United States

171 'United States' stories June 2011 - April 2014

Nest Thermostat appears on Google support page, coming to the Play Store soon?

Chance Miller Apr 21 2014 - 2:07 pm PT

Earlier this year, Google acquired smart thermostat maker Nest for the huge sum of $3.2 billion. This led to speculation that the two companies would work together, with Google using its online retail outlet to boost sales of product. Since the acquisition, however, nothing has come to fruition between the companies, with both continuing business as normal. It looks like, however, that Google may soon start to sell the Nest thermostat via the online Play Store.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 goes on sale in 125 countries today, with kill-switch to keep it safe

Ben Lovejoy Apr 11 2014 - 4:13 am PT

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Samsung has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S5 goes on sale today in 125 countries, along with the new Gear smartwatches. It was already known that it would be launched today in the USA.

The new Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Gear devices – Samsung Gear 2, Samsung Gear 2 Neo, and Samsung Gear Fit – are ready to hit the market in 125 countries in Europe, Middle East, North America, Latin America, and most of Asia.

The S5 has a 5.1-inch full HD display which was declared “the best smartphone display ever tested” by DisplayMate. Other key features include a fingerprint sensor and heartrate monitor. Reviewers considered it an excellent phone, albeit lacking in excitement …
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Google wants to trademark dat ‘Glass’

Chance Miller Apr 3 2014 - 1:18 pm PT

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has been working for the past year to register the word “Glass” as a trademark in the United States. The company successfully received a trademark for the “Google Glass” name, but so far, has been unsuccessful to its attempts to trade the single word “Glass.”

According to the report, Google first submitted its application to trademark “Glass” with the classic, futuristic font last year. Shortly thereafter, Google heard back from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was informed that the word could not be trademarked. One of the reasons cited by the office was that the trademark was too similar to other existing and pending computer software trademarks. This could lead to consumer confusion, according to the examiner.

The trademark examiner also claimed that the word “Glass”, even when written in its classic font, is “merely descriptive.” According to federal law, words that describe a product cannot be trademarked. “Google, like many businesses, takes routine steps to protect and register its trademarks,” a Google spokesman said.

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Google encrypting Chinese web searches, plans to do so globally to thwart NSA

Ben Lovejoy Mar 13 2014 - 6:53 am PT

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Photo: Li Xin for AFP/Getty Images

The Washington Post reports that Google has begun automatically encrypting web searches carried out in China to defeat government monitoring and censorship, and plans to continue rolling out the program globally to prevent monitoring by the NSA.

China’s Great Firewall, as its censorship system is known, has long intercepted searches for information it deemed politically sensitive. Google’s growing use of encryption there means that government monitors are unable to detect when users search for sensitive terms, such as “Dalai Lama” or “Tiananmen Square,” because the encryption makes them appear as indecipherable strings of numbers and letters …
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Samsung details which US Galaxy variants will get KitKat update

Chance Miller Feb 18 2014 - 1:26 pm PT

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Photo: ibtimes.com

Samsung’s been rather quiet when it comes to its plans to update United States devices to Android 4.4 KitKat. Today, however, the company has finally detailed exactly which devices it plans to update to Android 4.4.2, although it still left out the specific “when” detail.

Samsung says that it currently plans to update the entire Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S III line of devices, in addition to the Note II and Note III. Other various tablets and devices will be updated, as well, including the Note 8.0 and Tab 3. The entire list is below:
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Google privacy case looks set to go ahead in UK after Google’s dismissal attempt fails

Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2014 - 7:18 am PT

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Image: vosizneias.com

Google today lost its attempt to have a British court dismiss a claim for breach of privacy in respect of dropping cookies in Safari even when the option was switched off.

Google has argued that the appropriate jurisdiction was the US legal system, where a similar case had already been rejected. Mr Justice Tugendhat at London’s High Court today rejected that argument, stating that he was satisfied there was a case to answer and that it should be heard in the UK.

I am satisfied that there is a serious issue to be tried in each of the claimant’s claims for misuse of private information.

The claimants have clearly established that this jurisdiction is the appropriate one in which to try each of the above claims.

Although Google was denied the right to appeal the ruling, it has said that it intends to attempt an appeal regardless.

We still don’t think that this case meets the standards required in the UK for it to go to trial, and we’ll be appealing today’s ruling.

In the U.S., the company was fined $22.5M by the FTC last July over the infringement of privacy.

LG G Flex coming to the US in Q1 on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile

Chance Miller Jan 6 2014 - 8:58 am PT

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Just a few minutes ago during its CES 2014 press event, LG announced that its highly-anticipated G Flex device will be making its way to the United States in Q1 and is destined for Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T. We’d heard rumors of United States G Flex availability for a while, but this is the first time LG has confirmed its plans.

Early reviews of the self-healing G Flex were rather mixed. The main issue most reviewers had, however, was the price tag for the device. Presumably, when it hits United States carriers, it will be subsidized, which will reduce the initial up-front cost. Reviewers also remarked that the curved design made the device’s size more manageable and ergonomic. They also had positive things to say about the G Flex’s performance, and camera, though they were somewhat skeptical of the “self-healing” back.

The big question surrounding the device now is its subsidized price on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. We should hear more about that as we progress further into the first quarter.

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Google fights to have iPhone privacy case dismissed from UK courts

Ben Lovejoy Dec 16 2013 - 6:25 am PT

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Google, which was fined $22.5M by the FTC for illegal use of tracking cookies on iPhones even when the user had set Safari to reject them, is asking the UK’s High Court to reject a claim for compensation from a group of British iPhone owners, reports The Guardian.

Google is arguing that any case should be held in the U.S., and that UK courts have no jurisdiction in the matter. It also observes that a similar claim in the USA was dismissed two months ago.

Google has been called “arrogant and immoral” for arguing that a privacy claim brought by internet users in the UK should not be heard by the British legal system […]

In the first group claim brought against Google in the UK, the internet firm has insisted that the lawsuit must be brought in California, where it is based, instead of a British courtroom …
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WSJ: Sprint could purchase T-Mobile USA next year

Zac Hall Dec 13 2013 - 1:35 pm PT

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(via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbtaylor/5725362250/in/photolist-9HVYJf-dUa6Vv-9p5wzz-dktAoT-8zr6jL-8niyxG-ahWGGU-ahWGHh-ahWGHm-ahWGH3-8oqttH-dnDryR-8nfrfD-9HFdUX-c83Cah-7JfazN-e2xr5t-bURuKH-e1kDuL-9MSHjY-adVi2Z-aptqJu-ccdK8C-bmKsbu-bURuWi-ccdKcf-ccdKi5-e1faCa-8SdCBv-8MmowQ-dMm3Uk-dMrBxA-fmgSPT-dFmKF4-dFmqQ4-cCuqoG-ccdKb9-e1eY4P-8jshhM-e1eYeV-9GDiuc-9GGb4A-9MSF1E-dLUyCK-8niyGq-8nixJY-8nfrBp-g2sFSy-g2t57H-9Tufzo-9Trpo6/">Flickr</a>)

Almost two years to date since AT&T pulled its bid for T-Mobile USA, rival carrier Sprint is reportedly preparing its own offer to purchase the fourth largest carrier in the US.

That’s according to a The Wall Street Journal report which claims Sprint is currently looking into regulatory concerns that could be voiced if the third largest US carrier acquired the company which runs the fourth largest US carrier.

Sprint hasn’t yet decided whether to move ahead with a bid. Going forward despite regulators’ concerns would be highly risky. Any pursuit of a bid by Sprint could be aimed at testing antitrust officials’ reaction to a deal, and a bad reaction could put an end to the effort.

While Justice Department denied AT&T’s bid for T-Mobile in 2011 after a year long effort, it’s certainly possible a Sprint/T-Mobile merger could prove otherwise considering rival carriers AT&T and Verizon’s position in the market.

As the WSJ report notes, Verizon leads with 95 million postpaid subscribers and AT&T has 72 million subscribers, but such an acquisition would keep Sprint in a distant third place with just 53 million postpaid customers.

Both Sprint and Verizon have proved capable of adding competition in an an industry with so few key players. Sprint has long boasted its unlimited data offer for customers while T-Mobile famously reinvented the 2-year upgrade model with options soon adopted by the competition.

Unlike the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile acquisition bid two years ago, Sprint and T-Mobile operate with different technologies. The former company relies on CDMA technologies while the latter company is built on GSM.

Google sponsoring petition to make warrant necessary for snooping in email

Zac Hall Dec 6 2013 - 8:08 am PT

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Following a year of mixed messaging and confusion regarding government access to personal data and how companies are handling the issue, Google is putting it’s support behind a petition demanding the United States government require a warrant before accessing email of private citizens.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ericschmidt/status/408987436945907712]

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt tweeted a link to the company’s post on Google+:

Doesn’t the stuff you keep online deserve the same protection as the stuff you keep offline? Under a law called ECPA, government agencies in the U.S. can see what you’ve written and stored online without a warrant. Sign this petition to the White House and tell the government to get a warrant!

The petition originated on November 12, 2013, and requires just over 42,000 signatures by December 12, 2013, to mean the threshold for a response from the White House. At the time of this writing, just over 57,000 signatures have been collected on the online petition.

The full petition reads as follows:
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See Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten Gettysburg Address in hi-res at Google Cultural Institute

Ben Lovejoy Nov 19 2013 - 4:42 am PT

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There’s nothing that makes history real quite like seeing original, handwritten documents. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was just 272 words long and reportedly took just two minutes to deliver, yet has been widely recognised as one of the most important speeches ever given, playing a key role in re-uniting the USA after the civil war and reminding the nation of its founding principles.

You can now view all five handwritten copies in high resolution at Google’s Cultural Institute website on the 150th anniversary of the famous speech. The online exhibit is supported by contemporary drawings, plans and reports and is well worth a visit.

Airlines implement gate-to-gate handheld device rules faster than expected

Ben Lovejoy Nov 7 2013 - 4:51 am PT

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United and American have joined Delta and Jet Blue in permitting gate-to-gate use of portable electronic devices, following the FAA ruling making it legal to do so.

The FAA had said at the time that airlines would need to perform individual tests to demonstrate that the use of electronic devices during all phases of flight would be safe, and had suggested that this might take some time. With the announcement expected as long ago as March, however, it appears that several airlines undertook this testing in advance of the formal ruling.

There has still been no clarification on what constitutes a ‘handheld’ device, but airlines so far appear to be saying yes to tablets and ebook readers and no to laptops. With many tablet and Bluetooth keyboard combos being visually indistinguishable from ultrabooks to non-technical cabin crews, we shall watch with interest to see how the rules are enforced.

Google and other leading tech companies support USA Freedom Act to limit NSA powers

Ben Lovejoy Nov 1 2013 - 6:40 am PT

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Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL have all signed an open letter expressing support for the USA Freedom Act co-sponsored by Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy and Republican Representative Jim Sensenbrenner. The Act, if passed, would outlaw the NSA’s speculative bulk collection of data and allow the companies to be far more transparent about the data they are obliged to make available to the government.

As companies whose services are used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, we welcome the debate about how to protect both national security and privacy interests and we applaud the sponsors of the USA Freedom Act for making an important contribution to this discussion.

The companies had previously complained that gag orders forced them to issue denials that were technically true but misleading. They had asked to be allowed to release more specific figures about the number of demands they receive for personal data.

This letter goes further, in supporting moves to actually limit the powers the government would have to gain access to the data in the first place.

Transparency is a critical first step to an informed public debate, but it is clear that more needs to be done. Our companies believe that government surveillance practices should also be reformed to include substantial enhancements to privacy protections and appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms for those programs.

In introducing the bill, Senator Leahy said “The government surveillance programs conducted under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act are far broader than the American people previously understood. Modest transparency and oversight provisions are not enough.”

The Verge reports that Google is tightening the security of its internal networks, and that Twitter has already moved to encrypt direct messages.

Full text of the open letter below.

October 31, 2013

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Michael S. Lee
Member, Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
316 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Frank James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Member, Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
2449 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Messrs. Chairman, Ranking Members and Members:

As companies whose services are used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, we welcome the debate about how to protect both national security and privacy interests and we applaud the sponsors of the USA Freedom Act for making an important contribution to this discussion.

Recent disclosures regarding surveillance activity raise important concerns both in the United States and abroad. The volume and complexity of the information that has been disclosed in recent months has created significant confusion here and around the world, making it more difficult to identify appropriate policy prescriptions. Our companies have consistently made clear that we only respond to legal demands for customer and user information that are targeted and specific. Allowing companies to be transparent about the number and nature of requests will help the public better understand the facts about the government’s authority to compel technology companies to disclose user data and how technology companies respond to the targeted legal demands we receive. Transparency in this regard will also help to counter erroneous reports that we permit intelligence agencies “direct access” to our companies’ servers or that we are participants in a bulk Internet records collection program

Transparency is a critical first step to an informed public debate, but it is clear that more needs to be done. Our companies believe that government surveillance practices should also be reformed to include substantial enhancements to privacy protections and appropriate oversight and accountability mechanisms for those programs.

We also continue to encourage the Administration to increase its transparency efforts and allow us to release more information about the number and types of requests that we receive, so that the public debate on these issues can be informed by facts about how these programs operate. We urge the Administration to work with Congress in addressing these critical reforms that would provide much needed transparency and help rebuild the trust of Internet users around the world.

We look forward to working with you, the co-sponsors of your bills, and other members on legislation that takes into account the need of governments to keep individuals around the world safe as well as the legitimate privacy interests of our users around the world.

Google plans U.S. road trip to let people try out Glass

Jordan Kahn Sep 26 2013 - 2:59 pm PT

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Google announced today on its Google Glass Google+ page that it will soon be kicking off a road trip with the Google Glass team that will give people around the U.S. the opportunity to try out the wearable firsthand. Google didn’t share many details, but it has already announced the first stop on its tour with registration for a visit to Durham, NC in October now open.

We’ve heard lots of people are interested in experiencing Glass first hand, so we’re taking Glass to cities across the US to give you a chance to do just that… We’re excited to announce that we’ll be kicking off in the Tar Heel State. Come try Glass, chat with the team, and enjoy local snacks and beverages.

Google plans to announce additional dates for its U.S. Glass tour in the near future through its Glass Google+ page.

HTC America makes about 20 percent of its workforce redundant in an attempt to ‘streamline’ operations

Benjamin Mayo Sep 14 2013 - 3:51 am PT

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The Verge has learned that HTC has laid off about a fifth of its America division. It seems affected employees were informed yesterday, with the cuts affecting multiple departments. The Verge says the company has confirmed that layoffs have taken place, but would not offer more detail.

The Verge has also managed to get a hold of a letter to employees from Jason Mackenzie, the president of HTC America. He is quoted as calling this the “the most difficult day” of his career. He said that this measures are part of a broader plan to “simplify our organisation” and “sharpen our teams focus”. The full statement is included below.

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Motorola shipping (and not necessarily selling) a disappointing 100,000 Moto X phones a week

Ben Lovejoy Sep 11 2013 - 5:30 am PT

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Reuters reports that Motorola is currently shipping 100,000 Moto X handsets a week – though not necessarily selling this number.

Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said “When you set up to ramp a factory you need a plan, and we have shipment targets we need to make with our carrier partners, and where we need to be right now is 100,000 units and that’s where we are.”

Woodside would say only that direct sales to customers were “substantial”. Either way, we suspect the company must be secretly disappointed in the numbers …
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Samsung Galaxy Mega – the smartphone that thinks it’s a tablet – finally arrives in USA

Ben Lovejoy Aug 19 2013 - 7:14 am PT

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The Samsung Galaxy Mega, the crazily-sized smartphone that was launched in Europe back in May, is arriving in the U.S. this month at AT&T, Sprint and US Cellular.

The ultimate option for those who really can’t work out whether they want a smartphone or a tablet, the device has a massive 6.3-inch screen, a 1.7Ghz dual-core processor, LTE, dual cameras (8MP on the rear, 1.9MP on the front) and is available with 8Gb or 16Gb storage (with a microSD slot supporting up to 64Gb). It is shipping with Android 4.2.2.

AT&T claims it will be the first U.S. carrier, offering the Mega for $24 per month with AT&T Next or $149.99 with a two-year agreement. Sprint will offer the Mega with unlimited 4G data on its Unlimited, My WaySM or My All-inSM plans. Full Samsung press release below …

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2013: The year of the personalized, colorful, mid-tier smartphone

Ben Lovejoy Jul 12 2013 - 6:42 am PT

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Mockup: Slashgear

Choosing a phone is pretty simple if you’re the kind of person who wants the latest & greatest handset and has the budget to pay for it. Even if you’re not sure what platform you want, you’re essentially choosing between a handful of flagship products and are currently likely to walk away with an iPhone 5, Samsung S4 or HTC One.

There isn’t too much head-scratching at the bottom end of the market either: buyers there don’t care about the handset, and take whatever freebie their carrier pushes at them.

But the mid-market is where life gets complicated. You care enough about your handset to want something decent, both in specs and design, but you don’t want to take out a mortgage to buy it. It’s this market that is going to get incredibly colorful this fall …
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Fiber to be a profitable business, not a tech experiment, says Google

Ben Lovejoy May 31 2013 - 4:13 am PT

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Credit: CNET/Marguerite Reardon

With Google Fiber promising 1Gb speeds for $70 a month – a dramatically better deal than anything else currently available in the USA – there had been a pretty widespread assumption that it was a tech experiment on Google’s part, to see what kind of services could be offered on a really high-speed link, rather than a money-making business. But not so, says a Google Fiber exec speaking at a Fiber-to-the-Home Council meeting covered by CNET …
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Google hiring up to 40 Glass advisors to help celebs, journalists and developers over the phone and at events

Seth Weintraub Apr 11 2013 - 12:26 pm PT

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Google has been hiring a group of individuals on one year contracts to help the Glass explorers with their upcoming Glasswear we’ve learned. The employees would be based in New York or San Francisco but travel to events throughout the US and eventually overseas. These people will also be manning the retail presence that Google hopes to have in New York, San Francisco and possibly LA by the end of the year.

Glass explorer editions are to begin shipping next month after an initial run of a few thousand.

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Report: Samsung’s Galaxy S4 will include ‘Eye Scroll’ feature

Jordan Kahn Mar 4 2013 - 11:34 am PT

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According to a report from The New York Times, citing ” a person who has tried the phone,” Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S4 will include a new “eye scrolling” feature that tracks the user’s eye to determine where to focus and when to scroll on the page:

The phone will track a user’s eyes to determine where to scroll, said a Samsung employee who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. For example, when users read articles and their eyes reach the bottom of the page, the software will automatically scroll down to reveal the next paragraphs of text.

As noted in the report, Samsung actually filed for a trademark in Europe for “Eye Scroll” in January and again in the United States for “Samsung Eye Scroll” in February.

Apple and other companies have filed patents for similar technology that tracks the movement of a user’s eyes to zoom, scroll, and manipulate the elements on a display without physically touching it.
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Google Translate to add dialects for text-to-speech feature?

Jordan Kahn Feb 28 2013 - 1:50 pm PT

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As noted by the unofficial Google Operating System blog, Google could soon add the option to select a dialect for certain languages in its text-to-speech feature within Google Translate. The option is currently hidden in Translate’s source code, according to the report, and it would allow users to hear various dialects like American, British, and Australian for English.

The text-to-speech feature will allow you to select the dialect for languages like English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. It’s nice to compare American English, British English and Australian English.

The report also noted hints of other features that aren’t currently available, including phrasebook and dictionary features.

First Lady Michelle Obama to discuss Let’s Move! initiative in live Google+ Hangout March 4

Jordan Kahn Feb 20 2013 - 1:10 pm PT

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As President Obama and many others have done in the past, Google announced today that First Lady Michelle Obama would host a live “Fireside Hangout” on Google+ to answer questions submitted by users. The Hangout will take place March 4, and Michelle Obama will be joined by Kelly Ripa to discuss the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative.

Three years ago, the First Lady launched the Let’s Move! initiative to unite the country around our kids’ health and create real support for families to live healthier lives. Since then communities across the United States have worked together to share, collaborate on and create ways to improve the health of our nation’s children. This year, the First Lady is using Google+ to celebrate the anniversary of Let’s Move!and to connect with communities on Google+ who are passionate about healthy eating, fitness and parenting.

Google Apps consultants Cloud Sherpas acquire Innoveer Solutions and Navigis

Jordan Kahn Jan 15 2013 - 6:58 am PT

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Cloud Sherpas, last year’s Google Enterprise Partner of the Year, which helped over a million users migrate to Google Apps, today announced it will acquire two companies to accelerate growth: advisory and technology consulting services provider Navigis, and top CRM advisory and cloud integration services firm Innoveer Solutions. The terms of the deals were not disclosed, but CloudSherpas issued the following press releases:

Cloud Sherpas Acquires Innoveer Solutions; Takes Leadership Role in Global CRM Market

Acquisition expands CRM advisory and cloud integration services in the U.S. and adds U.K. and India operations to cloud services brokerage

Atlanta, Georgia – January 15, 2013 – Cloud Sherpas has expanded domestically and internationally with the acquisition of Innoveer Solutions, a top CRM advisory and cloud integration services firm; terms were not disclosed. The transaction gives Cloud Sherpas its first physical presence in Europe, a growing market for cloud services according to Forrester, and squarely positions Cloud Sherpas as a leader in the cloud services brokerage ecosystem.

Innoveer is an award-winning global CRM consulting firm with over 750 customers and 2,000 successful deployments under its belt. The company was founded in 1998 and provides a range of services, including discovery and planning, CRM technology selection, business process improvements, implementation, change management and support focused on enterprise businesses in the Life Sciences, Insurance, Financial Services and Manufacturing sectors, among others. Key customers include Panasonic, Shire Pharmaceuticals and AXA, one of the largest installations of Salesforce worldwide. Innoveer pioneered a CRM Excellence Framework to help clients transform their customer-facing operations, and is well known for its expertise migrating clients from Siebel to Salesforce. Innoveer also offers in-depth advisory services, focused on CRM planning, process improvement and industry best practices.

Cloud Sherpas’ Salesforce business unit is growing rapidly. The firm offers CRM advisory services, implementation, integration and custom cloud development. Combined with Innoveer, Cloud Sherpas has migrated more than 5,000 customers to the cloud worldwide. The acquisition of Innoveer gives Cloud Sherpas greater geographic density in the northeast and central U.S., an operation in the U.K., an offshore delivery team in India and one of the largest practices of certified consultants worldwide. This is Cloud Sherpas’ second CRM-focused acquisition in the past month. Following this acquisition, the firm now has Salesforce.com Platinum Partner status in North America, Europe and Australia.

“Our clients are expanding their cloud application footprint,” said David Northington, CEO at Cloud Sherpas. “Many of our global customers have experienced success in one area of their business and are eager to apply cloud-based sales automation, customer service, call center support and collaboration throughout their organizations. With the acquisition of Innoveer, we bring more than 500 cloud strategists and technical experts to bear on the market across six countries, including a solid platform for European expansion.”

“We’ve helped hundreds of customers achieve their business objectives with cloud CRM,” said Adam Honig, founder and CEO of Innoveer Solutions. “Our customers are now asking us, ‘what additional value can we get from the cloud?’ As one of the world’s leading cloud services brokerages, Cloud Sherpas is uniquely positioned to help our clients aggregate, integrate and customize an increasingly wide array of cloud-based solutions, including email and collaboration, platform development, mobility solutions, single sign-on and data integration, just to name a few.”

Cloud Sherpas Stakes Leadership Claim to ITSM Market with Navigis AcquisitionPurchase of ServiceNow partner allows Cloud Services Brokerage to better serve customers adopting public cloud for IT service management

Atlanta, Georgia – January 15, 2013 – Cloud Sherpas has acquired Navigis, a leading global provider of advisory and technology consulting services to companies implementing ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW); terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition allows Cloud Sherpas, which has strong footholds in cloud advisory, messaging, collaboration and CRM, to expand its market and geographic footprints and capitalize on global interest among enterprise organizations in cloud ITSM.

Cloud Sherpas’ customers — now over 5,000 worldwide — are transitioning to cloud solutions from on-premise applications. These companies recognize the cost and productivity benefits of cloud software and want more of it. Acquiring Navigis allows Cloud Sherpas to meet this need by offering current as well as prospective customers the leading cloud ITSM solution. The acquisition also furthers Cloud Sherpas’ mission to provide best-of-breed cloud solutions to the enterprise as a leading Cloud Services Brokerage (CSB).

“Our number one job is listening to customers and providing them with the services they need to grow their businesses,” said David Northington, president and CEO at Cloud Sherpas. “Many of our customers have expressed an interest in cloud ITSM software, and acquiring Navigis – a strong operation that’s generating good profit and has doubled in size year over year – boosts our ability to support these companies. Between Google, Salesforce.com and ServiceNow, we’re establishing a ‘Sherpa stack’ of the top cloud solutions.”

Navigis has been a leader in IT Service Management since 1996. The company’s certified ServiceNow consultants provide value-added implementations, custom enhancements, administrative support and training to help ServiceNow customers automate their IT operations. Navigis clients include a roster of Fortune 500 enterprise IT customers and other leading edge companies. Navigis founder and CEO Philip Sidebottom will become president of Cloud Sherpas’ ServiceNow business unit with the acquisition.

“We’re thrilled to be joining Cloud Sherpas,” said Sidebottom. “The ITSM space and cloud in general are poised for massive growth. As part of the leading CSB, our customers will benefit greatly from Cloud Sherpas global scale and ability to aggregate multiple best-in-breed cloud applications, implement and integrate those applications, and customize them to meet the unique requirements of an industry or business.”

“Navigis has long been a trusted partner for ServiceNow and has provided considerable value to customers,” said David Schneider, senior vice president of worldwide sales and services, ServiceNow. “We look forward to continued success working with the new organization.”

“In cloud computing, the need for intermediaries to aggregate, integrate or customize cloud services grows as the number of cloud services and the rate of consumer adoption grow,” says Tiffani Bova, Research VP at Gartner in her November 2012 report, Service Provider Primer: Cloud Services Brokerage. “Cloud services brokerages (CSBs), will help organizations adopt and derive more value from multiple cloud services during the next five to 10 years.”

About Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas, the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year and a Platinum salesforce.com Partner, is one of the world’s leading cloud services brokerages. Since 2007, the company has helped over 5,000 customers adopt, manage and enhance cloud solutions from Google, salesforce.com, ServiceNow and other leading cloud vendors. Whether working with a global retailer to help them make their business more connected and collaborative with Google Apps or helping a financial services firm deploy Sales Cloud and Service Cloud to better manage their customer relationships, Cloud Sherpas has the experience and expertise to help organizations leverage the cloud and respond with agility to the rapid consumerization of IT. Cloud Sherpas is headquartered in Atlanta, GA with offices throughout the United States and operations in Australia, Dubai, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information visit www.cloudsherpas.com.