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U.S. News Ranks EKU Online Degrees Among Top 50 Best for Vets and Nurses


Logo with text. For the ninth consecutive year, EKU's online degree programs are ranked among the best by U.S. News and World Report.

For the ninth consecutive year, EKU’s online degree programs are ranked among the best by U.S. News and World Report.

We have grown dramatically since our first online class was taught in 2006, but the quality of our courses and the commitment of our faculty continues to set the standard.”

U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked Eastern Kentucky University’s online degree programs among the best in the nation. EKU is 39th on the list of Best Online Programs for Veterans. The school also made the top 50 list of Best Online Programs in Nursing for the fifth consecutive year, performing better than any other Kentucky school. EKU’s online bachelor’s programs and graduate degrees in education moved up in the rankings, landing in the top 100.

“We are incredibly proud of our online programs that excel in these high-profile rankings year after year,” said Tim Matthews, executive director of the Office of eCampus Learning. “We have grown dramatically since our first online class was taught in 2006, but the quality of our courses and the commitment of our faculty continues to set the standard.”

EKU is repeatedly recognized as a leader among military friendly schools, and online programs are no exception. The university participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides funding for tuition expenses that are not covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Active duty service members qualify for reduced tuition. Students and families also benefit from flexible admission and withdrawal policies while on deployment.

Online degrees were assessed using four weighted categories: engagement; services and technology; faculty credentials and training; and expert opinion. Graduate programs were also scored on student excellence, a category that included undergraduate GPAs and acceptance rate.

Student engagement, which refers to interaction between online students and their instructors, plays a key role in student success. Class size, graduation rate, retention rate and time to degree completion were also measured in this category.

In the services and technologies category, the best performing schools reported lower levels of student debt, as well as higher instances of advanced learning technologies and support services such as academic advising, tutoring and career placement assistance.

Faculty and administrators are an important part of the ranking algorithm. Schools rose in the rankings based on the number of faculty with terminal degrees in their disciplines and resources dedicated to preparing instructors to teach in the online environment. U.S. News and World Report also solicited deans and top officials to provide their expert opinions of institutions offering similar programs by completing a peer assessment survey.

Consistently recognized as having some of the nation’s best online degree programs, EKU strives to make quality education accessible to everyone. EKU is an accredited, brick-and-mortar institution that has prepared students for success for more than a century. Today, more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree options are available in a variety of fields. To learn more about EKU Online programs, go to go.eku.edu/usnews20.

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ManhattanTechSupport.com Promotes Oliva and Stavdal to VP Roles


Alex and Jackie

Alex Stavdal & Jackie Oliva

MannhattanTechSupport.com, one of New York’s top technology partners for small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises has promoted Jackie Oliva and Alex Stavdal effective immediately. Oliva, who served as Director of IT, is now Vice President of Operations. Stavdal is being promoted from Solutions Manager to Vice President of Strategy. The promotions acknowledge their outstanding contributions to the company’s success and growth.

“Effective immediately, Jackie and Alex will jointly take on the primary responsibility of running the day-to-day operations of ManhattanTechSupport.com,” said Christian Ugolini, Partner at ManhattanTechSupport.com . “This is in keeping with our tradition of rewarding hard work, initiative and results. We are confident these promotions will lead to the continued growth of ManhattanTechSupport.com as a world-class customer service organization that delivers best-in-class solutions.” The firm’s founding partners will continue to steer the ship and be actively involved in the strategic direction of the company.

Oliva’s previous role had involved working tirelessly to ensure that all teams at the company were positioned to deliver exceptional IT service consistently and methodically. Stavdal had been responsible for leading the Solutions department, which builds and implements rock-solid infrastructures that provide the technology backbone to the firm’s client base.

About ManhattanTechSupport.com

Recently honored as one of New York’s Best Places to Work by Crain’s New York Business, ManhattanTechSupport.com is full-service, award-winning technology partner for SMBs and enterprises in New York City. They specialize in managed IT services among a host of other services. These include cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions, digital transformation services including custom software and business intelligence application development to help organizations increase productivity, stay safe from cyberattacks and foster growth through the efficient use of technology. The firm is distinguished in the industry for world-class customer service and 24/7 availability, offering clients the full breadth and depth of a sophisticated IT department for one flat monthly fee with no contracts ever.

For more information, visit ManhattanTechSupport.com

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New Meller Optics 2020 Stock Parts List Features Updated List of First-Quality Optics That are Immediately Available


Parts typically cost 20% less than custom ordered parts; without the wait.

Parts meet strict OEM specifications and typically cost 20% less than custom ordered parts; without the wait.

Available from stock, these overrun parts include hard-to-find optics made from a wide range of materials in various shapes and sizes and can be ordered in lieu of custom ordering with same day delivery.

Meller Optics, Inc. has introduced a newly updated list of first-quality optics, resulting from customer over-runs, which can eliminate the need for special ordering and are in stock for same day delivery.

The Meller Optics 2020 Stock Parts List features a wide range of optics that meet strict OEM specifications and are ideally suited for research and development applications. Available from stock for same day shipping, they include hard-to-find optics in various shapes and sizes and can be ordered in lieu of custom ordering at a typical 20% savings; without a long wait.

Included in the Meller Optics 2020 Stock Parts List are laser specific CO2 parts for legacy equipment, sapphire lenses and windows, sapphire-, single crystal- and fused-quartz waveplates at 1/4 – and 1/2 wave and several IR wavelengths are offered and parts made from BaF2, CaF2, germanium, CO2 laser glasses, quartz, ruby, silicon, ZnS, and more are included.

The Meller Optics 2020 Stock Parts List is available with online ordering at http://www.melleroptics.com/overrun-list/ and the parts typically cost 20% less than custom ordered parts; without the wait. The list is updated daily.

For more information contact:

Meller Optics, Inc.

Steve Lydon, Marketing

120 Corliss St. / P.O. Box 6001

Providence, RI 02940

(800)     821-0180 FAX (401) 331-0519

e-mail: steve@melleroptics.com

http://www.melleroptics.com

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Fitness Clothing Retailer Wears #1 Ranking from TopConsumerReviews.com


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It is our pleasure to once again award Nike our top ranking in 2020

TopConsumerReviews.com once again awarded their highest five-star rating to Nike, a market leader in Fitness Clothing and other apparel.

For every type of physical fitness activity, there’s clothing to match. Whether that’s shoes with a pivot in the sole and form-fitting pants for Zumba, stretchy outfits for the most complicated yoga poses, or fabrics that wick away sweat while running a marathon, having the apparel to suit the purpose can make a huge difference in performance and comfort. However, finding the right Fitness Clothing – trending styles plus classic favorites, the ideal sizes and colors, and so on – can be a challenge when shopping strictly at brick-and-mortar stores. Therefore it’s no surprise that so many customers turn to online stores for the ultimate in hassle-free shopping, especially when it comes to fitness apparel. With just a few clicks, shoppers can find exactly what they’re looking for, often at prices that rival or beat what they’d find in-store, and all with the convenience of delivery right to their doorstep.

“Is there any brand in the Fitness Clothing world that has more name recognition than Nike?” asked Brian Dolezal of TopConsumerReviews.com, LLC. “And rightly so – with a brand family that includes equally-popular names like Converse and Hurley, and some of the most innovative exercise gear on the planet, Nike is the logical choice for almost every imaginable type of fitness wear you could need. From customizable shoes to apparel in hard-to-find sizes, shoppers can’t get enough of what Nike has to offer, especially through their online store. All purchases come with free shipping, and Nike gives a phenomenal 30-day, no-questions-asked satisfaction guarantee on every item – even if you’ve worn something and then decided it wasn’t a good fit. From high-quality clothing to a world-class return policy, Nike continues to ‘just do it’ when it comes to being an industry leader in Fitness Clothing. It is our pleasure to once again award Nike our top ranking in 2020.”

To find out more about Nike and other online retailers of Fitness Clothing, including reviews and comparison rankings, please visit the Fitness Clothing category of TopConsumerReviews.com at https://www.topconsumerreviews.com/fitness-clothing/.

About Nike

Nike, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike, Inc. subsidiary brands include Converse, which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Hurley, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories.

About TopConsumerReviews.com

TopConsumerReviews.com, LLC is a leading provider of reviews and rankings for thousands of consumer products and services. From Fitness Clothing to Personal Trainers and Online Fitness Programs, TopConsumerReviews.com delivers in-depth product evaluations in order to make purchasing decisions easier.

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Lucent Health Completes Brand Transition of Cypress Benefit Administrators


Lucent Health

Since the addition of Cypress Benefit Administrators, Lucent has experienced tremendous growth of our platform and capabilities as a data-driven, self-funding solution for employers.

Lucent Health is pleased to announce the completion of Cypress Benefit Administrators’ (Cypress) transition to the Lucent Health brand effective January 1, 2020.

Founded in 2014, Lucent’s focus has been to provide data-driven solutions and cost containment programs for employers. With offices across the country, Lucent serves employers and members nationwide, offering self-funded health plans that reduce costs while improving the member experience.

Lucent Health’s goal in acquiring Cypress Benefit Administrators in 2017 was to expand its mission and vision of managing cost control strategies, proactively using health plan data to help employers predict trends, minimizing risk and making better, more informed decisions. Lucent has 400 employees to serve more than 800 clients and 250,000 members in a variety of industries and group sizes.

“Since the addition of Cypress Benefit Administrators, Lucent has experienced tremendous growth of our platform and capabilities as a data-driven, self-funding solution for employers. Working with Tom Doney and Marsha Phillips, the founders of Cypress, has been key in our success,” said Brett Rodewald, Lucent Health’s president and CEO.

Cypress opened its doors in 2000 with a focus on forward-thinking cost containment solutions and experienced great success with its efforts. The TPA consistently kept plan cost increases below the national trend, coming in at less than 1% the last two years. Cypress’s average increase from 2012 to 2018 was just 1.24% compared to 6.27% for plans nationally.

“Operating with such similar goals and high standards in serving employers and employees through self-funding, the partnership between Cypress and Lucent was a natural fit from the very beginning,” said Tom Doney, Cypress’s president. “We chose to make a gradual transition as the Cypress name and positive reputation have both become so well-known in the industry.”

About Lucent Health

Lucent Health (@LucentHealth), based in Nashville, TN, empowers U.S. employers with personalized member care, vital healthcare plan performance data and reduces healthcare risks and costs while improving employee access to innovative services. Lucent offers a wide range of innovative data-driven and member-centric products including Lucent Traditional self-funding, Lucent Clarity™ value-based payments, e2 MEC/MV™ solutions, Lucent Vista™ level funded, Lucent Tribia™ a tribal enterprise health plan and Lucent Surity™ for captives. The Lucent Health family of companies consists of Capitol Administrators, Cypress Benefit Administrators and North America Administrators.

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Capio Promotes Lee Morris to Chief Production Officer


Capio® announced today the promotion of Lee Morris to the role of Chief Production Officer. Mr. Morris, who previously served as Vice President of Operations for the Capio agency AssetCare, will now be responsible for all consumer operations within the entire Capio family of companies.

“Lee Morris has a stellar track record within the accounts receivable industry and has previously led successful operations teams at both Attention and West. Most recently, he has built our AssetCare subsidiary from startup into a thriving company,” said Mark Detrick, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Capio. “As we continue to find ways to better serve our clients and consumers, Lee is now in a key position to help us accomplish this. His leadership will be vital as we continue to grow our company and expand our capabilities.”

About Capio

Capio assists healthcare providers and physician organizations benefit from an increase and acceleration of revenue, lowered bad debt expense, and improved patient satisfaction. To date, Capio has acquired and provided consumer services to over $30B in patient accounts receivable via partnerships with over 450 provider clients across the United States. To learn more about Capio, please visit http://www.capiopfw.com.

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SEOblog.com Announces Best SEO Companies in Colorado in 2020


Announcements continue to pour in of high-tech migrations breaking new ground here as a hotbed for growth, placing SEO in Colorado Springs firmly on the map.

SEOblog.com, a fast-growing website providing the latest SEO news, tips and resources and helping business owners connect with leading SEO agencies, has released its exclusive 2020 ratings naming the best SEO companies in Colorado.

SEOblog analysts determined the 15 best SEO companies in Denver and Colorado Springs based on dozens of key quantitative and qualitative factors. SEOblog industry experts examined each digital marketing agency’s website, industry experience, market presence, client list, portfolio, expert certifications and authorship among other factors in its ranking system.

SEOblog has provided an in-depth view of companies in a particular city or focus area on various directory pages to help business owners find the expert help they need to grow. This was a new, free offering added by SEOblog earlier this year.

Colorado has several of the nation’s top SEO agencies that provide a very competitive digital marketing landscape.

“In addition to the yearly 2% average growth we’ve been experiencing for the last 20 years, Colorado Springs has fully embraced digital marketing, emphasizing SEO as a mainstay for our industries’ key marketing efforts,” said Mike Tortorice, Infront Webworks marketing director. “What makes us unique is the richness of new talent and niche-based markets that we’ve seen emerge here seeking a better climate and quality of life. On that basis, announcements continue to pour in of high-tech migrations breaking new ground here as a hotbed for growth, placing SEO in Colorado Springs firmly on the map.”

Denver has also become a very competitive SEO market with an influx of new agencies.

“With the boom of people moving to Colorado, we’ve increased our talent pool of people with technical expertise in SEO so you can actually build relationships between local businesses and SEO agencies,” said Courtney Miller, a Sr. Lead Digital Strategist at Fruition. “There is a plethora of digital marketing agencies popping up in Denver in the past few years so it forces SEOs to stay abreast in the ever-changing landscape of organic search.”

SEOblog.com rankings are updated regularly as the market shifts and new players emerge. SEOblog.com has published more than 1,500 agency listings with more added every day. There is no fee to participate, and the website welcomes all qualified agencies to apply.

SEOblog leaders’ lists below recognize the best SEO agencies in Colorado:

SEOblog.com’s 15 Best SEO Companies in Denver in 2020:

51blocks, NEWMEDIA, Volume Nine, Buhv Designs, Kern Media, Clicta Digital, Location3, AdVision Marketing, Denverdata Web, Annabel Media, Doxa Digital, SPROUT Content, Fruition, Campfire Digital and Relish Studio.

Link: https://www.seoblog.com/best-seo-companies/denver/

SEOblog.com’s 15 Best SEO Companies in Colorado Springs in 2020:

Infront Webworks, MR and MRS Leads, Newell Ledbetter Advertising, Engine 23, UZU Media, Pagecafe Internet Consulting, Creative Online Services, Guardian Solutions, Fairlane Web Consulting, Engine-ius Marketing, 3GEngagement, First Light Design, Fusion Marketing Partners, Net5 Marketing and Monopolists Law Firm SEO Experts.

Link: https://www.seoblog.com/best-seo-companies/colorado-springs/

About SEOblog.com

SEOblog.com is a leading thought leadership site with a rich history of publishing educational and informative articles about SEO and digital marketing topics. In early 2019, SEOblog.com answered the call from buyers of digital marketing services that lacked unbiased, informative online resources and launched a comprehensive directory to highlight the best SEO companies in the United States. SEOblog’s mission is to connect businesses with qualified digital marketing agencies while also offering further SEO education, best practices and industry trends.

SEOblog.com is a one-stop shop for educational SEO and digital marketing content, research, ratings and reviews for the best agencies in each local market across the United States. The website will be increasing its coverage of agencies in North America and accepting more guest posts in the coming months. Contact SEOblog if you’re interested in getting involved.

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Promises Behavioral Health Hosts Promise Week to Promote Mental Health and Addiction Awareness


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Hosting events such as these gives Promises the opportunity to positively impact not only our community but also those individuals who are looking for a safe space to find healing.

Promises Behavioral Health, a leader in mental health and addiction treatment, is hosting community events the week of February 10th – 14th in honor of Promise Week. These events will raise awareness of the struggles that mental health and addiction bring while promoting self-care in 2020.

Promise Week is a twist on the holiday known as Promise Day, which is observed on February 11th. This holiday coincides with Valentine’s Day and celebrates couples making the promise to work towards a happy, healthy relationship. Promises Behavioral Health is reimaging this holiday as a way to work towards a happy, healthy life through intentional self-care and by bringing awareness to mental health and addiction recovery.

“We are proud to partner with our local community to support organizations that want to make a difference in the lives of those suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders,” says Kathy Frossard, senior vice president with Promises Behavioral Health. “Hosting events such as these gives Promises the opportunity to positively impact not only our community but also those individuals who are looking for a safe space to find healing.”

Events will include exercise classes with local fitness studios along with refreshments and artisan goods from Thistle Farms. Organizations that have partnered with Promises Behavioral Health include Barre3, CycleBar, CorePower Yoga, Thistle Farms and other organizations in the Brentwood community. All proceeds for the events will go towards Thistle Farms, a non-profit, residential program for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction.

Event Dates:


  • February 8th, 9:00 am – CorePower Yoga Brentwood TN
  • February 8th, 12:30 pm – CycleBar Brentwood TN
  • February 9th, 1:00 pm – Barre3 Brentwood TN

About Promises Behavioral Health

Promises Behavioral Health is a family of behavioral health programs with regional brands such as The Right Step, The Ranch, Promises and Clarity Way. The company currently operates facilities across Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Promises offers comprehensive, innovative treatment for substance abuse, sexual addiction, trauma, eating disorders, and other mental health disorders. Through its programs, the company is committed to delivering clinically sophisticated treatment that promotes permanent lifestyle change, not only for the patient but for the entire family network. For more information, please visit http://www.PromisesBehavioralHealth.com.

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Rick Berman to Moderate Session & Host Family Feud At Insight Exchange Network’s Medicare Marketing & Sales Exchange


SourceLink, an industry-leading data driven full service marketing firm is sending Rick Berman, Healthcare Practice Leader to moderate a session and host family feud at the upcoming Medicare Marketing & Sales Exchange in Clearwater Beach, Florida from January 21 – 22.

The conference is designed to bring together health plan marketing and sales executives to discuss trends and tactics in their fields, to help them capitalize on new marketing opportunities and maximize sales leads. Through each session attendees gain insight to the new waves in digital and social marketing, and research into Medicare enrollment trends. Each attendee should leave with clear ways to analyze and evaluate different distributions channels, and top tips for member engagement.

Tuesday, January 21st at 12:45 during lunch Rick will take the stage as Steve Harvey’s Replacement on Family Feud: Medicare Edition Stand Off. Then at 2:45 p.m. on the 21st, Rick Berman will moderate a Case Study – Member Retention: Achieving Engagement and Loyalty. Panelist include Sarah A. Fernandes, Medicare Sales Manager from Health New England and Angela Dunbar, Marketing Manager of Retail Sales & Marketing from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. During this panel they will discuss multiple topics, including practical strategies to maintain loyalty, making members “ambassadors” and does it work, year- round efforts and the top three reasons members leave a plan and how to combat that. To attend the session, guests can to register at https://www.insightxnetwork.com/product/mmsx-jan-2020/.

“I am excited to return as Family Feud host! We had great participation last year and can’t wait to see what the teams say. I also look forward to moderating a panel with two very insightful panelists who have great ideas to share and information that can immediately be used to help improve membership retention for healthcare plans.

Member retention is such an important topic. A slight increase can have a profound impact on revenues and plan star ratings.” states Rick Berman.

Rick Berman, builds successful and strong, long-lasting relationships as our Director of Business Development and Healthcare Business Practice Lead. Rick works alongside healthcare marketers to increase response and ROI with data-driven member acquisition, engagement and retention programs. Rick also excels at guiding healthcare clients to connect the worlds of offline and online marketing. Rick is a frequent speaker at industry events and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

About SourceLink

SourceLink is a highly respected Direct Marketing agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois that utilizes data intelligence and an omni-channel approach to maximize return on investment for clients through improved customer response and conversion. The company deploys client programs across the channels in which their customers and prospects are most responsive, including; direct mail, email, digital media, social media, and statements. SourceLink’s expertise spans a variety of end markets, with an emphasis on financial services, healthcare, retail energy and utilities, insurance and retail. For more information, visit http://www.sourcelink.com.

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WorkMax TIME by AboutTime Technologies Integrates with Acumatica Construction Edition


The powerful integration of WorkMax TIME and Acumatica Construction Edition improves the accuracy of labor costs, job costs, and field progress reporting.

“Now, construction businesses can finally have real-time job costs and data without any delays because of our API integration with a true web-based ERP solution like Acumatica,” said Mike Merrill, COO of AboutTime Technologies.

AboutTime Technologies, a 17-year veteran of on-premises and cloud-based mobile resource management, today announced the WorkMax TIME integration with Acumatica Construction Edition. The WorkMax Complete Suite includes WorkMax TIME, FORMS, and ASSETS Modules. WorkMax is an easy-to-use cloud-based platform solution to manage your mobile resources all in one place for tracking time, assets, and mobile business forms.

WorkMax TIME’s robust integration with Acumatica Construction Edition streamlines data flow from the field to the office and syncs information for employee time tracking, completed work, and job costing with Acumatica Construction Edition. This powerful integration also improves the accuracy of labor costs, job costs, and field progress reporting.

One major contributor to job cost accuracy improvements is WorkMax’s dynamic permission profiles. By mirroring the project cost structure and organizational structure from Acumatica Construction Edition, employees only see their relevant jobs/projects, locations, tasks, or cost codes. They aren’t forced to look at a long list of options with hundreds or thousands of choices to sort through. As a result, employees only see the options that are pertinent to them and it drastically increases the job cost accuracy and reduces reallocations by eliminating irrelevant picklist options from their mobile devices. The WorkMax TIME data streaming in from the field from any iOS or Android device is already organized to line up perfectly with the fields that need to populate the job cost data or progress reporting in Acumatica Construction Edition.

“Now, construction businesses can finally have real-time job costs and data without any delays because of our API integration with a true web-based ERP solution like Acumatica. No more waiting around for labor or field report data to be formatted, imported, or manually entered from multiple systems into Acumatica Construction Edition and then waiting around for someone to compile a report of information with data from days or even weeks ago. The integration between WorkMax TIME and Acumatica Construction Edition shows you what’s happening right now on all of your projects,” said Mike Merrill, COO of AboutTime Technologies, “We were proud to partner with a company who is as dedicated to their customers and their technology needs as we have been with ours.”

“It was a perfect fit for us to partner with AboutTime Technologies because of their strong expertise providing mobile resource management solutions for the construction industry,” said Christian Lindberg, Vice President of Partner Solutions. “We both have the same vision; we want to provide construction businesses with a modern and scalable cloud solution to future-proof their technology investments to manage their construction projects’ mobile resources.”

WorkMax by AboutTime Technologies will be exhibiting at the Acumatica Summit 2020 in Booth 24 on January 26th through January 28th at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV.

To learn more about WorkMax TIME, FORMS, or ASSETS, please visit http://workmax.com.

About AboutTime Technologies

AboutTime Technologies has been a leader in on-premises mobile resource management with AboutTime Enterprise Suite to optimize labor, assets, and forms for the last 17 years. In addition to the on-premises suite offering, AboutTime Technologies now offers WorkMax, an entirely new cloud-based platform. The WorkMax Complete Suite includes WorkMax FORMS, TIME, and ASSETS which are also available individually. WorkMax’s modern cloud-based resource management provides instant, accurate answers by connecting teams for labor, assets, and mobile forms for any size business in any industry. For more information about WorkMax visit http://www.WorkMax.com.

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