Financial technology (fintech) products and services are picking up tremendous steam, particularly with younger, tech-savvy and affluent customers, according to the World FinTech Report 2017 (WFTR), recently released by Capgemini, LinkedIn and Efma (a global nonprofit organization composed of banks and insurance companies). But even as fintech firms reshape the financial services landscape, customers are struggling to trust them."We're seeing adoption across the globe," says Bill Sullivan, head of Global Financial Services Market Intelligence at Capgemini Financial Services. "It's not so much replacing incumbents as adding on."[ Related: How 3 fintech startups are shaking up security ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Financial technology (fintech) products and services are picking up tremendous steam, particularly with younger, tech-savvy and affluent customers, according to the World FinTech Report 2017 (WFTR), recently released by Capgemini, LinkedIn and Efma (a global nonprofit organization composed of banks and insurance companies). But even as fintech firms reshape the financial services landscape, customers are struggling to trust them."We're seeing adoption across the globe," says Bill Sullivan, head of Global Financial Services Market Intelligence at Capgemini Financial Services. "It's not so much replacing incumbents as adding on."[ Related: How 3 fintech startups are shaking up security ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Machine learning features have the potential to transform your marketing and customer support, but they’ve been out of reach for most companies. Now both Microsoft and Salesforce are building them into their cloud CRM tools, putting AI within the grasp of most enterprises.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Along with freedom and cost savings, cloud computing brings complexity. Dividing up data and processes between private data centers and the cloud can be complicated.It’s even more true with the internet of things, which usually includes specialized remote devices and layers of gateways. On Tuesday at its Minds + Machines conference, GE Digital introduced a system for enterprises to spread out IoT tasks to be more effective.The new set of capabilities, called Predix Edge System, turns the company’s cloud-based Predix IoT platform into a distributed operating system. With it, organizations can place each of their IoT applications wherever it will run most effectively, including in sensors, controllers, gateways or the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It turns out GE Digital’s acquisition of ServiceMax on Monday and its Meridium buy in September weren't the company's only recent moves to expand its industrial IoT expertise.Two deals for small startups, completed recently and announced on Tuesday, add interesting technologies that should help the company develop new capabilities and help enterprises meet challenges in industrial IoT. Both were announced at GE Digital’s Minds + Machines conference in San Francisco and didn’t come with publicly announced price tags.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Could you captain a supertanker—a ship longer than five football fields and 16 stories tall?In addition to navigation, you would have to stay abreast of thousands of sensor readings from across the ship that monitor spills, explosions and fires. You may need some help to cope with the data overload.You'd need a captain’s console with 3D IoT visualization.Essential components of an IoT data solution
It’s difficult to process the enormous volume of data generated by IoT systems. Monitoring multiple real-time data feeds adds to the complexity. Automated data filtering helps. How can human intelligence be applied to very large, complex datasets?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Right now if you buy a WeMo Smart Plug along with an all new Echo Dot, you'll save 27% and get them both for $73 versus buying them separately for $100. Simply plug WeMo into any standard outlet, and control your appliances from anywhere in the world using your smartphone. Program on/off times for your lights, A/C or a fan. Put it in "away mode" while you're on vacation and it will randomly turn on/off throughout the day to mimic someone in the home and confuse would-be intruders. You'll think of a hundred ways to automate with this device. Pair WeMo with an all new Echo Dot and gain the power of voice control over your appliances, not to mention streaming music, weather updates, sports scores -- anything you can think of, just ask and Alexa will help via the Echo Dot. The Dot/Plug bundle will save you 27% when bought together on Amazon right now. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Right now if you buy a WeMo Smart Plug along with an all new Echo Dot, you'll save 27% and get them both for $73 versus buying them separately for $100. Simply plug WeMo into any standard outlet, and control your appliances from anywhere in the world using your smartphone. Program on/off times for your lights, A/C or a fan. Put it in "away mode" while you're on vacation and it will randomly turn on/off throughout the day to mimic someone in the home and confuse would-be intruders. You'll think of a hundred ways to automate with this device. Pair WeMo with an all new Echo Dot and gain the power of voice control over your appliances, not to mention streaming music, weather updates, sports scores -- anything you can think of, just ask and Alexa will help via the Echo Dot. The Dot/Plug bundle will save you 27% when bought together on Amazon right now. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With Instagram now claiming 300 million-plus daily active users, Google has decided the photo-sharing social network must be for real and has launched an Android account.So far the account is pretty unexciting, with a handful of marketing images depicting uses of Android (Pixel phones and tablets, Android Pay and Android Auto, etc.) for various applications, such as in cars and for payments. Also, lots of treats, such as jelly beans and lollipops, referring to the various flavors of the mobile operating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Government departments tend to be seen as “top shelf” IT customers. They tend to use larger providers, use more traditional delivery mechanisms and have a conservative approach towards newer ways of working. So, when Synack, a crowdsourced cybersecurity vendor, told me it secured a contract with the IRS, I was intrigued.+ Also on Network World: How the government can help businesses fight cyber attacks +
First, a little bit about what Synack does: The company is following something of an ongoing trend in the security space in that it wrangles a bunch of “ethical hackers” to essentially try and break a client's IT systems. The idea being that those hackers can ply their trade, but instead of intruding onto organizations' IT systems out of malice, they can do so as a service (and, it must be added, for a payment). Founded in 2013 by former NSA security experts Jay Kaplan, CEO, and Dr. Mark Kuhr, CTO, Synack feels very similar to HackerOne, a company now headed by Marten Mickos of MySQL fame.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Government departments tend to be seen as “top shelf” IT customers. They tend to use larger providers, use more traditional delivery mechanisms and have a conservative approach towards newer ways of working. So, when Synack, a crowdsourced cybersecurity vendor, told me it secured a contract with the IRS, I was intrigued.+ Also on Network World: How the government can help businesses fight cyber attacks +
First, a little bit about what Synack does: The company is following something of an ongoing trend in the security space in that it wrangles a bunch of “ethical hackers” to essentially try and break a client's IT systems. The idea being that those hackers can ply their trade, but instead of intruding onto organizations' IT systems out of malice, they can do so as a service (and, it must be added, for a payment). Founded in 2013 by former NSA security experts Jay Kaplan, CEO, and Dr. Mark Kuhr, CTO, Synack feels very similar to HackerOne, a company now headed by Marten Mickos of MySQL fame.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Wine Saver is a vacuum pump that extracts the air from an opened wine bottle and re-seals it using a rubber stopper. The airtight vacuum inhibits the oxidation process that is responsible for the deterioration of wine. The vacuum is created by placing a stopper into the neck of the opened bottle and pumping it until resistance is detectable. The pump incorporates a patented 'click' mechanism that indicates when a sufficient airtight environment has been established. Currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 1,900 people (read reviews). It's discounted 42% on Amazon, so you can get it right now for just $9. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco, which has promoted its smart city technologies for more than two years, today announced that 10 cities, including Paris and Copenhagen, are using its cloud-based service to connect to traffic, parking and environmental sensors in real time.Insights from the data collected from the Internet of Things sensors can help city agencies make operations more efficient, reduce costs and respond quicker to emergencies, Cisco said.Cisco is showcasing the technology at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2016 in Barcelona this week. The networking giant calls its service the Cisco Smart+Connected Digital Platform.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
China yesterday signaled that if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with campaign pledges to slap steep tariffs on goods imported into the United States, retaliation will result in shrunken iPhone sales.In an op-ed piece published Sunday in Global Times -- one of several newspapers controlled by the Communist Party -- the editorial writers warned that higher tariffs imposed by the U.S. would trigger reprisals."China will take a tit-for-tat approach then," the piece said of any tariff action by Trump after he takes office in January. "A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus. U.S. auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and U.S. soybean and maize imports will be halted."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of Silicon Valley’s most opinionated CEOs says it’s time for more companies to be vocal about important social issues.“You should have a point of view, you should be clear on what your point of view is,” Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, said on Monday at the Code Enterprise conference in San Francisco. “You have to be clear what your company stands for.”His comments come less than a week after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election — a victory that has hit hard at the liberal core of Silicon Valley and left some of America’s most wealthy corporations asking about their role in the outcome.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 3D printing will transform these five industries
Benioff said the election has underlined that need for companies to be more vocal. Benioff himself has been leading corporate America all year in a push against several issues.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google plans to update its AdSense program policies to prevent placement of its ads on sites distributing fake news.Facebook also said Monday it had updated the policy for its Audience Network, which places ads on websites and mobile apps, to explicitly clarify that it applies to fake news.“In accordance with the Audience Network Policy, we do not integrate or display ads in apps or sites containing content that is illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news,” Facebook said in a statement. The company said its team will continue to closely vet all prospective publishers and monitor existing ones to ensure compliance.False news stories have become a sore point after the U.S. presidential elections with critics blaming internet companies like Twitter and Facebook for having had an influence on the outcome of the elections as a result of the fake content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple is working on wearable digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and show content in the wearer’s field of vision, according to a news report.The iPhone maker has indicated previously its interest in augmented reality. Unlike the simulated world of virtual reality, AR supplements with images and information the user’s normal view of the world.“We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call in July, talking about the need for Apple’s devices to work with other developers' products, such as the successful Pokémon Go game.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Finding threats quickerImage by ThinkstockCyber security analysts are overwhelmed with the pressure of keeping their companies safe. Not only do they need to filter through countless alerts, many of which turn out to be false positives, but also the volume of real threats is growing exponentially. They quickly need to triage and move on, stopping the most pressing threats – but not always the most dangerous. Cyber analysts need a new, holistic approach to threat detection that monitors, analyzes and cross-references data across multiple dimensions to help them detect complex threats as early as possible.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Bundling features as a way to compete with AWS.