PR Newswire's Business Technology Round-up, 24 December 2012

LONDON, December 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

New 'Prepper' Facebook app launched, Notify announces end of year results and late surge of spending boosts online sales growth

Social networks may prove to be an invaluable resource to people experiencing periods of hardship or disaster in the future following the launch of a new Facebook app.

'Prepper' is a platform designed to allow companies and individuals to pool together news, knowledge and products to help Facebook users prepare for and survive disasters ranging from cyber attacks to droughts. Users will be able to find out first-hand information relevant to their concerns, and organise themselves into online communities with other like-minded people.

Independent software vendor Notify Technology Corporation has announced a slight dip in revenue for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 following what David Hanabusa, the company's President and Chief Executive Officer described as "a challenging year".

The company's total revenue for the fiscal period stands at $6,107,445 - down from $6,833,885 the previous year. The 11 percent drop follows a drop in sales of the NotifyLink and NotifySync products together with what has been viewed as slow growth of the NotifyMDM product line, despite being the company's primary marketing focus.

Notify Technology Corporation, who specialises in wireless mobility solutions, has found the mobile device management (MDM) market to be "much more competitive" than they expected, Mr. Hanabusa admitted, however he also affirmed the company's commitment to improving its MDM product, and its investment in development assets in order to fulfil that commitment.

Meanwhile, a late surge in online spending has given the e-commerce market a significant boost, according to a report by a leading web analytics company.

ComScore yesterday announced that a total of $38.7 billion has been spent during this year's holiday season - an increase of 16 percent when compared to the same period last year. The growth has been partly put down to 'Free Shipping Day', which this year occurred on the 17 December and saw $1.01 billion spent in one single day online - 76 percent up on last year's Free Shipping day - heralding the strong week of sales which followed.

The internet technology company have also revealed that 'Cyber Monday', which this year fell on the 26 November, was once again the strongest day for purchases online, with $1.465 billion spent on the day. This year's holiday season also saw 12 days where more than $1 billion was spent in a day, two more days than during the same period in 2011.

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