It's hard being camera shy or afraid of public speaking in an era of video conferencing. But a lot of people are — and many of them also worry about minor but common issues such as poor Internet connections and how lighting affects appearance.
That's the conclusion of Chicago-based West Unified Communications, which provides video conferencing solutions. The company released a study this week that found most of the workers who are uncomfortable during video calls attribute their nerves to being on camera and public speaking.
Some other nuggets from the more than 230 full-time employees who took the survey:
58 percent of employees worry about dealing with poor Internet connections and 42 percent are uneasy about how lighting may affect their appearance
Job interviews, meetings with clients or supervisors and sales calls contribute most to employees’ anxiety
Millennials are twice as likely to be uneasy about video sales calls than Baby Boomers (17 percent versus 8 percent), but baby boomers are more likely to exhibit nerves about video job interviews than millennials (61.5 percent versus 49 percent)
Sigfox Partners with Microsoft
Labege, France-based Sigfox, which provides global communications service for the Internet of Things (IoT), plans to integrate the Sigfox Cloud with Microsoft Azure IoT Hub.
Sigfox’s cloud-to-cloud integration, which will be available to both Sigfox and Microsoft customers, is based on Azure IoT Hub.
The collaboration allows users to utilize Sigfox’s network and analytics and storage on Microsoft Azure to use large quantities of operational data produced by their connected devices and applications.
“Integration with Microsoft Azure IoT Hub in Sigfox’s Cloud is a key step in the evolution of the IoT, providing customers with a great alternative to investing large amounts of resources to develop and manage data storage and management themselves,” Stuart Lodge, Sigfox executive vice president global sales and partners, said in a statement.
Gartner Analyst Joins Aragon Research
Gartner veteran Jim Sinur is joining Aragon Research's Palo Alto-based team as a VP and research fellow. Sinur will lead the coverage for digital transformation, digital business platform (BPM) and IoT.
During his 20 years at Gartner, Sinur helped create the first Hype Cycle and Maturity Model, which have become a hallmark of Gartner analysis, along with the Magic Quadrant.
“I'm looking forward to expanding my research in digital transformation, the digital business platform, diving deeper into the Internet of Things, cognitive delivery and the intelligent workplace,” Sinur said. “Aragon will help push interactions with new customers and the opportunity to mesh with the already strong team already there.”
Iron.io Adds Docker Veteran to Team
San Francisco-based Iron.io, which provides enterprise-grade job processing solutions, announced the appointment of veteran technology executive Bart Schachter as chief operating officer.
Schachter will lead the company’s general and administrative expense (finance, legal, human resources), corporate and business development efforts, as well as oversee go-to-market initiatives and partnerships.
Iron.io CEO Chad Arimura described Schachter as an expert in scaling enterprise software companies, building high-performance teams, fundraising, financial management, strategic partnerships and acquisitions.
Schachter was previously at Docker, Inc., where he focused on strategic partnerships and corporate development deals, including Docker’s announced acquisition of Spanish container-management company Tutum. Before Docker, Schachter was senior vice president of corporate and business development at ServiceSource, Inc. He was also vice president at National Semiconductor and helped Intel’s founders start Intel Corporate Business Development, later renamed Intel Capital. Schachter also founded Blueprint Ventures.
Anti-ad blocking technology companies Adaptive Medias and AdSupply have merged. AdSupply is the company behind the patented BlockIQ technology that detects and bypasses ad blockers, including AdBlock Plus. Adaptive Medias created the Media Graph platform that works across all screens and devices. The platform was designed to scale with the rise of mobile video.
AdSupply has produced consecutive annual revenue growth greater than 30 percent since its debut in 2012, according to company officials. The company achieved record revenues of $18.5 million in 2015 and serves more than 1,000 publishers.
Adaptive Medias has also generated consecutive annualized revenue growth of approximately 80 percent since 2013. Per the terms of the deal, the merged enterprises will be consolidated into Adaptive Medias.
PowerInbox Nets $6.5M
New York City email technology provider PowerInbox completed a $6.5 Million Series A funding round led by Battery Ventures, Genesis Partners and new investor Maverick Ventures.
PowerInbox also named Libby Novak of Maverick Ventures to its board.
PowerInbox reported 1,400 percent growth in impressions and 2,000 percent growth in revenue in 2015, and said it is now embedded in more than 2.5 billion emails sent a month from more than 500 email newsletters
Cyberpost Raises $1.5M
Toronto-based Cyberpost which provides a video and virtual mail system, raised $1.5 million in seed funding from a group of private investors.
Cyberpost created a cloud-based way for entertainment, sports, community, businesses and other organizations to build relationships with their audiences.
“Cyberpost is not an email-based or email marketing system. Rather it connects brands and other information providers with consumers in ways that are unique, relevant and mutually beneficial,” Cyberpost co-founder Ernie Loch said in a statement.
“Most online marketing campaigns are often not well targeted so we’ve created a model that combines the virtual convenience and multimedia capabilities of online marketing, with a much more targeted way to deliver timely offers directly to consumers based on physical addresses.”
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About the Author
Dom Nicastro is managing editor of CMSWire and an award-winning journalist with a passion for technology, customer experience and marketing. With more than 20 years of experience, he has written for various publications, like the Gloucester Daily Times and Boston Magazine. He has a proven track record of delivering high-quality, informative, and engaging content to his readers. Dom works tirelessly to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry to provide readers with accurate, trustworthy information to help them make informed decisions. Connect with Dom Nicastro:
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