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Zyman Institute of Brand Science Announces Brand Science Awards

Archives — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:00:44 GMT

The Zyman Institute of Brand Science (ZIBS), a network-based organization located at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, announced today the winners of its Brand Science Awards. Designed to recognize excellence in branding, these awards are granted to organizations and people who have shown commendable achievement in the areas of brand management and theory. The awards were presented at the Zyman Institute of Brand Science anniversary event on Friday, September 30, 2005.

The winners of the 2005 ZIBS Distinguished Practice Award included Samsung, IBM, UPS, and Procter and Gamble. The winner of the 2005 ZIBS Distinguished Theory Award was Kevin Lane Keller, E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business.

“It was a pleasure and honor to host the representatives of the award winners at our event including Suk Woo Hong, Sr. Vice President of Samsung NAHQ Marketing, David Harkleroad, Vice President of Brand Strategy of IBM, and Jamie B. Kravitz, Director of Retail Brand Management of UPS,” remarked Rajendra Srivstava, Executive Director of ZIBS.

Underlying the significance of the awards, Sergio Zyman, founder of ZIBS and Chairman of the Zyman Group, noted that “ZIBS provides an independent academic setting that bridges the span between academia and commercial marketing to gain a fuller understanding of why branding is so critical to business growth. The Brand Science Awards strive to recognize businesses and individuals that are executing successful brand management and theory within their organizations.”

The Brand Science Awards are presented in two categories. The ZIBS Distinguished Theory Award is presented to authors of articles who have made significant contributions to brand science. The ZIBS Distinguished Practice Award is presented to managers and organizations that embrace innovation in brand management. The Distinguished Practice award is broken up into four categories and honors excellence in the business-to-business, services, consumer and technology markets.

The ZIBS Distinguished Theory Award recognizes scholarship, contributions and outcomes that both impact managerial practices and further academic theory. This year’s award is presented to Professor Kevin Lane Keller. Professor Keller is an academic pioneer in the study of brands, branding and brand equity and has conducted a variety of studies that address marketing strategies and tactics to build, measure, and manage brand equity. Professor Keller is acknowledged as one of the international leaders in the study of brands, branding, and strategic brand management.

Samsung, the recipient of the ZIBS Award for Technology Branding, has recently been named the leading global consumer electronics brand and ranked 20th overall, according to BusinessWeek’s Interbrand 2005 study. They are the world’s leading manufacturer of flat-panel screens and flash memory, which is pervasive in this digital age found in cameras, digital audio players, and computers. It is Samsung’s relentless pursuit of customer-led and innovative technology development that has catapulted them to the top of the list in brand excellence.

IBM, the recipient of the ZIBS Award for B2B Branding, recognizes that if you aren’t proactive in paying attention to your brands, then that means others – your competitors, your clients, your former clients and your other stakeholders – are the ones defining you. IBM’s brand strategy is designed to demonstrate how IBM can “help clients succeed through business and technology innovation.” Its ability to deliver on that promise within the B2B space is what ZIBS recognizes as excellence in branding.

UPS, the recipient of the ZIBS Award for Services Brands, has grown from a small Seattle-based local delivery company to a $36.6 billion corporation that operates in all four corners of the world. In 2002 the company began laying the groundwork for a rebranding initiative that strived to illustrate the company’s capabilities. After years of research, what emerged was the “Brown” campaign. UPS successfully transformed Brown into a ubiquitous symbol that is commonly identified with the company’s capabilities as well as the spirit of its brand.

Procter and Gamble (P&G) has more than 300 brands that are available in more than 160 countries. Its embracing of “open innovation” is why the company has been chosen to receive the ZIBS Award for Consumer Branding. Three years ago, only 20 percent of ideas, products and technologies came from outside P&G, now 35 percent do. The target is to generate 50 percent of the innovation as sourced from outside the company.

“All of these companies, and Professor Keller, showcase the power of marketing and branding within an organization. We are honored to have these businesses and individuals as examples of true pioneers in the use of brand management in the business environment,” explained Srivastava.

The Zyman Institute of Brand Science (ZIBS) is a network-based organization based at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. ZIBS fosters rich collaborations between business managers and leading scholars across the globe. The institute supports advanced research in brand management for with the ultimate goal of developing positively useful knowledge that drives superior business performance.

For more information, please visit www.zibs.com

Zygogen Licenses Transgenic Zebrafish Technology to UK-Based DanioLabs for Internal Drug Discovery

Archives — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 15:20:00 GMT

Zygogen, LLC, a biotechnology company that utilizes zebrafish for drug discovery, today announced a non-exclusive, United Kingdom sub-license agreement with DanioLabs for the right to use Zygogen's Z-Tag(SM) technology for internal drug screening. DanioLabs, based in Cambridge, UK, is a drug-discovery company that identifies and develops treatments for neurological and ophthalmic diseases.

The terms of the agreement include license and royalty payments to Zygogen, which is the exclusive licensee of the US/European issued patents, "Transgenic Fish with Tissue-Specific Expression," owned by the Medical College of Georgia. Zygogen uses its proprietary transgenic Zebrafish technology, Z-Tag(SM), to provide in vivo preclinical drug discovery services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Services include target validation, compound screening and toxicity testing. DanioLabs plans to use Z-Tag technology to develop zebrafish assays for its internal drug discovery programs.

Z-Tag combines the power of the zebrafish's transparent organogenesis with physiologically relevant expression of modified genes and markers to allow the development of quantitative zebrafish assays for automated compound screening.

"We are pleased to license Z-Tag(SM) for use in our integrated drug- discovery process," said Tony Sedgwick, CEO of DanioLabs. "A major component of our research programs involves the use of zebrafish. They are a key tool for obtaining rapid in vivo information related to human disease, which can lead to the development of novel treatments. This technology complements others we have in-house, and will give us an additional system to combine with our chemistry and screening strategies."

As vertebrates, zebrafish embryos are becoming a valued tool for obtaining live animal data early in the drug discovery process. Large numbers of embryos can be arrayed in multi-well plates with nanogram quantities of drug, providing a less expensive and faster screening alternative to mammalian models.

"Zygogen provides access to transgenic zebrafish to a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For companies such as DanioLabs that already have internal zebrafish capability, we license Z-Tag for internal compound screening, which allows us to expand the revenue-generating opportunities of our technology," said Nina Sawczuk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zygogen, LLC.

The U.S., European and Australian patents and other foreign patent applications for Z-Tag cover compositions and methods of making and using transgenic zebrafish with tissue-specific expression of a gene. The patent was initially filed in 1997 by Zygogen's scientific founder, Shuo Lin, Ph.D., the sole inventor on this patent. Zygogen also encourages non-commercial research using Z-Tag transgenic zebrafish by academic investigators.

Founded in 1999, Atlanta-based Zygogen LLC is a pioneer in the commercialization of zebrafish technology. Zygogen partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to provide automated zebrafish screening services using its Z-Tag and Z-Lipotrack technologies. Zygogen established the first ever pharmaceutical partnership using zebrafish for drug discovery (Aventis Pharma, 2002) and continues to be a leader in zebrafish preclinical drug discovery services, including rapid target validation, compound screening and toxicity testing.

Z-Tag enables Zygogen to automate zebrafish compound screening and obtain quantitative data by designing transgenic zebrafish with fluorescently labeled organs and pathways relevant to human disease.

For more information, visit: http://www.zygogen.com

DanioLabs is a therapeutics company with a focus on neurologic and ophthalmic disease with a philosophy that focuses around the upfront identification of a compound which has a beneficial effect on a complex phenotype. The Company has developed sophisticated high throughput pharmacology assays based around its zebrafish platform. DanioLabs service group is using these highly predictive assays in safety pharmacology, embryotoxicology, target validation, and activity screening, to bring quality in vivo data to the in vitro stage of the drug discovery and development process to a number of major pharmaceutical companies. DanioLabs therapeutics group is utilising related technologies to generate a rich product pipeline of preclinical and clinical candidates with early in vivo data.

For more information, visit: http://www.daniolabs.com

Zygogen Licenses Reef Coral Fluorescent Proteins (RCFP) From BD Biosciences Clontech For Drug Discovery; Agreement Allows for Combined Use of Proprietary Zebrafish Z-Tag(TM) Technology and Reef Coral Fluorescent Markers

Archives — Mon, 01 Jul 2002 16:03:09 GMT

Zygogen, LLC announced today that it has selected BD Biosciences Clontech's Reef Coral Fluorescent Proteins (RCFP) as the most optimal fluorescent markers for integration into its stable transgenic zebrafish, or Z-Tag technology.

"Since fluorescent protein labels are a key component of Zygogen's Z-Tag technology, we selected BD Biosciences as a partner because of its well- recognized expertise in this area," said Nina Sawczuk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zygogen. "Combining Z-Tag with RCFPs gives us an extremely powerful methodology that will allow us to build models of human diseases and develop rapid and quantitative screening methods in zebrafish."

"The use of our RCFPs with Zygogen's Z-tag technology is an example of the broad application potential for our family of fluorescent proteins," said Mark Lewis, vice president and general manager, BD Biosciences Clontech. "Developing new human disease models will be crucial to improving the drug discovery process. We're delighted that Zygogen has chosen to license our novel fluorescent proteins to employ in with their model platform. It's a good match for BD Biosciences Clontech."

BD Biosciences Clontech, a leader in biotechnology tools for molecular and cellular biology, provides companies access to a family of fluorescent proteins that enable researchers to better understand complex cellular pathways and systems and their potential roles in disease states. Through the use of its proprietary fluorescent tagging technology, Z-Tag, Zygogen designs transgenic zebrafish with organs and specific cell lineages that fluoresce, broadening the use of zebrafish for disease models and high throughput screening of small molecules.

BD Biosciences Clontech is part of BD Biosciences (http://www.bdbiosciences.com), a business segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and is one of the world's largest businesses supporting the life sciences. BD Biosciences is comprised of four principal groups, Clontech, Discovery Labware, Immunocytometry Systems, and Pharmingen, and provides high-quality products and services to accelerate biomedical discovery and diagnosis.

Zygogen LLC is a privately-owned, Atlanta-based drug discovery company that utilizes zebrafish to develop models for human disease and screen small molecules. Zebrafish offer a powerful combination of low cost, high throughput analysis and complex vertebrate biology that can be observed in the living organism. The company was founded in July 1999 to leverage the use of its patented fluorescent zebrafish technology, Z-Tag, throughout pre-clinical drug discovery, including target identification, validation and drug screening.

In May 2002, Zygogen announced a partnership with Aventis Pharma to develop a zebrafish model for thrombosis. Z-Tag enables Zygogen to design transgenic zebrafish with fluorescent organs for development of relevant models of human disease. Three therapeutic areas of focus are angiogenesis, cardiovascular and neurodegeneration. The company's technology is broadly applicable for use in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries.

For more information, please visit: http://www.zygogen.com

Zygogen Licenses Morpholino Antisense Technology From the University of Minnesota for Use in Zebrafish

Archives — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 17:10:00 GMT

Zygogen, LLC, a biotechnology company that utilizes zebrafish for drug discovery, today announced that it has an exclusive license from the University of Minnesota to use morpholino antisense technology in zebrafish. Morpholino antisense, recognized as the best-validated system for effective inhibition of gene function in zebrafish, provides a rapid method for target validation in a living vertebrate model system.

The terms of the agreement include license and royalty payments to the University of Minnesota, which owns the patent for the zebrafish morpholino antisense technology. In addition, Zygogen has the right to sub-license the technology.

"We are pleased to license morpholino technology to validate potential targets," said Nina Sawczuk, co-founder and CEO of Zygogen. "A major application of our zebrafish platform is performing rapid gene knock-downs in our proprietary Z-Tag(SM) and Z-Lipotrack(SM) zebrafish models. There is a high degree of genetic conservation between mammals and zebrafish. Since zebrafish gene knock-downs can be performed in weeks rather than months, zebrafish are being adopted for target validation studies."

Zygogen uses its proprietary zebrafish technology platform to provide in vivo preclinical drug discovery services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Services include target validation, automated compound screening and toxicity testing.

As vertebrates, zebrafish embryos have become a valuable tool for obtaining live animal data early in the drug discovery process. Large numbers of embryos can be arrayed in multi-well plates with very small quantities of drug, providing a less expensive and faster screening alternative to mammalian models.

By interrupting gene activity in zebrafish, morpholino antisense technology helps identify medically relevant genes whose protein products may be targets of future pharmaceutical drugs. Using specific antisense oligonucleotides to block either translation or splicing of targeted mRNA molecules in zebrafish, morpholino technology enables the functional analysis of targeted genes.

"Zygogen provides access to zebrafish technology to a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. As academic zebrafish tools and models are developed, Zygogen actively in-licenses intellectual property to maintain our leadership position in zebrafish technology, and to consolidate the critical elements for a broad commercial zebrafish platform," said Sawczuk.

The U.S. patents and other foreign patent applications for morpholino technology cover compositions and methods of making and using zebrafish with gene expression that have been modified using morpholino antisense molecules. The patent was initially filed in 2000 by Stephen C. Ekker, Ph.D., director of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Transposon Research, and associate head of the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development at the University of Minnesota, along with co-inventors Aidas Nasevicius, Ph.D., Hyon Kim, Ph.D., and Saulius Sumanas, Ph.D. The University of Minnesota retains the academic research rights to morpholino technology.

Founded in 1999, Atlanta-based Zygogen LLC is a pioneer in the commercialization of zebrafish technology. Zygogen partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to provide automated zebrafish screening services using its Z-Tag and Z-Lipotrack technologies. Zygogen established the first-ever pharmaceutical partnership using zebrafish for drug discovery (Aventis Pharma, 2002) and continues to be a leader in zebrafish preclinical drug discovery services, including rapid target validation, compound screening and toxicity testing.

Z-Tag enables Zygogen to automate zebrafish compound screening and obtain quantitative data by designing transgenic zebrafish with fluorescently labeled organs and pathways relevant to human disease and toxicity.

For more information, visit: http://www.zygogen.com

Zvolve Wins SUPERCOMM Award; Zvolve's Conscious System Wins SUPERQuest 2002 Award For Most Promising New Technology For Public Networks

Archives — Thu, 06 Jun 2002 17:02:35 GMT

Zvolve Systems Inc., the first solution provider to address Real-Time Traffic Engineering (RTTE) from the carrier perspective, today announced that its Conscious system won the SUPERQuest award for "Most Promising New Technology," in the OSS/BSS Category.

Sponsored jointly by the Telecommunications Industry Association and the United States Telecom Association, the SUPERQuest Awards are designed to recognize the year's best built networks and most promising new technologies debuting at SUPERCOMM.

Demonstrated in the IBM booth, Zvolve's Conscious system changes the underlying dynamic of how networks are built, used, and managed. The Conscious system continuously maximizes network performance in real-time. It optimizes network behavior based on changing network conditions and the user-defined variables of a Network Service Provider's (NSP) business strategy.

The system works by dynamically routing selected traffic away from potential congestion and onto underutilized bandwidth elsewhere in a network. Using a Network Service Provider's unique business criteria, Conscious intelligently selects which traffic to route across underutilized bandwidth. It maps out a complete path across the network, and then interfaces with the network infrastructure to implement a RTTE solution without human intervention. The result: Conscious substantially increases a network's usable capacity while simultaneously protecting critical traffic, boosting network efficiency and minimizing network operating costs.

"Zvolve's Conscious system represents a huge step forward for Network Service Providers, enabling them to increases useable network capacity and performance at a fraction of typical expansion costs. The recognition of the SUPERQuest Award confirms the need for Business-Driven RTTE in public networks," said Peter Alexander, CEO of Zvolve Systems, Inc.

Zvolve Systems, Inc. is the first software provider to address real-time traffic engineering from the carrier perspective, improving operational efficiency while also enhancing customer relationships and the ability to deliver premium services. It pioneered the concept of Business-Driven Real-Time Traffic Engineering through Conscious, a solution that enables carriers to more reliably deliver contracted services while controlling capital expenditures.

Zvolve was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Zvolve is an IBM Advanced Business Partner.

For moreinformation, visit the Zvolve website: http://zvolve.com

Zvolve Selects Blanc and Otus As Public Relations Agency

Archives — Tue, 22 Oct 2002 16:36:24 GMT

Blanc and Otus/Atlanta (formerly Socket Public Relations) today announced that Zvolve Systems, the leading developer of real-time traffic engineering solutions for Network Service Providers, has selected the high-tech agency to provide strategic public relations counsel and services.

Zvolve is the first to address real-time traffic engineering from the carrier perspective, improving operational efficiency while enhancing customer relationships with the ability to deliver premium services. The company's Conscious(tm) solution enables carriers to reduce capital and operating expenditures while at the same time improving the reliable deliver of services.

"We selected Blanc and Otus for several reasons," said Wade Thompson, Senior Vice President Zvolve Systems. "The agency has a strong track record in the high-tech arena and clearly understands the issues companies are facing today. We were impressed by team members' specific knowledge of the telecom industry."

Peter Baron, co-general manager of Blanc and Otus commented, "This company leverages the considerable experience of our people. Zvolve has a very compelling story to tell and we are excited to have the opportunity to help communicate it."

Blanc and Otus (www.blancandotus.com) is a high-tech communications agency for startup, high-growth and Global 2000 companies that want to create new markets, change market behavior, and be industry leaders. B&O fields multi-disciplinary teams of technology PR and marketing professionals who use the B&O Lifecycle methodology to create market-specific, stage-appropriate communications programs and services. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company has a 17-year track record for generating superior, on-strategy results for its clients. Blanc & Otus, a Hill and Knowlton company, has operations in Austin, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C., and serves as headquarters for H&K's Global Technology Practice.

Zvolve Office Relocation Supports Growth Plans

Archives — Fri, 08 Aug 2003 11:58:10 GMT

Zvolve Systems, the innovator of real-time traffic engineering systems for data networks, today announced it has completed the relocation of its headquarters office.

The new corporate office, located in the North Atlanta technology area of John’s Creek, contains a dedicated product development and demonstration lab, as well as space for engineering, sales and executive staff. Zvolve CEO Wade H. Thompson said, “This move provides Zvolve with greater and more cost effective expansion opportunities, and places us in a desirable, high tech corridor close to our workforce and future talent.”

Zvolve’s flagship product, Conscious, has received international telecommunications industry recognition. The Conscious system enables Network Service Providers to reduce operating expenses through automation of traffic engineering functions, and reduce capital expenditures by decreasing bandwidth headroom. The Conscious system employs carrier-specific business intelligence to optimize and align network performance with a carrier’s operational, marketing and financial goals.

Zvolve’s new office is located at: 11445 Johns Creek Parkway Duluth, GA 30097

Zvolve Systems, Inc. is changing the way networks are made, managed and marketed. Zvolve is the innovator of Business-Driven Real-Time Traffic Engineering; technology that dramatically improves network carrying capacity and operational efficiency while enhancing a carrier’s ability to differentiate its IP service offerings. Zvolve’s flagship product, Conscious, is a software platform that enables carriers to more cost effectively deliver data network services without the complications and financial risks of additional hardware. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Zvolve is an Advanced Member of the IBM Partnerworld for Developers program and a DSPP partner with Hewlett-Packard.

Zvolve Eases Deployment of QoS Solutions For Carriers and Enterprises On IBM Linux POWER Systems

Archives — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 21:17:25 GMT

Zvolve Systems, Inc. has announced the world-wide availability of its Conscious BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) solution for IBM Linux on POWER platforms. Conscious BGP provides telecom carriers and enterprises with the ability to automatically maintain quality of service commitments to their customers.

“Adding a Linux version of this product furthers our plan to make the deployment of network convergence products and quality of service solutions as easy as integrating an appliance,” said Luc Nguyen, Zvolve’s CTO and vice president of product development. “There is very little integration needed for global telecom operators to start reaping the QoS benefits of this carrier-grade solution now on IBM’s Linux on POWER platforms.”

“Linux and open standards are a key underpinning of the emerging Telecommunications industry infrastructure,” said Jim Pertzborn, Vice President Telecommunications Industry, IBM Systems & Technology Group. “We are pleased Zvolve has enabled their Conscious BGP solution on Linux for our POWER based platforms.”

Carriers that connect to tier one Internet providers face the challenge of knowing which client’s data packets to preserve when traffic capacity exceeds its limits. The Conscious BGP solution automatically optimizes network traffic and maintains bandwidth commitments to clients through its ability to recognize specific data traffic.

“A problem now facing many carriers is the high cost of interconnections between multiple tier one Internet providers coupled with the challenge of balancing network traffic over these links to ensure they are providing the best service to their customers,” said Nguyen.

According to Nguyen, the current method of handling BGP traffic is to use a combination of tools and techniques which monitor the network and report traffic loads. Based on the reports, a trial and error process is often invoked to try to balance traffic as well as determine what should happen in fail-over situations.

Conscious BGP is available across a wide range of platforms including, AIX and now Linux on IBM’s POWER processor based platforms. The return on investment for Conscious BGP is less than six months, with implementations taking less than four months, according to Nguyen. Zvolve partners with IBM Global Solutions to deliver its Conscious BGP product to the worldwide marketplace. Information regarding Conscious BGP through IBM is available at: http://www.developer.ibm.com/solutions/isv/igssg.nsf/AllSolutionsbyID/86256B7B0003EBBF86256F2E006993DE?OpenDocument

Zvolve Systems, Inc. is a leader in providing real-time path computational routing solutions to telecommunication carriers and large enterprises for the proactive management of data networks. Zvolve has created a suite of software solutions to manage the inherent complexities in today's multi-vendor IP data network environments. Zvolve's solution suite offers customers the ability to automatically remedy service disruptions, optimize their existing assets, and manage emerging IP services. Zvolve Systems is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information, visit Zvolve on the Internet at www.zvolve.com

Zurich sharpens its focus on middle market technology customers

Archives — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:51:22 GMT

Zurich, one of the nation’s largest commercial property-casualty insurance companies, is targeting the needs of technology customers by providing a range of coverages designed specifically for mid-sized businesses. Zurich’s focus is on the creators and builders of technology products rather than end-users. Zurich is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, and its office is located in downtown Atlanta.

Zurich’s new specialized solutions for electronics manufacturing, information technology, digital and electronic communications, factory automation and medical technology companies include proprietary products such as its Property Portfolio Protection (P3) form and coverages for errors & omissions (E&O), as well as standard coverages for general liability, business auto, umbrella and workers’ compensation. Zurich’s global network ensures that these coverages and related risk management services are available throughout a customer’s technology supply chain.

Among the solutions is Zurich’s new P3 form – a policy developed, in part, to address technology risks – that provides broader coverage, greater flexibility and has fewer exclusions than standard ISO property forms. Its technology-specific options include:
· Coverage for costs associated with the restoration of vital, proprietary business information stored on various types of storage media
· Losses involving research and development activities
· Contingent business interruption insurance of subcontracted operations anywhere in the world

In addition, Zurich’s special technology E&O coverage provides companies with features that address their specific needs, such as protection against claims made by users when hardware or software fails to perform as expected, causing economic loss.

“North American technology companies’ products are the engines driving economic growth and vitality throughout the world,” said Robert Lindemann, chief operating officer, Zurich Commercial Markets. “We designed and structured these insurance and risk management products and services for the special needs of technology businesses. The approach we are taking provides these companies with one of the best alternatives available in the market today.”

The core of Zurich’s approach is a combination of products, infrastructure and specialized capabilities in this market segment.

“Technology customers share all the typical insurance needs of other businesses, but there are also special demands in their market segment,” said David Allred, director of Zurich’s Middle Market Commercial technology initiative. “In creating our approach, we looked closely at technology industries to understand thoroughly those customers’ unique risk management and mitigation challenges. We then built an approach using the best tools at our disposal, as well as the knowledge base and focused experience of Zurich’s technology professionals.”

About Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 58,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries.

In North America, Zurich (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, small business, specialties and programs sectors. Its Middle Market Commercial business unit provides insurance and risk management services to mid-sized companies across a broad spectrum of industry classes. Middle Market Commercial’s parameters include customers with annual premiums ranging from $100,000 to $3 million. Zurich underwrites programs for mid-sized customers through independent agents and brokers across North America.

Zoovy, Inc. Increases Customer Conversion by Partnering with ControlScan

Archives — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:42:59 GMT

With the growing number of online consumers increasing every day, the issues of security and protecting customer information has never been greater. One of the most important factors in increasing conversions on e-commerce web stores is making shoppers feel safe and secure while making their purchases. In order to further improve its e-commerce service package Zoovy has partnered with ControlScan, a leading provider of online security and Payment Card Industry compliance certification.

"Zoovy's partnership with security leader ControlScan also puts a unique spin on the mandated compliance initiative by allowing merchants to show browsers their commitment to security," says Jordan Kohler, from the Business Development Team at Zoovy, Inc. "Once a site has been certified as compliant, ControlScan will award their Verified Secure security seal to be placed on all eligible web properties. This seal will help notify potential customers that the site provides a safe place to conduct business online, thereby increasing customer confidence and reducing shopping cart dropout."

ControlScan offers a broad range of services including security and business certification seals, Payment Card Industry compliance, vulnerability scanning and remediation assistance, SSL certificates and value-added marketing tools. Recipients of these certifications have received a business background review that certifies a company as a legitimate business. ControlScan's certification seals are proven to help increase online sales conversions and reduce shopping cart abandonment.

"Our business is exclusively focused on helping smaller e-commerce businesses secure their Websites," says Joan Herbig, chief executive officer at ControlScan. "You might say our mission is to help these companies create an environment where their customers feel safe and protected."

To learn more about security certification and Zoovy e-commerce solutions, visit http://www.zoovy.com/controlscan

About Zoovy, Inc.

Zoovy, Inc., the leader in success driven e-commerce software, provides e-commerce tools and services for online businesses. With a multi-channel sales strategy, businesses reach more customers and drive more sales by integrating with multiple online marketplaces such as Amazon.com, Overstock, eBay and many other top comparison shopping services. Zoovy 1 automates product management, listing, sales, inventory, shipping and accounting processes, offering complete online storefronts and auction management tools for both small merchants and large wholesaler/retailers. For more information, visit http://www.zoovy.com/

Zone4Play Selects itaas Development Program to Boost Online Gaming Applications Over Cable TV

Archives — Mon, 07 Jul 2003 23:38:47 GMT

itaas, the premier provider of iTV services for the digital cable TV industry, and Zone4Play, a leading developer and provider of betting applications for the multiple access market, today announced that Zone4Play has joined the istart Application Developer Program.

The comprehensive istart program from itaas is designed to provide an entry point for application developers who need set-top client development tools and support. The program will enhance Zone4Play's ability to offer cable subscribers a variety of exciting gaming applications, and help enable its applications to be integrated with Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer® digital set-top box platform.

Zone4Play designs comprehensive, end-to-end interactive gaming and betting applications and solutions for the Web, wireless networks and interactive television. Its cross-system product line allows access to a variety of platforms with only one user account. Zone4Play also specializes in back-office solutions for these systems and markets a wide range of hi-tech support products.

“The istart program has been crucial in helping many companies bring interactive applications to digital TV, so we are an ideal partner for Zone4Play,” said Jaspal Bhasin, COO of itaas, Inc. “Ultimately, cable subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of interactive gaming applications as a result of our joint efforts in the istart program.”

“By joining the istart application development program, we expect to deliver our fun, secure gaming and betting applications to even more customers via digital TV networks,” said Erez Lahav, VP Business Development of Zone4Play. “In addition, Zone4Play has adapted its interactive TV content to the Explorer® digital set-top box platform, allowing us to offer increased service in the US market.”

Zone4Play is a leading developer and provider of a variety of betting applications for the multiple access market providing its solutions over Interactive TV, cellular networks and the Web. Its cross-system product line allows access to a variety of platforms with only one user account. Zone4Play also specializes in 'Back Office' e-Management solutions for these systems and markets a wide range of hi-tech support, tracking and provisioning products. Recent Zone4Play Interactive TV games include UPC Play-for-Fun Casino games channel in Austria and The Netherlands, Fixed Odds games on the AVAGO channel in the UK (Sky EPG 235) and a Casino Play-for-Fun games portal (EPG 777) for YES Satellite in Israel.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.zone4play.com

itaas is the premier provider of iTV services in the digital cable TV industry, serving MSOs, equipment manufacturers, application developers, OS/middleware providers, and content developers. itaas' end-to-end expertise with digital networks, from set-top clients to headend servers, help customers deploy innovative services, on accelerated schedules. itaas offers the flexibility of a comprehensive portfolio of services, including: application architecture and design, development, testing, integration, implementation and support. Leading broadband companies depend on itaas for first-to-market advantage.

Visit itaas on the Web at www.itaas.com

Zone Labs Selects SwiftCD to Deliver Backup Disks to Customers

Archives — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 08:39:21 GMT

SwiftCD.com, custom CD creation and fulfillment experts, today announced that Zone Labs®, Inc., the most trusted provider of endpoint security solutions, has selected the SwiftCD service for custom backup CD manufacturing and fulfillment. Zone Labs customers may now choose to have a backup CD custom manufactured to contain any product from the ZoneAlarm® and IMsecure™ families of products, as well as bundled products, purchased from the Zone Labs web site.

“Zone Labs was quick to see the value of such an offering, and we are very pleased that they have chosen SwiftCD to be their exclusive on-demand CD manufacturing and fulfillment partner,” said Jason Foodman, Chief Executive Officer of SwiftCD.com. “Because each CD is produced dynamically at the time an order takes place, Zone Labs can ensure that the CDs being shipped contain the latest available code and the specific products that their customer has purchased.”

“As we expand the Zone Labs product line, as well as the partner products available from our site, it has become necessary to deliver a dynamically built backup CD,” said Frederick Felman, vice president, marketing, Zone Labs. “The partnership with SwiftCD allows Zone Labs to remain focused on our core competency of providing security solutions, while SwiftCD focuses on their specialty, providing customers with a high-quality, custom CDs.”

SwiftCD.com, a division of DigitalSwift Corporation, is a business solution provider, empowering businesses to deliver their products on CD to their customers.

For more information on SwiftCD.com, go to http://www.SwiftCD.com

Zomax Incorporated Implements Witness Systems' eQuality Solutions – Leading Outsourcer For Supply Chain Management Services Deploys "Express" Offering For Customer Interaction Recording As Cornerstone of Its Quality Assurance Program

Archives — Tue, 30 Apr 2002 19:49:45 GMT

Witness Systems, a leading global provider of customer interaction recording, performance analysis and e-learning software that enables companies to optimize their customer relationships, today announced that Zomax Incorporated has deployed its eQuality software for quality assurance at its Concord, Calif. contact center.

As a result, the company has doubled the number of monthly evaluations it conducts to ensure its customer sales/service representatives (CSRs) meet both internal and external quality requirements.

Witness Systems' "Express" offering, which Zomax is using to automate its quality assurance initiative, is comprised of the eQuality Balance voice/data recording solution and eQuality Evaluation performance reporting software, bundled together with hardware, remote installation and training. Express provides companies with small- and mid-sized contact centers with a cost-effective offering designed to help develop staff, enhance customer satisfaction and ensure consistent, quality service.

With the help of the eQuality software, Zomax is able to capture complete customer contacts from both a voice and data perspective. Through eQuality Balance, the ability to see its agents' desktop activities, as well as hear the corresponding voice conversations in a "real time" manner, has provided Zomax with valuable business intelligence and a new level of customer feedback. With this complete picture of performance, Zomax believes it will make great strides in taking quality, training and process evaluation to the next level.

In addition to being able to examine screen navigation sequences and other processes to make it more efficient, the company also is using the Express offering to improve staff training and development initiatives by helping ensure its agents are as efficient as possible when using the technology resources available to them. Equally important, Zomax has dramatically increased the frequency of coaching with a higher number of monthly performance evaluations. To supplement its classroom training and make learning an ongoing process, the company has implemented eQuality Evaluation for on-line performance evaluation and finds the software to be an especially strong productivity tool.

Zomax is a leading international outsource provider of process management services. The company's fully integrated services include "front-end" e-commerce support, call center and customer support solutions; DVD authoring services; CD and DVD mastering; CD and DVD replication; supply chain and inventory management; graphic design; print management; assembly; packaging; warehousing; distribution and fulfillment; and RMA processing. The company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market.

Witness Systems is a leading global provider of business-driven multimedia recording, performance analysis and e-learning management software that enables companies to optimize their customer relationships. The browser-based eQuality enterprise collaboration architecture is designed to enhance the quality of customer interactions across multiple communications media, such as the telephone, e-mail and Web, as well as allow companies to capture, communicate and collaborate on customer interactions throughout the enterprise. As an integrated, closed-loop performance optimization solution, eQuality enables companies to record, evaluate, analyze and learn from customer contacts and the touch points they use – including customer self-service via the Web – to generate additional revenue, develop staff, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty.

For additional information about Witness Systems and its eQuality software, visit www.witness.com

Zoey's Room is First Educational Social Networking Site Opting to Use Identity & Age Verification Solution

Archives — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 12:00:02 GMT

IDology Inc., a leading provider of identity and age verification solutions, today announced that Platform Shoes Forum, a national nonprofit that runs Zoey's Room, a safe, social networking web site aimed at 10-14 year old girls to increase their interest in science, technology, engineering and math in a fun and creative community, has selected its ExpectID product suite to perform identity and age verifications at the point of sign-up to help shield their members from online predators. This is the first social networking site to implement this technology.

"Since 2001, the safety of children who are members of Zoey's Room has been a major concern of Platform Shoes Forum," said Erin Brockette Reilly, Co- Founder and Executive Director of Platform Shoes Forum. "ExpectID is a perfect complement to the current security measures we have in place. With this partnership we are able to know the true identity of someone joining our network which serves to further enhance the safety of our members. It also gives the parents, educators, and youth leaders working with our members the peace of mind that Zoey's Room takes such measures for the security of each girl that participates in the program."

"We are pleased that Platform Shoes Forum is taking the leadership initiative to deploy this proven technology and enable a secure environment for its Zoey's Room members," said John Dancu, CEO of IDology, Inc. "We believe identity and age verification is an important component for creating a win-win solution for parents, kids, lawmakers and businesses."

IDology and Platform Shoes Forum are currently working together to launch an automated verification process for Zoey's Room which focuses on verifying the parent/caregiver at the point of sign-up. This process includes automatic presentation of a unique question series designed specifically to eliminate imposters. Once an adult has been verified, he/she sponsors their child as a member and establishes the child's user profile. After a child becomes a sponsored member, the current safety measures of Zoey's Room help maintain the safety of their members.

Recognized by SafeKids/NetFamily News as already providing a safe member registration process, the program's site at www.zoeysroom.com is integrating IDology's technology to help automate the process and position itself for national growth.

"We provide a best of breed technology solution that can be applied today to solve the majority of the problems social networking sites face," said Raye Croghan, VP of Products at IDology. "Together, IDology and Zoey's Room are creating the strongest dual factor authentication process which essentially sets the safety bar for social networking sites throughout the country."

About Platform Shoes Forum and Zoey's Room

Platform Shoes Forum (www.platformshoes.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify educational gaps for youth and provide solutions through community outreach and technology platforms. Erin Brockette Reilly and Vinitha Nair co-founded Platform Shoes Forum with their model program Zoey's Room (www.zoeysroom.com), a safe, social networking web site aimed at 10-14 year old girls to increase their interest in science, technology, engineering and math in a fun and creative community. Platform Shoes Forum continues to use the successful educational model derived from Zoey's Room to meet the new and changing needs of children today through measurable, long-lasting, reproducible programs that address the specific needs of a demographic. For more information contact info@platformshoes.org.

About IDology, Inc.

IDology, Inc (www.idology.com) provides real-time technology solutions that verify an individual's identity and age while maintaining consumer privacy and building trust through the responsible use of data. Our proprietary product ExpectID(TM) validates individuals using as little information as name and address. And our industry leading ExpectID Age confirms someone's age in customer not present environments. Through our patent pending process and advanced technology engine businesses can enable knowledge-based authentication to verify customers without alienating them or being labor intensive on their business. IDology helps its customers drive revenue, reduce costs and prevent fraud. For more information contact info@IDology.com.

ZivVa Announces Agreement to Acquire Vocalocity

Archives — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 14:40:00 GMT

ZivVa Holdings, LLC, a leading provider of hosted voice over internet (VoIP) applications, today announced the acquisition of Vocalocity Inc., a leading provider of OEM software for standards-based telephony solutions.

The combined companies, operating under the name Vocalocity, will provide enterprise customers and OEM partners two powerful VoIP platforms -- an on- demand service based platform and an OEM driven VoIP platform centered on standards based tools for deployment. ZivVa is a leader in hosted VoIP applications for enterprises, such as its hosted PBX, while Vocalocity's technology accelerates the migration to open telephony platforms by minimizing the development and integration of VoiceXML, CCXML, SIP and other evolving standards.

"Whether it's through organic growth or acquisition we're constantly looking to strengthen our VoIP platform," said Boris Jerkunica, co-founder and Chairman of ZivVa. "By using our hosted VoIP services as a base to go out and to find adjacent technologies we've been able to significantly broaden our platform. Our combined technologies will allow us to market two distinct and complementary VoIP offerings; a new standards based OEM VoIP platform and an application service VoIP platform".

As a result of the acquisition enterprise customers will be able to easily build automated voice response applications using standards-based creation and integration tools, such as the Vocalocity App Center and run on-demand VoIP applications, like the office PBX, from a hosted services platform.

"Our commitment to the standards based OEM business now becomes part of a broader picture," said Mike Dickerson, former chief executive officer of Vocalocity. "ZivVa's commitment to further develop our core OEM customer base creates an incredibly powerful opportunity. Having direct access to ZivVa's on-demand application platform will allow our engineering team to more rapidly incorporate end-user feedback into our products and to augment our structured QA process with real world traffic. Our OEM customers will benefit from faster development of user-tested products that simplify the creation and deployment of voice services."

Management of the new entity will be provided by the existing ZivVa senior management team with the engineering staff and sales resource moving over to join the new company. Members of the existing Vocalocity executive team will continue to work closely with the acquiring company following the transaction and given the strong value and leadership position of the Vocalocity brand the combined companies will operate under the name Vocalocity.

ZivVa is an on-demand application service provider committed to simplifying the creation and deployment of VoIP services for enterprise customers and OEM partners.

Information about ZivVa can be found at www.ZivVa.com and www.vocalocity.com

Zions Bancorporation Selects CheckFree's PEP+ Platinum Suite to Enhance ACH Processing

Archives — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:10:14 GMT

CheckFree Corporation today announced that Zions Bancorporation has selected the CheckFree(R) PEP+ Platinum package as their choice for origination and receipt of electronic payments through the Automated Clearing House (ACH).

Ranked among the top 40 banks in the United States that originate and receive ACH transactions, Zions Bancorporation will deploy the CheckFree solution to help manage increasing transaction volumes.

"As one of the largest originators of ACH transactions in the U.S., Zions Bancorporation requires a solution designed to enable them to continue to operate effectively and optimize excellent ACH services through their affiliate banks," said Bert Harkins, vice president, global strategic marketing, for CheckFree Software. "We are pleased to be able to work closely with Zions to deliver the right solutions for their customers."

CheckFree PEP+, together with its comprehensive suite of add-on modules, provides a complete solution to quickly and efficiently originate and receive payments through the ACH, improve ACH operating effectiveness and potentially decrease costs. The CheckFree PEP+ Platinum suite includes the PEP+ Risk Compliance Package, PEP+ Exchange, and PEP+ CommonView modules.

CheckFree's Applied Operational Intelligence(SM) approach helps clients drive profitability and performance by combining innovative software, proven expertise and business intelligence. This approach is built on CheckFree's core competencies of payments processing and consulting, reconciliation and exception management, fraud and risk management, cash and logistics management and compliance software and services. The Applied Operational Intelligence approach is expressly designed to manage risk and efficiency, while leveraging business intelligence to achieve measurable return on investment.

Zions Bancorporation

Zions Bancorporation is one of the nation's premier financial services companies, consisting of a collection of great banks, including Amegy Bank of Texas, in select high growth markets. Zions operates its banking businesses under local management teams and community identities through over 500 offices and approximately 600 ATMs in 10 Western and Southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. The company is a national leader in Small Business Administration lending and public finance advisory services. In addition, Zions is included in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Financial 100 indices. Investor information and links to subsidiary banks can be accessed at www.zionsbancorporation.com.

About CheckFree

Founded in 1981, CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR) provides financial electronic commerce services and products to organizations around the world. CheckFree Electronic Commerce solutions enable financial services providers to offer the convenience of online banking, and along with billers, to offer the convenience of receiving and paying household bills online, via phone or in person through retail outlets. CheckFree Investment Services provides a broad range of investment management solutions and outsourced services to hundreds of financial services organizations, which manage about $1.8 trillion in assets. CheckFree Software develops, markets and supports software applications that are used by financial institutions to process more than two- thirds of the nearly 14 billion Automated Clearing House transactions in the United States. The division also provides financial institutions and other organizations with payment processing and consulting, reconciliation and exception management, fraud and risk management, cash and logistics management, and compliance software and services. (www.checkfreecorp.com)

Zingit Signs Marketing Agreement With Synergy

Archives — Fri, 15 Mar 2002 15:12:08 GMT

Zingit, Inc. and Synergy Arts Interactive, owner of FanCruise.com and publisher of Synergy Magazine, a Macon, Georgia-based bi- monthly magazine featuring information about the business side of the arts, have reached an agreement to market arts related travel services. Zingit will now become the exclusive travel provider for Synergy.

The concept allows art organizations throughout the world the opportunity to direct-market travel portions of their sponsored events through Synergy Magazine and the Synergy Travel Center (STC). The STC, operated exclusively by Zingit, includes:

* Full search and booking capabilities
* Look, book, review, change, cancel any air/hotel/car reservation
* Plan your vacation --at a discount up to 24%
* Fare matrix comparing the prices on up to 36 flight combinations
* Airline discounts
* An exclusive 800 number to the STC with experienced travel agents.

Ed Steeley, publisher of Synergy magazine, stated, "Previously, an arts organization could draw hundreds of thousands of patrons to concerts, festivals and special arts events without ever realizing a profit from the related hospitality portions of the events."

"The travel industry is changing almost daily," says Zingit CEO, David Pollock. "Synergy Magazine is the kind of aggressive, innovative company Zingit is targeting for new long-term relationships. One of Synergy's most exciting concepts involves a new marketing strategy for the music industry called FanCruise. This concept specializes in bringing artists and their fan clubs together utilizing the cruise industry."

"We have developed a plan that takes advantage of Synergy's location in Macon, Georgia, the home of Little Richard, Otis Redding, The Allman Brothers and many more," added Steeley. About Zingit Zingit is a travel company that aggregates travel bookings from clients and affiliates by providing LAN and Internet booking connection, office management services and training to independent travel agents and agencies worldwide through a central full-service travel agency, user friendly web sites and walk-in storefront.

Zingit Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Profitable Major Travel Management Company With Over $17 Million in Sales

Archives — Tue, 18 Jun 2002 16:35:01 GMT

Zingit, Inc. is pleased to announce the signing of a letter of intent to acquire the assets of a profitable major travel management company with 2001 revenues of over $17,000,000.

The Company specializes in group, meetings and corporate travel and currently services a number of the nation's largest corporations. Zingit, Inc. will have 60 days from the date of the agreement to complete the necessary due diligence. The transaction calls for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.

David Pollock, CEO of Zingit, stated, "This acquisition is a very exciting opportunity for us and we feel as though it is a perfect marriage for Zingit. With our expertise in the internet and leisure markets combined with their corporate presence, infrastructure, and depth in management this should make us a major force in the travel industry."

Mr. Pollock added, "By developing and managing web based travel centers for their existing corporate clients, Zingit not only aggregates all of their corporate travel needs but we also have the opportunity to offer them a buffet of leisure products."

Zingit is a travel company that aggregates travel bookings from clients and affiliates by providing LAN and Internet booking connection, office management services and training to independent travel agents and agencies worldwide through a central full-service travel agency, user friendly web sites and walk-in storefront.

For more information, visit the Zingit Web site: http://www.zingit.com

Zingit Inc. Lands $18 Million Contract; Three Year Contract is Worth $6 Million Per Year

Archives — Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:12:41 GMT

Zingit Inc. announced today that it has signed an $18 million contract with Innovative Contractual Services (ICS), a financial services and seminar organization. The contract is a three-year contract worth an estimated $6 million per year.

According the Zingit Inc.'s CEO, David Pollock, "Zingit won the contract because it has large volume bookings that allows it to negotiate with hotels, airlines and cruise lines more effectively than ICS could on its own. Zingit also created the ICS Travel Center (ITC) to help them aggregate the travel needs of their many members and clients," said Mr. Pollock. "By aggregating all of our affiliates travel through Zingit's Global Distribution Systems (GDS), Zingit is immune to airline commission caps and greatly benefits from the elimination of CRS quotas and penalties for poor segment production."

Zingit Inc. is currently negotiating seven additional travel contracts worth a combined $117.3 million per year.

According to Mr. Pollock, Zingit Inc. is one of a handful of companies in the final bidding round for an account that has 5 million members and is worth roughly $50 million per year.

"We are also putting the finishing touches on negotiations with a travel group that has 2,000 members and is worth more than $8 million per year."

For more information, visit the Web site: http://www.zingit.com

Zingit CEO, David Pollock Interviewed on CEOcast.com

Archives — Tue, 12 Mar 2002 21:07:18 GMT

Zingit, Inc. announced that its CEO, David Pollock, is being featured in an online interview at CEOcast.com. During his interview, Pollock addresses topics such as its recent contracts, company growth plans and Zingit's advantages in the current travel marketplace. While discussing its most recent contract Mr. Pollock stated, "We can now aggregate all of their travel together and create a revenue stream for the client."

In addition, Mr. Pollock discussed the advantages for small travel operators to affiliate themselves with Zingit by stating that "By becoming part of a larger group we create a strategy for smaller agencies to receive the same commissions of the super agencies."

Zingit Acquires Hemisphere Travel

Archives — Thu, 25 Jul 2002 17:42:57 GMT

Zingit, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Hemisphere Travel in Savannah, GA.

Hemisphere Travel is one of Savannah, Georgia's oldest and most established travel agencies and specializes in corporate and leisure travel. Zingit, Inc. took over operations on July 1, 2002 and expects the transition process to be completed shortly. The transaction calls for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock.

David Pollock, CEO of Zingit, stated, "This acquisition is another important step for Zingit. Hemisphere is a perfect fit for distribution of our many travel products as they are strategically placed geographically and they maintain a number of key travel related alliances." Pollock added, "In order to maintain the excellent service that Hemisphere has been known for, current management will stay in place. We are very excited about exposing Hemisphere's clients to a new array of products and services. We are also marketing our products and services to as many new clients as possible in the Savannah, GA area."

For more information, visit the Zingit, Inc. Web site: http://www.zingit.com

Zinc Whiskers Wreak Havoc On Computer Systems

Archives — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 20:48:35 GMT

You've probably never heard of "zinc whiskers" but a quick Google search will result in hundreds of website hits describing the phenomenon and the costly consequences to computer data centers which have raised access flooring. If your company has experienced unexplained hardware failures or data corruption problems, zinc whiskers could be the culprit.

Zinc whiskers are extremely small filaments of zinc that can grow over long periods of time on metal surfaces that have been electroplated with zinc for corrosion protection. These types of surfaces may be found on the underside of zinc plated raised access flooring, zinc-plated floor supports/rails and computer equipment racks, and even mechanical hardware (such as nuts, bolts and washers) used in hi-tech environments. If disturbed by maintenance, construction or moving of equipment, these electrically conductive structures can become airborne and if deposited on exposed circuits may cause intermittent to permanent electrical shorts and system failures concurrently or sometimes within weeks of the activity.

Once dislodged, zinc whiskers are distributed via the A/C system sometimes though perforated tiles or vents and then drawn into computer equipment. The typical diameter of a zinc whisker is only one to two microns. (One micron is 1/1000th of a millimeter.) For comparison, the average diameter of human hair is approximately 100 microns. Due to their extremely small size, normal filters used in HVAC systems are ineffective in capturing them. This phenomenon was first discovered in the 1940's but electronics back then were less susceptible than are today's electronics with its continuous miniaturization. Another factor that may explain current problems is the fact that floors now are old enough in some facilities and have simply been in place long enough for whiskers to grow to the point where they are causing problems after becoming dislodged.

The growth rate of zinc whiskers is typically less than 1 millimeter per year. However the growth mechanism is currently not fully understood and many scientists for the electronics industries are studying this. One plausible explanation is that zinc crystals grow in the form of whiskers to relieve the high molecular level stress in the metal. Stress is a normal bi-product of the plating process. The growth occurs outward and literally like a whisker.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray elemental analysis is the most common method used to confirm the presence of zinc whiskers in dust collected from suspect areas. As research scientists with a consulting firm specializing in microscopy, we detected zinc whiskers by SEM in a dust sample collected from a computer facility where system failures had become a serious problem. The dust sample was easily collected from surfaces in a computer room using a re-sealable plastic bag turned inside out. After collection, the bag was resealed and sent for analysis. Particle-free water was used to rinse the bag contents into a sample container from which a portion was filtered onto a flat membrane polycarbonate filter. A section of the filter was then analyzed by SEM.

A less expensive but also less useful method is to collect a wipe sample of suspect surfaces. An environmental lab can test for the presence of zinc but it will not be able to see individual whiskers. Positive results won't be conclusive for the presence of zinc whiskers. The zinc present in the sample could be from a different source.

Once the presence of zinc whiskers is confirmed, what next? Remediation proposals for long-term solutions are being evaluated now by scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration which include complete removal of all zinc plated floor tiles and support structures; replacement with structures that are not susceptible to whisker formation such as those coated or painted with conductive epoxy rather than zinc, and cleaning of the affected environment using HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter vacuums to remove whisker debris. The NASA Goddard Tin Whisker (and Other Metal Whisker) website is excellent resource for more information including an extensive photo gallery: http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

ZIGZAG Marketing Helps Meridium Fuel, Manage Growth

Archives — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 20:12:32 GMT

When Meridium's executive team realized it had a need to improve in promoting and managing its product line to support growth objectives, the team turned to ZIGZAG Marketing. Meridium Inc., based in Roanoke, Va., provides 16 of the world's largest asset-intensive process-oriented companies with an Enterprise Reliability Management System (ERMS). This system allows these organizations, within the refining, chemical, power, and paper industries, to analyze data from their maintenance management software (CMMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and process and predictive systems.

Meridium's ERMS was developed in close partnership with the company's core customer group, including ChevronTexaco, MarathonAshland, Southern California Edison and Equistar. Although the effort resulted in a powerful and unique suite of products tailored for these 16 customers, Meridium knew it was time to expand its market reach. Meridium selected ZIGZAG Marketing, a product management consulting firm based in Atlanta, Georgia to provide such a program.

"Our goal is to help software companies grow by delivering market-driven products faster, and with a compelling value proposition," according to John Mansour, president of ZIGZAG Marketing.

ZIGZAG Marketing helps software companies grow through market-driven product plans, shorter development cycles, and exceptional positioning. ZIGZAG Marketing offers Product Management University as well as other one-day product management workshops and marketing consulting services that help software companies accelerate growth.

For more information on ZIGZAG Marketing visit http://www.zigzagmarketing.com

Meridium is a 10-year-old Roanoke, Virginia, firm offering reliability solutions for asset-intensive process industries. Meridium's Enterprise Reliability Management System (ERMS) software helps companies predict and prevent equipment failures, which results in fewer incidents, higher availability, better protection of people and the environment, and higher profits.

For more information about Meridium, visit www.meridium.com

Zetafax Leads Way with Vista, Office 2007, Exchange 2007 Integration; Equisys Recognized by Microsoft as Launch Partner

Archives — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:50:00 GMT

Building on 16 years of success, today's release by Equisys of the new version of its fax software, Zetafax 2007, supports Microsoft's latest platforms. The integration of Zetafax with Microsoft Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 makes it easier for users to send faxes from within Outlook and Office running on Vista or XP.

This very latest version of Zetafax supports all the business editions of Microsoft's new operating system: Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. It uses Microsoft Office's new ribbon user interface and Microsoft .NET to take advantage of new capabilities within the 2007 Microsoft Office system to enable a user of Outlook 2007 to send a document via the Zetafax Server in the same way as sending an email. This saves having to use a separate fax application.

Also, Zetafax simplifies the task of addressing faxes thanks to its support for Outlook address books. Microsoft has recognized Equisys' early support of Office 2007 by awarding Equisys the status of Launch Partner for the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

Integration doesn't stop there. The Zetafax Server links into the new server role based architecture of Exchange Server 2007, removing the need to install any additional software on the Exchange server. On-going management is also smoother as there is no requirement to update any Active Director schemas, nor any need to make further changes if Exchange Service Packs and software updates are released downstream.

For the system administrator, Zetafax 2007 requires a minimum of effort. The new combined install program takes care of installing all of the necessary components on the users' PCs and automatically keeps client software up to date.

Use of Windows Group Policy eases remote deployment of client software, removing the need to visit workstations when installing Zetafax. Integration with Active Directory means the users' fax accounts can be set up rapidly by importing users' existing network credentials. Then, as new employees join a company, the new 'auto enrolment' feature enables them to create their own Zetafax user accounts when they first use the fax software.

At the top of the Zetafax range is Zetafax Duo which adds the power and features of Zetadocs PDF to Zetafax 2007. This provides a highly visual 'document builder' to combine and convert documents to PDFs and then send them securely by email, as well as fax. It's ideal for creating and delivering business documents such as sales quotations, purchase orders and financial statements.

"Zetafax 2007 is truly the next generation of fax software. In addition to making fax communication even easier from the very latest Microsoft products, we have added PDF creation and mailing capabilities to insure businesses can communicate electronically with even more customers and suppliers," commented Chris Oswald, Equisys CEO. "All of this new functionality has been achieved while making Zetafax even simpler for system administrators to install and maintain."

Equisys produces software products for document production and delivery, including the award winning Zetafax(R) network fax server and the newly acclaimed Zetadocs(R) PDF software that creates and emails personalized PDF documents.

The company's software products are designed for small and mid-market businesses, and for departmental use at multinational companies. They stand out from the competition by being simple to install and manage, reliable and great value -- backed by outstanding service support.

Equisys has over 60,000 customers, in more than 100 countries, who are served through an international partner network of distributors, VARs, resellers and ISVs.

The company's market leading fax server, Zetafax, speeds the flow of critical business documents by enabling users to send and receive faxes on their PCs. It integrates with ERP, CRM, accounting and other applications for automated faxing from those systems, providing auditable records of fax communications.

Zetadocs helps users work smarter by creating and emailing PDF documents, streamlining business processes to remove tedious manual procedures and help companies improve service levels they offer.

Equisys was founded in 1987 and has offices in London, United Kingdom, and Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Zesearch, Inc to Merge with Customer Service Marketing, Inc. (CSM Research)

Archives — Tue, 23 Oct 2001 21:45:40 GMT

Zesearch, Inc., an Atlanta-based market research and consulting firm specializing in market intelligence for the information technology industry today announced it will merge with Customer Service Marketing, Inc. (CSM), a strategic research firm specializing in market research for both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer community.

Following the merger, Zesearch will move into the CSM location in Marietta and all resources will be consolidated. All future work will be branded CSM with Frank Sanders to serve as the President.

"The synergy of our offerings are undeniable," said Brian Zeman, CEO of Zesearch, "The merger will not only allow both organizations to capitalize on economies of scale, but also to offer increased expertise and additional global capabilities."

"In the current economic situation," Frank Sanders continued, "It is of utmost importance to be able to offer clients a cost effective, single vendor solution, with expertise in a broad range of critical areas. We feel by incorporating Zesearch's expertise, methodology and solutions with our own, it will allow us to provide greater value to our clients, both now and in the future."

Founded in July of 1991, Customer Service Marketing, Inc. provides clients worldwide with the most comprehensive, creative, and accurate research available. Their solution of delivering real-time, accurate, and objective customer and market information allows businesses to make better and faster operational and strategic business decisions. CSM's in-depth, qualitative, quantitative, and highly customizable methodologies provide clients with clear, concise and actionable information.

Zesearch, Inc. was formed to provide customized, high quality competitive intelligence to the rapidly changing high tech industry. Their comprehensive line of custom market research and consulting services was designed to provide high tech decision-makers with answers to their most critical strategic and operational questions. Their industry reports entitled, "A Quick Glimpse", provide clients with high quality, cost effective market assessments into technology topics of short-term industry.