Program expansion introduces Technology and Distributor tracks, Partner Growth Funding, and annual partner awards to accelerate growth and strengthen the global GRC ecosystem.

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Optro, the leading AI-powered GRC Intelligence Platform, today announced significant enhancements to its global partner program, Optro Partner Connect. The updates include two new partner tracks, Partner Growth Funding (PGF), and the upcoming Optro Partner Connect Awards launching in 2027. The announcement was made at Optro’s Partner Forum at CRX, its annual user conference taking place this year in San Diego.

These updates reinforce Optro’s commitment to building a collaborative, high-value ecosystem that empowers partners to scale while providing customers with seamless GRC Intelligence.

Expanding the Ecosystem: New Program Tracks

Technology Partner Track: Designed for independent software vendors and developers, this two-tiered track provides API tools, sandbox access, and dedicated support to co-develop integrated workflows with Optro. These validated integrations automate data movement, accelerating time to value for customers.Distributor Track: Tailored for large-scale aggregators, this track enables partners to anchor their catalogs with Optro’s GRC Intelligence Platform while leveraging their existing credit and billing infrastructure. It simplifies global enterprise procurement by allowing customers to buy through local partners in native currencies with accredited delivery support.

Fueling Investment and Innovation: Growth Funding & Annual Awards

Optro Partner Connect Partner Growth Funding (PGF): To help partners scale capabilities and demand generation, Optro is co-investing capital directly into partner-led marketing, enablement, and practice-building initiatives linked to joint strategic business plans. Partners in qualifying tiers may submit proposals for Optro funding.Optro Partner Connect Awards: Launching in 2027, these annual awards will formally recognize partners driving exceptional growth, delivery excellence, and ecosystem innovation, celebrating top performers across Optro’s global channels.

“Being part of Optro’s technology partner track gives us the access and support needed for our integration,” said Frank Vukovits, Chief Security Scientist at Delinea Fastpath. “Now, critical IT general controls evidence, like segregation of duties analysis and user access reviews, flow directly from Delinea Fastpath into customer control libraries in Optro, so auditor requests can be answered directly from the platform.”

“As enterprises and public sector organizations across North America navigate increasingly complex compliance demands, having seamless procurement and trusted aggregation is vital,” said Mike Allers, Vice President, Cybersecurity Business Development at TD SYNNEX. “Expanding our partnership with Optro through the new Distributor track allows TD SYNNEX to leverage our vast B2B network of VARs, system integrators, and service providers to scale Optro’s GRC Intelligence Platform. Together, we are simplifying enterprise procurement and equipping thousands of resellers with the infrastructure and solutions needed to transform risk into opportunity.”

“Our partners are fundamental to our ability to solve complex GRC challenges for enterprises across the globe,” said Jim Sperduto, Chief Growth Officer at Optro. “These new program tracks and investments through Partner Growth Funding reflect our focus on providing the resources, financial co-investment, and technical support our partners need to build profitable, differentiated practices with Optro’s GRC Intelligence Platform.”

To learn more or apply to join Optro Partner Connect, visit optro.ai.

About Optro

Optro (formerly AuditBoard) helps enterprises transform risk into opportunity through its AI-powered GRC Intelligence Platform. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 trust Optro to elevate audit, risk, and compliance in addressing a new era of risk. Optro is top-rated by customers on G2 and was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Tools, Assurance Leaders. To learn more, visit optro.ai.

Media Contact
Laura Groshans
press@optro.ai

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PARKER, Ariz., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arizona’s broadband expansion efforts reached a new milestone in connecting residents, businesses and community institutions with high-speed, reliable internet. Wecom Fiber, alongside the Arizona Commerce Authority, Town of Parker and the Parker Regional Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, today celebrated the ceremonial ribbon cutting marking completion of the Arizona Broadband Development Grant project — a multi-year build spanning Mohave and La Paz counties, with the Town of Parker as its final segment.

The network will deliver high-speed internet to residents, businesses, carriers, and government entities. The project serves 124 Community Anchor Institutions—such as libraries, schools, public safety, and more—connecting 15,000 homes and businesses.

“Completing our fiber build across the Town of Parker reflects the focus and dedication of our construction crews and local team, and we’re proud to bring reliable, high-speed internet to a community that didn’t have real options before,” said Rachel Solomon, CEO, Wecom Fiber. “This is also just the beginning — as Arizona’s largest BEAD award winner, Wecom Fiber is already working to bring that same opportunity to harder-to-reach communities across eight counties in Arizona.”

“This investment in broadband infrastructure will unlock new economic opportunities and strengthen the long‑term competitiveness of communities across Mohave County and La Paz County,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “I’m grateful for Governor Hobbs’ leadership and thank Wecom Fiber, the Town of Parker, and all our partners whose collaboration made this milestone possible.” 

“This project means homes and businesses across the Town of Parker now have access to reliable internet that didn’t exist here before,” said Randy Hartless, Mayor of the Town of Parker. “I want to thank Wecom Fiber, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and everyone who partnered with the Town to make this happen.”

“La Paz County has been my home for many years, and I’ve seen firsthand what reliable broadband means for our residents and local businesses,” said Duce Minor, La Paz County District 2 Supervisor. “This project reflects exactly the kind of investment our rural communities need, and I’m grateful to Wecom Fiber and the state for making it happen.”

In November 2023, Governor Hobbs and local leaders broke ground on the $10 million Arizona Broadband Development Grant project spanning Mohave and La Paz counties. Wecom Fiber invested $35 million – making the total project investment $45 million.

Background on the Arizona Broadband Development Program

Arizona’s Broadband Development Grant (ABDG) Program expands high-speed internet access across the state. With $100 million in funding going towards infrastructure projects in Arizona’s unserved and underserved areas, the program encompasses 19 projects across 10 counties.

Media Contacts

Wecom Fiber

Scott Davis, Chief Revenue Officer, scottd@wecomfiber.com

Arizona Commerce Authority

Alyssa Tufts, Vice President, Public Relations, alyssat@azcommerce.com

About Wecom Fiber
Wecom Fiber is an Arizona-based fiber broadband provider focused on delivering reliable, high-speed internet to underserved and rural communities. With roots dating back to 1956, the company combines local expertise with modern infrastructure to expand connectivity and close the digital divide across the state.

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SOURCE Wecom Fiber

Researchers from Across the World Convened in Queens to Discuss Digital Methods and Theories Impacting the World

QUEENS, N.Y., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Vaughn College hosted the sixth annual International Conference on Digital Technologies and Applications (ICDTA) on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. The two-day hybrid conference focused on the intersection of digital technologies, soft computing and intelligent systems, and how it impacts the world. Serving as a bridge between high-level engineering and practical business applications, the conference drew researchers from across the world from more than 30 different countries, both in-person and online.

“Hosting the conference at Vaughn College significantly elevated the institution’s global academic presence while providing students with invaluable professional growth,” said Dr Sanaa Faquir, assistant professor in Vaughn’s engineering and technology department. “By bringing top researchers and industry pioneers directly to campus, the college established indexed publication ties and opened the door for future institutional partnerships and research grants.” Dr. Faquir, who served as a conference moderator, also helped organize the event.

Two plenary sessions made up the in-person section of the conference on October 9. The morning plenary session featured guest speakers Wayne J. Levin, president and chief executive officer of Predictum Inc., Canada, and Dr. Philip Ramsey, vice president of data science and training at Predictum discussing how bad research costs the United States economy several billion dollars every year and steps that can be taken to reverse the trend. The plenary session concluded with guest speaker Dr. Kaoutar El Maghraoui, principle research scientist at IBM, discussing efficient LLM inference—the process of using a trained large language model to generate output text, code or data from an input prompt without changing the model’s learned weights.

The afternoon plenary session began with guest speaker Dr. Lobna A. Said, professor at Nile University, discussing hardware-efficient FPGA accelerators—hardware circuits built on a field-programmable gate array that speeds up scientific computing tasks by executing them directly in parallel custom logic—for a machine learning-based time-series. The session concluded with Dr. Amir Toliyat, assistant professor of information systems and informatics at City University of New York City-College of Staten Island, speaking about responsible AI for marketing decision support.

Online participants heard both panels on October 9 and oral sessions on October 10 covering multiple topics regarding both AI and the digital transformation of the workplace, how AI is impacting healthcare, business, marketing, education, aviation and several other fields, and the digital transformation of supply chains, health, education, energy, power grids, government and power sectors.

VAUGHN COLLEGE: Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, nonprofit four-year college that enrolls more than 1,600 students in master’s, bachelor’s and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 18 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Ninety-five percent of Vaughn College graduates, 71 percent in their field of study, are employed in professional positions or choose to continue their education within one year of graduation. The institution serves many first-generation college students and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. In a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project, and reported in The New York Times, Vaughn was ranked number one in upward mobility nationwide. For more information on Vaughn College visit http://www.vaughn.edu.

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SOURCE Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology