FOLK HERO™ expands globally with push into Europe and the Middle East

New York, NY, Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOLK HERO™, [INVNT GROUP]’s brand strategy firm, is expanding its global operations into Europe and the Middle East, growing its storytelling reach across the region.

FOLK HERO is a modern brand studio, brand consulting agency, and leading expert in global brand storytelling. The firm has led award-winning brand strategy campaigns for Loro Piana, Intimissimi, Sales Force, Tezenis, Walmart Media Group, Nurosene and more.

Ben Mainwaring has been appointed Chief Strategy Officer of FOLK HERO.

“As we continue to build on the strength of our global strategic offering, Ben brings great expertise in technology, purpose and innovation, that will help Folk Hero continue to successfully take brands into the future,” said Rob Klingensmith, CEO of FOLK HERO.

Mainwaring brings over 20 years of brand marketing strategy, new product development, and commercial strategy experience, specializing in automotive, emerging technology and systems innovation.

Mainwaring will be based in INVNT GROUP’s EMEA headquarters in London, supporting client work across the region.

“We’re thrilled to have this powerhouse resource on the ground in the EMEA region enhancing our capabilities for clients. Helping brands and organisations ensure that they are telling the best version of their brand story, and reaching the most relevant audiences is crucial,” said Claudia Stephenson, Managing Director of INVNT GROUP EMEA. 

Ben Mainwaring joins FOLK HERO after 8 years as Founder at Matter, delivering strategy and innovation to private sector and governments clients across the US, Middle East, and Africa.

“I have known INVNT GROUP’s leadership for over a decade and have been so impressed by how the business has grown, adapted, and innovated over the years. I am joining FOLK HERO at a pivotal time in the evolution of the GROUP – advancing the agency’s brand strategy and storytelling power. I can’t wait to make my own contribution to the agency’s challenger mantra and broaden our offering to new markets and world-class clients,” said Ben Mainwaring, Chief Strategy Officer of FOLK HERO.

ABOUT FOLK HERO

Folk Hero, established by award-winning brand strategist Rob Klingensmith and part of [INVNT GROUP] The Global BrandStory Project™ specializes in bringing story strategies to the executive level, creating master brand narratives that act as brands’ operating and organizing principles. The firm helps its clients develop unusually compelling brand narratives, architecture, identity and tone-of-voice, all underpinned by a robust research methodology and deep understanding of contemporary consumer behaviors. For more information visit: www.folkhero.com

 

ABOUT [INVNT GROUP]

[INVNT GROUP]™ THE GLOBAL BRANDSTORY PROJECT was established as an evolution of the founding global live brand storytelling agency INVNT in 2008, with a vision to provide consistent, meaningful, well-articulated BrandStory across all platforms. With offices in New York, Sydney, London, Singapore, Dubai, San Francisco, Stockholm, Detroit, and Washington D.C.; headed by President and CEO, Scott Cullather, [INVNT GROUP] represents a growing portfolio of complementary disciplines designed to help forward-thinking organizations everywhere, impact the audiences that matter, anywhere. The GROUP consists of modern brand strategy firm, Folk Hero; creative-led culture consultancy, Meaning; production studio & creative agency, HEVĒ; events for colleges and universities, INVNT Higher Ed; digital innovation division, INVNT.ATOM; creative multimedia experience studio, Hypnogram; and the original live brand storytelling agency, INVNT. For more information visit: www.invntgroup.com

Jhonathan Mendez de Leon
INVNT GROUP
jmendezdeleon@invnt.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8740864

SAUDI ARABIA WINS HOSTING RIGHTS OF THE AFC ASIAN CUP™ 2027

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — For the very first time in its rich history, Saudi Arabia has been awarded the hosting rights to stage Asia’s most prestigious men’s national team tournament – the AFC Asian Cup™ 2027 by the 33rd AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain today, Wednesday, 1 February.From left to right, AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa; Minister of Sport HRH Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, and SAFF President Yasser Al-Misehal

Saudi Arabia have experienced immense success over the years, being crowned champions on three occasions (1984, 1988, 1996).

Following the decision, HRH Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sport and Chairman of the Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee, said: “We are humbled and honored to be hosting the AFC Asian Cup™ 2027. We are committed to not only hosting a great tournament that will be memorable for all fans but also to developing and growing the game across Asia through offering new platforms for exchanges and access to new opportunities. Hosting major sports events, and football in specific plays an integral part in our country’s transformative Vision 2030 to increase participation. I do not doubt that this tournament will inspire young boys and girls across the country to participate in sports and dream of representing their country one day.

I want to thank everyone involved in the bid over the last few years who helped bring this historical moment to life. Saudi Arabia’s football fans have been strong supporters of the bid from the start, and I am confident that with their passion for football and unique hospitality, they will help make the AFC Asian Cup™ 2027 an exceptional one.”

Yasser Al Misehal, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), also expressed his gratitude to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for their unconditional support of the bid. Al Misehal said: “We are a country bound by a love for football, and the AFC Asian Cup™ is a championship that holds immense significance for us. It is the tournament where Saudi football experienced its finest moments in. We want to thank all AFC Member Associations for their trust and hope to justify their choice by delivering the most memorable edition of this flagship competition. We look forward to welcoming fans from across the continent to experience our passion for the beautiful game, in addition to the diverse cultures and cities our beautiful country has to offer.”

Commenting on the historic moment, former Saudi Arabian national team star and two-time AFC Asian Cup™ champion Mohamed Abduljawad, said: “It is a dream come true to welcome the AFC Asian Cup™ to Saudi Arabia. Our fans will create an exceptional atmosphere as they have always done over the years. I am confident visitors from across Asia will experience the warm welcome of Saudi hospitality. The excitement has already begun, and we are all preparing for a memorable tournament.”

The tournament will feature the most exciting talent from across Asia, with the qualifying phase to commence in October 2023.

As the host, Saudi Arabia has pledged to focus on:

  • Establishing programs to collaborate with all AFC Member Associations to create an equal playing field with new opportunities for all.
  • Supporting the development of youth football, bringing the next generation of talent into the game.

The 33rd AFC Congress received a presentation on Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the tournament in 2027. HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal led the presentation as he welcomed delegates from across Asia and highlighted the full readiness of the Kingdom to host the AFC Asian Cup™ with distinction.

The presentation also featured Mr. Ibrahim Alkassim, General Secretary of SAFF, and former Saudi national team player Mohammed Abduljawad. They both delivered a clear vision of the legacy that the tournament would provide in contributing to the growth and progress of football in Asia.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1994077/Saudi_Arabian_Football_Federation.jpg

HYCU® Introduces World’s First Data Protection Development Platform for SaaS

Now More Than 17,000 SaaS Vendors and ISVs Can Deliver Data Protection Services in Days, Enabling Their 59+ Billion Users to Backup and Recover in Minutes

Boston, Massachusetts, Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  HYCU, Inc., the world’s fastest-growing multi-cloud data protection as a service company, unveiled R-Cloud™ today, to allow Software as a Service (SaaS) companies and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to provide, in days, backup and recovery services for their SaaS offerings. R-Cloud is the world’s first low-code, purpose-built data protection development platform specifically designed to make it easy for SaaS vendors to deliver a true enterprise class backup and recovery service for their users that is secure and scalable. With more than 17,000 SaaS applications in use across organizations today[1], 99% of those applications have no reliable backup and recovery available. With the explosion of SaaS and the rapid modernization of applications, it is more difficult than ever to see, manage, and protect business-critical applications for IT departments.

“If the number of vendors in one of the industry’s leading market reports have only protected seven SaaS applications to date, the current approach to backup and recover SaaS has no future,” said Simon Taylor, HYCU Founder and CEO. “The entire approach is broken. New SaaS offerings are being built. New approaches to protect them are a must. That is why we have re-thought the way data protection is done and found a way to provide ISVs and SaaS vendors the ability to add data protection with ease. Granular backup and recovery for SaaS is now available in as little as four days when it would have taken at least four quarters before to develop.”

R-Cloud is the result of four years of development, and a number of patent-pending innovations, in an effort to closely engage with existing customers and SaaS solutions providers and to ensure there is an easy way to visualize all data across the enterprise, identify what data is protected, ensure data is not left unprotected, and be able to recover data in the event of human error or malicious attack. At its foundation, the R-Cloud platform empowers SaaS companies to leverage HYCU’s data protection expertise, orchestration, identity and access management, policy management, and analytics to ensure all SaaS data is protected.

“Today marks a significant new milestone in what HYCU has been able to accomplish and will set a new standard in what companies should expect from data protection solutions,” said Enrique Salem, partner, Bain Capital Ventures. “Only HYCU provides the solution for organizations to protect, manage, and recover all of their SaaS applications.”

For the first time, SaaS companies using R-Cloud can quickly release secure and verifiable data protection delivered as a service for their customers. Now, IT admins and developers that need data protection regardless of SaaS-based application will be able to access powerful data protection services. Today, the average development time to create new data protection is at least four quarters, and HYCU has reduced the time to four days. With the introduction of R-Cloud, users will gain the following benefits:

  • Low-code, Integrated Development Environment: R-Cloud empowers SaaS companies and ISVs to quickly develop new R-Cloud modules for their SaaS services, shortening development cycles to days rather than years.
  • Rapid Diagnosis via Graphical Visualization: Businesses get a comprehensive visualization of their entire data estate and protection status via auto-discovery and mapping of all applications and services – SaaS, PaaS, DBaaS, public, and private cloud. Organizations get a detailed and holistic view of their business-critical data and their protection status.
  • Tight Integration with Award-winning Data Protection Technology: SaaS companies and ISVs can couple their application intelligence with the discovery, orchestration, security, policy management, and reporting of HYCU.
  • Secure, Patented New Recovery Service: Applications developed on R-Cloud will provide SaaS users with:
    • One-click backup – Users can ‘set and forget’ backup policies that run 24/7
    • Granular recovery – Quickly recover granular elements across any SaaS application protected.
    • Self-service capabilities – Deliver role-based access control and enable SaaS admins and users to protect and restore critical data.
    • Security and confidence – All developed data protection services are stored securely, and protected against ransomware.
  • Data Protection Services on HYCU Protégé Marketplace: Organizations can subscribe and access a growing library of all SaaS, DBaaS, and PaaS applications that are protected.

The first SaaS-based applications, databases, and services supported in R-Cloud will include: Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Google Kubernetes Engine, Google Workspace, Google BigQuery, Salesforce, Atlassian Confluence, Atlassian Jira Software, Atlassian Jira Service Management, Okta and Microsoft 365. New application integrations will be available through HYCU Protégé Marketplace.

“Now, more than ever, companies need to keep their employees and their technology resources secure, especially in light of geopolitical risk and the increase in ransomware attacks,” said Theresia Gouw, Founding Partner, Acrew Capital. “This has been a key area of investment for us and HYCU is well suited to address. The launch of R-Cloud comes at an important moment in time, where the rise in SaaS application use in organizations is forcing new and innovative approaches to protecting and recovering applications and data. HYCU is leading that charge, and we are excited at what’s to come.”

“We invested in HYCU because of its leading data protection technology,” said Philip Braddock, Portfolio Management Lead, Atlassian Ventures. ”We believe that data protection as a service is crucial to the success of teams and with R-Cloud, HYCU enables teams to deploy data protection solutions faster to safeguard their work. R-Cloud adds huge value for Atlassian’s 200,000+ cloud customers and we’re excited to see its impact on thousands of global teams.”

To learn more about R-Cloud visit, https://www.hycu.com/r-cloud. A live R-Cloud launch webinar with a detailed demonstration starts at 11:00 am ET. To register, visit: R-Cloud Launch.

About HYCU

HYCU is the fastest-growing leader in the multi-cloud and SaaS data protection as a service industry. By bringing true SaaS-based data backup and recovery to on-premises, cloud-native and SaaS environments, the company provides unparalleled data protection, migration, disaster recovery, and ransomware protection to thousands of companies worldwide. As an award-winning and recognized visionary in the industry, HYCU solutions eliminate complexity, risk, and the high cost of legacy-based solutions, providing data protection simplicity to make the world safer. With an industry leading NPS score of 91, customers experience frictionless, cost-effective data protection, anywhere, everywhere. HYCU has raised $140M in VC funding to date and is based in Boston, Mass. Learn more at www.hycu.com.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239046/top-saas-countries-list/

 WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS SAYING ABOUT R-CLOUD

“We’re at a point in time where SaaS sprawl and ransomware threats are leading to significant challenges, and forcing companies to rethink the way they secure and protect data,” said Austin Arensberg, Senior Director, Okta Ventures. “R-Cloud is a game changer. It’s an innovative way to eliminate those challenges, and by incorporating Okta SSO technology, it provides a powerful approach to access and visualize data and applications to see what needs to be protected. This is what we saw from the beginning, and why we invested in HYCU last year. We’re excited at the launch of R-Cloud and we know that it will impact the way companies address their SaaS data protection challenges today, and well into the future.”

“One of the key findings from our recent SaaS Data Protection Report was that solutions to protect and recover SaaS apps was a work in progress,” said Christophe Bertrand, Practice Director, Data Management and Analytics, ESG Global. “While there are many solutions available, there are still too many challenges in what end users expect and what is available. What has been needed is a way to democratize the data protection, and recovery, in a compelling and new way. The introduction of R-Cloud can help in resolving what I see as the SaaS applications data protection disconnect.”

“As the front-line enabler of digital society in the Nordics, we continuously look for ways to protect our customer’s data better and reduce the complexity in managing multicloud environments,” said Harri Kallioniemi, Head of Public Cloud and Cyber Security, Tietoevry. “As HYCU partner, we’re excited to see new kind of approach that enables the data protection for the long tail of increasing amount of SaaS solutions our customers are using.”

“Our customers look to SADA to provide best-in-class professional services and technical expertise to unlock the power of Google Cloud,” said Tony Safoian, President and CEO, SADA. “R-Cloud is an innovative technology approach to scale and protect business critical Google Cloud services. It provides a compelling way to protect and recover modern applications in Google Cloud and we couldn’t be more excited at what R-Cloud can offer.”

“The SaaS backup problem has been a difficult one to crack due to the overwhelming number of unique SaaS applications, which only continues to grow,” said Vid Sista, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Alchemy Tech Group. “HYCU’s unique approach of crowdsourcing may be the best way to democratize SaaS backup. Allowing solution providers and ISV’s access to their API’s to develop the backup and recovery solution, then publishing a certified solution to their marketplace for other customers is an ingenious way to capture the most critical SaaS applications quickly.”

“HYCU is addressing a significant challenge for SaaS data protection, by turning things on its head,” said Chris M. Evans, Principal and Founder, Architecting IT. “R-Cloud, as a SaaS data protection development platform, provides a way to address not just the visualization aspect of a company’s data estate but provides an attractive way to address the scalability and recovery issues that no one has come up with before. Now, for example, a CIO would be able to see a completely different view well beyond just the individual asset or physical infrastructure. The physical infrastructure it sits in will be irrelevant in that sense.”

“In my more than twenty years tracking significant developments in data protection and security, HYCU R-Cloud ranks in the Top Five,” said Jerome Wendt, Founder and Principal, DCIG, LLC. “With more data unprotected than ever before, HYCU is turning the ability to backup, recover and protect SaaS data on its head, making it far easier and simpler while providing enterprises with unprecedented flexibility.”

“The explosion of point-SaaS applications in the workplace has led to massive sprawl of both apps and data within an organization,” said Rob Drivers, UK Sales Director (Public Sector) Software division, SCC UK. “This has left many companies and their business-critical applications at risk. SCC always strives to provide quality solutions and services to support our customers, embracing innovation from our strategic partners. With the announcement of R-Cloud, HYCU is on the way to setting the standard for managing the integrity of SaaS applications and data. It gives the power to SaaS companies and their customers to ensure that their data is secure, no matter the application. This, in turn, will enable SCC to build services and deliver new ways to empower and protect our customers in a significant and new manner. We look forward to working with HYCU with the roll out of R-Cloud.”

“The explosion of SaaS solutions has fractured visibility and recoverability of an organization’s data assets,” said Scott Lowe, Co-founder, CEO and Lead Industry Analyst. “R-Cloud brilliantly solves the two sides of this complex problem – for both customers and SaaS vendors – with an abstraction layer that provides SaaS vendors with a low-code plug-and-play backup as a service offering and customers with a point-and-click affordable marketplace and single pane of glass insight across their organization’s entire supported software portfolio. R-Cloud represents a new era in data protection and recoverability for modern enterprises.”

“I’ve been following HYCU since its inception, and I’m impressed by the trajectory of the company and their capability to address key challenges in the application data protection landscape with an innovative approach,“ said Philippe Nicolas, Founder and Analyst, Coldago Research. “But, incremental evolutions won’t solve challenges in data protection for SaaS applications and something new is needed. HYCU realized this and the introduction of R-Cloud represents a significant change in closing the gap that exists between SaaS application adoption and protecting users’ data.”

“SaaS data protection has become a growing painpoint across organizations, especially with the rise of ransomware,” said Krista Macomber, Senior Analyst, Data Protection at Evaluator Group. “I see R-Cloud as a unique solution, providing a development platform to accelerate the ability of SaaS app providers to develop native backup and recovery capabilities, and then a marketplace to streamline adoption.”

“There is an increasingly concerning massive gap in the industry with numerous unprotected SaaS applications and services. This translates into substantially increased business risks and cybersecurity threats linked to unprotected data and exposure to IT departments” said Dan Molina, Co-President & CTO at Nth Generation. “By opening their technology and allowing SaaS companies, ISVs, and partners to write to HYCU R-Cloud, we see this as a significant catalyst in bridging the exposure and data protection gap. Along with the ability to visualize the entire data estate, this architectural enhancement will allow us to bring business-critical awareness to clients on what applications and data are unprotected, and at risk. We are excited to work with HYCU to further help our clients strengthen their security posture in our role as trusted advisors on IT, Cloud and cybersecurity solutions.”

Attachments

Don Jennings
HYCU, Inc.
617-791-1710
don.jennings@hycu.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8740479

Dr M Laiq Raja paid visits at UVAS

Lahore, February 01, 2023 (PPI-OT):Renowned Health Care Specialist, MD, Fallow American Collage Cardiology (FACC), EI Paso Cardiology Associates America/UVAS Alumni Dr Mohammad Laiq Raja along with his family members paid visits to the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore called on Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad here on Wednesday at City Campus.

Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad briefed Dr Laiq Raja on the UVAS academic, research, extension, advisory services and training programmes. He showed a UVAS video documentary to Dr Laiq Raja to give an overview of UVAS research, development interventions, achievements in curricular and extra-curricular activities and student strength along with national and international collaboration etc. Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad also mentioned the contribution of UVAS flood relief activities in the worst flood affected areas of Pakistan for the help of flood victims by provided them daily routine necessary items related to food, animal feed and goods.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Laiq Raja acknowledged the role of UVAS for providing clinical and disease diagnostic facilities to livestock farming community. He also praised UVAS state of the art disease diagnostic labs facilities and its leadership role for the development of university in well organised manner. Later Dr Laiq Raja along with Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad visited various departments of City Campus including Biosafety level-3 lab, Veterinary Academy, Meat Processing Plant, Pet Center, Students Hostel and Sports Complex etc. During his visit he planted sapling in students hostel (Jinnah Hall).

For more information, contact:
Public Relations Officer
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS)
Syed Abdul Qadir Jillani (Out Fall) Road,
Lahore – Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-99211374, +92-42-99211449
Email: webmaster@uvas.edu.pk
Website: www.uvas.edu.pk

Department of Microbiology is going to organize Intensive Hands on Training Course on Essential Microbiology Techniques 

Haripur, February 01, 2023 (PPI-OT):Department of Microbiology of The University of Haripur is going to organize a two weeks long intensive hands on training course “Essential Microbiology Techniques”. The course will commence on 1st February 2023 and will continue till 14th February.

Interested candidates may apply online at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHeH1b6rW_tjHB2pR7DqTsIuZ9D7wYHWG5Z1DQeGom8NN9GQ/viewform

For more information, contact:
The University of Haripur
Hattar Road near Swat Chowk, Haripur,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Tel: +92-995-615384
Fax: +92-0995615384
Email: registrar@uoh.edu.pk
Website: http://www.uoh.edu.pk

UOS, ICCBS signs MOU to advance scientific research and technological development

Sargodha, February 01, 2023 (PPI-OT):The University of Sargodha and International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) of Karachi University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for promoting research and academic activities. The agreement was duly signed by the Vice Chancellor University of Sargodha Prof. Dr. Qaisar Abbas and Director ICCBS Prof. Dr. Iqbal Choudhary (S.I, H.I, and T.I).

Recognizing the importance of active engagement of academic members and researchers, both universities agreed to promote and encourage short and long term exchange of faculty members and professionals between ICCBS and UOS in the fields of specific interest.

Both parties agreed to promote joint research projects in the fields of common interest, whereas joint publications would also be promoted. Faculty training, mutually organizing National and International Workshops, Seminars, Symposia and Conferences were other features of MoU.

Besides promoting collaborative research, UoS and ICCBS would submit joint research projects to national international agencies aiming for funding. Furthermore, a special lecture was organized by the Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) on the title ‘’Science at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology’’ at NBS School Hall.

Director ICCBS Prof. Dr. Iqbal Choudhary (S.I, H.I, T.I)) explained that intrinsic relationship between chemistry and biology transcends the formal division of scientific disciplines. He further explained that fields like Biological Chemistry, Chemical Ecology, Bio-organic Chemistry and most recently Chemical Biology have emerged out of the combination of these two disciplines.

Chemical Biology is the youngest of the fields that has emerged from the Chemistry and Biology interface and includes research that involves the synthetic manipulation of chemical species, in order to study biological systems, he added.

Perhaps it is best that the interface of Chemistry and Biology continuously redefines itself and spawn’s new sub-disciplines to serve humanity, he concluded. Prof. Dr. Qaisar Abbas thanked the worthy guest and appreciated his contributions. Vice chancellor also urged faculty members and students to contribute to society through quality research and innovative ideas.

For more information, contact:
University of Sargodha
University Road, Sargodha, Pakistan
Tel: +92-48-9230811-15
Email: info@uos.edu.pk
Website: https://uos.edu.pk