Plezier drijvende kracht achter TechConnect
Het blad Impuls van de Rabobank Westelijke Mijnstreek heeft deze maand een interessant artikel geplaatst over de historie, passie en manier van werken binnen de TechConnect Group van bedrijven.
Een heel interessant artikel voor iedereen: “Een gemeenschappelijke passie voor computergamen, bracht Michiel Beenen en Alan de Klein als vrienden bij elkaar. Nu zijn ze zakenpartners en de trotse eigenaren van TechConnect.
Een innovatief bedrijf met honderd mensen aan het werk en wereldwijd aktief in online-advertising en uiteraard gamen. “We doen nog altijd alleen wat we leuk vinden.”
Klik hieronder om het artikel te lezen, vanaf pagina 59:
TechConnect Selects OpenDNS Enterprise
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 20, 2012 – OpenDNS, the world’s largest and fastest-growing provider of Internet security and DNS services that deliver a safer, faster and more intelligent Internet experience to everyone, today announced TechConnect is using OpenDNS Enterprise, the favorite solution of businesses of all sizes that require an easy-to-manage, scalable security service. TechConnect is using OpenDNS Enterprise to ensure its employees are protected from stumbling upon malicious sites and downloading malware that could transmit sensitive data outside its network.
TechConnect is an Internet company with divisions focused both on advertising and gaming. Because the company is driven wholly and completely by Internet activity, and employees are continuously accessing foreign or unfamiliar sites, they are at a significantly high risk of encountering a malicious site and inadvertently downloading malware. The IT team at TechConnect needed a way to proactively combat malicious threats in order to avoid having their time monopolized by malware cleanup and to ensure that private or sensitive data wasn’t at risk of being transmitted off the TechConnect network by botnets.
Although TechConnect was running desktop antivirus software on individual machines, malware was still sneaking in, requiring costly and time-intensive clean-up. “We needed a way to ensure that when our publishing department vets new advertisers and websites that want to join our ad network, they’re protected from potentially harmful sites,” said Michiel Beenen, CEO of TechConnect. “Apart from that, we also wanted to make sure that our office was using the most stable and speedy DNS service available.”
TechConnect selected cloud-based OpenDNS Enterprise for malware protection because the service is continually updated in real-time, so there are no software updates or lag time for installations or upgrades, and as soon as new malicious sites are identified TechConnect employees are automatically protected. OpenDNS blocks malware in two ways: It prevents access to malicious sites so employees can’t download malware and it disables botnet communication, ensuring sensitive data remains airtight. The technology also ensures that malware isn’t transmitted across an organization’s network.
“We would highly recommend OpenDNS Enterprise,” Beenen said. “We looked extensively at other services and not only would we have ended up paying more, the quality of the solution just wasn’t as effective.”
OpenDNS Enterprise also gives Beenan the ability to easily share network insights and support responsibilities with multiple members of his team, allowing them to effortlessly collaborate on the best way to address trends before they become problems. From anywhere, through a single Web-based dashboard, any member of the IT team can monitor network statistics, update settings, or even deploy new networks.
Beenen concluded, “The nature of our work means that our team is using the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Security is of the highest importance, and OpenDNS Enterprise allows us to easily make sure every single employee is protected from possible threats. It’s an ideal fit for an Internet-focused company.”
About OpenDNS
OpenDNS is the world’s leading provider of Internet security and DNS services, enabling the world to connect to the Internet with confidence on any device, anywhere, any time. OpenDNS provides millions of businesses, schools and households with a safer, faster and more intelligent Internet experience by protecting them from malicious Web threats and providing them control over how users navigate the Internet, while dramatically increasing the network’s overall performance and reliability. For more information about OpenDNS, please visit: http://www.opendns.com.
About TechConnect
The TechConnect Group exists of two main companies: BannerConnect, an independent specialist facilitating automated trading for internet advertising at national and international level next to this we also have InterWave Studios, a brand new game development company that creates both casual games for mobile and web and high quality gaming titles like Nuclear Dawn that is available on Steam. For more information, visit http://www.techconnect.nl/.
Source: PRWeb.com Newswire and Digital Journal
TechConnect is moving
After five years of expansion we have decided to move to a new, bigger building for our group of companies. As of July 6, 2012 we will be moving to our brand new office with the following information:
TechConnect Holding Group
Poststraat 12, 6135 KR
Sittard, NL
Both BannerConnect and InterWave will be present at the new office.
A new website!
For the last two years, we’ve been meaning to make several tweaks to our website. Each time we looked at it, since 2010, we wanted to improve more and more things, until the time finally came when we could no longer wait. Welcome to the new TechConnect website!
The TechConnect Holding contains quite a few companies, and the biggest change to our website has been a complete clean-up of the front page, which now shows the most important services we have to offer, along with links to more information for each.
It’s not all cosmetic changes though, with the addition of our static News & Events pages, which will feature important Press Releases and company information. We’ve also plugged all our corporate blogs into a separate blogging section, which we hope you’ll enjoy.
We’re not done – our website is being constantly worked on, improved and tweaked for content and performance. Expect more changes in the future, and of course more blog updates!
Mobile Advertising
Mobile advertising is an emerging and highly effective way to reach consumers through their mobile phones. Advertisements can be displayed when a person uses mobile internet, for instance when browsing the web or when using Smartphone applications (apps).
Mobile advertising can be an efficient marketing tool for advertisers to get their message across, increase brand awareness and/or promote their campaign. Applications with advertisements require internet and usually/mostly allow for easy access to web services, like quickly checking the weather or posting a message on Facebook. For an example of a website for mobiles running advertisements, take a look at mobile.cnet.com.
Growing importance
Aside from developments regarding mobile devices and mobile networks, there is a growing number of high-quality websites and applications specifically developed for mobiles.
These media are becoming increasingly popular with consumers and the expectation is that this interest will continue to grow. Mobile traffic has already increased more than 500% in the last two years.
With sizable increasing penetration of mobile internet, the personal character and interaction mobile advertising is ideally suited to connect offers and interesting information to the personal experiences of consumers. That is why mobile advertising is of added value next to other media channels and is quickly becoming an important part of advertising campaigns.
An effective marketing tool
Advertising has gone through many evolutions in the past. From traditional communication tools, such as print media and TV, to online advertising, which gives the possibility to interaction and reaches a much greater and segmented audience. Audience segmentation is possible as data of users can be saved and consumers can be profiled. One of the last developments in the advertising world is Mobile advertising, which offers even more possibilities and advantages.
- There are a number of strategies from which a company can choose when it decides to apply mobile advertising: click to call, click to landings page, click to buy, click to map, click to download, etc.
- It can be used for Location based advertising; the consumer’s location can be used to display local advertisements.
- People are more likely to click on an advertisement received on their mobile phones than one which is displayed on a computer desktop.
Start mobile advertising now!
If you are interested in mobile advertising you can contact Banner Connect for more information or advise.
BannerConnect utilises the largest mobile advertising network in Europe. With the right knowledge and a massive reach we can promote your campaign in the most effective way.
Audience Targeting
Audience Targeting is an efficient way of defining your target group. It increases campaign effectiveness by showing the right message, to the right people, at the right time.
Compared to other targeting techniques, Audience Targeting allows for a far more detailed profile of the target group. The amount of detail increases relevance of an advertisement to the consumer and provides the advertiser with higher quality visitors.
How it works
Firstly, internet users are profiled, using their daily browsing habits to identify key properties:
• Age
• Sex
• Geographic location
• Interests
• Intentions
• Behaviour
• Income
With this information you can specify your target group in great detail to reach the buyers you need. Audience Targeting can also help you target people outside of your usual target group. You could, for example, target people with an intention to buy a product like yours, or target people that have shown a high amount of interest in these kinds of products.
Privacy
Although Audience Targeting requires information of a personal nature, it also respects online privacy. None of the collected data contains personally identifiable information, so it can’t be traced back to a real person.
Audience Targeting is the most sophisticated way of advertising currently available. Ask one of our account managers what it could do for you.
BannerConnect develops ad management platform for RealGames Europe
BannerConnect has developed a custom ad management platform for RealGames Europe, named Cockpit. It marks a new step in the collaboration and provides a great improvement in efficiency for both companies.
The new ad management platform provides access to all necessary advertising processes from one central application. Cockpit forms a central hub for Internal Orders, Inventory Forecasts, Campaign Delivery, Earnings per Day and Partner Reports.
By using Cockpit, RealGames’ ad sales department is technologically up-to-date and market compliant, while better traffic optimisation and forecasting technology help improve advertisement effectiveness. The application has been designed to streamline the unique working methods of the RealGames ad sales staff, while minimising manual intervention from BannerConnect personnel when adding new advertisement campaigns.
Cockpit is a great example of adapting to the needs of our clients and providing help where we can, even if we have to build whole applications to do it. This is just one of the many ways BannerConnect differentiates itself from its competitors.
Adventure Training
As you might have seen in our ‘Out of Office’-reply, last Wednesday (June 9th, 2010) all of the company’s employees participated in a day of teambuilding; I-VY Adventure Training to be exact. It was a physically and mentally challenging day, but also an awesome experience for the entire team.
Adventure Training is an active way of teambuilding with a learning-by-doing approach, based on a series of team exercises. All of these exercises are dependent on the participants trusting each other, working together as a team and respecting one another, all the while minding physical and mental safety.
We got to do a series of exercises, like crossing a rope with all team members at the exact same time, or climbing and standing upright on a 10 meter high pole without railing and then getting three of your colleagues up there with you. After each exercise we had to evaluate the outcome, the process behind it and the teamwork. The evaluation would indicate shortcomings to improve upon in the following exercises, as well as work situations.
In other exercises we had to match a colleague’s character to an animal, or classify his/her team role on the work floor by using roles on a ship as a metaphor. It was amazing to see how easily all team members opened up to each other and dealt with evaluations, self-actualization, criticism and even confrontations.
At the end of the day some highly needed talks were had and we concluded the Adventure Training with a tasty barbeque. We are certain this training will benefit all employees, the work climate and our clients from here on out.
It’s safe to say there will be more days like these in the future, until then we leave you in the quite capable hands of our team.
Internet for Everyone
Every European citizen will have access to broadband internet in 2013, according to Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner-designate for ICT / Telecom. Kroes revealed her plans for the Digital Agenda last January, hoping to increase jobs, improve lives, save taxpayer money and stimulate the economy.
Internet Access
The first theme of the Agenda will be to secure basic broadband internet access for every European citizen in 2013, after which speeds will be increased up to 100Mb/s in the year 2020.
The internet is quickly becoming a necessity in our daily lives and a Digital Divide is on the rise between people with internet access and those without. Being disconnected nowadays means missing out on a great knowledge base, many online services and resources, social inclusion and much more. That’s why Kroes decided to level the European playing field, by guaranteeing everyone internet access.
Online Single Market
Kroes wants to eliminate legal and regulatory barriers for international online transactions and create a true European online economy, the Online Single Market. These barriers are currently hurting the e-economy, by scaring off large numbers of individual consumers and businesses.
Trust & Security
Online services and actions are largely based on trust. By educating young and old about their rights and obligations on the internet, this trust can be increased. To rightfully keep this trust, new technologies and open standards will have to create secure services and applications with respect for privacy.
Get Ready
The number of Europeans you’re able to reach through online advertisements will be growing quite fast over the next few years, reaching a high level of saturation. Meanwhile, education in trust and security will encourage more people to buy online at trustworthy locations.
Combine the above with a single European online market and you’ve got the e-commerce opportunity of a lifetime, or at least a good chance to expand your client base throughout all of Europe!
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) can enhance the viewer’s experience of your advertisement, making it fun and interactive. You could show a virtual 3D rendering of your product as if they were holding it, or display added information when looking at your product.
How it works
To use Augmented Reality the viewer needs a device capable of running a (web) application, equipped with a screen, a camera and an internet connection, like a PC, laptop or Smartphone. When you hold a marker in front of the camera, the application will recognise this marker and start downloading the added information. It will overlay this information on the marker in the live video stream, using the position, size, angle and rotation of the marker as seen by the camera in real-time.
The information can consist of multiple static, animated or controllable virtual elements, like text, video or 3D objects. You could create a static product presentation, let the user interact with the product or create a game using AR.
How to use it in online advertisements
Link your online display ads to a webpage where visitors can choose to print your marker(s). Don’t forget to include basic instructions, a link to the AR (web) application where the marker(s) can be used and maybe some share-links for friends and social networks. Let the users do the rest. Just have a look at this great example from BMW.
And for offline advertisements?
With the increase of processing power in every new Smartphone, more and more phones are able to meet
the requirements for Augmented Reality. This allows you to put markers in your real world advertisements, like bus stop billboards, so people can view the added information wherever they see your ads. If the phone also has GPS and compass capabilities, you could even let the user navigate to your nearest store.
Create an innovating ad campaign and it might even go viral.
Want to see more on Augmented Reality? Then check out this article on Wired.com.
