Technology Magazine - October 2023 by Technology Magazine

October 2023 | technologymagazine.com

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES Technology Magazine explores the world’s most influential tech companies which are leading the way in sustainability initiatives

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The Technology Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MARCUS LAW

CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER

SCOTT BIRCH

HEAD OF MULTIMEDIA

NEIL PERRY

CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER

MATT JOHNSON HEAD OF DESIGN

ANDY WOOLLACOTT LEAD DESIGNER

REBEKAH BIRLESON

SENIOR DESIGNERS

REBEKAH BIRLESON SAM HUBBARD FEATURE DESIGNERS

SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL HECTOR PENROSE MIMI GUNN JULIA WAINWRIGHT VICTORIA CASEY ADVERT DESIGNERS

CALLUM HOOD DANILO CARDOSO ADRIAN SERBAN VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

KIERAN WAITE

SENIOR VIDEOGRAPHER

MARKETING MANAGER

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

PROJECT DIRECTORS

HUDSON MELDRUM

ERNEST DE NEVE THOMAS EASTERFORD DREW HARDMAN SALLY MOUSTAFA

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

GEORGIA ALLEN DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ

PRODUCTION MANAGERS

JANE ARNETA MARIA GONZALEZ YEVHENIIA SUBBOTINA KENDRA LAU

DAISY SLATER

THOMAS LIVERMORE JACK MITCHELL TOM VENTURO NAZEEF IDREES MEDIA SALES DIRECTORS

JASON WESTGATE

MANAGING DIRECTOR

LEWIS VAUGHAN CEO

GLEN WHITE

FOREWORD

Tech skills are needed to ensure success of the metaverse With a quarter of people predicted to spend at least an hour daily in a metaverse for either entertainment or work, organisations must ensure their workforces have the skills to build it

“Having a workforce with the required skills to build the metaverse is essential”

TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

redicted to be worth US$700m by 2030, metaverse technologies featured prominently in Gartner’s 2022 Hype Cycle, reflecting the sense of excitement around the technology. But while the hype might have died down – replaced by generative AI as the technology of the day - at least 25% of people are predicted to spend at least an hour daily in a metaverse for either entertainment or work. With that in mind, having a workforce with the required skills to build the metaverse is essential. “For organisations to successfully establish their own piece of the metaverse, and remain competitive, they must first ensure that their workers are equipped with the right skills to do so,” Simon Allardice, Principal Author at Pluralsight tells us. The technology might have its detractors, but building the skills of existing talent within organisations to support innovation in the metaverse space will be key to its success. MARCUS LAW marcus.law@bizclikmedia.com

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CONTENTS UP FRONT

14 BIG PICTURE

Broadcom, VMware deal expected to close this year

16 INTERVIEW WITH... Udaya Shrivastava, CTO at Honeywell

20 LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO & co-founder of Salesforce

26 8

October 2023

OCTOBER 2023

CONTENTS

26 TOP 10

Sustainable technology companies

38 CLAROTY

Procurement at Claroty at the forefront of business success

62 DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS Education crucial to tackling the ongoing digital skills gap

70 OKADA MANILA

How Okada Manila is taking full advantage of the AI boom

92 ENTERPRISE IT

Tech skills are needed to ensure success of the metaverse

92 technologymagazine.com

CONTENTS 146

CONTENTS 100 STACK INFRA

Leaders in driving ESG, growth and community relations

118 DATA & ANALYTICS The need to design a secure and compliant data & AI strategy

126 CONVERA

Are you ready for 2024?

138 AI/ML

Self-driving trucks leading the way to an autonomous future

146 AXIATA

Axiata enterprise is powering digital transformation in Asia 10

October 2023

138 100

OCTOBER 2023 164 L’OSTERIA

L’osteria’s logistics hub is driving a bright new future

180 T- MOBILE

Leading 5G while driving innovation and technology

198 MBZUAI

MBZUAI procurement building a bright future for AI in the UAE

180

210 ACCENTURE

Enterprise architecture creating sustainable business value

226 EY

Fostering innovation in real-time payments tech

242 MICROSOFT

Microsoft technology solutions providing education for all

260 ELLISDON

Construction services leader EllisDon is building digital

164

276 WOLT

Deploying a safety net into the platform economy

292 OEC

Digital resilience through cybersecurity governance

198

306 TURNER MINING GROUP North America’s trusted mine services contractor

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THE TOP 100 COMPANIES IN SUSTAINABILITY Discover the companies leading the way, setting the pace and inspiring global business change.

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BIG PICTURE

Image credit: VMware

October 2023

Broadcom, VMware deal expected to close this year Las Vegas, Nevada Semiconductor giant Broadcom has said it expects its acquisition of VMware to go through on schedule this year, after the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority approved the deal. In a statement, Broadcom affirmed its expectation that its acquisition of VMware will close on 30th October, 2023. In the company’s annual Explore conference in Las Vegas VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram said the deal would be one of the most important milestones of the last 25 years for the company. technologymagazine.com

UDAYA SHRIVASTAVA INTERVIEW WITH...

Honeywell Building Technologies CTO Udaya Shrivastava discusses the role next-generation technologies will play in achieving sustainability targets UDAYA SHRIVASTAVA TITLE: CTO COMPANY: HONEYWELL

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: UNITED STATES

An experienced CTO, Shrivastava joined Honeywell in 2014 as the leader of its Safety and Productivity Solutions team in India, driving strategic growth through next generation offerings. Prior to her current role, Shrivastava served as VP and CTO for Commercial Fire Safety at HBT. Before joining Honeywell, she held a number of roles including at GE Intelligent Platforms, Cognizant Technology Solutions and ABB.

October 2023

Q. TELL US ABOUT HONEYWELL, YOUR ROLE AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?

» Honeywell Building Technologies (HBT)

is transforming the way buildings operate, helping improve the quality of life of its occupants by making buildings that adapt to the needs and wellbeing of the people who use them. I joined Honeywell in 2014 as the leader of the Safety and Productivity Solutions team in India, driving strategic growth through next generation offerings. Prior to my current role, I served as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

for Commercial Fire Safety at HBT. Today, I continue to focus on our new product introductions globally that deliver on the promise of our brand to our customers.

Q. HOW DO YOU ENVISAGE NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN FURTHER ADVANCING BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY AND ACHIEVING AMBITIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS?

» In general, commercial buildings account

for more than one-third of global energy demand and energy-related CO2 emissions.

As such, there must be increased focus on new solutions that can make current and future buildings more sustainable. Many building owners, operators or cities need more specific insights into asset-level energy use and carbon impact, which is possible now with Honeywell technologies. Modern connected technologies can now be used to determine where and how electricity, gas, water and other utilities are consumed across a company’s buildings and the related direct or indirect carbon emissions. By monitoring carbon emissions on a fundamental basis, organisations can

INTERVIEW WITH...

“ There must be increased focus on new solutions that can make current and future buildings more sustainable” gain better insights into their carbon impact and how they can optimise their energy usage going forwards.

Q. COULD YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGIES THAT HONEYWELL IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING OR UTILISING TO ENHANCE BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY?

» There are a variety of sustainable building

solutions available across Honeywell’s diversified portfolio, with many others in development. Recently, Honeywell launched Honeywell Forge for Buildings, a comprehensive approach to building systems operations and management. The solution features software, hardware and services that deliver on key outcomes to help building owners and operators achieve sustainability, operational efficiency, occupant experience, compliance, safety and security, and resiliency goals. The solution enables building owners to optimise building air quality and energy efficiency in real-time, using data from sensors and leveraging AI technologies to constantly monitor, model, and automatically adjust building controls. Given continuous indoor air quality (IAQ) data is the key to an effective HVAC 18

October 2023

We’ve got a family plan for you WATCH NOW

strategy, Honeywell IAQ sensors can help provide visual confirmation of air quality within a building. These IAQ sensors can connect to Honeywell’s most advanced controller platforms to meet specificbuilding management needs as well as send data to Honeywell Remote Building Manager, optimising energy use whilst also improving IAQ.

Q. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES?

» Leaders of large multinational companies recognise that sustainability is now key to their success and that the energy efficiency of the buildings they own or lease is a strategic business priority as well as an environmental imperative. A huge challenge lies in the assessment of the enterprise-

wide installed assets for ageing, operating conditions and optimisation opportunities. This needs technologies that offer insights to drive capital deployment planning decisions that help to achieve the ESG goals. If more sustainable building technologies were adopted, an immediate improvement would be the reduction to the overarching amount of carbon emissions from the built environment. As an example, we realised that plug loads drive a fifth of buildings energy consumption during operations, Honeywell recently launched a connected socket offering in the UK region. Considering the UK’s built environment is responsible for a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions, the more sustainable building technologies are implemented the better the chances are at reducing this percentage and helping buildings meet their sustainability targets. technologymagazine.com

MARC BENIOFF A cloud computing pioneer and prolific philanthropist, Marc Benioff co-founded Salesforce in 1999 and has been its CEO and Chair since 2001

Philanthropy and the 1-1-1 model Central to Salesforce’s identity is the mission to have a positive impact on the world. 20

October 2023

MARC BENIOFF TITLE: CHAIR, CEO & CO-FOUNDER COMPANY: SALESFORCE LOCATION: UNITED STATES

EXECUTIVE BIO

s Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Salesforce, Marc Benioff is a pioneer of cloud computing. Founded in 1999 with a clear vision to be ‘A World-Class Internet Company for Sales Force Automation’, Salesforce is now a Fortune 500 company with more than 50,000 employees. It enables companies of every size and industry to digitally transform around their customers by harnessing the power of automation, AI, and real-time data to make every customer experience more personal, valuable and memorable. The company has been recognised as the Most Innovative Company by Forbes, a Best Place to Work by Fortune, and the 10th Most Admired Company in the World by Fortune. Today, under Benioff’s leadership, Salesforce is the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally.

Marc Benioff is Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Under Benioff’s leadership, Salesforce is the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally and one of the world’s fastest-growing enterprise software companies. Benioff founded Salesforce in 1999, and it is now a Fortune 150 company with 70,000+ employees, guided by five core values — trust, customer success, innovation, equality and sustainability. The company has been recognised as the Most Innovative Company by Forbes, a Best Place to Work by Fortune, and the 10th Most Admired Company in the World by Fortune.

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

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LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

1% to change the world WATCH NOW

On day one, Benioff created the 1-1-1 model of philanthropy, which leverages the resources of Salesforce to improve communities around the world. Today, more than 10,000 companies have adopted this model through the Pledge 1% movement. Since its founding, Salesforce. org has given more than US$240 million in grants, 3.5 million hours of community service, and provided product donations for more than 39,000 nonprofits and educational institutions. Benioff and his wife, Lynne, have focused their philanthropy on children’s health, the environment, public education and 22

October 2023

homelessness. In 2016, they created the Benioff Ocean Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to study and solve ocean issues around the world. Focus on AI In 2023 Salesforce introduced the next generation of Einstein AI, Einstein GPT, the world’s first generative AI for CRM. In a long line of AI innovations, Salesforce announced AI Cloud, a suite of capabilities powered by Einstein GPT and supported by the Einstein GPT Trust Layer to deliver trusted, secure generative AI experiences across all applications and workflows.

LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT

“ We are on the threshold of a dramatic change in the way we work with computers”

“When I look back at 2019, we had really gone through three huge waves of technology: cloud computing, mobile and social,” Benioff said in an interview with the Associated Press. “And now we are going into the fourth wave, which is probably the most important one in AI, which is not just the most important technology of our lifetime, but probably the most important in any lifetime. It’s going to be a new world of technology that’s as exciting as all the other worlds put together. “We are on the threshold of a dramatic change in the way we work with computers. We are going to work side by side with

them. And, in many cases, they are going to augment or extend what we havebeen doing.” A member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Board of Trustees, Benioff serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF’s Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. Benioff is the owner and co-chair of TIME, and is author of the New York Times bestseller Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change. Before launching Salesforce, Benioff spent 13 years at Oracle Corporation, where he was the youngest vice president in the company’s history. When he was 14 years old, he sold his first piece of software, “How to Juggle,” for US$75. He founded his first company, Liberty Software, which created video games, wwwat the age of 15. Benioff received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees. In 2014, USC awarded Benioff an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Benioff was named Innovator of the Decade by Forbes, and is recognised as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, Benioff has been honoured by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award. technologymagazine.com

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TOP 10

October 2023

SUSTA TECH COM

TOP 10

TAINABLE HNOLOGY MPANIES

Technology Magazine explores the world’s most influential tech companies which are leading the way in sustainability initiatives WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW

hile the tech sector has traditionally been viewed as a driving force for innovation and advancement, it has also historically been a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. However, as we transition into a world more conscious of its ecological footprint, several technology companies are emerging as drivers in green innovation, setting themselves ambitious targets to help create a more sustainable world. In this article, Technology Magazine highlights the top 10 big tech companies driving green initiatives. technologymagazine.com

TOP 10

09 10

HP has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2040 and to use 100% renewable energy to power its global operations by 2025. The company is also investing in sustainability research and development to create new technologies that can help it reach its target of zero waste across all operations by 2025 and conserve resources.

October 2023

DELL TECHNOLOGIES

Dell Technologies has set a goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050, and is investing in sustainability research and development to create new technologies that can help reduce waste and conserve resources. In a mission to reduce the 53.4mn tons of e-waste produced every year, by 2030, for every product a customer buys, the company says it will reuse or recycle an equivalent product.

TOP 10

NVIDIA

08 META

Having committed to reaching net zero emissions across its value chain in 2030, Meta is continuing to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in line with climate science by increasing the efficiency of its operations and maintaining 100% renewable energy. By 2030, Meta will support projects that remove carbon equivalent to the emissions we are not able to reduce by then. In 2021, the company supported carbon removal projects in Kenya and Mexico that represent more than 200,000 tons of carbon sequestration via forests and soil.

American multinational technology company NVIDIA Corporation is committed to acquiring or producing sufficient renewable energy to offset 100% of its worldwide electricity consumption. The company's H100 GPUs, built on the cutting-edge Hopper architecture, boast an impressive 26x energy efficiency advantage over CPUs based on inferencing benchmarks. Demonstrating its dedication to environmental sustainability, NVIDIA claims to power the most efficient supercomputer listed on the Green500 ranking for November 2022.

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TOP 10

05 06 IBM

With an aim to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, IBM is creating better pathways to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, and minimise climaterelated risks. The company is also investing in sustainability research and development to create new technologies that can help reduce waste and conserve resources, with plans to divert 90% of nonhazardous waste from landfill and incineration by 2025.

INTEL

Intel Corporation has committed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations by 2040, while the company also has goals to use 100% renewable energy and have zero waste to landfill. In 2021, Intel demonstrated its progress in energy conservation, saving around 486 million kilowatt hours of electricity. The company also announced it had successfully reduced its total GHG emissions by 2% from the previous year.

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04 APPLE

Apple has made sustainability a core part of its business, with initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint, using renewable energy, and increasing use of recycled materials. Approximately 20% of the materials used Apple’s products are made from recycled content, and by 2030, the company aims to be carbon neutral. Since 2008, the company says it has reduced the average energy use of its products by 70%, and in 2021 doubled the amount of recycled tungsten, rare earth elements and cobalt in its products.

October 2023

AMAZON

The world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, Amazon has set ambitious sustainability goals, including reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and using 100% renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of the company’s original target of 2030. The company is also investing in sustainable technologies and practices to reduce waste and conserve resources. AWS enables customers to build sustainability solutions ranging from carbon tracking to energy conservation to waste reduction, using AWS services to ingest, analyse, and manage sustainability data.

TOP 10

MICROSOFT By 2030, Microsoft aims to achieve carbon negativity, removing more historical emissions than it has generated since its establishment in 1975. The company, which also pledges to be zero waste and water positive by 2030, is also investing in sustainability research and development to create new technologies that can help reduce waste and conserve resources. In 2022, it launched Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, a comprehensive suite of enterprise-grade sustainability management tools. Microsoft has also helped to advance a set of global sustainability initiatives that aim to benefit every person and organisation on the planet. These include accelerating the availability of new climate technologies through its Climate Innovation Fund, strengthening climate policy agenda, helping to develop a more reliable and interoperable carbon accounting system, advocating for skilling programs to expand the green workforce, and working to enable a just transition for the vulnerable populations of the global south. technologymagazine.com

TOP 10

THE TOP 100 COMPANIES IN SUSTAINABILITY Discover the companies leading the way, setting the pace and inspiring global business change.

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01 ALPH TOP 10

Google Sustainability – A carbon-free future WATCH NOW

October 2023

HABET With a goal to operate all of its data centres and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, Google and its parent company Alphabet is heavily investing in sustainability research and development to create new technologies that can help reduce waste and conserve resources from machine learning to help cool its data centres to smart thermostats that conserve home energy. The company started purchasing renewable energy in 2010, and in 2017 became the first major company to match 100% of its annual electricity use with renewable energy purchases. Alphabet has dedicated the entire net proceeds from its US$5.75bn Sustainability Bond to support environmentally and socially-responsible projects. Google's sustainability strategy revolves around three key pillars, including accelerating the transition to carbon-free energy and a circular economy; empowering individuals and communities through technology; and creating positive impacts for the people and places where Google operates. technologymagazine.com

PROCUREMENT AT CLAROTY AT THE FOREFRONT OF BUSINESS SUCCESS WRITTEN BY: NEIL PERRY PRODUCED BY: STUART IRVING

October 2023

CLAROTY

Noga Sharabani, Director of Global Procurement at Claroty, discusses putting procurement at the forefront of business strategy

laroty’s goal is to secure the cyber-physical systems (CPS) that are used to run critical infrastructure every day. Its technology protects systems used to run oil pipelines, health facilities, power grids, water utilities and many other essential services. When Noga Sharabani made her first steps into the procurement sector, it was to protect against a very different type of threat. “It was mid-1999, I was working in a bank and studying for my Master’s degree in Marketing & Finance when a friend called me saying that the high-tech company she was working for, Gilat Satellite Networks, was looking for someone to join the procurement team for a temporary role to oversee suppliers’ compliance for the Y2K bug,” she says. “At the beginning of 2000, when the Y2K panic ended, I was asked to take the role of direct buyer and started to learn everything about the procurement world. Working for nearly 22 years at Gilat gave me the opportunity to develop my skills and gain experience in almost every category of purchasing – direct and indirect – and managing OEMs and suppliers in a multicultural environment, which kept my career very challenging but interesting. “I had excellent mentors over the years who taught me about supplier relationship management, and this is what I am focused on teaching my team today.”

October 2023

Unified Intake. Intelligent Orchestration. Learn more

ProcurementWorks gives procurement teams what they need to build buying experiences that are personalized and intelligent. Now, procurement can automate the intake of all kinds of procurement requests and orchestrate complex resolutions. Sagi Eliyahu, co-founder and CEO, Tonkean

Tonkean: Business process automation to maximise adoption To understand the mission of Tonkean, you need to understand that compliance requires high adoption, and adoption requires a great experience Sagi Eliyahu is CEO at Tonkean and was one of the founders just under a decade ago. Tonkean is a first-ofits-kind experience platform with the purpose of developing internal processes that employees actually follow.

Partnership with Claroty Tonkean has been working with Claroty to modernise the way internal teams engage with the company’s processes and systems, with the aim of increasing adoption, compliance and satisfaction. Ultimately, organisations like Claroty work with Tonkean to increase the value their procurement teams are able to create as partners to the business.

“We started the company with a very simple goal in theory, but very hard in practice, which is empowering companies to leverage software better,” he says.

“They were a great partner to work with, and we are very excited to see the results and the value they’ve been getting through the platform,” Eliyahu adds.

Maximising compliance through process improvement The key to empowering companies in that way is helping them optimise their internal processes so that following those processes is both easier and more valuable than circumventing them.

The influence of AI is also something that excites Eliyahu, as he believes it will inspire people to rethink their approach..

“Everyone knows that if you go on a website and there are twenty fields for you to fill in versus one, the conversion rate is going to be poor. Why do we expect people within the company to fill in a twenty-step process?” he says.

“One thing that is very clear, is that it has reinvigorated the minds and the imagination of people into asking ‘why do I do it manually?’,” Eliyahu concludes. “They will ask why is this something that I need to take 10 clicks to do? Why can’t this be smarter? Why can’t this be more intelligent?”

Learn more

CLAROTY

“ I am passionate about driving innovation in procurement and staying up to date on industry trends and best practices” NOGA SHARABANI

DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT, CLAROTY

October 2023

Nearly 25 years later, Sharabani is a passionate advocate of procurement operations taking a leading role within business, being central to the strategy of organisations going forward, and brought that mindset to Claroty since establishing its procurement operation in 2020. After leaving her career in banking, she embraced procurement at Gilat Satellite Engineering, before making the step to Claroty, where she enjoyed the opportunity presented by helping a young cyber company implement a growth strategy. Driving innovation through procurement Claroty was founded in 2015 and has grown to be a trusted provider and advisor for

NOGA SHARABANI TITLE: DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT COMPANY: CLAROTY INDUSTRY: CYBER SECURITY LOCATION: ISRAEL Noga Sharabani is the Director of Global Procurement at Claroty, and has 25 years of experience in the procurement sector and a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Ben-Gurion University in Israel. She spent two decades at Gilat Satellite Networks, working her way from Procurement Buyer to Strategic Procurement Manager, before moving to Claroty in 2020. She is passionate about professional development, embracing the latest technological trends, and moving procurement operations to the forefront of business.

hundreds of businesses with thousands of locations around the world. Its platform is a crucial tool that integrates with customers’ existing infrastructure to provide a full range of controls for visibility, risk and vulnerability management, threat detection, and secure remote access. “I am passionate about driving innovation in procurement and staying up to date on industry trends and best practices,” says Sharabani. “I believe that collaboration and building strong relationships with suppliers are essential for achieving successful procurement outcomes.” Driving that innovation has become ever more crucial after the expansion of

Claroty Ensures Safe SaaS Usage With Wing Security Wing provides peace of mind by leveraging in-product remediation and automation to secure organizations' SaaS usage at an affordable price

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Regaining control over SaaS usage with Wing Security Claroty turned to SaaS security posture management (SSPM) leader Wing Security, to ensure its SaaS usage is secure. Claroty secures the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT) to achieve unmatched visibility, protection, and threat detection across all cyber-physical systems. When it came to securing their employees’ SaaS usage, they turned to Wing Security to ensure they have full control over their SaaS layer. “Wing provides us with the visibility and the detail we need to protect our (SaaS) environment and make sure that our employees are safe and secure when they’re dealing with SaaS applications,” says Tim Hillyard, Senior Director of Security Operations at Claroty. SaaS onboarding is decentralised and often doesn’t go through IT or Security approvals. This creates a massive Shadow IT problem, as well as a serious security concern Hillyard adds: “We need Wing because many SaaS applications are actually vulnerable to certain types of attacks, and in some cases these SaaS applications are malicious. “They are created

by bad actors whose intention is to compromise your end systems, or gain access to your personal data. So we need visibility on bad applications so that we can protect our employees.” Wing Security is the only SSPM provider to deliver SaaS visibility completely for free. More info on that here It is unique in that it doesn’t only lay out the problem for you by showing you all the SaaS applications, users who use them and the data that is shared in and between SaaS applications, it also automatically remediates SaaS security issues from within the system, taking the load off of the security teams. For other companies looking for similar SaaS peace of mind, Hillyard has this advice: “Find a company like Wing, that can change quickly and adapt to the ever-changing SaaS threat landscape. “You need a tool that can also adapt quickly to the environment and protect your users and your data.”

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CLAROTY

“ Procurement teams must establish robust data governance practices, clear policies, data quality controls, and data integration strategies to leverage AI effectively” NOGA SHARABANI

DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT, CLAROTY

the Claroty team and portfolio with the acquisition of the healthcare IoT security company Medigate in January 2022. This represented a quantum change in the company, expanding its focus beyond operational technology (OT) to protect all CPS across industrial, healthcare, and

commercial environments: the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT). Procurement at the forefront of business strategy This expansion, combined with the everchanging roster of cyber threats, means it is imperative that the company remains at the forefront of technology innovation while maintaining fast, efficient, and sustained growth. “In my experience, putting procurement at the forefront of business strategy is essential in driving efficient growth for any organisation. At Claroty, the procurement function is fully aligned with the company’s growth objectives, which empowers our team to not only source and manage resources more effectively, but also to proactively identify cost-saving technologymagazine.com

CLAROTY

Claroty WATCH NOW

“ By leveraging cutting-edge solutions, emerging technologies, and strategic partnerships, I am able to secure the most innovative and robust technologies offerings for our organisation” NOGA SHARABANI

DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT, CLAROTY

October 2023

opportunities, adopt a culture of innovation, and foster supplier partnerships.” One of the biggest challenges Sharabani faced in this role was managing cloud spend. “After the Medigate acquisition, we had to bring two very different cloud spend strategies together. The Claroty platform at the time was on-prem with very little cloud spend, while the Medigate platform was fully SaaS and drove high cloud spend.” Within a few months of the acquisition, Claroty had developed a new SaaS product called xDome, which further increased its cloud spend. “To address this challenge, I asked Eli Mansoor, the owner of OskaQ Consulting, to help us develop a cloud spend management plan,” Sharabani describes. “This plan included setting clear goals, identifying cost-

saving opportunities, and implementing best practices for cloud procurement. As a result of this plan, Claroty as a team – including Procurement, Product, DevOps, R&D, and Chief Architect – is working in full sync and we were able to reduce the cloud spending substantially, while still supporting the growth of our business.” It is by adopting this mindset for the procurement function that Sharabani believes she can make the greatest impact on the future success of the business and the customers who rely on its technology to secure their most critical operations. “I am committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements and industry best practices,” she argues. “By leveraging cutting-edge solutions, emerging technologies, and strategic

partnerships, I am able to secure the most innovative and robust technology offerings for our organisation. I meticulously evaluate and select suppliers with proven expertise, track records of excellence, and a strong commitment to data protection and privacy.” By building strong communication channels with other business functions, Sharabani has helped to add value to Claroty and support the revenue side through proactive engagement with key departments such as Business Development, Product, DevOps, and Finance. I’ve been able to identify and capitalize on numerous opportunities for cost optimization and value enhancement that directly contribute to revenue growth. My team and I work closely with the Product team to define and track our COGS (Cost Of technologymagazine.com

Your partner for

optimizing cloud spend “ With OskaQ Consulting I feel confident that Claroty’s cloud spend is optimized, in control, and we have the agreements we need in order to accelerate Claroty’s business growth” Noga Sharabani, Director of Global Procurement, Claroty

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Co-authored by OskaQ-Consulting Founder and CEO

CLAROTY

Goods Sold) and cloud infrastructure, driven innovation and continuous ensuring we are getting the best value improvement throughout the for our investments but also maintaining organisation,” Sharabani says. “I take scalability. great pride in my ability to establish Year In collaboration with the Finance and nurture these relationships and founded department, we’ve successfully communication channels, as they optimized payment terms, reduced have been instrumental in driving supplier duplication, and streamlined critical success and positively impacting the processes. For instance, we’ve implemented procurement function at Claroty.” an efficient vendor onboarding process through automation using the Tonkean AI Embracing emerging technologies platform, which not only saves time but also Sharabani believes that the future of ensures compliance and cost efficiency. procurement is going to be fundamentally Moreover, a strategic partnership with the linked to, and influenced by, emerging Business Development team has resulted technologies and digital transformation and in the optimization of AWS agreements, that procurement leads need to embrace further boosting revenue for Claroty. This automation, AI and data-driven decisions. collaborative approach across functions “By leveraging technology effectively, underscores how procurement can have a procurement leads can enhance efficiency, direct and positive impact on the bottom line. reduce costs, and improve decision-making,” “These examples reflect how the strong she says. “So, in the next 12 to 18 months, relationships and effective communication we’ll continue to adopt automation and AI.” channels established in procurement have This mentality, Sharabani explains, will help

2015

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“I wake up each morning eager to learn something new and experience the impact it has on procurement” NOGA SHARABANI

DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT, CLAROTY

October 2023

CLAROTY

build the foundations for the next decade of progress at Claroty. “By successfully establishing a scalable procurement organisation, we are helping to position Claroty as a trusted partner for securing critical infrastructure and enabling the adoption of CPS. This will create new opportunities for growth and expansion, allowing us to play a pivotal role in securing the XIoT ecosystem.” Although AI presents many positive possibilities, she emphasises that it needs to be used carefully and with intelligence to get the most useful results. “AI relies heavily on high-quality data and we – as the data source – need to ensure data accuracy and integrity. Procurement teams must establish robust data governance practices, clear policies, data quality controls, and data integration strategies to leverage AI effectively.” Best-in-class partnerships The quality of the partnerships formed between the procurement team at Claroty and both internal and external colleagues is something Sharabani is particularly proud of, as it has allowed her to align with business objectives and drive successful outcomes. “Collaborating closely with strategic suppliers has allowed for deeper, stronger partnerships, resulting in achieving company targets like opening local fulfilment centres in the US and Germany to support our customers locally,” Sharabani says. “By maintaining strong connections with stakeholders, I have been able to align procurement strategies with organisational goals, ensuring seamless integration and driving mutual success like cost optimisation and risk mitigations.” technologymagazine.com

CLAROTY

Sharabani emphasises the importance Another key partnership Sharabani of some of Claroty’s external partners, as references is Wing Security, which gives identifying best-in-class partners helps the full visibility into Claroty’s environment and company achieve its objectives. enforces security controls and policy. She highlights the partnership with OskaQ “We have monthly meetings with the which has become a key partner in cloud partner to discuss issues, features, new management strategy. requests and mutually understand the “They have expertise in optimising evolving threat landscape to ensure we are cloud expenditure and work closely with aligned,” Sharabani says, emphasising the me and the company to identify areas of importance of close communication. improvement,” she says. “Through their “The partnership with Wing Security guidance and recommendations, we have has been essential,” she adds, “allowing been able to make strategic adjustments that Claroty to effectively manage our security increase profitability and optimise programme and meet our projected our cloud spending.” target goals to protect Claroty and This has helped fulfil a highultimately our customers from everpriority project focused on cloud changing threats.” cost management and optimisation, Another partner is Snyk, Amount of which is essential for improving the which helps Claroty’s software countries Claroty company’s gross margin. development team develop fast and serves in

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stay secure, using AI and automation from their first lines of code to their running cloud. Sharabani also highlights the value of the Tonkean partnership, as a comprehensive solution to handling the entire procurement process. “By leveraging Tonkean, we can save time and resources for my team while ensuring a seamless and efficient procurement process, from intake to resolution,” she says. Sharabani continuously links the importance of the procurement operation to wider business and customer goals, whether that be in terms of finance, environment, or security, and the input of partners is critical to that success. “Overall, these partnerships have been invaluable in helping us achieve our aims. They bring expertise, technological capabilities, and streamlined processes that contribute to cost savings, efficiency, and a positive user experience,” she emphasises. “By collaborating with these partners, we can drive success in our procurement function and support the overall growth and success of the company.” When Claroty acquired Medigate, Sharabani says this presented an opportunity to increase value from procurement synergies. “I implemented a new SaaS management platform called Zluri for visibility into all the software within Claroty and Medigate’s respective technology stacks and was able to manage renewal effectively. This way I could better manage the integration, and identify similar or duplicate SaaS platforms, which not only saved a significant amount of money but also enhanced overall efficiency.”

Continuous improvement With nearly 25 years of experience in the procurement sector, Noga Sharabani has seen significant changes in technology that have fundamentally transformed the way procurement business is conducted, and she says it motivates her to stay on top of industry trends and best practice. She believes seeking continuous improvement is the way she gets constant fulfilment from her profession. “Besides the joy of raising my five children, I wake up each morning eager to learn something new and experience the impact it has on procurement,” she says enthusiastically. “I actively engage in professional networks, participate in continuous learning opportunities, and find inspiration in podcasts and webinars. It is incredibly exciting to witness how AI, for example, can elevate the field of procurement.” Her advice to other professionals earlier in their procurement careers is to embrace change, as the environment is constantly evolving because of technological advancements, market dynamics and global factors, but by staying adaptable you can thrive. “What I find most fulfilling about working in my role is the opportunity to shape the future of my organisation in today’s rapidly changing business landscape,” Sharabani concludes. “By embracing innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement, I can contribute to creating a resilient and sustainable procurement and supply chain that drives business success.”

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EDUCATION CRUCIAL TO TACKLING THE ONGOING DIGITAL SKILLS GAP With the digital divide continuing to widen, education solutions are needed today to help solve the ongoing skills crisis WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW

October 2023

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

owhere is the problem of how to fill the ongoing skills gap more prevalent than in the world of tech. The World Economic Forum has estimated that 150 million new technology jobs will be created globally over the next five years, and 77% of all jobs will require digital skills from workers by 2030. However, businesses currently face a global shortage of digital skills already, with only 33% of technology jobs worldwide filled by the necessary skilled labour. Half of today’s organisations agree that this ‘digital divide’ is widening, with 54% of business leaders noting that they have lost their competitive advantage due to talent shortages, according to a study by Capgemini and LinkedIn. However, the skills shortage and the issue around attracting talent has masked the need for current education, explains President & CEO of international technical education company CNet Training, Andrew Stevens. “There’s a lot of conversation about recruiting and training the workforce of the future, but organisations are neglecting to look at their internal systems and processes to build an education function within their business,” Stevens explains. “Organisations need to continue educating the people they already have and use it as a recruitment tool for drawing people in.” Digital skills gap remains an unresolved issue As Jonathan Young, CIO of global recruitment leader FDM, describes, the digital skills shortage remains an unresolved and key topic. In today’s technology-driven world, individuals without these skills may face barriers to educational opportunities, limiting their ability to acquire knowledge and keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital world. technologymagazine.com

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DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

“ We need to work together to raise awareness of the industry as a whole” ANDREW STEVENS PRESIDENT & CEO, CNET TRAINING

“Beyond the impact on individuals, limited digital access and skills impedes the economy: SMEs rely on skilled workers to thrive in the digital economy. Without access to a pool of digitally literate individuals, businesses may struggle to innovate and achieve sustainable growth,” Young comments. “I strongly believe that in order to effectively tackle this matter, our focus should be on the missing 10% and the

missing 34%. By this I am referring to the missing 10% of BAME employees in the technology industry and the missing 34% of women.” Despite attempts to address this issue, minority groups in the field continue to face underrepresentation. “Thinking about the missing 10% and 34% means finding a way to listen to their collective voice and to understand how they think and feel about being involved in the technology field,” adds Young. “Only when we understand how people think about something, and how they feel, can the industry start to instigate change, fostering an environment where all groups feel welcome in this profession.” technologymagazine.com

ANDREW STEVENS

EXECUTIVE BIO

TITLE: PRESIDENT & CEO COMPANY: CNET TRAINING LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Today CNet Training’s President and CEO, before the business in 1997 Stevens had worked previously for manufacturers and distributors in the digital infrastructure industry.

Engaging with individuals who are absent poses a challenge, as their absence inherently prevents direct communication. However, as Young describes a step towards understanding is taken by FDM, where approximately 100,000 aspiring technology professionals apply each year. “By inquiring about their sentiments during the application process, a meaningful dialogue can begin,” he says. “While the actual missing individuals cannot be consulted, attention can be directed to individuals belonging to the same underrepresented groups.” Using AI to eliminate recruitment bias and tackle skills gap AI has garnered significant attention in the media lately, often receiving unfavourable coverage; concerns have risen about potential job losses due to AI’s influence. However, FDM is looking at exploiting the positive power of AI to interrogate its data set. 66

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“ Beyond the impact on individuals, limited digital access and skills impedes the economy” JONATHAN YOUNG GROUP CIO, FDM

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

JONATHAN YOUNG TITLE: GROUP CIO COMPANY: FDM LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Having joined FDM Group in 2015, Group CIO Young is responsible for all aspects of technology for FDM globally. He has also held roles at HSBC and RBS.

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EXECUTIVE BIO

“For example, using machine learning engines to try to establish the true number of underrepresented people in the dataset – for example deriving gender from first name. Also, we are using AI to look for topic clusters and then seeing how prolific these clusters are with certain demographics, as well as using language analysis engines to interrogate the tone and the mood of the types of things that certain groups are saying.” As Young explains, FDM is leveraging the positive power of AI to examine its data set and identify patterns.

“We’re still in the early stages of our endeavour, but the preliminary data collection is undeniably promising. Initial tests with certain AI engines have yielded positive outcomes, revealing the richness of the data and unveiling interesting patterns. “Our ultimate goal is to find some themes which prompt us, as professionals in the technology field, to reshape how we interact with the public,” he adds. “This shift would ideally foster increased participation from underrepresented groups, encouraging them to join this exciting field.” 68

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How can education resolve the current skills gap crisis? With the rapid rate of technological advancement, it is crucial that young people have access to a ‘digital’ education to give them the right skills for the job market. “There are a lot of organisations who are talking about education but are trying to tackle it as an individual entity, rather than an industry conversation,” Stevens says. “We’ve got to look outside of the current training providers, ourselves included, and at what other education streams are available.

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS

“ To develop the current workforce and identify new talent, learning and development needs to take centre stage” ALEXIA PEDERSEN VP OF EMEA, O’REILLY

“The solutions differ in every country but essentially, it’s about education partnering with industry and collaborating properly. Education is there to provide whatever industry it serves with talented, motivated, educated and well-rounded individuals. But if the industry doesn’t show education what it’s looking for, what chance has education got?” “We need to work together to raise awareness of the industry as a whole. There’s a need to spread the word to schools, colleges, careers advisors – with the right buzz that piques interest the more they will

talk about it. It will not happen on its own. And if the industry works together to do this, the message will be stronger and further reaching.” As Alexia Pedersen, VP of EMEA at education platform O’Reilly describes, early education is the first step in tackling the growing skills gap. “To develop the current workforce and identify new talent, learning and development needs to take centre stage, with enterprises of all sizes needing to rethink how they train and upskill employees to ensure they keep pace with the new way of working,” she describes. “Learning and development (L&D) has the potential to democratise learning and create a major shift in how companies hire skills and cultivate fresh talent amid the UK’s growing skills shortage. Companies will create a more diverse talent pool with increased access to upskilling and reskilling tech-related L&D opportunities. At the same time, this will enable organisations to focus on hiring for potential rather than just experience. The shift towards democratised L&D will enable companies to more easily hire, develop and retain the best talent, which will ultimately enable overall productivity.” technologymagazine.com

HOW OKADA TAKING FULL OF THE A

October 2023

OKADA MANILA

DA MANILA IS ADVANTAGE AI BOOM WRITTEN BY: TOM CHAPMAN

PRODUCED BY: STUART IRVING

technologymagazine.com

OKADA MANILA

Through its groundbreaking use of AI and video analytics, Okada Manila is leading the charge when it comes to security and surveillance innovation

ince opening in 2016, Okada Manila has quickly established a reputation as a premier entertainment resort – and not just in the Philippines, but on the world stage. Such was the scale of this US$2.4 billion development that more than 18,000 workers were employed during the first phase of construction alone, and the results were spectacular. As its location in the Entertainment City district of Manila suggests, Okada Manila and its people are in the business of providing unforgettable experiences for their guests. In addition to the dazzling casino and luxurious hotel, this vast, integrated resort boasts an endless array of world-class amenities, meaning there truly is something for everyone whether they are looking to shop, dine or relax. One major hotspot is The Fountain, a US$30 million attraction designed by the same team responsible for similarly iconic water features in Las Vegas and Dubai. Then there’s Cove Manila, Southeast Asia’s biggest indoor beach club and nightclub, capable of hosting up to 3,000 partygoers. “What Okada aims to do is provide entertainment that’s safe, fun and has that wow factor,” explains Ashley Lorraway, the organisation’s Director of Security Infrastructure, Research and Development.

October 2023

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Modern Storage Infrastructure is Critical for Safety and Security Data Safety and security data isn’t just important, it is critical, and each organisation has unique needs when it comes to storing, managing, and retaining these assets. Dell Technologies offers modern, scalable, and flexible storage solutions that meet evolving demands while reducing risk and cost of ownership.

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Safeguarding security data is mission-critical and demands a robust storage strategy. Maintaining continuous access to recorded videos and seamless operation of recording and archiving equipment is crucial. Storage solutions must provide continuity while addressing other end-user concerns like compliance, cybersecurity, and AI. After all, a storage strategy is not “robust” if it doesn’t implore a holistic and multi-faceted approach. Maximise Uptime In environments like airports and casinos, operations must persist during storage maintenance to remain compliant. Adopting a node-based NAS storage solution, with erasure coding, can enable non-disruptive maintenance. Cybersecurity breaches are another contributor to downtime. Storage architecture must include an offline cyber recovery vault, disconnected from the production cluster, to expedite recovery and minimise downtime. Optimise Cloud and Space Mounting network access and egress costs combined with security concerns have many companies rethinking the cloud first approach. Organisations are shifting to a cloud-smart strategy by segregating on-prem and cloud-stored data to harness

cloud benefits while maintaining data control. Storage solutions that scale-out seamlessly into the petabyte range while minimising rack space are the best choice to drive efficiency and performance on-prem. Harness AI As companies aggressively adopt Generative AI, optimised storage infrastructure is the key to harnessing improved outcomes. Storage platforms must align with the emerging needs of GenAI and offer solutions that make the data easier to manage, process and analyse. Catering to AI’s specific requirements and vast, diverse data sets is accomplished by employing cutting-edge technologies like distributed storage, data compression and efficient data indexing. The world’s most flexible1, efficient2, and secure3 scale-out NAS solution When it comes to deploying a robust storage architecture that effectively stores, protects and manages mission-critical security data and offers unmatched performance for workloads like AI, Dell PowerScale storage is the clear choice. With critical assets at stake, you need a high-performance and scalable solution to help protect what matters most. Learn more at: www.Dell.com/PowerScale

Based on internal analysis of publicly available information sources, February 2023. [ ↑ ]

Based on Dell analysis comparing efficiency-related features: data reduction, storage capacity, data protection, hardware, space, lifecycle management efficiency, and ENERGY STAR certified configurations, June 2023. [ ↑ ]

Based on Dell analysis comparing cyber-security software capabilities offered for Dell PowerScale vs. competitive products, September 2022. [ ↑ ]

OKADA MANILA

EXECUTIVE BIO

“We throw absolutely everything at providing an extraordinary experience; that’s the number one thing Okada tries to achieve and we succeed every time.” Okada Manila has certainly lived up to the hype that existed during the planning and construction phase, receiving Five-Star accreditation from the Forbes Travel Guide and becoming a true icon of the Philippines. “Integrated resorts can be a dime a dozen; if you walk into one, you’ve walked into them all,” adds Lorraway. “But Okada Manila is not like any other place you’ve walked into. There’s no other resort that has the same feel, the same aura or the same

ASHLEY LORRAWAY TITLE: DIRECTOR OF SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY: OKADA MANILA LOCATION: PHILIPPINES Ashley Lorraway, the vigilant guardian of Okada Manila’s security and surveillance technology platforms, is a seasoned IT professional with 20 years of experience managing projects for corporate, government and mining sectors, and over a decade-long specialisation in intricate security and surveillance systems such as CCTV, access control and facial recognition. Hired as the Senior Manager of Surveillance Technical Services for Okada Manila in 2016, he has since been promoted to Director of Technology and then promoted again in 2022 to be named the Director of Security Infrastructure, Research & Development, and is a serving member of the Security Executive Committee.

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Hanwha Vision: Global Vision Solution Provider

Hanwha Vision offers a comprehensive line of security and video surveillance solutions which include IP cameras that support up to 8K resolution, a video management system, video and audio analytics, multi-sensor technologies and device integration with a host of 3rd party application providers. The company’s intelligent surveillance solutions are used globally, securing people, property and data across a range of industries including retail, transportation, education, banking, healthcare, hospitality, airports and more.

OKADA MANILA

atmosphere. You can find all the usual avenues of entertainment that you get in most integrated resorts, but there is just something extra special at Okada Manila. People will say that I’m biased but it’s absolutely true.” Overcoming security and surveillance challenges While he is keen to sing the praises of Okada Manila’s entertainment pedigree, Lorraway’s day-to-day concern – as his job title suggests – is how best to protect the resort from security threats.

As a seasoned technology expert, he heads up all the technological infrastructure for the security and surveillance platforms – supported by two data centres and around 200 server rooms – while training up the next generation of talented technicians and engineers. Lorraway is also in charge of Okada’s barring and exclusion committee, whose prerogative it is to prohibit a small but potentially dangerous minority of visitors from entering the casino and wider resort. technologymagazine.com

OKADA MANILA

Ashley Lorraway, Okada Manila’s Director of Security Infrastructure, on Harnessing AI’s Power WATCH NOW

Countless colleagues within the industry will be able to relate to the kinds of obstacles being faced by Lorraway and his team on a daily basis. Traditional challenges like budgeting are up there with the toughest, but luck has often been on their side. “When you’re dealing with a board of directors, 9.9 times out of 10 they’re not technically sound,” says Lorraway. “You have to convince these businesspeople that a certain technology is going to improve 80

October 2023

operations so they will give you the money to do just that. “I’m extremely lucky, though, that part of Okada’s mission is to be an innovative global leader. I’m also lucky that we have one of the best CTOs on the planet and a Chief Security Officer who is very technologically-minded and supportive.” Undoubtedly, however, the biggest ongoing challenge for the Okada Manila tech team is prioritisation.

The artificial intelligence (AI) explosion and the way emerging technologies are being applied to video analytics and facial recognition means there is seemingly a limitless number of pathways when it comes to innovation, research and development. The big question is which path to choose. Lorraway continues: “There are only so many hours in a day and the question we have to ask ourselves is, ‘which mind-

blowing technology advancement are we going to implement first?’. It sounds arrogant, but we have so many ideas and we’re working on so many projects.” Okada Manila: Constantly evolving Okada Manila has, as Lorraway puts it, been very good at “rolling with the punches” during its short history. Evidently, the pandemic was a significant trigger, forcing the business to evolve with technologymagazine.com

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“ With AI, what would usually take weeks now takes a matter of seconds” ASHLEY LORRAWAY

DIRECTOR OF SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, OKADA MANILA

ABOUT THE RESORT • Okada Manila’s casino features the country’s most expansive gaming floor, with around 500 tables and more than 3,000 electronic machines • The Fountain at Okada Manila cost US$30m and was designed by WET, the same company behind similarly iconic water features in Las Vegas and Dubai

DID YOU KNOW...

the launch of an online casino, while also considering practical measures at the resort itself such as the installation of contactless technology. So far, the online casino has proved a roaring success and an excellent revenue stream which looks set to continue growing. Another major evolution has involved the use of facial recognition which, a few decades ago, was being examined but was something of a pipedream given the necessary AI algorithms were not yet powerful enough. But now, the technology has reached the point where it has the potential to replace pretty much any authentication that exists within a casino environment, such as ID passes and reward cards, and can even be used to record player ratings. “We have dramatically expanded our use of facial recognition, to the point where we are testing with a view to using it in other areas beyond security,” Lorraway adds. Introducing new technology to combat fire risk is another example of Okada Manila refusing to rest on its laurels. Fire is the single biggest threat to a venue of this size, regardless of the industry, and

• Altogether, the planning, design and development project to turn Okada Manila from an idea into reality took nine years • Cove Manila, Southeast Asia’s biggest indoor beach club and nightclub, is enclosed in a glass dome which is 100 metres in diameter and 30m in height • The club is capable of hosting up to 3,000 partygoers

technologymagazine.com

October 2023

OKADA MANILA

it is essential to have the best alarm and suppression systems installed. The tech director continues: “We’re innovative here; we’re always looking for new ways to protect life, especially when you’re such a big site and you can’t monitor every little area. “We’ve evolved when it comes to tackling fire, right from the notification and alarms to state-of-the-art suppression systems.”

“All of the greatest leaps forward that anybody makes in the next decade or two are going to be AI-relevant” ASHLEY LORRAWAY

DIRECTOR OF SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, OKADA MANILA

A hotbed for innovation The aforementioned boost that AI has given to facial recognition and similar processes cannot be celebrated enough by Lorraway. “AI is everything,” he proclaims. “All of the greatest leaps forward that anybody makes in the next decade or two are going to be AI-relevant.” In the security and surveillance technology space, in conjunction with gaming protection, use of video analytics powered by AI is the direction in which Okada Manila is already heading. “Say you’ve got a 12-man cheating syndicate which is meeting up on site,” Lorraway adds, providing a hypothetical example. “Traditionally, surveillance people would look at their activities over a technologymagazine.com

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October 2023

OKADA MANILA

period of time and try to denote all the members of that syndicate. “With AI, what would usually take weeks now takes a matter of seconds, depending on the processing power. We can tell the AI that we’ve already confirmed one of the members and we want to know everybody he’s had contact with.” Then there’s behavioural recognition and the prospect of teaching AI tools how to recognise the type of behaviour seen among those who are cheating or looking to steal, including pickpockets. “Casinos are rife with pickpockets,” Lorraway goes on. “So, we’re in the midst of teaching the AI to recognise them

“ Vendors used to be very siloed but, these days, you need versatile partners that can cover a multitude of areas” ASHLEY LORRAWAY

DIRECTOR OF SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, OKADA MANILA technologymagazine.com

October 2023

OKADA MANILA

before they’ve even picked a single pocket. “It’s the kind of stuff where, if I told you 25 years ago, you wouldn’t even believe it. But we’re working on it, we’re proving it and we’re implementing it.” Okada Manila is already benefitting from facial recognition when it comes to detecting banned patrons on its premises. Whether they are a prolific criminal, terrorism suspect or a responsible gaming risk, relevant individuals who are spotted by the facial recognition system will trigger an alert before security personnel escort them away. However, like in all innovative technology departments, the team is constantly asking how they can go one step further; in this case, how can they reduce the time it takes for a banned patron to be recognised and security personnel dispatched? The answer is facial recognition sunglasses which, granted, sounds a bit James Bond when you first hear it, but the technology is available. Lorraway explains: “Security personnel will wear the sunglasses attached to the facial recognition system and get an immediate alert when a wanted person approaches. Banned patrons won’t even get in the building. “It sounds like pie in the sky stuff, but we’ve already done it. We’ve tested the prototype, it works and we’re going to implement it – end of story. That’s another incredible thing in the pipeline.” Licence plate recognition, vehicle IED scanning and privacy screening, which sees innocent parties automatically blurred out when incident footage is exported and viewed for legal purposes, are just some of the other processes being made substantially easier by AI and analytics. technologymagazine.com

OKADA MANILA

October 2023

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The importance of vendor management Clearly, Okada Manila’s tech team and the wider business cannot go it entirely alone and frequently enlist the help of a trusted selection of key partners. “Vendor management is one of the most important aspects of a technology professional’s job,” Lorraway says. “When there’s a force majeure event like the pandemic, you want to have the kind of relationship where there’s flexibility and you can work together to create a winning scenario. “Vendors used to be very siloed but, these days, you need versatile partners that can cover a multitude of areas.”

One example Lorraway gives is Sync4U, a local provider of facial recognition capabilities, as well as a host of other innovative technology for fire protection and security purposes. Another partner, Andaman Sea and Earth, offers some of the best video analytics and management systems on the market. “Having the kind of relationship where your partner is well connected, and can help you find the right people for a specific purpose, is exactly what you want.”

technologymagazine.com

TECH SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE SUCCESS OF THE

METAV With a quarter of people predicted to spend at least an hour daily in a metaverse for either entertainment or work, technology skills are needed WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW 92

October 2023

ENTERPRISE IT

VERSE RS As Partha Ghosh, Head of Consulting, Digital Experience, Europe, Infosys told Technology Magazine earlier this year, the metaverse is all about immersive experiences powered by experiential technology. The metaverse, he says, promises to bring together technologies to create a virtual environment that can help companies achieve efficiency and intelligence while working remotely.

“How we apply its capabilities is a play of our creativity and imagination. By 2024, there are predictions of over 34m VR headsets installed around the world, potentially meaning that even public companies and government organisations might begin to implement VR headsets into their services, so you can expect to see them installed in numerous places.” technologymagazine.com

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SIMON ALLARDICE TITLE: PRINCIPAL AUTHOR

EXECUTIVE BIO

COMPANY: PLURALSIGHT

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LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Simon Allardice is Creative Director and Principal Author at Pluralsight. With over three decades of software development experience, he’s programmed in every discipline: from finance to transportation, nuclear reactors to game development.

Metaverse is currently in its infancy Today, the metaverse is still in its infancy. “Currently, it isn’t much more than a set of disconnected and proprietary AR and VR experiences – with a lofty vision of interconnectedness and immersion,” explains Simon Allardice, Principal Author at Pluralsight. Because of this, it’s easy to write the concept of the metaverse off as simply another technology buzzword.

“Only time will tell if the metaverse ever does live up to its name,” Allardice comments. “For now, it is a useful shorth and way of describing the mostly predictive, mostly future-looking process of trying to combine all of these disparate technologies including VR, AR, artificial intelligence, pervasive cloud infrastructure, and multiplayer gaming.” The hype might have died down, but organisations looking to harness the metaverse must ensure they have the requisite tech skills. “For many technologists, it’s a reality that organisations will begin demanding that their tech workforce has the skills needed to help build out the metaverse through increased focus on AR, VR, and related technologies,” says Allardice. technologymagazine.com

“ IN TERMS OF SKILLS NEEDED TO RUN THE METAVERSE, MANY OF THE FUNDAMENTAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SKILLS WON’T CHANGE” SIMON ALLARDICE PRINCIPAL AUTHOR, PLURALSIGHT

“In fact, two thirds of organisations expect to embrace these new technologies in the next two years. “Despite the eagerness to explore the space, the ongoing digital skills gap in the tech industry prevails, and unsurprisingly, metaverse skills are in high demand. But nearly three-quarters of workers do not feel equipped to learn the digital skills needed by businesses now and even more, 76% do not feel equipped for the future. “For organisations to successfully establish their own piece of the metaverse, and remain competitive, they must first ensure that their workers are equipped with the right skills to do so.” The Metaverse needs new tech skills As organisations globally continue to fight the ongoing technology skills gap, the metaverse will add further challenges. “Though many of the fundamental skills that the metaverse requires will have significant overlap with other forms of coding, technologists should still expect to enter into a new era of software development,” Allardice says. “Twenty years ago, most developers were focused on building desktop apps, and a few years later they were expected to provide 96

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ENTERPRISE IT

mobile versions of those same apps,” he describes. “That same principle applies to the evolution of the metaverse; upskilling in metaverse related technologies is going to continue to be important for technologists. “In terms of skills needed to run the metaverse, many of the fundamental software development skills won’t change – particularly if you are working with the backend components. There’s no unique programming language just for the metaverse – languages like Python, JavaScript and C# will continue to play their part. But it’s increasingly important for developers to focus on speed with AR and VR. For the metaverse to be seamless, developers must find ways to reduce latency and get as close to real-time responsiveness as possible.” The metaverse will also usher in new considerations for cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital transactions. Understanding the cybersecurity risks that massive VR and AR environments pose will be a huge factor. “For front-end developers who want to be more involved in the actual creation of the VR experiences themselves, technologists need to start becoming familiar with the 3D engines that are typically used for creating immersive worlds,” Allardice adds. “Upskilling in programs such as Unity and Unreal, and associated programming languages like C, C#, and C++ which have a lot of crossover with game development skills will be key.” Ushering in an Immersive Digital World We are far from being able to jump into an interconnected, open-source metaverse to complete our workday, catch up with friends, and engage in leisure activities using one singular virtual world. However, as Alladice concludes, simply dismissing the metaverse as the future state of VR or AR isn’t good enough. technologymagazine.com

ENTERPRISE IT

October 2023

“ THE METAVERSE STILL HAS FLAWS, BUT IT ALSO HAS IMMENSE POTENTIAL TO AUGMENT AND IMPROVE OUR TECHNOLOGICAL LIVES” SIMON ALLARDICE PRINCIPAL AUTHOR, PLURALSIGHT

“In the present, AR experiences are becoming increasingly sophisticated,” he says. “For instance, the latest VR headsets are more wearable, and real world items are increasingly being brought into this virtual space. Even smartphones have become powerful AR tools, with social media filters and apps helping to bring the virtual world into the real world. “The future of the metaverse depends on collective buy-in to the concept and technologies, a clear framework for interconnectivity, and ease of use. In order for the metaverse to be enticing, it needs to solve a problem or otherwise make life easier and more enjoyable. These changes must be executed by organisations with a keen vision, and skilled technologists willing to create innovative solutions for the problems of the metaverse. “At present, the metaverse still has flaws, but it also has immense potential to augment and improve our technological lives. There is real value in pursuing the metaverse, and there is an immersive digital world just waiting to be built. That said, businesses need to take a step back before diving head first into the space. Building the skills of existing talent within organisations to support innovation in this space will be key to its success.” technologymagazine.com

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STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

LEADERS IN DRIVING ESG, GROWTH AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS WRITTEN BY: MAYA DERRICK PRODUCED BY: LEWIS VAUGHAN

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STACK’s EMEA leadership team explores its growth over the last 18 months and how it’s hyper-focused on sustainability and creating positive relationships

elivering growth while maintaining a positive environmental and social impact is at the heart of STACK Infrastructure’s operations. As a leading global developer and operator of data centres, STACK provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. It’s acutely focused on doing so in an environmentally and socially positive way, through measures such as powering all facilities with 100% renewables, piloting innovative projects like heat reuse, and engaging relevantly with local communities. This is embodied by STACK’s EMEA Vice President of ESG, Michillay Brown. Proudly South African born and raised, she is motivated by the beauty and complexity of her homeland to drive change and make a real, positive impact. “Data centres are the foundations of the global digital landscape and building critical infrastructure with respect for our planet and its people is essential,” she says. “Sustainability strategies that deliver tangible results is something I’m incredibly passionate about.” Encouraging and inspiring the data centre workforce of the future Reducing carbon footprints, circularity principles and delivering benefits to communities is what drew Brown to the data

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From left: STACK’s Michillay Brown, John Eland, and Amy Daniell

“ OUR ESG AND DE&I PROGRAMS ARE PIVOTAL TO ENSURING WE PROVIDE A WELCOMING AND THRIVING WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE” JOHN ELAND

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STACK EMEA

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centre industry and especially to STACK following a career in mining. Amy Daniell, STACK’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development in EMEA, shares how the industry has evolved at an exponential rate over the last 15 years, and that the scale of STACK’s projects never ceases to amaze her. Amid the growth, the company’s focus on sustainability and its workforce is also moving forward at pace. “Eight to 10 years ago, a big data centre in Europe was five or six megawatts,” Daniell explains. “Now, it’s more like 50 or 60 megawatts. It’s a very different scale. The key evolution is that we are reaching a talent saturation point in our industry, and we’re having to look to other industries for new talent.”

STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

JOHN ELAND TITLE: CEO, EMEA COMPANY: STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

The STACK team at the Milan Marathon

Daniell, who studied law and worked in construction before entering the data centre space, works closely with local schools to encourage young people from all backgrounds to consider careers in data centres and STEM subjects. But Daniell doesn’t work alone to shape the workforce of the future; across EMEA, STACK runs several local education programs with a range of benefits for students, from learning about and interacting with data centres, to internships and apprenticeships. Though STACK operates in three distinct regions – Americas, EMEA and APAC – John Eland, the Chief Executive Officer of the EMEA business, explains that client focus, speed, agility and excellence in delivery unite STACK worldwide.

John Eland is the EMEA Chief Executive Officer at STACK. He joined the company in April 2022 to oversee its expansion across the EMEA region. Prior to joining STACK, John served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Global Data Centres division at NTT Ltd where he led strategy and corporate development in existing and new markets. Early in his career, John served as the CEO of Data City Exchange, a modular data centre solution innovator. From there he transitioned to the investment side of the industry, joining AXA Investment Managers in 2014 to oversee the deployment and management of AXAIM’s £1billion data centre investments programme.

Conscious Care™ When less is more We’re redefining energy resilience with cleaner solutions for individuals, businesses, and communities.

Maintenance program for KD Series™ generators Want to reduce your fuel consumption and carbon footprint without compromising reliability and your peace of mind? The Conscious Care maintenance program enables operators to exercise back-up generators at no load and extend the required interval to every four months. Driving down fuel and bank load expenses, while reducing sound and air pollutions, and overall greenhouse gas emissions. When it comes to making sustainable changes, sometimes less really is more. Discover how Kohler is fostering sustainable resilience within businesses and communities. Learn more about our initiatives and get in touch with us here:

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Kohler delivers power solutions to keep data centres on Lenaik Andrieux, GM EMEA & India of Power Systems at Kohler, explains why its production increase is paramount for enabling reliable energy for data centre businesses In a digital age where continuous power is non-negotiable, Kohler emerges as a beacon of reliable energy solutions for various sectors, from healthcare to the rapidly expanding data centre market. Kohler’s diverse portfolio ranges from kitchen and bath businesses to entertainment and golf. Yet, its heart lies in the power industry, offering engines, generators, switch gears, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) globally. Lenaik Andrieux, GM EMEA & India, emphasises, “Power systems is really almost an energy insurance business. We are here to make sure that your line never goes off.” This dedication has led to a 30% production capacity increase, especially targeting the data centre sector. Beyond generators, Kohler’s switchgear segment stands out. As Andrieux explains, “Switch gears distribute energy effectively, ensuring it reaches the right spot in your process or organisation.” Kohler’s commitment goes beyond products; they deliver total power

solutions, a comprehensive approach covering design, execution, and long-term support. Sustainability is integral to Kohler. The company has slashed its carbon footprint by 60% using renewable fuels like Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Innovative programs like Conscious Care™ further demonstrate their eco-focus, aiming to reduce the operational maintenance activity hours of large power plants, hence the environmental impact. When questioned about challenges transitioning to HVO, Andrieux reassures, “It’s easy to substitute with the same parameters as GNR. As demand grows, supply will match.” Andrieux foresees Kohler making significant strides in the data centre realm. “We have a strong brand and take direct ownership of projects with our customers from start to finish,” he states. A cornerstone of Kohler’s success in the sustainability space is its many partnerships with companies and organizations that align with their vision. They value collaboration with other entities when it is firmly rooted in trust as well as technical expertise.

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STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

Heat reuse pipes at a STACK data centre

“ DATA CENTRES ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE GLOBAL DIGITAL LANDSCAPE AND BUILDING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WITH RESPECT FOR OUR PLANET AND ITS PEOPLE IS ESSENTIAL” MICHILLAY BROWN

VICE PRESIDENT, ESG, STACK EMEA

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“We want to ensure that STACK resonates with people, both inside and outside the industry, for the right reasons,” Eland shares. “Our ESG and DE&I programs are pivotal to ensuring that we not only strive to deliver excellence in data centre development and operations, but we also provide a welcoming and thriving work environment for our people along with developing strong connections with the communities in which we operate.” Giving back to communities STACK serves What STACK is cognisant of, Brown highlights, is that operating around EMEA presents its own challenges when it comes

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STACK campus beehives technologymagazine.com

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Now 15% more compact than the industry standard, this chiller uses less energy to cool your data center spaces with advanced optimisation technology. Available in multiple versions, the highly configurable Liebert AFC adapts to your data center design no matter where you’re located, so you can always stay sustainably cool.

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© 2023 Vertiv Group Corp. All rights reserved. Vertiv™ and the Vertiv logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vertiv Group Corp. All other names and logos referred to are trade names, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Strategic Data Centre Design: Tailoring Solutions to Unique Requirements In today’s digital era, data centres are the backbone of our interconnected world, supporting the digital infrastructure that drives our daily lives. However, as data generation continues to grow exponentially and the demand for processing power escalates, data centres face the challenge of managing both cooling continuity and energy consumption. These challenges often necessitate bespoke solutions that are designed and engineered to address specific requirements. In the realm of data centre solutions, Vertiv stands out in delivering not just an array of best-in-class products but also a holistic and tailored approach to meet the unique needs of each project. We take a thorough approach to understand the intricacies of the project, ensuring that the solution is precisely aligned with specific requirements and shedding light on the distinct advantages of choosing Vertiv over other alternatives. Highly configurable solutions like the Vertiv™ Liebert® AFC inverter screw freecooling chiller with low-GWP (global warming potential) are engineered with durable components and advanced technologies delivering reliable performance even under rigorous usage and harsh operating conditions. The free cooling mode significantly improves seasonal efficiency and reduces operating costs, while the use of low-GWP refrigerant aligns with environmental regulations and carbon reduction goals. To further continuity of cooling capacity, regardless of external ambient conditions, the Vertiv™ Liebert® AHU air handling unit is a bespoke high-capacity solution that can be installed both indoor and outdoor for greater flexibility. Added value results from meticulous attention to detail and the selection of highly reliable

components managed with control logics. Moreover, the Vertiv™ Liebert® iCOM™ monitoring and control logic is strategically at the heart of such tailor-made cooling systems as it not only enhances efficiency but also provides the necessary redundancy for cooling continuity, even during power outages. A key advantage offered by Vertiv is the opportunity to undergo witness tests, benefiting from comprehensive consultations with engineering and application specialists. Vertiv’s Thermal Management Customer Experience Centre includes seven innovation labs on one site, where customers can witness and verify the quality, functionality, and performance of their tailor-made solution. The holistic approach ensures that the entire bespoke solution, not just individual units, meets the agreed requirements and expectations. To complement its cutting-edge solutions, Vertiv offers a comprehensive suite of services which are essential to enhance efficiency and performance. By providing key insights on how the equipment is being used, Vertiv services can help improve uptime and reliability, lower operating costs, increase energy efficiency, and ultimately reduce the data centre’s environmental impact.

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STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

John Eland, EMEA CEO at STACK, on 18 Months of Growth, Sustainability, and Positive Relationships WATCH NOW

to ESG and delivery, with local laws, boundaries and obligations varying from location to location. STACK’s approach to ESG is global at its core, but flexible so that when implemented at a local level it serves the needs of communities. “We unlock so much value when our global regions are collaborating and sharing best practices with different yet regionally relevant initiatives,” Brown explains. STACK has implemented a number of progressive ESG initiatives on a local level, such as heat reuse solutions and rainwater harvesting. One of its most pioneering projects is in Oslo, Norway, where heat 112

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from STACK’s data centre is reused to warm up to 5,000 city homes. Brown adds: “STACK is also factoring in local biodiversity as part of our basis of design. This means looking to incorporate low-maintenance green facades which cover the building with native species of vegetation. It’s very attractive for the aesthetics of an industrial area and attracts wildlife as well. Conservation efforts with campus beehives is another initiative we’re particularly proud of.” In 2024, STACK will launch its new global ESG framework and commitments, bringing a holistic approach to ESG across all areas of STACK worldwide.

Heat from STACK’s Oslo data centre is reused to warm up to 5,000 city homes. Native plants are incorporated into the design of the facade STACK operates in

United through solving complicated problems with people of different backgrounds Eland is a firm believer that STACK’s success and continued growth EMEAwide is well supported by its strong dynamic culture and diverse workforce, with more than 30 nationalities represented in this region of STACK alone. “STACK is present in 23 markets and counting,”

markets across EMEA, APAC, and the Americas Globally, STACK boasts

2.5+GW

of built and under development capacity and

4.0+GW

of planned and potential development More than

nationalities are represented in STACK’s EMEA workforce

he says. “And of course there are logistical considerations that come with adding new markets, new regulations and new members of the workforce. We’ve been driving harmonisation while remaining highly focused on growth and maintaining that strong growth trajectory,” he adds. “Over the last 18 months we’ve been focused on integrating three legacy regional businesses and have successfully brought it all technologymagazine.com

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The clock is ticking in the race for net zero infrastructure. European data center operators are embarking on a quest to power the path to a sustainable digital future, but only through collaboration, digitalization and electrification can the vision become a reality.

oday we are at an inflection point. In recent times, businesses and consumers have lived through one of the worst energy crises in living memory, while the fundamental challenge of our generation, climate change, is being compounded by energy issues. It’s estimated that 80% of the world’s emissions come from the production, generation, and transmission of energy. If businesses can begin to reduce or eliminate energy waste, humankind can begin to benefit on a global scale, and make significant steps forward in the mission to combat global warming. Looking back to the energy crisis, the reality away from media headlines is fundamentally, different. Indeed, there were no blackouts, no outages, and today the cost of energy is gradually coming down. However, the fallout remains high, with energyintensive industries such as petrochemicals being mothballed, data center operating costs peaking throughout the winter, and Europe becoming less attractive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with greenfield investment projects falling an estimated 15% to-date. The good news, however, is that while 12 months ago 70% of the European Unions (EU) energy came from fossil fuels, the continents’ renewable energy production capabilities have accelerated at a dramatic rate, with almost 40% of all energy now being generated from renewables. What’s clear is that to drive the green transition forward we must continue to prioritise investments in green infrastructure, renewable energy, and sustainable digital transformation – all of which will be vital to address global warming and solve the challenges presented by the energy crisis.

For businesses and consumers alike, energy security and sustainability are two sides of the same coin and it’s estimated that 60% of all energy produced is lost or wasted. The challenge, therefore, is to find new ways to minimize waste across all critical industries by investing in highly resilient and energy efficient technologies, many of which exist already today. As the winter fast-approaches, this becomes even more important for data center operators, where geopolitical issues and grid constrains will have an immediate impact on costs, power supplies and increase the risk of downtime. The reality is that the pace of digitization over the last few years has truly been transformative, and the data center industry, which is the backbone of the digital economy, is becoming increasingly accountable. By 2025, the electrical footprint of data centers is expected to increase by 50%, and we anticipate a 500% growth in data globally. Clearly our digitized world requires an exceptional amount of processing and storage, causing exponential demand for data centers and IT infrastructures. Ultimately, this growth means energy efficiency and sustainability are paramount to the future of the sector, and as the world becomes more dependent on digital infrastructure, we must encourage the responsible consumption and production of data - ensuring we embed a culture of sustainability in our data center designs, buildouts and operations. To unlock the new efficiencies and improvements will require new insights hailed from the creation of data. Therefore, the data center sector itself can act as a catalyst for sustainable change, empowering the world to do more, with less, while reducing the amount of energy and resources wasted, and minimizing carbon emissions.

Powering the Path to a Sustainable, Digital Future

MARC GARNER

SVP SECURE POWER EUROPE, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

At Schneider Electric, we believe the convergence of digitalization and electrification, something we call Electricity 4.0, presents us with the fastest path to net zero, and a world which is more sustainable and more resilient. This is inherently important for the data center sector. Electricity, for example, makes energy green and is proven to be 3-5x more efficient than other energy sources, while digital technology helps makes the invisible visible, driving new efficiencies and eliminating energy waste. Today the data center industry has made great progress in driving energy efficiency and sustainability, but it’s clear that more must be done in the quest to build a net zero future. If we can find new ways to reduce energy waste, we can reduce consumption, costs, and carbon emissions, and place ourselves right at the heart of the green transition.

Today Schneider Electric is partnering with STACK Infrastructure to help the organization power the path for a more sustainable, digital future. As part of an ongoing collaboration at its MIL01A data center, Schneider Electric has provided some of the foundational physical infrastructure and software, helping the organization achieve its ambitious energy efficiency and sustainability objectives. STACK, for example, has created a powerhouse of sustainable, efficient, and resilient colocation data centers, providing customers with unparalleled, flexible expansion capacity and a sustainable platform for growth. Its MIL01A facility delivers an annualized operational PUE of ~1.3, with a water usage effectiveness (WUE) of ~0.8 - all while meeting ASHRAE TC9.9 thermal guidelines. To achieve the highest levels of efficiency, STACK utilizes Schneider Electric’s Galaxy™ VX UPS with Li-Ion batteries, which offers up to 99% energy efficiency in eConversion™ mode, alongside Schneider Electric racks, Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units, electrical distribution, and switchgear. Software is also critical to its operations and in Milan, it utilizes Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure™ platform to gain granular levels of insight and control into the operating environment. Key modules include Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Data Center Expert, EcoStruxure IT™ Expert and Power Monitoring Expert modules – connecting the data center, electrical, mechanical and key critical systems together via DCIM and BMS to deliver reduced energy consumption, and a more efficient and holistic operation. Through a meticulous approach to design and operations, and by harnessing the power of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure for Data Centers™ portfolio, STACK is delivering unmatched levels of sustainability and efficiency to clients in Italy. To learn more about the benefits of EcoStruxure Data Center Solutions, click here.

STACK INFRASTRUCTURE

“ THE ORGANISATIONS WE COLLABORATE WITH SHARE OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES AND WANT TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOALS. WE ALL WANT TO BE ON THE SAME JOURNEY” AMY DANIELL

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT, STACK EMEA

together. We’re one STACK organisation in EMEA, one team, applying STACK’s global delivery principles to serve as a trusted partner to our clients.” Partners with common values central to STACK And although STACK is in a strong position to make positive change and significantly grow, it can’t do this on its own. “Partnerships are at the forefront of our business practice. We want to develop long-term relationships which are key to consistency and sustained success,” explains Daniell. “So to continue to deliver at pace and serve as a partner to our own clients, building strong relationships with our supply chain is essential,” Daniell stresses. “Trust is key. It’s a matter of building a strong supply chain and collaborating with them to achieve 116

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STACK’s data centre in Oslo

our goals of delivering excellence in service, on time and on budget, sustainably.” Daniell details how STACK’s partner companies are carefully selected. Shared core values, including the sustainable sourcing of raw materials, is non-negotiable. She admits that while many of STACK’s valued partnerships are already established, the company continues to seek alliances with those who also put sustainability and respect for the planet at the heart of their offering. “We’re looking at all of their processes because they’re part of our value chain,” she adds. “We’re making sure that once our buildings are fully operational,

we’ve worked diligently to understand the origin of every single component. The organisations we collaborate with share our sustainability principles and want to achieve the same goals. We all want to be on the same journey.” A phase of hypergrowth The term ‘sustainable future’ has more than one definition for Eland - to him, it applies to both the planet and the business. “Our entire industry is in a phase of hypergrowth. We were already experiencing a phase of strong growth driven by core compute requirements, but with the advent of AI – particularly over the last year – there

are larger-scale demand requirements coming to market that show no signs of slowing,” he details. Eland sees the next 12 to 18 months focused on ensuring STACK’s growth trajectory in EMEA continues to match that of its hyperscale clients, ensuring successful and safe delivery. “We see no evidence of these requirements diminishing. We are ensuring that we are well-placed, well-served and properly structured to support them as they arrive.”

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THE NEED TO DESIGN A SECURE AND COMPLIANT DATA & AI STRATEGY Business leaders looking to adopt data-first strategies face significant challenges, such as the challenges associated with new technologies like AI models WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW

oday, organisations often apply data-driven approaches sporadically, leaving value on the table and creating inefficiencies. McKinsey & Company predicts that, by 2025, nearly all employees will naturally and regularly leverage data to support their work. This transition to a data-driven mindset will enable organisations to make better decisions as well as automating basic day-to-day activities and regularly occurring decisions. Employees will be free to focus on more ‘human’ domains, such as innovation, collaboration, and communication. 118

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However, business leaders who are looking to adopt a data-first strategy are facing significant challenges: from the increasing pressure and demands from customers to invest in new technology,such as AI, to the requirement of satisfying stricter and increasingly complex data security, data governance and regulatory requirements. To navigate these challenges, there are a number of critical steps a data-driven business must take. At the centre and as a necessary first step, they need to choose a modern, data and AI cloud platform with governance, security and compliance baked into its very foundation.

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A Healthcare Technology Company We built the market-leading Senior Care EHR in North America.

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DATA & ANALYTICS

“ Organisations need to stay nimble, with a security and governance framework that can easily adapt to such innovations”

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ARTIN AVANES

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, SNOWFLAKE

By leveraging such a data platform, businesses can focus on their core competencies, accelerate insights from their data and create new end-user experiences.

ARTIN AVANES TITLE: DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT COMPANY: SNOWFLAKE

Tackling compliance challenges Increasing regulatory requirements are becoming front and centre for any modern, data-first business strategy, explains Artin Avanes, Director of Product Management at data cloud company Snowflake. “This is true for all businesses including those looking to scale within a single

LOCATION: SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA

Avanes is an experienced product manager with main focus on enterprise SaaS and data analytics. He joined Snowflake in 2015 after spending four years at Microsoft.

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What is Snowflake? 8 Minute Demo WATCH NOW

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geography or regulated industry, and even more so for global businesses looking to operate and scale across different geographies and diverse industries.” Today, regions such as the US, Europe and Asia have introduced numerous data management and data governance regulations that organisations must adhere to. “For example,” Avanes says, “in the US, there is no singular law that covers the privacy of all types of data. Instead, it has a mix of laws that are designed to target specific states or specific types of data. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives California 122

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residents increased transparency and control over how businesses collect and use their data, while the Gramm-Leach Baily Act (GLBA) covers consumer financial products and requires companies to explain how they share data. In the EU, businesses must adhere to the GDPR, and in Asia, organisations have to comply with the Information Technology Act.” The need for an integrated, consistent data governance strategy In order to navigate continuously evolving regulatory requirements, Avanes suggests organisations must implement a data governance

DATA & ANALYTICS

“The emergence of modern data applications paired with the need to enable global collaboration poses an additional complex challenge to governance and security. A modern data platform allows its users to seamlessly integrate, apply and enforce the aforementioned core security and governance platform capabilities. It accelerates modern and global data applications development and enables application builders to focus on their core competencies and monetise opportunities with peace of mind.”

framework that empowers them to discover, understand and protect their heterogeneous data while leveraging it securely to collaborate internally and externally. “An effective, all-encompassing data governance strategy will enable organisations to store and manage personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive data securely while monitoring and protecting that data in near real-time,” he describes. “This includes modifications as well as new incoming sensitive data without the need to manually intervene and adjust existing secure workflows.

The future-proofing of data strategies A scalable and efficient data governance strategy must also be forward-looking. Technology is advancing rapidly, making it more challenging for organisations to keep pace with security and governance advancements. As a result, businesses must think about the foundations and frameworks that will apply to technology in the years to come. “Take generative AI and the emerging large language models (LLMs) as recent popular examples,” Avanes says. “Over the past few years, AI has swiftly become a crucial aspect of modern life, transforming the way we live, work and interact with each other, with many believing it will be one of the most profound technology shifts seen in our lifetimes. Organisations need to stay nimble, with a security and governance framework that can easily adapt to such innovations.” As more businesses leverage LLMs, the models will adopt more sensitive and private data to learn from. “However, the models are at risk of breaching or violating diverse compliance requirements. Take GDPR as an example. Once a model is trained, it will continue to use that data, with no process in place currently to have this data removed. technologymagazine.com

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“ Governance will keep changing, and companies need to be in a position to respond with ease and at scale via proper automated security and compliance workflows” ARTIN AVANES

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, SNOWFLAKE

“While the forthcoming European Union AI act will likely take this into account, the laws and regulations around data use and governance will keep changing, and companies need to be in a position to respond with ease and at scale via proper automated security and compliance workflows. Increased automation around security and compliance reduces the likelihood of causing disruption to existing processes, products, and experiences, while the absence of manual and error-prone intervention decreases the risk of security and compliance violations.” 124

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Scaling compliance across data teams To scale a data strategy, businesses must have the right teams in place who work together effectively,” Avanes asserts. “Typically, there are domain experts in security, governance and compliance working with IT, and data teams who are responsible for modernising the tech stack. Often, these groups are separate, with a different level of understanding around security and compliance, which can often result in friction with data modernisation initiatives.” For example, data platform teams may be keen to adopt the latest technologies

to keep pace with the competition or build new products and experiences, but the compliance team might be reluctant due to potential violations of existing regulatory requirements. “We are seeing a trend where forwardlooking, data-driven organisations ensure that both these teams work very closely together so that they can share an understanding of these challenges and arrive at the right solution in order to scale the strategy with minimal disruption. Data stewards and compliance officers are deeply embedded within data

platform teams and closely collaborate with data architects.” A modern data platform must offer a first-class search and discovery experience, including the ability to manage uncurated data, independent of its data format such as structured or unstructured. “It needs to scale with data volumes and data changes by ensuring automated classification of all data assets,” Avanes concludes. “This should feed into scalable and consistent data access policies the data steward can define and enforce. These are all core security and governance platform capabilities.” technologymagazine.com

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ARE YOU READY FOR 2024?

Convera looks at today’s global economy, analysing the impacts of monetary policy, bonds & equity, credit, trade and geopolitics on FX rates, with an eye to how these may change as we enter 2024

WRITTEN BY: LOUIS THOMPSETT

PRODUCED BY: JAMES WHITE

CONVERA

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Facing headwinds and high expectations for global commerce Today, exchange rates are experiencing volatility, with economic headwinds leading to unpredictable impacts on a growing global trade market post-COVID-19. This volatility is affecting cross-border trade for SMEs and large corporations alike. Interest rates from 155 central banks between August 2021-2023 have risen over 500 times – constituting the most aggressive period of interest rate hikes ever recorded – a reality that has jolted foreign exchange (FX) rates.

The cause of these unprecedented hikes? The need to swiftly contain inflation. Central banks have had to reverse course from their actions during the COVID-19 pandemic when over 200 interest rate cuts happened throughout 2020. As the gears of industry and trade began turning again in 2021, a regime shift has been mandated to control inflation. But rapidly imposed, successive interest rate hikes have knocked exchange rates; the euro, US dollar and pound sterling have seen much volatility since.

Top five macro concerns businesses expect 6-12 months ahead

Note: percentages will not add up to 100% due to multiple response options. Only displaying top 5 concerns. Source: Convera – July 6-7 2023. Displaying responses from 95 businesses across Europe, APAC and NAM. Respondents included industries such as financial services, manufacturing, and respondent job titles included FDs, CFOs, and MDs. Question: “Thinking about the next 6-12 months, what issue(s) concerns you most today?”. ‘Other’ concerns not displayed included Digital transformation/automation.

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In fact, Kybira’s 2023 Currency Impact Report examining 1,200 companies found that rising exchange rate risk cost them US$64.2bn in Q3 2022 alone. These FX headwinds were more than three times the fiscal amount of any tailwinds experienced by any of the sampled companies. Moreover, a Convera survey found that 71% of such businesses counted high inflation and rising interest rates as the most pressing macroeconomic issues they face, with another 49% citing a lack of cash flow and 44% geopolitical trade risks as the most immediate issues. These figures are best highlighted in the graph below. With these figures in mind, it’s clear that exchange rate risk constitutes a significant point of friction in cross-border trade for SMEs and corporates alike. These headwinds are affecting payments and organisations’ bottom lines. 2024 may mark a turning point, with volatility easing at the back end of the year to keep cross-border trade on a path to growth. Convera forecasts that crossborder business will accelerate some 33% between 2023-2028, reaching US$39.8tn from US$30.3tn in 2022. Today’s higher for longer interest rate narrative will be challenged if inflation falls to the much-coveted 2% mark, meaning central banks could be compelled to lower interest rates. In the US, inflation is falling, but economic resilience has resulted in volatile US rate expectations, reducing the US dollar’s 13% fall from its October 2022 high, to around 7% at present. While falling inflation could constitute a shift in monetary policy from central banks – which in turn could impact FX rates – other factors could contribute to

the broader macroeconomic outlook and the potential for further FX rate volatility: bond and equity price divergence, credit conditions, trade circumstances, and the geopolitical landscape. This report considers each of these coalescing factors, forecasting their compounding effects on FX rates. From Convera’s perspective, the key to success for cross-border trading businesses in 2024 will be determined by their ability to mitigate cross-border frictions and volatility, negate losses and maximise growth. Those who succeed will execute sophisticated hedging processes, effectively automating these processes at speed. Having the right solutions in place will enable global organisations to address cross-border frictions, ensuring they remain beneficiaries of a growing trade industry, amid widening macroeconomic uncertainty. Today’s macroeconomic landscape: A picture of economic uncertainty Exchange rates are experiencing volatility today. This is a legacy of recent crises – from the US-China trade war, the aftermath of fiscal COVID-19 measures and Russia’s war with Ukraine – all leading to the current cost-of-living crisis stretching from 2021 into 2023. Many economists predicted the global economy would fall under its weight, with high interest rates and high energy prices – the latter a partial symptom of severed trade with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine – seeing consumers’ wallets pinched and the economy heading to a potential recession. Despite fears, inflation – particularly in the US (as aforementioned) – has started to technologymagazine.com

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fall. With incoming economic data showing resilience, these stagflation risks have subsequently eased. But where does this economic resilience come from? The pandemic may have had a part to play. Fiscal stimulus measures sparked a global consumption boom that is still influencing the global economy in 2023. Consumers have accrued excess savings post-pandemic and a shift in consumer preferences may have contributed to the disconnect between lagging and leading economic indicators currently seen.

But this is not the only disparity contributing to an uncertain economy. The potential for further divergence between bond and equity markets could further alter the outlook for FX rates. Quantitative tightening is gaining more and more attention and could have significant side effects for the economy and, subsequently, FX rates. Bond yields have continued to surge as central banks raise interest rates across the board and actively sell government bonds. The graph below shows how, historically, bond prices fall

Equities and bonds to surge – dollar to weaken in 2024?

Median cross-asset performance after interest rates peak, 7-day moving average

Note: Historical data since 1971. G7 bond price series is an average of individual bond prices for G7 nations, weighed by their respective GDP values. G7 equity index is an average of individual equity indices, weighed by their respective trading volumes. Sources: Refinitiv, Yahoo Finance, Oxford Economics, Macrobond, Convera – August 2023

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when the Federal Reserve raises rates but rise once rates eventually reach their peak. Additionally, equities have surprinsgly outperformed this year and the VIX Index – a measure of equity market volatility commonly known as the “fear index” – has stayed below its long-term index average of 20 for over three quarters of this year. In comparison, we saw the VIX Index above 20 for over 90% of the time in 2022. This only adds to the picture of an uncertain economy, and the divergence between bond and equity markets could lead to further jolts in FX volatility as we head into 2024. Quantitative tightening to reduce the economy’s money supply, as imposed by central banks, has been mirrored in the credit space. In fact, one of the most aggressive credit tightening cycles is potentially coming to an end, although the impact of higher credit rates is still feeding through. The result of this tightening is that 40% of consumers across 28 markets expect their disposable income to fall in the next year, potentially driving down consumer spending. For years, consumers have relied upon cheap credit. In December 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the world’s negative-yielding debt pile hit a record high of US$18tn and home prices in the US, UK and Germany rose by an average of 30% from the start of 2020 to mid-2022. But since then, the battle against rising inflation has shifted the landscape of credit in the private sector. Today, shortterm interest rates and mortgage rates in G10 countries have hit a 14-year high, and

“ As we near the peak of high interest rates and ponder the timing of future rate cuts, volatility in, and divergence between bond and equity markets could materially alter the outlook for FX rates” GEORGE VESSEY

LEAD FX & MACRO STRATEGIST, EUROPE

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we see companies and households having to adjust to a new rate environment. While we don’t expect credit conditions to tighten much more, the lagged negative effect of tighter conditions is yet to be experienced by businesses and households. This could be particularly true for mortgage holders. In the UK, mortgage debt has shifted from being responsive to changing interest rates to stagnant over longer periods as many consumers have elected for fixed mortgage rates in blocks of two or five years.

With this lagged impact on consumers in mind, financial conditions – particularly consumer spending – could tighten further in 2024 when both sovereign credit and mortgages come due for refinancing. We are already seeing tighter bank lending standards due to rising interest rates, which may start to crimp down on credit flowing to businesses and households, particularly those households with mortgages due for refinancing. In the Eurozone, the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) reported demand from firms for loans or drawing of credit lines in

Global credit cycle remains negative, but is improving

Change in G5 central bank’s balance sheets as a share of global GDP, in % terms

Note: Global GDP forecast taken from the IMF for Q1 and Q2 2023 Source: Convera, IMF, Macrobond – August 2023

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1: 1st global contraction 2: 2nd global contraction

Jody Visser & Jennifer Aubert Parker of Convera Analyze Global Economy & FX Rate Influences for 2024 WATCH NOW

the second quarter of 2023 dropped to a record low. Meanwhile, the share of small US firms reporting it is difficult to access loans rose to a 10-year high in May 2023, and the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) showed that US banks’ tighter lending standards have breached the threshold that in the past was consistent with a recession. This may come into sharper focus once lag effects have run their course. And yet – to add further fuel to economic uncertainty – while credit may be tightening and bond prices surging, global stocks have bucked the trend seen from other economic indicators that point toward recession – appreciating over 15% year-to-date. US Nasdaq stocks are

particularly noteworthy in their defiance of expectations, surging 40% in large part thanks to the emergence of AI products on the market. With global stocks healthy, one may assume this lays the foundation for stability in global trade. But is this the case? Yes and no. The value of cross-border global trade, much like stock markets, defied expectations of a downturn. Although global cross-border collapses were feared amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade grew 24% between 2019 and 2022 and compared favourably with the longrun average of around 6% per annum since 1995. Nevertheless, a thriving global crossborder trade market does not necessarily rule out volatility, particularly regarding FX rates. technologymagazine.com

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New politically charged trading policies have had a big impact on trade in recent years, as leading Western nations look to diversify from an over-reliance on China. Near-shoring trading has seen India, Vietnam, Mexico and Thailand become key beneficiaries of new trade opportunities as global firms move production away from China. The US Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act have both impacted the ability of China to undertake trade with the US and accept foreign direct investment. Chipmaker Intel is one major producer that is considering moving

production out of China to comply with new US regulations. Today, the difference between Chinese imports into the US compared to five years ago is stark. In the first six months of 2018, Chinese imports into the US sat at US$249bn, but in the same period in 2023, Chinese imports accounted for only US$203bn – a drop of 18.5%. Decoupling from China, the US has turned to Mexico as its number one importer. Its imports have grown from US$168bn in the first six months of 2018 to US$236bn in the first six months of 2023 – an increase of more than 40%, underpinning

Mexico overtakes China as US’ #1 source market for goods Monthly US imports, USD mln, 6-month rolling total

Sources: US Census Bureau, Convera – August 2023

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the geopolitically-fuelled shifts emerging in trade patterns post-pandemic as part of the US-China trade war. The process of decoupling from China is hastening amid growing geopolitical tensions, something that is bound to have implications for USD/CNY exchange rates. This could be further complicated, as Xi Jinping looks to diversify his country’s economy, a process that is expected to result in China generating more than onequarter of all global consumption growth – more than any other country. How the Chinese Yuan will subsequently look against the US Dollar seems all the more uncertain. Shifting trade conditions are not endemic to just China and the US, Europe has introduced the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (coming into force in 2026) to penalise high-carbon imports which, according to Energy Monitor, is likely to have the biggest impact on Russia. Over US$10bn of its largely iron and steel exports between 2015 and 2019 would have fallen under this new CBAM legislation. Of course, the key driver in these shifting trade conditions is the result of geopolitical decisions and the key role politics plays in economic issues that affect FX rates. And in 2024, some big political events could alter economic outlooks, thus fuelling exchange rate volatility. No upcoming political event is perhaps as large as the impending 2024 US election, where it is expected that incumbent President Joe Biden will again face off with Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate. The outcome of this election could have vastly different geopolitical implications.

“ In the first six months of 2023, Mexico overtook China as the largest overseas source market for US imports of goods. Trade disputes or diversification is having consequences for longer-term balance of trade and payments” STEVEN DOOLEY

LEAD FX & MACRO STRATEGIST, APAC

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“ Most forward-looking indicators – like the Purchasing Managers Index, the Conference Board’s Economic Index, and yield curves across government bonds – point to high recession probabilities in 2024, while backward-looking indicators continue to perform well” BORIS KOVACEVIC

GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGIST

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For instance, would another Trump administration roll back any of the severe economic sanctions on Moscow that ensued after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022? Such is the polarity in today’s political sphere that the impact of elections on the economy is arguably more unpredictable than ever. History backs this up. Since 1980, only six of the US’s Congressional 21 sessions (29%) have been led by a unified government, leading to higher policy uncertainty. Add to that Donald Trump’s 2016 election win, the US-China trade war and pandemic-led economic policy responses, and the polarity only grows. The Global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index has already reached record levels near 435 in 2020 (versus 196 in 2010) and it has never really normalised to pre-pandemic levels. Such political conditions are not constrained to the US alone either – they are global. Take the UK, where the British pound collapsed in 2022 because of thenPrime Minister Liz Truss’ poorly received economic recovery plan. And the UK could see further economic shifts in 2025 at the time of its next general election. That is if it does happen in 2025. There are suggestions current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could pull this timeline forward should the UK economy remain on a resilient path. And should the British public vote in the Labour Party after more than a decade out, there is a chance this could alter UK-EU trade and business relations. The scope for election-driven economic uncertainty is everywhere in 2024, with key elections happening in Mexico, South Africa and the EU. There is

uncertainty around the election of a new European Parliament in 2024, with far-right candidates gaining traction in recent months. Could far-right candidates, if successful, reshape the European landscape for climate policy and lead to a more conservative Brussels? This adds to today’s economic picture of disparity and uncertainty. The changeability of political policy and shifting trade allegiances, alongside a lag in the pinch on credit, and a divergence between bonds and equities points to an uncertain economic outlook, one which could unpredictably affect FX rates globally. Most forward-looking indicators – like the Purchasing Managers Index, the Conference Board’s Economic Index, and yield curves across government bonds – point to high recession probabilities in

2024, while backward-looking indicators continue to perform well. The last four recessions have been preceded by circumstances that are currently in place, such as tighter US Federal Reserve monetary policy, the New York Federal Reserve’s recession probability indicator rising above 30%, the Conference Board’s US Leading Economic Index falling below -5, over 50% of US bond yield curves inverting, and the US’ CEO Confidence Index falling below the key 40 threshold. Nevertheless, consumer spending has remained resilient and global stocks have appreciated, with the Nasdaq surging. So, amid the divergence and uncertainty today, what outcomes should we expect in 2024, and how could these potential outcomes affect FX rates?

Get a copy of our full report: Are you ready for 2024? In our full report, we’ll provide an even more comprehensive outlook for 2024, looking at how key markets will be affected in our FX rates analysis and forecast scenarios and recommendations for crossborder businesses looking to successfully navigate international trade as we enter 2024. Register here to receive a copy of our full report, launching at Money2020 US on October 23rd.

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SELF-DRIVIN TRUCKS LEADING THE WAY TO AN AUTONOMOU FUTURE From tackling safety concerns to addressing labour shortages, the haulage industry is well-placed to lead the way in the future of self-driving vehicles WRITTEN BY: SEAN ASHCROFT 138

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AI/ML

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hether for personal use, within the shipping industry or even for motorsport, autonomous vehicles are already becoming increasingly used and accepted. In 2021, self-driving vehicles travelled approximately four million miles in California alone, which was double the previous year’s total, with usage only increasing since then. Many of these miles were completed by non-commercial vehicles, but the trucking industry – in the US and beyond – is well positioned to reap the benefits of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. “A critical factor is the ability of AV providers and fleet operators to identify the most appropriate routes on which to trial and ultimately operate their autonomous commercial vehicles,” explains a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Safety is one of the major drivers in the push for AV trucks. According to statistics from Uber Freight, more than 5,000 lives were lost in large-truck crashes in 2019, including those of 892 truck drivers and occupants. Around one-third of these accidents occurred on interstates, freeways, and expressways – all roadways on which AV trucking solutions work best. Of these fatal accidents, just 13% were caused by vehicular or environmental factors. The remaining 87% were caused by driver error around performance (21%), decisions (38%), and recognition (28%). AV technology has the potential to address such safety issues, says Mazen Danaf, Senior Applied Scientist & Economist at Uber Freight. Danaf focuses on analysing the truck transportation landscape, and produces long-term forecasts based on supply and demand indicators. He is also a research affiliate with the Intelligent Transportation 140

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“ We envision a bright future for the trucking industry, where truck drivers and selfdriving trucks connect long-haul and local-haul routes” MAZEN DANAF

SENIOR APPLIED SCIENTIST & ECONOMIST, UBER FREIGHT

of AV technology on the trucking industry in general, and on truck drivers in particular. To produce some clarity around this, Danaf recently authored an Uber Freight paper, called ‘The future of self-driving technology in trucking’. In the paper, Danaf broaches another key positive of AV trucking solutions: labour shortages. In many developed economies, the trucking industry is acutely short of skilled labour, as experienced drivers retire or choose other careers, and younger people are not being recruited quickly enough. And all this at a time of growing demand.

This is reflected in research by BCG. In 2021, the American Trucking Associations – the largest national trade association for the US trucking industry – estimated that the industry faced a historic shortfall of 80,000 drivers, with expectations that the shortage could exceed 160,000 drivers by 2030 given current driver demographics and expected growth in freight volumes, it says. What’s more, the association estimates that up to one million haulage employees could be lost between 2022 and 2030. Meanwhile, in Europe, the International Road Transport Union says that unless the industry is made more accessible technologymagazine.com

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AI/ML

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Trucking ‘the fastest route to commercialising self-driving tech’ Danaf – who says his job is to “simplify the movement of goods that help communities thrive” – says that although the safety benefits of AV are widely welcomed, there remain unanswered questions around the effects

MAZEN DANAF TITLE: SENIOR APPLIED SCIENTIST & ECONOMIST COMPANY: UBER FREIGHT LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES

Danaf focuses on analysing the truck transportation landscape. He is also a research affiliate with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab at MIT, which studies transportation systems and develops network modelling-andsimulation tools.

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EXECUTIVE BIO

Systems Lab at MIT, which studies transportation systems and develops network modelling-and-simulation tools. “At Uber Freight, we envision a bright future for the trucking industry,” says Danaf, “one where truck drivers and self-driving trucks connect long-haul and local-haul routes”. He adds that such a model “will support the growth in truck freight demand, create safer roads, provide better truck-driving jobs, and make goods more affordable and available for everyone”.

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and attractive to drivers, Europe could see a shortfall of two million drivers by 2026, impacting half of all EU freight movements. “Lifestyle issues are largely to blame for truckers leaving the industry,” says Sanaf. “The hours are long and gruelling, and trucking keeps drivers away from home for up to 200 nights a year.” Sanaf says self-driving solutions will help address this issue, as well as others faced by haulage drivers, including pay issues, because autonomous trucking can deliver a higher rate of pay per hour spent at the wheel. AV tech can also help address other industry pain points, such as lack of parking facilities, congestion problems and, as mentioned already, road safety. “Uber Freight has been leveraging technology to address some of these issues,” says Danaf. “For example, we have laid the groundwork for seamless trailer handoffs between autonomous trucks and human drivers with Powerloop, a drop-and-hook trailer solution. Self-driving trucks for long-distance freight, a stepping stone for full autonomy In terms of AT systems, Danaf says automated commercial transport will operate under a hub-to-hub model. “Human drivers will handle the trip ends, which involve complex urban streets and manual operations at facilities, such as loading, unloading, gate entrance, and documentation,” he explains. “ATs will service the middle part of the trip.” He adds: “Under this model, a driver picks up a preloaded trailer from the shipper’s facility and delivers it to a transfer hub located close to the Highway – also known as the ‘first mile’. “The trailer then gets hooked to an AT, which drives on the highway to another

“ This model is a stepping stone toward full autonomy” MAZEN DANAF

SENIOR APPLIED SCIENTIST & ECONOMIST, UBER FREIGHT

transfer hub located near the receiver’s facility. This step is referred to as the middle mile. “At the second transfer hub, another driver picks up the trailer and delivers it to its final destination. This is the last mile.” Sanaf says the hub-to-hub model allows AT developers and carriers to launch commercial operations earlier “before transitioning to a depot-to-depot service”. At the same time, he says it adds capacity where it’s needed most – in long-distance trucking – as well as providing a better lifestyle to truck drivers. “This model is a stepping stone toward full autonomy,” Sanaf says. “It allows AT developers to start generating revenues in their early years of operation. “This will provide them with a revenue stream that can sustain the development of self-driving technology instead of relying exclusively on external investment, in order to expand their capabilities beyond highway driving.” Looking to the future, Sanaf expects autonomous trucking to expand “gradually throughout the US interstate system”. In the short term, he feels weather, regulations, and autonomy capabilities “will dictate the lanes on which ATs will operate”. In the long term, he says, “commercial opportunities and technological developments will drive expansion strategies”. technologymagazine.com

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IS POWERING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN ASIA WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS PRODUCED BY: NAZEEF RABIU-IDREES

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Axiata Enterprise is revolutionising telecommunications and digital transformation across Asia. CTO Dr Tomek Gerszberg discusses 5G, the cloud and security

ext-generation telecommunications company Axiata Enterprise is the B2B unit of Axiata Group. Its core mission is to bring innovation, technology and telecommunication services to support digital transformation across Asia, from its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Dr Tomek Gerszberg is the CTO for Axiata Enterprise. In his role, Gerszberg focuses on products and solutions for the enterprises across Asia and supports delivering homogenous offerings for clients by responding to customer needs with fresh innovation. “The business is based on connectivity as the traditional telco type of business,” he says. “We grow towards managed connectivity, but also addressing the customer needs in the field of cloud, security, and system integration. Axiata Enterprise provides smart services with a strong focus on digital transformation, based on 5G. “My career went from traditional network management to delivering innovations for enterprises,” says Gerszberg. “The company itself is highly dynamic. The evolution of the company is much faster than the evolution of the telcos we know from Europe or even from the USA. “This is a unique opportunity for people like me to be a part of this fast transformation. Before I arrived, it was a product-oriented company. Now it’s more service oriented.

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Dr Tomek Gerszberg, CTO, Axiata Enterprise technologymagazine.com

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“ Axiata Enterprise provides smart services with a strong focus on digital transformation, based on 5G” DR TOMEK GERSZBERG CTO, AXIATA ENTERPRISE

In the last two years, Axiata Enterprise has strengthened the enterprise offering and grown the business in the enterprise segments, moving from a mobile-only, consumerfocused business into the B2B sphere. 150

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Previously, Gerszberg worked at Deutsche Telekom in Europe. Now at Axiata Enterprise, he manages different markets and adoption speeds. “It’s not necessary to categorise countries as faster or slower, because every country has its own characteristics. Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia are different to the markets in Europe or the USA, which are homogeneous. In Asia, the challenge is how to work out how to deliver the newest technology at the lowest possible price because that drives the adoption of the innovations.” Gerszberg’s proudest achievement so far has been offering smart services for the

DR TOMEK GERSZBERG TITLE: CTO COMPANY: AXIATA ENTERPRISE INDUSTRY: TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOCATION: MALAYSIA

industry verticals and related networks like private 5G networks. “At Axiata Enterprise, we have built a very strong ecosystem of partners and we can deliver best-of-the-breed solutions adjusted to the customer needs and capabilities.” Axiata Enterprise uses high-security networking solutions like Open RAN, which Gerszberg believes makes them unique in comparison to the competition in this market. “Axiata Enterprise has probably the strongest cybersecurity practices among all telcos in the region – and we provide services related to the cloud, like cloud migrations and cloud hosting. We are

Dr Tomek Gerszberg is a highly accomplished ICT executive with 25 years of experience in technology and business leadership. Known for developing innovative technology and business strategies, leading costsaving initiatives, and collaborating with global partners. Key expertise in service operations, strategic planning, product design, technology G2M and agile methodologies. Career highlights include roles at Axiata, MobiledgeX (acquired by Google), and Deutsche Telekom, where he served as SVP Technology Strategy and SVP B2B innovations, and pioneered commercialisation of 5G, Edge Computing, and NB-IoT. He also drove successful business transformations. He is an influential figure in the telecommunications industry with a strong track record in technology leadership.

Solving the puzzle of scaled cloud capabilities at the edge Rakuten Symphony explains how its radically different approach – combined with in-depth knowledge & proprietary architecture – benefits private networks

Rakuten Symphony is a company that truly lives up to the moniker ‘innovative revolutionaries’. Often, you find that companies spot a gap in the market and then idealise the fastest, cheapest way of filling that gap – but not Rakuten Symphony, which is taking a new technology approach, proven by Rakuten Mobile in Japan, and delivering it globally. The company has married its knowledge with an automated approach that can be leveraged by any mobile operator, creating unique opportunities for its Symworld Cloud offering, including for private 5G deployments. “Private 5G needs to be looked at from the perspective of connectivity as well as the use

cases that it serves, explains Partha Seetala, President of Rakuten Symphony’s Unified Cloud Business Unit “By combining innovations in storage, networking, computation and application management into a cloud-native Kubernetesbased architecture, Symworld Cloud provides the highest-performing, most cost-efficient solution. “From a use case perspective, once a connectivity issue is solved, enterprises want to deploy more domain-centric workloads, like video analytics or apps churning a lot of data. That’s where Symworld Cloud shines – it addresses network and storage-based workload needs.

Workload considerations & partner needs Rakuten Symphony embarked upon a “programmatic”, “automated” and “orchestrated” journey, recognising that its technology stack already deployed for edge and Open RAN could also be leveraged for private 5G networks to support enterprises “augmenting existing network solutions”, according to Seetala. “Storage, computer, and GPU management become critical in these environments and all of this is automatically enabled with the Symworld Cloud platform because it’s built for problem-solving in storage and network intensive workloads,” explains Seetala. “Our expertise in managing underlying infrastructure through our cloud, as well as in centralised policies, means that everything can be automated and that’s a huge value for private 5G owners.” Partnering with Axiata & separating out from the pack For companies such as Rakuten Symphony, there’s no higher praise than the validation of vendors that have chosen to trust your tech for their business endeavours. In Rakuten Symphony’s case, Axiata is one such vendor.

“They were exploring private 5G to solve use cases in multiple verticals – for example, manufacturing, healthcare and smart cities,” begins Seetala, “and they looked at Symworld Cloud and realised that the entire portfolio products that Rakuten Symphony brings is well-tested and actually designed using modern technologies. “They also realised that the type of innovation we have brought to automation is critical for managing the private 5G networks of their own end clients in the most costefficient manner.” Axiata chose Rakuten’s mobile network solution due to its software-centric nature and because of the “explicit intent that additional software policies would drive Axiata’s private 5G network”. In a world overrun with private 5G and scaled cloud solutions, it’s important to find a way of separating from the pack. Boasting such a comprehensive, cost-effective and original solution, Rakuten Symphony have most certainly achieved just that.

Learn more

Solving the puzzle of scaled cloud capabilities at the edge We’ve revolutionized private 5G with a technology-driven approach. At Rakuten Symphony, we’ve leveraged proven expertise from Rakuten Mobile in Japan to offer a cutting-edge solution for seamless connectivity and high-performance workloads, trusted by industry leaders for its innovative automation and cost-efficiency.

Learn more at symphony.rakuten.com

“ Axiata has one of the strongest cybersecurity practices among all telcos in the region” DR TOMEK GERSZBERG

Axiata also manages security and smart services, which are extended beyond traditional classical definitions of Industry 4.0, going also into new verticals and new ideas like e-health or agriculture.

delivering the security solutions, SD-WAN, SASE and managed security.” “We also work closely with the Axiata Cyber Fusion Centre (ACFC), which is focused on real-time threat monitoring, proactive hunting, and robust protection of digital assets. With ACFC’s capabilities embodying a full spectrum of protective, detective, and rapid-response capabilities, our Enterprise customers benefit from having their information and data secured and protected, so their business resilience is assured.

Axiata Enterprise’s 5G rollout in Asia Axiata Enterprise runs a Regional Centre of Excellence for 5G. “The goal is to provide our operating companies with the access to industry specific knowledge and advanced smart solutions from Axiata solutioning partners. This is augmented by state-of-the-art, costefficient private networking technology. In Axiata’s footprint the 5G public networks are not available, so private 4G/5G networking is the short cut for digital transformation.” At Axiata Enterprise, exemplary applications of private 5G networks include:

CTO, AXIATA ENTERPRISE

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Smart Sea Ports and Airports 5G and smart solutions help greatly increase productivity of operations and the level of security. Visual analytics, drones, remotely operated equipment and AGVs require high reliability and low latency of wireless connections. Customer made integrations in 5G require strong skills in cellular technologies, edge computing, industrial systems etc, which Axiata can deliver to its customers out of one hand. Smart manufacturing and industrial automation 5G offers communication that is highspeed and low-latency, ideal for industrial automation and control systems. 5G is not only replacing damaged cables, but also enabling collaborative use cases for AGVs 156

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and humans. Bringing overlay sensorics and smart devices helps to add the intelligent layer to existing equipment and secures evolutionary transformation, that is more controllable than revolutionary innovation. XL Axiata projects for Indonesian mining companies are the best example of that. Smart Cities Public security and safety are the main areas the Smart cities are addressing nowadays. Smart solutions can also help to cope with other challenges like traffic control and efficient public transportation, or target very city specific problems, like flooding in Jakarta. As the public 5G networks are not available yet, these businesses need to have private 5G. We need also to look at

NAVIN PIERIS, GROUP CHIEF OFFICER , DIALOG ENTERPRISE, SRI LANKA Our commitment to enhancing the digital landscape for Sri Lankan enterprises has proven to be indispensable across businesses of all sizes in the country. The demand for our solution verticals, including cloud, IoT, and intelligent networking, has been substantial. However, it’s worth noting that connectivity, which remains a major driver of digitalisation, continues to play a vital role in this transformative journey. We are witnessing significant growth in the security solutions vertical, particularly with our Video Surveillance as a Service platform, which is set to incorporate 5,000 cameras across large enterprise sectors such as banking, finance, apparel and entertainment by December 2023. Additionally, our SD-WAN technology has already connected over 1,500 branches in finance, banking, manufacturing and retail sectors, among others. Our foray into the cloud industry through collaboration with major global hyperscale partners has been a resounding success. Rather than focusing on a single partner we have adopted a multi-cloud approach with established partnerships with all the hyper-scalers and complimentary connectivity solutions. Furthermore, Dialog Enterprise Cloud achieved the distinction of becoming the VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider in the South Asian Region, reinforcing our commitment to industries handling sensitive data at scale. Highly regulated industries like healthcare, banking and finance have critical requirements around data sovereignty. Our sovereign cloud

and hyperscale partnerships have helped us to establish long-term partnerships with the majority of banking and finance companies in the country, with cloud services becoming a pivotal driver for their digitalisation. The IoT pillar has experienced unprecedented growth, driven by energy and economic crises, which have compelled industries to meter their utilities more efficiently and promote responsible resource usage in alignment with global sustainability standards. Our ability to anticipate client needs and provide solutions ahead of crises has fueled our innovation in this space. All in all, Sri Lankan enterprises have embraced us not just as an ISP but an ICT Solutions provider, drawing on our extensive experience as a telco in our own digitalisation journey. They value our learning and consider us an integral part of their digital transformation efforts. We are dedicated to continuing our support and innovation as trusted partners in their digitalisation journey.

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“ We provide services related to the cloud, like cloud migrations and cloud hosting. We deliver the security solutions” DR TOMEK GERSZBERG CTO, AXIATA ENTERPRISE

the specifics of the South Asian market where the needs of consumers and enterprises are very different, so forking 5G into consumer and enterprise one is a good strategy. From this perspective, Axiata Enterprise has two streams which they have developed together with the group technology: one stream is designed to satisfy consumer needs on 5G and the second is to satisfy the enterprise needs. “For the enterprise needs with regards to solutions, we have built a strong partnership with the leading, global network integrator like Capgemini Engineering and Tech Mahindra” says Gerszberg. “With those services and our capabilities, we also include strong local players to deliver the offers to the enterprises. So, our offer is a mix of global and local flavours.” Axiata Enterprise has the 5G networking product stack which can run on any frequency, such as licensed 4G frequencies, or unlicensed bands. “It can run on any frequency, and this gives the possibility to deliver the networking in every place.” 158

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This is something that Gerszberg believes makes the company so unique, especially in comparison to other operators who have been focused on delivering 5G to the public. “We have bifurcated those processes and we focus on the enterprise needs that are very different from the consumer 5G needs,” says Gerszberg. In Axiata Enterprise’s 5G networking, the team has signed agreements with partners such as Rakuten Symphony, Mavenir and Capgemini Engineering as network integrator. Yet there are many challenges to overcome. For Gerszberg, the first challenge is the market perspective. “We see a very big openness to innovations,” he says. “In every market, we see that the people are curious, they want to change their business, they want to increase their efficiencies, they want to be competitive – not just locally, but on a global level.” Gerszberg sees the willingness to innovate as one of the biggest cultural assets of Southeast Asia. At the same time, he observes a level of customer wariness. “If we consider the advanced solutions in other parts of the world, is this something that we can accommodate? Does it fit our market? My answer, as I see the businesses, is yes. The markets here are ready.” But first, Axiata Enterprise must build trust with the enterprises, which are not in any dimension different from the leading companies in other parts of the world. “However, this is something that will take a couple of months – through trials, proof of concepts and so on. When these companies are confident that they can work with the newest innovations, we’ll be there for them.” Leading successful 5G digital transformation To achieve the 5G transformation, certain technologies must be in place – primarily, 5G and the cloud.

MILA J. KUSHEVA, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, SMART AXIATA, CAMBODIA Cambodia stands out as one of the fastestgrowing economies, consistently ranking among the top 20 countries in terms of year-on-year GDP growth. In Cambodia, both consumers and businesses of all sizes are extensively connected to the digital realm. Additionally, media consumption has predominantly shifted towards digital platforms. This constant connectivity to the digital realm has transformed the way people engage in commerce and stay connected. The digitalisation of business and consumer interactions is happening at a high pace, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Connectivity plays a critical role across industries, customers and businesses in emerging markets where mobile technology is the predominant force. Recognising this, Smart Axiata has taken the lead as the first operator in the country to embrace a comprehensive solutions portfolio. This portfolio encompasses flexible connectivity solutions, a security layer powered by SD WAN and Versa, and additional options for automating business operations. By continuously introducing new and easy to adopt solutions, Smart has already been established as a preferred telecom provider to the financial industry in the country which is among fastest developing in terms of growth as well as digitalisation. By leveraging cloud-based technologies, Smart is playing a crucial role in supporting businesses in Cambodia to advance further

in process automation and digitalisation. Through collaborations with Axiata Enterprise and international partners, Smart introduces several cloud-based offerings. These include Aarenet, a cloud-based PBX system. Additionally, Smart brings forth a cloudbased ERP solution in partnership with local startup CheckInMe, enabling organisations to streamline their operations digitally. Furthermore, the collaboration with Cartrack provides a Fleet Management solution, enhancing efficiency and control. Being a part of Cambodia’s dynamic ecosystem of businesses and consumers, as an operator presents an incredibly exciting opportunity. Through strategic partnerships, Smart Axiata brings international expertise to the table in an accessible manner, allowing companies to drive digitalisation and bolster digital security without requiring upfront investments. By offering these opportunities, Smart Axiata aims to fuel Cambodia’s journey towards a more digitised future.

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“5G is a smart type of connectivity that enables new types of use cases, and the cloud executes the applications of those use cases,” says Gerszberg. “Here, we are talking about the edge cloud and distributed edge cloud, which are by nature the domain of the operators.” Yet these two things mean nothing if the highest level of security is not guaranteed. “Security has become an immersive technology for any other type of technology. Combining those three from the competence perspective makes the telco space unique and so strong.” Axiata Enterprise has a strong partnership with Versa Networks. “This is a natural type of partnership; as we are helping our clients to migrate the cloud, in consequence we also help to modernise the security ecosystem with products like SD-WAN and SASE.

“We have built partnerships with the cloud players, helping them to reach the markets in our geography and helping our customers to get a strong representative. I believe we fit in well in the region.” For its 5G networking, Axiata Enterprise has partnered with Rakuten Symphony, Mavenir and Capgemini Engineering. Axiata’s partners deliver cutting edge solutions that address the needs of enterprises better than any other technology stacks. The networking is based on O-RAN technology, augmented with edge computing capabilities to run enterprise application workloads and is delivered in a fully cloud-native way, so standard off-the-shelf hardware can be deployed on customer sites. This helps Axiata Enterprise to offer very competitive pricing for the newest available technology. Digitalisation and the cloud have transformed the telecoms world. Over the next year, Axiata Enterprise is going to be more present in smart services, 5G networking and security.

MD. ADIL HOSSAIN, CHIEF ENTERPRISE BUSINESS OFFICER, ROBI, BANGLADESH

Robi’s evolution from Telco to Techco has helped the company to project itself as the leading tech-based solution provider across the industry verticals in Bangladesh. While we have a range of advanced solution portfolio, our Cloud and Colocation services clearly stands out, and already made significant headway into the market. In this regard, setting up the first ever Tier IV commercialized data center in Bangladesh has helped the company to command respect in the marketplace. Prominent Banks, Fintech, IT, FMCG, NGO, News & Media etc. companies have already subscribed to our Cloud and Colocation services- this business took off significantly in 2023. Companies who struggle to invest in on-site solutions, have been particularly drawn towards our colocation service. While the hesitation to migrate to cloud persists, it is very encouraging to note that more than 60% enterprises are planning for cloud migration. Like many other countries, we also see a great future for SD-WAN services in Bangladesh. Its ability to help organizations to effectively monitor and efficiently manage WAN traffic is beginning to entice the tech minded enterprises here. While the market yet lacks scalability, we have already carried out presale activities successfully in the Banking sector.

Though Bangladesh is yet to enter the 5G era, we are in discussion with the manufacturing and freight forwarding companies to enhance their operations through 5G. In this connection, we are actively working to create viable use-cases for the application of IOT, AR VR and AI Analytics in the manufacturing industries of Bangladesh. In addition to our evolution into a Techco, our enterprise brand name- “Robi for Business” gives clarity of purpose to our prospective and existing clients. This clarity of purpose helps us to cut to the chase when it comes to pitching these advanced digital solutions in the market. But despite many challenges, it is really encouraging to note that the industries here are very upbeat about embracing technology. As the market slowly falls into place, our focus for now is to win the trust and confidence of our clients, while expanding on areas that are gaining traction already.

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“With the pace of the development at Axiata Enterprise, the next 12 months for the company is like 36 months in some other places,” he said. “This is one of the priorities. We’ll be much more visible in managed services on security and in all vibes of security related to on-prem security solutions, SD-WAN networking, and SASE.” Gerszberg anticipates future trends in the telco industry, which he and his team will have to roll with. “The telco industry is undergoing the biggest transformation since digitalisation, which was in the 1990s. This is the biggest change in the last 30 years, because technology ecosystems and processes have changed so much. You need to change yourself internally with changing tools, in a changing market.” The second trend, Gerszberg says, is consultative selling related to solutions in the vertical industries, like solutions for logistics and warehouses. “Again, this requires knowledge about the solutions implemented worldwide,” says Gerszberg. “It requires knowledge about the business impact of the technologies in the specific verticals and it requires local capability to execute.” He sees this as a new way of localisation, especially in the enterprise segments for the telcos. So how do you combine the global innovation trends with the local talents and local capabilities? “I believe this is a kind of sweet spot for the telcos, because they can do that,” he says. “But the second thing is that they have the customer’s trust.” For Gerszberg, this is still the biggest asset that any company could imagine.

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LOGO

LOGISTICS HUB IS DRIVING A BRIGHT NEW FUTURE WRITTEN BY: SEAN ASHCROFT PRODUCED BY: JAMES BERRY

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L’Osteria’s restaurant empire has bounced back from Covid stronger than ever, says Stefan Höllen, its Supply Chain VP

or the hospitality industry the pandemic was traumatic – the stuff of nightmares. Overnight, restaurants closed, staff were furloughed and customers were but a wistful memory. For the Germany-based Italian food franchise chain L’Osteria, the date of March 20, 2020, was its darkest ever; it was the day it had to close all its restaurants across Europe. “It was the hardest day in our history,” confirms Stefan Höllen, L’Osteria’s Supply Chain VP. But rather than being defined by the trauma of those closures, L’Osteria instead chose to be defined by its response to it. “It took only two weeks for us to reopen our delivery and pick up channels,” says Höllen. “And within a very short time we had developed a web shop for a home delivery service. “Covid showed us just how important it was to be flexible, and how crucial it is to have strong partnerships in the supply chain. It is also important to show our nearly 7,000 employees that we are resilient. Resilience is key.” L’Osteria was so strong that during the entirety of the pandemic it was nearly never out of stock on any products “because our partners supported us”, says Höllen. He adds: “It showed that we need to have more stability for the future, to be prepared for whatever happens.” technologymagazine.com

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“ WORKING WITH FOOD IS GREAT. IT’S BETTER TASTING A TIRAMISU THAN TESTING SCREWS” STEFAN HÖLLEN

VP SUPPLY CHAIN, L’OSTERIA

Supplier contingencies vital for L’Osteria For Höllen being prepared meant that, for the company’s most important products, it must have a two-supplier strategy so that in the event of disruption, it always has a contingency partner. L’Osteria is a franchise-based restaurant business that’s mainly grown with pizza and pasta. All its restaurants are individually designed.

“It’s not like other brands that are homogeneous,” says Höllen. “All our restaurants have a separate design, which we try to fit to the region where they are, or the city. We want guests to feel at home in a relaxed and nice atmosphere. Our mission at L’Osteria is creating moments where favourite people and favourite food come together.” Underpinning this mission is Höllen and his team, who make sure each restaurant always has what it needs, when it needs it, at the price at which it needs it. Echoing his earlier point about resilience, Höllen references the company’s recent pan-European logistical rethink. The company now uses a single logistics provider to supply the restaurants in Germany, and also in all other countries, with more than 1,000 or so food and non-food products its restaurants need. technologymagazine.com

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Stefan Höllen, Supply Chain VP at L’Osteria, on the Post-Covid Rebound of the Restaurant Empire WATCH NOW

“The target is to provide a one-stop shopping experience for the restaurants,” explains Höllen, “because they need to concentrate on the guests, and not be sat in the back office ordering products. “Together with our logistics provider, we provide all restaurants with the same level of service. It doesn’t matter if we have only a single restaurant in Lyon. They will have the same quality level as everyone else.” Cost control drives logistics strategy Part of the reason for this approach is cost control – an increasingly important factor at a time of stiff cost inflation and the war in Ukraine. Pre-Covid, says Höllen, the company was performing strongly on cost control. “One of my proudest achievements since joining L’Osteria at the end of 2017 was we reduced 170

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the cost of our food by nearly 4% points of food-cost in just over two years. That was before Covid and the Ukraine war. That was a big achievement. Inflation continues to be a huge problem”, Höllen concedes. “The biggest challenge right now in purchasing is the inflation rate. What the future holds, nobody really knows. Everything bad that has happened in the past 18 months could happen again.” He adds that this is one of the key drivers of its logistics hub structure, the others being efficiency and time savings. “If you have only a single restaurant in a country and you buy local, it is likely to be much more expensive. It’s better to go with full truckloads over long distances, and then use local partners or our own warehouses from where we can make the last mile deliveries with small trucks. That’s the plan.”

STEFAN HÖLLEN TITLE: VP SUPPLY CHAIN COMPANY: L’OSTERIA LOCATION: GERMANY Stefan Höllen is the VP Supply Chain of FR L’Osteria SE. He has been part of the company since 2017 and has over 20 years of experience in Supply Chain. Before working for L’Osteria, he had been working for HAVI Logistics, Supply Chain Integrator for McDonalds, before then working with Vapiano in 2008. During his time at Vapiano, the company grew from 16 restaurants to 200 in 30 countries. There he set up the entire supply chain for Vapiano. At L’Osteria, he is continuously perfecting and optimising supply chain.

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Höllen feels the most difficult part of the operation has already been achieved: switching from wholesalers to a single logistics provider who has “open-book transparency and can bring products everywhere where we are”. “Now we are working on the optimisation of this structure,” he adds. “Our one-stop strategy is the next step. We are working on systems that will allow us to forecast the restaurants’ inventory needs.

“We have a monthly changing menu, and special products that are not in our standard range, and we already push these products into the restaurants. “We calculate the needs of each restaurant based on their sales, and then deliver the products they need so that they don’t need to think about it. As I said, we want them to focus on the most important people: their guests. “The idea is that eventually they will never need to place an order anymore. They simply get what they need and that’s it. That’s the future.” It’s a future that will serve the company well as it continues to expand. “We need sound logistics to operate in the new countries we are entering. For example, in September, we will open the first restaurant in Poland, in Warsaw, for which we are setting up a complete supply chain. But there are also more countries under discussion, including those in Scandinavia, as well as Spain and Portugal.”

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“ THE AIM OF OUR LOGISTICS HUB IS THAT OUR RESTAURANTS WILL NEVER AGAIN NEED TO PLACE AN ORDER” STEFAN HÖLLEN

VP SUPPLY CHAIN, L’OSTERIA

L’Osteria doubles restaurant numbers in six years Since Höllen joined the company in 2017 L’Osteria has doubled the number of its restaurants to 163. “This is why we need to develop a hub structure,” he says. “We are also looking for new markets for ultra-fresh products, from Spain for example. Plus, many of these products, especially in winter, are moving more to North Africa. We will need reliable and sustainable partners in these places.” Höllen adds that it is also important that the company continues to develop its operations in smaller countries where it has just a few restaurants. “We need to optimise our supply chain,” he says. “And we need to be ready for changing supply chain law in Europe, which will be part of all our futures before too long.” Höllen is referring to the EU’s Supply Chain Act, which from 2024 will require EU companies to audit their suppliers along the entire global supply chain, including all direct and indirect business relationships. 174

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Vice President Supply Chain FR L’Osteria SE

Managing Director Bar Italiana GmbH

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“It’s very important we are included from the outset with a potential new partner or product,” he says. “The food in general is inspiring,” he adds. “Since Covid, for example, the development of vegan and vegetarian products has been very fast, which I find interesting. “It’s a difficult balancing act. At L’Osteria we don’t want to simply follow trends; we want to follow those trends that are a perfect fit for us.” Such challenges are all part of the job – a job that for Höllen has some very definite perks. “It’s not just our restaurateurs who are passionate about food,” he says. “Working with food is really interesting. It’s better tasting a tiramisu than handling screws.” He and his team get plenty of opportunity to give expression to this passion, because they work closely with their product development colleagues.

Hospitality industry ‘is all about relationships’ Hospitality at all levels is a people business, and this is another aspect of his work about which Höllen is passionate. “I love to work with people. For me, it’s all about the people. It’s very important we have long-term relations with our partners. Even if we put them under pressure with tenders and so on, it’s important to be fair, transparent and reliable also.” technologymagazine.com

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Höllen reveals that the strength of these relationships means that the company does not even have contracts with some partners. “It’s just a handshake,” he says. “Of course, with some of the larger ompanies a contract is necessary.” In total, L’Osteria works with around 120 partners. These include everyone from multinationals such as Coca-Cola to small, local companies. “The best-known of our partners are Coca-Cola or San Pellegrino. We also work closely with Molini Pivetti, who is one of 178

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the biggest wheat mills in Italy. With them we developed our pizza flour and the semolina we use for our pasta production. These have been developed exclusively for L’Osteria, and that is very important to us.” Another key partner is Ecolab, a global sustainability leader offering, hygiene and infection prevention solutions. “Ecolab produces all our cleaning materials, so that we can have one standard everywhere. It was also a strategic step to move to Ecolab, taken about two years ago.”

L’OSTERIA

“ WE DON’T EVEN HAVE CONTRACTS WITH SOME PARTNERS; IT’S JUST A HANDSHAKE”

As close as these partnerships are, Höllen says it’s crucial that L’Osteria continues to push their partners to deliver ever-better standards. “When it comes to tenders we challenge all our partners, even if they are large and have their own processes. “They always need to be challenged if they are to innovate. It’s important our partners innovate around products, processes, and sustainability.”

STEFAN HÖLLEN

VP SUPPLY CHAIN, L’OSTERIA technologymagazine.com

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LEADING 5G WHILE DRIVING NNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY WRITTEN BY: MAYA DERRICK

PRODUCED BY: MICHAEL BANYARD

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Erin Raney, Senior Director Network Technology Services and Innovation at T-Mobile, talks about how the brand is leading the way with 5G through innovation

here aren’t many people that can boast that they have devoted their entire career to the growth and development of one company. But that’s exactly what Erin Raney, Senior Director Technology & Innovation at T-Mobile, has done. Since joining what was then VoiceStream in September 2000, Raney has risen through the ranks and for the past seven years, has been the founder and leading force of T-Mobile’s Tech Experience innovation programme and in 2022 opened T-Mobile’s first technology innovation centre, the Tech Experience 5G Hub. Armed with a civil engineering degree – and later earning an MS in telecommunications – she was motivated to branch out and start her working life in telecommunications by her father. “Really, the rest is history,” she jokes, although clearly proud reflecting on her career. Now 23 years deep, she has seen a wealth of change at T-Mobile – whether that be in the company’s name, core offerings or the technology that’s driven such advancements. Having never dreamed of working in telecommunications until the mobile phone boom during her college years, Raney’s leap of faith into the relatively unknown has no doubt paid off. All those years later, Raney has worked her way through the organisation, presented with opportunities to deploy and manage a variety of network

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“ This is really the heart of T-Mobile’s technology team and where all of the new design development comes from when we talk about T-Mobile’s network” ERIN RANEY

SR. DIRECTOR, T-MOBILE

services.“T-Mobile has evolved so much,” she details. “When I started it was right when Deutsche Telekom was about to acquire VoiceStream. We had around three million customers at the time, now we have over 116 million. We’ve grown significantly from our 184

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customer base and our network has grown significantly with it. “Now, we have the largest 5G network and have made huge strides in investment in our network. What’s really exciting is when we think about the services,” she laughs, reflecting on her career beginnings. “Back when I started it was just making a simple call and being able to do that maybe from your car while you’re in a major city or an urban area. Now you think about all the things that you leverage our network for from a services perspective, from just about anywhere. The technology evolution is truly fascinating.” Seeing both T-Mobile and industry technology evolve throughout her tenure, Raney said the fact that wireless is part of all elements of life really excites her.

ERIN RANEY TITLE: SR. DIRECTOR COMPANY: T-MOBILE LOCATION: UNITED STATES Erin Raney is Sr. Director of T-Mobile’s Technology & Innovation, overseeing the Tech Experience Program and 5G Hub. She is responsible for enabling innovative solutions that leverage the latest in wireless technologies to grow the business and transform our world. Erin has been a member of T-Mobile’s Technology team for over 22 years and holds a B.S in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Telecommunication from the University of Colorado. Passionate about promoting girls and young women, Erin champions DE&I and STEM initiatives. She is a Seattle area native and resides in Bellevue, WA, with her husband and two children.

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How Nokia & T-Mobile are utilising the full potential of 5G In a long-standing collaborative partnership, Nokia and T-Mobile are utilising the true potential of 5G through innovation for a wide variety of use cases Nokia and T-Mobile’s partnership is one of extensive collaboration. “Nokia and T-Mobile have been close partners for a very long time. In the case of 5G, we started working together at the very beginning,” explains Timo Naalisvaara, Customer CTO at Nokia. Now in his 30th year at the company, Naalisvaara’s responsibility is to drive strategic direction between the companies. “Our collaboration ranges from day-to-day business – developing, deploying, and optimising networks – to exploring new industry-shaping technologies, ideas and services,” he explains. “Now, the focus is shifting from building 5G to fully utilising the potential of 5G through innovation for a wide variety of use cases.” Earlier this year, Nokia refreshed

its company brand to reflect its new strategy. As Naalisvaara explains, part of that strategy is focused on the implementation of advanced technologies. “We use cloud-based technologies, in-house developed chipsets, analytics, automation, AI and machine learning to enhance and optimize networks. So while, in the traditional sense, we build networks, in a wider sense we utilise new technologies to extract the best value out of those networks.” For Nokia and for Naalisvaara, the future of the partnership with T-Mobile will explore how 5G networks can be made more consumable across consumers, enterprises, and industries. “As more experiences are provided through AR, VR, and XR, more data is created and quality-of-service requirements get more demanding. All these experiences require that

the overall network continues to evolve.” Recently T-Mobile launched its first ever 5G Network Slicing Beta for developers – to which Nokia has been integral. Similarly, Nokia is working on initiatives such as Network as Code: the company’s concept of extreme simplification of network capabilities to make them part of applications for developers. “In both of these examples, the role of developers as customers utilising the network is very important. We are excited to see where all these new possibilities and opportunities will take us.”

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“Everything we do has connectivity or can benefit further from connectivity. And it’s beyond our smartphone - whether it’s healthcare, manufacturing, entertainment, the list goes on. That’s what excites me, that wireless can bring so much benefit to just about any business along with enriching our personal lives and our connection to our world. So the possibilities truly are endless. I love the variety and making such a positive impact.” T-Mobile: Making strides in innovation Established as VoiceStream Wireless in 1994, T-Mobile has grown exponentially in both its customers and services. The brand was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 2001 and renamed T-Mobile USA in July 2002, and renamed again to T-Mobile US in 2013 after merging with MetroPCS. A wireless service provider, T-Mobile provides connectivity with a core mission to be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world. Now looking beyond smartphones and traditional means of telecommunication, T-Mobile is working in bringing its connectivity to a global level and ensuring access and enabling new services both to transform and create a better world and also grow the business. “What’s been really exciting in the last year-and-a-half or two years,” Raney adds, “is the launch of our home internet products. We’re going beyond the smartphone and now connecting homes. I think that’s our next charter – how do we go bigger? How do we create more services? How do we connect our world and how do we enable these new solutions?” The Tech Experience 5G Hub Around seven years ago, Raney created the Tech Experience Program and Center, and 188

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has since spearheaded the Tech Experience 5G Hub, a 24,000 sq ft technology innovation centre in Bellevue, near Seattle, next to T-Mobile’s National Technology Lab. Dubbing it an “incredible opportunity”, Raney and her team propel technology and really engage with a larger community and ecosystem. She continues: “It’s been a fantastic ride and journey. This is really the heart of T-Mobile’s technology team and where all of the new design development comes from when we talk about T-Mobile’s network.

Use more image captions as often as possible

“ It’s about bringing those capabilities forward as quickly as possible because we really want to accelerate this innovation in addition to enabling it” ERIN RANEY

SR. DIRECTOR, T-MOBILE

Everything gets designed, validated and tested here. “It’s just perfect to have our innovation centre adjacent to our technology labs. Our strategy is, is anything that exits our lab we have it here available in our Innovation Centre. So our developers and our innovator community have first access to the latest capabilities. “It’s about bringing those capabilities forward as quickly as possible because we really want to accelerate this innovation in addition to enabling it.” technologymagazine.com

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“ What inspires me is hearing their ideas and their stories about how wireless and 5G can help them” ERIN RANEY

SR. DIRECTOR, T-MOBILE

Calling it a “new space to T-Mobile”, Raney shares how its wireless network, investment and resource available goes beyond its smartphone and consumer focus. She highlights how creating programmes and facilities like the 5G Hub, T-Mobile’s Accelerator Program and its DevEdge Program provides accessibility for technological development, and that T-Mobile’s programmes will only grow in size and scale to enable a larger community to be able to leverage the technological revolution.

She adds: “We’ve seen some great results in terms of companies that are doing innovative cutting-edge solutions. It’s truly game changing and I’m just excited to see that momentum continue to grow.” Raney says her main inspiration in her working life stems from the hub she helped bring to life, having a facility to engage with a large variety and community of students, startups, enterprise customers, community leaders and industry leaders. “What inspires me is hearing their ideas and their stories about how wireless and 5G can help them. That’s what really excites me,” Raney shares, dubbing the Tech Experience Program her proudest achievement to date. technologymagazine.com

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“It’s been an amazing experience to see how this programme’s grown, the impact it’s had on our business, and again, our community,” she says proudly. “I would say most importantly, proud of this team – this team that has joined me on this wild ride and taken this risk.” “When you talk about innovation, you don’t know what’s next or the path to get there. You’re in uncharted territory, it’s all about taking risks and believing in the possible. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished together as a team.” Partners ‘absolutely essential’ to T-Mobile “We obviously have the connectivity, we have the nationwide 5G network, but our partners are essential to creating new transformative solutions,” Raney details. “They provide the compute, the devices and modules, and the applications that create the impact and value for our customers.” With a similar history to T-Mobile in pursuing advanced 5G application and realising 5G’s potential, Nokia collaborates with T-Mobile on the latest in 5G technology offerings and capabilities. The pair mentor startups to develop 5G proofs of concept and go to market strategies. By working with Dell, T-Mobile is developing solutions that make it easier for enterprise and government customers to embrace the 5G era thanks to Dell’s edge computing technologies – providing superfast speeds, ultra-low latency, and control they need to use new applications that can help to increase revenue and lower costs. “Our partners are absolutely essential,” Raney says, singing their praises. “We cannot transform this industry, or take advantage of the full capabilities of 5G without them. 192

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“ When you talk about innovation, you don’t know what’s next. You’re in uncharted territory” ERIN RANEY

SR. DIRECTOR, T-MOBILE

“It’s so important that we collaborate and work together. What’s really exciting is that T-Mobile is the leader of 5G, delivering the country’s largest, fastest and most awarded 5G network. And our 5G Standalone Architecture (SA) is the most advanced, providing optimal performance and leveraging new capabilities such as network slicing. The partner ecosystem is super excited to work with us and about what they can do with our 5G technology.”

Looking ahead to T-Mobile’s bright future Anticipating the trajectory of the future of 5G, Raney is under no illusion of how busy the next 12 to 18 months are going to be for her, her team and T-Mobile as a company. “The joke here is we say: ‘This was the busiest year ever’, and then we have the next year, and we’re like: ‘No, no, – this was the busiest,” she laughs. “My team has been educating and showcasing the wireless capabilities of 5G for the past seven years. We have been talking about this for so long, and now it’s incredible to have the network and ecosystem, and the potential and growth is exponential. technologymagazine.com

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Excited to see the fruits of their labour, she acknowledges the relief of seeing their hard work pay off, but adds how the pressure and expectation to continue to deliver cutting edge 5G and navigate unchartered territory – all while growing their business – in a saturated market still poses a significant challenge. With that comes the AI revolution. “You see how these new technologies trend, which can all complement wireless services. I do believe that AI will be a pretty significant technology that we’ll see become very relevant with wireless networks and access to computing solutions.” Recognising her responsibility and privilege of being a pioneer at the forefront of this technological shift, Raney is instilled to work smarter and not harder – although she acknowledges her continued hard work has been at the centre of bringing her work to life. “The biggest challenge in this role is the unknown,” she concludes. “When you think about innovation, to steer a programme and to lead a team – when you really don’t know where you’re going – can be a challenge. This is a new business for us when we think about it. Trying to make the right decisions and to lead this team in this programme in the right direction, we know we’ll make some mistakes. You have to take those risks to do that. “But you’ve got to believe in yourself, the capabilities of the team and the capabilities of what T-Mobile has. That will help you stay the course.” T-MOBILE

TECH EXPERIENCE

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MBZUAI

MBZUAI PROCUREMENT BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR AI IN THE UAE WRITTEN BY: SCOTT BIRCH

PRODUCED BY: STUART IRVING

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Mansour Al Blooshi, Head of Procurement at Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), on delivering AI’s future talent 200

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here are many routes to becoming a procurement leader, but Mansour Al Blooshi may have taken one of the more unusual career paths to the profession. The world of procurement found Mansour almost by accident while he was working at Etihad Airways as a member of

MBZUAI

the airline’s renowned cabin crew. Before that, he was a professional football referee in the UAE league. “Being a referee taught me three valuable lessons that I bring to procurement,” says Mansour, now Head of Procurement at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI).

“Fairness, patience, and clear decisionmaking are crucial both on the football pitch and in procurement. “No two days are the same in procurement. It is a routine job, but not a routine scenario.” Few readers would argue with that statement, especially as the role of technologymagazine.com

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procurement has evolved significantly in the decade that Mansour has been building his career and credentials. His rise has been even more impressive given he admits to never having heard the word ‘procurement’ until that chance discussion with an Etihad Airways’ manager. Mansour explains that he learned quickly through hard work, following his mentor’s direction, and “never making the same mistake twice”. He spent a couple of formative years in the Etihad Airways’ procurement team before moving to Masdar Institute (later merging with Khalifa University) in 2015 where he spent four years. He joined MBZUAI in 2020, commencing as Head of Procurement in August 2022. Working at the world’s first graduate, research university dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) presents its own unique challenges – not least because it was a startup pioneering high-level curriculum in computer science, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics. Then there was the dreaded pandemic to contend with, too. But that did not

stop MBZUAI producing its first master’s graduates in December 2022 and again in June 2023. The Class of 2024 will see the university’s first Ph.D. students graduating. MBZUAI was founded in 2019 and provides a purpose-built, high-tech, and eco-friendly campus. Currently, MBZUAI has 283 students from 41 countries. Its diversity makes it a unique and welcoming institution and benefits the work it undertakes. From a procurement perspective, the task was even more significant given that MBZUAI funds every student via a full scholarship – covering course fees, accommodation, flights, and even providing a generous ‘stipend’ allowance. “Being an AI university, our main suppliers are naturally in the IT field,” Mansour says. “We started the IT infrastructure with Emircom, then we developed our High Performance Computing (HPC) data centre with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Alpha Data.” Emircom and Alpha Data are both Abu Dhabi-based technology companies and Mansour says the university is keen to work with local, homegrown suppliers and partners where possible.

“Fairness, patience, and clear decision-making are crucial both on the football pitch and in procurement” MANSOUR AL BLOOSHI

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, MBZUAI

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MANSOUR AL BLOOSHI TITLE: HEAD OF PROCUREMENT COMPANY: MBZUAI Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) was established in 2019 as an open invitation to the world. Against a backdrop of global artificial intelligence (AI) talent shortages, the university is providing a worldleading pipeline of AI specialists to support the UAE’s innovation trajectory. MBZUAI is supporting the UAE to find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges with transformative research in areas such as healthcare, education, and climate. According to CSRankings – MBZUAI ranks in the top 20 globally in AI, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing, ahead of many respected peer institutions.

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However, there is also a greater focus on sustainability when it comes to commercial evaluation of suppliers. “Sustainability is one of the major goals we are trying to achieve within the Abu Dhabi Government, not only the university,” Mansour says. “This is a long-term goal, but today if I make even a small change then in 10 years that might make a difference, and we may reach our 2050 goal.” One of the first sustainability initiatives instigated by Mansour was the removal of plastic water bottles. He then set about creating a sustainability policy for

procurement, setting out what suppliers need to do to meet MBZUAI’s requirements. “We made sustainability worth between five and 10 marks for our evaluation of suppliers, so that’s around 20 percent of the commercial evaluation,” Mansour explains. “From IT to kitchen supplies, we look for products that are recyclable, sustainable, and do not impact the environment. We need to make sure that God-given resources are protected.” Less than 12 months old when Mansour started at MBZUAI, he soon discovered the procurement team was processing by hand because they were ‘between’ digital systems.

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Mansour admits that the system does have some challenges, and he works around that by creating some bespoke systems and processes to make sure he stays on top of closing open POs especially, so that they do not have a negative impact on his annual budget. Of course, challenges are all part of the fun when it comes to procurement, and this variety is what appeals to Mansour. “No two days are the same in procurement,” he states. “It is a routine job, but not a routine scenario. Educating people about procurement, helping them understand procurement, makes me feel good.” That is a good thing, as Mansour’s team is expanding and becoming

“Sustainability is one of the major goals we are trying to achieve within the Abu Dhabi Government, not only the university” MANSOUR AL BLOOSHI

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, MBZUAI technologymagazine.com

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“ No two days are the same in and quality assurance. Mansour procurement. It is a management adds that it has taken a lot of effort and but those investments will pay routine job, but not resources, dividends as the procurement team delivers a routine scenario” greater efficiencies. MANSOUR AL BLOOSHI

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, MBZUAI

more specialised. The procurement department continues to go from strength to strength with its procurement strategy in place. They are supported in simultaneously handling contracts, vendor 208

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Training leaders in AI As well as providing master’s and Ph.D. degrees for the brightest computer science minds, MBZUAI also runs regular executive and professional training programs for leaders in both government and the private sector. These courses provide leaders and managers with knowledge about AI and

MBZUAI

Mansour Al Blooshi, Head of Procurement at MBZUAI, Nurturing AI Talent for Tomorrow WATCH NOW

how it can be best used to positively impact business and society. The university’s oneof-a-kind Executive Program (MEP) has successfully trained three cohorts consisting of more than 120 UAE leaders in AI so they can begin implementation in their home organisations. Through their exposure to elite, global AI researchers and heads of industry, private and public sector leaders in the UAE are growing into a powerful AI ecosystem — an essential ingredient for long-term success with the technology. MBZUAI believes that leadership’s buy-in towards implementing AI is a critical factor to successful digital transformation

and adoption in industries across the UAE and the world. Mansour is excited to be working for one of the global leaders in AI and believes the institution’s future is bright. “We have all the resources when it comes to talent. We have brilliant ideas,” he says proudly. “I believe that the UAE can be central to the future of AI both in the region and the world. MBZUAI is the paradise of AI.”

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ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE CREATING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS VALUE WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW PRODUCED BY: TOM LIVERMORE

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ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

Accenture’s Benjamin Zeller on how enterprise architecture creates sustainable business value, facilitates collaboration and drives digital change

rofessional services leader Accenture has an extensive history of solving its clients’ toughest challenges by providing unmatched services in strategy and consulting, technology, operations, Industry X and Accenture Song. As a leader in enterprise, application and systems architecture, Accenture’s Architecture Services division delivers strategic, tactical and operational enterprise architecture consulting services to help clients embrace their future. Beginning his time with Accenture in 2009, Benjamin Zeller, Principal Director of Enterprise Architecture at Accenture DACH, describes the concept of enterprise architecture as the ‘tip of the spear’. “We are a relatively small group of strategic technology futurists that work on the tip of the spear of the technology strategy and advisory business,” he comments. “We don’t start by talking about infrastructure or application or technology, but about the business, about capabilities, how the market works and how the industry mechanics function. Once we understand this, we use our experience and our skillset in a technology space to translate that into achievable and effective solutions.” As Zeller describes, there are two major challenges to being a good enterprise architect. “One challenge is to combine deep technological understanding with the capability of strategic thinking and to tailor your communication to the audience and their specific needs,” he explains.

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“ The goal of Accenture is to help their clients be successful in what they’re doing now and be even more successful in the future” BENJAMIN ZELLER

PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ACCENTURE

“Yes, we are always referring to the technology landscape but, when you talk to a team lead or an application owner, you need to do that in a completely different way compared to when you talk to the CFO 214

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or the CEO. So that combination of interest and skillset for technology, and the ability to communicate tailored to a specific target group, and conceptualise in a specific context, is a very rare skill.” Keeping up with change is another, constant challenge “Of course, what I learned in university, 10 or 15 years ago, is still valid, but there are so many additional things that came along the way,” Zeller describes. “And of course, you have to be technologically fluent in those new aspects at the same time. “That can only be achieved if you have an intrinsic interest in the topic and stay up to date with the latest developments.”

BENJAMIN ZELLER TITLE: PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE COMPANY: ACCENTURE LOCATION: GERMANY Benjamin Zeller is Principal Director of Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Accenture’s Technology Strategy and Advisory Enterprise Architecture job family and leads the EA Thought Leadership & Innovation department. He is experienced in strategic Enterprise Architecture

Management, tactical master planning, and operational IT architecture, particularly in the context of the implementation, transformation, and optimization of complex distributed system landscapes. Mr. Zeller has more than 15 years of international architecture experience across a variety of industries. Prior to this, he worked for nearly 10 years as a Software Engineer and Architect. He is a certified Accenture Master Enterprise Architectand AWS Solution Architect Associate.

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ACCENTURE AWS BUSINESS GROUP

Go further, faster with Accenture and AWS AWS has partnered with Accenture for over 14 years through the Accenture AWS Business Group (AABG), which combines the resources, technical expertise and industry knowledge of both organisations into a unified team. This unique collaboration enables enterprises to accelerate their pace of digital innovation and realise incremental business value from cloud adoption and transformation.

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Accenture and AWS partner together to accelerate customer innovation Built on over a decade of collaboration, the Accenture AWS Business Group (AABG) is dedicated to accelerating customers’ digital transformation and innovation The Accenture AWS Business Group (AABG) combines the technical expertise and industry knowledge of Accenture and AWS through a unified approach. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy coined an internal slogan “there’s no compression algorithm for experience”. Experience is at the core of the AABG; built on 14+ years of collaboration and more than 100,000 completed migrations to AWS cloud. Sara Alligood, Worldwide Leader of AABG at AWS, explains: “Our AABG team collaborates with enterprise customers to accelerate their digital transformation and innovation to deliver desired business value. “We provide customers with an end-to-end consultative approach, powered by joint investments in world-class accelerators, industry-proven expertise and digital skills.” Achieving innovation with Velocity Continuous innovation requires strategic end-to-end planning, from boardroom engagement through to continued measurement and improvement. The AABG brings use-case expertise to design and build end-to-end solution roadmaps unique to each client’s requirements. To support this, the AABG recently launched ‘Velocity’, a continuous innovation engine that allows customers to choose and deploy

repeatable solutions aligned to their roadmap, using pre-configured blueprints to remove timeconsuming labour and cost-intensive work. “If you think of Velocity as a foundational layer,” adds Alligood, “we’re then able to focus on industry-specific expertise to design and build the end-to-end solution that our customers need.” Helping customers achieve industry-specific goals The AABG continues to make significant investments into industry solutions built on real use cases, unique industry challenges and white space opportunities, developing more than 40 differentiated solutions across industries including insurance, energy and utilities, life sciences, banking and manufacturing. Each solution is developed to address niche or unique opportunities for customers to innovate within their industry and, because they are built on Velocity, can be deployed at speed. Alligood concludes: “Our portfolio of industry solutions covers all stages of a customer’s innovation journey, built by industry experts with those industry use cases at the heart of what we’re doing.”

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“ Not only do you need to know the business and understand how it works, but you also need to have the ability to look at a complex problem from a holistic perspective” BENJAMIN ZELLER

PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ACCENTURE

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Accenture a leader in enterprise and systems architecture Accenture has been a leader in strategic enterprise, application and systems architecture for nearly 30 years, but as a company, it is, of course, much broader than enterprise architecture. “At Accenture, our goal is to help our clients be successful in what they’re doing now and be even more successful in the future by creating tangible value at speed and scale,” Zeller describes. “We want to help them stay relevant in the marketplace, keep up with change, find effective solutions for the problems at hand and implement precautionary measures to better anticipate risks and prevent them from becoming issues.” Accenture achieves these goals by providing an extensive combination of

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strategic capabilities with its global network of technology expertise, strong ecosystem relationships and ability to innovate, uniquely positioning it to add sustainable business value for clients. “We have the full spectrum of technological capabilities that are required to drive change and create sustainable business value, ranging from mission-critical core platforms to market-differentiating applications based on cloud-native services,” Zeller asserts. “We also have a broad variety of specialists in certain areas like Amazon, SAP and Microsoft, where we are one of the biggest implementation partners globally.” Furthermore, Accenture offers a range of services where it acts as a continuous partner to its clients. “From finding ideas and developing concepts, to implementing

and operating, we offer our clients a full breadth of services. So, when I do a project as a strategist, I do it as a strategist and not because I want to sell the next great transformation project,” Zeller adds. My incentive is not the big projects that come my way, but the success and the persuasiveness of my concepts which I develop in close collaboration with my clients.” Enterprise Architecture: A key driver for digital change As Zeller explains, Enterprise Architecture can be used to break down boundaries between business and IT – enabling organisations to reap the benefits. “We work for large, multinational enterprises, and there you can still find those boundaries between business and IT. technologymagazine.com

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In some cases, they don’t like to talk to each other and when they do, it’s not in a very effective way or even inefficient. Also, there are boundaries within IT between the developers and the operational staff.” These boundaries, from Zeller’s perspective, are purely historically based and arbitrary. “In most cases, there’s no justifiable rational reason for those boundaries. In order to tear down those boundaries and make those boundaries disappear, you have to facilitate collaboration. And in order to facilitate collaboration, you have to communicate, and you have to enable people to understand each others’ concerns. “Not only do you need to enable a business analyst on the IT side to understand the business strategy, but you also need to enable a business strategic decision maker to understand the decision mechanics of an IT platform. So, you have to ensure understanding on both sides. “This requires being versatile and fluent as an enabler and facilitator of change, both as a good technologist and as a good business strategist.” This, Zeller explains, is the core job description of an enterprise architect, to be fluent in both worlds and as he describes ‘ride the elevator’. “If you imagine a company with a C-suite in the penthouse and the IT department maybe in the basement, and then the business department somewhere in between, enterprise architects are able to ride the elevator and they have the capability to exit the elevator on every floor. And they are also able to move around on that floor in a very free manner. “They do have their own office somewhere. Mostly it’s on the floor where the IT department is, but they’re barely in their office because they’re constantly sitting 220

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in other people’s offices to communicate, collaborate, bring together and enable people – riding the elevator up and down. “I see this really as one of the key differentiators of enterprise architects because they bring together those two worlds in such a strong way.” Partnership with AWS and the Accenture AWS Business Group Accenture has a broad range of important partnerships and, as Zeller describes, its relationship with Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of them. “At Accenture, we are solution agnostic. We believe it is best for our clients to pick the best solution for their specific situation.

“We work for a number of large, multinational enterprises, and there you still find those boundaries between business and IT” BENJAMIN ZELLER

PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ACCENTURE

That, of course, requires that we work together with strong partners such as SAP, Microsoft, Google and AWS.” Together with AWS, Accenture has constitutionalised an organisational unit known as the AABG – the Accenture AWS Business Group. “AABG is an organisational unit comprising closely collaborating employees from both AWS and Accenture, focused explicitly on delivering AWS services to our clients where they fit best,” Zeller explains. “With its mature service offering, AWS and Accenture can provide our clients with excellent support technologymagazine.com

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for numerous challenges, whether it is IT strategies or enterprise architecture projects. In addition to our strong partnerships, we also focus on building the skills within our Accenture universe ourselves.” As a result of the partnership with AWS, the two companies have developed a number of offerings. One of these, the Velocity platform, is a continuous innovation engine that can help clients add new cloud innovations up to 50% faster. Security, repeatability, automation and flexibility are all built-in with industry-specific solutions at its core. 222

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“ From generating ideas and developing concepts, to implementing and then operating, we offer our clients a full range of services” BENJAMIN ZELLER

PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE ACCENTURE

ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

Providing companies with the speed, resilience, scale and agility to remain relevant, Zeller describes the platform as a ‘win-win’. “The client gets the best benefit, AWS is being chosen as the long-term cloud partner and we as Accenture can offer the Velocity engine and the surrounding consulting skills.” Sustainability and generative AI topics for the future With organisations facing ever-increasing challenges globally, from pandemics to conflicts, Zeller believes that issues such

as sustainability will be a topic that continues to gain traction. For example, Zeller describes the substantial increase in CO2 certificate prices, which represent the amount of emissions for which financial responsibility is assumed through support for climate protection projects. “A few years ago in Central Europe, national governments debated price increases for those CO2 certificates that the governments thought would be significant. These discussions were intense, but then the pandemic struck, followed by the war in Ukraine. In a remarkably short time, the prices that many had feared would cripple the economy surged by 1.5 to 2 times. It’s a testament to how swiftly history can unfold and disrupt business. Many companies are now grappling with these changes, often unprepared because they hadn’t anticipated such shifts.” As a result, ways must be found to implement holistic business and IT sustainability, enabling companies to have cost-efficient IT departments and run their company in a cost-efficient way. “Sustainability can be approached on a micro level, focusing on relatively isolated optimisations that contribute a small piece to the bigger picture. However, to truly implement sustainability, a holistic perspective on a company and its ecosystem, the entire end-to-end value chain and the corresponding sustainability drivers is required. “If you ask the questions of how to make IT greener, how to make internal business operations greener and how to make supply chain or even suppliers technologymagazine.com

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greener, you need specific technological solutions at hand. This is what enterprise architects bring to the table because they have an overview of available solutions and know what works and what doesn’t. “Business fluency and an understanding of how a business works, as well as the ability to have a holistic perspective on a complex problem, is crucial. It is important to not only look at one aspect, but also consider how that aspect might influence another aspect. That is also something that enterprise architects are trained for like nobody else. Therefore, I believe that the success of holistic sustainability will be a discipline of enterprise architecture.” Another widely debated topic is the impact of generative AI. When it comes to AI, Zeller explains that there are two major questions to ask. “First thing, how can we use generative AI to be faster and more efficient for our client? That is something we can answer after a relatively short time in the future thanks to GenAI. “And then, there is the question of how we can use generative AI to be more creative, more innovative. “Those questions help us to see what’s there already, get a holistic perspective and get something new out of it. I don’t yet have the complete set of answers to how generative AI is going to help us there, but it’s going to be relevant for our work as it is about being creative, being innovative and solving the intellectually demanding problems between technology, business and communication that others have a hard time solving.” 224

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EY CANADA: FOSTERING INNO REAL-TIME PAYM WRITTEN BY: ALEX CLERE

PRODUCED BY: JACK MITCHELL

EY CANADA

OVATION IN MENTS TECH technologymagazine.com

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EY Canada’s Payments Practice Leader, Diana Halder, explains how the company is acting as a catalyst for real-time payments innovation

iana Halder is Payments Practice Leader at EY Canada, a role she has held since September 2019, becoming a full Partner in the firm three months ago. A vastly experienced payments industry executive, she previously spent six years at Accenture, as well as working in payments and global banking at Scotiabank. 228

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When she catches up with us from her office in Toronto, Canada, it’s clear that this experience has set her in good stead. But she acknowledges that, even though she’s been in the industry for over 18 years, she’s always learning new ways to become a better leader. “Putting people first definitely matters,” she tells us. “It’s important to understand their interests and ambitions to keep them motivated and engaged.” She characterises the tenets of strong leadership as ‘four Ps’ – people, patience, persistence, and being provocative when it comes to innovation. “You tend to get a lot of noes as a female and as a minority in a male-dominated industry. There can be a lot of ‘no you

DIANA HALDER TITLE: PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER COMPANY: EY CANADA Diana Halder is a partner at EY Canada, leading the Canadian Payments Practice. She has over 18 years of experience in payments strategy design and large-scale programme delivery. Her domain knowledge in payments spans retail and commercial segments. Diana plays an active role in influencing the payments industry trends and is currently championing the QR code payments standards work in Canada. Halder works with Canadian and US financial institutions, fintechs and big-techs to bring them in-depth knowledge and experience to help deliver their vision.

shouldn’t do that’ or ‘no you need to wait’.” Her message is all about being persistent and confident in your vision. Indeed, gender equality and breaking down barriers for women are common threads woven through many areas of financial services worldwide. According to a report published last year1, women land just 21% of board seats and only 19% of C-suite roles within the sector globally. That figure falls to an astonishingly low 5% when it comes to the CEO position. It’s an issue that matters both to EY Canada – which has developed a programme called ‘Women. Fast forward’ to address gender equity in the workplace – and to Canadians.

EY CANADA

“ Putting people first definitely matters. It’s important to understand their interests and ambitions to keep them motivated and engaged” DIANA HALDER

PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER, EY CANADA

The country currently has a genderbalanced cabinet, meaning there are equal numbers of male and female members, and the Canadian government has previously introduced disclosure requirements that bring the issue of gender parity in the workplace into the spotlight, whether companies want it there or not. In case you’re wondering, women represent 51% of the workforce at EY Canada including 45% of management roles. 230

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Diverse societies require cross-border solutions Canada is a vibrant and modern economy that originated well-known firms such as Shopify, Lululemon and Thomson Reuters. But there is sentiment north of the border that Canada is often overlooked in favour of their American cousins, particularly when it comes to industries like fintech and financial services – which, traditionally, have been concentrated around Silicon Valley and Wall Street respectively.

With more than 400,000 people immigrating to Canada every year to turbocharge economic growth, we’ll likely see that influx of people begin to add extra pressure on Canadian financial institutions and payment service providers to meet the demand for cheaper, faster payments – especially with crossborder payments. The country is already incredibly diverse, with one of the largest foreignborn populations in the world. Canada has

always embraced new cultures, right from the very beginning, Halder says. “My parents immigrated here from a country hampered with social and political challenges,” she explains. “In Canada, I got access to free education, free healthcare, and I’ve been able to take advantage of those tools to get me to where I am today. That is one of the reasons I spend a lot of time with minorities and with females to empower and enable them – because I got that opportunity.” technologymagazine.com

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How Mastercard invests in domestic and cross-border payments Darrell MacMullin, SVP Products and Platforms at Mastercard in Canada, talks to us about the pace of change within disbursements and cross-border payments. WRITTEN BY ALEX CLERE

When we dial in virtually to speak with Darrell MacMullin, Senior Vice President for Products and Platforms at Mastercard in Canada, he’s just got off the phone with his telecom provider. MacMullin is constantly evaluating the experiences he receives as a user, and applying those learnings to his role. “I am definitely UX-obsessed,” he admits. Over the last 5-10 years, he believes several macro trends have redefined disbursements and cross-border payments. These include the rise of the gig economy; the emergence of new verticals in gaming and gambling that are moving into the scope of regulators; greater demand for choice in various different payment use-cases; and more exacting expectations from the general public. “People’s expectations are on demand for almost everything now,” MacMullin says. “Whether it’s a refund from a health insurance company or a person needing to send money to family back home, they don’t want to wait days for that anymore. The expectation is that it has to happen in near real-time.”

In order to meet this evolving demand, Mastercard has placed a huge emphasis on its Mastercard Send platform, which facilitates secure, near-real time payment transfers between billions of cards, banks and digital accounts. Mastercard has also been investing heavily into new payments infrastructure, applications and services. “We’ve completed acquisitions and integrations of a number of companies and capabilities that give us the ability to reach about 90% of the world’s population with Mastercard CrossBorder Services,” MacMullin tells us. “Together, Mastercard Send and Cross-Border Services can support payments to bank accounts, mobile wallets, cash payout locations, and any card type and scheme whether it’s debit, credit or prepaid. The platform enables banks and ﬁntechs to be able to move money to support multiple use cases including remittances, small business and commercial payments.”

Learn more

EY CANADA

“ The future of embedded payments lies in the ability to make the movement of money seamless and contextual” DIANA HALDER

PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER, EY CANADA

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It is clear to see how much her past contributes to her passion for improving the representation of women and other underrepresented groups in the workplace. Canadian consumers want to see more choice Canada has an annual GDP of roughly US$2tn (CA$2.7tn). Within financial services specifically, much of that activity is concentrated around Toronto, the country’s largest city. According to industry database Crunchbase, the Greater Toronto Region – which extends along the shoreline of Lake Ontario – is home to more than a quarter of Canada’s banks, financial institutions, insurers and fintechs, despite accounting for just a sixth of the national population.

Diana Halder of EY Canada Catalyzes Real-Time Payments Innovation WATCH NOW

“I believe we’re similar to California when it comes to population size,” Halder tells us. Indeed, according to the latest estimates, the Golden State has one million more people than the Great White North. “So that’s one state in the US compared with our entire country,” she adds. Despite the smaller population Canada is ideal to pilot new technology, products or services because Canadians tend to be faster at adopting digital solutions. From a payments perspective, Canada is in the midst of modernising its payment infrastructure and policies. Halder believes the industry isn’t as heavily regulated as other parts of the world – like the UK or Australia – and that the country is influenced

by the bigger banks. “They tend to drive the pace at which we innovate,” she says. This is similar to other geographies that have a big banking footprint. “There is definitely innovation coming out of Canada, but the pace of this innovation and the level of competition is slower, as compared to other G7 countries.” Oligopolies exist within sectors like telecommunications, internet service providers, hydroelectricity, and of course financial services. Though there is good infrastructure and services in those areas, competition is quite sparse. This construct finds its roots in Canada’s origin as a country. It’s in their DNA. The country was a relative early-mover with the technologymagazine.com

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“ The common themes among impressive fintechs are that they’re all very provocative in the way they go to market. They’re very forward-thinking in their solutions” DIANA HALDER

PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER, EY CANADA

implementation of email money transfer by Interac, a form of faster peer-to-peer payments where deposit instructions and notifications are sent over email. Now the country’s payment ecosystem is moving Canada’s real-time payments into a new era. “What we’re doing is setting up a centralised real-time payments network with centralised clearing and settlement capabilities on a more modern technology stack,” Halder says. “That would be comparable to the FedNow in the US or AP+ in Australia.” 236

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She says that it would be ideal if Canada had the range of choice that the US has (for example Zelle, TCH’s real-time payments and FedNow), but the lack of competition has made that challenging. “Right now in Canada, we have one option. It would be great for consumers and businesses to have more choices from public or private realtime payments networks.” A protected financial ecosystem isn’t the only consideration for Canada’s modernisation agenda; the lack of widespread education on the benefits of

EY CANADA

modernisation and ageing technology also slow down progress. “Another challenge is the speed at which banks can transform their ageing infrastructure to enable real-time payments. Functions such as real-time fraud detection and real-time postings to the DDA should be in place for us to have widespread RTP offerings and therefore adoption.” EY strives to be ‘an agent for change’ As with many sectors, the pandemic helped create an inadvertent, but welcome,

acceleration within the payments space. There’s no escaping the impact that the pandemic had on small-and-medium-sized businesses, in particular. According to the Department of Industry, lockdowns and business failures resulted in nearly threequarters of a million job losses by the end of 2021 alone. During the pandemic, EY championed initiatives that helped small businesses get access to support and subsidies from their government. EY brought together some of the most significant players – including Canada’s largest banks, technologymagazine.com

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LISTEN: MAKING WAVES WITH EY – THE PAYTECHS EDITION In this episode of Making Waves with EY, our host Diana Halder explores the latest trends, innovations and challenges shaping the payments industry with Global EY leaders.

READ: HOW THE RISE OF PAYTECH IS RESHAPING THE PAYMENTS LANDSCAPE PayTechs’ relentless disruption means that only banks and payment service providers that offer “value beyond payments” can compete.

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“Our mission statement in EY Canada Payments is to bring about change through provocative thinking, innovative solutioning and creative partnering” DIANA HALDER

PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER, EY CANADA

Canada’s largest merchant acquirers, networks and paytechs – to create a new open-source standard for moving money via a quick response code (QR code). “As a result of the pandemic, there has been a spike in movement towards digital or online payments as small-and-mediumsized businesses looked for cheaper and flexible money movement options.” She suggests that the impetus is now on everyday Canadians to maintain the pressure on their banks and financial institutions, to be relentless in their pursuit of more convenient and robust payment solutions. “As Canadians, we’re very easygoing. We don’t pound the table when we don’t get what we want. Americans demand innovation, they demand competition. In Canada, not so much. We still have some of the highest telco bills, and we still get charged for our checking accounts.” In everything that it does, EY Canada’s objective is to be a ‘change agent’ – as demonstrated in the collaborative approach that it’s been taking in the last few years. “Our mission statement in EY Canada is to be a ‘change agent’ within payments. We want to help bring about change through provocative thinking, innovative solutions

and creative partnering – not just with our clients but also our vendors and regulatory bodies.” A prime example of this is the QR code work, developed during the pandemic, which will soon be recognised as Canada’s standard by its payments network owner and operator. This open-sourced standard is more accessible and cost effective to acquire and process payments, as compared to existing options. For smaller merchants, a QR code payments system opens up new possibilities because their mobile phones can be used to accept payments without having to pay for expensive infrastructure and technology, allowing financial inclusion for Canadian merchants who still cannot accept card payments. Embedded payments will define the future One of the most promising areas of innovation, as they see it, lies in embedded payments. This API-enabled capability allows household names to offer convenient money movement experiences. It allows non-banks to offer digital wallets; nonlenders to provide credit at checkout or when budgeting; and non-insurers the ability to distribute insurance, when you’re renting technologymagazine.com

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a car or booking a holiday for example. Embedded payments effectively remove the need to pull out your card or toggle to a EY offices in Canada different experience or application to make a payment, but it instead seamlessly initiates the payment Global EY workforce as a part of an experience. “Think Uber,” Halder says. Embedded payments is one of EY Canada area that EY Canada Payments is employees are women, including really focusing on, anticipating that the total addressable market for in management such services will reach trillions roles, compared to of dollars within the decade. “You have cheaper tech average across that’s coming online, making whole of Canada it accessible and available for businesses and individuals to innovate upon.” Halder says. “Group that with the standardisation of payment messages, the spread of openbanking and real-time payments and you have yourself the ideal conditions for embedded payments.” This will obviously, then, be a huge area of focus for the team at EY. The company itself will be building out its assets and support services so that it can play a key programme, EY Canada will continue role in that transformation of Canada’s realto champion women in the workplace, time payments industry – and, of course, EY bolstered by those impressive figures Canada will continue to work hand-in-hand with the diverse list of clients that it already about the number of female employees numbers among its clientele. They include in management roles within its own organisation. financial institutions and credit unions, big But there is still a long way to go. According tech, entertainment and media companies, to a study by Equileap, the vast majority (81%) ecommerce platforms as well as paytechs and fintechs. of Canadian firms do not publish details of Finally, the company is big on ESG and their gender pay gap – although this number is inching down year-on-year. When it comes diversity. With its ‘Women. Fast forward’

300,000+ 51%

45%

20%

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“You tend to get a lot of noes as a female and as a minority in a maledominated industry. It’s all about being persistent” DIANA HALDER

PARTNER, PAYMENTS PRACTICE LEADER, EY CANADA

to gender parity in the boardroom, although most metrics are moving in the right direction, only 30% of senior managers at top Canadian firms are women. The number of women in the broader workforce is lower than comparable labour markets, including the US. In fact, such is the state of gender diversity in corporate Canada, there are more CEOs at top publicly listed Canadian firms named Michael than there are women.

Interestingly, the Payments lines of business within financial services has one of the highest rates of female executives, an example that should be replicated across other areas. It’s refreshing to see the payments industry set an example in gender parity.

1. Deloitte, 2022 technologymagazine.com

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Microsoft technology solutions providing education for all WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW PRODUCED BY: TOM VENTURO

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Microsoft Global CTO for Education Serena Sacks-Mandel on how the company’s AI-powered solutions improve student outcomes and provide education for all

ith a mission to empower all educators and learners to achieve more, Microsoft is at the forefront of the transformation of the education industry. Providing a range of end-to-end education solutions which can be leveraged by educators and to improve student outcomes, the company is heavily involved in the AI revolution – sparked last year by the dramatic rise of ChatGPT. As the chatbot seemingly burst on the scene, well-publicised concerns began to be raised from concerned educators warning that the technology could cause disruption for the industry – with its ability to create human-like text raising fears about its use as a tool to ‘cheat’ at writing essays. But as initial panic about the technology subsided, AI tools like ChatGPT can now be seen as a useful tool for educators – for tasks from lesson planning to building AI skills. Few people are as involved in this tipping point in the world of education as Serena Sacks-Mandel, Global CTO for Education at Microsoft. The company has made a number of sizable investments in generative AI – working closely with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to democratise access to AI. As Sacks-Mandel describes, today the world is in the midst of an AI disruptive era. “We’re less than a year into it, and every conversation ends up being about AI,” she comments.

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Serena Sacks-Mandel, Microsoft’s Global CTO for Education, on AI-Enhanced Inclusive Education WATCH NOW

“You have a lot of people that are afraid of AI in the education space. They think it’s about cheating, and so the struggle is to help them see how they can harness the advantages and benefits of AI, and mitigate against the risks.” To face these challenges, the education industry requires a pedagogical change, as well as alterations to teacher practices, Sacks-Mandel explains. “More than before, we need to change the way we teach. An educator cannot be lazy and ask for an essay, or for a research paper, because the student is going to leverage ChatGPT, as they should. 246

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“Just like we teach long division and multiplication tables before we give students a calculator, it isn’t just about the result, but it’s the process. Students can use AI for lots of things to make their work easier, but they need to learn the process first.” About Microsoft in the education space Microsoft provides a range of end-to-end solutions for the education sector which can be leveraged by educators and improve student outcomes. “What I love about Microsoft and why I chose to come to Microsoft over other

SERENA SACKS-MANDEL TITLE: GLOBAL CTO COMPANY: MICROSOFT LOCATION: UNITED STATES Serena Sacks-Mandel has over 30 years of experience in technology and business leadership, and is passionate about enabling every student and educator to achieve more through innovative and effective educational technology solutions. She has a master’s degree in public policy analysis, and holds PMP and CGEIT certifications. As the Global CTO and Transformation Officer for Education at Microsoft, Sacks-Mandel leads the vision, strategy, and execution of technology initiatives that empower organisations, students, and teachers to use Microsoft platforms and tools, such as Azure, M365, Teams, PowerPlatform, and more. She also supports the development and adoption of AI and data-driven solutions that enhance personalised learning and student success.

options in the industry is because we are the only technology company that has the end-to-end solutions,” Sacks-Mandel describes. First party tools like Reading Progress, embedded into the company’s Teams platform, harness the power of AI to help students develop fluency. Students record their reading on camera, and as their work is marked and returned, data is automatically collected and organised in Insights, helping educators spend more time with students and less time analysing data.

“ We are the only technology company that has end-to-end solutions” SERENA SACKS-MANDEL GLOBAL CTO, MICROSOFT

Another of Microsoft’s education tools – which are known as Learning Accelerators – is Reflect: a wellbeing app to support connection, expression, and learning “Reflect helps the teacher understand what each student is feeling on that day and at that time. They can select from a scale of faces, happy to sad. “We are turning qualitative information from six-year-olds into data that the teacher can actually see, go to a particular student and ask why they aren’t feeling well. The teacher can also assess the mood of the class and adjust the activities accordingly” Microsoft’s robust suite of tools and platforms and products make a real difference in the education for students. And as Sacks-Mandel asserts, its Windows operating system and Microsoft 365 are huge differentiators. “ Just as English is the language of business, Windows and Microsoft Office are the tools of business. And so the more we can equip students with full-functioning devices and platforms, the more that we can prepare them for the workforce.” Microsoft is also the number one provider for security solutions. “A lot of folks don’t know, but education is the most attacked industry by many orders of magnitude.” 248

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One reason for this, Sacks-Mandel explains, is that education organisations tend to not have the right skills and resources to protect the organisation, and that many people in those organisations don’t realise the true value of data. “It isn’t just about students and grades, it’s about social security numbers, credit card information, health information and identity for both adults and learners. “Hackers are patient so they can grab information that is relatively unprotected. They can use it, they can sit on it.” As Sacks-Mandel explains, Microsoft has a number of robust layers of support when it comes to security. “It’s not like one solution and done. From identity management, to access control, and phishing prevention, we offer a whole suite of cybersecurity tools that, when implemented and used properly, prevent these attacks. “A number of organisations have been ransomware attacked, and a lot of times it’s just because they haven’t patched, they haven’t followed the basic sort of hygiene of managing their on-prem systems. The cloud is much less vulnerable to these attacks because that’s all taken care of. There is no patching. And education has been one of the last industries to modernise and to move to the cloud, so these on-prem systems are highly vulnerable.” Microsoft’s ambition and goal to help provide education all around the globe With a firm belief that all students deserve equitable access to education – no matter where they live or how they learn – Microsoft is committed to developing safe and inclusive learning solutions designed to help everyone reach their highest potential at school and beyond. technologymagazine.com

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MICROSOFT EDUCATION

“ To at least provide access for every student is a moral imperative” SERENA SACKS-MANDEL GLOBAL CTO, MICROSOFT

As Sacks-Mandel explains, central to providing education to all is ensuring students have proper access to tools. An example of this is India. The country will have the highest population of young people in the world over the next decade, and through its National Education Policy 2020 policy aims to provide every single student with a device, with bandwidth, enabling them to learn English.

“Those are the three things that students need to overcome the digital divide,” Sacks-Mandel says. “If they can execute on that desire, they will close that digital divide because those students – even in the most remote little villages – will be able to learn English, connect to the resources, the best resources in the globe to be educated, and they will join the global workforce. “However, if you have a group of students in the mountains of West Virginia and we haven’t done our work to activate the internet for them, they’re going to get left behind. “To at least provide access for every student is a moral imperative,” she adds. “Where Microsoft provides accessibility technologymagazine.com

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solutions, everything is built by design for accessibility. So, we are providing that access, but it’s up to the country, the state, the city to provide the devices and bandwidth.” The power of data and data analytics In addition to being central in advances in AI, Microsoft is at the forefront of data and analytics. Its recently-launched Fabric solution – an end-to-end, unified analytics platform that brings together all the data and analytics tools that organisations need – is a game-changer when it comes to data analytics in the education world. “At Microsoft we are at the forefront of data and analytics. We’ve had open education analytics, we have tools. Now, we’ve just announced Fabric, which is game changing: it takes in all these functionalities and puts it under one hood.” As Sacks-Mandel explains, data analytics can be used not only to provide a more personalised experience for students but also to identify students and educators who might be at risk. “We can look at the data and see where the students are. Have they been engaged in their learning? I don’t mean just asking, ‘are they sitting in a seat?’. We want to understand our absentee rate, but are they engaged in their learning? Are they answering questions? Are they performing? Are they making progress? Are you seeing growth? “Rather than having what we call summative assessment at the end of the year or semester, all of these data points along the way can give us insight as to what the student is doing on a daily basis,” Sacks-Mandel explains. “You have to understand each student’s interest and give them reading material that’s going technologymagazine.com

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to pique their interest. We can personalise that experience, but we can also see whether they’re engaged in making progress through the data, and that goes for higher ed.” Powerful tools like these can be harnessed to help combat a high attrition rate in higher education - particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The attrition rate in higher ed is astounding, especially the students that have just come out of the pandemic and don’t necessarily have the educational foundation to perform well in a higher ed setting,” Sacks-Mandel asserts. “So, we need to help those higher ed organisations understand which students are at risk because if they’re failing classes, if they’re not learning along the way, then they’re going to drop out.”

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“ Brilliant people keep coming up with new opportunities to leverage AI in the educational space” SERENA SACKS-MANDEL GLOBAL CTO, MICROSOFT

Partnerships helping Microsoft deliver its goals When it comes to providing platforms to educational organisations, Microsoft works with a number of partners to help deliver its goals. “We can’t do what we do without wwour partners,” Sacks-Mandel describes.

“We have the platforms, we have the tools, but our partners take those ingredients and turn them into complete solutions that our customers can leverage. We’re an engineering technology software company, an AI company, and there’s no way that we could provide that level of specificity and localisation that our partners can provide.” One such partner is the global IT services consulting firm AANSEACORE. “They’re multifaceted. They can do the project management side, they can do the data analytics, and they can do the systems integration,” Sacks-Mandel describes. “They are working globally, India, Australia, UK, and the US and Canada, and they have a lot of experience not only in education but in a lot of other industries as well.” technologymagazine.com

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Another partner, Territorium is a comprehensive learner record that leverages AI to create a student profile and help that student see different career pathways, what skills they have that align with that pathway, and what they need to learn, and how they might go about achieving those skills and competencies to go through that pathway. Territorium’s solutions include a comprehensive learner record (CLR) with built-in badging that connects education to employability, assessment services - with personalised assessments that measure skills employers seek in applicants and an AI-powered jobs engine that connects learners with jobs based on their skills. 256

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“Territorium’s partnership with Microsoft started with the company’s founding in Latin America and has continued with our expansion into the United States and beyond,” said Guillermo Elizondo, CEO and co-founder of Territorium. “Our technology is Azure-based, in 15 countries, and serves more than 12 million learners. Microsoft’s support has been instrumental in our adoption of AI-based technologies for our remote proctoring platform – EdTest.ai – as well as for our LifeJourney app that connects the verified skills and experiences of learners to best-fit jobs.” Another partner, PowerSchool, is a K-12 back-office solution with

“ We have the platforms, we have the tools, we have the ingredients, but our partners take that and turn those into complete solutions” SERENA SACKS-MANDEL GLOBAL CTO, MICROSOFT

a student information system and a number of other functions to help the back office for schools. “We work with them to help provide enhanced analytics, data and analytics,” Sacks-Mandel comments. “And we partner very closely with them to help Departments of Education, Ministries of Education, and individual districts modernise their back office, and also leverage AI. “And then, MaivenPoint is an educational solution under the company called AvePoint, and they are similar to the PowerSchool but at a higher education level. So, they help automate the back office, the student information, student management systems at the higher ed level. technologymagazine.com

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And it’s a full life cycle for higher ed all from admissions through alumni and everything in between.” The future: The possibilities are endless At such a transformational time, technologies like AI will drive endless possibilities. “Brilliant people keep coming up with new opportunities to leverage AI in the educational space,” Sacks-Mandel concludes. “And I just think that we are at the cusp of amazing things.” For Microsoft itself, the journey ahead will involve an acceleration of helping customers on their digital and AI journeys. “A lot of our customers are less mature than other commercial industries, and so we need to first help them migrate to the cloud, establish their data infrastructure, their data lake in the cloud, harness that data for good use as well as at the same time harnessing AI for good. “I want to help the people that really understand this that have that vision move forward. And I think that other than that, there’s going to be a consolidation in the industry for those that are not seeing that and moving fast enough.” As Sacks-Mandel describes, Microsoft is obsessed with customers’ requirements and what customers need. “We are delivering solutions that meet all of those requirements and those needs, including in the education space. “We have transformed into a platform company, a security company, an AI company, and I see those trends intensifying and accelerating in a way that meets with our customers,” she says. “Ultimately, we’re trying to work with our customers to light up their vision and help them transform.”

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CONSTRUCTIO SERVICES LEA ELLISDON IS BUILDING DIGI WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW PRODUCED BY: TOM VENTURO

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We explore Canadian construction leader EllisDon’s digital transformation, leveraging data and technology to gain insights and drive better decisions

llisDon has grown exponentially beyond its modest origins in London, Ontario. Founded and incorporated in 1951 by brothers Don and David Ellis Smith, today EllisDon is an employee–owned, US$5bn– a-year construction services company. With over 5,000 salaried and hourly employees across 15 national and international offices, EllisDon has become a leader in every sector of the construction industry. “EllisDon truly is founded on the core philosophy that everybody is an entrepreneur,” says Brandon Milner, SVP of Digital and Data Engineering at EllisDon. “That goes from our senior leadership team, all the way through to a coordinator on a construction site.” EllisDon’s Digital and Data Engineering division has the goal to be a leader in technology, just as it is a leader in construction and futureproofing its operations. It leverages the latest technology, using data to create efficiencies, inform intelligent decision-making, and elevate client and user experiences. This entrepreneurial and driven approach throughout the department, Milner explains, has been emphasised by EllisDon’s former CEO and now Executive Chair of the board, Geoff Smith. “He really encourages us to think on our feet, to own it, to drive things, to try new things, all under the guise of obviously being fiscally responsible and

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“ What differentiates us really boils down to our intellectual property” BRANDON MILNER

SENIOR VP OF DIGITAL & DATA ENGINEERING, ELLISDON

married to the brand, values and reputation of EllisDon, which the leadership team and the wider company has built over the last 72 years.” 264

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Having been building its own digital products for the last 20 years, an example of EllisDon’s philosophy comes in its Gate Three platform. An enterprise–wise project management platform, Milner explains that it incorporates everything from pre-construction all the way through to billings and invoicing to payments – all of which has been built in–house. “Twenty years ago when nobody was thinking about this, Geoff Smith was asking the question, what is the company going to look like in the future? How are we going to own our own domain outside of construction?

BRANDON MILNER TITLE: SENIOR VP OF DIGITAL & DATA ENGINEERING COMPANY: ELLISDON

“What differentiates us really boils down to our intellectual property, both in construction but also in our technology and data,” Milner describes. “It’s about how we manage our construction, but also how we treat people, and also how we leverage the data we’re collecting to do incremental things and to learn from our data. “We believe and we lead by our core values. That’s really what drives us and always has. Although we are a private company, all of our employees are shareholders in EllisDon, which also creates a sense of ownership and drive

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: CANADA As Senior Vice President of Digital & Data Engineering at EllisDon, Brandon is passionate about driving the future of construction. Rooted in digital innovation and data, he leverages his experience to transform construction technology and PropTech. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a hunger for performance enhancement, he executes strategic initiatives to maximise profitability. Brandon strives to drive his teams to advance sectors like data, artificial intelligence, technology, and venture capital through strategic investments and partnerships. His career, peppered with roles at industry leaders like Merrill Lynch, AirMiles, and Cadillac Fairview, has shaped him into a versatile leader. From Business Development and Marketing to Corporate Strategy and Product Management, he has honed a wide array of skills. Brandon’s past roles have fueled his passion for blending business insights with advanced tech, and his dedication and comprehensive skill set consistently propel his career forward.

We partner with large organizations to drive new growth. EllisDon is innovating for the future, so can you. Visit our website or contact us today: Tyler Anderson

Spencer Giles

CEO

Engagement Manager

tanderson@disruptiveedge.com

sgiles@disruptiveedge.com

ELLISDON

“ We have 20 years of data to leverage, and anybody who knows the AI space knows that this creates opportunities” BRANDON MILNER

SENIOR VP OF DIGITAL & DATA ENGINEERING, ELLISDON

for everybody. We all feel like this is our company, we’re not working for corporate leadership or for a stock price.” An exciting era of technology, data and construction With 72 years of history, as Milner explains, EllisDon is currently entering an exciting era when it comes to pioneering digital solutions, launching its new division – Building Digital to highlight its innovative approach.

“We build our own software,” he says. “We have a very robust pilot programme that we’ve set up through our software selection programme. “We have a vetting process, it goes through our cybersecurity team, it goes through our data team, it goes through our legal team, gets approved, and we have a process that we stick to”. Coupled with this, EllisDon has recently launched a construction tech accelerator programme, where its pilot programmes will be merged with its accelerator programme, providing other companies an opportunity worldwide to be part of the EllisDon ecosystem. This culminated in eight out of 100 applicants worldwide being selected for a pitch day in Toronto, in front of technologymagazine.com

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“ We’ve been building things for thousands of years, and there’s an art to this as much as it is a science” BRANDON MILNER

SENIOR VP OF DIGITAL & DATA ENGINEERING, ELLISDON

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stakeholders across the whole business, with the final prize for the winners of the ConTech Accelerator programme to run pilots on EllisDon’s construction sites. This, Milner describes, represents the company’s core mission and value to try and push the envelope. “As long as we’re fiscally responsible and we have a plan, and it’s a structured detailed plan, let’s partner. Let’s partner with people. Let’s strategically look at investment opportunities within the ConTech space that will accelerate both us and our partners growth.” Generative AI – augmentation rather than overreliance AI can be an augmenter or facilitator to accelerate technology within construction technology. But emphasising that construction is an industry built on

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relationships, Milner warns that it is important to consider this – and strike a balance – when considering AI applications. “When it comes to generative AI, it’s important to stress that it isn’t one size fits all. You don’t need to use AI for everything. What I’m hearing is that people are becoming very self–reliant on these AI tools, and my worry is that people will start to lose that human connection and that personal touch.” Another thing to consider with generative AI is accuracy. “Relying on these AI tools solely is, I believe, a big mistake, especially in the construction industry where we look to use AI for things like predicting costs and forecasts. “It is a very mature industry, we’ve been building things for thousands of years, and there’s an art to this as much as it is

a science, in terms of cost forecasting and predictions. People just know how to do that. Relying on computers or pieces of code to do that solely is a big concern for me. Remembering the human element of this industry is crucially important. “We are starting to look at generative AI, but only with specific use cases for things like cameras or for more tedious manual admin type of work – generating time efficiencies in people’s lives – freeing up their time to do what they are best at.” This is where EllisDon, with 20 years of data to leverage, can use this wealth of information to gain meaningful insights. “We have a fairly large Insights and Analytics team, and we are using generative AI to provide insights and report to our execs, and to our superintendents and construction managers. With all this data, technologymagazine.com

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anybody who knows the AI space knows that this creates opportunities that we are very cognizant and aware of. “We’re capturing our data through our Gate Three platform and we are really starting to look at that realm and starting to find interesting intersections between AI and construction tech.” Importance of strategic partnerships – and enabling Building Digital Highlighting the importance of symbiotic relationships, Milner is a strong believer in strategic partnerships rather than building everything internally. “Where I look to partner is where they understand our business, they understand that everything takes time. We need a partner that’s going to help us grow.”

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An example of this is when EllisDon migrated from Google to the Microsoft environment for its email and Microsoft 365 infrastructure, partnering with Avanade. “Avanade have been great partners in helping us drive through enterprisewide change, and enterprise-wide system implementations,” Milner says. Another strong partnership comes with EllisDon’s work with Disruptive Edge: an innovation consultancy working across a range of industries. “With Disruptive Edge, we needed to find a partner that we could work with in a very collaborative manner to assist our digital transformation,” Milner describes. Now, with such a wealth of digital knowledge combined with data over

“ As a very forwardthinking company, I think the next 12 to 18 months are going to be very exciting” BRANDON MILNER

SENIOR VP OF DIGITAL & DATA ENGINEERING, ELLISDON

the last two decades, Disruptive Edge is helping launch Building Digital – a division enabling EllisDon to promote and offer its services and products to the rest of the market, whether it’s general contractors, subcontractors or clients, inside or outside the construction space. “All the 20 or 30 years of experience that we’ve had building out these things within the construction industry, we have a suite technologymagazine.com

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Brandon Milner, SVP at EllisDon, on Transforming Construction with Data and Tech WATCH NOW

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of products and services and engagements that we are offering through Building Digital.” As Milner describes, Disruptive Edge has been an instrumental partner to EllisDon in helping it build out that digital transformation: from deep dives into market research, to discovery sessions, building business requirements and finalising product offerings, all while working very collaboratively with its teams. “Where Disruptive Edge really is a differentiator against other consulting companies that I’ve worked with in the past, is that it embeds itself within teams and, specifically, within EllisDon’s digital team,” Milner adds. “But also outside of our digital teams, its team members meet with stakeholders and it’s a very partner–driven engagement. Disruptive Edge is geared towards setting us up for success and then moving on and letting us build on that foundation. It’s not one of these partners that are with you for life, but it is constantly supporting us. It’s not about the bottom line for Disruptive Edge, it’s actually about building and launching very successful products.” Another strategic partner of note for EllisDon is Cupix – a trusted partner of choice for delivering the industry’s most flexible and easiest-to-deploy 3D digital twin platform to builders and owners everywhere. technologymagazine.com

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Cupix has been collaborating with EllisDon for several years, providing it with a reliable, cutting-edge reality capture solution. “The platform began with 360 photos and has since expanded to include other modules such as scans and drone data,” Milner explains. “One of the many valuable aspects of Cupix is their flexibility and responsiveness to changes in the marketplace. As our partner, they strive to remain ahead of the curve, rather than remaining static in their offerings. “When it comes to building digitally, Cupix helps us showcase our commitment 274

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to excellence. Whether we need to build, buy, or partner, we work with the best.” Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical assets that simulate real-world conditions, allowing users to visualise and analyse the performance of those assets in a controlled environment. As Milner describes, building digital twins for job sites provides a range of benefits, including improved project planning, greater efficiency, and enhanced decision-making capabilities. “By creating a digital twin of a job site, project managers can better plan and optimise construction activities, reducing downtime and increasing productivity,”

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“ Mix and match the size of the quote. Keep the style consistent within the same article” NAME SURNAME JOB TITLE, COMPANY NAME

he says. “Digital twins can also be used to identify potential issues and bottlenecks in the construction process, allowing for proactive planning and mitigation strategies. “In addition, digital twins can provide real-time monitoring of job site conditions, allowing for immediate adjustments to be made to construction activities as needed. This can improve safety and reduce the risk of accidents or delays. “Ultimately, these benefits can lead to higher revenues for construction companies,” Milner adds. “By improving project planning, increasing efficiency, and reducing downtime, construction

companies can complete projects faster and more cost-effectively, resulting in higher profitability. Digital twins also provide a competitive edge, allowing construction companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors and win more business.” An exciting future for EllisDon With Building Digital, Milner hopes to see what he describes as a ‘cataclysmic change’ in the way EllisDon works with and engages its subcontractors, its clients, and the wider market in general. “We’re actively involved in the United States in the construction industry from a thought leadership perspective. And as a very forward-thinking company, I think the next 12 to 18 months are going to be very exciting. “Today, EllisDon is very geared and positioned exceptionally well to be that market leader in the construction tech space and a thought leader. In the next 12 to 18 months it will be interesting to see how we can impact the rest of the Canadian market, but also the North American market. “Right now we are obviously focusing on North America, but as part of the Accelerator Programme, there are a lot of companies out there that are coming from Europe as well. “That is our ethos around Building Digital. We can either build it ourselves because we have expertise, we can partner strategically, or we can potentially do some investments where we are strategically partnering and growing together.”

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Garrett Olson, Head of Insurance & Risk Management at Wolt

WOLT

Technology company Wolt’s Head of Insurance and Risk Management, Garrett Olson, explains the insurance needs of Wolt’s 180,000+ courier partners

nybody who lived on planet Earth during the COVID-19 pandemic will be very familiar with the convenience and variety that comes from having food, groceries and merchandise delivered to your door. In the US, companies like DoorDash, Grubhub and UberEats are helping to create a roughly US$25bn economy – buoyed by strong growth during lockdown. One of Europe’s leading players in the industry is Wolt, a Finnish-headquartered technology company that makes it easy to discover and get the best restaurants, grocery stores and other local shops delivered to your home or office. Founded in 2014, Wolt has rapidly grown to a 9,000-person company spread across 25 countries and hundreds of cities – from Oslo to Tokyo. Wolt has also expanded from restaurants to multiple verticals, and customers can today order a broad selection of products on Wolt – from medicines to dog food and flowers to cosmetics. In 2022, Wolt joined forces with DoorDash, which operates in 29 countries today, including 25 of them with the Wolt product and brand. What are the needs of a courier partner? Understanding the demands of courier partners is the first step towards providing a relevant insurance proposition for them – a process which is led by Wolt’s Head of Insurance and Risk, Garrett Olson.

Based in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, Olson has been with Wolt for just over three years. Building simple, relevant and valuable safety nets for the platform economy motivates him. Prior to Wolt, he worked with the Executive Boards at Zurich Insurance Group; the shipping company Mærsk; and FLSmidth, an OEM to the mining and cement industry in strategy, risk and venture building roles. There is no typical Wolt courier partner. Olson understands each courier partner has their own personality, preference of vehicle and device, and desired hours on the platform. He recognises the various motivations that individuals may have for earning on the platform: sporadic and ad-hoc basis, supplementary or transitional.

WOLT

Each courier partner has different motivations, and it highlights the importance of one’s flexibility to work around their own situation and schedule. Insurance propositions should be designed for people working flexibly. “Wolt offers courier partners with insurance during the time they are logged online, making deliveries with Wolt,” Olson says. “When offering this insurance, we have focused our attention on not only the accident, but also the recovery period. We want a healthy, happy courier partner to return to the platform. This safety net enables courier partners to make deliveries with a peace of mind. How you manage this risk is one of the most essential building blocks I’ve seen to generate sustainable value, while strengthening reputation.”

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“ How you manage risk is one of the most essential building blocks I’ve seen to generate sustainable value, while strengthening reputation” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

Wolt’s insurance proposition for couriers With over 180,000 active courier partners fulfilling millions of orders every year, accidents are bound to happen – and they do. That’s where Wolt’s insurance proposition comes in. Having a very diverse group of people as courier partners across 25 countries underlines the challenge of creating an insurance proposition that would work for everyone. Wolt’s courier partners want flexibility. They want to be able to log on the platform when it suits them, work for as little or as long as they choose, and know that there’s always going to be enough orders on the platform to earn money. This extends to the insurance piece, too; courier partners want to know they’re adequately covered against accidents or injuries that happen in the course of their work by insurance that is able to respond quickly to the severity of the incident. Should they need to make a claim, they expect it to be as simple, intuitive and easy to follow as ordering on the Wolt app.

Wolt: creating insurance that's fit for the platform economy WATCH NOW

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2014

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Joined forces with DoorDash

“ If we fail, it tends to still be forward. We view obstacles as opportunities. We are addressing a new segment, so inherently the status quo will push back” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

As with the customer app, Wolt pays close attention to the hierarchy of information, presenting key details in concise formats which also applies to the partner insurance dashboard – accentuated with graphics, icons and short descriptions wherever appropriate – to make the claim submission process as effortless as possible for courier partners who have had a fall, collision or breakage. Wolt offers two types of insurance coverage to the courier partners. The first is accident cover that includes “the broad spectrum of risks that couriers face”, Olson tells us – including dislocations, broken bones, and chipped teeth. Although Denmark is one of the world’s most bikefriendly nations, minor injuries like this are not uncommon. But the company also insures the most extreme and unfortunate end of the spectrum as well, from disability all the way up to death. “We’ve built some unique aspects into our programme, specifically because we’ve listened to courier partners, assessed municipal data and pushed the insurance industry to adapt,” Olson continues. This technologymagazine.com

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WOLT

“ I’m comfortable, being uncomfortable” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

includes a death benefit paid out to a dependent of a courier partner, as well as protection against assault. The second programme revolves around third-party liability for courier partners. The benefits of this are two-fold, Olson says: first it is aligned with Wolt’s commitment to make the cities they’re in better places, as the insurance protects against unfortunate incidents courier partners may have caused. Second, it also fills an unmet gap in the insurance market. “It’s virtually impossible for an individual courier partner to go and get that type of coverage elsewhere,” he says, “particularly if their mode of transportation is an e-vehicle, a bike, or just delivering on foot.” In most Wolt countries the only component of insurance that courier partners are

responsible for themselves is the mandatory motor insurance – understandable given that riders and drivers use their own vehicles. But incidents that occur after they set foot outside that vehicle, and attempt to deliver the order to the customer, is covered through Wolt. Creating a consistent experience is ‘a challenge’ Being present in 25 different markets, one of the biggest challenges Wolt faces from an insurance perspective is, perhaps surprisingly, not complying with multiple jurisdictions – rather, it’s controlling the claim process. Courier partners want to be compensated promptly so it’s important that, when a claim is submitted in the local language, the third-party administrator or technologymagazine.com

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insurance carrier is responsive and handles the claim transparently and efficiently. “Courier partners expect compensation in hours – a big shift from the norm of weeks or months. We are down to a few days, but strive to get this down to minutes.” There are over 30 different languages used natively across the Wolt ecosystem, so it is imperative to have claims handled in the local language for the courier, third party and insurer. It builds confidence with the impacted person to navigate the process in their native tongue. 286

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“ Courier partners expect compensation in hours – a big shift from the norm of weeks or months. We are down to a few days, but strive to get this down to minutes” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

WOLT

As the company continues to scale, paying claims quickly and ensuring that couriers continue to receive a positive experience remains a challenge. Consistency is the end-goal, Olson says: “When we expanded our programme into more remote markets from the Nordics, to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, we ran into some new challenges. These are not easy markets to operate in because of how insurance is – or isn’t – regulated, how the very concept of insurance is defined, plus how the premium is calculated.”

“When you’re going to the local insurance companies and asking them to build a bespoke proposition for a disruptive business model, even if it’s reinsured outside the country, that’s where the challenges emerge – from building a new offering to processing the claims very quickly. If we fail, it tends to still be forward. We view obstacles as opportunities. We are addressing a new segment, so inherently the status quo will push back.” Assessing risk more dynamically The future of Wolt’s insurance proposition lies in dynamically assessing the risk that courier partners face in real time. Presently, risk is determined by how many hours courier partners are online – even if they’re just waiting for their next order. “The data we can’t see will eventually hurt us.” Instead, Wolt intends to use local dynamic data in technologymagazine.com

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WOLT

“ The data we can’t see will eventually hurt us” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

a much more granular way to provide a more insightful snapshot of real-time risk exposures – to have relevant limits at a city or even courier level while also lowering the cost of premiums in the process. “Drawing on that dynamic component allows the insurance companies to really understand risk factors better,” Olson tells us. Those risk factors could include the weather; riders are more likely to slip or trip when it’s icy, or use a car when it rains. There are also variations between cities – some, like Copenhagen, feature segregated bike lanes, while others, like Prague, have a lot of narrow and cobblestoned streets.

Other cities feature vast and expansive boulevards. Between cities, delivery vehicles also vary; there are said to be five times as many bicycles as people in the Danish capital, but they are less popular in car-heavy Baku – the capital of Azerbaijan. Finally, exposure to risk will be influenced even by the smallest consideration like who exactly the courier is. Experienced, full-time courier partners are – in theory, at least – less likely to experience a serious crash than those who dip in and out of the app on a regular basis, perhaps going weeks or months at a time without fulfilling orders while they work other jobs or study. “Those are the things that would be captured if we used dynamic risk data. The brush stroke risk exposure and pricing in reality does not represent the entire spectrum of the risk which leads to overinsuring or under-compensating.” technologymagazine.com

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GARRETT OLSON TITLE: HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE BIO

COMPANY: WOLT Garrett Olson works at the technology company Wolt, where he is responsible for creating their industry-leading insurance and enterprise risk management programme. Building simple, relevant and valuable safety nets into the platform economy motivates him. Prior to Wolt, Garrett worked directly with the Executive Boards at Zurich Insurance Group, A.P. Møller - Mærsk and FLSmidth A/S in various strategy, risk and venture building roles.

WOLT

“We’ve built some unique features into our insurance program because we’ve listened to courier partners in every country” GARRETT OLSON

HEAD OF INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT, WOLT

Who is Wolt’s Head of Insurance, Garrett Olson? Despite being based in Copenhagen and having an inconspicuous surname, Garrett Olson is not actually Danish by birth. He was raised in Minnesota and spent time studying in Arizona before embarking on a career outside the United States. In fact, Olson comes from a long line of Petersens, Eriksens and Olsons – Danes and Swedes, meaning the Nordic connection has come full circle. After emigrating almost 20 years ago, Olson has lived and worked in Mexico, the Czech Republic, the UK, Switzerland, Brazil and, since 2016, Denmark – which he now calls hjem. But he has always been imbued with a sense of ‘wanderlust’ – or vandrelyst, if you insist. “As a kid, my parents would take me hiking in Yosemite and we would travel all over the US,” Olson says. “I think I was months old when I went on my first trip. I think by the time I was five I had been to Hawaii and Canada a handful of times. We travelled a lot.”

That adventurous curiosity continued into Olson’s adult life. Often moving around for work, he claims to enjoy nothing more than the pure confusion that comes from experiencing a new culture inside and outside the office. “I’m comfortable being uncomfortable. The sights, the smells, the food and the feeling of being stranded in a Japanese train station and not knowing what you’re going to do,” he jokes. “Finding your new dentist and barber shop, opening up a bank account and even figuring out the best watering hole to catch a football match is part of the routine of being an expat. ” But Olson is settled now – both at Wolt, and in his adopted homeland of Denmark. When he and his wife order takeout for the evening (using Wolt, of course), they usually plump for Thai cuisine or sushi. But left alone, he will always take a trip straight back to his roots. “Whenever I have a chance, I order fried chicken sandwiches,” he says. “I think so far I’ve found two places in Copenhagen that come close to the ones back at home.”

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DIGITAL RESILIENCE THROUGH CYBERSECURITY GOVERNANCE WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW PRODUCED BY: TOM VENTURO

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OEC

Jad Elsohemy, VP of Technology & Innovation at OEC, discusses the importance of effective cybersecurity governance when protecting critical infrastructure

elivering energy and infrastructure services to customers throughout Canada, OEC offers innovative products and services across the infrastructure, energy, gas and electricity distribution and telecommunications sectors. With over 2,500 employees, insightful and reliable energy and infrastructure solutions are provided to clients coast-to-coast. As Jad Elsohemy, OEC’s Vice President of Technology and Innovation, explains, protecting all of this critical infrastructure and ensuring the safety of communities has become a paramount concern. His role today encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, including the operations, maintenance, planning, prototyping, and development of many technology systems integral to OEC’s operations. “My enthusiasm lies in harnessing the transformative capabilities of technology to empower our organisation to achieve its greatest potential,” he describes. “I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to play a pivotal role in realising this vision.” Another aspect of Elsohemy’s role, he explains, revolves around fostering innovation. “Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to be part of organisations that wholeheartedly embrace innovation, and OEC is no exception. At OEC we aim to weave innovation into the very fabric of our daily operations.”

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Jad Elsohemy, VP of Technology & Innovation at OEC

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“ At OEC we aim to weave innovation into the very fabric of our daily operations” JAD ELSOHEMY

VP OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION AT OEC

An engineer by training, it was during the first role of his career at ExxonMobil that Elsohemy began to appreciate the critical importance of cybersecurity. “My tenure at ExxonMobil afforded me the opportunity to work in diverse roles, allowing me to develop strong foundational knowledge across various technology domains,” he comments. 296

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“During this time, I also came to appreciate the critical importance of cybersecurity, motivating me to seek roles where I could develop expertise in this vital area.” With this pursuit culminating in his appointment as the Security Design Lead at ExxonMobil, at this time, Elsohemy would venture into the realm of operational

OEC

JAD ELSOHEMY TITLE: VP OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION INDUSTRY: CYBER SECURITY LOCATION: CANADA

EXECUTIVE BIO

technology cybersecurity while it was still in its infancy. Elsohemy’s next role would see him join Thales, where he assumed responsibility for the cybersecurity of the company’s urban rail system division. “This role exposed me to the development and deployment of safety-critical train systems, underscoring the pivotal role of cybersecurity in safeguarding critical infrastructure,” he describes. “It also enabled me to delve into emerging technologies, including 5G, and the bringing together of various sensory technologies, communications, and cybersecurity for autonomous train control.”

Jad Elsohemy is the Vice President of Technology and Innovation at OEC, boasting over 15 years of experience in the technology domain. With an Engineering degree and an MBA, Jad’s career has thrived in the Energy, Transportation, and Utilities industries. His passion lies in harnessing technology’s transformative potential, be it in automation, digitization, decisionmaking, efficiency improvements, or pioneering new service opportunities to help businesses achieve their full potential. Throughout his journey, Jad has consistently recognized the critical importance of cybersecurity, honing his skills in information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) to complement his already impressive tech expertise.

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In March 2022, Elsohemy joined OEC. “My current role has allowed me to further leverage and expand my expertise in cybersecurity, particularly in relation to the interplay between safety and cybersecurity. It has afforded me the opportunity to use my expertise within the energy and infrastructure services, utilities and construction industries and has served as a true opportunity rich area.” OEC: Empowering communities through comprehensive solutions OEC consists of a group of companies dedicated to delivering end-to-end solutions for a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, energy, renewable generation, electricity, and gas distribution. With a workforce of over 2,500 employees and a

SECaaS can help to solve the security challenge while bending the cost curve associated with best-in-class security Stratejm’s SECaaS offers 24/7/365 Managed Detection & Response. Built on a Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture, SECaaS can solve the security challenge while bending the cost curve.

IGNITE YOUR CYBERSECURITY TRANSFORMATION E-BOOK

“ Establishing and maintaining a robust cybersecurity programme is not merely a choice but a paramount responsibility” JAD ELSOHEMY

VP OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION AT OEC

client base spanning across Canada, OEC has grown into a trusted name within the industry. The Company continues to invest heavily in cutting edge technology to deliver innovative solutions, including Geographic Information System (GIS) data management, and GIS-as-a-Service, use of mobile LiDAR technology for 3D scanning and analysis of assets, and location intelligence services. One of OECs standout features is its unwavering commitment to harnessing the power of technology and cybersecurity to keep communities safe while protecting

critical underground infrastructure. “We view technology and cybersecurity as one of the means for keeping communities and people safe while protecting critical utility/underground infrastructure,” Elsohemy explains. The crucial role of cybersecurity at OEC In the digital age, cybersecurity is a top priority for any organisation, but for OEC, it takes on even greater significance. “The gravity of a cybersecurity breach or incident cannot be overstated, especially technologymagazine.com

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OEC: Digital resilience through cybersecurity governance WATCH NOW

“ Our commitment to cybersecurity extends beyond corporate duty; it’s a moral and ethical obligation” JAD ELSOHEMY

VP OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION AT OEC

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when considering the critical infrastructure we operate and service,” Elsohemy describes. “Establishing and maintaining a robust cybersecurity programme is not merely a choice but a paramount responsibility.” Establishing this programme acts as a first line of defence, positioning OEC to prevent, identify, respond, and recover from potential cybersecurity attacks. “It’s our proactive shield against threats that could jeopardise the integrity of our services and the safety of our stakeholders.” “Furthermore, our commitment to cybersecurity extends beyond corporate

OEC

duty; it’s a moral and ethical obligation. Safeguarding the privacy of our customers’ sensitive information and upholding the resilience of the electricity grid are fundamental principles.” OEC’s cybersecurity programme is rooted in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cyber Security Framework (CSF), a risk-based approach that focuses on technology, people, and processes. Elsohemy explains, “While technology solutions are undoubtedly crucial, our cybersecurity programme places equal emphasis on the other two vital pillars of a

successful cybersecurity strategy: people and processes.” On the people front, Elsohemy’s team has established a robust cybersecurity awareness training programme, incorporating phishing simulation tests. “Recognising the diversity of roles within our organisation, we’ve tailored training to suit specific job functions. For instance, field users may receive distinct training compared to their office counterparts. “The process pillar can be the most challenging,” he adds. “This encompasses not only the creation of cyber-specific technologymagazine.com

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The OEC group of companies includes: Planview Utility Services, DPM Energy, QSP Geographics, EMB Management, UTS Consultants, Trans Power, Teraflex, El-Con Construction, PVS Contractors, GTel, Oakville Hydro, OEC Geo-Exchange, OEC Generation, and Golden Horseshoe Metering Services

OEC

processes like governance and access reviews but also the integration of cybersecurity into existing workflows, such as the procurement process, to safeguard against supply chain attacks. “Our holistic approach ensures that all facets of our organisation are fortified against cyber threats, recognising the importance of bringing technology, people, and processes together within the programme.”

Innovative cybersecurity governance at OEC Establishing robust cybersecurity governance is a cornerstone of OEC’s cybersecurity programme. Cybersecurity governance defines accountability, responsibility, and oversight to ensure that cybersecurity risks are known and adequately mitigated. OEC’s approach to cybersecurity governance includes four elements: • Establishment of Owners: Ownership of cybersecurity aligns with the operational accountability of each company within OEC, ensuring a tailored approach to cybersecurity risk management. • Risk-Based Decision Making: OEC makes cybersecurity decisions based on risk assessment, ensuring resources are allocated to address the most critical risks effectively. • Well-Defined Roles and Responsibilities: Clear roles and responsibilities for cybersecurity are defined and assigned, leaving no room for ambiguity. • Measuring and Reporting on Cybersecurity Risk: OEC continuously monitors and reports on cybersecurity risk, allowing for proactive adjustments to their cybersecurity posture. These measures are indicative of OEC’s commitment to maintaining a high level of cybersecurity governance across its diverse range of companies and industries. “Given that OEC consists of a group of 16 operating companies in a variety of industries, an adaptive cybersecurity governance approach was established to address the unique needs and risks of each company,” Elsohemy explains. Challenges in cybersecurity and their solutions Like many organisations today, OEC faces its fair share of challenges when it comes technologymagazine.com

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to cybersecurity. Prioritising cybersecurity investments in the face of an everexpanding list of needs is always a challenge, so to overcome this, OEC relies on rigorous risk assessments. “These risk assessments evaluate the potential threats and consider their likelihood of occurrence and the impact they could have on various aspects of the business, including safety, finances, regulations, privacy, and operations,” Elsohemy describes. “Investments are then prioritised based on their ability to mitigate the identified intolerable risks, with higher priority given to those that address higher risks.” Another challenge is instilling a culture of cybersecurity where every employee understands their responsibility in safeguarding the organisation. OEC addresses this by implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training programme, which is tailored to specific job functions. This targeted training approach ensures that employees are equipped to protect against cyber threats effectively: for example, establishing Operations Technology (OT) specific cybersecurity training for those employees operating OT systems. He adds: “Cybersecurity needs to be embedded into existing processes where possible, from procurement to human resources, so that it becomes recognised as not something that is external to day-to-day job functions.” Stratejm: A trusted partner in cybersecurity As a provider of critical infrastructure and services, OEC has a responsibility to monitor, identify and rapidly react to potential cybersecurity incidents 24/7. 304

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To help make this happen, OEC has found a reliable partner in Stratejm a recognised industry leader in cyber and data security. Stratejm plays a crucial role in OEC’s cybersecurity strategy by providing monitoring, response, and incident assistance across various asset classes, including endpoints, servers, operational technology, and cloud-based applications and data.

that we have managed to achieve with Stratejm,” Elsohemy says. “There is fluid communication, with a relationship built on trust.”

For a partnership to succeed in the realm of cybersecurity, communication and trust are paramount. OEC and Stratejm have built a relationship that functions as an extension of OEC’s internal cybersecurity team. “When looking for a cybersecurity partner, it is important to ensure that they function as an extension of your existing cybersecurity team, and this is something

The road ahead: Technology and cybersecurity innovations and trends Looking to the future, Elsohemy explains that OEC has its sights set on several key trends and innovations in the technology and cybersecurity landscape. “In the area of cybersecurity, we are moving to a zero-trust security model whereby every asset or user, whether inside or outside the network, needs to be authenticated and authorised,” he explains. “We are also looking at methods to achieve this, including compensating controls with increased network visibility to achieve this on our operational technology side.” OEC is also delving into the world of AI and machine learning, with the ultimate goal to develop trained models that can solve classification and prediction problems. By capturing visual images of infrastructure and using AI to analyse these images, OEC aims to enhance processes and innovate further. Elsohemy concludes: “The idea is to capture visual images of infrastructure, for example, and then have the software analyse the images and perform predictive analysis on the health or to help triage and identify areas of focus for manual inspection.” As OEC advances its cybersecurity measures, the organisation is looking forward to a safer and more resilient digital world, where safety and innovation go hand in hand.

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NORTH AMERICA’S USTED MINE SERVICES CONTRACTOR WRITTEN BY: TOM SWALLOW PRODUCED BY: BILLY EVANS

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Safety and innovation at the core of Turner Mining Group and its Founder, Keaton Turner, delivers promise of strategic integration into client operations

or a mining company, Turner Mining Group is a fairly young business in the realm of digging and exploration. The demand on mining for natural resources ceases to shrink, giving new organisations a chance to bed in and enjoy returns from a number of evolving industries. With this in mind, there is something to be said for a business that, in this sector, is capable of becoming a strategic partner and providing long-term solutions to meet growing demand. In 2017, along came an organisation that commits to providing a trusted service and positive attitude towards the transformation of the mining industry, driving prosperity among site owners. Understanding the impacts of mining is one thing, but shaping them is another - Turner Mining Group is here to support partnering organisations to do just that. The company came from humble beginnings as a small startup mining subcontractor. It now employs more than 500 workers to deliver expertise for its US partners. From copper, gold and silver to cement, sand and gravel, Turner Mining is holistically capable of delivering the goods that its clients need through excavation and load carrying. Cue Keaton Turner, Founder and President of Turner Mining, the man behind the business and an experienced professional in excavation.

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Being the entrepreneurial man that he is, Turner combines his passion for an industry he was brought up in with recognition of the need for change as the playing field evolves. This means leveraging smarter solutions to get employees up to efficient speed in a safe way - safety and pace being key areas that allow mining organisations success in today’s landscape. Through Turning Mining Group, he took on the challenge to building a team of professionals that will not only leverage the expertise of a historically older workforce, but encourage excitement around mining by bringing technology into the fold. 310

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To fully understand the extent of which Turner Mining discusses its workforce, Turner himself cites a scenario where the leadership team comes together to focus its attention on leading, educating and empowering employees in the business. “I spent all day in a room with our leadership team, really experienced guys in their late 50s and 60s. We talked about our values, not about the numbers or production rates or equipment,” Turner says. “We talked about leadership because that is the hardest part of it. Getting older, more experienced guys to work well with young, passionate people. Transferring that

TURNER MINING

“ WE’VE HAD SOME CUSTOMERS TAKE BIG CHANCES ON US AS A YOUNG COMPANY” KEATON TURNER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TURNER MINING GROUP

KEATON TURNER TITLE: PRESIDENT AND CEO INDUSTRY: MINING

knowledge to them in a way that the younger ones want to receive it. It’s reinforcing, not derogatory. It’s a real challenge.” This is one of the three core values of Turner Mining Group. Coming under the ‘heart for people’ statement, the business is also dedicated to technological innovation and safety as critical constructs for a socially responsible heavy-industry company. “If you’re not doing it, you’re not doing your job. I’m that style of guy,” says Turner. “The problem with that is you start to create a production-oriented culture. You forget about safety, you forget about

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: UNITED STATES Keaton Turner is the Founder and President of Turner Mining Group. An accomplished business leader with a broad understanding of the mining industry, Keaton has demonstrated exemplary leadership in various facets of business, encompassing new business acquisition, site operations, vendor strategy, and client relations. Before establishing Turner Mining Group in 2017, Keaton held pivotal roles within his family’s heavy/ civil excavation company, where he provided astute supervision for strategic direction, operations, and commercial development. His responsibilities extended to project design, estimation, operations management, and partner coordination. Keaton holds a BSc in Construction Management and Business Administration from Indiana State University.

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excellence. It’s all just a to-do list. And the to-do list never goes away. It only gets longer. So, we sat with our team and really reflected on our values. “One of the lessons I’ve learned this year is if I’m not leading the organisation with values-based leadership, we’re never going to become the company that I think we can.” In order to really integrate staffing as a key component of business success, Turner Mining Group devised a separate organisation from its contracted roles to enhance its perspectives for hiring new employees. The company is focused on hiring and developing team players that are excited to get involved, but also meet the business’ new-found values.

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Turner Mining Group: • The company acts as a contracting partner in the mining industry. • When hired, it is responsible for bringing the necessary equipment and workforce to execute a project. • It bears the risks associated with production, equipment, and personnel. Turner Staffing Group: • The company has an effective brand and strategy that attracts a large number of potential employees to the mining industry. • Last year Turning Mining Group realised they had a pool of 3,000 potential employees (“sitting on the bench”) but couldn’t accommodate all of them in their own operations.

Keaton challenges this perception, suggesting the issue is not a shortage of workers, but rather the industry’s inability to capture the right attention. Turner Mining Group, however, does not face this issue due to its marketing and social media efforts. • Seeing the need in the industry and their excess potential workforce, they began offering staffing services. • Their staffing pool consists of a variety of skilled workers ranging from blue-collar roles like haul truck drivers and operators to white-collar roles like geologists and IT professionals. • Turner Staffing Group also offers direct placement services, helping other companies find specific roles they couldn’t fill themselves.

• Despite this vast pool, many companies in the US claim there is a labour shortage in the industry.

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“ ONE OF MY FOUNDING PRINCIPLES WHEN WE STARTED, AND IT’S ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES NOW, IS A HEART FOR PEOPLE” KEATON TURNER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TURNER MINING GROUP

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Not only does the staffing business provide Turner Mining Group with a steady stream of new talent, but also helps other companies in the mining industry fill their vacancies - in a noble attempt to create jobs, meet demands and build alliances. The success of this recruitment drive has helped Turner Mining deliver personnel services to some of the biggest names in the US. As he understands the significance of its position and the scale of impact on its community, Turner is grateful for the growth that the business sees today. Operational safety: A necessity, not a trend With a strong social agenda, Turner is committed to not only growing the business,

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but meeting its employees’ needs to ensure they are in good stead for the future. This is achieved primarily by the company’s efforts to keep its workers out of harm’s way, with safety a vital consideration for all members of staff. A company-wide strategic approach to safety is therefore required, as Turner himself explains. “Safety is one of our core values. To me, safety is a living, breathing culture. You’re either building a culture of safety or you’re killing a culture of safety,” says Turner. “We talk about it all the time. We just had another successful MSHA visit with zero citations and they visit every site twice a year. “I believe as a contractor we’ve got to become better than the mine owner or the

mine operator. If we’re not, they probably shouldn’t even hire us. So, we’re building a world-class safety programme.” This really echoes the firm’s duty to not only support its staff, but also bring this mindset to its customers’ sites. Understanding how to ensure its own safety criteria is met makes Turner Mining Group a suitable partner to bring into the fold and uphold on-site safety, or even help its partners to analyse and improve mining practices. From an operational standpoint, Turner is also aware that technology will have an increasing presence on site with communication being a crucial part of safety, but also the adoption of autonomy in the future. “I think semi-autonomous equipment is here. I think fully - autonomous equipment, at least in the huge mines, is there. But it’s going to be a while before it reaches scale at all mines,” says Turner. This is an area of development that will require expertise to deliver more autonomy, which is where the company relies on its partners, OEMs Caterpillar and Volvo, and dealers like Komatsu and Core Machinery, (formerly known as Road Machinery), to provide the equipment and technology capabilities to add value to its service as a subcontractor. “I think remote-operated equipment in unsafe areas is making a huge impact,” Turner explains. “I don’t think it’s any one thing, though. I don’t think autonomy is going to make operations safe on its own, because you’re still going to have humans on site.” This culture led Turner Mining Group to some great opportunities over the years, primarily working with established organisations in mining and developing technologymagazine.com

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“ WE TALKED ALL DAY ABOUT OUR VALUES, NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS OR PRODUCTION RATES OR EQUIPMENT” KEATON TURNER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TURNER MINING GROUP

its relationship with them to provide longterm contractual work, making it a strategic partner for outsourcing machine power. “We’ve had some customers take big chances on us as a young company. We’ve got a customer right now which entrusts its whole operation to us. And this is a multi-billion-dollar-per-year operation. And to have someone believe in our company and what we’re doing, I just feel truly blessed to be a part of it, honestly.” Moving forward, the company is seeking out much larger boots to fill, but in doing so, hopes to create a culture that will shape the lives of many. Through safer practices, leveraging technologies to enhance the procedures that it puts in place, the company is focused on supporting the people of Turner Mining Group and equipping them with the tools and knowledge to drive the company forward.

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