Significant enhancements deliver critical fire intelligence in the wildland-urban interface, helping utilities and emergency agencies protect lives and infrastructure

LA JOLLA, Calif., April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Technosylva, the global leader in wildfire and extreme weather science and technology, today launched major enhancements to its urban conflagration model that predicts how fires spread through populated areas and quantifies risk to buildings. The model addresses a key limitation of traditional wildfire science: much of it has focused on wildland areas, classifying urban areas as “non-burnable.” This limitation slows fire simulations at the community boundary, leaving fire agencies, utilities, and insurers with limited forward visibility into how fire will behave in populated communities.

Technosylva’s capabilities provide two notable wildfire modeling enhancements. First, the urban conflagration model simulates how fires will behave in the wildland urban interface (WUI), where characteristics such as structure density, vegetation encroachment, and fuel types result in fundamental differences compared to wildland fires. Second, the Dynamic Building Loss Factor provides unprecedented insight into the vulnerability of structures. This information enables utilities and agencies to undertake appropriate mitigations, such as asset hardening, undergrounding lines, vegetation management, and community education and engagement.

“Recent devastating fires have made one thing clear: populated areas face disproportionate impacts—and require greater focus to protect them,” said Bryan Spear, CEO of Technosylva. “Traditional wildfire models were designed for wildland fuels and fire behavior. Our approach builds on that foundation by showing how fires actually move through communities. By more accurately modeling the risks and consequences, utilities and fire agencies can make smarter, risk-based decisions to mitigate wildfire risks, communicate threats, maintain power, and better protect the communities they serve.”

According to a 2023 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [1], “community fire destruction has become a national crisis.” Recent disasters in Lahaina, Gatlinburg, and Marshall show why. Many communities aren’t built to withstand ignition, and once a structure catches fire, it can quickly spread flames and embers to neighboring buildings. The result is fast-moving, large-scale destruction with lasting impacts on entire communities.

Key Technology Advances Addressing Critical Industry Needs

Technosylva’s unique model was trained on a comprehensive database of WUI fires, examining environmental conditions, weather patterns, and fuel characteristics to understand the drivers of urban conflagration. One of the primary challenges in modeling fire behavior in the built environment is a limited number of historical fires upon which to draw conclusions and build scalable models. Technosylva’s modeling approach has overcome these challenges, effectively capturing the complex interactions between wildfire and the built environment.

Notable enhancements to Technosylva’s modeling approach include:

WUI Fuel Mapping: Development of 12 unique WUI fuel types that more accurately reflect the manner in which the infrastructure in the built environment becomes a fuel source for the fire. This is critical for understanding how the characteristics of the built environment impact the rate of spread, intensity, and speed of fires in the WUI.Dynamic Building Loss Factor: Machine learning models to capture expected building loss, leveraging characteristics such as structure characteristics and building age that drive vulnerability. Combined with assessments of topography, vegetation, and other building properties such as density and proximity to roads, this intelligence identifies not just whether a community is threatened, but the types of structures and conditions that result in the highest risk.Characterization of Fire Behavior Under Extreme Conditions: Calibrated to accurately reflect urban encroachment and fire spread rates in WUI environments—particularly during the most extreme events. Capturing fires that have historically been labeled as “outliers” is critical for utilities and communities to understand and prepare for potential worst-case scenarios.High-Resolution Weather Integration: Captures localized wind patterns, humidity gradients, and temperature variations at a scale matched to “neighborhood-level” fire behavior.

Large-scale urban fires were once rare, but in recent years their frequency and severity has increased dramatically. When wildfires reach communities, the “fuel” is no longer just vegetation—it’s homes and businesses. In Lahaina alone, a single urban conflagration caused an estimated $4 to $6 billion in economic losses. The consequences can be devastating for both life and property. Technosylva’s modeling has evolved to capture how fires spread through the built environment, enabling utilities and agencies to make more informed, risk-based decisions.

[1] https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2023/rmrs_2023_calkin_d001.pdf

About Technosylva
Technosylva is the leading provider of wildfire and extreme weather modeling, risk mitigation, and operational response software. Technosylva’s market-leading solutions, enhanced by AI and machine learning capabilities, provide real-time and predictive insights into developing wildfire and extreme weather risks to support electric utility, insurance, and government agency customers. Founded in 1997, Technosylva has offices in La Jolla, CA, León, Spain, and Calgary, Canada. Learn more at www.Technosylva.com.

Contacts
For Technosylva:
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Colin Mahoney
Mahoney Communications Group
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SOURCE Technosylva

Data shows Amazon, LG, and Vizio hold smaller shares as platform control drives content discovery, advertising, and monetization

PLANO, Texas, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Parks Associates’ latest US household research from the Streaming Video Tracker shows the connected TV platform market remains concentrated among a small group of leading operating systems, with Roku OS (28%) and Samsung’s Tizen OS (23%) accounting for the largest share of usage in US broadband households.

The firm’s data shows Amazon Fire TV, LG webOS, and Vizio SmartCast maintain mid-tier positions, while platforms such as Apple tvOS, gaming consoles, and Android TV hold smaller shares. This distribution reinforces the role of smart TV operating systems as the primary gateway for streaming content and services.

“Control of the platform layer is central to competition in the connected TV market,” said Michael Goodman, Director, Entertainment, Parks Associates. “Operating systems determine what content consumers see, how services are positioned, and how advertising is delivered.”

Recent trends highlighted in the research include:

Platform concentration: A small number of operating systems account for the majority of CTV (connected TV) usage, limiting visibility for services without strong distribution partnerships.Stable market share: Platform rankings have remained consistent over time, with Roku showing modest growth and Samsung maintaining a strong installed base.Advertising control: Leading platforms manage ad inventory, data collection, and targeting, shaping monetization across the ecosystem.Discovery and engagement: The TV OS plays a key role in recommendations, search, and user experience, influencing viewing behavior.

The data highlights the importance of platform ecosystems, as control of the TV operating system impacts content distribution, advertising revenue, and consumer engagement across the CTV market. With the growing role of AI in the TV OS for search and personalization, the importance of platform ecosystems is only going to grow in the coming years.

For more information, contact Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein. Request information about Parks Associates’ Streaming Video Tracker.

Parks Associates will host the ninth annual Future of Video at the Marina del Rey Marriott in California, November 17-18. 

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates helps companies identify new opportunities, refine strategy, and accelerate growth in connected technology markets through data-driven insights and industry expertise. With more than 40 years of experience, the firm delivers proprietary consumer and industry research, market forecasts, and strategic analysis that guide business decisions across personal, connected home, small business, and commercial technology ecosystems. Parks Associates supports clients in navigating evolving markets including AI, security, smart home, broadband, entertainment, energy, multifamily, smart buildings, and connected health.

The firm also fosters industry growth and collaboration by convening thousands of leaders each year through its flagship executive conferences, including CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. Learn more at https://www.parksassociates.com.

Follow Parks Associates on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein
Parks Associates
972.490.1113
412621@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE Parks Associates

FINBOA recognized in ‘Best of RegTech’ and ‘Best-as-a-Service’ categories

HOUSTON, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FINBOA, Inc., a leader in process automation solutions for regulatory compliance in financial institutions, is proud to announce it has been named a finalist in two categories for the 2026 Banking Tech Awards: Excellence in Tech Awards. The company was recognized in the Best RegTech Solution category for its FINBOA BI-Disputes solution and in the Best “as-a-Service” Solution category for its FINBOA Treasury Onboarding solution. As a shortlist finalist, FINBOA’s software has been identified as an innovation leader in the U.S. Banking and RegTech space.

“Being named a finalist in two categories at the Banking Tech Awards is a strong validation of our mission to simplify and modernize complex banking operations,” said Raj Singal, CEO of FINBOA. “FINBOA Treasury Onboarding and BI-Disputes solutions were built to solve real challenges our bank and credit union clients face every day; such as eliminating manual effort, improving regulatory compliance and timely access to information to guide decision-making. We’re proud to see both solutions recognized for their impact and innovation.”

The FINBOA Treasury Onboarding solution was selected as a finalist in the Best “as-a-Service” category for providing intuitive automated workflows to replace manual, paper-based, and fragmented processes for new account setups. The solution accelerates account activation, shortens time to revenue, and enhances the commercial client experience, without requiring core system integration. Its zero-integration deployment model enables financial institutions to modernize quickly while minimizing operational disruption. FINBOA clients using the solution have noted the time-saving impact of process automation on their workflows. For example, First Oklahoma Bank’s Senior Vice President, Kristy Smith noted, “Within just two months, we transformed our Treasury Onboarding from a slow, manual process—relying on paper and email—to a fully digitized workflow. The feedback from both customers and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. FINBOA made that possible.”

FINBOA BI-Disputes, recognized in the RegTech category, extends the value of FINBOA Payment Disputes solution by transforming dispute data into clear, actionable insights through an intuitive interface that eliminates time-consuming manual reporting and provides instant visibility into detailed views of dispute information. The solution enables stakeholders to quickly generate audit and board-ready reports while strengthening compliance by tracking Reg E deadlines, provisional credits, and resolution requirements. Advanced fraud analytics provide insights on emerging trends and high-risk merchants, empowering financial institutions to make more confident decisions, reduce risk, and optimize dispute management performance.

The 2026 Banking Tech Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the use of IT in financial services worldwide. Winners will be announced on May 28, 2026 at a special awards event in New York.

About FINBOA

FINBOA provides intelligent process automation software to banks, credit unions and service providers to simplify compliance processing by eliminating manual systems. Solutions include FINBOA Payment Disputes, FINBOA BI-Disputes, FINBOA Exception Management, and FINBOA Treasury Onboarding. FINBOA delivers transformative software proven to enable institutional growth by reducing operational costs and risk. Headquartered in Houston, FINBOA is trusted to help over 500 financial institutions nationwide achieve targeted business outcomes and peace of mind. Learn more at www.finboa.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X social media platforms.

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