Daily Archives: February 3, 2012

Business

AAA welcomes timber investment article

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An article in Money Morning, which talks about the benefits of investing in timber during economic downturns, has been welcomed by AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, February 03, 2012 — An article in Money Morning, which talks about the benefits of investing in timber during economic downturns, has been welcomed by Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The alternative investment advocacy group claims that Don Miller’s article makes some very important points about how investing in timber, and in alternatives in general, can help investors during difficult financial times.

“Miller talks about the fact that this is a real, tangible investment, that you can count on to grow,” stated AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson.

As well as pointing out the average 14 per cent returns generated by timber investments in the period between 1987 and 2010, Miller’s piece also underlines the general consensus that timber demand is set to rise.

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, for example, forecasts that demand for wood should double by 2050, despite emerging trends such as paper recycling. The growth of economies like China and India is promoting this major growth and Western investors are reaping the benefits.

The demand will also be promoted by the growing use of wood as a renewable fuel source, and our use of timber as a building material will also increase as you reliance on man-made, unsustainable materials cools off.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson lent his support for Miller’s arguments, adding “Investing in timber offers great protection against inflation and a dependable source of income whenever you need it.”

“The great thing about buying trees is that if the timber prices aren’t doing so well one year, you can sit tight and watch your investment physically grow bigger until you are ready to sell.”

AAA claims that something this measurable and tangible is attractive at a time when many are growing increasingly uncertain about investing in the stock markets. AAA supports projects run by firms like Greenwood Management, which offers investors the chance to buy up sections of sustainable plantations in Brazil.

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

VisitMobile® to Provide Mobile ConciergeTM Solution for Visit Newport Beach

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VisitMobile is proud to announce that Visit Newport Beach is the latest destination to implement the Mobile Concierge smartphone travel app solution.

Boulder, CO, February 03, 2012 – VisitMobile is proud to announce that Visit Newport Beach is the latest destination to implement the Mobile Concierge smartphone travel app solution. Mimicking a real concierge, Mobile Concierge provides convention and visitor’s bureaus (CVBs), destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and business improvement districts (BIDs) with a customized smartphone app that delivers real-time trusted advice and insider knowledge.

In addition to fulfilling the mobile strategy for Visit Newport Beach, Mobile Concierge will provide the DMO with an ongoing revenue stream through in-app enhanced listings and advertising opportunities. Visit Newport Beach will easily be able to demonstrate the value they are delivering to their member stakeholders through measurable metrics and detailed usage reports. VisitMobile’s innovative approach to destination mobile marketing is so revolutionary, it garnered the prestigious Platinum Adrian Award from the HSMAI (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International) in January 2011 and the 2011 Platinum MarCom Award, both for Napa Valley’s Mobile Concierge.

“CVBs and DMOs spend tens of thousands of dollars on mass media and websites to attract guests to their destination, but they lose control of the guest’s experience once they arrive,” explained VisitMobile CEO Jeff Kohn. “Mobile Concierge will offer Visit Newport Beach a unique advantage; the opportunity to continue interacting with their visitors in a way that both benefits the guest and maximizes revenue for their merchant partners.”

The Mobile Concierge is fundamentally different than simply creating a destination guide app or a mobile optimized version of an existing website. Visitors who are already in the destination need information in a completely different format than those who are planning a future trip. Mobile Concierge uses a powerful GPS Relevancy Engine loaded with expert local content and interactive multimedia to help the in-market visitor make instant reservations, purchase tickets, and access insider deals.

The app is always on hand as the guest explores the destination, and is ready to answer the question, “I’m right here, now what should I do?” Mobile Concierge bridges GPS map-based navigation and time-based, hyper-local content to help both leisure and business travelers to discover nearby and timely events, attractions, dining, shopping, special offers and much more. Whether a visitor has an iPhone, Blackberry or Android device, Mobile Concierge is available for every platform.

With the popularity of unofficial destination apps and mobile search engines, research shows that less than 20 percent of visitors return to the destination’s website for local information after they arrive into a destination. VisitMobile is a dream solution for DMOs, resorts and even college campuses looking to take back control of the conversation.

Mobile Concierge is not just affordable; it’s incredibly easy to manage. To avoid duplicate manual data entry, the solution is designed to update content continuously from the destination’s existing website or database. With the added benefit of trackable metrics for merchants and opportunities to create offset advertising revenue for the DMO, Mobile Concierge is a “win-win-win” for DMOs, members and visitors.

Destinations and clients already experiencing success with VisitMobile’s Mobile Concierge include Cherry Creek North (Colo.), Legendary Napa Valley, Steamboat Ski Resort, Keystone Colorado, Destination Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) and Flatiron Meal Plan, the student meal plan for University of Colorado, Boulder. Other VisitMobile clients that are in the process of deploying their custom Mobile Concierge are Downtown Denver Partnership, Boulder Weekly (Colo.), and Rocky Mountain Meal Plan (Ft. Collins, Colo.).

About Visit Newport Beach Inc.
Visit Newport Beach Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)6 marketing organization under contract with the City to position Newport Beach as a visitor and conference destination. Look to Visit Newport Beach to find the best selection of large name hotels, luxury resorts, restaurants, activities and attractions in the Orange County and Southern California region.

About VisitMobile
VisitMobileTM (www.visitmobile.com) is the Mobile ConciergeTM smartphone app for tourism and shopping destinations. VisitMobile serves as an on-the-go trusted advisor helping visitors discover nearby attractions, businesses, and events through a patented GPS Relevancy EngineTM. Mimicking a real concierge, VisitMobile uses expert local content and multimedia to help visitors make instant reservations or ticket purchases, access insider deals, or see what is around them to answer the question “what should I do next?” As the official Mobile Concierge of the destination, VisitMobile allows the destination marketing organization to maintain control of the conversation, and in turn maximize revenue for destination partners.

Contact:
Amy Larson
CSG | PR
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
303-433-7020
alarson@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Technology

hSo Launches Partner Programme for ICT resellers

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hSo, the carrier-independent MPLS network provider, has launched a partner programme, providing ICT resellers access to its market leading network and cloud delivery services.

London, UK, February 02, 2012 – hSo, the carrier-independent MPLS network provider, has launched a partner programme, providing ICT resellers access to its market leading network and cloud delivery services.

A solid delivery infrastructure is critical to any cloud strategy but implementing these networks can prove complicated. hSo steps in to allow organisations, including IT consultants and Software as a Service providers, to ensure that their projects prove successful.

hSo works closely alongside IT consultants and service providers as a delivery partner allowing them to implement their preferred end-to-end solution. As Graham Walmsley of Inspired Networks puts it, “hSo were the only company to listen to our requirements and come back with a bespoke solution that exactly matched our needs … furthermore, they were cost effective”.

The hSo Business Partner certification allows companies to expand their portfolio without taking on significant credit risk with multi-year end user contracts. Selling with hSo provides partners with an additional revenue stream along with a trusted service for their clients.

The hSo Resale Partner certification, aimed at resellers with an established managed network offering, provides a competitive, whole-of-market platform for MPLS networks and Cloud services. Partners purchase services from hSo and embed them in their solutions to their clients.

Brian Hudson, Managing Director of Performance Telecom, explains the benefits of working in this situation: “hSo offers end-to-end solutions, which optimise both quality and cost. It’s been a pleasure to work with a company with such expansive knowledge of delivering IP network solutions across the UK.”

hSo’s partner services include a number of industry firsts:

* hSo:compare—an online instant pricing tool with UK-wide coverage and extensive circuit options (including Ethernet, EFM, broadband).

* Carrier independence—ensuring that hSo partners have access to the most competitive – pricing options, regardless of the location of their customers

* A wide range of Cloud services including SIP trunks, virtualisation, SSL VPN, online storage available for free proof-of-concept implementations.

The partners’ access to the hSo:compare pricing tool means that they can create solutions for their customers in real-time and manage their own opportunities. The wide range of cloud services means they can create a complete solution for their customers with end to end accountability—a very important aspect of network-based services.

About the company:
hSo is one of only a handful of providers to combine its own MPLS network with other Tier 1 carriers, providing an end-to-end next generation solution to its partners and customers. In addition, a substantial investment in data centre platforms allows hSo to provide managed solutions across the full spectrum of voice, data and security backed by a single technical support centre.

Contact:
Shirin MacDonald
hSo
Epworth House
25 City Road
London EC1Y 1AA
+44 (0) 20 7847 4500
shirin.macdonald@hso.co.uk
http://www.hso-compare.com

Education

Ed Growth Platform Expands, Hires Four Seasoned Education Industry Professionals

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Experts in Education Boost Firm’s Ability to Accelerate Growth and Improve Operations of Organizations in the Education Sector

Boston, MA, February 02, 2012 – Education Growth Advisors, a strategic consultancy and advisory firm exclusively serving the education sector, and Education Growth Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to providing growth capital to education services companies, today announced the addition of four seasoned education industry professionals to their team. Gates Bryant, Vivek Kamath and Dean Schmitt join Education Growth Advisors, while Brian Nairn joins Education Growth Partners. The four veteran executives will be an asset to the growth and development of the respective businesses as they continue to serve K-12 and postsecondary markets, professional and lifelong learning sectors, as well as investments firms and foundations.

Education Growth Advisors offers a full suite of advisory services, including strategic, operational, and transactional capabilities with an emphasis on accelerating growth, enhancing core business functions and preparing clients in the education space for capital market activity.

Joining Education Growth Advisors is Gates Bryant, Vivek Kamath and Dean Schmitt. Their professional backgrounds include:

Gates Bryant, Partner – Mr. Bryant’s career is steeped in knowledge about the education industry. Prior to joining Education Growth Advisors, Mr. Bryant was a senior executive with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the world’s largest provider of pre-K-12 solutions, working in strategy, product management and finance. Mr. Bryant also served as a strategy consultant with the Parthenon Group, focusing almost entirely on the education industry for seven years and advised the largest foundation in K-12 education on investment and funding initiatives to improve the alignment of instructional systems and public/private cooperation.

Vivek Kamath, Managing Director – Mr. Kamath has over 10 years of experience in investment banking, specializing in the education, knowledge management and training markets. From 1999-2011 he held several positions at Berkery Noyes, first as an analyst then as Vice President and finally as Managing Director. During his tenure at Berkery Noyes, Mr. Kamath managed all aspects of mergers and acquisitions transactions for the firm’s Education practice and participated in over 150 transactions across all segments of the information, media, and technology markets. In addition, he helped manage the firm’s recruiting initiatives for analysts and associates.

Dean Schmitt, Principal – Mr. Schmitt served as a Senior Associate at Swift River Investments, a middle market private equity firm, before joining Education Growth Advisors. In this role, Mr. Schmitt supported the firm’s growth in selective long-term investments in the technology, energy and consumer product industries. Prior to his work at Swift River Investments, Mr. Schmitt was a Senior Analyst at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company, a middle market investment bank, where he supported a number of domestic and international transactions through financial analysis, valuation, industry research and due diligence.

“Our clients have come to rely on our extensive market knowledge, robust networks and strong general management capabilities to help them capitalize on industry opportunities and navigate challenges. Gates’, Vivek’s and Dean’s keen understanding of the education sector make significant contributions to the core competencies of the firm,” said Adam Newman, Managing Partner at Education Growth Advisors. “This is an exciting period of growth for Education Growth Advisors, and the addition of these senior-level professionals will exponentially increase our ability to help existing clients and attract new ones,” added Managing Partner Christopher Curran.

Education Growth Partners, which primarily focuses on growth capital financings, minority recapitalizations and buyouts of profitable, high-growth education companies, announced the appointment of Brian Nairn as an Operating Partner. Mr. Nairn’s professional experience includes:

Brian Nairn, Operating Partner – Mr. Nairn brings with him a deep knowledge of operations across a number of markets and over 20 years of experience in publishing. Most recently Mr. Nairn was the CEO of the Health Sciences division of Eslevier, a division of Reed Elsevier and the world’s largest publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Prior to that, Mr. Nairn served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Cahners Business Information, an $800 million U.S.-based provider of magazines, data and online services across widespread geographic locations and multiple, diverse vertical markets, and held several senior positions with Advanstar Communications.

“Brian Nairn is a key addition to the Education Growth Partners investment team. He not only has a phenomenal track record for initiating and executing growth-oriented transactions, but has also had tremendous success across a wide range of markets. Brian’s leadership and business acumen will be integral to helping drive the growth of our portfolio companies,” said Peter Campbell, Managing Partner at Education Growth Partners.

Peter Campbell, Christopher Curran and Adam Newman, education and investment industry veterans with unparalleled knowledge, experience and relationships in the education space, founded Education Growth Partners and Education Growth Advisors in 2010. Since the launch, the companies have become a primary resource for executives and organizations seeking to evaluate strategic options, accelerate growth and improve business operations.

About Education Growth Advisors
Education Growth Advisors is a strategic consultancy and advisory firm exclusively serving the education sector. It delivers strategy and operational consulting services to companies, executives and selected investors with an emphasis on accelerating growth, enhancing core business functions and preparing clients for capital market activities. Led by a team of education and investment industry veterans, EGA clients receive access to proprietary resources and consulting services informed by nearly two decades of education sector experience. For more information, visit www.edgrowthadvisors.com.

About Education Growth Partners
Founded in 2010 by longtime education investors Peter Campbell and Christopher Curran, Education Growth Partners is the premier growth private equity firm focused exclusively on the Prek-12, higher education, corporate training and lifelong learning sectors. The firm leads growth capital financings, minority recapitalizations, and buyouts of profitable, high-growth companies in the target sectors. For more information, visit www.edgrowthpartners.com.

The firms have offices in Stamford, Connecticut and Boston Massachusetts.

Contact:
Lindsey Mikal
Communications Strategy Group
3225 East 2nd Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
(303) 433-7020
lmikal@csg-pr.com
http://www.csg-pr.com

Technology

hSo:compare Leased Line Pricing Website Launched

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MPLS network provider hSo has launched a UK-wide price comparison tool that provides best market pricing for connectivity in real-time, direct to the enquirer.

London, UK, February 02, 2012 – The carrier-independent MPLS network provider, hSo, has launched a new tool to help businesses pricing up their networks to budget their IT and telecoms expenditure.

A beta version of the hSo:compare website has been running for over 12 months, and has already provided thousands of quotes. With cost effective next generation access circuits, such as EFM, becoming available across the country, MPLS solutions are gaining popularity amongst companies looking to take advantage of new cloud strategies.

Replacing the traditional lengthy process of salesperson-led quotations, hSo:compare provides real-time, location-specific pricing for multiple sites. It has been developed with the company’s carrier partners and offers an all-inclusive cost of ownership, which includes the managed kit and 24/7 support for the service. It is currently the only site of its kind widely available on the Internet.

hSo:compare enables organisations across the UK and their IT consultants, to plan and budget for their network upgrade, an important part of implementing a sound cloud computing strategy. hSo’s networks are cloud-ready, which is vital for companies that safely operate multiple services between offices and cloud providers. Coupled with the scalable solutions on offer, allowing IT managers to expand or contract their networks and service as fast as they like, the communication system can evolve with the business making it effectively future-proof.

“Business users have become accustomed, as consumers in their own right, to the instant availability of pricing on the net. We believe it is time for business-class telecoms to become more transparent too”, said Avner Peleg, Director at hSo.

“Decision makers should take best pricing for granted and look at service-related factors such as access to cloud services and high levels of customer service when making decisions about such a critical element of their IT infrastructure.”

Peter Rusling, IT Director at Parity Group, who found hSo through the comparison site, had this to say: “hSo’s online quoting tool is extremely useful … it gave us a really good sense of what we were looking for.”

The tool has proven to be extremely popular with IT consultants and resellers, working on behalf of clients. Accordingly, hSo has developed a range of features to allow those users to manage their own campaigns and clients’ requirements.

Furthermore, hSo:compare has proved a hit with the UK’s tier-1 carriers; according to Jason King, Head of Wholesale Voice & Data at Virgin Media Business: “hSo’s revolutionary pricing website enables business’ of all sizes to gain access to Virgin Media Business’ nationwide fibre optic network with ease and benefit from the advantages that superfast connectivity can bring.”

hSo:compare is available at www.hso-compare.com.

About the company:
hSo is one of only a handful of providers to combine its own MPLS network with other Tier 1 carriers, providing an end-to-end next generation solution to its partners and customers. In addition, a substantial investment in data centre platforms allows hSo to provide managed solutions across the full spectrum of voice, data and security backed by a single technical support centre.

Contact:
Shirin MacDonald
hSo
Epworth House
25 City Road
London EC1Y 1AA
+44 (0) 20 7847 4500
shirin.macdonald@hso.co.uk
http://www.hso-compare.com