www.acquisition-international.com • Issue 7 2022 CVG Solutions Ltd: GDPR Consultant of the Year 2022
2 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 From our Editor Welcome to the July edition of Acquisition International Magazine, bringing you the latest news, features, and success stories from businesses all over the world. Summer is in full swing; the days are long, the sun is making an appearance, and we feel inspired to innovate, develop, and grow. Everything has come into fruition as our goals and results align. For many, there is still much room for improvement, but, with the help of the businesses within this issue, they can fear nothing as they take inspiration and aid from those who have it all worked out. Here we are looking to explore companies and organisations from all across the business spectrum. There are plenty of businesses looking to forge a healthy and beneficial relationship between themselves and those they do business with. We find much inspiration throughout this issue due to the unparalleled and stellar work of the businesses we are highlighting. We sincerely hope you enjoy reading this issue, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Have a great month ahead. Sofi Bajor - Editor Contents 4 News 6 Homeostasis and Equanimity Amara Wellness Centre 7 World-Class ERP & Cloud Solutions Winspire Solutions Pte Ltd 8 End-to-End Facilities Management Elogbooks FM Ltd 9 Offshore IT Solutions Secure Success Intelcia IT Solutions 10 Premium Trading Software Solutions For You Digiterre UK Ltd 12 Best Older Adult Philanthropic Support Organization 2022 John Knox Village of Florida Foundation Inc 14 Accessibility in Artificial Intelligence Qyon 16 Finance For All DailyPay 17 Breaking The Glass Ceiling! Inspiring Lives International 18 Unique, Personal, Powerful Brixly No information contained on or in this website constitutes investment advice or an offer to invest or to provide management services and is subject to correction, completion and amendment without notice. Neither AI nor any of its associated entities are authorised to give financial advice of any nature nor are they regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Prior to making any investment, AI recommends that any prospective investor should consult with its own investment, accounting, legal and tax advisers to evaluate independently the risks, consequences and suitability of that investment. AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility. Editorial Team Sif Brookes, Senior Editor Sofi Bajor, Editor Daniel Long, Senior Writer Rebecca Scotland, Senior Writer Gabriel Muers, Writer Amelia Walker, Writer Dontae Jones, Writer Design Team Daniela Levinte, Graphic Designer Lauren Baldwin, Junior Graphic Designer 19 A Horsebox With A Difference Bloomfields Horseboxes 20 Light, Shapes, Colours, Textures Alice Poole Architects 21 Pure Science. No Fiction. Advanced Esthetics Solutions 22 Premium Laser Treatments at a Competitive Cost The Laser Treatment Clini 23 Best Full-Service HR Consulting Firm 2022 - Devon Fitzgerald HR 24 Cyber Security Specialists Secure Success! 3R Technologie 26 Trust Your Tax Professionals! Association Of Black Tax Professionals 28 GDPR Consultant of the Year 2022 CVG Solutions Ltd 29 Digital Integration with a Difference QUIBIQ 30 Most Dedicated Cultural NPO Funding Organization - USA PUFFIN FOUNDATION WEST, LTD. 32 Most Outstanding Fire Safety Products Provider 2022 – UK Firexo 33 Winners’ Listings
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4 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 News: from around the world Novuna’s Investment in Cutting Edge Technology Helps UK Businesses to Forge Ahead Novuna Business Finance and Novuna Business Cash Flow, the business divisions of Mitsubishi HCCapital UK PLC focused on providing bespoke funding support across UK commercial sectors, collectively reported annual pre-tax profits of £26.7m in the latest financial year, contributing to record profits of £130.0m for the Group, marking a hugely successful period for one of the UK’s leading financial providers. Novuna Business Finance, which specialises in providing asset finance solutions with an emphasis on sustainability, grew pre-tax profits to £25 million in 2021/22, a 24% increase on the previous year, while Novuna Business Cash Flow, which provides a broader range of invoice finance and discounting solutions to UK SMEs and larger corporate customers, posted a pre-tax profit of £1.7m, bouncing back from the previous loss-making year. The contribution of both business divisions to record Group profits were driven by healthy new business volumes, part of a concerted Group effort to ramp up support for SMEs and larger corporate customers in the wake of the pandemic. Novuna Business Finance recorded £820m in new business activity, an 8% annual increase, while Novuna Business Cash Flow generated £106m over the financial year. This success is thanks primarily to a diversification of the division’s client base, growth into new markets, development of differentiated corporate funding lines, and enhanced lead generation. In February, both business divisions underwent a strategic rebrand with Hitachi Capital Business Finance becoming Novuna Business Finance and Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance becoming Novuna Business Cash Flow. This follows the merger in 2021 of both divisions’ parent company, making them part of Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc., one of the world’s largest and most diversified financial groups. Novuna Business Finance: Novuna Business Finance’s pre-tax profits of £25 million were underpinned by a tech transformation and a healthy demand for sustainable finance. The results allowed Novuna Business Finance to grow its market share by 0.4% from pre-pandemic levels to 2.4%. This has in turn helped the business maintain its position as the UK’s fifth largest asset finance provider, cementing itself as part of a £100bn market serving the UK’s 5.5 billion SMEs. The business’s provision of sustainable finance is spearheaded by its innovative partnership with Gridserve. Over £76 million in funding providing clean renewable energy to power electric vehicles (EV) has now been provided, as well as assisting in the construction of the world’s first EV forecourt last year. The business has also formed a sustainable energy team, focused on proven core technologies in power generation such as solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging. Meanwhile, significant investments in the division’s operating systems have resulted in three interconnected projects aimed at futureproofing the business. The firm’s new Alfa operating system has been fully integrated with the firm’s Mercury portal, smoothing the onboarding process for brokers, while a state-of-the-art automation project is using advanced data for credit decisions and underwriting. Geoff Maleham, Managing Director at Novuna Business Finance, said: “Despite another challenging twelve months for the industry, our business has successfully overcome the economic headwinds to achieve record levels of profit. Our strategy, and our delivery of it, has helped to consolidate our position as a trusted partner and provider of bespoke asset finance solutions to SMEs across a range of sectors, gain market share, and ultimately entrench our position as the fifth largest provider of asset finance in the UK.” “The results leave us in good stead to press on with our long-term strategy of building a sustainable business through sustainable lending. Whilst continuing to serve our broker market, we will also continue to diversify our portfolio by capitalising on broader market opportunities in manufacturer and dealer finance, as well as developing new products to grow our share of the block discounting market.” Novuna Business Cash Flow: Novuna Business Cash Flow marked its return to profitability with an increase of 86% in the average current account per client, while annual gross earnings jumped by £7m to record levels. Akey pillar of the division’s successful income diversification strategy was the decision to pivot towards working with larger SMEs and corporate clients, which resulted in the onboarding of Novuna’s largest ever deal, a £10m funding line to a major corporate entity. The division’s investment in its digital infrastructure, is reaping rewards. With many competitors still using traditional paper-based processes for onboarding clients, Novuna Business Cash Flow has boosted its proposition by leveraging its digital offering, which in turn is unlocking the cash flow for UK businesses in record time. The strong performance has helped the business successfully enhance its market reputation, evidenced by awards at the 2021 Credit Today Awards for SME Lender of the Year, Best Invoice Finance Provider at the 2021 Lending Awards, and the Business Moneyfacts Best Service from an Invoice Finance provider in 2021 and 2022. Andy Dodd, Managing Director at Novuna Business Cash Flow, said: “In what has been another challenging twelve months for SMEs and the lending market, today’s results reflect the strength of our reputation in the market, and our ability to bounce back resoundingly from forces outside of our control. Together with our concerted new business drive, the rebrand and merger have been integral to our success, and we are well set to continue growing the business thanks to the operational and strategic benefits the restructuring has provided. “Businesses are more determined than ever to transition from survival mode to fully fledged growth. We will be supporting new and existing clients by expanding our digitally led funding capabilities, which differentiate us from the competition, ensuring we are providing the bespoke support to help SMEs map their own paths to growth.” Record Group profits for Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC At Group level, Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC recorded a pre-tax profit of £130.0m for the financial year, a 25% increase from £104m the previous year. The results cap off an extraordinary year for the Group, which completed a successful merger of Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance Company Limited and Hitachi Capital Corporation in 2021, and subsequent rebrand of the respective divisions in February 2022, all while contending with major economic and logistical headwinds.
Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 5 According to recent research from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS), customer service complaints have hit their highest level on record and are costing British businesses more than £9bn a month in lost staff time. This issue has been caused by a confluence of factors, including global supply issues, a major staffing crisis, climbing cost of living prices, and some remaining infrastructure issues following the turbulence caused by the pandemic. Suvish Viswanathan, Technology Evangelist for Zoho Europe, and an expert on customer service and the technology required to improve it, commented: “In recent years, business operations and internal infrastructures have inherently changed to adapt to the pandemic, supply chain issues, inflation and staffing problems. Many have failed to adapt in the right way, leading to a drop in the quality of service provided, and a failure to meet customer expectations. “Bolstering customer service is the first area businesses should address to resolve these issues. Transparency and ‘always-on’ communication services will go a long way to ensure disgruntled consumers are at least being answered, and made aware of the situation, making it much more likely that they will be forgiving and understanding of the issues afflicting businesses. “Artificial intelligence is an obvious solution to this problem. Chatbot technology is sophisticated enough to deal with basic customer requests, and can free-up staff time so they can focus on much more urgent issues that require in-person service assistance. Machine learning algorithms can simultaneously help customer service teams prioritise requests and streamline how they deal with complaints.” Recently, several organisations have boosted chatbot spending in order to capitalise on these benefits. In fact, the HMRC spent over £1bn on IT, with a large fraction of it being used to bolster chatbot services. Similarly, the DVLA saw their chatbot interactions soar by nearly 1,000 per cent in the most recent financial year. While AI is one part of the potential solution to improve customer service, customer experience should be treated more holistically to promote longer term customer relationships which drive advocacy. Viswanathan continued: “At a recent customer experience focused event in London, Forrester announced findings that saw customer experience efforts had become less effective this year. Businesses still Industry Expert cites AI as one ‘obvious solution’ to tackle record UK customer service complaints need to learn how to operate at maximum efficiency in this new post-pandemic climate, and AI-enabled tools and other business applications which tightly integrate are key to this effort. Customer experience is a huge differentiator in today’s increasingly competitive markets. “The right technology enables teams to operate seamlessly regardless of location, prevents knowledge silos from developing in spite of distributed workforces, and enables workers to become far more adept at managing workloads in a digital environment, delivering superior customer service. Siloed customer information can result in a poor customer experience, and many customers have experienced frustration as a result, having to explain their enquiries several times throughout their service journey with a company, for example. Businesses need to improve efficiency and make better use of data and must use the right technology to achieve this, before their brand is irreparably damaged. £9bn per month in lost staff time is a big loss, but if nothing is done to improve customer experience, the greater resulting loss will see many going out of business for good.”
6 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 Homeostasis and Equanimity r Zara Celik and her team at Amara Wellness Centre believe in the nurturing and healing ancient wisdom of rituals, which play a significant role and are much-needed in the modern world. Therefore, they have combined ancient wisdom with science to achieve sustainable long-term outcomes which create homeostasis in the biochemistry and physiology, and balance in systems of the body and mind to connect to the source – the equanimity within. Amara Wellness Centre empowers people to live congruently with their values in order to have vitality and thrive, rather than comparing themselves to others and self-deprecating, which is futile. Its personcentred approach with bio individualised and customised holistic wellness care and programmes achieve positive outcomes for the mind, body and soul. The Amara team uses discovery and initial consultation and assessment to understand the needs and goals of the client. Dr Zara explains, “It’s important that the client is empowered, educated, and guided through their journey. We give opportunity for questions and keep everything simple and within the client’s budget. “Once the client is happy with the proposed plan, we initiate the management plan, ensuring we get feedback to ensure that we are meeting goals and celebrating milestones with our clients.” By being authentic, competent, walking the talk, and taking time to listen and understand the needs of its clients, Amara is able to build immediate connection and trust. The team is committed to making a difference and putting their energy into what they do best. They are inspired to empower and educate as many people as they can in order to build a trusted brand rather than just a business. Dr Zara coaches, trains, supports, and educates her team, with each member hand-picked after a value determination process to ensure that they are in the right role to serve clients. She goes on to say, “As a founder, my goal is to make a difference in the wellness area by educating and sharing my knowledge openly on as many platforms as I can so people around the globe understand all the pillars to homeostasis and equanimity so they thrive in life. This is displayed throughout Amara Wellness Centre.” D May22310 Indeed, whether clients need chiropractic treatment, injury or illness prevention, general health and wellbeing advice, or state-of-the-art beauty and weight loss treatments, the range of therapies on offer at Amara Wellness Centre will support their every need. Or they may wish to escape for the day in a private Hammam bathing session and be simply transported into blissful serenity. With a wide range of Hammam packages available, Amara has something for everyone and can tailor to personal needs. Moving forward, the wellness centre loves to keep growing and adding to its services to ensure that it is committed to creating communitycentred wellness centres where families and children are included and feel welcome and comfortable. Company: Amara Wellness Centre Contact: Dr Zara Celik Email: info@amarawellnesscentre.com.au Website: www.amarawellnesscentre.com.au Founded and led by Dr Zara Celik, multi-award-winning Amara Wellness Centre (Amara) is an integrative wellness centre committed to serving, nurturing, empowering, educating, and supporting clients to create homeostasis and equanimity within so they can achieve vitality and thrive geometrically in all areas of their lives. As Amara is named Best Holistic Health Services Studio 2022 – Victoria in this issue of Acquisition International magazine, we take a closer look to find out how it helps clients.
Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 7 Award-winning Winspire Solutions is in the business of world-class digital transformation solutions for small- and medium-sized business within the industries of wholesale and distribution, retail, equipment rental, food and beverage, project service, and manufacturing. Bringing a mix of technology and business consulting to provide state-of-the-art tailored solutions, Winspire has been recognised as Most Outstanding ERP Consulting Firm 2022 – Singapore in this issue of Acquisition International magazine. Join us as we learn more about the company. May22564 s many are aware, the COVID-19 has brought about an increased and much smarter focus on digital transformation, with businesses moving online and onto the cloud. This global wave has created huge opportunities for digital transformation businesses like Winspire Solutions who has seen significant growth over the past two years. With several accolades under its belt including the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Leading Enterprise Award, Asia Top Outstanding Enterprise Award, and Microsoft Dynamics Partner of the Year Award (three times), Winspire Solutions offers its solutions through perpetual licensing or SaaS (Software as a Service ), bundled with its consulting and implementation services. These digital transformation solutions encompass one or more of ERP, industry vertical add-ons, CRM, analytics, e-commerce, mobile-apps, marketplace connectors, robotic process automation, integration with banks, government bodies etc, cloud infrastructure, productivity solutions, among others. Winspire seamlessly integrates these solutions into its offering and tailors them to each client’s industry. Once implemented, the firm provides application maintenance, upgrades, enhancement services, license renewals as ongoing services. For each industry , Winspire has its own add-on solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP. These solutions are the firm’s intellectual property, and along with its industry domain expertise, they are its unique selling point. Most of Winspire’s solutions are based on Microsoft technologies and have an excellent integration capability between them. The firm works with Microsoft to list its SME solutions under the Government’s SME Go Digital Programme, as well as has worked with Singapore customs to develop a connector between Microsoft Dynamics and Networked Trade Platform so that importers and exporters can exchange their documents between themselves, banks, freight forwarders, etc. with higher speed and accuracy. Additionally, it partners with DBS Bank and Enterprise Singapore for its PayNOW and InvoiceNOW solutions. Winspire’s vision is to be the most preferred digital transformation solution provider within its chosen industry verticals. To achieve this, its mission is to build an innovative team of consultants who work in an environment of high trust . Right from the establishment of the company, it has worked with the core values of respect, honesty, transparency, trust, fairness, and empowerment. These values have helped it to build a unique culture which creates a high learning environment and top talent. Winspire’s culture and values have helped A it to grow faster than the industry and establish itself as a company which can complete large and complex projects successfully. Indeed, the key to the company’s success is its team. Consulting is a people business and Winspire’s people are its core strength. With a rigorous selection process , it assesses candidates for cultural fit and attitude. The company’s CEO, Jitendra Kulkarni says, “We have a culture of empowerment and trust with free communication across all the levels. There is an informal environment where the company puts high levels of trust in every employee and empowers them. There is no bureaucracy, the decisions are quick. We believe we provide a lot of flexibility to people which helps them achieve a work-life balance. People with passion, competence and the right attitude thrive in our culture. In short, Winspire is a high performance, high reward place.” Now, Mr Kulkarni and Winspire Solutions are focused on the future, with plans to expand internationally, starting with the UK, and then the US. The firm began its UK operations a few months back and it wants to replicate the success it has in Singapore and the Middle East within western markets, which are much bigger. It wants to further enhance its industry vertical solutions by embedding artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation, to help its customers improve their financial performance. It also plans to build an internal innovation and product development team which will work on developing these solutions. Last but not least, it will continue to focus on the chosen industry verticals and increase the depth of its offering as part of its core strategy. Company: Winspire Solutions Pte Ltd Contact: Jitendra Kulkarni, CEO Email: enquiry@winspiresolutions.com Website: winspiresolutions.com World-Class ERP & Cloud Solutions
8 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 May22372 End-to-End Facilities Management Founded 11 years ago, Elogbooks FM Ltd provides a suite of products for the facilities and property management industry. These products can be used as stand-alone solutions and services, but can also be combined to offer the ultimate end-to-end compliance solution if required. Recognised as Most Innovative Facilities Management System 2022 – UK in this issue of Acquisition International, we got in touch with the company’s director, Ross Somerville to learn more. logbooks offers an intuitive CAFM (computer aided facility management) platform that can also be used in tandem with a full 24/7 service desk to give customers total visibility of their property portfolio, supply chain, and compliance to support risk mitigation and ensure services are delivered to the highest standard across their buildings. With its founders all being ex-facilities management professionals, they understand how demanding and complex the industry has become. Ross says, “We constantly try to innovate by creating solutions that drive efficiencies and reduce risk for our clients. As such, we had a particular understanding of the frustrations and challenges faced by both organisations managing properties and service partners in the delivery of facilities services and compliance.” He continues, “We sought to bring positive disruption to a market that has been stagnant for some time by combining people and technology to deliver a more transparent platform for Facilities Management.” Since Elogbooks’ humble beginnings as an electronic building logbook system, the company has used its experience and knowledge of the property management sector to diversify and offer new property solutions including occupier focused tools and marketplace services. The original platform was a tool created to help improve service providers’ internal business practices and to allow their clients to track and measure performance. It turned out that this was a solution a lot of other organisations needed too. Elogbooks controls millions of suppliers and contractor requests and presents livestatistics toboth theserviceprovider andpropertymanager, to give total transparency of the service delivery. The dedicated service desk and administrator teams, aid clients in managing and maintaining their systems, ensuring that the information and integrity of the data is accurate and up-to-date by proactively chasing down tasks. Utilising Elogbooks as a supplier management system provides 365-day performance measurement, live reporting, and aids in the completion of the supplier audit/risk cycle. Every supplier is provided with access to Elogbooks; every interaction is measured, aiding in compliance to contracted SLAs, responding to system requests, or uploading certification. Elogbooks also provides tools to accredit suppliers, track supplier compliance, and audit reports for quarterly or annual reviews. This ensures the whole supplier lifecycle is managed from procurement through to contract termination, and means you get complete visibility of the process at any given time. The system functionality is equipped with the latest technology innovations such as NFC (near E field communication), mobile apps, cloud-based data management, and high availability architecture. Elogbooks’ cloud-based software and brand service desk is used by a vast array of customers, from single entity building occupiers and owners to some of the world’s largest managing agents, smaller boutique management clients, corporate organisations, and PLCs in the property and asset management sector, in over 30,000 properties across the UK and Europe. Being a unique solution, Elogbooks combines both software and a specialist 24/7, 365-day property supportive desk. Above all, they are passionate about ensuring qualitative data is reported both through the functionality of the system, but also by utilising the service desk and administrative teams to help chase inbuilt alarms, guaranteeing a robust and powerful solution. The firm has always aimed to provide an end-to-end integrated tenant, marketplace, and smart building solution that benefits its clients in a simple but effective manner, being effortless to use and ensuring that accurate data is easy to report on. Ross states, “The simplicity of our solution has allowed us to make it highly engaging and useful for our clients, who are also able to operate the system close to hands-free due to the support of our service desk which means that we can operate at a scale which others aren’t easily able to achieve.” Ultimately, Elogbooks is built upon an internal culture of innovation, ownership, and partnership. It aims to be a seamless part of the team for its clients and not a faceless third-party service, and it strives to be best-in-class, whether that is in developing software or its people. Elogbooks forms a critical part of its clients’ organisations with some even viewing its employees as part of their extended team, so trust is the most important thing it aims to cultivate. It likes to be transparent and to ensure everyone is listened to. Everyone is an integral cog in the company’s success and growth. Recently, the team has been developing an occupier engagement platform to help clients improve their services to tenants. The platform helps to capture and automate some of the building management tasks like amenity bookings and visitor management, but also serves as a good way for building teams and tenants to engage with each other as well as to create an extra sense of community. Ross comments, “We know that all software must be intuitive and easy to use, so we are particularly pleased with how the recently launched app has turned out, as this is generally the primary interface used by people on the move.” Company: Elogbooks FM Ltd Contact: Ross Somerville Email: ross.somerville@marlowe-src.com Website: www.elogbooks.co.uk
Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 9 Offshore IT Solutions Secure Success aunched in 2020, the team at Intelcia IT Solutions has enormous ambition. With a skillset that includes business process digitalization and multi-technology managed services, they’ve become the trusted partners for organizations around the world. From their humble origins in Morocco, they have grown into an internationally respected business, well on course to become the foremost authority in North Africa when it comes to IT outsourcing. The clients that the team serve are primarily large enterprises with a strong focus on telecommunications, retail and public sector. They are proud to offer a service which is thoroughly comprehensive, covering everything from infrastructure to cloud management to digital transformation. With 180 vendor certifications, customers can approach them satisfied that the work completed will be to the highest possible standards at all times. Building on ten years of expertise in IT services, the team have gained the trust of 100 companies around the world, and a business model that currently supports 350 employees. The continued success of the firm has inspired the team to dream even bigger, growing to include more than 1,000 employees by 2025. The company’s culture is one which has had to adapt quickly to expansion and depends on a model which ensures care and attention is provided for every employee’s individual talent. The rapid growth of the business has been driven primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. This forced companies around the world to adapt their ways of working. The resultant pivot to digital was a scale which has never been seen before. The public sector, in particular, L was a market which needed assistance to take advantage of the potential presented by the digital revolution. They could see a need for more flexibility, more outsourcing and assurance that the same level of quality they had become accustomed to could be maintained if offshored. It was this work that inspired the birth of Intelcia IT Solutions. Looking ahead, the Intelcia IT Solutions team will have to adapt to a rapidly changing digital world. Whilst Intelcia offers the best of breed in infrastructure and software, new technology emerges every day ! The main aim of the team has been to diversify the services on offer, integrating AI in the firm’s software portfolio, from face recognition applied to e-contracting, to operations automation and failure detection. The use of technology is something every business is focusing in on, but it’s firms such as Intelcia IT Solutions that are ensuring the change is as seamless and effective as possible. The demand for their high standard of service has been the secret behind their international success, drawing in clients from around the world. When it comes to offshore IT solutions, there are none finer. We celebrate the team’s tremendous success and look forward to what they do in the weeks and months to come. For the last two years, Intelcia IT Solutions has been a leading name when it comes to outsourcing and digitalization. With an international set of clients, it’s clear that demand for their services is set to continue to grow. In Acquisition International’s rolling series of Global Excellence Awards, the team were named 2022’s Leaders in IT Outsourcing Solutions - North Africa. We dig a little deeper to see precisely how they’ve reached such dizzying heights of digital success. Company: Intelcia IT Solutions Email: itsolutions@intelcia.com Web Address: www.intelcia.com/it-solutions May22620 Malika AHMIDOUCH CEO Intelcia IT Solutions
10 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 May22433 Premium Trading Software Solutions For You To adapt and thrive to ever-changing market conditions, organisations need modern software solutions and data architectures. That’s where Digiterre comes in – the winner of 2022’s Leading Innovators in Bespoke Trading Software – UK builds and delivers real time, big data platforms for clients that help them increase their revenues and business value. Join us as we talk to CEO & Founder, Ian Murrin, to learn more about their ground-breaking work. igiterre is an award-winning firm that uses ground-up agile transformation and cutting-edge data engineering to create and implement solutions that people need, want, and enjoy using, and it’s been delighting clients for over 22 years. It is built upon a foundation of using its problem-solving expertise and deep domain expertise to assist clients in resolving their most meaningful challenges, rapidly and completely. As a result, Digiterre’s client roster is filled with some of the world’s leading energy trading and commodities trading organisations, banks, insurers, and investment management businesses. ‘Our clients are leading organisations who operate in highly regulated environments within their sectors. Digiterre is made up of a team of problem solvers who are passionate about finding solutions that are critical to our clients’ organisational efficiency and competitiveness as well as finding ways to reduce operational costs and improve compliance risk mitigation,’ comments Ian Murrin. Such clients typically stem from complex markets – for example, energy and commodities traders, exchanges, clearing houses and broker platforms – and Digiterre is well equipped to support their unique needs. The company works in collaboration with its clients to help solve their most pressing business challenges and, ultimately, deliver improved departmental or organisational performance. ‘We are called upon to address urgent challenges, unlock new business opportunities or to deliver significant long-term strategic advantage. Clients love the speed with which we deliver scalable, working solutions, while minimising corporate waste.’ ‘The reputation of our professional services business has been built throughout our 22-year history and at its heart is a team of exceptional people, problem solvers and leaders, who consistently uphold our core values,’ continues Murrin. ‘Our people are the beating heart of Digiterre and its success. We believe a great place to work combines outstanding colleagues and a united mission to transform, innovate and create growth for our clients, whilst maintaining alignment with our values of care, quality, and leadership.’ The team works together to invoke efficacy, ensuring that it fully understands client needs – not only at the beginning of the D project, but throughout as the project evolves. This is an integral part of the company’s internal structure. Collaboration breeds inspiration, innovation, and creativity, and as a result, it can be found within all aspects of the business. Moreover, the team maintain a vast range of qualifications between them allowing Digiterre to remain technologically agnostic. Diversity of skills sits happily alongside diversity and inclusion of colleagues from different backgrounds and with different characteristics. We know this team composition is optimal for innovation and the evidence is borne out in numerous external studies, as well as the success of our client projects. During the Covid-19 pandemic, having such a tight knit team was of great importance to Digiterre and its ability to adapt to new working conditions and practices. Since then, there have been several challenges that have tested the industry’s resilience –Murrin explains, ‘industry-based challenges for energy and commodities trading companies are very much influenced by the fact that two of the world’s key commodity producing regions are at war with one another - and the resulting political unrest has obviously had a major impact on prices. If you add into the mix the pent-up demand post-Covid and together these things have contributed to the current commodities super-cycle and unprecedented market volatility.’ Digiterre has helped businesses succeed and profit during volatile times by creating the conditions needed for accessing and using data to drive competitive advantage. Many companies are finding that the global turbulence has prompted them to reassess their data architectures and consider the way in which legacy platforms support their needs and future objectives. Accessible data through the trading lifecycle is, of course, crucial and in volatile times having timely, relevant, and accurate data is key to trading decisions and staying competitive. Thanks to this influx of work, Digiterre’s future looks bright ‘The collective endeavour for 2022 and beyond for us at Digiterre is to continue to support our clients and to spread the word of our successes more widely. Our vision is that we want all organisations to create a net positive impact on society by recognising and consistently applying the transformative power of technology. To create better products, services and working practices.’ Murrin adds.
Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 11 The Future of Italian Venture Building Digiterre is doing this by living its values and consistently striving to add lasting value to client organisations through skills transfer and improved ways of working. ‘Our unique combination of deep engineering expertise and skills, together with domain knowledge, means we can reduce corporate waste by solving the right problem, first time, and deliver solutions faster and with more certainty,’ Murrin concludes. ‘Our clients tell us that’s a winning combination.’ Contact: Lape Runsewe Company: Digiterre UK Ltd Email: laper@digiterre.com Web Address: https://www.digiterre.com/
12 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 Apr22443 Best Older Adult Philanthropic Support Organization 2022 In terms of funding and government support, the elderly population often fly under the radar. However, the John Knox Village of Florida is on a mission to change this for good – indeed, it hopes to provide retirees with a happy and healthy life post-retirement. As such, 16 years ago, the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation, an organization that acquires funding and donations for the village and its mission, was established. veryone gets older – it’s inevitable. Therefore, it’s never too early to consider what your retirement plans are, for example, do you plan to stay at home or move into a retirement home or life plan community? Both options offer numerous benefits; however, taking up residence in a life plan community can open you up to a whole host of new experiences. Indeed, John Knox Village of Florida offers just this – a resort to retreat to for you to age gracefully. There are a range of residential options available, including comfortable apartments and luxurious bungalows, each coming equipped with security options that always ensure safety. Moreover, for over 50 years John Knox Village of Florida has been providing a vibrant community, complete with leading-edge amenities for the aging population, encapsulating what can only be described as a ‘relaxed, upscale South Florida beach vibe.’ Serving as a premium retirement village, John Knox Village of Florida is the place ‘where possibility plays.’ In essence, it prioritises health and wellbeing, ensuring that you get the most out of your years of freedom. Henceforth, everyday its residents get to wake up in a maintenance-free abode, from where they can partake in ‘healthy endeavours, socializing, creative and intellectual pursuits, sunny adventures, or simply relaxing.’ From yoga classes to art classes, and massages to libraries, there is so much to do and see both on and off-site. Additionally, in the event of an emergency, there is a full-scale emergency response team on standby. Each residence is fitted with emergency alert cords, daily check-in systems, and smoke detectors, and is further protected by 24/7 security. Not only is the gated community equipped to cope with small-scale emergencies, but it is also able to handle natural disasters – the village’s emergency response team, trained and maintained by John Knox Village, guarantees that no resident will ever face another hurricane or other potential disaster alone. ‘As I mentioned in the survey previously, making the decision to move to JKV was one of the best decisions I ever made. My experiences here continue to help me grow emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. And I feel protected and cared for! As well, walking through the botanical gardens continually enrich my life,’ writes one resident in a five-star Google Review. If this is something that appeals to you, then perhaps you will be interested in the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation. Established E in 2006, the non-profit was created to enhance the health, wellbeing, and lifestyle of the village’s residents. In essence, it has been designed to make a difference. The foundation is fulfilling this goal via a plethora of means, with a primary focus upon funding and supporting programs, services, and spaces that impact eight areas of wellness – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, philanthropy and occupational. The foundation is wholly committed to the individual care of its residents. This is, of course, a non-negotiable aspect of its work. Consequently, it is this devotion that guides the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation to share the knowledge it has acquired through working with this population to collaboratively, with John Knox Village, lead to change the narrative on ageism. As of now, it is targeting the local area, but the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation hopes to push this mission to a national and potentially international level. Furthermore, its core values act as a basis upon which it strives to attract philanthropists whose interests and passions centre on the eight areas of wellness and the needs of the aging population. How exactly does the foundation operate? It’s simple – the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation relies upon philanthropic donations. There are a variety of donation methods available, ranging from one-time and recurring donations to charitable gift annuities. Legacy gifts are a core method philanthropists opt for when donating to the foundation – for example, one may choose to provide a gift to the foundation via their estate in the form of a bequest. However, there are options available for smaller donations. Cash check and appreciated securities donations are accepted, as are payments made via its website. You can trust the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation with your donations. According to Charity Navigator, the company boasts a score of 100/100 for finance and accountability. The foundation prides itself upon being entirely transparent with its donors – it is abundantly clear where your donations are going, what they are contributing to, and how they are benefitting the village’s residents. One key example being the new John Knox Village Pavilion. Supported by The Village Art Circle, the new pavilion will serve as a venue for the arts in all its forms, including architecture, ceramics, fashion, storytelling, and much more. Additionally, it offers the opportunity for the village to create a group of likeminded individuals whose collective support will allow John Knox Village of Florida to provide premium programming both on and off-campus for its residents in partnership with the greater community.
Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 13 Best Older Adult Philanthropic Support Organization 2022 Supporters of this project receive a plethora of benefits depending upon which tier their donations fall within. For example, the ARTSage Single-Year Performing Arts Series – $30,000 gift allows the company to host a sponsored event per quarter. Whereas the ARTSage Single Performing Arts Event – $10,000 sponsors one event a year. For the average person, however, there are annual memberships for the Village Arts Circle, beginning at $100 for a John Knox Village of Florida resident. Members receive advance notice of events, discounted ticket prices, recognition at events, and much more. For the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation this can be a challenging charitable sector in which to attract support. A spokesperson for the foundation comments, ‘funding aging services can be a challenging opportunity for organizations and communities that either serve this population in structured facilities or in the general communities across our globe. The aging population is assumed to have accomplished it all and are all set in their life’s journey having all their needs met because of their preparation.’ It is safe to say that this is not always the case – they go on to cite isolation, diminishing or fixed financial resources, food insecurity, and greater health needs as a selection of challenges that an aging generation faces. The clear solution for these issues is a government and non-profit shift towards prioritizing this area of the population. On top of this, the world has undergone a turbulent few years thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. For just over two years, human interaction has been limited, forced to adapt to a climate of isolation to protect others. Whilst this approach has been greatly beneficial, it has also paired itself with many challenges. The John Knox Village of Florida Foundation notes that the lack of face-to-face contact had a monumental impact on its community. Technology became more prevalent within the organization, both within the day-to-day running of the foundation and within its fundraising efforts. Yet this transformation meant that the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation had to educate a generation of individuals, through new mediums, who were not as familiar with technology. Two years later, the foundation has successfully combatted the issues created by the pandemic. It has made significant progress and now conducts many of its philanthropic communications via e-mail and Zoom meetings. In fact, the foundation found that, ‘communicating tips on vehicles like Qualified Charitable Donations (QCD’s) through email increased the number year over year because our residents had become very accustomed to receiving important information electronically more often than pre-COVID.’ The industry is currently undergoing a period of recovery – of rejuvenation. According to Statista, in 2019 16.5% of the U.S. population consisted of people aged over 65 years old – many of these people rely upon additional care. This figure is expected to rise to 22% by 2050. Figures also show that in 2020, approximately one third of women aged 65 and older in the U.S. lived alone. In comparison, 20 percent of elderly men lived by themselves. Places such as the John Knox Village of Florida have the potential to greatly benefit these people – instead of being isolated in their homes, such resorts supply a thriving community that is able to provide 24/7 care. It is a place where the worry surrounding elderly life melts away, as everything is taken care of. The future of this industry, however, could be threatened by the rapidly aging population and the falling birth-rate. In 2019, the not-for-profit senior living organization National Senior Campuses reported over nearly 21,000 senior living units across the United States, and this number is only expected to increase as the demand grows. Coinciding with this is the fact that among the population of older adults in the United States, almost seven percent require personal care, often in the form of meal preparation, transportation, and personal grooming. Finding high quality care is expected to grow more difficult as the number of people entering this industry spirals into a decline. Many senior living facilities are planning ahead in order to tackle this upcoming challenge. Within this group is, of course, the John Knox Village of Florida and its foundation. Its devotion to ensuring that longterm funding is secured has placed the village upon a stable path – one which benefits not only its residents, but also its team. As their needs are met, they are better equipped to provide the residents with above adequate care. They are able to create events, supply classes, and offer medical assistance thanks to the funding and donations acquired by the John Knox Village of Florida Foundation. Consequently, 2022 is set to be a year of great success for the foundation. Recently, the foundation is discussing developing a multimillion-dollar unrestricted restricted endowment to complement its $7.0 million restricted endowment which has enabled it to fund its Residents Assistance Program – a fund that assures financial support to any resident that outlives their financial resources through no fault of their own. Subsequently, this means that no resident will be forced to leave the community if they cannot pay due to circumstances beyond their control. They do not have to worry about their future at the facility. Further, the planned unrestricted endowment will ensure that future unanticipated funding for programs, services, and spaces for its residents is available. Contact: Mark Dobosz – mdobosz@jkvfl.com or +1 954-784-4757 Company: John Knox Village of Florida Foundation Inc Web Address: https://jkvfoundation.com
14 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2022 May22212 Accessibility in Artificial Intelligence Founded by exemplary microcomputer specialist and businessman Mauricio Frizzarin, Qyon has made a name for itself as the ‘Most Innovative AI Software Company’ for 2022 in Brazil. With an expanding client base and technical school for data processing, he was able to create his first program to aid the completion of lengthy and time-consuming forms, kicking off his passion for using artificial intelligence to streamline company administrative processes. disruptive, innovative, and highly accomplished company, Qyon is leading from the front in the software industry by making the power of artificial intelligence the backbone of its business. Nominally, it uses this to empower the accountants and small companies it serves, putting the power of AI in their hands and allowing them to make use of it to better their company’s prospects, as well as the experience of their own end customers. With advanced knowledge that is based on artificial intelligence, robot, machine learning, and big data for business management, its services are developed to manage and integrate processes and sectors that will come together to create an exemplary, holistic, and well-formed company. Its fintech services also aid this. Critically, it can provide such services in a manner that fits seamlessly around a customer’s existing business model, creating a technological ecosystem that adapts to the client as standard, instead of requiring the client to adapt to it. Moreover, it also takes pride in remaining in constant development, automating even the most complex financial operations by incorporating the latest and greatest developments into itself and keeping itself ahead of the pack as a result. In addition, it is important to say that with constant development and blockchain technology at its back, Qyon has been able to add cryptocurrency to its list of capabilities. A Securing yet more of a name for Qyon in the financial and technological infrastructure industries, this cryptocurrency exchange service has become renowned for making it even easier to integrate entire business management systems with the systems developed by Qyon. The result of this, the empowering nature of its technologies, and the transformative efforts of its work ensure that its small business clients do not remain small for long; indeed, its efforts have propelled many a client to the next stage of business evolution by giving them access to an infallible backstage infrastructure. Thus, this is where the empowerment happens, and is why Qyon has gained a reputation for enabling its accountants and entrepreneurs to innovate and transform their industries. Qyon’s attitude is that nothing is impossible, and it conducts itself as such, presenting an unprecedented technology that facilitates business management automated actions, and artificial administration. Beside this, its software, much like itself, is always in the process of learning and evolving, so a customer can rest assured that they’ve put their faith in a software system that will remain relevant and consistent with changes in the wider and ever-changing technology market.
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