Market Newsdesk

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EXL [NASDAQ: EXLS], a leading operations management and analytics company, today announced that it was named a leader in “The Forrester Wave™: Insights-driven Business Process Outsourcing, Q4 2020″. In the report, Forrester states that insights-driven BPO vendors “represent the future of a rapidly changing business model that is driven by thought partnerships, enhanced focus on outcomes, and a diminishing appetite for effort-based engagements.”

According to the report, “EXL has demonstrated the ability to think both wide — across the scope of a business process — and deep, from data to insight to action and outcome. Clients commend EXL’s deep bench of insights-driven skills and say that it has ‘better analytics than anybody else.’ EXL is a strong fit for a variety of clients, but particularly those looking to infuse complex business processes with breakaway value through insights.”

Commenting on the recognition, Ankor Rai, Chief Digital Officer, EXL, said, “We are excited to be named as a leader for insights-driven BPO by Forrester. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital and the cloud, which exponentially increases the need for data intelligence throughout the enterprise. As a result, all major enterprises are becoming data-led businesses and need partners who can deliver value from analytics insights and intelligent operations.”

The Forrester Wave™ evaluation ranks participants as Leaders, Strong Performers, Contenders, and Challengers. Forrester assessed 13 service providers for its 2020 report on insights-driven BPO. In the report, Forrest states that EXL:

• Leads with robust insights-led transformation
• Puts “skin in the game” by driving innovation on both technology and commercial models
• Continues to build upon its already impressive capability footprint with a distinct roadmap
• Excels at measuring and reporting on the business impact of insights-driven initiatives

“We’re grateful to hear that our clients told Forrester that our analytics capabilities are better ‘than anybody else,’ because that means we are differentiating ourselves through value creation,” said Anita Mahon, Chief Growth Officer, EXL. “Our intention is to be the partner of choice for the data-led business. This requires end-to-end data and analytics capabilities and deep industry knowledge to embed intelligence throughout client business operations and amplify the impact of their digital agendas.”

About EXL

EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) is a leading operations management and analytics company that helps our clients build and grow sustainable businesses. By orchestrating our domain expertise, data, analytics and digital technology, we look deeper to design and manage agile, customer-centric operating models to improve global operations, drive profitability, enhance customer satisfaction, increase data-driven insights, and manage risk and compliance. Headquartered in New York, EXL has approximately 31,800 professionals in locations throughout the United States, the UK, Europe, India, the Philippines, Colombia, Australia and South Africa. EXL serves multiple industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, utilities, travel, transportation and logistics, media and retail, among others. For more information, visit www.exlservice.com. 

Media - US
Michael Sherrill
Vice President Marketing
646-419-0778
[email protected]

Media - Europe, India and APAC
Shailendra Singh
Vice President Corporate Communications
+91-98104-76075
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Investor Relations
Steven N. Barlow
Vice President Investor Relations
212-624-5913
[email protected]

Application Filed with the USPTO

TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Seedo Corp. (“SEDO”), an innovative Agri-Tech company announced today that its wholly owned Israeli subsidiary has filed a Provisional Patent Application with the US Patent Office entitled “Environment Regulation Incubator for Efficient Growth of Saffron or Other Plants”

The application is the first of several envisioned by the Company to document its scientific knowledge and improvements on an AI based system of efficient incubator systems for high volume growth of Saffron in particular, an herb worth more than gold by weight.

We are now in the process of applying for patent protection of our proprietary knowledge which allows us to grow saffron and other plants inside an indoor bio-structure in ideal conditions all year long in any environmental condition and to harvest several crops per year.

Gil Feiler, Chairman of the Board stated “This patent helps differentiate us in a qualitive manner from other Agri-Tech companies. Saffron from our controlled automated grow conditions is of a consistently high quality, yet at a lower cost and higher yield than more traditional methods. We believe that this, our first patent, will now force the industry to take “vertical farming” as a fact of the present, and not the future.”

About Seedo Corp.

Seedo Corp. (OTC: SEDO), an Agri-Tech company, is focusing on its research, development and commercialization of agriculture technology products in the fields of exotic plants and mushrooms.

Disclaimer:

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other U.S. Federal securities laws. Such statements include but are not limited to statements identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “projects” and similar expressions. The statements in this release are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those outlined in the forward-looking statements. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences, including, but not limited to, results of clinical trials and other studies, the challenges inherent in new product development initiatives, the effect of any competitive products, our ability to license and protect our intellectual property, our ability to raise additional capital in the future that is necessary to maintain our business, changes in government policy and regulation, potential litigation by or against us, any governmental review of our products or practices, as well as other risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement or any information contained in this press release or other public disclosures at any time. Finally, the investing public is reminded that the only announcements or information about Seedo Corp. which are condoned by the Company, must emanate from the Company itself and bear our name as its source.

For more information about Seedo Corp: 

Seedo Corp.  
David Freidenberg, Dir.
Phone: +1 (800) 608-6432   

Beamsville, ON, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) would like to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. As Biden prepares to take on the responsibilities and challenges ahead, the CVA watches with great interest, given his proclamation to Americans and the world that health and addiction policy decisions will be science based under his administration. This commitment to fact-based policy development offers some encouragement that positive vaping policy changes in the United States may be on the horizon. While we understand that the new administration is rightfully focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, we truly hope that they do not overlook the 480,000 Americans that will die within the first year of their mandate from smoking related diseases.

 In 2016, the Royal College of Physicians concluded that, “the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from the e-cigarettes available today is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco.” Since these findings, annual independent studies have been conducted by Public Health England and to date all have shown the same remarkable results – vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.

 Due to the vast amount of misinformation surrounding vaping in the United States, poor public perception and misguided legislation have created the perfect storm, causing many vapers to return to combustible tobacco and discouraging smokers from transitioning to much less harmful nicotine vapour products. England has been a world leader in vaping research and an early adopter of vaping as a tool to assist their citizens in quit smoking. Despite their many years of progress, the continual anti-vaping campaigns dominating American media created such an impact in the UK that Public Health England felt it necessary to release a series of statements reassuring the public of the health benefits of transitioning to vaping from combustible tobacco and correcting the vast amount of misinformation surrounding vapour products. Public Health England’s release stated, “E-cigarettes are not completely risk free but, when compared to smoking, evidence shows they carry just a fraction of the harm. The problem is people increasingly think they are at least as harmful, and this may be keeping millions of smokers from quitting. Local stop smoking services should look to support e-cigarette users in their journey to quitting completely.” As a global leader, it is crucial that the United States set a positive example surrounding vaping as the most effective harm reduction tool, as the positions taken by the US administration have deep impacts not only domestically but on a global scale.

 Biden has said in previous statements that, if elected, he would halt the sale of vaping products until more research is available. However, he has also said he “will follow the science” on vaping. In the past year alone, an overwhelming amount of credible and compelling science has emerged demonstrating vaping’s profound harm reduction potential and effectiveness. An international review produced by Cochrane, a global network of independent researchers, examined 50 of the top studies on vaping’s efficacy. The review found that smokers who used vaping to quit were most likely to be successful, concluding that vaping is 70% more effective than any other nicotine replacement therapy. With the reaffirmation of vaping’s effectiveness, we implore President-elect Biden, who ran on a platform of science driven policy, to ensure vaping policy is founded on research and not rhetoric.

 In her acceptance speech, Vice President-elect Harris described Biden as a “healer.” This encompasses what the vape industry values most – helping millions of smokers finally quit smoking so that they may begin to heal. Political leadership, medical professionals and vapour industry experts must all work together to ensure a responsible market based on the conclusive science that vaping is the most successful harm reduction platform for smokers. Only through a collaborative effort can we save the lives of millions of smokers and land on the right side of history.

 The CVA extends our sincere wishes for the success of the administration and Presidency.

 

Darryl Tempest
The Canadian Vaping Association 
6472741867
[email protected]

BEDFORD, Mass., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aware, Inc., (NASDAQ: AWRE), a leading global provider of biometrics software products, solutions and services, today announced the appointment of its CEO and President, Robert (Bob) A. Eckel, to the Board of Directors of International Biometrics + Identity Association (IBIA). Mr. Eckel has over three decades of experience and significant expertise in biometrics, secure identity, air traffic control and defense systems, and as a member of IBIA’s Board of Directors will help advance the transparent and secure use of biometric technologies to confirm human identity in our physical and digital worlds.

IBIA is the leading voice for the biometrics and identity technology industry and advances the transparent and secure use of these technologies to confirm human identity in both our physical and digital worlds. As Aware’s CEO and newly appointed member of IBIA’s Board of Directors, Mr. Eckel will help support the enhancement of security, privacy, productivity and convenience for individuals, organizations, and governments through the use of biometrics solutions and services.

“My passion has always been to build and lead companies that enable individuals to experience the life we deserve through technology, which includes the ability to Own your identity™,” said Bob Eckel, Aware’s chief executive officer and president. “This aligns directly with the mission of IBIA, and I am honored to be elected to their Board of Directors to help drive forward the adoption and responsible use of biometric technologies for managing human identity in a way that remains frictionless for the user.”

As a member of the Board of Directors for IBIA, Mr. Eckel will have a far reaching and unified view across the biometrics and identify management industry, enabling him to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, regulations and policies impacting Aware and its customers. His responsibilities will include supporting association initiatives to aid in the adoption of biometrics for the greater good, correct misconceptions about the technology, and demonstrate how the transparent use of biometrics can add value.

“With Mr. Eckel’s years of experience and passion for the biometrics and identity management industry, he was the clear choice to join our Board of Directors,” said John Mears, IBIA’s chairman of the board and Tech Fellow, VP, at Leidos. “We are thrilled to have him on board and know he will make a great addition to the team, helping us to continue providing valuable insights and expertise to our members when it comes to the adoption and responsible use of technologies for managing human identity.”

Bob Eckel has served as Aware’s CEO and president since September 2019. He is responsible for strategic transformation, growth and operations for Aware’s biometric solutions and services for government and commercial customers and industry partners. Mr. Eckel also serves as a strategic advisory board member of Evolv Technology, and as a consultant for Digimarc Corporation. Over his distinguished career, he has held many positions of note within the biometric and identity space, including: Regional President and CEO of IDEMIA’s NORAM Identity & Security division; President and CEO of MorphoTrust USA, LLC; Executive Vice President and President of the Secure Credentialing Division of L-1 Identity Solutions Company; and President of the Identity Systems division of Digimarc Corporation. Mr. Eckel received his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Los Angeles, and his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut.

About Aware

Aware, a global leader in productized biometrics software products, solutions and services, provides critical biometric functionality to collect, manage, process, and match biometric images and data for identification and authentication. With their decades-long experience, Aware leads the market in liveness detection and multi-modal fusion to protect client and business processes through fingerprint, face, iris, and voice matching algorithms, mobile biometric capture and authentication software, a biometric workflow and middleware platform, and a fully-scalable ABIS. Their device-agnostic, integration-ready, and customer-managed products enable ease-of-use for enterprises to empower individuals to own their identities. Aware serves customers across a multitude of industries, including financial services, enterprise security, healthcare, human resources, citizen ID, border management, law enforcement, defense, and intelligence. Aware is a publicly held company (Nasdaq: AWRE) based in Bedford, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit https://www.aware.com or follow Aware on Twitter @AwareBiometrics.

Aware
is a
registered trademark of Aware, Inc.

CONTACT

Company Contact                
Gina Rodrigues                                                        
Aware, Inc.                                                        
781-276-4000                                                                
[email protected]  

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e54f5d6e-498c-453a-bd97-be2db42abb41

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Qlik® today announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Databricks through Qlik’s integration with the newly launched SQL Analytics capability. The integration is part of an expanded partnership that already includes integration with Qlik’s data integration platform. Databricks customers can now leverage the full capabilities of Qlik’s end-to-end data integration and analytics platform with Databricks’ Lakehouse architecture to increase the use and value of all the data residing in their data lake.  

“Databricks’ strategic partnership with Qlik helps customers maximize the value of data by delivering analytics and ML with a modern data platform,” said Michael Hoff, SVP of Business Development and Partners at Databricks. “With SQL Analytics, data analysts can easily deploy Qlik’s complete data integration and analytics portfolio alongside Databricks’ Lakehouse architecture for an optimized BI experience on their entire data lake.”

With the integration with SQL Analytics, Qlik uniquely provides customers the ability to both optimize the data ingestion process feeding data into Lakehouse, as well as leverage Qlik Sense’s modern approach to analytics to create value through insights from data in Databricks. The new integration also enables Qlik Sense® to deliver a powerful and improved customer experience for SQL users with optimized data access through a familiar interface in Databricks. Together, Qlik and Databricks can now deliver a fully automated data lake pipeline, with governed, trusted and near-real time data that is optimized for analytics.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing customers looking for joint solutions that can impact the entire data and analytics lifecycle,” said Itamar Ankorion, SVP Tech Alliances at Qlik. “At any point along the chain – from access to ingestion, to transformation and insight discovery that triggers action at the point of decision – customers can confidently combine Qlik’s end-to-end data integration and analytics solutions with Databricks to drive more value from their data.” 

To explore how to build highly scalable and reliable pipelines for analytics that deliver deeper insight into Apache Spark and Azure Databricks, including the latest updates with Delta Lake, join Qlik and Databricks for an upcoming virtual workshop on December 8. Attendees will learn how unified data analytics can bring data science, business analytics and engineering together to accelerate data and ML efforts. Register to attend here.

About Qlik

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. Qlik provides an end-to-end, real-time data integration and analytics cloud platform to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik does business in more than 100 countries and serves over 50,000 customers around the world.  

© 2020 QlikTech International AB. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described herein remain at the sole discretion of Qlik and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future.

Media Contact:
Derek Lyons
[email protected]
617-658-5310

Michigan, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Former lawyer, lobbyist, Democratic Congressional primary candidate, and Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company, George Franklin, has published his third book, Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise. Franklin takes a humorous look at the world of economic development with politicians, corporations, and a cast of rogue characters all wallowing in the government trough in the name of capitalism and free enterprise. Franklin draws on his years in government and Washington DC’s political landscape in his first foray into fiction.

“The world of politics has been exhausting for all of us these past few months,” said Franklin. “Incentives is the perfect way to find some comedic relief and poke fun at the hypocrisy in the world of public policy. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we can all use a few laughs while our political leaders’ trip over each other in spectacular fashion.”

Within Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise, no group is off-limits to Franklin as he pokes fun at gun nuts, hapless elected officials, religious zealots, economic developers, Republicans, Democrats, and more. Everybody and everything is fair game in this laugh-out-loud satirical novel. If you like the writing of Carl Hiaasen or Christopher Buckley, you will love this book.

The following Incentives excerpt gives insight into Franklin’s mind. “No sooner than the government lends you money you find out it comes with all sorts of strings…Why they even want reports on how it is being used to advance the common good. Totally unreasonable demands by feckless bureaucrats who clearly don’t understand the free enterprise system.” 

“I take readers on a journey into the world of economic development with unforgettable personalities and laugh-out-loud storylines,” said Franklin. “Readers will encounter political stereotypes and dynamic characters who are each attempting to use the mechanisms of government for their own financial and personal gains. Each character within the novel has motives more ironic than the next.” 

Prior to Incentives, Franklin authored Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World, and So You Think You Want to Run for Congress: The True Grit of a Political Campaign. In both political non-fiction books, Franklin shares his perspective on what it is really like to run for a seat within our nation’s capital and work in a government that’s controlled by red tape and bureaucratic agendas.

“I want readers to have a good laugh and be completely entertained from page to page through each character’s storyline,” said Franklin. “Take Skeeter and Bogey, two rednecks, who try to cement themselves in a multi-billion-dollar-industry with no education, all on the government’s dime. Throughout the book, I bring characters to life in a variety of locations, all representative of my career, life, and experiences. I’ve never had more fun writing a book.”

In addition to a career as an author, George Franklin has held a number of positions, including the Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company, member of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Consumer Goods of the U.S. Department of Commerce, member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Advisory Committee, Chairman of both the State Affairs Committee and the Washington Representatives Group of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, and Democratic primary candidate for Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House.

Franklin has spoken at several universities and organizations such as the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia, Michigan State University, economic development organizations, political clubs, think tanks, and more. In each of these engagements, Franklin has touched on a variety of topics, including his books, business, and politics.

Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise is available online here. For more information on George Franklin and his other books, visit www.georgefranklinauthor.com. 

About
Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise

George Franklin takes a humorous look at the world of economic development with politicians, corporations, and a cast of rogue characters all wallowing in the government trough in the name of capitalism and free enterprise. Incentives is a book of pure, unadulterated fun, filled with laugh-out-loud moments. It is an uproarious, entertaining, comical story of the hypocrisy which permeates public policy today. Nothing is sacred, and everybody and everything is fair game.

About George Franklin

George Franklin is a lawyer and former Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations for Kellogg Company. He has held numerous positions in and out of government, including, member of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Consumer Goods of the U.S. Department of Commerce, member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Advisory Committee, Chairman of both the State Affairs Committee and the Washington Representatives Group of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, and Chairman of the American Frozen Food Institute.

In addition to having testified before Congress as the representative of the food industry, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University and had his own weekly radio segment called, “Ask the Lobbyist.” He is also President of Franklin Public Affairs LLC.

In 2014, George published his first book, Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars: 30 Years of Lobbying for the Most Famous Tiger in the World. A go-to source for anyone interested in learning more about the complex and stimulating confluence of business, law, lobbying, and politics, Cereal Wars provides unique insights into the widely misunderstood role of corporate government relations and how it affects public policy.

In 2018, George was a Democratic primary candidate for Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House. While he lost the primary, he survived to write about it with humor and insight in his tell-all book, So You Think You Want to Run for Congress: The True Grit of a Political Campaign, published in 2019.

In 2020, he published his first novel, Incentives: The Holy Water of Free Enterprise. A humorous look at the world of economic development, Incentives is an uproarious, entertaining, comical story of the hypocrisy which permeates public policy today.

 

Attachments

• George Franklin Author
• Incentives Book Cover

Kim Bode
George Franklin Author
6162992677
[email protected]