NEWS
EDP completes
strategic
investment in
Sepio Systems
Hermes launches unique
technology designed to ‘make
parcels personal’
E
nergias de Portugal (EDP), which ranks
among Europe’s major electricity
operators and is one of Portugal’s largest
business groups, has completed a strategic
investment in the Israel and US-based
cybersecurity company, Sepio Systems. EDP
is a vertically integrated utility company
that has electricity, gas and renewable
energy operations in 16 countries and
EDP Renewables is the fourth wind power
operator worldwide.
EDP is expanding partnerships in
cybersecurity to further strengthen
connectivity and resilience that are vital to
the infrastructure, and advance new business
opportunities. Over the last couple of
years, attacks on critical infrastructure have
surged and the potential repercussions are
significant. A loss of data is concerning, but
a loss of electricity is catastrophic to both
businesses and society.
“Sepio’s approach to protecting enterprises
against attacks arising from rogue devices
is very creative and a well-executed idea in
the cybersecurity space and we were even
more impressed after experiencing it first-
hand,” said Luis Manuel, Board Member
at EDP Ventures. “The software provides
granular visibility into our assets and best
of all, allows us to define and enforce a
security policy for hardware devices. We
believe Sepio is well positioned to protect
assets in both the IT and OT domains
and we look forward to supporting Sepio
Systems to help them grow further.”
8
INTELLIGENTCIO
H
ermes UK, a leading consumer
delivery company, is introducing
innovative technology aimed at bringing
people together by enabling the sender
of a parcel to connect with its recipient
through a personal video message.
Hermes Play, which was created within
Hermes’ Innovation Lab, allows the
sender to pre-record a personal message
which is then uploaded via the Hermes
Send app. A 2D barcode (similar to a
QR code) is then created which is added
to the parcel label. The parcel recipient
is then invited to scan the code and
watch the video message on their phone
or tablet. The video uses Augmented
Reality to bring the parcel to life so that
the video plays on top of the parcel
itself. All videos will be saved for 30 days
and can be downloaded and shared on
social media.
It will be available to anyone using the
Hermes Send app (previously myHermes)
later on in the year and is compatible
with both Android and iPhone devices. It
will then be rolled out to Hermes’ retail
customers who will be able to use it to
further personalise their service, offer
promotions or highlight areas of interest.
Martijn de Lange, CEO at Hermes UK,
said: “At Hermes this year, our mission is
to make parcels personal again and our
digital teams have been working hard
to create new and exciting initiatives.
Hermes Play is a fantastic service that can
be used by consumers to send messages
to family and friends or by businesses for
a more commercially-focused approach.
It’s designed to create a personal
connection and make the experience of
sending and receiving a parcel just that
little bit more special.”
www.intelligentcio.com