Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, on delivering sector-leading returns for shareholders. Watch the video here.
TLS, I'm still hopeful for 1-2 RNS's for end of June - minimum being poss. news of launch of SM aviation product?
'The Aviation Product Manager will focus on supporting our first commercial aviation product (and product line), which is designed to support crew training in various simulator environments. This product is due to be launched and released mid-2019.'
Https://au.linkedin.com/jobs/view/aviation-product-manager-at-seeing-machines-1192830644
Also currently trying to research (amongst others) which medical device manufacturer DA and nCipher are working with in securing surgical robot systems and whose systems they could be? Could there be a link between this Co. and Wipro? May be useful to create a chart of DA partners/ecosystem (if I can find time).
https://www.deviceauthority.com/news-article/device-authority-and-ncipher-security-announce-success-delivering-trust-medical-iot
Here is interesting podcast on companies working in surgical robotics (possibles?) –
https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/717428711/industry-focus/healthcare-3-medical-device-monopolies
[]Intuitive Surgical,
[]Johnson & Johnson joint venture with Alphabet - Verb Surgical
[]Johnson & Johnson – Auris Health
https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-agreement-to-acquire-auris-health-inc
[]Medtronic – Mazor Surgical
[]Stryker – Mako Surgical
etc
Interesting podcast featuring James Cook Regional Director AMZ from nCipher
‘Building a Foundation of Trust: The Essentials for Enterprise Encryption Key Management’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3_yaHSYGQY
Some interesting excerpts poss. (in partnership with nCipher – HSM) relating to DA:
[]‘For the first time we're seeing the Internet of Things and the Internet IOT use-cases creeping into the top 15 and and I can certainly comment on this from personal experience from customers that I speak with in Australia and I've seen a marked increase in the organization's rolling out IOT data protection projects and that's across a number of industries we're seeing it within customers in the manufacturing space, healthcare, mining and others so it's something that's been talked about for a long time but it now seems to be turning into a reality as organisations recognize the potential security risks of having in some cases millions of connected devices so yes some really interesting data coming out.
[]Docker containers grew most over 2018.
[]Key management a rising concern
[]Record HSM use in 2019 (47%)
[]’One thing that we have seen in terms of HSM's specifically is an expansion in terms of use cases so historically PKI and payment transactions where we always saw HSMs in the past that was the kind of dominant force in terms of HSM usage but we're absolutely seeing that change and we're seeing more and more HSM use cases coming to the fore so you know people doing things like blockchain implementations of HSM's you know creating credentials for IOT devices...’
Interesting too: 64% of companies using more than one cloud provider with growing use of cloud applications and data in cloud today or in the next 12-24 months (83%). The double-edged sword/challenges with multiple providers each with their own native tools for encryption and key management – More tools/Uis to learn and manage and policy consistency.
Although he is referring to encryption and key management in encryption (nCipher, not DA), I can see similarities in DA business strategy eg. he mentions ‘if there are tools out there that can span multiple clouds and also people's internal data center that clearly is highly advantageous to an organization’.
I think this where DA strength lies and poss. why nCipher (& Safenet) partnered with DA in HSM IOT pki management (correct me if I’m wrong) – offering a simplified solution (easy to use) which spans multiple cloud platforms (AWS, Microsoft, Google), multiple CA’s (IdenTrust, Sectigo, Digicert, GlobalSign) and support for multiple applications/operating systems – giving companies the freedom of choice to use any Cloud platform/CA without being ‘locked-in’ to a particular provider or due to corporate policies etc.
Cont..
The companies that we invest in must have a go-to market play in North America. Therefore, they should have a leadership presence in North America. For example, in our current portfolio, we have companies with headquarters in Israel, India, and in the US. Just to add to that, one of the criteria also is that it is not just a simple resell opportunity.
If it’s just a simple resell opportunity, it’s not very exciting. There has to be an opportunity for us to do some value-add services on top of it. That is an important criterion. It’s just Biplab and me who are based here doing the investment, although we do have principals in India and here. It is important for us to be closer to the companies. Right now, the companies may be incorporated in the US, Israel, or India but a lot of the management team is based in the US.
Their market presence is also in the US and Europe. Those are some of the important considerations for us, but as we grow as a group, we will relax some of these constraints and invest in companies that are in geographies outside of just North America.
[]
Q: The most important thing you just said is you’re not looking for pure resell opportunity. You’re looking for extensive value-added services opportunities around the products that you choose to invest in. Is that a correct articulation?
It has to be value-add services. How do we differentiate ourselves with value-add services on top of the solution that we take to market?
---
https://www.deviceauthority.com/blog/why-choose-device-authority-s-new-iot-security-cloud-service-aka-keyscaler-service-ksaas
‘KSaaS platform enables many PKI partners to deliver value added security services to their existing Enterprise and new IoT customers.’
Thanks for posting updates on FVR, kkrriiss. Great to hear further approval and praise for the tech from the likes of Sophie Ehrlich. Hopeful for VC investment announcement.
Not given up on idea of future Wipro investment for DA - or maybe even participating in FVR round?
Poss. symmetries in Wipro Healthcare industry and AR/VR research?
https://wiprodigital.com/news/wipro-launches-silicon-valley-innovation-center-mountain-view/
Curious - presumably there are other use cases where FVR’s Surgery system - 'Surgical Haptic Intelligence EngineTM' could be adapted for other tools/industries if possible? Not sure what - a manufacturing environment where high-accuracy precision feel/feedback from machine/tool is required, maybe?
Excerpt from https://www.fundamentalvr.com/2019/03/18/fundamental-surgery-showcases-haptx/
‘At the heart of the Fundamental Surgery system is the unique Surgical Haptic Intelligence EngineTM (SHIETM), which is calibrated to mimic real life sensations of numerous medical tools and tissue variants within a submillimeter accuracy of resistance.’
---
Found this link with some interesting Q&A from Wipro Ventures last year.
https://www.sramanamitra.com/2018/11/05/1mby1m-virtual-accelerator-investor-forum-with-biplab-adhya-and-venu-pemmaraju-of-wipro-ventures-part-1/
Some interesting excerpts:
'Our sweet spot is in Series B type of companies. If you draw a normal distribution, B is where most of the investments will lie though we do invest earlier and later as well.'
[]
'One of the things that we look for as part of a Series B investment is that there is limited technology risk. What that means is that the product has been in production and deployed to a few larger enterprises.
Given that Wipro goes to market and services large Global 2000 players, our goal is to invest in companies that have solutions built for that segment. What we’re looking for is that initial product/market fit that has been exhibited by these companies. Then it makes it more relevant for us. Given that we are an enterprise software company and, for us, go-to market is the most important part, some proof points in the enterprise segment are necessary for us to consider whether this is an investment candidate or not.'
[]
We’re looking for companies with innovative solutions across the enterprise technology stack. That is because Wipro serves Fortune 1000 corporations across the stack. That means cloud infrastructure, SaaS applications, cyber security, IoT, and Big Data.
[]
If you look at our portfolio, it is primarily horizontal-oriented companies though they have applications that are specific to different verticals. We have really not done an investment in a specific vertical domain, which might happen in the next couple of years as well.
RSA Conference 2019
San Francisco | March 4-8 | Moscone Center
Some links/videos worth a watch esp if can't be bothered reading reports (like me) :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqUmezDQxsk
David Rogers - Mobile Technology, Cyber Security and Standards Adviser, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), UK
discussing the UK's Code of Practice (COP) for Consumer IOT Security and the 13 outcome-focused, high level guidelines and their alignment with Europe GDPR (2018).
Excerpt:
Analogises picture of cat alongside bag of goldfish to compare hackers with IOT companies with no experience of cybersecurity - 'Like shooting fish in a barrel atm' lol.
'The DCMS recent consumer survey shows security as 1 of top 3 issues proving consumers are at the point where security is a differentiator, with consumers willing to pay up to 10% more for a product if visible product built with security in mind.'
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-by-design
---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MK27CJCfAI
Amit Elazari Bar On, Director, Global Cybersecurity Policy at Intel Corporation, Intel Corporation
Internet of Laws: Navigating the IoT Legal Landscape
Discussing Bug bounties/Hacking laws etc. Also mentions legal landscape upcoming California IOT Security Law/UK Code of Practice and laws on the horizon etc - ~19mins.
---
https://isoc-e.org/dcms-consultation-iot-security/
WEBINAR Today at 3pm might be worth a listen?
Topic: DCMS Consultation on regulatory proposals for Consumer IoT Security
Time: May 20, 2019 3:00 PM London
Don't mind you posting on other board sweepie2.
Still researching links (when I get the time).
Maybe worth listening to upcoming Q4 2019 Medtronic plc Earnings Conference Call.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76126&p=irol-eventDetails&EventId=5275619
Thanks for posting.
Could the large multinational healthcare company Device Authority & Wipro are partnering with be Medtronic - using PTC? We know Wipro & DA are both PTC partners and Wipro 'sell value added services around PTC solutions.'
https://www.ptc.com/en/products/plm/customer-stories/medical-device-support
Medtronic use PTC - see video in link above 'Medtronic - Improving global collaboration…'
https://www.ptc.com/en/partners/find-your-partner/wipro-limited
https://www.ptc.com/en/partners/find-your-partner/device-authority
---
Rosa Lenders - Global Marketing Mgr @DeviceAuthority tweeted this on 22nd Mar 2019.
'This is exactly what @DeviceAuthority #KeyScaler platform can protect against.
For all connected medical devices!
Medtronic's Implantable Defibrillators Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Hacks
https://thehackernews.com/2019/03/hacking-implantable-defibrillators.html?m=1
https://mobile.twitter.com/Rosaaaa/status/1109121526362714112
Also
This article dated 1st April 2019
DHS WARNS OF VULNERABILITY IN MEDTRONIC MEDICAL DEVICES
http://techgenix.com/medtronic-vulnerability/
Excerpt:
'As reported by Kaspersky Lab’s Threatpost, Medtronic is aware of the situation and is working on a fix. The problem is that the fix will not be ready until an undetermined point in 2019, and further compounding the issue, this is not the first time Medtronic products have had major vulnerabilities. As reporter Lindsey O’ Donnell noted in her report for Threatpost, 2018 saw the company dealing with a “remote code implantation” flaw that allowed access to the supposedly secure Software Deployment Network.
Medical equipment tends to not enter the conversation as much as it should when discussing InfoSec issues. As this case proves, there is still much to be done in securing equipment that literally saves lives. Let this serve as a warning to the entire medical industry that they need to step up their security measures.'
---
Lots of devices affected.
'The report, which came out on March 21, linked a critical vulnerability (CVSS score of 9.3) to numerous Medtronic implanted cardiac devices as well as their MyCareLink Monitor, CareLink Monitor, CareLink 2090 Programmer. The vulnerability, which stems from “improper access control” and “cleartext transmission of sensitive information,” is considered by the DHS to be easily exploitable in capable hands.'
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSMA-19-080-01
---
Interesting too, Medtronic talking about retrofitting existing design parts into IOT devices.
Quote - 'Another example of where PTC guided us was in their input in the retrofit or enablement of an existing part in the design market and how to turn that into an IOT enabled device' (taken from video 'Medtronic IOT customer testimonial' in link below)
https://www.ptc.com/en/resources/iot/video/medtronic-harness-remote-monitoring
N.b. Just speculation and my instinct/hopes this Wipro deal could be the inflection point
Cont...
Q: Why did Wipro establish the unit in Silicon Valley? How much of your investment is happening here?
My partner and I are based in the Valley because this is the center of gravity for technology innovation. Our mandate is global, but more than 50 percent of Wipro’s revenue of nearly $8 billion comes from North America. Most of our investments are here, partly because we want to be close to our companies. We want to make sure that we are there when our CEOs need us.
However, we fully understand that this is not the only place where enterprise innovation is happening. One of the ways that we deal with that is by investing in other VC funds ourselves in geographical locations that we are not physically present in. We realize Israel, for example, is a very rich enterprise ecosystem. So we have invested in a couple of VC funds there. New York is very important because there are a lot of customers there. So we have invested in a couple of very uniquely positioned enterprise funds there.
Q: Give me an example of a company that you have invested in that is a good illustration of the type of investment that you are looking for.
I think Demisto, a Cupertino-based security company, is an excellent example of how we found an opportunity that fit into our strategic theme.
Cybersecurity is pretty important for Wipro. We are a large managed security service provider and also a consulting services provider in the cybersecurity space for large global corporations. Part of that is in the prevention, detection and remediation part of the stack, where Demisto provides a very important component of security operations and orchestrations domain.
Typically, we collaborate with our business service people to understand what the three-to-five year strategic roadmap is and how we can find important strategic partnerships from outside to help us go to market. Demisto fit into the white space of new age security operations and orchestration platforms that would fit into the heart of our security stack.
So we evaluated both Demisto and their competitor at the time, Phantom Cyber, which got acquired by Splunk sometime back. We decided to go with Demisto. We came into the company just after its seed round and we worked hand in glove with them for over two years from a joint go-to-market standpoint.
We created quite a meaningful contribution in their journey to become a well-recognized name in their domain and a few months ago they were acquired by Palo Alto Networks. That was good for them and good for us because Palo Alto Networks and Wipro are strategic partners. The sale added to the strength of that partnership.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2019/05/06/vc-explains-why-the-headquarters-of-an-indian-it.html
VC explains why the headquarters of an Indian IT giant's venture arm is in Silicon Valley
By Cromwell Schubarth – TechFlash Editor, Silicon Valley Business Journal
May 6, 2019, 11:22am PDT Updated May 7, 2019, 3:30pm EDT
Biplab Adhya has invested in a number of Silicon Valley companies for India-based IT giant Wipro Ltd., including Cupertino-based Demisto Inc., which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks this year for $560 million.
In this TechFlash Q&A, the managing partner of Wipro Ventures explains why his company headquartered its venture arm in Mountain View when it was launched four years ago, and talks about the types of businesses he invests in.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How does Wipro Ventures fit into your corporate parent’s strategy?
Wipro Ventures got started about four years ago. We are a corporate ventures unit of Wipro Ltd., a global technology services company (NYSE:WIT). We serve Fortune 1000 corporations across the enterprise stack.
The technology services consumption for our customers have been changing rapidly and there are various technologies that are evolving in the enterprise space that are causing these transformations to happen. Wipro spent a lot of dollars internally for new service offerings, but that's not a match for what's happening in the external world.
One of the responses to the transformation in the enterprise software landscape has been that the company set up this venture unit to help it participate meaningfully in the innovation ecosystem outside of Wipro.
Wipro Ventures was established with that strategic intent about four years ago with $100 million to invest in enterprise startups in their early and middle stages. We invest from the Wipro balance sheet, much like other corporate investors do.
Q: What do you bring to your portfolio companies, besides the money invested?
The value-add that we bring for our portfolio companies is partnering with them strategically and helping them take their solutions to market to our enterprise customers. In that way, as a corporate investor, we are uniquely positioned to add value where it matters the most to our companies. We help them get revenue.
It's a win-win for the ecosystem. We introduce great solutions to our customers that help to position us as an innovation leader for them. The portfolio companies get revenue and the customers get to access to emerging technologies that they probably do not have access to.
Has anyone mentioned Wipro Ventures - the Venture Capital arm.
https://www.wipro.com/innovation/ventures/
Excerpt:
Investment Criteria
At Wipro Ventures, we invest -
In enterprise software, FinTech, and Healthcare IT
In early- to mid-stage companies with generally available products and paying customers
Alongside other institutional investors, with the ability to lead a round as appropriate
Between $1M - $10M per financing round, with flexibility to adjust as needed
In companies located in the U.S, India, and Israel
---
Also 'ricardox' posted this on other board just the other day
'A little detail on Device Authority website that I have noticed. Up until around mid Feb or so the contact details listed the UK office ahead of the US one. Now it's the other way round…'
---
Device Authority's US office in Fremont, CA is 30 mins away from Wipro Ventures Silicon office.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39300+Civic+Center+Dr+%23230,+Fremont,+CA+94538,+USA/425+National+Ave+%23200,+Mountain+View,+CA+94043,+USA/@37.4887894,-122.0372655,10z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x808fc08e61663705:0xf81fcb2919c38c4d!1m2!1m1!1s0x808fb713e78e82a5:0x9159ec4be747d68b!3e0
Also
https://www.firstpost.com/business/wipro-ventures-invests-in-18-early-and-mid-stage-startups-since-inception-in-2015-6037891.html
N.b. This is just speculation and my hopes for strategic investment or m&a. I do think DA is worth much more in the long term. Keeping positive and apologies if already posted. I haven't read every post of late.
MasterRSI, apologies if I have offended. I will concede the derampers and even troll(s) on the other board are out of order and I should have included them in my rant (I don't normally view the other board - only recently tried to reg but I think you have to pay) and after sleeping on it (or not) - not sleeping well, I can fully understand the double, treble duplicate posts (I viewed as ramping) on said board esp when faced with the incessant diarrhea from the likes of Duxy as you say (seems to post bs all the time). Still don't know who loon is? I do think it is much different this time compared to last year esp with the likes of Wipro announced. I guess it has taken longer than expected to build the partnerships/ecosystem but do feel we are at an inflection point. Not been well lately mentally so sorry if I was too negative - was a little narked from the 60p drop last year since I am relatively new to investing but do believe in the company.
As I said it is hard to value the portfolio esp Device Authority and need to remember the market values 1-2yrs ahead. I hope some of this gives the balanced viewpoint i was seeking and remain optimistic for Tern's future especially on delving into Wipro links. (will post next). Hope this finds you well (same for L2analyst) and will post positive musings next and going forward esp if/when we get that RNS.
L2Analyst maybe I didn't express myself clearly. My concerns are the sharp rise in short time. As I said i am optimistic for Tern's future in the medium/long term and will remain invested now my average is getting closer to current sp
I was concerned at the drop from 60p. I read the boards but have only recently joined in the forum foray. Just wanted to try to give a balanced view (risk/reward) and I appreciate it is hard to value the portfolio esp DA where the IOMT market is huge. We all want to see the Sp regain previous highs and am impatient for awaited news to support rise.
ATB
More action today. The share is getting ramped big guns over on the other board. Just a warning to newbies - at the very least read the Report & Accounts 2018 released 25 March 2019 from Tern's website. I was caught out by the rampers a year ago but thankfully able to lower average. My only concern in the short term is the lack of revenue esp from Device Authority as its still in the growth cycle with no real revenue being realised yet. I don't know the burn-rate per month but I fully suspect they will need more funding before any profits in the short term and I can see the loan being extended. Anyone have a 'balanced' view on this.
Need some positive RNS's to sustain rise in sp imo. Worried too in regards the sharp rise without any real news - RNS released. I have contacted London Stock Exchange for clarity on the Rules and Regulations on if/when a company has to release a statement re: Share price movement akin to the 13th June 2018 RNS. Does anyone know if there is such a regulation, and someone mentioned if the sp increases by 30% they need to release some sort of RNS - does anyone know much about this?
If you read p18 (20 of 64 in pdf link below) - how Device Authority's Fair Value is calculated in part in an evaluation of sales pipeline and 2019 trading forecast. This applies to all the portfolios fair value calculations.
If the Net Assets per ordinary share for the whole portfolio is 7.1p as of 31st Dec 2018 (2017, 7.38p) which includes 2019 trading forecast then the sp is currently a premium of x2 the NAV.
In anycase I remain optimistic in my understanding of the risks remembering this is a long term investment. Remember newbies only invest in what you can afford to lose. I have learned the hard way. Make your own mind up whether to invest or not and don't forget the fundamentals.
GLA
Excerpt:
'Valuation is based on a probability analysis of the potential outcomes relating to the conversion or redemption of the convertible loan note, translated at the exchange rate at the balance sheet date. The fair value was supported by an evaluation of a combination of factors, including the price of shares in the most recent fund raise (April 2016), the independent valuation of Device Authority’s patent portfolio, a comparison to transaction multiples in comparable market sectors and an evaluation of sales pipeline and 2019 trading forecast.
From Tern plc website:
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2613170/253353%20Tern%20(web).pdf
Surely this will be RNS'd if true. Digicert have lots of partners if I'm reading this right - 5000 partners globally (not sure if that's customers and tech partners or just tech partners or both) including Mocana who already work with Panasonic and invested in through Panasonic Ventures. Would love to be proved wrong.
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/51074-11
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/43017-31
https://www.channelpartnersonline.com/2018/03/13/digicert-enhances-partner-program-after-symantec-website-security-buy/
Meanwhile found this post in autonews.com
https://www.autonews.com/technology/sun-plays-tricks-cadillacs-super-cruise
Little freaked out about it when I first saw it but on pondering I am more encouraged by the tech advantages the chip utilizes such as ability to be positioned anywhere and esp. Nick's investment.
I'm sure they will have known about it for some time (how they never discovered it in testing?) and much R&d spent developing solutions for better robust system noted by 'Next-gen system will address camera problem'.
Interesting too 'General Motors isn't alone in facing this problem. All automakers that offer such systems will have to find a solution — particularly as they devise driver monitoring systems.' Fixes for Super Cruise's sunlight problem will be part of "significant changes" coming in the hardware for the next-generation system, said Daryl Wilson, GM lead automated-driving engineer.
Wilson declined to comment on timing or details of that system, but GM would likely want to launch the system as it begins rolling out Super Cruise across its lineup beginning in 2020.
"We are learning from this, and we're going to make that availability much more robust in those situations," Wilson said.
Abuelsamid said he believes GM will have to change where the camera is mounted or possibly install some sort of filter or diffuser that allows the camera to see better.
Hopefully Nick & team will have learnt valuable on-road data in acquired real-life testing it can apply in future robust implementations (OEMs)? Thoughts?