Performance Marketing Q&A With Gary Skidmore, CEO Of Aberdeen Group

Media 7 | April 22, 2020

Cameron Worth, CEO & Founder of SharpEnd leads the company’s mission to help brands move closer than ever to consumers by connecting packaging, retail and experiential activity. He is a regular speaker and writer on how to build brands in a connected world. He has spoken at Cannes, the Festival of Marketing, LuxePack Monaco and New York, Ad:Week Europe and New York, DMA, the Connected Consumer Conference, Mobile World Congress and the IoT World Forum. MEDIA 7: How did the idea of “the agency of things” come to your mind? CAMERON WORTH: SharpEnd was created in 2015 as the world’s first Internet of Things focused agency, so there is a slight play on words when we say we’re the Agency of Things. I think the idea of giving things their own agency is an interesting concept, and the strapline fits our capabilities on multiple levels. M7: In what way does technology drive the association of SharpEnd with global brands? What approaches are followed to enable sustainability? CW: Our simple proposition is to help build brands in a connected world, and to do that you must always start with identified consumer needs or pain points and look at technology as just an enabler to deliver an appropriate solution (when appropriate).  Take the issue of sustainability, which is often a pain point for brands that grapple with issues such as how we can reward sustainable behaviour change. One of our approaches to this could be to look at communicating the recycling credentials of the different products. Whilst the consumer can engage with a product as part of a wider consumer experience, the same technology could also house content that could tell you whether the product is recyclable, which type of bin it goes in etc. SharpEnd’s work with Unilever is a case in point. We built a digital product that incentivised recycling through gamification but also served to educate through informing people how and where to recycle in a clear fashion. All users had to do was simply scan their packaging to have all this information at their disposal.

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MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

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MEDIA 7 | December 5, 2019

Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD is an experienced Marketing and Sales Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in Business Process, Marketo, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and IT Service Management, Andrea is also a strong business development professional and a storyteller. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? ANDREA LECHNER: Frankly, not having better options. I originally attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse thinking I’d major in Archaeology. I wanted to be Indiana Jones! But, after visiting the archaeology building – i.e. the cold, dark basement of the science building – where a girl sat to piece together pieces of an old Native American vase, I knew archaeology was not going to be the right path for me. And so, without being good at science and a major in art or art history was unlikely to pay my bills, I decided to go into “business”. I originally registered as a management major, but took my first marketing class and thought it was more interesting and switched my sophomore year. That was pretty much it. I’d never been involved in business classes or DECA in high school – I didn’t really know what to do or what jobs in marketing were even possible. I dumb lucked myself into it really. M7: As a storyteller, do you relate the brand to a story or story to the brand? AL: Both? Neither? I think there are stories in every brand, because there are people working on the brand and people engaging with the brand and people using what the brand creates. People, most often a single person, are at the heart of great stories. You can start with the “point” of the story you’re trying to tell. Say you have a software that help accountants better create reports for board meetings. It’s likely you’ll want to tell a success story about an accountant getting promoted to CFO in part because your software helped better communicate their work product to the board. You could have the idea for that and go looking for that story in your customers. OR, you could hear that story, and say, “That’s amazing!” and share it with customers, partners and internal people. Stories are all around us – the most important thing is to keep your ears and eyes open for finding them.

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ENTERPRISE IOT, DEVICES

prnewswire | March 28, 2023

KORE Group Holdings, Inc. a global leader in Internet of Things ("IoT") Solutions and worldwide IoT Connectivity-as-a-Service ("IoT CaaS"), announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Twilio's IoT business unit as part of a growth strategy to provide customers with a unified, seamless approach to launching IoT solutions as the world's leading pure-play IoT provider. As consideration for the acquisition, Twilio (NYSE:TWLO), the customer engagement platform that drives real-time, personalized experiences for today's leading brands, will receive 10 million shares of KORE common stock, which will represent approximately 11.5% of KORE's issued and outstanding shares. "IoT has immense potential to change the world," KORE President and CEO Romil Bahl said. "Whether it is ushering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, supporting chronic disease management through remote patient monitoring, or optimizing agriculture and supporting sustainability, IoT has many powerful applications. Combining the digital prowess of Twilio's IoT business and the comprehensive connectivity-solutions-analytics portfolio of KORE is a meaningful step toward proliferating IoT and making it more accessible and successful." Continued Bahl, "KORE is thrilled to augment our best-in-class IoT CaaS offering with Twilio's IoT talent and customer portfolio. This acquisition represents exactly the kind of investment we have said we are willing to make to become an exciting top-line growth company, and specifically, we will benefit from the world-class digital experience and developer community Twilio has built for its IoT business." This acquisition will bring to market: A powerful connectivity suite, including best-in-class eSIM technologies with KORE OmniSIM™ and Twilio Super SIM A one-stop shop for building, deploying, managing, and scaling IoT operations throughout the entire lifecycle via award-winning technologies and world-class facilities An accelerated time to market through global, 24/7 customer support and 20 years of IoT experience through KORE and the Twilio IoT team's depth and breadth of digital experience "We are just scratching the surface of the opportunities IoT can unlock for customers," said Twilio's Head of IoT, Taylor Wolfe. "As a global leader in IoT, KORE has the right expertise, vision, and technology to expand the robust offerings that Twilio's world-class IoT team has built. KORE is the right home for Twilio's IoT business, and we look forward to this acquisition increasing scalability and creating even more powerful business outcomes for our customers going forward." Completion of the acquisition transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among other things, the negotiation and execution of certain ancillary agreements. About KORE KORE is a pioneer, leader, and trusted advisor delivering mission critical IoT solutions and services. We empower organizations of all sizes to improve operational and business results by simplifying the complexity of IoT. Our deep IoT knowledge and experience, global reach, purpose-built solutions, and deployment agility accelerate and materially impact our customers' business outcomes.

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ENTERPRISE IOT, DEVICES

Nozomi Networks | March 24, 2023

Nozomi Networks, the leader in OT and IoT security, today announced a new content pack for organizations working toward ISA/IEC 62443 compliance and certification. The ISA/IEC 62443 Content Pack makes it possible for Nozomi Networks platform users to quickly create custom queries and reports that help confirm their industrial automation and control systems (IACS) meet ISA/IEC 62443 standards. The Content Pack can also be used to assess an IACS’ security posture against ISA/IEC 62443 standards, identifying areas that align with the standards and areas that must be addressed in order to be compliant. “Nozomi Networks’ ISA/IEC 62443 Content Pack technology brings everyone together around a set of reports and queries that helps users access the details they need to reach compliance,” said Chris Grove, Nozomi Networks Director of Cybersecurity Strategy. “Rather than reinvent the wheel each time a customer needs this data, a user can create and distribute a single file where it can then be imported into a Guardian, run as-is or edited, and then re-distributed to the public, across Guardians, or to partners, collaborators, user groups, wherever you want to share it.” The ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards, developed by the International Society of Automation 99 committee (ISA99) and adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), provides a framework to address and mitigate current and future security vulnerabilities in IACSs. The committee draws on the input and knowledge of security experts across the globe to develop consensus standards that are applicable to all industry sectors and critical infrastructure. Nozomi Networks’ Content Packs are owned by Nozomi Networks’ user community and make it possible to export a combination of queries and reports into a single JSON file that can be shared in a completely separate environment. Content Packs do not contain any proprietary information and are safe to share. This allows Nozomi Networks and its customers to quickly share custom reports or queries internally or with the Nozomi Networks user community. The new ISA/IEC 62443 Content Pack covers parts 2-1 (security program best practices) and part 3-3 (definitions for system security requirements and security capabilities levels). About Nozomi Networks Nozomi Networks accelerates digital transformation by protecting the world’s critical infrastructure, industrial and government organizations from cyber threats. Our solution delivers exceptional network and asset visibility, threat detection, and insights for OT and IoT environments. Customers rely on us to minimize risk and complexity while maximizing operational resilience.

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ENTERPRISE IOT, DEVICES

Ambi Robotics | March 21, 2023

Ambi Robotics, the leading provider of AI-powered robotic parcel sorting systems that empower warehouse operators to handle more, today introduces AmbiAccess, a cloud-based business intelligence platform enabling customers to get even more out of their Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) investment. AmbiAccess provides advanced fleet management capabilities and real-time analytics to optimize operations and maximize efficiency so global shippers and logistics companies can gain visibility into their entire operation “We built the AmbiAccess platform with a suite of operation-enhancing applications to make our customers’ lives easier,” says Jeff Mahler, Co-founder and CTO of Ambi Robotics. “This new customer portal goes beyond data visibility, with comprehensive insights and advanced analytics that leverage historical data and trends. Now our customers can better understand the performance of their entire fleet, compare KPIs between facilities and regions, and access real-time analytics from any device.” The AmbiAccess platform simplifies managing robot fleets and enhances the overall operating experience as customers scale AI-powered robotic sorting systems across their network. With on-demand accessibility, customers gain access to data-driven business intelligence that provides greater visibility into their operations. Customers can monitor robot fleet performance in real-time, access advanced analytics reporting, review actionable insights, view the system knowledge base, and access 24/7 customer support all in one place. This includes real-time data that tracks key performance metrics, productivity, system utilization, item analysis, and proactive insights to identify potential issues before they occur. “AmbiAccess opens the doors to a more efficient and sustainable supply chain,” says Stephen McKinley, VP of Operations at Ambi Robotics. “This new platform demonstrates the impact of our AI-powered robotic sorting systems and allows our customers to gain an even greater competitive edge in the market.” AmbiAccess takes the guesswork out of managing throughput, sort plans, exception items, and operational efficiency. Customers can compare trends and key metrics across their systems, facilities, and regions. Facility managers and operations executives can view metrics from the warehouse or on the go through the cloud-based portal. About Ambi Robotics Ambi Robotics is an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics company developing advanced solutions that scale ecommerce operations to meet demand while empowering humans to handle more. The company’s industry-leading AI operating system, AmbiOS, leverages proprietary simulation-to-reality (Sim2Real) technology to operate highly-dexterous robotic systems. Founded in 2018, the world's top roboticists, AI researchers, and leading business professionals work together to build the supply chain's most valued systems. The company is located in Berkeley, Cali

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