Chief Digital Officers Emerge In Business Transformation Efforts
Chief digital officers are increasingly driving business transformation efforts, but chief information and technology officers lead the pack, according to a Constellation Research’s list of 150 influential executives. Constellation Research compiled a list of 150 executives leading the business transformation charge across a variety of sectors. The Business Transformation 150 aims to find executives able to help companies navigate various disruptive technologies and shifts.
WhatsApp To Launch Dedicated Chat Apps For Businesses
Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is testing new features for businesses that would allow them to chat with customers more officially. The messaging service revealed last week that it has started placing green badges next to a business contact, indicating that the business is legit and verified by WhatsApp. Eventually, WhatsApp plans to use the verification component as part of a dedicated customer service app for businesses called WhatsApp Business.
CIOs, CTOs, And CDOs Leading Top Digital Transformation Efforts
CIOs, CTOs, and chief digital officers are the executives leading top digital transformation initiatives worldwide, according to a new list from Constellation Research. The firm released the Business Transformation 150, a list recognizing the top global leaders spearheading digital transformation efforts in their organizations.
Samsung To Develop VR Mental Health Diagnosis Tools For Hospitals
Samsung Electronics will develop mental health diagnosis programs that use mobile virtual reality (VR), the company has announced. The tech giant signed a cooperation agreement with Gangnam Severance Hospital and VR content maker FNI for the programs, with the goal to commercialize them in 2018 in hospitals, dementia centres, and schools, before being expanded to homes at a later date.
Microsoft Adds New Insider Lab For Testing Windows 10 Enterprise Features
Microsoft is looking to get more enterprise customers to test some of the more time- and resource-intensive features in Windows 10 Enterprise Insider builds. Via a new “Windows Insider Lab for Enterprise,” Microsoft is looking to get its Windows 10 Insider for Business testers to try out some of its coming business-oriented features.
Apple’s AirPods Are Turning Wireless Earbuds Into A Computer For Your Ears
Apple’s AirPods might look weird to some, but not only are they dominating the market for totally-wireless headphones, according to research, they also might be a big driver of the use of voice-powered digital assistants. More than 900,000 totally-wireless headphone units were sold in the US since the start of the year, according to the NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service, and since launching in December, Apple’s AirPods have accounted for 85 percent of those sales by value.
HPE To Acquire Consulting Firm Cloud Technology Partners
Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Tuesday said that it plans to acquire consulting firm Cloud Technology Partners (CTP). Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. Founded in 2010, CTP offers consulting, design, and operational advisory services for enterprise clients. The company says its services are cloud agnostic and touts expertise across all the major cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google and OpenStack.
Vodafone Pushes Into SMB With New Online Business Apps
Vodafone Australia has signaled a greater push into the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment with its new suite of “ReadyApps” for business customers. According to Vodafone, the launch of the 16 new apps “coincides with a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign reinforcing Vodafone’s commitment to providing the tools and support to help small businesses succeed”.
Google’s Android One Program Gets Boost From New Xiaomi Smartphone
Google’s Android One program to broaden Android use in developing countries received a boost this week with the release of a new smartphone by China’s Xiaomi. The new Mi A1 is scheduled to start shipping in India next week and will soon become available in multiple other markets as well including Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan.
BOFA Merrill Lynch Pumps AR With Steroids With Intelligent Receivables
Matching incoming payments with invoices has long been a frustration for companies. Many valuable hours are spent trying to determine who’s paying for what. To address this issue, Bank of America Merrill Lynch launched Intelligent Receivables – a new solutions that uses artificial intelligence and other software to help companies vastly improve their straight-through reconciliation of incoming payments to help them post their receivables faster.
Microsoft’s Azure App Service Developer Platform Now Available On Linux
Microsoft is making its Azure App Service generally available on Linux as of September 6. Azure App Service is Microsoft’s cloud application development, update, and hosting service. It enables developers to create cloud apps for a variety of web and mobile clients.
Off With Their Heads! A Conversational Revolution In Enterprise Apps
A huge and largely unheralded revolution is going to fundamentally change how we interact with enterprise applications over the next two to three years — and will radically change how they’re architected over the next decade or so. It’s going to take most people by surprise, not because they don’t see it coming, but because they underestimate how much of a transformation it represents.
Windows 10 Enterprise Survey Reveals Faster-Than-Expected Migration
U.S. enterprises are moving to Windows 10 desktop deployments even faster than market experts had originally anticipated, a new survey of IT professionals revealed. Adaptiva, which specializes in new-generation systems management, said in its 2017 Windows 10 Enterprise Impact Survey that businesses are moving to Windows 10 faster than they had estimated in the 2016 Windows 10 enterprise survey.
Study: 57 Percent Of Google Search Traffic Is Mobile
Mobile searches on Google now represent about 57 percent of all search traffic, as mobile web site traffic is now clearly outpacing traditional desktop traffic, according to a new study from content performance marketing company BrightEdge.
Amazon’s Alexa Is Finally Coming To Wearable Devices For The First Time
Wireless accessory manufacturer Bragi is introducing support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant directly into its Dash and Dash Pro wireless headphones, reports TechCrunch. Manufacturers have thus far incorporated the voice assistant into speakers, phones, thermostats, and more — but being incorporated into a wearable device is a first for Alexa.
AI Is Creating New Jobs, But There’s A Catch
Despite fears of human employee displacement, the early effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs seem to be positive. According to a Capgemini report, 83 percent of firms that have implemented AI said that it has lead to the creation of new jobs within their companies.
PwC And MAPI Release Survey On State Of IoT In Manufacturing
Thirty-one percent of manufacturers are implementing Internet of Things enhancements to their internal operations, with another 56 percent exploring doing so in order to cut operational costs, achieve supply-chain efficiencies and improve predictive maintenance capabilities. These are among the findings of a new report from PwC and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), Monetizing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The Top Five Digital Transformation Tools Manufacturers Are Leveraging
You’ve been hearing and reading a lot about digital technology, but there are so many different areas, where should you allocate your resources first to generate the highest return? Here are the top 5 tools you should already be adopting, or at least, testing. If you’re not, then you’re already behind your competition.
