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Infographic: Adaptxt® Keyboard App for Android Can Save Legal Professionals Nearly $1,000 with Industry-Specific Dictionary

SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 20, 2013) — When legal professionals must manually enter specialized words on their Android smartphones or tablets, the wasted productivity can be close to $1,000 per person. KeyPoint Technologies’ Adaptxt^® smart keyboard app eliminates that waste by providing 35 industry-specific dictionaries, a selection that no other stock keyboard or keyboard app can match.

For each industry, KeyPoint works with top linguists to handcraft specialized dictionaries, eliminating the need for Adaptxt users to create their own custom dictionaries for their professions and avoiding the nightmare of “dumb” autocorrect. This feature saves users a significant amount of time and money. For example: 

• The Adaptxt legal dictionary includes more than 6,000 terms.

• If an attorney had to manually enter just 4,000 of those terms over the course of a year’s work, it would require nearly 11.1 hours. That’s assuming each word took 10 seconds not only to type but then to go back and override the stock or app keyboard’s correction, which is based on a general-purpose dictionary.

• An attorney's median wage is $86.86/hour, so manual entry would waste about $964 worth of productivity. This loss increases exponentially in law firms with dozens of associates and partners or government agencies with hundreds of attorneys.

The industry-specific dictionaries also avoid problems that occur when a multi-syllable term is typed incorrectly into a stock or app keyboard, which then adds the mistake to its dictionary for future use.

“Adaptxt enables law firms, financial institutions and other organizations to maximize employee productivity and minimize potentially costly mistakes due to misspelled words,” said KeyPoint’s VP of Marketing, Ronald Brown. “We believe this is an untapped market opportunity and have the experience and resources to expand our dictionary content starting with the legal industry.”

There is a cost for accuracy, whether people realize it or not, which are summarized in a new infographic, available at http://www.adaptxt.com/beta/adaptxtindustrydictionaries.jpg. For example, the 4,000-word finance dictionary can save a senior accountant more than $250 in input costs alone.

Adaptxt also offers 78 language dictionaries. KeyPoint plans to develop additional consumer and enterprise dictionaries this year.

Adaptxt uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to identify unique words and phrases that each user enters and adds them to a personalized custom dictionary that supplements any industry-specific dictionary that the user chooses to install. Adaptxt is fundamentally different from – and superior to – traditional predictive solutions, which simply hunt for a match in a predetermined dictionary lexicon, then automatically change what users type, forcing them to go back and manually correct the platform’s mistake.

The Adaptxt keyboard app is available now for free from Google Play Store (https://play.google.com), where it consistently has a 4.3 average user rating. After installation, users select which language or industry dictionaries they want to add. Each industry dictionary is available for 99 cents.

The Adaptxt 2.0 keyboard works with any smartphone running Android 2.1 or later. The Adaptxt 2.1 keyboard works with any tablet running Android 2.2 or later. For more information, visit www.adaptxt.com and www.keypoint-tech.com

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About ADAPTXT, a KeyPoint Technologies Innovation

ADAPTXT dramatically improves people’s ability to quickly input their ideas, words and commands into Android devices of all kinds.  Using the latest advances in linguistic science and artificial intelligence to anticipate users’ meaning, ADAPTXT’s smart keyboard applications make human/machine interaction dramatically more enjoyable, personal and accurate.  Developed by KeyPoint Technologies UK, ADAPTXT represents the leading use of predictive computer input technology in the market today.  Founded in 2004, KeyPoint Technologies is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, an epicenter of linguistics, with additional offices in India, Japan, China and the U.S.  The company is a trusted partner for OEMs, platform providers and developers.  KeyPoint Technologies is privately owned. More information can be found at www.keypoint-tech.com and www.adaptxt.com.

iotum Announces Acquisition of Freeconference.Com to Expand Its Web-based Audio Conferencing Services

TORONTO, May 15, 2013 – iotum, operator of the popular and versatile teleconferencing service Calliflower.com for small business, today announced it is expanding with the acquisition of California-based Global Conference Partners, provider of FreeConference.com and associated teleconferencing services. 

Jason Martin, president and CEO, said iotum is acquiring all of the assets of Global Conference Partners, a portfolio company of American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS).  In addition to FreeConference.com, the transaction includes InstantConference.com, GlobalConference.com and several other international brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The conferencing properties acquired from GCP will continue to be offered from Glendale, Calif.; no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the acquisition, said Martin.  Calliflower also will continue as a conferencing service, he said.

“It’s a natural fit,” said Martin. “The Global Conference properties nicely complement Calliflower where we’ll quickly realize economies of scale even though all conferencing services will continue under separate brands.

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About iotum

iotum is a privately-held operator of online collaboration and conference calling services. iotum operates the popular Calliflower teleconference platform, which has introduced a number of teleconference innovations since its introduction in 2007, and services medium and small businesses and organizations. iotum was founded in 2006 by industry legend Alec Saunders, who joined BlackBerry as vice president of developer relations in 2011. Based in Toronto, Canada, iotum’s customer base is worldwide. For further information, please visit www.iotum.com  

About American Capital

American Capital is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. American Capital manages $21.2 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $117 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) with approximately $13 billion market capitalization and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately $1.5 billion market capitalization. From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million. For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.

Phone.com Enhances Local Telephone Number Services In Canada and Puerto Rico

Newark, N.J. (May 7, 2013) – Phone.com, a cloud-based phone company focused on helping small businesses prosper, today announced that it is enhancing local telephone number service availability in Canada and Puerto Rico. These enhancements allow businesses to include SMS and fax in Canada and fax in Puerto Rico as well as expanding pools of available numbers.  Organizations can select numbers that are familiar to callers in these regions as well as creating a “local” presence in other geographic areas with calls answered remotely and billed at local rates.

Local numbers are available in 120 Canadian cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, London, Ottawa, Quebec, Sault Saint Marie, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Windsor. In Puerto Rico, numbers are immediately available for San Juan, with pools of numbers for 32 additional cities including Bayamon, Guaynabo, Mayaguez and Ponce coming soon.

Adding a phone number is a snap and can be done in seconds through the user-friendly Phone.com portal. Local numbers outside of the U.S. start at $4.88 per month.

“We now offer local numbers in 44 countries. The enhancement of Canada and Puerto Rico numbers is part of this expansion to help meet the growing needs of our customers,” said CEO Ari Rabban.

For more than five years, Phone.com has excelled at providing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to small businesses that need 1 to 20 telephone lines. The company has achieved an outstanding record of customer retention and service quality. One of the driving factors behind this success is that Phone.com enables entrepreneurs and other business people to rapidly deploy innovative features and functions. 

For more information on Phone.com, please visit www.phone.com or call 800-997-9179. 

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About Phone.com
Phone.com is a cloud-based phone company focused on the needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs, providing cost-effective solutions to all their business-communications requirements.

Panel Discussion of The Engaged Health Consumer to Highlight WLSA’s Eighth Annual Convergence Summit on Mobile Health

Conference Focuses on Moving Toward Adoption of Connected Health Technology

SAN DIEGO – May 2, 2013 – The Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA) said today that a panel discussion titled “The Engaged Health Consumer” will highlight its eighth annual Convergence Summit on May 28-30 at the Omni San Diego Hotel. The panel will bring together four distinguished leaders in the connected health movement.

The May 28 session is for WLSA members only, while the May 29-30 sessions are open to the public. A near-final agenda for the summit may be viewed at http://wirelesslifesciences.org/what-we-do/convergence-summit/agenda/. 

This year’s summit will also feature a Qualcomm Life demonstration of its 2Net™ platform in home environment. An exhibit called the “Connected Health Zone” will provide a real-life depiction of remote monitoring with multiple companies that have products and services in the connected health space. 

Themed “Moving Healthcare from Innovation to Adoption,” this year’s summit focuses on educating and aligning stakeholders throughout the healthcare ecosystem on the wide range of innovative solutions available to drive enhanced health outcomes and more efficient healthcare services. 

The “Engaged Health Consumer” discussion will link the summit’s theme directly to consumers, who use and benefit from myriad wireless health innovations on a widening array of technology devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and TVs.

The panel – slated for Thursday, May 30, at 2:50 p.m. – will be moderated by Jeff Arnold, Chairman and CEO of Sharecare, a health and wellness social engagement platform that helps people to live healthier lives by connecting them to personalized resources including high-quality information from national experts, interactive tools and local healthcare providers. 

Panelists will include:

• James H. Fowler, Ph.D. and Professor of Medical Genetics and Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. His work lies at the intersection of the natural and social sciences, with a focus on social networks, behavior, evolution, politics, genetics and big data.

• Brendan Gallagher, Senior Vice President of Emerging Technology & Channels at Digitas Health, where he oversees user experience research, information architecture, content strategy, interaction design, and usability work across multiple offices for major pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotech clients.

• Dr. Daniel Kraft, a Stanford- and Harvard-trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and innovator. With more than 20 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation, Kraft chairs the medicine track for Singularity University and is Executive Director of FutureMed, a program that explores convergent, exponentially developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare. 

Also, in addition to those announced March 12, new plenary speakers announced today includeAndrew Anderson, Global Lead for Strategy and Disruptive Innovation within corporate R&D at PepsiCo; Igor Gershfang, Senior Director for Emerging Technology Solutions within the business innovation group at Walgreens; and Dr. Peter Cowhey, Dean and Qualcomm Professor of Communications and Technology Policy at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego.

Goals of this year’s WLSA summit include increasing consumer engagement and bolstering collaboration throughout all sectors involved in healthcare improvement, leading to broad adoption of new technologies worldwide.

The Convergence Summit brings together key players to explore how applications of wireless technology can transform the delivery and cost of delivering essential healthcare. This year it will offer participants opportunities for structured networking with the most dedicated and innovative thought leaders in healthcare and health technology, such as Qualcomm Life, Ascension Health, China Mobile and Sanofi. 

For further information on the conference, visit www.wirelesslifesciences.org or contact Molly Cogan at mcogan@wirelesslifesciences.org.  

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About Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA)
The Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA) is a special-purpose trade organization committed to accelerating the adoption of innovative healthcare technologies. Our community includes CEOs, senior-level executives, entrepreneurs, companies of all sizes, foundations, educational institutions, scientists, physicians, and policy makers. The WLSA is dedicated to creating value and improving health, globally, by stimulating the implementation of technologies that empower consumers and innovative institutions. WLSA partners and companies all over the world are using wireless and connected health innovations to better manage chronic conditions, pre-empt disease and improve the lives of the elderly and under-served populations.

• Visit us at www.wirelesslifesciences.org
• Follow us on Twitter @WLSA_ORG    
• Find us on Facebook
• Connect with us on LinkedIn
• Read our WLSA Blog
• View us on SlideShare
• Watch WLSA videos

 

8x8’s Hosted VoIP and UC Services Streamline Communications Between Thrive Senior Living’s 11 Residential Communities

SAN JOSE, Calif. – April 30, 2013 -- Thrive Senior Living, operator of a growing network of senior-living communities in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, differentiates itself by emphasizing innovation to improve the lives of residents. To help make this happen, it relies on strong relationships with technology partners Tazergy, Inc., a consulting firm, and 8x8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), whose hosted VoIP and Unified Communications (UC) services provide the organization with customizable, feature-rich communications within its 11 senior living communities.

Unlike many senior housing communities that are behind the technological curve, Thrive has built an IT infrastructure designed to support current operational requirements as well as those emerging from an increasingly social, tech-savvy generation. A key component of this infrastructure is the 8x8 hosted PBX communications network it has deployed across its entire organization, enabling it to dramatically improve the quality, breadth and reliability of its internal communications while significantly reducing the cost.

 “8x8 is a great example of leading-edge business VoIP technology,” says Thrive President Tod Petty. “With 8x8’s services, staff at corporate headquarters, building sites and community offices can benefit from state of the art communications technologies using both wired and mobile devices.  And, because the services are cloud-based rather than premises-based, users can access the full array of capabilities wherever they have an Internet connection.”

Although Thrive had already been using VoIP phone service from another provider, an analysis of that system’s capabilities revealed it lacked the functionality needed to connect the company’s multi-state offices and was, at the same time, costly to deploy and maintain. At Tazergy’s recommendation, Thrive installed 8x8 Virtual Office Pro at its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, and 8x8 Virtual Office at its community offices. Right away, Petty and his team noticed improved functionality.

“Thrive came to realize, as many companies do, that all VoIP services are not alike,” said Tazergy President and CEO Matt Haywood. “When making the transition to VoIP, it’s important to conduct a thorough assessment of your business needs along with a careful review of the providers you are considering before making a decision. Even though Thrive still had a one-year contract in place with its previous provider, it was our recommendation that they implement the 8x8 service immediately to secure the features and functionality they needed now.”

Hosted PBX and UC unite multi-state offices, even construction trailers 

Easy extension dialing and corporate directories for each community are more than just a convenience for Thrive employees. Petty says they have also helped with team building throughout the company. 

“Our users don’t have to dial 8 or 9 to place an outside call; they can just dial a 4-digit extension. The system displays all incoming calls, so there’s never a missed call, and it’s easy to call the person back without having to look up their number. Email notification of voicemail messages means that users never miss a message either.”

8x8 Virtual Meeting web conferencing is another popular feature at Thrive. Employees at Thrive’s Atlanta headquarters can schedule web meetings from their browser or directly from Outlook using 8x8’s free downloadable plugin.

Value of virtual numbers

In addition to providing advanced VoIP features, 8x8 has significantly reduced Thrive’s telephony costs and streamlined the sales cycle for its communities. Whenever Thrive begins a new development, the company opens a temporary sales office inside a trailer, and starts the pre-sales process by distributing fliers and displaying billboards with a unique telephone number dedicated to those leads. 

In the past, the company had to purchase and install expensive premises-based phone systems to hook up actual analog lines for its temporary offices. Then Thrive had to wait for a phone company to assign new phone numbers.

With 8x8, the wait — and expense — are over. Now, when Thrive opens a new temporary sales office, 8x8 can immediately assign a new virtual number for sales leads. Other than an Internet connection, no other equipment needs to be installed. The virtual number appears on the company’s pre-sales literature and billboards. 

Initially, calls go to a dedicated voicemail box, where leads are captured for later follow up. When the active sales cycle kicks off, the number is reassigned to a ring group for live answering by a Thrive representative.

Substantial cost savings

Haywood estimates that 8x8 phone services save Thrive $10,000 to $15,000 per community in reduced telephony expenses. 

“We used to spend about $5-7K just for the phone system for each temporary sales trailer, and then much more to get the community’s phone system up and running,” Haywood says. “With 8x8 hosted VoIP, there is no complex on-site PBX equipment, or the extensive labor, installation and ongoing support fees that comes with it. We can even move the phones from the temporary trailer to the new community once it’s ready. It’s been a huge savings.” 

Petty and Haywood say they’re both fans of 8x8’s simplified approach to system changes, which Tazergy manages as part of its IT consulting services.

“In the past it was difficult to make changes to the phone system,” recalls Petty. “I’d have to call my IT consultant, and sometimes that call would take a couple of hours. With 8x8, all I have to do is send Matt one email, and the change is done that day.”

8x8 CEO Bryan Martin said: “Thrive Senior Living is a perfect example of the value customers can derive from doing business with us.  It’s a multi-location business with facilities in four states and people using a range of wired and mobile devices on a single communications network.  The management and staff at Thrive found that our hosted Virtual Office solutions deliver greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness versus competing offers.”

About 8x8, Inc.

8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) empowers business conversations for more than 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses with cloud communications services that include hosted PBX telephony, unified communications, call center software and video conferencing solutions. The company has been delivering business communications services since 2004 and has garnered a reputation for technical excellence and outstanding reliability. In 2012, 8x8 was named a market “leader” in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) in North America and was recognized as the No. 1 Provider of Hosted IP Telephony by Frost & Sullivan. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or connect with 8x8 on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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