WASHINGTON,
June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Congressional Hispanic
Caucus Institute (CHCI) led a delegation of its board of directors and advisory
council, including Hispanic members of Congress, for a Tech Community Summit in
Silicon Valley, hosted by Google, on Friday, June 5, 2015.  In addition to
the Summit, the CHCI delegation held high level meeting with tech
companies.   Last year, after mounting pressure from diversity
advocates, leading technology companies made public their gender and race
employment statistics, revealing a startling diversity gap, with Latinos being
one of the most underrepresented minorities.  The numbers revealed on
average that top technology companies had less than 4 percent of Latinos in
their workforce.

"We
need each other and need to work together to address these very low
numbers," said Rep. Linda T. Snchez, CHCI Chair. "I applaud the
companies who have shared their employment figures what gets measured gets
results.  We know that the tech sector is fueling job growth.  The
Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be approximately one million
newly created STEM jobs in the next 10 years.  That corresponds with an
increase of 16 million Latinos in the same period.  Latino talent can fuel
these employment ranks."

The
Tech Community Summit included Latino representatives of Silicon Valley
technology companies, start-ups, non-profits and associations, joining CHCI’s
board and advisory council for roundtable discussions to address how best to
develop a pipeline of Latino talent in the tech sector.

The
conversation continued with high level discussions at several of Silicon
Valley’s top companies to advance Latino diversity and address how technology
companies can work towards better outcomes by:

• Replicating
  successful STEM and Tech programs in K-12 programs
• Investing
  in higher education and Hispanic Serving Institutions
• Strengthening
  recruitment and retention strategies, including investing in paid
  scholarships and internships
• Supporting
  Latino start ups and looking to Latino firms
  through procurement process
• And
  increasing Latino representation on their boards

Watch Esther Aguilera discuss efforts to increase Latino
diversity in Silicon Valley on MSNBC here.

"We
advocated for a comprehensive approach and critical investments so talented
young Latinos can gain access to this critical job sector," said Esther
Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO.  "Silicon Valley does not need to
look very far to recruit more Latinos and CHCI hopes to partner with them to
ensure they are providing jobs not only for coders and engineers, but in
marketing, law, human resources, and the many other areas of work they
employ."

CHCI
has invited the technology companies to continue the conversation at its Public
Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., this October 6-7.

About CHCI
CHCI is the premier Hispanic nonprofit
and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) leadership development
organization in the country that educates, empowers, and connects Latino youth
by providing leadership development programs and educational services. CHCI
directly impacts the lives of more than 1,700 students and young
professionals each year through its fellowships, 
congressional
internships, scholarships, Ready to Lead (R2L)
college readiness program, and R2L
NextGen program. CHCI
NextOpp is its latest resource allowing young Latinos to save, search and
share life-changing opportunities for Latinos across the United States. The CHCI
Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic members of Congress, nonprofit,
union and corporate leaders. Visit www.chci.org, or join us on Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube,
and Instagram.

REDWOOD
SHORES, Calif., June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Reltio,
the enterprise data-driven applications and modern data management
company, today released the findings of a new study that dramatically
illustrates the life sciences industry’s move toward optimizing the use of
data. Of the companies surveyed, 55% describe themselves as ‘very data-driven,’
with new product development and customer satisfaction cited as the top
business priorities. However, the study the only research effort dedicated to
the priorities and use of data across biotech, pharma and med device in life
sciences also underscores the need and potential for significant growth. While
almost 70% of biotech and pharma companies say they’re now using data very
effectively, only 30% of medical device companies consider themselves in this
category.

Photo
– http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150610/222067-INFO

"What
this research clearly indicates is that while the discipline is evolving, it’s
still far from mature," said Ramon Chen, vice president of Marketing, Reltio. "Data is the lifeblood of life sciences and
forward-thinking organizations fundamentally understand that every internal
team, not just marketing, needs a comprehensive view across all information
sources to help understand markets, drive revenue opportunities and reduce risk
exposure through actionable, real-time predictive insights."

As
the survey demonstrates, more than 70% of data now comes from external sources,
including third party providers, as well as public and social media feeds. When
combined with internal data, the sheer volume necessitates technology that can
guarantee data reliability, in order to uncover relevant insights across
datasets. Specifically, almost three-quarters of the respondents, 74%, are
worried that their data is incomplete or missing, while 50% say that insights
are not actionable. A surprising number, 28%, report that they still have siloed data despite having an existing master data
management (MDM) solution. Interestingly only 4% have put any mission-critical
data into a Big Data Lake or Hadoop, highlighting the complexity and skilled
resources needed to create such environments, despite its growing popularity.

An
Industry in Transition

"These
numbers offer a sharp picture of where the life sciences industry is now with
regard to the use of data, but it’s equally clear that this is a dynamic
discipline a year from now, there will be far more companies describing
themselves as very data-driven," said Eric Newmark,
program director, IDC Health Insights. "Those that don’t are missing out
on critical opportunities, and they do so at their own peril."

Drilling
down into the numbers, it’s clear that patient data is becoming increasingly
critical. In fact, a significant majority, 71%, of those who rated new product
development and product launch as a top business
priority also cited the need for quality patient data. Meanwhile, those who
rated customer satisfaction as a top business priority rated customer
affiliation and interaction data as the most-needed datasets.

The
survey highlights the different priorities of diverse industry segments.
Specifically, the prioritized data needs of biotech and pharma include patient;
market research; R&D and sales. Whereas for medical device, the focus is
on: customer interactions; sales; and market research.

Opportunities
for Growth

One
optimistic sign in the study is that companies are thinking beyond data
quality. While reliable data is now expected as a foundation for data
management and analytics, respondents also want to get a better idea of how
business is affected by market and customer dynamics. Correspondingly, they
want to identify and interact with key influencers, and gain a shared single
view of an increasingly complex customer, which can consist of healthcare
organizations (HCO) and healthcare professionals (HCP) as part of Integrated
Delivery Networks (IDN).

The
Reltio survey concludes with the top areas of
investment in the next 18 months. For biotech it’s MDM; Big Data &
Analytics; CRM; and spend reporting. For pharmaceuticals, it’s Big Data & Analytics;
Key Account Management (KAM); CRM; and MDM. Finally, for medical device, the
ranking is CRM; Big Data & Analytics; KAM; and MDM. While the priority
order varies by industry segment, the same core needs are reflected in the
responses.

Finally,
the Reltio study offers a view into the purchasing
processes followed by the different organizations. As the use of data has
gained in importance throughout the enterprise, there has also been a
corresponding shift in responsibilities related to technology acquisitions.
When asked who makes the final software purchasing decision in the
organization, 50% of the respondents say that IT and business make it jointly,
32% cite business, and 18% single out IT.

Reltio’s survey, named the "Data-driven Pulse of
Life Sciences," will be an annual study contrasting the industry’s
data-driven evolution and progress. "We believe new data-driven
applications will allow information to become more accessible across the
enterprise. This will lead groups to be more agile, collaborate in real-time,
ultimately sharing insights that lead to better outcomes," said Chen.
"This is just the beginning, and the best is yet to come."

A
high-resolution version of the 2015 Data-driven Pulse of Life Sciences
infographic is available for download at http://www.reltio.com/solutions/life-sciences/

Social
Networks – follow us on:

• Twitter: @Reltio 
• LinkedIn 
  
• Facebook 

About
Reltio 
Reltio delivers reliable data, relevant insights and
recommended actions so companies can be right faster. Reltio
Cloud combines data-driven applications with modern data management for better
planning, customer engagement and risk management. Reltio
enables IT to streamline data management for a complete view across all sources
and formats at scale, while sales, marketing and compliance teams use
data-driven applications to predict, collaborate and respond to opportunities
in real-time. Companies of all sizes, including leading Fortune 500 companies
in healthcare and life sciences, distribution and retail rely on Reltio. For more information, visit www.reltio.com.

Reltio, Reltio Cloud, Reltio Data-Driven Applications, Be Right Faster are all
trademarks or registered trademarks of Reltio Inc.
All other names and trademarks are property of their respective firms.

LAKE
WORTH, Fla., June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Florida State
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce today filed its initial brief opposing the
language of the Solar Ballot initiative to amend the Florida Constitution
proposed by Floridians for Solar Choice.  Florida’s Attorney General Pam
Bondi requested in May that the Florida Supreme Court issue an advisory opinion
concerning the validity of the proposed language.

The
Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents 80,000 Hispanic
owned businesses in Florida, is greatly concerned that the current ballot
language does not inform the voter of the price increases to their electrical
bill that would occur if the Solar Amendment is approved.  As the brief
filed today states, "A citizen may want to vote "yes" to
increase solar choice, but the vote may be "no" if the ballot fully
informed the voters of the potential adverse consequence on overall electric
rates or the other issues that may arise from granting exempt status to 
the Solar Providers."  "Voters have a right
to know exactly what they are voting on.  Excluding critical information
can alter the outcome of the vote," stated Julio Fuentes, President and
CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The
Chamber is also concerned with potential public safety and operational issues
because the proposed ballot language seeks to exempt solar providers from all
current regulatory provisions, resulting in a lack of oversight and protection
to the consumer.  For example, in the event of a hurricane, should the
proposed ballot measure win, the solar provider is exempt from the current
requirements concerning safety measures or restoration of service.
 "Again, voters should clearly know from the ballot language the
consequences resulting from deregulating the solar industry; it’s a matter of
common sense and consumer protection," reiterated Fuentes.

In
the brief the Chamber highlights its support for alternative energy
initiatives, and concludes that, although it may be well-intentioned, the
proposed ballot language misleads the voter concerning current Florida law and
the adverse consequences for the consumer should the Solar Ballot Amendment
prevail.  "It is my hope that Florida’s Supreme Court thoroughly
reviews the concerns raised in our initial brief and issues an opinion that
protects the voter and all Florida consumers," concluded Mr. Fuentes.

CONTACT:
Luana Gonzcalves
954-415-8982    
[email protected]