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[woody888] 21/4/2016 09:46

Some volume would be good, in fact any volume would be a start...

[james dean] 21/4/2016 09:06

Regards.

DYOR

[fse] 19/4/2016 20:20

Its accurate that Zvi Marom has been talking a lot recently about the cyber security issues incurred by the shift to SDN and cloud applications.etc
Its a must have technology and potentially a large growth area for the sector and BATM Telco ...
It is another string to BATM bow which is associated with fair size initial contracts........... A welcome "EXTRA" !

Lets hope it does bring new contracts and scaling up of present ones... sounds cautiously promising ;-)

[woody888] 19/4/2016 12:20

Interested after reading about about the second government defence contract that was won for a cyber security solution (first contract was announced July 2nd 2015 see RNS) - this is clearly a growth market and if now two government agencies have approved the solution others will now hopefully follow.

The appointment of Raanan Tzemach is also portent as he is stated as being a 'a veteran telecommunications security and software professional' who I now guess will slot into this growth area of the business and win some more!

Below is copied and pasted with citation from 'Jupiternmars' on LSE .
The link has an interview with Zvi Marom with reference to this contract and overall growth

In precis: Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) says cyber issues are becoming a “hot topic” and that already more and more clients are “installing and testing” its offering.
“Cybercrime will become, I think, the most common way that sophisticated criminals will be active. The days of Bonnie and Clyde are over” he adds.
Its network division has picked up a US$4mln, three-year contract to provide secure applications for an unnamed government - the second national government contract awarded to BATM's network and cyber arm
Marom says that he expects “more clients and bigger clients” to come take up its technology,” adding “I expect that this will materialise in our results.”

[spekky] 15/4/2016 07:29

He was at Cisco for 2 years 7 months,Amdocs for 2yr and 2 months,maybe he gets bored easily......I'll reserve my judgement.

[cumnor] 14/4/2016 21:56

Looks good, fse. Clearly, having been with Cisco, he knows enough about this business as to be confident enough about BVC's offering and prospects that he agrees to join it.

[fse] 14/4/2016 19:35

Interesting appointment, this guy was with Cisco and appears to be brought in to deal with SDN NFV business from an informed viewpoint....


Telco Systems appoints Raanan Tzemach as VP Product, Marketing and Professional ServicesPosted by Talia Rimon on April 14, 2016
Telco Systems has appointed Raanan Tzemach, a veteran telecommunications security and software professional, as the new VP Product, Marketing and Professional Services.

“Raanan brings extensive knowledge and experience in the telecom and high-tech industry , and I am sure that he will play an important role in further strengthening Telco Systems’ position as a market leader in the field of innovative SDN & NFV, multi-service Carrier Ethernet 2.0 and MPLS edge solutions,” said Ariel Efrati, Telco Systems’ CEO.

Raanan TzemachPrior joining Telco Systems, Raanan headed products and marketing for Cisco’s Self-Optimizing Networks (SON) business unit, where he drove significant growth in both business and the product portfolio.

Raanan previously served as an executive in service provider and product companies such as VP of Amdocs EMEA Managed Services, as VP & Business Unit manager of Discretix (Sansa Security), at mobile operator Cellcom where he served as VP Advanced Services and Internet and in multiple R&D and Network engineering roles in the Israeli Defense Forces.

[fse] 10/4/2016 15:58

SDN and NFV add massive potential to managed security servicesPosted by Talia Rimon on April 6, 2016
A report published last week entitled: Cloud & CPE Managed Security Services Market Report – Regional – 2016, by global insight and analytics firm IHS, included an optimistic forecast for the managed services sector based on managed security providers leveraging software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) rollouts, to scale delivery of managed security services.

According to IHS, global revenue for the sector totaled $17.4 billion in 2015, up 9 percent from the prior year, and is predicted to steadily grow over the coming years.

Global security service revenue

“SDN deployments in cloud and hosting environments will help providers build more scalable, flexible and profitable hosted and cloud security services,” said Jeff Wilson, Cybersecurity Research Director for IHS Technology. “The availability of a new generation of virtual customer premises equipment (CPE) services driven by NFV will enable carriers to deliver services to the customer edge on a common hardware platform capable of running virtual machines.”

Telco Systems’ NFV CyberGuard Solution is at the forefront of next generation virtual CPE services. According to Gal Ofel, Head of Software Solutions PLM at Telco Systems, CyberGuard has four core components that address threats to carrier services:

It has an agent that constantly monitors the NFV infrastructure, monitoring both the hypervisor and the virtual network, and it runs seamlessly without affecting the performance of the host.
It has actionable local policy enforcement on the host so if a threat is found it can be blocked.
It can quickly identify an incoming DDoS attack and offload it to another location.
It utilizes advanced analytics to address Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) to a specific host as well as the entire network.

[aishah] 07/4/2016 09:15

I have also added here. These contracts provide excellent reference points for others to follow. Had cash of 4.2p at year end. Shore capital fcst eps of 0.50p (2016) followed by 0.71p for a PEG of 0.22p. Attractive imo, dyor

[reeltime] 06/4/2016 20:49

Lessons from the Land Down Under: Why Operators want Software-Based Assurance for Software-Based Networks

Mats Nordlund, Co-Founder and CEO, Netrounds

If you attended Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, there is no doubt you realized that NFV has gone prime time. From what seemed to be a conceptually interesting idea a few years ago, NFV has now emerged as the hands-down blueprint for building next-generation, software-based communications networks.

Our reflections from engaging with operators globally is that the driver for NFV is not just the savings that Communications Service Providers (CSPs) experience from a capital perspective, but perhaps more importantly, it’s the increased business agility they gain from moving to a software-based architecture. Achieving this agility is an absolute requirement for CSPs in order to be able to compete with fast-moving and innovative web companies and over-the-top players.

While this enhanced agility is exciting from a revenue growth viewpoint, what has not changed is that CSPs still need to ensure that these services meet the expectations of an increasingly demanding consumer base. These demands have caused many in the industry to wonder if software-based networks should in fact be tested by software-based solutions.

From our perspective, the answer is a resounding “yes!”. The world is ready for software-driven orchestrated assurance solutions.

Don’t just take our word for it. If you look around, you will see that it is already happening – CSPs around the world are beginning to embrace software-defined solutions. Cisco, in a recent announcement with Telstra, revealed the operator’s intent to fully automate both provisioning and assurance of IP networks and services. This deployment is the first publicly announced implementation of a concept called Orchestrated Assurance, an ETSI NFV demonstration that was driven by Netrounds together with Cisco, Orange, Intel and Telco Systems.

We expect that Orchestrated Assurance will evolve Telstra’s existing processes and capabilities by providing an “always-on” software-based solution that replaces hardware-based equipment and manual field efforts with programmable “virtual test agents.” Orchestrated Assurance provides operators with the capability to deliver services faster and to ensure that services are delivered right the first time. In addition, this concept also provides enhanced testing functionality capable of immediately identifying network and service problems in real-time and resolving issues before the end-user notices.

The main drivers behind why CSPs are drawn to Orchestrated Assurance are the reduced test and deployment times, better service quality, and ultimately reduced customer churn. It also provides significant costs savings over traditional field-based testing equipment based on purpose-built hardware.

So, the software surge continues – networks defined by software and built by software must be tested by software as well. As we have seen from the “Land Down Under,” the world is indeed ready for this next wave of software utilization.

[reeltime] 06/4/2016 20:41

Some good news at last, lets hope there is a lot more in the pipeline. The company has mentioned consistently about the "proof of concept" trials it's involved with, so it is indeed great to see it paying off. As FSE mentions above scalability of these contracts is the key.

[fse] 06/4/2016 17:45

amen to that, although from the interview posted above with Zvi Marom I gather these are scalable contracts and could in themselves make a huge difference to BATM Telco which is not large company. So we are looking for more contracts and the scalable aspect.
Again remember this is revenue from a division of BATM Telco that has not previously contributed to revenue in a meaningful way.....

[spekky] 06/4/2016 17:15

It would be interesting to know who they were up against on the two government contracts......if we can get a couple more (soon) it would suggest we really are in the driving seat and worthy of the previous awards.

[fse] 06/4/2016 16:14

A reminder of an earlier news item for BATM Telco in this field of operation...
Telco Systems Wins Global Excellence Award for Best Security Solution for Telecommunications

Added to post: Remember they won a significant contract last year
Link below.....


Mar 01, 2016


MANSFIELD, MA, March 1, 2016 — Telco Systems, the leading provider of innovative SDN & NFV, multi-service Carrier Ethernet 2.0 and MPLS edge solutions, today announced that the company has won the gold award in the category for Best Security Products and Solutions for Telecommunications at the Global Excellence Awards by Info Security Products Guide.

Telco Systems received this award for its NFV CyberGuard solution for protecting new SDN and NFV networks used by telecommunications service providers from ongoing cybersecurity threats.

The Global Excellence Awards recognize security and IT vendors with advanced, ground-breaking products and solutions that set the bar higher for others in all areas of security and technologies.

“Telcos are excited about SDN and NFV and the ability of these technologies to improve network versatility, reduce operational costs and create new business opportunities. At the same time, the fact that SDN and NFV networks are software-based and designed to be controlled remotely create many inherent, IT-like security vulnerabilities, including exposure to hacking, malware and other cyberattacks,” explained Ariel Efrati, CEO of Telco Systems. “We are proud to receive this award and see it as confirmation of our strategy to help service providers securely fulfill the promises of SDN and NFV.”

NFV CyberGuard is the first cyber-security solution designed specifically to protect SDN and NFV infrastructures used by telecommunications service providers. The solution consists of advanced networking probes, NFVI agents and a big data analytics engine. NFV CyberGuard can be deployed as a virtualized network function and provides complete visibility of the entire network, real-time analysis of network threats and the ability to apply cybersecurity policies to the entire infrastructure.

To learn more about how Telco Systems is helping telcos remove the security vulnerabilities associated with SDN and NFV technologies and infrastructures, please download our new whitepaper on Protecting SDN and NFV Networks from Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities.

Telco Systems will be exhibiting its NFV CyberGuard solution at the MPLS+SDN+NFV World event at Booth #310 during March 8-11. Gal Ofel, Head of Software Solutions PLM at Telco Systems, will also be presenting at this event on Protecting SDN and NFV Networks from Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in the Security Session of the NFV & Open Source Track on March 9.

[fse] 06/4/2016 15:11

This really is good news for BATM especially as its on the heels of an earlier win in this area. It also appears to be another client and from what I am "guessing" the contract could very well be expanded... lets say they are securing power stations for a particular client and it then is expanded to other avenues of government.... you quickly see the potential.

Its also a win that we were not expecting in an area that is only starting to become effective. The lead time to securing these contracts is significant and Zvi Marom expects more to follow. The company has been going on about the cyber security business for some time now and was met with a skeptical view from the markets... this is going to change that perception.

What I really like is that its "extra" business..........

[proactivest] 06/4/2016 13:39

Video interview with Zvi Marom



Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) says cyber issues are becoming a “hot topic” and that already more and more clients are “installing and testing” its offering.
“Cybercrime will become, I think, the most common way that sophisticated criminals will be active. The days of Bonnie and Clyde are over” he adds.
Its network division has picked up a US$4mln, three-year contract to provide secure applications for an unnamed government - the second national government contract awarded to BATM's network and cyber arm
Marom says that he expects “more clients and bigger clients” to come take up its technology,” adding “I expect that this will materialise in our results.”

[spekky] 06/4/2016 08:42

Another cyber contract win,very encouraging but market needs more news in this area and more often.

[fse] 04/4/2016 16:59

Part of BATM problems reporting in $US

On a trade-weighted basis, the greenback strengthened some 19.3 percent between mid-2014 and January 2016. Just a few months after the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike in nine years, however, the rule has been flipped on its head. With the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank still in easing mode, Credit Suisse’s foreign exchange analysts are actually calling for the dollar to weaken against the euro over the next three months, and against the yen and currencies in non-Japan Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa over the coming year.

[fse] 26/3/2016 13:37

Worth listening to .... area of major growth is in the diagnostics business and reagent supply. With more machines out there and the company making its own reagents (in house) with vastly improved margins this does indeed look like a promising near term factor.
I would expect most of the sales growth to come from this area next year 2016.
There are other divisions that are not as far advanced development wise but will start to contribute to the bottom line by 2017.
The last set of results are as the company indicate transitional.
Its been a lengthy wait thats for sure.
Thanks for posting this interview link.

[reeltime] 24/3/2016 22:52

VIDEO.........

BATM Advanced Communications Ltd boss hails growing customer base
12:09 23 Mar 2016

Zvi Marom, chief executive of BATM Advanced Communications Ltd (LON:BVC), tells Proactive that its growing customer base is the primary reason for the “great jump” in gross profit.

The laboratory and telecom network technology group said a maiden profit in its biomedical arm had driven it back into the black in 2015.

Looking at 2016 the CEO says it has made an “encouraging” start to the year, noting that the cyber and networking division “is getting very good responses from the customers,” and that he expects orders in this division to come through soon.

[james dean] 24/3/2016 08:36

Maintaining momentum

Meanwhile, shares in BATM Advanced Communications(LSE: BVC) are also down today, falling by 4% following the release of a disappointing set of results for the 2015 financial year. Its pre-tax loss widened to $11.4m from $3.6m in the prior year, with higher financing costs being booked and a stronger US dollar also hurting its overall performance. In fact, the stronger greenback contributed $14.6m to the company's fall in sales, and at constant currencies BATM posted a small rise in its top line.

Despite a disappointing 2015, BATM has a higher backlog now than at the same time last year and expects to maintain the momentum of last year across all of its divisions. And with BATM forecast to move into profitability in 2016, investor sentiment could pick up in the coming months and help to reverse the share price fall of 15% which has been recorded in the last six months. As such, for less risk averse investors BATM could be of interest.



-----------------------------

Regards. DYOR

[fse] 23/3/2016 19:33

Posted by Gal Ofel on March 23, 2016
The state of the telecommunications market today is such that most Tier 1 and Tier 2 telcos in competitive markets have already formulated their software-defined networks (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) strategies. Many are in advanced stages of conducting some form of proof of concept (PoC) testing and have already deployed NFV on their core network.

What we hear from the optimistic telcos is they expect to begin rolling out new virtualized IT services to their enterprise customers by the end of the year. The more cautious said they will need until sometime in 2017 to be ready to launch new services based on SDN and NFV technologies for vCPE and mobile edge computing.

As a side note, what is interesting is that telcos in highly competitive markets are under more urgent pressure to begin generating revenue streams from new virtualized services, while telcos in less competitive markets are content to move forward at a slower pace.

[fse] 23/3/2016 16:23

Another mixed bag …..
Here’s my take on the company FWIW and how I see it from an investors perspective.
I have highlighted what I see as pivotal points.


BATM Telco report as a group but also give figures for the 2 divisions.
Its better to look at them separately and then together

Medical division:

Bio division went into operating profit in local currency terms but also a small profit in $US terms. In US$ terms they went from FY 2014 $1.5M loss to FY 2015 .2M profit.
That’s a 3% to 4% growth rate in US$ (reporting currency)
Its true that currency issues have once again played a part. In operating currency terms the growth rate would be closer to 12%
My take on this is that this is broadly speaking accurate.

Gross margins across the board increased from 23% to 25%. This may not sound like much but it is significant and it’s in the right direction.
The Diagnostic element and reagents now I understand “in house” have experienced growth and this is something to watch, the group reported an improvement in gross margins on reagents from 21% in 2014 to 34% in 2015.

Comment: This is actually a very significant improvement not so much in overall sales growth which is OK but not stellar. What’s to like is that this is being processed in house so they have control over supplies and have dramatically improved their margins.
One caveat may be that to get to this point they have only been able to sell product commensurate with their ability to manufacture product which has limited their volume.
The company made changes to manufacture in 2015 to essentially double their capacity.
The way forwards in this department looks solid and the company understandably appear bullish on these prospect. We are told that the distribution business makes up 67% of the Medical division revenue.

There are other sides to the medical division which appear to be in a 3 steps forwards 2 backwards position. Its hard to gauge the actual value of some of these departments. I don’t think they are having trouble just lethargic and I don’t think there is anything in there that would hugely alter the fortunes for the Medical division or the group as a whole.

Comment: My best estimate is that the medical division is indeed making progress. Remember these results are always lagging indicators. I would expect that they can improve on these figures going forwards and that’s essentially what they are saying. I have no good reason to dispute this claim.



Telco Division

Results are inline with expectations for the Telco Division and it looks as if we interpreted the situation fairly accurately.
Telco systems are concentrating on Tier 1 clients and reducing legacy business.
Cost cutting is keeping the division from being a drain on the group.

Comment: There is a lot written and posted on this thread regarding the Telco division, suffice to say that they have changed the direction of the group. This has taken a lot longer than anyone had hoped for. Even now uptake to SDN and NFV, an integral part of the company’s vision , is lethargic at best.
I have to go a big neutral on the Telco division particularly over the next 12mths to 18 mths as they seem to be having to do an exorbitant amount of work and presentations to get a foot in this door.
Personally I do feel there is a real option to sell the Telco arm.
If they sell the Telco division it will probably boost the share price significantly.
The argument for holding onto the division is that they have controlled costs and they can afford to wait it out.
Bottom line is that the Telco results were predictably anemic and I do not expect to see any major contribution from this division any time soon.

Group as a whole is actually not doing that badly.
The backdrop of news is favourable.
They acquired Green Lab, which did reduce their cash position. They have more than sufficient cash going forwards.
They also lets not forget own their own real estate.
I would say the current share price reflects what is going on currently and has zero in there for potential.
Management tone is understandably robust but then again they are looking forwards and these results are what’s already happened

[amt] 23/3/2016 10:27

Same again, cash still falling and not much sign of a breakthrough and yet valued at over 60m. After many years decided to get out with small loss due to high risk.