The 30 most innovative companies to watch 2018

Paul Black
CEO & Board Member
August 2018
www.insightssuccess.com
A Global Leader in Healthcare IT
The
Most
Innovative
2018
to Watch
COMPANIES
Digi Connection
Benets of Blockchain
in the making of
Smarter Energy Grids
Imparting Wisdom
Successful Personality
to Learn from Elon Musk

Innovation : The
Pathway to a
New World
he term ‘Innovation’ has driven the industries to open up a new world. Therefore, the innovations
Tthat we see day-to-day are meant as discoveries to change the things around us. Additionally, the
products and solutions designed through innovative ideas have the potential to disrupt the market
by changing the status quo and replacing what already exists with something totally unique. Numerous
organizations including start-up companies are generating innovative solutions, techniques and services in
order to stand ahead on their respective industries. Further, organizations are transforming every sector to
satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.
Nowadays, innovation which is meant as a key is spread across every corner of the world and has taken it
by storm. This has led to the development of new solutions to problems that humans have inherently faced.
So far, practically every sectors present on the earth have met with some form of challenges, but these
innovations have touched on every aspect including medicine, science, engineering and social life. In other
words, most of the companies have started to understand this concept and have also achieved through their
observation, imagination and thinking out of the box. Without these, everything around us would have
been common with just basic ideas.
According to the independent researchers, for decades, scientists have focused on the concept of being
able to teach machines how to think and eventually learn. These breakthroughs have led to the revolution
of artiﬁcial intelligence where computers are trainable by following a recognizable pattern. This
technology is even poised to make electronic devices like computers and smartphones think proactively
and undertake sensitive activities.
In the near future, technological innovations involved in self-driving cars, genetics and delivery drones can
make life easier by the end of the day. New innovation can take the stages of the work towards making

human life easier, efficient and integrated in nature. With progressive research into the technologies
and other prototype technologies which are still being conceived, the world is undoubtedly bound to
become a better place.
Keeping this in mind, Insights Success Magazine has shortlisted “The 30 Most Innovative
Companies to Watch 2018”, which have spotted the unique dots to discover new things through
notion, unexpected connections and ideas.
On the cover, we have encompassed Allscripts, a leader in healthcare information technology with a
30-year history of excellence. The company has a vision to build open and connected communities of
health that advance clinical, financial and operational results.
Further, we have shortlisted AppZen, the leader in offering artificial intelligence solution for
business processes. Auxenta, an innovative software engineering services and technology product
consulting company who work with enterprises, independent software vendors (ISVs), startups and
not for profit organizations. CoreAxis provides a unique combination of high impact business
performance consulting, coupled with custom training development and delivery. Ensygnia, a UK-
based technology company specializing in delivering a good customer experience combined with
invisible security. Kaaspro is a futuristic organization that believes web apps are destined to make
the world more communicative and easier to access. MES, Inc. a full-service provider of global
manufacturing and supply chain management services.
In this Issue we have also enclosed MHG Systems Ltd, a pioneer in management solutions for
forestry and bioenergy supply chain and logistics. PACK’D a rapidly growing startup that is on a
mission to fuel potential. Procurify is a cloud-based procurement software company offering a
cloud-based procurement solution which can be used to manage company spending. TechR2, a
Global Solution Provider for Enterprise Onsite Data Eradication & IT Asset Retirement Services.
XTIVIA creates smart Information Technology solutions for companies in every industry. Zappi is
the world’s most powerful automated consumer insights platform.
Apart from this, we have covered few articles contributed by industry experts, “Future Technologies
with a Special Focus on AI and Logo Maker” by Rahul Aggarwal and “Be Smart – or Vanish
Why Utilities need to actively develop smart Micro-Grids” by Dr.Karl Kolmsee
So, let’s start flipping the pages of the Magazine to acknowledge the innovative ideas spotted!
Kaustav Roy

Cover Story
10
Articles
44
Digi Connection
Benets of Blockchain
in the making of
Smarter Energy Grids
64
Future-Bots
Catching-up with the Robotics
for Better Future
72
Imparting Wisdom
Successful Personality
to Learn from Elon Musk
A Global Leader in Healthcare IT

26
56
86
CONTENTS
Aktrea:
Transforming the World of Education
through Gamication, Simulations
and Social Networks
Allgress:
Protecting Enterprises through
Compliance and Business Risk Management
AppZen:
Combining Computer Vision, Deep Learning,
and Natural Language Processing
Auxenta:
An Unparalleled Expertise
Driving Innovation
CoreAxis:
A Corporate Training
and Leadership Firm
Insider’s Viewpoint
Be smart – or vanish
Why Utilities need to actively develop smart Micro-Grids
Tech Evolution
How VideoAmp Evolved The Company Culture
And Process To Increase The Number Of
Engineers EmployedBy Dave Gullo, Co-Founder &
CTO, VideoAmp
Director’s Viewpoint
Why Supermarkets Need To Talk To
Millennials In Their Language
22
24
30
32
36

MHG Systems:
Offering Next Generation Smart
ICT Solutions for Forest and Biomass Management
Natterbox:
Transforming the Telephony
Experience within Salesforce
Optimizt Technologies:
Consulting Industries through Engineering
Design & Simulation Platform
Diversied:
Addressing the Technical Needs of
Multiple Market Segments
Ensygnia Ltd.:
Executing Unied Mobile Technology
and Security Solutions
Kaaspro:
Providing Affordable
Cloud-Based Solutions
MES:
Delivering Disruptive Innovation in
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management
38
40
46
48
52
54
60

PACK'D:
Innovating Nutrition and
Fueling Potential
Procurify:
Understanding Your Spending, Easily
Spark Compass:
A Contextually Intelligent Communications
Platform of Platforms
TechR2:
IT Security Solutions with
On-site Data Eradication
VOX:
Leading Provider of Converged
Voice and Data Solutions
XTIVIA:
Perfecting Innovative Solutions
Zappi:
A Leading Automated Consumer
Insights Platform
62
68
70
76
78
82
84

sales@insightssuccess.com
Corporate Ofces:
August, 2018
Database Management Stella Andrew
Technology Consultant David Stokes
Circulation Managers Robert, Tanaji
Research Analyst Patrick James
Steve, Joe, Alan, Vishal
Anish MillerManaging Editor
Art & Design Director Amol Kamble
Associate Designer Tejas Kulkarni
Visualiser David King
Senior Sales Manager Passi D.
Business Development Executives
Marketing Manager John Matthew
Jenny FernandesAssistant Editors
Shubham Khampariya
Art & Picture Editors BelinPaul
Co-designer Poonam Mahajan
KhannaJayant
Peter CollinsBusiness Development Manager
Sales Executives
David, Kevin, Mark, Manish
SME-SMO Executives
Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan
Online Marketing Strategists
Alina Sege, Shubham, Vaibhav K
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza
Technical Specialists Amar, Pratiksha
Technical Head Jacob Smile
Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in
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Executive Editor Kaustav Roy
Contributing Editors
Abhishaj Sajeev
Hitesh Dhamani
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal

A Global Leader in
Healthcare IT

Cover Story
Paul Black
CEO & Board Member
We are a team of more than 7,000 devoted
to fullling your needs today and creating the
healthcare IT architecture of tomorrow.
“ “

“
“
We are the original open, connected health
platform. A true healthcare IT innovator,
Allscripts introduced the concept of an open
platform connecting all points of the care
community back in 2007. For you, that means
evolved, rock-solid and client-focused
solutions you can trust.
Allscripts is a leader in healthcare information
technology with a 30-year history of excellence.
The company has a vision to build open and
connected communities of health that advance clinical,
financial and operational results.
Its innovative solutions connect people, places and data
across its vision of an Open, Connected Community of
Health™. This connectivity empowers caregivers to
make better decisions and deliver better care for
healthier populations.
Allscripts creates tools that address virtually every aspect
of population health, an each of these tools facilitates
real-time analysis and action. They enable healthcare
organizations to analyze and act – right at the point of
care – to empower change, improve health, and reduce
costs.
CareInMotion™ is the company’s comprehensive
population health platform. It brings together care
coordination, patient engagement, connectivity, data
aggregation, and analytics at the point of care.
A Veteran Leader
Paul Black currently serves as a Board Member and
the CEO of Allscripts. Paul leads the company in its
commitment to build open, connected communities of
health.
Prior to joining Allscripts in 2012, Paul spent more than
13 years with Cerner Corporation in various executive
positions and retired as its CEO in 2007. During his
tenure, he helped build the company into a market leader
in healthcare information technology with more than
$1.5 billion in annual revenue.
Paul also spent 12 years with IBM Corporation in a
variety of leadership positions in sales, product
marketing, and professional services. He has served on
the boards of several private companies and nonprofit
organizations involved in healthcare information
technology, healthcare services, and consumer Internet
marketing.
He is currently the immediate past chairman and an
officer of Truman Medical Centers, a 400-bed safety net
academic hospital in Kansas City, MO. Paul holds a
Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University
and a Master of Business Administration degree from the
University of Iowa.
Committed to Client Success
Allscripts is the original open, connected health
platform. Thousands of the top hospitals, health systems,
physician’s practices, and healthcare facilities use the
company’s EHR, financial management, and population
health management solutions.
As a true healthcare IT innovator, Allscripts introduced
the concept of an open platform connecting all points of
the care community over a decade ago in 2007. The
organization provides advanced, reliable, client-focused
solutions that enable smarter care to be delivered with
greater precision. This makes for healthier patients,
populations, and communities.
Ÿ The organization contributes to its clients’ success by:
Strengthening their IT foundation through the most
comprehensive and user-friendly clinical and
financial solutions available today.
Ÿ Providing insights and innovations so they can meet
the operational, regulatory and quality demands of

“
“
Allscripts tools facilitate real-time analysis
and action. Our solutions enable healthcare
organizations to analyze and act – right at
the point of care – to empower change,
improve health, and reduce costs.
today’s - and tomorrow’s - healthcare environment.
Ÿ Connecting everyone across the healthcare
community through open and interoperable solutions
that empower communication, collaboration, and
coordination for better outcomes.
Ÿ Innovating to improve the practice of medicine and
the process of care delivery.
Superior Patient Engagement
Allscripts believes that healthcare doesn’t begin and end
with just providers and patients, and it is the only
company that brings all healthcare stakeholders together.
By collaborating with payers, health plans and programs,
pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, and
employers, Allscripts has gained a wider view of the care
process. It uses that perspective to create innovative tools
that lower costs and improve care.
Allscripts offers the industry’s only vendor-agnostic
patient engagement platform. With the advantage of
open access across the care community, providers can
communicate effectively and engage patients directly,
creating game-changing improvements in patient
outcomes and operational performance.
Allscripts believes that the patient is at the center of
everything it does. Modern healthcare consumers
understand the benefits of engagement, and they expect
to be active participants in their own care. The
organization partners with providers to deliver an
improved patient experience where individuals have a
greater say in the treatment they receive.
With Allscripts, healthcare organizations have at their
disposal the critical tools required for ongoing
communication, effective education, and regular
interaction with patients. These tools make it easy for
caregivers to engage and quickly respond to consumers
while also offering them full, immediate access to their
healthcare information.
Evolving and Overcoming Challenges
When Allscripts was founded in 1986, its primary
business was repackaging medication for point-of-care
distribution. In the 1990s, Allscripts started transforming
the doctor’s office with comprehensive practice
management and electronic health record (EHR)
solutions.
To address fragmented care delivery, Allscripts merged
with acute-solution leader, Eclipsys in 2010. In 2013,
Allscripts took several significant steps to solidify and
advance its population health management solutions.
This included the acquisition of dbMotion, a leading
supplier of community health solutions, and of Jardogs,
the developer of FollowMyHealth, a patient engagement
solutions provider.
Looking to the future of healthcare, Allscripts launched a
wholly-owned subsidiary, 2bPrecise, a genomic and
precision medicine platform, in 2016. In October 2017,
the company acquired Enterprise Information Solutions
(EIS), the McKesson Corporation’s hospital and health
system IT arm.

“We offer the industry's only vendor-agnostic patient
engagement platform. With open access across the care
community, providers can communicate effectively and
engage patients directly, creating game-changing
improvements in patient outcomes and operational
performance.
This transaction significantly expanded their client base
in U.S. hospitals and health systems, and diversified its
solutions portfolio.
Today, Allscripts is a team of more than 7,000 devoted to
fulling the needs of providers today and creating the
health IT architecture of tomorrow.
The healthcare IT industry is extremely competitive and
Allscripts distinguishes itself by creating tools that
facilitate real-time analysis and action. Its solutions
enable healthcare organizations to analyze and act – right
at the point of care – to empower change, improve
health, and reduce costs.
In addition, the company addresses virtually every aspect
of population health. Allscripts provides a
comprehensive population health platform, brings
together care coordination, and promotes patient
engagement, connectivity, data aggregation, and
analytics at the point of care.
The Future Roadmap
Allscripts acknowledges that it is becoming increasingly
difficult to retrofit EHRs to take full advantage of new
innovations such as the Cloud, artificial intelligence, and
mobility. The organization believes that machine
learning will be a critical element in the evolution of
EHRs.
Allscripts built its latest EHR from the ground-up using
human-centered design. This platform is set to transform
the way physicians experience and interact with
technology, as well as improve provider wellness.
Machine learning capabilities incorporated into the
system identify client treatment patterns. It can
pre-populate information based on these patterns and
deliver preference reminders. By constantly tracking
user, organization, and region trends, it creates
opportunities for more efficiency.
The power of artificial intelligence reveals information
relevant to a patient-provider encounter in real time, and
this helps improve the quality and speed of interaction
with the patient. Ultimately, this reduces the amount of
time spent on documentation, helping address the
problems of “EHR fatigue” and physician burnout.
Allscripts is incorporating EHR-agnostic, precision
medicine, and genomic capabilities within providers’
workflows. This will help capture and store genomic data
from a range of sources, harmonize clinical knowledge
and genomic research to identify relevant information,
and then push the resulting insights to the point of care to
better determine the most effective regimen for the
patient.
Allscripts receiving an award from Black Book Research
“

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CORPORATE OFFICE

Management BriefCompany Name
Aktrea
aktrea.com
Vetri Selvan
Manager & Team Lead,
Lokesh Dhanasekaran
Engineering, Head of Operations,
Dinesh Kumar
Head of Customer Relationships
Aktrea helps make corporate learning fun. It create an
empowered workforce by improving employee learning &
engagement and making them agents of change.
Allgress
allgress.com
Jeff Kushner
CMO
Allgress is a global provider of automated next-generation integrated
Compliance, IT Security and Risk Management Solutions to effectively
and efficiently manage the business risk of their organization
and partners.
Allscripts
allscripts.com
Paul Black
CEO & Board Member
Allscripts is leading the healthcare IT movement into the
value-enabled world of tomorrow.
AppZen
appzen.com
Anant Kale
CEO
AppZen’s patented AI examines expense reports, finds red flags,
and ultimately helps clients rediscover up to 5% of their T&E
spend while finding 10x more issues than manual reviews.
Blue J Legal makes Tax Foresight and Employment Foresight.
Its software analyzes data drawn from common law cases to
help you conduct better, smarter, more efficient research.
Blue Whale Apps develops professional mobile iOS apps
for businesses.
Brunswick is a market leader in the marine, fitness and
billiards industries.
Cloudwords is an American software company based in San
Francisco, California, specializing in Software-as-a-Service
technology.
CoreAxis is a provider of learning services to clients across
industries on a global-scale.
Auxenta
auxenta.com
Prasath Nanayakkara
Chairman and CEO
Auxenta Inc. is an innovative software engineering services &
technology product consulting company.
Blue J Legal
bluejlegal.com
Ben Alarie
CEO
Blue Whale Apps
bluewhaleapps.com
Pathik Jayani
CEO
BRUNSWICK
CORPORATION
brunswick.com
Mark Schwabero
Chairman & CEO
Cloudwords
cloudwords.com
Michael Meinhardt
Founder & CEO
CoreAxis
coreaxis.com
Mark Zides
President & Founder

CoreDial
alvopetro.com
Corey C. Ruttan
President & CEO
CoreDial provides white label communication services to help
their partners successfully sell, deliver & manage
cloud communications.
Databricks
databricks.com
Ali Ghodsi
CO-founder & CEO
Databricks provides a Unified Analytics Platform that accelerates
innovation by unifying data science, engineering and business.
Diversified
diversifiedus.com
Fred D’Alessandro
Founder & CEO
Diversified was formed in 1993 as a full-service systems and
media technology integration company, originally addressing
the technical needs of the broadcast, audio-visual, IT and RF
market segments.
Ensygnia Ltd
ensygnia.com
Richard H. Harris
Founder & CEO
Ensygnia Ltd is leading company prominently providing secure
online transaction process.
Kaaspro has a vision of harnessing technology to build and
synthesize economical, cloud based IT and ITES products and
solutions, to address the challenges faced in Healthcare
and Education.
MES, Inc. is a full-service provider of global manufacturing and
supply chain management services.
MHG Systems Ltd is a pioneer in management solutions for
forestry and bioenergy supply chain and logistics.
Natterbox enables organizations to deliver class-leading service
levels to their customers through efficient and effective
integration of voice into their digital customer communications.
Optimist Technologies offers agentless access control,
protection from malware, phishing & ransomware and
vulnerability assessments.
Extreme Networks
extremenetworks.com
Ed Meyercord
President & CEO
Extreme Networks (EXTR) delivers customer-driven enterprise
networking solutions that create stronger connections with
customers, partners, and employees.
Kaaspro Enterprises
kaaspro.com
Kumar Subramaniam
Founder & CEO
MES
mesinc.net
Hiten Shah
President & CEO
MHG Systems
mhgsystems.com
Seppo Huurinainen
CEO & Founder
Natterbox Limited
natterbox.com
Neil Hammerton
CEO & Co-founder
Optimist Technologies
netshieldcorp.com
Ed Wall
CEO

PACK’D
packd.co.uk
Luke Johnstone
Co-founder
PACK’D is rapidly growing startup that started with Frozen
Smoothie Kits, the ultimate shortcut to a homemade smoothie –
in under a minute.
Procurify
procurify.com
Aman Mann
CO-founder & CEO
Procurify is helping organizations from around the world understand
their spend cultures to get the most out of spend, so that they can
understand the why behind each spend decision.
SOMADETECT
somadetect.com
Bethany
Deshpande
CEO
SomaDetect measures every critical indicator of dairy quality
(fat, protein, somatic cell counts, progesterone) from every cow
at every milking.
SPARK COMPASS
sparkcompass.com
Erik Bjontegard
Founder
SPARK COMPASS has developed a fully integrated,
contextually intelligent mobile communications platform.
Strategic Micro Systems provides managed network support
services, technology equipment sales, and Web development.
TechR2 is a leading IT security solutions company with a
portfolio of data eradication solutions, sound experience,
industry best practices, and resources to support you.
Vox, is an American telecommunications company which offers
wireless products and services.
XTIVIA innovates, integrates, implements and creates
customized quality technology solutions for B2B enterprises
across industries.
Zappi is a market research automation platform that helps
global brands make better decisions to drive business growth,
shape product development, and enhance their advertising and
branding efforts.
STORBYTE
storbyte.com
Steve Groenke
CEO
Storbyte designs and manufactures a family of all-flash &
hybrid flash enterprise storage arrays, spinning disk storage
systems, JBods, JBofs and GP/GPU storage servers.
Strategic Micro Systems
stmicro.net
Ted Passalacqua
President & Founder
TechR2
techr2.com
Sepehr Rajaie
President & CEO
Vox
verizonwireless.com
Lowell C. McAdam
CEO
XTIVIA
xtivia.com
Dennis Robinson
CEO
ZappiStore
zappistore.com
Steve Phillips
Founder & CEO

You are the front lines
of health care.
We’ll be your wings

Our solutions blend learning,
engagement and technology.
Aktrea:
Transforming the World of Education through Gamification,
Simulations and Social Networks
Engagement has evolved into a substantial aspect of
learning, now more than ever, as can be seen by the
increasing interest of people towards game-based
learning. Millennials are entering the workplace at a swift
rate and are expected to comprise a significant part of the
workforce by 2020. To cater to the needs of the millennial
audience, organizations are deploying training programs
that are engaging, on-demand and digital. This has led to a
huge growth in innovative corporate training. Meanwhile,
organizations are trying to tackle the growing challenges of
skills-capability gaps. Capacity building is a common
theme across corporate management, governments,
regulators and the social sector and there is an increasing
expectation that new
companies will step
up and generate
scalable digital tools
to address these
challenges.
Powered with a
mission to create a
knowledgeable and
empowered
workforce, Aktrea was founded in 2009 at the heart of the
global financial crisis to help customers improve their
practices and processes around the world. The company’s
aim is to change the way professionals learn and share
knowledge around the world. Aktrea’s expertise spans
various areas, including finance & markets, sustainability,
compliance, design thinking, and diversity, creating
programmes using gamification, simulations, and social
learning. The company is headlining the usage of digital
tools to create learning communities whose members can
share knowledge and solve problems.
An Inception Tale & Professional Team
Since the inception of the company, the team at Aktrea has
placed customers at the center of all its work and Aktrea’s
Gamechangers have worked together to create magic - in
cross-functional teams with various areas of expertise. The
key to this is that everyone is aware of the bigger picture of
the project and contributes across the board, rather than
only focusing on their roles as individuals. Being one of the
pioneers to adapt online games for corporate learning, these
experts communicate, collaborate and work together to
deliver value for customers.
Aktrea’s four divisions - Operations, Customer,
Engineering and Innovation lab – work through its product
cycle which revolves around the customer. Each department
- design and delivery - hands over seamlessly to the next.
Diving more into the
working of the
company, the
Operations team
comprises of design,
creation and delivery
teams. The Customer
team comprises of
marketing and sales
professionals. The
Engineering team has design, development, and quality
assurance teams. Finally, the Innovation lab comprises of
data and analytics experts and engineers who are building
artificial intelligence into learning and simulating real-life
experiences across industries.
The Magical Gamechangers of Aktrea
Dinesh Kumar, Head of Customer Relationships,
Lokesh Dhanasekaram, Head of Operations and Vetri
Selvan, Manager & Team Lead in Engineering, are the
trailblazers of the company. Together, they focus on
sustainable learning & problem-solving tools. These tools
help corporates and inter-governmental organizations and
other entities involved in sustainability, strategy, products
and day to day work. Further, the company’s social learning
August 2018|22

Dinesh Kumar
Head of Customer
Relationships
Lokesh Dhanasekaran
Head of
Operations
Vetri Selvan
Manager & Team Lead,
Engineering
platform can help connect people and teams that are
geographically spread to share stories, engage in activities
together and collaborate using design thinking.
Addressing Challenges through Innovative Strategies
CEOs around the world face challenges in engaging their
employees during their journey with the company, and
keeping employee skill levels current. Aktrea worked with
senior leaders to get their people to be engaged, attend,
actively participate and follow through their learning
journey.
When an organization is global or geographically spread, it
increases the difficulty of providing consistent training
because of geographic limitations, increased costs and
language barriers across borders. Aktrea addressed these
challenges by delivering consistent training across the
globe.
Measuring training effectiveness and evaluating how an
employee is paying back the learning to the organization
were other challenges that Aktrea helped solve. The
company faced difficulties in figuring out which metrics to
use, how to get data, when to intervene, and how to ensure
future training was consistent with company values and
employee needs. Traditional training methods need not
work with the current audience and constantly evolving
workplace and business dynamics. Leaders believe that the
present and coming generations are technologically
proficient, but have lower attention spans and need training
tools that engage them. How an organization can provide
training that spans multiple generations is another important
challenge faced by the industry.
To overcome these challenges, Aktrea worked on the latest
technologies and innovative techniques. Today, rather than
being just a training organization, it works as a partner
through each customer’s journey and not just as a vendor
or service provider. It also works closely with leaders such
as the CEO and the heads of HR, Sales, Operations and
Businesses and designs learning programs with high ROI.
In addition, Aktrea helps organizations address the need for
rapid development and roll-out of content and training to a
large audience.
Unfolding the Future Techniques
“Our vision is to change the way people engage and learn
in this digital world.” asserts Dinesh.
Aktrea is striving to be professionally the best in the world,
and also creating leaders for the future. Some innovative
releases by the end of 2018 include an intelligent authoring
tool which can help anyone create a gamified online
learning module in minutes using existing content, and a
unique design thinking simulator that helps teams to work
together virtually across locations and solve customer,
process and work-related challenges.
|August 2018 23

S
ince the inception of the company in 2008, Allgress,
Inc. has been a leading global technology company
that provides integrated business risk management
solutions to manage compliance, IT security and third-party
vendor risk effectively. Allgress helps enterprise security,
compliance and risk management professionals to automate
the process of assessing, understanding and managing
corporate risk in a single comprehensive platform.
The Allgress Insight Risk Management Suite (IRMS)
provides the ability for organizations to manage their
business risk posture to align with top business priorities for
effective investment decisions and use of resources. The
suite allows operational efficiency in complying with
regulations, policies, partner requirements in less time and
with reduced complexity then manual methods or other
solutions. Allgress empowers stakeholders to analyze and
address business risks with the least amount of complexity,
time and cost.
Empowered with Unified Compliance and Risk
Management
The IRMS is an integrated modular risk management
platform that is comprised of services that automate the
data collection, assessment, workflow, reporting, exception
and incident management process. It also correlates relevant
data across regulations, assets, policies, controls, processes
and business elements of their organization and partners to
clearly identify potential business risk. The modular
architecture of IRMS allows its customers to deploy
functionality in order to meet their specific use-cases when
they need it and expand the solution easily over time
without any retraining.
Allgress’ patented visualization and reporting engine
provides an immediate, intuitive & easily understood view
of organization’s business risk, information security and
third-party risk posture by every stakeholder and executive
management. This enables stakeholders to visually see their
risk posture from a business perspective for immediate
prioritization and remediation.
Helping Prospects Buy IT Management Solutions
Jeff Kushner leads marketing at Allgress as the Chief
Marketing Officer (CMO) and has been with the company
since July 2012. As CMO, he is responsible for the global
marketing strategy, branding, positioning and market
communications. Jeff brings over 30 years of experience in
a variety of leadership roles in technology marketing and
business development. Before Allgress, Jeff has held
positions that increased revenue and market penetration
with market leaders including BindView (now Symantec),
BMC Software, Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) and
consulting to many organizations. His efforts have been
instrumental in advancing the development and adoption of
application, compliance and risk management.
The Overwhelming Task of Identifying Compliance and
Risk Management Solutions
Today, many companies are facing the challenges
associated with the uncoordinated siloed approach of risk
management. A abundance of IT management solutions
claim to manage risk and compliance but only address a
fraction of what a comprehensive integrated risk
management solution should provide. Then there is the
tedious task of figuring out which components you must
purchase and the resources and time to implement a
solution.
To overcome this, Allgress delivers a focused innovative
modular integrated risk management solution that grows
with your business to provide quicker time-to-value while
simplifying the complexity and cost that is usually
associated with business risk management. They offer a
platform focused on managing risk for compliance, risk and
security professionals to identify and prioritize business
Allgress:
Protecting Enterprises through Compliance and Business Risk Management
August 2018|24

We enable enterprise risk,
security, and compliance
professionals to efciently
manage their business
risk posture.
risk. The organizations along with its business partners can
continually assess and validate the effectiveness of their risk
& compliance program for continuous improvement.
Achieving Risk and Compliance Management in the
Cloud
Allgress was the first solution provider to introduce a
continuous monitoring solution to comply with regulations
in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud using their API
and solutions in AWS Marketplace with a offering called
RPM, (Regulatory Product Mapping). RPM is designed for
customers with AWS environments who want to reduce the
complexity, increase the speed, and shorten the timeframe
of achieving compliance with minimal human involvement.
RPM for AWS helps security and risk professionals assess,
understand, and manage corporate risk by analyzing
controls against the requirements of common security and
compliance frameworks. Allgress RPM allows customers to
map their regulatory frameworks including but not limited
to ISO, NIST, HIPPA, CJIS, FISMA and PCI-DSS.
Allgress recently introduced ComplianceVision that builds
on RPM leveraging the Allgress mature IRMS Suite, which
extends mapping controls to frameworks to comprehensive
automated assessment for compliance and risk oversight.
The solution can be further expanded with the IRMS suite
to address more encompassing functions like
comprehensive policy, incident, exception, third-party
vendor management risk analysis and advanced reporting.
Future Expansion
Allgress is always expanding innovation by interacting with
customers and participating with industry organizations and
business partners to understanding their continuing
challenges to manage business risk. That input contributed
to many recent updates extending already encompassing
functionality including a portal for every user to customize
their experience to achieve specific risk and compliance
management goals. Other new functionality consists of an
enhanced user interface and streamlined workflow, risk
exception management, smart surveys for vendor
management, updated and new standards content and more
out-of-the-box visual reporting.
Jeff Kushner
CMO
|August 2018 25

Be Smart – or Vanish
Why Utilities need to actively
develop smart Micro-Grids
The energy market is changing
rapidly. This is true not only
for the USA and Europe but
on a global level. Possibly the most
important change is the one towards
more decentralized systems. This is
challenging the utility industry.
Utilities historically have developed
by integrating small microgrids
which grew around mills and other
small-scale generators (today we
would say prosumers). This is why
utilities developed along the entire
value chain: They integrated these
micro distribution grids in a more
stable larger (Transport) grid and
replaced decentralized generation by
more cost-efficient central power
plants. This highly efficient
centralized system was allowing
industrial development as we know
it. At its time it was possibly the only
way to serve large, strongly energy
depending production like steel,
paper or the upcoming chemical
industry. The centralized energy
system did not result from an
oligopolistic market, but the industry
structure derived from an efficient
technical design.
There are several reasons why this
formerly beneficiary system is
challenged today. Not all apply in all
markets but some of them do, so
decentralization of energy markets is
a global trend. Specifically, in most
industrial markets the new energy
regime is driven by politics favoring
small scale, decentral renewable
generation. Subsidies on renewables
devalue existing large thermic power
plants. Even large-scale hydropower
plants do not easily pass strict
environmental and social feasibility
analysis. But independent of any
political setting there is another more
fundamental reason for the growing
competitiveness of a decentralized
energy design. While the first phase
of industrial development is known
for its industrial clusters (often
grown close to energy sources like
coal or water) which shaped many
geographic areas for more than a
century, later phases are much more
dynamic and do less depend on
geographic proximity. Within a
dynamic industry setting where
businesses are set up and closed or
moved somewhere else on a regular
basis a static centralized
infrastructure loses competitiveness.
In many emerging markets this
dynamism as well expands towards
those areas which are today not
connected to the central grid but offer
inexpensive land or new agricultural
products which can be sold abroad at
high prices. Finally, the political will
and the industrial demand for
decentralized systems today
encounter renewable generation even
at small size at competitive costs
compared to large size thermic power
plant. For the most prominent
renewable technology photovoltaic in
the North (with less radiation) this
competitiveness is given only as grid
parity, meaning central generation
plus transport is as expensive as
photovoltaic on site. In the Southern
hemisphere photovoltaic is already a
competitive source empowering
decentralized energy infrastructure.
While decentralized generation has
caught up with centralized generation
plants, distribution systems with a
large portion of decentralized
renewable generation capacity are
often inefficient. There are basically
four reasons for this inefficiency: (1)
Missing price mechanism supporting
grid operations, (2) high costs to
operate such a system stable, (3)
large amount of excess energy
(exported or not being used at all)
and (4) sub-utilized interface
between microgrid and its feeder
system. These are basically the same
reasons that in the last century
supported the centralization of the
grid system. What is needed is an
intelligent or smart decentralized
distribution system.
An intelligent distribution system
with mainly decentralized generation
requires more than smart meters and
it is different from today popular so
August 2018|26
Insider’s Viewpoint

Dr. Karl Kolmsee the CEO of Smart Hydro Power, studied agricultural and
philosophy at the universities of Hamburg and Goettingen, Germany. After his PhD he has
spent most of his professional career in the energy business – ﬁrst as consultant at A.T.
Kearney later as manager at E.ON, Europe’s largest private utility, and member of the board
at Schmack biogas, one of the pioneers of the biogas market in Europe. In 2009 Karl
Kolmsee has been nominated professor for energy management at Applied University of
Kufstein, Austria. His main areas of academic work are international energy markets and
renewable energy. In 2010 he founded Smart Hydro Power to focus on design and
commercialization of kinetic pico hydro power systems with main focus on rural
electriﬁcation for emerging markets like India, Latin America and Eastern Africa. Today Smart
Hydro Power offers complete solutions for off grid solutions and micro grids.
About the Author
|August 2018 27

called smart home or home storage solutions. These offer
photovoltaic, battery and basic load management for the
individual household. Some providers of home storage
solutions integrate customers in a community model to
allow exchange of autogenerated electricity. But these
communities are barely more than contract partners
within a fixed price net metering model. Individual home
solutions – even within sales-and-purchase communities
– do not solve any inefficiency issues decentralization
faces. These systems are either completely self-sufficient
– in this case they are expensive – or they rely on central
grid services like a parasite of its host. Sustainable
decentralization requires an intelligent control and
steering mechanism between the households which build
a microgrid.
While there are possibly different steering mechanisms,
establishing a local market with the price as variable that
guides demand and supply according to the aggregated
demand function and the aggregated cost functions
seems promising. Technically this does require a
dynamic forecasting and load management (at least for
major loads which are used in a price-sensitive manner).
At first glance a market model would solve the four
major issues shown above. It would set a price for
photovoltaic and battery storage which would control
demand and thereby reduce necessary installed reserve
storage and generation capacity. This mechanism would
as well be consistent with the functioning of the feeder
grid and could therefore supply itself services to this grid
which would be valued with the same “currency”.
Technically this steering mechanism might be
completely decentralized based on individual processors
in each household like the blockchain technology (once
necessary processing capacity comes down to acceptable
limits) or it might work between a central unit and
individual processors. In either way it steers the local
market place towards an efficient optimum given
generation, demand and battery storage capacity at a
defined point in time.
Micro grids do open (within a given legal framework) a
possibility for traditional utilities to re-define their role
using some of their traditional strengths. But new
entrants can equally well enter this space and perform
wherever the incumbent does not adapt. This gives room
to numerous co-operations between new entrants or
between new companies and the incumbent offering their
services or developing new business models along the
value chain. Incumbent utilities may be smart – or
vanish.
August 2018|28

www.eogresources.com
EOG focuses on rate of return to
create superior shareholder value
EOG Resources, Inc. is one of the largest independent (non-integrated) crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States
with proved reserves in the United States, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China. EOG Resources, Inc. is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol “EOG.”

AppZen:Combining Computer Vision, Deep Learning,
and Natural Language Processing
Despite the tremendous pace
at which technology has
surged into virtually every
aspect of our daily lives, certain areas
seem to be perpetually ignored and
overlooked. Up till very recently, the
enterprise back office domain seemed
to have been relegated to that
category.
But not anymore. AppZen is here.
AppZen is a company that has
developed the world’s first back
office automation solution driven by
artificial intelligence (AI).
This breakthrough technology
incorporates computer vision, deep
learning, and natural language
processing to automatically detect
both accidental errors and deliberate
fraud. The speed and accuracy with
which the platform performs means
that companies can now achieve real-
time compliance with FCPA
regulations, IRS rules, and their
internal policies.
With AppZen, every expense report,
invoice, and contract can be verified
in seconds. Red flags trigger alerts
which are delivered to designated
personnel for further action. AppZen
also automates expense report
creation, compliance, and audit.
In addition, the solution
automatically audits and assigns risk
scores to every expense, protecting
the company from expense misuse
and regulatory non-compliance.
This approach helps clients
rediscover up to 5% of their T&E
spend while finding ten times as
many issues as manual assessments.
Complementary Leadership
AppZen was co-founded in 2012 by
Anant Kale, who is its CEO and
Kunal Verma, who performs the
role of CTO. Their collaboration on
AppZen is simply another part of a
decades-old friendship.
Anant has spent over 15 years
developing complex software and he
previously served as the VP of
Applications at Fujitsu. He is
responsible for product vision and
the execution of the company’s
mission.
Kunal previously worked as a
Research Lead at Accenture Tech
Labs. He has led global R&D
engineering teams in developing
tools that are currently used by
hundreds of Fortune 500 companies.
At AppZen, he is responsible for
product development and
engineering, technology architecture,
and developing the IP for AppZen’s
AI technologies.
Kunal earned his Ph.D. in Computer
Science with a focus on semantic
technologies. This background and
expertise is the basis of AppZen’s
unique technology stack and robust
AI system.
Under Anant and Kunal’s stellar
leadership, AppZen is witnessing
phenomenal growth. In 2018 alone, it
has quadrupled its customer base to
290+ medium-sized and large
brands, including several Fortune
500 name.
The company’s client list features
some of the world’s most
recognizable names - Amazon, Citi,
Comcast, Intuit, Salesforce, DHL,
Hitachi, Airbus, Orange, Intuitive
Surgical, FireEye, Arthur J
Gallagher, Zimmer Biomet, and
Mortenson.
The AppZen Difference
The days when every item on every
receipt had to be cross-checked
against dozens of vendors and
databases is now over. Depending on
the number of employees, this
process could take weeks or months.
AppZen’s platform is designed to
drastically reduce the reliance on
manual processing of expenses,
which are a significant drain on
resources and still prone to error and
August 2018|30

We provide the
world's #1 expense
report audit solution.
fraud. It runs every expense report through a verified
series of checks in seconds and produces real-time
expense report audits.
Artificial intelligence transforms the sheer volume of
information from a liability to an asset, learning and
comparing at a rate and at a level not possible with a
human auditor. Potentially erroneous or fraudulent
expenses that would never be flagged through manual
checks have nowhere to hide.
Previously, time and resource limitations meant that
companies could only really verify between 10 and 20
percent of their total expenses. AppZen takes that figure
straight to 100%. It creates a system where a single-day
review and payment cycle is possible despite needing
only a tenth of the human workforce required before.
The amazing utility of AppZen’s platform and the
peerless capacity it has demonstrated in revolutionizing
the way businesses deal with expenses has not gone
unnoticed.
The company secured $3 million in funding in 2016, and
an additional $13 million at Series A in November 2017.
In 2017, the company was recognized as The Best AI
Startup and IOFM Game Changer. This was followed up
this year with the TiEInflect Award for Most Innovative
Startup and Bezinga Award for Best in Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning Solution.
Future Zen
AppZen is fortifying its reach and efficacy by building
robust partnerships with major expense platforms like
SAP Concur, Oracle, and Coupa. It is also teaching its AI
to read Mandarin so it can fully integrate into the
Chinese market where English is not widely used or
understood.
An unexpected challenge has been thrown up by how
effective AppZen is at detecting anomalies - the
uncertainty of follow-up when fraud is detected. Because
many firms were unable to identify such occurrences in
the past, they struggle to deal with the discovered
misconduct.
AppZen is continually improving and streamlining its
platform to align with the varying and evolving needs of
its growing number of clients. As the AI component
learns and becomes increasingly self-sufficient, the
company expects its customers to be able to devote their
human resources to more productive endeavors.
“
“
Anant Kale
CEO
|August 2018 31

On the path of conquering the challenges entailing
the opportunities to rapidly adapt to and evolve
technologies such as machine learning and AI, is
Auxenta Inc. The company invests into unique frameworks,
so that it can directly contribute to the accelerated go-to-
market while reducing Total Cost of Ownership.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, Auxenta is an
innovative software engineering services and technology
product consulting company. It works with enterprises,
independent software vendors (ISVs), startups and non-
proﬁt organizations. The ethos of the company is to enable
digital transformation by leveraging a focused set of service
oﬀerings.
The company’s global clients are distributed into multiple
industry verticals including Telco, Financial Services,
Logistics, Security, Capital Markets, Apparel and
Manufacturing. It believes in a core set of values which is
an intrinsic part of each of their team members.
The Technopreneur
Prasath Nanayakkara is the Chairman and CEO at
Auxenta. He has extensive experience in delivering and
managing global organizational transformations through
technology. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in
Electrical Engineering at MIT, Prasath did his MBA at
INSEAD, France. He started his career in the USA, where
he worked as a Senior Consultant at Cambridge Technology
Partners and Kenan Systems.
Prior to founding the Silicon Valley startup, he was the
former Head of Project Delivery at Virtusa, Sri Lanka. He
founded Auxenta with Shahani Markus, a global technology
executive and entrepreneur, back in 2013. Subsequently,
two other co-founders, Chandana Ranasinghe and Nuwan
Dehigaspitiya, joined Auxenta. With Prasath’s consulting
and management experience of over 20 years, he, along
with the rest of the leadership team, successfully propelled
Auxenta into a sought-after technology partner for many
large global corporations.
Accelerating Strategic Processes
The conventional methods of managing workforces have
ceased to function. The companies are reinventing ways and
means of improving engagement across these groups. In
other words, the IT services have become highly
Auxenta:An Unparalleled Expertise
Driving Innovation
Our ethos is to enable
digital transformation
by leveraging a
focused set of
service offerings.
August 2018|32

commoditized and the companies in this space must
constantly innovate and reinvent their key differentiators.
Even the access to talent is becoming harder with the
increase in demand of skilled and qualified talent. In
addition, it is imperative to broaden a company’s spectrum
of technologies to arrive at creative client solutions.
In sequence to overcome the situation, Auxenta invented
frameworks, reusable assets and accelerators to constantly
gain a strategic edge over its competition. It also uses its
widespread geographic coverage as part of a radiation
strategy covering all key countries globally with targeted
sales presence. The company achieves this with the help of
a strong leadership team which has many years of
experience in delivery, client services, and sales formerly
representing large established product and services
companies. Client solutions are further enhanced by the
influential C-level advisory panel representing companies
such as Google and Shutterfly. Auxenta also provides
rigorous internal training and development through
established certifications within all key technology areas.
Auxenta’s healthy internal competition and gamification
encourages their employees to voluntarily reach their fullest
potential.
A Glorious Voyage
During the first few years of its journey, Auxenta has been
focusing on creating a platform of successful client
references across multiple industry verticals and technology
areas while building reusable IP. At this point in time, the
company has been recognized through numerous awards
which include the Best Startup of the Year in 2016 by the
Computer Society of Sri Lanka.
Auxenta has also received key client accolades such as the
Innovation Award at the Fleet Transport Awards in Dublin,
Ireland. The company has also formed partnerships in the
areas of Cloud, CRM and testing that can propel the
company more and enable it to gain an upper hand in
acquiring large enterprise clients for the future.
Auxenta recently hosted Professor Soumitra Dutta, the
author of the Global Innovation Index. His visit was
centered around an inaugural Innovation Conference
organized in partnership with the Sri Lanka Association of
Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM).
The company offers state-of-the-art software engineering,
cloud services, cross platform mobile app development and
digital transformation expertise to its clients, while
maintaining a pristine focus on cutting edge QA services.
Auxenta’s services enable their clients to focus on their
creative insights and business goals while the company
manages their innovation initiatives with a high degree of
creativity.
Envisioning the Future
Auxenta’s goal is to come up with cutting edge innovative
products and services to the market by incubating them
within Auxenta Innovation Labs. A good example of a
rapidly growing disruptively innovative product is
MillionSpaces, an output of Auxenta Innovation Labs.
Based on the success of its launch in Sri Lanka, Auxenta
plans to take the product global starting with Singapore.
They also plan to become a key contributor to academia by
influencing curriculum in trending technology areas.
Moreover, the company is nurturing and proving internal
talent through best-in-class customer solutions and
significantly investing into its training and development. It
is also generating innovative IP in the areas of Cloud,
CRM, machine learning and testing.
Team Auxenta with Global Innovation Index Founder, Professor Soumitra Dutta
|August 2018 33

The world’s travel platform
Our Partners:

www.expediagroup.com
Bringing the world within reach

CoreAxis:
A Corporate Training and Leadership Firm
CoreAxis Consulting, LLC
(CoreAxis) is a leading
provider of outsourced training
and eLearning solutions for Fortune
500 companies. Its team of
experienced learning consultants,
instructional designers, HR
professionals, e-learnings/content
developers, and training facilitators
averages over 15 years of experience.
CoreAxis partners with its clients to
develop and deliver high impact
learning solutions that are custom-
designed to deliver engaging learning
experiences. These experiences are tied
to solid learning objectives which
maximize employee retention and
promote the practical application of
knowledge and skills.
Struggles at the Beginning
CoreAxis has been very fortunate
through the growth of its industry and
company. Its clients are what drive its
passion for success. Its consulting and
delivery team continue to push the
envelope, as it relates to delivering
just-in-time solutions for its clients.
The primary goal has always been to
serve as a trusted advisor for its clients.
As part of its offerings, CoreAxis
builds upon transformational initiatives
and programs to deliver impactful
training and development solutions.
Throughout the past 18+ years,
CoreAxis has seen significant success,
even when the market was not ready
for innovation and scale. When the
economy struggled in 2009, CoreAxis
adapted its business to meet many of
its clients’ needs as they were
retracting their workforce. That
adaptation allowed CoreAxis to work
with its clients on the reskilling of
talent and knowledge management.
That was a challenging time in its
journey but through its agile business
model, CoreAxis was able to thrive.
An Experienced Leader
Mark Zides, President and Founder
of the company, is a strategic growth
leader with over 20 years of experience
in optimizing businesses and inspiring
individuals. In the past two decades,
Mark has transformed CoreAxis
Consulting into a premier management
consulting firm focused on talent,
leadership, and training in the global
marketplace. His entrepreneurial
foundation and unique ability to
provide insight, innovation, and
experience has enabled him to
implement best-in-class solutions
developing top talent and elevate
organizational effectiveness. Mark’s
business knowledge, expertise, and
strong network bring value to a vast
group of companies and leaders in the
industry.
Strategies to Tackle Competitors
CoreAxis is successful in exceeding
the needs of its clients through the
managed services approach and a
virtual operational model. Its
competitive edge is rooted in its
commitment to be agile, efficient, and
impactful in every engagement
including custom eLearning
development, leadership development,
rapid content conversion, or staff
augmentation. This model allows
CoreAxis to sustain its work within
large organizations and continue to
build upon its strong collaboration
within these companies.
Contribution in the Industry
There is incredible fragmentation in
the Learning & Development
marketplace. Many companies cannot
offer a managed services solution for
their clients and that makes it a
challenge for companies to manage
several vendors where they can receive
incredible, cost effective consulting
from a company like CoreAxis.
Additionally, from a delivery aspect,
appealing to a multi-generational
audience is a challenge as well. With
the workforce comprised of Baby
Boomers to millennials there are many
effective methods to deliver training.
Accounting for multiple backgrounds,
experiences, age groups, etc. corporate
training must be agile and adaptable.
Learning & Development (L&D) top
challenges are tied to demonstrating
August 2018|36

Empower your employees
with best in class learning
and leadership solutions.
Mark Zides
President & Founder
business impact. Learning
professionals must show what they can
deliver to the business. The tangible
benefits of L&D innovation and
technology transformation can be
difficult to quantify but it’s about
staying relevant and ensuring
organizations are equipped to succeed
in the modern business world.
CoreAxis approaches each engagement
with the goal of helping our clients
meet their business objectives.
Furthermore, the CoreAxis team
believes that the L&D learning
community should strive to become
strategic business partners contributing
significantly to, and aligned with, the
business outcomes of clients. They
must not get left behind by the rate of
technology change and should rely on
their own knowledge of technology
and products, not just defer to IT,
becoming more fluent in the language
of digital and technology.
Looking to the Future
CoreAxis continues to innovate and
build impactful solutions for its clients
and continues to expand its client base
through delivering custom solutions.
Ahead of the industry curve, CoreAxis
is collaborating with its clients to
provide VR/AR solutions and believes
that large global firms will soon
integrate these technology solutions
into their offerings & culture as a
matter of course. CoreAxis continues
to hire the top talent and consultants in
the marketplace to increase the ‘bench
strength’ of its instructional designers
and content developers, ensuring that
they are highly skilled in the latest
technologies and learning trends. This
allows the company to remain an
innovator when it comes to delivering
custom solutions that include
gamification, virtual training, & micro-
learning. In 2018, CoreAxis saw an
increase in requests for virtual learning
along with more sophisticated
eLearning. This trend has allowed the
company to take the innovative
approach to developing solutions that
can easily be adapted to different
modalities, as the client’s needs evolve.
Finally, the Leadership Development
offerings continue to scale to provide
world-class custom programs for its
clients.
Achievements Earned
CoreAxis has been recognized for
many awards and recognitions
including INC5000 winner, CEO
Award Winner by BPI, one of the 50
Smartest Companies of the Year by
The Silicon Review, and several
awards from Training Industry as a top
provider of Content Development,
Health & Safety, and Training
Outsourcing. CoreAxis’ commitment
to success is important to its associates,
consultants and clients. Its focus and
determination to deliver world-class
solutions, is what drives the CoreAxis
team very day.
|August 2018 37

Diversified:
Addressing the Technical Needs of Multiple Market Segments
Rapid changes in the technology industry represent
the biggest opportunity for today’s business
leaders. The speed at which things are changing
can provide a leg-up on the competition if an entrepreneur
is innovative and stays ahead of the curve.
Diversified is a leading global technology solutions
provider, delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions that
connect today’s leading enterprises to the global
marketplace. Its team of industry experts partners with
clients from diverse markets, helping them to achieve the
highest performance levels, enhance their operations,
increase productivity and drive ROI.
Whether it is about connecting organizations with effective
collaboration, media networks with viewers, fans with the
game, brands with their audience, facilities with peace of
mind, or enterprises with reliable technology infrastructure,
Diversified is a dedicated technology solutions partner
committed to connecting clients with their technology
objectives.
A Deliberate Pioneer
In 1993, Fred D’Alessandro, Founder and CEO of the
company, set out to build a world-class technology
integration firm offering specialized solutions that allow
organizations to communicate more effectively, streamline
workflows, collaborate seamlessly and realize a greater
return on technology investments.
Coming from modest means, D’Alessandro draws
inspiration from the work ethic of his father, whom he
doesn’t recall ever taking a day off. This instilled work
ethic, coupled with a broadcast engineering background and
innate desire to innovate and provide quality service to
others has driven D’Alessandro from the founder of a
startup to the CEO of a 1700-person company with more
than 30 offices worldwide and revenues exceeding $700M.
Hurdles that Jumped-Out
A key challenge for any organization is to find employees
who share a common work ethic, cultural values and desire
to innovate for successful outcomes. Diversified has
maintained a strong team through strategic recruiting,
effective training and acquiring companies with similar
cultures and building a reputation as the best company to
work for with opportunities limited only by ambition and
dedication.
Diversified began as a broadcast integration firm and has
grown into one of the top technology solution providers in
the world. Reaching this point wasn’t easy, but the vision
for a company positioned at the forefront of technology
drove D’Alessandro to take risks and reinvest in the
business to keep up with growing demands.
Around the year 2000, Diversified began to seek
opportunities in AV integration, a new market in which the
team saw a great value for diversifying the company.
Diversified had found a lucrative home in enterprise
broadcast but to be the best, it had to provide more than just
one piece of the puzzle. Learning AV was a challenge but
even more was building a credible name against
competitors who had been in the industry for some time.
Diversified took every job which its clients gave, even
worked as a subcontractor for big players to earn credibility.
Then, to level the peaks and valleys of the integration
business, the company started the Digital Media Group, an
early adopter of digital signage and managed services, a
differentiator that would provide recurring revenue and
additional value to its clients.
August 2018|38

Stepping Ahead of the Competitors
The company’s vision is steadily centered on being the best
and providing clients with one trusted partner to meet all
their technology needs. Furthermore, it has taken a creative
approach to the types of services offered. Unopposed to
stepping outside the box or contradicting industry
expectations, Diversified constantly seeks the next big thing
that will change the game and keep them ahead of
customers’ needs.
One of Diversified’s recent ventures into a new industry
focuses on delivering unique and innovate solutions to
healthcare organizations. Recognizing the expected growth
for this market, the company is designing and deploying
®
medical integration solutions, including CORIS that
optimizes workflows and enhance patient care. This
expansion of offerings has allowed the company to sustain
growth, even in the toughest markets. If one industry
doesn’t perform as expected, another picks up the slack.
This advantage became clear in the 2008 recession, when
many singularly broadcast or AV firms were struggling
while Diversified remained safe, not letting a single
employee go. This advantage has also become the driving
force behind D’Alessandro’s vision for the future, which is
continuing to grow vertically as well as horizontally, adding
complementary services that provide value and solve
virtually any customer requirements through unique, hybrid
technology solutions.
Through openly sharing his philosophy of being the best
and establishing a robust customer base with repeatable
business, D’Alessandro has seen another major emerging
differentiator—Diversified’s engineering-centric operations.
True to its tagline, Imagination Engineered, Diversified
takes great pride in the execution of projects and
empowering its engineering staff to be creative and
innovative in their designs. Each industry that Diversified
serves is different, requiring custom solutions tailored to
each client’s unique needs. Overall, new sales will keep the
door open but strong engineering and delivery will bring
the customer back and again, allowing growth beyond what
anyone expected.
Fortune Insight
With a well-established domestic footprint, Diversified now
focuses on international expansion to serve a growing
global clientele, expanding their managed services portfolio
in digital media, security and “day two” support, and
transitioning from hardware integration to software-based
integration to meet trending technology demands. Together
these initiatives will allow the company to maintain its
leadership position and continue double-digit growth.
|August 2018 39

Executing Unied Mobile Technology and Security Solutions
Ensygnia Ltd is a UK-based
service provider company with
a mission to help provide a
secure environment for online
transactions. The company is already
working with major market leaders to
help deliver innovation, trust and
security into online transactions in
order to boost revenue-generation. Its
solution focuses on a simple user
interface to smooth the customer
journey and increase customer
satisfaction.
The company’s vision is to make
consumers’ digital lives easier and
safer. Ensygnia’s unified business
solution centers on the key sales point
in the customer journey – the point the
marketers refer to as the ‘call-to-
action’. Ensygnia’s solution makes it
easier to take that action – it allows the
customers to make one-touch
purchases without the need for detailed
form-filling and multiple checkpoints.
It can do all this while boosting the
security of the transaction and reducing
the risk of fraud. Of course, it gives the
customer the opportunity to confirm
the sale and the final price being paid,
but it can make buying goods or
services from almost any website
simple, secure and friction-free.
Ensygnia believes companies should
be able to close sales quickly, with a
brilliant customer experience, best
compliant security, and easiest
payment method. The company’s
expertise in both the security market
and in mobile technology has helped to
create a safe, secure mobile device
transaction process with bank-grade
security that users can trust. The
company believes that great usability
and world-class security should come
hand-in-hand.
Unified Product/Services Offered for
Easy and Secure Solutions
Ensygnia’s flagship solution is called
Onescan Onescan. The solution
compromises a cloud-based secure
platform, a mobile app, and a Software
Developer’s Kit (SDK) that enables
companies and webstore owners to
integrate secure transactionsOnescan
into their customer journey. Onescan
can turn a call-to-action into a sale in a
matter of seconds – whether online, in-
store, or on-the-go.
Ensygnia’s Onescan solution enables
companies to create a truly
omnichannel sales solution, allowing
customers to make purchases or
interact with a brand online, from
printed advertising, from billboards,
through store windows or within the
store itself. Consumers know that
Onescan gives them instant, secure
transactions – whether it is to buy a
product, register for a service or enter a
competition – from wherever they are
and whatever they are doing.
Ensygnia’s solution ensures fast
service, secure transactions, and a
trusted consumer environment.
Foreword of the Founder/CEO
Richard H. Harris is the Founder and
CEO of Ensygnia and started the
company in 2010. Since then he has
been working on and implementing his
ideas to make it easier and safer to buy
things online – both for the consumers
and the suppliers.
Richard graduated from London
University in the early 90s, with a
degree in Theoretical Physics and set
about trying to predict and monetize
industry trends through innovation.
Richard’s approach has led him to
generate millions in revenues for
multiple companies.
With Ensygnia, his approach evolved
to focus on how retailers could
instantly sell anything, anywhere,
anytime – and how consumers could
securely buy anything, anywhere,
anytime with minimum effort and total
peace of mind.
Richard explains: “We create an
environment where the Call-to-Action
can instantly become a transaction.
And it really is ANY call to action on a
customer journey that we can
facilitate. It can be as focused or as
multi-layered as our customer requires
– for the consumer it stays simple and
is delivered instantly and securely by
Onescan. per their need. Our
customer’s prospective business will
only be limited by their imagination.”
He added: “Whether Consumers are
buying a product, registering or
transferring information, entering a
competition, completing a survey,
filling in and registering a warranty
card or just proving their identity
online – the same, simple Onescan
process can deliver all of these
transactions instantly and securely
from any location.”
In his spare time, Richard enjoys Ceroc
and scuba diving, is a campaigner for
the rights of vulnerable adults and
Ensygnia Ltd:
August 2018|40

mental health issues when possible, working with Mental Health
Research UK.
An Enlightening Journey
Ensygnia was established in 2010, and its services are covered by a
range of international patents covering the payment and interaction
processes including the scanning of QR codes. In 2013, the
company received its first investment, and delivered its first product
to the market in the following year. Since then, the Ensygnia
platform has delivered 100% uptime on its systems and processes
and continued to grow its customer base considerably. It is now
processing more than one million interactions per month.
Battling with Challenges
Richard believes that, from a retail perspective, Ensygnia’s biggest
challenge – and indeed the biggest challenger to any company
looking to sell online is Amazon. The retailing giant has nailed
every part of the process: The buying experience is quick, simple
and secure, customers can easily compare reviews, and the delivery
service is quick and reliable. What’s more, the company continues
to innovate with drone deliveries, pick-up lockers, re-order buttons,
voice ordering, and subscription-based purchasing etc.
Ensygnia is working hard to help make that simplicity of the buying
experience available to every retail website so that companies can
look to compete with the Amazon experience.
Richard says: “Other retailers rely heavily on habit and brand
loyalty which will only go so far. They need to be innovative to
survive and they need to innovate well to thrive.”
Surviving Competition
Ensygnia has faced many approaches to challenge its competitive
place in the market, but the technical excellence of its platform and
the strength of its worldwide patent portfolio, has seen off many
imitators.
Richard explains: “There are competitors who burn through tens of
millions trying to copy just to follow the same platform. But why
waste years and millions when the customer can buy a secure,
compliant and reliable solution from Ensygnia and gain its market
in days or weeks.”
Ensygnia has established its credentials and proved its longevity in
a fast-developing market. The company spent years building its
platform and ensuring its compliance with industry standards. It
now processes more than one million interactions per month and
has maintained has 100% uptime since its launch in 2014. What’s
more, using the Ensygnia platform dramatically reduces the risk and
cost to companies of security and compliance as the platform meets
the regulations and standards for data protection, privacy and
security such as PCI DSS, PSD2, and GDPR.
Reframe to Achieving zeniths one step at a time.
At present, the industry remains fragmented which means Ensygnia
Our mission
is to make
consumer’s
digital lives
easier and safer.
“
Richard H. Harris
Founder & CEO
“
expects to see market consolidation and approaches
from other companies over the coming years. There is
also the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to
consider as this is creating new decentralized and
currently un-regulated opportunities. Ensygnia is
watching and preparing for these developments and is
focused on working with a few key partners to expand
its list of clients and users. Ensygnia is excited by all
the market opportunities that are developing and by
the expansion of its global market presence.
|August 2018 41

egends never need an introduction. They tend to be
Lvictorious despite of their uneventful histories. They
stick to captivating traits such as Discipline,
determination and self-belief which help them accomplish
wonders in the long run. One such example of an extra-
ordinary person is Elon Musk, a South African Business
Magnate, Investor and an engineer.
Musk is the founder, CEO, and chief architect of SpaceX;
co-founder, CEO, and product designer of Tesla Inc.; and
co-founder and CEO of Neuralink. As of February 2018, he
is the 53rd-richest person in the world and has a net worth
of $20.8 billion, which is far more than the net GDP of
Greece taken into consideration.
While each entrepreneur possesses a unique set of traits that
makes him/her successful, this Tech founder has a few traits
much different from any other ordinary CEO, which has
allowed him to build some of the world’s most respected
and innovative organizations. Musk once quoted, “When
something is important enough, you do it even if the odds
are not in your favor.”
Let’s have a look on these personality attributes and
characteristics that make him a contender for the most
innovative intellectual entrepreneur of the century alive.
Hard-work and Characteristic Work Ethics
Elon Musk is a hard-working innovator, working for about
100 hours a week, and has been productive since many
years. He may even be considered as the hardest working
employee of the company, setting standards for his
colleagues to follow and implement. Since the field of work
lies inside his radius of interests, he enjoys it to every
moment and bit when it comes to learning and execution.
Strong Risk Tolerance
Founding a start-up involves a great deal of uncertainty and
risk. A study found that after 10 years of being in business,
96 percent of the start-ups fail. Going by the statistics,
Musk must have faced the same odds against him, when he
had decided to leave an otherwise comfortable life to start a
risky and uncertain business venture.
For instance, Musk left his PhD program at Stanford
University to find a company called Zip2 with his brother in
the year 1995. Later, the company was sold to Compaq
computers, profiting Musk a bit over $20 million.
Following this, Musk once again took a great risk by
investing millions of dollars to found a company called
X.com, one of the world’s first online banks.
‘Always Be Learning’ Attitude
An astounding and less-known fact about Elon Musk is that
he is self-taught in programming and in many advanced
level subjects. He read and understood a variety of books,
which helped him gain endless and persistent knowledge
and understand diverse concepts.
The best piece of advice on learning and implementation is
to constantly think about how things could be done in a
better manner and question self to seek the answers.
Feedback Loop
It is of prime importance to recognize the present symbol or
otherwise ‘status quo’ in the market as an organization and
re-position accordingly. Musk solicits constant feedback of
the companies and executes ‘self-analysis.’ He induces
efforts and divergent strategies to improve customer
feedbacks and strives towards perfectionism.
SuccessfulPersonality Traits
to Learn from
Elon Musk
August 2018|44
Imparting Wisdom

For example, he seeks out his critics
and tries to converse with them. This
habit of self-reflection at regular and
considerable periods is pivotal for any
entrepreneur or organization to succeed
in the long run.
Tendency for Vertical Integration
Vertical integration is a strategy where
an organization or a firm acquires
business operations within the same
product vertical. Both Tesla and
SpaceX embrace this concept. For
example, Tesla not only produces
electric cars; they also generate public
awareness about their cars via Tesla
showrooms across various countries.
And SpaceX does not only have the
primary goal of rocket propulsions;
they develop their own rocket
architecture as well.
Faith in Self and the Founding Team
Musk undoubtedly possesses a
profound belief in his own capabilities
Tesla Motors, a far headed firm headed
by Elon Musk, is anti-ordinary. Its
compelling marketplace has become a
one-stop destination for potential
buyers where they can interact about
product specifications. They also have
video testimonials that far outperform
in the sales-dominated industry.
There is no ambiguity that Musk, by
far, has been a pillar of inspiration for
budding entrepreneurs and investors
because of his prolific and optimistic
approach towards life
All these traits possessed by Musk, in
some manner or the other, coincide
with most of your habits. The only
thing that stands as a potential barrier
between these two is identifying your
strengths and working on them on a
continual basis. Go on, apply these
traits into your daily life, and you may
become the next big CEO the world is
in need of today!
as well as the potential-seeking factor
of its founding team. He does not
hesitate to gamble on large scale unless
he is genuinely aware of the expected
end-results.
It is equally essential to maintain
clarity of doubt in any large scale
organization. Under his supervision,
Musk encourages in creating a positive
and comprehensive environment across
his firms.
Preferring to Stand Out From the
Crowd
Musk elects to bring up innovation at
every level of his understanding. He
tends to impart theoretical knowledge
at the base level, applying changes and
executing the same on the practical
level. He relies more on transitional
aspects such as research and
development, thereby increasing the
probability of ground-breaking
inventions.
|August 2018 45

Kaaspro:
Providing Affordable Cloud-Based Solutions
owadays the medical world has started
Nacknowledging the benefits of digitized medical
documentation systems and is clamoring to
adopt the most suitable one for them. Legal mandates
and medical compliance requirements are also providing
a vital thrust towards the same. Thus, with a vision of
harnessing technology to build and synthesize
economical, cloud based IT and ITES products &
solutions, and to address the challenges faced in two
fields, namely Healthcare and Education, Kaaspro
underwent its conception.
The organization started its journey by building
75Health, a comprehensive Electronic Medical Record
(EMR) software, which ensures that all the critical health
information of a patient are available within the
application and also enables the medical professional to
access any information that they require in order to
address a patient’s health needs. 75Health facilitates easy
and accurate patient records management and hence,
minimizes the consequential errors arising out of
document loss, mismanagement, or omission.
An Undisputed Leader
Kumar Subramaniam, an alumnus of P.S.G. Institute of
Technology, India, is the Founder and CEO of Kaaspro.
He is also the co-founder of Kumaran Systems, heading
the Internet Products and Services division. Drawing
from his wide gamut of technical experience as a co-
founder of Kumaran Systems, Mr. Kumar was inspired
to start Kaaspro by developing 75Health when he
handled the cumbersome processes of safely keeping
medical records, lab test reports, and prescriptions for his
wife who was unwell. At that point, he felt the need to
build a better, simpler, and safer way to handle patient
related documents, so as to help medical professionals
take quick and secure decisions related to a patient’s
health.
A Distinctive Organization
Kaaspro is always evolving and leveraging technology to
enhance its products and solutions. Innovation based on
clients’ needs is one of the prime motives and the
organization believes that this will help it to tackle
competition effectively.
The first product 75Health remains a one of its kind in
terms of simplicity of use and the sheer magnitude of
information being available to a medical professional.
75Health is cloud based, built on robust technologies,
and customized to not only suit the needs of the
customers but to also go a few steps ahead by providing
them with complete access to all the necessary records as
well as facilitating interaction with other doctors.
Furthermore, 75Health is free, compatible with all
mobile devices, does not require any additional
hardware, and a user just needs a web browser to access
the digital medical records. Kaaspro also strongly
believes that blending technology with convenience will
always help the organization to stay ahead of its
competition.
Tackling Uneven Roads
Inspired by a need, Kaaspro has always believed that
August 2018|46

“Our ultimate aim is to provide
affordable cloud based-solutions
for enterprises ranging from
single users to multi users.
“ Kumar Subramaniam
Founder & CEO
Innovation will be the fuel for its growth. As mentioned
earlier, the organization has kick-started its journey with
75Health. Kaaspro has always used every challenge as
an opportunity to enrich its product. The following two
instances elucidate this point:
During the years in which 75Health was being built and
tested, Kaaspro’s clients had requested for additional
features which Kaaspro added in order to make 75Health
the most comprehensive EMR in the market. For
example, one client wanted to have connectivity with
their patients even when they travel. They wanted to be
accessible when an emergency arises for their clients.
Hence the video-conferencing facility was integrated
within the app in order to ensure that distances do not
come in the way of patient care.
Some of Kaaspro’s doctors felt the need to have a facility
to refer a patient to another specialist within the app,
instead of having to rely on another medium of
communication such as say, emails or phone calls. They
felt that this facility would ensure that the other
specialists will also have complete access to the patient’s
EMR and it would also make the process hassle-free.
This led Kaaspro to develop a referral module built
within 75Health to facilitate doctors to refer and be
referred using only the app, and documenting the process
internally, thereby keeping all the doctors and patients in
loop.
Beholding New Horizons
When it comes to the future, Kaaspro is in the ceaseless
process of building a complete EMR package. The
organization is also developing an AI product which will
provide vital inputs to health care professionals by using
a regional and global database. At the same time, the
organization is focused on becoming a global leader for
EHRs and is looking to take the footprints of 75Health
across major geographies.
Currently, it is free and Kaaspro is looking to partnering
with like-minded individuals or investors who can help
in the expansion of the product’s reach. The company is
also in the process of white-labeling this product for its
clients. Lastly, apart from EHRs and EMRs, Kaaspro is
undergoing the spadework for practice management
system, which will soon hit the markets.
|August 2018 47

Headquartered in Columbus, OH, MES, Inc. is a
full-service provider of global manufacturing and
supply chain management services. The company
works in the verticals of lighting, agriculture, automotive
and specializes in the manufacturing and supply of metal
components including casting, forging of machine parts and
assembly of rubber and plastic parts.
MES helps develop customized engineering solutions by
utilizing global manufacturing resources and applying
complete supply chain solutions. The company achieves
this by following five distinct steps including finding and
auditing suppliers, developing their quality systems,
consolidating shipments at various ports, performing
domestic value added operations and warehousing near
customers and shipping.
A Leader Exemplifying Compassion
Hiten Shah, the CEO and President of MES, believes in
building business and people with values. These values
include, creating win-win solutions for customers creating
an exciting and challenging work environment for
associates, and developing suppliers and partners globally.
Hiten holds an MBA in International Business from
Franklin University, Ohio. He founded MES in 2007 and
has been since been the driving force of the company’s
progress.
Hiten possesses a global business experience and sternly
believes in being persistent and committed, which in turn,
has built MES’s worldwide outreach. He is currently an Inc.
5000 entrepreneur and an investor. “If you have a winning
business idea and passion to work, I can help develop the
business plan as well as provide financial investment,”
Hiten expresses. Hiten advocates the fact that failing aids
the development of one’s core competence. “To grow, you
must learn to fail,” is what Hiten believes.
Hiten has been adorned with numerous accolades and
honors in his entire career. A few of these are being featured
in the 2018 issue of Columbus CEO Magazine; being
elected as a panelist of the 2017 AACG Economic Summit;
and being elected as a panelist of the 2017 Diversity in
Business Awards. Hiten was also selected as the honoree of
C-Suite awards and Smart 50 awards in 2017, he was the
finalist of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in
2016.
According to Hiten, the benefit of this reputation underlines
the sharing of his perspective within the organization as
well as with outsiders, which would instill a sense of
inspiration among his followers. Hiten also comprehends
that this commendable experience and reputation also
enhances MES’s credibility while potential customers wish
to know about the organization.
Delivering Reformative Services
Great Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a strategic
science that goes into improving the way your company
sources component parts from manufacturers. MES has
developed proven strategies for each phase of the Supply
Chain Management process. MES benchmarks every aspect
of our Supply Chain Management services against best-in-
class metrics. We focus on quality, efficiency, and cost-
savings in every step.
The company’s outstanding sourcing-to-delivery solution
allows it to pass on savings to its customers. The company
achieves this, not just in component costs and shipping
rates, but also by lowering lead times in tooling and the
manufacturing process. MES provides contract
manufacturing in India, China, Taiwan, Malaysia &
Vietnam. Its supplier management process utilizes sourcing
agents and quality engineers. The company sources
manufacturing suppliers based on quality, delivery time and
price. All of its suppliers must be ISO-certified and pass a
MES:Delivering Disruptive Innovation in Manufacturing
and Supply Chain Management
August 2018|48

stringent audit for manufacturing. MES’s criteria for suppliers include
ISO certification, advanced manufacturing facilities, proven ability for
the competence promised, engineering resources, QA, and on-time
production.
MES utilizes project management tools & APQP to track every step of
the tooling & manufacturing process. It monitors and controls the
tooling development and PPAP submission process with its suppliers.
The company reviews critical specs with customers, relays
information to suppliers at tooling kickoff, performs supplier
inspections to insure accurate method and measurements. It performs
third Party checks of raw materials at independent labs also monitors
& communicating delivery timelines and also provides customer-
approved tooling design.
MES carefully manages the global logistics process to save time and
money on international shipping. It selects the provider, consolidating
orders in containers wherever possible. It manages import/export
procedures. The company monitors port conditions and re-routes
shipments, if necessary and also expertly navigates customs
requirements, paperwork, and fees.
“Many customers have custom requirements which require domestic
manufacturing operations to facilitate special orders. MES offers a
range of operations domestically to streamline your component
requirements,” states Hiten. Parts communization, special E-Coating,
painting or powder coating, addition of part features such as holes,
markings, assembly to reduce customer costs etc. are a few
requirements which MES caters to
MES has enhanced its order processing, billing, inventory
management, ERP, and EDI systems, which allows it to mirror a
customer’s warehousing solutions. The company manages inventory
processes and provides JIT shipping of parts and components. MES’s
warehousing facilities are located in US-Los Angeles & Ohio; MX-
Monterrey, Juarez & Tijuana; Europe- Poland.
Strategizing Global Competency
MES’s organizational strategy is to be more efficient and competitive
by focusing on key business methods viz, on-time delivery, quality
testing methods, inventory management methods, etc. The most
significant aspect that creates a distinctive position for MES in the
global market is the automation of the company’s processes.
Customer support and documentation, extensive quality management
throughout a project, and other vital processes are automated at MES
using a heavy dose of contemporary technology. MES has developed
a unique phone application for its in house as well as customer-side
engineers to report quality analysis and issues as well as for its
warehouses to report shipping issues.
The company comprehends the volatile trends in
the Supply Chain Management industry and thus
advocates the attitude of ceaselessly embracing
change and constructive competition. Hiten
personally believes that while continuing to grow
as an organization, taking chances and making
mistakes is what makes up for improved decision
making, team development and managerial skills.
Committing to work and enjoying it plays as a
catalyst for MES’s growth into new geographies,
industries and new commodities.
MES’s future endeavors include addition of new
local manufacturing capabilities, realizing business
opportunities in the UK, and expansion of local
warehousing facilities across the globe.
Our mission is to
deliver top-quality
components in
a timely and
efficient manner.
“
“
Hiten Shah
President & CEO
|August 2018 49

MHG Systems Oy Ltd is a
Finland based company
involved in offering next
generation smart ICT solutions for
Forest and Biomass management. The
company innovates by integrating open
software technology with years of field
experience in the forestry and biomass
business behind its back. The
combination of innovation and
experience results in agile and user-
friendly IT services, aimed at
facilitating flexible and resilient
business models in the rapidly
changing business environment. Its
portfolio of services includes, but not
limited to, remote sensing services for
forest asset management, mobile
solutions, and field work management.
It offers the below-mentioned
solutions:
Wuudis: Full range service in digital
forest property management platform,
connecting forest owners with local
contractors, timber/biomass buyers,
and authorities.
MHG Biomass Manager: The complete
solution for Bioenergy production,
procurement, managing, harvesting,
and logistics.
MHG Mobile: Mobile real-time
management of forest assets, biomass,
and human resources enabling more
productive business models.
MHG Bio-Plant Optimizer: Feasibility
assessment service including bankable
reports for Bio-energy Investment.
MHG Systems’ vision is to become
one of the world leaders in ICT
solutions segment for forestry
management, timber/biomass
procurement, and to possess all the
required data that boost any
stakeholder business in the forestry
industry. This can be enabled by
digitalizing the global forest resource
and all biomass flows through MHG
Systems services.
The Success Saga
Mr. Huurinainen was suffering from a
problem of managing his more than
1000 hectares of forest property in an
easy and profitable way. Almost 13
years ago, the vision named MHG
Systems started developing in Mikkeli,
Finland to kill this problem and
revolutionize the forest and biomass
supply chain business through digital
services. According to Mr.
Huurinainen, his forest property works
as a ‘sandbox’ to test MHG’s ICT
services.
Today, MHG Systems is one of the
most innovative and fastest growing
SMEs in the EU with 5000+
commercial users in Wuudis service,
dedicated SaaS account of Wuudis
with Finnish Forest authority, several
active accounts of MHG Biomass
Manager Service as SaaS and
dedicated SaaS, consultancy projects
and participating in several EU and
international projects. The MHG
Systems committed a team of 10
multidisciplinary professionals to make
this challenging journey possible.
About the Leader
Seppo Huurinainen, the Founder &
CEO, has a cumulative experience of
35 years in forestry, entrepreneurship,
and information technology. He holds a
broad academic experience in GIS, IT,
and silviculture with five university
level degrees.
He founded MHG Systems in 2005,
which currently offers pioneering ICT
solutions for forest and biomass
management. Prior to becoming an
entrepreneur, he held several
development and research positions
within the forest and agriculture
industry and has worked for
organizations such as the Finnish
Forest and Park Service, Metla,
Finnish Forest Centre, Metsäliitto,
Stora Enso, and the National Board of
Education.
Focus on Sustainable Management
Globally over 2 billion people rely on
forests entirely or partially for their
livelihood, creating a market of 246
MHG Systems:
Offering Next Generation Smart
ICT Solutions for Forest and Biomass Management
August 2018|52

billion USD from the global exports of forest-based
products. Despite this huge number, there are very few
digital solutions available for sustainable forest
management. The reason lies in the usage of old-fashioned
business practices for performing daily routines in the
sector. However, MHG Systems is taking advantage of the
forest digitalization boom in Finland to produce next
generation tools and services for the sustainable
management of forest and biomass flow.
Tailored Solutions
“We understood that innovation is the key strategy to
become competitive in today’s market. In our company we
realize innovations via our participation in the EU research
projects, where EU wide best stakeholders from the sector
are collaborating with each other to develop the most
innovative and useful services and products. Till date, we
have raised a total of 1M€ from EU Commission for our
research and innovation activities” asserts Mr.
Huurinainen.
MHG System’s current services have a competitive edge
over existing solutions, as it covers all forest management
and biomass flow in one place. This means all forest data
and information into one solution, analyzes and visualizes it
and shows it, tailored to the user’s role.
Future Outlook
MHG Systems is in the process of developing accurate
forest inventory management solutions utilizing drone
technology (from third party) to capture high quality aerial
images and thereafter standardize, process, and visualize
those images in its Wuudis platform solution to make
usable information for forest owner, forest association, and
forest companies. This solution will bring significant benefit
in improving forest health due to data on every single tree.
Another innovation under development is tailor-made forest
data to the forest contractors, timber buyers, forest
companies etc. with a view to improving their profitability.
Industry Scenario
Globally, the importance of forest-based industries is
slightly overlooked due to many reasons. For example,
many private forest owners live in cities and are not aware
of the economic potential of their forest assets. The reason
is lack of forest management tools and services which can
enable forest management right from their living room.
Moreover, the traditional value chain of forestry business is
dominated by big industrial players and thereby hindering
the growth of forest-based entrepreneurs. So, there is a need
of neutral solution, which supports the growth of overall
forest sector including private forest owners, forest
industries, forest entrepreneurs, and contractors.
Seppo Huurinainen
Founder & CEO
“We are committed to
revolutionize the forest
and biomass business
through meaningful and
usable digital and big
data based solutions.
“
|August 2018 53

Natterbox:
Transforming the Telephony Experience within Salesforce
For a long time, the telephony industry has been
dominated by organizations based on-premise and
aimed at the enterprise space. Companies bring
them on board to create bespoke, expensive solutions that
come with associated redundancy and backup. Natterbox, a
UK telephony company founded in 2010, was set up to
change this traditional way of thinking about the telephone
and the customer experience by embedding voice at the
heart of business communications and development
strategies. When first founded, Natterbox built its own
platform in-house and is currently the only company out
there able to provide a platform that sits directly within
Salesforce as a unified Salesforce PBX system. This means
that customers can improve and transform their phone
system without it becoming a massive infrastructure
project, which is how most companies view telephone
systems.
Natterbox enables organizations to deliver market-leading
service levels to their customers through the efficient
integration of voice into their digital customer
communications. The company aims to transform the
telephony experience of organizations and their customers.
It’s re-defining a long-standing business model with an
offering built around a cloud telephony CRM platform
embedded entirely within Salesforce. This proposition is
revolutionizing the customer’s interactions over the phone
and providing them with a more streamlined, informed and
personalized experience. Beyond the improvement of
customer service experiences, Natterbox’s aim is to help
businesses make the most of the insights and data generated
by voice communications. This customer data can indeed
provide invaluable insights vital to sales, product
development and staff training.
Since its inception, Natterbox has seen exponential growth
year-on-year and is working with over 250 companies
around the world. Customers rely on Natterbox to set new
standards in customer experience to drive measurable
increases in sales efficiency, competitive advantage and
organizational success.
A Serial Entrepreneur
Neil Hammerton, CEO and Co-founder of Natterbox has
spent most of his professional life in the IT sector. He began
his career in security software sales, where he recognized
the importance of listening to customer requirements and
businesses access to a telephone system that gives their
customers and staff the most efficient, flexible and
enjoyable experience possible. The idea of establishing
Natterbox occurred to him when he realized how poorly a
big company he was working for dealt with incoming
phone calls. Though he had limited knowledge of the
telecommunication sector prior to setting up the company,
Neil and his partners taught themselves about the market
with the help of an industry veteran. Neil is passionate
about the telecommunication industry, technology and the
potential power of voice to transform the relationship
between businesses and their customers.
August 2018|54

Natterbox is always one step
ahead of the game and makes
voice work for business.
Talking about business opportunities in the
telecommunication industry, Neil says: “I realized that
there are a huge number of companies missing out on new
business opportunities and the ability to provide
personalized customer service because they don’t offer the
same experience over the phone that they do via email or
apps. Whilst many brands are able to track customer
activities and preferences online, there wasn’t a way to
collect this same information from a phone call – which is
still many people’s preferred method of communicating. It
became obvious to me that there was a market gap in there
waiting to be filled – and that’s how Natterbox was born”.
An Advanced Voice Cloud System
Natterbox was set up to disrupt the traditional way of
thinking about the telephone. The impact of this new cloud
telephony technology can shape organizations
competitiveness by maintaining personalized services and
speed of engagement by integrating telephony within the
service cloud. Natterbox offers a complete business phone
system and contact center 100% natively embedded in
Salesforce; meaning that administrators can personalize
caller journeys and authorize numbers through Salesforce.
Available from the Salesforce AppExchange, Natterbox
advanced voice services provide a complete Cloud PBX
with contact centre for Salesforce. The app is designed to
either replace a customer’s existing phone system with one
that is 100% embedded natively in Salesforce or can be
integrated with the existing phone system.
The system allows administrators to create and manage
their entire end to end phone system and contact centre
globally. Natterbox is available worldwide, serviced by its
global network of data centre infrastructure providing
quality of service, reliability and reduced complexity at
great value.
Tracking the Future
Natterbox is one of the fastest growing companies in the
industry with has the lowest churn rate of customers. It’s
now on track to achieve the founding aim of becoming one
of the world’s biggest telecommunication companies. It’s
focused on taking advantage of emerging technologies such
as AI - looking to integrate it into the platform to analyze
sentiments and identify the good customer service calls
from the bad ones, which can help support companies
while training customer service agents. Additionally, other
areas of development for Natterbox include research
projects focusing on the application of emerging technology
such as universal translation in real time and the
possibilities it offers business organization to overcome
language barriers and expand global operations.
Neil Hammerton
CEO & Co-founder
|August 2018 55

Dave Gullo
Co-founder & CTO
VideoAmp
Tech Evolution
August 2018|56

Ÿ “Promoting out of hand” is another variation of
this where you don’t put someone through the
normal due diligence because they already
present. In our case, individual contributor (IC)
engineers don’t go through the rigorous
reference checks that new managers do.
Ÿ “Hiring under duress”, or lowering your bar
simply to meet headcount goals. I strongly
advise to hire fewer “full-full stack” senior
engineers vs. a bunch of junior or mid-level
career developers who require more time,
nurturing and precious attention units from your
senior staff.
Process
This is a moving target, and one which has definitely been
an ongoing series of blogs. In the early stage, we “over
prescribed scrum.” Something that a very early stage
company can do, along with too much agile processes too
soon.
For example, prototypes and proof of concepts should not
have a rigorous definition of done, with endless unit,
functional, and end-to-end tests because the product’s
requirements will probably zig-zag wildly.
Conversely, having too little process when you are
supporting enterprise customers can also be a
problem. I spent my prior days as an IC and
VideoAmp turns 4 years old this month. So many
memories, and so much growth. Let’s reflect on
some of the worst decisions and associated
learnings that have been fundamental to our growth. Why
the worst you say? Because when you accelerate your
learning rate in a fail-fast environment, it then allows you to
make fast decisions vs. the analysis paralysis predicament.
Reflection
One of my favorite wildcard interview questions for
managers is: “Describe the failure you’re most proud of.”
This sometimes catches people off guard, so I’ll share mine
first to get the conversation going. Inevitably it comes down
to choosing because there are so many.
You can’t talk about growth and success without talking
about these failures. Unless you’re some kind of hybrid AI-
robot-space-alien who’s absolutely perfect, there’s going to
be mistakes. What’s important is that as a leader you own
your mistakes and be transparent about them.
Hiring
Finding the right people is the single most important aspect
of growing a startup. The biggest mistakes in hiring have
been:
Ÿ “Hiring out of hand”, or short cutting the normal
processes because the candidate is well known by other
engineers in the group.
How VideoAmp
Evolved the
Company Culture
and Process to Increase
the Number of
Engineers Employed
|August 2018 57

contractor retrofitting and scaling CI/CD pipelines and
training engineers how to write better tests.
The challenge is right-sizing this all along the way, and the
trigger points on when to change may not be obvious. I say
this because we grew headcount by 22 engineers from Oct
2017 to Feb 2018, and in the process we did not modify our
simplified Kanban approach to a prescribed Scrum process
quickly enough. Growing pains emerged, to say the least.
Now we’re in a spot where we can withstand a magnitude
scale of growth with roughly the same squad and tribe-level
process.
Management
Riffing off rapid growth of Brains in engineering, we didn’t
scale management fast enough. Almost all startup
engineering orgs start very flat, with all ICs and no
management. You have “tech leads” who may split their
time doing light managerial functions, but they all write
code and dive into the operations.
The biggest fail here in scaling the ICs was not scaling the
org and management structure to follow. At ~44 engineers
and data scientists, we have a duty to deliver on our mission
to provide an environment where they have the opportunity
to do the best work of their lives and be worth more in the
marketplace.
Without this vital management structure, there is a vacuum.
Do not bolt this on later, build it as you go. We took
inspiration from Spotify’s model of engineering
organizational scaling.
Growth & Career Pathing
We’ve talked about all of these fails, how about something
that has worked well for us?
When doing initial contact with a candidate, I often ask
“why are you in market?” I have seen countless folks who
are looking because their current management does not
have their growth and career pathing in mind. In extreme
cases, they can do a day’s work in four hours, feel like they
are under-challenged, and have not learned anything in
years. They work in an environment like the movie Office
Space.
Taking an opposite approach is to engage in the growth and
pathing of every individual. We do this by:
Ÿ aligning the growth of the individual with the
company’s growth.
Ÿ having management check in frequently on the success
of this, and
Ÿ setting up formal quarterly check-ins on measuring
these goals. Google adopted this early on from John
Doerr in the form of OKRs, and there are great
platforms out there which can formally measure and
track these objectives.
Career pathing is a longer-term concern. I ask candidates
from the start “so what’s the next job after VideoAmp?”
This often catches them off guard, then after careful thought
most reply with a role 1-2 levels beyond where they’re at
now. It’s our goal to help steer them in whatever path they
currently see.
Many earlier-career engineers think management is their
ultimate path, but I have found that many will stay on a
tract of engineering excellence. Whether it’s a Principal
Engineer or a VP of Engineering, the goal is to orient the
new challenges in a manner which grows them in that
direction, even if we can’t fully realize their ultimate
pathing goal while at the company.
By paying careful attention to these details, we have found
our annual retention rate in the high 90%.
August 2018|58

Optimizt Technologies:
Consulting Industries through Engineering Design & Simulation Platform
At present time, industrial advancement is
elaborating with consulting engineering platform
which provides professional services that define
independent expertise in engineering, science, industries,
developers, governments and construction firms. Optimizt
Technologies is a multidisciplinary engineering
consultancy firm mainly engaged in providing engineering
design & simulation services like Product Design,
Validation, Prototype & Staffing services. The company
majorly focuses on Industry sectors including Automobile,
Off Road Vehicles, Machinery, Medical Equipments,
Energy, Process Industry (Oil & Gas) and Civil Structures.
Optimizt Technologies was founded in 2010 at Pune, India,
with qualified and experienced professionals. It was formed
with the core objective of providing high level technical
and value-added business solutions and focusing on its
customer to get a quality service at the end. The firm has a
strong experience in designing a Final Product, Engineering
Product Simulation services, Prototype & Testing services,
and the Project Management. Today, the company has many
success stories & clients from across India, US and Europe.
Alfa Laval Ltd, Atlas Copco Ltd, Behr Hella
Thermocontrol, Forbes Marshall, Emerson, GE Oil & Gas,
Johnson Controls Ltd, TATA Consultancy Services,
Putzmeister are few of its clients to whom it has been
providing design & simulation services. In short time span,
Optimizt Technologies has strengthened its footings in the
domestic & overseas market.
The firm has received a couple of awards & appreciations
as International Arch of Europe Award in 2015 at Frankfurt
by BID Group, Spain. Also in 2012, it was awarded for
West India’s Best Technical Centre by PTC, USA by its
Indian counterpart. It has been highly appreciated in
recognition of commitment to Quality, Delivery &
Technical Expertise by its Clients. In recent time, Optimizt
Technologies has been continuously getting nominations for
many other national awards under new startups in India by
various market research organizations.
Optimizt Technologies strongly believes in giving back to
the society and has started an innovative way to contribute
to the field of mechanical engineering community. It has
been training more than 100 students every year, in the field
of design tools studying at a less privileged engineering
college in India.
Exemplary Leader with Technology Expertise
Jitendra Jagtap is the Founder and CEO at Optimizt
Technologies. He is a Mechanical Engineer with more than
13 years of rich industrial experience. He has versatile
experience in multidisciplinary engineering domains & has
successfully executed many International & National
projects for Automotive, Aerospace, Off Road Vehicles, Oil
& Gas Industry. In early 2010, Jitendra started his own
consulting firm as a freelancer and then gradually formed a
scalable organization named as Optimizt Technologies.
Jitendra is an innovative thinker, ethical, subject matter
expert with sound technical and project management skills.
He is also certified professional in CAD/CAM/CAE
technology tools by USA based software OEMs. He has
served world-class organizations as designations including
Manager R&D, PLM Consultant & COO.
Confronting Industrial Paradigm
Today, the industrial paradigm has a major shift because of
the need of the market & consumerism. There are many
technologies which are upbringing the industrial evolution
along with unified engineering functions. Jitendra asserts
about industrial challenges as, “Today key challenges up
fronting industrial aspects are, advancement of technology,
automation, cutthroat competition, skilled talent & its
retention, environment changes & related norms, local
presence & closeness to clients, along with the tight
delivery model.”
The firm is also focusing on Engineering Services Industry
which provides innovative & value-added solutions at a
competitive cost. The firm utilizes its functionalities with
the proper blend of planning & coordination, operational
efficiency control, time management, and skilled resource
utilization. It has expansion plan is to reach out to cater to
demands in international market by collaboration & grow
business model.
August 2018|60

Jitendra Jagtap
Founder & CEODriving Growth through Technological Traits
Optimizt Technologies is diligently in the process of
developing new concepts, proven designs with smart
technologies for the products of its existing clients by using
simulation, value engineering, optimization and testing
tools. In collaboration with giant IT company, it has
recently completed thermo mechanical simulation of
Battery Pack for medium duty Electric Vehicle, which is
under development by USA based Electric Truck
Manufacturer.
Thus, the company entered into Electric Vehicle (EV)
engineering services domain and is continuing to enhance
this area of service in the upcoming years.
“The role of engineering service providers (ESPs) is
changing and driving the industry’s growth substantially.
Unlike earlier typical model of providing limited degree of
complexity services, need is to gradually becoming value
added stakeholder in Customer’s product development
process & timeline. We are strengthening our core
competencies & spreading wings to serve new growth
sectors like Electric Vehicle, Energy, Automation, Medical
Devices, Composites etc.” asserts Jitendra further.
Present Industry Scenario
Optimizt Technologies is a Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprise (MSME) that overcomes challenges introduced
in the new industrial era. It drives greater growth with a
competitive advantage by going up the value chain and
building an ecosystem with highly-skilled and employable
talent.
“In my opinion biggest potential would be in Disruptive
Innovation Business Model. Designing smart products of
the next generation with cutting-edge technology integrated
engineering disciplines, environment-friendly and for the
welfare of humanity will bring revolution in the market as
well as in the society,” adds Jitendra.
Pioneering Innovation based on New Technologies
Optimizt Technologies has always approached its
technologies with unified innovation base including the
market analysis & market research which involves
execution of the design model to change the pricing
strategy. The firm has decided to focus on niche areas of
engineering services like Value Engineering, Design
Optimization and Simulation services using FEA & CFD
technology.
Jitendra states that, “As our business has grown & client
demands also increased, we had expanded our
infrastructure, team & other business assets to meet these
demands. I would like to express my highest gratitude to
our esteemed clients for their continuous support and
confidence reposed in us & the team members for their
tireless efforts and hard work.”
Consulting versatile
engineering
services globally.
|August 2018 61

Inventive Zeniths
The Frozen Smoothie Kits by PACK’D are the first of their
kind with 100% natural, whole fruit, vegetables &
superfoods to provide a targeted health hit. These kits are
designed with an assisting expertise of the elite sports
nutritionist, Matt Lovell, as antidotes to unhealthy bottled
drinks, and a fitness enthusiast’s natural performance
enhancers.
Each kit – Energy, Detox, Defence, contains perfectly
portioned chopped fruit & vegetables with superfoods &
We create
Functional
Frozen Smoothie
Kits,designed
with nutritionists
for a targeted
health hit.
PACK’D:Innovating Nutrition and Fueling Potential
Innovation is the essence of a revolution conceived
from reformative ideologies. It can change the course
of development of an individual, a society, an industry
or a nation. There have been occurrences of eminent ideas
in various industrial sectors since ages. Some perished
through the passage of time, while some stayed prolific.
PACK’D is one such specimen of an innovative idea, now
emerging to glorious heights. It is on a mission to fuel
potential. The organization believes that people should have
the tools & opportunities to reach their personal best. It
comprehends that right nutrition is the key to a healthy and
fit life. Its vision starts with nutrition, but ultimately is
determined to make a positive and lasting impact
worldwide.
”
Luke Johnstone
Co-founder
August 2018|62

organic protein for savoring the ultimate smoothie in less
than 1 minute. Each retail pack contains 2 Smoothie Kits.
The ingredients and their benefits of the Energy Kit are as
follows:
The Fruit and Vegetable Pouch contains chopped
strawberries, banana, blueberries, raspberries, blackcurrants
and spinach leaves. The Superfood Sachet containing
milled flaxseed, maca, cacao, and guarana powder. This kit
helps reduce tiredness and fatigue, supports energy-yielding
metabolism, and helps to maintain healthy bones.
The ingredients and their benefits of the Detox Kit are as
follows:
The Fruit and Vegetable Pouch containing chopped
pineapple, apple, kale, ginger, spinach leaves, and lemon
zest. The Superfood Sachet containing spirulina,
chlorella, wheatgrass, and barleygrass powder.
This kit helps protect cells from oxidative
stress, to reduce tiredness and fatigue and
to maintain healthy skin.
The ingredients and their benefits of
the Defence Kit are as follows:
The Fruit and Vegetable Pouch
containing chopped pineapple,
mango, papaya, banana, ginger and
goji berries. The Superfood Sachet
containing milled flaxseed, sunflower
seed, pumpkin seed and baobab powder.
This kit helps enhance the function of
immune and nervous systems and helps protect
cells from oxidative stress.
PACK’D is now available in 2,000+ stores nationwide
including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Iceland, Costco, Ocado,
Whole Foods and Planet Organic, and has been voted as the
‘Best New Health & Wellness Product’. It is soon to launch
a direct, to consumer offering via its website.
Redefining Leadership
Luke Johnstone is the Co-founder of PACK’D and holds a
pivotal position in the organization. He holds a BA Honors
Degree in History from the University of Nottingham. Prior
to co-founding his brainchild along with Alex Stewart in
2013, he has worked with BBC as a researcher with roles
inclusive of researching for a widely acclaimed live TV
show, produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.
Luke grew up on an estate in Peckham and was selected for
a tennis scholarship. Though forced to give up the future of
a sports career aged 15 due to injury, his passion for
nutrition remained. After working at the BBC & Groupon,
he teamed up with school friend Alex Stewart to develop
his idea of creating healthy smoothies to suit a busy
lifestyle. Alex also holds a BA Hons in International
Relation and Modern History, and before co-founding
PACK’D, he worked at Deloitte as a Senior Case Handler.
Like every other innovative leader, Luke quit his job &
moved into a shed to work on the project, a tough few years
followed. Alex and Luke worked multiple jobs including
Tennis Coaching and selling PACK’D kits at market stalls in
Hackney backed with loans from The Prince’s Trust.
A Voyage towards Glory
While imparting insights over the evident challenges faced
by PACK’D, Luke says, “Being a start-up in an industry
dominated by big businesses is one of our biggest
challenges at the moment. We’ve been very fortunate to
receive funding from The Prince’s Trust & Virgin, and
ensuring we’ve got the funds and team to achieve our
mission is something we’re working towards.”
The company was the first to launch Frozen
Smoothie Kits in the UK and thus takes pride
in pioneering the way for others to follow. It
comprehends the emerging number of
competitors but only envisions this as
category expansion and a positive step for
the future of healthy frozen nutrition.
“We designed our Smoothie Kits with
nutritionists to ensure they’re the best
product they can be so are very confident in
our concept and everyone at PACK’D is united
behind a desire to help fuel potential. This is what
makes us unique and our approach to competition
will always be to stay authentic to ourselves,” states Luke.
Beholding the Future
PACK’D started with its targeted nutrition range of
Smoothie Kits in 2014. The company later expanded in
October 2017 with the first Protein Smoothie Kits, with no
synthetic flavors, sugars or sweeteners. The company
realized that to lock in the nutrition without using
preservatives freezing was the ideal method.
“Everything we do starts with nutrition, and we are always
working on exciting innovation,” says Luke. The
organization strives to have a huge impact worldwide,
helping to fuel people with the right nutrition. “Nutrition is
only the start, whether fueling young athletes or helping
alleviate youth unemployment we are passionate about
making a positive and lasting impact worldwide,” he adds.
|August 2018 63

Smarter
Energy Grids
August 2018|64
Digi Connection

Human beings have always looked up to nature and
made efforts to learn from its basic principles.
Sonars were inspired by dolphins, light bulbs by
fireflies, suction cups by octopus and robots itself to
replicate human beings. One such instance that has been
enthused by microorganisms is distributed ledger
technology (DLT), widely known as blockchain.
“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of
economic transactions that can be programmed to record
not just financial transactions but virtually everything of
value.”
-Don & Alex Tapscott.
It records transactions between two clients without any
third party authentication which is an efficient process when
it comes to stable data. Blockchain provides data
management without the threat of unauthorized access or
manipulations. It is proving to be a solution for frequent
problems in various fields. Blockchain technology has the
capability to disrupt approximately every industry ranging
from finance, to education to power.
Blockchain Technology in Smarter Grids
One of the areas in the energy industry where blockchain
technology can disrupt the market is smart grids. Lately,
blockchain has been well-thought-out as one of the
developing technologies that can be used for developing
decentralized grid topologies and revising the distributed
management of energy businesses. Blockchain database is
shared by all the nodes in the system. A node is an active
device which can be connected to internet and has an IP
address. Examples of devices include computers, tablets,
phones and even printers. The job of a node is to upkeep the
network by maintaining a copy of the blockchain and
process transactions.
Benefits of Blockchain in Smarter Grids
Blockchain can aid numerous utility industry requirements.
It can act as a foundation stone with the possibility of
disrupting the prevailing ecosystem. With the promotion for
e-vehicles and individuals shifting to electric cars, supply
and demand of energy needs to keep pace. Here blockchain
comes in the scenario with its peer-to-peer interconnectivity
and sharing. This balances the demand from several
foundations and makes the grid smarter by directing
sharing.
As there are small and compact smart grids, consumers with
the help of blockchain can simply trade energy with one
another thus saving time and earning a few dollars. In the
power industry, blockchain technology can ensure a 5D
Impact: decentralization, digitization, democratization,
distribution and deregulation.
Smart Meters
Smart meters are used to record electrical usage. These
meters enable us to monitor our electrical consumption
more precisely which will help consumers make better
energy choices. Through blockchain, clients can directly get
the amount spent which eradicates middleman thus saving
money. This creates a more resilient network for gadgets to
run on. Smart meters can also provide accurate data to the
provider without needing a direct link to the meter of
particular users.
With the help of blockchain, producers of smart grids do
not have to invest a humongous amount. Here the producers
get paid instantly, which leads to less capital expenditure.
Besides this, blockchain can play a serious role in adjusting
power flows through the amalgamation and optimization of
local grids measured by the public or consortium modes. It
can aid in the maintenance of permanent records by
servicers, giving a flawless view of a particular object or
part of infrastructure at any given time. This information
can be retrieved easily as the structure is built on a shared
platform, while retaining the authenticity of the record.
While the possible benefits of the Smart Grid are usually
discussed in terms of renewable energy goals, economics
and national security, it has the potential to help save
money by managing your electricity usage and choosing the
best times to purchase electricity. Consumers can save even
more by generating their power with the help of blockchain.
Lately, due to the speedy growth in the deployment of
DEPs the smart grid organization problems can no longer
be proficiently addressed using centralized approaches,
thus, the necessity for visionary decentralized
methodologies and architectures is widely recognized.
It is assessed that the blockchain technology will add
another $3.1 trillion by 2030. Lately, due to the speedy
growth in the deployment of DEPs the smart grid
organization problems can no longer be proficiently
addressed using centralized approaches, thus, the necessity
for visionary decentralized methodologies and architectures
is widely recognized.
Lastly, blockchain technology may eventually fast-track the
evolution to what the power industry calls a “distributed
world.” It is the sum of both small and large power-
generation structures for communities, businesses and
home. To prosper in capitalizing the potential of distributed
generation and supervising less foreseeable and more
capricious renewable power sources, the trade's
infrastructure must first become more agile and less
centralized.
|August 2018 65

Procurify:
Understanding Your
Spending, Easily
“Our mission is
to reinvent the way
organizations spend.
— Aman Mann
Co-founder & CEO
Without knowing the reason behind each spending
decision, it is difficult to decide whether or not that
decision is worth the investment. Procurify is helping
organizations from around the world understand this and
get the most out of every outlay.
Managing finances is never easy. Not for
individuals, and it is infinitely more tedious
and complicated for organizations. But do
things necessarily have to be that way? One company does
not think so.
Meet Procurify.
Understanding the ‘Why’
Procurify is on a mission to reinvent the way organizations
spend, and help them gain a greater understanding of the
‘Why’ behind their expenses. By familiarizing themselves
with this crucial element of the purchasing and
procurement process, they are able to inculcate a culture of
responsible spending and fully capitalize on each of their
investments.
The company’s Co-founder and CEO, Aman Mann
stresses on helping organizations understand their ‘spend
culture’. This term refers to the collection of beliefs,
attitudes, and actions a collective group has towards
spending resources, and how they manage those resources.
Every organization wants to grow and progress, and they
evaluate their success by managing and measuring their
top line. However, the bottom line is often neglected and
many organizations do not understand their spend culture.
August 2018|68

Hub™, where all purchases and spending can be captured
on one platform.
The company made the first step to this goal in March
2018, when it acquired VendorBase, an independent online
buyer-supplier platform. Under the acquisition,
VendorBase was rebranded to Procurify Exchange (Pex),
an RFQ (Request for Quote) solution. It is currently
available for free as an add-on feature to current Procurify
users, or as a free standalone platform.
Procurify is already working at improving the platform’s
capabilities by incorporating AI and machine learning into
its future feature sets. This will create a system that can
more easily be tailored to each unique end user.
Downs and Ups
Despite its obvious utility and vast potential for practical
application, Procurify has had anything but a smooth
journey.
When its co-founders travelled to San Francisco to seek
Series A funding, they were so strapped for cash that they
crashed on Airbnb couches and ate cup noodles to save
money. The team had pinned their hopes on the hundreds
of emails that they had sent to potential investors. They
did not receive a single response.
It was in the very last few days, when they had just about
lost all hope, that a call came through. That led to a
meeting with an investor who has gone on to become one
of their most valued mentors.
The company has also had to deal with human resources
issues, particularly in terms of hiring the wrong people for
the wrong reasons. Painful lessons have been learned
about how the right people are what make a company
great.
However, the team has incorporated both the positive and
negative into a repository of experiences on which they
rely to do a better job every day. It helps them tackle every
new challenge with excitement rather than fear which, in
turn, transforms uncertainty into opportunity.
Aman believes in celebrating small wins, and in the value
of teamwork and courage. This empowering mentality has
allowed Procurify to grow not just as a company, but as
the sum of the people within it.
Essential Change
Aman developed the concept behind Procurify over many
years as he worked at numerous jobs in different
companies. He noticed that despite the diverse offices,
company cultures, and organizational SOPs, inefficient
business processes were a constant feature of the
workplace landscape.
The greatest barrier to better efficiency and conducive
work environments was a resistance to change. However,
Aman also saw that it was always possible to further
streamline business processes even at the most progressive
organizations.
With their diverse range of spend cultures, companies
were erring by using legacy systems and ERPs which are
all inherently rigid. These all-in-one spend solutions offer
multiple features and tools for finance professionals and
executives like the CFO, but are neither user-friendly nor
versatile enough for the average worker.
Their desktop-bound or server-limited options have
disproportionately lengthy onboarding and training times.
In today’s world of convenient mobile apps for virtually
every task, such impractical solutions inspire less use, not
more.
Ultimately, the fact that these traditional systems come
with extended implementation timelines and hefty fees
have created an atmosphere ripe for change. Procurify is
perfectly placed to exploit it.
Versatility Wins
One of the chief challenges to widespread adoption of
Procurify is the presence of legacy financial management
products that dominate the market.
However, the platform’s ability to be customized to every
organization’s unique work and reporting cultures, the
appeal of error-free records, and the drastic reduction in
procedural timelines means that Procurify is attracting
extraordinary attention.
Some of the world’s fastest growing companies, including
A³ by Airbus and Samumed, the world’s largest biotech
start-up, have already implemented Procurify.
Aman’s vision goes beyond just dominating the
purchasing management segment of the market. He
intends to transform Procurify into the Smart Spend
|August 2018 69

Spark Compass:
The Internet of Things (IoT) has
brought the vision of a more
connected world into reality
due to an emerging volume of sensors,
devices and numerous services that are
connected and delivering data via
heterogeneous access networks.
Correspondingly, cloud computing has
emerged to provide enormous storage,
computing facilities, and data sharing
opportunities. Moreover, the
convergence of IoT and connected
cloud can provide new opportunities
for both technologies, particularly
when connected in an intelligent
manner. It can open a new horizon for
ubiquitous sensing, interconnection of
devices, service sharing, data storage
and provisioning to support better
communication and collaboration
among people and appliances in a more
distributed and dynamic manner. Thus,
such convergence can enable the
development of innovative applications
and new solutions in various emerging
areas to improve all aspects of life.
Powered with a vision to create a better
world, Total Communicator
Solutions, Inc. has developed a fully
integrated, contextually intelligent
mobile communications platform,
Spark Compass ™. The solution
leverages real-data analytics with real-
time actions and events based on the
collected data, combined with location,
user, and activity knowledge, to deliver
curated experiences on mobile devices
and other associated IoT connected
devices.
The company’s patented, contextually
intelligent communications platform,
integrates numerous smart city sensors,
smart home sensors, proximity
beacons, NFC, augmented reality, and
IoT sensors in the environment, in
equipment – even in cars. Spark
Compass is used by enterprises such as
airports, hospitals, university facilities,
sport venues, and convention centers.
Total Communicator Solutions is
headquartered in San Diego, CA, with
its branches located in USA, Spain,
Mexico, UK, Norway, and New
Zealand.
A True-Grit Leader
Erik Bjontegard is the Founder of
Total Communicator Solutions, who
has over 30 years of experience in
areas ranging from aerospace to retail.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the
University Of Salford, UK
Erik began his carrier as a rocket
scientist with NASA and later as a
Corporate R&D Executive at
Qualcomm Corporate R&D. He holds
patents at Qualcomm and is the
inventor of the patented Spark
Compass platform with numerous
additional patented patents filed across
the globe. He, along with a team of
industry experts architected and
developed the one-of-a-kind Spark
Compass platform as a service which
connects existing sensor networks,
devices and their users.
As an innovator and multiple patent
holder, Erik has been awarded and won
recognitions from Red Herring to
awards at the White House, he has
been a speaker at events from large
investor meetings to Mobile World
Congress and has been showcased by
conglomerates and trusted
organizations like Qualcomm and
Samsung at CES, MWC and numerous
other technology industry events.
A Comprehensive Communication
Platform
The Spark Compass platform™
collects data from user devices,
wearables and sensor networks,
enabling the delivery of smart content
based on the user’s context. This is
performed by analyzing data patterns,
setting specific rules and combining
existing data sources. Powerful
analytics on collected performance
data, real-time behavior and actions
provide granular visibility in a
centralized platform ensuring the right
curated content is delivered to the right
user at the right time and place, on the
right device.
The Spark Compass™ mobile
proximity platform is the ‘brains’ that
is enabling a wide range of
experiences. Based on its patented
technology, it takes advantage of the
latest innovations in proximity
beacons, sensor integrations, geo-
fences, augmented reality and virtual
reality to name a few, to enable
businesses and organizations drive
dynamic marketing, services and
communications. The end result is the
ability to easily bring real-time,
contextually intelligent experiences to
people in places like convention
centers, universities, airports, medical
centers and hospitals, events,
convention centers, office buildings
and tourist destinations.
In addition, the platform was designed
to deliver compelling relevant content
A Contextually Intelligent Communications Platform of Platforms
August 2018|70

Lofty goal, yes, but
we are proving it can
be done - by doing it!
within a unique localized experience to
the user, while capturing relevant user-
behavior data for platform
stakeholders. Today, Spark Compass is
covered by an awarded US patent with
numerous patented patents in USA and
worldwide with providers and partners,
channel partners. It has also been
endorsed by leading system integration
partners ranging from ATOS,
Qualcomm, CGI and Samsung to
smaller local BOT (Build Operate
Train) partners.
Erik asserts “We are finally out of
stealth mode and are deploying with
some powerful brands and partners.
The Spark Compass platform has been
tested and validated in real commercial
enterprise deployments, across
multiple vertical markets. It drives
conversion and result, now endorsed
and promoted by our channel partners
globally
Next generation of intelligent storage
of real world data is being deployed
with the patent patented Spark
Compass Intelligence of Every Thing
blockchain platform. This advanced
distributed ledger data storage platform
enables select data such as information
across a product procurement and
distribution process to be captured
efficiently and cost effectively via the
Spark Compass IoT Platform and
stored safely and securely in the
blockchain for future use along the
supply chain by authorized users.
He continues: “Integrating our
advanced data storage options as
option to traditional cloud storage
enables our clients to be future proof
and store their data securely. Our
platform turns the data into actions.
We then verify that the results of those
actions are the desired outcomes,
thereby ensuring conversion and
desired results”
Unfolding the Forthcoming Mission
Spark Compass enables innovation and
leadership in using technology to drive
outcomes and conversion to be
delivered based on intelligent use of
data. It leverages and combines the
best from others under one umbrella
and by being ‘inclusive’ while
respecting each partner’s ownership,
the best solutions are integrated,
leveraging legacy with new technology
to deliver the best combination. The
company’s vision is to create a better
world by enhancing end user’s
interactions in the real world by
intelligently delivering curated content
and enhancements to their daily
interactions with the real world.
“When it comes to the future of
technology, it’s clear that artificial
intelligence (AI) is the final frontier.
However, as major tech companies
have begun creating various AI-driven
technologies and capabilities, they’ve
started to think about AI in an entirely
new way. Rather than viewing AI as
systems with the goal of replicating
and surpassing human intelligence,
experts in the field and leading
research companies understand AI is
better represented and produced as
‘Augmented Intelligence,’since these
systems will instead enhance and
augment human capabilities – this is
our AI vision, Augmenting the human
intelligence.” Erik states.
Erik Bjontegard
Founder
|August 2018 71

Better
FUTURE
for
Catching-up
with the
ROBOTICS
obots have always been
Rpictured as a man-made
advanced technological
creativity, which do and will favor the
human species for future. As robotics
is vibrantly globalized, soon it will be
mainstreamed in various fields and
sectors. Currently, there are numerous
enterprises worldwide which are
implementing robotics into industrial,
healthcare and commercial use.
Whereas, robotics have experienced a
lot of up’s and down’s during this
tenure, but with the time, it held a
stronghold in the digital world.
Whenever the discussion arises about
the applications of robotics, the
industrial sector has bespoken
benefits’. Robots have become more
affordable, smart and productive over
the years. The sectors like agriculture,
construction, warehousing and
logistics, and customer services. By
investing more in robots, an enterprise
August 2018|72
Future-Bots

will be solving certain problems more
accurately and efficiently. Meanwhile,
utilizing robots will help enterprises to
push their limits in order to fill up the
productivity voids.
With each slippage of time, the
technology is upgrading so does the
robotics. The advancements in robotics
field will be a boon to the enterprises in
order to increase growth and
productivity rate. There are certain
parameters that should be considered
while implementing robotics in the
enterprise, such as
Following up Parameters before
Reaching the Depth of Robotics
Modifying; as per the user’s need
Generally, robots used to require
advanced training in order to operate
comfortably. It’s not an issue for the
big enterprises as they acquire the
skilled people to deal with, where the
small enterprises are not so gifted with
loads of assets initially. But, with the
new advances in robotics technologies,
it has become easier for small ventures
to invest in robots for increasing the
productivity generating more revenue.
Just by giving wireless commands
from an IOT, demonstrating tasks to
the robots gets easier. Nowadays, there
are numerous varieties of robots to
carry out multitasks, thus as per the
user’s need, one can invest in robots
for the industrial purpose.
Easily Compatible
Unlike the big manufacturing robots in
huge industries, there are various
collaborative robots which are
specially designed to work alongside
and to assist human workers in a
variety of tasks. Earlier it was sort of
stressful for an enterprise to allot
specific man-power for certain task,
but by implementing co-bots such
issues are resolved. As the size and
shape of co-bots are getting more
compact, it may benefit the enterprises
in various terms.
Easy to Develop
Earlier robots were not able to program
easily due to the incompatibility
between the user interface and
hardware. But, now Robotic Operating
System (ROS) is dominating the
industry by providing solutions for
varied robots in order to perform the
task without lagging. It’s an open-
source framework which helps
developers to redirect the programming
in different ways. This open-source
framework is dominating the growth
towards the constructive direction.
Amplifying the Range of Applied
Robotics
st
The 21 century—is the era of
implementing new ideology and
technologies in various sectors. While
technological disruption has
collectively affected every possible
|August 2018 73

sector, robotics is still unaffected. From past few years, the
technology, as well as its implementation, has increased
substantially. Have a look on such few areas for possible
applications.
Obliging Enterprises through Robotics
Cobot’s: Assisting Humans
Unlike big manufacturing robots, collaborative robots are
designed to work with employees in enterprises and
corporates. The design is smart enough to assist humans
and also, compact enough to handle. Generally, the small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are slightly boon by
implementing co-bots in day to day life, as they are easily
adaptable, easy to process and most importantly it’s
affordable. According to some experts, there’s a possibility
of enormous growth in the business, if Co-bots are
implemented widely. The main motive of industrial robots
is to the prioritized safety of employees and workers, yet
the chances of accidents are always at high risk. Whereas,
co-bots works as a service robot; they come in various
shape and sizes easing the workability and reducing the
liability of employees. In order to get sanctioned as service
robots, any co-bot has to pass certain testing parameters by
robot manufacturing companies, factors such as easily
compatible with other devices and programs, safe in
use, easy to command, and processing at a faster
rate. Currently, co-bots are used for processes
like machine tending, packaging, and material
handling. In spite of industries, co-bots are
used in various sectors such as in farming,
hospitals, healthcare and facilities, and
labs. It does come under robot-as-a-
service format.
Cloud Robotics
Imagine an enterprise with
robots that are totally independent
to the user commands, in other
words, no external programming
may require in order to process robots
for the various tasks. In accordance to
that, a User Interface to be exact might not
be needed in the future, as machine learning is
already on its verge to get explored. Currently, in
order to carry out certain tasks robots are been told to
what to do using the interface whereas, cloud robotics
directly twitch compatible code from the clouds which
are required for the tasks. To work alongside with
humans, robots must be deep learning the subjects
simultaneously able to point out problems and provide
solutions right away. Meanwhile, it will be a boon for the
enterprises if the employees will get to interact with robots
as a personified object rather than a machine. Soon, there
with personal robotics cloud which will help robots to take
and give information directly. Depending on the robot, it
can process various functions such as lifting, leveraging,
handle vision, object recognition and other, thus certain
robots acquire such skills and will provide information to
the cloud. Then, this information helps other robots to get
enlightened. In simple words to say, robots will teach other
robots for the better good of the enterprises. On the other
hand, as robots are getting more and more evolved, filtering
of essential information from rest will get much easier. This
will comfort both big and small enterprises to manage big
data more precisely.
With the emergence of advancement in robotics, they are on
the verge to touch skies already. If considering the above
possible factors, this evergreen era of robotics is less likely
to get saturated due to technological disruption. As the
technologies are growing faster, the enterprises must to
catch-up with them accordingly. It’s high time to implement
new technologies especially of the robotics as its utilization
is not only subjected to warehouses but also, towards the in-
house enterprise work. Hopefully, there’s a possibility of
robot-oriented industries in the future.
August 2018|74

DELIVERING ON OUR PROMISES
THROUGH MEDICAL INNOVATION
www.medtronic.com
Most Advanced StealthStation
For Neurosurgery:
The StealthStation S8 technology includes a new
and improved software interface, a two-cart platform
design, and electromagnetic technology to
complement the surgical workﬂows.

TechR2:
IT Security Solutions with
On-site Data Eradication
Amajor challenge for many
businesses today comes in the
form of the exponential
growth in the quantity of information
that is generated and has to be stored.
This data faces a multitude of threats
and its protection is imperative.
TechR2 is a leading secure media
retention solutions provider with a
portfolio of on-site data eradication
solutions which can be deployed
within any enterprise scenario. It is
backed by twenty years of experience
with industry best practices and the
resources to support any type of
business data.
Established in 1997, the TechR2
headquarters is located in Columbus,
Ohio, and the company serves clients
across the United States who
themselves have a global presence. Its
mission is to protect enterprise and
brands from the very real threat of data breaches. TechR2 is proud to
have a completely untarnished record of keeping 100% of its clients
protected from data breaches in its twenty years of operations. The
company is currently one of the fastest-growing businesses in the
industry.
TechR2’s senior management has over sixty years of collective
experience in the data security industry. TechR2 meets all required
compliances such as GDPR, NIST, HIPAA, HITECH, PCI, SOX, and
GLBA as a leader of the IT security solutions marketplace.
A Determined Leader
A true visionary, Sepehr (Sepp) Rajaie is the CEO and President of
TechR2. He immigrated to the United States as a student from Iran.
Upon graduating from North High School in Columbus, Ohio, Sepp
continued his education, matriculating to and graduating from One
Tech (now known as Devry University), Ohio Dominican College with
a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and ﬁnally Franklin University
with a Master’s degree in Engineering.
He then embarked upon his professional career, successfully building
three multinational companies before turning his attention to the
Sepehr Rajaie
CEO & President
August 2018|76

Secure media retention,
tracking, containment,
destruction and
VERIFICATION of the
previous steps within the
data center premises.
technology industry. His perseverance paid off in early 1991
when Sepp was chosen to attend the IBM Business Partners
Wharton School for Executive Education Program.
His career has now come full circle with TechR2 being named
an IBM Partner world member, offering its Tear-a-byte (TAB)
process and solutions to IBM customers worldwide. Sepp
holds US Patent 9430654, which is the basis for TechR2’s TAB
process.
While specializing in on-site data eradication, Sepp also built a
data retention powerhouse. The company provides IT asset
tracking through RFID technology for data-bearing media such
as storage devices, tablets, and mobile phones.
Overcoming Complicated Regulations
TechR2 adheres strictly to best practices and high standards. Its
patented TAB process is a manifestation of best practices for
disposition of data-bearing assets at the end of their lifecycle.
Obtaining approval of the patent for registration was the first
challenge. The company wanted to meet the requirements of
the world’s most stringent standards regulating data and its
disposition. Secondly, obtaining a method patent and to
become ISO-certified was incredibly difficult. TechR2
submitted itself to ISO auditors so that it could guarantee best
practices to its customers.
Today, it is the only secure media retention solution provider
that operates under the ISO 27001, 9001, 18001, 14001 and,
soon, 32001 certifications.
Proprietary Services
TechR2 continues to perfect its own state-of-the-art solutions
for an ever-changing market. The company dedicates
considerable resources to educating and training employees so
they remain on the cutting edge of technology. On each project,
it collaborates with its customers’ compliance departments,
conducts a risk assessment, and then implements their
solutions based on the individual client’s needs.
TechR2 is backed by the globally-recognized
International Standards Organization (ISO)
certifications (IS0-27001, ISO-14001, ISO-
9001, and soon ISO-32001) and other
standards (OHSAS-18001). This allows the
company to provide independent certification
of data destruction backed by the most
powerful insurance policy for risk mitigation,
offered by Lloyd’s of London.
Future Expansion
Sepp says, “We have continued to expand our
services - security for data-bearing devices
from cradle to the grave with our RFID IT
Asset Tracking and further innovations
regarding risk management.”
TechR2’s patented process of TAB (Tear-A-
Byte) is soon going to become the industry
standard and many OEMs are participating in
use of its process globally.
|August 2018 77

The adoption of next-generation technologies is a
dire necessity for companies to stay competitive.
Technologies such as cloud, data analytics,
internet of things, blockchain, virtual reality, augmented
reality, analytics & measurement, workforce
management, quality assurance and knowledge
management have become a key for driving customer
success and retaining.
Therefore, in order to achieve this, VOX Network
Solutions - A modern technology company was
launched in 2006 which truly aim at making a diﬀerence
in the world. It embraces innovation & creativity and
dares to think about change in terms of monumental
paradigm shifts. The company’s approach of creating a
change in the industry sets them apart from others. VOX
is infusing a deep-seeded belief in creating committed
partnerships, engaged communities and empowering
individuals to have a stake in the process. It creates a
collaborative prosperity that can positively support the
people, businesses and the world.
At its core, VOX is driven by a diverse team of
consultants, entrepreneurs and technologists. The
company has six fundamental technology practices such
as Consulting, Contact Center, Collaboration, Network,
Security, and Managed Services. By using a prescriptive
process methodology, it seeks to empower its clients,
partners and employees to create something better. As a
result of this cooperative approach, VOX has been
VOXLeading Provider of Converged
Voice and Data Solutions
Scott Landis
Chairman, President & CEO
August 2018|78

named as one of the fastest growing companies in the
United States and has strategic partnerships with industry
leaders such as Cisco, Avaya, and Microsoft.
An Engaging Business Communicator
Scott Landis is the Chairman of the Board, President and
CEO of VOX Network Solutions. At the start, Scott worked
for six years in sales and sales management at Nortel
Communications Systems having received a BS in Business
Administration & Marketing from San Diego State
University. Prior to VOX, Scott co-founded United Telecom
in 1997. During that time, United Telecom experienced
tremendous growth which was later on sold to NetVersant
Solutions in December 2000. And Scott continued to play a
role as the President of Telephony for NetVersant from
2000-05.
A Journey through Adversities
Founded in 2006, VOX has been through a number of
challenges including economic downturn, key partners
going bankrupt and increased technology complexity. In
other words, the company has fallen into Value Added
Resellers (Resellers) category. Since, its greatest challenges
are providing value to its existing clients and separating
itself from competitors through this attention to value. Over
the last 24 months, the company has worked to evolve their
organization into a powerhouse Consulting Services
company. It was also focusing on helping customers to
create and execute the right technology strategies and
tactics in order to drive positive business outcomes.
Since its inception, VOX is driven by a diverse team of
consultants, entrepreneurs and technologists and has
evolved to become a leader in Consulting, Contact Center,
Collaboration, Network, Security and Managed Services.
Today, it has been able to weather the storms and grow an
average of 25% year over year. Organizationally, the
company has converged every business unit and department
into a fully integrated alignment. Additionally, it has
implemented new systems, processes and a robust customer
engagement methodology named VOX Enterprise
Lifecycle.
Employees, Community and Partnerships
The evolution of VOX into a Consulting Services company
is a key differentiation strategy. It has propelled through the
company’s proprietary, consultative framework, VOX
Lifecycle Program. Through the VOX Lifecycle Program,
it guides clients through a true business journey. The
company’s comprehensive framework provides multi-
dimensional insight into business goals / strategies, staffing,
processes, technologies, finance and risk management.
VOX is driven by a greater vision which believes that
business is more than the pursuit of profit. The company is
a part of a global community, through conviction,
compassion and force of will; it has both the opportunity
and privilege to change the world. To that end, VOX is
committed to their Employees, Community and
Partnerships.
The company respects the talents, experiences, and values
the employees by bringing them to the table and provides
opportunities for personal and career growth. It engages in
the community by investing in the time & resources by
promoting and enabling volunteerism to make a meaningful
difference. Additionally, it also develops healthy & dynamic
value partnerships through steadfast commitment, superior
communication and a sense of urgency
Future Endeavors
VOX continues to invest heavily in the people, offerings
and infrastructure. VOX is committed to being an innovator
with their consultative services and are constantly working
to increase their value to the clients. As organizations find it
difficult to find talented people who are both business savvy
and technically astute, the company will continue to build
its team of experts and develop it through on-going
education.
In the future, the flagship Contact Center Practice of the
company will continue to spread its wings with innovative
technologies, broader assessments and more services.
Further, the industry awarded Managed Services Practice
will also continue to exemplify superior, human-centric
service, real-time management, and comprehensive
coverage.
We live in a world of
too much information
and too little context.
“ “
|August 2018 79

Food Innovation
At Tyson Foods, our renowned chefs, culinologists,
sensory experts, and researchers are working
to reimagine the possibilities, seeking new
ways to make more and better food.

XTIVIA
Perfecting Innovative Solutions
The world of technology is driven by innovation.
Enterprises must survive the impact of growing
competition in saturated markets. Companies are
pushing their boundaries to create products and services
that deliver maximum value to their customers; innovative
technology is the fulcrum that this shift rests on to deliver
stellar customer experience. The demand for expert service
providers is, accordingly, on the rise to help companies
achieve their goals more effectively by leveraging these
technology innovations and, additionally, by enhancing
performance of legacy technology investments.
XTIVIA is a premier technology innovation and integration
company known for delivering leading-edge solutions to
meet customers’ specific requirements, regardless of project
complexity. XTIVIA aims to deliver customized, quality
technology integration and innovation solutions through
long-term relationships with the B2B enterprise customers.
It brings next-level business operations to reality through
Application Development, Business Intelligence, Data
Warehousing, Database Support & Management, Enterprise
Information Management, Digital Experience Solutions and
Enterprise Resource Planning. The company believes its
success is derived from a demonstrated ability to deliver
deep expertise via professional services; this deep expertise
empowers customers to leverage their chosen technology
successfully, competitively and profitably.
A Leading Edge of XTIVIA
Dennis Robinson is the CEO of XTIVIA, leading the
company since 2001. He has more than 25 years of
experience with an emphasis on P&L performance,
financial management, marketing strategy, strategic
business planning and development of information systems
and technologies. His philosophy of assisting customers in
achieving their performance targets through technology,
regardless of project nuances, has become a hallmark of
XTIVIA’s success. This has also led to recruiting and
retaining the most qualified workforce available, making
XTIVIA’s breadth and depth of technical expertise
unparalleled. Personally, he is a husband, father and a fan of
‘all things steampunk’.
Prior to XTIVIA, Dennis was the Vice President of
Worldwide Xceed Group, Inc. He held the same position for
technical sales in Sterling Carteret, Inc., where he worked
for three years. Dennis was the Director of Operations for
Walmart, where he established the first UNIX operations for
24/7 availability for 35 distribution centers. Previous to
that, he was with FoxMeyer Drug. Dennis held several roles
in IT, including establishing a new data center for
FoxMeyer customers and partners. As a result of his
personal experience, he understands technology from front-
line accountabilities through complex integrations and
maintenance.
Building Bridges
Technology is a dynamic and ever-evolving industry. The
only competitive differentiator for companies in today’s
digital business landscape is delivering a unique, seamless
and delightful customer experience. In order to deliver that
level of personalized customer experience on a mass scale,
companies need technology. Enterprises use more than
1,000 applications in their IT architecture today - simply to
run their operations - and all of them need to be
implemented, integrated and maintained. A minor change in
any part of the system can lead to consequences. Taking
these factors into consideration, XTIVIA helps B2B
August 2018|82

Your brand experience rests on the
technology that delivers it. Enhance
your competitive advantage through
the right technology. The future of
your business depends on it.
“
enterprise customers bridge their current and new
technology with their business goals. The in-house
experts in XTIVIA take on and deliver technical projects
to its customers, working with the nuances they find
‘under the hood’ of the current IT architecture, so their
customers can deliver greater value and a personalized
experience to their clients and users.
XTIVIA goes the extra mile for customers by delivering
on projects and making deep expertise accessible as
needed. Special areas of focus that support XTIVIA’s
success include SEO, cross-selling within the existing
customer base and being strategic in all aspects of
digital brand presence and marketing. Dennis coined the
term “Stop, Drop and Dial” to prioritize form
submissions that come in through the website and/or
social channels.
Agility is the Key
According to XTIVIA, agility is the key for companies
to meet dynamic customer needs and conversations. The
complexity involved in designing today’s technology
platforms requires deep expertise in multiple areas.
Companies need to have technical skills available and
demonstrate success in implementing digital solutions.
XTIVIA believes customers not only need access to
these skills but also for technical experts to understand
their business goals and speak their language. Service
vendors like XTIVIA must be able to speak about
technology as well as how potential solutions suit their
customers’ needs, connect with disparate systems, and
ensure cohesive data flow for a unified view of the
customer journey as well as provide robust business
intelligence.
Embracing Changes
In XTIVIA’s early days, the CEO handled marketing
and sales while the CTO focused on projects and
customer relationships. Everyone wore multiple hats to
get to the point where XTIVIA could attract and afford
the right talent to build its infrastructure. The projects
during startup were smaller in size as the company built
its customer base and references. Over time, everything
changed - the size of the projects, the number of staff,
the breadth of services and more that comes with
healthy company growth. However, the philosophy of
the company did not change because the focus is on
doing right by XTIVIA’s customers. It’s about meeting
customers where they are with their specific needs,
wants and requirements. Ultimately, XTIVIA’s passion is around
making customers successful, through not only quality project
implementations but also through building trust, loyalty and
relationships that stand the test of time.
Constant Support
XTIVIA is committed to creating the solutions that customers
need to achieve their business goals. Inherently within that
commitment is XTIVIA’s consistent and reliable support to
innovate, implement, integrate and troubleshoot technology
within the customers’ IT landscape. Future growth of the
company will depend on this focus as well expansion into new
technologies and services through company mergers and
acquisitions.
For more information, visit : www.xtivia.com
Dennis Robinson
CEO
|August 2018 83

Zappi
A Leading Automated Consumer Insights Platform
C
ontrary to popular perception, it is a very
hopeful time to be a market researcher.
Although time and budgets are squeezed, an
opportunity has presented itself to embrace innovation.
Tech is already enabling researchers to do more, think
more, and do analysis that wasn’t possible in the past.
Business leaders need to watch out for the synergy
between AI and data integration. Here lies the future of
many developments that could change the business
landscape as we know it. One company building the
future of marketing research by using AI technology is
Zappi.
Zappi is built for marketers and insights professionals
who respect the voice of their consumers as the most
influential part of their decision-making process. Zappi
automates the collection and modeling of data using
proven market research methodologies; from audience
configuration to reporting. It understands data at a
semantic level, and drives meaningful analysis in real-
time via an intuitive interface. Zappi the businesslearns
goals of clients in a cumulative manner, growing more
strategic with more use.
Ultimately, the platform envisions a more intelligent
future. According to Steve Phillips, CEO, “Our mission
is to help clients build more effective brands, produce
stronger products, and develop the ability to adapt in
ever-changing markets utilizing the best consumer
insights.”
Steve has lived in and worked across four continents
with a focus on international research. His work on
Consumer Purchase Journeys has won multiple awards
and he has been a regular speaker on this topic at
industry events.
He has become a devotee of Behavioral Economics and
his work on the impact of this thinking won the
ESOMAR Best Paper award in 2011. He has also won
the ‘Best New Thinking’ award at the MRS Conference,
and became a recipient of both the ARF Great Minds
certificate and the industries Innovation award.
When Steve is at work, he is known to be many things.
Most importantly a technology enthusiast and forward-
thinker, his dedicated pursuit doesn’t take away from
who he is and everything he loves about life! In his spare
time, Steve also runs a local cricket team.
We asked Steve about the biggest threat looming in the
sector of market research and his views were insightful.
Steve said, “There is a perception that technology is one
of the biggest challenges for the market research
industry. However, market researchers are in dire need of
faster, simpler, and more economical research in order to
keep a seat at their companies’ tables. Technology,
August 2018|84

We revolutionize
the way companies
gather and utilize
consumer insights to build
great brands, strong
products, and adapt in
ever-changing markets.
especially around AI, can help - only if it’s truly accepted
as valid.”
His views are echoed in the industry and the latest
research supporting the need for a quality big data
solution to uplift the market research industry. Recently,
AMA research titled, “The 2017 Q3-Q4 GreenBook
Research Industry Trends (GRIT) report” stated that
“technology and innovation are the biggest challenges
facing the market research industry. Market research
suppliers report feeling threatened by the pervasiveness
of fraudulent survey respondents, disillusionment with
the actionable value of Big Data, skills shortages in
advanced statistical modeling, and the looming threat of
AI eliminating research jobs.”
According to Steve, the future of research automation
will take place on one of the few major platforms. Steve
envisions Zappi to be that platform. Under his
leadership, Zappi engineers are building new capabilities
and getting clients to conduct their research and collect
data at one place.
The company hopes to make clients realize that using a
single platform is more beneficial as opposed to using an
array of limited and unconnected providers. Additionally,
the Zappi team hopes to provide a clear understanding of
their extensive capabilities to clients via proven results.
The groundwork for Zappi’s progress and vision was laid
out in 2010 when Steve identified that there was little
demand for further methodological innovation in market
research and spotted an opportunity for new thinking
around tech instead.
In 2013, he imagined an automated ‘app store’ for
buying and selling self-serve research solutions. He
founded Zappi and shortly thereafter, Intellection
Software CTO, Dave Birch, saw the value in this
proposition and joined as technology partner.
Ahead of launch, his newly found team spent a year in
development, testing new research tools, reporting
software, and the website. The following years were
spent establishing meaningful partnerships with research
providers leveraging their IP.
Zappi has now built the world’s most power consumer
insights platform, capable of simplifying complex meta-
analysis projects. The company frequently speaks of its
ethos around machine learning: augmented intelligence
trumps artificial intelligence, and infusing advanced tech
with codified human expertise to deliver exceptional
results.
Steve Phillips
Founder & CEO
|August 2018 85

Why Supermarkets
Need To Talk To
Millennials In
Their Language
The word millennial has been
thrown around carelessly for
a while now but only a few
have understood the signiﬁcance of
what this means. They are not the
loud and self-absorbed demographic
that the media has made them to be,
but rather a highly intelligent, well-
educated, multitasking generation
with a spending power of close to
$3.39 Trillion in 2018, according to
Oracle.
So who are they, and why do they
matter? Millennials are those born
between 1977 and 2000. 1 in 4
millennials are parents today, and are
2.5 times more likely to adopt a new
technology compared to their older
counterparts. Millennials are a
generation of smartphone wielders,
and the growth on the reliance of
mobile applications that save time is
on the rise. According to Edelman
Digital, 42% of millennials have
already made purchases using their
smartphones.
How you communicate is as
important as what you
communicate
A conversational tonality that is
accessible and human is what
connects the millennials to a shop
and brand. By taking a more personal
approach ad campaigns, customers
can feel more valued. Rather than
just talking to the masses, brands that
have started using social media
networking pages to advertise their
products are able to communicate
directly with individuals.
Intelligently persuasive content will
inevitably attract an audience. It’s
this type of audience that will also be
interested in future content pieces
and accept the brand as a trusted and
informative source of wanted
information. This long term
relationship can then be dotted with
compelling reasons to purchase and
convert readers to buyers.
Instashop is the easiest
way to order groceries
and have them delivered
to the customer’s
doorstep in less than 30
or 60 minutes average
time depending on the
location. The organization
oﬀers a convenient and
seamless grocery
shopping experience that
frees its clients from the
unavoidable chore of
heading to the
supermarket with all the
challenges they may face
there. The result?
Customers get much
more time to enjoy doing
the things they love the
most with the people they
love the most!
About the Company
Director’s Viewpoint
August 2018|86

Mobile grocery shopping is now the next big trend
A 30-year old working mother comes home to a crying
baby, and remembers that she needs to purchase milk.
She quickly whips out her phone and places an order
from the nearest online grocery shop without the hassle
of calling, communication mishaps, and cash
withdrawals.
To connect with this rising smart demographic, brick and
mortar supermarkets cannot simply rely on traditional
industry techniques that were prevalent in the 1990s and
the 2000s. In that period, marketing was done through
conventional techniques of leaﬂet distributions, and
general word of mouth. But this has shifted slowly but
surely. A reputation of a brand or a supermarket may in
fact be dictated solely based on whether they have an
online presence or not. A trending on-demand app
culture has been taking over the millennial generation. In
2015, online grocery sales in US alone amounted to $7
billion, and is expected to rise to $18 billion by 2020.
Convenience and reliability is the critical factor that
keeps this generation loyal. InstaShop, a UAE based
online grocery delivery app backed by Souq.com, Jabbar
Internet Group, and Venture Friends who partner with
local supermarkets and brands, noticed that those who
have downloaded the apps order at least once per week.
Limited push notiﬁcations on phones with regular
discounts has been quite successful in increasing grocery
purchase. However, too much of that, and the user may
uninstall the app.
At the end, brick-and-mortar groceries and supermarkets
need to build a new content strategy and partner with
online delivery shopping applications that will help to
transition to this new era of digital delivery options to
ensure existing demographics are not missed out on.
John Tsioris is the Founder and
CEO of Instashop, the leading on
demand grocery shopping app
in the GCC, operating in the
region since 2015 and having
been nominated for two
consecutive years as one of the
most promising startups in the
Arab world by Forbes. Instashop
is present in 4 countries &
expanding.
The platform allows users to
access their nearby supermarket
directly through their mobile app
and shop for groceries with
delivery straight to their door in
30 to 60 minutes depending on
location. in 2016, Souq.com
invested In Instashop.
About the Author
John Tsioris
Founder & CEO
|August 2018 87

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