Digital Innovation Magazine - February 2020 by iThink Media

Martijn Teuben on the changing needs of the company’s growing customer base

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust’s Group Chief Digital Officer, Glenn Winteringham, talks digital maturity

Takes part in our Q&A

23 - 24 March 2020 | Copenhagen

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Opportunities in data and AI

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elcome to our first magazine of 2020! It’s set to be a very exciting year for the team at iThink Media, with the launch of our sister publication, CHAIN, as well as fresh, new talent joining our organisation… Watch this space! In the meantime, we are delighted to bring you our actionpacked February edition, boasting two exclusive interviews to kick off the year in style! First up is Glenn Winteringham, Group Chief Digital Officer at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (p6). Glenn has worked in the NHS for the last three decades, so it was fascinating to hear him talk candidly about the trust’s Chase Farm Hospital, the most digitally advanced hospital within the NHS. It was also a privilege for me to chat to Martijn Teuben, CIO at leading European logistics provider, Verbrugge International (p52). Verbrugge is a company with an interesting history, so I was keen to discover how it is evolving to meet the changing needs of its customers. What’s more, the year ahead marks many unique milestones in today’s digital landscape, so we explore the ongoing roll-out of 5G (p42), the current most in-demand tech jobs for 2020 (p84), the anticipated rise in UK quantum computing investment over the next five years (p76), as well as the present-day position on AI and its use in military warfare (p108)… It’s certainly a momentous time for European technology! Enjoy the issue!

Editor Anna McMahon

Director Danielle Harris

editorial@digitalinnovationeu.com

d.harris@ithink.media

Senior Digital Designer Daniel May

Director Tom Barnes

design@digitalinnovationeu.com

t.barnes@ithink.media

+44 (0) 203 890 1189 enquiries@digitalinnovationeu.com All rights reserved. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in Digital Innovation Magazine. However, the company cannot accept responsibility for the claims made by advertisers or contributors, or inaccurate material supplied by advertisers. Digital Innovation is a trading name of iThink Media Ltd. Company Registration Number: 10933897. Company Registered in England and Wales

Martijn Teuben, V champion

Google’s latest life-saving AI project

6 Meet Glenn Winteringham, Group Chief Digital Officer at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust O2 boosts its UK 5G footprint 4

UK inves computing

Verbrugge’s CIO, ns flexibility The most in-demand tech jobs of 2020

stment in quantum g is expected to rocket

108

The use of AI in military warfare

132

This month’s start-up is deep tech company, iSize

Applying IoT technology to emergency communications 5

B U S I N E S S I N T E RV I E W

Glenn Winteringh Digital Officer at th NHS Foundation Tr organisation’s ever-evo

Written by Anna McMahon •

ham, Group Chief he Royal Free London rust, discusses the olving digital maturity.

• Produced by Danielle Harris

Glenn Winteringham has a long history within the NHS, having first joined over 30 years ago, initially as an information analyst. e has held various roles over the years including Head of Information at Central Middlesex Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, before working as an IT contractor and IT director at various trusts from 1998 to 2011. Glenn came back into the NHS in 2011 and joined the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) in 2017 as Chief Information Officer. He is now the RFL Group Chief Digital Officer. So, to say Glenn has seen a few changes in the digital landscape of the NHS over the years would be putting it mildly. He says, “I remember my very first desktop computer with a floppy disc drive and very little RAM. It is

completely different now, of course, with all the advanced computing power in mobile devices.” Glenn is responsible for all digital services at the three main acute hospitals and two community hospitals within the RFL group. This includes everything from

Glenn Winteringham

digital transformation, patient systems and IT infrastructure, to telecommunications, information governance, information management and clinical coding.

We were able to spend £20million to pump prime our two-year digital transformation programme Glenn Winteringham He explains, “My role is very much as an interface between understanding the clinical and operational demands and the implementation of digital solutions to meet those requirements. You have got to have a good technical knowledge, know how the NHS works, an understanding of both clinical workflows and operational management, excellent listening skills, and 10

the ability to work as part of a team to problem solve. It requires a very broad set of skills, but the key part is being able to understand what the clinicians are trying to do and translate that into user requirements for the technical team to implement solutions. It has been an incredible couple of years, successfully implementing our Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme of work with the full support of our clinicians and Trust board. “The jewel in the crown of our GDE programme has been opening the new Chase Farm Hospital, which is our flagship ‘digital’ hospital.” Glenn says Chase Farm Hospital is now being recognised as one of the most digitally advanced hospitals in the NHS, becoming only the third to achieve HIMSS EMRAM stage 6. He explains, “I feel hugely privileged to work here. It is an amazing organisation. We continue to go through huge change and transformation. It is refreshing and liberating for 11

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Chase Farm Hospital is now being recognised as one of the most digitally advanced hospitals in the NHS

me to report to a clinician (the Group Chief Medical Officer, Dr Chris Streather) because this means everything is clinically-led. IT is now seen as part of clinical care, rather than as a back-office service. After all, our only reason for being is to support care delivery, improve outcomes and enhance both the patient and staff experience. “Chase Farm Hospital is now totally digital, with the only paper being the patient

consent forms, which must be signed and scanned into their record.” All patient orders, results, electronic prescribing, medicines administration, vital signs and clinical documentation are captured in the trust’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR). Glenn adds, “The GDE programme was established to identify a number of organisations which had

the potential to advance their digital maturity. GDEs were awarded £10million in government funding, which we had to match locally. We were able to spend £20million to pump prime our twoyear digital transformation programme. The funding allowed us to employ 11 clinical informatics leads, who were key to engaging with our clinicians, as a well as a number of specialist technical, programme and change management roles. Changing the culture is perhaps the hardest thing to do and to try to persuade clinicians to change the way they work by demonstrating how the EPR enables them to deliver better, faster, safer care.” One of the trust’s key goals is to reduce unwarranted clinical variation to address the quadruple aim of improving care and outcomes, enhancing patient and staff experience and reducing cost. The trust has

established a whole change programme called Clinical Practice Groups (CPGs) to design, develop, test and implement standardised care pathways. Glenn explains, “We have created four clinical practice groups aligned to our clinical divisions, with over 600 clinicians across RFL, other local NHS Trusts, and we have engaged with patients so they are at the heart of the pathway design. The clinicians follow a methodology to identify unwarranted variation in the current workflows and then co-design the optimal patient pathway, which is then tested on paper to identify any issues, and once it is signed off, it is digitised into the EPR. When a patient is assigned to a pathway, it will automatically order all the relevant tests and tasks to standardise the care. We have been live on our new EPR for one year and have 20 pathways digitised and we have seen some really positive clinical benefits already in

One of the trust’s key goals is to reduce unwarranted clinical variation to address the quadruple aim of improving care and outcomes, enhancing patient and staff experience and reducing cost

Over the next tw a very ambitious an transformation pro to merge our two s of Millennium onto EPR across the RF another 40 CPGs to c of our caseload, ac stage 7 at Chase F for both Barne the Royal Fr

wo years, we have nd exciting digital ogramme which aims separate instances a single integrated FL Group, digitise cover 70-80 per cent chieve HIMSS EMRAM Farm and stage 6 et Hospital and ree Hospital

terms of standardising care and outcomes, reduced length of stay, and reduced costs.” The trust has worked with a number of strategic partners to delivers its GDE programme. Glenn adds, “We have been working with Google Health to develop an app called Streams, which sends real-time push alerts for deteriorating patients with Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). This has dramatically improved the care for these patients during these golden hours, and the peer review was published in Nature Digital Medicine last year, showing the median time for an alert reduced from hours to 14 minutes in the Emergency Department (ED) and a cost reduction of over £2,000 per episode. We were very proud to have won the Health Service Journal Patient Safety Award in the deteriorating patients category last year for Streams.” The team has worked with Intouch With Health to transform the outpatient experience. Glenn says, “At Chase Farm Hospital, we have reduced down from 13 outpatient reception desks and 28 staff to one central concierge with three staff by 20

The trust also partners with Canon who provide its managed print service across RFL

ROYAL FREE LONDON REDUCED THEIR PRINT FLEET BY 1,000 DEVICES “I wanted to highlight how excellent the support has been from Canon before and during go-live. Thanks again to the team for the Gold service.”

Canon is the leading provider of Managed Print and Document Services in Western Europe*. We optimise how you work with documents, giving your staff and patients the best working and visit experience possible.

Monica Ralhan, Head of Service Delivery Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

See the bigger picture *IDC 2019

implementing patient selfservice check-in kiosks where you scan the barcode on your letter. It marks you as attending and directs you to the correct location for your appointment. Doctors now call patients into the consulting room using a digital screen in the waiting area, and we now have 100 per cent electronic outcoming of the appointments, as it is done in real time in the consultation. 22

“Another key partner has been Ascom, who provide our digital nurse communication platform. This allows patients to talk directly from their bed with their named nurse who carries a mobile device, saving time for direct patient care, and a much better patient experience. Using Ascom has saved the trust the cost of employing an additional 13 nurses, which would have been required to care for the patients now in 50 sole

occupancy rooms at Chase Farm Hospital. The mobile devices also allow the nurses to communicate directly with each other and access apps like the perfect ward, British National Formulary (BNF) and vital signs monitoring.” One of the biggest complaints from clinicians is the long times to log in to multiple IT systems. The trust has worked with Imprivata to implement single sign-on. Glenn explains,

“At Chase Farm Hospital, logging in with Imprivata will sign you into multiple applications on a single signon. What that means is you can use your card to rapidly tap in and tap out, which improves the information governance, as your record is not available to anyone else when you log out and you can automatically use your card to log back in again later. What used to take many minutes now takes seconds.” 23

The trust also partners with Canon who provide its managed print service across RFL, reducing the printer fleet by over 1,000 devices. Glenn adds, “At Chase Farm, we no longer do much printing, but when we prescribe drugs, a wet signature is still required. However, we do still print large volumes of paper at our other hospitals, and Canon provided excellent support during our go-live. “I’ve been working with Draper & Dash for a number

of years, as they provide dashboards of our activity, providing self-service access to data for our clinicians and operational managers. For example, they can see who is in the emergency department (ED) at any given time, how long they have been waiting, whether they are about to breach, and if they do, the reason why. It offers a near real-time view across our departments. We have ED, inpatient, day case, outpatient patient safety, medicines

We are also implementing Cerner’s population health management solution

we are leading the way on the implementation of a Health Information Exchange (HIE) to start sharing patient data to enable all health and social care providers to view records in near real time 26

optimisation, imaging, and we are looking to develop dashboards for workforce and finance so we can correlate with the activity data.” So, what’s next for the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust? Glenn says, “Over the next two years, we have a very ambitious and exciting digital transformation programme which aims to merge our two separate instances of Millennium onto a single integrated EPR across the RFL Group, digitise another 40 CPGs to cover 70-80 per cent of our caseload, achieve HIMSS EMRAM stage 7 at Chase Farm and stage 6 for both Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. Across the North Central London Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (NCL STP), we are leading the way on the implementation of a Health Information Exchange (HIE) to start sharing patient data to enable all health and social care providers

to view records in near real time. “At the moment, our clinicians are flying blind. What they see is the information available within your organisation, but they don’t see GP records in real time; they have to ring them up and wait for a response which causes delays. “We also have no information on medical history such as medication, allergies or mental health. This is a game-changer by providing access to a patient record on demand to deliver improved care and outcomes. We are also implementing Cerner’s population health management solution, Healtheintent, across NCL STP to enable us to transform patient care by identifying cohorts of patients using disease registers to proactively work with them to live healthier lives. For example, using patient monitoring devices for chronic conditions, and thereby reducing acute admissions to hospital.” 27

A RT I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

REC

A WALK O WILD

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2h45m

ON THE D SIDE Google’s latest AI project could literally be a life-saver for wildlife conservation.

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AROUND THE WORLD, BIOLOGISTS AND CONSERVATIONISTS HAVE THEIR HARD DRIVES STUFFED WITH MILLIONS OF CAMERA TRAP PHOTOS. oing through them can be both laborious and time-consuming, but a new program – a partnership between Google and several conservation organisations – simplifies the process by making use of AI. With the launch of Wildlife Insights, an online portal with more than 4.5 million photos dating back to 1990, anyone, anywhere can access the photos and

REC pinpoint the location of wildlife. The site also gives the opportunity for collaborators to drop their own camera trap images in order to map wildlife across the globe and grow the database.

for researchers on tasks such as inputting data into a spreadsheet. Jorge Ahumada, Executive Director of Wildlife Insights at Conservation

One of the major benefits of Wildlife Insights is the machine learning aspect that helps to analyse 3.6 million photos in an hour, saving a lot of time

Wildlife Insight analyses photos in an hour 1920 x 1080 32

1h45m International, said, “All they have to do now is upload a set of images and let the Googlecreated artificial intelligence

system do the rest, including flag blank images that sometimes make up most of the camera trap data. “The only main data point conservationists may have to add are the GPS coordinates for specific camera traps, as most of these cameras aren’t yet fitted with their own GPS system.” Free from the tedium of data entry, conservation scientists will now have more time and resources to easily analyse and discover trends in species population size, predator-prey relationships, and how animals may be responding to human disturbances such as hunting. Jorge added, “It’s a very intimate look into the behaviour and the ecology of these animals that you would not get unless you spend hours and hours and hours hiding

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1h33m

Having a lot of data is not the goal. The data is a means to the end, and the end is conservation. The conservation of wildlife is essential to our own survival Jorge Ahumada Executive Director of Wildlife Insights at Conservation International

REC in the forest with a camera, which most people cannot do and is very expensive.” What’s more, the new program could also help researchers to identify species in the photos, which they had to previously input manually. It is now trained to accurately identify around 100 of them. The team, which includes Conservation International, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, World Wildlife Fund, and Zoological Society of London, among others, accomplished this by inputting around 8.4 million images into the program, initially to help train the AI to recognise different animals.

The goal is that with each new photo added, the software will become more sophisticated. For instance, Wildlife Insights currently lacks data on Australian wildlife. Once camera trap data from that region enters the program, the team will first manually identify animals, training the AI to recognise the species the next time. This matters because the extinction crisis is real. A million species face potential extinction in the coming decades. The new data and AI technology are among a suite of useful tools for creating potentially beneficial conservation measures.

Browsing through the animals already identified on the database showcases the wide array of wildlife that exists on our planet, and their survival depends on us 1920 x 1080 36

1h12m

REC Although, so far, the program remains in beta mode, the ultimate goal is for the website to support hundreds of users uploading photos at once. Browsing through the animals already identified on the database showcases the wide array of wildlife that exists on our

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0h47m planet, and their survival depends on us. Jorge concluded, “Having a lot of data is not the goal. The data is a means to the end, and the end is conservation. The conservation of wildlife is essential to our own survival.” For further information on the project, visit www.blog.google

5G NEWS

Spreads i

The telecommun provider has 5G footprint to with more o

its Wings

nications services s boosted its o 20 UK cities, on the way.

O2 has started 2020 on a strong foot. Having made 5G more readily available, from 7 UK cities to 20, it has now enabled 5G hotspots in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Norwich, Bristol, Derby and Stoke.

his follows the initial launch in October 2019 in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Leeds, plus O2’s headquarters in Slough, and the November 2019 roll-out to Leicester and Lisburn. This has significantly expanded the reach of the service, which means the company is currently on track with its plans, but it is not stopping there. O2 has previously stated its aim to bring 5G to a total of 50 locations by 45

the summer of 2020, and next in line are reportedly Windsor, Eton, Reading, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Guilford, all of which O2 claims to be hoping to commence roll-out in by the end of March. Derek McManus, COO at Telefónica UK, said, “We were incredibly proud to switch on our 5G network in October, and it is brilliant to hit our target of 20 towns and cities connected to our next-generation network as we head into 2020. Our range of tariffs make it easy and fair for customers to access 5G, with flexible plans that cost no more than 4G.

5G N

“I believe 5G is going to revolutionise the way people

“To make sure you get 5G where it most, we’ll be targeting transpo key business areas and entertainm and sports venues, including The Twickenham Stadium

De CO 46

NEWS

you need ort hubs, ment O2 and

erek McManus, OO at Telefónica UK

and businesses use mobile connectivity, unlocking huge possibilities for our economy and society. We’re excited about getting it into the hands of our customers across the UK, and continuing to work with our partners to help shape the future of 5G for the next generation.” But, while O2 is making a big 5G push, if you are not ready to make the move, you won’t be left behind. The company claims to be investing over £2 million every day in strengthening its 4G network. 47

Southampton, Sunderland, Warrington, Windsor and Wolverhampton. “To make sure you get 5G where you need it most, we’ll be targeting transport hubs, key business areas and entertainment and sports venues, including The O2 and Twickenham

5G N

That said, 5G remains a priority. With its range of 5G phones, plus its offering of 5G at no premium, O2 certainly appears to be an attractive network for its customers. According to its UK website, O2 says, “We’re currently busy planning our 5G roll-out in the following: Aberdeen, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Brighton, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Eton, Guildford, Hove, Kingston upon Hull, Luton, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Northampton, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading,

“With its ran its offering of certainly appe network for

Stadium. We’ll also be working with major UK businesses including Network Rail and Northumbrian Water Group to help build the 5G economy.” There’s plenty of competition from other mobile giants though. So far, BT Group owned EE is the only

NEWS

nge of 5G phones, plus f 5G at no premium, O2 ears to be an attractive r its customers” operator with 5G available in 50 locations. These numbers don’t tell the whole story, as coverage within a location will vary, but EE certainly looks to have the clear lead – at least for now. And with O2 hot on the heels of the UK’s first 5G operator, it will be fascinating to watch the mobile operator further extends its reach in 2020. For more information on O2, visit www.o2.co.uk 49

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B U S I N E S S I N T E RV I E W

Martijn Teuben is CIO at leading European logistics provider, Verbrugge International. Here, Martijn explains why change is necessary to ensure the best possible outcome for the business and its customers.

Written by Anna McMahon Produced by Jennifer Davies 53

Having started life over 60 years ago as a transport company, Verbrugge remains a key player in today’s international breakbulk and bulk logistics. ext to the terminal in Terneuzen (The Netherlands), and with two terminals in Vlissingen (The Netherlands), the company has around 250 trucks on the European roads each day. Aside from its terminal and distribution services, Verbrugge also offers a full range of in-house supportive services such as short and deep sea chartering, port and cargo shipping agency and customs services, along with over one million square metres of warehouse space plus large outdoor areas.

Martijn Teuben is responsible for Verbrugge’s digital strategy while leading the general IT and communications department, software development, security and innovation, as a member of the executive committee led by CEO Martin Verbrugge. Martijn says, “As member of the ‘ExCom’, my goal is continuous alignment between strategy on IT and the business strategy. If you take a look at our company, we aim to adjust to our customers’ requirements as much as possible. Like 55

more often in our industry, we had a lot of legacy systems that were very labour-intensive to maintain and not as adaptive as we would have liked, in order to keep on serving our customers who require more direct insights and greater flexibility. The current ERA is incomparable to one or two decades ago, so you can’t hold on to old setups if you want to lead your industry. The future leaders are the ones that are most adaptable to changing environments and circumstances.” This shift in customer requirements means change is necessary to enable Verbrugge to continue to serve them, and a more innovative digital environment needs to come into play to help redress the balance. Martijn explains, “We are

very flexible when it comes to our customers and the spectrum of products we handle, which is our strength, but it also presents a number of challenges from a legacy perspective. First priority is creating a ‘minimum viable’ landscape within the next two to three years to empower the organisation. During the successive years we’ll be focusing on optimising the full landscape based on business experience and requirements. All together a great challenge that IT addresses together with business stakeholders from all organisational layers. We are a company in transition, not only in terms of our digital transformation, but as a company as a whole.”

SeVen Changing Pillars

safety

Innovation

Digital Transformation

Business Development

People

Communications

Finance

Ricoh Business Center and Verbrugge: successful implementation of digital change strategy Over the past few decades, logistics service provider Verbrugge International has undergone significant growth. With this growth, the internal processes – including incoming invoices and procurement – have become increasingly complex. Currently, these processes are mostly done by hand. Perfect timing for far-reaching digitization! With Ricoh Business Center, Verbrugge found a knowledgeable partner for implementing the comprehensive digitization of its information logistics processes over the coming years. The partnership with Ricoh Business Center fits perfectly with the broader digitization strategy currently being implemented throughout the Verbrugge organization. Head of Procurement Joost Visser and Chief Information Officer Martijn Teuben turned to Ricoh to improve the internal information logistics processes.

The challenge Visser: “We are a family-owned business with a passion for logistics. But, we’re behind best-in-class benchmarks when it comes to digitization. We know we are able to improve our effectiveness through digitization. Additional goals cover needs such as: increased efficiency, better process insights and compliancy alignment.

We have included these goals in our digital change strategy. Digital solutions will really make a big difference for our organization. The first project has been the digitization of incoming invoice processing. Until now, on an annual basis, we were processing anything up to 70.000 invoices by hand.”

A fruitful partnership Joost Visser came in contact with Ricoh Business Center and Marco Verwoert through a shared relation. Visser: “We were looking for a new purchasing system and chose S4Financials. After discussing our wishes with S4 Financials owner Marcel Blanken, it was clear we needed more than just a purchasing system. He advised us to talk with Verwoert at Ricoh Business Center.” “Already during the very first meeting, there was a business click. Their approach and way of working really appealed to us. Together, we pinpointed our challenges, after which Ricoh came up with a number of fitting solutions. Ricoh helps us with thinking out-of-the-box, advises on a broad set of issues and, where necessary, provides valuable feedback. There are many people out there who can tell you

what should be done, but only a few who can successfully link advice to fruitful execution. Their digitization of our incoming invoices was the proof of concept. It’s all been implemented as promised.”

Blueprint for further digitization Ricoh advised Verbrugge to opt for a custom-made solution, rather than an off-the-shelf one. Marco Verwoert, Ricoh Business Center’s director and owner, considers this solution a strong basis for a long-term collaboration. “The processes that we’re digitizing right now, will serve as a blueprint for the next step: the digitization of all of Verbrugge’s information logistics. In fact, what we’re putting in place is an innovative solution that meets all of Verbrugge’s digital needs and requirements. It will help kickstart the further digitization process and drive continuous improvement,” Verwoert explains. He adds: “But, we have ample attention for Verbrugge employees. We know that change isn’t always easy. Our consultants are key in this respect: they play a significant role in supporting Verbrugge and its employees in this change. Such support is something that is often

overlooked, but essential for achieving a successful transformation.”

The digital future The first results have already been achieved. Visser: “Thanks to digital invoice processing, our efficiency has doubled, and our lead time has been slashed back by over 60%! What’s more, we now have insight into the status of invoices anytime and anywhere. These results will give our organization a great boost and will help us becoming a digitally future-proof company. We, our employees and our customers will benefit greatly from this transformation!”

Do you want to digitalize even further? If, like Verbrugge’s Joost Visser, you are curious to know what digitization could mean for your company, feel free to contact Marco Verwoert at Ricoh Business Center. Call him on +31 (0)6 55 742 732 or send him an email at marco.verwoert@ricohbusinesscenter.nl

with Ricoh, we implement smart printing & scanning hardware and RPA, which stands for Robotic Process Automation Martijn Teuben CIO Verbrugge is currently running the final year of its ‘Project 20’, which is named after the year 2020, in which the company is looking to achieve results built around seven changing pillars. Martijn says, “Working on Project 20 requires a lot of change management. One of the great things about this company is that our employees show real loyalty, but this also means we do not have many people who are used to change or have experience in other companies, so there is only one known route for them available. That’s understandable, but it can also slow down change. By involving key and end users from the beginning, we aim for best possible engagement 60

and naturally growing ownership and accountability. We’re facing this challenge together and everyone should feel invited and involved during the journey. That’s something that has to be guided, so change management is a primary key to success.” For Verbrugge’s IT, the past two years were marked by

restructuring the department, implementing the agile methodology, expanding resources, designing the digital roadmap, finding the right partners and taking many decisions. Asked about the toughest decision, Martijn answers, “For me, it is not about tough decisions, but about the impact they make. Looking at the digital landscape, for me, it has to be reliable, adaptive and sustainable. From that perspective, we aimed to prevent vendor lockin and also decided not to go for an off-the-shelf ERP-system, but for a hybrid and API-driven ERP environment. We internally build our operational core applications and communication layer, alongside off-the-shelf and SaaS applications for all primary and secondary supporting business services. It’s not the easiest road, but it provides us full control, ultimate flexibility,

Everything we DO should be adding value Martijn Teuben CIO

Streamline logistics from door to door.

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phased implementations and continuous business alignment to support optimal adoption. I challenged my team to become the favourite department of the organisation!” In supporting its digital transformation, Verbrugge is working closely with several key partners, each bringing something different to the table. Martijn explains, “As I said before, we

We needed extra insights, and Salesforce really helps us to get things better aligned implemented the agile methodology for software development. Personally, I prefer the pragmatic approach over theoretical training sessions and ‘nagging’ coaches. Sometimes you have to run into the right partner, like I did with Cohesion on this subject. We had an initial meeting with them about software landscapes and development strategies, but we quickly mutually agreed on changing the objectives of the meeting. Their internal lead for their experience lab showed off his great approach towards agile and was already using his experience to help one 65

of the large Dutch banks. This was the guy we were looking for. He assisted us on the agile implementation in 2018, and last month (January 2020), he re-joined us for at least another six months to fulfil the role of scrum master and coach our new business analyst to become product owner. Also, Cohesion’s expertise on continuous development & integration and automated testing helps us to improve our delivery, reliability and quality.”

code framework. Martijn says, “We are aiming to halve our yearly prints within five years. Together with Ricoh, we implement smart printing & scanning hardware and RPA, which stands for Robotic Process Automation. RPA is able to automate many manual processes, as long as they can be defined by parameters and dependencies. We started to automate procurement invoice authorisation and sales invoicing processes, so that they run automatically instead of manually for the greatest part.

Verbrugge is partnering with Ricoh for its hardware and RPA, as well as Thinkwise for its low

“Thinkwise is another company with a great product. At the time when we decided to build our

We transfer Infra, Code and Mindset. As an IT consultancy company, we deliver knowledge on how to automate the IT infrastructure of the top 500 companies in The Netherlands. We automate the infra, from code to production. The most important and difficult step is mindset. IT and management need to come out of their comfort zone and be openminded about the new reality. What we have always wanted to achieve is IT in line with business, and finally the tools are there to realise this. We are here to help.

www.cohesion.nl

core ourselves, we also wanted to accelerate our software development at a quick pace. We found that the way for us to do it was with low code software, which enables development teams to build software based on a standardised framework instead of continuous deep

coding themselves. Quick development by using building blocks, integrated secure-bydesign and easy cross platform deployment have helped us to accelerate technically.” The final partner Martijn mentions is Salesforce, with which Verbrugge

Cohesion’s expertise on continuous development & integration and automated testing helps us to improve our delivery, reliability and quality 67

enjoys a young but fruitful relationship. He adds, “When we looked at our commercial department, we tended to do things traditionally on spreadsheets with the occasional email to each other. As a result, noone was fully aware of what was going on, which made it very difficult to look to the future. We needed extra insights, and Salesforce really helps us to get things better aligned. The commercial team has been recently restructured and is now ready to get Salesforce implemented to maximise its potential for our business.” In terms of data management, Martijn is not one for generating data for data’s sake. He explains, “Everything we do should add value. For me, the key principle is to have a single entry, exactly when, where and by whom activity is executed. Manual executions may involve manual input if necessary, but automatic data entry generation by digital triggers is the standard. That way, data can be viewed as trustworthy and being used as baseline for successive processes. In the end, all relevant data from within 68

the full landscape will be synced to our data warehouse to present real strategic insights that will impact the company’s decision-making. Logistics is a market that is changing, and changing at a fast rate. To be just as flexible as the market, as well as our customers, is of huge importance to us.” And by continuing to innovate, this offers one way in which

During 2020, we will also have two teams of five masters students from Rotterdam Business School, who will perform research and present proposals on warehouse robotics Martijn and his team are able to keep up with the ever-evolving logistics market, something that Verbrugge isn’t alone in doing. He explains, “I represent Verbrugge within the Steering Committee of Zeeland Connect, a triple helix platform that brings companies, education and government together to jointly face challenges, explore opportunities

and innovate. Representing a large consortium, we received subsidies regarding autonomous driving, zero emission and the Dare to Share initiative. With Verbrugge, we are also part of a consortium that applies for a European subsidy for a ‘5G blueprint’ project towards a digital environment with less latency and more available bandwidth. “In addition, we are working with students from the

Thinkwise is another company with a great product HZ University of Applied Sciences on implementing digital shipping documents and communications. During 2020, we will also have two teams of five masters students from Rotterdam Business School, who will perform research and present proposals on warehouse robotics. This will give us a minimum of two different ways in which we can use robotics in our warehouses to increase efficiency, speed and safety. Fontys is the other educational institute with a student performing his final internship placement with

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START YOUR TRIAL 71

In order to achieve the goals we have set for in the next couple of years, we need to keep the organisation-wide commitment on our IT-strategy

us, focused on algorithm creation based on data analytics.” On the subject of the position of IT, Martijn concludes, “I am very pleased with the commitment shown by the ExCom. They have shown trust in my approach and support the IT strategy, and you need a company to see the importance of IT to be able to reach its goals. On the

other hand, my IT team now has no excuses not to deliver, but I am proud of their ability to change so far, and I am convinced they will deliver solutions to be proud of. Why are we going to be successful? It’s all about cross-functional alignment and working together to find solutions that meet the needs of more than one department. It is also very important to have the right stakeholders in the company who support the approach. In order to achieve the goals we have set for the next couple of years, we need to keep the organisation-wide commitment on our IT-strategy.” For further information on Verbrugge International, visit www.verbruggeinternational.com Keep an eye out for a new website launching in 2020!

Q UA N T U M CO M P U T I N G

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THE NUMBER OF UK BU IN QUANTUM COMPU THREE-FOLD OVER TH ACCORDING TO THE R OF BUSINESSES BY A CONFEDERATION OF BR he survey asked businesses about their investment plans over the next few years and found that quantum computing was the sector with the most momentum in terms of the share of companies that plan on investing who do not already do so. One in three businesses in the study said that they planned

USINESSES INVESTING UTING WILL INCREASE HE NEXT FIVE YEARS, RESULTS OF A SURVEY ACCENTURE AND THE RITISH INDUSTRY (CBI). to invest in quantum computing over the coming five years, a three-fold increase from the number that currently invest. The businesses in the survey were from a variety of sectors and of varying sizes. The results imply that investment into quantum computing is at a turning point in the UK. Quantum computing is currently in its early stages,

THE ENTHUSIASM TECHNOLOGY SHO STUDY SUPPORTS THAT THE SECTOR W RAPIDLY IN 2020 A

but, ultimately, has the potential to dramatically speed up complex calculations, with quantum supercomputers able to quickly complete tasks that would take thousands of years for an ordinary computer.

Quantum Industry will be worth

$2-5 billion

The enthusiasm for the technology shown by the study supports predictions that the sector will grow rapidly in 2020 and beyond.

in five years’ time

One analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasts that the quantum industry will be worth $2-5billion in five years’ time, and will hit $50billion within the next decade.

Venture capital investment into quantum has been dominated by US companies so far, but the past year has started to see a trickle of investment rounds into European start-ups. One example is Finnish start-up, IQM, which recently raised €11.5million to use building the hardware for quantum computing.

FOR THE OWN BY THE PREDICTIONS WILL GROW AND BEYOND

Meanwhile, in the UK, Cambridge Quantum Computing has raised substantial funds – a total of €59.6million. Another Cambridge-based start-up, Riverlane, has raised €4million to date to work on a quantum-powered simulation engine for virtual lab-testing. 81

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TOP 10

We uncover the most in-demand tech jobs for 2020. From data scientists and data specialists, to engineers and developers, the battle for the best IT talent wages. As companies scramble to adapt to a tight IT job market, they

are doing whatever they can to attract top tech talent. So, what are this year’s most in-demand roles? According to Robert Half Technology’s 2020 IT salary report, there are 10 in total.

Business intelligence analyst BI analysts need experience in database technology, analytics and reporting tools. Businesses typically look for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems or 86

engineering. You ideally want someone with the skills to understand the organisation’s unique data needs and then communicate those to stakeholders. It is a role with growing importance as businesses pivot from harvesting to making sense of data.

AI architect In 2020, companies will be on the hunt for skilled workers to help meet the demand for AI-enabled products and services. Most companies look for an AI architect who has at least a master’s degree in computer science, data science or AI, as well as past experience working in data or analytics. Candidates

with knowledge of machine learning, natural language processing, AI integration, AI application programming and change management experience are in high demand. You want an AI architect who can understand the technical concepts, but it is also important that they have the communication skills to help get leadership on board.

Data specialist Data specialists are in high demand as companies are banking more data than ever before. Companies need data scientists, analysts and engineers to help store, sort and analyse data collected by the organisation. Data can be highly sensitive, so it is important to have knowledgeable workers who can make use of valuable data without putting the 88

company at risk. Depending on the role, candidates range from those with a bachelor’s in computer science or data science, to those with a PhD and extensive programming experience. When hiring data specialists, the skills and experience will also depend on the industry and the size, scope and specifics of the company’s data strategy.

CLOUD architect Cloud architects oversee the company’s cloud computing strategy and are responsible for deploying, managing and supporting cloud applications. They typically have a strong understanding of multiple operating systems, in

addition to networking, programming and security skills. Businesses look for individuals with a strong knowledge of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, as well as experience with ITSM, I&O, governance, automation, and vendor management.

Developer

(web, software, mobile) Web, software and mobile developers are responsible for designing, developing, installing, testing and maintaining software systems. The job requires coding, designing and building applications, websites or mobile apps, working with multiple programming

languages such as C#, C++, HTML, Java, Microsoft .NET and SQL Server. Developers need to be able to understand client requirements, and to be able to provide recommendations for improving web, software and mobile applications to ensure they meet user needs.

DevOps engineer Cloud architects oversee the company’s cloud computing strategy and are responsible for deploying, managing and supporting cloud applications. They typically have a strong understanding of multiple operating systems, in

Network or cloud administrator Network administrators are responsible for handling LAN/WAN protocol, software and hardware. Cloud administrators are responsible for handling cloud initiatives and the networking services and applications that support cloud initiatives in the company. Both positions spend 92

a lot of time troubleshooting, and typically need to be on call in case of an emergency or failure. What you look for in experience will depend on how extensive your network needs are, but there are certain skills and certifications that only the most qualified workers possess.

System administrator Like most jobs in IT, a system administrator must demonstrate strong problem solving, communication and analytical skills. But, a system admin also needs a strong

technical understanding of the company’s specific hardware and software, and what a company looks for will vary depending on the services, hardware and software it relies on.

Security professional (data, information, network, systems, cloud)

Data, information, systems, network and cloud security professionals are sought-after as businesses increasingly rely on data for everyday business operations. These IT professionals ensure that enterprise IT initiatives remain

safe from potential threats inside and outside the organisation. They are also tasked with keeping on top of industry compliance regulations, future security trends and ensuring the business’ hardware, software and networks remain secure.

Helpdesk and desktop support professional For customerfacing businesses, the helpdesk is an important part of running an efficient business. As the first line of defence for customer service and troubleshooting, helpdesk workers need to have the right technical and soft skills for the job. Robert Half Technology breaks out the role of helpdesk technician into three tiers, given that the job description and requirements can vary significantly based on the business.

• Tier 1 for entry-level positions that require less than two years of experience, an associate degree or coursework at a technical school • Tier 2 for positions requiring two to four years of experience, a two-year or bachelor’s degree and relevant work experience • Tier 3 for four or more years of experience in a helpdesk setting, bachelor’s degree in a related field and professional certifications 95

INTERNET OF THINGS

How can we apply IoT technology to emergency communications?

, E D A C E D T S S A G L N I E H H T T F R O OVE TERNET S A D E N I G R E E TH M E S A H T S ) T O O M (I D E E H K T L F A T O ONE ANT AND OGIES. N I L M O O N D H C E T T U O AB

From smart toasters to talking fridges, it has successfully automated and digitised an entire suite of gadgets. With

so many autonomous devices now connected to the internet, one particular application has sparked interest, and that is how the IoT might be able to help in responding to emergency situations.

For example, mass deployment of minute IoT devices, such as environmental sensors and terrorism threat surveillance gadgets, can assist in monitoring situations before disaster can happen. This

means emergency services can be given a crucial headstart, cutting response times. By combining the IoT with AI, connected devices can also be given enough intelligence to take action themselves where

N A C N IO T S A E S I C I D V R E A D D T N O A I T S E S T R N U E S M N HELP E HE REQUIRE TLY IN T N E T I E C I E M FF S E N O K I R T TO WOENCY SITUA EMERG

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life endangerment is imminent, by switching off power or water, for instance. But, as with every implementation that is sensitive in nature, using the IoT to monitor and manage emergency situations must have safety as a primary consideration. Any connected devices must therefore offer excellent reliability, they must provide secure transmission of data, and there must be agreement on standards of uptime and the risk of potential failures and misuses. Clearly, tough benchmarking, legal protection and highly reliable management are essential.

Standardisation can help ensure IoT devices meet the requirements to work efficiently in emergency situations, and that emergency services organisations and end customers have confidence in the products. 101 101

TO ENCOURAGE ORGANISATIONS T THE EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATI RECENTLY PUBLISHED A TECHNICA AREAS WHERE IOT DEVICES C

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MISSION CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS communication between emergency services personnel

AUTOM EMERGENCY

a new area, wh communicate authorities, oth or a central com automated sys an action tha further harm t 102

TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, IONS STANDARDS INSTITUTE (ETSI) AL REPORT, IDENTIFYING FOUR KEY COULD HELP IN EMERGENCIES:

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3 PUBLIC WARNING SYSTEM (PWS) one-way broadcast communication from authorities to individuals

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here IoT devices e directly with her IoT devices, mputer or other stem, to trigger at will prevent to individuals 103

N A C N IO T S A E S I C I D V R E A D D T N O A I S E ST T R N U E S M N E E R P I L U E Q H N E I R Y E L T H MEET TRK EFFICIENTIONS TO WOENCY SITUA G R E M E

To avoid any failures that could compromise safety, standards are needed to define what is expected of IoT devices in emergency communications, and how they have to

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communicate with emergency services. As well as the devices themselves, and the service platforms that define IoT

functionalities, we need to be sure that the networking technology chosen is fit for purpose – whether that is a technology aimed at IoT, such as Sigfox or LoRaWAN,

or an adaption of a general standard, such as LTE. It is also essential that data from IoT devices is provided in a format that is fully understandable by all other entities in the network.

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So far, there are several commercially-available technologies for emergency communications, either fully automated, or with a person checking each alert. This includes autonomous fire detection systems in buildings, and the eCall system, where vehicles automatically make a call to the emergency services including data when a serious road accident occurs. In the case of largescale emergencies, many individuals and organisations need various types of information that are difficult to collect. An IoT service provider may transmit information to user devices immediately and automatically (logistics, traffic updates and hospital locations, for example) with network management ensuring that messages get through. The ETSI report also highlights how existing standards

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focus on person-to-person communications for emergencies, rather than communications involving IoT devices, including suggestions on how standards could be modified to bridge this gap. As soon as the standards for device protection and security are tested and proven in the IoT labs, we can certainly expect to see the benefits of implementing them in the real world. And once this becomes reality, deployed IoT devices that monitor emergency situations could potentially help save lives. The IoT will continue to grow in the near future, with more and more devices all around us. The only thing we must do right now is to try to make our technologies as secure and reliable as possible, so that they can work optimally in any condition, as well as win the trust of those they are serving.

L L I W W O T R O G I THE TINUE TO UTURE, CON E NEAR F D N A E IN TH R L O L M A H S WIT E DEVICE MORUND US ARO 107

ROBOTICS

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We share an insight into AI and the military, as we consider whether we should be concerned about a new generation of autonomous lethal weapons.

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FOR EUROPE, 2019 WAS THE YEAR OF AI STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT, AND WHILE EUROPEANS HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIETAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE GROWING USE OF AI IN VARIOUS AREAS OF LIFE, THEY GENERALLY PAY TOO LITTLE ATTENTION TO ITS USE IN THE MILITARY REALM. trikingly, the military implications of AI are absent from many European AI strategies, as governments and officials appear uncomfortable discussing the subject. There is therefore very little information available about European thinking on AI in the military or on how European armed forces plan to use AI – even though several European companies are already developing AIenabled military systems.

As efforts to strengthen European defence, and to develop 'European technological sovereignty', have become a main focus of the EU and a primary goal of the new European Commission, this topic will be a subject of debate for many years to come. So, what is the European position today? Military professionals, experts, and strategists agree that AI will play an important role for Europe’s defence capabilities, 111

and that this will have important security implications. It is currently unclear how AI will eventually affect the military – and, ultimately, strategic stability and international relations more broadly. Nonetheless, AI has many possible uses in military systems and operations. Judging by the public debate on the issue, one could get the impression that military AI is all about killer robots. Formally known as AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), they have captured the public’s imagination. These systems can carry out the critical functions of a targeting cycle in a military operation, including the selection and engagement of targets, without human intervention. This means that they often rely on AI to make decisions rapidly and without human involvement – that is, autonomously. For now, such systems are rare and only used for specific missions. Activist groups such as the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and the International Committee for Robot Arms Control are currently lobbying for a pre-emptive ban on the development of more capable systems at the United Nations. 112

“IN MANY AREAS, AI MAKES PROCESSES FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT AND CHEAPER”

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“AI CAN SUPPORT MILITARY (A ENABLING PREDICTIVE MAIN MONITORING THE FUNCTIONS AIRCRAFT, AND PREDICTING W TO BE REPLACED, BASED ON AND DATA A

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AND CIVILIAN) LOGISTICS BY NTENANCE. THIS INVOLVES S OF A SYSTEM, SUCH AS AN WHEN PARTS OF IT WILL NEED VARIOUS SENSORY INPUTS ANALYSIS”

WARNING

Engine 4 Compressors require immediate maintenance

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“CYBER WARS COULD SOON INVOLVE AUTONOMOUS ATTACKS AND SELF-REPLICATING CYBER WEAPONS” 116

But, while this engagement is laudable, they have contributed to focusing the public debate almost exclusively on this specific type of use of AI in the military realm. LAWS and AI-enabled autonomy are, however, one of several ways in which AI can be employed for defence purposes. Another more obvious use of machine learning in the military realm is in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. AI is famously good at working with big data to, for example, identify and categorise images and text. In a military context, AI can help sift through the mountains of data collected by various sensors, such as the hours of video footage collected by drones. It can examine photographs to single out changes from one picture to the next, indicating the presence of an explosive device hidden in the time between the photos were taken. Other AI applications in this context include image and face recognition, speech recognition and translation, the geolocation of images, and pattern-of-life analysis. Another military AI application by the military is in logistics, which are a crucial but often undervalued element of any operation. AI can support military (and civilian) logistics by enabling predictive maintenance. This involves monitoring the functions of a system, such as an aircraft, and predicting when parts of it will need 117

to be replaced, based on various sensory inputs and data analysis. Equally, AI can help to improve logistics’ efficiency by, for instance, ensuring that supplies are delivered in appropriate quantities and at the right time. Many experts believe that some of the most important AI-enabled changes in warfare will occur in the cyber realm, due to its relative lack of physical limitations. Cyber wars could soon involve autonomous attacks and selfreplicating cyber weapons. AI is widely expected to make inroads

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into offensive and defensive cyber operations, allowing actors to both find and patch up cyber vulnerabilities at greater speed. So, in many areas, AI makes processes faster, more efficient and cheaper. But, while such efficiency gains are important, technologies can only be truly ground-breaking if they provide new capabilities or allow for tactics that go beyond what exists already. In doing so, the main concern is over LAWS and autonomy (including non-AI autonomy).

“THE MAIN CONCERN IS OVER LAWS AND AUTONOMY (INCLUDING NON-AI AUTONOMY). ETHICISTS ARGUE THAT, AS MACHINES ARE UNABLE TO APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ITS LOSS, ALLOWING SUCH SYSTEMS TO KILL WOULD VIOLATE THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMANITY”

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Ethicists argue that, as machines are unable to appreciate the value of human life and the significance of its loss, allowing such systems to kill would violate the principles of humanity. Could LAWS follow the laws of war, through, for instance, algorithms sufficiently adept at distinguishing between civilians and combatants (discrimination), accurately judging the proportionality of means and ends, and

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weighing the military necessity of the use of force? This remains to be seen. In addition to the legal and ethical concerns that apply to autonomous systems, AIenabled weapons also pose numerous technical and political challenges. Further insights are clearly needed. Source: www.ecfr.eu

“COULD LAWS FOLLOW THE LAWS OF WAR, THROUGH, FOR INSTANCE, ALGORITHMS SUFFICIENTLY ADEPT AT DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN CIVILIANS AND COMBATANTS (DISCRIMINATION), ACCURATELY JUDGING THE PROPORTIONALITY OF MEANS AND ENDS, AND WEIGHING THE MILITARY NECESSITY OF THE USE OF FORCE?”

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QUESTION TIME

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1 Q. What is your number one can’t-live-without top tech gadget? A. My Bose noise cancelling headphones when I travel.

2 Q. Can you see yourself behind the wheel of an autonomous vehicle? A. Well, I love cars, I like driving and hearing the sound of a highperformance engine. So, I will probably find it difficult to let go! I like the thought of having at least one autonomous car once the technology becomes more advanced. It will be great to have one for getting home after dinner and drinks in town!

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3 Q. What are your thoughts on facial recognition technology? A. I think the technology is great and can be useful. However, the lack of security is a huge risk in protecting a person’s identity. We have all seen what is possible with deep fake AI’s. What makes me uncomfortable with this technology is the lack of global legislation to protect individual rights. I believe my personal information should be a basic human right and I should be empowered to choose how it is used and who is able to access it. I am not sure that governments around the world see it as such.

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4 Q. If your home were to be made smarter with a robot, what would you ask it to do? A. Wow, where do I start? I would love a robot to do washing, cleaning, ironing, cooking and cleaning the pool! Just all the everyday domestic duties.

5 Q. Are you excited to be living in this digital age or do you have any worries? A. It is undoubtably an exciting time to be living in the digital age; seeing technology used to help medical conditions and improve people’s quality of life is great. However, it worries me that people are becoming more isolated and detached from each other. Devices are meant to connect people, but we only connect in a virtual world, and this can cause all sorts of mental wellbeing issues. We need to be careful that social skills are not lost and soft skills continue to be developed in our education systems.

6 Q. Do you feel AI doctors and robotics in the operating theatre are the way forward? A. I believe human doctors and AI/robotics can co-exist in an operating theatre. By combining the two, it can safeguard the patient to ensure that mistakes are not made and the patient gets the best possible care and outcome. 126

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7 Q. How important do you think technology is in our goal to improve our global carbon footprint? A. Technology is vital to create a carbon neutral world. We are fortunate today to be able to create digital twins in a virtual environment and do scenario planning. Technology has given us the knowledge – it is up to us to make better decisions.

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8 Q. What are your thoughts on 5G? A. Apart from all the hype, once fully rolled out, it will definitely create new industries and simulate economies. The challenge for operators is making sure the business case stacks up for 5G; the adoption of customers and enterprises is essential. Operators around the world are under pressure with revenues declining; some may disappear with 5G due to capital expenditure and weak adoption from customers. On the plus side, I will finally be able to download movies faster!

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9 Q. What’s on your tech wish-list for 2020? A. The brand new noise cancelling Bose headphones!

10 Q. Do you have any ideas for a future tech invention? A. It would be great to have a device that connects my home seamlessly and integrates all my existing devices, cameras, heating/cooling, lights, pool controls, garage, security etc. Currently, I have individual apps/devices to run all my gadgets!

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IN THE SP OTLIGHT

START-UP OF THE MONTH A deep tech company specialising in deep learning for video delivery, iSize is set to disrupt the ‘streaming wars’. Its founders believe that iSize Technologies is the AI solution to delivering the best quality video at a fraction of the data cost, ultimately unlocking the solution to this hidden technological arms race.

y the end of 2020, more than 82 per cent of internet traffic will be taken up by video, with consumers increasingly investing in and consuming higher quality video content. The market is rapidly expanding as multiple players enter the melee; Apple Inc and Walt Disney entered the market last year, with Apple TV+ and Disney+ and HBO Max and Peacock expected to launch later this year, all vying to take market share from established players, YouTube, Amazon and Netflix.

software that allows data-heavy video content to be compressed to a fraction of its original size, meaning content can be streamed faster and at a better quality. iSize’s BitSave software is essentially a ‘pre-coder’ that performs perceptual optimisation of the content before the pixels reach the video compression software, as well as finding the best possible resolution according to the desired bitrate stream. This unique approach has several advantages: Firstly, BitSave can be used alongside existing software, meaning the tech giants that have invested in compression software can use BitSave as an ‘add-on’ without having to shelve ongoing projects.

In response to this fast-moving market, London-based start-up, iSize, has developed innovative 132

BitSave is also unconstrained by standards because it produces a pixel output, which means it can use advanced neural networks and add multiple quality functions that cannot be achieved otherwise.

In 2019, iSize won ‘Best in Show’ at the International Broadcasting Convention In short, this allows consumers to stream higher quality video, using less data or bandwidth. Devices also need to use less

computing power to stream quality video, which means a longer battery life when watching content on the go.

Sergio Grce, CEO of iSize, believes that better video compression is also a key factor in reducing the environmental impact of our growing digital consumption. He says, “Data flowing across the internet is, in the physical world, travelling from data centre to data centre. The huge number of servers in these mammoth buildings comes with a significant energy cost. In fact, global data centres pump out as many emissions as the aviation industry – which regularly makes headlines for its environmental impact. Anything tech companies can do to reduce these emissions through better data compression is a boost not just for the industry,

but the climate challenge as well.” Dr. Yiannis Andreopoulos, CTO, adds, “Ultimately, this AI technology is a gamechanger in the battle for viewers and presents significant competitive advantages for businesses and investors. It has the potential to change the battleground of the streaming wars.” In 2019, iSize won ‘Best in Show’ at the International Broadcasting Convention, was recognised for industry excellence by Digital Media World, and was one of only 26 AI companies accepted into the prestigious Oxford University Creative Destruction Lab program.

For further information, visit www.isize.co

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