Connect with us
MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2024

Artificial Intelligence

Uncharted Territory: New Vehicle Bargain Hunters Will Find Limited Supply, High Prices This Memorial Day Weekend, Notes Kelley Blue Book Experts

Published

on

 

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, bringing along one of the most popular car-buying weekends of the year, shoppers face a difficult marketplace with low vehicle inventory supply and record high prices due to strong consumer demand. Yet despite the challenging market conditions, car shoppers remain undeterred as they continue to buy cars at a record pace. Likely fearing even less choices and higher prices in the months ahead, new data from Kelley Blue Book reveals that car shoppers clearly are in buy-now mode.

“Shoppers are expecting high prices and limited choices, and that’s exactly what they’re finding,” said Vanessa Ton, senior industry intelligence manager for Kelley Blue Book. “But even with the tough buying conditions, Kelley Blue Book’s data shows most consumers expect to push ahead with a purchase, even in a difficult and competitive marketplace.”

The latest research from Kelley Blue Book reveals Americans are aware of the rising demand for cars as supply continues to fall, and 73% of in-market car shoppers said they expect to find higher prices than in a normal market. Heading into the big Memorial Day sales weekend, more than 60% of consumers said they are not planning to delay their vehicle purchase. In addition, 42% of shoppers expect to pay over sticker price for a new vehicle, and nearly 60% expect to find lower incentives. The current conditions are not changing people’s minds on what to buy, either. Despite high prices most consumers are not considering smaller or less expensive vehicles, as 81% of shoppers said they plan to stay in their intended segment. Only 37% of car shoppers said that high prices and lower incentives would likely delay their purchase, and of those willing to wait, 70% expect to sit the market out for three months or more.

“We are in uncharted territory as the auto industry tries to maintain robust sales alongside low inventory levels, and this market really demands patience from shoppers,” said Matt DeLorenzo, senior managing editor for Kelley Blue Book. “Simply put, you can’t buy what’s not there, and dealers’ inventories are extremely tight. At this point, shoppers who can wait to buy a car probably should. But for those who can’t afford to wait, it’s more important than ever to shop smart. Do your research before making the trek to the dealership so you can keep as much cash in your pocket as possible when all is said and done. And despite the tough market out there, bargain shoppers will still be able to find a few deals.”

The combination of strong demand and low supply continues to push prices higher. At the end of April 2021, the average vehicle listing price was $39,833, which is 7.9% above comparable 2019 numbers. For luxury cars, the figure sat at $60,691 – only the second month it ever eclipsed the $60,000 mark. Meanwhile, incentives are down 25 percent from one year ago, as manufacturers and dealers hold confidence that buyers will come soon for most cars on their lot.

The conditions currently affecting the automotive marketplace – including a global microchip shortage affecting new-car production, pent-up demand from delayed purchases during last year’s pandemic shutdown, supply chain issues and more – also continue to make a mark for used-car shoppers. Used-vehicle prices hit an all-time high at the opening of May, with the average listing price surpassing the $22,000 mark with a new high of $22,568. The pace of price increases also continues to speed up, as last summer prices surpassed $20,000 for the first time and have been rising ever since.

Yet even with sky-high prices and limited inventory choices, shoppers are buying cars at a record pace. In April, more than 1.5 million vehicles were sold, up 111% from the same time last year, making it the highest April on record.

As this historically busy car-shopping weekend approaches during a difficult marketplace for buyers, Kelley Blue Book’s editors have rounded up some of the best deals available. To learn more about which new models currently have ongoing deals, in-market car shoppers should visit the 10 Best Memorial Day Car Deals for 2021.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/kelley-blue-book/, Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb  and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kbb_com/ (or @kbb_com).

Artificial Intelligence

vcita Completes Full Rollout of BizAI, the First AI-driven SMB Business Advisor

Published

on

vcita-completes-full-rollout-of-bizai,-the-first-ai-driven-smb-business-advisor

After months of research and beta testing, BizAI is now available to all vcita customers, bringing the promise of AI within reach for the SMB ecosystem
SEATTLE, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — vcita, the technology platform designed to serve the needs of SMBs and the organizations that serve them, announced today that it has completed the full rollout of its AI-powered SMB business advisor, BizAI. During beta testing over the last several months, vcita saw the significant success and impact of BizAI, and is now making it available to all SMB users, including SMBs using partner solutions, built on its inTandem platform.

BizAI is different from other generative AI tools as it combines the wide perspectives of the market’s best practices with the deep familiarity with each individual businesses’ successes and failures, bespoke data that it is able to obtain exclusively through vcita. This enables BizAI to identify growth opportunities and diagnose areas for improvement, translating insights into actionable recommendations for immediate implementation. SMBs can use BizAI to build business growth plans, optimize their pricing and product offerings according to their competitors, generate converting marketing assets, analyze staff performance, and more.
“BizAI is a pioneering AI-driven business advisor created specifically for the SMB sector,” said Itzik Levy, CEO and founder at vcita. “BizAI brings the strategic prowess of top-tier consulting into the hands of small business owners, empowering SMBs to navigate their unique challenges with tailored, actionable insights derived from a blend of external data, their own operational metrics, and industry benchmarks. The enthusiastic feedback from our beta testers has been incredibly affirming, and this is only the beginning of what BizAI can deliver.”
A common challenge in the adoption of AI is that SMBs don’t always know where AI might help them so BizAI is integrated into the everyday tasks of the business owner, offering them tailored insights and suggestions with contextual relevance. BizAI is completely embedded within the business management solution offered by vcita, with many touch points that are presented to SMBs throughout their workday. For example, SMBs will be prompted to use BizAI when creating and pricing a new service, while writing their cancellation policy, or when answering an inquiry from a promising prospect.
“Our roadmap is packed with plans to further expand BizAI and make it available across all components of our platform. As a platform company, we will soon offer our partners the opportunity to leverage BizAI in two additional ways: the first is their ability to launch AI-enriched applications of their own, and the second is to draw AI-driven insights that help them better understand their SMB clients, detect risks such as churn and identify new business opportunities in real-time,” continued Levy.
A recent survey of BizAI beta users highlights the value they’re gaining from the tool with 43% returning to BizAI within a week of their first usage. 63% used BizAI to seek critical business advice, such as how to position and price their services and products, highlighting the trust users have in BizAI. 32% of users copied the chat’s answers to the clipboard, indicating they were happy with the output and chose to use it. To see a full report with this data please click here.
vcita has spent the past 13 years providing SMBs with advanced technology solutions and is committed to digital inclusion in the SMB community. vcita’s technology solutions include popular digital tools like online billing, CRM, online scheduling, marketing, and online presence, and the company is now bringing the promise of AI within reach for small businesses. Armed with BizAI’s personalized insights and recommendations, vcita is revolutionizing the way SMBs manage their operations and seize growth opportunities within a competitive market. With inTandem, vcita’s partner platform, organizations that serve the SMB market can join vcita’s partner ecosystem and expand their own SMB proposition to include these digital tools and AI driven insights, increase engagement among their SMB customers, and unlock new revenue potential.
About vcita
vcita is an SMB tech company dedicated to helping small and medium businesses thrive in today’s digital world by providing them with the tools to manage and grow their business. With vcita’s solution, small businesses can manage all aspects of their day-to-day operations and client engagement including scheduling, billing, payment collection, client management, email and SMS marketing. inTandem by vcita is a platform designed to serve the needs of SMB service providers, offering a customizable, white-label, platform that allows organizations that serve SMBs to bring their clients all the essential vcita tools under their own brand. With inTandem, partners can deliver great service and value to their SMB customers and unlock new revenue streams, reduce churn, and increase customer loyalty. With hundreds of thousands of small business users worldwide and partnerships including marketing agencies, banks, financial service providers, telcos, MSPs, and fintechs, vcita delivers an innovative digital solution uniquely designed to serve the needs of SMBs and the companies that support them.
For more information, visit www.vcita.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Sarah SchlossHeadline Media [email protected] 914.506.5105
 
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/vcita-completes-full-rollout-of-bizai-the-first-ai-driven-smb-business-advisor-302134563.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

Stamus Networks Recognized in 2024 Gartner® Market Guide for Network Detection and Response

Published

on

stamus-networks-recognized-in-2024-gartner-market-guide-for-network-detection-and-response

Company recognized as a Representative Vendor for the second consecutive time
INDIANAPOLIS and PARIS, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Stamus Networks, a global provider of high-performance network-based threat detection and response (NDR) systems, today announced it has been recognized as a Representative Vendor in the 2024 Gartner “Market Guide for Network Detection and Response.” This is the second consecutive time Stamus Networks has been named in the report.

“For now, stand-alone NDR vendors provide a breadth of network analytics and efficacy not available with multifunction security platforms (SIEM, XDR),” wrote Gartner Analysts Jeremy D’Hoinne, Thomas Lintemuth, Nahim Fazal and Charanpal Bhogal.
The report continues, “NDR providers continue to improve their detection capabilities and improve incident response workflows, highlighting the identified root causes of an incident. With this success and confidence, enterprises are experimenting with new NDR features and expanding their coverage to include areas of the network not initially exposed to NDR, especially to see all lateral movement between different types of infrastructure.”
The Stamus Security Platform (SSP) is an open NDR that delivers actionable network visibility and high-fidelity threat detection to enterprise security teams around the world. SSP prioritizes advanced detection – using machine learning and statistical anomaly detection, advanced heuristics, and more traditional signature and IoC based detection – with explainable attack timelines. Its transparency, openness and extensibility empower security teams to quickly respond to serious threats and unauthorized activity.
“As a pure-play NDR solution vendor, we are uniquely focused on delivering the best threat detection possible with the lowest rate of false positives in the industry, enabling organizations to automate their response to serious and imminent threats,” said Stamus Networks CEO Ken Gramley. “We take great pride in being recognized by Gartner, once again, and believe our inclusion in this report is validation of our approach to helping defenders around the world secure their organizations.”
Learn more and download the Gartner “Market Guide for Network Detection and Response.”
To learn more about SSP, go to: https://www.stamus-networks.com/stamus-security-platform.
Gartner Disclaimer:Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
About Stamus Networks:Stamus Networks believes in a world where defenders are heroes, and a future where those they protect remain safe. As organizations face threats from well-funded adversaries, we relentlessly pursue solutions that make the defender’s job easier and more impactful. The global leader in Suricata-based network security solutions, Stamus Networks helps enterprise security teams know more, respond sooner and mitigate their risk with insights gathered from cloud and on-premise network activity. Our Stamus Security Platform combines the best of intrusion detection (IDS), network security monitoring (NSM), and network detection and response (NDR) systems into a single solution that exposes serious and imminent threats to critical assets and empowers rapid response. For more information visit: stamus-networks.com.
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1781381/stamus_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/stamus-networks-recognized-in-2024-gartner-market-guide-for-network-detection-and-response-302133899.html

Continue Reading

Artificial Intelligence

StrongDM Secures $34 Million Series C Funding to Expand into Europe and Asia, and Establish Zero Trust PAM for Enterprise Security

Published

on

strongdm-secures-$34-million-series-c-funding-to-expand-into-europe-and-asia,-and-establish-zero-trust-pam-for-enterprise-security

New funding to fuel global expansion and a pioneering approach to preemptive, action-based cybersecurity
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — StrongDM, the Zero Trust privileged access company, today announced the closure of a $34 million Series C funding round led by Anchor Capital, with participation from new investors Capital One Ventures, Cisco Investments, Frontline Ventures, and Singtel Innov8, as well as existing investors including GV, Sequoia Capital, and True Ventures. This investment underscores StrongDM’s commitment to reshaping enterprise security with its revolutionary Zero Trust privileged access management (PAM) solution. The Series C funding round brings StrongDM’s total funding to $96 million.

Revolutionizing PAM
StrongDM introduces a next-generation PAM solution that shifts from traditional role- or attribute-based security models to one that emphasizes continuous, fine-grained, and context-aware policy enforcement. This approach scrutinizes each user action and context in real-time, enabling immediate blocking or additional verification for activities that pose security risks. By focusing on preemptive measures rather than reactive responses, StrongDM aims to halt breaches as they are attempted, setting a new standard in cybersecurity.
Global Expansion and Innovation
With the new funds, StrongDM will expand its operations into the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions, addressing the growing demand for modern security solutions. The company is also establishing an engineering center of excellence in Poland, bringing its innovations closer to global customers.
A Word from Leadership
Tim Prendergast, chief executive officer of StrongDM, emphasizes the transformative nature of its Zero Trust PAM solution: “Our Zero Trust approach extends beyond initial access, offering continuous protection throughout the entire session. This isn’t just about reducing identification times; it’s about preventing breaches before they even happen. We’re setting new standards that legacy access management providers have failed to achieve over the past decade.”
Enhancing Enterprise Operations
StrongDM’s solution integrates security directly into operational workflows, enhancing agility and productivity without sacrificing protection. Amol Kabe, chief product officer of StrongDM, said: “StrongDM provides a way for users to create and apply policies that govern authorization in real time, which simplifies the process of proving regulatory compliance. By integrating comprehensive audit trails, we ensure that every action is recorded with precision. This provides unprecedented oversight and enforcement of security policies, creating an environment that is simple, agile, and secure.”
Kabe adds, “StrongDM can also trigger policy-based MFA or administrator-defined workflows natively or in Slack or ServiceNow to implement multi-party authorization for risky actions.”
Upcoming Features
In the coming months, StrongDM will roll out advanced policy-based control features that further enhance security for critical infrastructure. These include micro-authorizations and contextual enforcement capabilities designed to meet the specific needs of CISOs and security teams.
About StrongDM
StrongDM is at the forefront of cybersecurity, specializing in Zero Trust Privileged Access Management (PAM). Our innovative solutions focus on continuous, policy-based controls that leverage actions and context to enhance enterprise security. StrongDM’s technology scrutinizes each interaction in real time, preventing breaches before they occur and ensuring secure, frustration-free access across all platforms.
Supported by leading investors, including GV, Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, and Anchor Capital, StrongDM operates across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, dedicated to setting new standards in cybersecurity and providing top-tier protection for today’s digital enterprises.
For more information, visit the StrongDM website.
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2402887/StrongDM_logo3000_cmyk_Logo.jpgPhoto – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2402888/Tim_Prendergast___CEO___StrongDM.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/strongdm-secures-34-million-series-c-funding-to-expand-into-europe-and-asia-and-establish-zero-trust-pam-for-enterprise-security-302133665.html

Continue Reading

Trending