Five Emerging Technologies for Rapid Digital Transformation
Most people involved in enterprise technology are well aware that we live in exponential times, with the rate of change across most technological trends occurring at a rate far quicker than in years past. Almost daily, the industry witnesses data points in the tech media that show us that we are currently at a high watermark for technological innovation. In this hyper-competitive yet nearly flat operating environment that organizations face today the pressure to keep pace and deliver a wider range of digital capabilities has never been greater. But how much of this pressure is actually being exerted by IT leaders and from which stakeholders? How are they responding to it?
Report: Demand for Mobile Developers Surges, Up 104% Since 2014
Demand for tech talent with mobile development skills, including those that can build mobile responsive websites, grew 104% year over year between 2014 and 2016. Employers are seeking specialized skills needed for building mobile applications and mobile responsive website design in iOS, Android, HTML5, Angular, Java and JavaScript, according to Randstad. The demand comes, in part, from the expected 5.5 billion mobile users by 2020, Cisco Systems reports.
MBaaS or RMAD: Mapping the Right Route For Your Mobile App Strategy
10 years after the launch of the iPhone, mobile apps have transformed the way that enterprises can engage with employees, partners and customers. Whether developing tactical apps as one-off projects, managing enterprise-wide mobile strategies, or delivering apps that integrate with multiple back-end systems, the list of technologies that exist today to support enterprise mobile development initiatives is broad.
Cybercriminals Ignore Individuals, Focus on Holding the Enterprise to Ransom
Attackers in their droves are turning away from schemes that target individuals in favor of launching ransomware attacks against businesses. Anton Ivanov, senior security researcher of Kaspersky’s anti-ransom unit, told attendees at the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit on Tuesday that this “alarming” trend includes a heavy focus on financial organizations. At the summit, the Kaspersky researcher said that the average private user is no longer of much interest to cyberattackers; rather, the lure of a successful ransomware attack levied against a business potentially able to pay far more in ransom payments is now a far more attractive prospect.
Amazon Rolls Out New Alexa Dashboard and Device Address API
Amazon on Wednesday introduced a new API that lets Alexa developers incorporate location information into their Alexa skills. The Device Address API enables skills to request and access the configured address in a user’s device settings. Developers can either request a full address or just the country and postal code. Before the skill can access that information, the user must enable the skill via the Alexa app, where they will be prompted to provide consent.
Will Low-Code Development Platforms Really Take Development Jobs?
Backlogs, budgets, business demands, skills gaps, agility: these are the challenges you face in IT every day. Low-code development platforms can help companies overcome constraints such as long development lead times and high costs. How? By enabling the fast development of accessible and reliable applications.
New Appian Digital Transformation Survey
When it comes to their digital business transformation plans, only 14 percent of business executives have fully migrated their companies to all intended areas, according to a new report announced today. Nearly half (48 percent) reported their company has migrated in some intended areas but not all, shows the YouGov survey commissioned by Appian.
Cloud Security Fears Persist, But Data Migration is a Bigger Issue
Businesses that consider moving their analytics to the cloud should be more concerned with data migration and network connectivity challenges than worries around security, according to Marc Clark, head of cloud strategy at data warehouse vendor Teradata.
SAP Report Finds Digital Technology Isn’t Improving Collaboration
A global survey of 4,100 executives and employees shows that most companies don’t have the management skills, organizational culture or technology in place to make collaboration pay off broadly. The study found that only 27 percent of executives place a priority on collaborative tools and yet 96 percent of executives blame ineffective collaboration and communities within the organization for failures. The study, commissioned by SAP, was performed by Oxford Economics in the second quarter of 2016.
Why Bots Will Become One of the Biggest Drivers of Workplace Efficiency
Chatbots are one of the hottest trends at the moment and they are quickly expanding into workplaces around the world. As of mid-2016, there were about 170 venture capital funded chatbot startups and this has continued into 2017. In enterprises we are already seeing their use for customer relationship management, with AT&T and American Express among some of the bigger names to have begun using them. While CRM is a clear use case, bots also have the potential for efficiency drivers in almost any industry for any organization that learns how to leverage them.
Facebook Rolls Out Limited Version of M, Messenger’s AI Assistant, Across US
After testing its digital personal assistant M with a small percentage of Messenger users over the past few months, Facebook said it’s rolling out a completely automated version of M to both Android and iOS users across the US.
Twitter Tries to Woo Developers with Unified API Platform, New Platform Roadmap
Twitter has announced it’s revamping its API platform, with updates that respond to developer requests and a roadmap that lays out several new product updates and enhancements for the API platform.
Android Overtakes Windows as Top Operating System on the Internet
Google’s Android is now the most widely used operating system on the planet in terms of Internet usage. Numbers released this week by StatCounter show that Android nudged out Microsoft’s Windows from the top spot in worldwide market share for operating systems.
Smarter Android: AI-Powered Google Services Will Get Better as You Use Them
Google is introducing a new way for its AI-powered services to improve as people use them. The tech giant is testing whether its mobile services could use an approach called Federated Learning to refine their underlying machine-learning models. For each Google service, a machine-learning model is downloaded to a mobile device. Federated Learning allows these models to improve by learning from data on the phone, and then to summarize any local changes as a small update.
Why Intelligent Apps Will Transform the Workplace
Gartner predicts that by 2018, the world’s largest 200 companies will “exploit intelligent apps” and use big data and analytics tools to refine their business processes and improve customer experience. According to Gartner, as companies deploy intelligent apps, they will focus on three key areas: 1) advanced analytics, 2) AI-powered business processes, and 3) AI-powered immersive, conversational and continuous interfaces.
Eighty Percent of Global FSIs Will Partner with Fintechs to Stem Loss of Revenue
The new PwC report “Redrawing the lines: FinTech’s growing influence on Financial Services” shows clear signs the finance industry is getting to grips with innovation. The survey revealed that 82 percent of surveyed global financial institutions plan to increase Fintech partnerships in the next 3-5 years. These firms expect to see an average return of 20 percent on Fintech related projects.
Samsung Targets the Enterprise with Galaxy S8 and S8+
Samsung has spent the last few years expanding its focus on the enterprise, realizing that there is no longer a line between business and personal devices. And most businesses would agree. IT departments have conceded to some form of BYOD, acknowledging it’s difficult to stop employees from using personal devices for work. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set up to make the shift easier, by blending consumer and business features into one device. Samsung now emphasizes that business adoption is a part of the overall strategy.
Microsoft Launches Windows 10 Beta Program for Business Users
Business users get access to their own version of the Windows 10 beta program this week. On Friday, Microsoft unveiled the Windows Insider Program for Business, alongside its first post-Creators Update Windows 10 beta. The program will let business users sign up for beta updates with their Azure Active Directory credentials, rather than a personal Microsoft account. The new feature is designed to provide IT professionals with a path for giving Microsoft business-specific feedback on Windows 10 features.
