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ad3f4e430fec7572d9ea2ac0bf8cb516 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/09/tech-leaders-predict-15-ways-ux-design-will-soon-change/?sh=5ff790964337 | Tech Leaders Predict 15 Ways UX Design Will Soon Change | Tech Leaders Predict 15 Ways UX Design Will Soon Change
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In today’s consumer-focused world, tech companies are becoming increasingly user-centric to better connect with their audiences. As a result, the stakes for creating a quality user experience have risen and continue to evolve quickly.
Whether designing for consumers or businesses, staying ahead of UX design trends is a must for tech companies. Below, the members of Forbes Technology Council share 15 ways UX design will likely change in the next few years.
1. Design will integrate full accessibility for those who are disabled.
We’re seeing UX teams adopting digital accessibility as a core competency so those with disabilities can use their products. Testing for accessibility will increasingly be actively integrated into website design and coding processes rather than being just a reactive, compliance-driven initiative. The goal is shipping fully accessible, legally sound products without slowing development velocity. - Dylan Barrell, Deque Systems, Inc.
2. The UX will become more emotionally intelligent.
We are more connected than ever: Our kids are schooled online, our doctors are online, we meet our partners online—the list goes on. The only possible response to this accelerated shift to digital is a more emotionally intelligent UX—one that is not simply designed to meet “consumer needs” but is hardwired to embrace the fact that those needs are fluid, changeable and fundamentally emotional. - Jonathan Cherki, Contentsquare
3. Interfaces will become more intuitive and natural.
The way we engage and interact with systems and applications will need to become more intuitive and natural. With advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and facial recognition, the UX of tomorrow needs to provide an experience that leaves the user with a feeling of satisfaction and achievement. There should be no boundary between the experiences of the physical world and the virtual world. - Ghufran Shah, Metsi Technologies Ltd.
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4. Gestures, expressions and voice will replace typing and clicking.
AI and the Internet of Things are moving us toward a post-mobile world. Soon, our tech interactions will involve less typing and button-clicking—they’ll be replaced by more natural forms of expression. To make this work efficiently and effectively, we’ll turn to UX design that emphasizes natural interactiveness. The result will be a fluid experience reliant on gestures, facial recognition and voice activation. - Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media LLC
5. Designs will favor step-by-step guidance.
UX design will change from traditional form-based data entry screens to persona-based screens that guide users to the next step in a process. Context-driven AI that has scores, suggestions for the next step and guides will become the norm. Support for voice-enabled commands and device interoperability will also become more common. - Buyan Thyagarajan, Eigen X
6. The UX will evolve as the user gains familiarity with the tech.
AI will be incorporated in UX design to result in human-computer interactions that are increasingly personal. For example, a novice user might enjoy a guided UX, but when that user becomes an expert, a non-linear, unguided UX can allow them to complete a task faster. Instead of thinking about designing for a category of users, AI-enabled UX will allow designers to cater to the needs of an individual. - Mahesh Saptharishi, Motorola Solutions
7. The digital and physical worlds will increasingly intersect.
One of the key changes to UX I see is the ability to flow from online to offline data and from physical environments to fully enclosed digital spaces. This flow will need to be seamless and create a stronger experience based on who is doing what and where when they’re doing it. As digital and physical worlds intersect (via the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented realities), the experiences enabled will be a new frontier. - Tim Kulp, Mind Over Machines
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8. Designs will become ‘cleaner’ to simplify tasks.
I believe we will see an emphasis on simplification. Users expect to go to websites and accomplish specific tasks. When a lot is going on within a single page, this process can get tricky and even frustrating. If they can’t find what they are looking for, they will go to a competitor’s website. We will see more businesses doing things like limiting sidebar space for a cleaner look. - Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
9. B2B tech will become more consumerized.
The consumerization of B2B technology is well underway. Enterprise tech has been historically been sold as overlays of managed services, with UX design as an afterthought. However, today’s enterprise users expect to be able to seamlessly complete tasks without having to talk to an account rep. This is revolutionizing UX design for B2B enterprise tech. - Anneka Gupta, LiveRamp
10. Applications will be based on personas rather than roles.
Applications will increasingly become more dynamic and adaptive based on personas, rather than just being “role-based” in nature. Systems will dynamically adapt to show users more suggestions and prompts based on their typical actions and behaviors. - Matt Schmitt, Reflect Systems
11. Brands will create new multi-experience designs.
The world of UX transitioned from multichannel to omnichannel, and now the new trend is to design for multiple experiences. This changes the way every interaction is seen as an experience from the perspective of the user. The consistency of the experience while moving from one medium to another becomes more prominent. - Vilas Uchil, BullsEye Telecom
12. Consumers will demand even more personalization.
The coming years are going to bend toward personalization. People not only want apps to work well and on various platforms, but they want them to be tailored—Netflix and Twitter do this well. The next challenge is to build products that deliver expected results while also introducing new features. And user satiety is in short supply, so continuous iteration and customer listening will be paramount. - Thierry Schellenbach, Stream - Chat & Activity Feed APIs
13. Healthcare tech will start to catch up with consumer tech.
The healthcare UX is being influenced more by consumer behavior than ever before because of Covid-19, technology advancements and other promoters. Tech leaders must have a digital transformation solution with a sound strategy that ties into all business aspects. Expect to see more focus on what other industries are doing to have not just satisfied patients but loyal patients. - Will Conaway, The HCI Group/Tech Mahindra
14. Security and privacy will be top priorities.
In the next few years, UX design will have to change to address the security and privacy concerns of both corporate users and consumers alike. UX designers can no longer ignore the market research showing that privacy and security are the top concerns for users. According to a report by the Identify Theft Resource Center, in 2019 alone, there were nearly 1,500 data breaches, exposing more than 164 million personal records. - Bob Fabien Zinga, Directly, Inc./U.S. Navy Reserve
15. CAPTCHAs will disappear.
One of the major pain points of the user experience that we should see change is the removal of CAPTCHAs that require you to solve a puzzle. These may stop some basic bots, but advanced bots, malware and human fraud easily get past. CAPTCHAs are not stopping fraud—they’re only interfering with a good user experience. There are other, far more effective technologies that can be deployed instead. - Richard Kahn, Anura Solutions, LLC
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43dc7a97b76bc8bd25d5d44555db15f2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/09/three-main-pathways-to-successful-mathematical-optimization-implementations/?sh=40379546fb77 | Three Main Pathways To Successful Mathematical Optimization Implementations | Three Main Pathways To Successful Mathematical Optimization Implementations
Edward Rothberg is CEO and Co-Founder of Gurobi Optimization, which produces the world’s fastest mathematical optimization solver.
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Enterprises across the business spectrum are accelerating their adoption of AI technologies, with 83% of companies reporting that they boosted their budgets for AI over the past year and 75% stating that they plan to embark on new AI projects in the next six months.
As the CEO of a mathematical optimization software firm, I’ve witnessed this recent surge in interest and investment in AI firsthand as an ever-increasing number of businesses are looking to launch mathematical optimization implementation projects.
The question is: How can these companies successfully steer their implementation projects from concept to completion?
Every mathematical optimization project starts with a vision of how this AI software technology could be used in an organization to address a complex business problem (such as supply chain planning or workforce management) and enable better decision-making and business outcomes.
But many companies aren’t sure exactly how to transform this vision into a reality. To do this, they must be able to figure out how to integrate mathematical optimization technologies with their existing IT systems, as well as their processes and people, and how to implement a mathematical optimization application in their organization.
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Although every company’s journey to a mathematical optimization deployment is unique, there are certain well-trodden pathways (or, in other words, best practices) that you can follow to help you navigate the implementation landscape.
In this article, I will highlight the three main pathways to successful mathematical optimization implementations and discuss how you can determine which approach is right for you.
Understanding The Three Main Implementation Approaches
When you begin to think about investing in mathematical optimization (or any AI technology for that matter), a fundamental question you must ask yourself is, "Does my company want to custom-build an application from scratch or buy a packaged software product?"
Your answer to this critical “build or buy” question will help guide you in selecting the right pathway as you progress on your implementation journey. Generally speaking, there are three main implementation pathways that companies take:
1. An Off-The-Shelf Software Product
This implementation approach involves investing in a ready-to-use software product that has been developed for the mass market with mathematical optimization capabilities (and a commercial mathematical optimization solver like my company’s solution) embedded in it.
A wide range of vendors offer off-the-shelf products with built-in mathematical optimization functionality, from software giants like SAP (which incorporates mathematical optimization as a key component in many of its solutions) to smaller players like River Logic (which produces supply chain planning solutions powered by mathematical optimization).
If you want to use mathematical optimization to tackle a fairly standard business problem that can be commonly found in certain industries (such as financial services, aviation and manufacturing), then this off-the-shelf product approach may be right for you.
Off-the-shelf solutions are also suitable for companies with smaller budgets and shorter project timelines because they’re often less expensive than their custom-built counterparts and are easier and faster to integrate, install and use.
The chief drawback of off-the-shelf solutions is their lack of flexibility and limited customizability. If you’re looking for a bespoke mathematical optimization solution that can provide a perfect fit for your company’s business needs, you may want to opt for a different implementation approach.
2. A Consulting Partner
The second main implementation approach is to engage a consulting partner that has a track record of successfully developing and deploying mathematical optimization applications for companies across various industries.
These partners, who may be global consulting companies like Accenture, Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey or boutique firms like End-to-End Analytics or Princeton Consultants, will help you identify the key levers of costs and growth within your organization and will work with you to create a customized, scalable mathematical optimization application (with a commercial solver inserted into it) that meets your business requirements and enables you to capitalize on your business opportunities.
This implementation approach is usually more time-consuming and costly than simply buying an off-the-shelf product, but leveraging a partner’s know-how to build a solution tailored for you may be worth it in the long run because it can deliver immense, lasting ROI.
3. An In-House Team
A growing number of businesses today are assembling in-house teams of experts in analytics, operations research, data science and related fields who have the capability to build and deploy bespoke applications powered by mathematical optimization solver technologies.
If your company possesses (or is willing to invest in hiring) such a team, then you would be wise to entrust them with the task of developing your mathematical optimization applications because:
• They have a deep and unique understanding of your business problems and objectives and can design applications that fulfill all your requirements and fuel ongoing, optimal decision making and bottom-line growth.
• They can continually look for new opportunities to expand and enhance the use of mathematical optimization across the enterprise and thereby ingrain a culture of optimization in your organization.
Although the costs associated with hiring in-house resources can be substantial (especially for smaller firms with limited IT budgets), the potential benefits of having these experts within your organization are immeasurable.
Deciding Which Implementation Approach Is Right For You
There’s no right or wrong mathematical optimization implementation approach. It all depends on what’s best for your business. The decision of whether to build or buy and which implementation pathway to take should be based on many different factors, including the nature of your business problem, your project budget and timelines, and your level of in-house technical expertise.
It should be noted that many companies adopt a hybrid approach — for example, working with a consulting partner to implement an off-the-shelf solution or engaging external experts to collaborate with an in-house team.
Additionally, many companies find that their implementation approach evolves as they may start with an off-the-shelf solution and ultimately end up with their own in-house team designing custom-built applications.
It’s important to remember that whichever pathway you choose, there’s a whole community of mathematical optimization users out there that can help advise and guide you as you move forward on your implementation journey.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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47590b685efa4e11d82e6c999666a835 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/09/why-data-management-needs-an-aggregator-model/?sh=4678724a3223 | Why Data Management Needs An Aggregator Model | Why Data Management Needs An Aggregator Model
Co-Founder, COO at Komprise, creating Intelligent Data Management for enterprises to manage data growth and harness data value across clouds
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I confess that I am a data hoarder. I rarely delete any photos on my phone, and I like to keep older versions of all my documents. Turns out, I am not alone. Data is growing exponentially; businesses are not only generating much more data, but they are also keeping several copies of it. In fact, IDC projects that the amount of data generated in 2025 will be a staggering 175 zettabytes! To help visualize this, one zettabyte is 250 billion DVDs.
According to IDC, businesses plan to keep up to 10 copies of the data they create with the desire of turning it into information and extracting monetary value. The traditional storage-centric approach to unstructured data management cannot handle this astounding amount of data growth. A new aggregator style of data management across on-premises and clouds is needed, much like an Airbnb for data.
Data is a strategic asset, but getting business value is hard.
Enterprise IT teams increasingly see data as a key strategic asset, which is why they are keeping data for a long time. However, many are overwhelmed with the challenge of turning data into actionable information and insights for the business. This is because roughly 90% of the data that is generated today is unstructured data that cannot be easily stored or searched in a traditional database or spreadsheet. Unstructured data can be anything from a movie to an email to a genome sequence or data from a self-driving car or financial documents. Unstructured data is much more difficult to analyze, search and find because it does not follow any specific structure.
Unstructured data is shifting to multiple clouds.
Extracting value from unstructured data is getting more complicated as infrastructure shifts to the cloud. IDC predicts that by 2025, 49% of data is going to be stored in public cloud environments, with multicloud becoming the enterprise architecture of choice. A 2019 Flexara survey (via CIO Magazine) found that 84% of enterprises now have a multicloud strategy. Having data in multiple clouds requires some way to aggregate and view the data across these.
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Traditional storage-centric data management is siloed.
The traditional approach to managing unstructured data has been storage-centric; you move data to a storage system, and the storage system manages your data and gives you some tools to search it and report on it. This approach worked and made things easier when data volumes were small and all of an enterprise's data could fit in a single storage solution.
As enterprises shift to a hybrid multicloud architecture, they can no longer manage data within each storage silo, search for data within each storage silo and pay a heavy cost to move data from one silo to another. As GigaOm analyst Enrico Signoretti pointed out: "The trend is clear: The future of IT infrastructures is hybrid ... [and] it requires a different and modern approach to data management."
Another key reason an aggregator model for data management is needed is that customers want to extract value from their data. To analyze and search unstructured data, vital information is stored in what is called "metadata" — information about the data itself. Metadata is like an electronic fingerprint of the data. For example, a photo on your phone might have information about the time and location when it was taken as well as who was in it. Metadata is very valuable, as it is used to search, find and index different types of unstructured data.
Since storage business models are built on owning the data, storage vendors will move some blocks when moving data to the cloud rather than move all of the data. Particularly, they hold on to the metadata so that the customer has to go back to the storage solution to retrieve their data. This puts the storage vendor in control of the data rather than the customer.
This storage-centric approach to data management limits enterprise IT organizations from gaining full data mobility across clouds and curbs their ability to leverage data as a strategic asset.
A new aggregator data management model emerges — lessons from Airbnb.
Moving from a single-vendor controlled ecosystem to a vendor-independent aggregator model is not new. Many industries have gone through this shift — the most recent example being the hospitality sector. For decades, we had hotel chains, and customers were loyal to a hotel chain. I remember colleagues would rather drive a few extra miles to stay at a Hyatt if they were a rewards member than pick a different hotel that was closer. In this scenario, the convenience and loyalty program offered by a hotel chain outweighed the limited choices it offered.
However, Airbnb created a new way to find thousands of properties, including home rentals. This expanded customer choice, which might explain why Airbnb's debut market capitalization was more than the combined market capitalization of the nation's three largest hotel chains — Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels.
Similarly, an aggregator model is emerging to provide global data management across storage silos. Businesses can shift to this model by adopting new standards-based data management tools that are not storage-centric. When running out of storage capacity, look to invest in a data management solution that gives visibility across all your storage. Avoid proprietary data movement approaches that lock in metadata. Data movement solutions should preserve native access to both data and metadata wherever it lives. Leverage global search and tagging capabilities to create virtual data lakes for your business users so your organization can extract value from historical data. By adopting global data management solutions that aggregate across silos, enterprises can not only cut storage costs but also increase monetization of data.
As data growth continues to explode and 81% of enterprises are already using two or more clouds, according to Gartner, Inc., the race for a new aggregator style of unstructured data management across clouds is on — we need an Airbnb for data.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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675ef9c7eb4ad309528553545bc96f0f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/11/fast-is-deadly-why-your-organization-should-slow-down/?sh=fb966e72d823 | Fast Is Deadly: Why Your Organization Should Slow Down | Fast Is Deadly: Why Your Organization Should Slow Down
CIO at Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions | Technology Business Leader | Digital Platforms | Cloud & SaaS | Advisory Board Membe
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A few years ago, I found myself rowing a boat with eight executives. Week three of a six-week Wharton leadership program led us to the water for a boat race as part of a leadership-building activity.
Most of us were inexperienced in rowing, and some of us were even afraid to even be on the water. Yet somehow we were expected to row this boat. The captain of my team gave us a mantra to focus on as we rowed: “Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.”
With this as our guide, we conquered four other teams to win our race, not because we were the most experienced or the most athletic but because our mantra focused on our progress as a whole, as a team. All of us worked together to ensure we moved as one.
Safely back on dry land, the experience stuck with me. As an information and technology leader, I am often tasked with speed. Speed to market. Speed to upgrade, update or outperform. Staying apace of technology that races forward at amazing rates.
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But speed can be dangerous. The mantra our captain chanted is actually based on a philosophy commonly attributed to Navy SEALs.
If you sacrifice strategy, performance and teamwork for speed, you’re dead in the water.
Slow Is Smooth
In business, and in life, very few of us want to be perceived as moving slowly. Speediness has become the most desirable state, from rolling out products before your competitors to enrolling our children in every extracurricular to find the talent that will slingshot them ahead of their peers.
We need to redefine what moving slowly can really mean in business. Slow is thoughtful. Slow is strategic. Slow is smooth.
Take the agile development methodology as an example. While the term “agile” means to move quickly and easily, it doesn’t necessarily accurately describe the process. The idea is not necessarily to work quicker but instead to turn an old paradigm on its head and introduce greater adaptability by strategically breaking up large projects or problems. When executed correctly, this can result in “faster” work that doesn’t compromise strategic goals.
It’s imperative to keep these strategic goals and business missions as the foundation of your organization and encourage and empower your workforce to as well.
Smooth Is Fast
Imagine our boat race again. Each team had a comparable boat — built for the water and appropriately sized for the team with the potential to win. All things being equal, it’s not the boat that wins race; it’s the team.
The idea of teamwork and employee satisfaction is nothing new, but in the race to the top, it can be easily forgotten or set aside. There are multitudes of philosophies, strategies and tactics for creating company cultures that foster collaboration and support employee careers and personal wellness. Whatever methods are right for your organization, the important factor is that they are implemented at all levels of the company.
When they are — and an entire workforce feels satisfied, well and that they are actively moving toward a common goal or objective — we can see tremendous leaps in innovation and momentum.
Fast Is Deadly
Every business desires success and profitability. The good news is that with the right idea, businesses have the opportunity to soar to the top, as we have seen in recent history with the social media boom. But the bad news is that sometimes the faster you move, the faster you fail.
In the context of our Navy SEAL adage, if a team moves too quickly, it runs the risk of making mistakes or becoming out of sync. On the battlefield, this can cost someone their life and compromise a mission. In business, it can damage your earnings or reputation (or both).
In the current climate, where businesses are racing to innovate or roll out the next big thing, there are, unfortunately, many examples of the deadliness of moving too quickly. Startup companies are particularly prone to attempting to scale up at the fastest possible rate — the more users, downloads and subscribers, the better. But the view from the top of the mountain is not always serene. Very often, the mountain top turns out to only be a narrow ledge that companies plummet from.
For example, MoviePass hit the market in a big way in 2017, offering subscribers access to unlimited movie tickets (remember that place called a theater where we used to view films?). The idea took off, with significant interest from both consumers and investors. The company gained millions of paid customers and experienced rapid growth, only to lose it all.
According to the company’s website, as of September 2019, MoviePass has indefinitely “interrupted service” for its subscribers because its “efforts to recapitalize the company have not been successful.” While there are multiple factors at work in this case study, a primary failing was the company’s fast-past mindset that was not backed up by strategy or risk mitigation. It jumped into the market with what turned out to be an unsustainable business model that left no room to adapt or pivot. Like MoviePass, other companies like WeWork, Oyo and Theranos had their own lessons to learn. Fast can be deadly.
There are many ways for an organization to become successful, but longevity is more difficult to secure. While there is a place for speed and real merit in achieving something first, the most successful companies get there through the deliberate implementation of sound strategy, defined vision, and through fostering an environment of collaboration and common achievement.
While most of us cannot aspire to be Navy SEALs, we can all learn from the philosophies this elite group employs as foundational to their method.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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e954c617c12361dbaa8846c303f34af0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/11/five-reasons-why-iac-initiatives-fail/?sh=55b6fc5f59c0 | Five Reasons Why IaC Initiatives Fail | Five Reasons Why IaC Initiatives Fail
Senior Vice President & Global Client Solutions Leader at Microland, responsible for Cloud & App Services
As Infrastructure as Code (IaC) gains momentum and enterprises give it serious thought, it may be prudent to take a step back and answer a few fundamental questions. Is IaC just the latest fad, or does it have some real benefits? Even if it is for real, is it for everyone? Why do IaC initiatives fail? In this article, I will try to answer these questions based on what my company is seeing with our customers.
IaC means different things to different people. Here's my definition of IaC: Treat all IT infrastructure — including standard cloud services (or, anything that doesn't have business logic) — as code. Provision, manage, change and deprovision the infrastructure the way you do it with code by applying software engineering principles and leveraging a declarative style language/tool.
Most people would agree that intelligent automation, virtualization, cloud, software-defined data centers, containers, etc., have made life easier — but only with respect to provisioning infrastructure. All of these, in fact, have made management a little more complicated. To answer the first question I raised: IaC is not a fad. IaC helps ease the complications of managing these new technologies.
To answer the second question: Yes, IaC is for real, and so are its benefits. Many of my company's customers reap benefits by opting to use IaC to manage their cloud-based infrastructure. To mention a few of the benefits: a) agility and speed in provisioning infrastructure, b) reduced risks by easily identifying and fixing cost- and compliance-related issues, c) operations scalability and efficiencies at scale and d) high recoverability because the systems become consistent and up to date.
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Benefits aside, some IaC initiatives fail. Here are a few of the reasons why:
1. The success of IaC implementations are directly proportional to the scale, complexity and dynamic nature of the infrastructure environments. There are cost and efforts involved in designing and deploying an IaC environment. The benefits will kick in only if you have an infrastructure setup of a certain scale. Otherwise, the cost and efforts outweigh the benefits. The same case applies with complexity: The more complex the environment, the better the returns could be. Lastly, if the environment is static (even though such a scenario would be unimaginable in today's digital world), IaC doesn't really make sense.
2. If you start an IaC initiative with only operational efficiencies or cost savings benefits in mind, it's likely that you will be underwhelmed because the benefits of IaC implementation extend direct cost benefits. To fully understand the value of an IaC initiative, you must look at the total cost of ownership and look beyond the operational efficiencies.
3. Another related aspect is that, due to the lack of industry benchmarks and data on quantitative benefits, it becomes challenging to build a business case and convince management about why an IaC initiative should be approved.
4. IaC being relatively new, there are no best practices defined as to how things need to be implemented. For example, how should testing be done? In the software world, there are tools and methodologies available, whereas the same cannot be said about the infrastructure world.
5. Last but not least, there are a plethora of tools available. This can lead to an IaC initiative failing because an enterprise might lack the in-house skills, expertise and experience to both: a) choose a tool stack that is right for their specific environment and b) integrate the tools as part of the IaC implementation.
All the above reasons notwithstanding, IaC must be given serious consideration, and I believe that is the way forward in provisioning and managing infrastructure as long as you keep these challenges in mind.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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6bb1872d5881720538be5c64b0e8c861 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/11/get-ready-the-hydrogen-economy-is-on-its-way/?sh=fe32f4723836 | Get Ready: The Hydrogen Economy Is On Its Way | Get Ready: The Hydrogen Economy Is On Its Way
Co-founder and CEO of HyPoint, the company developing zero-carbon emission hydrogen fuel cell systems for aviation and urban air mobility.
Hydrogen filling station dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
The investment world shook when Plug Power, a hydrogen fuel cell maker, rocketed from $16 per share in early November to more than $70 less than three months later. And it wasn’t alone: Other hydrogen players like Bloom Energy, Ballard Systems and Cummins also posted remarkable growth. The sudden excitement was linked to the incoming Biden administration and the hope that a hydrogen economy may be within reach.
It’s no wonder Biden’s win was celebrated. Whereas the last administration’s anti-climate posture stalled investment in clean energy alternatives, Biden’s campaign proposed a $2 trillion clean energy investment plan aimed at putting “the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050” achieved, in part, by making "far-reaching investments" in "critical clean energy technologies."
Biden’s executive order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement signaled this shift. And with Democrats now in control of Congress (“There’s no better friend to the fuel cell industry over the last 20 years than Sen. Schumer,” said Plug Power CEO Andrew Marsh), both the public and private sectors are preparing for hydrogen to take on a bigger role.
The use of hydrogen as a fuel is not new, nor is it the only zero-carbon alternative, but its recent emergence as a viable large-scale energy source has many observers excited. Hydrogen can be transported via pipes or trucks as a liquid or gas, similar to oil and natural gas. When used in fuel cells, hydrogen delivers enough energy per kilogram to rival jet fuel. And when sustainable sources like solar or wind are used to generate hydrogen through electrolysis — the process of splitting water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen — the result is an infinitely renewable zero-carbon energy source.
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Even before a McKinsey study was published in which it estimated that by 2030 the U.S. hydrogen economy could generate $140 billion and support 700,000 jobs, other parts of the world had already begun their own strategy:
• The European Union outlined its goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050 and announced its hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe, in which it said that hydrogen “does not emit CO2 and does not pollute the air when used. It is therefore an important part of the solution to meet the 2050 climate neutrality goal of the European Green Deal.” It also wants to install the euro as the global reference currency for trading hydrogen, just as the U.S. dollar is for oil. And the EU expects to build "40 gigawatts of electrolyzers installed within its borders by 2030, up from the 250 megawatts in place globally today."
• Japan, which boasts the world’s most hydrogen refueling stations, wants to be the leader in hydrogen automobiles.
• South Korea’s Hydrogen Economy Plan calls for 30% of its cities to be powered entirely by hydrogen by 2040.
• China, the world’s biggest hydrogen producer, is incorporating hydrogen into its plan to be net neutral by 2060. Singapore is looking to do the same by 2050.
• Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy wants to “take advantage of increasing global momentum for clean hydrogen and make it our next energy export. There is potential for thousands of new jobs ... and billions of dollars in economic growth between now and 2050.”
The timing of the shift away from fossil fuels to zero-emission hydrogen power could not come at a more critical time. Climate change is already disrupting our lives. Aside from the obvious climate-related disasters like floods and droughts, aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic can be linked to climate change. In order to avoid catastrophic climate change, the Hydrogen Council says, “The world will need to make dramatic changes year after year and decrease energy-related CO2 emissions by 60% until 2050 — even as the population grows by more than 2 billion people.”
The wholesale transformation of our economy away from fossil fuels to hydrogen will be among our generation’s biggest obstacles — and greatest opportunities. Fortunately, we’re not starting from scratch. Hydrogen-powered trains, trucks, cars, ships and airplanes already exist, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the notoriously pollutant transportation industry.
Aviation titan Airbus says, “We have the ambition to develop the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. Hydrogen propulsion will help us to deliver on this ambition.” By 2050, in keeping with the Paris goals, the Hydrogen Council hopes to see “hydrogen powering more than 400 million cars, 15 to 20 million trucks, and around 5 million buses” as well as “12% of the world’s total primary energy demand.”
So what can companies do to quicken the hydrogen economy transition? For one, be proactive.
According to the World Resources Institute, more than 1,000 companies have committed to reducing emissions, and more than 340 have committed to net-zero targets. Collectively, these companies represent a $3.6 trillion market cap and an annual carbon footprint larger than that of France. They know that by proactively reducing their companies' carbon footprint, they are better positioned to outperform competitors that cannot quickly adapt to governmental regulations or changing consumer expectations.
The emerging hydrogen economy also faces a number of technical and logistical challenges, offering a fertile ground for the next generation of innovators. For example, while the cost is decreasing rapidly, hydrogen is still expensive relative to other forms of energy. Through its Green Hydrogen Catapult initiative, the UN is working to make hydrogen more competitive by bringing the cost down to below $2 per kilogram by 2025. But if demand increases, it might outpace supply: Hydrogen infrastructure, such as a delivery network of pipelines, has yet to be developed. And a robust hydrogen economy will require a healthy global supply chain, which is still in its infancy.
Hydrogen is one key to solving climate change and the global economy’s neverending need for energy, but questions remain: Which country (or countries) will own the hydrogen energy market? Which industries will be its biggest beneficiaries? Who will emerge as its biggest hero? We may not know those answers for years to come, but one thing seems certain: Hydrogen is here to stay.
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93cdcf23bf5ef1876194721a2355ec27 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/11/to-measure-organizational-resiliency-look-to-the-engine-not-the-make-and-model/?sh=29c3a9e87127 | To Measure Organizational Resiliency, Look To The Engine, Not The Make And Model | To Measure Organizational Resiliency, Look To The Engine, Not The Make And Model
VP of Data Platforms at InterSystems, a creative data technology provider solving scalability, interoperability, and speed problems.
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Like most young adults, my first car left much to be desired. Don't get me wrong, I was very fortunate to be able to have a set of wheels that I could call my own, but to call it anything more than a set of wheels and an engine would be an overstatement. While I saw plenty of people my age driving shiny new cars, I could always depend on my car to get me from point A to point B. With regular care and maintenance, my car remained resilient regardless of weather or road condition — and I'd argue it performed just as well as the others and saved me a significant financial investment up front.
I've been reminded of my first car a lot lately as the Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stress on the engines of most organizations — IT systems. The accelerated and increased strain on these IT systems directly impacts organizational agility, whether you consider spikes in financial trading amid an economic recession or overturned supply chains wreaking havoc on inventory management due to shifts in consumer behavior. Unfortunately, these disruptions are more common than we think, and in many cases, the challenges could have been easily overcome if the right "engines" were in place.
Maintaining System Performance
IT systems have become the lifeblood of most organizations. These systems are in charge of helping business leaders make decisions, guiding customer interactions and, most certainly, driving day-to-day operations — from collaborating with colleagues to tracking project hours. However, just as it's critical to take your car in for maintenance to avoid breaking down, organizations must frequently test, rebuild and update IT systems to keep their business running smoothly.
Unfortunately, most organizations are reactive, leading to overspending on shiny new applications and only servicing their systems after they are broken down and unable to effectively operate. Let's hope your IT department is faster than roadside assistance.
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Conducting regular system maintenance requires an IT team that values getting its hands dirty in the inner workings of the organization. Too often, a tool is built, deployed and forgotten. As a result, issues come up that are rarely addressed until the issue becomes so dire that significant damage is caused in the form of lost productivity, eroded customer trust or declining revenue.
Instead, if an IT team is incentivized to communicate with stakeholders throughout the organization and experiment and push the boundaries of systems in place, they'll often identify bugs and other performance issues before they become a problem. This process can promote regular improvement and can often lead to greater efficiencies and service offerings over time. I'd argue that this mindset can also spur collaboration and the development of new tools and solutions that could enhance organizational resilience, particularly during times of disruption.
Unfortunately, this approach takes time and patience — something many organizations lack. As a result, they're too quick to look for a solution that will enable immediate satisfaction, like waxing a classic car but forgetting to change the oil.
Don't Fall For The Upsell
According to research firm Gartner, Inc., IT spending is expected to grow 4% in 2021, totaling $3.8 trillion. This is tremendous news for the technology sector, particularly as Gartner has projected all IT spending segments to decline in 2020. While it's critical that companies continue to invest in IT to accelerate their digital transformation, it's equally important to avoid unnecessary investments and the persuasive upsell.
Just as you may research and consult multiple mechanics before getting work done on your car, you should also do your homework and speak with multiple technology providers before undergoing an IT system overhaul.
In addition to the impatience-driven quick fixes that I mentioned earlier, many executives and company decision-makers don't spend much time within the inner workings of their systems and applications, resulting in a misunderstanding of the true needs of the organization. As a result, they're attracted to the shiny object — the hot new tool that the technology company they read about in a newsletter or heard about in a podcast ad just launched. This is a dangerous mindset, as these organizations often find themselves overpaying for a tool that only solves half the problem.
It's no different than choosing the pricier auto service because it's faster — only for your "check engine" light to turn back on a week later.
While rushing to choose the incorrect auto repair service may only cause a brief headache and a dent in your wallet, these mistakes are magnified in an organization, often causing significant challenges. For example, those who are too quick to purchase a new technology to meet an immediate need may soon find themselves facing a number of issues, from vendor lock-in and lack of interoperability to requiring additional investment for software updates or unexpected service fees. Unfortunately, these issues most commonly appear when a system is stressed to the utmost limit.
Ensuring Resilience Starts With Patience
Most of us experienced the greatest test in organizational resilience during the height of the pandemic. These tests uncovered cracks in systems that may have been ignored for considerable amounts of time, leading to unnecessary damage. While it was tempting to quickly throw money at the problem with a new technology Band-Aid, I hope many are learning the importance and value of system maintenance.
By learning from not addressing that IT complaint or opportunity that didn't have immediate ROI and understanding the importance of patience within the process, organizations should find themselves more resilient and able to more easily weather the next disruption.
You wouldn't ignore that rattle coming from the inside of your car. Don't ignore it in your business, either.
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5d5ab94d693719b5a83dd96e9c93607b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/12/four-ways-to-create-customer-communities-that-drive-product-value-and-success/?sh=4d6e1cde46a6 | Four Ways To Create Customer Communities That Drive Product Value And Success | Four Ways To Create Customer Communities That Drive Product Value And Success
Raj Sethuraman, CTO Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions, developing business technology to solve workflow challenges.
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As organizations around the world accelerate their digital transformations, becoming closely aligned with customers’ technology needs has never been more important. It’s no longer enough to produce innovative products; technology solutions must be driven by customer input right from the start. Companies that ignore opportunities to formulate customer communities that drive technology development do so at their own peril.
I should know; I made a similar mistake once in my career. My team created a new mobile platform based on an already existing and popular solution. We assumed success was baked in because of how much customers used and liked the previous product on desktops. We were wrong. We didn’t take into account how customers would use the same product from a mobile device — and we neglected to ask them first. As such, we failed to develop a product that met their needs and expectations.
That experience taught me a lesson on the value of making customers part of the product development journey. We can sometimes forget that we don’t really make solutions because they’re interesting or innovative; those are features, but they’re not the point. We make solutions to meet customers’ requirements, which are always evolving and unique. In this customer-centric environment, doesn’t it make sense to give those customers the chance to co-create the solutions being built for them?
I’ve found one of the best ways to do this is to create communities of customers that serve as an extension of your product development and marketing efforts. You may be familiar with the concept. Many organizations have created a customer pilot program or customer advisory committee. But a strategy is needed to handpick the right customers to provide input, as well as logistical planning for how to give those customers hands-on access to your solutions, so that you can get honest, user-sourced feedback about your solutions.
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Let’s dive into some strategies you can employ to create communities to help you develop solutions that meet your customers’ expectations.
Select The Right Customers
Aim for a diverse mix of clients — both large and small. Prioritize your list based on usage, with “super users” getting first preference. These may not be your biggest or most recognizable customers. They may be smaller organizations that do not have many users, but they may be loyal customers who use your solutions every day.
There are other factors to consider. Geographical location may play into your decision, for example. Customer tenure may be another consideration, as well as how customers use technologies. For instance, if you’re considering a new mobile app, it might be worthwhile to involve customers who regularly use your solutions on mobile devices. And be sure to consider customers who have recently moved to your products from competitors’ technologies or who hail from different industries. They can give you valuable outside perspectives.
Start From The Beginning
Once you’ve got your customers in place, get them involved in the product development process before it truly begins. Let them have a say in the overall direction of the solution. Ask them about what they want to accomplish and what type of solution would help them meet these requirements. Have them share their daily experiences, including the things that impact their jobs (and especially the things that impede their successes). Really take the time to probe: What type of features would they like to see? How will they be using the solution? Who will be using it?
In short, make them a partner in co-creating the value of your solution. Don’t get started on the product development journey without them right by your side.
Create A Hands-On Experience
Once development is underway, give your customers hands-on access to the solution. This can be virtual or onsite (when it’s safe to do so), either in your office or, preferably, at the customers’ locations. Hosting demos and labs at customer sites allows you to see their environment firsthand. This could give you new ideas that you may not have otherwise considered.
Use your customers’ feedback to make changes to the product. Add new features and subtract unnecessary ones. Adjust the user interface accordingly. Do whatever you can to solve their challenges.
Make sure your technical teams are privy to these conversations so they’re not creating their solutions in a vacuum. It’s important for developers to understand how to align the products they’re creating with customers’ business needs. Getting them in touch with customers will increase their solutions’ odds of success.
Continue The Conversations
The day your solution becomes available is only the beginning of the conversations you should have with your customers. Continue to meet with them and talk to them about what they like about the product and what can be improved. Check in regularly — at least once a quarter — to ensure that the solution continues to meet their needs.
Keep the conversation going throughout your entire customer community through conferences, online forums and social media. For example, my company hosts an annual user conference, where we invite customers to gather and share their experiences. It’s a great opportunity for them to tell stories, offer advice and learn from each other.
If you do not involve customers in your product development efforts, you run the risk of those efforts meeting a dead end when they come to market. Don’t let that happen. Build communities to create longer, stronger and deeper customer relationships that allow you to develop solutions that will meet their needs throughout the lifecycle of your products.
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71490c3d4ca5d981486f4ae86b7c9323 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/12/the-intersection-of-data-quality-and-compliance/?sh=23673f5fa76e | The Intersection Of Data Quality And Compliance | The Intersection Of Data Quality And Compliance
CEO of Infogix and a visionary executive with over 30 years of experience in all aspects of growing innovative software companies.
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Two and a half years implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), regulatory compliance remains a hot topic. When managed improperly, it can cost a company dearly. Yet GDPR compliance isn’t possible without data governance and quality data.
GDPR’s conception in 2016 set off an avalanche of new data privacy laws across the world. In 2018, California developed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the wake of GDPR. After CCPA went into effect in January 2020, California residents voted to approve the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in November, establishing a consumer privacy agency to enforce CCPA compliance instead of the state's attorney general.
California isn’t the only state implementing data privacy laws. Laws have emerged in several U.S. states, including Nevada, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
At the same time, the impact of GDPR on global businesses continues to be felt. According to a recent report from DLA Piper, a global law firm specializing in privacy and data protection, GDPR fines increased by nearly 40% in 2020 compared to the previous 20 months. The report says that the recent increases in fines indicate European regulators’ “willingness to use their enforcement powers.”
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To mitigate compliance violations, businesses must understand how their data governance framework and underlying data quality impacts regulatory risk.
The Role Of Data Quality For Compliance
Today, businesses and industries are processing personal information and utilizing sensitive customer information in different processes and systems. Not only are businesses working with sensitive data, but they are also ingesting private third-party and IoT data.
Identifying, classifying, and documenting internal and external personal information is critical to data privacy compliance. One example is GDPR’s requirement that businesses are obligated to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data. Yet many organizations overlook the importance of data validation.
Data quality measures the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of enterprise data. It is an imperative because without comprehensive data quality controls, organizations cannot locate and resolve all data inaccuracies around personal data.
However, while data quality is critical, simply resolving data quality issues won’t guarantee compliance. Instead, organizations must eliminate all siloed data tasks by integrating data quality efforts with data governance and data catalog initiatives.
Building A Data Management Framework For Regulatory Compliance
In large, global organizations, personal data moves through hundreds of thousands of processes and systems. Companies must identify personal data location and assign responsibility for each dataset to ensure its quality.
Identifying personal information and understanding data privacy laws isn’t just an IT problem. Instead, compliance depends on teams and the synergy of IT, business, processes, systems, strategies and technologies. A centralized data governance framework enables a team approach, promoting collaboration and shared accountability of enterprise data.
Data governance helps organizations distribute data responsibilities, attaching data owners to sensitive data assets. In addition, governance streamlines collaboration to identify where all personal data lives in the enterprise ecosystem. Simultaneously, it tracks data lineage and visualizes all the processes and systems information as they move across the enterprise. Governance also makes it easier to centralize data quality efforts, setting controls on different systems to validate data quality for compliance and ensure accuracy and integrity.
Additionally, companies utilize data catalog tools to track data quality scores, categorize sensitive information, monitor data’s location, establish access rights and enact usage restrictions. Machine learning technologies help maintain compliance as regulations grow more complex and data environments expand.
Leveraging Machine Learning To Support Compliance
Identifying all personal information hidden throughout different data systems is a challenging task. People make mistakes and sometimes overlook sensitive data. However, machine learning algorithms proactively identify hidden personal data on hundreds or even thousands of systems, sources and processes so businesses can account for all data, classify it and apply usage restrictions.
Ensuring ongoing privacy compliance with various regulations requires constant documentation and monitoring of data, processes, and systems. By properly governing data and protecting its quality, organizations lay the foundation for data privacy compliance from creation or ingestion through consumption.
Does your business have the right framework and technologies to establish data quality and ensure ongoing regulatory compliance with data privacy laws?
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3c9fabc0d17480434bbe60e19e7f0777 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/15/how-new-bi-tools-can-help-shape-decision-making/?sh=696f3fa9679b | How New BI Tools Can Help Shape Decision-Making | How New BI Tools Can Help Shape Decision-Making
Daniel Fallmann is Founder and CEO of Mindbreeze, a leader in enterprise search, applied artificial intelligence and knowledge management.
Information insight is one of the most crucial elements in helping companies keep pace with rapidly changing business environments. Business Intelligence (BI) is complex with a lot of moving parts needed to get results. Information insight is key for the ability to know more than what just happened, but also what will happen next.
For many businesses, the biggest barrier to using analytics isn't its value, but how to access and understand data for better decision-making. To move to a next-gen BI mindset, you need to know about two cutting-edge concepts: unstructured data processing and digital twins.
The Evolving BI Landscape
Using unstructured data inside of traditional BI tools is a long-term trend that goes back more than 15 years — before most companies even knew what big data was — when vendors first discussed the use case to make this scalable for the business and the end-users. Even now, only a fraction of all companies use advanced analytics, and more still have hand-crafted and cumbersome spreadsheets.
The first generation of BI solutions was designed around the needs of corporate data warehouses, and they remain a vital part of the business intelligence landscape. But with the growth of unstructured data in multiple different sources — like document and content management systems, CRM systems and many others — a human being can simply no longer grasp the amount of data that organizations manage, so they need tools.
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With the rise of applied AI, these tools have become even more necessary. Advances in deep learning, reinforcement learning and other AI techniques are triggering a major shift in the way companies approach everything from day-to-day business operations to strategic planning. For businesses, AI promises to make work easier and more efficient, freeing up valuable time and resources.
The Hidden Power of Unstructured Data
Using business facts contained in structured — and especially unstructured — information opens up many new possibilities. Literally, every functional area inside an organization like maintenance, research and development, marketing and sales can benefit from this information as it helps them make better decisions and gives them a competitive advantage.
While most traditional analytics tools have typically relied on structured data (like what's found in a database), intelligence gathered about other critical pieces of data is largely found in unstructured environments (such as agreements, tickets, notes or emails). Platforms that contain unstructured data have fundamentally shifted how people consume information. Want to know what your opponents are up to? Check their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Want to know what your customers are saying? Read the reviews. Most of the time, the glut of excess information that businesses struggle with is from unstructured data. The problem? A lot of it is not easily parsed.
So how do BI reports start being intelligent and provide actionable information? With the goal of business process transformation in mind, business facts contained in unstructured data have the answers executives need. As companies become more data-driven, they're beginning to realize that quality is essential for proper analysis.
Are companies arriving at higher quality in their data? Yes, by way of digital twins.
Digital Twins Are Shifting Product Management
Digital twins are a digital representation of physical assets, processes or systems representing real-life objects, people or services. They capture the 3D geometry, mechanical functionality and electrical, and visualization components that go into making a product. When combined with an Insight Engine, they can also include all the data around a product's history, maintenance logs, spare parts availability and purchasing records. The concept of digital twins has emerged as a holistic view of data through acting as digital replicas.
Businesses are shifting from traditional product management to a more holistic view by using knowledge management to create digital twins for every business-relevant information object in the enterprise. Digital twins are now regularly adopted in new product and service development and, in many cases, are supplanting traditional product management methods. This technology combines data and machine learning with a new level of connectivity to people, processes and things.
Digital twins are constantly updated to reflect any changes made to the real-life version, which makes them highly valuable to companies. They provide the information needed to determine whether a product is in stock or not and where it is available for purchase. Better product management can be realized by analyzing how individual components work together, rather than looking at components individually.
How To Decide About Digital Twins
The ultimate goal of these AI-driven processes is to have the impact of delivering instant info, but, as a business leader, there are a few things to know about your existing set-up and a few challenges to be aware of.
When taking a look at the needs of each department and functional area, it's important to take into consideration the types of information views that workers need right away. For example, scaling the knowledge of lessons learned from projects throughout an organization can be of great value, so it is critical to enable this with specific parameters and dashboard views.
When considering adopting digital twins, there are many benefits to both processing unstructured data and using digital twins, but also a few instances where it might not be the best solution. It's important to weigh both. Consider both the size of your organization and the complexity of the objects or expert knowledge that needs to be searchable. While many companies are still exploring the possibilities of incorporating digital twins in their business, others are already seeing the benefits.
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a5c93c3a69ffcf9d7dd70a2fbc077ea5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/15/three-steps-for-rethinking-how-to-operationalize-ai-in-2021/ | Three Steps For Rethinking How To Operationalize AI In 2021 | Three Steps For Rethinking How To Operationalize AI In 2021
Venkat Viswanathan is Founder and Chairman of LatentView Analytics, a marketing analytics and decision science company.
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AI has the potential to drive tremendous business results, but far too many organizations have used it as an isolated and shiny new tool without integrating it into their organizations at scale.
A PwC survey shows that 52% of executives are ramping up their AI approaches in the wake of Covid-19. Despite that, the pandemic has forced executives to rethink how they deploy new AI initiatives and optimize AI resources, which means building a framework to operationalize AI is now a top priority.
Operationalizing AI is all about how to take the small AI projects you've been experimenting with and applying them to real business problems by replicating them at speed and scale. It's about going from data to insights. Here are three steps for organizations to rethink how they operationalize AI in 2021:
Automating AI (AutoAI and AutoML)
Though automating AI might sound redundant, the analogy of cooking a pizza can bring a lot of clarity to the concept. Using today's ovens, you can automate much of the pizza-baking process in terms of timing and temperature, but you still have to keep an eye on it. There's a certain art to balancing the "automated" baking elements while still manually ensuring that the pizza is baking properly.
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When building an ML model, there is a lot of raw data that needs to be orchestrated and systematically processed. Just as with the pizza, the art is in automating much of this process while still maintaining human oversight and quality control.
AutoML uses machine learning algorithms and real-time data to continuously improve the target ML model's performance. Humans can then ensure that bias is not creeping into the model and that it maintains certain performance standards. As humans and machines continue to collaborate to improve the model over time, it creates a feedback loop of success.
Make AI Explainable (XAI)
Responsible AI is a growing field of research within AI. Its framework helps build trust in your AI deployments. Ignoring such a framework can undermine your relationship with customers and employees alike. For example, a recent rift at Google was caused when an employee published a paper highlighting bias in its AI systems (paywall).
One exciting solution that could help identify and root out such bias is called explainable AI (XAI), and it's making AI more easily understandable. XAI is a technique that justifies an algorithm's outputs in a simple and clear way. For example, when it comes to image classification, explainable AI would classify an image and explain its rationale for doing so, helping researchers understand how their algorithm works while increasing trust that the system was bias-free.
As deep learning algorithms ingest increasingly massive amounts of data, it will become even more important to understand how and why they make decisions. For instance, the natural language processing model called GPT-3 has made waves for its sheer scale. It has over 175 billion weighted connections between words known as parameters. The model was trained on much of the English language on the internet, but, as a result, it has recently come under scrutiny for widespread bias. For example, the OpenAI researchers themselves noted that 83% of 388 occupations sampled were more likely to be associated with males than females.
Explainable AI could help researchers understand why the model is behaving in this way, so they can begin to fix the problem.
Adopt An AIOps Framework
Around 20 years ago, DevOps forever changed the way applications were developed, deployed and managed. DevOps standardized workflow procedures and pipelines, leading to dramatically improved efficiency and delivery times.
Today, AIOps and MLOps are doing the same thing for artificial intelligence. When Gartner first coined the term AIOps four years ago, they likely had no idea how much of an impact AIOps and MLOps would have on business operations in such a short time. In fact, Cognalityca predicts that the MLOps market will expand to nearly $4 billion by 2025.
These platforms help make the entire AI/ML lifecycle more structured and optimized. They streamline AI workflows and benchmark the success of new initiatives so that organizations better understand their AI operations and can iterate improvements over time.
For example, organizations are adopting containerization and automating workflows on platforms such as Red Hat on an infrastructure level. This allows them to deploy and automate microservices to bring new products to market much faster.
From Isolated AI Use Cases To Frameworks Of Success
According to PwC's 2021 AI predictions survey, 33% of companies started implementing limited AI use cases, while 25% had fully enabled AI processes with widespread adoption. I expect the latter to increase significantly by 2022, as organizations see the potential of fully integrated AI across their business units and teams.
To get there, they must adopt automated processes that can simplify how they build new AI/ML models, adopt responsible AI techniques such as XAI, and invest in AI and MLOps. Businesses simply cannot afford to move forward with expensive AI initiatives without these frameworks of success in place to enable lasting change.
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43539c5008df7ad0e83b4666a5ce27ad | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/15/why-low-code-automation-is-the-tech-of-the-future/?sh=40e7e797effc | Why Low-Code Automation Is The Tech Of The Future | Why Low-Code Automation Is The Tech Of The Future
Co-Founder and CEO at Ayehu Inc.
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In the not-so-distant past, enterprises relied solely on IT professionals to write the scripts needed to keep operations running smoothly. However, issues inevitably arose, particularly when the staffing shortage began to broaden, leaving many organizations with broken or malfunctioning processes due to lack of proprietary knowledge and adequate resources.
The introduction of low-code/no-code automation resolves these issues, breaking down barriers and empowering teams of any skill level to manage IT operations seamlessly.
What Is Low-Code/No-Code?
In simplest of terms, low-code or no-code automation platforms are software programs that require little to no coding knowledge. Unlike the back-end computer programming of the past, low-code/no-code automation takes more of a visual approach by offering predesigned workflow templates and a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface for customizing workflows.
Why Is Low-Code/No-Code So Critical Today?
The concept of low-code/no-code automation is rapidly gaining traction across just about every industry. In fact, Gartner forecasts that 75% of large enterprises will be using not just one but at least four low-code development tools by as early as 2024. This is completely understandable, particularly when you consider the many business benefits this type of automation has to offer. In particular, low-code/no-code automation solutions offer:
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• Advanced artificial intelligence.
• Data-driven decision support.
• Decreased dependency on IT.
• Greater agility.
• Higher ROI.
What Should You Look For In A Low-Code/No-Code Automation Platform?
Knowing what to look for in a low-code/no-code automation platform is pivotal to an organization’s success. As with any innovative technology, the market is quickly becoming saturated, and not all solutions are created equal. Some will promise the world but fall short on delivering. Others offer countless bells and whistles, many of which add up to unnecessary expenses.
Decision-makers weighing automation solutions would be wise to look specifically for products that offer the following key, fundamental features:
• Rapid time to market: One of the primary benefits of low-code/no-code automation is its ease of use. The goal should be to get up and running with advanced automation as quickly as possible, with little to no learning curve. If a platform seems too complex or confusing right off the bat, it’s probably not worth the investment.
• Prebuilt workflows: Again, the key here is ease of use. While you may want to use your automation platform to customize workflows that are unique to your organization, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. The more prebuilt, plug-and-play templates, the better. This will contribute to rapid deployment and quick returns.
• Seamless integration: The purpose of low-code/no-code should be to complement and elevate your existing infrastructure. It shouldn’t be a silo. As such, you should seek a platform that offers seamless integration with other tools and platforms. This will enable you to orchestrate complex workflows that involve multiple systems, including triggering automated remediation from AI-powered tools.
• Scalability: Most organizations list growth as a long-term goal. There’s no point in investing in an automation platform if it’s not capable of supporting your needs as your company expands. Look for a solution that can comfortably handle a significantly high volume of incidents, workflows and activities on demand — even if you’re not at that volume just yet.
• Self-service capability: Not only can low-code/no-code help bridge the talent gap by making automation accessible to varying skill levels, but it can also help free up the IT team by empowering end users to fulfill IT requests independently, without requiring the involvement of the service desk.
Getting Started With Low-Code/No-Code
As mentioned, getting started with low-code/no-code automation should be a relatively quick and simple task. In fact, with the right platform, you could be up and running in literally seconds. That being said, here are a few tips for maximizing the value of your automation initiative:
• Start with the low-hanging fruit: Identify tasks and workflows that can provide “quick wins” when automated, such as password resets and service restarts. This will provide a solid foundation upon which to build and also help gain buy-in from stakeholders.
• Scale with a plan: Once you’ve successfully automated some of the basic tasks and workflows and you’ve gained some traction in terms of ROI, start focusing on next steps. In particular, identify processes that will produce the highest value when automated. Then, map out a plan for how and when you’ll roll out an automation strategy for each.
• Use what’s available to you: Reiterating the importance of selecting an automation platform that can be easily and seamlessly integrated, you’ll want to take advantage of this capability as much as possible. For instance, you should leverage your automation solution to enhance and optimize your existing ITSM and ITOM tools, monitoring solutions, applications and cloud infrastructure.
In conclusion, low-code/no-code technology enables organizations of any size to overcome the developer shortage and harness the power of intelligent automation, regardless of available resources. This will essentially level the playing field and create a much more diverse and inclusive market for all. The key to success will ultimately lie in selecting the right tool and moving forward with a solid plan.
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7fc92c8c5177238561b8eb6c14f8bf15 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/16/15-smart-strategies-for-ensuring-a-successful-red-team-exercise/ | 15 Smart Strategies For Ensuring A Successful Red Team Exercise | 15 Smart Strategies For Ensuring A Successful Red Team Exercise
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Cybersecurity remains a key issue for tech companies, and many are choosing to engage in red team exercises to strengthen their systems. In these drills, a designated group attempts to find and exploit weaknesses within a company’s security system. Red team exercises can include cyber penetration trials as well as testing devices and wireless systems for security gaps.
Whether a red team exercise is carried out by your own team or you hire outside consultants, it will only help your team if it’s executed properly. Below, 15 members of Forbes Technology Council share smart steps for executing a successful red team exercise and why each one is important.
1. Get authorization and sign-off before beginning.
Done properly, red team exercises provide incredible insight into the actual state of security for an organization. The goal here is simply to “get access,” and the evidence is irrefutable—it’s neither academic nor a supposition. However, such activities are hostile by nature. Therefore, you must map the scope of your operations and get proper authorization and sign-off before proceeding. - Leonard Kleinman, RSA Security
2. Define your biggest security goals.
An essential step in a successful red team exercise is to correctly define your biggest security goals. Define what keeps the CSO, CIO, CTO or CEO up all night in terms of security vulnerability and attacks. A well-formed red team will map that high-level goal into technical goals, formulate an execution plan and stress key aspects to solve the biggest security challenges. - Deepankar Das, Sureline Systems
3. Define the scope and purpose.
It’s essential to have a clearly defined scope of the purpose of the exercise. That, along with your team’s unique experiences and diversity, are what makes for a successful exercise. Red team exercises should include your customer as well. Work with them so you can provide them with the utmost value through testing—don’t just test what you think they want. - Mark Carney, Coalfire
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4. Think in terms of a real-world exercise.
When we think of a red team exercise in terms of a parallel exercise in the physical world, it becomes easier to comprehend. If we ask a team of bank guards to identify and test a bank’s vulnerabilities, would we want the same guards who walk the bank’s halls and offices day after day to evaluate and test the bank’s alarms and security systems? Independence is the No. 1 factor for success. - Chris Leach, Cisco Systems
5. Clearly communicate what’s off-limits.
Fully document and understand the scope of the exercise and enforce it. Some activities may be off-limits (e.g., accessing the CEO’s email), and rightfully so. I have seen problems arise when there’s too little communication between the red team and the CISO/CIO, thereby producing “scope creep.” When this happens, tenures could be shortened on both sides! - Tom Garrubba, SFG/Shared Assessments
6. Cover the full attack surface.
An essential step in a successful red team exercise is to understand the attack surface and cover it all. The scope of the red team cannot be only what the company sees and is aware of from an attack surface perspective—it must also include what has been forgotten, such as old servers. The scope and coverage of the red team exercise need to be comprehensive. - Juliette Rizkallah, SailPoint
7. Focus on ways outsiders can gain access.
These exercises should not only focus on external threat detection but also take a full audit of an organization’s internal threat landscape. Breaches are often tied to human error on the part of an employee who “opens the door” for outsiders. Focusing on the ways outsiders gain initial access is critical. Pay special attention to areas with heightened access, capabilities, weaker systems and so on. - Mohan Koo, Dtex Systems
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8. Understand the test’s limits.
A red team exercise is an attention-getter, but it’s mainly a means to show a system’s insecurity by finding a weakness to exploit that leads to substantial negative effects, such as disabling fire control on a ship or changing a financial database. It’s not a thorough snapshot of vulnerabilities, and it’s instantly out of date. It’s essential to also use real-time, automated analytics for constant insight on vulnerabilities and weaknesses. - Philip Quade, Fortinet
9. Bring in an independent team.
Many companies form internal red teams. It is very important to have an outside-in view that comes from an independent team whose members are familiar with your market but also outside your market. Different industries have different approaches. Taking advantage of “new” thinking that comes from the red team members who do the review can add tremendous value. - John Walsh, Red Summit Global
10. Ensure the blue team isn’t tipped off.
Make the simulation as realistic as possible, and go in without assumptions. It’s also important to avoid tipping off the blue team about what’s coming. That’s the only way to get a realistic assessment of your capabilities. - Reuven Aronashvili, CYE
11. Avoid an adversarial stance between the two teams.
Red team exercises should not be stressful or turn teams against one another. Instead, cybersecurity leaders should find ways to make these exercises collaborative. You can even explore using gamification to help them make smart decisions. Even if the blue team gets hacked or falls for a phishing email, the teams can challenge and learn from each other without creating an adversarial culture. - Edward Bishop, Tessian
12. Focus on internal threats.
The most common and worst threats usually come from internal employees and their lack of knowledge or poor processes. Exercises that focus on social engineering and are internal to the business allow you to see where your threats occur and how you might be able to educate your team to avoid future problems. You’d be shocked at how easy it is to target a company from the inside out. - Tom Roberto, Core Technology Solutions
13. Provide context on the operational impact.
Have a well-defined scope and understanding of what is and what is not being evaluated in the context of business operational impact. Many times, pen testing is limited to a small subset of an organization’s attack surface, and the results can be misinterpreted as a holistic view of threats, leaving potential attack vectors unchecked. - Michael Montagliano, ProArch
14. Treat the exercise as training, not just a test.
Red teams tend to be good at finding the weaknesses in your IT. The questions in your CISO team’s mind should include, “Given the tools we have right now, could we have found the breach? Should we use our tools in a different way? Do we need to change our SIEM staff training or its emphasis?” Do that and the CISO team will stop viewing this as a “test” and start thinking of it as “exciting training.” - Tsvi Lev, NEC Corporation
15. Create an environment in which your team can speak freely.
The essential step in a successful red team exercise comes long before the exercise is implemented—and that step is making sure you’ve created a work environment in which your employees feel safe and comfortable communicating concerns. If you have a hostile environment where people are afraid to speak freely, the red team exercise will yield fruitless results. - Kison Patel, DealRoom
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8a5a9b83e5cedb11e1d6e0c10436ab19 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/16/how-can-you-go-global-as-a-startup/ | How Can You Go Global As A Startup? | How Can You Go Global As A Startup?
Farad Zabetian is a global business technologist & CEO, KUDO, a web-based video conference platform with real-time language interpretation.
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It’s hard to imagine that two decades have passed since I was a 26-year-old immigrant from Iran, launching a Bay Area tech startup that attracted high-level clientele like parliaments and international trade associations on almost every continent.
At an early stage of this business back in 2009, in the peak of the recession, I had the urge to go global and diversify, making my business less dependent on the U.S. economy.
I did some research and learned that Mexico was investing heavily in tourism and bringing many international conferences to the country. I did not think twice about finding and hiring an interpreter to introduce my company to event planners. I gathered a list of event planners and property managers in various large resorts and convention centers across Mexico and invited them for a 45-minute webinar.
Most importantly, to really make this work, I needed to invest in hiring a professional interpreter who could help me present this live in Spanish. It cost me $750 — at the time, hiring an expensive consultant like this was a risk and was quite an investment for me. But to my surprise, it turned into $3 million worth of contracts and the global diversification of my company.
That was many years ago, when it was not as easy to find talent like this with resources and the right platform. Since then, I've taken it upon myself to make this process easier for others. Today, going global, even for startups and small companies, is simple and affordable. I’m here to tell you it’s worth it.
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My entrepreneurial journey as a multilingual conference infrastructure specialist perhaps made it easier to think globally. I understand, though, that when entrepreneurs feverishly scribble down a business plan on a napkin, going global is often a “down the road” entrepreneurial dream. Now, living in a digital era, all commerce holds the promise of international reach.
With all the competition and challenges expected when starting a business, at first, going global may feel out of reach. However, the rewards beckon, from multiplying your revenue streams to building a genuinely world-class brand.
A major hurdle in doing business globally can be communication. Where do you find an interpreter when you need one? How do you translate a website or business materials?
As I was selling and leasing interpretation audio/video systems, I learned that these incredibly talented experts are an essential asset to help new enterprises. They remove communication friction and open up business possibilities, benefiting the 30.7 million small businesses in the U.S. alone whose footprint could be even larger. This eventually became a videoconference platform, and this experience served as a catalyst and eventual mission to facilitate access to professional interpreters for businesses, from billion-dollar multinationals to young startups.
Here are some worthwhile lessons from my journey:
• Communication is key. Do your research. Consider ramping into the most promising foreign markets first. Fully immerse yourself in what local customers need, but more importantly, learn their social mores. Make sure you have the tools you need; going global is practical when communication tools pave the way.
• Design for scale and plan to go global from day one. The United States is a very competitive market, and it’s expensive to compete here. Undoubtedly, many other parts of the world need what you do. For example, if you make airport software, your product could find customers from Argentina to Uzbekistan. Adventure awaits just about anywhere.
• Do not allow language to be a barrier. You will not be able to do this with Google Translate, yet you also do not need to earmark a large salary to keep an interpreter on staff or to fly linguists in from far-flung places. The world is filled with talented, trained linguists who speak any language needed, and some of them are experts in your industry.
• Tech is a tool, but people matter. AI cannot write a killer business plan. Algorithms don’t cure cancer (not yet). In the translation business, you need real people. After myriad international events from the G20 to nuclear summits and world leader meetings, I can affirm you will need a real human to navigate split-second decisions. How do you interpret an unclear statement? How do you translate something when there is no equivalent word or idea in your language? Reaching across continents requires the human touch.
• Be prepared for success. When you hear about startups that exploded in short periods of time, there’s a reason that’s in the news — because it’s highly unusual. Normally, success takes time. In our case, the Covid-19 pandemic catapulted videoconferencing to become a new business standard, and we expanded to over 100 team members in only nine months. Good preparation includes being practical but keeps a focus on scaling.
• Trust your instincts. Your people are your success; when you see the right attributes, don’t doubt yourself. Find and hire people who really know their subject matter, can demonstrate that they are accessible and are passionate. Everything else can be learned.
• Set boundaries for yourself. For even the most competent and efficient entrepreneur, the process of going global can stretch you thin. Living your job 24/7 isn’t healthy, mentally or physically. My advice: Keep all the motivation and passion, but expend that energy like an elite athlete to stay at peak performance. For me, I schedule quality time with my family, and I’m learning to play my classic-rock favorites on an electric guitar in between conference calls.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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cf9350d82dbe78088547e7fc00112bd2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/16/how-to-prepare-your-building-and-motivate-employees-to-return-to-the-workplace/ | How To Prepare Your Building And Motivate Employees To Return To The Workplace | How To Prepare Your Building And Motivate Employees To Return To The Workplace
Laurent Bataille is the EVP of Digital Energy at Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management & automation.
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In 1983, the World Health Organization created the term "sick building syndrome," focusing on indoor air quality as one of the most important factors around what makes a building healthy. But with the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of a healthy building has taken on a whole new meaning. While air quality is still paramount, a healthy building now includes physical and emotional health and well-being.
For a year now, people have been working from home while office buildings have sat dormant, sending building managers into overdrive to prepare for a safe return, whenever that may be. Beyond just occupancy monitoring, ventilation control and space management, employers are also having to consider everything from what groups should get access to the workplace first to installing ultra-violet lighting and replacing door fixtures with titanium handles to kill germs.
While a true return to the office looks different across the globe, building managers and employers are tasked with the challenge of not only making sure that they have prepared the office building for a safe return, but that the occupants feel motivated to make that return. In fact, according to a poll by Eagle Hill Consulting, 54% of U.S. employees say they are worried about exposure to Covid-19 at their job, but 71% have confidence that their employers can bring them back to work safely.
The Value Of Employees
People are one of the most valuable assets of any organization. In fact, in a commercial office building, they are typically the most expensive asset at roughly $300/ft. But with the accounting laws that are in place and how leases are structured, occupants are often seen as a liability. This creates a challenge for facility and real estate professionals who need to keep operating expenses and capital expenditures costs as low as possible.
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Given this, it’s no surprise that various aspects of a building environment — including CO2 concentrations, temperature, humidity, lighting, noise and more — are often off balance, impacting workers’ performance in the office. We’ve all experienced meetings in a frigid conference room that affect not only our comfort but our cognitive functioning. While many can identify with the cold temperatures, far fewer understand that it is the result of the building overcompensating in anticipation of high occupant density. But this only works if there is an accurate snapshot of occupants in the conference room.
As building operators and employers grapple not only with existing office challenges like temperature but also new concerns around sickness, those that will ultimately succeed in bringing employees back are those that provide employees with access, information and control. This will not only allow employees to feel safe about their return to work, but also will motivate them to return in the first place.
Empowering Occupants With Mobile Applications
Improving occupant well-being isn’t limited to the changes building managers make to the building and its systems. Part of well-being is having relaxed, less anxious, confident and productive occupants. And one of the ways to help achieve this is by providing employees with the ability to engage with the building itself.
Smart building apps act as a single “source of truth” where teams can deliver critical information and communicate with specific departments directly while employees can use applications to better navigate the new normal in the office. Putting elements of the building control in the hands of the occupants provides occupants with a level of control. For example, using a mobile app to control things like elevators, pin pads, lighting switches, audio/visual equipment and thermostats reduces worker anxiety about getting sick with limited touchpoints. On top of that, being able to change lighting, temperature and open blinds in a meeting room allows employees to interact with their workspace as they do with their home.
But empowering employees with a digitized workplace experience is not possible if the building infrastructure isn’t set up to support it. Many of today’s office buildings have building management systems that only support plant systems. Others — like those that control security, safety and lighting — are controlled by their own applications and supervisor panels with their own support networks. In contrast, an intelligent building management system (iBMS) allows building systems and services to interact together. When data from systems and devices can be transmitted back to an iBMS, it creates an operating system for the entire building.
The lack of interoperability between different building systems is one of the major inhibitors of the adoption of smart building technology and subsequently building applications for employees. Open protocol systems that allow all systems to communicate in a common language is critical to success.
In addition, connected devices and an IoT ecosystem are fundamental building blocks for success, and it impacts everyone from occupants to landlords to building managers. For example, facial recognition technology means an occupant can enter the building without an ID card while sensors on lifts can monitor shaft alignment and cab speed and identify maintenance needs. But to make this connected world a reality, building owners and real estate developers need to make the investment and start retrofitting their buildings for a return to the workplace.
Having the right infrastructure in place allows facility managers and building operators to get a deeper level of insight into how employees are using the spaces to make improvements and adjustments in real time to improve the health score of their buildings.
What’s Next?
As the year gets underway, it is yet to be seen what the next normal will look like and when we might return to life as we know it. But crowded elevators, packed boardrooms and packed co-working spaces are more than likely a thing of the past.
Buildings and in-office collaboration still play a critical role in business. If we want to motivate employees to return to work, we need to create an environment where they feel productive and confident in their safety and well-being. Smart buildings can help make that a reality.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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a48f203cbfc7972dc6db3dfb7bbea46d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/16/the-five-part-framework-for-fundraising/?sh=73ecad2c7398 | The Five-Part Framework For Fundraising | The Five-Part Framework For Fundraising
Co-Founder & CEO of Braintrust, the first user-owned talent network connecting enterprises with highly skilled tech talent in 48-hours.
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As an entrepreneur, you wear lots of hats. CFO, marketer, hiring manager — just to name a few. But the one hat that both my co-founder, Gabe Luna-Ostaseski, and I dislike the most is the fundraiser hat.
Eight companies later and more than $155 million raised between us (the most recent $20 million in the middle of a pandemic), we still don’t like it, but we have gotten pretty good at it.
We’re also big believers in sharing what we’ve learned. Our hope is that our own experiences can help save you from some of the heartache and mistakes we’ve made along the way. More importantly, we hope they can help you secure the funding you need to bring your idea to life.
Gabe and I have tried a lot of different tactics, and in sitting down to write this, developed a five-step framework of the approach that has worked most effectively. Hint: The timing and sequence are key.
1. Choose The Right Investors
It’s not about how much money you raise; it's about the people who help get you there.
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This may seem like an odd statement in an article on fundraising, or even as the first step, but the truth is that money only gets you so far. If you want to go further, it’s important to consider who is providing the funding and what else they have to offer. A good investor should act like a business partner who provides the experience, knowledge and network you need to succeed.
For Gabe and I, we knew that if we wanted to build Braintrust on blockchain technology, then we needed investors who understood the power of decentralized networks and could provide valuable input on token economies. And since we wanted to target global enterprises, we needed our investors to be located strategically all over the world.
These weren’t just perks — they were core reasons we decided to raise this round in the first place.
That’s why we partnered with investors like IDEO, ACME, Homebrew and True Ventures. They gave us the insight, experience and network we needed to grow our startup.
2. Know When To Ask
Most founders make the mistake of only asking for money when they need it.
In our last round, Gabe and I raised $20 million, but it wasn’t because we were broke. In fact, we intentionally set out to raise when we had more than half of our seed capital sitting in the bank, over 30 months of runway and a path to break even within the next 12 months.
We were in a strong position.
As a result, we were able to be more selective with our investors and interview them as much as they were interviewing us. It also saved us from a lot of stress, knowing that we still had time on the clock.
3. Leverage Your Momentum
Fundraising is a game of momentum.
As a founder, it’s easy to be passionate about your idea, but passion alone doesn’t win over investors. You need to be able to show them that your idea, no matter how small at this point, is racking up the wins.
Once you have that momentum behind you, it’s your job to ride that wave of success and raise the money you need to catch the next one. But just like catching an actual wave, timing is everything.
If you go too early or too late, you’re going to end up watching others ride what could have been yours.
4. Prove Traction
Without a set of clear milestones, it’s impossible to prove traction and convince investors that you’re headed in the right direction.
Gabe and I believed that the future of talent networks would be user-owned, allowing them to grow faster and create more value than corporate-controlled, rent-seeking platforms. But when we started, we couldn’t prove it. So we came up with a list of key performance indicators that could validate our model.
As soon as those milestones were met, we knew we were in a position to raise more capital. Our investors didn’t have to take our word for it. We had all the proof we needed.
We just needed to show them.
5. Be Ready With Your GTM
The final thing you need before you can start scheduling meetings with investors is a go-to-market plan and a strategy for implementing it.
Our plan required us to double the size of our existing team. And because our startup was a user-owned talent network, we knew that we could rely on that same network to expand our team — proving our model even further. They call that eating your own dog food — use your product or service to improve your product or service.
Now that our plan and strategy were in place, we were ready to start meeting with investors.
Conclusion
Fundraising isn’t for the faint of heart. It will always challenge you in new ways. Nobody likes hearing their baby called ugly 75 times in a month, but the process makes you stronger, sharper and more likely to succeed, regardless of the amount you raise. Many investors won’t care about or understand what you’re doing — you just need to persist through the process, undeterred.
Our hope is that this framework will make it a little bit easier like it has for us. Go in from a position of strength. Stay true to your values. Be relentless in this process. You’ll eventually find the partners and the capital you need to bring your idea to life.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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fedba3cbff30e30de838b130139e7af3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/17/16-factors-that-can-make-or-break-a-developer-candidates-interview/?sh=250dfdb45e4f | 16 Factors That Can Make Or Break A Developer Candidate’s Interview | 16 Factors That Can Make Or Break A Developer Candidate’s Interview
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When hiring a new candidate for your tech team, it’s important to look for both “gold stars” and “red flags.” While most hiring teams usually recognize the industry-leading skills or impressive backgrounds that make a candidate stand out, they may not be as quick to spot undervalued qualities or potential warning signs.
As tech leaders, the members of Forbes Technology Council have extensive experience interviewing and selecting the right candidates for their teams. Below, 16 members share comments, attitudes or résumé items from a developer candidate that would make or break their interview and why.
1. Their Willingness To Go Outside Their Comfort Zone
There is no one comment that a smart candidate makes in an interview process that can make or break an interview. You have to look for patterns. One thing I dig deep to find is if the candidate is comfortable going outside his or her comfort zone to try difficult things and learn from the experience. That is an intrinsic trait that’s hard to inculcate, but it can do wonders and help someone achieve what feels impossible. - Deepankar Das, Sureline Systems
2. Their Values
It all begins with values alignment—all other gaps can be bridged. Technical skills and experience in a given area can be learned. What you cannot learn, however, is to work with excellence, have integrity, be humble and so on. These core areas point to who the person is, not a particular behavior. I always focus on who a candidate is, as that is where the red flags or gold stars usually come from. - Danny Acuna, Danvir Consulting
3. Their Attention To Detail
If a role is going to require attention to detail—which it will in most product teams—spelling errors, incorrect dates and other sloppy oversights do not bode well. Additionally, the candidate needs to have done their research about the company and products and, at minimum, reviewed the LinkedIn profiles of those they are going to meet. Research and preparation are required skills. - Craig Stewart, SnapLogic
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4. Their Interest In Learning
Interest in “learning” is a gold star, while hunger for “professional growth” is usually a red flag. Of course, there are a lot of discussions to have here, but when someone is looking to quickly increase their paycheck it is usually done in a mercenary way—they will quickly jump from one job to the next opportunity they find a faster “career evolution” (or better paycheck) in. - Danae Vara Borrell, Gocleer
5. Their Seeming To Be A ‘Know-It-All’
One thing that can break an interview quickly is a candidate’s comment that gives the impression of their being a “know-it-all.” This is a red flag of massive proportions, especially when someone gives the impression of knowing how to get the answers to questions or problems that have never been encountered before. Confidence is one thing, but overconfidence is another. - Mohamad Zahreddine, TrialAssure
6. Their Accomplishments
A candidate’s accomplishments must be tied to business outcomes. Developers who understand the mission of the company create better applications. Successful outcomes mean that their software met a business need and was inherently usable by the end-users. Coders are a commodity—developers transform business requirements into effective solutions. - Phil Alberta, IPM
7. Their Attitude And Culture Fit
I look for great athletes with the right attitude and culture fit—I don’t look at certifications, education or a long, robust résumé when I hire talent. Experience in taking the initiative, successfully being a change agent or the creation of an out-of-the-box-thinking piece of work attract me to a candidate. Innovation and initiative are key in transforming the application development market. - John Walsh, Red Summit Global
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8. Their Career Story
I look for evidence of a strong and compelling narrative. Does the candidate know how to communicate the story of their career in a way that matches up with the needs of my business? If the answer is yes, that usually means the candidate has an awareness of how their role will support my organization’s mission. - Brady Brim-DeForest, Theorem
9. Their History As A Consultant
To me, it is a red flag when somebody has been a consultant for too long. In those cases, I immediately ask myself the following: “Why did this consultant never get an offer for a full-time position from their clients—were they not good enough? Does this candidate maybe have a hard time working in a team?” Both concerns represent a no-go. - Eric Trabold, Nexkey, Inc.
10. Their Ownership Of Projects
A dealmaker is an instance of the candidate proving, through experience, that they took full ownership of a project and were able to solve complex issues with high-quality work. A dealbreaker is an instance of the candidate citing only bad memories or issues with earlier companies. Such candidates will poison the environment with negative thoughts and will not be able to adapt. - Nitesh Sinha, Sacumen
11. Their Record Of Self-Development
Self-development is a make-or-break factor for me. When hiring a Python developer, for example, I don’t look for someone with five years of Python experience alone—rather, I look for someone who worked with C for one year, then with PHP for two years, then two more in Python. The latter is much likelier to continue to develop new skills and grow as an employee. - Gergo Vari, Lensa, Inc.
12. Their Time Spent At Previous Jobs
A major red flag for a potential developer candidate would be a job history that illustrates “job-hopping.” When looking for a reliable developer candidate, it’s critical to identify those who remain with a company through multiple projects. - Tal Frankfurt, Cloud for Good
13. Their Online Portfolio
One potential red flag in a candidate is the lack of any Web presence. A front-end developer should show they can design a website, while a back-end developer doesn’t need that requirement. Regardless of the position, most people have an online footprint, and professionals will at least have an online portfolio to show off their work. Always check their work if it’s available. - Arnie Gordon, Arlyn Scales
14. Their Participation In Open-Source Projects
A gold star would be participating in open-source or community projects. It shows me an internal drive that’s motivated not only by a day job but by passion. A red flag would be someone writing too many details about the projects they did instead of the tools they possess. I care more about what you have learned than what you were doing while you learned it. - Joel Montvelisky, PractiTest
15. Their Attitude Toward Being Part Of A Team
One red flag is an indication that the potential developer is not a team player. In big organizations such as ours, we rely heavily on team effort and collaboration. We need to be sure that a candidate is a team player because a lack of cooperation and communication can eventually lead to team friction and bad work results. - Ivailo Nikolov, SiteGround
16. Their Passion For The Field
A candidate needs passion, drive and empathy. The rest will follow. All the technical or nontechnical skills required for the job will evolve naturally. - Didem Un Ates, Microsoft
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10c9de8d7d38d990c448a8d10a902c6a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/17/how-to-obtain-the-holy-grail-of-simple-real-time-analytics/?sh=5be28a68462b | How To Obtain The Holy Grail Of Simple, Real-Time Analytics | How To Obtain The Holy Grail Of Simple, Real-Time Analytics
Jordan Tigani is Chief Product Officer at SingleStore. Tigani was formerly director of product management and a founder of Google BigQuery.
Gary Burchell
To be more competitive, organizations want to make better, faster decisions. Sometimes they also want to give customers access to relevant data. To reach their intended business outcomes and deliver great customer experiences, organizations need both analytical and transactional capabilities coupled with current data so that they can act in the moments that matter.
In efforts to become more data-driven, businesses often bolt on data infrastructure. This leads to unnecessary complexity, limits opportunities, and adds costs and fragility because there are too many moving parts.
Investing in infrastructure can be a surprisingly emotional decision for something so technical. Nobody wants to say that the current approach isn’t working, and people end up buying because they fall in love with a feature that they might never use. There is a better way.
Here’s a guide to help you on the journey to greater understanding and better results.
Embrace In-App Analytics
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Using analytics in your apps allows you to influence customers’ behaviors within or outside of the app. We tend to think of analytics as only for dashboards and visualizations. But any type of personalization, gamification or search functionality needs analytic capability. Any time you want to allow your customers to make a decision based on data or influence your customers to make a decision, you need analytics.
Further, analytics can help you understand the state of your business in real time and the level of customer experience that you are delivering. Pairing analytics with machine learning allows you to make recommendations and change the experience in your app automatically based on data. However, analytic data tends to be locked up in the data warehouse, which isn’t usually the appropriate tool for allowing end users access. Data warehouses generally don’t scale to high numbers of users or can’t provide results based on the latest data.
For example, financial services companies can provide wealth management dashboards so their customers can make trades and understand their investment histories and portfolio values. Fitness tracker apps let users track their heart rates and exercise regimens — and adjust their habits for better health. Gamification and leaderboards are used in work and personal applications. All of these use cases create behavioral change in people’s business and personal lives, and all of them require analytics.
Adopting data infrastructure to get better performance is the default path for many organizations, forcing them to give up in-app analytics. But to move fast and scale, you don’t have to throw away the things you used to do. Embrace the power of in-app analytics again (or for the first time). It’s a highly underrated secret to success!
Stop Moving Your Data
Most organizations rely on a transactional database to power their apps, and those databases aren’t able to deliver analytics at scale. It’s complicated to move data from a transactional database to an analytics database to enable in-app analytics.
There is an alternative: Use a unified database that supports transactions and analytics to simplify operations and deliver greater value to customers and your business. This will allow you to eliminate many of the boxes on your data infrastructure diagram that are needed to extract, transform and load (ETL) data to move it between databases. You will avoid data leakage, and your analytics will be always up to date. You’ll get to your desired business outcomes faster.
Make Big Data Seem Like Small Data
When you have a small dataset, it's easy to scan and analyze all of your data. The larger your data gets, the more specialized techniques you need to handle different types of workloads. The volume and velocity of data continue to grow. An estimated 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created daily, and 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last two years.
Even if you have a database like MySQL or Postgres that is designed for fast updates and look-ups, you may struggle as the workload expands. If you use a NoSQL database like Mongo or Cassandra, you may struggle to access data in context across your datasets. But that’s what analytics at scale requires.
Embrace technology that can handle different types of workloads – whether they’re transactional or analytical in nature — and that involves structured, unstructured or semi-structured data or relies on data that lives in public clouds, on-premises or across hybrid environments. This will simplify your data infrastructure so you can go back to the small data way of doing things.
Get Visibility Even In Foggy Conditions
If you're flying a plane and can look out the window to see what's going on, you don't need data. But when you go into a fog bank, you need to rely on your instruments.
Covid-19 means that we can't use the same signals that we used before. We have all flown into a fog bank, so everybody needs data. To understand what's going on, organizations need better data analytics.
If you already have operational data and you need to jump-start your analytics, put your transactional and analytics capabilities in one place. This is a far more effective strategy than building out complicated infrastructure to do ETL, data transformation and data warehousing.
Take A Generational Leap Forward
If you're going to modernize your data infrastructure, why not take a generational leap and do something different and valuable rather than just doing the same things less expensively?
When you use real-time data analytics to understand situations fast, new use cases become available. You see what’s going on in your business now rather than just in the past. You can cut costs by making decisions continuously rather than once per day. You can see a problem and fix it before it impacts customers and creates bigger problems.
You can also benefit from the holy grail of simple analytics — which is possible today — to understand opportunities as they arise so you can act in the moments that matter. In the process, you will engage customers, grow your business and get a jump on your competitors.
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e8441ccc87fb1eb2ef58f824c4aae039 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/17/the-milkman-delivers-lessons-on-brand-promise-and-trust/?sh=6f1350e26d67 | The Milkman Delivers Lessons On Brand Promise And Trust | The Milkman Delivers Lessons On Brand Promise And Trust
Dale Renner is CEO & co-founder of Redpoint Global, a leading software provider helping brands deliver revenue-generating, personalized CX.
getty
When I was a kid growing up on a farm in Iowa, you could set your clock to the milkman. He was as regular as the rooster. The distinctive clink of the chilled glass bottles as he set them down on the porch served as a daily reminder that you’d better get ready for school in a hurry. I’d wonder how he always knew just the right amount of milk to leave. While the neighborhood milkman —and glass milk bottles — are of a bygone era, the tradition provides important lessons about what it means to engage with a customer in an age where a personalized customer experience (CX) is valued ahead of price or product.
In a consumer survey my company recently conducted with Dynata, 82% of consumers said they expect retailers to be able to accommodate their preferences and expectations. Furthermore, 70% said that they will shop exclusively with brands that personally understand them.
The milkman (and other service individuals assisting my family) understood personalization in a way that today's brands strive for. The relationship that my family had with the milkman rises as the "cream of the crop," because it meant more than being able to count on a good product at a fair price. We trusted him. By trust, I don’t mean my mother would ask him to babysit, but we trusted the brand promise. There was an inherent understanding that the milkman would always deliver exactly what we needed, that he’d stand behind the product and that he would accommodate us when our needs changed — which he seemed to know with an uncanny ability.
That's what gave the relationship value — and it was a two-way street. We knew to leave empty bottles out front. We knew to keep the porch light on during dark winter mornings. We knew to let him know if we’d be away.
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The key to the entire relationship, what made it an unbreakable bond, was relevance. Trust came from relevance, and today’s consumer expects relevance when they refer to a "personal understanding." It's about a brand knowing a customer's preferences and behaviors, likes and dislikes, and knowing precisely what the customer expects out of the relationship. A personal understanding means being relevant to the customer regardless of how a customer chooses to engage. The experience being delivered — in-store, online, call center or really any customer-facing interaction — must consistently reflect the brand promise, underpinned by persistent, sustained relevance.
Data Is The Oil For Today’s Business (Or Is It Milk?)
A Cognizant survey on the business value of trust shows how we can begin to quantify what trust — in the context of brand promise — means for driving profitable growth. Half of consumers surveyed said they would pay a premium for products and services from companies they trust, with more than half (57%) saying they would stop doing business from a brand that has broken that trust. Consumers identified one of the components of trust as "delivering contextually relevant experiences," with 58% demanding personalized products and services from companies.
Just like the milkman of yesteryear, consistent relevance borne from a personal understanding rests on data. Without realizing it, the milkman was ahead of his time. The empty bottles he collected let him know how to stock the truck for the next delivery, not just for our home, but for everyone on each route. Data provided the personal understanding, which in turn solidified the brand promise. He knew when someone in the neighborhood had a baby, when someone went off to college, when someone was sick, and he used that information to deliver even more relevance.
Brands have the same objective today, albeit on a grander scale. Yesterday's driveway chats are today's data and analytics for "neighborhoods" of hundreds of thousands or millions of customers. Customers will gladly share data with a company, but as we’ve seen in multiple surveys, it's less about securing a better price or a higher quality product than it is about forming a bond. Customers value a personalized experience that comes from a relationship built on trust. When we, as customers, see a company is displaying a personal understanding every time we choose to engage, reflected by sustained relevance independent of channel, we reward the company with loyalty.
What Was Old Is Once Again New
We will continue to engage because by delivering hyper-relevant experiences that are meaningful to our unique customer journey, a brand demonstrates unequivocally that it is honoring its brand promise. It proves itself worthy of our business, worthy of engaging with us, because it understands the expected value must be the value we receive or there is no trust.
It’s funny, prior to looking at the Dynata survey I hadn’t thought about my family’s milkman in a long time. But the fact that it still evokes pleasant, vivid memories many years later shows how much that relationship meant. Coincidence or not, when my partners and I started our company, the notion of trust was one of our three founding principles (along with flawless execution and delighting the customer). Being attentive to a customer’s concerns, being willing to compromise when an issue needs resolution, delivering as we said we would — these are, to me, cornerstones of our brand promise and far more important than trying to squeeze every last dollar out of a deal. I measure value by having satisfied, long-term clients who are willing and eager references.
With products largely becoming commoditized, the competitive frontier has moved to customer experience. And customers have put brands on notice — value in a brand relationship means a deep personal understanding exhibited by personalized, relevant experiences. That is how trust is earned and how brand value is measured. Companies have far more advanced technology today than a 20th century Iowa milkman, but in many ways the objective hasn’t changed at all. The past, as they say, is prologue.
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09a8fc2168db420f31603fff9ef7afe3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/17/why-a-novel-data-processing-philosophy-is-necessary-for-an-emerging-data-trend/?sh=3268853c6168 | Why A Novel Data Processing Philosophy Is Necessary For An Emerging Data Trend | Why A Novel Data Processing Philosophy Is Necessary For An Emerging Data Trend
Founder of IQLECT and author of BangDB, a converged NoSQL database platform. Passionate about data and AI.
Copyright by Tom Werner
A subtle but palpable trend has been taking place the last few years in the way data is being created and consumed. According to IDC (via Network World), "The collective sum of the world’s data will grow from 33 zettabytes this year [2018] to a 175ZB by 2025, for a compounded annual growth rate of 61%." This is changing the ground rules for the processing and analysis of the data.
This data trend is paving the way for a new set of use cases that had previously not been emphasized. It also is changing the way some of the existing use cases are being handled and consumed, which in turn will demand a novel and much more modern way to address these scenarios. For example, different datasets like images, text, voice or videos flowing in from many different sources could partly or fully be combined in real time to enable use cases that could completely change the way we carry out our daily lives and businesses.
Challenges We Face Today
Due to the rapid speed at which this is taking place, we are not very well equipped to handle it in a practical manner. Most of the existing systems and platforms in the market were primarily designed (rightly so) for a particular kind of data (at the time these tools were created). However, as we see, due to the current recent trend, the shape and size of data are changing, so the very basics of the premise around data creation and consumption are no longer valid. Therefore, it is understandable that there will be an impedance mismatch as far as the requirements and support from the existing infrastructure is concerned.
We need a new approach created solely for this trend to align and cater to the new set of use cases that may become a matter of survival for most businesses. The usual approach of integration of different heterogeneous tools to create a homogenous solution framework is not going to be feasible at all.
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Fusion Of Different Dimensions At Scale
If you look closely, there is a convergence of different problem spaces happening at the core. For example, to do even a simple job of monitoring an ongoing operation, we need various data (text, voice, etc.) to be ingested and processed in real time (streaming). Then, it must be predictive (AI) in nature, both at the local (edge or within a device) and cloud levels. Due to the speed and scale at which this takes place, it becomes nearly impossible to use a siloed or “stitched together” kind of a platform. This simply won't scale.
That's the first core problem that we need to handle.
We must also converge all participating dimensions from the solution space as well in order to counter this fusion of different challenges that we face at the moment, which will grow only bigger and become tougher to handle. We must break the silos and create a converged architectural space that then should grow linearly in order to match the velocity and volume of data.
This fusion of different dimensions from the solution space would provide ways to natively integrate and support different flavors of data. The high-level abstraction would offer a consistent interface for handling all kinds of data. The convergence of streaming and AI would allow the continuous processing of data in both an absolute and predictive manner. The native integration will give the user full control of every single byte being ingested and processed by the system, which will reduce the latency to allow for high-speed precision processing. The stream processing will ensure continuous aggregation, running statistics, event predictions and relevant actions on a real-time basis.
This converge-first approach would also allow true linear scaling of the system. With siloed architecture, we find it always extremely hard to scale different verticals together. Further complete utilization of resources is also not possible. But with convergence, we don't need to bother with scaling single dimension, and high resource utilization is definitely the byproduct.
Further siloed (semi-siloed) architecture forces too many network hops along with too many copies of data. In this scenario, even with a very high processing efficiency, low latency (or high speed) is not possible with this architecture. We need to minimize network hops and the copying of data as much as possible. With convergence, we minimize both the network hops and data copy, thereby improving the performance.
Conclusion
The rapid explosion of data of all kinds and sudden need to capture and analyze all of this data in real time is forcing us to break away from the traditional, disparate, integrated architecture of a particular system. Instead, we need to adopt natively converged scalable units of a compute model to not only cope with the situation but remain innovative and relevant in the market in the coming years.
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186363967b84668dfbc4b52eb970e656 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/14-important-initiatives-every-tech-leader-should-pursue-in-2021/?sh=7e8426fa7341 | 14 Important Initiatives Every Tech Leader Should Pursue In 2021 | 14 Important Initiatives Every Tech Leader Should Pursue In 2021
In the tech industry, it’s not only the hardware and software that evolves quickly. Trends in project planning and tracking, productivity, customer experience, and more can quickly come and go. Developers and executives must stay up to date on all the latest skills and practices. If they don’t, they risk falling behind competitors, losing top talent and more.
As leaders in the tech industry, the members of Forbes Technology Council have valuable insights on the latest trends. Below are the 14 initiatives they believe every tech executive should pursue in 2021 and why.
Members of Forbes Technology Council share vital skills and initiatives tech leaders need to pursue in 2021. Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Translating Technology To Business Objectives And Outcomes
Too often, C-suite and board members struggle to understand how emerging technologies and transformations will impact the business. Either the information given to them is lacking business context or is too technical. Staying up to date on technology is a significant part—but only part—of the equation. - Michael Montagliano, ProArch
2. Making Quick Decisions
Every executive needs to master the ability to make quick decisions to capitalize on opportunities as they arise this year. The executives who succeed will be those who can pivot their teams to capitalize on every new opportunity that arises as the globe opens back up. - Laureen Knudsen, Broadcom
3. Practicing IT Hygiene
IT hygiene is a skill that we will see and hear more about this year, especially within the tech industry. This involves keeping data clean and protected as well as improving the efficiency of devices, operating systems and software. This allows for fewer vulnerabilities and more insight into weaknesses within an organization’s infrastructure. - Brian Davidson, Congruity360
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4. Using Technology To Overcome Limitations
A critical skill for any tech executive is being able to match a limitation your organization is facing with a technology designed to diminish or overcome this limitation. New technology can bring value only if it helps an organization diminish or overcome a limitation that’s standing in the way of achieving one or more of its goals. - Alan Barnard, Goldratt Research Labs LLC
5. Mastering Digital Communications
Given all the changes due to Covid-19, lockdowns and reduced travel, tech executives need to master the use of digital social media and communications platforms to both stay up to date and to continue to engage with their ecosystem, their colleagues and their customers absent the “face-to-face.” - Jennifer Esposito, Magic Leap
6. Exploring Hyper-Automation
The classic combination of artificial intelligence and robotics is helping fast-track business transformation while improving efficiencies, experiences and economies. Hyper-automation allows tech executives to learn and master machine learning techniques and smart cognitive automation that can hyper-automate business processes. - Sriram Bhargav Madhav, provenio.ai
7. Understanding User Pain Points
We must understand user pain points and solve their problems first. Our job is to create products that solve customer’s problems—it’s not the customer’s job to make our company successful. If tech executives focus on best solving customers’ problems, everything else will fall into place. - Brandon Welch, Doxy.me
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8. Connecting Daily Activities To Organizational Outcomes
Tech execs should master the ability to connect what they and their teams do every day to their organization’s outcomes, both tactical and strategic. It’s critical for technology teams to not just meet delivery milestones but also to stay aligned to business goals, prioritize and focus on what matters, and contribute to the execution of their company’s strategy. - Julie Iskow, Workiva
9. Curating A System Of Technology Partners
Focused innovations from startups can be like tech’s “Big Five” coming up with breakthrough platforms—but an important part of the business process is being able to quickly offer the benefits of these innovations. Bringing together the capabilities of multiple startups, building integrations and extending collaboration can create value for both the businesses and their customers much faster than working in isolation. - Chandrasekhar Somasekhar, CLEAREYE.AI, INC.
10. Networking
Networking is an important skill to master in any line of work. Surrounding yourself with smart, talented people, whether they be team members, advisors or peers, is a best practice. Always invest time in learning, especially in the fast-paced world of tech. Subscribe to newsletters, podcasts, journals or any other medium that is going to provide reliable, relevant information for your industry. - Fardad Zabetian, KUDO
11. Perfecting Recruiting And Hiring
Hiring has always been one of the most important skills for a manager. In 2021, remote work has become the status quo, so tech executives should spend even more time on hiring since the potential for errors is even higher when you cannot meet the person face-to-face. It’s critical to give the hiring process enough time to ensure it’s successful. - Nitzan Shapira, Epsagon
12. Getting Comfortable With Vulnerability
2020 was a challenging year. In 2021, it’s important to get comfortable with vulnerability because, during unprecedented times, we will not know all of the answers. We have seen much hardship and gained new perspectives during the pandemic. Being open to admitting we don’t know all the answers and being willing to figure things out together will keep people aligned and let us share the responsibility of solving problems. - Maria Arshad, LaunchGood Inc.
13. Fostering Empathy And Inclusion
Tech leaders need to focus on empathy and applying tech to build a more inclusive future. There is a true full-circle relationship between empathy and technology—we ought to build tech that more richly comprehends humans while also using tech to enhance our empathy with others. - Carlos Pignataro, Cisco Systems, Inc.
14. Practicing Mindfulness
Tech executives are exposed to digital screens for several hours a day. Collective dopamine loops reduce listening and perpetuate reactive behavior. Being present elevates listening and breaks the cycle. Decisions are more thoughtful, and collective confidence in them is higher. Either way, the organization follows the leader, and it quickly becomes culture. - Kashyap Deorah, HyperTrack
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79d0bbf63690f5f08e49317016bac770 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/five-questions-to-ask-before-migrating-data-to-the-cloud/ | Five Questions To Ask Before Migrating Data To The Cloud | Five Questions To Ask Before Migrating Data To The Cloud
Rehan Jalil is CEO of cybersecurity and data protection infrastructure firm SECURITI and ex-head of Symantec’s cloud security division.
getty
Cloud computing has transformed business in remarkable ways. While it enables and accelerates digital transformation for businesses of all sizes, the cloud has also accelerated the data economy. Organizations can analyze petabytes of information in minutes to make better business decisions. Yet there's a dark side to all the data that flows across devices, systems and multicloud environments: managing security, protecting privacy and adhering to a growing array of regulatory requirements.
As organizations migrate data to the cloud, there's a risk that sensitive data—everything from trade secrets to personal data—could be exposed inadvertently or maliciously. While government regulations and industry standards provide a basic framework for addressing security and privacy, they aren't enough. It's essential for organizations to adopt a more holistic and automated framework.
A starting point for navigating today's complex data security and privacy landscape is to recognize a key fact—business agility and data protection are inextricably linked. Before and after migrating to the cloud, organizations tend to hyper-focus on the threat of data leaks as well as fines and penalties. However, inadequate data security can introduce friction that can slow business processes and stifle innovation.
For example, companies stuck in a reactive mindset wind up spending more time and resources on ad hoc data security measures after data has been migrated to the cloud. A more robust framework for managing security and privacy risks should be considered at the embryonic stage of a cloud migration process.
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What does this proactive approach look like? Before migrating data to the cloud, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What sensitive data resides on-premises? An important initial step is to identify any and all sensitive data that could cause the organization legal, reputational or financial harm if leaked. There are several critical areas to focus on: financial data (credit card numbers, bank information, insurance data), health data (medical record numbers, insurance data), government data (tax IDs, driver's license numbers), personal data (email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers) and educational information (school grades, degree). At the enterprise level, there are also intellectual property and trade secrets to monitor and protect.
2. Where does sensitive data reside? Structured databases make it easier to identify specific tables, columns and rows that contain sensitive data. However, this is only a starting point. Advanced discovery techniques are needed to identify sensitive data within unstructured data systems such as Office 365, Box, Jira and more.
3. What data should go into the cloud? Once an organization has identified various types of sensitive data, it's vital to classify it. Not all sensitive data is created equal. Categorizing this data by its impact on the organization helps determine whether the organization should move it to the cloud—and what types of controls and security protections are necessary once the migration has taken place. Identify what data is most critical to your organization based on financial, reputational, regulatory and legal impact. Based on this assessment, use a data classification framework that includes the following categories: public, confidential and restricted data. Add labels to your sensitive data and enforce policies using, for example, firewalls and proxies to ensure confidential or restricted data doesn't leave the organization.
4. What security measures should be put in place? Since cloud service providers (CSPs) use a shared responsibility model in which they focus on infrastructure security, organizations must address data security and privacy. For example, companies must implement their own controls for access management, encryption, data masking, anonymization and de-identification, and log monitoring. These tools can block data exfiltration and reduce the risk of insider threats.
5. Who is using your organization's data? It's essential to know what sensitive data your organization holds and whose data it is. Complex third-party business arrangements and the widespread use of application programming interfaces (APIs) ratchet up the stakes for downstream data privacy violations, especially in the cloud. In addition, initiatives like GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA that mandate specific rights for consumers mean that organizations can't be lulled into a passive approach. For example, GDPR Article 30 requires organizations to document all records of processing activity for each vendor and system and make sure they are up to date.
Now that we have established that organizations need a solution to discover, catalog, classify and protect sensitive data before migrating to the cloud, we need to find a pragmatic way to address these questions.
While there are plenty of solutions that claim to provide visibility into sensitive data, organizations should look for solutions that provide the broadest coverage of data assets—including structured and unstructured as well as self-hosted, multicloud and SaaS data systems—to ensure they can gather visibility into data before and after cloud migration using a single pane of glass.
Data discovery is only useful if it discovers sensitive data accurately. Organizations should look for solutions that provide built-in modern AI/ML techniques that can greatly improve the efficacy of discovered sensitive data and ensure fewer false positives that can impact downstream security and privacy functions.
In addition, once data is in the cloud, it is likely to grow in volume over time. Organizations should future-proof their solutions by ensuring they can support petabyte-scale volume common in cloud data lakes and data warehouses.
Once data is in the cloud, all of the policy enforcement should be managed centrally to ensure admins can easily orchestrate and enable controls from a single location rather than manage and set up these policies and controls in various environments that create a management overhead.
Finally, to comply with regulations, organizations need a tool that can help them develop real-time security and privacy reports. Organizations should consider solutions that automatically check for any changes in sensitive data in cloud data assets. When new data appears, it can update privacy reports such as Article 30 or enforce security controls to ensure data isn't exposed. All of the controls can be mapped to compliance reports to ensure they are always up to date.
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d180a82e8613ed9fe2b34a5bc8e9ec7f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/governments-and-private-partners-must-work-to-bridge-the-digital-divide/?sh=15d075116d5f | Governments And Private Partners Must Work To Bridge The Digital Divide | Governments And Private Partners Must Work To Bridge The Digital Divide
President and Chief Executive Officer at Insight Enterprises, helping clients manage their business today and transform for the future.
getty
Nearly a year into the efforts to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, states continue to weigh whether schools should reopen or keep students home to learn remotely. There’s no easy answer, yet as we undoubtedly see online and hybrid learning models expand, one thing has become abundantly clear: A digital divide persists nationwide. While poverty and municipal infrastructure limitations are root causes, the pandemic has exacerbated this problem as many students and workers have been forced to work from home.
Yet the good news is we have the technology to solve this problem at a community level — and at the same time create a foundation for future smart cities.
A Step In The Right Direction
According to Pew Research Center, some 15% of school-age children don’t have a high-speed internet connection at home. Consequently, many are falling behind on their education, and those in low-income situations typically are most at risk because they lack the appropriate technology to reliably access online schooling.
In my home state of Arizona, a recent Covid-19 digital access report by the Arizona Broadband Stakeholder Network found that roughly 209,000 K-12 students (20% of all children) lack high-speed internet in their homes. While connectivity is a given for many of us, their families either cannot afford it or they live in rural areas without commercial services.
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However, our second-largest city, Tucson, is pursuing a creative approach to solve for the gap in its more underserved communities. Taking advantage of federal Covid-19 relief funds, the city is building its own wireless broadband network to bring free access to those who need it most. While this broadband connectivity is available to the public, unlike traditional public Wi-Fi that you might find at a coffee shop or airport, families gain access through a private, secure connection maintained by the city and its commercial partners, including Insight.
This unique public-private community wireless partnership, utilizing the Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network, provides a cost-effective and secure means for the city of Tucson to extend broadband to its citizens. But as new infrastructure like CBRS radio towers or Wi-Fi mesh network technology is built atop existing city infrastructure — be that light and telephone poles, police and fire stations, or other publicly owned structures — it also establishes a citywide data network that will serve as a foundation for smart-city plans.
With a municipality like Tucson or a school district effectively running its own network, it creates a universal ecosystem to unify data for intelligent use across communitywide transportation, safety, education, healthcare, utilities and other public services.
Access Is Everything
From remote learning to teleworking, access is the first and most vital step to continuity and productivity. Understanding the increased need caused by the pandemic, our federal and local governments have allocated funding to create access to secure and reliable internet. The CARES Act and subsequent legislation seek to address the digital divide, providing funding for municipalities to equip underserved communities with appropriate connectivity.
Securing funding, however, is only the first step in bridging this gap.
Elected leaders are duty-bound to help their communities and schools establish long-term technology solutions that give remote workers and students adequate connectivity without the security risks associated with a public network.
Often, a public-private partnership between a city and a commercial technology partner holds this key. The private sector can orchestrate end-to-end management of a project to greater effect — from an analysis of the current environment and design of new solutions tailored to it to coordinating with the many service and technology providers needed to build broadband infrastructure and deliver the right Wi-Fi devices to a community.
Long-term managed services to maintain the network and provide virtual help desk support to end users (i.e., families) also may fall to a private partner to ensure a city’s or school district’s IT staff can focus on broader innovation and isn’t overwhelmed by day-to-day upkeep from thousands of users.
Solutions vary widely based on geographic nuances and the individual needs of each community. There are specific challenges, for example, in outfitting an underserved mountain community with a wireless connection simply due to the landscape.
In Tucson’s case, the city is equipping families with stand-alone wireless devices akin to hot spots that can simply be plugged into a nearby outlet to get online. Outfitting students with a Wi-Fi hot spot might work well in some places, while a different technology may be a better fit elsewhere.
Agile approaches like these can be applied anywhere, creating new access for rural and historically underserved communities where individuals lack funds to connect via commercial broadband or where it simply doesn’t exist.
Beyond Covid-19
Thinking long term, the benefits that come with these solutions will extend beyond the needs of the pandemic. When students return to school, hybrid afterschool programs can bring additional at-home tutoring, and schools can flex to online learning on snow days or allow individuals to attend class on occasions when they can’t be there in-person (e.g., family trips or cases of pink eye).
And in laying the groundwork for smart cities, everything hinges on connectivity. The very same broadband infrastructure remotely connecting students to their teachers can also be used to sharing information across a variety of different platforms and Internet of Things sensors and endpoints.
Through community wireless broadband, smart automobiles can connect to a city’s transportation network, sharing transit data as vehicles move across streets to better manage traffic lights. Real-time, communitywide information can alleviate congestion, shorten commute times, reduce emissions, help first-responders address emergencies quicker and address road repairs where they’re most needed.
The pandemic forced us to jump into innovation like this sooner and to realize some of the limitless possibilities of technology. Today, that means we must act swiftly to ensure no student is left behind due to a lack of reliable internet access. The steps we take today can help propel both our youth and our cities toward a more promising future.
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7808969cc03d76798cd30d18c7ab70ab | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/how-ai-can-transform-contact-centers-unstructured-content/?sh=7f22ccc5288b | How AI Can Transform Contact Centers' Unstructured Content | How AI Can Transform Contact Centers' Unstructured Content
CEO of KMS Lighthouse. Leading the company's vision to disrupt the knowledge management market.
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If your organization is drowning in unstructured content, it's not alone. IDC predicts 80% or more of global content and data will be unstructured by 2025. Most businesses understand there's a lot of value lurking in their unstructured content, but they struggle with how to process it efficiently.
Forward-thinking organizations are now using AI advances in knowledge management, computing and software technology to take full advantage of the insights and wisdom contained in unstructured content. These new AI-driven knowledge management solutions are allowing them to extract more value from their unstructured content and automate many of the situations that require human input and handling.
For an organization with a multichannel contact center, these advanced technology solutions can fundamentally change the center's role, transforming it from a basic service to a strategic differentiator.
Unstructured Versus Structured Content
The average business has tons of unstructured content: emails, PDFs, documents, basic website content, audio, video and more. In essence, unstructured content is any content that can't fit neatly in a knowledge base. It doesn't adhere to any semantics and rules and doesn't fit into specific sequences or formats. The two most significant challenges to working with unstructured content are:
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• It can't be integrated into existing information systems.
• It can't be easily processed by traditional automation solutions.
Even if your organization has a well-organized knowledge base, it doesn't mean it's properly structured. This can be a problem when you need relevant information quickly. A major obstacle to fully utilizing unstructured content is that it currently requires a lot of human judgment and decision-making. Manually processing enormous amounts of unstructured content can lead to issues like high operations costs, long turnaround times and high error incidences.
Traditional solutions to unstructured content focus on rule- or template-based methods. But they're expensive to implement and time-consuming to maintain. To effectively automate unstructured content processes, you need more specialized tools to make the content accessible, searchable and relevant.
AI Solution To Unstructured Content
AI solutions can interface with your existing software to process unstructured content and integrate it into your workflow. You're then equipped to automate tasks and derive true value out of unstructured content. Though helpful for any industry, these solutions are particularly of great benefit to the healthcare, financial services, banking industries as well as government entities where document processing spans entire value chains.
Automating unstructured content processes doesn't require a full-blow IT overhaul. Here's how you can use AI-driven tools in different organizational processes:
• Self-service tools are easy to implement and provide cognitive workflow automation and let you deal with most complex unstructured content processes.
• AI automation tools allow for handling specialized complex processes.
• Machine learning solutions help give structure to unstructured content but, since they generally lack a workflow builder feature, aren't able to automate end-to-end workflows.
• Intelligent RPAs (robotic process automation) incorporate AI capabilities into their process automation solutions. They require no coding, and their affordability, error tolerance and customization options allow them to address complex multistage unstructured content processes.
The right knowledge management solutions provider can help your organization implement digital transformation processes and tailor intelligent automation solutions to your specific needs.
Unstructured Content And Call Centers
When organizations use data to analyze customer preference and habits, it's often the structured kind that's considered. But while contact center KPI and sales data provide valuable information, they do little to help companies understand their customers' feelings and expectations. It's unstructured data that contains those crucial insights.
The information available from email messages, social media comments, call center transcripts, chat transcripts, blog comments and review websites can help agents provide a superior customer experience.
• Emails, which 50% of customers say is their favorite channel, often reveal common customer concerns and how effectively agents handle similar issues.
• Social media and blog comments are especially popular with younger customers. What they share helps organizations better understand their brand's reputation and helps discover frequently used keywords.
• Call and chat transcripts can be used in agent training to improve interpersonal skills and shorten response times.
• Review websites are known for their blunt, often negative customer comments. They're a great source for learning which products and services customers love and which need more work.
While there's no denying structured content can reveal key information about your practices and numbers, also analyzing and utilizing unstructured content helps you adopt a customer-centric attitude that focuses on what your customers want.
Meeting The Challenges Head-On
Launching a successful AI-based KM solution can involve overcoming some hurdles.
• Infrastructure. Data handling, storage, scaling and security are just a few of the critical components needed to deploy an AI KM solution. Successful implementation starts with understanding how suitable your infrastructure environment is to support AI apps and workloads. Does it have the right mix of processing capabilities and high-speed storage? Is it flexible enough to be deployed in the cloud?
• Staff. Over 60% of workers have a positive view of the impact of AI on their work. Getting your employees to that level of acceptance takes adopting new approaches to learning, training and motivating. Long-term investment in workforce skills development is key, as is identifying where training and new skills will be necessary.
• Necessity. While there are many significant benefits to AI-based KM solutions, it might not be the right solution for some organizations. For instance, if you're trying to force an AI solution on a problem that doesn't require it or lack the financial resources to implement it, it's important to consider whether the investment is one worth making at this time.
AI in knowledge management can take an organization from disorganized to streamlined. When integrated with a knowledge base, it's a powerful tool that can transform the way your organization's information is created, managed and shared. Agents and employees can more easily collaborate, and they're better equipped to focus on strategic planning.
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eaa72391553111f0863a713fe4661e13 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/how-to-register-your-domain-name-for-as-long-as-possible/?sh=45d129b33113 | How To Register Your Domain Name For As Long As Possible | How To Register Your Domain Name For As Long As Possible
CEO, VPN.com: The $1M Domain Name - We help brands, entrepreneurs, politicians and athletes acquire premium domain names for their vision.
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A good domain name is a key element of any business's marketing. However, there are many horror stories about registrants forgetting to renew their domain name and losing it. You might be wondering how to buy a domain name forever to sidestep this issue or, at least, to save money in the long-term. While it's not possible to permanently buy a domain, there are leases for indefinite lengths. The reason for this lies in how domain registration works.
Domain Name Basics
Domains such as .com, .net and .co rely on registries to handle their core administrative needs. However, with well over one billion websites in the world, registries face an impossible administrative burden.
Since registries cannot possibly handle the administrative burdens involved with the millions of active registrants and billions of websites, they rely on other organizations. Registrars work as middlemen between people looking to buy domain names, the registrants and the registries that administer domains.
GoDaddy, Dreamhost and other businesses are registrars. They handle the marketing and business elements of domain registration and lease domain names out to the public. No registrant ever actually buys a domain name from the registry. Rather, members of the public pay a registrar to maintain a lease in their name.
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Renewing A Domain Lease
While you cannot buy a domain name, you can maintain your lease as long as your registrar exists. The first step is, of course, making the initial payment to lease your chosen domain name. Registration typically lasts for a year, so you'll need to keep the date of your initial registration in mind. Before the year ends, find the option on your registrar's website to renew the lease and pay a new charge.
You can preempt the expiration of your domain lease in this manner. There are other options to make it easier, however. For instance, most registrars offer an auto-renewal option, but vigilance is still necessary even when you rely on auto-renewal. Many registrants change their credit cards and forget to update the payment information associated with their lease, at which point they lose the domain.
Long-Term Leases
Another option is taking out the maximum lease that ICANN allows. ICANN is the international body that governs domains and related considerations, and they typically allow registration from one to 10 years. A term of 10 years may be more cost-effective and reduce any worries of losing the lease. While it's not a lifetime lease, it is more enduring than a standard one-year lease. However, that raises questions about the registrars that offer leases beyond 10 years.
Some registrars offer to register your domain name for as long as 45 years, 100 years or a lifetime. The natural questions to start asking are whether these offers are credible. The answer is that, while these leases may run for extremely long periods, they don't always work exactly how they say they do.
Lifetime Leases
While the most reputable registrars typically offer leases of 10 years at the most, others offer longer leases. Sometimes these are listed as lifetime leases, while others offer extremely long registration periods.
Many of these companies are legitimate, upstanding businesses and will fulfill these agreements to the best of their ability, but it seems to contradict basic facts. For instance, if ICANN only allows a maximum registration period of 10 years, how does a lifetime lease work? The answer is surprisingly simple.
While you pay upfront for 100 years or a lifetime of registration, your lease doesn't actually last that long. Rather, your registrar will lease the name for the maximum period of 10 years. When this initial lease expires, the registrar automatically renews the lease for another 10 years.
There are potential pitfalls with this strategy. For instance, if the registrar goes out of business, it will prove unable to renew your lease. You'll lose the remaining value of your lease once the current registration expires and have little recourse.
What's The Best Option?
Overall, the safest option for maintaining a long-term lease to renew your lease every 10 years through a traditional domain registrar. In this case, you'll need to maintain awareness of expiration dates and keep your payment information up to date. If you can do that, you should be able to keep your domain name forever.
While extended leases beyond the 10-year period provide less user maintenance, their reliability is only as enduring as the registrar. There are many scenarios, whether intended by the company or not, that could cause your lease to lapse. For this reason, the security of an extra-length lease is somewhat illusory.
If you're unsure about what steps to take with your domain, talking to a broker is always a smart first step to making an informed decision.
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a3f902dae56c58a6de823d0015af7f4e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/in-a-world-of-nonstop-change-automation-is-essential-to-managing-digital-certificates-at-scale/?sh=3e5562fb63a5 | In A World Of Nonstop Change, Automation Is Essential To Managing Digital Certificates At Scale | In A World Of Nonstop Change, Automation Is Essential To Managing Digital Certificates At Scale
Jason Sabin CTO of DigiCert Inc. Passionate about simplifying security, including digital certificate management for device & user identity.
In today’s constantly shifting threat landscape, digital certificates are fundamental to maintaining a strong security posture. However, rules and standards are changing rapidly. For example, in September 2020, leading web browser vendors implemented a policy specifying a one-year maximum lifetime for public TLS/SSL certificates. The lifespan of public certificates is expected to continue trending downwards. At the same time, the volume of private certificates utilized to secure IoT and enterprise devices, while also enabling digital signing for DevSecOps and other use cases, is soaring. In this fast-changing environment, enterprises must be more agile than ever in how they deploy and manage digital certificates throughout their organizations.
Some of the notable developments in cybersecurity have focused on certificate revocation rules by certificate authorities (CAs) and browser software vendors. The CA/Browser Forum requirements specify that a certificate must be revoked within 24 hours for key compromise and within five days if a compliance issue with the digital certificate emerges. These restrictions can create significant issues for enterprises when an error is found that requires the digital certificate to be revoked and replaced within a short time frame.
Addressing an issue with a single certificate is not usually a problem, but for large organizations that need to manage hundreds or thousands of digital certificates, manually replacing many certificates within just a few hours or days is challenging. The first challenge is simply discovering which certificates need replacement. Many enterprises maintain so many certificates that it is difficult to gain visibility into where they are located, when they expire and which CA issued them. Although these issues may seem daunting, the right tools can enable organizations to take proactive control over digital certificates at scale to stay ahead of constant change.
Automating For Greater Agility
Automation can enable organizations to sidestep the manual processes required to manage certificates. The right tools reduce the time and resources that an IT team uses to manage their certificates. A good platform lets organizations rapidly scale management tasks across hundreds, thousands or even millions of certificates to handle certificate issuance, renewal, reissuance and revocation.
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Ideally, an automation solution should enable organizations to not only perform these tasks across multiple servers and other devices in large-scale networks, but also address discovery. This includes the use of cloud-based agents and sensors that regularly monitor the company’s certificate landscape and surface key data points, such as certificate expiration and renewal dates, protocols and cipher suites deployed, and much more.
For additional flexibility and scalability, organizations can utilize a solution that is compatible with leading protocols, such as automatic certificate management environment (ACME), enrollment over secure transport (EST) and simple certificate enrollment protocol (SCEP). This facilitates interactions with web servers, connected devices, web applications and more in an easy, auditable way, with granular controls in place. A certificate automation solution can also complement many of the application delivery, server orchestration and management platforms that are widely used in enterprise environments, such as Chef, SaltStack, Citrix NetScaler, ServiceNow, AWS, F5 and other solutions.
Mitigating Risk And Strengthening Security
Automation is desirable not only to keep pace with changing industry standards, but also to enhance security. If an organization has a revoked or expired certificate that remains installed in their infrastructure, adversaries can take advantage of it via a number of different avenues. In one high-profile incident, Equifax, one of the world’s largest credit rating agencies, experienced a massive breach that impacted 148 million consumers. Published reports indicate that hackers obtained a set of passwords and successfully accessed 48 databases containing sensitive consumer credit data. Since the device used to monitor the server’s network traffic had been inactive for well over a year due to an expired digital certificate, Equifax failed to spot the data exfiltration and take aggressive steps to mitigate the breach.
Automation can minimize these types of enterprise security issues. With automation in place, if a certificate is revoked, has expired or needs to be replaced quickly due to security concerns, compliance issues or industry changes, an organization can be assured that it will immediately renew and install a certificate that is in good standing.
From a risk-mitigation perspective, automation of certificate management at scale can expedite replacements of revoked certificates to minimize the chances that essential services will be impacted by downtime.
New technologies such as quantum computing are also introducing challenges. In the near future, large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking current public-key cryptography will emerge. As the pace of change accelerates, enterprises must continually advance their crypto agility to keep up. Crypto agility provides organizations the ability to quickly identify and replace their certificates containing outdated algorithms within a matter of days. To achieve crypto agility, organizations need automation.
The right automation solution, enabled by a centrally managed, holistic approach to PKI management, can serve as a crypto center of excellence in an infrastructure that’s built from the ground up with security in mind. This infrastructure helps security teams serve as enablers of successful business outcomes and advance secure digital transformation. With a scalable foundation in place for fast, flexible, modern PKI deployments, enterprises can gain the agility they need to stay ahead of challenges well into the future.
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2c402dac8a6f661bd4f91c69947dddf2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/19/data-literacy-training-has-failed-heres-what-chief-data-officers-need-to-do-instead/?utm_campaign=Social%20Member%20Articles&utm_content=158658597&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-3291010518&sh=3f9abb7d34d3 | Data Literacy Training Has Failed: Here's What Chief Data Officers Need To Do Instead | Data Literacy Training Has Failed: Here's What Chief Data Officers Need To Do Instead
Glen Rabie is Co-Founder and CEO of Yellowfin, an Analytics and Business Intelligence company that helps businesses understand their data.
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There is a rumor going around in IT and big data circles, encouraged by some very respected organizations. It goes like this: The only way to make employees fully data literate (and yes, everyone in a modern enterprise should be data literate at some level) is to impose major organizational change on the corporate culture and implement training until every last person is fully versed.
This approach is well intentioned and even well reasoned. But it is a huge ask and, in most cases, unnecessary. More importantly, it often doesn’t succeed.
The reason it doesn’t work is that not all employees require the same standard level of data literacy. Those who analyze or wrangle data for a living obviously require a much higher level of literacy than those on the front lines of business who consume it. Moreover, those who use data only tactically have different literacy requirements. Many of these individuals simply need sufficient literacy to do their particular jobs — which means that extensive, enterprise-wide data literacy programs can result in overtraining, not to mention an onerous responsibility for CDOs and their staffs.
Yet there is another element in this push for broad data literacy that needs to be addressed: the role of software vendors.
Instead of embarking on massive training programs, organizations should put pressure on their vendors, demanding that they provide tools that don’t assume or require deep literacy. Any training that is implemented should be focused on how employees can better use data within their jobs, not on how to extract a report out of their software.
BI Is Entering A New Phase
Enterprises are far beyond the first phase in the data analytics software revolution when platforms were built for professional analysts. They’ve even surpassed the era of “user-friendly” BI platforms that enabled business users to interact with data through reports and dashboards. When those second-generation applications arrived, nontechnical personnel still needed a certain level of skill in data wrangling in order to prevent adverse outcomes. As a result, the need for data literacy actually went up.
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Today, BI platforms are quickly moving into phase three — a period in which users no longer have to battle their way through analytics. Given the advancements in data automation, embedded contextual processing, natural language queries, machine learning, collaboration tools and the ability to create business narratives within the platform itself, solutions are lessening the need for advanced data literacy instead of requiring it.
Sufficient breakthroughs are here for vendors to create applications that assist, accompany and automate data. The goal should be to help the process along, making it easier for users to digest, interpret and consume. And for the CDO and their organization, the mission should be to select or even demand tools that help the enterprise better understand data and how to use it.
There is one caveat to this discussion: the acknowledgment that there are different use cases for BI software. CDOs need to select the right platform for the right deployment. Someone doing advanced predictive analytics will need to be very well trained; on the other hand, solutions for business users should reflect their skill sets. A marketing specialist isn’t an expert in data science — nor should they have to be. They should only need to know enough about data to be an expert in marketing. By pairing software with the right disciplines and skill levels, organizations will be able to focus their training investments where they’re needed most.
The Need For Nuance
As organizations move through their digital transformation initiatives, there’s no doubt that data is shifting to the very heart of business activity. This is what’s driving the self-service BI movement. Yet the data literacy mandate, despite its current emphasis, needs to be nuanced.
The future belongs to vendors that provide — and organizations that demand — platforms that deliver sophisticated analytics to business users without the need for advanced data literacy training. These users should only have to consume the necessary information at the point where it’s needed in a way that makes sense to them. Training ought to be focused on how to apply the knowledge that’s gleaned from data instead of how to obtain that knowledge in the first place.
Those responsible for data literacy should make sure that training is tailored for the role and the competency required. Training should certainly include tools — but with a focus on those specific tools people need to access and analyze their particular data.
Best practices may also include insights regarding situational bias. When evaluating a business problem, it's easy to allow bias to creep in, so it’s wise to make people aware of inherent biases, as well as how data can be used to overcome them. Finally, measures should be in place to ensure that data is leveraged most effectively (i.e., systems are used, appropriate data is applied and people do not revert to gut-level decision-making practices).
If organizations require improvement in their BI performance, it shouldn’t have to come through huge investments in data literacy training. Whether through automation, contextual analytics or better situational storytelling, the real answer will come through tools that actually advance the way the enterprise leverages its data — an improvement that will truly make everyone in the organization smarter, and without all that instruction.
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e87737e493c656e2cd0cc50e4fe7c774 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/19/devsecops-what-it-is-and-why-you-need-to-make-the-shift-now/?sh=1ce8bb951c20 | DevSecOps: What It Is And Why You Need To Make The Shift Now | DevSecOps: What It Is And Why You Need To Make The Shift Now
Bill Mann is the CEO of Styra, Inc., the founders of Open Policy Agent (OPA) and leaders in cloud-native authorization.
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Security architects are a critical presence in your IT department. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to give them a seat at the table and a strong voice.
Why? The cybersecurity landscape has changed dramatically over the last several years, and what worked before doesn’t work anymore. Worse, it might seem like it still works. Until it really, really doesn’t.
Let’s break it down:
Traditional cybersecurity used a perimeter-based model. Under this model, apps weren’t built with a lot of independent, integrated security features because they didn’t need to be. They could rely on the perimeter.
Today, the landscape is increasingly cloud-based. In some cases, the perimeter is still in place (think local firewalls), but because cloud-native apps are designed to run anywhere on any server — and be highly connected — perimeter security is no longer the be-all and end-all. And in a lot of cases, there’s no legitimate perimeter at all.
The mobility, agility and flexibility of modern containerized apps gives them tremendous value and makes them well suited to remote workforces. The problems arise when traditional cybersecurity rules are applied to a cloud-native landscape. And the gulf between modern cloud-native apps and traditional security is widening.
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Apps are being engineered and deployed in this new landscape, and then — because the apps aren’t limited to a defined, secure perimeter — IT is expected to layer on security later. The security is an afterthought at best or a reactionary move after there has already been a problem.
But there's a much better plan: Bring in security experts during the design phase and build an app that’s agile and flexible, meets zero-trust goals and is compliant by design.
All this is to say: DevOps needs to become DevSecOps.
Security architecture is an integral and essential element of DevOps, and it can’t be an afterthought. Security controls must be integrated into the DevOps pipeline.
Today, the speed and complexity of app development doesn’t allow for logic errors that need to be troubleshot later. While you’re retrofitting and trying to tack on security features, others who have already shifted to DevSecOps are busy moving forward.
Not only can (and should) security controls be integrated into the DevOps pipeline, but these controls can now be automated. This frees teams up to focus on minimal maintenance and maximized forward progress instead of manual checks and fixes.
Sure, this requires reframing your approach to development. It also requires a bit of a heavier lift upfront. But there’s a lot at stake if you don’t — real infrastructure risk, in real dollars.
Reactive security layers aren’t going to cut it anymore. The only way to fix it is to build apps the right way — and, critically, to give teams the leeway to do just that.
We’re at an inflection point where the importance of security architecture can’t be ignored without consequences. Here is what has led to this point:
• Privacy: After so many public breaches, privacy is more critical than ever. New regulations are attempting to improve security, and more will come as consumers demand data protection.
• New tech: The shift to the cloud started as a way to save money and increase availability. But the technology that supported that move (containers) allows code to run anywhere and allows for controls to be built in new places, including inside the app. Without perimeters, built-in security is both convenient and necessary.
• Open source: Open source is maturing, becoming better-supported and more hardened by increasingly large user communities. That means fewer corner cases, easier integrations, and rampant sharing and expanding of best practices.
• New workforce: New security-minded employees have no experience in the old, perimeter-based world and instead approach challenges with a cloud-first, code-first, software-defined-everything mentality. This new way of thinking leads to innovation in the new tools, further accelerating the shift.
• How we think of workflow and automation: To meet the speed demands of the DevOps-based world, code deployment must be as close to fully automated as possible. Security checks must move at the same pace, requiring them to be automated as well.
How do you shift to DevSecOps? The short answer: Moving forward, security architects must have a louder voice in the organization.
The longer answer:
• Establish ownership: Make it clear to your architects that they have a responsibility for security from the start, and allow them more time to get that right. Depending on the circumstances of your organization, you might need to start by acknowledging that they have long been capable of this and you are coming around.
• Listen to them: Start a dialogue with your architects. Understand the challenges and help teams identify where security can be built broadly into platforms and where it instead needs to be specific to certain services
• Don’t disregard old-school security expertise: While the way data is protected has fundamentally and wholly changed, the threats have not. Understanding how attackers work, how breaches occur and how compliance audits are conducted will inform the next generation of security architects.
Cloud-native apps are more than the wave of the future; they’re largely the way of right now. Build the app right the first time. Your security architects already know how. Listen, and empower them. Give them leeway to do it right.
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752efcc2d5209c391856ee22e98d7f5c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/19/four-strategies-for-success-with-the-entrepreneurial-operating-system/ | Four Strategies For Success With The Entrepreneurial Operating System | Four Strategies For Success With The Entrepreneurial Operating System
CEO of Avea Solutions.
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As co-founder and CEO of a behavioral health billing platform, I am continually seeking ways for my organization to grow, improve and innovate. When a mentor introduced me to the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)—a framework that helps you optimize how your business runs—I was immediately intrigued. Before adopting EOS, our organizational plan wasn't cohesive. There was less accountability, and people didn't feel empowered because they didn't have a clear understanding of what we were doing. Employees weren't as satisfied in their day-to-day roles, and when people feel the information is being kept from them, they start making up their own stories.
I knew several CEOs who had success with EOS, so I tried to implement it. But there was a lot of resistance, and I ended up trying to adapt the framework to fit what we had been doing instead of committing to it fully—as you can imagine, this didn't work. It wasn't until I adopted four implementation strategies, which I'll expand on below, that everything clicked and we experienced significant improvement as an organization and as a team.
Implementing EOS wasn't easy, but it was worth it. It's helped us embrace transparency and accountability in a way I never thought possible, and if you follow these four strategies, I believe you'll find success with the framework as well.
How We Use EOS
There are a few different ways to use EOS. The easiest may be to hire one of their implementers, who will come in and get your organization up and running with the framework. But our team took on the task internally, and we implemented the tools ourselves. Every employee reads Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman, as well as What the Heck is EOS?, to help understand what EOS is, why we're doing it and what their role is. This helps create a cohesive work environment.
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The EOS framework includes holding regular strategy meetings with your management team. The book tells you how to run those meetings, talk through issues as a team, review performance from the previous quarter and set achievable quarterly and yearly goals. Every department follows this meeting cadence (with a consistent agenda), setting initiatives based on the company's goals. There's also a shared to-do list that's reviewed on a weekly basis.
The meetings are meant to hold people accountable for what they said they'd do and to ensure every employee is in the know. Each meeting is graded in a way that ties into overall company performance. This forces you to look at underperforming aspects and make room for healthy conflict, which allows everyone to bring up issues to resolve as a team. By scoring each meeting (did it start on time, did you follow the agenda?), you'll immediately know how it was managed and identify areas for improvement. These open and honest meetings create a shared culture—every employee understands how issues are brought up and worked through.
We use several other EOS tools, such as checkup questions that help you score yourself (are you documenting processes, and do you have good employee engagement?), as well as all-company meetings every two weeks to encourage transparency, spotlight core values and make sure everyone is aligned with our vision and knows their role in that process.
Getting There
These are the strategies that helped us succeed:
Commit 100%
When we decided to go all-in with EOS, we let employees know that we were going forward with 100% commitment. We restructured the organization based on the philosophy called "Get It, Want It, and Capacity." We analyzed every employee and job and asked, "Is the right person in the right seat? Do they have a deep understanding of their role, do they want this role and do they have the capacity to succeed in it?" Afterward, we let a handful of employees go, but engagement and satisfaction for the rest went through the roof.
Hire An Integrator
I found that there were two main internal roles needed for EOS to work: a visionary role (which I took on) and an integrator role. As the company grew, I hired an integrator whose focus was ensuring we all adhere to the framework. It often takes 18 months to get an organization running effectively with EOS. We'll be at 18 months this summer, and I believe we're on track.
Create A Trust System
People aren't used to healthy conflict, so we had to create a trust system. We have a "disagree and commit" philosophy—if the team decides to move forward with something, you need to commit to it even if you disagree, and you can't subversively go against the grain. There will be times where all of us will be in this position, but to move forward we need alignment and trust within the team.
Continually Practice
We're still learning and practicing—18 months is a long time to get rolling, but change doesn't happen overnight. We have to practice, be consistent and live it.
The Takeaway
As a result of using these implementation strategies with EOS, we've experienced an incredible culture shift. Employee engagement and satisfaction are up significantly, our development team has delivered better features and our customer service has improved. We have better financial understanding and tracking, we're much more prepared to bring people on board when we hire and we continue to improve with EOS as our daily framework.
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4dce6837332c5ebaff1546afff57dfd0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/19/upgrade-or-overhaul-whats-the-best-approach-to-modern-fraud-detection-and-prevention/ | Upgrade Or Overhaul: What's The Best Approach To Modern Fraud Detection And Prevention? | Upgrade Or Overhaul: What's The Best Approach To Modern Fraud Detection And Prevention?
CEO and Co-Founder of DataVisor, the leading fraud detection company with solutions powered by transformational AI technology.
Fraud is evolving at record speed. According to the FBI, there has been a 300% increase in reported cybercrimes since the pandemic started — and remote workers have caused a security breach in 20% of organizations.
The rise in cybercrime isn't the only troubling aspect. With the trend toward adopting digital technologies and rapid innovation, the fraud landscape is expanding rapidly. Fraudsters attack organizations in numerous ways via malicious devices and emulators, phishing scams, account takeovers and more.
Protecting the enterprise from fraud and risk today requires robust solutions that evolve and adapt quickly. As fraud and risk teams recalibrate their solutions to respond to new fraud threats, the decision to overhaul versus upgrade existing technology to address new types of fraud looms large.
Upgrade Versus Overhaul
Organizations need a broad spectrum of capabilities — malware and bot detection, device identification, behavioral analytics and transaction monitoring — to fight the various types of fraud. Most organizations have added these capabilities as needed, resulting in piecemeal protection. Each time a new type of fraud poses a threat, the fraud and risk team evaluates and purchases a point solution to address it — hopefully implementing it before an attack occurs.
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It seems reasonable to want to maximize your existing investments, and this approach has worked well in traditional business environments that were fairly static. But given today's rapid pace of innovation, a reactive mode and bolting on point solutions together doesn't always work.
Relying on point solutions means dealing with multiple vendors, all issuing upgrades and patches on an ongoing basis. Teams must constantly monitor the technology stack for outdated software, deal with integration issues and manage various service agreements. In this piecemeal environment, fraud solutions are siloed, meaning you can't analyze fraud data across sources collectively for valuable insights. Worst of all, it takes time to evaluate, select and roll out a new solution. By the time you do, it may be too late.
Comparing The ROI
The incremental approach may initially seem like the most cost-effective and reasonable way to expand your fraud prevention capabilities. You may end up spending more time and money maintaining a fragmented infrastructure in the end, though, while missing out on cutting-edge technologies that are designed to protect account life cycle activities and can adapt to evolving threats as they emerge.
As an analogy: Suppose you're upgrading your home entertainment system. Your existing TV doesn't have built-in streaming, but you want to access streaming services like Netflix. You want better sound. You buy a streaming box and hook it up to your old TV, connect a soundbar, your old gaming console and avoid the cost of replacing your current TV.
Six months later, your streaming box has a technical issue, so you have to replace it. The new version isn't compatible with your old TV. A new game comes out that your current console doesn't support. If you had spent a little more money upfront to purchase a new TV with built-in features, you wouldn't be spending money and time trying to locate point solutions to work with your current setup.
The same holds true for fraud prevention. Investing in a cutting-edge platform that can scale to meet your needs over time could provide better long-term ROI while enabling you to take a proactive approach and get ahead of the evolving fraud landscape.
Out With The Old, In With The New
With attack patterns and vectors continually evolving to exploit your vulnerabilities, it's important to set up your organization with a solution that will grow and adapt. A few more good reasons to abandon your piecemeal legacy fraud solutions and take a more aggressive approach:
• Digital transformation has accelerated. Thanks to the pandemic, most organizations are innovating on new features and adopting new technologies at an unprecedented pace.
• The heightened focus on data. Comprehensive fraud and risk platforms that centralize data from multiple sources can provide invaluable insights to enable real-time detection and prevention.
• The SaaS factor. Lengthy implementations are typical when rolling out new technology. Fortunately, new platforms are often SaaS-based, which dramatically reduces implementation time and hassle.
• Global data and experience. The latest fraud and risk solutions offer AI-powered detection and out-of-the-box features that leverage global fraud data, providing advanced protection upon implementation.
• Lower TCO. With an incremental approach, business units provide their own solutions, resulting in silos and the inability to share data across systems. A shared infrastructure lowers the total cost of ownership.
However, there can be challenges with the overhaul approach. Migrating existing defenses to a new platform all at once is not always viable, and the old and new systems may have to coexist for a while. In the short term, this might temporarily increase operational overhead. There's also a learning curve when new systems are introduced, and formal training may be necessary. Finally, fraud leaders have to navigate organizational buy-in and user adoption. This requires engaging teams early on to identify potential pitfalls during implementation and create familiarity with the new approach to improve the chance of widespread adoption.
An incremental approach may be preferable if you have already upgraded some of your defense systems, or if you have a strong in-house team and dedicated IT support to help with gradual system upgrades.
Creating Competitive Advantage
Taking an aggressive approach to fraud and risk prevention can lead to competitive advantage. Asia's rapid adoption of mobile payments is a perfect example. Before moving to mobile, China's banks were behind those in western countries in technology adoption. They were in an ideal situation to abandon legacy solutions and leapfrog ahead to the latest technologies — and they did. Today, in China, few people pay with cash, and credit cards are not used as widely; they use their phones, enhancing user experience and convenience.
Similarly, as fraud continues to evolve, businesses that invest in the newest technologies will be better positioned to keep pace with the changing face of fraud now and in the years to come.
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88f232e534b7f5cf7640a6b7aa32be72 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/22/how-businesses-can-evolve-past-2020s-booms-and-busts/?sh=72e124ef8f33 | How Businesses Can Evolve Past 2020's Booms And Busts | How Businesses Can Evolve Past 2020's Booms And Busts
Founder/CEO of HyperTrack, helping businesses automate deliveries, visits and rides with location-based logistics.
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2020 was a time-lapse video of a decade compressed into a year. Those who had built for the future saw their paths accelerated while those set in past ways got slammed. Those early to rejig plans got another shot at survival while those who treated changes as temporary dug a deeper ditch.
As Darwin said, "It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent of the species that survives, it is the one most adaptable to change."
My ex-colleague, an executive at a startup that works with small businesses, said, "This is a bottom-up recession," as we drove around the Mission District in San Francisco looking for an open restaurant for lunch. "We will adapt and survive by selling to field teams instead. Many of our retail customers are not going to make it, though," she continued as we drove past a restaurant with a "Permanently Closed" sticker on the door. Her words were prescient. The day after we met, she and her colleagues were let go. The irony was not lost on me.
Let's take a step back. Did collective human behavior change due to the pandemic? No, it accelerated. Darwin might have said, we evolved. The extraordinary externality revealed collective human behavior.
The world was already getting more digital. Now, it is getting more digital much faster.
Software was eating the world. It has now become an all-you-can-eat buffet.
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The economic divide was widening. And then stocks hit all-time highs while unemployment did too.
The list of most valuable companies was already getting dominated by tech. Large tech companies added trillions of dollars of market value to obviate their lead, while small businesses struggled to survive and traditional businesses expedited their digital transformation.
The future of work, especially in tech, was already going remote, flexible and regionally distributed. Now, the debate is about the number of days people will go to an office, if that can be mandated at all.
Capital was becoming cheaper and more available for startups, especially after they "made it." The concentration of capital has increased starkly post-pandemic. Growth and late-stage companies have bottomless pools of capital to dip into, even as the new administration approves record relief packages to rescue the economy.
Viral Growth, Connectedness And Adapting To The New Normal
Herbert Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest" to explain Darwin's "natural selection" as "survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations."
Like the virus, digital technology grew at an exponential pace, multiplying, replicating and getting fitter with each mutation. Those set in their old ways, shy to adapt, dependent on symptomatic relief, were left most vulnerable.
In March 2020, the clear and present danger of a deadly virus forced us to shelter in place. The noises that cluttered our lives vanished, and what was most essential snapped into focus. What gives me the most hope about the future is that we have all become more connected.
Connected with ourselves, being present to our health and wellness, of self and others around us. Our increasingly digital and sedentary lives are accelerating mental health issues. Business leaders will need to acknowledge and support their colleagues to deal with this change. Teams will need easier access to professional counseling, in-person interactions with colleagues, company-sponsored gym memberships and meditation programs.
Connected with our families, be it in the same home or in different corners of the world, sharing the same fears and travails. We are naturally more involved with our children's education and parents' health and must remember to keep that up. Managing the blurring boundaries between work and personal lives is now part of the future of work, and requires a proactive plan. Companies like GitLab were ahead of their time in creating a successful remote work culture and have published remote-work resources for all to borrow from.
Connected with our communities, be it local neighborhoods or online reunions, meeting some for the first time in driveways and parks, while participating in weddings, birthdays and ceremonies over Zoom. We must get more involved in reducing economic and social inequalities in our communities, be it through schools, small businesses and local communities, or online forums, public causes and charities. Just as angel investing has become more widespread due to beneficiaries of the exponential growth of the tech industry paying it forward, they must consider giving back through vehicles like donor-advised funds.
Connected with our countries, the long-standing issues that we must resolve, collectively engaging in politics like never before in this generation. We must accept the future with decentralization of power, letting go of our image of the past and be curious about what it takes to progress in the new global order. To ride the tail winds of globalization, business leaders must expand their horizons by hiring international talent, developing business in global markets and learn from new strategies invented abroad.
Connected with our planet, what with the most visible revelation of our impact as a species, and the fragility of our way of life in the face of nature's forces. We must adapt to more sustainable consumption and reduced gluttony. Businesses can lead the charge in adding environmental impact as a key factor in corporate decisions. It is easier than ever for companies of all sizes to become carbon neutral.
The virus illustrated how our collective behavior impacts us beyond social, economic and national boundaries. A connectedness that will viscerally stay with us and help us adapt as a species. As leaders, it will be our responsibility to accelerate this adaptation within our scope of influence, so we survive and thrive.
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f57d761f23849a5990c7be7070fe0c43 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/22/how-to-build-consumer-trust-without-sacrificing-the-experience/?sh=761a1f4c5db3 | How To Build Consumer Trust Without Sacrificing The Experience | How To Build Consumer Trust Without Sacrificing The Experience
Chief Information Officer at TELUS International, a global customer experience provider powered by next-gen digital solutions.
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If asked about their top business priorities for the months ahead, most customer-facing brands would tell you their goal is to build trust. In the age of Covid-19, businesses are attracting first-time online shoppers who are wary of digital channels. What's more, those digital channels present challenges when it comes to issues like privacy—which, if not properly executed, can erode brand trust over time.
Experian reports that 66% of consumers say that companies' security protocols make them feel "protected." Even though they feel this way, however, many aren't typically willing to jump over unnecessary hurdles in order to verify their identity.
Experian also shared that 75% of businesses want authentication and security measures that don't impact the digital customer experience (CX). How can businesses create the right balance between fraud prevention and happy customers? Try the following strategies for boosting trust without negatively impacting your CX.
Adopt a simpler verification process.
A verification process that allows a company to confirm its customers' identity is a critical part of trustworthy customer service. However, many identity verification services are unnecessarily convoluted and could benefit from an overhaul.
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Assess your current approach in the context of efficiency and simplicity. For example, at TELUS International, we use time-saving tools like face and voice match authentication to verify IDs, and we scan official documents like passports for fraudulent watermarks or stickers.
Web-enabled and mobile-enabled identity verification are always a must, but some organizations are also now exploring biometric technology such as facial and fingerprint authentication. These security measures can make it easy for customers to quickly and securely prove their identity and get on with their day.
Look closely, and you may find opportunities to improve your internal verification process, too. We regularly vet the credibility of our social media and email accounts, and we even use facial authentication to verify the identity of our team members when they start their shift when working virtually. This helps to ensure the integrity of our internal systems and the protection of customer information.
Personalize the process.
Consumers value a customer experience that's personalized to their preferences and needs, and this can be carried over into security and privacy functions.
Start by monitoring customer interactions using Know Your Customer (KYC) processes that reveal their device usage habits, media behavior and overall preferences. The more you know about your customers, the better equipped you'll be to personalize the dealings they have with your brand throughout their customer journey while preventing fraudulent activity.
In a report from Gartner, Inc., VP analyst Penny Gillespie noted: "Organizations are losing their best chances to create great customer experiences due to needlessly risk-averse privacy ideas that limit the use of personal data. The key is to bring value to customers and keep data use in context." In other words, personalization and privacy can work in tandem for the benefit of both your customers and your business.
Incorporate robust data ethics practices.
Most companies already follow strict measures to keep their customer data safe. The devices used to manage customer inquiries are secure, the data is encrypted and team members must adhere to stringent guidelines like keeping work stations free of cellphones, pens and other tools that could be used to record customer information.
Mishandling customer data can have a lasting negative impact on brands. For this reason, it's even more critical to proactively go the extra mile when protecting your customers by embracing data ethics as well.
Approach data management with a focus on transparency. Let your customers know your methods—how you use their data, who has access to it and so on. Once you have a protocol in place, communicate it throughout your company to ensure all agents and executives are on the same page. This way, if a data breach does happen, you'll be able to resolve it quickly with minimal damage to the customer relationship.
Consumers are more conscious of data privacy than ever before. Along with a satisfying brand experience, they want assurances that their information will be kept safe, and the companies that can pledge this will be rewarded with increased trust, loyalty and revenue. There's really no need to put your CX on the back burner when you can effortlessly and securely verify your customers' identity and manage their data.
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1b97edf1ae0a768140363a7e906b0c45 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/22/how-to-cultivate-organizational-resilience-before-the-next-crisis/?sh=5d19c40445f2 | How To Cultivate Organizational Resilience Before The Next Crisis | How To Cultivate Organizational Resilience Before The Next Crisis
Vice President at Corporate Travel Management N.A., providing vision and executive leadership to the company's engineering organization.
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Resilience is critical to a firm's long-term sustainability. It improves employees' ability to respond to change without the stress and frantic reactions associated with extended periods of regressive behavior. It also advances the scientific knowledge related to organizational adaptation by concentrating on learning to survive the effects of uncertainties and mistakes.
Although traditional loss-reduction methods are essential to minimizing damage, they do not prepare employees for future adversities. Merely returning to "business as usual" is not enough to develop a resilient culture that can endure success. Resilience differs from coping in that it intentionally prepares individuals to embrace loss, improvise and deal with the next challenge.
For example, according to Thomas Lee and Angela Duckworth, building organizational resilience starts with developing gritty individuals. These employees pivot, rebound from rough patches and remain true to their alignments. Even if they are already on top of their game, such high achievers utilize their extraordinary stamina to improve themselves and their workplaces. This admirable ability to commit and the strong will to improve create grit.
Remind people about their work's larger purpose.
Gritty teams consist of individuals who put their heads down and strive to achieve their goals. Despite setbacks, they demonstrate resilience, a strong sense of purpose and priorities and a relenting drive to prevail. This is because an emotional connection occurs when employees can see their work's larger meaning. Having a clear organizational vision and an investment road map that reflect employees' goals allows them to stay focused during challenging times. Consequently, instead of turning to easier paths, determined employees are willing to go the extra mile and make sacrifices to pursue greater ideals.
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Foster a passionate workplace culture.
It is not surprising to see that in a BCG survey, 95% of corporate respondents agreed that employee learning and development should be top priorities and core parts of their overall business strategy. A company that invests in its employees and simultaneously aligns their intrinsic interests with work functions not only raises morale and productivity, but also ignites people's desire to improve their craft and increases their ability to rebound from setbacks. As Stanford professor Carol Dweck points out, individuals who believe their talent can be advanced through learning have a growth mindset, often view their setbacks as positive motivation and tend to accomplish more throughout life than those who see their talents as fixed, inborn gifts.
To inspire employees and foster a vibrant culture, organizations should invest in appropriate development programs and encourage mentoring and work shadowing. Employees develop passion when they are challenged intellectually within their career path while receiving the necessary skill sets to flourish. For example, as part of its lifetime learning initiative, NASA has created an internal talent marketplace, allowing employees to apply to a wide range of part-time, noncompetitive projects and leadership development programs with the goal of breaking down departmental silos, mobilizing careers and building a stronger and more resilient workforce.
Inspire team autonomy.
Empowered teams meet frequently to work through problems, track progress and set new improvement targets. These people see the whole picture, rather than the individual, and recognize that they can accomplish more by working as a team.
Having a self-organizing team that decides how best to perform its tasks creates better teamwork, ownership and productivity increases the team's creative thinking and problem-solving abilities, which are critical to tackling adaptive challenges.
Strengthen team cohesion and camaraderie.
Celebrating teams' successes is a great team-building exercise that motivates them with a sense of connection and belonging. It is essential to take the time to recognize those who have gone above and beyond to get the job done. Acknowledgment makes them feel appreciated and motivates them to continue to perform. It also helps foster better team interaction and relationships and instills positive reinforcement for inspiration.
One of the more memorable celebrations in my recent memory is the launch of a high-profile digital property: the US LYCA Mobile website. As part of the engineering leadership team at Onestop Internet, my colleagues and I organized a half-day art and culture tour at the Getty Center, coupled with a celebration luncheon. After six months of continuous dedication, the team members were finally able to distance themselves from their work temporarily and bond. The celebration not only promoted team spirit but also provided an opportunity for the team to reflect on the project, as well as on why their accomplishments mattered.
Create an environment in which compassion can spread.
During times of collective pain, leaders should show empathy to create a subsequent compassionate response throughout the organization. Creating an environment in which individuals can express their feelings freely and explore questions encourages healing. When employees no longer suppress their emotions, they can refocus on work while reconciling.
Compassionate leaders can ease collective anguish and confusion during challenging times by demonstrating humility and focusing on moments that matter to their employees. These caring gestures contribute to the employees' ability to learn and recover from future setbacks. Moreover, leaders' physical and emotional involvement reduces pain, builds long-lasting trust and strengthens loyalty.
Organizational resilience does not occur overnight; it takes leadership to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and adapt positively to unfavorable conditions. Providing training and development that supports and encourages employees' psychological states can foster true resilience in the face of a crisis. To strengthen their resilience, organizations must create a strong sense of purpose, priorities and belonging, cultivate employees' passion and perseverance and mobilize employees by demonstrating compassion and authenticity during trying times.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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cf620f1feea7a7394d86d87abc8a5496 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/22/the-end-of-the-internet-of-things-cant-come-soon-enough/?sh=24d8a127341c | The End Of The Internet Of Things Can’t Come Soon Enough | The End Of The Internet Of Things Can’t Come Soon Enough
Co-founder of Senseye. Lover of technology, cars and cats.
"Today, I booted up, jacked in and went surfing on the information superhighway" is a phrase you probably haven't heard for at least the last two decades in an unironic manner. The information superhighway — once the term to describe our digital, large-scale communications networks — feels so antiquated I can hear the haunting screech of an ancient 33.6k modem wailing as I write this.
In the technology hype cycle, the "trough of disillusionment" represents the point at which there are a number of high-profile failures (Juicero and numerous smart kettle disasters come to mind), and at the "plateau of productivity," genuinely useful and exciting things that improve how we control our homes, workplaces, and factories emerge and are adopted.
We’re there now. It’s no longer quirky to see a Wi-Fi doorbell, and in many neighborhoods (like mine), you’re a little old-fashioned if you don’t share your porch pirate videos on social media. In the adoption of high connectivity, industry has been ahead of consumers for some time, with many companies having reaped the efficiency and operational benefits of their production assets pumping data to the cloud for years.
Yet this antiquated term keeps rearing its ugly head. The demise of the term the "Internet of Things" (IoT) can’t come quickly enough. It demarcates products that can communicate useful data as being somehow special. This concept has slid into normality without most of us noticing. A large percentage of us now have smart meters and don’t think twice about them (though they’re generally a missed opportunity, but that’s another story). And how many people do you know who would buy a phone without Wi-Fi? Discussing IoT is as informative as advertising a new car "with round wheels!"
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In a recent webinar, Alfonso Velosa from Gartner hit the nail on the head, paraphrasing – “We’re all in IoT club, and the first rule is you don’t talk about IoT, you talk about business transformation.” For quite some time now, Amazon has been at the forefront of IoT — first with tragically amusing buttons that allowed you to order laundry detergent or beef jerky with the touch of a button and now with remote machine-condition devices that can find a home in your shopping cart alongside bleach and a hacksaw. Amazon makes and sells its own IoT devices, yet it’s revealing that IoT is only mentioned once in passing on the Amazon Monitron website. Amazon understands what sells — the company is selling business transformation. The modern definition of commoditization is when there’s an Amazon Basics version.
The Internet of Things is here, and while the various standards and implementations of how you send data have a long way to go (too many products relish any opportunity to send data from your internal network to mysterious destinations), interoperability and access to data are expected with almost all technology-dependent consumer and commercial equipment. The terminology served its purpose to fire imaginations around the world; now we’re reaping the rewards and have a vision of the bounty to come. The Internet of Things can rest forever. Like the information superhighway, it won’t be mourned.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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ba3f5da2835e27163306fd4a676c5035 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/22/when-in-doubt-hire-virtually-making-the-case-for-virtual-security-expertise/?sh=5a755de75673 | When In Doubt, Hire Virtually: Making The Case For Virtual Security Expertise | When In Doubt, Hire Virtually: Making The Case For Virtual Security Expertise
Michelle Drolet is CEO of Towerwall, a highly focused, specialized cybersecurity, cloud & virtual CISO services firm.
Modern cyber threats are growing in scope, cost and complexity. Hackers are continuously evolving their tactics to execute breaches, hold businesses at ransom and steal intellectual property. Globally, cybercrime is estimated to cost $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. To put things in perspective, the combined revenue of the world’s largest tech companies, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook, is close to about $800 billion. What is fueling cybercrime? Let’s understand the top five trends in 2021:
1. Organized Crime Goes Digital
Research has revealed that post-Covid-19, organized crime syndicates that traditionally relied on a brick-and-mortar business model, are now increasingly turning to cybercrime. This is because cybercrime can be easily executed from anywhere in the world and is more lucrative than drug trafficking. The emergence of cryptocurrencies and their untraceability is fueling further growth. The emergence of a cybercrime-as-a-service model is commoditizing cybercrime by helping non-technical, crime-bent individuals execute cyberattacks.
2. Rapidly Expanding Threat Surface
With the rise of remote working, IT departments are increasingly shifting their workloads to the cloud. Corporate devices, applications and intellectual property that were once traditionally behind the corporate perimeter are now accessible from the internet. Indiscriminate use of shadow IT for remote working is also increasing data breach risk. Inadequate security measures in the supply chain is making the entire supply chain vulnerable. Finally, the introduction of smart and IoT devices (lights, air conditioning, security cameras, alarm systems, etc.) is dramatically altering the cyber risk landscape.
3. Widening Skills Gap And High CISO Turnover
Per a recent report by (ISC)2, there are currently 4 million unfilled cybersecurity positions. Businesses are finding it difficult to hire experienced workers well versed in security skills. Cybersecurity leadership is even harder to find, given the fact that they are in high demand and difficult to retain. Estimates indicate that only 38% of Fortune 500 organizations have a CISO. The absence of credible security leadership can make businesses vulnerable to cyberattacks and breaches.
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4. Limited Resources For SMBs To Fight Cybercrime
Even though more than 40% of cyberattacks are aimed at SMBs, studies reveal that many SMBs still hold a misconception that cybercriminals often target larger businesses. What they don’t realize is that many small companies are connected to larger companies, and this is why they are targeted. SMBs are usually constrained by budgets and lack sophisticated cybersecurity infrastructure and insurance. Their employees may also lack security awareness, likely making them more susceptible to social engineering scams and phishing attacks.
5. Shrinking Cybersecurity Budgets And Reassigned Priorities
For most organizations, business continuity takes precedence over cybersecurity; many businesses are still following a “lights on” approach instead of evolving their security around the changing threat landscape. Research suggests that 70% of CISOs believe their budgets will shrink this year given how many are still coping with business continuity amidst hiring freezes and staffing cuts. Attackers are aware of this crisis and are quick to take advantage.
When In Doubt, Consult It Out
To overcome the growing menace of cybersecurity, businesses need a cybersecurity leader that understands the evolving nature of cyber risks and gets ahead of security threats in real-time. Hiring such a leader shouldn’t break the bank. With the workplace going remote, a virtual chief information security officer (vCISO), virtual data protection officer (vDPO) or virtual chief privacy officer (vCPO) can be an extremely pragmatic and compelling value proposition. Let’s understand how outsourced cybersecurity leadership can address some of the challenges outlined above.
Proven Leadership
vCISOs, vCPOs and vDPOs are qualified cybersecurity practitioners carrying years of experience advising SMBs and mid to large companies. They are able to steer the company amidst numerous security risks and understand the language that speaks to the board. They are great for organizations that can’t devote the time needed to cementing the role.
Fast Deployment
Virtual expertise can be recruited within days, in contrast to hiring full-time leadership which requires a lot of searching and interviewing. When organizations are dealing with attrition or a security incident, a vCISO can immediately step in and fill the void in leadership. This is even true for SMBs where you cannot place full responsibility on an IT engineer with strategic cybersecurity decisions.
Flexible And Cost-Effective
Virtual leadership can be hired on a retainer. They do not come with the overhead associated with a full-time employee and they do not require an investment of time and money in training. They can free up time for executives in the long run.
Independent And Impartial
In the case of pressing cybersecurity or complicated data and privacy regulations, sometimes it’s wise for the business to seek an outsider’s view that is independent and free from any conflict of interest. The vCISO can be entrusted to conduct an independent review of the company’s cyber-risk posture, foster a culture of cybersecurity and can also keep the business on top of the latest developments in governance, risk and compliance (GRC).
2021 is a year of doing more with less, and this is why hiring virtual leadership is the most pragmatic path to security. With businesses facing more technological adversity than ever before, there has never been a better time to consider adding a vCISO, vDPO or vCPO to your team.
Headhunting a freelance executive might be a good place to start; however, working with your local cybersecurity services provider will probably be your best bet. Hiring out vCISO services from a provider offers scalability not found when onboarding a standalone executive. A provider offers greater access to a pool of talent and high availability, since you need 24/7 availability in case of security breaches. This process also offers better governance (overseeing threats and alerts can be a daunting task) and reliability from less burnout due to shared workloads among teams.
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9c4269ce96cf058d1cdf387f3704a283 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/23/women-in-stem-voices-from-around-the-world/ | Women In STEM: Voices From Around The World | Women In STEM: Voices From Around The World
Founder @stemdotorg democratizing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education through sound policy and practice.
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After decades of hard work to promote young people's interest in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math, STEM education leaders can rejoice in some major successes. For one, enrollment in university STEM programs has been steadily increasing since the year 2000, and more students than ever before are earning graduate degrees in these crucial subjects. From 2000 to 2015, the number of STEM master's degrees awarded increased by 88%, while the number of doctoral degrees increased by 60%.
It's also exciting to note that women are leading the way in STEM fields. Women now make up 56% of undergraduate students, and they are taking the world by storm in STEM fields ranging from genetics to gaming.
Obstacles for Women in STEM
Despite this remarkable progress, there are still plenty of barriers for women seeking STEM careers. One of the biggest obstacles begins at birth, with gender stereotypes subtly steering girls toward "softer" subjects like social sciences and the humanities from a very early age. By the time they reach school, this snowballs into a lack of confidence in their STEM skills, which in turn can lead to lower performance—a gap that only widens as girls get older.
These issues must be addressed in the classroom with STEM programs that are fully inclusive and that conscientiously work to dismantle these biases. Parents can also work to counteract gender stereotypes by providing girls with high-quality STEM toys and games from a young age and offering opportunities to participate in STEM-based enrichment.
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Women who do go on to major in STEM fields often face systemic challenges. Because far fewer women teach these subjects, female college students lack professional role models and mentorship in the university setting. Once they enter the workforce, male-dominated fields often present a closed culture where women struggle to gain recognition or get promoted.
Academia and private industry also need to be part of the solution by actively diversifying their STEM hiring and promoting talented women to positions of leadership. Adopting family-friendly policies like onsite child care, flexible scheduling and additional paid time off will also help women balance work and the still-unequal demands of domestic life.
Seven Outstanding Women in STEM
Given the serious barriers that women face, it's important to celebrate the women who challenge the stereotypes and rise to the top of their STEM fields. Doing so can provide inspiration for girls and boys alike.
And there is no shortage of role models to choose from, as women in STEM hail from all corners of the globe. Seven outstanding women in their fields served on a special Women in STEM panel as part of a recent Forbes Technology Council event. They—and their incredible work—are worth celebrating.
Africa: Olubukola Akingbade
Olubukola Akingbade is the founder and CEO of Kucheza Gaming, a startup that harnesses the power of gaming as a major educational force. Kucheza Gaming brings school esports leagues and computer science curriculum to K-12 schools in Africa. Kucheza Gaming is the force behind The Wild Kingdoms, a mobile adventure game that translates traditional African stories for the next generation.
Antarctica: Dr. Natalie Robinson
Dr. Natalie Robinson is a marine physicist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) of New Zealand. She is a researcher specializing in Antarctic oceanography and climate change. Robinson has made six trips to Antarctica to study and collect direct samples of ice, and her work has contributed significantly to understanding the connection between glacial ice and sea ice.
Asia: Cristina Michelini
As chief operating officer of APAC at Livin Farms in Hong Kong, Cristina Michelini spends her time motivating others to earn STEM skills with a purpose. Her company has developed the Hive Explorer, an innovative habitat for mealworms that lets kids and families create a closed loop: They feed scraps to the mealworms and then harvest them as food for other pets—or for themselves!
Europe: Faviola Dadis
Neuroscientist Faviola Dadis is the founder and CEO of NeuroReality, a medtech company that has developed an innovative software platform called Koji's Quest. Koji's Quest combines virtual reality, neuroscience, gamification, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to screen for cognitive problems and begin the work of rehabilitation to help people with brain injuries return to their lives.
North America: Ana Habib
Ana Habib is the founder of Bot Latam, a Mexican consulting firm helping companies that develop disruptive clean technology introduce their solutions into Latin America markets. She is also the director of Bot Latam's educational program, i-Bot4fun. The i-Bot4fun program provides a STEM education for K-12 students through the lens of robotics—a fun hook that never fails to inspire!
Oceania: Dr. Michelle Dickinson
Dr. Michelle Dickinson began her career in nanotechnology but quickly learned that communication is everything when it comes to scientific success. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Nanogirl Labs seeks to inspire and empower through STEM. Through live science theatre shows and hands-on teacher workshops, Nanogirl has increased STEM confidence in people of all ages.
South America: Claire Evans
Claire Evans is the founder and director of Yo Invento, a STEM education program in Latin America. Students are guided through the seven-step engineering design process, identifying real-world problems which they can solve with an invention, culminating in a Feria de Inventos where students pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
While the important work of making STEM education equitable for all is a long way from being done, these seven accomplished professionals provide a glimpse of the future of STEM—one in which women are leading the way. They serve as incredible role models for all young people as they explore possible careers in science, technology, engineering and math. They all deserve to be honored for their accomplishments and merit our attention as they forge ahead in their respective fields.
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6662f39fa457d207133031f59b8300c3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/24/how-to-get-more-done-with-fewer-but-smarter-communication-tools/?sh=3f016dc5347c | How To Get More Done With Fewer But Smarter Communication Tools | How To Get More Done With Fewer But Smarter Communication Tools
Craig Walker is the Founder & CEO of Dialpad. He has 20+ yrs experience as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, tech executive and attorney.
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The rapid shift to remote work last year forced businesses to make equally rapid decisions about the tools and platforms that they use to help employees stay productive and collaborative—some of which were not enterprise-ready and many of which overlap. With remote work here to stay, it's time for companies to reevaluate hasty implementations and streamline communication tools.
McKinsey's recent report on "The Next Normal" reiterated this point: "The Covid-19 crisis has created an imperative for companies to reconfigure their operations — and an opportunity to transform them. To the extent that they do so, greater productivity will follow."
The tools we use at work have a massive impact on our productivity—or lack thereof—so it's important we choose the right ones. This includes using cloud-based technology that is easily scaled up and down, centralizing communications so workers aren't spending time flipping between applications and understanding the importance of AI to help bring everything together.
It's time to reevaluate the hasty software purchases made at the start of the pandemic to ensure your teams have the correct tools to be successful.
Communicating Through The Cloud
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The cloud is a critical component of a modern, unified communications platform. Not only does the cloud provide the scale and flexibility necessary for today's distributed workforce, but it can also solve a lot of today's biggest communication pain points. While it can be daunting moving off of legacy technologies, especially if you're moving off legacy hardware for the first time, the benefits of cloud-based platforms far outweigh the migration process.
One major factor when you're planning your cloud migration strategy is how much downtime there will be during the transition. If you're running a call center, for example, you can't simply turn it off. It's crucial that you choose the right service provider for a smooth transition and create an effective plan that addresses any gaps or issues that may arise. While that's still a huge leap, once you are up and running on the cloud, certain built-in redundancies like a split-cloud architecture can eliminate scheduled downtime and help keep businesses running consistently.
The cloud also gives way to APIs and product integrations that eliminate the need to switch between apps and channels. The popular JIRA integration with Slack changed developer workflows for the better, and now we have that same opportunity within the business communications realm. The cloud enables connection from all your CRM, sales engagement and workflow automation tools to data from all voice and text communications, finally enabling companies to tap into the underutilized data source that is voice.
Getting More Out Of Communication With AI
It's not just about fewer communication tools but tools that are making people smarter. Voice communication is ripe with insights, but from group and one-to-one meetings to outbound sales conversations and inbound service calls, without a record, indispensable information is lost. Action items are forgotten, decisions remain unclear and customer sentiment is elusive.
Many companies have already built strong data shops, but just don't want to use a different proprietary reporting tool for all the software they use. These more advanced firms have their own Business Intelligence tools, like Snowflake or Looker, and are looking to consolidate everything there. However, information from video and voice meetings has historically been missing from these data programs. The solution is finding a business communications platform that can provide this raw data in a usable format.
For others, developing an AI strategy might still seem out of grasp, but technology has progressed over the last few years to enable companies to build robust AI and data analytics programs without the need for data scientists or AI experts. Then, it's just a matter of finding the platform that can provide its own analytics.
Once you've found the process that works best for you to incorporate AI into your communications, voice becomes a rich, actionable dataset, and the value of communication is truly unlocked. Leveraging AI enables communications platforms to generate smarter action and decisions by automating tasks and assisting employees—not just after the fact but also in real time—on any call and in each meeting. So, on top of time saved, the insights hidden in voice interactions can potentially generate significant cost savings and increased sales.
Supporting The Next Normal
After almost one year of remote work, we've begun to shape what's next. Supporting employees now doesn't mean giving them more tools, but rather more efficient ways to communicate. There are no more hours in the day; increased productivity comes from using those hours better.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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5948b4beb580f7d7e298b11e6a69448c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/24/you-rushed-to-the-cloud-now-its-time-to-assess-and-address-cloud-security/?sh=97d683858007 | You Rushed To The Cloud—Now It's Time To Assess And Address Cloud Security | You Rushed To The Cloud—Now It's Time To Assess And Address Cloud Security
Anupam Sahai is Vice President and Cloud CTO at Unisys. He leads the cloud business and product/tech strategy for the company.
The pandemic prompted a rush to the cloud. Fast action was critical given the rapidly expanded work-from-home requirements and the need for touchless procurement, sales and service.
These efforts better-positioned businesses for the present and the future. A 2020 IDG study indicates that 59% of tech buyers planned to be mostly or all in the cloud within 18 months. If you're not in the cloud, you will be left behind in the race toward agility and innovation.
Now the initial rush has passed, and the dust is settling down. It's time to assess and address the compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy and risk implications of your cloud deployment. Cloud security and compliance continue to be the biggest pain points for cloud customers.
If you think it's too late for that, think again. It's never too late to do things right.
Doing things right is more important than ever since working from home has caused a surge in security breaches; more than half of legal and compliance leaders said that since Covid-19, cybersecurity and data breaches are their most-increased third-party risks; and up to 80% of CIOs and CISOs experienced a breach originating from a third-party vendor in the past year.
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Here are a few tips on how you can do things right starting today—before you run into real trouble.
Embrace security and compliance and the shared responsibility model for the cloud.
Choosing the right compliance framework is critical. HIPPA exists to protect personal health information (PHI). The Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard protects credit card processing data. These are just a couple of examples of compliance regulations.
Your organization might be compliant, but that doesn't mean it's secure—and vice versa. So, in addition to your compliance framework, it's important to establish a security framework. Pick the right security framework for your organization. The security framework will provide a set of measures (controls) for people, process and technology governance. Example control frameworks are FedRAMP, FISMA, ISO and NIST-CSF.
As part of your security framework, understand and adopt the shared responsibility model. This will define the boundaries of what your cloud service provider(s) will handle and what you need to manage. The importance of adopting the shared responsibility model cannot be understated because your cloud hosting provider is not on the hook for compliance or security—you are. Adopt DevSecOps practices to ensure secure and compliant deployments.
Ensure—don't assume—vendor accountability in your supply chain.
Your IT environment includes more than just your enterprise. It also includes the vendors in your supply chain. Establish a set of best practices for sharing and securing data and ensuring compliance that cuts across organizational boundaries for your larger supply chain environment. Perform vendor risk management assessments before engaging with vendors. As part of this exercise, check international, national and state databases to make vendor risk exposure determinations.
Once vendors have passed those checks, be sure you are sharing information with these partners in a disciplined manner. The concerns remain the same whether your compliance and cybersecurity focus is internal or external. But the methodology is going to be different.
Identify and address your points of exposure.
Establishing the right frameworks and models is key. Now you need to understand what's happening in your IT environment so you can take action to address gaps and incidents.
Start by understanding where your organization is exposed. Consider using automation tools to assess cybersecurity risk exposure by revealing holes in your cybersecurity strategy and IT landscape and their financial impacts. You may have a cloud server that isn't in conformance with your policy for password length and complexity. Available tools and services can help you to identify such gaps so that you know where to do remediation. Prioritize remediation to focus on fixes that minimize risk exposure.
Ramp up your cloud security know-how through training and expert partners.
More than three-fourths of cybersecurity leaders surveyed in 2020 report said they're facing a skills shortage. It's even more difficult to attain and retain people with expertise in cloud security, which is the most in-demand cybersecurity skill set.
You may not have had time to recruit cloud experts in your rush to the cloud. And even now you might not be able to find, keep or afford them. That puts you in a high-risk position.
Train your team to ramp up their cloud security knowledge and skills. Seek partners with expertise in cloud security—that way, you won't have to manage the complexity alone. Employ available, advanced technology to supplement the resources that you already have.
Leverage AI to scale and focus on what matters.
Organizations on average use 25 to 49 security tools from up to 10 different suppliers. That creates a lot of noise in terms of alerts.
Consider leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to cut through the noise and find the nuggets of information that are most important to you. This will help you to focus your energies on protecting your most critical assets and addressing incidents that pose the greatest threat to your business. Leverage AI-based operations (AIOps) and automation tools to help accelerate decision-making. A recent Webroot survey found that out of the 800 IT professionals with cybersecurity decision-making powers they surveyed, 96% of them "now use AI/ML tools in their cybersecurity programs."
In the rush to the cloud, many organizations have cut corners. Maybe you have, too. That's understandable under the circumstances. The question now is: How do we get back on track?
Implementing the right security and compliance frameworks, adopting and understanding the shared responsibility model for the cloud, ensuring vendor accountability, addressing your points of exposure, ramping up your cloud know-how and leveraging AI will get you back on track—and safeguard your customers, business and job.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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43c5a44ff2bc9193dd7df05cf5287813 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/14-it-experts-on-getting-ahead-in-todays-tech-forward-world/?sh=2bb8b0031b7a | 14 IT Experts On Getting Ahead In Today’s Tech-Forward World | 14 IT Experts On Getting Ahead In Today’s Tech-Forward World
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We’ve all heard the throwaway advice, “Learn to code.” But it turns out that may actually be a pretty good idea for many professionals. No longer solely the domain of developers, coding is a practical way to get ahead in multiple career paths, since so much of the world now relies on technology. With the growing field of no-code and low-code tools, a basic grounding in coding principles can boost careers across a variety of industries.
But there’s more to tech proficiency than coding, and professionals in every industry would do well to get up to speed on the knowledge, skills and trends that are coming to dominate the tech-forward workplace. As IT industry experts, 14 Forbes Technology Council members share their best advice for people seeking to boost their careers in today’s tech-inclined world.
1. Study product management.
I recommend everyone become familiar with or take a class on product management. While coding is helpful, product management is now the hub of every department in a company. The product-management team dictates what gets coded. They hear from customers about what features are needed, they work with marketing to explain the product to the public and they work with finance to forecast projections. - Rami Essaid, Finmark
2. Turn your attention to users and stakeholders.
Learn to understand your users and stakeholders—what are their roles and workflows, how do they use technology and how do they want to use technology? Too often tech people jump into technology and fail to ask questions such as, “How could software help you get your job done?” or “What’s the one thing about this app that slows you down that we could fix for you?” - Brian Reed, NowSecure Mobile
3. Learn to read and understand code.
In many cases in a tech-inclined world, being able to read and understand code could be very valuable. At our company, we have project engineers who help customers learn to use and leverage a particularly technical software product. Some of them have found that reading parts of the code helps them understand how it works and how to use it effectively. - Chuck Grissom, Optricity Corporation
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4. Focus on business outcomes.
Focus on the business outcomes technology can create. Why? The future will be low-code. Low-code technology is a new approach for building business applications at speed. With a low-code platform, you won’t need to code line by line—people with no coding skills will have the capability to develop powerful new applications simply and intuitively. - Hector Roldan, McKinsey & Company
5. Understand the limits and capabilities of your IT systems.
The advice “learn to code” is missing the forest for the trees. Not everyone needs to become a programmer. It’s more important to understand the limits and capabilities of the IT systems you’re working with and to think strategically. Being able to truly understand your customers and what is driving them is a far more important skill than learning to code. - Corey Jaskolski, Synthetaic
6. Become customer-obsessed.
Turning ideas that matter to customers into deliverables that make a difference is one part passion, one part persistence and one part innovation. So always apply your coding knowledge with a growth mindset directed toward better serving those always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied customers. The ability to run and reinvent in the digital age depends on it. - Christopher O’Malley, Compuware Corporation
7. Hone your problem-solving skills.
Coding is a skill that can be taught in many different ways, but problem-solving is the art that separates coders from great engineers. Start by learning logic, problem-solving and algorithms, and then go on to programming itself. Start from a foundational language so you understand how computers and compilers work—that will be an invaluable skill in becoming a star programmer. - Bruno Guicardi, CI&T
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
8. Find a discipline that best suits your strengths and interests.
I would never recommend everyone learn to code, because that might not be someone’s strength. Trying to learn to code could take years from their actual career that they could be spending focused on what works with their intellect. The best piece of advice I can give is that tech is changing the world—there are many disciplines you can attack, so choose what you feel matches you best. After that, make history! - Isaiah Nathaniel, Delaware Valley Community Health
9. Be open to embracing new ideas and taking risks.
To prepare their organizations for the future and position themselves to emerge from the pandemic in a stronger, better position, tech execs need to be open to new ideas. They must be willing to take risks, fail fast and move on. - Meerah Rajavel, Citrix
10. Learn how to ‘tell’ a machine to produce a result.
Coding is the new typing! Once upon a time, typing was a very specialized skill. Nowadays, everyone working in a professional setting is expected to know how to type. Coding will eventually be like this. You don’t have to be an expert, but you should know how to “tell” a machine to produce a result. I tell all students, no matter their degree, to take an accounting class and take a coding class. - Mike Frey, Yellow Basket, LLC
11. Understand how software is built, operated and defended.
Software runs the modern enterprise, and coding is just one aspect of creating software applications and systems. With less native code being written and an increasing dependency on third-party “stuff,” it’s more important that technical folks understand how software is built, operated and defended. These skills will be handy given that software’s tentacles reach into almost every business function. - Ed Adams, Security Innovation
12. Get a grounding in AI.
Artificial intelligence will impact much of your life. Not everyone needs a doctorate in AI, but everyone should have a basic understanding so they can separate hype from fact. My go-to recommendation is the free online course Elements of AI, developed by the University of Helsinki. It provides a good grounding in the history and future of AI to help you leverage it in your organization. - David Vasko, Rockwell Automation Inc.
13. Brush up your project management and listening skills.
Nowadays, before I would tell someone to learn to code, I would recommend they learn how to manage projects and be better listeners. These are skills that can be used in every aspect of their life and in any industry. - Elaine Montilla, The Graduate Center, CUNY
14. Discover your passion.
To truly thrive you need to love what you do enough for it to consume you—for you to be truly obsessed with that specific focus. It becomes your passion, and your passion is felt by the consumers of what you produce. Whether it’s technology, customer service excellence or something else, all focuses are useful, and the upper echelon of talent within each focus is incredibly valuable to any organization. Supply meets demand. - Gary Simat, Performive
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b737a585cecfcbcf2ae894c68f8eaa62 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/as-the-pandemic-drags-on-companies-cant-let-creativity-suffer/?sh=75aaae369370 | As The Pandemic Drags On, Companies Can't Let Creativity Suffer | As The Pandemic Drags On, Companies Can't Let Creativity Suffer
BJ Jenkins is President and CEO, Barracuda Networks and is on the Board of Directors for Generac Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) and Sumo Logic.
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All of us yearn for a return to normalcy. However, with many Americans believing that vaccines are rolling out too slowly and Covid-19 variants circulating around the globe, we're still very much in the thick of the pandemic.
In 2020, the unprecedented health and economic crisis forced companies into extraordinary steps to safeguard people and maintain operations. That remains so in 2021, but the focus is shifting from merely weathering the crisis to striving to emerge even stronger as a business. We're in a long game now.
That's why one of the biggest challenges I'm wrestling with these days — and other CEOs I talk to echo this — is how to drive creativity throughout the organization as the pandemic continues to keep us physically apart and change how we work.
The word "creativity" is thrown around so much that it's easy to take for granted just how precious a resource it is in every business. As a McKinsey report put it: "There are many reasons why companies perform well, such as market position or technology leadership. But it's also true that creativity is at the heart of business innovation, and innovation is the engine of growth." LinkedIn has called creativity "the most important skill in the world."
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However, the pandemic presents a unique threat to creativity. It has made our worlds smaller and our days monotonous. It has eliminated the kind of in-person collaboration typified by the image of a caffeine-fueled brainstorming session in front of a conference room whiteboard.
On one hand, engineers at our company report that they're more productive working from home. They like working in their own environments, with fewer (or different) distractions than in the office. They're producing more code than ever.
On the other hand, a survey by collaboration software company Lucid found that creative ideation is taking a hit in many organizations, with nearly 22% of remote workers saying working from home has hurt their creativity and 26% of managers agreeing.
What this means, I believe, is that employees are showing remarkable resilience and commitment in this new virtual world, and many indeed have adapted without missing a beat. However, it may be inevitable that a company reaches a point of diminishing returns. Ultimately, physical distance could erode the imaginativeness that comes from in-person collaboration (even if they're in the same room only occasionally).
With physical togetherness likely out of the question for the foreseeable future, it's critical for companies to encourage new experiences for their employees to combat the sameness that can stifle creativity by coming up with fresh situations that spark it.
Here are three ideas:
• Hold a company-wide "hackathon." Lots of companies hold hackathons — sprint-like events to work on projects or solve problems — but they're usually restricted to the engineering teams and take place in person. Imagine putting it online, opening it up to the whole company and focusing not just on product matters but on anything and everything that could improve the company — improving an aspect of customer support, changing an inefficient internal process, you name it.
A suggested process: Schedule the event for three or more days and go all-in by encouraging employees to clear their calendars of other internal corporate meetings. Invite anyone in the company to propose a problem they feel needs solving. Condense the submissions to a manageable number of categories, form teams of people who might not ordinarily work together (from legal, HR, sales, engineering, etc.) and award prizes for the best solutions.
At a time when the pandemic has separated employees, a company-wide hackathon can break routines and get every employee's creative juices flowing — all for the good of the company.
• Get different people working together on an ongoing basis. Beyond a special, company-wide event like a hackathon, organizations would do well to find collaborative opportunities for teams that don't normally work together.
For example, salespeople and engineers too often work in silos even though they both share the same devotion to pleasing customers. Why not identify joint projects that stir creativity on both teams and result in better products for customers? This was actually a great idea before the pandemic hit, and it seems all the more essential now.
• Actively encourage employees to try new things. Now more than ever, businesses need to give people the freedom to think creatively — even if that means taking risks. Companies could find a silver lining to the pandemic by committing or recommitting to a corporate culture that encourages employees to be bold and explore new ideas and approaches without fear of failure.
Creativity doesn't just happen; you have to make employees believe they work in a creative safe zone. This is a theme that the C-suite and all other managers should embrace and drive through the organization.
Innovation can't grind to a halt because of the pandemic, and as these three ideas show, companies need to get creative in keeping people creative. This will pay dividends as long as Covid-19 lasts and well after it subsides.
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bc7721d5e6447fc8c81ec583f9e6ccc2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/cybersecurity-and-your-startup/?sh=6ea648936048 | Cybersecurity And Your Startup | Cybersecurity And Your Startup
CEO, Web Safe 101. Bestselling author and cybersecurity awareness specialist.
The same advancements in the digital world that make it easier than ever to launch a business may also help explain why cybercrime seems to be getting worse.
It's almost as if every time we turn on the TV or scroll through our news feed, there is another story of a company getting cyber breached—and startups are certainly no exception to this growing problem. Many new businesses believe they are too small to be noticed by the bad guys, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
I've been in the cybersecurity world for 20 years, and one thing I've learned is that the only thing better to a cybercriminal than a big target is an easy one.
With that said, let's discuss some ways you can help your startup be a bit more cybersecure.
Limit Information
Cybercrime begins and ends with what the cybercriminal is targeting, and that is sensitive information. The more sensitive information your website holds, the more tempting you are to the cybercriminals. A simple way to avoid unnecessary risk to your business is to avoid collecting unnecessary information from your customers.
Install An SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is useful for protection because it allows you to encrypt the information shared between a browser and a server. This protects customers' sensitive information when it is accessed on your website.
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It will build trust between you and your customers because they'll be more likely to conduct business with you if they know the communication on your website is encrypted. It can also help boost traffic and the search engine ranking of your website.
Upgrade And Update Software
Cybercriminals are always improving on their attacks, which means that in addition to having common security software like firewalls, antispam and antivirus, it's also strongly recommended that you install the latest software and remain current with updates.
Employee Awareness
Although your startup may have just a few employees, those employees are often tasked with multiple roles and may end up compromising or leaking sensitive information without even knowing it. This is why it's crucial to educate employees on cybersecurity, potential weaknesses in your systems and effective strategies to avoid slip-ups.
A good way to overcome this is by investing in cybersecurity awareness training, which can help educate your employees on how to identify malicious activities, potential threats and cyberattacks, as well as how to avoid them.
Strong passwords should also be encouraged. Passwords are on the front line of your cybercrime defense strategy and should be treated as such. Therefore, your employees need to create strong passwords.
Limit Access
When it comes to sensitive information, it's important to know what sensitive information you have, where you have it, how you store and who has access to it. Of course, only those who need access should have it.
Create A Robust Backup
A crucial part of any business, especially a startup, is its data. Losing company data in any way can easily become fatal for any business.
Creating a robust backup on web servers or outsourcing your backup needs to trusted managed service providers (MSPs) can help you reduce the chance of data loss. You can further invest in a disaster recovery strategy that will draw out a clear process of what to do in case of data loss.
Conclusion
To a cybercriminal, the best target is an unprepared target. Follow and practice the tips mentioned in this article and consider speaking to a professional. Don't allow your startup to be vulnerable to cybercrime, and don't assume it's too small to be a target.
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bfe9c14908ef05f60ae5d160b60822b4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/four-barriers-preventing-your-digital-transformations-from-succeeding/ | Four Barriers Preventing Your Digital Transformations From Succeeding | Four Barriers Preventing Your Digital Transformations From Succeeding
CEO at Acumatica.
getty
We're all familiar with the adage "Success has many parents; failure is an orphan." Just because no one rushes to take responsibility after a project collapses doesn’t mean that there aren't very specific, foreseeable reasons for such a failure. Digital transformations are no different.
According to McKinsey & Company, roughly 70% of digital transformations "don't reach their stated goals." This translated to more than two-thirds of the $1.3 trillion spent on digital transformations being wasted in recent years.
You might look at these numbers and ask yourself why organizations are so eager to attempt a digital transformation when the financial risk is so great. But anyone who's familiar with the adoption of digital technology knows that its adoption is essential to thrive in a competitive marketplace. As Gartner notes, two-thirds of business leaders say they need to digitize to stay competitive. Digital transformation automates processes and provides businesses with real-time data, connecting the business end to end, from its employees and stakeholders to partners, suppliers and customers.
So where does it go wrong? With so much at stake, why are businesses failing to execute successful digital transformations? Let's look at four of the biggest pitfalls when it comes to sticking the landing on digital transformations.
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Lack Of Executive Buy-In
This might seem obvious, but lack of C-suite buy-in can come in many forms. Of course, executive leadership sets the direction for the company and signs off on projects and their funding. But with a fundamental change like digital transformation, a simple rubber-stamped "okay" isn't enough.
Failed digital transformations often suffer from a lack of drive and sense of excitement from the executive level. Every digital transformation needs a champion, a leader who is committed to seeing the project through from start to finish. This champion recognizes the inherent value of digital transformation for their company and communicates that value to other executives and frontline employees. Without a strong voice communicating a clear vision, transformation projects can lose the momentum necessary for success.
Even the best plans for digital transformation can fail if there is no clear leadership. If top managers aren't on the same page, or if they see the project or its objectives differently, the project is likely to flounder. To borrow a metaphor from the kitchen, too many cooks spoil the broth. Without a clear champion with vision and enthusiasm, your digital transformation can collapse like a doomed soufflé.
A Culture Resistant To Change
For every person excited to try something new, there is another who resists change. Maybe they are unclear about why the change is occurring or what value it adds. Perhaps they resent the disruption of their daily activities or feel anxious about learning new systems or skills. Whatever the cause, if your company does not have a culture that values change and clear communication, your digital transformation might be sunk before it starts.
Change can be difficult. That's why communication around digital transformation is critical. Failed transformation projects charge into the breach without consulting employees whose daily work will be fundamentally affected by such a change. Instead, transformation is foisted on employees like a king's decree—no explanations, no vision as to how it fits into the company's mission and, most importantly, no chance for input.
Leaders must demonstrate the value of change. Whether through providing compelling answers to big questions or promoting a culture of experimentation, the champions of a digital transformation need to create a narrative to help other employees manage the uncertainty of change. As one Harvard Business Review notes, good leaders "make change thinking contagious."
Most companies and executives understand how crucial technology evolution and digital processes are. Putting them into action, however, is not as simple as flipping a switch. Projects as important as digital transformations require clear rationale and a path forward to bring everyone on board. If you lack either, you're in for a rough trip.
Data Silos
It's not unusual to see small and midsized businesses running their day-to-day operations on ledgers, spreadsheets or disconnected legacy accounting systems. Not only are these software systems old, but they often don't communicate with each other. This is a recipe for data silos—isolated stacks of redundant or conflicting information. These businesses aren't going to reap the benefits of a digital transformation if they cling to those traditional analog processes. Making antiquated processes digital-only disguises the problem.
True digital transformation is a modernization of processes. It's an opportunity for your business to become fully interconnected. That means synchronizing all records, data sources and systems. If your business comes out the other side of its digital transformation with data silos intact, then it's safe to say that the transformation hasn't lived up to its potential.
Fatigue From Continuous Change
Change is vital and necessary, but it can be stressful. Many of us know what it feels like to be overloaded with new processes, programs and missions. It feels like being asked to tap dance on quicksand. Without solid ground beneath our feet, we eventually lose enthusiasm and motivation. This kind of change can feel chaotic and never-ending, and that's when large projects like digital transformation can sink into the muck.
Such chaos often stems from fractured or short-sighted leadership. Those in charge pull the company in one direction and, just as quickly, pull it back in the opposite direction. That's why a top-tier champion is essential to digital transformation. They can strip the chaos from the change by providing a clear vision, plan and rationale for the project and making sure that everyone else in the company sees their role and purpose in such an undertaking.
Digital transformations can seem daunting, especially given the rate of failure. But the upside is worth the effort as long as you understand the common barriers to success. A business that is connected end to end, that is equipped with automated processes, real-time data and in-depth analysis is a business set to flourish in the next five, 10 or 15 years.
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0a4cff9da45f4732d9cad0e66866ee39 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/it-is-time-to-democratize-advertising/?sh=a593175765ec | It Is Time To Democratize Advertising | It Is Time To Democratize Advertising
Founder and CEO of Quantcast, the audience intelligence and measurement company.
The open internet is the most powerful mechanism for free expression our world has ever seen. Anyone with access can share their point of view, their content and creativity, and today nearly 5 billion around the world have widespread free access to information, entertainment, news, education and so much more — all because of a free and open internet.
The internet’s ability to shape our world is every bit as powerful as other transformational technologies, such as the printing press, electricity and semiconductors, and, more so than any of those, the internet has democratized this awesome power.
Advertising Funds The Open Internet
And while it is scarcely recognized, it is advertising that underpins the viability and vibrancy of this free and open internet and it is advertising technology that ensures that any advertiser can help fund the vital work internet publishers do in producing content that engages, entertains and satisfies the curiosity of audiences worldwide.
The Open Internet Is At A Crossroads
Today, this symbiotic relationship between advertisers, publishers and consumers sits at a crossroads, with the future appearing far less certain than it was just a year ago. With Covid-19 not yet in the rearview mirror, the advertising industry faces several monumental and compounding challenges:
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• Regulation is upon us. Privacy and consumer consent must be a top consideration for every industry participant.
• A post-cookie future is a technological shift that will require massive changes in virtually every part of the internet economy and could further consolidate power and influence with a handful of powerful digital gatekeepers.
• In parallel, brands, agencies and publishers face increasing demands to drive efficiency, make smarter decisions and find, reach and engage new customers that help their businesses grow.
• But if you ask publishers, brands and agencies about the biggest challenge they face, there is near-universal agreement that it is the continuing concentration of advertising budgets in the hands of a few tech giants. These companies don’t represent the vast majority of our online time and they certainly aren’t responsible for the vast majority of original content creation, but they capture the vast majority of growth in digital advertising budgets.
Why Is This?
Could it be that they control large parts of the ecosystem and set the rules, potentially opaquely, that benefit them? Possibly. Certainly, this has been alleged and is the subject of multiple ongoing investigations around the world.
Could it be that through control of the operating system and browsers — the very infrastructure that we all use to access the open internet — they can enforce changes that disadvantage everyone but themselves? Possibly. This is also subject to investigation.
While the motivation for these changes may be innocent, we should be under no illusion that the tech giants would far prefer that there was no open internet. Direct control of access to content, for example via an app store, or indirectly by controlling the ad tech stack — and hence how advertising budgets are directed — would suit them very well.
This approach, or digital colonization, allows the tech giants to set the rules of the road, as well as the tolls for the road, and reap the benefits. Colonization rarely works out for those colonized, and here we are talking about the entirety of the open internet: millions of websites, billions of consumers and hundreds of billions of dollars of advertising spend that funds content and is a primary driver of global economic growth.
Do we really want all of that controlled by a handful of giant corporations?
I believe most people would agree that we don’t.
Wanting change and achieving it are different things. Until we address the fundamental reasons why the spend imbalance exists, we cannot reasonably expect marketers, who are evaluated on the return of their advertising spend, to change their spending habits. And yet, it is only this type of change that can save the free and open internet.
Inside The Walled Gardens
There is a reason that the walled gardens dominate ad budgets and this is not controversial: Through their scaled data, machine learning, integrated tools and ease of use, advertising in the walled gardens works and it’s easy to do at scale.
The Challenges With Advertising On The Open Internet
Contrast that to the historical complexity of buying advertising on the open internet. Data management platforms often crunch unreliable third-party data sets and can take hours to churn out a single report. Traditional demand-side platforms (DSPs) with a multitude of levers require extensive configuration by dedicated experts and continuous monitoring.
This patchwork of disparate tools and technologies has undermined the best efforts of marketers to consistently reach their target audiences across the open internet. The erosion of audience fidelity between planning, activating and measuring, combined with the immense complexity of tracking and adjusting innumerable campaign configurations, has meant that open internet advertising has struggled to match the ease, consistency and performance at scale of the walled gardens.
So long as this imbalance remains unaddressed, the open internet won’t be able to capture its fair share of advertising budgets.
Democratize Advertising
Now, more than ever, it is critical to democratize successful advertising for all — not just a select few. Emerging data and machine learning solutions for the open internet already rival the scale, effectiveness, predictability and ease-of-use of the walled gardens. When brands and agencies bet on alternative adtech platforms in the market, open internet advertising can fulfill its potential. Only then we will see a future where the playing field is leveled and empowered companies can thrive on the open internet.
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62b847eab0d1af4aca390aba1aa1078d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/25/taking-steps-toward-smarter-manufacturing/?sh=2f532d54403c | Taking Steps Toward Smarter Manufacturing | Taking Steps Toward Smarter Manufacturing
Doug Lawson is the chief executive officer of ThinkIQ.
By now, we've all heard glowing references to Industry 4.0 as heralding the friction-free Factory of the Future. Indeed, there are some people already starting to talk about Industry 5.0 and beyond. But what is it they're really talking about? Is it mostly just hype, or is it something you and your company should be paying attention to?
The First Industrial Revolution—what we now call Industry 1.0—goes back to the 18th and 19th centuries. That was when the energy that had traditionally been provided by humans and animals to carry out low-volume artisanal work in small shops going back to biblical times was being replaced by waterwheels and steam engines driving heavy machinery in factories dedicated to manufacturing goods at scale. By the start of the 20th century, those technologies, in turn, had been supplanted by the use of electricity along with the manufacture of precise interchangeable parts, assembly lines and mass production. That's what we now call Industry 2.0.
The second half of the 20th century saw the introduction of computers into multiple aspects of business and production. That was Industry 3.0. And in much of the world, that's where industry is today. We now have petabytes of data representing all sorts of business activities. They typically include information about supply chains, materials, labor, maintenance, transportation, storage, markets, orders and much, much more—and it has been a tremendous business advantage.
For the most part, however, those computers, sensors, machines, HR records, financial software and so on don't talk to one another. Instead, they display the data they collect on their individual screens using separate platforms and communicating in the language of their own particular specialty—ERP, MES, MOM, etc. Experienced operators are then able to take that information and use it to make decisions concerning their own specific assignments. In a well-run organization, those specialists keep in touch with one another to coordinate their decisions.
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But valuable data is frequently missing, and the interaction of one set of data with another is often indirect, mismatched or altogether absent. You can think of Industry 4.0 as Industry 3.0 on steroids. Both are based on digital technology—computers, sensors, networks, clouds and so on. The differences are that in an Industry 4.0 facility, the data being collected is much more comprehensive, the devices collecting and analyzing the data are directly connected to one another as well as to the manufacturing system itself, and they involve devices that share their files in ways that can be mutually understood and acted upon.
The digital toolkit for Industry 4.0 is also much larger than that of Industry 3.0. It could include global cloud data platforms, hybrid operating systems with edge computing, on-premise data analytics and data warehousing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, intelligent robots, drones, 3D printing and advanced software to support essentially every aspect of the process, from design to delivery.
Industry 4.0 is also known as Smart Manufacturing, and for good reason. Notwithstanding public confusion and initial business hesitancy over the idea of Industry 4.0, its benefits look very promising. A study recently commissioned by Siemens cited a wide range of AI use cases, including health and safety, in which 44% of the survey respondents believe that "over the course of the next five years, an AI system will autonomously control machines that could potentially cause injury or death." That's important because—as the survey's authors point out—in many industrial organizations, bad human decisions can end up costing their companies millions of dollars due to overheating machinery, slight changes in pressure bringing about an environmental catastrophe and other scenarios that can lead to loss of life.
AI also has business benefits, including improved operating efficiency, faster time to market and fewer factory safety incidents. By connecting business data end-to-end, starting with a company's supply chains and continuing through to manufacturing, delivery and use, AI can proactively alert personnel to problems as well as to opportunities.
How do you raise your company to the next level of manufacturing efficiency? We've identified five steps involved in the transformation to Industry 4.0 operation, but the starting point is collecting data—both structured and unstructured—from all kinds of sources. Much of that data is already waiting to be harvested and used. It includes digital data from your IoT and IIoT devices to HMIs, PLCs, ERPs, CRM and even manual data records. Data from suppliers, partners and data vendors regarding raw materials, processing, manufacturing, delivery, distribution and transportation all the way down to the user level is often available and can be tremendously valuable.
As a practical matter, however, collecting useful data isn't easy. For one thing, it's almost certain that the data you already have resides on an assortment of screens, in different silos, using different technical formats. For another, it can be expensive, at least at the outset, to acquire and integrate sensors to collect data from manufacturing through to the distribution process. Beyond that, there are risks including drowning in low-value data, data damaged by manual entry mistakes, misunderstandings resulting from unclear terminology, inconsistent coding, fraud and duplication as well as other forms of human error.
At the same time, though, there are several companies offering data cleansing solutions that can improve the accuracy and increase the quality of business data. For example, a 2020 Gartner, Inc. report reviews 16 vendors of data quality solutions designed to make business analytics clearer, faster and more accurate. Today, manufacturers who collect and clean their data will find themselves ahead of many competitors. By taking these initial steps toward rendering data into something useable, those companies will have placed themselves solidly along the path to Industry 4.0.
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02ea15fe0e9b71fe9f97a74e9800ee4c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/26/artificial-intelligence-blazing-a-trail-for-the-future/?utm_campaign=Artificial%2BIntelligence%2BWeekly&utm_medium=web&utm_source=Artificial_Intelligence_Weekly_208 | Artificial Intelligence: Blazing A Trail For The Future | Artificial Intelligence: Blazing A Trail For The Future
Managing Director at a1qa, a pure-play QA and software testing company.
With such a strong decision-making ability, artificial intelligence (AI) has the incredible potential to reshape the world economy we know today.
The global profit from the AI market is expected to reach almost $100 billion by 2023. Being a powerful tool supporting humanity in analyzing zettabytes of data, it then returns with effective solutions and may act independently in situations that —even for software engineers — are hard to foresee.
However, amid its continuously evolving nature and the need for ensuring ongoing management, organizations still confront challenges when implementing AI.
On top of that, being strongly influenced by the pandemic, companies have to deliver software at the highest pace ever. Some of them seek salvation in introducing innovations but are not always ready for that.
Let's talk more about AI value for business and its future, the criteria for the technology introduction and the role of QA supervision throughout the process.
Creating Cognitive Capabilities For Business Today
To assist companies in attaining their mission-critical objectives, I suggest focusing on three major scenarios of AI utilization we already witness being effective:
• Business processes automation, ranking first on the list, is often performed through robotic process automation (RPA). Relatively easy to be implemented, it acts in a human-being manner receiving data from diverse systems. For instance, companies apply RPA-enabled and AI-enabled smart automation to handle hundreds of emails, classify them based on content, process them, manage replies and more with no human action needed.
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• Detailed big data analysis predicts things like customer behavior or can help detect financial fraud. Machine learning — evolving so briskly — is able to recognize images and speech. It advances analytics capabilities and helps find matches in databases such as information related to the same companies but presented in various formats.
• Interaction with clients or staff through chatbots or intelligent agents enables round-the-clock customer support, the emergence of product recommendation services that ensure high personalization for potential buyers and much more.
When combining human and machine work, companies may embrace such benefits as an accelerated working process, increased employee effectiveness and creativity as well as growing customer satisfaction.
What To Expect From AI's Ongoing Development
According to McKinsey, 44% of businesses said costs were reduced after introducing AI, and the list of obtained benefits is far from over. It's obvious that organizations will continue with the technology in the upcoming years. There are several valuable directions to highlight:
• Artificial intelligence of things (AIoT). Imagine your internet-connected devices learning from gathered data, like a smart office solution detecting present employees and handling heating to follow an energy-saving mode.
• Smart manufacturing. AI in processing analytics may provide manufacturers with intelligent decision-making, which will prevent downtimes once already caused by the pandemic.
• Computer vision. To help companies overcome workplace disruption, their representatives may use computer vision to spot any process discrepancies, breaches in safety regulations and more.
Thus, the spread of AI and introducing it wisely may assist C-levels in incorporating risks in the long run, boosting productivity and reducing the chances of human errors.
Considering Criteria For Implementing AI
With AI gaining momentum across multiple industries, its efficient use largely depends on businesses' necessity and opportunity to introduce innovation.
When trying to understand whether it's a fit-for-purpose improvement, two criteria matter ― the nature of tasks and the cost of an error.
First, automation is not always the best match for tasks that demand compromising, setting priorities or emotion-based decision-making. However, if your company collects, stores and processes big data, AI may become your first choice; handling huge data volumes at a high pace can streamline a business model.
Second, human intelligence is the only way out (at least today) when it comes to making strategic choices like planning further guides for business development, as even a single mistake may lead to decreasing revenues or brand image deterioration.
Utilizing QA Support For Smart AI Introduction
Let's say your organization is an ideal candidate for putting innovation in place. What should a QA team bear in mind to verify the robustness of such a solution?
I advise considering five vital steps:
1. Focus on requirements. Their high variability and evolving nature make it hard to identify them completely. Therefore, the engineers must closely interact with product owners, business consultants and data scientists to obtain the requirements with the needed level of actuality and detailing.
2. Give due attention to test cases. The QA specialists should continuously work on designing new test cases and updating the test model. Due to the ever-changing AI solution, it's hardly possible to capture all probabilities.
3. Carefully determine test datasets. Data inside of a neural network is divided into three sectors. A training set ― the kit of input images of, for instance, printed circuit boards in which your neural network should identify defects, thus learning. A development set ― a new set for tuning your network depending on how well it performs on this set. Ideally, the network should operate equally well on both of them. And a test set ― a never-applied data to check the final algorithm. This set must contain data as close to the production as possible, which the QA squad should monitor.
4. Don't bail on cybersecurity testing. Breaches in security may trigger cases when AI-based systems used, for instance, in the BFSI industry become vulnerable to cyberattacks and may reveal sensitive financial data.
5. Leverage test automation benefits. As the AI system is trained consistently, considerable test automation effort is required to include emerging test cases, thus boosting test coverage, curtailing testing time and scaling down QA costs.
Conclusion
In March 2018, a self-driving Uber car was in an automobile accident that took the life of a pedestrian in Arizona, and software failure was a major factor in the accident. Today, we see that implementing AI is still at the pilot stage. To propel to its confident day-to-day usage, one may pay due attention to ensuring solution reliability and security amid the context of continuously growing and changing data.
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b17bd57b664a11b9bd0035e90792fd13 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/26/five-reasons-online-learning-is-the-future-of-professional-development/ | Five Reasons Online Learning Is The Future Of Professional Development | Five Reasons Online Learning Is The Future Of Professional Development
Fahim ul Haq is the Co-Founder and CEO of Educative, a leading online learning plaftorm for software developers.
Kelvin Murray 2015
Online education has been on the rise for the last decade, and the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated its widespread use in unprecedented ways, particularly for professional career advancement. Degree-based programs and expensive learning and development (L&D) initiatives are no longer required to foster an efficient ongoing training environment for those seeking career advancement.
Online learning has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, but the disadvantages alone are no reason to shy away from this education revolution. This approach is here to stay as a valuable additive. Without disregarding its limitations, from my vantage point as a leader in the online learning space, I believe that online learning for professional development is worth rooting for. I want to share a few notable reasons why.
Learners can work at their own pace.
Many learners and employees prefer web-based solutions due to flexibility: They can learn at their own pace by prioritizing topics and scheduling learning per their needs.
Every learner has their own learning methodology and life demands. Expecting everyone to digest information at the same rate ignores this crucial success factor. The pacing of in-person corporate learning solutions has been a gatekeeper for non-traditional learners, like those with family caretaking responsibilities or varied learning abilities.
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A self-paced learning environment empowers employees to progress at their own momentum. In fact, web-based learning tools aid corporate training, requiring 40% to 60% less time to complete the same material. Employees can schedule when they want to learn, and time-consuming travel to training facilities is no longer required.
Self-paced learning, however, is not an ideal environment for all learners and should not be treated as a one-stop-shop solution. Online programs generally require a greater amount of reading to gain mastery. Without strong motivation for completing an online program, many learners may fail to utilize this solution. These added demands can be a hindrance and should be considered when selecting a web-based solution.
Online learning is cost-effective.
Online learning is, overall, more cost-effective for learners, educators and L&D teams. As opposed to in-person career advancement programs (which include costs of facilities, transportation, resources, etc.), remote education cuts costs drastically.
A study by Dr. Brent Peterson reveals that learning effectiveness is due to three factors: 25% of learning is from the learning event, 25% is from individual preparedness and 50% is from follow-up activities. However, companies invest 10% of training budgets on pre-learning event activities and only 5% on post-learning event activities. This means that 85% of training dollars are wasted.
For remote corporate learning solutions, the upkeep costs are far cheaper than in-person training events. Costs for management, travel and event preparation are reduced. Instead, teams can reinvest in real-world applications. Web-based solutions are also an excellent choice for smaller companies that cannot implement a full-scale LMS.
Of course, the success of an online learning corporate learning solution depends on the engagement of each employee. Cost-effectiveness alone does not guarantee learning success. These solutions do require a sustained investment. Some companies instead may opt to integrate web-based solutions as part of their toolkit rather than a wholesale replacement.
Online learning offers more variety.
The offerings of online learning are vast. Learners can access step-by-step instruction on a variety of career advancement topics that were once inaccessible. Most organizations lack in-person specialists for diverse subjects, preventing employees from learning the topics they need to succeed or expand their career internally.
With a web-based solution, the choice of subjects a learner can tackle is limitless, and L&D teams can easily curate specialized programs. Advances in official accreditations make it possible for learners to showcase skills and for L&D teams to track program completion.
However, variety alone does not guarantee quality. Many online solutions are not accredited to offer relevant training. Similarly, web-based solutions cannot properly substitute certain disciplines, particularly those that require hands-on practice (such as online medical education). L&D teams should be cautious while investing in web-based solutions to determine if it matches demands.
Online learning is accessible globally.
Learners from almost anywhere in the world can enroll in online programs, aiding organizations that manage multiple branches around the globe. Online learning systems make it easier to reskill employees at the same time, no matter where they are. Teams around the world can train on new materials simultaneously.
Online learning also opens the door for employees to relocate while attending web-based career advancement programs. A location-independent, technology-empowered lifestyle helps any company form a lasting web of global learners who can reclaim their lifestyle without sacrificing career goals.
The equity of web-based technologies, however, may still be a barrier for certain populations. While 73% of Americans own a personal computer, the rates of global computer/mobile literacy are far lower. For example, in India, a larger gap in computer literacy remains. Therefore, as L&D teams consider learning solutions, it's essential to consider these barriers.
Online learning is agile
In 2021, companies need to be more flexible than ever. The economic crash last year revealed that companies succeed when they quickly respond with technology rollouts and reskilling strategies. Web-based enterprise learning programs support pivots like these, providing an agile solution to a fast-paced market.
An effective learning department must be agile, and web-based solutions make it easier to quickly produce relevant content. Web-based solutions can also be regularly pivoted to accommodate new market dynamics.
However, administration and management are crucial to the success of an online program. Unsuccessful implementation of an online program can inhibit growth. Organizations that do not have a solid foundation in online training, particularly for support, may suffer from poorly administered web-based solutions. Organizations should consider carefully if they have the proper resources and cultural adaptability.
All in all, online education is here to stay. It is a valuable additive to our enterprise learning methodologies and can make an organization more future-proof. Investing in online education is investing in an accessible future for all.
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596540f5669449b9c7fdb1e7d2289908 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/26/is-omnicloud-the-future-of-distributed-computing/?sh=37d8c0617850 | Is Omnicloud The Future Of Distributed Computing? | Is Omnicloud The Future Of Distributed Computing?
NS1 co-founder and CEO. Leading a world-class team to solve the biggest challenges in modern infrastructure.
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Over the past year, there has been rapid, widespread adoption of cloud infrastructure as companies race to launch and scale digital services and applications to stay connected and competitive in a hyper-connected world. The need to deliver superior user experiences is pushing cloud adoption beyond single and even traditional multicloud implementations to a more pervasive, distributed computing model known as omnicloud. The new approach will be the next wave of enterprise modernization.
What Is Omnicloud?
First, consider multicloud implementations. The approach most prevalent in the enterprise ecosystem today involves aligning multiple cloud providers with certain functionality (e.g., using Amazon Web Services for all web workloads and Microsoft Azure for analytics services, which integrate with Power BI). However, multicloud can also describe architectures where application workloads run across multiple utility computing footprints. In this case, all cloud providers are treated as general-purpose compute with an abstraction layer that hides the individual details—a steppingstone to omnicloud, which encompasses complete abstraction of infrastructure.
Omnicloud enables companies to manage, deploy and run applications anywhere and everywhere. It delivers a breadth of coverage and greater flexibility and reduces latency to better serve key markets and end users globally.
Many companies that describe themselves as operating their own edge networks have essentially deployed an omnicloud footprint across many different hyperscaler availability zones. They leverage application traffic management strategies to intelligently orchestrate their application traffic and automate the life cycles of the resources that support it. They can quickly and easily spin up and manage capacity close to key audiences. Because of the abstraction layer, it doesn't matter what kind of infrastructure is running underneath—the focus is on the most effective distribution of the application workloads: adding dimensionality to multicloud architecture.
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Factors Limiting Adoption
Omnicloud has found favor among major tech companies that have the weight to invest in new tools and massive distributed footprints. Startups, unsaddled by legacy tech, have also taken advantage of the omnicloud trend to build their applications from scratch. But it's early in the hype cycle, and as with most trends, there are factors that will limit widespread enterprise adoption.
• Data gravity and mobility: Cloud providers want all of a company's data on their cloud services because they recognize that where your data lives is likely where everything else will be. It can be costly, not to mention technically difficult, to move data between clouds. For a company with a heavy database and code running in hundreds of places around the world, optimizing data mobility is crucial. How does this company move the portions of that database that are most relevant to the right locations at a specific point in time, so that latency is minimized but data isn't constantly in transit? What is the minimum set of places that this dataset could live to maximize performance but minimize the overhead of distributing data across a global footprint? This is a massive challenge.
• Orchestration of compute: Another challenge is orchestrating compute and workloads between multiple clouds and resources. Kubernetes is making strides in addressing this piece of the omnicloud puzzle, but this technology in and of itself can be extremely complex and difficult to manage, requiring individuals and teams with specialized knowledge.
• Connectivity: A final challenge is managing application and service traffic throughout the application stack—from the cloud to the edge where the user is—in a way that maximizes performance and optimizes the use of resources. An application may live on thousands of nodes and need to be served to millions of users globally across multiple devices and platforms. Companies must connect that device for that person with the right node to service the application at the right moment, based on intelligence about the evolving application footprint and data availability.
The Future Of Distributed Computing
Omnicloud is gaining steam, in part, due to the growing toolset that is making it possible. Hashicorp is a great example of a company providing different solutions to support application workflows. Companies like Grafana are investing heavily in the observability piece of the puzzle and integrating across the different cloud vendors to provide necessary abstractions. Platforms like Docker and Kubernetes are booming right now because they can act as an abstraction layer for the build part of the omnicloud equation.
As the ecosystem of tools emerges, making adoption and management easier, more companies will make the move to omnicloud. Unlike early adopters, which are driven by the need for optimal performance, enterprises may also be drawn to the value points of platform independence, which reduces risk and improves resilience and the potential for more pricing leverage over cloud providers. But ultimately, omnicloud is about connecting applications and audiences—placing applications and workloads closer to users to optimize their experiences—and it will be what distributed computing looks like in the future.
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4c0332ad05e93a7a74e0bb9e3217c6cd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/26/its-all-about-people-how-to-lead-with-a-people-first-approach/?sh=44d9a7716c74 | It's All About People: How To Lead With A 'People-First' Approach | It's All About People: How To Lead With A 'People-First' Approach
CEO of 3d Signals. Industry 4.0 enabler via IoT, ex GM of USB flash drive BU at M-Systems (NSDQ:FLSH), a vegan and an ultra-marathon runner.
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As the CEO of an Industry 4.0 startup, I'm a strong believer in technology and its ability to create value for customers. As such, we invest heavily in R&D, algorithmics and making sure we are always ahead of the curve in terms of the technology we use. Having said that, what really sets us apart from the rest of the startups is our "people-first" approach. I strongly believe that the human resources are the most valuable resources for a company, and that personal relations are the "make or break" when it comes to our competitive edge.
The way I see it, a manager's ability to create meaningful personal relationships that extend beyond small talk discussion is a game changer. This is true in every aspect of business conduct, starting from peers, employees and team members, and continuing with customers, investors and partners.
Following are a few examples of how to implement a people-first approach in your day-to-day routine:
Candidates: What are their values?
In hiring, professional experience is usually the only parameter to consider. I recommend evaluating candidates based on their personality and values and not just based on their skills and expertise.
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Managers must make sure that they hire people that share the same set of values as themselves, and that would fit well with the company's values and DNA. I personally like to hire athletes due to their high motivation, overachieving character, uncompromising attitude and willingness to give everything they have in order to meet their goals.
Employees: By far, your greatest assets.
Your employees are not just the people who work for you. They are your brand ambassadors; they are both your spearheads and backup power. If a manager is able to create a shared motivation in a team, this team will do everything they can to meet the team's targets. But to do so, a manager has to get to know the people in the team, what drives them, what makes them tick, what makes them shine.
In my company, every new employee has a 30-minute meeting with each and every member of the management team with the sole purpose of getting to know each other. I also make sure I meet with every employee for a one-on-one meeting every six months to feel the beat of the company and understand the underlying currents. My main takeaway message from these meetings is that every employee has the need to be heard, to be noticed, to know that he or she are valuable for the company. For most of them this is the only opportunity to sound their voice directly to me without any buffer, and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of it for both them and myself.
Investors: Sharing is caring.
Investors are not only a source of cash for the company. They also come, usually, with a ton of experience and expansive networks. By making them part of the company, you can better engage them and connect them to the company's mission and vision.
I like to invite our investors to meet the team and speak to the team about their experience and the reasons that led them to invest in the company. When they know the faces behind the logo, they become more committed to the journey, which also helps me sometimes to get their approval for unconvential moves.
Customers: It's not just business.
With customers, nothing can replace the personal touch. We make sure to meet our customers face-to-face, not just in the presale process but also regularly throughout the year. It is important to listen to customers and understand their pain points to create real value for them, but it is just as important to know their personal motivation and the internal politics they deal with in order to become real partners and help them achieve their goals. Their success is your success.
Personally, I make sure to meet customers whenever I travel, and these meetings sometimes happen at the office over coffee, but, more often than not, we meet for dinner (a vegan restaurant, or their place, cooking a vegan meal together), a beer or—my favorite—a joint run.
The job of CEOs and managers of technology companies is to build companies that will last and prosper. If you are in this business for the short-term and quick wins, you have to invest in closing deals and looking for the exit strategy. If you are an ultramarathon runner in it for the long run, you better invest in building relationships. These relationships will build the business for you.
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b97ddf058cc1da894cb0a728e6cce02b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/26/what-lessons-should-we-learn-from-the-suspected-russian-hack-of-solarwinds-and-other-us-agencies-and-companies/ | What Lessons Should We Learn From The Suspected Russian Hack Of SolarWinds And Other U.S. Agencies And Companies? | What Lessons Should We Learn From The Suspected Russian Hack Of SolarWinds And Other U.S. Agencies And Companies?
Stu Sjouwerman is the Founder and CEO of KnowBe4 Inc., the world's largest Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform.
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The successful breach of several U.S. agencies and businesses was first confirmed last December, but it was the result of an organized hacking campaign that ran for many months. Texas-based SolarWinds, the company on which many reports of the hack centered, develops software that’s designed to help businesses manage their networks — software it supplies to U.S government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. The attackers were able to insert malware into SolarWinds’ Orion platform, and it was then pushed out via an update to as many as 18,000 customers.
Victims of the Sunburst (or Solorigate) malware include Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, Nvidia and many other tech firms, but also the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Treasury Department, National Nuclear Administration, Energy Department and more.
But the victims of the attack include more than just SolarWinds and their clients. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Roughly 30% of victims are said to have no connection to the network-management company’s tainted software.”
The fallout from one of the most sophisticated attacks ever perpetrated (Microsoft president Brad Smith told ZDNet that it estimates more than 1,000 engineers worked on these attacks) is set to continue.
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We still have a lot of unanswered questions, but there are some important lessons here for organizations and security professionals.
Breaches are inevitable, so plan for them.
If attackers are determined enough, they can almost always find a way in. Security has to be balanced with convenience, so the reality is that breaches will occur. Accepting that truth, you can plan effectively to ensure that you’re able to deal with security incidents when they do arise. Clear plans and policies allow for swift mitigation of vulnerabilities so you can minimize disruption and get back up and running as quickly as possible.
Trusting third parties can be dangerous.
“Always install software updates” is an oft-repeated mantra in InfoSec, and it’s smart to ensure you have the latest versions and protection. Unfortunately, when attackers manage to breach a trusted third party, this can lead to trouble. The hackers managed to inject malware into a software update that was digitally signed. Even if customers hadn’t implicitly trusted the update and automatically installed it, they wouldn’t have known anything was amiss.
Security must be built in from the start.
It seems likely the hackers somehow gained access to companies’ build processes or continuous development pipelines to slot this malware in before the code was packaged up and distributed. A system like this that deploys code should have security checks built in from the start and the use of software signing keys should always be closely monitored. It can be tough to retrofit software platforms or development pipelines with proper security checks, so it’s crucial to consult security professionals during the initial design phase.
We miss things when we’re distracted.
People let their guard down when they’re distracted. This accounts for the boom in phishing attacks since the pandemic began as people struggle to balance the professional and personal when they have to work at home. This hack managed to slip past countless agencies and security teams, partly due to the twin distractions of pandemic pressure and the presidential transition. If attackers are patient and pick the right moment to attack, they have a much greater chance of going unnoticed.
Adopt a zero-trust policy.
The idea of a zero-trust approach, where organizations whitelist legitimate traffic rather than focus on trying to block specific kinds of traffic, is gaining traction. With a zero-trust policy, every connection between user and host may be subject to authentication before it can go ahead. There’s a better chance of preventing data exfiltration if you block by default, but it requires careful configuration and planning.
Vigilance is invaluable.
It wasn’t the National Security Agency or even Microsoft who uncovered the hack; it was FireEye. It’s revealing that a cybersecurity company with strong defenses was the one to uncover this, but it all comes down to vigilance. FireEye, like many tech firms, employs two-factor authentication, which means employees need to get a code on their phone to remotely log in to the company’s VPN.
Vigilant security staff noticed that one FireEye employee had two phones registered in their name and took the time to call and ask if they had registered a new phone. It turned out they had not, which was what sparked the investigation that led to the discovery of tainted code. This illustrates how important it can be for people to investigate and follow up on small discrepancies.
Creating a security culture.
The best way to boost vigilance throughout your organization is to put a regular program of security awareness training in place which ultimately creates a security culture. When people understand what to look for and how to report suspicious messages or activity, they have a much better chance of identifying breaches and other incidents swiftly.
Ultimately, preventing complex attacks like this is very challenging. It is crucial to continually update staff and encourage vigilance, but that must be paired with real-time network and traffic monitoring and the right blend of security tools.
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5903d0a1dfb1f0c2233b3f4dcf669880 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/29/15-tech-leaders-tips-for-developing-an-ai-strategy-for-your-business/?sh=70acc2a27fb1 | 15 Tech Leaders’ Tips For Developing An AI Strategy For Your Business | 15 Tech Leaders’ Tips For Developing An AI Strategy For Your Business
Significant advancements in artificial intelligence are causing companies to pause and rethink their business plans. Businesses and consumers alike use AI on a daily basis, and it’s becoming a growing force throughout many industries.
While artificial intelligence seems to be in every company’s future (if they’re not already using it), how will a business leader know when it’s time to make an AI plan—and how should they begin? Below, 15 Forbes Technology Council members share their insights on AI for businesses and how companies should go about implementing this fast-evolving technology.
Members of Forbes Technology Council share smart first steps for businesses considering an AI strategy. Photos of featured Forbes Technology Council members.
1. Include AI in your overall business roadmap.
A business roadmap with an AI plan needs to focus on what access business leaders want to create, what innovations to invest in and what capacity they need to build to achieve their business goals. It’s expensive to make changes to AI solutions, so plan effectively to remove biases, understand policy and workflow automation, and drive data-focused decision-making. - Chaitra Vedullapalli, Women in Cloud
2. Set clear goals and plan carefully.
Sooner or later, all roads will lead to AI, as it will be a crucial driver of sustainable growth. Companies will need AI to stay competitive, improve efficiency and continuously deliver an excellent customer experience. However, the success of AI implementation will be determined by setting clear goals, carefully planning the operational aspects of deployment and not forgetting human intelligence. - Vasudeva Akula, VOZIQ
3. Start with a solid data strategy.
While I believe it’s only a matter of time before AI becomes ubiquitous, developing an AI plan is usually not a good first step. Before you implement an AI plan, you need a data strategy. Solid, quality data is the prerequisite to transformational AI. As a result of advances in synthetic data techniques, acquiring that data need not be as costly or time-consuming as it used to be. - Corey Jaskolski, Synthetaic
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4. Set realistic expectations and measurable outcomes.
When implementing AI, organizations must start with realistic expectations and measurable business outcomes. AI can’t be viewed as a “fix-it-all,” because it’s not. Assessing the business value of an AI use case is a start. Then consider feasibility—that entails consulting with people who know the data well and the engineers and data scientists who know how to apply the relevant AI frameworks and algorithms. - Alexandre Bilger, Sinequa
5. Consider no-code and low-code platforms.
Companies avoiding an AI strategy are destined to fail. AI technologies such as optical character recognition and machine learning are now more accessible to non-technical employees and partners through no-code/low-code platforms and B2B online marketplaces. They are also in high demand as more digital workers augment a staff’s daily tasks, including working with unstructured documents such as invoices, utility bills, IDs and contracts. - Anthony Macciola, ABBYY
6. Identify revenue-impacting customer-experience issues.
The right AI strategy for a company completely depends on their business and the challenges they are trying to solve. The use of AI in identifying revenue-impacting customer-experience issues is something I’m seeing a lot of right now as companies try to avoid customer churn and grow revenues. - Sarika Khanna, Medallia
7. Focus on enabling your employees to be more effective.
AI can often sound “buzz-wordy.” At the end of the day, every company needs to have a strategy along with data and a way to utilize insights in a smart, algorithmic way. Good AI will enable your company’s employees to be more effective—especially those without classical data science training. And it should drive impactful results without huge sacrifices to your tech infrastructure. - Diane Keng, Breinify
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8. Automate actionable data insights.
AI is the glue that stitches analytics results with actions. What we learn from data is translated into action, and that action can automatically be acted upon. AI interprets the data and triggers the action, taking away the need for human action and speeding the process. AI is no longer optional. - Sherlock Holmes, Genware Computer Systems Inc.
9. Ensure your AI tools can integrate with your existing tech.
There are no more hours in the day, so increased productivity comes from using those hours better—which is why AI is a critical aspect of a business’ strategy. Creating an AI strategy starts with choosing tools and making sure they can integrate with the technology you already use. Implementing an AI strategy without connecting your disparate data sources won’t generate the necessary insights. - Craig Walker, Dialpad
10. Explore natural language processing opportunities
Only companies that want to survive need AI plans. Enterprises that want to thrive must incorporate natural language processing. Why? NLP is the glue that connects people with content. And it’s the only technology that unifies content and people, translating what people say and want into content. This is why analysts predict most enterprise content will be accessed by AI models in five years. - Igor Jablokov, Pryon
11. Remember that AI isn’t a substitute for poor software.
Not every company needs an AI plan, but machine learning can have a major impact on efficiency, productivity and decision-making if employed effectively. It also facilitates product discovery, content curation and personalized experiences. But AI isn’t a fix for inadequate software or a mediocre platform. If your data is lacking, you could end up with tools that create biases and inaccuracies. - Fred de Gombert, Akeneo
12. Look at potential security issues.
To make the advance of AI sustainable, companies first have to think about security. The tricky part is that traditional defensive measures reduce the accuracy of the original model, so companies are reluctant to implement them. This is a potentially huge problem for AI—the model accuracy will keep increasing, but if robustness issues are not addressed, there will be significant fallout. - Tom Okman, Nord Security
13. Automate cybersecurity workflows.
Due to the exploding attack surface, cyber defenders can no longer keep up with finding and fixing vulnerabilities before they are exploited. With AI, organizations can automate their cybersecurity posture and avoid data breaches. To get started, pick one or two cybersecurity workflows involving repeated analysis of large datasets and kick off a pilot project to automate these with AI. - Gaurav Banga, Balbix
14. Plan for AI to benefit, not displace, your workforce.
The future is indeed AI for everyone. AI automates mostly monotonous tasks so humans can do higher-level work. There are tasks—such as design and management—that AI can’t do yet that are ideal for humans. Employees can advance their careers this way, but companies need to plan to ensure their workforce is well-trained and that AI does not displace workers, but benefits them. - Mercedes Soria, Knightscope
15. Establish criteria for responsible, safe AI consumption.
A future without AI does not exist. Healthcare organizations in particular should start preparing for the clinical and operational impact of AI by doing two key things. The first is to establish criteria for responsible and safe AI consumption. The other is to establish ethics boards that can serve to govern and enforce the consistent application of AI consumption criteria. - Trisha Swift, ZeOmega Population Health Solutions
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8b383ee56f9e1dadce46558ba599815e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/29/debunking-digital-transformation-why-theres-a-better-way-to-describe-this-industry-shift/ | Debunking Digital Transformation: Why There's A Better Way To Describe This Industry Shift | Debunking Digital Transformation: Why There's A Better Way To Describe This Industry Shift
EVP and CIO of Werner Enterprises.
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As we head further into 2021 and more than one year since the Covid-19 pandemic largely took hold of the world, there's one consistent message we continue to hear in the world of technology: the proliferation of digital transformation. Digital transformation is generally viewed as a "radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance," according to MIT principal research scientist George Westerman (via CIO).
Everywhere we turn, organizations tout digital transformation and credit digital advancements for the ability to pivot and stay afloat amid a pandemic. There's thoughtful research to support this track of thinking, painting the picture of how Covid-19 sped up the adoption of digital technology by several years, including relevant studies by McKinsey, Deloitte and Twilio.
The argument doesn't need to be made to validate this research. Understandably, the pandemic altered the way businesses work from a digital standpoint, as many organizations continue to work in some remote capacity still today. However, to call this a digital transformation only begins to scratch the surface. As technologists, we should not take credit for this transformation; instead, we should urge organizations to think less through the lens of digital transformation and call this organizational shift what it truly is: a business process transformation.
Reviewing The Historical Perspective
It's helpful to first put the concept of digital transformation into historical perspective. We should think skeptically about the sudden wave of digital transformation because the fact is most business operations have been digital for decades, not just recently in response to a pandemic.
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The roots of digitalization extend back to the mid-1900s, with decades worth of advancements in computers, the internet, workforce automation and the digitalization of data. In recent years, technologies like IoT, cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain and more have had an impact on all facets of business operations. These advancements have been in the works for many years and tie into larger strategies impacting customers, partners and employees alike.
Dissecting Business Process Transformation
If digitalization has been in progress for decades, how do we conceptualize the shift seen cross-vertically in the past year? The pandemic quickly forced years of change in the ways companies do business in all sectors. Further, these changes are likely to be long-lasting and backed by additional investment that touches all aspects of the organization. Given these facts, it's more appropriate to attribute changes to a business process transformation rather than solely a digital transformation.
A meaningful business process transformation involves the convergence of digital technology, talent and a cultural shift underpinned by a fundamental change in how organizations operate, deliver value to new customers and meet new business goals. While digital transformation and technology implementation serve a role in a comprehensive business process transformation strategy, it isn't the only element that goes into making a modern update to existing processes.
The entire concept can be boiled down to a simple formula: new business demands + updated technology systems + talent + culture change = business process transformation. To describe an organizational transformation as purely digital, you neglect and even negate the necessary culture shift required to sustain systematic change. By shifting our mindset to properly attribute the change taking place, we place emphasis more on modernizing the business as a whole and less on amplifying the digital transformation buzzword.
Moving Forward
Enterprises looking to enact drastic changes to business operations should view digital transformation as just a piece of the plan for modernization, not the entire strategy itself. While a robust strategy is more involved, the result could mean increased operational efficiency, accelerated time-to-market for products and services, and enhanced technology solutions that meet tactical business demands.
The argument against the overuse of the "digital transformation" concept isn't aimed to downplay the impact Covid-19 had on any industry. Organizations had to shift, had to reevaluate technology needs and had to think in a drastically different way in order to remain resilient and sustainable. There's certainly a case of acute disruption brought on by the pandemic as it relates to digital initiatives.
However, organizations that continue to misplace the value of business process transformations under the guise of digital transformation won't be left with anything more than a hollow technology strategy without legs to enact real change at a cultural and organizational level. For transformation to truly be impactful, organizations need to operate at pace and learn how to change and recover quickly when a plan isn't working. From there, business process transformations can be supported in phased approaches backed by technology.
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7595c895b6349100ee1a0b72182f7c2e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/29/online-voting-wont-happen-by-2024-but-its-our-responsibility-to-make-it-a-reality-one-day/ | Online Voting Won't Happen By 2024—But It's Our Responsibility To Make It A Reality One Day | Online Voting Won't Happen By 2024—But It's Our Responsibility To Make It A Reality One Day
Todd is the CEO and Co-Founder of Okta, where he creates, communicates and implements the overall vision and strategy for the company.
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The 2020 presidential race revealed deep cracks in our voting system. People across the nation stood in line for hours to cast their votes, and we waited days for a winner to be projected. We witnessed voter suppression and fraudulent claims about illegal ballots, leading to even more division in our country.
It's easy to come up with a dozen reasons why online voting isn't the right alternative—from personal device security concerns to foreign cyber threats—but I don't buy it. While there are technical challenges to surmount, I believe if we can figure out how to put computers on our wrists and people up in space, we can find a way to securely cast a vote online.
Americans may be tired of talking about elections, but now is the time to take action if we want online voting to make future elections better. Here's what we need to figure out first.
We need a state-run digital identity system.
Think driver's licenses, but online. As countries like Estonia have shown, digital identity credentials can be used as the foundation for a secure online voting platform. While a national system might seem easier at first blush, it makes sense to prioritize a state-run identity system for a few reasons. First, driver's licenses are already the most common form of identification in the U.S.—so logically, it would make sense for the DMV to roll out a digital alternative. And because U.S. elections are state-run, utilizing a state identity system would ensure they maintain control. It's also the most realistic option we can capitalize on: There's been talk about the need for a digital replacement to Social Security numbers for years, but we've witnessed little to no progress. Keeping things at the state-level would help us avoid the political gridlock that comes with federal advancement.
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While we're far from reaching Estonia's level, we're already seeing progress with new bipartisan legislation like the Improving Digital Identity Act of 2020. The bill was introduced in September, directing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a digital identity framework and establish a grant program to empower states to go digital.
We need a voting experience with modern identity tech at the center.
Using "123456" as your password doesn't ever cut it, especially when safeguarding critical election information. We need to build an online voting platform that verifies state-run digital identity credentials through advanced security techniques.
These techniques could include multifactor authentication (MFA), biometric security and context-driven verification, such as geolocation. Americans already interact with these types of security measures when accessing their smartphone or logging into their banking app, so applying them to online voting wouldn't require a learning curve. In fact, one survey showed that 46% of Americans believe fingerprint voter verification would enhance election security, and 29% think facial recognition could improve it. Advanced authentication technologies like these are essential to ensuring voters are who they say they are and that each person casts only one vote.
We need to deploy end-to-end encryption.
During the milliseconds after a vote is cast and before it's received, a lot can go wrong. A vote cast in Missouri could hit servers in Arizona and Germany before making its way to a local elections office, and each stop along the way introduces an opportunity for interference. To ensure each vote is protected, states need to deploy end-to-end encryption.
This means a ballot's contents are encoded so the data isn't legible to anyone besides the voter and the vote counter. We can apply end-to-end encryption to ballot receipts, which would add another layer of accountability to our elections since people could easily validate that their votes were counted as intended. Messaging apps like Signal and Whatsapp already use end-to-end encryption, so the technology doesn't need to be created—it just has to be harnessed differently.
We need a recount system.
We can't forget about the importance of creating a system that allows online votes to be recounted, just as we can recount paper ballots by hand. This will require building an encrypted and decentralized ledger system for storing digital votes so they're ready to be recounted if necessary.
A decentralized ledger system means that the data is separated and stored in multiple digital locations. This significantly reduces security risk because if a cybercriminal can focus all their energy on one system, their odds of success are much higher than if they're trying to hack into dozens—or hundreds—of systems at once. And if somehow a hacker still manages to gain access, encrypting the votes will make the data they find useless. It's essential to maintaining voter anonymity.
In a world filled with modern tools and technologies helping us live and work more efficiently, we're still using a voting system designed 200 years ago. Voting online is not as simple as digital banking, but that doesn't mean it can never happen. We won't see it by 2024, but if we apply the "anything-is-possible" startup mindset to voting online, imagine what we could accomplish as a nation.
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d1b94f3ce2af9908ae606f34467c172c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/29/risk-management-for-tomorrow-what-must-break-to-be-rebuilt-into-something-better/?sh=1ff7f2f3359e | Risk Management For Tomorrow: What Must Break To Be Rebuilt Into Something Better | Risk Management For Tomorrow: What Must Break To Be Rebuilt Into Something Better
Jim Wetekamp is the CEO of Riskonnect, a leading provider of integrated risk management software.
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The past year has been full of unexpected risks, unwanted surprises and unimaginable consequences. Organizations everywhere were caught flat-footed by a risk they never planned for—and many are still contending with the disparities and fragilities laid bare by the pandemic.
Adding to the misery is that the next disaster could come at any time—even before the current crisis ends. Climate change, cyberattacks, social unrest are all top contenders. Or it could be something entirely off today's radar—just like Covid-19 was.
How At Risk Are You?
That is the question everyone is asking, but it's extremely difficult to answer if you are set up to manage risk by type, departmental responsibility or whether or not it is insurable. In the real world, risk cuts across all areas of business. You must be able to see the full scope of what you're dealing with to understand how at risk you are.
Getting that big-picture view is not always easy. Start by taking a long, hard look at how you are managing risk. What has worked and what hasn't while navigating the challenges of the current crisis? Keep in mind that just because something has always been done a certain way does not mean it's the best way to get the job done. Sometimes you must make a clean break from the familiar to gain the freedom to reimagine what could be.
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Now is the time to prepare for the next "big one." Break your old, inefficient risk management ways and evaluate people, processes, and systems that will give you the resilience to withstand whatever comes next. Here are three places to start.
1. Break Down Your Silos
Risk doesn't respect geographic borders, business-unit boundaries or the lines on an org chart. Something like a data breach—originating as an IT risk—can trigger an avalanche of interconnected consequences involving legal, reputation, customers, revenue and more. Traditional risk management methods of managing risks one by one or department by department are useless when faced with a fast-moving, interconnected risk like this. By the time siloed functions come to an agreement on action, not only has the moment gone, but the situation you thought you were dealing with has completely changed.
Yet according to a survey from our company, 35% of organizations say their risk processes and technology remain largely siloed.
It's time to break down silos of people, data and processes and build up a barrier-free view of risk across the organization. With broader visibility, you'll have a better understanding of the full impact of that data breach on the organization so you can quickly coordinate and prioritize your actions for maximum results. Greater visibility also can help you identify and address seemingly inconsequential risks before they snowball into something catastrophic.
2. Break Your Risk Systems
The universally loved and ever-popular spreadsheets are easy to use, easy to modify and easy to share. The problem is that they simply were not designed to handle the enormous amounts of data, intricate calculations or numerous users required to manage risk today. Managing risk in a multitude of static spreadsheets owned by different departments might eventually get you a report, for instance, but there's a good chance the data will be too old or incomplete to do much good. The fact is that you can't make the best forward-thinking decisions using backward-looking data.
Yet 62% of large organizations still rely on spreadsheets for critical business insights.
Break away from spreadsheets and look to technology that will give you instant access to real-time risk data to inform your response strategy. Accelerate your digital transformation to get all risk data in one place where it can be analyzed, shared and visualized in a human-friendly way. Timely and reliable facts are essential to getting in front of expanding risk.
3. Break Your Risk Mindset
Bureaucracy, red tape and personal fiefdoms all prevent you from getting what you need to manage risk effectively—that is, fast, reliable information on which to base decisions. If the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, you could end up doing duplicate work—or worse, conflicting work. Efficient coordination, communication and decision-making are critical.
Yet one-quarter of organizations acknowledge that they did not communicate effectively in their most serious crisis.
Break your risk mindset that managing risk is someone else's job and create a culture and tools to make it everyone's job. For risk management to be truly effective, it should be a part of the decision-making process at every level of an organization.
And that brings us back to the question: How at risk are you?
Finding the answer has taken on a new urgency in today's environment where risks are more numerous, more complex and more interconnected than ever.
The truths revealed over the past year can orient you toward resilience. But it's important to understand that the lessons learned about managing risk in a pandemic cannot be just about Covid-19. Indeed, if you learn nothing more than how to fight the last war better, you will have missed the point.
Channel that hard-earned knowledge into constructing a risk management function that brings together the people, systems and intelligence to help you fully understand the impact of every risk and the consequences of every decision. The risk management function of tomorrow will not just help you respond well to something that already happened, but it will give you the foresight to see what's on the horizon and the agility to change course. That's your path to resilience.
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7d7e0edaedf9fe3298cb1e43ef64a939 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/29/the-convergence-between-ai-e-commerce-and-an-optimized-experience/?sh=1be1e80b7b2b | The Convergence Between AI, E-Commerce And An Optimized Experience | The Convergence Between AI, E-Commerce And An Optimized Experience
Zohar, Gilad, Co-Founder & CEO at InstantSearch+.
The retail sector has seen tremendous change over the last year, and headlines prove that industry leaders are spending time and money on "building the new." Amid strict lockdowns and fear of shopping in stores, consumers have turned to e-commerce in droves. According to eMarketer, worldwide retail e-commerce sales saw more than 27% growth in 2020, even as projections reported a decline of 16.5% mid-pandemic.
To capitalize on today's seismic shift toward e-commerce, merchants cannot sit back and wait for orders to roll in; they must ensure they have perfected the recipe for success. It stands to reason that organizations that take advantage of the immense tech advancements in the world of e-commerce are more likely to thrive. The challenge? Keeping up with ever-changing consumer behavior is a job in and of itself.
So, What Do Consumers Want?
Walmart recently announced its plan to scale its local fulfillment centers to meet customers' delivery needs. Predictably, Amazon continues to invest heavily in its fulfillment strategy as well, with its shipping network offsetting the need to rely on third-party partners. This pressure to deliver speedily is known as the "Amazon Effect" and is often mistakenly understood as the primary way to maintain happy customers.
According to Forrester, 52% of shoppers say that free shipping is a major incentive to selecting online merchants, but only 8% report that expedited shipping is important for them. Regardless, retailers have been aggressively chasing faster shipping methods to compete with Amazon, often while neglecting opportunities that result in a higher return-on-investment (ROI).
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In contrast, leading retailer Nordstrom is proving that faster shipping is not the key factor for growth. The company recently announced its pivot to a "digital-first" approach for both its flagship and Nordstrom Rack brands, expanding its online selection, which already carries almost three times the volume of its physical store selection. It also plans to expand online to 20 times the in-store selection to extend its reach and increase sales.
Nordstrom is one example of a retailer reprioritizing to accommodate the times by escalating its digital approach. The company is focusing on customer experience—not price or delivery—highlighting optimization and personalization, and breaking down silos between its digital and physical store strategies to achieve this goal.
It's critical to note that optimizing the online experience is not reserved for the largest brands. IDC's Daniel-Zoe Jimenez, AVP of digital transformation (DX), future enterprise, and SMB says, "Small businesses are realizing that digitalization is no longer an option, but a matter of survival." Regardless of company size, merchants must explore the value of integrating AI into their e-commerce strategy to deliver an excellent shopper experience.
AI-powered merchandising, search and personalization is fueled by data fueled by shopper behavior, store inventory and visual signals, and is accessible by merchants of any size in today's ecosystem.
AI and Strategic Online Merchandising
AI promises tremendous value, especially in e-commerce, where data collection and shopper interaction are measurable and manageable. Innovation in merchandising involves the strategic combination of art and science, and is key for maximizing sales, regardless of the sales channel. The challenge for online merchandisers is that they must identify and apply creative and strategic visual cues to make up for the absence of physical objects and ambiance. Traditional merchandising used guesswork and historical information and proves ineffective in today's retail landscape.
Insights from McKinsey report that the retail industry has the potential to create $1.7 trillion of value, or 12.39% of total sales, due to AI. But value stems from the ability to address the right questions at the right time, including:
• Are customers finding what they want or are they getting frustrated and leaving? Using AI, patterns are recognized and digital merchandisers can make informed decisions about placement. Instead of manually re-merchandising, create rules and apply them to products, then A/B test the way your customers like to shop.
• Is the variety of products meeting customer demand? Customers have expectations when it comes to online shopping, and using AI-driven data, the merchant has insight into what the consumer is most likely to buy. Using a machine learning system that acts as an algorithm and evolves with time, a website grows smarter with every search, click and purchase.
• Which products are not only relevant to what shoppers are looking for but also more likely to sell due to their sales velocity?
• How can a collection be optimized not only to display the right products but also to fit margin and inventory constraints?
The recent health crisis has expedited e-commerce by years, and companies must keep pace by examining and shifting their online AI strategies right now. This moment in time will prove key to unlocking a more resilient and sustainable paradigm for business for the coming years.
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24654cdfd3723b5f07507aae94058f26 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/30/autonomous-advertising-mapping-the-future-of-machine-learning-in-ad-tech/?sh=183a0f432960 | Autonomous Advertising: Mapping The Future Of Machine Learning In Ad Tech | Autonomous Advertising: Mapping The Future Of Machine Learning In Ad Tech
Chief technology officer at Viant, a leading people-based advertising software company.
getty
The auto industry is on a mission to improve the experience and value of vehicles by autonomizing transport so owners can simply input a destination and have the vehicle drive itself to the desired location. Reaching this goal requires complex machine learning models that consider the countless variables a vehicle may encounter on the road, even as it performs tasks a human would find trivial.
So, what do autonomous vehicles have in common with digital advertising?
Programmatic advertising technology companies are also on a mission to improve the user experience and the value derived from their platforms. And the serious contenders are using machine learning to get there.
Autonomous advertising is the idea that a brand marketer can utilize an ad tech platform to input their ad content, budget and target ROI and then let the platform do the rest. For industry players to achieve this goal, they must look to the lessons learned across other industries and apply them to programmatic advertising — all the while focusing on providing the best value and experience possible for marketers.
Machine Learning In Ad Tech Today
The first step that vehicles took toward autonomy was cruise control, where a simplistic computer maintained the vehicle’s speed and allowed drivers to focus on steering in the right direction.
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In advertising, the use of machine learning has been in a similar place over the last five years. With the ever-increasing number of available channels and formats, a vast amount of inventory sources and sophisticated fraudulent activities, the programmatic advertising ecosystem is becoming more complex than ever. A human being cannot possibly micromanage billions of impression opportunities to achieve a desired goal.
Using machine learning, specifically deep learning tools, platforms have enabled advertisers to automate these complicated tasks so they can focus on the more creative aspects of their job instead.
Many DSPs (demand side platforms) are already using machine learning for detecting fraudulent inventory, predicting viewable impressions, bid shading and goal optimization. Each of these plays a role in increasing advertiser ROAS (return on ad spend) and simplifying the process of buying ad slots.
Fraud detection and viewability prediction ensure impressions aren’t wasted on fake or unviewable pages. By providing goal optimization and bid shading, both the bidding and delivery of the impression happens when it is most impactful to maximize ROAS.
These tools are already providing value to advertisers from increased ROAS and time saved by avoiding doing these tasks manually, but they all work somewhat independently, and each tool is designed to solve a specific problem. To achieve full autonomy, more must be done.
The Future Of Machine Learning In Ad Tech
Now that we have cruise control, how do we get the vehicle to drive itself?
In the future, platforms will likely go beyond basic optimization and prediction aimed at one specific problem. To achieve fully autonomous advertising, platforms need to step back and develop a comprehensive suite of tools narrowly focused on increasing ROAS — the primary metric of concern for any advertiser.
As it would be difficult for an autonomous vehicle to reach its destination without GPS, a prerequisite for success in autonomous advertising is to have an accurate way of measuring ROAS, online as well as offline. This requires a platform built on people-based advertising, which uses first-party data to connect devices and actions, both online and in-store, to the identities of real people who own those devices.
Once that people-based foundation is in place, the platform needs to build a comprehensive set of machine learning models that all work in unison to autonomously plan, buy and measure advertising to achieve the desired ROAS.
These are complicated tasks for a computer to manage, and it will take time to reach this point. However, as the machine learning models that run behind the scenes of ad tech platforms continuously ingest more data, they will become better equipped to make the right decisions at key points.
Fortunately, other emerging technologies and techniques are expediting this future and enabling smaller ad tech players to join the fray as well. Critically, cloud services are making it cheaper to store and process the massive amounts of data necessary for machine learning tools in advertising. This continues to level the playing field and has fostered an open-source community that builds on its own collective knowledge.
As more people and companies start using machine learning, new libraries, techniques and models will be developed and become available to help programmers navigate the challenges intrinsic to machine learning. Furthermore, by optimizing hardware for these tasks, developers can maximize performance using fewer resources.
The ever-declining amount of software and hardware resources necessary to develop these tools will directly lead to decreased costs. This creates a virtuous cycle as lower costs allow more developers to contribute to open-source communities, which then decreases resources required and further lowers costs.
Still In The Driver’s Seat
Once autonomous advertising is fully developed, it won’t mean advertisers have to use it. Every brand has its own goals, and platforms need to recognize this if they want to provide the best experience for their clients.
Autonomous advertising will likely be made up of several different tools that a brand marketer can turn on or off depending on their individual needs. This keeps the user in the driver’s seat, providing access to a variety of tools when needed and adaptability when desired.
And adaptability is critical in an industry that is constantly changing.
Machine learning technology is already providing powerful tools, and it will continue to do so at ever-decreasing costs. As platforms work toward the future of autonomous advertising, it is imperative that they maintain their focus on customer experience and ROAS. Those who lose focus won’t get past cruise control. Those who do will drive themselves toward the sunrise and a new dawn in programmatic advertising.
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2321c1930dae585ecbb924691e92dec9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/30/autonomous-driving-must-achieve-zero-accidents-vision/?sh=208fee9c355d | Autonomous Driving Must Achieve Zero Accidents Vision | Autonomous Driving Must Achieve Zero Accidents Vision
Behrooz Rezvani is the founder and CEO of Neural Propulsion Systems.
Most Americans are leery of self-driving vehicles because putting our lives—and the lives of our loved ones—in the hands of artificial intelligence is too big a leap for many right now. In fact, three out of four Americans are afraid of self-driving vehicles, according to a recent AAA study.
It's not that human-controlled driving today is terribly unsafe. There are 1.49 deaths per 100 million miles driven, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Still, the Association for Safe International Road Travel reported that more than 38,000 people on average die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways.
Many believe that for autonomous vehicles to be accepted into the mainstream, they must be far safer than human-controlled vehicles. In fact, they should strive to be safer than air travel, which is remarkably safe. In all of 2018, there were 393 civil aviation deaths. However, only one of these deaths involved a commercial airline, according to the National Safety Council.
The reason autonomous driving must be substantially safer is twofold: Many people are already afraid of self-driving vehicles, and when there is an accident, we are disproportionately influenced by the news. The story of the self-driving Uber that caused a pedestrian fatality has nearly 25,000 mentions on Google lamenting the crash—and people have long memories.
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That's why autonomous driving must adopt a "zero accidents vision" to achieve mainstream acceptance for Level 4 or Level 5 autonomous capabilities.
How do we get to the zero accidents vision? Countless teams across the globe have been studying this issue and, more specifically, what kind of sensors are needed to provide sufficient reaction time, generally considered seven-plus seconds for a perception engine to safely navigate complex scenarios and avoid all accidents.
The bottom line is the perception engine needs more time to observe and needs to have more confidence in the sensor data.
In analyzing accidents where fatalities occur, there are four areas where car sensors must improve radically—under all weather conditions—to reach the zero accidents vision:
High Speed: Vehicles moving at very high speed in opposite directions on a collision trajectory.
Around Corners: Detecting pedestrians, especially children, around corners or occluded by other objects or vehicles.
Fast Scanning: Tracking hundreds of targets at a very high frame rate.
Blocked View: Detecting vehicles and pedestrians in a rural area with significant vegetation growth occluding line-of-sight sensors like LiDARs and cameras.
Finally, it's critical that the sensor continually and adaptively interrogate and dwell on regions of interests (RoI) at high frame rates simultaneously and synchronously with the other sensors to capture subtle movements.
Certainly, companies are diligently working on these issues. Primarily, there are three methods being used, and each has substantial merit and limitations:
Cameras: They provide high-resolution images, but they lack native depth information and depend on light conditions.
Radar: It measures velocity with great precision, but it has trouble detecting static objects and measuring the position of objects due to low resolution.
LiDAR: It's the only sensor to provide native 3D data, but high-performance LiDAR solutions can perform poorly in adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain, fog or snow.
There are proponents and detractors for each. Elon Musk famously said: "LiDAR is a fool's errand. Anyone relying on LiDAR is doomed." He went on to explain that he believes they are expensive and unnecessary.
Most agree there is a place for all these technologies, and analysts forecast each of these technologies will enjoy a boom in the coming years. For instance, the market for radar and LiDAR will more than double by 2025 to over $25 billion, according to the analyst group Yole Développement.
To reach the zero accidents vision, the Neural Propulsion Systems team argues that both LiDAR and radar must undergo radical improvements and then LiDAR, radar and cameras must all three be fused into a single system.
LiDAR and radar innovation must occur to address the two most formidable roadblocks to reach Level 5 autonomous driving: distance and corners.
Most LiDAR systems are only capable of 250 meters, and they must achieve 500 meters to reach the seven-plus seconds necessary for the perception engine to make the correct judgment call. Also, improved radar can enable cars to know what's around a corner, which is immensely important to preventing accidents. Working with a team of thought leaders in radar and LiDAR, we have overcome both these challenges.
With these issues addressed, combining the strengths of LiDAR, radar and cameras to create an AI-powered deep sensor-fusion system that leverages the notable capabilities of each technology—while overcoming the weaknesses—is an approach that would get us near the zero accidents vision.
Ultimately, for these autonomous vehicle sensors to gain mainstream adoption, it's paramount that they achieve and maintain an impeccable safety record. Secondarily, they must be reliable and easy to repair. Lastly, as implementations ramp, they will become more affordable and smaller, which can facilitate even greater proliferation.
For most Americans, self-driving cars will have to be far safer than their human-steered counterparts before they will let go of the wheel. Fortunately for all of us, technology is advancing—while remaining affordable—to get us to the zero accidents vision.
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7221450e899a51ac95956cce8bd5559f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/30/how-it-can-enable-the-success-and-security-of-an-elastic-workforce/ | How IT Can Enable The Success And Security Of An Elastic Workforce | How IT Can Enable The Success And Security Of An Elastic Workforce
Kelly Ahuja is the CEO of Versa Networks.
getty
The global Covid-19 pandemic has led business managers around the world to rethink many of their old assumptions about remote work. What started out as a short-term emergency work-from-home response to the pandemic is clearly developing into a permanent change in the fundamental nature of a workplace.
Companies are embracing the notion of an "elastic workforce" — employees working from remote locations, most likely from home, either on a part-time or permanent basis. This phenomenon reveals limitations in corporate IT and security, however. The permanent elastic workforce will require new approaches to network and application architecture, along with addressing security concerns.
IT Challenges Arising From The Permanent Elastic Workforce
Corporate and IT leaders should be proud of having enabled large numbers of employees to work from home in a nearly instant pivot earlier this year. From one day to the next, millions of people took laptops home and did their jobs from kitchen tables using consumer-grade internet connections. Some companies even discovered unforeseen benefits to working from home. They found people can be even more productive without having to commute to the office. Reductions in bills for utilities, office space, other facilities and travel expenses contribute to overall lower operating expenses, sometimes saving companies an exorbitant amount of money.
As the pandemic continues, though, it is evident that people may be working from home for the long term. Impressive as it was, the emergency work-from-home period did not represent an optimal situation by any means. Serious challenges arose across several dimensions, including:
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1. User Experience
Core enterprise applications are typically configured for employees who access them over a purpose-built corporate network. This is the case for public cloud-based apps such as Microsoft 365 and Zoom, as well as those hosted on private clouds. Either way, a home-based worker has to go through a VPN, hairpinning (an extra hop) through the corporate office and a firewall to access the apps they need remotely.
This was an acceptable arrangement when only a few people worked remotely a fraction of the time and most applications were hosted on private clouds. Now, when nearly everyone is accessing applications remotely, most of which are in the cloud/SaaS, the user experience can degrade significantly. Application and network responsiveness may suffer. And, what’s worse, the IT department may not be able to see how performance is lagging for home-based users.
2. Security And Business Continuity
Working from home exposes companies to additional cyber risk. Vulnerabilities arise out of increased use of consumer-grade devices, which may not have endpoint security software, lack or have insufficient security configuration on home routers and use less-than-secure home Wi-Fi connections.
In general, having so many more remote connections increases an enterprise’s overall risk profile. Rushing deployments of apps for videoconferencing and the like may bypass standard security standards. It’s difficult to keep track of who is who, so malicious actors have an easier time slipping past traditional countermeasures. They can more easily impersonate employees and engage in phishing and eavesdropping. In terms of business continuity, the existing data backup procedures and tooling may not be set up to handle so many home-based devices operating outside of the main network.
3. Manageability
A comprehensive, permanent elastic workforce presents a new reality for IT managers. With the exception of a few forward-thinking companies, office-based employees have been the norm. With the permanent elastic workforce, all systems for hardware and software provisioning, IT support, and network management need to change.
IT Objectives For A Permanent Elastic Workforce
Enterprises are now starting to map out plans and objectives for a permanent elastic workforce. Making the concept work for the long haul is quite a different proposition from the heroics of enabling people to work from home for a few months. Looking ahead, IT managers seem to want (or should want) a client-to-cloud experience that’s secure, reliable, scalable and simple for end users.
Here are some ways IT teams can prepare for a permanent elastic workforce:
1. Update your corporate network. While many issues emerge in realizing the idea of an elastic workforce, the corporate network connecting all these dispersed users is arguably the most significant factor affecting success. Changes in endpoint configuration and application architecture are necessary for large-scale, full-time employee groups working from home. Yet, without the right network, nothing will work right or be secure. Cloud-based solutions typically rely on home Wi-Fi, which is very vulnerable to attacks. If employees use a VPN, it almost always lacks application awareness in the access network. IT department and network operations teams most likely have no idea if a user is having connection problems or sluggish application performance at home. These solutions are also not great at network and application segmentation, which are useful in a widespread work-from-home scenario.
2. Take back control. Employees are consuming an increasing number of applications, services and compute, which are massively distributed across public and private clouds. IT should take control of the security, performance and reliability by leveraging networking and security cloud services located at the front doorstep of these of these applications. This is possible today with integrated SASE solutions delivered via the cloud.
3. Protect the business and remote workers. Take security, performance and visibility to where employees are working even when they are not in the office. Full-stack security and networking implementations are available in small form factor devices which are easily deployed by employees in their home while being managed at scale by IT providing maximum security and performance. For employees who are not connected at home and roaming, IT should implement zero trust network access combined with performance technology such as SD-WAN. IT is able to provide protection against security threats, improve application performance and gain full visibility into applications, performance and potential threats.
The full-scale, permanent elastic workforce is coming, and some believe it is already here. IT managers are now working hard to devise sustainable, economical solutions to solve the problems of secure network connections for companies whose employees work from home or anywhere.
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376428352e86010a299e1f87f1b94aee | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/30/the-hidden-cost-of-remote-work/ | The Hidden Cost Of Remote Work | The Hidden Cost Of Remote Work
CEO and Co-Founder of OpenVPN Inc., leading-edge networking and software technology with over 60 million downloads since inception.
In the last several years, more employees than ever before have been shifting to remote work. Then 2020 saw an even bigger spike, when teams who had never considered working from home were forced to clear their offices at a moment's notice. The trend that was already a steady wave became a sudden tsunami, cementing the reality that working from home really is here to stay.
But companies have been recognizing the benefits of remote work and reaping the rewards accordingly long before the novel coronavirus left us isolated. Companies that allow remote work are more profitable and have lower turnover rates, and their teams report overall higher happiness. The last decade saw a 400% increase in remote work, and it's only going to grow; nearly 30% of working professionals would leave their job if they had to return to the office after the pandemic. That's a trend that's not going away.
The problem with remote work? There are risks. And many, many teams don't do enough to mitigate those risks.
Remote teams come at a cost.
Whether your team has been remote for years or only started remotely in March 2020, there is a high likelihood that it's taken a toll on your company in a number of ways. The most significant of these is your security. According to my company's research, 73% of IT workers believe that remote workers pose a greater security threat—and they're speaking from experience. Remote workers are more susceptible to phishing and more likely to use insecure devices. They're also often working outside their company network.
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Hackers know that remote workers are more vulnerable, and they cater their attacks accordingly. The data from 2020 shows us that hackers target the distributed workforce: Between March and July 2020, Tessian's survey showed nearly half of companies experienced a data breach.
One example: phishing is up. In the study referenced above, nearly half of the data breaches arose from a phishing attack. When employees are outside the company network and free to visit any site they click on, phishing can become even more effective than usual. Plus, employees working remotely don't have the on-hand support and training of the IT staff and often simply forget to check in with their security team for support.
For that same reason, vishing, or voice phishing, has also been on the rise this last year. Vishing occurs when hackers attempt to get network access information over the phone, often posing as someone from the corporation. Malicious actors see an opportunity to use these attacks on remote employees operating without nearby IT support. This strategy would be far less effective for teams at the office, where fellow employees can overhear and offer help, and where it's also easier to verify where any particular caller might be on site.
But hackers are creative; they're also strategically targeting the tools remote workers use. As video meetings became the new standard, the fake Zoom downloader caused a wave of attacks last year. If there are standard tools your team uses to stay connected, you can be sure malicious actors will be trying to use them to gain access to your team's devices and your company's network. Between Q1 and Q4 2020, there was an astonishing 768% increase in remote desktop protocol attacks—because hackers knew that's where they would find remote employees.
What can you do about it?
The reality is remote work is essential for businesses. We're still in the midst of a pandemic, and even with a vaccine rollout, many teams aren't yet able to meet in person. And, as we know, remote work can have powerful benefits for teams.
But the risks leave many teams stymied.
When teams are forced to make the change to remote work suddenly, as many were in 2020, they often skip over essential security measures in order to keep productivity up. This means that the attacks and data breaches we saw associated with remote work in 2020 were not inevitable; remote work does not mean your team is doomed to a breach. Rather, it simply tells us that we have to be proactive. Teams need to establish remote work security protocols and stick to them.
The solution here is not to avoid the risk, but to mitigate it.
The first and most essential step is to have a business VPN. Your corporate network should be protected and private—your team can log in remotely and access the tools they need without putting that network at risk.
Those logins are therefore the next layer of vulnerability. Make sure your network requires two-factor authentication to log in. Better yet, enforce a "zero trust" policy. Many people are under the false assumption that zero trust is not compatible with a VPN, but the reality is quite the contrary: Any good VPN will allow you to establish a zero trust network.
Your team's devices then become the next layer of vulnerability. If they're using the same device for their personal use and company use, even if you're using zero trust, your network is at risk. Whenever possible, your team should have devices exclusively for work, while using separate and unconnected devices for personal use.
Lastly, don't forget to frequently train and retrain your employees on security best practices. They should know what to look out for, who to turn to when they're unsure and how to protect the business and their personal data from being exposed. The only way to prevent complacency is with regular training.
The truth is, many companies can't afford not to offer remote work. It's become part and parcel of our economy, our employment structure and our everyday lives. That's a good thing—it's a work style that offers many benefits for employers and employees alike. We can't run from it simply because there are new risks associated with it—we have to face those risks with wisdom, caution and the right set of tools.
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a0b638bd716e199b69e385d2c051a928 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/30/understanding-the-potential-impact-of-vendor-lock-in-on-your-business/ | Understanding The Potential Impact Of Vendor Lock-In On Your Business | Understanding The Potential Impact Of Vendor Lock-In On Your Business
Founder & CEO, Percona.
Vendor lock-in generates heated debate in the IT community, and it's now getting more attention from the general business community. On one side, you have proponents of open source technology who promote avoiding vendor lock-in as a key benefit. On the other, you have proprietary software vendors and cloud providers saying vendor lock-in is nothing to get worked up about.
Is Vendor Lock-In A Fact Of Life?
Some people claim there has always been vendor lock-in, and they are correct. Even if you hire an engineer to build a specific solution in-house, you will effectively be "locked in" to the data center operator, the hardware vendor and, finally, your engineer who operates and maintains it. Changing any of those elements will increase risks, add time and increase costs. Arguably, you can call this a lock-in.
So, we've established there is always some lock-in element and that there's no solution to this issue, right?
But not so fast! Lock-in is not always black and white, and where you are on the spectrum is important.
Considering The Severity Of Vendor Lock-In
Although avoiding vendor lock-in altogether is practically impossible, you should still consider its severity. This is the time, cost and risk impact of replacing a component or service.
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If the component you wish to change is a "commodity," then the switching costs are generally low. Standard hardware and data center operations have multiple vendors vying to provide essentially interchangeable components or services. And though I'm not suggesting that your company's engineers are a commodity, any viable business has contingency plans in place, even if their best and brightest walk out the door.
On the other end of the spectrum is a need to change or replace highly differentiated proprietary solutions, which are not easily duplicated. These solutions could be on both the hardware and software sides. Limited choice is much more common in the software market and often accepted as inevitable.
And it's true that due to the complex functionality of software, finding a replacement can be a challenge.
The Benefits Of Vendor Lock-In
In fairness, there can be benefits to vendor lock-in. Going all-in with a single vendor may allow you to simplify things and become more agile, potentially achieving better quality as single-vendor solutions are often better integrated. This is what Microsoft Stack was about, and this is the message we see from platform vendors like AWS and ServiceNow.
If your relationship with your vendor is good, and you're being charged what you consider a fair price for the value you get, it can work out well. But you should recognize that the balance of power is typically way off in such a relationship. Your vendor knows it can take years to move off its solution. If you decide to do so, it will likely result in millions of dollars of unplanned additional spending, so the vendor has a lot more pricing power.
Of course, this is not where most relationships start. They usually begin by offering great value and a fair price when software is first adopted. The "get you in the door with a cheap deal" approach has worked very well for a long time. As time goes by, the honeymoon period comes to an end—usually when the customer has fully committed to the software or solution, allowing the vendor to leverage its pricing advantage.
According to this study from Capiche.com, software went up 62% over the past decade—over three times more than the average inflation rate. The company surveyed 100 different business apps and discovered 67 raised their prices an average of 98% between 2009 and 2019.
It is not hard to predict conflict—in the end, the vendor and customer have opposing goals. The vendor needs to increase revenue from the customer (this is how your vendor sales representative is compensated), and the customer wants to keep their costs under control, reducing them if possible.
The Drawbacks Of Vendor Lock-in
So, while the benefits of vendor lock-in are appealing if all goes well, the risk of excessive costs can be severe. This is not the only problem. When you are locked in, you are solely reliant on your vendor to drive innovation, and the technology you love could be put on ice or killed altogether. This is especially dangerous in our modern "as a service" world, where vendors can choose to shut down their solution at short notice, leaving you with little alternative and no time to migrate.
An Alternative Solution
So, should you embrace the convenience of a solo vendor or look for a commodity solution that may be less efficient but avoids reliance on a single vendor? Well, there is also a third option in the form of an open source solution.
Although many open source solutions lack some of the bells and whistles of proprietary solutions, they are often good enough for the vast majority of applications. Open source communities built around a specific software generally have various vendors to choose from, offering real choice with far lower switching costs.
Does this approach work for everything? Probably not, as there are likely to be cases where open source alternatives are nonexistent, not mature enough, not as convenient or would cause a loss of productivity if adopted. In these cases, of course, you should choose the practical option.
For many companies, open source database software is an important part of their technology strategy. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by our company, 81% of respondents cited cost savings as the most important reason for adoption, followed by 65% using it to avoid vendor lock-in.
So before you agree to terms with a vendor, consider the insights shared here to determine what's right for your business.
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bf10197acfe94663e39f80ea45d395c1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/31/15-tech-pros-on-the-best-iot-applications-on-the-market-right-now/ | 15 Tech Pros On The Best IoT Applications On The Market Right Now | 15 Tech Pros On The Best IoT Applications On The Market Right Now
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From voice assistants to smart home devices, the Internet of Things is rapidly changing both how we live and how we work. With a projected 83 billion IoT connections by 2024, this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
As the IoT continues to grow and add new functionalities, it’s important to understand what’s currently available and how these devices can transform life for consumers and businesses. Below, 15 tech experts from Forbes Technology Council discuss the best IoT devices and applications on the market right now and why each is so valuable.
1. Touchless Transaction Devices
The best IoT devices include those that enable touchless transactions, such as contactless payment and data collection and tracking devices. From a standpoint of cleanliness, these include any devices that reduce the transmission of germs and help to end the pandemic. Additionally, in the work-from-home era, home automation has become extremely popular, which also reduces contact transmission in the home. - Kevin Beasley, VAI
2. Personal Fitness Devices
The best IoT devices are those that support personal fitness, which has become a leading issue in our current time. The ability to go to health clubs has been diminished by regulations, and many individuals choose to avoid it for health reasons. What has kept me and others sane through this period is the Peloton bike. - Thomas McElroy, Level-1 Global Solutions, LLC
3. Ingestible Diagnostic Devices
Myriad ingestible medical devices are coming to market with multiple different use cases. The ability to ingest a “pill” that then pulls data from inside your body and delivers that information back to deep learning frameworks is huge. Forget wearable tech—ingestible tech is something that can replace that market. - Damian Ehrlicher, Protected IT
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4. Health Monitors
As an avid fitness geek and cyclist (and overall geek), I like to monitor everything I can about how I am feeling and recovering—both more important than ever in the era of Covid-19. Devices such as WHOOP and the Oura Ring see patterns, understand our health and compare data with millions of users and athletes around the world. I have been impressed by how they’re able to detect Covid-19 early and improve recovery. - Jason Carolan, Flexential
5. CGM Devices
As a Type 1 diabetic, seeing continuous glucose monitoring devices moving to support the IoT is a huge advance. The benefits of delivering seamless remote monitoring of blood glucose for parents when their children are out or sending alerts directly to medical professionals are huge. Given the potential size of the market and the effect these devices can have on well-being, they top my list. - Al Kingsley, NetSupport Limited
6. Infrastructure IoT
The best IoT devices on the market are the ones we don’t ever see. The critical infrastructure all around us that keeps the cars moving through your city and the water pumping to your house are performing invaluable tasks for us every day, and most of us are totally unaware. Consumer IoT development is exciting, but infrastructure IoT is where the real magic happens. - Dick Wilkinson, New Mexico Supreme Court
6. Fleet Management Software
The most interesting innovation happening in IoT right now is not with the devices themselves—which are mostly sensors and processors—but instead with fleet management and monitoring software. Being able to maintain the health and security of multiple generations of both hardware and software via a set of low-cost devices that are sent out into the field is huge. - Joaquin Lippincott, Metal Toad
7. Sensor Hubs
The best IoT devices incorporate the intelligence required to both sense key parameters of the real world that surrounds them and convey vital telemetry upstream for analytics that maximizes situational awareness. For example, sensor hubs on trucks can provide fleet dispatchers with information about the engine, cargo and even the driver—all essential to ensuring on-time deliveries. - William Bain, ScaleOut Software, Inc.
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8. Click Boards
There are a lot of innovative IoT devices on the market today, and the possibilities are endless. However, particularly beneficial is the vast click board portfolio from MikroElektronika, which includes over 1,000 devices. These click boards have become the critical starting point for every IoT project and are a key component of the IoT ecosystem. - Wolfgang Thieme, BehrTech
9. Firewalls
By far, the most important IoT device for businesses is the network firewall you implement to protect, track and control your IoT devices and your network. Put all your IoT devices on a common, separate Wi-Fi network. Most “next-gen” firewalls have threat detection and intrusion prevention. Monitor those reports and talk to your IT department to interpret them. IoT devices attempt to discover the rest of your network and routinely send data back to the manufacturer. - Jim Nekos, Edge Technology Group
10. Climate Control Devices
Climate change is probably the most critical challenge facing humanity today. States and countries have been experiencing more frequent and longer power outages due to harsher weather conditions and record-setting temperatures. The IoT can help to tackle climate change through connected devices such as the Nest thermostat, which can play a pivotal role in managing peak demand and grid stability. - Ahmad (Al) Fares, Celitech - Cellular Data Platform
11. Voice Assistants
The best IoT devices out there are voice assistants. In the future, there will be no keyboards, no buttons, no touch screens and so on for anything from TVs to cars and more—it will all be voice-driven. Even though it is taking a long time to get there, we are closer than ever to that being a reality. Imagine walking around the world with no devices on you and being able to ask for what you need. - Mercedes Soria, Knightscope
12. iPhone 12
The iPhone 12, with built-in LiDAR capabilities, is the best device on the market right now. This device takes us one step closer to creating a digital copy of our world. The inbuilt LiDAR technology allows limitless possibilities for mass augmented reality integration, which will allow us to overlay and enhance the real world with digital capabilities. - Alex Dzyuba, Lucid Reality Labs
13. Smartwatches
For an IoT device to demonstrate its value, it must promise convenience while having the ability to make decisions when its owner can’t. A smartwatch not only provides conveniences such as communication but can also act if the user is unable to—for example, detecting a fall, heart arrhythmia and other issues. As the safety, security and insurance ecosystem grows, this IoT device will become even more instrumental. The next step is the connected car. - Spiros Liolis, Micro Focus
14. Tile Trackers And SmartTags
Tracking devices such as Tile Trackers and SmartTags are amazing. With the introduction of the sticker versions, their usability has greatly increased, and I believe the size will go down even further in the future. Add to that global, low-cost satellite connectivity from companies such as Swarm, and we are looking at never losing anything again. - Vikram Joshi, pulsd
15. The Combination Of Personalized IoT Devices Working Together
In recent decades, we have experienced a transition from mass production to mass personalization. How do we personalize products and services at scale? The answer is with real-time information coming from a secure yet diverse set of IoT devices—cars, TVs, refrigerators, thermostats, medical devices and so on. The IoT of the future is not a single device but a highly personalized platform. - Augusto Perazzo, Me in Te
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5f2317456f70346139849920026ea8c1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/31/how-iot-is-transforming-healthcare/ | How IoT Is Transforming Healthcare | How IoT Is Transforming Healthcare
CEO and co-founder of Hologram, a global cellular platform for IoT.
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Medicine has long been driven by data, from making diagnoses to prescribing treatments. Now, healthcare is taking a major step forward in the collection and analysis of high-quality data, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoT can be thought of as a device (or a network of devices) that connects to the internet, allowing data to be sent to whoever needs to use it. On a grand scale, the IoT consists of billions of devices and sensors—such as across a supply chain—that transmit a continuous stream of data. For business leaders in every industry, access to better, more accurate and real-time data enhances decision-making.
This same premise applies in healthcare IoT, which can keep patients connected to their care providers after they leave the doctor's office or are discharged from the hospital. There are multiple applications, such as continuous blood glucose monitoring, CPAP use to treat sleep apnea, and transmission of vital patient data from the ambulance to the hospital—just to name a few examples.
The global market for portable and remote patient monitoring has been increasing steadily. According to one research report, it is expected to expand by a single-digit compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2027, reaching nearly $43 billion worldwide. In addition, more than half (53%) of U.S. hospitals have a remote patient monitoring system.
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As healthcare IoT makes more in-roads, there is greater potential for improved healthcare outcomes for the patient. Care could also become more cost-effective, thanks to early detection and intervention to prevent costly emergency room visits and unnecessary hospitalization.
The Telehealth Explosion
The Covid-19 pandemic quickly accelerated innovation in the delivery of goods, services and solutions. The same ramp-up in innovation occurred in healthcare with the explosion in telehealth since the pandemic began.
Providers connected with patients via videoconference and used remote monitoring to avoid in-person doctor's office visits to avoid a potential contagion risk. This transition was further supported by insurance payers, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which issued waivers that would allow payment parity for care delivered in-person or via telehealth.
Post-pandemic, virtual care will likely continue to be a mainstay. With greater acceptance by physicians and patients, alike, many office visits for routine follow-up and feedback could be eliminated. As telehealth expands, hospitals, physicians and other clinicians will likely turn to healthcare IoT applications to monitor, collect and analyze patient data in real time.
One example is Vheda Health, which uses its digital chronic management platform to manage high-risk, high-cost patients who are covered by Medicaid and Medicare. Its customized remote monitoring seeks to increase patient compliance in managing their chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma and COPD.
Current Health, for example, specializes in remote patient monitoring for home health patients, such as those with chronic diseases or who have been discharged from the hospital and need ongoing care. (Full disclosure: Current Health is a client of Hologram.) Working with our cellular platform, Current Health deploys IoT sensors that transmit data via cellular networks. This adds a layer of data security and provides greater connectivity, especially for patients who live in rural areas or do not have reliable Wi-Fi in their homes.
Remote monitoring using wearable sensors could also prove beneficial in augmenting ongoing care during pregnancy. For example, smart technology could enable alerts for changes in maternal and fetal health in high-risk pregnancies and could also help monitor pregnant women in rural environments who have limited access to care.
In addition, continuous monitoring via sensors and IoT could improve care delivery and quality of life for diabetic patients. This is crucial to avoid deterioration of patient health, which could impact the patient's eyes, internal organs, nerves and other parts of the body. Similarly, improved monitoring and patient support could help manage the health of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), potentially avoiding complications and hospitalizations.
Wearing an IoT device to gather medical data could raise questions for patients, such as who has access to the data and how it is being used. Just as patients review HIPAA compliance with their doctors for in-person visits, they should also ask how data collection is handled according to privacy and security standards.
For individuals with serious or chronic conditions, however, wearing a device to improve health monitoring in real time should provide peace of mind. In fact, a sensor that collects vital signs is not all that different from wearing a fitness tracker or an Apple Watch, which has become a device with medical applications, such as detecting heart arrhythmias.
Big Data And Better Decisions
Healthcare IoT also reflects a greater dependence on big data—combining both internal and external data from numerous sources—to enhance decision-making. A recent Capgemini survey, for example, found that the majority of companies consider data to be an "essential factor of production," equal in importance to land, labor and capital.
The same can be said for big data and healthcare decision-making, both to optimize care for individual patients and to improve population health. As we look to the future, we can foresee greater advancements in the medical field, thanks to the collection of more accurate and relevant real-time data.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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db8a4dac2712dbab5cfb9d8e45118476 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/31/how-to-secure-permissions-and-avoid-internal-data-theft/?utm_content=160280907&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-1060098624014231&sh=7b5f4dc17c49 | How To Secure Permissions And Avoid Internal Data Theft | How To Secure Permissions And Avoid Internal Data Theft
CEO at DefendX, overseeing Secure Data Management- File Discovery, Compliance and Mobility for our customers globally.
It goes without saying that a business leader's role comes with a lot of responsibility. Leaders are saddled with day-to-day tasks, including the management of multi-level teams, face time with outside clients, payroll and employee issues and keeping tabs on company goals.
Among these many tasks is the role of deciding which employees are allowed to access specific files.
As the IT environment of businesses grows — and the workforce becomes almost-exclusively reliant on computer access — the task of maintaining cybersecurity will only become more challenging. From small family-owned employers to major corporations, cybersecurity needs to be tackled from all angles.
Also known as "rights and privileges," permissions are defined as the level of access given to users or network administrators. Depending on the job role, these rights will be detailed and monitored throughout the employee's time at the company. As an employee's role grows within the organization, it is common that their permissions will also grow, allowing them to utilize additional files. From contractors to longtime employees, there is a trust that has to be instilled prior to granting any level of permission. Some may only need access to write or read a file, while others will require the right to execute files and/or access rights to everything.
The most common way to determine which permissions should be assigned to different users is by implanting datasets. Establishing datasets will categorize employee permissions and maintain organization among the various groups of employees. They are also used to dictate which users have permission to add or remove other datasets from a group. To enhance flexibility, users can be assigned to authorization groups, all sharing the same set of rights. For example, if an intern is working with a particular employee, that employee will be able to authorize the intern's user level and whether he or she is allowed to read or edit certain files.
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While an employee's role will dictate permissions granted, insider threats are still a growing concern. With society's increased reliance on technology, threats are more common, detrimental, harder to detect and more expensive than in the past. The majority of insider threats are people who are completely unaware of the fact that they are a threat to the system's security.
Known as the most widespread category of security incidents, employees and contractors have made it to the top of the list, making mistakes that could easily be avoided. These errors consist of emailing sensitive data to the wrong person, utilizing unsafe work practices and deconstructing an environment. While most of these incidents are unintentional, the price to detect and fix the problem can cost several hundred thousand dollars.
According to reports, today's most common cybersecurity challenges include the rising cost of preventing insider attacks, regular users being as dangerous as privileged users, data breaches caused by user negligence and the importance of deterring insider threats.
One way you can help prevent costly mistakes is by evaluating user analytics. Without your employees knowing, their computer use can be analyzed to mark any red-flag activity. Things to monitor include: log-in and log-off times, site and search history, applications that have been started, access requests to sensitive material and USB devices that are connected to the system. Even small details, such as keystrokes, opened files and folders, URLs, mouse movements and executed commands can be monitored in an attempt to avoid mistakes. Behavior analytics tools can help make this job easier and will even alert security personnel after the detection of a user's unusual activity.
While it is an organization's legal right to monitor employees on a system that is owned by the company, this level of comprehensive monitoring does come with some contention, which is why it's important to convey the reasoning for such a system to your team. Pros that directly affect the employee are automatic payment setup, work pattern insights, less tedious reports and more autonomy. Because the monitoring system will be able to keep tabs on the workload of all employees, there will be efficiency among all team members and those who don't pull their weight will be flagged. On the opposite end of the spectrum, employees who excel will get recognized.
It’s also critical to provide ongoing training that will enhance employee awareness regarding the various threats, teaching users to recognize and disclose threats when they are faced with them.
The level of security in your data environment can be determined by launching an IT audit. The technology version of a financial audit, an IT audit's mission is to test a system's effectiveness and dissect its internal control design. Some of the things that are analyzed during an audit include IT governance and oversight, development processes and security protocols, all which may be enhanced as a result of the audit. An audit will confirm whether a security breach has taken place and it will allow the company to prevent future breaches, saving a lot of money. While some businesses fear the outcome of an audit, the primary goal is to safeguard an organization's information, making sure nothing leaks into the hands of hackers, criminals or competitors.
Because technology is growing at such a rapid pace, many middle-market companies are outsourcing their IT audits so they can focus on the business and maintain a competitive edge. When it comes time to partnering up with an IT auditor, a business should search for someone who is dedicated to enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. Communication is key, and the auditor should have a solid track record for conveying the reasoning behind the audit, the end results and a plan that betters the security of the system going forward.
The access of material is something that can be shifted over time. It's critical for leaders to always have a grip on what users are engaging in when they are utilizing company technology. Even the simplest of emails can turn into a pricey security breach, which is why it’s essential to make sure employees abide by the security boundaries that are put in place to protect information.
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1399b3d494b715bf6f912264d37a3b58 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/31/what-kind-of-enterprise-software-will-be-right-for-your-business-in-the-future/?sh=1d1478e964bf | What Kind Of Enterprise Software Will Be Right For Your Business In The Future? | What Kind Of Enterprise Software Will Be Right For Your Business In The Future?
Chief Technology Officer at Unit4, overseeing development of intelligent software for service organizations.
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Think for a moment about how organizations are evolving. They all want to be lean, fast and specialized. They're trying to become more adaptable, intelligent and resilient. Wherever you look, it's a pretty consistent pattern.
Now, think about the main trends in enterprise software. It seems to be evolving in 20 directions at once: AI, ML, SaaS, PaaS—it feels like you're drowning in alphabet soup. Even when you spot a recognizable word like "cloud," there are half a dozen different flavors.
How can you make sense of it all? Software buyers need to understand all the factors, decide which matter most and check that the software they're considering has them. I've included a checklist below to help you do this.
For me, though, as CTO of an enterprise software company, it's slightly different. I have to understand all of these options in order to decide which way to steer our software development program. In this article, I'm sharing what I've decided to do for my purposes in the hope that it will help you make software choices that are right for your business.
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How Is Enterprise Software Evolving?
In my mind, there are five categories of trends in enterprise software.
1. Platform trends. Enterprise software is moving to the cloud for reasons of accessibility, resilience and scalability. The trend is also to distribute different parts of the software across multiple locations (data center, public cloud and user devices).
Vendors are building software out of ready-made blocks of functionality called microservices and allowing them to interact with other software using universal connectors called APIs. They're also breaking down huge software suites into task-specific chunks that just give the user what they need to do their job.
2. Trends in intelligence. Business software firms are increasingly using AI to improve user experience by automating repetitive processes and spotting patterns in how users behave in order to plan improvements to the software. AI can also automatically create little bits of contextually relevant software in the moment to capture missing information, for example.
Vendors are also introducing natural language interfaces into their software. A Constellation Research report confirms that "customers expect the ability to use voice as an interface as much as they use touch and gestures."
3. The software ecosystem. Enterprise software normally comes as a suite that covers all the main business functions like finance, people, purchasing and project management. These days, people want their enterprise software to work with (and be as easy to use as) major collaboration platforms like Teams or Slack.
Increasingly, vendors are offering industry-specific software, with industry best practices encoded into ready-to-use modules. The Constellation Research report points out that "customers expect their cloud-based ERP solution to deliver on deep industry vertical functionality."
4. Extensibility. Many industries still use specialist software, like the fundraising systems found in the nonprofit sector, and enterprise software needs to be easily extensible to such systems. The Constellation report adds that "customers also expect their ERP vendor to provide integration support for adjacent solutions in the ecosystem.”
Despite all the vendors' efforts to make their standard products as customized as possible, some organizations still need to develop their own bespoke applications on top of the vendors' platforms. Vendors need to provide extension toolkits to enable them to do this.
5. Business issues. Beyond industry specialization, some enterprise software vendors are also specializing in providing organizations of a particular size with software that is neither too simplistic nor overly complex for their level of maturity.
Last, but certainly not least, software buyers are placing more importance on the cultural fit between their organizations and the software vendor. Some peer review sites even produce rankings on the "emotional footprint" of ERP vendors.
The Enterprise Software Buyer's 11-Point Checklist
Here's my advice for what to look for in enterprise software to help ensure it will be right for your business in the future.
1. Can you place the software wherever you like (on-premise, in private and public clouds or at the edge)?
2. Does it have a modular structure? Is it built from microservices and connected via APIs?
3. Does it offer task-specific apps that people can put on their mobile devices?
4. Does it include AI to automate mundane tasks and continuously improve user experience?
5. Can you talk to it in natural language?
6. Does it come as part of an integrated suite of software that handles all the main business functions?
7. Can you easily connect it to other business software that you use in your industry?
8. Does it work with major collaboration platforms like Teams or Slack, and does it feel as intuitive to use?
9. Is it tailored to your industry sector, and does it come with industry-specific business processes out of the box?
10. Is the software the "right size" for your business—not too big and not too small?
11. And don't underestimate this one: Is there a good cultural fit between your organization and the vendor?
Predicting the future has never been easy; these days, it's virtually impossible. The only way to prepare for it is to be prepared for anything. That means having the flexibility to change quickly, cheaply and easily. In the end, the sort of enterprise software that'll be right for your business in the future is probably the sort that's most easily adaptable.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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2e932e8af11359fc9033eb3ea5b92df0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/02/how-to-make-the-incoming-hybrid-workforce-work-for-you/?sh=768539a46f84 | How To Make The Incoming Hybrid Workforce Work For You | How To Make The Incoming Hybrid Workforce Work For You
Nabil Bukhari is the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer at Extreme Networks
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This is a shift that I believe will happen: We are moving from centralized to distributed models across society. Working remotely is just one aspect of that overall trend, but it's a crucial one.
NYU business professor and author Scott Galloway wrote a powerful essay on the shift. He calls it "The Great Dispersion." According to Galloway, "work from home, telemedicine, and remote learning represent an impending disruption of over 25% of the U.S. economy."
What does that mean? It means our post-pandemic workforce won't look the same as today, and it won't look the same as it did before the pandemic.
Galloway warns that mass dispersion could create unintended consequences. He is concerned about an "erosion of empathy." What he means is that as people spend less time with one another in person, we can lose the opportunity to engage with people who have different backgrounds and experiences from our own.
Galloway's essay points to multiple challenges for companies. How can we create empathy across dispersed teams that may never meet each other in person? How do we replicate hallway conversations between friends who don't work together but work for the same company? How do we unite teams and the individual people who form those teams?
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As businesses start planning for this post-pandemic future, here are three tips for preparing to manage your hybrid team.
1. Embrace individualism and accept that people will want to work differently.
Your employees spent the last year learning how to work in new ways. It's unlikely all of them will want an immediate return to the pre-pandemic workplace as a result. Some may thrive in the freedom, productivity and flexibility that remote work offers. Others may want to work in a more traditional office atmosphere. What is most crucial now is to listen to what your employees want.
Offer your employees a variety of working choices based on what they have to say and exercise radical flexibility. If they are meaningful contributors, trust your employees to choose the options that will work best for them, for you and for your company.
2. Be deliberate, be inclusive.
Last March, decisions had to be made quickly in the name of public health and corporate survival. This time around, there is time for planning. You should take that time before executing.
First, listen to your employees and find out what they need in any return to the office. Then, form a team that represents the major departments of your company. Human resources should not have this problem dumped on it to manage alone. You must work with HR and engage departments across the company to ensure that the needs of all employees are considered.
There are many questions to consider:
• What's the maximum number of people allowed in the office at once?
• Will there be a formal calendar for when the office is open?
• What physical arrangement will ensure safe distancing between employees?
• Will leaders need to reduce office space or find a new office entirely?
• Will the building adapt to facilitate contactless entry, reduce traffic and limit crowding around shared spaces?
• Will there be mandatory temperature checks? Will there be disinfection stations?
• What testing and vaccination protocols are you requiring for employees? What can be enforced, and what can be encouraged?
• How will teams in headquarters and hub office spaces interact with employees working remotely?
Communication is key. Share every precaution being taken to ensure employee safety, and make it clear that employees will be given flexible options.
Organizations must be willing to change and adapt the plan as they move forward. We have shown in the past year how we are actually able to pivot and function in areas of uncertainty. Let's not stop that!
Continue to talk to employees throughout the process, listen to their concerns, and pivot accordingly. This is not a time when we can say that "this change will be the last change."
3. Have no line between digital and personal connection.
Face-to-face time, watercooler chatter and spontaneous brainstorms are going to be worth celebrating for everyone who comes back to the office. However, don't get wrapped up in the excitement of that environment and overlook your remote employees.
Silos can form if you're not careful, so keep up the video calls, virtual happy hours and coffee chats. Use Zoom, but go beyond it.
Find creative ways to ensure remote workers are connected. For example, consider setting up a livestream camera in the office so remote workers can feel like they're with everyone. Over the longer term, perhaps you could reallocate some of the money spent on real estate and instead spend it on quarterly in-person meetings and annual off-sites. Connect with your people however you can!
I believe this: Whether you're in the office or behind a screen, we can create a workplace that's engaging, energetic, inclusive and supportive.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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dd27ec616beda8b84277a444fde94b59 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/05/how-to-train-remote-working-employees-on-cybersecurity/ | How To Train Remote-Working Employees On Cybersecurity | How To Train Remote-Working Employees On Cybersecurity
I’m Co-Founder/CEO of InList.com, the premier app for attending exclusive global events, and co-founder/owner of software company Syragon.
Last year, the world experienced huge challenges created by the pandemic. Not only were we living in a state of uncertainty, but most of the workforce was also suddenly working from home offices and using their personal internet connections. Where once IT professionals could walk down a hallway to address technology issues, they now have to use remote access and attempt to talk staff through better computer safety practices.
Cybercriminals saw this tear in the fabric of cybersecurity networks and changed tactics by targeting employees who work from home. I’ve designed websites for virtually my entire life, so I knew to expect chaos when the coronavirus hit. True to form, more than 40% of businesses had at least one cyberattack related to the pandemic in 2020, according to a Tenable report (via TechRepublic). Small businesses and governments were hit especially hard as IT professionals experienced access inefficiencies, VPN vulnerabilities and staff shortages.
It became apparent that implementing or retraining employees on cybersecurity was necessary. But prioritizing cybersecurity can be difficult. Many business leaders see it as a drain on critical resources, a luxury afforded by only those with significant assets to protect. They do not realize the variety of ways someone can lose their life savings, intellectual property and more — without ever divulging a password, no less.
In today’s world, businesses simply can’t afford to forgo cybersecurity awareness training. It’s a potentially catastrophic mistake.
Instructing Employees On Cybersecurity
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Remote work has been on the rise for years, but the global Covid-19 pandemic catapulted this practice into the next era. While working from home yields many benefits, it comes with substantial drawbacks as well. In a home office, employees use home internet connections rather than the securer ones that IT professionals install in the office. Less secure home networks open up every device in an employee’s house to become a target for corporate espionage.
And with almost half of employees lacking regular cybersecurity training, smaller businesses are at extra risk. The effects of a cyberattack can be more devastating for them. Do you have an expensive PR company to handle the fallout of a data breach and subsequent media coverage? Do you have lines of credit to survive extended downtime while forensic teams determine what sensitive financial data was stolen from your business? A data breach can instantly bring the wheels to a grinding halt for a startup, which can be a life-or-death moment for the company.
Sometimes all it takes is a single employee falling for a phishing scam for an entire organization’s data to be hacked, encrypted and held hostage by cybercriminals. Let’s say an employee receives an email that appears to have been sent from an executive. The request is for the employee to send an Amazon gift card to a random email address as payment for services. If the employee follows these instructions, suddenly the hacker gains access to — and then holds for ransom — the company’s valuable data.
Public and private sectors have spent hundreds of millions of dollars since the pandemic broke on dealing — proactively and retroactively — with ransomware vulnerabilities. An alert and trained employee protects the company when they understand and can, therefore, avoid current cyber threats.
Effectively Training Employees
Education is key to ensuring that organizations — and small businesses in particular — are protected from cyberattacks. Here are four ways to more effectively train employees on cybersecurity awareness:
1. Take A Piecemeal Approach To Education
Recently, I helped a client complete a self-assessment questionnaire for credit card compliance. The questionnaire was no fewer than 268 questions, a majority of which were unnecessary and irrelevant to my client. It was so difficult that I can completely understand how most people would rush through it, missing pertinent questions.
Security training should be delivered in smaller bites, should be relevant to the person in training and should contain language that is easy to understand. These steps are crucial because even among tech employees, nearly half surveyed say they’ve succumbed to a phishing email while working, according to a Tessian study (via TechRepublic).
2. Keep Risk To A Minimum: Don’t Store Sensitive Data
The more sensitive data a business acquires, the more it is a target. Sensitive data includes not just credit card data but any unique user data. If a company can avoid storing sensitive data or letting someone else store the data instead, they should. At the very least, organizations should restrict who has access to extremely sensitive information.
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is very apt in this scenario. Restricting and removing sensitive data is an important part of an effective, comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
3. Assume A “Zero Trust” Policy
No device or person in an organization should be trusted more than another. Such a zero-trust policy removes many interpersonal tensions and issues — and many security risks. For example, a CEO needs a secure password like everyone else. Nobody should be allowed to break protocol just because they hold an executive title.
Instead, an organization should hold everyone to the same standard for learning and adopting cybersecurity protocols.
4. Consider Gamifying Training
Use gamification in your training to engage your employees and make it easier to understand and retain important information. One company, RangeForce, offers a web-based solution where employees go on missions to hack into an organization and learn about cybersecurity threats. This engaging learning environment has proven to be extremely effective.
Companies, especially small businesses and public entities, should prioritize cybersecurity training. Even small actions taken toward more awareness and training create lasting and impactful measures on cybersecurity.
Preventing and quickly responding to cyberattacks is a must for organizations — before the pandemic and especially now in its aftermath. The cost is too high to do otherwise.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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95dc94f61b073b3a51ac1beac1d411ea | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/06/15-tech-leaders-share-smart-strategies-to-support-new-team-members/?sh=6ad84165ab30 | 15 Tech Leaders Share Smart Strategies To Support New Team Members | 15 Tech Leaders Share Smart Strategies To Support New Team Members
When your tech department gains a new team member, starting them off on the right foot can make all the difference. With the proper supports in place, a new employee can quickly feel like part of the team and empowered to contribute to your company’s tech goals.
However, leaders may not always be sure of where to begin or what strategies will be the most helpful. To that end, 15 members of Forbes Technology Council share their top tips for supporting new tech team members. Try these onboarding strategies to welcome your new hires and set them up for success.
Members of Forbes Technology Council share ways they help new tech team hires successfully onboard. Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Have a buddy program.
Onboarding and orientation are important processes for new team members. There are a few specific aspects that need to be taken care of in today’s business world, such as personalizing remote onboarding, orientation regarding the organization’s values and having ready resources. One great system that has worked especially well has been a buddy program. - Chiranjiv Roy, SG Analytics
2. Create a safe and supportive environment.
Provide clear goals for success, and give new hires the tools, people and support to help them feel connected, encouraged and guided so they can adapt to your business in a way that supports their learning style. The idea is to allow them to add their part to your company in a safe space while learning the ways of your culture. - Phillip Walker, Network Solutions Provider USA inc.
3. Offer mentorship.
Mentorship is a key avenue of support for new tech team members. Pairing new team members with veteran team members allow the new employee to feel welcome and at ease right away. Setting a new hire up with a mentor can provide the dual benefits of smoothing the way for successful team integration and giving veteran team members a new look at industry practices through fresh eyes. - Richard McLain, INE
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4. Connect the CEO with new hires.
As the CEO, I don’t always work directly with the tech teams, but I always make a point to meet with all new hires to make sure they understand our company culture and our overall strategy and direction. It’s critical for them to see the big picture before diving into their specific role and tasks, especially since we’re growing so quickly. - Ashley Rose, Living Security
5. Implement a ‘certified-to-serve’ onboarding process.
The basics are no mystery: Set up a structured “certified-to-serve” onboarding process that includes both technical education and culture building. Afterward, assign a buddy or coach to guide the new member. I also assign a specific manager to do frequent check-ins in the first few weeks to make sure the team member is adapting well to the new environment. - Darwin Deano, Deloitte Consulting
6. Focus on mutual respect and belonging.
I believe the most important part of onboarding is creating the perfect environment that allows one to feel like they belong. We have worked hard to create a corporate culture that is built around mutual respect, honesty and teamwork. This has helped us quickly integrate and expand our team with driven and excited professionals who feel inspired and welcomed straight from the start. - Alex Dzyuba, Lucid Reality Labs
7. Prepare your onboarding process ahead of time.
As soon as a new team member accepts the offer, we start working on an onboarding roadmap covering the next two to six weeks. The aim is to make new hires familiar with our culture, strategy, knowledge and expectations. The first few weeks are the most important, so we thrive on making them smooth and guided. - Roman Taranov, Ruby Labs
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8. Find ways to boost their confidence.
Identify their passion and direct it toward an early win. Building a new team member’s confidence is crucial to helping them succeed in their new role. The best way to do this is to identify their passion—what motivates and interests them the most—and then directing it toward a business goal that will benefit from that passion or skill. - Vijay Bulusu, Pfizer
9. Utilize a learning management system.
We have a training program set up on a learning management system built for educating our team on every aspect of our business, software and methodology. This is needed because what we do is very challenging, and there is a lot to learn. - Sarah McKenna, Sequentum Inc.
10. Schedule a personal check-in.
I schedule a meeting two weeks after every employee’s start date to check in and see how things are going. First, I make sure that they don’t have buyer’s remorse. Did we deliver on the things we promised and/or how we positioned the job before they started? Second, I get a sense of how the onboarding of the employee is going. Two weeks in, they should be ramping up; if not, I need to iron out a kink. - Rami Essaid, Finmark
11. Set up introduction meetings.
There are two key parts to welcoming new employees. First, provide a reference sheet on resources and contacts they will need to use or learn from, and review it on their first day in your first meeting with them. Second, during the first week, get introduction meetings booked for them with key stakeholders, and include crib notes to help them prepare. This helps them feel comfortable and organized in the onboarding process. - Brian Reed, NowSecure Mobile
12. Prioritize teamwork right off the bat.
Getting them quickly engaged with their team helps new hires transition into their workgroup. They can immediately work to build trust (in both directions) and start working on aligned business needs. Immediately knowing you are not by yourself and that you aren’t competing with your co-workers allows you to start experiencing the culture. - Michael Loggins, SMC Corporation of America
13. Encourage them to share ideas about your processes.
Joining a new team while working from home is a challenge. We have started to pair newcomers with buddies—long-time team members who can advise them as they settle in. I always ask newcomers to observe our products and processes, then send me ideas on how we can do things differently. This helps them feel empowered and gives me new things to think about and execute on. - Shalini Govil-Pai, Google
14. Host support seminars and offer ongoing education initiatives.
Create support seminars and opportunities for ongoing education, because, in a world of technology, everyone is always behind—it’s just a matter of how far. That means we have to create an environment that fosters perpetual improvement. - Thomas McElroy, Level-1 Global Solutions, LLC
15. Promote a culture of openness.
One way we support new tech team members is by promoting a culture of openness with the freedom to ask, try and do. We give our talent the platform to express themselves and their talents, ensuring full inclusivity at all times. - Sonal Rattan, eXate
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5f5edbcbe66b29e49892ad29b07d9ab4 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/06/emerging-virtual-reality-trends-for-workplace-training/?sh=25420dcc5b2c | Emerging Virtual Reality Trends For Workplace Training | Emerging Virtual Reality Trends For Workplace Training
Founder & Director of Workmetrics, a leader in workforce software. Completed a Doctorate of Information Technology at Murdoch University.
getty
Virtual reality (VR) has come out as one of the "winners" of 2020 because the shift to working from home has hastened the need for VR’s application in the workplace, most notably for training purposes.
As a result, devices like Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive and Vive Pro, Valve Index and others are receiving significantly more consideration in terms of engaging employees via a simulated classroom. The VR industry has slowly moved away from being solely focused on gaming, and Oculus even now has a dedicated Oculus for Business product.
Thanks to its immersive nature that brings characters and objects into life, VR training makes it easier to learn more quickly, retain more knowledge and gain a deeper comprehension of the matter at hand. A study by PWC found employees in VR courses can be trained on soft skills up to four times faster than in the classroom and show greater focus and confidence in applying what they're taught.
In that spirit, one of the arguably predominant VR trends of 2021 will be the increased adoption across an organization. With mostly remote-work environments, a wide array of departments — from HR and safety and facility management to customer service and sales — can benefit from VR training in the workplace. What's more, VR can intensify the lessons and comprehension of both novice trainees and experienced workers. Some workplace scenarios are innately dangerous — and training for them can also be dangerous — and so VR headsets and accessories ensure the necessary practice without any inherent risk.
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The technology also addresses soft skills in a captivating yet cost-effective way and further experiences can be designed to epitomize the core values of an organization. With scenario-based training, you experience the entire process in a virtual environment and have to choose the right or wrong path to learning.
As a result, the experience is more impactful on the employee and provides the opportunity to absorb and understand on a deeper level. The same PWC study found that VR learners were up to four times more focused during training compared to their e-learning colleagues and 1.5 times more focused than their classroom peers. There are fewer interruptions in a virtual environment, which means any scenario has the potential to fully occupy the employee's vision and attention.
Naturally, the technology itself will improve in terms of capabilities and hardware innovations. In terms of VR training in 2021, it means more realistic and data-driven experiences. For example, 5K and 8K stereoscopic videos will significantly improve resolution quality which matters greatly in VR, creating a more realistic view of the surrounding environment.
Then, there is the eye-tracking technology which determines where a user is looking, which will provide more information on how an employee is behaving in a complex or high-pressure situation where their focus is and what can be approved.
As AI-powered natural language processing improves, we'll witness seamless conversations with trainers and team members but also with the system itself. This will open the doors for unsupervised management of advanced training scenarios, where AI would evaluate employees on a variety of parameters and determine areas of improvement, their fit for future positions and specific roles.
But the proliferation of virtual reality and its augmented cousin brings about a new set of challenges for business leaders to overcome. For starters, VR can be attractive for the wrong reason simply because it is the latest, shiniest tool. Some companies have a low bar when it comes to corporate training and VR could be seen as a way to clear it. Instead, it should be perceived as part of the overall message — not the message itself — meaning that the leadership needs to make sure the solution meets their specific needs.
There are also data concerns, the biggest one being privacy. Generally speaking, collected VR data such as eye movements is a relatively new type of information that isn’t necessarily regulated. The unique nature of immersive technology requires refining privacy policies VR-specific data disclosures. In 2020, only 54% of companies were proactively addressing and updating privacy policies and disclosures, which suggests companies need time to figure out best practices.
Another factor to account for is virtual fatigue. Training in a virtual environment can turn into an uncomfortable and disorientating experience, particularly for newcomers who aren't used to wearing a headset for long sessions. Some side effects such as headaches, eye strain and nausea may occur, which means some employees, especially those with certain disabilities like visual impairments, may not be able to participate.
That said, the future of training and development is unfolding in the virtual world, especially in times when in-person training isn’t and may never be an option for some. Granted, the VR industry has seen its fair share of disappointments, driven by the gap between massive expectations and unfulfilling experiences from clunky headsets to limited systems. The lack of content for training purposes and managing various hardware, software and content aspects such as accessory purchases, content updates and so on poses a tricky feat in situations where VR equipment has to be shared. Furthermore, existing training content is typically designed as standalone experiences with limited possibilities to adjust it across the workforce. VR content is far from the cheapest to produce, which meant the entire market had to make do with what was available.
However, rapid advances in AI, supported by the growing affordability, have given VR a new life in the workplace. The idea is the same as it has ever been: developing more relevant experiences that empower everything from safety procedures and equipment operation to leadership and other soft skills. The level of adoption and integration will ultimately depend on the specific needs, budget and size of the workforce to be trained. These are the key questions business leaders need to answer. With VR's rising popularity, it isn't about "if" or "when" but "how much" virtual reality will be in the workplace.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
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e0dd528045900c0a29fff8a6d5d9acdb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/17-tech-pros-share-their-favorite-industry-focused-podcasts/ | 17 Tech Pros Share Their Favorite Industry-Focused Podcasts | 17 Tech Pros Share Their Favorite Industry-Focused Podcasts
getty
The tech world evolves faster than any other industry. What was once considered cutting-edge may fall by the wayside in a week, never to be revisited. Whether they’re in the business of producing business or consumer tech or they’re overseeing their company’s internal tech processes, all tech professionals need to pay attention to both tech and business trends, as well as the latest advances and their impact.
Podcasts remain one of the best ways to stay in touch with what’s going on in business and industry—especially for busy tech professionals. But which podcasts do tech leaders find the most useful? Below, 17 members of Forbes Technology Council discuss the podcasts they never miss and the essential information they provide tech leaders and professionals across industries.
1. 16 Minutes On The News
16 Minutes on the News, hosted by Sonal Chokshi, a16z’s editor in chief, covers the top tech headlines of the week in 16 minutes. Presented by Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s leading VC firms, the podcast details why the topics are in the news and what’s real versus what’s hype. It is my go-to podcast for keeping up with technology because it gives me a quick overview of what matters so I can stay well-informed. - Michael Keithley, United Talent Agency
2. Arrested DevOps
I enjoy Arrested DevOps for the diverse technology perspectives from the guests and hosts—my favorite host being Bridget Kromhout. Discussions center on real-life DevOps challenges and forward-leaning initiatives. It always catches my attention to hear how organizations are pushing the boundaries on the implementation and practice of DevOps, AIOPs and other associated methodologies. - Troy McAlpin, xMatters
3. BBC Click
I enjoy and encourage everyone to listen to BBC Click. This podcast covers every spectrum of the tech and gadget world. It creates sufficient curiosity that you want to go and investigate the topics further. - Susan Bowen, Aptum
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4. Business Wars
I enjoy Business Wars by Wondery. This podcast features many tech-related episodes that describe stories that we’ve all heard of and think we know well—but we’ve never really heard the entire stories with all of the details. It’s educational and has excellent storytelling and editing. Check it out! - Or Lenchner, Bright Data (Formerly Luminati Networks)
5. The Cloudcast
The Cloudcast is my favorite tech-focused podcast, as cloud is my area of interest. This podcast regularly covers aspects such as serverless, open-source, DevOps and containers, among other topics, and covers major cloud providers such as AWS, Azure and GCP. - Sunil Sarat, Microland
6. Cyber Security Sauna
I regularly listen to the Cyber Security Sauna podcast, hosted by Janne Kauhanen. It provides interesting details on hot topics in cybersecurity and presents top trends in an easy manner. This helps me keep pace with the latest happenings in the cybersecurity domain and adapt to the constantly changing approach to defending against adversaries. - Arun Singh, Ilantus Technologies
7. Darknet Diaries
Most people, tech executives included, have no idea what really happens on the dark side of the internet—despite cybersecurity quickly becoming the chief concern of many boardrooms. Darknet Diaries is my go-to podcast for hacker culture and antics. The podcast features true stories about hackers, breaches, shadow government activity, hacktivism and cybercrime. - Cory Ruthardt, Simpatico Systems
8. The Economics For Business
Every CTO needs to understand the business goals and economics behind the decisions they make. The Economics for Business podcast, with Hunter Hastings, is a great resource for innovators, covering topics such as complexity theory, customer value monitoring, process improvement and entrepreneurship. - Clay Miller, SyncDog
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9. Hacking Humans
The CyberWire’s Hacking Humans podcast is one of my favorites because it takes a deeper look into what’s going on in the field of cybersecurity that’s focused on social engineering. The hosts provide a concise and engaging format that makes it easy to get the information you want while keeping you interested throughout each episode. - Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4, Inc.
10. Invest Like The Best
One of my favorite podcasts is Invest Like the Best, by Patrick O’Shaughnessy. It’s more about how to invest your time when building a business. The guests are generally entrepreneurs who talk about the “secret” insight that drives their business. - Wendy Chen, Omnistream
11. Lex Fridman’s Podcast
Lex Fridman’s podcast is second-to-none for deep, wide-ranging discussions with the brightest and most interesting minds in fields such as AI, ML, physics and mathematics. Each episode is two to three hours long, allowing Fridman to really dig into topics with his guests. For me, it’s a “can’t-miss” and by far the most thought-provoking podcast out there. - Paul Lipman
12. Like A Boss; Hipsters; Masters Of Scale
Latin America has an effervescent podcast scene. To keep up to date with the tech world, I recommend Like a Boss for its inspiring talks with great entrepreneurs and Hipsters, which discusses coding, UX, technological trends and much more. And in the U.S., there’s Masters of Scale, in which LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman hosts insightful, thought-provoking interviews with CEOs and leaders. - Lincoln Ando, idwall
13. Packet Pushers
Packet Pushers offers the best—and most entertaining—analysis of all things networking going, whether it’s about a technical deep dive or “pooh-poohing” the latest desperate technology takeover. There’s something for everyone here. - Jeff Paine, Pica8 Inc.
14. Pivot
I recommend the Pivot podcast. Hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway are super-smart, updated and highly connected to the people who matter. In every new podcast, I learn new things, and it makes me think about my own world and business. - Tzahi (Zack) Weisfeld, Intel Ignite
15. Product Talk
Product Talk, by Nikki Ahmadi, is a podcast you just can’t miss. Ahmadi is a very capable product manager, and in her podcast she explores different perspectives from successful tech executives and product owners and managers on product management. She asks the right questions, and her podcast is very insightful. - Afshin Doust, Advanced Intelligent Systems Inc.
16. This Week In Google
I enjoy listening to the This Week In Google podcast, hosted by Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham and Ant Pruitt. First, I appreciate Higginbotham’s expertise in matters concerning the Internet of Things. Second, the podcast covers a variety of relevant topics, including connected and smart homes, IoT devices, smart services, and more, all presented in a positive and informative way. I highly recommend it! - Amir Kotler, Veego Software
17. This Week In Tech
This Week In Tech (TWiT) is an entertaining and long-running panel-format podcast helmed by the incomparable Leo Laporte. Laporte is a master of his craft, with decades of experience hosting similar shows in various media, and the knowledge, chemistry and humor are must-haves. I know people who listen to the new episode of TWiT multiple times a week—it’s that good. - Jonathan Gill, Backtracks
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cf7b9be277432478566bc2ee4249576f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/ai-is-no-silver-bullet-for-the-challenges-of-remote-work/ | AI Is No Silver Bullet For The Challenges Of Remote Work | AI Is No Silver Bullet For The Challenges Of Remote Work
Kevin Collins is CEO of Charli AI, an AI content assistant helping you declutter your messy digital life.
Technology shouldn’t be applied in search of a problem. Rather, understand the problem, then apply the right technology to solve it.
Artificial intelligence has long been touted as the be-all and end-all to solving problems in business and the global economy. But, unfortunately, it won’t be enough to solve the crisis facing today’s remote workforce.
Having typically been used by companies for the purpose of analyzing data in the workplace, this technology has been able to provide recommendations based on that data. However, much of the brainpower needed to interpret or evaluate the results hasn’t been offloaded. In some cases, it can actually overcomplicate things by giving too much information to sift through and make sense of. And then there is the challenge of putting the recommendations to work.
With working professionals in the U.S. logging three more hours per day on the job while working from home compared to pre-pandemic times, time has become an even rarer commodity. It’s crucial that we reconsider how AI can be applied to actually improve our lives amidst remote work.
Why AI Alone Is Doing A Disservice To Remote Working Professionals
The perception of AI as a silver bullet needs to be reconsidered. Around the world, organizations are trying to leverage AI to solve real-world applications without considering the tailored needs a particular problem might demand.
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For instance, some employers have leveraged AI with the goal of tracking and analyzing employee productivity — mimicking a Big Brother-like mechanism. And while the technology is able to help employers monitor how efficiently or inefficiently their employees are working, they still lack the resources needed to create real change and streamline operational processes for the benefit of the worker.
To be truly effective, AI needs to be applied in the field. It needs to be applied to solve real-world problems for workers as they perform their work. And it needs to intelligently blend with and adapt to their work environment or work situation.
Understand Your Remote Work Challenges First, Then Apply The Appropriate Technology
Even beyond the coronavirus pandemic, employers need to continue prioritizing ways to streamline their employees’ workflows and how they interact with applications. For example, roughly 19% of the average working professionals’ day is spent simply looking for information — imagine how much more professionals could get done if they got back that precious time.
Fortunately, technology, like AI, can help with that. Productivity tools are designed to help working professionals reduce cognitive clutter and increase their time spent on the work that matters most — ultimately so they can put more life back into their work-life balance. But first, the approach to AI needs to change. Rather than applying technology in search of a problem, knowing and fully understanding the problem needs to come first. Only after that should employers seek out the appropriate technology needed to resolve it.
It’s also important to remember that the best solution for addressing remote work challenges might not always be AI. For employers that are looking for magic in AI, the harsh reality is that it never was and never will be there. More often than not, the solution lies in solid engineering and great UX design combined with the intelligence of AI to really be effective. And this intelligence can only be developed through the planning, design, training and testing of AI solutions over time.
The Rise Of Purposeful And Tailored Remote Work Solutions
The Covid-19 pandemic has fast-tracked innovation in technology, bringing new solutions front and center that are going to be long-lived. And as Covid-19 cases continue to rise and fall, and we find ourselves going in and out of remote work formats, it’s clear that working professionals will need more than just a band-aid solution to help get them through.
To truly improve the remote work experience, purpose-built AI will be the key to not only addressing the deteriorating mental well-being of the workforce, but also their ability to be productive in a way that moves the needle. What does this look like? Spending more time on the quality work that matters and less time on the mundane tasks that promote work about work. For this to happen and stick, we must meet our workers where they are and find ways to seamlessly integrate automation into their workflows — whether it be at home, in the office, on the road, on their mobile device or at their computer. It has to be accessible.
Similarly, we should consider the number of tools and solutions our teams already have at their disposal, each promising to streamline various aspects of the workday. Before adding another tool or platform to your team’s workflow, consider how you can simplify and streamline this support portfolio with multi-channel solutions. And be wary of tools that require a steep learning curve. In the future, my hope is that we see more technology and AI that leverages natural language understanding, enabling people to interact with technology directly through natural sentences, as opposed to technical commands.
Global workforces have been dispersed amidst this extended period of remote work. Having access to pooled resources, like simply turning around and tapping someone on the shoulder, is no longer an option. So, in order for working professionals to reap the true benefits of remote work, without any impact to their quality of work or productivity, advanced technology, like AI, needs to be integrated with purpose and intent.
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338c6c68b586c2dfc19e449e27b5e750 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/ai-is-vital-for-pharma-marketers-to-raise-engagement-with-physicians/ | AI Is Vital For Pharma Marketers To Raise Engagement With Physicians | AI Is Vital For Pharma Marketers To Raise Engagement With Physicians
Harshit Jain MD is the founder and CEO of Doceree, the first global network of physician-only platforms for programmatic marketing.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is vital for pharmaceutical brands to incorporate in marketing strategies to more effectively facilitate interactions with physicians. As pharma marketers transitioned from in-person communications to digital marketing initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic, enormous amounts of data are being acquired during campaigns. Now, marketers have an opportunity to integrate analytics powered by AI to enhance marketing campaigns that will garner greater traction with physicians. With digital ad spending in the health care and pharma industry projected to grow to $11.25 billion in the United States this year, brands can usher in a digital era that harnesses the power of AI technologies to better understand and engage physicians.
Understand the physician’s journey.
An investment in AI solutions will garner significant returns for marketers, as a deeper comprehension of a physician’s journey can empower brands with messages, moments and platforms that raise the interaction level of each physician. Thus, while tending to patients, messages can be triggered that will resonate based on real-time communications with the patients. Whether it’s at the moment of diagnosis or payment, messages that inform physicians based on their current mindset will offer a greater opportunity to establish a meaningful connection with patients.
Collect data to hypertarget physicians across digital platforms.
AI-based learnings provide marketers with a road map of data to create a path from the brand to a physician. By building a profile on a physician, marketers can share hypertargeted messages that are personalized to the physician to reflect their treatment patterns, reflect their prescription methods and identify the digital platforms that result in higher engagement rates. Whether it’s signifying attendance at a webinar, interaction during a previous campaign, content within social media posts or data analysis in search of patterns, it is just the beginning of the various digital marketing efforts that can captivate the attention of their target audience.
Optimize marketing messages with AI analytics.
Insights drawn from communication behaviors and preferences embolden marketers to enhance messages by delivering them at the right time. Knowing which moments are the most opportune and recognizing which digital platform raises the interaction level is crucial to the success of a campaign. A message powered by AI analytics will elevate the effectiveness of a piece of content by equipping marketers with knowledge about which message will have the most impact and best digital medium is best used. Without these insights, engagement rates can drop. You'll deliver messages at the wrong time or on a platform where the physician isn’t in the ideal medical mindset to want to learn about an illness, treatment or prescription drug.
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Use predictive analytics.
It is artificial intelligence for a reason — data derived from AI is superior to the intellectual standards of humans. Marketers utilizing AI technologies have an ongoing resource seeking new, relevant patterns of data that can alter the success of a campaign. With the ability to decipher data amassed, AI can cultivate and deploy tactics based on those interpretations of metrics to implement strategies. With the use of audience segmentation based on the derived analytics, personalized engagement can be measured to better dictate the approach in future campaigns that will maximize the impact of the messages. With marketers gaining those granular insights, the ROI of campaigns can be enhanced.
Unite AI analytics with human judgment.
The use of data powered by AI is a formidable resource for marketers hoping to drive brand awareness with a personalized message. However, AI should be leveraged to augment human judgments to enhance marketing operations. The real-time trend analysis and data gathering of AI provides an opportunity to marketers making data-based decisions to improve the effectiveness of a campaign.
But as beneficial as algorithms are based on the available analytics, the personalized touch of a human is necessary to make sure that the tone of any given content is positioned appropriately. Even when an informed data-based approach is taken, it can be jeopardized if the message is insensitive at the moment in which it is delivered to a physician. This oversight is needed to ensure the cadence of data-driven campaigns is effective and on the appropriate digital channels.
To advance AI-based marketing efforts, pharmaceutical brands can partner with a data-driven company that will foster insights that educate their marketing team and guide the creation of more impactful initiatives. Further, brands should have conversations with their marketing team to determine the current data that’s being leveraged to dictate campaigns, as well as what metrics are significant in better understanding and connecting with their target audience. This will enable companies to ensure they are aligning with the ideal partner. In addition, while integrating AI-powered data, marketers must embrace their findings and employ a transitional period, in which they can utilize the newly gained data to support campaigns that will raise engagement with physicians.
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818c01388593619676d05eeac32a0545 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/companies-that-proactively-engage-with-customers-will-win-2021/ | Companies That Proactively Engage With Customers Will Win 2021 | Companies That Proactively Engage With Customers Will Win 2021
Mike Murchison is CEO of Ada, a no-code, AI-powered platform that is transforming how businesses around the world provide customer service.
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The enterprise story of 2020 was how businesses adapted during the pandemic and how they turned to technology and accelerated their digital transformation. In April 2020, Microsoft's CEO commented that he had seen two years of digital acceleration among their customers in two months. By the end of the year, estimates ranged from five- to 10-year leaps forward. The pandemic taught us that every business is now a digital business, regardless of industry.
Customers have new expectations, and this is driving digital transformation projects. Whether the business is B2B or B2C, we, as customers, demand seamless experience across multiple channels. We prefer self-service options over waiting on hold, and all of us (CEOs too!) expect businesses to personalize their messages when they communicate with us. The brand that respects my time and uses automation to serve responses and progress conversations in a timely and efficient manner. That is considered a positive experience today.
How To Meet This Moment
CX leaders that understand these trends are thinking big, transforming their teams from reactionary, people-first cost centers to automation-first, proactive, revenue-generating business units. In the old, people-first CX model, conversations were viewed as costly and companies went to extreme lengths to create complicated experiences that discouraged their customers from talking to a human. This is counterintuitive.
Businesses should speak to their customers more as they grow, not less. When businesses start out, they know our name, our favorite order, maybe that we like two sugars in our coffee. Then, they add a few locations, and they no longer know who we are. We become a number. They get bigger still and they don't want us to contact them. We're a cost. Our conversations don't matter. We aren't listened to.
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This is the state of customer experience today. What if as a business grew it spoke to its customers more? What would that experience look like? How would all the information the business knows about you — your order history, your years of conversations with their support — how might this be translated into an elevated experience? This is where an automation-first strategy that leverages conversational AI comes in.
Gartner predicts that over the next four years, proactive (outbound) customer engagement interactions will outnumber reactive (inbound) customer engagement interactions. Why? Investments in retaining (and upselling) existing customers pay off with greater dividends than investments made to acquire new customers. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. A mere 5% increase in retention produces a 25% increase in profit.
When businesses put automation as the first point of customer contact, they dramatically increase the number of conversations. More conversations mean greater insights and opportunities. The businesses that adopt proactive, personalized messaging will see even greater dividends — from higher customer engagement, higher lead conversion, less churn and a differentiated customer experience.
There are numerous technological and social ways that businesses can accomplish these goals and engage with customers better. Training staff on how to proactively engage with customers and building your own organization in a way that puts the customer first (rather than in traditional departmental silos) are two ways to start. Technologies like live chat that allow customers to communicate with support, service and sales reps in real time are useful in that they allow businesses to reach customers that don’t want to use the phone. Monitoring social media channels for business mentions and conversations and customer communities where customers share best practices and experiences are also good places for businesses to truly listen and engage with customers. Unfortunately, though, they are hard to scale.
According to PWC, “Every year, $62 billion is lost through poor customer service — a loss that continues to increase with every passing year. AI can help plug that leak by going above and beyond what humans are able to do. It could shift today’s run-of-the-mill standard to a personalized, digital concierge run by man but with the heavy lifting done by machine.”
By listening to customers and responding, the CX org can become the center of critical market intelligence that can be used to contain costs, drive customer loyalty, and increase revenue. These are the businesses that will win in the post-pandemic world.
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850fa1b51ccb3c9305fef6be11846cbb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/data-value-is-rooted-in-its-veracity/?sh=361b27723900 | Data Value Is Rooted In Its Veracity | Data Value Is Rooted In Its Veracity
Duc Chau is the Chief Technology Officer of Yieldmo, a leader in digital advertising and attention analytics.
There’s no denying that data is the backbone on which modern companies operate. Organizations, big and small, use it to make critical decisions and drive business forward. Whether it’s self-driving cars, social networking, entertainment, music, health care or something else, every industry today is data-enabled, contributing to the generation of diverse data sets. Real-time and batch updates from sensors, software and hardware contribute to the speed at which data is generated.
Every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated worldwide thanks to an always-on culture with billions of connected consumers and IoT devices. But data alone is just that: data. Without structure and analysis, the data has no real value. It’s what we do with it, and how accurate the data is, that makes all the difference.
When good data is collected, stored and used ethically, it can make the impossible happen. We recently watched in awe as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory executed the entry, descent and landing phase of NASA’s mission to Mars. At more than 140 million miles away, the landing sequence happened faster than radio signals could reach Earth from Mars, which means the spacecraft was on its own once it entered the Martian atmosphere. Those “seven minutes of terror” were only successful based on years of data collection, accurate analysis and application.
Bad data, on the other hand, leads to bad decisions. Bad data can lead to loss of revenue, poor results, invalid reports, missed opportunities and, in the worst case, loss of human life. Former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg reported that erroneous data contributed to two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019, which led to the death of 346 people. Bad data also cost NASA $193 million in losses when the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed in outer space in 1999.
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IBM Big Data & Analytics Research estimates poor data quality costs the U.S. economy $3.1 trillion a year. According to Experian’s 2019 Global Data Research, 95% of organizations surveyed reported bad data impacted their business.
Accurate data is critical to the survival of organizations and necessary for a competitive advantage. Today, big data is classified using the 4 Vs:
• Volume: How much data is generated.
• Velocity: The speed of data.
• Variety: The type and source of data that is generated.
• Veracity: The accuracy of data.
The first 3 Vs (volume, velocity and variety) have been solved with nearly infinite storage capacity in the cloud, cheap hard drives and open-source technologies.
Data veracity, however, has mainly been solved with fragile solutions, which include human analysis, dashboards or some level of custom development. These solutions are not scalable and lead to bad analysis, which leads to bad decisions.
Bad data occurs when invalid or corrupt source data enters a system — or the transformation process is defective. But it can also happen when it is collected without consent. In my business, the digital advertising world, data consent and consumer privacy are some of the industry’s most scrutinized aspects.
We use performance data to derive useful insights for us and our advertisers for future optimization purposes. These insights form the foundation for analytics on how consumers interact with particular ad placements and the level of engagement and attention that placements receive. The acquisition, storage and protection of data is our business’s lifeblood and our largest liability. If invalid or corrupt data occurs, either through incorrect data entry, inaccurate information or incorrect formatting, data transformation will also be defective.
As the big data industry continues to see opportunities to grow and infiltrate more aspects of our daily lives, it’s important to be judicious about the partners and companies we work with and entrust with our data. Companies with integrity understand the importance of data accuracy in today’s world of information. When these companies evaluate how to use data, they put monitoring, privacy and security at the heart of their business.
Never forget that behind your company data are real people: your consumers, partners, employees and families. Data drives innovation, growth and success, but without trust and integrity in the data industry, we’ll never realize the innovations that it can help us discover. As you reflect on how your company’s big data is collected, stored and used, I’d like to encourage you to look to double down on the veracity of your data.
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085eb4e8b022a3ddbd6fddff91523f53 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/hey-siri-whats-next-in-the-workplace/ | Hey Siri, What’s Next In The Workplace? | Hey Siri, What’s Next In The Workplace?
Dean Hager has been the Chief Executive Officer of Jamf, the standard in Apple Enterprise Management, since June 2015.
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She's in our pockets, on our wrists and in our homes, but have you ever asked yourself what Siri actually knows? Have you ever asked her: "Hey Siri, what can you do?"
Siri is more than a feature to check the weather, tell us a joke or playback voicemails. Siri (or Alexa, or Cortana, depending on your choice of technology) is the voice of artificial intelligence, a powerful technology that will shape the future of the enterprise employee experience.
The global response to the pandemic this year drove organizations to adopt remote work. Since the remote work revolution is here to stay, organizations need to double down on the fact that the employee experience is now synonymous with the technology experience. It's time to think of new ways employees can create a powerful work environment — wherever they plug in from. This means organizations planning how AI like Siri can automate and power their workers, and doing it securely.
Consumerization Of Technology
We can already see the permanent impact on enterprise operations and facilities. Business is being done remotely. It is projected that next year, companies will be less likely to invest in office facilities and travel in the future. The Wall Street Journal estimated “between 19% and 36% of all air trips to be lost.” These funds will be re-invested into creating an office environment with shared hoteling that is an optional yet attractive place to be. Expect to also see additional allocations to help workers build a better work-from-home environment with everything from furniture to end-user technology.
This transformation has already begun, but let's imagine a future where remote work accelerates the consumerization of technology. Working at home will prove what we already know: Many people have better home technology than what they have been issued at work. Employers will need to create the best environment possible in order to attract competitive applicants and support and empower their employees to use their home technology in ways that help them at work.
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This permanent transformation to the concept of the workplace will boost employee autonomy and productivity for businesses. This future was jumpstarted by the pandemic, but we should stop waiting for a return to normal or business-as-usual state, embrace what is possible with the consumerization of technology and work toward the advancement and integration of AI for employees and enterprises.
Imagine The Potential
The potential of integrating AI into the enterprise is limitless. First, in my opinion, the integration of AI enterprise workflows will undeniably place Apple as the standard in the enterprise. Since day one, Apple has not simply reacted to the needs of consumers and enterprises but rather anticipates them and provides the technology that shapes our expectations for technology. Apple continues to expand its interconnected experience for a consistent user experience across the entire ecosystem. And with the capabilities Apple is building into Siri with the anticipation of AI integration, this is only the beginning.
But regardless of your technology ecosystem of choice, leveraging AI intelligence and blending the smart personal experience with the enterprise experience opens the door for simple yet extraordinary innovation. Imagine replacing your monthly excel spreadsheet with a HomePod for business intelligence, “Hey Siri, what were our gross margins in Q2 last year?” Or: “Hey Siri, what do I need to know for my staff meeting?”
AI workflows hold immense potential for advancing the enterprise and employee experience. This melding of what's already in our homes and applying this intelligence to work technology can occur in this next decade, but the key to this success is security.
Enterprises should already approach securing their users and devices with a dedicated ecosystem solution for their choice of devices. The vision for the future, expanding security to Siri intelligence and the complete Apple ecosystem follows suit. Does your organization leverage two-factor authentication to access secure information? Voice recognition, which can already distinguish the ability to send a text over HomePod or read your calendar, is the first factor, with the second verification being a tap on your Apple Watch or Face ID recognition. It can really be this simple, and the innovation that can follow is limitless.
Saying “Hey Siri” on your HomePod to execute enterprise workflows brings the powerful yet simple consumer technology experience to the tip of your tongue, not just your fingers. We are always connected, which means organizations need strategies that are zero-touch, zero-trust and self-supporting with consumer and work-blended technology. This blending of the personal and professional is where we are headed, not simply because it is possible but because it is what consumers prefer.
Hey Siri, let's get to work.
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e295ca837dcc8d11e78d023c2d0d60eb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/07/the-secret-to-a-successful-cyber-security-acquisition-culture/ | The Secret To A Successful Cyber Security Acquisition: Culture | The Secret To A Successful Cyber Security Acquisition: Culture
Chief Technology Officer at NetSPI, where he builds technologies that push the boundaries of penetration testing and adversary simulation.
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It’s no secret that cybersecurity is a lucrative industry for acquisitions. According to CSO Online, deal activity in 2020 did not slow — even in the midst of a pandemic. There are several reasons why an acquisition could occur. From the perspective of an acquiring company, motives can include gaining greater market share, obtaining specialized talent and expanding technical capability — and the list goes on.
Amid the excitement of an acquisition and the hours of work that go into a post-deal integration process, the perspective of the company being acquired can often get lost in the noise. Given the sheer volume of security industry acquisitions, I wanted to share my advice with other technology entrepreneurs that may be considering an acquisition or at the beginning stages of their journey.
First, some background. In December 2020, the company I built was acquired. After years of deleting emails from private equity firms, venture capitalists and M&A advisors, I decided it was time to entertain the idea when a company I respected technically reached out. I was extremely proud of what we had built and wanted to reach and impact more businesses with the technologies, services and methodologies that we had built. I felt a personal obligation to find an organization that would align with my goals for the future and that my team would feel proud to be part of.
How did I do it? Here are four core values I kept top of mind throughout the process:
Do not underestimate the power of the human connection.
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Navigating the acquisition process during the Covid-19 pandemic had its nuances. The biggest lesson I learned was that many of us take the human connection for granted. Over the past year, technology has transformed the way we work, and videoconferencing has taken the place of in-person meetings. Case in point: In 2020, Zoom grew its customer base 354%, and Microsoft Teams now has more than 115 million daily users. During the acquisition process, I found it essential to push for in-person meetings. Face-to-face interactions are a critical component of building relationships. It put my mind at ease to see that the partnership that looked great on paper was also a good fit culturally.
You’re not in a position of weakness.
Be selective with the organization you choose to spend your future with. You’ve likely stayed up late countless nights working or worrying about employees, customers or the future of the business. Now that it’s successful, you are not in a position of weakness. Remember, it doesn’t have to work out.
I encourage anyone entertaining an acquisition to look back at why they started their company. Look at the culture you built and the values you prioritized. Ensure that the company you are doing business with aligns with these values and understands why you started your company. If it doesn’t, then move on. It’s likely a precursor to conflict in the future. Think of it like dating. You want to ensure it is a good long-term match and that things won’t fizzle after the honeymoon is over. You don’t just marry the first person that comes along.
Find your niche — and do it best.
“Cybersecurity” is the epitome of an umbrella term. It encompasses endless activities from penetration testing to endpoint detection to network security. Many other professional services industries follow a similar paradigm. Instead of becoming a one-stop-shop, focus on a niche activity and do it better than anyone else in your industry. If there is a need for that service and you’ve been successful at establishing your organization as the expert in that specific niche, you’re more likely to get approached as a strategic acquisition versus a financial acquisition. Strategic acquisitions always lead to a higher valuation multiple on enterprise value because your business becomes of greater value than just economic value. It serves a purpose that companies cannot get anywhere else to achieve their industry vision and goals.
Companies and investors pay more for a strategic acquisition because the business, people, and technologies fill critical gaps that enable the acquiring company to achieve strategic goals. In a strategic acquisition, 1 + 1 equals 3. In a financial acquisition, 1 + 1 will always equal 2.
Above all, 'culture eats strategy for breakfast.'
No amount of strategic alignment or synergies will matter if organizational cultures do not align. Peter Drucker said it best: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” All too often, the excitement of acquisition and financial discussions overshadow the critical analysis of culture alignment.
Ultimately, culture is the most important factor in the long-term success of an acquisition — before strategy and before financial alignment. To ensure a cultural fit, analyze how the acquiring company executes its strategy. Ask yourself questions such as, “Do the values and priorities of the acquiring company align with the values and priorities I’ve instilled in my business?” or, “Do the beliefs of the acquiring company align with my beliefs and drive operational decision making from the highest levels?” If all it took to be successful was a good idea, then everyone would be successful. It’s the execution of the strategy that matters most — and strategy execution is driven by culture and the people who define it. No matter where you're at in your journey, keep these considerations in mind to help guide you to a successful acquisition.
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0ab06a77dd3c2dfb134a8b85bed66b87 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/08/four-costly-mistakes-made-in-hiring-outsourced-it-teams-and-how-to-avoid-them/ | Four Costly Mistakes Made In Hiring Outsourced IT Teams (And How To Avoid Them) | Four Costly Mistakes Made In Hiring Outsourced IT Teams (And How To Avoid Them)
CEO of Ideamotive, a marketplace matching tech talent with companies worldwide. Co-author of "The State of CEE IT Outsourcing 2021" report.
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Remember the story about a cunning fox and a foolish goat? The one where the fox talks the poor goat into leaping into a well, just to climb on its head and get out?
Regrettably, for many companies, hiring external IT services may often feel like sliding into a bottomless well. Where the external company should bring value, it often sparks chaos; where it should facilitate project delivery, it puts a damper on the project execution with communication bottlenecks and email ping-pong. And it seems to be the only party benefiting from the arrangement.
Think Before You Leap
But this doesn't have to be the case. On the global IT outsourcing market, estimated at nearly $414 billion this year, there are virtually countless dependable sub-contractors to choose from. In the CEE market alone there are over a million IT experts. But how can you identify the right ones and avoid locking capital with a partner that is incompetent or not compatible with your goals and values?
Here are four essential "traps" businesses often fall into when outsourcing IT-related work, with suggestions on how to avoid them:
1. Lack Of Firsthand Industry Experience
Experience in the technology domain is essential. But verifying the service provider's coding skills won't suffice. Your outsourcing partner must also demonstrate a thorough understanding of challenges, objectives and problems typical for your niche. The lack of a proven track record in your vertical drags out the onboarding process, increases the chances of misaligned goals and hinders communication.
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How To Avoid That: The easiest way to gauge an external IT services provider's business experience is to cross-check their client references. An established partner should exhibit a verifiable record of work in projects that cover your niche.
2. Language Barriers
Language barrier remains a significant challenge in modern outsourcing—and one that is too often neglected. For your collaboration to yield business value, you don't need contractors familiar with English; you need those who can efficiently communicate in this language. If your outsourcers cannot clearly convey both technical concepts and abstract ideas in English, this creates a whole spectrum of issues that pose a threat to the timely execution of your contract. These include delays in the project kick-off, inaccurate scoping of work and poor response to feedback.
How To Avoid That: Look for IT and software development companies in regions compatible with your language and culture. Evaluate the language proficiency of all members of the team who are going to support your projects. Tools like English Proficiency Index can be of help here. Target the countries with high and very high English scores—you'll be more likely to find a reliable team of outsourcers who speak your language.
3. Muddied Communication
Speaking a common language: It's not all there is to efficient communication. Other issues that add friction to smooth information flow include the lack of data and process transparency, no time zone overlap and faulty project management practices. When you work asynchronously, keeping a project in-synch with an outsourced or offshored team that isn't responsive can be a back-breaking exercise. Friction is likely to appear if the outsourcer's preferred communication channels don't match your communication style. Moreover, a tendency to over-communicate is as detrimental as gaps in communication.
How To Avoid That: Evaluate the service provider's communication processes and underlying technology. Check how the company communicates with its clients—is it via weekly calls, daily Zoom meetings or emails only? Establish if your preferred methods align. Ask about the escalation procedures. Contractors should be open about their project management practices and the tools used to keep everyone on the same page. If they aren't, the writing's on the wall.
4. No Scalability
If you're using an outsourcer, you're most likely anticipating growth. And as you expand, your needs will evolve, too. Hiring a solo software developer is a plug-and-play solution to temporarily augment the team or delegate a particular task on a one-off basis. But if your product or service has the potential to grow, you need a contractor who can ramp up and scale down dynamically. If your partner only works with a handful of specialists in a narrow field or technology, they might not be able to support your long-term project needs. Thus, you'll have to seek resources in another company and start talent hunting anew.
How To Avoid That: Ensure that your IT services partner has enough bandwidth to cover your consultancy needs now and in the future. Find out the size of their sourcing network and inquire about the typical project scope. Partnering with a cross-functional provider is the best insurance policy. This way, you can dynamically extend and resize your team, person by person, as needed.
Where To Find A Quality External IT Team
Gartner projects that worldwide IT spending will increase by 6.2% from 2020 after a transitory slowdown. Global organizations will likely expand their use of external IT and software development providers to pursue digital initiatives that will accelerate post-pandemic rebound. But finding a trusted IT outsourcing partner takes time. Be the fox, not the goat.
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cb3833abf63b1ec72bd5bef36aab756d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/08/the-role-of-4d-imaging-radar-in-reaching-level-two-plus-autonomy/ | The Role Of 4D Imaging Radar In Reaching Level Two-Plus Autonomy | The Role Of 4D Imaging Radar In Reaching Level Two-Plus Autonomy
CEO at Arbe, leading a radar revolution that is paving the way to safer driver assist systems and autonomous driving.
Radar is so important in our lives. The ability to bounce radio waves back and forth off objects in the environment has become the backbone of many aspects such as air traffic control and navigation, numerous military applications, meteorology, astronomy and law enforcement.
It is also well known that radar has been a crucial element in advancing the autonomous vehicle industry in the long term and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in the short term. The increasing adoption of ADAS capabilities has been a boon to the radar industry. It is a boon that will continue not only because the market will grow but also due to the fast pace of innovation taking place.
If you remember the original videos of bulky vehicles, pioneering autonomous automakers used combinations of cameras, radar and lidar on their vehicles in an attempt to solve the "basic" problem because each "sensor" has a strong suit. Cameras can detect objects in high resolution but are adversely affected by sunlight (blinding) and darkness and can have contrast and depth limitations. Radar can detect well in all lighting and weather conditions but does not provide good resolution. Additionally, contemporary radar solutions do not solve the basic problem that prevents autopilot accidents—false alarms and the inability to detect and distinguish between stationary and moving objects. Lidar does great when it comes to the detailed and accurate detection of objects in space, but it cannot perform well in bad weather.
4D imaging radar, with a large RF channel array, is a new sensor that can provide a solution to all of the problems just mentioned. The automotive industry is well aware of what 4D imaging radar is going to bring to the table in regard to each of the levels of autonomy (based on the well-publicized L1-L5 scale). The industry has been awaiting improvement in radar technology and understands scalability needs to be a dominant factor, which would go a long way to ensure sensors are "future-proof."
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However, there are some additional steps the industry needs to take in order to implement 4D imaging radar. It needs to clearly define and set the bar for the minimum needed performance from all sensors that may end up in the "sensor suite," including resolution, false detection rate, range, latency and sensitivity. Then, the ability to integrate advanced clustering, object bounding, advanced free space mapping algorithms and tracking algorithms—all based on imaging radar—will need to take place.
In general, it would be wise for the industry to put a significantly higher emphasis on imaging radar capabilities with the idea of reducing computation power and latency—which will only increase industry confidence in how 4D imaging radar performs. And, of course, the mantra is always safety first; it is all about adding algorithms that leverage the imaging radar capabilities of increasing the safety of current cars.
4D imaging radar is the key to cars becoming safer and, eventually, autonomous. By combining sensors and electronic processors, 4D imagine radar will be the essential component of the sensor suite and can enable truly safe ADAS and will be a mandatory sensor for Level 2+ and higher autonomy.
Based on the principle of the sum being greater than the parts, solving the basic problem and thus reaching higher levels of autonomy was always going to involve a combination of the absolute best that each sensor can provide. The successful deployment of 4D imaging radar will hinge on open collaboration between the new mobility players, the software providers, and Tier 1 auto manufacturers and Tier 2 technology providers and OEMs.
Within this collaboration, however, it will be especially important for the industry to understand that 4D imaging radar is not just a "radar on steroids." It is a completely new and different sensor. Some major players in the industry still insist on trying to apply old techniques to the new technology and, in doing so, are missing some of the key advantages of imaging radar. One example is manufacturers that still focus on the center of the objects requiring detection rather than leveraging the fact that the imaging radar can provide the boundaries of such objects.
It is all remarkably similar to the sort of "edge processing" in humans that brings all the senses together for higher functioning. This describes what 4D imaging radar is all about. It is a sensor that can complement the vision-based sensors (camera and lidar) and also provide the necessary coverage for all potential situations, thus making it the primary sensor candidate for the sensor suite of any autonomous vehicle and for the next-generation perception platforms.
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901691e1ea1041618fb4a47e019fcff6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/08/why-no-code-tech-is-a-game-changer-for-identity-proofing-in-the-era-of-digital-transformation/ | Why No-Code Tech Is A Game-Changer For Identity-Proofing In The Era Of Digital Transformation | Why No-Code Tech Is A Game-Changer For Identity-Proofing In The Era Of Digital Transformation
Glenn Larson is the Vice President of Engineering at Acuant.
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The global pandemic has expedited inevitable digital transformation and mandated that almost every business have an online presence — and fast. With this comes the need to meet security concerns to address growing fraud while providing superior customer experiences.
According to PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020, nearly half (47%) of all companies have experienced fraud in the past 24 months. And Forrester estimates that fraud and data breaches in banking will reach an all-time high in 2021.
To manage this ever-expanding threat landscape composed of stolen identities due to data breaches, phishing scams, synthetic identities and deepfakes, the market has responded with focused identity-proofing solutions that leverage digital identities, document verification, biometrics, AI and machine learning. There is an abundance of solutions, so narrowing down where to start is key. For example, if speed-to-market and a fast implementation time are what you need, then a no-code solution is for you.
What is a no-code identity-proofing solution?
No-code solutions are built to enable businesses to achieve their digitization goals, provide a great customer experience and protect their solutions from fraudsters — without the heavy overhead of large IT teams and lengthy development cycles. No-code solutions can be used by business citizen developers or technical developers to expedite the delivery of solutions to the market.
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As its name suggests, no-code (and low-code) solutions are usually a few lines of code offered as prebuilt drag and drop elements requiring minimal technical expertise to adopt. It greatly minimizes integration costs and enables rapid adoption, which can have immense benefits from the go-to-market (GTM) perspective for new businesses and new product launches. To realize the ease of deployment, further emphasize the operational savings and support rapid deployment, no-code solutions leverage vendor’s cloud infrastructure.
Not all no-code solutions are alike, so what should you be looking for?
Traditionally, no-code solutions are thought of as only for business users/citizen developers or those with a low feature set and no flexibility. They are thought of as inferior, less powerful versions of solutions that involve compromise. That is simply not the case today. No-code solutions are increasingly sophisticated in the power of the tech they offer, what they allow you to accomplish and can even take on your own branding.
So when researching a no-code solution, it's important to look for a provider that offers more than drag-and-drop in a template. Ask questions about the technology that powers the tool and what can be integrated. You want to deliver an automated, context-driven user experience, with minimum friction introduced according to the level of risk your users present.
While you want to address your current use case, you should also be forward-thinking. Choose a solution that allows you to make quick changes to your workflows — you should be able to add or remove services/features based on your users and your industry landscape/regulations. An organization operating in a highly regulated industry such as finance or healthcare, for instance, needs to be able to adapt quickly and easily, ensuring they tick all the compliance boxes.
Ideally, you want to enhance the customer experience to grow your business, not turn anyone off or have high abandonment rates. Look for a smooth workflow and UX with some customization options. Adding more pieces to secure onboarding, like document authentication and facial recognition matching, will streamline and strengthen the process for verification and reuse.
Robust no-code solutions will guarantee high availability and take advantage of the scaling and the ready-to-use capabilities of cloud infrastructures — including the possibilities for big data analysis and the intelligence to continuously improve its performance. No-code can really be a game-changer when it comes to identity-proofing. You just need to ask the right questions.
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c740dacdb37e9fdf8cef6ce790402802 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/28/healthcare-cyberthreats-an-api-first-approach-to-protection/?sh=4a5eb80d777e | Healthcare Cyberthreats: An API-First Approach To Protection | Healthcare Cyberthreats: An API-First Approach To Protection
EVP and CTIO at Axway, responsible for accelerating global innovation and transformation.
Covid-19 is pushing the U.S. healthcare system to the brink. Amid a global pandemic, healthcare infrastructure is being tested — from hospitals at full capacity to personal protective equipment (PPE) in short supply. Just as the number of virus cases started climbing to new levels, the U.S. government issued an alert about “an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.” The advisory warned healthcare organizations to make sure to take “timely and reasonable precautions to protect their networks from these threats.”
While hospitals focus on the coronavirus, bad actors are launching computer viruses to target weaknesses for monetary gain. For example, cyberattackers are targeting the healthcare and public health sector with Trickbot malware, tools that allow operators to conduct illegal activities leading to ransomware attacks, data theft and disruption of healthcare services. Ransomware can have grave consequences, taking down equipment for patient care. With lives at stake, a hospital is likely to pay the ransom, making ransomware protection and recovery in healthcare critical.
Healthcare organizations are an attractive target right now — fast-moving environments with transient workforces triaging from crisis to crisis. At the same time, the attack surface is growing, increasing vulnerabilities to malicious activity. Medical services are going digital — all built on application programming interface (API) integrations, which are common attack vectors. And more remote activities provide opportunities for phishing, fraudulent communications masked as trusted sources that attempt to collect login credentials.
Technology teams are more important than ever as they maintain systems under increasing demand and expedite digital innovations. IT is enabling a remote workforce, standing up telehealth in record time, refreshing online content with the latest health guidance, launching tools for patient self-service and exchanging data to coordinate supplies and care. This accelerated transformation is supported by APIs that enable fast digital connections for information sharing and new solutions.
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However, these APIs must be implemented as a first thought, not an afterthought. Recovering from a ransomware attack is time-consuming and expensive, so prevention is key. Despite the extraordinary pressure healthcare organizations are under right now, these five cybersecurity best practices cannot be ignored:
1. Training: The majority of reported breaches are rooted in human error. Awareness is an effective first line of defense against breaches and ransomware. HIPAA regulations require regular training and well-defined processes, procedures and practices to ensure health records are protected. In addition to education, putting in measures that preempt an inadvertent technology slip-up will protect critical systems from coming to a halt.
2. Authentication: To err is human, especially given the velocity of interactions between multiple vendors, care providers and institutions in healthcare. OAuth is the industry-standard protocol for authentication, replacing the need to send credentials in API program calls. A centralized identity management system with OAuth delivers secure user access — no more monolithic credentials that can be lost, stolen or accidentally keyed into a fake login page.
3. Automation: Strong, user-based authentication is further augmented by policy engines that enforce security practices. Ransomware attacks targeting the healthcare industry have doubled. Automated backups and the ability to restore to the last safe version will keep the organization running should a breach occur, taking the potency out of a ransomware attempt. Securing user data, file shares and even replicating entire systems are critical steps toward combating ransomware attacks.
4. Low-Code Application Platform (LCAP): A shortage of internal IT resources requires a low-code application development environment, a primarily visual approach that uses simple declarative statements to create applications without writing code from scratch, which is time- and resource-intensive. LCAP adoption accelerates program delivery so healthcare organizations can rapidly release innovations that support the care team and patients.
5. API Management: With digital practices coming online and healthcare solutions such as telehealth, real-time case reporting and image file sharing constantly evolving, authorization and authentication should take place on the front end. API management solutions offer automated enforcement of organizational security policies as well as traffic monitoring to flag unexpected activity such as expired or suspiciously sequenced API requests.
APIs allow healthcare organizations to adapt quickly to meet the needs of administrators, clinicians and patients. It may seem counterintuitive, but an open environment that facilitates updates based on well-designed APIs with proper security, authentication and authorization enables healthcare organizations to move at the pace of the pandemic.
The Covid-19 crisis is testing all of us — perhaps nowhere more significantly than in healthcare. Fighting cyberthreats requires a multivector strategy that includes API utilization and protection. An API-first approach to these threats will not only keep healthcare organizations safe, but also pave the way for more agile and flexible solutions that meet the IT challenges of today and tomorrow.
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54adf76e587fd34f3e9ca385f94be475 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/28/work-isnt-changing-back-to-normal---get-ready-for-whats-next/?sh=1968b1823102 | Work Isn’t Changing Back To ‘Normal’ — Get Ready For What’s Next | Work Isn’t Changing Back To ‘Normal’ — Get Ready For What’s Next
Michael Litt is CEO and Co-Founder of Vidyard, a global video creation, hosting and analytics platform for businesses.
The recent announcements of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and other pharma companies are undeniably wonderful news. But let’s be clear about what this does—and doesn’t—mean for the future of working from home.
First, we’re still looking at many months (if not years) before manufacturer supply can fully satisfy demand. And it could be years before business travel returns to previous levels, if ever. In the meantime, we’re hunkered down, bracing for another wave of contagion and it’s highly unlikely that many people will be in a rush to return to their offices.
Something else to consider: Our concept of the workplace, particularly white-collar or knowledge work, has fundamentally changed, and let’s stop pretending that the world will return to previous work routines once Covid is in the rearview mirror. It won’t.
Modifying Old Mindsets
Some business leaders are clearly eager to get back to “normal.” For instance, I know a CEO taking advantage of cheaper commercial real estate to double his company’s footprint in Manhattan. But he, and the others in this camp, need to recognize that they’re operating in a new world. Take our company as an example. When we polled our people about their work preferences, the response that came was unanimous: They’re not willing to go back into the office on a regular basis until they’re vaccinated.
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But their obvious health concerns around the pandemic tell only part of the story. We also asked another question: Assuming you got vaccinated tomorrow, where would you want to work? Only a quarter of our employees said they wanted to come back to their old space full-time. They like the extra autonomy in their daily schedules that comes with working from home. That’s why we’ve decided to continue to stick with the distributed work approach we adopted when the pandemic struck earlier in the year.
Of course, we also enjoyed the advantage of being a digital-first organization already, so the shift to remote was minor. While most of our team members worked within our central office environments, everyone was already equipped with a laptop as their primary device. Our business also uses cloud-based apps for everything we do.
So, for us, it was less of a technological shift and more of a cultural change for how our people would use all of our existing technology to transform the way we do our work and collaborate in this distributed world. But it didn’t take long to realize that some of our everyday processes and “cultural” habits weren’t going to scale across a distributed workforce. In particular, our most significant transformation had to do with reimagining how these types of collaborative programs would need to work in this new world. The answer wasn’t just, “Let’s do all of our meetings on Zoom now.”
Instead, it’s been all about adapting, not just reacting, to how we work and how we use different tools in a work-from-home environment.
The Coming Of New Technology
Without effective communications applications, we wouldn’t have been able to transition so easily away from the in-office experience of the pre-Covid world.
But we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible to make the distributed workforce concept infinitely more compelling. Exciting work across the tech industry is underway to smooth away any lingering issues arising from the current work isolation driven by the pandemic.
For instance, think about working at your terminal when your colleagues are able to give you a virtual “tap on the shoulder” to hold a brief conversation, just as you might have done in the office without needing to formally schedule a meeting. That was a no-brainer back in the pre-Covid days when nearly everyone worked side by side. It’s a lot harder when you’re only connected to your coworkers by a wire.
Based on personal experience, it’s safe to predict that 90% of the stuff under development will never reach the market. Yet, asynchronous video communication is here and now, enabling teams to improve collaboration and engagement by showing instead of telling. Still, this much is clear: A huge year of innovation is on tap as businesses learn to adapt to be video-first.
Listening To Your Employees
Better tools will be welcome additions, but the ultimate success or failure of the workplace of tomorrow depends on companies recognizing that people can now work on their terms, on their time, and be more productive. Listen to what your employees think about this new world order and where they want to fit in.
When everyone flipped the switch and moved to the work-from-home model last March, knowledge workers found themselves with an unexpected perk: They suddenly had the flexibility to do things like take their dogs for walks at lunch or attend their kids’ recitals. This newfound autonomy is also a non-negotiable benefit they won’t willingly give up.
Employers can expect them to do all the coding or spreadsheet work that the boss needs, but there’s also this implicit bargain: They will do what’s expected, but if they want to do it in their pajama pants, so be it. Some people like to burn candles at their desk while working. Others prefer to listen to music. I know one person who does push-ups after every meeting.
The clear upside of this greater autonomy is the more “human” connections created between employees, customers and partners, which we all desire in this new world of distributed work. Think about what this means for your sales teams. Our “homes” have really become part of the buyer’s conversation. They’re us. Remember: We buy from other humans (not from businesses).
This is a change-or-die moment. Regardless of what happens with Covid, you will either have video and flexible work policies or you won’t and will suffer the consequences. The onus is on businesses to think hard about the future and develop sensible, hybrid work arrangements that will meet the needs of all stakeholders. It doesn’t need to turn into Mission Impossible.
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3c2a17da2722e79c225bd00f52259785 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/29/why-software-and-it-jobs-will-double-in-10-years/?sh=2db3d3725da4 | Why Software And IT Jobs Will Double In 10 Years | Why Software And IT Jobs Will Double In 10 Years
David Moise is CEO, and sometimes developer, of Decide Consulting, an executive search and recruitng firm for IT and Software roles.
In 2017, I made a bold statement: Software and IT jobs in the U.S. will double in 10 years. Three years later, we are ahead of pace. While Covid-19 slowed the pace, it did not derail the technology job growth. I am still confident we will see jobs double from the original date. I am also confident we will see IT and software jobs double from now in 10 years. The same reasons apply, and we have now added a few more that will accelerate things.
Each month, my company compiles an economic report based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data. There were just under 4.7 million people working in IT and software in May 2017. Three years later in June of 2020, we had nearly 6 million. That is 100,000 jobs over the pace needed to double in 10 years.
Even With Covid-19
In normal times, the unemployment rate for IT and software workers averages 1.5 points lower than the national unemployment rate. When the U.S. unemployment rate was hovering around 4%, IT and software people saw theirs hover around 2.5%. Since Covid-19 began, the unemployment rate for IT and software people had its yearly high at 4.3%. The November 2020 rate was 2.4%. The IT/software segment has flipped back and forth with legal to have the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
There are two common ideas from recruiters across the country about who in IT lost their jobs — IT managers and people on a contract. Individuals with hands-on technical skills had much greater job security in 2020.
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2021 Will Be A Boom Year
It is hard to read any technology magazine or McKinsey report that does not make a reference to digital transformation. When the C-suites are inundated with the same piece of advice, they do move in the same direction. A big message from 2020 to the C-suites in America was to embrace digital transformation or get left behind. But how is this going to play out to network engineers and software developers?
I believe big consulting firms are going to have a good year. They will be asked to bid on several DT projects. They need to hire hands-on technical people to work on these projects. Not every company feels the need to bring in Deloitte or Accenture. This does not mean they are going to ignore their own DT projects. Demand for people to do all the digital transformation work is going to be high.
What are the key skills for digital transformation projects? Agile, API programming, cybersecurity, cloud-related skills, DevOps, UI/UX/CX, IoT, big data, data science and ML/AI. In other words, many of the same skills that people already have are listed here, but they're used in slightly different ways.
All The Original Reasons IT Jobs Will Double
Consider one sliver of the IT landscape — IoT devices. IDC says we will have 80 billion IoT devices by 2025. We have close to 5.8 enterprise IoT endpoints in 2020. For every IoT device out there, we need to do the following:
• Write the embedded code.
• Secure and authenticate the devices.
• Write the API the device calls.
• Secure and authenticate the API.
• Build the network to carry stream data.
• Store the data in a database.
• Set up the servers and the cloud to house these databases.
• Employ a data scientist to make sense of the data.
• Use AI/ML to assist the data scientist.
• Implement multiple user interfaces to have the data make sense.
IoT devices tend to stream data, not send occasional updates. There is an incredible amount of work to be done to accommodate the additional devices coming in the next five years. If that seems like a lot to do, we still have all the work related to machine learning, 5G, mobilizing apps, big data and new projects with low-code/no-code. Then there is all the regular programming and network things we need to do.
How Does This Affect My Company?
The competition for existing top technical workers will increase. Posting an ad on a job board is not going to be enough to get experienced people. Companies will need to market and recruit for technical talent differently and more aggressively.
Where are the people to fill these jobs going to come from? Colleges and universities are creating new graduates in the hundreds, while businesses are demanding in the thousands. Bootcamps, online certifications and continuing education programs will be a big source of education for the new talent. Companies should consider a pipeline of these individuals. Consider reaching out to a local coding boot camp or a university extension that trains people interested in cybersecurity. Share with them your long-term plans for hiring and the technologies you use. Smart companies can get these programs to train potential employees in the technology they use.
It is a very good time to start a career in software development or information technology. The doors are open for more people. When companies are building plans for how to find talent, you want to be in that talent pool.
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5c7bce6b260d5fe1652f44d64982e235 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/30/five-key-cybersecurity-trends-for-2021/ | Five Key Cybersecurity Trends For 2021 | Five Key Cybersecurity Trends For 2021
Michelle Drolet is CEO of Towerwall, a highly focused, specialized cybersecurity, cloud & virtual CISO services firm.
getty
The pandemic has dominated the news in 2020, overshadowing everything else. We've seen a rapid rise in remote working, a wave of pandemic-related scams and pressure to modernize IT while cutting costs. As the dust settles on a tumultuous year, it's time to plan ahead.
IT departments were forced to accelerate their plans and roll out new processes and systems rapidly to support the new norm. Eighty-three percent of enterprises transformed their cybersecurity in 2020. In the year ahead, cybersecurity professionals must consolidate and secure this new landscape, ensuring the foundation is solid enough to build a profitable future upon.
As we look forward to putting 2020 behind us, here are some of the emerging technologies and rising trends set to dominate cybersecurity in 2021.
1. Securing The Remote Workforce
The slow shift toward remote working accelerated enormously in 2020 as offices closed, massively expanding the potential attack surface of most businesses. Inevitably, the use of virtual private networks (VPN) and remote desktop protocols soared, leading to a worrying 127% increase in exposed RDP endpoints, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
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In the scramble to maintain business continuity, security took a back seat. This needs to be addressed urgently in the coming year. 2021 will see businesses assessing their systems, analyzing what's required for them to scale securely and reshaping infrastructure to support the remote workforce. Policies must be revisited and modernized. Leadership must send clear messages and maintain regular communications.
Expect growth in enterprise VPN, desktop virtualization, endpoint security, endpoint detection and response, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and cloud-access security brokers solutions.
2. Managed Detection And Response
The faster a breach is identified and dealt with, the easier and cheaper it will be to fix. Disruption can be minimized if you act swiftly, but that requires a good managed-detection-and-response (MDR) service. By 2025, half of all organizations will use MDR services, according to Gartner. As more companies adopt MDR services, it's important to ensure that they offer comprehensive monitoring around the clock, real-time alerts and swift responses.
MDR services should deliver the expertise that companies need to remediate, offering actionable advice alongside alerts, so that the root causes of breaches can be dealt with. They should also offer 24/7 support and be up to date on the latest compliance and regulatory requirements for relevant industries. MDR providers offering a tailored approach that can scale and adapt to different risk tolerances and budgets will be in high demand in 2021.
3. Zero Trust Security Model
With the rapid rise of the remote workforce, more devices than ever before are trying to access networks. Trust is a major issue, as attackers will often find a way in and then burrow deeper into networks by moving laterally. With a zero trust model, the whole process is simplified because you choose to never trust and always verify connections. By assuming hostility, it's possible to prevent lateral movement, stopping an attacker who has bypassed the firewall, for example, from moving any further.
The beauty of zero trust is that it simplifies things for your IT teams, as they have fewer things to administer. Users are restricted to accessing only the applications and systems they need to do their jobs, signing in once to access available resources through an active directory. Users are authenticated before gaining access to your network, a process strengthened with MFA or identity and access management software.
4. Security Awareness Education And Training
The best defense in the world can quickly be rendered useless by human error or deliberate sabotage. Whether incompetent or malicious, insiders can enable attackers to bypass your security, and they frequently do. This past year, 30% of breaches involved internal actors, according to the 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report from Verizon.
Employees must be educated on how to recognize tricky phishing attempts and practice good security hygiene. Training should be continuous, and organizations need to take steps to measure its effectiveness. Ensure that executives are on board with training programs, that the necessary resources are allocated and that programs are compliant with relevant regulations. The goal is to transform employees from being your weakest link to being the company's strongest asset.
5. Building A Secure Cloud Infrastructure
The cost and efficiency gain that cloud computing promises, coupled with its easy scalability, have ensured its ascendancy in the business world. However, organizations can't afford to make assumptions about the security standards of cloud partners. Cloud services are a prime target for attackers. Companies need to take stock and compile a clear picture of how their cloud services fit together and where data resides.
Securing your company's cloud infrastructure requires a holistic cybersecurity architecture that's informed by threat scenarios, as a piecemeal approach to securing data and applications is sure to fail. Controls should take everything into account, from endpoints to access management to regulations. Build security checks into the infrastructure as it scales. Test for new vulnerabilities and assess fresh risks as they emerge.
MDR is a perfect response. Managed detection and response is a process whereby data is collected from every endpoint, cloud service and company affiliated network to build a holistic view of your organization enough to afford a means by which analysis can be conducted to root out anomalies, vulnerabilities or any underlying threat.
Though 2020 has been challenging, it accelerated many exciting trends in cybersecurity, and there's an opportunity to consolidate and secure those changes in the year ahead.
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b0f17c9feeed453bc915ab7c391351e9 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/30/the-biggest-enterprise-ai-trends-for-2021/?sh=62074886b6ec | The Biggest Enterprise AI Trends For 2021 | The Biggest Enterprise AI Trends For 2021
Co-Founder and CTO of Mist Systems, a Juniper Company.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the 1950s, but only in the last six years — with the advent of open-source, low-cost cloud compute and storage — has it become useful in solving real-world problems. In that short time, we've seen AI find new solutions in enterprise networking, automotive, medical and other industries. This has resulted in artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) moving from marketing hype to a useful tool being adopted across the enterprise.
Enterprises are now seriously looking at how AIOps and AI network assistants can help their IT teams focus on more strategic problems and improve the experiences of their customers and employees. In 2021, with AIOps continuing to move from hype to reality, we predict:
• Customer support will evolve. Cloud and AI are changing how enterprises support their customers and employees and how network vendors are going to support their enterprise customers by turning the customer support model upside down. The days of IT departments arguing with their network vendor about whether something is a hardware or software problem are over. Rather than customers and employees flagging issues, AI should help proactively identify potential connectivity issues, communicating root causes and giving IT teams the tools and suggestions needed to resolve the problem before it begins to affect customers.
• The new home micro-branch will be powered by AI. With the home becoming the new enterprise micro-branch for a growing remote workforce, AIOps can give IT the end-to-end visibility needed to support its employees in the new norm post-Covid-19. This visibility will be crucial in helping IT teams support remote workers efficiently and provide the data needed to prevent similar issues from happening in the future. This should ultimately improve the overall user experience.
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• The new member of the IT team of the future will be the AI assistant. Personal home and mobile AI assistants have been growing in popularity. The same will happen in the enterprise. AI assistants will get smarter and become a critical part of the IT team. They will become more useful via learning and direct feedback from IT team members, and they should slowly be able to solve more and more complex issues. This can decrease the mundane tasks and workloads for IT teams, making AI assistants shine as a star and a team player.
• The biggest barrier to AI adoption will be education. People are often afraid of what they don't understand. It is up to business leaders to not only lead but educate. They must encourage their IT teams to invest the time and energy to thoroughly evaluate AI solutions that will best align with the company's bottom line. The top businesses will invest in the education of their IT leadership teams so that they can best understand how to implement these AI solutions across the network.
• AI will play a huge role in the future of networking. AI-powered advancements are happening in video communications to make the tool more useful for enterprises, such as real-time translation for global companies. However, with the current explosion of communication technologies that bring people together, there is a lot of pressure on the infrastructure to keep up with the demand. This is where IT shines as the backbone of a business — and AI as its most valuable partner. AI will be crucial in powering a self-driving network. This should open up time and energy for engineers to create better user experiences for remote workers.
Whether companies opt to stay remote or come back to the office, the old way of working has changed forever, and companies that embrace AI technologies are positioned to excel in 2021 and beyond. At all levels of the enterprise, AI will drive us into the next era of working — whether it's creating a strong foundation for IT teams to support remote workers or powering a self-driving network to give network engineers the bandwidth to focus on developing the next-generation technologies that we don't yet know we need.
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