TMT Issue 2 by AI Global Media

Media trends for 2016 12-13

New dimension in 3D printing 18-19

Nobu Su registers new patent

20-21

Five payment technology trends for 2016

14-15

EDITOR’S NOTE Welcome to the January Issue of TMT News. As the New Year rolls in we celebrate by exploring what 2016 has in store for the TMT market, firstly by analysing Deloitte’s predictions for the top trends in the Media sector as well as looking into the top payment technology trends to watch out for over the coming months. As 3d printing looks set to dominate the technology market over the coming year we

H.Stevenson

give you an overview of the latest developments in Amazon’s online store and show just how this unique trend is changing not just the technology sector, but the entire corporate landscape. What can the Oracle V Google case teach business owners about IP law? Shireen Smith talks us through how the digital revolution can affect businesses and what steps they need to take. Many companies are building up to exciting new changes in 2016, including Volante Technologies, which has strengthened its sales operations with new hires in response to increased market interest in its VolPay suite of products. We hope you enjoy this issue.

CONTENTS TMT News ÂŁ1.2m Funding from Finance Birmingham Supports Buy out of Engineering Firm

51Degrees and HAProxy Technologies bring device detection to HAProxy Community

DataArt appoints financial technology heavyweight Cliff Moyce as global head of its financial practice

Deloitte Predicts Technology Trends for 2016John Harris Promoted to Chief Technology Officer at SIGNiX

Geotab ushers in a new era of business intelligence with powerful data visualization capabilities

New TMF Maturity Model from Veeva Systems Offers Expert Guidance on Developing and Executing a Strategy to Improve TMF Business Operations

PANALITIX acquires 2020 GROUP USA

ARTICLES Deloitte predicts media trends for 2016

12-13

From the Experts: Five Payment Technology Trends to Look Out for in 2016

14-15

Islington-Based IP Expert: What Oracle V Google Teaches Business Owners about IP Law

16-17

New Dimension in 3D Printing

18-19

Nobu Su Successfully Registers Patent for Mahoubin Bottle Shape LNG Technology in Japan

20-21

ServiceMax Launches Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First Connected Field Service Solution

22-23

New Era for Volante Technologies

24-25

£1.2M FUNDING FROM FINANCE BIRMINGHAM SUPPORTS BUY OUT OF ENGINEERING FIRM Finance Birmingham has invested £1.2m as part of a multi-million pound funding package for Tamworth-based manufacturer Precision Technologies International Limited (PTI). The deal enables the company to be sold to a management team led by experienced entrepreneur Kevin Parkin. Supported with funding from Finance Birmingham, Panoramic Growth Equity, Management and Santander Invoice Finance, the deal sees current management Colin Palin and Patrick Walker invest with Kevin Parkin, who becomes chief executive of PTI, to acquire the business as part of a buy-in management buyout (BIMBO) transaction. PTI has more than 50 years’ experience in the manufacture of specialist precision parts across a range of sectors including Formula One, medical, oil and gas and aerospace. The funding will see the firm increase its current offering and develop to enter new markets such as nuclear and defence. At least 15 new highly skilled jobs including a number of apprenticeships will be created. Ian Fairclough, Investment Director at Finance Birmingham, commented on the takeover. “PTI has an excellent reputation for producing high value components for a wide range of clients. The workforce is highly skilled and this, combined with the business’s ability to collaborate with its customers, allows it to design and manufacture unique components to suit a variety of needs. “The company’s potential to strengthen its offering is evident through its plans to drive revenue, not only with its existing customers, but by entering new markets. The support from Finance Birmingham will accelerate this by allowing the business to invest in the additional staff and operations needed to do so.” The investment has been provided by Finance Birmingham as part of the £56m Mezzanine Fund – open to any SME

across the West Midlands and supported by the Regional Growth Fund. Kevin Parkin, CEO at Precision Technologies International, added:

“We are keen to retain high quality engineering expertise in the UK and PTI is certainly at the cutting edge of providing specialist low volume components that are used in extremely demanding conditions. “To maintain this service from manufacturing to the testing and inspection of products, there is a demand for an engineering expertise that can only be achieved by a dedication to apprentice training and a philosophy of continuous improvement. The support from Finance Birmingham will help us to commit to these areas and to explore new opportunities.” Legal advice was provided by Nabarro, Freeths, Gateley, Vialex and Irwin Mitchell. Corporate finance was provided by Castle Square Corporate Finance and Seneca, financial due diligence by PwC, commercial due diligence by Carlton Strategic Advisors and insurance due diligence by T L Dallas.

51DEGREES AND HAPROXY TECHNOLOGIES BRING DEVICE DETECTION TO HAPROXY COMMUNITY The world’s most popular proxy service integrates 51Degrees for device detection 51Degrees has collaborated with HAProxy Technologies, the world’s most popular Open Source Reverse-Proxy LoadBalancer, to integrate 51Degrees’ device detection - the fastest and most accurate available – into HAProxy’s services. The integration sees HAProxy bring 51Degrees’ device detection services to its Enterprise grade solution, HAPEE. HAProxy is the world’s most widely used Load-Balancer improving uptime and performance for hundreds of thousands of digital businesses. It provides a highavailability load balancing and proxy server for TCP and HTTP based applications, with the capability to spread loads across multiple servers. HAProxy’s software is also available as an optimised enterprise grade version, HAPEE, for safer implementation and maintenance. The HAPEE service includes high availability load balancing, content switching, application control and performance monitoring and real time security analysis. Despite the “Enterprise” name tag, this version is open source for its customers. 51Degrees’ device detection is available as an add-on for HAProxy’s Community solution and will be available in HAPEE. This enables customers to benefit from 51Degrees’ device detection expertise and comprehensive database of more than 31,000 different device specifications, without changing the web application server. HAPEE customers will profit from enhanced device clarity and web usage analytics – ensuring customer-facing websites are optimised for every single device that accesses them. 51Degrees’ patent pending process analyses HTTP

headers to identify the specific device browsing a website, enabling the site to deliver a vastly improved user experience. 51Degrees’ process identifies false positives and achieves 99.9% or better accuracy. The data analysis team works with manufacturer data sources to classify the characteristics of more than 200 new web enabled devices every week, adding to a growing directory of more than 31,000 devices. James Rosewell, CEO and founder of 51Degrees comments: “It is a testament to the accuracy and speed of 51Degrees that the world’s most popular proxy server selected 51Degrees to service its customer base. HAProxy shares our vision for producing high quality, available technology to streamline web servers and enhance customer experience, delivering more profitable web experiences. The collaboration enables us to reach out to new customers and educate them how web optimisation per device can drive increased revenues.”

We wanted to provide the best to both our Community and Enterprise customers. 51Degrees performance, accuracy, breadth of devices and flexible easy to setup deployment options made it the best choice to meet all our stakeholders requirements.” The HAPEE HAProxy solution with 51Degrees add-on is available for purchase via www.haproxy.com as of March.

Baptiste Assmann, Product Manager, of HAProxy comments:

“More customers and prospects are needing device detection at the load-balancer layer to make the architecture smarter and improve user experience. 5

DATAART APPOINTS FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY HEAVYWEIGHT CLIFF MOYCE AS GLOBAL HEAD OF ITS FINANCIAL PRACTICE Global technology consulting firm DataArt has appointed the seasoned financial services and capital markets executive Cliff Moyce to head up its rapidly expanding financial practice. As a hands-on executive specializing in major transformation, Moyce has successfully led many high-profile companies through periods of significant change. These companies include LIFFE (London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange), Markit, Lloyds of London, Orix Investment & Development Capital, and Credit Market Analysis (CMA). As Chief Operating Officer at CMA, Moyce transformed the products, services, technology, operations and structure and led the integration into a new parent company (McGraw Hill Financial). DataArt Managing Director Alexei Miller said: “We are delighted that Cliff Moyce has now taken on the role of leading our financial practice globally. His experiences in everything from building and launching major new mortgage and insurance companies, to leading the automation of trading at Europe’s largest derivatives exchange, to building the first automated index arbitrage system for equities in London, to running a private equity company will be of huge benefit to our clients. We believe that Cliff is the right kind of leader to take our successful finance practice to the new heights. His experience will be invaluable to us.” Over the years, DataArt has successfully provided services to a wide range of financial organisations including exchanges, banks, hedge funds and other investment management firms, as well as fintech and market data companies. Noting the major shifts in data management, digital banking and legacy banking platform modernization, DataArt is now aiming to bring specific offerings to the market responding to these pressing needs.

Moyce said:

“The two key concerns for me in considering whether to take this position were, one - is there passion and ambition to grow further? And two: is there the expertise available to fulfill this ambition? With DataArt, both boxes were ticked and I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to lead this exciting, top tier team. DataArt has been a reliable technology partner for many investment and asset management firms, and I am certain that other institutions - insurance providers, pension funds, savings & loans, and mortgage companies - can greatly benefit from the services of DataArt.”

Moyce is a regular contributor to management journals and speaker at financial events on topics such as business change; systems development; innovation in financial services; IT security, mergers and acquisitions; management education; and, financial crime prevention. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Services and holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology from Birkbeck, University of London.

DELOITTE PREDICTS TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR 2016 Mobile touch commerce usage to increase by 150 percent globally, to 50 million in 2016 18 to 24 year-olds will be the biggest PC users this year The technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) practice at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has today announced its predictions for the technology sector in 2016. The news comes following the launch of Deloitte’s TMT Predictions 2016, now in its sixteenth year. Touch commerce accelerates the mobile check out According to Deloitte, 2016 will mark the rise of mobile touch commerce, which will be used by 50 million consumers by the end of the year, an increase of 150% from last year. Consumers love browsing retail sites and apps on their phones; payment however is typically far more clunky, and abandoned baskets are commonplace. Touch commerce allows customers to make a secure payment on a mobile device, authorised simply through a fingerprint or a few touches of the screen, without having to provide registration. David Halstead, lead technology partner at Deloitte, comments: “Consumers love being constantly connected to their smartphones, from the early hours in the morning to late at night. With the introduction of a simplified payment process, there is a clear opportunity for converting browsing into purchases with a simplified payment process, wherever they are.

“Crucially, touch commerce reduces significantly the time taken from browsing to

transaction on a mobile phone, to seconds rather than minutes.” Trailing millennials are the pro-PC, not the post-PC, generation This year’s report also predicts that trailing millennials (18-24 year olds) are likely to be the biggest PC users in 2016, and are very unlikely to abandon personal computers altogether. Although regarded as the smartphone generation, this age group sees smartphones and PCs as complements, not substitutes. Its ownership, intent to purchase and use of PCs will likely be higher than any other age group in 2016.

Women in IT jobs: it is about education, but it is also about more than just education Deloitte also predicts that, by the end of 2016, fewer than 25 per cent of information technology (IT) jobs in developed countries will be held by women. The lack of gender diversity in IT is both a social and economic issue. Global costs may be in the tens of billions of dollars; according to one study, the gender gap in IT costs the UK alone about $4 billion annually*. *HR Magazine - 2.6 billion GBP is roughly $4 billion.

Halstead adds:

“Having a mobile-first strategy will be necessary in 2016, especially if your market includes millennials. “However, a mobile-only strategy will simply not work, as this assumes that millennials have already abandoned, or are about to abandon their computers. Our research shows that millennials still use their PCs, and sometimes even prefer the PC to mobile.” Other technology predictions include:

GEOTAB USHERS IN A NEW ERA OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE WITH POWERFUL DATA VISUALIZATION CAPABILITIES Executives put new and unique expertise to work in the simplification of Big Data analysis

Geotab , the go-to leader in telematics with more than 450,000 vehicles in 70 countries on its roster of users, today announced that as of December 31, 2015, the company has acquired one of its most innovative partners: Maps BI. Founded in 2013 under parent company Inovex Inc., Maps BI provides customers with an unparalleled level of enhanced visualization to better assist in the analysis of Big Data. Maps BI executives Mike Branch, CEO, Bob Bradley, CTO, and Bernard Cheng, Lead Developer, officially joined Geotab’s dynamic staff on Jan. 11, 2016. The firm is a leading global provider of premium quality, endto-end telematics technology. Geotab’s intuitive, full-featured solutions help businesses of all sizes better manage their drivers and vehicles by extracting accurate and actionable intelligence from real-time and historical trips data. With more than 600 million data points collected by Geotab devices and delivered to the platform per day, Geotab is a global leader in making actionable business intelligence and benchmarking data accessible to improve productivity, optimize fleets through the reduction of fuel consumption, enhance driver safety, and achieve stronger compliance to regulatory changes. The company’s products are represented and sold worldwide through its Authorized Partner network. To learn more, please visit www.geotab.com. “My colleagues and I are very excited to be a part of Geotab, with whom we’ve developed a strong and fruitful relationship,” said Branch.

“This acquisition marks a new era of business intelligence, especially as Big Data plays a larger and larger role in both the telematics space and beyond. We look forward to providing our expertise in better serving both Geotab’s established and future resellers and customers.” Geotab’s freshly gained expertise in data visualization is a valuable addition to the company’s already detailed and comprehensive telematics solution. With the opportunity to offer such innovations as interactive dashboards and geospatial data visualization, these visual capabilities paired with the MyGeotab software platform will provide customers with an easy spatial understanding of their aggregated data, allowing them to more simply assess resulting analytics and better achieve their respective fleet management goals. “In order to continually provide our customers with the world’s most sophisticated portfolio of telematics solutions, we at Geotab consistently have our finger on the pulse of innovation,” said Geotab CEO, Neil Cawse. “The business intelligence and visualization expertise we’ve gained will further catapult Geotab into the position of global telematics leader, all the while providing our customers with new tools

to further support their pursuit of superior fleet operations.”

NEW TMF MATURITY MODEL FROM VEEVA SYSTEMS OFFERS EXPERT GUIDANCE ON DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE TMF BUSINESS OPERATIONS Consultative service, online or in-person, provides life sciences organizations with TMF roadmap

Veeva Systems introduces the Veeva TMF Maturity Model – a complimentary consultative service designed to assess the state of a life sciences organization’s trial master file (TMF) strategy and provide a roadmap for improvement. The Veeva TMF Maturity Model gives practical, step-bystep guidance to help companies transform their TMF from a static archive into a strategic asset that can help increase the efficiency of clinical trials. It is available as a self-service online tool or as a more detailed, in-person evaluation with a seasoned subject matter expert. The Veeva TMF Maturity Model assessment provides companies with a tailored report, outlining the current state of their TMF, comparison to industry benchmarks, and a roadmap for improvement. More than 60 life sciences companies have already completed the evaluation. Data amassed to date shows companies who have completed the Veeva TMF Maturity Model evaluation are only halfway along the full TMF maturity curve, averaging 2.54 on a scale of one to five. These empirical findings are consistent with industry-wide survey data from the annual Veeva 2015 Paperless TMF Survey showing an industry shift away from maintaining paper documentation, however, with still too much reliance on manual processes. More than half of survey respondents (59%) report archiving documents electronically, yet far fewer have fully digitized other key activities such as e-signatures (21%), document creation (25%), and collaboration (30%).

seen a dramatic uptick in electronic TMF application adoption,” said Jason Methia, director of Vault eTMF strategy at Veeva.

“The Veeva TMF Maturity Model provides the industry with a reliable framework to make systematic strides towards shedding paper and transitioning toward automated methods and systems.” Kathryn King, vice president of Vault Clinical at Veeva, will discuss how to move along the TMF continuum during ExL Pharma’s 5th Trial Master File Summit, at 10:45 AM on January 21, 2016 at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Virginia.

“In just one year, the industry has 9

PANALITIX ACQUIRES 2020 GROUP USA PANALITIX, the developer of cutting-edge tools for accountants in public practice, today announced that it has acquired 2020 GROUP USA as part of its global growth plan. 2020 GROUP USA is a membership group for progressive accountants and provides seminars, products and consulting help to its members. It also offers marketing and management support. The organization is the brainchild of Chris Frederiksen, the well-known seminar leader and consultant to accounting firms.

“2020 GROUP USA’s deep industry expertise, educational programs, and industry leading content compliments PANALITIX’s existing cloud application, marketing tools and training programs,” said Rob Nixon, CEO and founder of PANALITIX.

“The acquisition bolsters our ability to support our members worldwide, bringing together an ever broader community of outstanding practicing accountants.” “We are excited to be part of PANALITIX”, said Chris Frederiksen. “In my opinion, it is the world-leader in

providing products and services that accountants can use right now to augment their Type 1 compliance services with more profitable and rewarding Type 2 business advisory services. They are also committed, as I am, to moving clients to the cloud and providing them with real-time, current and useful information, monitored by accountants. The PANALITIX platform allows accountants to take a quantum leap in value to their clients.” Christine Anuszkiewicz has been appointed as Executive Director for the US and will spearhead PANALITIX’s global expansion in North America. For 21 years, Nixon has worked with accountants, coaching and advising them on business advisory services. PANALITIX is the latest venture for Nixon and business partner, Colin Dunn, with the first public version of the software released in April 2014 with the goal to positively impact more than 5 million businesses around the world via their outside accountants. With links to leading cloud accounting packages including Xero and Intuit, PANALITIX is a content and marketing tool for accountants to support and grow their clients. “In a rapidly commoditizing industry, PANALITIX is a disruptive tool that helps accountants to provide real-time business advisory services,” says Nixon. Nixon also hinted that 2016 would be a year of product releases. “There has been significant investment in the product, with some marketleading changes coming this year.”

DELOITTE PREDICTS MEDIA TRENDS FOR 2016 • • •

Virtual reality market to have its first billion-dollar year in 2016 Mobile gaming overtakes console and PC games to generate $35 billion in software revenue globally Ad-blocking will be adopted by just 0.3 percent of smartphone and tablet users

The technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) practice at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has today announced its predictions for the media sector in 2016. The news comes following the launch of Deloitte’s TMT Predictions 2016, now in its sixteenth year. Virtual reality: a billion dollar niche Deloitte predicts that the virtual reality (VR) market will have its first billion dollar year in 2016. Revenues will mostly be driven by approximately $700 million in hardware sales globally, and the remainder from software and content. According to Deloitte, this year will see sales of approximately 2.5 million VR headsets and 10 million game copies sold. Ed Shedd, partner and head of Deloitte’s technology, media and telecommunications practice, comments: “The notion of virtual reality is decades old, but, as with many technologies, its commercial potential has yet to be fully realised.

“Virtual reality is likely to have applications for both consumer 12

and enterprise, but this year we expect the majority of commercial activity to focus on video games. Companies that are considering using VR should be aware of the hardware cost and the slim content that is currently available.” Mobile games: leading, but less lucrative According to Deloitte, mobile devices will become the leading games platform in 2016. Smartphone and tablet games will generate $35 billion in software revenue, an increase of 20 per cent from 2015. This compares to $32 billion for PC games and $28 billion for console games, up only five and six percent respectively from the previous year. Shedd continues: “The mobile games industry as a whole should thrive in 2016, but the outlook for individual mobile games developers is likely to be far more varied. The sheer volume of mobile game titles will likely render many new entrants invisible without substantial marketing spending. “The mobile games sector now has the same core challenges as most mainstream media: creating compelling content and making people aware of it.”

Mobile ad-blockers: saved by the app? Deloitte also predicts that by the end of 2016, just 0.3 percent of all mobile device owners (including smartphones and tablets) will use an ad-blocker. As a result, less than $100 million (0.1 percent) of the $70 billion mobile advertising market will be put at risk. Dan Ison, partner and head of media and entertainment at Deloitte, comments: “While we do not expect the impact of mobile ad-blocking in 2016 to be significant relative to the overall size of the market, its impact is likely to be felt disproportionately.

“Smaller, online-only publishers that rely entirely on advertising revenues and lack other forms of income, such as subscription, may be particularly affected. It may also be the case that the most affected news outlets are those focused on technology and gaming news, whose audience is most aware of ad-blockers and will be most likely to adopt them.”

Other media predictions include: European football scores $30 billion The European football market is predicted to generate $30 billion (€27 billion) in revenues in 2016/2017, an $8 billion (€7 billion) increase relative to 2011/2012. Austin Houlihan, a director in Deloitte Sports Business Group, comments: “The universal appeal of Europe’s top leagues, particularly the English Premier League, is driving overall revenue growth in the beautiful game. This is making the Game’s top clubs highly attractive to investors across the globe.” eSports: bigger and smaller than you think Deloitte estimates that eSports will generate global revenues of $500 million in 2016, up 25 percent from 2015. It will likely capture an audience of regular and occasional viewers of close to 150 million people worldwide.

FROM THE EXPERTS: FIVE PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2016 The last few years have witnessed a huge change in the way we make payments. At a recent speech at Trinity College Dublin, Tim Cook CEO of Apple proclaimed confidently that the next generation will not know what money is. They will also not know what cheques are if a proposal by the Payments Council goes ahead, stating that by 31st October 2018 cheques will be abolished due to a dramatic decline in their use. The fact that banks still make money from the anarchic three-day payment cycle that accompanies the use of cheques is one reason that calls are being made for banks to modernise or die. Technology is evolving at a faster rate than ever before and the payment sector is by no means getting left behind. First Capital Cashflow, a Direct Debit solutions provider, has been asking experts in the payments sector what their predictions are as we move into 2016. Five key trends emerged… 1. Banks must evolve if they are to survive A Bank, according the Oxford Dictionary definition, is “a financial establishment that uses money, deposited by customers, for investment, pays it out when required, makes loans at interest, and exchanges currency.” While this definition remains relevant, how we use a bank is certainly changing.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in the development and widespread use of online banking apps, which have revolutionised what we expect from banks. It is no surprise that many challenger banks and third parties have emerged as a result, adding a new lease of life to the sector and becoming an integral part of the nation’s financial landscape. So what will the next stage of evolution be? Mike Laming, Lead Technologist at Adaptive Lab, has predicted that “software companies, with banking licenses, are going to redefine what it means to be a bank... they have the freedom to reimagine from the ground up what a bank should be.” This will be made even easier come 2017 when the second generation Payment Service Directive comes into play. A further blow to the core banking services, the directive will require all banks to open up their Access to Accounts (XS2A) leaving the door wide open to new entrants into the payments marketplace. An Open API adoption is already high on the UK Treasury’s agenda, and while this is great news for consumers and businesses, traditional banks will now have to work a lot harder to compete against third parties. Innovation, Integration and Instantaneous will be the buzzwords for banks come 2016. 2. The continuation of contactless Speed and ease are not are just key for banking. Unless you

have been living under a rock for the last year or so, you will have heard of Apple Pay and its various cousins. Mobile payment, Contactless and eWallets were big news in 2015 and this will continue into 2016. Research by Payments UK found that 771 million “Faster Payment” transactions were made in 2014 and this figure is predicted to rise to 1.94 billion by 2024 due, in part, to the ever increasing number of mobile apps that have now been developed. Remi De Fouchier, SVP of Gemalto, commented that: “mobile payments are here to stay… new apps and solutions are popping up on a regular basis. To date over 150 have been launched or piloted worldwide...ignoring mobile commerce and mobile payments isn’t a viable option.” Having said that, it will not happen overnight. John Cooke, Commercial Director Card Services at allpay Limited warns that “change in payments is usually very slow...contactless has been around since 2008 and it’s still not accepted in most supermarkets.” However, John does acknowledge that this will change over the coming year, predicting that “all debit cards should be contactless by the end of the year.” Ray Brash, Managing Director of PrePay Solutions concurs, claiming: “Contactless is obviously the word of the moment when it comes to payments. With the limit having increased to £30 at terminals, contactless will take off

further as customer demand for convenience grows.” Looking to the future, we can be assured that the use of contactless and mobile payment will be used for ever smaller transactions, becoming a regular form of easy payment that was previously the reserve of cash.

in. Being able to analyse transactions in real-time should allow abnormal purchases to be identified quickly and accurately. It is access to this data, and development of the technology required to maximise its potential, that will be the next step in cyber security and regulation over the next few years. A research report published by Infosys entitled ‘Payments Strategy- Renew the Old, Ring in the New’ commented that: “IT will play a key role in this space as both a backbone enabling monitoring and compliance and also providing next-generation analytics solutions that can detect and prevent fraud attempts.” Mark Prior-Egerton of The Logic Group agrees, claiming that tokenisation will remain the only solution: “At their heart, many of these payment methods will still be based on card data and securing that is vital. The key to this is tokenisation which allows card data to be encrypted whether payment itself is made via a smartphone, wearable or even your fingerprint.” 4. The customer will STILL always be right The desire to create a seamless, easy-to-use payment solution is resulting in great steps forward in terms of UX. Thanks to the likes of Uber, the expectations of customers have been raised to a level most dated e-commerce solutions never even dreamt of, and when placing these innovating giants against the more traditional offerings, it highlights just how far the industry has come in a very short space of time.

3. Fighting fraud with fingerprints A key concern for many consumers and businesses is the impact increased data sharing and use of technology will have on security. Data breaches far too frequently made the news in 2015 and so it will be interesting to see what measures and regulations will be put in place in 2016 to placate fears. Way back when magnetic strips were replaced by EMV (better known as chip and pin), fraud cases dropped dramatically, however, this did not address all card security issues, especially during CNP (card not present) transactions. The next step on from EMV is already being used by the likes of Apple Pay, and that is biometric authentication. Fingerprints will always remain unique and, unless a terrible accident occurs, they cannot be lost or forgotten like PIN codes and security questions. However, the issue with CNP fraud cases will still be present. This is where the need for ‘Big Data’ will kick

Marching ever forward, one slick and clean platform will now not be enough to satisfy consumers, as the Infosys report explained: “Customers now expect a Netflix-style experience across channels, in which they can pick from one channel what they left in another channel.” This omni-channel experience is destined to be the next big thing for the payments sector, allowing bank, card and virtual payments to be accessed via one easy-touse system. It is hoped that this kind of approach will eliminate the administrative burden currently facing businesses and consumers alike, resulting in a ‘frictionless’ and less confusing payment solution. 5. Cash will remain king… for now Admittedly, this could be seen as one of the most unexpected trends on this list.

of banknotes in circulation is now higher than ever, increasing from 1,895 million in 2004 to 3,239 million by the end of February 2015. Production has also increased from 469 million in 2006/7 to 843 million in 2014/15. According to Payments UK, over 18 billion cash payments were made in 2014, accounting for 53% of transactions. Surely this shows that the need for cold hard cash is in no way on the decline? Peter Moore, CEO of Consolis commented: “To ignore cash is to ignore vast swathes of the population and the businesses that cater to them. For example, convenience stores and small, independent cafes and retailers still rely on cash as the cornerstone of their businesses... cash is still king [for many] that rely on these corner shops and cafes for their everyday needs. We should not ignore the large number of small businesses that rely on cash transactions to stay afloat.” However, this is not to say that the evolution of payment technology is by any means superfluous. For the B2B sector specifically, it is of great importance that the payment industry continues to innovate and become more receptive to digital technology. According to statistics from Bacs, recovering late payments costed SMEs almost £11 billion in 2014. As of July this year, £31.3 billion is still owed to those 99% of small businesses that make up the UK’s economy, hindering growth and reducing profitability. This is why the payments industry has to step up, and fast! A reliance on antiquated payment systems is costing us dear. Commenting on the research, Mike Hutchinson from Bacs had this to say: “Our figures show that while the late payment landscape is improving in terms of the totals owed, it is at a cost, and a very real one, with SMEs having to dip into their pockets to chase money they are owed. We urge businesses to look at automated payments like Direct Debit to reduce the time and money that companies are spending to recover payments due to them.” In conclusion, there is much to look forward to in 2016 in terms of innovation in the payments sector. A need to move with the times, evolve and adapt to changing customer expectations, business demands and comply with regulation will drive forward change, but we can rest assured that despite all this talk of ‘new trends’, money will continue to make the world go round, how it is transferred.

Despite banks losing relevance, contactless evolving, big data solving security issues and innovate tech revolutionising UX, cash is still king... for the majority of consumers anyway. Statistics from the Bank of England show that the number

ISLINGTON-BASED IP EXPERT: WHAT ORACLE V GOOGLE TEACHES BUSINESS OWNERS ABOUT IP LAW The digital revolution is redefining businesses. Companies that were once confined to marketing to a local audience now have the potential to operate international business from little more than a mobile set up. However, the simplicity involved in starting up online can be a trap for the unwary says Shireen Smith, Intellectual Property (IP) law expert of Islington-based law firm Azrights. One area that Shireen believes needs more legal attention is business concepts that require setting up a social media platform. Social media platforms are experiencing exponential growth, with 72% of UK internet users now having a social media profile in 2015 according to Ofcom research. And success can turn a penniless business into one valued at almost £300 million in a year, like that of US-based app YikYak. “Firms may want to interface with other sites in order to access media. This involves knowing about your legal position when using an Application Programming Interface, or API for short. Put simply, an API is a language a programmer can use to talk to a system.

“The law in this area is constantly evolving and with the web design and development industry being unregulated, it is crucial to seek legal advice.” Oracle and Google have had an ongoing legal dispute concerning APIs since 2012, which Shireen discusses in her

new book Intellectual Property Revolution published by Rethink Press. “Google made use of Oracle’s API and the question concerned whether the API was protected by copyright. If so, then Google was not free to make use of it without Oracle’s permission.

“The courts ruled that APIs are in fact protected by copyright in the US. According to the US-based digital rights group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, this gives tech firms ‘unprecedented and dangerous power’ over developers by making it substantially more difficult for upstarts to create new software.” Shireen Smith continues: “Although it would be interesting to have a ruling from the EU on the same facts, given that most APIs that you might want to use are US-based, the US ruling is one that you would need to heed if you wanted to use an API.

“The upshot is that you may need permission from the owner of a platform if you want to create another system which is compatible with it, for example Facebook. The legal protection of computer software is a complex and fast-paced area of law.” With regards to other social media platforms, ‘tropicalisation’ is an occurrence that has been significant in China and Brazil. The term refers to the practice of investing in start-ups which take an established business model and adapt it to an emerging market – a feat that is easily achievable in today’s digital economy. “Examples include Peixe Urbano, a Brazilian clone of ‘daily-deal’ site Groupon, Weibo the Chinese Twitter-like microblogging platform, RenRen the Chinese version of Facebook, Baidu the Chinese take on Google and Alibaba a Chinese copy of eBay. “From an IP perspective there are few legal barriers to this tactic. The law does not protect bare business models. Elements of a business model might be protected. A patent can sometimes protect the technology, copyright can protect the expression of a concept, designs can protect the aesthetic aspects and trademarks protect business and product names.” Shireen sums up by saying “Securing a range of intellectual property rights in different elements can combine to provide the most powerful protection as each IP right protects you in subtly different ways and situations.”

A video which was especially commissioned for Azrights and can be found here and explains further how the digital economy is changing IP. ‘Intellectual Property Revolution’ by Shireen Smith is available from Amazon and is priced at £12.99. The book contains expert advice for businesses on how to successfully manage IP assets, protect brands and add value to businesses in the digital economy. It is written in plain English and is intended for use by business owners and ‘brand guardians’.

NEW DIMENSION IN 3D PRINTING Amazon finds retail opportunity for new technology with 3D printing store. Amazon, the global online retailer, has announced a new application for 3D printing technology with the expansion of their online 3D printing store.

options’ and Infinity Blade, which offers users ‘over 12 million combinations to personalize the characters with unique poses, armor configurations, weapons and accessories’.

3D printing, the revolutionary new technology which allows users to create a physical product from a three dimensional model, has so far been the domain of experimenting technology firms and the construction industry. However, as Amazon announces a new wave of expansion for their online retail store, which opened last year, the market for the technology is expanding, albeit at a slower rate than previously envisioned.

The cost of this service depends on the level of personalization, with the price starting at just $29.99, with larger customized characters rising in price to $49.99 up to $89.99. These prices make the figures more accessible to casual customers wishing to purchase a limited number of the products for recreational use.

The announcement states that the new service will allow customers to personalize characters from their favourite characters from numerous popular video games, by selecting a character and then using the personalization widget to create unique poses, use armor configurations or apply various different weapons and accessories to their character. Then they use the 3D product preview function to see a 360 degree view of their masterpiece from any angle, after which the customer goes through an approval and checkout process before the product is 3D printed on-demand and shipped directly to the customer. Most of the designs are created by Sandboxr, a 3D printing firm which specializes in gaming and video game character creation. The three main personalisation packages are Smite, which allows customers over ‘30,000 ways to create customized characters’; Primal Carnage, which gives the option for ‘more than 12,500 customized set framed poses and character

Currently the store sells customizable 3D printed jewellery, as well as other products such as printed home decorations and electronics accessories, but currently the product range is limited. Despite this Amazon is keen to promote the number of products on offer, stating that since its launch the number of products has grown by over 150%.

Steve Johnson, Director for the Amazon Marketplace, made it clear that although the product range in the online store was still in the early stages of growth, this new range marked a key expansion for the 3D printing range.

‘The 3D Printed Products store gives customers access to thousands of fun and unique items, many that can be customized by material, style and color variations, and personalized with text. The 3D Printed Products store is one of the largest online destinations to discover customizable 3D printed products and features convenient search tools, interactive 3D preview functionality and the product personalization widget.’

‘There is a lot of passion and excitement in the culture of gaming, as well as 3D printing, and by combining these two worlds and allowing customers to design and personalize their favorite video game characters we can bring enthusiasts even closer to the games they love. 3D Printed Products on Amazon is still in its early days, and we are eager to offer customers the freedom to be designers and create one-of-a-kind items.’

By appealing to customers with an interest in gaming and introducing a new, more interactive means of creating the 3D products Amazon broadens their reach in the industry and making the products more attractive to customers, with the personalization allowing the technology to be used to its full potential as opposed to simply being a new means of manufacturing products.

Amazon’s online store is one of the largest online destinations for customers to purchase customizable 3D printed products, and this new range of products marks a key growth strategy as the firm attempts to make the technology more accessible to a retail market. The store also has a service aimed at business, allowing brands to offer print on-demand product designs.

Customers can also purchase 3D printing technology for themselves from stores such as iMakr, but with prices in the thousands for the machines they are currently not accessible to casual users. Printing machines are also being gradually introduced into the manufacturing industry but as yet customers wanting a service allowing them customizable products which can be printed for them have a limited choice.

Amazonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service is appealing to customers because it allows the advantages of 3D printing, namely the ease of creating complex products, allowing for personalization without the customer having to print the products themselves. The new range will introduce a new group of customers to the technology, as well as heralding a big expansion for the store. However, as the technology slowly becomes more accessible Amazon may have to diversify further to compete in the growing market.

NOBU SU SUCCESSFULLY REGISTERS PATENT FOR MAHOUBIN BOTTLE SHAPE LNG TECHNOLOGY IN JAPAN Combination of Hybrid Propulsion Technology and Mahoubin Bottle Shape LNG Tank Set to Make Hybrid Ice Class LNG Ships the Answer for COP21 and Global Warming Mr. Nobu SU, a leading member of Asia’s shipping industry, and the Chairman of TMT Co., Ltd. (“Today Makes Tomorrow”) successfully registered several patents in 2015. A new epoch is set to begin in the wake of COP21, during which the first universal climate agreement was unanimously ratified by 196 delegations, including support from President Obama of the United States and Chinese leaders.

patent infringement penalties. The only way to reduce CO2 emissions by the end of the century is through technological innovation. I have raised this issue so people will realize that airplanes, ships and all other forms of mobility need to be included in the Paris Convention.”

While progress has been made since the Kyoto Convention, i.e. COP3, it is clear that the real solution must come from justifiable and enforceable actions that contribute significantly to the daily reduction in CO2 emissions -- a key cause of global warming -- by the next century.

The Arctic Ocean is an important setting where enforceable technologies for massively reducing CO2 emissions are most needed. Technologies that allow ships to travel between Europe and the Far East using the shortest routes and thereby reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions are among the means that would help combat global warming.

Moreover, the CO2 reduction amount that the COP21 climate agreement has set for 2030 is based on a percentage criterion rather than total volume, which would have been a more effective gauge; hence, still stricter requirements should be considered in the future.

One invention developed by Mr. Nobu SU, called Hybrid Ship, consists of a conventionally driven main propeller and an electrically driven duct propeller; the combination of which allows for reduced fuel consumption, particularly when a vessel is travelling with little ballast.

Mr. Su said, “CO2 emissions from airplanes and ships are ignored by the COP21 agreement. Their combined emissions are equivalent to the total CO2 emissions of Russia or Japan, which accounts for around 5 to 6 percent of the world’s total CO2 source. The Paris Convention of 1865 in relation to Intellectual Properties was useless since a clause exempted ships and airplanes from restrictions as they entered into different countries. Consequently, inventors are less inclined to develop green technologies for airplanes and ships with the exception of drones. Agreements made during the past two Paris conventions need to be amended and backed with

Yet another invention by Mr. SU -- the Mahoubin Bottle Shape LNG tank -- which received a patent from the Japanese Patent Office in 2015, now makes it possible to develop the first hybrid ice class LNG ship. Nobu Su has finally revealed this concept to the Russian Registry and other IACS members in order to address the upcoming Polarclass regulation.

In respect of Hybrid Ship’s patent registration, Mr. SU noted,

“I trust that as more patent offices register Hybrid Ship, the technology will be more readily adopted and will help tackle another serious problem, which is the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through ballast water into the ocean. With the Hybrid Ship technology, a vessel requires little ballast water, and therefore reduces the risk of water contamination affecting the Arctic and its natural beauty.”

SERVICEMAX LAUNCHES INDUSTRY’S FIRST CONNECTED FIELD SERVICE SOLUTION ServiceMax Harnesses IoT Connecting Technicians and Products to Deliver Profitable Service ServiceMax, the leading field service management solution for a new era of business, today announced the launch of Connected Field Service, the field service industry’s first complete Internet of Things (IoT) solution. Connected Field Service (CFS) is the first product to seamlessly integrate IoT machine data with a field service delivery system, providing service professionals and technicians with real-time proactive information about field assets, delivered via the cloud to their mobile devices. As manufacturers and service providers continue to emphasize the need for proactivity in field service, the solution will be the essential framework for delivering more intelligent and agile service, transforming how technicians operate in the field while improving the quality of service they’re able to provide.

performance and uptime, allowing them to sell services, and not products, in-line with the outcome-based model.

Connected Field Service, an offering from ServiceMax that leverages the PTC ThingWorx® IoT platform, enables ‘smart’ machines to initiate service requests, introduces new tools for remote service, and displays real-time machine data to service professionals and, when combined with additional PTC Service Lifecycle Management solutions, provides technicians with connected diagnostics and contextual repair procedures via mobile devices. As part of the offering, ServiceMax is also announcing the availability of ProductIQ, a new feature in the ServiceMax Mobile suite for iPad and Laptops. ProductIQ provides ServiceMax customers a simple and clear mobile window into smart device details and records in-field activities. By transforming service delivery with real-time machine data and intelligent service tools, manufacturers can better guarantee asset

“Together, PTC and ServiceMax are enabling manufacturers and service organizations to create new value for their customers through enhanced service offerings and the sale of outcomes,” said Jim Heppelmann, President and CEO of PTC. “Connected Field Service leverages our complementary technology offerings and a shared vision for the transformation of service made possible by the Internet of Things, bringing an array of new capabilities to technicians in the field and powering increased efficiency and profitability at multiple stages of the service lifecycle.”

“We wanted to leverage the power of IoT to strengthen our platform for delivering flawless field service to our customers,” said Dave Yarnold, CEO of ServiceMax, “Connected Field Service lets you know immediately when something has failed or is about to fail, and automatically dispatches the necessary technician with the right knowledge and the right parts to repair the machine and eliminate unplanned downtime. The real-time window gives our customers the opportunity to drive higher customer satisfaction, opens up new opportunities for outcome-based service offerings, and ultimately drives profitable service.”

Connected Field Service recognizes that the trajectory of the field service industry needs to match that of the manufacturing industry. As manufacturers are more inclined to sell outcomes not products, the technicians delivering these outcomes need to move from a reactive servicing to

a proactive and predictive model. The CFS solution offers service professionals and technicians predictive insights into the products they are servicing, underscoring ServiceMax’s ongoing commitment to deliver the most advanced capabilities to its customers. “In our line of work, asset uptime is crucial. The ability to create real time reports straight from the machine and deliver to our technicians is very powerful,” said Daniel Kingham, Program Director at Elekta.

“This feature alone will differentiate us from our competitors, delivering proactive and highly productive service to our customers around the globe. Ultimately, Connected Field Service allows us to transform our business and create loyal customers.” “With so much new technology available in IoT point solutions, one of the main challenges our members are seeing is how to make sense of it all and put it to use,” said John Ragsdale, VP of Technology Research, Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA).

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Connected Field Service solution from ServiceMax and PTC is the first solution we have seen that addresses this problem head-on. They have delivered the first pre-integrated suite that can provide a seamless view of real-time machine data, right in the context of where it is needed most -- the delivery of service in the field.â&#x20AC;? ServiceMax leads the massive global industry of field service management software -- an $18 billion market worldwide. The company continues to reimagine and create solutions for the 20 million people globally who install, maintain, and repair machines across dozens of industries as the only provider of complete end-to end mobile and cloud-based technology for the sector. ServiceMax goes to every length -- from joining technicians on service calls to publishing the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading online publication -- to help customers discover untapped innovation, unleash new revenue streams, drive efficiency, and most importantly delight their end-customer. To learn more, please visit www.servicemax.com.

NEW ERA FOR VOLANTE TECHNOLOGIES Volante Technologies strengthens its sales operations with new hires in response to increased market interest in VolPay suite of products Volante Technologies Inc., a global leader in the provision of software for the integration, processing and orchestration of financial messages and payments, today announced key new sales appointments. Rick Salk joins Volante as Global Head of Sales. Additionally, Nihit Ahuja, Ali Mentesh, Vidya Subramaniam and Peter Martin join as Sales Directors. Nihit, Ali and Vidya will be based in Volante’s London City office while Peter is based in Volante’s Dubai office. 2015 saw the launch of the VolPay suite of products designed to enable Volante’s customers to benefit from improved business agility in the on-boarding, integration and orchestration of payments processing. Increased market interest in Volante’s VolPay suite, has necessitated the need for a significantly enhanced sales operation. Rick Salk joins from Misys Banking Systems in the US where he was a key member of the sales team for more than twenty years and was most recently, Director North America. At Volante, Rick will be based at Volante’s Headquarters in Jersey City and will oversee the further development and expansion of Volante’s global sales operations. Rick reports into Vijay Oddiraju, Chief Executive Officer, Volante Technologies. Nihit Ahuja joins from Fundtech (now D+H), the firm he was with for more than ten years ending his tenure in the role of Senior Sales Manager – UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa. Ali Mentesh joins from FIS where he was responsible for bringing end-to-end payments solutions and financial supply

chain propositions to market. Prior to FIS, Ali was at ACI and Visa. Vidya Subramaniam, also joins with over fifteen years’ experience of account development in Investment Banking in senior business and account development roles at Syntel and Polaris. Nihit, Ali and Vidya’s responsibilities will focus across the UK and European region. Peter Martin joins Volante from Misys Middle East where he was responsible for account management and new business development. Peter will be focusing on new business development within the Middle East. Vijay Oddiraju, CEO, Volante Technologies, commented, “We are experiencing a clear and growing appetite for our VolPay suite of payment integration and processing products which is reflected in the need to expand our sales team. The fact that executives of the calibre of Rick, Nihit, Ali, Vidya and Peter are attracted to Volante, I see as testament to the progress we continue to make in the payments space. I look forward to their contribution towards our growth plans in the coming years.” Rick Salk, Global Head of Sales, Volante Technologies, added,

“I have followed Volante for some time now and their experience in the field of financial message integration

and processing is abundantly clear to me as market leading. The launch of the VolPay suite in 2015 and understanding how it could positively contribute to the payments industry is a compelling and exciting proposition for me. I look forward to developing and growing Volante’s global sales operations to enable the market to take full advantage of Volante’s products.”