FINANCE, BUSINESS STRATEGY
Informatica | September 21, 2022
Informatica , an enterprise cloud data management leader, today announced that UK Export Finance is modernizing to the cloud with Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC), freeing up team resources to better serve UK businesses of all sizes and sectors. UK Export Finance is the world’s first and oldest export credit agency, its mission is to advance prosperity by ensuring no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance, doing that sustainably and at no net cost to the taxpayer. In the last year it supported 545 companies supporting exports in 61 countries. The small but nimble department is undertaking a digital transformation journey and selected Informatica to modernize its data architecture on a single cloud platform. Informatica’s IDMC enables enterprises to manage, own and derive insights from their data in the Cloud. UK Export Finance kicked off its digital transformation with a focus on connectivity and fast data ingestion. The IDMC enabled seamless integration with Azure DevOps and Power BI and allows UK Export Finance to manage all data pipelines from a single, browser-based tool and usage-based pricing has lowered the total cost of ownership. With a legacy integration stack, the UK Export Finance technology team was spending more and more time on maintenance and manual hand-coding to rebuild connectors to meet the specs of modern data architectures, taking time away from important projects. This, along with evolving international standards and regulatory requirements, made it the right time to modernize to the cloud. After an intensive decision-making progress, UK Export Finance chose Informatica’s cloud-native IDMC for its best-in-class capabilities, wide array of codeless connectors, and ease of implementation. With AI-powered automation and re-usable templates, IDMC has reduced data loading and build times by 40%, allowing the UK Export Finance technology team to focus on more strategic initiatives. Developers and data scientists are no longer tied down with maintenance and instead applying their expertise in building reports that unearth insights and value from the data for the UK exporters the department serves. With a mission to better serve British businesses to enter new markets, maximize growth potential and increase the volume of export sales, our team looks to data to unearth insights and uncover new strategies,” said Daniel Cozens, Senior Technical Lead, UK Export Finance. “Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud has helped alleviate the maintenance and build burden, allowing our team to work on more interesting, strategic initiatives and deliver data-driven recommendations for the UK Exporters we support.
“How businesses manage and innovate with data can be the decider on whether they become an industry disruptor or get left behind. With the IDMC, UK Export Finance can improve operational efficiency, eliminating inefficient hand coding and democratise data across the department to allow faster time to value and timely insights,We’re pleased to be working with UK Export Finance to unleash the power of its data to help UK businesses and industries thrive.”
Jason Tooley, VP Informatica
About Informatica
Informatica (NYSE:INFA), an Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, empowers businesses to realize the transformative power of data. We have pioneered a new category of software, the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud™(IDMC), powered by AI and a cloud-first, cloud-native, end-to-end data management platform that connects, manages, and unifies data across any multi-cloud, hybrid system, empowering enterprises to modernize and advance their data strategies. Over 5,000 customers in more than 100 countries and 85 of the Fortune 100 rely on Informatica to drive data-led digital transformation.
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SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE
Capital on Tap | September 28, 2022
Capital on Tap, a global FinTech providing access to an all-in-one small business credit card and spend management platform, introduced virtual cards as part of their mission to help small business owners run their businesses faster, simpler, and more efficiently.The virtual cards will be available immediately for the majority of approved applicants. Most applicants receive a credit decision within 24 hours, meaning approved cardholders will be able to make purchases on their Capital on Tap Business Credit Cards, issued by WebBank, within just one day of submitting their application.
"For busy small business owners, the virtual card is a true game changer,David Luck,Having immediate access to funds is critical for success in this challenging business climate that often requires quick decisions and multiple strategic pivots."
Co-Founder and CEO of Capital on Tap
Virtual cards can be added to Google and Apple Pay accounts so cardholders can immediately make purchases in person or online. Small businesses also benefit from an added layer of security with virtual cards. Cardholders can replace them in real time, so if the account information is compromised or even if a cardholder makes a purchase from a vendor, they just don't feel completely confident in they have the option to void that card for all future purchases and instantly generate a new one. With no lag time between the cancellation of the card and the receipt of the new one, cardholders will never be without access to funds. Of course, all security features of the physical Capital on Tap Business Credit Card also apply to virtual cards.
Account holders can also set spend limits on their virtual cards. This is useful for business owners who want to issue a virtual card for single use, such as travel or a large purchase. While account holders are currently limited to one virtual card per account, the option to generate multiple cards simultaneously will be available later this year, allowing cardholders to issue virtual cards to individual employees, and even designate separate virtual cards for different categories of business spend.
About Capital on Tap
Capital on Tap makes it easy for small businesses to manage their business spending, access funding, and earn best-in-class rewards. More than 200,000 small businesses have spent $5 billion on their Capital on Tap Business Credit Cards across the US and UK.
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FINANCE, BUSINESS STRATEGY
Pacific Western Bank | September 20, 2022
The Alliance for SoCal Innovation ("The Alliance") is proud to announce that they have formally entered into a multi-year agreement with Pacific Western Bank to be the new lead sponsor of the SoCal Venture Pipeline program (SVP) which connects promising early stage startups with venture capital in order to improve access to institutional capital across the SoCal region. Entering its second year, the SVP program is completely free for the startups and investors who participate. The Alliance does not collect any fees or take equity thanks to this generous underwriting from Pacific Western Bank as well as continuing supporters Wilson Sonsini and KPPB LLP. Increasing capital access for innovative companies across the expansive SoCal region is core to The Alliance's mission and this particular program is a key ingredientAndy Wilson, Executive Director of the Alliance, said, "We are so fortunate in SoCal to have so many amazing founders building great startups across this massive and diverse region. However, access to critical early stage capital is not equally available to all. We rely on great partners like Pacific Western Bank who share our commitment to the region to deliver high impact programs like the SoCal Venture Pipeline."
"We are very excited to partner with the Alliance on the important mission of the SoCal Venture Pipeline program,We are committed to supporting the venture community and entrepreneurs, and the Alliance has the great ability to bring together up-and-coming tech and life science communities and connect them to relevant investors. By working together and combining our two networks, we'll be able to connect promising early stage startups with venture capital, with the hopes of creating a more balanced and diverse group of founders in the SoCal area."
Mark diTargiani, SVP of Pacific Western Bank's technology banking practice.
As part of the new sponsorship agreement, the program will now be renamed "The SoCal Venture Pipeline powered by Pacific Western Bank" and will continue to focus on matchmaking qualified early stage founders seeking seed and series A capital with the right investors. Startups based in the SoCal region who apply to be in the SVP program undergo a rigorous screening process by a team of investment professionals before being accepted into the program. Once accepted they are further vetted before receiving highly targeted personal introductions to appropriate investors in the Alliance's extensive and growing network of venture capital partners. Since launching in March of 2021, over 250 startups have applied to the SoCal Venture Pipeline program of which 31 have been accepted and received vital support through connections to investors, advisors, and additional capital resources. As a result of the program, several startups have secured venture funding and more success stories are in process. For SoCal-based tech startups that are raising $1M+ of seed or $4M+ of Series A institutional capital and meet the guidelines outlined in the program FAQ, apply now to begin the process of getting connected to the right investors.
About The Alliance for Southern California Innovation
The Alliance for Southern California Innovation (the "Alliance") is a not for profit formed in 2017 that has successfully brought together the heft of Southern California's top research institutions, local business leaders, and world-class advisors to focus on bridging critical gaps in the SoCal innovation ecosystem. The goal of the Alliance is to engage and unify SoCal's compelling diversity of talent, ideas, and perspectives in order to optimize the conditions for the region's innovators to bring breakthroughs to the world.
About Pacific Western Bank
Pacific Western Bank is a commercial bank with over $40 billion in assets headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with an executive office in Denver, Colorado. The Bank is focused on relationship-based business banking to small, middle-market, and venture-backed businesses nationwide. The Bank provides venture banking products including a comprehensive suite of financial services focused on entrepreneurial and venture-backed businesses and their venture capital and private equity investors, with offices located in key innovation hubs across the United States.
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