JAKKS Pacific, Inc.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of toys and consumer products sold throughout the world, with its headquarters in Santa Monica, California. JAKKS Pacific’s popular proprietary brands include BIG-FIGS™, XPV®, Max Tow™ and Friends, Disguise®, Moose Mountain®, Funnoodle®, Maui®, Kids Only!®; a wide range of entertainment-inspired products featuring premier licensed properties; pet products; and C’est Moi™, a skincare and performance make-up brand. Through JAKKS Cares, the company’s commitment to philanthropy, JAKKS is helping to make a positive impact on the lives of children. Visit us at www.jakks.com and follow us on Instagram (@jakkstoys), Twitter (@jakkstoys) and Facebook (JAKKS Pacific).

© 2017 JAKKS Pacific, Inc. All rights reserved.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about JAKKS Pacific's business based partly on assumptions made by its management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such statements due to numerous factors, including, but not limited to, those described above, changes in demand for JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating acquired businesses. The “forward-looking statements” contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation to update any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Contacts

JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
Sara Rosales Montalvo, 424-268-9363
SaraRM@jakks.net
or
Joel Bennett, 310-455-6210
JoelB@jakks.net


Permalink : http://www.me-newswire.net/news/3800/en 

Petrópolis Group Switches its ERP Support to Rimini Street

 Leading beverage company in Brazil benefits from immediate savings and timely delivery of tax, legal and regulatory updates




LAS VEGAS & SÃO PAULO -Thursday, April 27th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rimini Street, Inc., the leading global independent provider of enterprise software support services for SAP SE’s (NYSE:SAP) Business Suite, BusinessObjects and HANA Database software and Oracle Corporation’s (NYSE:ORCL) Siebel, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, E-Business Suite, Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware, Hyperion, Oracle Retail, Oracle Agile PLM and Oracle ATG Web Commerce software, today announced that Petrópolis Group, one of the largest beverage companies in Brazil, has selected Rimini Street for support of its SAP ECC 6.0, BusinessObjects and Business Warehouse systems. By switching to Rimini Street from vendor support, Petrópolis Group immediately saved 50% on its annual maintenance fees, and gained a premium-level, ultra-responsive service for its SAP systems. The company will also receive critical tax, legal and regulatory updates from Rimini Street.

“By switching to Rimini Street, we expect to increase our productivity and improve performance in many areas across the organization,” said Mohamed Nassif, IT director, Petrópolis Group Brazil. “The move to Rimini Street would be beneficial to any business, providing an excellent alternative for CIOs looking for a high quality of support, faster response times and cost savings that can be used to fund innovative initiatives to help differentiate their business.”

Tax, legal and regulatory updates are just one of the support features Rimini Street provides at no additional cost to clients. Brazil has one of the most complex tax systems in the world, and Rimini Street delivers fast, efficient updates to ensure compliance. In Brazil, the Company supports Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital (SPED), also known as the Public Digital Bookkeeping System, and all compliance with taxation and tax records. Rimini Street also provides updates to Nota Fiscal Eletrônica (NFe); Escrituração Contábil Digital (ECD); Escrituração Fiscal Digital (EFD); Escrituração Contábil Fiscal (ECF); Notas Técnicas; and E-Social, among others. Globally, Rimini Street has delivered more than 125,000 tax, legal and regulatory updates to clients to date, and provides accurate, high-quality deliverables using an innovative combination of patent-pending tax, legal and regulatory technology, proven methodology and ISO 9001-certified development processes.

Before entering into an agreement with Rimini Street, the IT Director Mohamed Nassif, an experienced and seasoned IT professional who has led multiple deployments of SAP, JD Edwards and MICROSIGA systems from companies of different industry segments such as BMC-Hyundai, Andrade Gutierrez, Penske Logistics do Brasil, Suzano and Bahia Sul Papel e Celulose and Casas Pernambucanas, spoke to and visited a number of Rimini Street clients in Brazil. In one instance, Nassif visited a leading Brazilian company in the Call Center industry where the CIO made several calls to Rimini Street for Nassif and his team to experience the support process first hand. As a result, Nassif was able to validate the quality of Rimini Street’s service and the attentive support provided by the Company’s local team of expert engineers in Brazil, as well as its rapid response times.

“Rimini Street employs an expert, local team of support, development, and tax, legal and regulatory research professionals in Brazil to ensure clients are compliant,” said Edenize Maron, general manager for Latin America, Rimini Street. “The Company has made significant investments in Brazil, and is committed to providing premium-level service with ultra-responsive support, featuring a 15-minute or less response time for Priority 1 critical cases. Rimini Street continues to help companies worldwide save on their vendor maintenance fees so they can use these savings to fund innovative programs that support the growth of their business.”

About Rimini Street, Inc.

Rimini Street is the global leader in providing independent enterprise software support services. The company has redefined enterprise support services since 2005 with an innovative, award-winning program that enables Oracle and SAP licensees to save up to 90 percent on total support costs. Clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years. Nearly 1,900 global Fortune 500, midmarket, public sector and other organizations from a broad range of industries have selected Rimini Street as their trusted, independent support provider. To learn more, please visit http://www.riministreet.com, follow @riministreet on Twitter and find Rimini Street on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are based on various assumptions. If the risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Rimini Street assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Rimini Street and the Rimini Street logo are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.

Contacts

Rimini Street, Inc.
Michelle McGlocklin, +1 925-264-6579
mmcglocklin@riministreet.com



Permalink : http://me-newswire.net/news/3787/en

Andersen Tax & Legal Announces Debut in the Netherlands

SAN FRANCISCO -Tuesday, April 25th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Andersen Tax & Legal makes its debut in the Netherlands, as Taxperience formally adopts the Andersen name in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and 's-Hertogenbosch. They will now function as Andersen Tax & Legal in the Netherlands, joining several other Andersen Global member firms worldwide that have adopted the Andersen name.

“We are excited to continue to combine our knowledge and expertise with the Andersen team and together we will find the best solutions for clients. The Andersen name will strengthen our ability to provide best-in-class, seamless service on multi-country engagements around the world,” said Ruben van Aarle, Partner at Andersen Tax & Legal. “This allows us to extend our boundaries even further and continue to collaborate with the best professionals around the world.”

As Andersen Tax & Legal, the Dutch team will continue to provide tax, legal, interim and finance solutions for corporations and individuals both inside and outside the Netherlands including compliance, VAT, international structuring, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Andersen Tax CEO, Mark Vorsatz, added, “The strength of our team has and will continue to be our shared values and commitment to outstanding quality. The adoption of the Andersen name is representative of this commitment and we are eager to continue to build upon this very strong foundation under a common name.”

Andersen Tax & Legal has offices in 's-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam and a presence in more than 62 locations worldwide through the member firms and collaborating firms of Andersen Global. Andersen Global is an international association of member firms with more than 2,000 professionals worldwide.

Contacts

Andersen Tax
Megan Tsuei, 415-764-2700



















Permalink : http://www.me-newswire.net/news/3771/en