ReleaseWire

Birnbach Communications Signs Mantas and ControlPath

Financial Services and Compliance Clients Join Growing Practice

Posted: Monday, August 28, 2006 at 10:51 AM CDT

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/28/2006 --Birnbach Communications, Inc., announced today that it has added two new financial software companies to its client roster: Mantas, Inc. and ControlPath Inc. The new clients retained the agency for its media relations, executive visibility, and product reviews expertise. The agency also works with clients in the security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education sectors.

For Herndon, VA-based Mantas (www.mantas.com), a leading global compliance and operational risk management solutions firm, Birnbach has been conducting ongoing media relations and thought leadership campaigns. The award-winning Mantas Behavior Detection Platform is the industry's most comprehensive solution for detecting risk, enhancing customer relationships and addressing regulatory requirements in the anti-money laundering (AML), trading and broker compliance areas. Mantas customers include top global financial institutions as well as regional and community banks.

“Providing software that can help banks and other financial institutions is more important than ever. Money laundering is a global problem, and Mantas has been successful in signing new customers around the world and developing deep financial services industry expertise,” said Barry Vasudevan, Product Marketing Manager, Mantas. “Because Mantas has a small marketing team, we look to Birnbach as an extension. They have helped us sharpen our messages and improve our image with the media.”

Denver-based ControlPath (www.controlpath.com) retained the agency to launch the latest version of its flagship product, ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0, and to handle communications as the company was spun out from its parent, Accuvant, an elite provider of information security and regulatory compliance solutions and services. ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0 can save enterprises as much as 90 percent over the cost of manual compliance processes by automating the laborious tasks of complying with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Federal Information Systems Management Act (FISMA), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and numerous standards.

“We knew that it was important for the product that ControlPath be a separate company, and to pick an agency that can help us establish our voice in a very crowded market. As a company, we can focus on solutions that allow companies to dramatically reduce the estimated $7.4 billion presently being spent on labor and services associated with SOX, security and privacy regulations. And the Birnbach team has helped us with our positioning, our press kit, and getting the attention of our key reporters,” said Jim Hietala, Director, Product Marketing, ControlPath.

The market for risk management and compliance is substantial; several industry research firms estimate it between $20 and $27 billion.

“Particularly for financial institutions, compliance is a major corporate issue, ranging from regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S. and Basel II in Europe to standards like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), COBIT, and the growing number of anti-money laundering laws. Companies need solutions that can adapt to current and emerging compliance needs. Financial software companies like Mantas and ControlPath are meeting those needs, and are helping executives improve systems and transparency and better manage their risk. For Mantas, that means banks can track and stop sophisticated money laundering schemes while reducing ‘false positives’ that inconvenience good customers. For ControlPath, that means customers automate compliance procedures across multiple regulations, reducing costs and stress while improving accuracy and productivity,” said Norman Birnbach, President, Birnbach Communications, Inc.

About Mantas
Mantas provides its clients with the industry’s most advanced solutions for regulatory compliance, loss prevention and revenue generation. Mantas clients recognize greater transparency of their business and make better-informed decisions as a result. Mantas is a global software company with operations in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific. Recognized as a leader in global operational transparency, the company’s products are used by more than 5,000 finance professionals in more than 100 countries.

Headquartered in Herndon, VA, the company has offices in London, New York, and Singapore. Mantas is a Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) partner company. For further information please visit www.mantas.com.

About ControlPath
ControlPath Inc., a leading developer of automated compliance management solutions, helps organizations transform their compliance programs across multiple regulations and standards through automation. The ControlPath Compliance Suite offers the most robust compliance workflow, most powerful organizational modeling capabilities, and most comprehensive solution scope of any product in the market. Corporations in financial, manufacturing, retail, and other industries rely on ControlPath to help develop more effective and less costly compliance programs and processes. Privately held ControlPath is headquartered in Englewood, CO. For more information, call 303-414-3635 or visit www.controlpath.com.

About Birnbach Communications, Inc.
Boston-based Birnbach Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001 with the commitment to combine the best aspects of large-agency experience with small-agency culture and dedication. The agency provides clients with senior-level intelligence and attention based on an understanding of business issues – not just PR issues. Birnbach’s tried-and-tested team of business, journalism and PR professionals represent more than 140 years of PR experience across a range of industries, including financial software and services, security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education sectors. Birnbach Communications provides a portfolio of strategic business communication services, specializing in national media relations, executive visibility and corporate communications, to a client base of emerging and mid-size companies enabling them to reach customers, investors, Venture Capital firms, and business partners; launch new products and services; establish new product categories and drive market demand. For more information, visit www.birnbachcom.com.