The award in the category Most Innovative Classroom Education Technology Provider 2022 was assigned for implementing new methodologies and creating immersive and interactive experiences to develop an inclusive and accessible educational system Milan, November 16, 2022 - Hevolus Innovation has received the Global Excellence Awards 2022 by Acquisition International Magazine as Most Innovative Classroom Education Technology Provider 2022. The award presents HevoCollaboration as the most innovative solution to support schools in their process of innovation and educational method transformation. The 2022 Global Excellence Awards are among the most prestigious international awards for organizational excellence and award best practices, best use cases, and high-performing teams and individuals from companies of all sizes around the world. HevoCollaboration is an integrated solution developed by Hevolus Innovation that uses Microsoft mixed reality and cloud computing technologies to enhance augmented teaching and enable inclusive and experiential learning. Conceived and designed on the experience of Microsoft and Hevolus Innovation in digital education, HevoCollaboration increases the potential of new technologies to encourage the learning of new generations, supports new methodologies for teachers and develops new skills at school for the benefit of the educational system as a whole. "We are delighted to receive the AI Global Excellence Award 2022, which highlights and rewards the quality and diversity of educational products, as well as the best educational institutions and the most devoted members of the teaching profession. We are positive that new technologies can help the educational sector approach young people in a new way by providing specific skills on team collaboration techniques, crucial in the business world.", explained Antonio Squeo, Chief Metaverse Officer of Hevolus Innovation. “This year's Excellence Awards winners are concrete examples of what companies and organizations can do to encourage the promotion of educational services and product standards across the industry. With new technologies, smart devices and a hybrid approach, Hevolus aspires to allow educational institutions to respond to the ongoing paradigm shift with an interactive and multidisciplinary experiential model capable of putting students in the foreground, involving them personally and stimulating the initiative". Hevo Collaboration is one of the components of the Microsoft Hybrid Learning Spaces solution already adopted by schools and large universities in Italy - University Federico II of Naples and the University of Palermo. It is an end-to-end solution designed to allow a new, immersive and inclusive teaching methodology. A more collaborative and lab-focused learning that includes the chance to view and analyze the evolution of skills over time. "Over the past two years, we have seen an unprecedented acceleration of the digital transformation in the educational sector. The foundations that were built then, particularly through the adoption of the cloud, will act as a springboard for more immersive technologies that will allow educators and teachers to bring knowledge to students with interactive and engaging formats, transcending geographic boundaries ", commented Ihab Foudeh, Microsoft's Public Sector General Manager, Middle East and Africa. "My congratulations to Hevolus Innovation for this well-deserved award, and I look forward to seeing immersive technologies for education reach new heights also thanks to our collaboration." Hevolus Innovation and Microsoft joined GESS 2022 from the 15th to the 17th of November 2022, where they showed the main institutions, the hybrid learning spaces at Microsoft booth J10, Sheikh Saeed Hall, Dubai World Trade Center.

A collaboration between the two companies and the International Alba White Truffle Fair Organization, the National Center for Truffle Studies and the Piedmont Regional Tourism Department gives birth to a phygital exhibition route that will help spread knowledge about the supply chain. Alba, Sept. 20, 2022. Hevolus Innovation and Microsoft Italy, in collaboration with the International Alba White Truffle Fair Organization, the National Center for Truffle Studies and the Piedmont Regional Tourism Department, have developed the first Metaverse to offer a phygital exhibition itinerary that helps spread knowledge of the supply chain of this extraordinary product of the earth, an excellence of Made in Italy whose seeking and caving in Italy have been listed in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage since last December. The Fair's entry into the metaverse will be presented at Tuber Primae Noctis, the event that launches the International Alba White Truffle Fair by officially kicking off the seeking season. The event will be held on the night of September 20-21st at the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, in the context of the welcome dinner of the 6th edition of the Global Conference on Wine Tourism, an established initiative of the UNWTO. In the park of the Grinzane Cavour castle in front of the marvellous panorama of the Langa hills, the experience will be shown live by a presenter wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset and will also be available on tablets for both on-site guests and remotely connected users. The presenter and visitors will move through the Metaverse thanks to their own self-propelled, realistic-looking avatar. by entering an exhibition space that seamlessly blends physical context and digital content. They will follow an interactive narrative journey of discovery of the Alba White Truffle, divided into five stages: etymology and scientific scope, description of the search territories, identification and extraction techniques, gourmet show cooking sessions, and presentation of the Alba White Truffle World Market - a place in the historic centre of Alba where truffles from the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero area are appreciated and purchased. Guests can enjoy the event in the Metaverse of the Fair Organization either in webXR, on mobile devices, or in augmented holographic reality by wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset. It engages viewers step-by-step with images, video contributions, and spatial audio sound, with 3D digital twins that reproduce a specimen of Tuber magnatum Pico and a truffle dog in high resolution. The project leverages the potential offered by Hevolus Innovation's hVerse solution, the world's first low-code platform to build enterprise metaverses autonomously, and the computational power of Microsoft's Azure cloud services. They were combined to engage visitors in an innovative web 4.0, simultaneous and interactive experience and to support the International White Truffle Fair Organization in further boosting food and wine tourism in the name of ever-increasing sustainability. "Starting from the claim of this edition, 'Time is up', we want to emphasize the attention of the Fair to develop projects that are always 'contemporary' - says Liliana Allena, President of the International Fair of the Alba White Truffle - That's why the challenge of climate change has become a stimulus for us to involve the new generations, who feel the urgency to do something concrete: if on the one hand, we intend to create curiosity towards the destination, on the other hand, we want to test the future mode of fruition of the territories thinking about the travellers of tomorrow, the Z generation. Therefore, together with Microsoft Italy and thanks to a partner like Hevolus, we are happy to be able to be the first ones to present this phygital fruition of the offer, intercepting those who today do not travel yet and live immersed in the digital, social and gaming world, but who will soon be the protagonists of tourist flows." As emphasized by the Councillor for Tourism, the Piedmont Region is always on the side of innovative projects that can put Piedmont at the forefront of international tourism offerings, and thanks to the Fair Organization, they are the first in Italy to offer visitors this kind of experience. "We are convinced that phygital technologies, extended reality, the Metaverse and Cloud Computing can play an important role in addressing present and future social and environmental challenges, especially contributing to containing the impact that large-scale industrial change is generating. All sectors today need a comprehensive education process, awareness of sustainable development goals, and appropriate strategies moving in the same direction. 2030 is now near, and sustainability is a must for everyone," comments Antonio Squeo, Chief Innovation Officer of Hevolus. "Being alongside this event so closely linked to the territory is an opportunity for Microsoft to highlight how digital can prove to be an extraordinary ally in enhancing an excellence of the Made in Italy. Our long-standing collaboration with this event allows us year after year to create and test more and more hybrid scenarios, combining reality and digital in an ideal union that demonstrates how digital transformation can embrace every sphere and can bring great benefits to every sector. Furthermore, thanks to the collaboration with our Partner Hevolus and innovative technologies, we can extend the experience of the International Alba White Truffle Fair to a larger and larger audience with richer and more engaging experiences," said Luba Manolova, Director of the Microsoft 365 Division of Microsoft Italy." #hevolusinnovation #microsoft #wurthitalia #MixedReality #AR #VR #XR #Metaverse #web4 #MRPartner #HoloLens2 #RemoteRendering #CloudRendering #SpatialAnchors #immersiveworkspaces #MachineLearning #DigitalTwin #DigitalTwins #digitaltransformation

Thanks to hVERSE, the lowcode platform that allows you to create proprietary metaverses, Würth Italia continues its digital transition, contributing to reducing CO2 emissions MILAN, 26 July 2022 – Suppliers around the world are fast waking up to the potential of the metaverse to revolutionize the customer experience: Würth Italia, the leading distributor of fastening products in Italy, has chosen Hevolus Innovation, Microsoft gold partner for Mixed Reality, to introduce the first Enterprise Metaverse created with hVERSE in its online and traditional sales activities, recording excellent results, reducing CO2 emissions and offering customers an experience completely new immersive. hVERSE is Hevolus' lowcode platform accessible directly from the web and from any connected devices, that allows companies to create proprietary own Metaverses, featuring translation into 27 languages, multi-device, multi-platform and based on web 4.0, which was used to create one of the first Enterprise Metaverse after several global announcements in May 2022 by BigTech companies. Furthermore, thanks to the metaverse, it is possible to enhance the customer experience and generate new business opportunities, offering a revolutionary experience in a simple and sustainable way. Würth Italia, which is part of the global Würth Group, has been operating across the automotive, craft and construction sectors for nearly 60 years. Based in South Tyrol, the company has 200 sales outlets distributed throughout the country. In its six decades of presence, Würth has always worked by promoting an innovative technological approach to its activities. “Würth Italia has always invested in technologies and innovations that allow the company to optimize the customer journey and increase customer satisfaction”, says Nicola Piazza, CEO of Würth Italia. “In the era of the digital revolution, the partnership created with Hevolus was certainly a winner, in fact it allowed us to create the first Metaverse in Italy: the Wverse. The Würth Metaverse (Wverse) represents an epochal turning point, it allows to evolve from a traditional website to a 4.0 web solution, giving our customers the opportunity to live a new, emotional, and immersive shopping experience and allowing them to interact at the inside the Metaverse through their avatars. In the Metaverse it is also possible to carry out remote events, carry out networking and training activities. All this makes a very important contribution also in terms of sustainability: reducing most of the transfers and consequently significantly reducing emissions”. Würth Italia considers the metaverse and web 4.0 a fundamental technology to strengthen its leadership on the market. A pioneering role that the company aims to achieve by investing in mixed reality solutions and using them to improve the in-person and online sales experience for its customers. This strategy has enabled the company to accelerate growth rates year after year. Hevolus solution for Würth Italia “Würth had two goals for its metaverse project: increasing retail sales and strengthening e-commerce" says Antonio Squeo, CIO of Hevolus Innovation. "The potential of hVERSE is enormous, not only for creating new business opportunities, but also to boost sustainable innovation. The accessibility and scalability guaranteed by our platform ensure that the metaverse can be used by everyone, even via web. The most effective way to show a product is when the customer sees it in its real size but there are cases where this is not an easy task. The metaverse developed with hVERSE allows customers to visualize complex products and systems through their interactive 3D digital twins. This experience offers an extremely accurate idea of ​​how the product can adapt to real space”. The goal of the metaverse created by Hevolus is to support Würth Italia to promote and sell its range of products designed for logistics, from large shelving to vending machines for personal protective equipment (PPE) up to modular systems, often too large and heavy to be physically transported to places and shown to potential buyers. The virtual environment is a futuristic personalized and immersive 3D architecture in which visitors can access with their personal avatar. To offer customers an even more engaging and interactive experience, the Hevolus metaverse can support Mixed Reality and this is possible thanks to the Microsoft HoloLens 2. “We are delighted to see Hevolus helping Würth Italy and other customers in achieving commercial and sustainability business objectives by leveraging Microsoft technologies such as HoloLens and our mixed reality development platform” says René van Dormolen, Mixed Reality lead for Microsoft in Western Europe. “The solutions used by Würth Italy are great examples of how metaverse experiences can help innovate and enhance sales, marketing, and support processes.” By accessing Wverse, Würth Italia metaverse, customers can take a tour of the company, view the entire range of products and systems, interact with vendors and system consultants through their avatars, obtaining assistance in real time. Access is via any device, so it does not require any special technology. By creating this metaverse in Web 4.0, Würth Italia makes its products more accessible than ever by offering an emotional and engaging experience. Since launching its mixed reality solutions, Würth Italia has captured the attention of its customers, who have increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year. In addition, the sales lead time has been reduced by more than half. The implementation of Wverse helped Würth Italia to increase its e-commerce turnover by 60%, while website visits increased by 20% compared to the previous year. You can find additional information in the video case created by Microsoft at this link. #hevolusinnovation #microsoft #wurthitalia #MixedReality #AR #VR #XR #Metaverse #web4 #MRPartner #HoloLens2 #RemoteRendering #CloudRendering #SpatialAnchors #immersiveworkspaces #MachineLearning #DigitalTwin #DigitalTwins #digitaltransformation

It’s the world’s first project for a thermal comfort group San Bonifacio (Verona), 14 July 2022 - Ferroli, a historic Verona-based company active in home and professional thermal comfort, lands in the Metaverse thanks to a project that aims to accelerate the Group's commitment to sustainability, enabling a reduction in CO2 emissions through employee mobility. The project, born from a collaboration with Lenovo and Hevolus Innovation, is named Metaverso@Ferroli and relies on the opportunities offered by Hevolus' hVerse platform to create Ferroli's first Metaverse in Web 4.0. Landing in the Metaverse will enable the Group to accelerate its corporate sustainability strategies by reducing the CO2 emitted through employees' mobility to attend meetings. Secondly, the project enhances Ferroli's brand awareness. Furthermore, virtualising meetings will increase employees' efficiency and reduce downtimes. The project The Ferroli Metaverse will be a virtual relationship space in extended reality, created ad hoc for the Veronese company, choosing a design with a contemporary architectural vocabulary and strong visual impact. Immersed in an uncontaminated green landscape, it will consist of two experiential environments: a virtual museum room, where you can discover the 3D digital twins of the iconic design objects that have marked the history of the Veronese company; and a collaborative conference room, for remote interactive meetings – one-to-one or with multiple participants. The experience begins by creating and customising a photorealistic avatar, which, once in the Metaverse, will be to all intents and purposes the user's 3D alias: it will be able to speak multiple languages, thanks to simultaneous translation functions, walk, move its limbs, access the functional menu with head-tracking, and much more. In short, a kind of Fortnite, where there are no enemies to fight, but rather colleagues to talk to, collaborate with and work on projects, and customers to present products to. As in the mixed reality projects already developed by Hevolus for customers such as Natuzzi and Würth Italia, in Ferroli's Metaverso it will also be possible to organise collaborative meetings, carry out remoteassisted training activities for customers and employees, make presentations in augmented reality, show videos and images on virtual giant screens, present new products through an interactive digital twin, and share projects. Into the Metaverse "With the Metaverse project we are once again treading the path of innovation, the first one in our industry to adopt the advanced technology of Lenovo's latest generation of smartglasses", emphasises Riccardo Garrè, Ferroli’s Corporate CEO. "As with all the technological innovations that Ferroli has been the first to launch in the last two years in the heating and home comfort industry, we are eager and enthusiastic to explore the technological opportunities offered by the Metaverse. The new project is perfectly in line with the sustainability and continuous reduction of the environmental impact of the business, which for Ferroli is evolving exponentially and requires a careful balancing of social, environmental and industrial needs". Garrè also reminds that “Ferroli's shareholders are engaged in a competitive process to maximize the company’s value, appreciated by the market, based on the signals received so far”. Thanks to integrated cloud technologies, the Ferroli Metaverse is inclusive and accessible to everyone via web, through common browsers, using any fixed or mobile device. In order to offer the possibility of a totalising customer experience in AR/XR, the Metaverso@Ferroli project is also ready for the Lenovo ThinkReality A3 Smart Glasses, with which it is possible to enter metaverse environments in immersive mode, thanks to the integrated Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 processor and the use - for the first time worldwide in an enterprise context - of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Spaces platform, of which Hevolus is among global early adopters. “Building the Enterprise Metaverse takes sustained efforts from innovative industry leaders and their solution partners,” said Vishal Shah, GM of XR and Metaverse, at Lenovo. “We are proud to work with Ferroli and Hevolus to help create an AR solution that not only transforms worker productivity but also significantly contributes to the reuduction of CO2 emmions. Lenovo's open and secure ThinkReality platform helps our customers scale into a diverse set of metaverse applications.” "We are delighted that Ferroli has chosen Hevolus for this important project, strengthening an already long-established partnership"-said Antonio Squeo, CIO of Hevolus Innovation. "The initiative once again demonstrates the value of our offering, which sees hVERSE as the first platform worldwide to create metaverses autonomously. The potential of this tool is enormous, not only from the point of view of creating new business opportunities, but also of sustainable innovation. The accessibility and scalability provided by our platform means that the metaverse can be used by everyone via the Web as well. On the other hand, eventually, the ability to meet in the metaverse in an enterprise context-and thus not just for fun-will play a strategic role in easing the polluting impact of business organizations on the Earth's ecosystem, helping to reduce costs and CO2 emissions related to transportation and data storage." Ferroli's commitment to sustainability The Metaverse will incorporate an ad hoc system to measure the reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from the remote use of digital technologies for production, training and collaboration activities, including complex ones. Although it is well known that digital devices have a significant impact on the environment, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Indeed, thanks to the digital revolution, travel can be reduced, thus cutting greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, digitalizing activities makes it possible to dematerialise processes and give substance to the decarbonisation process. Ferroli has long been at the forefront of innovation, focusing on technologies to reduce environmental impact and accelerate the energy transition. On 21 June 2022, the Group officially inaugurated its new Research & Development Centre, created to generate efficient and environmentally friendly systems and project the multinational thermal comfort company into the future. A future that will see increasingly sustainable products, heat pumps with natural refrigerants, with almost zero environmental impact, and hydrogen boilers. Ferroli's historical expertise in combustion and burners has made it possible to equip the new laboratory for the testing and development of new green gas products, in particular pure and mixed hydrogen in various forms. The total weight of eco-friendly renewable energy products, as a percentage of the Group's overall turnover, increased from 17.5% in 2020 to 22.5% in 2021 and 36% in the first four months of 2022. The partnership with Hevolus had already produced a tangible result: Ferroli introduced augmented reality some time ago to allow installers to carry out a virtual inspection aimed at presenting to potential customers a qualified offer. The system allows the installer to make the work more efficient without having to visit the customer's home. Once again, in short, the technology reduces travel and CO2 emissions, while saving time.

Würth Italia and Hevolus Innovation win the SMAU 2021 Innovation Award for the Wüdesto Hydro project, which applies augmented reality to the bathroom and sanitaryware sector. A pioneering solution for the thermo-sanitary sector, Wudesto Hydro is a virtual showroom that exploits the potential of augmented reality to ensure an emotional customer experience applied to the world of bathroom furnishings. Wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2 viewers or using common portable devices, the customer can view the 3D project of their bathroom furniture both in the store and at home, by clicking on a simple link. You can easily interact with the digital twin that reproduces the designed environment in very high definition. Shapes, colors, materials, bathroom fixtures and accessories: all hyper-realistic and full-scale, as if it were already made. Rosanna Scaramuzzo, CEO Executive Assistant of Würth Italia, and Antonio Squeo, CIO of Hevolus Innovation, received the Award. Antonio Squeo declares: “We are proud to support Würth Italia in its digital renewal process. This award encourages us to do more and better, overseeing the world of technological innovation with a particular eye on the impacts that this has on the issues of sustainability of processes and business models”. Wüdesto Hydro in Würth is already available for all customers in the first virtual showroom in the sector, which was inaugurated at the Würth Hydro Store in Marlengo, in the province of Bolzano. The Virtual Show Room of Würth Italia is a solution that revolutionizes the customer journey not only of professionals and artisans, but also and above all of end customers, making it emotional and impactful for state-of-the-art furnishings. The virtual showroom allows the customer a considerable saving in costs and time, as well as the possibility of having all the catalog choice in real time and making the choice more consciously after having verified the different possibilities and having lived the space through the HoloLens together with the seller, experiencing an innovative and exciting shopping experience.

Hevolus and Microsoft Italy announce Hybrid Learning Spaces: Mixed Reality for increasingly hybrid teaching The Federico II University of Naples is the first university to experiment with the new solution within its degree courses The Federico II University of Naples is the first Italian university to experiment with Hybrid Learning Spaces, an integrated solution developed by Hevolus Innovation and Microsoft Italy for interactive teaching and laboratories in mixed reality. The acceleration of digitization processes in recent months has highlighted the opportunities that a more digital education can generate, in terms of access to innovative content and unprecedented learning experiences, preparatory to the acquisition of new skills. This is the so-called Hybrid Teaching, a learning approach that merges physical and digital world, giving life to something new and with high potential. In this framework, Hybrid Learning Spaces was born, real immersive virtual classrooms that allow to introduce a new educational model accessible both remotely and in person, through holographic lessons and laboratories. The University of Naples is the first in Italy to implement the solution in education field, both scientific and humanistic. The Hybrid Learning Spaces solution is perfectly aligned with what Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, announced during Ignite 2021 - Microsoft main conference dedicated to the Enterprise world - that is to make cloud-based solutions available to public and private realities to create the metaverse, with the aim of enabling shared experiences between the physical and digital worlds. "The Federico II University wants to make innovative technologies for teaching available to its students: after managing the emergency period with distance learning, the University is now ready to rethink a new hybrid teaching, for this reason it immediately took the opportunity to experiment and evaluate the Hybrid Learning Spaces for some courses." Giovanni B. Barone, Head of the Systems Division of the University Federico II of Naples says. "New technologies, smart devices and a hybrid approach now allow educational institutions to respond to the ongoing paradigm change with an interactive and multidisciplinary experiential model able to place the student at the center, involving him personally and boosting his spirit of initiative. We believe that this project developed together with Microsoft can help the Education and Training sector to attract young people in a new way, providing them with specific skills on team collaboration techniques that are essential in the world of work.” Antonio Squeo, CIO of Hevolus Innovation explains, digital company specialized in phygital customer experience and participated by the Italian Venture II Fund - Fondo Imprese Sud, managed by CDP Venture Capital SGR. “We are in a crucial phase for our country, a historical moment of great changes and opportunities where we return to focus on young people, the real engine of our country's future growth, investing in their training and in the development of new skills. In this scenario, digital has a key role as an enabler of new hybrid teaching experiences and new technologies can help press the accelerator on this transformation already underway; the new solution developed in collaboration with Hevolus is a concrete demonstration of this. The Federico II University of Naples has embarked on a path of innovation and digital transformation with Microsoft for some time now and the adoption of this solution confirms the desire not only to continue but also to accelerate this path, allowing today's students to be ready to face the challenges of the near future.” Elvira Carzaniga, Microsoft Education Division Director commented.

The new South Innovation Center: Microsoft Italy and Hevolus Innovation team up to support the digital transformation of Southern Italy A new experiential space dedicated to SMEs and PAs, based in Bari, where you can train and touch the new frontiers of technology. Project Objective: helping the realities of key sectors such as Manufacturing, Retail and Local Public Administration to understand the advantages of digital and to implement innovation projects capable of contributing to the competitiveness of the South. Milan, 12 October 2021 - Microsoft Italy and Hevolus Innovation give life to the South Innovation Center, an experiential center designed to allow companies and professionals in Southern Italy to experience innovation scenarios and to touch the value of digital for resilience and growth. Based in the Apulian headquarters of Hevolus in Molfetta (Zona ASI, via G. Agnelli 31-31/A), the space intends to be a point of reference in the area to support the digital transformation of key industries such as Manufacturing and Retail, but also of the world of Public Administration, sectors that can act as drivers for the relaunch of an area that contributes to the 20% of the national GDP, a scenario exacerbated by the pandemic. Offering free training, in physical or virtual mode, Microsoft and Hevolus will put their know-how at the service of local realities to help them grasp the advantages of new technologies, thus contributing to the rise of a Digital Mindset functional to the resilience and competitiveness of the South. The objective of the initiative is precisely to accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs and the PAs of the South, also in line with the priorities of the PNNR which dedicates over 80 billion euros to Southern Italy for the territorial rebalancing and inclusive growth of the country. The initiative is part of Microsoft's broader commitment to training and digital culture at the basis of the five-year plan Ambizione Italia #DigitalRestart and capitalizes on the consolidated collaboration with Hevolus Innovation, a local strategic partner that has already accompanied many realities in its path of innovation. “The South is characterized by a greater delay in the development of digital, as indicated by the performance of the DESI index at a regional level prepared by the Digital Agenda Observatory of the Politecnico of Milan. The digital transformation of Southern Italy is therefore essential for a structural and sustainable growth of the country and creating an ecosystem must be everyone's responsibility. The moment has never been so favourable to invest in innovation, also thanks to the funds of the PNRR, which dedicates over 80 billion euros to the South, but often the realities of the territory, especially SMEs and PAs, need a compass to orient themselves in the new technological paradigms and to create innovation projects in concrete response to business needs and with a real impact on citizens. With this assumption, the South Innovation Center project was born together with Hevolus Innovation, with which we intend to guide companies and professionals through an experiential approach, to bring innovation scenarios to life and share best practices “, declared Andrea Cardillo, Director of the Microsoft Technology Center of Microsoft Italy, the experiential center in Milan who will work closely with the South Innovation Center, also giving rise to twinning training activities. “Each organization should guide its processes using all the potential of technology to turn innovation into a force for change. It is also crucial that innovation paths are based on the essential principle of the democratization of technology: everyone must be able to access new technologies in a simple way, without particular IT knowledge and with the freedom to use the devices which they are most familiar with. With the South Innovation Center, thanks to the synergy with Microsoft Italy, we can finally bring together advanced technologies, use cases and new customer journeys to support local SMEs and PAs in this epochal change of paradigm”, added Antonio Squeo, Chief Innovation Officer of Hevolus Innovation. At the South Innovation Center, Microsoft and Hevolus experts will therefore offer training and consultancy - through dedicated sessions or through mini-events, in person or through remote connection - to the realities of Southern Italy, showing solutions in response to specific business needs through demonstrations relating to the evolution of the customer journey in an increasingly hybrid world. Local professionals will therefore have the opportunity to experience real use cases and to test the functioning and potential of latest generation technologies and devices, including Microsoft HoloLens 2 holographic headset which enables Mixed Reality scenarios, rethinking business processes and experiences of engagement of the operator or of the final consumer in the most disparate sectors, from manufacturing to retail to the public. These are the three industries that we aim to reach with the initiative, encouraging the adoption of new business models, new ways of organizing work, new customer experiences inspired by simplicity, interactivity and collaboration, to support local companies and contribute to the growth of strategic sectors. Some local experiences are already textbook cases and, leveraging Microsoft technology and Hevolus support in terms of development, they have already given birth to avant-garde projects that can become a source of inspiration for other companies. This is the case of Natuzzi, that has rethought the customer experience with its Augmented Store, and Castel del Monte, which has become a HoloMuseum, introducing a more interactive and engaging cultural experience. Several other innovative projects on a national and global scale will be shown during the training and knowledge sharing sessions of the South Innovation Center. For more information: southinnovationcenter@hevolus.it

We are proud to announce that Microsoft has certified Hevolus as a Gold Partner within MRPP, the prestigious Microsoft Partner Program for Mixed Reality. What does this recognition mean? "Members of this exclusive program are among the world’s most advanced practitioners of mixed reality, and they have demonstrated strong competencies in designing, building, and deploying enterprise mixed reality solutions". What does the Gold certification level entail? Gold members have a wide range of benefits (services, tools, guidance, support), including access to the community of colleagues and developers to deal with to receive support and share informations and best practices. But also the regular connection to Microsoft Product Teams to help unlock the extraordinary potential of Mixed Reality and Azure Cloud services for our customers. The company was admitted to the MRPP program in 2018 and in just two years, collecting extraordinary performances and prestigious success stories, stood out in the market for the very high degree of innovation of its solutions based on Mixed Reality and Microsoft technologies of Cloud Computing. Hevolus thus reaches the ultimate certification goal of Microsoft MRPP Partners, in the wake of an excellent path of business growth, the result of assiduous work, expertise and creativity that characterize its team and its leaders. "Members of the Microsoft Partner Network and MRPP help advance the most vibrant and successful partner ecosystem the technology world has ever known". #hevolusinnovation #MRPP #microsoftpartner #mixedreality

AI, Cloud Computing and Hololens Mixed Reality will revolutionize the visit to the the castle built at the behest of Federico II of Svevia, a masterpiece of medieval architecture. The initiative is part of Piazza Wi-Fi Italia project of the Ministry of Economic Development and Infratel Italia to support the spread of connectivity and digital tools and enhance the cultural heritage of our country Andria, January 14, 2021 – Castel del Monte, 13th century fortress and UNESCO heritage since 1996, becomes a HoloMuseum, a project developed by Hevolus Innovation in collaboration with Infratel Italia and Microsoft Italia, with the aim of contributing with the Regional Directorate of the Museums of Puglia to enhance local art and culture through digital technology, offering visitors innovative and engaging experiences, to revamp and give new competitive impetus to tourism in the Alta Murgia National Park, an area of ​​naturalistic, landscape, historical and cultural interest, located between Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani provinces. HoloMuseum, a project based on Microsoft Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Mixed Reality technologies, strengthens and infinitely amplifies the narrative and display capacity of an exhibition, offering the possibility to integrate additional information and experiential levels compared to those provided by the physical set-up during the visit. Everything completely customizable according to the curatorial needs and objectives of the scientific committee of the museum. As soon as the Museums will be able to safely reopen, it will be possible to experience Castel del Monte museum itinerary in phygital mode; the visitor, once entered the museum using his/her smartphone, he/she will be able to access, through the download of the dedicated MVRGIA app (available for both Android and iOS), a wide set of augmented reality contents to enrich their visit: from the dedicated guide service, the 3D avatar of Federico II of Svevia who will accompany the visitor by illustrating the different stages of the exhibition, to the display of multimedia contents and audio-visual materials on the history of Castel del Monte and interviews with art critics for example, up to the interaction with 3D digital models to deepen some themes and elements of the architectural structure of the castle such as the main stone doorway, the fireplaces, the vaulted roofing technique of the trapezoidal rooms and the sculptural decorations of the rooms. The experience is possible thanks to the installation of totems inside the castle, that make multimedia contents available. Moreover, the solution is ready to be used in Mixed Reality mode thanks to the Microsoft HoloLens 2 holographic computer that enables both in presence and remote Castel del Monte visit, allowing anyone and anywhere in the world to virtually enter the Castle, follow the exhibition itinerary and interact with all the multimedia elements, reaching the same level of involvement as an in loco visit. This is a key opportunity to make culture increasingly accessible, smart and inclusive in a historical moment where physical travel is not always possible. Castel del Monte will in fact allow you to book a virtual visit remotely: thanks to HoloLens 2, the guide in the Castle can share with the remote visitor his/her view of both the real environments and the extra digital contents. “From the tourism point of view, culture has an extraordinary power” declares Antonella La Notte, CEO of Hevolus Innovation. "So we conceived HoloMuseum, a concept of a phygital museum, which makes the traditional exhibition context evolve into a hybrid exhibition environment by making physical world and virtual digital contents coexist: thanks to Microsoft Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing technologies, visiting a museum or an exhibition can become an amplified, immersive, highly engaging, immediate and interactive experience ". “Generally speaking, 2020 had a crucial impact on the ways of fruition of cultural works and contents. Due to the continuous restrictions and closures caused by the COVID19 pandemic suffered by museums and cultural sites belonging to the Puglia Regional Museums Directorate, we have witnessed several digitization processes, given the proliferation of podcasts and audiovisual materials that can be used remotely. Within this scenario, the project that is being developed in the Unesco site of Castel del Monte - Andria BT, as a result of Piazza Wi-Fi Italia memorandum of understanding, is dedicated to a broader exploration of the Unesco heritage monument in a reading key integrated with the landscape, with the territory, in order to return an image that is increasingly responsive to the "intercultural" thought that inspired Federico II of Svevia, and to the recognition of the multiple functions of the medieval "castrum". The project, born in 2020 during the confinement period with the use of new digital tools, aims to make visitors live alternative museum experiences responding to the new demand for cultural offer" comments Elena Silvana Saponaro, Director of the National Archaeological Museum of Altamura (Bari) and of Castel del Monte (Andria). The initiative is part of Piazza Wi-Fi Italia memorandum of understanding, signed among the Ministry of Economic Development, the Puglia Region, the Alta Murgia National Park and Infratel Italia which aims to federate existing networks of municipalities, public administrations and large private entities, which manage spaces open to the public, and create new free Wi-Fi areas by installing access points close to places of cultural, artistic and tourist interest. The object of experimentation in Alta Murgia is, in addition to the spread of Wi-Fi connectivity, the installation of intelligent platforms and the implementation of experimental measures and best practices for the enhancement of natural and cultural heritage. "Tools such as augmented reality engage visitors in a dynamic and always accessible way, for an innovative and above all immersive experience – declares Francesco Tarantini, President of the Alta Murgia National Park - The Piazza Wi-Fi Italia project, as well as enhancing connectivity in rural areas of Alta Murgia, will make Castel del Monte known in a way never experienced before, improving the use of the cultural and architectural heritage”. "The Ministry of Economic Development supports the important combination of technology and culture through several initiatives and Piazza WI-FI Italia represents a consolidated model of connectivity and digital transformation support also for museums. In fact, the conception of Castel del Monte HoloMuseum is an example of how technology and digital application to cultural heritage will increasingly represent a strategic lever for the enhancement of the artistic heritage of our country " says Mirella Liuzzi, MiSE Undersecretary. “The collaboration between institutions, public companies and successful startups such as Hevolus Innovation has led to a unique experimentation in our country to renew the ways of enjoying our historical and artistic heritage. A heartfelt thanks to the Park Authority and to the director Saponaro who enthusiastically embraced the project that, like Infratel Italy, together with the Ministry of Economic Development, we intend to bring to other realities by activating digital communities as we did in Puglia" comments Marco Bellezza, CEO Infratel Italia. "The project designed for Castel del Monte is the demonstration of how new technologies - AI, Cloud Computing and Mixed Reality - are important strategic levers for the growth and innovation of this sector and, in general, for the enhancement of our artistic and cultural heritage. In fact, a digital transformation process like this one, on one hand, generates new opportunities for relaunching the territory, in a complex moment where tourism and culture sector are severely tested by the health emergency, on the other hand, new digital tools allow people to experience extraordinary museum experiences and to gain new knowledge through innovative and engaging ways of using them, bringing them even closer to the culture of our country” says Silvia Candiani, CEO of Microsoft Italy. Download the press release #hevolusinnovation #holomuseum #phygital #mixedreality #augmentedreality

Rome, 21 October 2020 - MELIUSform, a business school with over twenty years of experience in the business, managerial and professional training sector, teams up with Hevolus Innovation, Microsoft's international partner for Mixed Reality, to innovate its training offer with Holo-Corporate-Learning, a platform that leverages the potential of mixed reality, Cloud Computing and Microsoft HoloLens 2 viewers. The innovative Holo-Corporate-Learning project was presented today for the first time at SMAU Milan (20-21 October 2020) and awarded the SMAU 2020 Innovation Award. Targeted in its pilot form to the business management training area, it will soon be able to be extended to other didactic-training areas. Thanks to this platform, companies and their executives, while remaining physically located in different parts of the world, can share experiential training paths by entering a virtual room with their avatars. The platform facilitates continuous interaction between teachers and learners, allows group work to be carried out in separate virtual rooms and supports Design Thinking tools for experimenting with new models, solutions and canvases. Wearing Microsoft HoloLens 2, participants live an immersive experience that combines digital content and the real world: they can design and share a new business model in real time, develop a project and track transformation initiatives of their company, learn and internalize the characteristics of the leader of the future, interact with other participants, comment on videos, work on case studies, analyze best practices and acquire new skills through gamification techniques. The new model of holographic experiential training of Holo-Corporate-Learning combines the benefits of face-to-face training in the classroom with the convenience of staying in one's own office and the saving of time and costs for travel. This aspect is particularly important for all national and multinational business realities that have their managers and officials located in different locations around the world at a time when travel is made problematic by the ongoing health emergency. "The SMAU Award received for the Holo-Corporate-Learning project developed by Hevolus confirms the quality of our commitment to constantly innovate corporate training, a strategic element for business success - says Marco Astolfi, Officer Strategy & Development at MELIUSform. The Mixed Microsoft's Reality and HoloLens 2 offer great opportunities, because they allow you to increase the level of involvement of the participants by improving the results. In fact, learning takes place in the context of a highly interactive immersive digital experience, which fosters emotional connections and amplifies dialogue, freedom of expression and proactive dialogue between participants and the teacher ". “We are very satisfied with the project developed for MELIUSform - declares Antonio Squeo, CIO of Hevolus Innovation. With Microsoft's mixed reality and Cloud Computing technologies we significantly enhance the educational and training programs based on Learning by Doing, offering experiences that overcome the problems of social distancing of this terrible period and guarantee the same level of participation as in-person events. . Furthermore, the gaming component and participation with personalized avatars allow you to approach teaching activities in a new way, both by teachers and students. This pilot project is likely to become the sustainable future for the digital transformation of corporate education ”.

Milan, October 15th, 2020 - Salvatore Ferragamo relies on Microsoft and its technological partner Hevolus for its digital transformation path, to enrich the customer experience and meet the expectations of increasingly digital customers. Thanks to Microsoft's Cloud Computing and Mixed Reality technologies, upon which Hevolus's Augmented Store at Home platform is based, the brand will offer an innovative service to its customers. With this service, they will be able to choose and customize the Tramezza men’s shoe collection, and it will be used in-store or online through an immersive and very high-resolution experience. By browsing in a dedicated web application based on the Azure cloud, customers of the Made-to-Order Tramezza program will be able to visualize the digital twin of the shoes on their screen and interact with their accurate 3D reproduction to customize materials, colors, details and finishes, giving life to their own custom Made-to-Order Tramezza. The service allows you to: • choose from four Tramezza models (Baron, Barclay, Brighton, Ronald), five materials - from Betis to suede, crocodile leather, lizard, crocodile nubuck - and nine colors; • customize the sole by choosing the color; • choose the buckle. The platform also allows you to start shared interactive sessions in augmented reality, during which a client advisor can enter users' virtual room wearing Microsoft's HoloLens 2 holographic computer or the store device to support them during the choice and configuration of the model that is most suitable for their needs and during customization phases. Thanks to the Mixed Reality of Microsoft HoloLens 2 and the Azure Spatial Anchors, the client advisor can visualize the selections made by the customer, lead the experience and remotely assist the configuration process, the creation of the wishlist and the order management. Finally, at the end of the experience customers can also visualize the digital twin of their shoe in augmented reality. Click here to watch the video Click here to access the Made-to-Order Tramezza platform. Click here to download the full press release #hevolusinnovation #tramezzaMTO #microsoftHoloLens2 #mixedreality #cloudcomputing

Rome, Sept. 15th 2020 - CDP Venture Capital SGR signed an agreement for a capital increase of 4 million euros with Hevolus Srl, an Apulian company leader in disruptive technologies and innovative customer experiences. The investment was made through the Italia Venture II Fund, which is dedicated to innovative startups and SMEs in southern Italy and is aimed at accelerating their competitiveness and development. Hevolus is an innovative SME with exponential growth, specialized in solutions, projects and services aimed at the Digital Transformation of business processes and customer journeys for any industrial sector. It was born in 2000 as a hardware store for artisans. After a few years, the company launched entrepreneurial diversification initiatives, opened new business lines and became a well-known innovation lab with very high digital skills: a new generation software house that studies and develops innovative business models based on disruptive technologies - augmented reality, mixed reality, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Cloud services, cognitive services - with the ultimate goal of helping sell better by involving the customer more and more. In 2018 Hevolus became Microsoft Worldwide Partner for Mixed Reality. Right after this partnership, it was chosen by the Redmond giant as the international testimonial of the holographic computer HoloLens2. Moreover, it is among the partner companies of the new plan, called Ambition Italy #DigitalRestart, with which Microsoft intends to support the growth of the country through investments for 1.5 billion dollars in advanced digital technologies and skills. In 2020 it won the "Retail Week Awards" in the Game Changer category with the custom project developed for Natuzzi. It also obtained the Microsoft Italy "Best ISV Partner 2020", a prestigious award dedicated to partners who have had a significant impact in the digital transformation of customers with their solutions. Today Hevolus has customers of international relevance with numerous success stories in the furniture, fashion, telecom, civil and industrial systems sectors. Since 2015 Hevolus has been a Corporate Open Innovation Partner of the German multinational Würth with the projects Wüdesto (2016), WOE (2017), JIT (2018), Holo WareHouse (2019), Holo Maintenance (2019), HoloLink (2020). Innovative solutions that are social distancing proof Hevolus stands out on the global scene for the high level of flexibility and scalability of its platforms and for the highly innovative content of the technologies implemented, with which it guarantees the transformation of the customer experience in an omnichannel and interactive way. In 2020 the company launched new digital platforms on the market in response to the needs emerged by the health emergency: Augmented Store At Home and HoloLink, aimed at allowing business continuity and lead generation with remote services without renouncing eye contact and digital relationship with the customer. Augmented Store at Home is a web application for innovatively remoting the retail sector: it supports the store virtualization and augmented reality visualization of items on sale through their 3D digital twins by using any desktop or mobile device. HoloLink, on the other hand, is the smart working for artisans: the solution allows both them and small businesses to provide remote assistance to their customers, leveraging on Cloud Computing and Augmented / Mixed Reality. Both platforms support Microsoft HoloLens 2 and allow the user to run instant collaboration sessions leveraging the power of the Mixed Reality. Significant benefits for the production chains: reduction of the required physical store space, omnichannel integration of the online and in-store customer journey, reduced online purchase time, increased conversion rate, increased reach rate, enhancement of customer service initiatives, optimization of the business time and costs, reduction of in-person visits, reduced polluting emissions. CDP Venture Capital Sgr will support through the Italia Venture II Fund and as a single investor the evolutionary path of Hevolus, through a capital increase of 4 million euros. The investment is meant to help a technological excellence of southern Italy to expand its business internationally, not only in the retail sector but also in the healthcare, industrial, telecom sector etc. The Apulian company has shown extreme adaptability to the market needs, and with this aspiration it has intensified the implementation of augmented reality services to compensate for the current regulations that limit the smooth conduct of commercial and business activities, promoting the digitization of companies that were significantly penalized by the COVID-19 crisis. The operation will also allow the possible acquisition of minor companies with deep technological skills (AI and CRM technologies) and the strengthening of the organizational structure through the inclusion of key professional figures in the R&D and commercial area, intended to support the business development phase. “The mixed reality market is booming” - said Enrico Resmini, CEO and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital Sgr - “we are talking about an estimated global value of 1.8 billion dollars in 2024. Our investment in a highly innovative company in southern Italy with strong technological know-how such as Hevolus will accelerate the development of new business and employment opportunities. This operation will have a positive impact on all those Italian companies that need a boost in digital transformation processes in the retail, oil & gas, construction, healthcare and fashion sectors, in which the new technologies of virtual reality could bring important benefits, both for turnover and optimization of costs." "We are honored to be part of such a solid and prestigious Italian group that will allow us to grow further on a global level, maintaining our Italian spirit and allowing us to fuel our drive on cutting-edge technologies and advanced skills. Over the years, thanks to the synergies with the Microsoft ecosystem and with a vision of innovation, we have developed technological solutions that have guided Italian companies on the digital transformation path and that are now allowing many companies to leverage the Mixed Reality to innovatively overcome the many constraints caused by the health emergency. With this important milestone in our development plans, we will not only be able to expand the application scenarios for the benefit of sectors that are strategic for Italy but also export this model of Italian excellence abroad, contributing to the country's competitiveness, all starting from southern Italy " - said Antonella La Notte, CEO of Hevolus Innovation. "We are excited about the growth path undertaken by Hevolus, a noteworthy reward for the excellent work done so far. Our partners are the true innovation champions of the country, alongside companies in their digitization projects through skills and vertical solutions. We are proud to work together with an innovative company like Hevolus, with which in the last few months Microsoft has developed some truly innovative projects in a cutting-edge field such as that of Mixed Reality to help companies find new channels of connection with customers, even during the health emergency. Thanks to the participation of CDP Venture Capital it will be able to develop solutions that are more and more advanced, to guide companies in thinking about technologies as a lever for innovation, competitiveness and economic growth ”, declared Barbara Cominelli, Marketing & Operations Director of Microsoft Italy. Download Press Release #hevolusinnovation #cdpventurecapital #startup #innovazione