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EPERI SETS SIGHTS ON THE UK FOR RAPID GROWTH

Cloud Data Protection specialist capitalises on Microsoft Office 365 adoption
eperi, the leading provider of cloud data protection (CDP) solutions, has announced expansion to the UK market to address cloud data protection in the wake of high Microsoft Office 365 adoption and the impending General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe. A recent winner of Microsoft Partner of the Year in the Open Source on Azure category, eperi hopes to capitalise on this trusted status to help UK businesses succeed in the cloud.
The eperi Gateway CDP solution helps pave the way to the cloud for many companies who have regulatory and compliance needs to secure their data in the cloud. By focusing on data itself and providing the highest levels of encryption and tokenisation, eperi solutions allow users to securely process their data while rendering it unreadable, and therefore useless, to unauthorised parties and hackers.
“The eperi Gateway allows Office 365, Dynamics CRM and Azure users to process even highly sensitive data in the Cloud without taking risks, so the market potential, especially in the UK is vast, ” said Elmar Eperiesi-Beck, Founder and CEO of eperi. “All user data outside of the customer’s company is always encrypted or tokenised and because only the customer holds the keys, the data is unreadable even in case of theft. The technology satisfies strict regulatory compliance requirements, including GDPR, which deals with the movement and protection of data in and out of Europe.”
To manage demand and continue to build partner relationships, the company has also hired respected industry veteran, Ravi Pather as Senior Vice President of Global Sales to coordinate the worldwide sales and marketing activities of eperi, including direct sales and distribution via channel partners. Since 1999 Pather has been responsible for the successful marketing and sales strategies for various IT companies such as Voltage Security, Perspecsys and Blue Coat Systems. The focus of his work was cloud data protection and data compliance through encryption. His field of activity focused on leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) partners such as Salesforce, Service Now and Oracle.
“eperi has everything that is necessary for international success,” said Pather. “I am impressed by the technology leadership of the company, which makes the cloud secure for enterprises, as well as the highly ambitioned team and the existing partnerships with Microsoft, Salesforce, T-Systems and others. I am thrilled to be able to facilitate the company’s journey in this crucial phase. “
The eperi Gateway is the market-leading gateway solution that encrypts or tokenises data in cloud applications, databases, and files before they are processed. This also includes data in Salesforce or database software such as Microsoft SQL Server, DB2, and Oracle. It allows organisations to encrypt Office 365 emails, tasks, calendars, and files for SharePoint and OneDrive before they are stored and processed outside the organisation. For the ever-increasing number of decentralised cloud products in all areas of corporate IT, the eperi gateway represents the most flexible and secure data protection solution possible. It is a simple way for companies to meet even the most stringent data protection laws.
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Sterling rises vs euro as German business morale slumps

By Joice Alves
LONDON (Reuters) – Sterling strengthened on Monday against the euro which was knocked by a slump in German business sentiment in January, while Britain’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout over the weekend offered support to the British currency.
Sterling had fallen in the previous session as a set of figures showed Britain’s third national lockdown prompted the sharpest drop in business activity since May, while retail sales remained weak in December.
But against a weakening euro, sterling edged 0.3% higher to 88.75 pence at 1600 GMT, not far from an 8-month high of 88.30 pence hit last week, after an Ifo economic institute survey showed German business morale slumped to a six-month low in January.
“The euro is under a bit of downward pressure after the weaker than expected Ifo,” said Adrian Schmidt, head of FX strategy at Continuum Economics, adding that in the longer run, “the relative weakness of Europe seems likely to drag GBP lower”.
Britain’s vaccine rollout gathered pace on Saturday, as the number of people with their first dose reached 5.9 million.
“Investors may start to sense we are turning the corner,” said Neil Jones, head of FX sales at Mizuho Bank.
Data showed on Monday that the number of shoppers heading out to retail destinations across Britain rose by 9% last week from the previous week, indicating signs of “lockdown fatigue” as the COVID-19 death toll rose to 97,939 on Jan. 24.
Versus the greenback, after hitting a 32-month high last week, sterling was volatile on Monday. It returned to gains, as investors prefered risk assets on hopes for more stimulus in the United States, but then lost some ground.
The pound was last 0.2% lower at $1.3657 against the safe-haven dollar, after hitting $1.3724 in morning trade, recovering from a slide to $1.3636 the previous session.
Graphic: Sterling Jan 25, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/azgvolzmopd/Sterling%20Jan%2025.png
(Editing by Kirsten Donovan; Nick Macfie and Andrew Heavens)
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Russia’s Vladimir Putin to address World Economic Forum on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the World Economic Forum (WEF) by video conference on Wednesday, Russian news agencies cited his spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Monday.
The event, which gathers business chiefs, political thinkers and state leaders, is being held online due to COVID-19.
Putin’s appearance is likely to be contentious with critics at a time when the West is weighing possible new sanctions against Russia over its treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
“I confirm Davos on the 27th,” the RIA news agency quoted Peskov as saying, a reference to the Swiss ski resort which has hosted WEF events in previous years.
Putin did not feature on the pre-conference agenda.
The Interfax news agency said Putin had not taken part in a similar event since 2009 when he was Russian prime minister.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin/Alexander Marrow; Editing by Tom Balmforth/Andrew Osborn)
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ECB launches small climate-change unit to lead Lagarde’s green push

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is setting up a small team dedicated to climate change to spearhead its efforts to help the transition to a greener economy in the euro zone, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Monday.
Lagarde has made the environment a priority since taking the helm at the ECB, taking a number of steps to include climate considerations in the central bank’s work as the euro zone’s banking watchdog and main financial institution.
She is now creating a team of around 10 ECB employees, reporting directly to her, to set the central bank’s agenda on climate-related topics.
“The climate change centre provides the structure we need to tackle the issue with the urgency and determination that it deserves,” Lagarde said in a speech.
She said that climate change belonged in the ECB’s remit as it could affect inflation and obstruct the flow of credit to the economy.
The ECB said earlier on Monday it would invest some of its own funds, which total 20.8 billion euros ($25.3 billion) and include capital paid in by euro zone countries, reserves and provisions, in a green bond fund run by the Bank for International Settlement.
More significantly, ECB policymakers are also debating what role climate considerations should play in the institution’s multi-trillion euro bond-buying programme.
So far the ECB has bought corporate bonds based on their outstanding amounts but Lagarde has said the bank might have to consider a more active approach to correct the market’s failure to price in climate risk.
“Our strategy review enables us to consider more deeply how we can continue to protect our mandate in the face of (climate) risks and, at the same time, strengthen the resilience of monetary policy and our balance sheet,” Lagarde said.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)