Digital Transformation: The Mobility Catalyst
The rise of digital transformation signifies a massive cultural shift within organizations where changes to the way that business is done and how customers, partners and employees are served, is fundamentally shifting. Kia Behnia, CEO of PowWow Mobile, explains why a successful digital transformation program starts and finishes with establishing a mobile-first culture.
BlackBerry Wants to Bring BBM to All Enterprise Apps
Enterprise developers and users will soon have another option for a messaging platform embedded within apps. BlackBerry has announced its BBM Enterprise software development kit for developers to integrate BBM’s enterprise messaging platform into third-party apps.
Apple Watch Accounts for Half of Smartwatch Sales
The Apple Watch accounts for half of all smartwatch sales, and more than three quarters of smartwatch revenues. Last month Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said the company has seen its best-ever performance by the Apple Watch, both by revenue and devices sold, in the fourth quarter of 2016, with “holiday demand so strong that we couldn’t make enough”.
The Number of Vulnerabilities Keeps Rising
The total number of disclosed vulnerabilities set a new record in 2016, according to a report released Feb. 6 by Risk Based Security. The 2016 Year End Vulnerability QuickView Report provides insight from Risk Based Security’s VulnDB vulnerability intelligence platform. According to the report, there were 15,000 vulnerabilities reported by VulnDB in 2016, setting a new all-time record.
Cisco Report: Mobile Phones Will Number 5.5 Billion By 2021
Cisco Systems came out with its annual state of mobile networking report on Feb. 7, and there was no shortage of both expected and unexpected data points. The 11th annual Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (2016 to 2021) projects that there will be more people on Earth using mobile phones in 2021 than there are with access to running water.
New IoT Cybersecurity Alliance Formed by AT&T, IBM, Others
A group of businesses from across the IoT value chain have formed the IoT Cybersecurity Alliance, aiming to use their combined expertise to allay business concerns about the Internet of Things and solve its security challenges. The founding members of the group include AT&T, IBM, Nokia, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, and Trustonic.
How Google’s Awareness API Applies to Digital Transformation Efforts
Google’s Awareness API and tools — designed to passively monitor signals and user context — will likely garner corporate interest on multiple fronts as a way to better target customers. Like most things Google, there’s a balance between what’s creepy and ridiculously useful. Google’s Awareness application programming interface is a sensing platform that enables developers and apps to be aware of location and context signals. The API will manage battery, memory and resources in the background.
IT Spending Will Increase to $2.4 Trillion 2017: IDC
IT spending is expected to climb 3.5 percent above 2016 to reach $2.4 trillion this year, according to a report from IDC. The research firm expects the bulk of IT spending to come from the discrete manufacturing and banking verticals. Combined, these industries will generate roughly 30 percent of all IT revenues throughout the forecast. Significant spending will also come from the telecom industry as well federal/central government agencies.
Google Plans Purge of Play Store Apps Without Privacy Policies
Google has been sending notices to developers across the world revealing plans to penalize Google Play Store apps, which do not have valid privacy policies. As reported by The Next Web, the Mountain View, CA.-based firm intends to “limit the visibility” of applications which do not adhere to current User Data policies — or remove the worst offenders altogether.
Ten Ways Enterprises Can Limit Third-Party Cyber-Risk
To compete successfully in a global marketplace, enterprises increasingly are moving their business processes and other services to the cloud and outside suppliers. This trend has created many more attack surfaces for cyber-criminals. As enterprise digital ecosystems expand beyond the traditional boundaries of their organizations, reducing risk from third parties becomes a high priority. What are the key steps enterprises of any size should take to reduce its risk from third-party data breaches, over which it has little or no control?
Software Vulnerabilities Continue to Climb Despite Focus on Security
While software security has continued to gain attention as a serious issue, and despite a greater variety of tools available to identify and prevent vulnerabilities, the number of security holes—especially critical issues—continued to climb in 2016, according to data released by security metrics firm Risk Based Security.
CIOs Resist BYOD Security Threats
CIOs in Singapore are stepping up their fight against the security risks posed by the widespread use of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) practices, where employees use their own laptops, tablets and smartphones at work. More than one in three (36 percent) CIOs say a lack of employee knowledge and skills around data security is the most significant security risk their organization will face in the next five years, according to a report from Robert Half.
What is Digital Transformation?
Although technically not a mandatory process, there are important reasons why all businesses should undergo digital transformation when the time calls. First, as it allows them to evolve, it’s likely that many of their competitors are doing it. Failing to do the same may cause a business to fall behind. Performing digital transformation may also increase profitability and efficiency: research by Hitachi Consulting found 90 percent of businesses are held back by legacy systems, and that such systems are first in line to be removed.
Ten Enterprise Mobility Acronyms You Need to Know for 2017
Once upon a time, enterprise mobility abbreviations were much simpler to follow. Sounds like a fairy tale given today’s business technology landscape, right? As mobility enters 2017 full-tilt, rapid evolution and change will only add to an ever-growing list of industry terms and acronyms that can leave your head spinning. Here are ten must-know mobility abbreviations you’re sure to see in 2017.
Drone Market to Hit 3 Million Units in 2017 with $6 Million in Revenue
Gartner is projecting 3 million drones will be shipped in 2017 good for more than $6 billion in revenue. Of those 3 million drone units in 2017 about 174,000 of them will be for commercial uses, according to Gartner. In terms of revenue, commercial drones will account for $3.69 billion with personal use representing $2.36 billion.
Mobility Skills and Experience Becoming Ever More Important
Mobility skills are going to be in ever-increasing demand while the line between cybersecurity and IT will start to blur, according to predictions from Randstad Technologies. The analysis also examines a generational change in the workplace – although perhaps not the trend you are expecting – as well as new company roles. Randstad argues that in 2017, companies will place greater emphasis on hires of all ages, although adding in a separate prediction that ‘generation Z’ will bring a ‘dramatic new energy’ to each workplace.
IBM’s Watson and Bluemix Step Up: Free Cloud-Based Push to Boost Tech Skills
IBM’s cognitive computing platform Watson is about to embark on what could be its most socially-important venture yet: teaching tech skills to 25 million African youths. In partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), IBM has unveiled a $70m, five-year initiative it’s calling Digital-Nation Africa. In doing so, it joins fellow tech giants like Google, SAP, and Microsoft, which are running large-scale digital literacy schemes on a continent facing both a massive skills shortage and an unemployment problem that Digital-Nation Africa will try to help address.
Connected “Things” Set for 31 Percent Surge in 2017
Globally, 8.4 billion connected things will be in use in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. Total spending on endpoints and services will reach almost $2 trillion in 2017.
Google’s Chrome Now Lets You Jump Straight into VR Worlds from Your Browser
You can now experience virtual reality on the web with Google’s latest version of the Chrome browser. Chrome now includes WebVR, a set of technologies for interacting with virtual-reality content in the browser. For VR developers, WebVR holds the promise of building a single web app to reach different headsets and browsers, rather than having write a different app for each platform. The new feature follows the December release of WebVR in the Chrome Android beta.
Most People are Optimistic About Workplace Automation
According to Adobe, most people are talking (on social media) about how robots are helping their work, not taking it away. Workers are also upbeat about being able to hand over mundane tasks to robots so human workers can do more meaningful jobs. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robots were the most discussed FOW topics.
Juniper Reveals Who’s Who in Global Digital Banking Race
Juniper Research predicts that by 2021, nearly 3 billion users will access retail banking services via smartphones, tablets, PCs and smartwatches, up 53 percent from 2017. The new research titled “Retail Banking: Digital Transformation & Disruptor Opportunities 2017-2021” also predicts that usage will continue to rise as consumers increasingly opt for banks offering the convenience of rapid, multi-channel digital services.
