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COMCAST LAUNCHING 35 COMMUNITY WIFI “LIFT ZONES” ACROSS UTAH

Comcast West Division

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) today announced plans with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Ogden City Mayor Mike Caldwell to equip 35 locations throughout Utah with free WiFi-connected “Lift Zones,” or public WiFi hot spots, by the end of 2021. With an ongoing commitment to connect low-income families to the Internet, the partnership members are expanding WiFi hotspots in Utah’s most aggressive plan to date. “We are investing in this project because the pandemic has put countless low-income students at risk of being left behind,” said Deneiva Knight, director of external affairs at Comcast. “That has accelerated the need for comprehensive digital equity and Internet access and adoption programs, such as Lift Zones.” Lift Zones are designed to help those students who may be unable to connect to distance learning at home or who want or need another place in which to study. “The urgency of this service has never been greater,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “Kids can now have dependable Internet resources in a good learning environment. That reliable internet is key component of our YouthCity programming service, the Comcast partnership will help keep our students connected.” The partnership will expand Utah’s network of public WiFi hotspots with Comcast providing robust, free WiFi service in safe spaces, such as parks and recreation centers, and other non-profit and community centers – in low-income neighborhoods – where need to help connect students and families is greatest. “We expect to help tens of thousands of low-income students get online, participate in distance learning and do their homework when schools reopen and it's safe to gather in a socially distanced manner,” Knight said. Initially, Lift Zones will be activated at Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake, Youth Impact Center of Ogden, Suazo Business Center, YWCA Utah and Tracy Aviary Jordan River Nature Center. “Tech and innovation have always been critical and foundational parts of my vision for our capital city,” said Mendenhall. “There's an incredible value in these public-private partnerships that we simply can't afford to bring the level and the quality of internet that our residents need and deserve. “Through these public-private partnerships, we are able to leverage these foundational needs so much farther. We're grateful and we're thrilled.” “Our goal is to provide free Internet connectivity and access to hundreds of hours of educational and digital skills content to help families and site coordinators navigate online learning,” Knight said. “Lift Zones complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which, since 2011, has helped connect millions low-income people to the Internet at home.” In addition to the WiFi Lift Zones initiative, public, private and non-profit partners are working together to provide internet access to hundreds of Utahns in need, including seniors and families. Visit https://utah.comcast.com/lift-zones/ for more information and the latest updates. About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Comcast Deneiva Knight +1 801-401-2636 deneiva_knight@cable.comcast.com Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake Machelle Lake 801-322-4415 mlake@gslclubs.org Salt Lake City Lindsey Nikola 801-535-6040 lindsey.nikola@slcgov.com Company Website https://utah.comcast.com/

March 15, 2021 09:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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COMCAST LAUNCHING MORE THAN 30 WIFI-CONNECTED “LIFT ZONES” ACROSS NEW MEXICO

Comcast West Division

As part of its ongoing commitment to help connect low-income families to the Internet so they can fully participate in educational opportunities and the digital economy, Comcast today announced plans to equip more than 30 locations across New Mexico with WiFi-connected “Lift Zones” before the end of 2021. Working with its network of nonprofit, community, and city partners, Comcast is providing robust, free WiFi in safe spaces for students and adults to get online, participate in distance learning and workforce development trainings, and access critical resources. This initiative provides free connectivity inside partner centers for the next three years. Youth Development, Inc. (YDI) is one of the first Lift Zones installed in New Mexico. For nearly 50 years, YDI has been fighting poverty in New Mexico through a variety of youth and family services programs. “Transforming two of our YDI centers into Lift Zones has made a huge difference in the lives of the students we serve," said Robert Chavez, CFO/COO, Youth Development, Inc. “Many of the kids who come to YDI either don’t have internet at home or they can’t study at home and need somewhere safe to go. We’re so glad to be able to work with Comcast to give our students a safe, clean, and connected space where they can stay in school even when schools are closed.” “During the pandemic we stepped up to fill an urgent need, providing WiFi hotspots at nearly 60 community centers, libraries, and in neighborhoods for students who don't have access to the internet at home,” said Mayor Tim Keller, City of Albuquerque. “This partnership to add Comcast Lift Zones will build on that work to expand access to a basic need for both workers and students during this pandemic and into the future.” New Mexico organizations working with Comcast to establish Lift Zones in their respective facilities include: Albuquerque Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Mexico City of Albuquerque Community & Senior Centers - multiple locations to be announced City of Albuquerque Childcare Centers- multiple locations to be announced Goodwill of New Mexico San Mateo Center GoodBuys Center New Day Youth & Family Services South Valley Economic Development Center Youth Development Inc Main location South Valley location Farmington Boys & Girls Clubs of Farmington Main Clubhouse Hilltop Clubhouse Bloomfield Clubhouse City of Farmington Recreation Centers multiple locations to be announced Goodwill of New Mexico – Farmington Center Las Cruces Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Cruces City of Las Cruces Community Centers multiple locations to be announced Santa Fe Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe Zona Clubhouse Camino De Jacobo Clubhouse Valle Vista Clubhouse City of Santa Fe Community Centers Girls Inc of Santa Fe Silver City Silver City Senior Center El Grito Early Learning Center Additional New Mexico Lift Zones sites are currently under consideration, with the goal to have all locations installed by the end of 2021. “Partnering with Comcast to provide Lift Zones at three Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe/Del Norte locations is crucial for the success of our students. These connectivity sites will help ensure our students can access critical resources and participate in their education online,” said Roman Abeyta, Chief Professional Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe. “Access to the Internet is a critical component of digital equity, and we’re proud to partner with so many key community organizations in making that possible through our Lift Zones,” said Chris Dunkeson, Area Vice President, Comcast. “There is no single answer to address the distance learning challenges of COVID-19, but we’re working hard to bridge the gap for as many students and families across New Mexico as possible.” In addition, the company is providing free access to all outdoor WiFi hotspots through June 30, 2021, plus hundreds of hours of digital skills content to help families and site coordinators navigate online learning. Lift Zone sites complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which has helped connect millions of low-income students and families to the Internet at home. New Internet Essentials customers who sign up by June 30, 2021 will also be eligible to receive 60-days of free Internet service. About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Comcast Julianne Phares +1 505-218-0961 julianne_phares@cable.comcast.com Company Website https://newmexico.comcast.com/

March 15, 2021 09:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Engagement Agreement with DRAGOS

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence ( CMMC COE ), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years is excited to announce a partnership with Dragos, Inc., the global leader in cybersecurity for industrial controls systems (ICS)/operational technology (OT) environments. This unique partnership will extend efforts to identify and include proven capabilities within the CMMC COE Marketplace to improve cybersecurity protection and resilience for the global defense industrial base network of contractors, vendors, and suppliers. Far too often, the cybersecurity protection and resilience discussion fails to include any true focus on industrial control systems or operational technology. Dragos has a deep bench of expert ICS/OT cybersecurity practitioners committed to helping its customers detect, prevent, investigate and respond to attacks from threat actors. “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. “Dragos believes the adoption of the CMMC model for ICS / OT cybersecurity is a critical step in our mission to safeguard civilization,” said Steve Applegate, Chief Information Security Officer, Dragos, Inc. “We are excited to join the CMMC COE Global Cyber Policy & Governance Working Group and lend our expertise to this vital initiative.” The executed Engagement Agreement establishes a collaborative engagement between Dragos and the CMMC COE to partner in the furthering of their respective and complementary missions and objectives regarding the adoption, use, and expansion of CMMC-based cybersecurity practices, risk management, and compliance for the DIB contractor, vendor, and supplier community of providers creating a broader CMMC ecosystem globally to improve security and resilience. Specific actions will include: Co-sponsor symposiums, training programs and podcasts leveraging their combined cyber and IT expertise. Host regular working groups, with other partners, to enable collaboration and communications. Work across industry, government, and academia to build on CMMC requirements to include and focus on attention to security and resilience of industrial control systems and operational technology. The CMMC-COE and Dragos partnership will focus on bringing together the many disparate cyber and national security communities of interest to reduce complexity, improve awareness, and accelerate industry effort to become more cyber resilient against the growing threats from nation states and criminal enterprises. The CMMC-COE establishes both a Market Place and Knowledge Clearinghouse that will include resources that support the overall effort, including white papers; tutorials; recorded webcasts; presentations; and more that will help reduce the cost and burden on small and medium size contractors already struggling from the impact of COVID. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 About Dragos, Inc Dragos has a global mission: to safeguard civilization from those trying to disrupt the industrial infrastructure we depend on every day. The practitioners who founded Dragos were drawn to this mission through decades of government and private sector experience. Dragos codifies the knowledge of our cybersecurity experts into an integrated software platform that provides customers critical visibility into ICS and OT networks so that threats are identified and can be addressed before they become significant events. Our solutions protect organizations across a range of industries, including electric and water utilities, energy, and manufacturing, and are optimized for emerging applications like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). Dragos is privately held and headquartered in the Washington, DC area with regional presence around the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Middle East. For more information on Dragos, please visit https://www.dragos.com/ About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

March 15, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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News Direct Partners With Latinx Newswire To Reach The Influential Hispanic Market

News Direct

With today's heightened focus on multicultural marketing, News Direct has entered into a reciprocal distribution agreement with Latinx Newswire, whose social media channels enable clients to connect to over 10,000 Hispanic media, bloggers and influencers. Founded by the team that pioneered Hispanic news distribution more than two decades ago, the next-level value proposition of Latinx combines flat-rate pricing, comprehensive targeting of U.S. Hispanic and Puerto Rico media and influencers, an SEO-enhanced multimedia platform, and the expertise of a management team that has collectively swept every top PR award. Latinx Newswire features a multichannel platform that segments news into 18 categories to facilitate journalist access, coupled with guaranteed postings to dozens of influential Hispanic sites. The reciprocal relationship enables Latinx clients seeking to convey their message beyond the Hispanic community to leverage the expansive global network of News Direct, which includes comprehensive U.S. coverage and access to Latin America markets. The founders of Latinx Newswire literally invented the category with the launch of Hispanic PR Wire in 2000, which was subsequently sold to a UK-based media conglomerate. Latinx Newswire represents the evolution of their distribution model, updated to reflect the advanced digital and social enhancements that have been introduced in the intervening years. "With today's emphasis on diversity and equity, we are proud to be partnering with Latinx Newswire to reach the Hispanic community," noted Gregg Castano, Founder/CEO of News Direct. "Latinos are influencing every segment of society and should be an integral part of all communications campaigns. No one has a better understanding of how to reach the Hispanic community than Latinx Newswire." About News Direct News Direct provides news and content distribution for PR, IR, Corporate Communications and Marketing professionals. Our automated platform delivers a completely-reimagined, intuitive workflow, industry-leading security, transparent, flat-rate pricing and actionable analytics. Further, News Direct has deployed an array of innovation including advanced automation, isolation cloud technology and custom software for the most dynamic, efficient and flexible platform available today. To learn more visit newsdirect.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. About Latinx Newswire Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Latinx Newswire is the affordable, multimedia press release wire service tailored for brands, event producers, celebrities, media, and marketing agencies who want to reach the U.S. Hispanic and Puerto Rico media and digital influencer communities. Latinx Newswire releases routinely feature 135+ online and content aggregator placements on platforms like Google News, Diario Las Americas, AOL, Yahoo! Finance, and more. The service also features complimentary reports for its online placements as well as flat rate press release wire services that range from city to state to national distributions. Led by award-winning 40-year veterans of the social media and press release wire industries, our newswire features a wide range of budget-friendly multimedia capabilities that are priced at a fraction of what traditional wire services cost and deliver value every time. Contact Details Martha Pearlstone +1 203-295-7566 martha.pearlstone@newsdirect.com Company Website http://www.newsdirect.com

March 15, 2021 07:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cyvatar Brings Home the Gold in the 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today has been recognized as the gold award winner of the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards for best cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS). Such prestigious recognition is a testament to the company’s unparalleled innovation as the de facto operating system for all of its members’ security programs. Cyvatar’s all-in-one platform delivers the industry’s first-of-its-kind cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) offering. Cyvatar offers the perfect blend of technology, people, and processes so that organizations actually achieve better protection and resilience from their investments, rather than throwing more and more tools at their security problems, hoping one of them will work. “We are proud to be recognized for our revolutionary work in bringing the membership economy to cybersecurity,” said Cyvatar Founder and Chief Executive Corey White. “Today’s organizations have an average of 108 cybersecurity solutions and when breaches happen they buy even more. But buying the best lock available doesn’t make a home truly safe, and the same is true for security. Technology alone can’t deliver the results organizations need, but the right mix of technology, human capital, and proven processes can, and that’s what our CSaaS offering brings to the table.” Cyvatar’s exclusive ICARM approach adds expert advisers and successful processes to best-of-breed security tools for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection. This proprietary five-step method guarantees proper installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, and maintenance for every Cyvatar technology solution so that organizations actually achieve better protection and resilience from their investments. And because Cyvatar’s method is continuous, it protects against attack vectors that haven’t even surfaced yet. "Congratulations to Cyvatar for being recognized as the gold award winner in the highly competitive 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards," said Holger Schulze, CEO of Cybersecurity Insiders and founder of the 400,000-member Information Security Community on LinkedIn that jointly produce the awards program. "With over 500 entries in more than 90 award categories, the 2021 awards reflect the very best in today's cybersecurity industry." Cyvatar was selected from organizations around the world that vied for top honors. Its disruptive, game-changing platform delivers fast, affordable, fully managed security programs for any size business; processes designed to provide outcomes, continuous remediation, and ongoing solution maintenance; and the ability for all of its members to execute their security strategies at speed and scale. Let us revolutionize your cybersecurity. Become a free member today and get a monthly vulnerability scan for your business at cyvatar.ai! About Cyvatar Cyvatar is committed to cybersecurity for everyone. As the industry’s first subscription-based, cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) company, it’s our mission to transform the way the security industry builds, sells, and supports cyber solutions. We empower our members to achieve successful outcomes by providing expert advisors, proven technologies, and a strategic process roadmap to guarantee results that map to their business drivers. Our approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently, all at a fixed monthly price. And because we’re a subscription, members can cancel anytime. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California with locations around the world. Begin your journey to security confidence at https://cyvatar.ai/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details Cyvatar KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

March 11, 2021 11:45 AM Eastern Standard Time

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The Tastes of St. Patrick’s Day: Live from the Chef’s Kitchen in Ireland

YourUpdateTV

This St. Patrick's Day leave green-hued food in the past and lean into the Irish culture with dishes that go beyond corned beef and cabbage. Even if you're only Irish once a year, you'll want to observe year-round with these delicious and traditional ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. A video accompanying the announcement is available here: https://youtu.be/jSL1RumbJM4 Live from Ireland, on March 9, Chef Catherine Fulvio, conducted a nationwide media tour in partnership with YourUpdate TV to provide recipes and background on the most authentic way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day along with insights on which products to use including telling the story of Ireland’s own, Truly Grass Fed. Truly Grass Fed is a line of delicious premium cheese, butter, and ghee clarified butter imported from Ireland coming from cows that are indeed truly grass fed. In fact, 95% of their diet is grass. These are happy, healthy, cows roaming nearly 200 acres of lush green Irish pastures per farm for 250 days a year. All of their dairy products come from Irish family-run farms run along the eastern seaboard and into the rich green pasturelands of Ireland’s midlands. All Truly Grass Fed products are Animal Welfare Approved (by A Greener World) an independent non-profit certification program for farm animal welfare, outdoor access and sustainability. You can see the Animal Welfare Approved logo on each & every pack. The range is also non GMO Project Verified. Grass fed is not just good for the animals, it’s also good for the products making for delicious cheese and butter for you & your family, all while being kinder to animals and the planet. Truly Grass Fed is dedicated to continued innovation and is excited to introduce Ghee Clarified Butter – ideal for cooking and baking due to its delicious taste, and for sautéing due to its high smoke point. This delicious new offering is produced from fresh sweet cream sourced from grass herds and is naturally lactose-free. Learn more about how Truly Grass Fed ‘PairsWithYou’ at trulygrassfed.com About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

March 11, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Organic Hard Seltzer is Showing No Signs of Fizzling

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/hMJpXuD1gkQ It seems like you can't go to a grocery store, liquor store or socially distanced backyard barbecue without seeing a can of hard seltzer. The popularity of hard seltzer is exploding. It is the fastest-growing category in the alcoholic beverages industry with expected sales of $2.7 billion this year. Just 8 weeks after its debut in January, Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer – the first nationally distributed organic hard seltzer – is introducing a second variety pack, known as the Classic Collection, which will include three new flavors: Mixed Berry, Citrus and Mango Apricot. This follows the launch of the Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer Signature Collection, which touts refreshing flavors like Spicy Pineapple, Cucumber Lime and Peach Pear. Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer’s Classic Collection is a superior USDA certified organic seltzer made with real, organic juice making it light, refreshing and ‘as real as it tastes.’ With only 90 calories, 2 carbs, 0 added sugar and infused with organic juice, the Classic Collection is the perfect option for people who prioritize natural flavors and enjoy an active lifestyle. Ricardo Marques, VP of Marketing, Michelob ULTRA partnered with D S Simon Media and YourUpdate TV on a nationwide media tour to discuss the popularity of hard seltzer and the launch of the Classic Collection variety pack. Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer’s Classic Collection will be available nationally starting March 2021 wherever Michelob ULTRA is sold in 12 pack 12oz cans. Mixed Berry will be available in 16oz and 25oz cans. As the fastest growing beer brand in the country and with an established organic beer already in the brand family, Michelob ULTRA is positioned to thrive in the rapidly expanding hard seltzer category by providing a unique new option for the mature hard seltzer lover who enjoys a balanced lifestyle. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

March 10, 2021 04:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Cloud Conventions 2021 Redefines the Attendee Experience

Convey Services

Engagement will be the big focus of the Cloud Conventions 2021 virtual trade expo, as channel partners and professionals from across the telecom/cloud, mobility, MSP and IT services industries converge one of the largest and most innovative virtual events, May 12-14, 2021. Unlike other industry tradeshows that have failed to deliver attendee engagement and promised sales leads for exhibitors, Cloud Conventions 2021 is built on the next generation virtual event platform that redefines the exhibitor experience to allow companies to provide easy access to in-depth product information, showcase their brand with graphics and videos, create calls to action and generate immediate sales leads. "Everyone had to quickly pivot to virtual events in 2020, but there was a lack of focus on motivational design that resulted in boring, uninspired attendee experiences,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services, the platform provider for Cloud Conventions 2021. “Virtual events often deliver a stream of self-promoting webinars packaged and sold as a virtual event, when they’re really just a bunch of webinars. Cloud Conventions 2021 provides one of the most unique vendor showcase environments, coupled with content devoted to business strategy and opportunities for attendees to connect with their peers and exhibitors. Effective events need to inform, educate and engage, not just lecture. We keep attendees engaged and interested, connect them to others and give all parties a return on investment for both their time and money.” Under the umbrella of Community™, Convey’s suite of proprietary engagement tools, attendees have searchable attendee and exhibitor directories, access to discussion forums and a way to filter results to find the best match. Coupled with a message center to organize communications, booths feature one-on-one text chat along a one-click links to enter a live video discussion with booth staff. “2020 was a learning experience for everyone in what audiences expect from a virtual event,” added Bradfield. “We have to elevate our game in 2021 as tradeshows and conferences continue to have a virtual or hybrid component. Cloud Conventions 2021 makes the most of the virtual event platform powered by Convey Services. It incorporates motivational design to turn attendees and exhibitors into active participants. Attendees are invited to engage in forums, roundtable discussions, participate in networking events, register for prizes and access live or on-demand content.” Cloud Conventions 2021 is co-sponsored by TR Publications and managed by the MCI Group. MCI Group is committed to growing the Cloud Conventions 2021 event and returning in the spring of 2022 with a live and hybrid industry expo. Attendance at Cloud Conventions 2021 is free to qualified industry professionals. Exhibitors and attendees can sign up at Cloud Conventions 2021. The Cloud Conventions 2021 expo is hosted and managed on the industry-leading Cloud Conventions virtual event platform, powered by Convey Services. About TR Publications TR Publications reaches 50,000 telecom/cloud professionals from across the communications delivery community: enterprise end users, channel partners, MSPs, carriers and CLECs. It is the only publication that penetrates deeply into the core UC markets, both channel and IT management: 37,000 readers monthly by hard copy, 1,800 readers daily by online, 13,000 readers every week by eBulletin, 2,500 listeners each week by podcast. Channel readership represent the twelve largest OEM and solution providing communities, together reflecting 96% of all UC sales by revenues on equipment, services, premises, hosted, software solutions and other platforms.  www.telecomreseller.com.  About MCI Group MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency. We design human-centric solutions that unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth for our clients. Our offering includes live & virtual events, strategic & digital communications, consulting & community solutions. We help brands, companies, associations and not-for-profits solve their challenges, bringing their people together to shape their tomorrow. MCI is an independently owned company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a global presence in 60 offices across 31 countries.  www.mci-group.com   About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions is a Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services that brings new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, attendee registration, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity.  Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting  https://cloudconventions.com  or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Contact Details Convey Services Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

March 10, 2021 02:15 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Velocity Global Report: Tech companies push remote work global

Velocity Global

65% of U.S. companies will increase or maintain global remote workforces this year 61% of U.S. companies to increase or maintain domestic remote teams Growth companies compete with enterprises for global talent Technology companies seek more global remote talent as a result of COVID-19 according to a new report from Velocity Global, the leading provider of global expansion solutions. Responses from 1,000 U.S. and UK tech company decision-makers highlight that 65% of U.S. tech companies and 46% of UK tech companies will maintain or increase their global remote workforce this year. “The global pandemic forced the biggest workforce shift in modern history as businesses adopted remote work en masse overnight, and the changes are permanent,” said Velocity Global founder and CEO Ben Wright. “The worker fundamentally separated from the workplace, including transcending borders. Companies now use the tech tools and manage remote teams almost exclusively. The comfort level rose in 2020 and companies seek top talent around the world like never before.” Remote Work By the Numbers The switch to remote work in response to the pandemic inspired lasting change for tech companies to seek and employ talent outside of their headquarters or employee centers. Remote work at home. Tech companies immediately enabled work from home with the onset of the pandemic. With the tools in place, 61% of U.S. tech companies and 52% of UK tech companies intend to maintain or increase a domestic remote workforce. Scale aids global remote shift. Of the U.S. tech companies (65%) and UK tech companies (46%) with plans to maintain or increase a global remote workforce, large companies lead the charge. However, smaller companies are not far behind. 34% of tech businesses with more than 500 employees are more likely to hire remote workers overseas 27% of companies with 200-500 employees 21% for companies with 100-199 employees 10% for companies with fewer than 100 employees “The global scale of the pandemic forced large enterprises to invest in remote work at scale, but smaller companies are positioned to accelerate the trend going forward,” added Wright. “Growth companies are built with agility to compete with larger companies in all facets of business, and these numbers indicate they must compete for top global talent. That competition forces businesses of all sizes to hire quickly and compliantly in any global market.” Benefits of a Remote Workforce The shift to remote work increases productivity, supplements the bottom line, and engages employees. Employee preference. 74% of U.S. employees prefer to work from home at least two days per week once COVID-19 is no longer a concern, according to a PwC survey this year. Nearly a third (29%) prefer to work remotely five days per week. In the UK, only 7% of UK workers want to return to the office following pandemic restrictions, according to leading international research data and analytics group, UK YouGov. Improved productivity. More than half (52%) of executives in the PwC research report an increase in productivity for remote teams during the stress of the pandemic. Culturally diverse teams earn better returns. Geographically dispersed teams bring diversity of culture, race, and ethnicity. Companies that rank higher in diversity are 35% more likely to see above-average financial performance in their industries, according to longstanding research by McKinsey & Company. Access to skilled talent. Access to the global talent pools allows companies to hire the best candidate for the position, not the candidates closest to the office. Increased recruitment and retention. Remote work improves recruitment and retention for employers. A recent LiveCareer study of remote employees during the pandemic found that 62% stated that in the future they will give preference to employers who offer remote work; while 29% said they will leave their current job if they are not allowed to continue working remotely. Lower costs. A company can save tens of thousands of dollars annually per remote worker who telecommutes half of the time. Last year Global Workplace Analytics found that companies identified real estate savings with full-time telework to equal $10,000 per employee (annually). That research points to companies like Sun Microsystems that saves $68 million annually in real estate costs due to its telecommuting policy. “The benefits of a global remote workforce span business metrics from the employee experience to the bottom line, which go hand in hand” said Wright. “The past year introduced a widespread benefit to employees - work from anywhere. Spend more time with family or friends, save time and money on a commute, live anywhere and get a job in any market. When that benefit matches increased productivity, retention, and lower costs businesses must move quickly to implement remote teams on a global scale or risk losing talent to competitors.” Download the complete infographic here. Methodology Velocity Global surveyed 500 U.S. and 500 UK decision-makers from companies with 50-1,000 employees, focused on the IT, software, hardware, and technology industries. Respondents are director level and above, including C-suite, in the following job functions: business development, legal and business management, finance, operations, and HR. Independent survey consultant, Censuswide, conducted the research. ABOUT VELOCITY GLOBAL Velocity Global helps companies grow globally. Founded in 2014, Velocity Global’s clients rely on its expertise and global infrastructure in 185 countries to hire compliantly around the world, increase revenue, scale efficiently, and access global talent. Named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall, Velocity Global is a strategic partner to its clients with comprehensive services led by its core offering of International PEO as well as Immigration, Entity Setup and Support, Global Talent Acquisition, and Consulting. Velocity Global is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with regional headquarters in Amsterdam and Singapore, and local employees in 14 countries. Contact Details Velocity Global John Hall +1 720-650-4348 johnhall@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

March 10, 2021 07:01 AM Mountain Standard Time

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