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CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Memorandum of Understanding with Women in Cybersecurity Mid Atlantic

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence ( CMMC COE ), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years, is proud to announce a Memorandum of Understanding with the Women in Cybersecurity Mid Atlantic affiliate. This unique partnership will extend efforts to advance the goals and objectives for improving the cyber and supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD) global Defense Industrial Base (DIB) network of contractors, suppliers, and vendors. The executed MOU establishes a cooperative agreement between the Women in Cyber Security Mid Atlantic and CMMC COE to partner in the furthering of their respective and complementary missions and objectives regarding the adoption, use, and expansion of CMMC based cybersecurity practices for the DIB contractor community and the information and communication technology community creating a broader CMMC ecosystem to improve security and resilience. Specific actions will include: The co-development of CMMC advisory services, cyber training and education programs to accelerate CMMC certification, increase cyber adoption and improve cyber protection & resilience. Expand and drive diversity across the cybersecurity workforce Co-sponsor symposiums, training programs and podcasts leveraging their combined cyber and IT expertise. Host regular working groups, with other partners, to enable collaboration and communications. Establish an independent Industry Cyber Security Advisory Council with peer organizations to advise and educate leaders across government and industry on the continued evolution and effectiveness of CMMC Through this exciting partnership, the CMMC-COE ( www.cmmc-coe.org ) will also focus on bringing together the many disparate cyber and national security communities of interest to reduce complexity, improve awareness, and accelerate industry effort to become more cyber resilient against the growing threats from nation states and criminal enterprises. The CMMC-COE establishes both a Market Place and Knowledge Clearinghouse that will include resources that support the overall effort, including white papers; tutorials; recorded webcasts; presentations; and more that will help reduce the cost and burden on small/medium size contractors already struggling from the impact of COVID. The CMMC-COE partner network will be sharing a wide range of capabilities from member organizations, including; cyber standards frameworks, education, solution architectures, cyber mentoring, workforce, and other elements needed to scale to the demands of the entire DIB market place in the US and abroad (400,000+ contractors). “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. “The WiCyS Mid-Atlantic is excited to team with the CMMC COE in efforts to enhance the overall security of the defense industrial base supply chain. This partnership clearly demonstrates the CMMC COE’s commitment to a diverse cybersecurity workforce, which is key to defending the nation’s cyber critical infrastructure. Creative and inclusive teaming is essential to the CMMC’s success!”, said Ms. Diane M Janosek, Founder and Senior Advisor, Women in Cybersecurity Mid-Atlantic. WiCyS is a non-profit membership organization with national reach that is dedicated to bringing together women in cybersecurity from academia, research and industry to share knowledge, experience, networking and mentoring. The initiative was created through an NSF grant (Award # 1303441 ) by Dr. Ambareen Siraj at Tennessee Tech University in 2012, and has grown into a wonderful alliance among academia, government and industry. WiCyS offers mentoring, learning, networking and career development to women at all stages of their cybersecurity careers. Whether you are a student just considering a career in cybersecurity or an experienced leader in the cybersecurity workforce, WiCyS provides tangible benefits and a supportive community. The Women in Cybersecurity Mid-Atlantic Affiliate (WiCyS MAA) is a regional affiliate that covers the geographic areas: South New Jersey, South-East Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia, and will continue to undertake activities to promote recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in cybersecurity. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 For more information on the Women in Cybersecurity Mid Atlantic, please visit https://www.wicysmidatlantic.org/ About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

January 14, 2021 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

International Payments Executive & Fintech Counsel Joins Chia Network Board of Directors ~ Chuck Stoops brings significant regulatory and corporate governance experience

Chia Network

Chia Network, Inc. ("Chia" or the "Company"), a state-of-the-art global open-source decentralized blockchain and smart transaction platform, today announced the appointment of Chuck Stoops to its board as a non-executive independent director. A seasoned executive, Mr. Stoops brings to Chia more than 20 years of experience in global financial services and technology organizations. Previously Mr. Stoops served as Chief Legal Officer of Rakuten Europe, including its European banking subsidiary; in various senior roles at PayPal, including Deputy CFO/Head of Tax in Silicon Valley and later EU Legal Counsel/Chief Data Protection Officer based in Europe. Additionally, Mr. Stoops served as Head of Finance International for Netflix; as a member of Skype’s senior finance leadership team prior to the company’s sale to Microsoft; and also as Associate General Counsel for Ask.com. Mr. Stoops has also served as a member of various corporate Boards of Directors for eBay, PayPal, BlackBerry (RIM) and others and has deep expertise in corporate governance, financial reporting and controls. At present, Mr. Stoops is developing a new challenger banking project in Luxembourg. He holds a BA from Washington and Jefferson College and two law degrees: an LL.M. from Georgetown Law School and a J.D. from Pepperdine. "We are delighted to welcome Mr. Stoops to Chia Network's Board of Directors," said Bram Cohen, Founder and CEO of the Company. "He brings a strong track record of business leadership, a customer-centric approach to decentralized technology, and a wealth of regulatory, security and data protection experience in the international payments industry. His expertise will be helpful as Chia launches its innovative enterprise-grade digital money platform. We look forward to benefiting from Mr. Stoops' insights and perspectives." "It is an honor to join the Board of Chia Network at this incredibly exciting time. As the Company prepares for its mainnet launch in Q1 2021, blockchain enabled cryptocurrency is gaining traction with a broader cross section of institutional investors,” said Mr. Stoops. "Since inception, the ‘early internet pioneers’ who founded Chia have already achieved significant milestones in terms of public node count currently estimated at over 1500, ranking Chia Network as a top 15 blockchain. I look forward to contributing my broad organizational experience with leading global disruptors to help Chia grow and further its mission. I am equally excited at the prospect of commercializing Chia’s technology and delivering long-term value to its shareholders." Mr. Stoops joins Bram Cohen and Gene Hoffman to become the third board member of Chia Network, whose board of directors and officers served as senior executives of BitTorrent, eMusic.com, Vindicia, PGP, Inc., Overstock.com, Razor Gaming, Skullcandy and other innovative companies. About Chia Network Chia Network, founded by Bram Cohen who invented the peer-to-peer BitTorrent protocol, is a state-of-the-art open-source decentralized blockchain and smart transaction platform. Using the first new secure Nakamoto consensus algorithm invented since Bitcoin, Chia Network aims to operate an eco-friendly, more secure and user-friendly payment system for cross border payments, issuing financial assets, lending, escrow payments, institutional custody, and distributed identity. Chia’s “Proof of Space and Proof of Time”-based blockchain reduces waste in “Proof of Work”-based blockchains. Built to run Chialisp, the company’s newly developed on-chain smart transaction programming language, Chia’s blockchain allows its users to build and execute smart contracts and enable peer-to-peer applications. Chia believes that “digital money” should be easier to use than cash, harder to lose, and nearly impossible to steal. The Company is funded by leading venture capitalists including Slow Ventures, a16z, Naval Ravikant, Galaxy Digital, Greylock, True Ventures, MetaStable, Stillmark, DCM, and others. The Company’s Advisors include Dr. Dan Boneh, Research Partner at a16z and Applied Cryptography Professor at Stanford University; and Dr. Krzysztof Pietrzak, Cryptography Professor of IST Austria; and Ms. Katie Haun, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Investor Relations Contact: Gretchen Lium. For more information, visit https://chia.net and connect with us on Twitter ( @chia_project ), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact Details Gretchen Lium +1 303-638-9185 gretchen@chia.net Company Website https://www.chia.net/

January 14, 2021 05:57 AM Eastern Standard Time

FTI Consulting Rolls Out Intapp Conflicts Globally to Streamline New Business Acceptance Processes and Increase Profitability

Intapp

FTI Consulting, an industry-leading global business advisory firm with more than $3.5 billion in market capitalization, has adopted Intapp Conflicts to streamline the delivery of its comprehensive change-management, risk-mitigation, and dispute-resolution services When FTI Consulting made the decision to migrate to Intapp Conflicts, the firm recognized an opportunity to improve its new business acceptance and conflicts clearance processes by implementing a solution that could reduce delays in clearing new business, help practices more quickly onboard new clients and projects, and ultimately increase profitability. The firm chose Intapp Conflicts for its ability to unify and automate what was previously a highly manual process involving numerous disparate systems and repetitive data entry. The firm successfully deployed Intapp Conflicts last quarter, integrating the software across three systems to reduce complexity and streamline the firm’s end-to-end business acceptance process. Now, conflicts requests are centralized in one system, and the team can accomplish in a matter of minutes what previously took hours, resulting in a 75% reduction in conflicts processing time in most instances. Additionally, the Intapp implementation services team solved a critical workflow issue by developing a request-expiration process that includes automated notifications and Salesforce system updates to ensure timely management of outstanding requests and prevent backlogs. “Intapp Conflicts has been transformative for the firm,” says Glenda Cuadra, FTI Consulting’s Senior Director of Conflicts. “We’ve greatly reduced the administrative burden on our conflicts team, while creating efficiencies throughout the entire new business acceptance process. We’re not only able to more quickly process requests and onboard new clients, but we can enable our professionals to begin delivering client services faster, which impacts both client satisfaction and revenue. It’s a win-win-win.” “We’re excited to see FTI Consulting’s success with our solutions, first with Intapp Walls and now with Intapp Conflicts,” said Nigel Riley, General Manager for Intapp’s Risk & Compliance business. “We look forward to our continued partnership and the second phase of our project, which will extend the value of Intapp Conflicts by integrating with additional systems. Our purpose-built approach to conflicts clearance has proven to be a critical driver of both operational efficiency and revenue growth for advisory firms like FTI Consulting time and time again.” About Intapp Intapp powers connected firms. Trusted by more than 1,600 of the world’s top legal, investment banking, private capital, accounting, and consulting firms, Intapp offers end-to-end, cloud-based connected firm management software built for the unique needs of partner-led firms. Intapp helps enhance collaboration, unleash collective knowledge, transform decision-making, and fuel success. Our products and services span the entire engagement lifecycle — from strategy through origination and execution — to drive optimal outcomes. For more information, visit intapp.com and connect with us on Twitter (@Intapp) and LinkedIn. About FTI Consulting FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political and regulatory, reputational and transactional. With more than 6,200 employees located in 28 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate, and overcome complex business challenges and make the most of opportunities. The company generated $2.35 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2019. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact Details Natalie Papaj +1 703-586-0048 natalie.papaj@intapp.com Company Website http://www.intapp.com

January 12, 2021 07:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Pencil doubles returns for brands with next generation ads created by AI

Stockwood Strategy

Online video ads can now be generated by artificial intelligence (AI), while learning what resonates with audiences, in order to deliver better results for brands. This innovation is being pioneered by Pencil, the Creative AI company, with the launch of its Machine Generated Creative (MGC) platform. US online sales reached almost $800 billion in 2020, up by 32% year-over-year fuelled by the pandemic*. Over ten million advertisers bought over $80 billion of Facebook ads last year, and research consultancy Nielsen has estimated that creative design can drive almost half of campaign performance. Learning Pencil’s MGC video ads, which are each unique and can be generated in 1 minute, have dozens of creative parameters which can be tracked and analysed through the Pencil platform. Using historic ad performance data, Pencil is able to understand what in the ad is resonating with customers. It can then generate new batches of ad ideas which are new and distinct, but which share winning characteristics with past winners. In this way Pencil learns what works while continuously exploring new ideas that might resonate with audiences. For example, a flashlight brand using Pencil may generate a first batch of ads and find that those pitching battery life outperform those pitching brightness. The brand may then generate more ads exploring how battery life is important when keeping a flashlight in the car for emergencies. Performance Pencil analysed over 100 campaigns that used MGC video ads over the past 6 months and found the best MGC ads delivered an average return on ad spend (ROAS) 2x that of other ads the brands were running. One brand’s MGC campaign delivered 7x higher ROAS. Will Hanschell, CEO and co-founder of Pencil commented: “Great ad campaigns are born from many creative ideas that are distilled down to a few. We are doing exactly this, extremely quickly, using AI. In launching MGC, we want to bring speed, insights and new ideas to marketing teams who care about both the creativity and the results of their ads - that means all marketing teams. Our platform uses the same brainstorm and refine process that creative teams have always used, which means creative teams can collaborate with the platform or use it to automate their day-to-day experimentation.” “Video ads have been dominating marketing campaigns around the world, even more so in 2020 as businesses have pivoted to ecommerce and social channels to engage new customers. The Pencil platform allows brands affordable access to the most powerful AI technology available today to deliver badly needed growth for their businesses, from day one.” Technology Pencil leverages proprietary technology to generate ad video, derive insights and make predictions, as well as integrating the OpenAI API to generate ad copy. The OpenAI API provides access to GPT-3, one of the world’s most powerful language models. Pencil is among the first companies approved to use it commercially. This approval requires strict criteria in AI safety and ethics. GPT-3 allows Pencil to go beyond generating product descriptions, and begin to generate entirely new narratives around a brand or product. For example, pitching a flashlight in an ad by first establishing that working in the dark can be dangerous. This makes Pencil’s ads more compelling to potential customers, and therefore more effective for brands. “Our ads are able to learn from what works for the people - like you or me - who see them and click on them. Our platform gives brands a tool to build a deep understanding of what’s working, what isn’t and what they should try next. We are generating ideas and campaigns that self-learn, providing brands with new insights and a way forward to grow their businesses. With the 2x better results we’ve already achieved at 10x less time and cost, we believe AI will be as fundamental to creativity in the future as the pencil was in the past.” adds Will Hanschell Ends *eMarketer, US Ecommerce Growth Jumps to More than 30% About Pencil Pencil is a Creative AI company on a mission to generate unexpected ideas that get results. Pencil generates ads that learn to perform, delivering the return on ad spend that helps brands scale their businesses. Pencil invented Machine Generated Creative (MGC), a new way of making ads that algorithmically optimises for creative novelty, brand relevance and return on advertising spend. It always starts from a human brief and it always involves total human editorial control. Pencil’s MGC platform generates ads in minutes and has been shown to generate ads that double returns for brands. Pencil was founded in 2018 with a team from Google, Facebook and Uber and is backed by Sequoia, Wavemaker Partners, Singapore Innovate and Entrepreneur First. Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.trypencil.com/

January 12, 2021 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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VTS Honored by Built In as one of New York City’s Best Places to Work 2021

VTS

VTS, the commercial real estate industry’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management platform, today announced that it was named one of Built In’s Best Places To Work 2021. Specifically, VTS was recognized as one of the Best Midsize Companies to Work For in New York City. The annual awards include companies of all sizes, from startups to the enterprise, nationally and in the eight largest technology markets. “We’re honored to be recognized by Built In as one of the best midsize companies to work for in New York City in 2021,” said Nick Romito, CEO and Co-Founder of VTS. “This year has presented every company with unprecedented challenges, and I’m extremely grateful for our team of talented, hard-working individuals who when faced with the uncertainty that 2020 presented, rose to the occasion and showed remarkable resilience amid a difficult environment. VTS continues to be dedicated to providing the very best environment for our team – be it remote or in the physical office – so that they feel valued, empowered & excited about their work and its impact.” Built In determines winners for Best Places to Work based on an algorithm, using company data about compensation, benefits and cultural programs. To reflect the attributes candidates are searching for on Built In today, this year’s program weighted criteria more heavily, like remote opportunities and programs for diversity, equity and inclusion. “These companies raise the bar for cultural excellence and the ability to adapt to meet changing needs of employees," says Sheridan Orr, Chief Marketing Officer, Built In. “The 2021 winners show a commitment not just to creating meaningful cultures but to delivering talent needs as they change in a dynamic landscape. We’re thrilled to extend our congratulations to the winners.” Tech professionals rely on Built In’s Best Places to Work lists to discover employers that align with their preferences, passions and values. Since its inception three years ago, the award has expanded in reach, from online views of tens of thousands to just under 1 million views today. ABOUT VTS VTS is commercial real estate’s leading leasing, marketing and asset management platform where the industry comes to make deals happen and real-time data come to life. The VTS platform captures the largest first-party data source in the industry, which delivers real-time insights that fuel faster, more informed decision making and connections throughout the deal and asset lifecycle. VTS Data, the industry’s only forward-looking market dataset, and VTS Market and Marketplace, the industry’s first integrated online marketing solution, give landlords, brokers, and tenants unparalleled visibility into real-time market information and the direct connectivity to execute deals with greater speed and intelligence at every point in the planning, marketing, leasing, and asset management cycle. More than 60% of Class A commercial space in the US and 12B square feet of commercial real estate globally is managed on the VTS platform. Our user base includes over 45,000 CRE professionals including respected industry leaders like Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, JLL, and CBRE. To learn more about VTS, and to see our open roles, visit www.vts.com. ABOUT BUILT IN Built In, a revolution in tech recruitment, serves more than 1,800 innovative companies of all sizes, from startups to the enterprise, delivering content and digital recruitment solutions that work. The platform amplifies companies’ brands as national, local or remote employers of choice, as well as leaders in DEI. Monthly, 2.5 million tech professionals rely on Built In to stay up on trends, grow in their roles and discover companies with missions they want to join. The platform publishes stories about companies’ tech, culture and people. This activates sought-after professionals to apply to customers’ open roles. http://www.builtin.com ABOUT BUILT IN’S BEST PLACES TO WORK Built In’s esteemed Best Places to Work awards, now in its third year, honor companies across numerous categories: 100 Best Places to Work, 50 Best Small Places to Work, 100 Best Midsize Places to Work, 50 Companies with the Best Benefits and 50 Best Paying Companies. Two new national categories reflect what candidates are searching for, including 50 Best Large Companies to Work For and 50 Best Remote-First Places to Work. BEST PLACES TO WORK: METHODOLOGY Built In ranks companies algorithmically based on compensation information, benefits and culture programs. This year, based on data showing tech professionals’ needs, the Best Places to Work algorithm added weight to companies’ commitment to DEI and remote culture. Rank is determined by combining a company’s score in each of these categories. Contact Details Elise Szwajkowski +1 212-402-3495 eszwajkowski@marinopr.com Company Website https://www.vts.com/

January 11, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Engagement Agreement with Capitol Technology University

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence (CMMC-COE), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years, is proud to announce a Memorandum of Understanding & Engagement Agreement with Capitol Technology University. This unique partnership will extend efforts to advance the goals and objectives for improving the training and education of the workforce in support of cybersecurity protection and resilience along with supply chain risk management on behalf of the US Department of Defense (DoD) global Defense Industrial Base (DIB) network of contractors, suppliers, and vendors. The CMMC-COE partner network will share a wide range of capabilities from member organizations, including cyber standards frameworks, education, solution architectures, cyber mentoring, workforce, and other elements needed to scale to the demands of the entire DIB marketplace in the US and abroad consisting of over 400,000 contractors. “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. "As a leader in cyber education, Capitol Technology University is excited to partner with the CMMC- COE," said Dr. Bradford Sims, President of Capitol Technology University. "This partnership will allow us to further CMMC implementation through enhanced education, training, and mentoring programs. These programs will advance CMMC implementation guidance issued by the DoD and will allow us to achieve the goals established in the National Defense Authorization Act." Capitol Technology University, located in Laurel, Maryland, is an independent institution that has focused on STEM education since 1927. Capitol Tech, the national winner of the 2020 SC Media Award for Best Cybersecurity Higher Education Program, offers hands-on courses taught by industry experts that lead to undergraduate and graduate degrees in emerging fields such as Mechatronics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. In addition, Dr. Ron Martin, a Professor of Practice at Capitol Tech in a variety of fields including Access and Identity Management, has been appointed to the CMMC-COE Board of Advisors as Capitol Technology University's representative. Dr. Martin's expertise in identity credentialing will afford the organization access to an expert in this unique aspect of cybersecurity while the leadership position will also benefit Capitol Tech by providing the university a voice during meetings. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 For more information on Capitol Technology University, please visit https://www.captechu.edu/ About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

January 11, 2021 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

The Channel Company Announces Acquisition of Seattle Based Audienz

The Channel Company

The Channel Company, premier provider of news, insights, events and marketing services for the technology channel announces the acquisition of Audienz, a leading B2B consulting and marketing services agency focused on enabling the largest cloud services provider brands to differentiate their products and grow revenue. The acquisition will provide an unmatched portfolio of expanded services focused on driving client outcomes from increased brand awareness to revenue growth. Audienz is known in the cloud services industry as a premium agency that has achieved its rapid growth by meeting the market need for services that connect strategic consulting with creative execution. The Channel Company is known as the leader in the technology channel space, offering a breadth and depth of products and services, from its CRN media entity to industry events to marketing and research services. Together the unified company offers an unmatched end-to-end ecosystem to enable its clients to build brand awareness and grow revenue through every channel, including direct to customer. This acquisition is part of The Channel Company’s vision for expansion to build out its portfolio of services offerings. With a focus on helping companies bridge strategy and creative to build marketing and sales programs that are uniquely effective at achieving business goals, Audienz adds a distinctive element to The Channel Company’s portfolio that complements its media, events, insights, and marketing services. With the focus on customer experience, value creation, and a strong employee-driven culture, The Channel Company and Audienz share the same core values and client success mindset that have made each of these two companies successful. Combined, The Channel Company will provide a richer value proposition to customers and become a much stronger competitor in the market to drive its growth. A Combined Strength in B2B and Cloud B2B marketing is growing rapidly. The acquisition of Audienz strengthens The Channel Company’s marketing services delivery capability and expands cloud services expertise. The cloud market is also exploding, and this growth has, in turn, fueled a massive expansion of the channel. This vast ecosystem represents a great opportunity for the combined organization, as companies adopt better and more sophisticated marketing and sales motions and vendors quickly recognize the value of the channel to drive greater sales and customer support. With Audienz’ client base that includes the world’s largest cloud providers, this acquisition will help The Channel Company expand its impact with existing clients while capturing new cloud clients leveraging its brand and global presence. A Catalyst for Growth The merger of the two companies offers immediate opportunities for revenue expansion. For Audienz, The Channel Company’s footprint and brand reputation open the door to larger opportunities where size and global presence are key. The power of the combined companies will enable cross-selling Audienz capabilities and services to existing TCC clients in the cloud industry and B2B. The Channel Company gains the opportunity to sell broader solutions and capabilities to Audienz’ market-leading clients and to expand its services footprint with existing TCC clients. With an immediate opportunity to expand in the cloud space, The Channel Company is investing in a market that is experiencing significant growth. Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company said, “In a time when many business customers are uncertain about marketing budgets, the cloud space is still booming, and the current landscape has also created an acceleration of marketing services demand. The Channel Company is well-known in the industry as the premier services provider in the technology channel space. Audienz has a reputation for delivering consultative excellence to the world’s leading cloud services providers. This acquisition combines our strengths to expand high value services that drive business outcomes for our clients and accelerate their growth.” A Combined People-Focused Culture With a reputation and strong business growth built on stellar people who provide highly consultative client service and delivery, Audienz is a natural fit to extend The Channel Company’s marketing services delivery capability. Both companies have developed a people-oriented culture and values. The core values of The Channel Company (Innovation, Growth, Transparency, Diversity, Collaboration, Change and Accountability) are entirely consistent with the values of the Audienz team. They bring an ambition, entrepreneurial spirit, and focus that will add to the essence of what The Channel Company is. About The Channel Company Headquartered in Westborough, MA The Channel Company has been servicing the technology channel community for over 35 years. From CRN, the #1 source of technology news, insights and analysis for the IT Channel, to industry-leading events that connect clients to customers, to powerful research and engaging education to accelerate growth, to transformative marketing services to maximize investment, The Channel Company provides a full suite of business outcome-driven services focused on addressing the channel’s unique needs. www.thechannelcompany.com About Audienz Audienz is a Seattle, WA based technology B2B consultancy and agency working with the top cloud services organizations. Audienz blends business consulting and creative marketing at scale to solve B2B business challenges while delivering agency services that increase impact. Audienz offers a wide range of services, such as research and strategy, content development, channel programs and digital marketing. Audienz has active practice areas in Strategy, Marketing and Sales services. www.audienz.com Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Audienz. Contact Details Corporate Communications +1 508-416-1175 corporatecommunications@thechannelcompany.com Company Website https://www.thechannelcompany.com

January 06, 2021 05:02 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Agora Data Closes Breakthrough Crowdsourced Auto Securitization

Agora

Agora Data, Inc. announced the successful closing on December 29, 2020, of the first-ever crowdsourced auto securitization. This revolutionary development to the world of structured finance represents a quantum leap for Buy Here Pay Here dealers and smaller finance companies and their access to capital markets funding. Through its use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Agora Data aggregated numerous originators with portfolios ranging in size from $11,000 to more than $20 million into a single capital markets securitization. Prior to Agora Data’s technology, direct access to the capital markets with more favorable financing terms was limited to only the largest institutional lenders and auto dealers. With an AgoraCapital crowdsourced securitization, subprime originators of all sizes now have a unique and viable financing option to obtain lower-cost capital providing liquidity and fueling growth. “AgoraCapital has revolutionized access to affordable and abundant capital for the BHPH dealer and small to mid-tier finance companies,” said Steve Burke, CEO, Agora Data, Inc. “This type of transaction has never been accomplished before due to the complexity of different originators and lack of technology. We have overcome all of these obstacles and we are energized by this achievement that will unquestionably shape the future for dealers, finance companies, capital markets, and consumers.” “We effectively aligned numerous Buy Here Pay Here dealers and finance companies into a single transaction,” said Chris Hawke, Chief Revenue Officer, Agora Data, Inc. “This successful transaction further validates Agora Data’s mission to develop financial solutions that advance the growth of BHPH dealers and finance companies in ways previously unimaginable.” About Agora Data, Inc: Agora is re-inventing auto finance for Buy Here Pay Here dealers and finance companies with a crowdsourcing platform that bridges access to the capital market. Easy to use and analytically robust business tools empower the untapped and diverse portfolios of the BHPH auto market connecting dealers, sub-prime buyers, and capital market lenders with results-driven resources to enhance financial growth. Founded in 2017 by a best-in-class team of top professionals in auto finance and leading data scientists, the company has successfully combined billions in historical loan performance data to develop its AI-Infused predictive loan technology and machine learning models. www.agoradata.com. For more information, please contact Agora at (877) 592-4672 or contactus@agoradata.com. Contact Details Shelly Vandeven +1 682-282-4130 media@agoradata.com Eric Nemeth +1 602-502-2793 nemeth@ericpr.com Company Website https://agoradata.com/

January 06, 2021 08:07 AM Eastern Standard Time

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CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Engagement Agreement with SideChannel

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence ( CMMC COE ), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years, is excited to announce a partnership with SideChannel, an innovative tech-enabled advisory firm providing a wide range of risk management and cybersecurity capabilities working with small businesses, mid-market companies, non-profit corporations, venture capitalist portfolios, startups, municipalities and governments on how to protect their digital assets and bolster their cybersecurity posture. This unique partnership will extend efforts to advance the goals and objectives for improving supply chain security and cyber resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD) global Defense Industrial Base (DIB) network of contractors, partners, and vendors. The executed Engagement Agreement establishes a collaborative partnership between SideChannel and CMMC COE to partner in the furthering of their respective and complementary missions and objectives regarding the adoption, use, and expansion of CMMC based cybersecurity practices, risk management, and compliance for the DIB contractor community and the information and communications technology community creating a broader CMMC ecosystem globally to improve security and resilience. Specific actions will include: The co-development of CMMC advisory services, cyber training and education programs to accelerate CMMC certification, increase cyber adoption and improve cyber protection & resilience. Co-sponsor symposiums, training programs and podcasts leveraging their combined cyber and IT expertise. Host regular working groups, with other partners, to enable collaboration and communications. Source qualified CMMC/ cyber professionals to serve as advocates. Establish an independent Industry Cyber Security Advisory Council with peer organizations to advise and educate leaders across government and industry on the continued evolution and effectiveness of CMMC. The CMMC-COE ( http://cmmc-coe.org ) and SideChannel partnership will focus on bringing together the many disparate cyber and national security communities of interest to reduce complexity, improve awareness, and accelerate industry effort to become more cyber resilient against the growing threats from nation states and criminal enterprises. The range of capabilities offered by SideChannel, including its virtual and fractional Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) service, further strengthens the portfolio of technology partner providers supporting the CMMC Center of Excellence. SideChannel’s focus is on the delivery of vCISO services and expert level advisory, from former CISOs, to organizations that cannot attract, fund or retain a full-time employee. Their model provides a subscription to industry recognized experts that will build, guide, and mature any organization’s security program. SideChannel’s adoption by both large and smaller clients has led to significantly reduced risk, better aligned prioritization of resourcing and corrected budgets without sacrificing capabilities. “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. “We are honored and excited about the opportunity to partner with the CMMC COE and support the critical efforts to protect our supply chain, to improve cybersecurity protection and better the resilience across the Defense Industrial Base globally,” said Brian Haugli, Managing Partner, SideChannel. The CMMC-COE establishes both a Market Place and Knowledge Clearinghouse that includes resources and supports the overall effort including white papers; tutorials; recorded webcasts; presentations; and more. This will help reduce the cost and burden on small and medium size contractors already struggling from the impact of COVID. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 For more information on SideChannel, please visit https://www.sidechannel.com About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

January 06, 2021 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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