Organisations adopt collaboration and security tools with a vengeance, as they accelerate migration to the cloud

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA), the leading independent identity provider, today announced the findings of its eighth annual Businesses at Work report. The research explored what applications and services organisations in Asia Pacific (APAC) and across the globe use to remain productive and secure.

Businesses at Work 2022 takes a holistic look at Okta’s network of 14,000 global customers and more than 7,000 integrations with cloud, mobile and web apps, and IT infrastructure providers — to better understand the apps and services that powered work in 2021. The year’s top apps include a combination of productivity suites, security solutions, and scheduling software.

“Ballooning infrastructure costs, rising cyberattacks, growing customer expectations for tailored digital experiences, and an increasingly dynamic workforce accelerated digital transformation in 2021,” said Graham Sowden, Okta’s General Manager for APAC. “As our relationship with technology deepens, the role of identity in providing seamless access between people and technology has become critical.”

IDC is predicting that by the end of 2022, half of the Asia Pacific economy will be based on, or influenced by, digital technologies.

The hottest apps:

• Globally, collaboration and security tools are the two most popular categories of tools deployed through the Okta Integration Network, showing a 28% and 31% year-over-year growth respectively.
• The power trio Google Workspace, Zoom, and Slack have won a large number of new customers across APAC. Google Workspace grew 68% YoY in terms of number of customers in the region, while Slack and Zoom grew 40% and 37%, respectively.
• Also in APAC specifically, network security tool Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect, workflow platform ServiceNow, email security tool Mimecast, and small business accounting software Xero were the most popular among customers.
• Globally, collaboration tools like Notion, Figma, Miro, Airtable and monday.com saw a surge in customers throughout the year, in tandem with the rise of remote working.
• Compared to the previous year’s report, 70% of the fastest-growing apps are new to the top 10. Clearly, the rapid shift to remote work drove firms to adopt new technologies to keep their workforces connected, secure and productive.

“Remote work has made content collaboration tools outright essential for corporations during the pandemic,” said Sowden. “In particular, we see that videos and meetings continue to connect people in a remote world, especially in APAC, where employers are arming their employees with collaboration platforms such as Zoom.”

“We are proud to be recognised as one of APAC’s most-used productivity applications and services,” said Ricky Kapur, Head of APAC, Zoom. “Zoom is constantly innovating with our diverse ecosystem of partners, including Okta, to provide organisations with solutions that empower their hybrid workforce. With employees wanting greater flexibility in where and how they work, we are committed to driving secure and seamless collaboration for employee engagement and overall company success.”

Rise of multi-cloud platforms: Being able to access workflows and productivity tools from any location, on any device has turned into a business imperative. In fact, cloud migration isn’t just increasing—it’s doubling, and complexifying, with organisations choosing to use multiple cloud platforms instead of putting all their cloud computing in one virtual basket. AWS remains the runaway favorite cloud platform globally, showing a 32% YoY growth last year and contributing to a total increase of 152% since 2018. Meanwhile, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is boasting an increase of 40% since 2020—a whopping 365% from where it ranked in 2018.

Continued investment in security: Firms are continuing to invest in security-related applications, with Netskope (a network security tool) now the fastest growing app worldwide by number of unique users and VMware’s Workspace ONE (an endpoint management tool) remaining high on the list.

In addition, businesses are increasingly turning to higher assurance and adaptive forms of authentication like Okta Verify and WebAuthn to secure access to applications. Globally, SMS as a security factor dropped from 53% three years ago to 47% today, while security questions dropped 18% three years ago to 13% today.

Growing preference for best-of-breed solutions: Our research suggests that even when organisations increasingly license productivity suites, they still want to invest in best-of-breed apps that mirror some of the apps licensed under the bundle. Of Okta’s Microsoft 365 (the most popular app) customers globally, 33% deploy four or more best-of-breed apps, up from 20% four years ago, highlighting the growing importance of flexibility and functionality as employees work remotely. Some 38% also deploy Google Workspace, this year’s third most popular app by number of customers. Another 43% use AWS, the second most popular app.

This year’s report clearly shows that organisations across the globe are leaning heavily into two areas: choice and collaboration,” said Sowden. “This is a wise move and Okta is excited to be able to support some of APAC’s largest and most complex enterprises as they evolve their technology strategies.”

If you would like to learn more about the current state of identity in APAC and dive deeper into findings from the Businesses@Work report visit here.

About Okta

Okta is the leading independent identity provider. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With more than 7,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta provides simple and secure access to people and organizations everywhere, giving them the confidence to reach their full potential. More than 15,000 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Siemens, Slack, Takeda, Teach for America, and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.

#Okta

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• Acquisition accelerates NCS’ regionalisation strategy in APAC and increases synergies between Australia and Singapore
• Combines tech capabilities of NCS and Dialog to provide stronger end-to-end core IT and digital services for government and enterprise clients
• Increases in-market headcount to 1,300 and provides new growth opportunities for Australian talent

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – NCS today announced its acquisition of Australia’s largest privately-owned IT services company, The Dialog Group (Dialog), to better support the Australian public sector and enterprise clients in addressing their rising digital transformation needs. The acquisition of Dialog for A$325 million (S$325 million) is geared to unlock new growth opportunities in the Australian market and accelerate NCS’ regionalisation strategy. Reputed for its extensive services portfolio from IT consulting, application development to managed application services, Dialog has presence across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Darwin, and Adelaide.

Mr Ng Kuo Pin, CEO of NCS, said, “This acquisition is a significant step in the regionalisation of NCS and leverages the combined strengths of NCS and Dialog and their established track records and reputations across both Singapore and Australia. The scale of this acquisition, our largest to date, reflects our firm commitment to growing our business beyond the shores of Singapore, particularly in Australia where we can also leverage the strategic presence of the Singtel Group.”

The acquisition combines Dialog’s core IT capabilities and NCS NEXT digital services to bolster its focus on innovation, cloud, artificial intelligence and data analytics. It also trebles the number of highly skilled IT specialists in its operations in Australia to 1,300 – ready to support clients from a multitude of sectors including government, healthcare, transport, communications, financial and commercial services. This combination of talent and expertise will create a stronger end-to-end suite of technology and digital services for NCS’ clients in Australia and across the region.

Ng added, “At NCS, our purpose is to advance our communities by harnessing technology and bringing people together to make the extraordinary happen. Similarly, Dialog’s commitment to clients and technology has made it one of the leading tech companies in Australia, serving both government and enterprise clients. This alignment of purpose makes Dialog a perfect fit. Collectively, our capabilities, talent and reach will fortify and consolidate our position in Australia and help our clients and the industry meet the digital transformation demands of the future economy.”

Advancing market position in Australia

As part of its transformational growth plan, NCS has been scaling its presence in Australia since December 2020 to serve clients in Australia through NCS NEXT, its digital innovation and services arm – which supports enterprises’ growing demand for digital transformation solutions. Together, Dialog and NCS will have greater opportunities for synergistic growth between Australia and Singapore as well as expertise to better support the needs of clients across both markets.

This latest deal follows NCS NEXT’s acquisition of two fast-growing technology companies last year: Riley, a cloud consultancy with dedicated expertise in Google cloud applications and Eighty20 Solutions, a cloud transformation specialist with unique capabilities across Microsoft cloud platforms, thus offering a ‘best-of-cloud’ service portfolio to the Australian market.

Mr Alan Key, Dialog’s CEO commented, “Together, we will have a strong breadth and depth of capabilities and expertise for our clients here in Australia. Both NCS and Dialog’s talent development cultures and programmes will develop the best talent pipeline and create exciting jobs and growth opportunities.”

According to Gartner, IT spending in Australia is showing its strongest growth in a decade and is projected to grow 6.5% in 2022. The largest IT spending segment in Australia is IT services, which is expected to grow to A$39 billion in 2022^[1] .

Combined capabilities drive innovation and co-creation

With one of the highest Net-Promoter Scores (NPS) in the industry and a long-standing client base of governments and large enterprises, Dialog understands the unique needs of the market and augments NCS’ commitment to better serve a diverse range of clients in Government, Healthcare, Transportation, Financial Services, Industrial, Commercial, Communications, Media, and Technology sectors.

Government and enterprise clients can now access deep-tech capabilities across 55 specialisations to support their transformation needs including harnessing innovative digital and cloud technologies. They will also be able to leverage synergies from NCS NEXT Innovation Centres, spanning Singapore and Melbourne, to drive innovation through cross-border collaboration and co-creation.

A great place for talent to grow

The newly combined NCS and Dialog will unlock synergies in talent development and build a steady pipeline of tech talent for the Australian market. With the increased market presence, NCS and Dialog employees will have more options to achieve personal growth and mastery, opportunities to move across specialisations and work in various regions and industries, with different clients and partners to gain a wide range of experience. Depending on their skillsets and areas of interest, they also get to be involved in exciting and impactful projects, reflecting NCS’ commitment to building a place for talent to grow and thrive professionally.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to fulfilment of closing conditions, including relevant approvals from regulatory authorities and other third parties, and is expected to be completed within three months.

About NCS

NCS, a subsidiary of Singtel Group, is a leading technology services firmwith presence in Asia Pacific and partners with governments and enterprises to advance communities through technology. Combining the experience and expertise of its 10,000-strong team across 55 specialisations, NCS provides differentiated and end-to-end technology services to clients with its NEXT capabilities in digital, cloud and platforms, as well as core offerings in application, infrastructure, engineering and cybersecurity. NCS also believes in building a strong partner ecosystem with leading technology players, research institutions and start-ups to support open innovation and co-creation. For more information, visit ncs.co.

#NCS

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The competition will reward entrepreneurs who are breaking boundaries

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – News Direct – 8 March 2022 – To celebrate International Women’s Day, UNiDAYS has launched its annual Student Women of the Year competition, for the 4th year. Running until 27^th March 2022, the competition is open to all female-identifying students and will reward inspiring entrepreneurs who are breaking boundaries with a $10,000 grant to further their impact.

The competition is part of UNiDAYS’ 2022 Student Women of the Year campaign, running throughout March. Building on this year’s International Women’s Day theme of #BreakTheBias, the campaign focuses on females who are breaking it down to build it better and succeeding, putting a spotlight on those doing so to inspire others to follow.

With over 54% of Gen Z wanting to start their own business, UNiDAYS’ wants to redefine what it means to be an entrepreneur and empower those who are overcoming stereotypes and discrimination by breaking boundaries and problem solving. The competition will celebrate the next generation of female-identifying young leaders and shine a spotlight on their inspiring initiatives.

The winner will be awarded a $10,000 grant to enable them to expand their efforts, with five runners up being awarded $1,000 respectively. To enter, simply need to post a short 60-second video, showcasing how they have been breaking boundaries, and outlining their plans for how they would spend the $10,000 grant to further their impact. To access the application form, participants must have a UNiDAYS account.

UNiDAYS will shortlist five stand-out entries and a specially selected panel of external judges will choose the winner. These include award-winning environmental activist, CEO and author, Maya Penn, leading British vlogger, Georgia Rankin, and Mariel Richards, CEO at Gal-Dem.

Entrants will be judged based on the content and creativity of the video, how well they explain how and what they are changing/contributing, how candidates will use the $10,000, and to what extent their project is breaking boundaries, and making the world a better place.

Pretty Munro, Global Marketing Director, UNiDAYS, says: “To date, UNiDAYS has awarded $40,000¹ to female students to support their dreams and goals, however this year is our biggest prize fund yet.

Building on last year’s International Women’s Day theme, which celebrated those who have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic, this year’s award focuses on entrepreneurship.

This generation is already expected to be the most entrepreneurial ever. Through our competition, we want to inspire the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, and help make their dreams a reality.”

For further information on UNiDAYS, visit www.myunidays.com.

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact: Email: alan.duncan@myunidays.com

¹ $40,000 is based on a value of £23,000 GBP at an exchange rate of $1.79, correct as of 15:21, Monday 7^th March 2022.

About UNiDAYS

UNiDAYS is the world’s leading Student Affinity Network, with a verified global audience of over 20 million student members across 115 countries.

UNiDAYS works with 800 of the world’s biggest brands globally, taking their products and services into the hearts and minds of tomorrow’s professionals, by inspiring Gen Z to discover and connect with the brands and services they need. Its global members have spent more than $5 billion through the UNiDAYS marketplace since 2018.

Through its identity technology, secure brand-safe environment and marketing solutions, UNiDAYS delivers reach and engagement for brand partners, maximising sales and building long-term affinity, at scale and speed across a full range of channels.

The company has over 200 staff, with headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and with offices in London, New York and Sydney.

#UNiDAYS

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Southern Cross Forests (SCF) will deploy Pano Rapid Detect, Pano’s integrated hardware, software, and AI system, to gain greater situational awareness to aid in its response to bushfires. Pano Rapid Detect continuously monitors areas of high fire risk using ultra-high-definition cameras that rotate 360-degrees every minute and provide complete panoramic visibility. By merging this rich camera data with emergency calls and other available data feeds, Pano AI’s artificial intelligence produces a real-time picture of threats and delivers rapid, actionable intelligence to fire services.

“Our industry is still recovering from the devastating bushfires of two years ago. We have to find more tools to help us detect fires and fight them as soon as they form,” said Jake Lazarus, General Manager of Southern Cross Forests. “Pano’s all-in-one detection and notification system will help us detect small fires before they become larger threats to regional plantations and communities.”

The historic 2019-2020 bushfire season burned more than 11 million hectares across Australia, dumping 434 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, taking 33 lives, displacing thousands, and devastating native plant and animal species. Those fires, fueled by drought, were the worst on record for New South Wales, where thousands of firefighters worked to contain the spread of fire over a nine-month period.

“We can’t rely on outdated technology when climate change creates conditions that make bushfires more frequent and more dangerous,” said Pano Chief Commercial Officer, Arvind Satyam. “We built Pano Rapid Detect for partners like Southern Cross Forests that want to leverage AI and other cutting-edge technologies to stop bushfires from becoming catastrophic events that devastate communities, businesses, forests, and wildlife.”

Pano AI, in partnership with local governments and utility companies, has successfully deployed its early fire detection and notification system across high-risk fire zones in four U.S. states. During the 2021 U.S. fire season, Pano Rapid Detect identified, confirmed, and notified customers of more than 100 fires in these states. Pano AI’s end-to-end solution sets itself apart in the industry with its low rate of false-positive alerts, enabling fire and rescue services to allocate resources where they are needed most.

To learn more about Pano AI’s wildfire detection technology, please visit: https://www.pano.ai

About Pano AI

Pano AI is the leader in early bushfire detection and intelligence. Pano Rapid Detect, an end-to-end technology solution for early fire detection and notification, leverages ultra-high-definition cameras that rotate 360-degrees and capture a full panorama every minute. By synthesizing rich camera data with satellite and other data feeds, Pano AI’s artificial intelligence produces a real-time picture of threats and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence through an intuitive web platform. As climate change magnifies the threat of brushfires, Pano AI gives fire authorities and first responders advanced tools to make an informed, effective response that safeguards lives, communities, and the environment.

#PanoAI

Net Profit Significantly Increased by 307.1% YoY to Approx. RMB102.6 Million

RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS (as of 31 December 2021)

• Revenue increased by 97.4% YoY to approximalty RMB904.1 million.
• Net profit increased by 307.1% YoY to approximalty RMB102.6 million; and profit attributable to owners of the Company was about RMB92.5 million.
• Basic earnings per share of RMB12.51 cents
• Gross profit margin increased from 28.8% in FY2020 to 29.6% in FY2021
• Net profit margin increased from 5.5% in FY2020 to 11.3% in FY2021
• The Group continues to have a robust financial position with cash and cash equivalents balance of approximately RMB405.8 million as at 31 December 2021 (31 December 2020: RMB302.9 million).

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 March 2022 – A leading Interactive Data Performance Marketing Group for Pan-Fashion Brands in Greater China, Activation Group Holdings Limited (“Activation” or the “Company”, collectively, the “Group”, stock code: 9919), has today announced record high 2021 annual results for the year ended 31 December 2021 (“FY2021”). Powered by its successful strategic upgraded to a pan-fashion brand data interactive marketing group, opportunities created by strong growth of the domestic Chinese luxury market and accelerated digitalization continue to fuel the Group’s long-term and sustainable profitability increases.

During the Period under Review, the Group’s revenue was up by 97.4% year-on-year (“YoY”) YoY to approx. RMB904.1 million and net profit surging by 307.1% YoY to approx. RMB102.6 million. Net profit margin was 11.3%, representing a YoY increased of 5.8 percentage points. The profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company was approx. RMB92.5 million. The basic earnings per share were RMB12.51 cents.

For FY2021, the Board has recommended the payment of a final dividend of HK2.00 cents per share. Together with the interim dividend, the Group would provide a total dividend of HK9.96 cents per share for the whole financial year (FY2020: nil).

Business Review

During the Period under Review, revenu e for the experiential marketing business segment was approx. RMB686.0 million, an increase of 120.3% from approx. RMB311.4 million in FY2020. The Group has actively promoted its interactive data marketing business in FY2021. Fashion shows and exhibitions are now not only primary events in China with a large volume of guests on-site, but also as vehicles for online content for secondary marketing activities, creating massive online exposure through data interactive services. More than 200 offline events were completed throughout FY2021 including CHANEL first global fragrance exhibition, CARTIER “Trees” Exhibition, CINDY CHAO “The Art Jewel” Exhibition, and GUCCI “Aria Collection” Fashion Show, etc.

Revenue for digital and communication business was approx. RMB201.7 million, an increase of 51.3% compared with approx. RMB133.3 million in FY2020. During the year, the Group formed a joint venture with Vision Entertainment to expand its Douyin live-streaming e-commerce, with promising progress after just five months. The Group’s annual GMV has achieved approx. RMB473.9 million for an event with only two celebrity spokespersons, Zhang Li and Chen Yanfei joining livestreaming e-commerce. In December 2021, the Group further introduced three new celebrities for this business, for a total of five celebrities by the end of FY2021, including Lin Xiaozhai ( 林小宅 ) and Rosamund Kwan Chi Lam.

Revenue generated by IP development business was approx. RMB16.3 million, up 22.6% compared with approx. RMB13.3 million in FY2020. During the year, the Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with Hongkong Land’s affiliated company, planning to establish a joint venture for long-term cooperation on operating relevant venues in West Bund Financial Hub within Xuhui District, Shanghai. Besides, the Group entered into a strategic co-creation partnership with Shanghai Design Week in February 2022 , became one of the co-creation partners with government agencies and industry leaders to participate in the branding and operation of Shanghai Design Week. The Group, together with Shanghai Design Week, is committed to promoting Shanghai as a world-class City of Design, attracting high-quality global design talent and resources to create a local and international original design center.

Outlook and Strategy

The Group adheres to the development strategy of “content + marketing + technology” and “organic growth + external merger & acquisition + diversified innovation.” Meanwhile, the Group has expanded its layout in the fields of digitalization and innovation to prepare for new opportunities. Thus, the Group has invested in Velocious Technologies Inc., a leading enterprise in the metaverse and virtual reality technology in China, forming a joint venture with that company’s subsidiary, Beijing Weikuai Technology Co., Ltd. ( 北京為快科技有限公司 ) (“VeeR”), to create a new field of pan-fashion metaverse marketing and provide complete “offline events + online data interaction + metaverse” marketing services for the brands.

The Group’s two major metaverse projects expected in 2022:

1. Establishment of the Laliga Land ( 西甲俱樂部元宇宙 ) ecosystem with LaLiga Club: to enable football fans to have access in watching football matches and purchase the related merchandise in metaverse world;

2. Establishment of DesignVerse of Shanghai Design Week: to provide the design industry with a design communication platform in metaverse, meanwhile, it helps local brands to go abroad and attract foreign brands to China, promoting Shanghai as a “world-class” design center.

Mr. Steve Lau Kam Yiu, Joint-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Activation, said, : “In the future, our businesses will focus on data interactive marketing as the core business model. We will constantly accelerate the overall digitalized marketing layout, so as to provide one-stop comprehensive “offline + online + metaverse” marketing service solutions for our clients, striving to be the world’s leading pan-fashion data interactive marketing group. Recently, we have made a new breakthrough in IP development business, and Shanghai Design Week will become one of our major growth drivers in future. At present, Shanghai is already ranked among the top in the field of culture and creative design in China, and the total output of the creative and design industry will exceed RMB 2 trillion by 2025, which will drive the development in China in the future. With the rapid growth of digitalization, we will speed-up our metaverse projects and actively looking for acquisition opportunites on e-commerce operation companies, planning to close the deal within this year, aming to create synergy with our existing brand resources.”

About Activation Group Holdings Limited

Activation Group Holdings Limited (9919.HK) was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on January 16, 2020, is a leading Interactive Data Performance Marketing Group for Pan-Fashion Brands in Greater China. The Company’s core business covers experiential marketing, digital and brand communication and IP operation including experiential marketing and PR services, digital marketing, metaverse marketing, live streaming e-commerce services, and world-class IP operation, etc. Currently, the Company has accumulated more than 500 brands, and its mid-to-high-end experiential marketing services rank first in the Greater China, claiming a 9.2% share of the market. All businesses of the Company are driven by interactive data performance marketing, continuously accelerate its digital capabilities to provide brands with one-stop comprehensive marketing service solutions for “offline + online + metaverse marketing”.

#ActivationGroup

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.