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PR Newswire

Kantar BrandZ 2024 Rankings: Haier Leads for the Sixth Consecutive Year as Premier IoT Ecosystem Brand

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QINGDAO, China, June 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Haier, the number one brand in the household appliances sector, has once again distinguished itself as the only Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem brand on the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2024 list, marking the sixth consecutive year it has achieved this accolade. This achievement underscores Haier’s enduring global leadership and innovation in integrating technology with user-centric solutions.

The announcement from Kantar highlights a significant trend toward deeper integration of technology with branding, an accelerated globalization of brands, along with a greater emphasis on evaluating sustainability. The total value of the top 100 global brands has surged by 20% year-on-year to $8.3 trillion, nearing the peak value recorded in 2022. Since its inception in 2006, the total brand value of these leading global entities has grown by an impressive 474%, with entry thresholds escalating from $4 billion to $19 billion, a 354% increase.

Haier Leads for the Sixth Consecutive Year as Premier IoT Ecosystem Brand
Haier Leads for the Sixth Consecutive Year as Premier IoT Ecosystem Brand

Sustained Growth and Innovation Drive Haier’s Success

Haier’s consistent rise through the ranks, from its debut at 89th place in 2019 to 58th this year, reflects the substantial growth in brand value facilitated by pioneering IoT-driven ecosystems. In the fiscal year 2023, Haier reported robust financial results with global revenues reaching RMB371.8 billion ($52.3 billion) and profits totaling RMB26.7 billion ($3.76 billion). Zhou Yunjie, Chairman and CEO of Haier Group attributes this performance to their ecosystem brand strategy which acts as a stabilizer, driver, and accelerator for high-quality corporate development.

“Haier has originated and is at the forefront of the ecosystem brand-new paradigm, dedicated to breaking new ground in original technology. By leveraging technological innovation to spur industry innovation, it guides the direction of global industry growth,” said Doreen Wang, Kantar China CEO and Global Head of BrandZ, “Haier was the first to introduce an intelligent interaction engine in the industry, enabling unlimited possibilities for enhancing life with users and for industry development with ecological partners, which has led to ongoing enhancements in brand value and rankings.”

Prioritizing Two Pillars Tracks to Boost High-quality Development in the Sector

Haier leads the way in ecosystem branding on a global scale, aiming to build lifelong customers by constantly interacting, refining experiences, with users. 

  • The company’s premium brand Casarte exemplifies how it leads through high-end innovative offerings that have seen a thirteen-fold increase over seven years, topping industry averages across price points and market share growth metrics.
  • Through the creation of COSMOPlat, an industrial internet platform created by Haier Group, representing the initiative of “big enterprises co-creating, smaller enterprises sharing”, it has developed ecosystems in 15 fields, such as chemicals, mold production, and the automotive industry. It has now engaged with more than 900,000 firms, assisted over 160,000 businesses, and has formulated a holistic digital empowerment approach that spans from businesses to industrial parks, to sectors, and ultimately to urban areas.
  • In the health sector, anchored in scientific creativity and digital intelligence, strategically focuses on life sciences, clinical medicine, and biotechnology. It provides avant-garde solutions in these sectors while partnering with more than 60 international organizations to serve multiple countries abroad, contributing to the development of an international public health ecosystem.

By securing the position as the only global IoT ecosystem brand on the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2024 list for the sixth time in a row, Haier has shown not just its ability to lead in the ecosystem brand paradigm; but also proven its resilience and consistent growth, during its 40-year long journey starting from 1984.

About Haier Group

Founded in 1984, Haier Group is a leading global provider of better life and digital transformation solutions. Based on the purpose of “More Creation, More Possibilities”, we’ve always been user centered, adhered to original technology, and built a landscape of two pillars, Smart Living and Industrial Internet. We have built 10 R&D centers and 143 manufacturing centers around the world. We are the world’s only IoT ecosystem brand that has been ranked in the Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands for six consecutive years, and we have held the No.1 position in Euromonitor’s Global Major Appliances Brand for 15 consecutive years.

PR Newswire

Saasyan Unveils Advanced Web Filter For K-12 Schools

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Supporting On-Premises, Off-Premises, BYOD and School Provided 1:1 Programs

SYDNEY, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Saasyan, a leader in AI-powered online student safety, has today announced the launch of Assure Web Filter, available as an optional module to their cloud-based, online student safety solution, Saasyan Assure.

Developed specifically for K12 schools, the Assure Web Filter empowers schools with advanced web filtering, deep inspection and flexible controls, enabling them to support their students’ learning journey and to protect their students from harmful online content.

Enhancing Digital Safety in Schools with Advanced Web Filtering Solutions

The Saasyan Assure Web Filter is a comprehensive solution comprising two key modules:

  1. A Cloud-Managed Virtual Appliance, for supporting On-Premises and BYOD; and
  2. A Cloud-Managed On-Device Filter, for supporting Off-Premises and 1:1 Programs.

Featuring best-in class functionalities, including:

  • Granular Controls: Set and manage policies with precision, tailored by year, class, or individual student.
  • Time-Based Policies: Flexibly adjust access privileges based on time constraints.
  • Selective SSL Decryption: Ensure security while maintaining privacy with selective decryption capabilities.
  • AI-Prompt Inspections: Detect concerning language or prompts entered by users.
  • Video Controls: Manage and monitor video content access with ease.
  • Wellbeing and Safety Alerts: Receive timely alerts to address potential risks to student safety and wellbeing.
  • Comprehensive Reporting: Gain insights into usage patterns and potential risks with detailed reports categorised by year, class, student, and activity type.
  • Configurable Dashboards: Customise dashboards to align with your specific monitoring and reporting needs.
  • 12-Month Rolling Data Retention: Keep historical data accessible for informed investigation, decision-making and compliance purposes.

“As a principal committed to both educational excellence and the safety of our students, I have found the Assure Web Filter to be an invaluable asset in our school’s digital ecosystem.” said Mr Edward Demirdjian, Principal at Galstaun College, a Saasyan Assure Web Filter customer. “It seamlessly integrates with our existing infrastructure, ensuring that every student benefits from a safe and focused learning environment. The flexibility to tailor web access according to specific educational needs and safety standards, without compromising on ease of use or functionality, makes the Assure Web Filter an essential tool in modern educational settings. It’s reassuring to know that we are not only compliant with digital safety standards but are also at the forefront of preventative measures against online risks.”

Saasyan’s launch of the Assure Web Filter reflects a strategic response to two fundamental challenges shaping today’s educational landscape.

1.  Meeting the Challenges of School-Issued 1:1 Device Programs

As government and non-government schools increasingly adopt 1:1 device initiatives, they’re not just embracing a new educational paradigm but also grappling with amplified responsibilities beyond campus boundaries. The Assure Web Filter steps in as a proactive solution, ensuring that students’ off-premises digital interactions remain safe and conducive to learning.

“We’re excited to offer a powerful web filter that is quick to deploy, is simple to configure and which supports on-premises, off-premises, BYOD and 1:1 programs”, said Greg Margossian, Founder & CTO of Saasyan. “This is a significant step towards Saasyan’s vision of ensuring every student is safe online”.

2.  Commitment to Equitable Student Safety

As online learning proliferates, students from underprivileged and economically disadvantaged schools face heightened exposure to online risks. The Assure Web Filter provides a scalable and adaptable solution tailored to meet the unique safety requirements of any school, irrespective of its size or demographic. This approach not only enhances student protection but also ensures that every school can feasibly implement robust safety measures.

“All students of all socioeconomic status deserve to be safe and supported” said Sidney Minassian, CEO of Saasyan. “We’re thrilled to launch the Assure Web Filter, a feature rich, best-in-class solution, designed to be affordable and accessible by all schools.”

Unwavering Support for Integrations with Third-Party Firewalls and SASE Solutions

Saasyan remains dedicated to Assure’s existing integrations and interoperability with third-party next-generation firewalls and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions.

Offering the Assure Web Filter as an optional module, Saasyan provides schools with the flexibility and choice to opt for various supported third-party firewalls or SASE solutions that work seamlessly with the Assure Alerting and Reporting module.

By capturing real-time logs from supported third party firewalls and SASE solutions, Assure provides schools with sophisticated safety and wellbeing risk alerts, comprehensive reports and customisable dashboards.

The addition of Assure’s 3rd Party Firewall Controls module further augments the functionalities of supported firewalls, enabling granular web filter controls tailored for K-12 environments.

This module empowers teachers with delegated permissions and IT teams to implement on-the-fly, scheduled, or recurring rules. These rules can specifically allow or block access to particular web pages, categories, or applications for individual students, a class, or selected groups, enhancing focused learning and internet safety.

Today, Saasyan’s integration with third-party firewalls and SASE solutions protects over 400,000 students across 700 schools with an expanding footprint each year.

Intelligent Application of Cloud, Data and AI – powered by Amazon Web Service (AWS)

Saasyan leverages AWS’s secure and scalable services to meticulously analyse vast volumes of student online activity, encompassing web searches, website visits, videos, chat transcripts, emails, images, and documents. This robust infrastructure empowers schools to proactively address a spectrum of online safety and well-being concerns, from cyberbullying and self-harm to threats of violence, online grooming, and image-based abuse.

Saasyan is an AWS ISV Accelerate and AWS Public Sector Partner and was recognised for its innovation in K-12 Education at the AWS Australia and New Zealand Partner Summit 2023.

About Saasyan

At Saasyan, student safety is at the heart of our mission. 

Developed specifically for K-12 schools, our comprehensive suite of AI-Powered Online Student Safety software equips schools with advanced web filtering, real-time safety and well-being risk alerts, and detailed online activity reports. 

Supporting a versatile range of educational setups, including On-Premises, Off-Premises, BYOD, and School-Provided 1:1 Programs, Saasyan empowers schools to enhance their students’ learning experience while ensuring robust protection against harmful online content. 

Seamlessly integrating with the world’s leading identity, cybersecurity, and collaboration platforms already used by schools, our all-cloud solution is quick to set up, delivers immediate value, and significantly reduces workloads for school staff. 

Today, we serve over 400,000 students across 700 government and non-government schools. 

Our mission has just begun. 

Learn more at Saasyan.com

Media Enquires
Meg Hockey
press@saasyan.com
+61 2 8001 6632

PR Newswire

Orion Health awarded Panda Health Partner status for its Orchestral Health Intelligence Platform

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NEW YORK, May 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Orion Health, a global leader in digital health solutions, announced today that it has been awarded partner status by Panda Health for its Orchestral Health Intelligence Platform, one of three pillars of the Unified Healthcare Platform.

Panda Health connects hospitals and digital health companies, ensuring easier solution identification, selection, and procurement. Orion Health has joined a carefully selected group of digital health companies within the Panda Health ecosystem, who have passed cybersecurity, compliance, and technical evaluations and have been vetted for viability and value.

Orchestral is a health-centric data platform built on scalable and modular technologies that can be used to acquire and analyze data for individual, cohort, and population health management. It supports organizations as they progress from achieving consistent patient data to actionable predictive insights.

Orchestral provides an open, cloud-enabled, enterprise-wide extensible health data supermodel that can absorb any data attributes or standards, and store and output them in any format while balancing meeting standardized, national requirements and the flexibility to meet local variations. Health Systems can significantly improve data governance and time to deliver insights with built in machine learning, algorithm management, and a self-service analytics infrastructure that helps offload work for existing IT teams.

“Orchestral is the culmination of 30 years of Orion Health working with healthcare data and handling over 150 million patient records globally. Being a Panda Health Partner continues that journey by making a truly intelligent health data platform for the future available to more US Health Systems than ever before,” says James Henderson, SVP of North America, Orion Health.

About Orion Health 

Orion Health is a global healthcare technology company focused on reimagining healthcare for all. We are leading the change in digital health with health and care organizations to improve the well-being of every individual with our world-leading Unified Healthcare Platform. Made up of a Virtuoso digital front door, Amadeus digital care record, and Orchestral health intelligence platform – each underpinned by extensive health and social data sets, machine learning, and 30 years of innovation focused purely on improving global well-being. www.orionhealth.com

About Panda Health

Panda Health transforms how health systems connect with, explore, and adopt leading digital health technologies that improve the lives of patients and providers. Panda’s deep market intelligence and personalized guidance de-risk the digital health procurement process. Panda was founded in 2020 through a partnership between CentraCare, Gundersen Health System, ThedaCare and the development and investment firm Fitzroy Health.

PR Newswire

Human-Centered Digital Technology Starts with Digital Talent Development: DigiBridge Digital Talent Development Side Event at the 2024 UN STI Forum

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NEW YORK, May 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The ninth annual United Nations Science, Technology, and Innovation Forum (UN STI Forum), dedicated to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, convened at the UN headquarters in New York on May 9-10, 2024. Under the theme “Science, Technology, and Innovation for Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and Eradicating Poverty in Times of Multiple Crises: The Effective Delivery of Sustainable, Resilient, and Innovative Solutions,” the forum featured keynotes from luminaries such as Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly; Paula Narvaez, President of ECOSOC; Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Tshilidzi Marwala, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Rector of the United Nations University; Muhammadou M. O. Kah, Chairman of the UN CSTD and Vice Chair of the WDTA Education Council. These remarks focused on deploying innovative solutions to expedite the achievements laid out in the 2030 Agenda.

A key highlight of the forum was the DigiBridge side event, organized by the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA). The event centered on crucial discussions about narrowing the global talent and skill gap and enabling developing countries to leverage digital technologies for sustainable growth. 

The event was officially opened by Peter Major, Vice Chairman of the UN CSTD and Founding Chairman of WDTA, detailed how the DigiBridge program detailed how the DigiBridge is a leading global initiative in digital talent development, designed to bridge the global digital skills gap for everyone. This comprehensive educational and training program melds advanced pedagogical techniques with the demands of industry and international benchmarks, offering a lifelong learning platform for college students, technology professionals, and sector leaders.

Muhammadou M. O. Kah, also opened the event by highlighting the indispensable role of digital technologies in global economic growth and as pivotal solutions to global challenges. He outlined the vision for UN CSTD and WDTA to jointly foster a platform that promotes creativity, groundbreaking ideas, and international collaboration, serving as a powerful catalyst for sustainable digital technology growth and societal advancement.

Yale Li, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of WDTA, introduced the highly anticipated ‘DigiBridge Digital Talent Development Program. He emphasized the transformative role of innovative educational solutions in shaping a resilient digital economy, particularly through the lens of AI-driven training programs. These initiatives demonstrate WDTA’s leadership in educational innovation and its commitment to cultivating an inclusive global digital talent pool. Prof.  Li mentioned that the WDTA has launched the ” Certified Artificial Intelligence Security Professional” and ” Certified Chief AI Officer” programs, which are rapid actions to support comprehensive education in artificial intelligence.

Tshilidzi Marwala delivered a keynote speech on the topic of generative AI in education. He emphasized the vast potential of generative AI in the educational sector, particularly in personalized learning and the access to educational resources, while also highlighting the risks and challenges it presents, such as data biases and the potential decline in students’ critical thinking skills. He advocated for a comprehensive and ethical approach to exploring AI’s application in education, ensuring equitable access and mitigating potential negative impacts.

Contributions about AI and Education also came from industry leaders. Naria K, General Manager of Digital Inclusion at Microsoft Philanthropies, presented ‘Helping People Build Skills for a New Way of Working.’ She discussed the transformative impact of Generative AI on the workplace and the new opportunities it creates. Highlighting the necessity for AI fluency in all future jobs, Naria detailed Microsoft’s initiatives to upskill individuals, especially from underserved backgrounds, to navigate and thrive in the evolving AI economy.

Dr. Cari L. Miller, Co-founder and Board Chair at the AI Procurement Lab, presented ‘Urgent and Emerging AI Use Cases and the Demand for Cross-Cutting Education.’ She discussed the rapid adoption of AI use cases and their future trends, emphasizing the need to adapt educational practices to prepare a tech workforce capable of delivering immediate employer value. Dr. Miller highlighted the importance of context-specific AI applications and cross-cutting educational strategies that enhance ROI through applied technical skills and domain knowledge.

From the academic sector, Professor Ryan Ko, Cyber Security Chair at the University of Queensland, spoke on ‘AI for Interdisciplinary Cyber Security Education and Research.’ He outlined how UQ Cyber leverages AI in cyber security training, detailing the synergy between rapid AI advancements and educational strategies. His presentation highlighted UQ’s role in training Team Oceania for the International Cybersecurity Challenge, where AI significantly enhanced the team’s performance, securing them second place. This effort not only demonstrated effective AI application but also contributed to several UN Sustainable Development Goals, reflecting the global impact of their educational innovations.

Zhifeng Hao, President of Shantou University, outlined the evolution from early digital technologies to today’s AI-driven landscape, emphasizing the need to integrate disciplines like AI and Big Data into education. Professor. Hao highlighted Shantou University’s commitment to supporting the DigiBridge program, which aims to promote sustainable development and universal access to digital technology.

During the summary of the event, Executive Director and Assistant to the Chairman of the WDTA, Melan Xu, stated that DigiBridge is an open collaborative program. It invites governments, corporations, NGOs, and others to partner with the WDTA to leverage our collective strengths for synergistic development, with the common goal of bridging the digital divide and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the digital economy.

The success of the DigiBridge side event at the 2024 UN STI Forum underscored the critical importance of international collaboration in tackling challenges of the digital era. It also reaffirmed the vital role of multilateral cooperation in promoting digital education equity and inclusive growth worldwide, ensuring that bridging the global digital gap for everyone.

PR Newswire

Josys SaaS Management Platform Achieves SOC 2 Type 2 Certification

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PALO ALTO, Calif. and SINGAPORE, May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Josys, the SaaS and device management platform that simplifies how IT works, is proud to announce that it has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 certification. This certification affirms Josys’ commitment to maintaining the highest standards of data security, confidentiality, and compliance within its operations.

The SOC 2 Type 2 certification, issued by Accorp Partners , validates that Josys’ systems have been thoroughly assessed and meet the stringent criteria for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of customer data.

Earning a SOC 2 Type 2 certification is a significant milestone for Josys and underscores the company’s dedication to ensuring the utmost protection of customer information. This certification provides assurance to Josys’ customers and partners that their data is handled with the highest level of security.

“Achieving SOC 2 Type 2 certification reflects Josys’ unwavering commitment to safeguarding our customers’ sensitive data,” said Sanjay Rajasekhar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Josys. “This certification is a testament to the dedication of our team to implement robust security measures and best practices throughout our global organization. We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing our customers with the highest level of trust and confidence in our SaaS management platform and services.”

In addition to SOC 2, Josys is ISO 27001 certified and remains devoted to maintaining top-tier security and compliance standards. The company continues to invest in technologies and processes to ensure the protection of customer data.

About Josys:

Josys is the SaaS & Device Management Platform that simplifies how IT works. Our holistic approach equips IT teams with 360-degree control over their SaaS applications and device inventory by making it easier to visualize user access, analyze utilization trends, and automate provisioning processes that will make IT operations run more efficiently. Learn more at: https://josys.com/. 

Contact:
Sylvia McKaige
PR, Salween Group
Sylvia.mckaige@salweengroup.com

PR Newswire

VentureBlick Launches ‘Discovery’: The First Global Networking Platform for Healthcare Innovation

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Empowering key ecosystem players to find each other easily and work together

SINGAPORE, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — VentureBlick announces the launch of Discovery, a groundbreaking networking platform designed to connect healthcare innovators, advisors, investors, distributors, partners, and service providers worldwide.

VentureBlick Discovery networking platform for healthcare innovation
VentureBlick Discovery networking platform for healthcare innovation

Healthcare innovation is often associated with high barriers and risks, necessitating more cross-border and cross-sector collaboration for global impact. Discovery is the first-ever platform bringing together key stakeholders in healthcare innovation under one virtual roof.

It is free to join Discovery, which is line with the platform’s mission to foster openness, enhance visibility, and facilitate connections throughout the ecosystem.

Since its soft launch a few weeks ago, Discovery has attracted close to 3,000 members from across 50 countries, underscoring its global appeal and potential for growth.

Innovators, investors, and distributors alike stand to benefit from Discovery’s comprehensive suite of tools and resources. Innovators can showcase their breakthrough technologies on a global stage, connect with potential partners and investors beyond their home market, and access essential resources for growth and expansion. Investors can identify promising investment opportunities, gain valuable market intelligence, and engage directly with industry experts. Distributors can expand their product portfolios into new territories or new geographies and forge new partnerships.

One of Discovery’s distinguishing features is its exclusive access to a carefully curated list of advisors. These advisors are either practicing clinicians or industry experts with domain expertise and an innovative mindset, chosen to be part of the global VB Advisory Network. They undergo rigorous vetting to provide innovators with invaluable real-world feedback, clinical insights, and critical resources. VentureBlick is committed to prioritising medical value when it comes to validating and supporting healthcare innovation, making the VB Advisory Network an essential component of this mission.

Advisors can leverage Discovery to stay informed about the latest innovations in their specialty areas, connect with like-minded peers and industry experts, monetise their expertise through paid consulting engagements, and explore business opportunities.

Chris Lee, Founder & CEO of VentureBlick, expressed his enthusiasm for the launch of Discovery, stating, “Discovery was created with the simple purpose of helping people within the healthcare innovation ecosystem find each other and work together instead of relying on their own professional network, which can be limited.”

Discovery offers a range of features tailored to meet the diverse needs of its members, including user profiles and filtered directories, and direct messaging capabilities. More features including Open Innovation Search, 1-to-1 expert call on-demand, smart matching, and open Q&A forum will soon be introduced, further enhancing the platform’s utility and effectiveness.

For more information about VentureBlick and Discovery, please visit www.ventureblick.com.

About VentureBlick

VentureBlick is an all-in-one healthcare innovation engine, driving connections across borders to propel local innovations onto the global stage. Its suite of services includes the Super Incubator, Consulting, and the innovative Discovery networking platform. VentureBlick fosters collaboration among innovators, clinicians, investors, and ecosystem partners worldwide. Boasting a seasoned team and a network of 2,500 healthcare experts from 60 countries, VentureBlick is committed to prioritising medical value and driving impactful open innovation. Headquartered in Singapore and operating in Korea, Germany, India, and China, VentureBlick has a track record of guiding startups, SMEs, and corporations achieve their milestones through global market mapping, medical validation, market entry strategies, technology scouting, healthcare partnership, and beyond. Discover more at www.ventureblick.com.

PR Newswire

Agora Launches Advanced Video Technology to Enhance Live Stream Quality

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Agora’s Adaptive Video Optimization™ (AVO) technology dynamically optimizes performance at every step, from capture to playback, to deliver exceptional live video quality.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API), a pioneer and leading platform for real-time engagement APIs, today unveiled its latest innovation, Adaptive Video Optimization™ (AVO) along with support for the AV1 video codec. This advanced technology harnesses the power of machine learning to dynamically adjust parameters at every step from capture to playback to deliver an enhanced live video streaming experience.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, live video calling and streaming often encounters hurdles such as unstable network conditions, packet loss, and limited bandwidth. These challenges can result in freezing, stuttering, grainy video, and dropped connections, diminishing the real-time video experience and negatively impacting user engagement. Adaptive Video Optimization™ uses a series of advanced machine learning algorithms to address these common issues. By optimizing video quality in real time based on network conditions, device capabilities, and available bandwidth, AVO ensures the highest possible video quality and optimal performance even under varying network scenarios.

“Reliable and high-quality live streaming is essential in today’s video-dominated media landscape,” stated Tony Zhao, CEO and Co-Founder of Agora. “Our Adaptive Video Optimization technology enables smooth delivery of every video call and livestream—despite network variability, user’s location or device type. These improvements empower Agora’s customers to provide the highest-quality live video user experience.”

Agora’s commitment to delivering a seamless real-time video experience with AVO rests on three core pillars:

  • Optimized Image Quality: Ensures that every frame is crisp, with enhanced contrast and vibrant details that make the viewing experience clearer and more engaging.
  • Unmatched Video Fluency: Eliminates common streaming issues like buffering and stuttering, providing a smooth and natural flow.
  • Ultra-Low Latency: Allows users to interact in real-time, whether with hosts or other viewers, and enjoy quick loading times and instant first-frame rendering for seamless transitions between video streams.

AVO™ takes a comprehensive machine learning approach to ensure the highest quality video streaming experience by optimizing every stage of the video processing pipeline — pre-processing, encoding, transmission, decoding, and post-processing. A key component of this solution is Agora’s Coding Technology (ACT), designed to optimize user experiences by dynamically selecting the best video codec (like AV1 or VP9) based on device capabilities and interoperability requirements. By employing advanced techniques and cutting-edge compression methods, the technology adapts, configuring parameters dynamically and ensures crisp visuals, efficient bandwidth utilization, and a consistent, high-quality experience for all users, from the moment the video is captured to the final display on the viewer’s screen.

From video capture through playback, the technology continuously adapts to changing network conditions and device capabilities, guaranteeing a seamless streaming experience. Any imperfections that may arise during transmission are rapidly mitigated, and the final video is polished to provide lifelike clarity, delivering a superior real-time video experience for scenarios ranging from telehealth consultations to live shopping and social media.

“Agora’s Adaptive Video Optimization™ (AVO) drastically improved the real-time video experience in our app,” said Ellard Capiral, VP of Engineering at social live streaming app KUMU. “Users get smooth, high-quality video without freezes—even on slow connections and older devices. Since implementing AVO, we’ve seen a 30% increase in session length and engagement.”

To learn more about Agora’s Adaptive Video Optimization™ technology, check out this blog on Optimizing the Live Video User Experience and watch a side-by-side video comparison demonstrating superior real-time video quality.

About Agora 
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Agora is a pioneer and global leader in Real-Time Engagement Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), providing developers with simple, flexible, and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time voice, video, interactive live-streaming, chat, whiteboard, and artificial intelligence capabilities into their applications.

Source: Agora, Inc.

PR Newswire

Easy Journey to the Cloud – Huawei Cloud Debuts HECS L

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SINGAPORE, April 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Transitioning to the cloud presents a crucial decision for enterprises, with selecting the ideal cloud server topping the priority list. Yet, for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), startups, and entry-level developers, this decision proves challenging due to high thresholds and deployment costs, alongside the ongoing maintenance and operational expenses of cloud servers.

In response to these challenges, Huawei Cloud introduces the Hyper Elastic Cloud Server Light (HECS L) today. This innovative cloud server distinguishes itself with four key advantages: no freezing, cost-effective, easy to use, and easy to manage. SMBs can now seamlessly embark on their cloud journey, benefitting from HECS L’s standout feature of “websites built in 3 steps with 2x the performance”.

HECS L is a silver bullet for building and managing various digital platforms, including websites, e-commerce stores, mini-games, business systems, and online test environments. Moreover, it streamlines cloud service setup, reduces expenses, and enhances overall efficiency.


QingTian Architecture + KooVerse: High Performance, Low Latency

The technical backbone of Huawei Cloud, QingTian Architecture, showcases two significant advancements: software-hardware synergy on the data plane and the Alkaid smart cloud brain on the management plane. On the data plane, QingTian doubles computing density and quadruples delivery efficiency. Its software-hardware synergy enables full offloading and acceleration for compute, storage, networking, and security resources, resulting in minimal storage and network latency. On the management plane, Alkaid facilitates global resource scheduling, dynamic governance, and intelligent computing power matching, ensuring efficient resource allocation and utilization. QingTian serves as the cornerstone for HECS L’s optimal performance, offering exceptional stability and speed, and zero freezing.

Complementing QingTian, KooVerse, Huawei Cloud’s global cloud infrastructure, elevates the efficacy of HECS L to new heights. With its unified architecture, KooVerse revolutionizes latency-sensitive operations such as audio/video streaming, real-time gaming, and online education. It enables HECS L users to experience a 50-ms latency circle, coupled with high security and stability.

Through the powerful synergy of QingTian and KooVerse, HECS L outperforms its counterparts in terms of efficiency and latency, emerging as the premier choice for agile services.


Better User Experience: Out-of-the-Box, Easy-to-Manage

Huawei Cloud HECS L not only boasts powerful capabilities but also prioritizes user-friendliness. Huawei Cloud researchers have meticulously identified the pain points users encounter throughout the cloud server lifecycle, addressing them with HECS L’s user-centric design. HECS L features low thresholds, visualized functions, centralized configurations, and a premium user experience. Specifically, it offers the following strengths:

  • Quick purchase: Streamlined cloud server setup process with various image and resource combinations.
  • Websites built in 3 steps: Effortlessly create websites, tools, systems, and environments in just three steps using preset images and scenario-specific templates.
  • Rollout in minutes: Provision resources with a few clicks and seamlessly orchestrate services, saving significant time.
  • Visualized management: All resources and connections accessible in one place, providing a comprehensive overview and detailed insights without navigating multiple tabs.
  • Simplified management: Timely reminders for resource status checks, facilitating easy renewal or cancellation.
  • Thorough guide: Comprehensive scenario-specific guides for step-by-step website setup, ensuring clarity throughout the configuration process.
  • Cost-effectiveness: Huawei Cloud’s commitment to cost reduction enables HECS L to offer competitive advantages and affordable prices. Users can easily find a cloud server with ideal specifications to suit their budget.


Huawei Cloud’s New-Offering Prime Season features enticing deals on HECS L. For just $10.79 USD, users can acquire a cloud server with 2 vCPUs, 1 GB memory for six months. For those requiring additional power, a cloud server with 2 vCPUs and 4 GB memory is available for only $80.26 USD for an entire year. For more information, visit Huawei Cloud’s official website.

More info: https://activity.huaweicloud.com/intl/en-us/prime-season.html

PR Newswire

SMOROBOT Launches Revolutionary Valor Series Intelligent Pool Cleaning Robots

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Unmatched Cleaning Experience with Advanced AI Technology

BEIJING, March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On 28 March 2024, SMOROBOT officially unveiled the ValorTM series of intelligent robotic pool cleaners (hereinafter “Valor”), setting a new standard in automated pool cleaning and maintenance.

With the continuous advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), robots have become an integral part of our daily lives. The introduction of cleaning robots for pool settings has significantly enhanced the modern lifestyle, offering a blend of intelligence, ease, and premium experience. Valor, a revolutionary intelligent cordless robotic pool cleaner from SMOROBOT, is forged from the accumulated experience and insights garnered from the Tank series. The new Valor lineup emerges from years of extensive technological expertise, industry insights, and creative industrial design. It represents a major leap forward in pool cleaning technology, ushering in transformative changes in functionality.


Autonomous Pool Cleaner with Powerful Suction and Underwater Vision System

Leveraging years of industry experience and innovation, SMOROBOT introduces the Valor Series Intelligent Cordless Robotic Pool Cleaner, a new model featuring a TornadoTM suction system with an impressive 8000GPH extreme suction motor, complemented by four roller brushes at both the front and rear, and a double-layer ultra-fine filter basket. The cleaner is engineered to capture every speck of debris in the pool – leaves, fine sand, algae, stones, hair, and more – ensuring comprehensive cleanliness. The groundbreaking anti-clogging runner design addresses the perennial issue of clogged filtration systems and cleaning pipes found in traditional pool cleaners, allowing for uninterrupted and efficient operation.

Valor stands out not only for boasting the most powerful cleaning suction system in the industry, but also for its innovative motor power adaptive deployment system. The system automatically adjusts the robot’s travel and brush rotation speeds when encountering dirtier pool areas, optimizing suction power for unparalleled cleaning performance.

Alongside the groundbreaking Valor, SMOROBOT debuts its TridentTM underwater vision system, a first-of-its-kind integration of cutting-edge underwater detection and visual recognition technologies. Trident sets a new standard with its capabilities, including underwater 3D mapping, stain identification and positioning, obstacle avoidance, and path planning. By seamlessly integrating cameras, lasers, sonar, IMU, and other sensors, it accurately identifies the type, intensity, and location of pool stains. Trident then automatically generates a 3D pool map uses intelligent algorithms to optimize cleaning paths for the pool’s floor, walls, waterline, and steps, elevating the cleaning process to new level of efficiency. Furthermore, the directional cleaning capabilities allow it to intelligently assess dirt levels and adjust the cleaning strategy accordingly, ensuring the highest degree of cleaning efficiency.

Reliable, All-Terrain Pool Cleaning for Diverse Settings

Henry Pu, CEO of SMOROBOT, commented, “Recognizing the complexities of pool cleaning, our mission has been to revolutionize this task through AI technology. Our products are crafted to elevate lifestyles around the globe, offering everyone the luxury of effortless Clean.”

With the launch of the Valor Series Robotic Pool Cleaner, SMOROBOT has significantly enhanced the user experience. The product has been meticulously designed and continuously optimized, not only in terms of its exceptional performance and reliability but also in the innovations of its hardware and software. Every detail underscores SMOROBOT’s unwavering commitment to pool cleaning technology, while every innovation reflects a deep understanding of user needs. Valor now sets a new standard for functionality among pool cleaning robots worldwide, revolutionizing the industry with its groundbreaking capabilities.

Valor demonstrates exceptional adaptability to all terrains, capable of handling cleaning duties in a wide array of pool shapes and sizes. No matter the contour, whether diamond-shaped, bowl-shaped, rectangular or for diving, the series adapts to fulfill the unique cleaning requirements of all users. The tracked drive chassis with brushes ensures efficient wall cleaning, while the adaptive suction system maintains robust adhesion to walls no matter the material. This adaptability addresses the cleaning requirements of both the wall and waterline in all pool types.

The 10,400mAh removable battery boasts an impressive running time of up to 180 minutes per charge. The wide range of cleaning modes cater to a wide range of scenarios, including a Weekly Timer Mode for a “charge once, clean for a week” convenience, along with Standard, Rapid, and Professional Cleaning modes tailored to specific pool environments. Activating and switching between modes is effortless, with a simple button click. Once the cleaning operation is complete, the robot automatically returns to its starting position, and users can conveniently track the cleaning status through the accompanying app.

Given the necessity of pool robots to operate underwater for extended periods, they must be highly reliable in navigating complex and sometimes unclear underwater environments. The Valor series has undergone rigorous testing, enduring over 1,000 hours of operation in dirty conditions. They have achieved numerous professional certifications, including CE, FCC, RCM, REACH and ROHS certifications, etc. The batteries come with a full suite of six safety features, including short-circuit protection, overcharge protection, discharge over-temperature protection, charging over-temperature protection, charging low-temperature protection, and water ingress protection, ensuring a safe, worry-free, and superior intelligent pool cleaning experience for users worldwide.

About SMOROBOT

Focused on the philosophy of “Power of Effortless Clean”, SMOROBOT specializes in pool cleaning, offering comprehensive solutions from R&D to commercialization. With long-term technical accumulation, industry experience, and product innovation, SMOROBOT has achieved cable-free, highly intelligent pool-cleaning robots with versatile, automated solutions for global customers. With design and maintenance centers in the US, Europe, and China, SMOROBOT ensures localized rapid customer services, continually delivering exceptional experiences and solutions worldwide.

For more information, please visit https://www.smorobot.com 

or contact us directly at our official email address: bd@smorobot.com  

PR Newswire

Veritas Backup Exec Strengthens Resilience Against Ransomware for SMBs

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Latest release of all-in-one data protection solution features new malware detection, role-based access control and faster backup and recovery

SINGAPORE, March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Veritas Technologies, the leader in secure multi-cloud data management, today announced enhancements to Veritas Backup Exec, the unified backup and recovery solution trusted by more than 45,000 small and midsize businesses (SMBs) worldwide. The latest updates include malware detection capabilities, role-based access control and additional optimizations for fast backup and recovery of business-critical data.

With ransomware attacks on the rise, data security is a growing concern for all businesses. Veritas research found that over the last two years, 65% of businesses had fallen victim to a ransomware attack in which bad actors infiltrated their systems. A majority also said data security risks are increasing. Small businesses can be especially vulnerable to ransomware attacks, without the in-house expertise to manage the complexities of data security. Many also forgo cyber insurance with a mistaken assumption that by virtue of their smaller size, they are more likely to fly under the radar of cybercriminals.

Simon Jelley, general manager for Backup Exec at Veritas, said: “Make no mistake, SMBs face the same danger as large enterprises. Hackers target smaller companies just as frequently and with more devastating consequences. Only one thing can guarantee recovery if attackers get in – having a reliable backup system. Veritas Backup Exec provides a simple-to-use, all-in-one solution for protecting SMBs’ critical data wherever it lives – in SaaS or specialized applications and workloads, on premises or in the cloud.”

The unified design of Veritas Backup Exec eliminates the need for multiple point products and offers SMBs a powerful, cost-effective way to keep pace with the changing data and threat landscape. Customers can also manage their entire data estate from a single console. Veritas continuously strengthens the solution’s capabilities and defensive measures, adhering to a rapid development cycle. The latest release of Veritas Backup Exec introduces several new features:

  • Malware detection – Equips SMBs with another line of defense against viruses propagating within their data environment. Veritas Backup Exec malware detection, powered by Microsoft Defender, can be used to scan both VMware and Hyper-V backup sets at any time or prior to recovery.
  • Role-based security – Limits access to data based on a user’s specific role. In the event an account is compromised by hackers, the hackers can only corrupt the small volume of data associated with that specific user’s account.
  • Faster backup and recovery – Optimizes protection performance with forever incremental backup of VMware and Hyper-V. Protection of virtual machines is now faster with parallel backup of multiple virtual disks and the included ability to recover virtual machines instantly.

Steve Walcott, server administrator at WalCorp, said: “Ransomware attacks have become inevitable in today’s world. Veritas Backup Exec helps us stay prepared and ready to recover quickly. The all-in-one design is cost-effective and gives us everything we need to keep our data secure, making it simple to protect data across environments.”

Christophe Bertrand, practice director at Enterprise Strategy Group, said: “Whether they realize it or not, SMBs have a target on their backs. Hackers know they lack resources, and our research confirms that SMBs think ransomware is more complex than other attacks and are more likely to pay extortion demands. Veritas is aiming to ‘democratize’ cyber resilience through Backup Exec, giving SMBs data defense tools to help them detect and recover from ransomware attacks with full confidence.”

Veritas Backup Exec is available as a subscription service and can be installed in 10 minutes or less. Once installed, completing the first backup takes only five minutes. Find a Veritas-certified partner or sign up for the Veritas Backup Exec free 60-day trial. To learn more about how the solution helps SMBs, watch the webinar on pinpointing cyber threats and recovering quickly from ransomware attacks.

About Veritas 
Veritas Technologies is the leader in secure multi-cloud data management. Over 80,000 customers—including 91% of the Fortune 100—rely on Veritas to help ensure the protection, recoverability and compliance of their data. Veritas has a reputation for reliability at scale, which delivers the resilience its customers need against the disruptions threatened by cyberattacks, like ransomware. No other vendor is able to match Veritas’ ability to execute, with support for 800+ data sources, 100+ operating systems and 1,400+ storage targets through a single, unified approach. Powered by Cloud Scale Technology, Veritas is delivering today on its strategy for Autonomous Data Management that reduces operational overhead while delivering greater value. Learn more at Veritas.com. Follow us on X at @VeritasTechLLC.  

Veritas and the Veritas Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Veritas Technologies LLC or its affiliates in the US and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.