Q&A with Paige O'Neill, CMO at Sitecore

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, INFRASTRUCTURE

Keyfactor | March 16, 2023

On March 15, 2023, Keyfactor, the enterprise machine and IoT identity platform, joined the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). CSA is a leading organization that develops and promotes open, universal standards for safer product interaction and connection. Keyfactor's CSA membership affirms the company's approach to authentication and trust between connected devices and applications, joining 260+ innovative brands like Amazon, Apple, and Google. IoT product manufacturers must enhance the overall security and consumer experience as connected devices become more widespread. As an industry leader in IoT security, Keyfactor recognizes the challenges of device manufacturing. As a new CSA member, the organization will continue to play an essential role in making way for a secure, connected future. Keyfactor's PKI-based digital integrity and identity capabilities support every aspect of digital trust for Matter-certified devices. Its certificate lifecycle management, common criteria certified PKI, and code-signing technologies provide complete control over the security embedded in IoT products and devices. Ellen Boehm, SVP of IoT Strategy and Operations at Keyfactor, shared, "Manufacturers continue to grapple with IoT product security implementation; currently, there is a missing link in true authentication and trust between devices and applications that exist in secure IoT systems." She added, "Joining CSA alongside other IoT innovators, many of which are existing Keyfactor customers, will widen our reach and sustain our commitment towards helping IoT OEMs around the globe achieve reliable, secure connectivity." (Source – Business Wire) About Keyfactor Keyfactor is the trusted name in machine and IoT identity management. The company's end-to-end solutions provide secure authentication and unique identity management for devices, transactions, and workloads. Its identity-first approach to security ensures organizations have the tools to create a secure digital ecosystem, reducing risk and protecting against cyber threats. Keyfactor's merger with PrimeKey in 2021 combined the world's most widely used and trusted PKI solution (PrimeKey EJBCA) with Keyfactor's end-to-end machine identity management platform.

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ENTERPRISE IOT, INFRASTRUCTURE

Energous Corporation | March 30, 2023

Energous Corporation, a leading developer of intelligent wireless power networks, and Thinaer, a leading industrial IoT SaaS platform provider, today announced a partnership to bring innovative wireless charging technology to the industrial IoT market. Thinaer will incorporate Energous' wireless power transfer technology as part of a joint offering to help organizations improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance outcomes in a variety of settings including industrial manufacturing and warehousing. Thinaer's platform enables customers to seamlessly generate a digital twin of their operations and achieve measurable results. The combined solution harnesses Thinaer's powerful platform and Energous' innovative wireless charging hardware to provide energy efficient solutions with low-cost passive BLE tags for asset tracking and environmental monitoring. The solution can identify process gaps, improvement opportunities and inefficiencies with advanced analytics within the manufacturing and warehousing environment. "Industrial IoT is going through a major digital transformation to maximize overall productivity and improve operational efficiencies, and Thinaer is a pioneer in driving that force," said Cesar Johnston, CEO of Energous. "The partnership between Energous and Thinaer aims to solve this growing challenge for industrial IoT and provides an additional building block in the creation of the IoT ecosystem. Thinaer's system integration capability enables Energous' wireless power network technology to be successfully installed at customer sites. We are excited for the future of this collaboration. " "Energous emerged as a leader in wireless power technologies for the IoT industry. Its technology is reliable, easy to use and robust for the industrial environment, making them an ideal partner to collaborate with on developing a joint solution for our customers," said Bryan Merckling, CEO at Thinaer. "The expansion of IoT devices across our customers' industries has increased the power demands and unique needs of IoT deployments. We are now able to solve new and unique challenges for our customers using our combined solutions. For example, classified areas where the highest levels of security require that assets tagged with beacons are not broadcasting a signal when within those areas, can now leverage IoT beacons. We are enthusiastic about the many digital transformation opportunities this partnership will enable." Energous PowerBridges are driving transformation across the industrial IoT. These devices not only have the capability of wirelessly charging multiple devices simultaneously from a distance using RF-based wireless power, but they can also function as data links for connected IoT devices. This enables them to communicate valuable data and insights back to the cloud. Multiple PowerBridge transmitters can be meshed together, creating a wireless power network that covers unlimited distances for large-scale deployments such as industrial warehouses, manufacturing plants, and logistics hubs across a wide range of industries. About Energous Corporation Energous Corporation is the Wireless Power Network global leader. Its award-winning WattUp® solution is the only technology that supports both contact and distance charging through a fully compatible ecosystem. Built atop fast, efficient, and highly scalable RF-based charging technology, WattUp is positioned to offer improvements over older, first-generation coil-based charging technologies in power, efficiency, foreign device detection, freedom of movement and overall cost for industrial and retail IoT, smart homes, smart cities and medical devices. Energous develops silicon-based wireless power transfer (WPT) technologies and customizable reference designs, and provides worldwide regulatory assistance, a reliable supply chain, quality assurance, and sales and technical support to global customers. The company received the world's first FCC Part 18 certification for at-a-distance wireless charging and has been awarded over 200 patents for its WattUp wireless charging technology to-date

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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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