Theworldofbusinessiswitnesstothefactthatthecompanieswithbetterdecisionmakingskillshavealways
performedbetterintheirrespectivefields.Andbetterdecisionsneedinformation.Informationisoneofthebasic requirementsofanyorganizationwhetheritisanestablishedenterpriseortheonewhichisstrivingtogrow.Itisnot justlimitedtodecisionmakingbuthasitsimpactonamuchcomprehensivelevel.Correctinformationoffershigher efficiencyinoperationsbygivinginsightsaboutimportantaspectssuchasrequirementofrawmaterials,demandofstock, properallocationofresources,etc.
Italsooffersadvantageoverthecompetitionasmoreinformationleadstobetterunderstandingofcustomerswhichleadsto betterleadgenerationultimatelyresultingintoahuge,satisfiedcustomerbase.Thisalsohelpsinbuildinggoodrelationship withsuppliers.Henceitisawin-winsituationfrombusiness’spointofview.
However,retrievingimportantinformationfromdataandutilizingitbestforthepurposeisnotacakewalk.Boththe generationandconsumptionofinformationnowadaysisdealtonamassivelevelandbeingswampedinthemiddleofit,itis verydifficulttofindwhatissignificant.ThatiswhereInformationandCommunicationTechnology(ICT)comesinthe picture/foray.
Insimplewords,ICThelpsbusinessesallthewayfromretrievinginformationtosharing,exchanging,broadcasting,storingit aspertherequirementofthecompanies,tooptimizingthetoolsandplatformsonwhichitisbeingshared,exchanged, broadcastedandstored.Now,onemightask,weren’tbusinessescapableofperformingsuchsimpletasks?Theanswerliesin thefactthattheroleofICTisn’tassimpleasdefiningitinsimplerterms.
TheroleofICTstartsataprimalstageofdatamodificationwhereitanalysesdatatoconvertitintousefulinformation.With thehelpoftechnologiessuchasArtificialIntelligenceandMachinelearning,databecomesusefulinalmosteveryaspectof businessfromdaytodayprocesseslikeclientacquisitiontofundamentalprocessessuchasbusinessstrategy,design, engineeringandcontrolling.
AutomationisalsoincludedinoneofthekeyfunctionalareaswhichareredefinedbyICT.Thiswillleadtoarangeof servicesprovidedbyself-managingdevices.Smarthandlingofdatawillhelpthesedevicestooptimizetheproductivityat workspaces.Thiswillalsoprovidebettercontrollingandsecurity.
TherapidgrowthofICTindustryanditscollaborationwithothertechnologieshasalottopromise.Itisbelievedthatthis willpushcommunicationbeyondthedimensionsofvisionandsound.Withtheemergenceoftechnologiessuchasvirtualand augmentedrealityleveragingsupportfrom5gnetworking,itispossibletohavevirtualeventsinthenearfuture.However, theeaseofsharinginformationwillonlyincreasetheriskofsecuritybreech.Therefore,nextlevelsecurityhastobea mandatoryserviceinthefuture.
Thedigitalrevolutionhasbroughtustothedoorstepsofanerawheremachinesandhumanbeingscommunicatewitheach other,knoweachother,andunderstandeachother.Thismeansthatthefutureisfilledwithinfinitenumberofopportunities andwillbedrivenbyunprecedentedinformationandcommunicationsolutions.Andtheworldisgoingtobesmallerthan before.
However,suchclarityinthefutureofICTindustrywouldn’tbepossiblewithoutitskeyplayers.Therearevariouscompanies thathavehelpedtheindustryreachtotheheightswhereitistoday.Thereforeinordertoacknowledgesomeofthegreatest contributorsofexcellenceinICTsolutionsspace,InsightsSuccesshasshortlisted“The10Most
ICT Disruptorstowatchin2019”
FeaturingasourCoverStoryisEndava,apublictechnologycompany,withover18yearsofexperienceofworkingwith someoftheworld’sleadingFinance,Insurance,Telecommunications,Media,Technology,andRetailcompanies.
Also,makesuretoflipthrougharticles,writtenbyourin-houseeditorialteamaswellasCXOstandpointsofnotableindustry personalitiestohaveabrieftasteofthesector.
Let’s start reading!
With ICT, the world will become a smaller place.
“ “Innovative Shubham Khampariya
John Cotterell CEO
InaninterviewwithInsights Success,JohnCotterell,CEOof Endava,sharesinsightson varioustrendsinICTindustry.Healso speaksaboutthechallengesfacedby theindustrywhileoptimizingthose trends.Moreover,hediscussesabout company’scorecompetenciesandthe solutionsitprovides.
Belowarethehighlightsofthe interviewconductedbetweenJohnand InsightsSuccess.
Giveabriefoverviewofthe companyanditsvision. In2000,inspiredbythewaythat technologywasbecomingincreasingly centraltothewaywelivedand worked,Iwantedtocreateacompany thatradicallyredefinedhowhumans interactwithtechnologyandtheworld aroundthembycombiningdeep engineeringexpertisewithexperiencemindedandcreativesensibility.Ibased thecreationofthatorganizationona simplephilosophy:“tofocuson helpingpeoplesucceed”,thepeople whoworkforus,thepeoplewho engagewithus,andthepeoplewho usethesystemsandapplicationswe design,build,andoperate.Asaresult, webeganonajourneytoreimaginethe relationshipbetweenpeopleand
technology.Eighteenyearslater,that philosophycontinuestodrive oursuccess.
Howdoyoudiversifyyourproducts andsolutionsinordertobenefityour customers?
Wehaveatrackrecordofbuilding deep,long-lastingrelationshipswith numerousclientsacrossarangeof industries.Theserelationshipsgiveus valuableinsightsintothechallenges andopportunitiesfacedbyourclients andthemarketsinwhichtheyoperate.
Asaresult,wehavebuiltarangeof solutionsthatmakeourclientsmore responsivebybeingmoreagile,more engagingthroughbeingmoredigital andmoreefficientthroughautomation.
Thesesolutionsareunderpinnedbya rangeofserviceoffersincluding strategy,designandengineeringthat givesustheflexibilitytoconstruct productsandservicesthatmeetthe individualneedsofourclients. Examplesincludeaninsurance companywantingtoautomatemanual processessotheirstaffcanspendmore 1-1timewithclients,orahigh-end retailerthatwantstocreateamore engagingcustomerexperienceby combining‘bricksandmortar’ withdigital.
Describetheexperiences, achievementsorlessonslearnedthat haveshapedthejourneyofEndava. Oneofourmostsignificant achievementsishelpingbothour customersandcolleaguestobuild interesting,challengingandrewarding careers.Throughperseverance,we havealsolearnedhowtotakeniche andspecializedservicesthatwere traditionallydeliveredonsitewitha clientanddeliverthemacross distributedlocations.Ournearshore approachgivesustheabilityto improveresponsetimesandscaleto meettheenterpriseneedsofourclients whileexceedingthequality,creativity andcustomerserviceexpectations achievedthroughmoretraditional models.
Whataretheevidentchallengesin theICTservicesindustry?
Thechallengeofanyservicesindustry isdecidingwhichemergingtrendsare goingtobemostvaluableforyour clientssothatyoucanbuildthat expertizeandthenapplyittotheir businessesformaximumeffect.
Currently,weseerapiddevelopmentin awiderangeofareasincludingdigital transformation,application architecture,machinelearning,VRand
AR,DevOpsandAgilewaysofworking, softwarerobotics,noveldevicessuchas wearablesandbigdata.Westrategically evaluatewhichofthesewillhavethemost impactonourclients’businessesandhelpto positionthemmosteffectivelyintheirfastmovingmarketplaces.Inparallel,weseea skillsshortageinmanyoftheseareas,asthe demandforpeoplewiththeseemergingaswell asmorefundamentalsoftwareengineering skillsoutweighsthesupply,meaningthatour positionasanemployerofchoiceinallofthe marketsthatweoperateinisveryimportantto ourabilitytocontinuetohireandretaintop engineers.
DescribethesignificanceofAutomationin ICTspace.
Automationitselfisnotanewconcept.Infact, wehavebeenautomatingbusinessprocesses successfullysincethedawnofcomputing.
Automationhasevolvedtoincludenoveland emergingapproacheslikemachinelearning,big dataandsoftwarerobotics.Thesenew technologiesallowustosolveautomation problemswhichhavebeenintractableuntil now.Wecanhandleunstructuredand
unpredictabledata,non-textualdatalikeimagesand adaptiveprocesses,automatingsystemsthatwerenever intendedtobeautomatable. Thishasunlockedanumberof newopportunitiestoautomaterepetitive,tediousprocesses thathistoricallyhaveneededhumanintervention,freeingup peopletousetheircognitiveabilitiesonmorevaluableand rewardingtasks.
Whatarethecurrenttrendsthataredrivingthe industry?
Asyoubegintobreakdownindustrytrends,therearetwo mainneedsthatbusinessesarefocusingon,namely experienceandefficiency.
Throughthelensofexperience-basedtrends,weareseeing aneedtocreatebusinessplatformsthatdeliverrichdigital experienceswhichincreasebothcustomerandbusiness userengagementwhilesimultaneouslyautomatingportions oftraditionallycomplicatedordifficulttasks. Businesses realizethatthebestpossibledigitalexperiencesareones whereusersexpendlesseffortengagingwiththeproducts andprocessestoachievetheirobjective. Insupportofthis, intheconsumerspace,we’veconceivedandbuilta platformthatusesdynamicimagerecognition,machine learning,andnaturallanguageprocessingtoautomatethe oftenskippedandmundaneprocessofwarranty registration.Inthebusinessuserspace,we’veconceived
andarebuildingaplatformtosolvetheverycostlyissueof ongoingcommunicationanddistributionofkeyprogram andsystemstatus,health,andfunction.Throughan intelligentinterface,weillustratethestatusandprogressof businessactivitiesusingMachineLearningtopredict completiontimesandpotentialhold-ups.
Fromtheperspectiveofefficiency-basedtrends,weare seeinganotableincreaseinthedemandforstrategic assistanceinintroducingaDevOpscultureintotraditional enterprisesettings.Broadlyspeaking,thedemandisfor expertizeinthedesignandrealisationofcontinuous deliverypipelinesaswellastheenablingtechniquesand changesthatteamsneedtoembracetobuildaDevOps culture.Thischangeindemandmirrorsourobservationthat movingtoaDevOpsculturefurtheracceleratesagility withinorganisations.Movingbeyondsimplecontinuous integration(CI)systemstoawhole-scalecontinuous delivery(CD)approachallowsenterprisestoembrace automation,takeadvantageoflarge-scaletestautomation effortsandreduceservicedowntime.Endavahasbecome wellplacedtosupportthisdemandbybringingourcrossdomainexpertizestohigh-volumeenterpriseclients.
WheredoesEndavaenvisionitselfinthelongrun and/orwhatareitsfuturegoals?
Asthepaceoftechnologychangecontinuestoaccelerate, weareexcitedabouttheopportunitiestohelpourclients incorporatenewtechnologyandacceleratechangeintheir organisations.WehaverecentlylistedontheNewYork StockExchange,whichisthebeginningofanewphasefor usasacompany.Londonwasagreatplacetostart,butour horizonshavereallyopenedout,andwearelookingtothe worldasweexpandandgrowourbusiness.
ConsideringtherisingnumberofICTsolution providers,howdoesEndavastandoutfromits competitors?
Fromthestart,webuiltEndavaaroundagile,crossfunctional,multidisciplinaryteamsthatblendin-depth knowledgeofstrategyanduser-centricdesignwithan expertunderstandingoftechnologyandengineering,that whencombinedaddressestoday’sneedforengaging technologyplatformsandservices.Aftermanyyearsof workinginthisway,wearenowabletodeliverthese solutionsatscalefrommultiplelocationsandtimezones.
Dr Danil Korchagin is an innovator and senior expert in ICT. He specialises in signal processing, data analysis and software engineering. Having worked for industries, organisations and academia, Danil Korchagin has comprehensive experience in both the industrial and academic worlds. He has managed many ICT projects with outstanding performance outcomes. He is founder of Aicue.
Dr Danil Korchagin Founder Aicue
Danil Korchagin set up Aicue, a technology company that targets to change the way audience videos are consumed on the web, in 2011. In this article, he shares his point of view on ongoing fourth industrial revolution and its impact on everyday life.
Weliveinamazingtimeoffourth industrialrevolution.Theindustrial revolutionsurpassesthescopeof ICT,transformstheworldand businesses,jobsandlifestyles.The conceptssuchasdigital transformation,artificialintelligence andconnectedobjects,incarnated intosmartphones,arealreadyhiding inourpockets.Theself-drivingcars leavesciencefictionandarriveinto reality.Theoldprofessionsgointo
oblivionandgetreplacedbynew excitingjobs.
Theartificialintelligencebased solutionsarealreadypresentinmany cross-domainsandquiteoftenused byprofessionalsandbusinessesto smarterusetimeandimprove productivity.Thesesolutionscan managefinancialportfoliosand decryptgeneticcode,pilotrobotsand drivecars,entertainpeopleandeven becreative.Asanexample,the cliperie.complatformcreatesnew compellingclipsbyautomatically linkingaudiencevideosalltogether frombigdatacloud.
Thebigdatabecomesdefactofuel ofXXIcenturyandindustrial revolution.Theamountof
information,whichisbeinggathered andtransmittedbydigitalgadgets, sensorsandinternetofthings, surpassesanyimagination. Constantlyincreasingandimproving populationofdigitalobjectsresults inconstantlyimprovingquantityand qualityofdata,whilethenext5G mobilenetworksaregoingtotake careaboutincreasingdigitaldata traffic.Thebigdatasurroundsusand helpstocomeupwithefficient solutions.
Therearealreadymorethanfifteen billionconnectedobjectsworldwide. Thepopulationofconnecteddevices willsurpassfiftybillionsinlessthan fiveyears.Theinternetofthings, networkofconnecteddevices,is alreadypresentincommercialand
industrial,consumerandinfrastructureareas:from connectedwearableheartmonitorwristbandsto connectedpullovers,fromconnectedsecuritycamerasto connectedalarms,fromconnectedparkinglotsensorsto connecteddisplaysofavailableplaces.
Theinternetofthingsinturnenablessmarttiersof technologiesassmarthomes,smartparking,smarttraffic controlandsmartcities.Thesmarthomehubscontrol communicationamongconnectedthermostatsandstores, heatingsystemsandotherconnectedobjectstoenable homeautomation,energysavingsandhigherqualityof life.Thesmartcitiesenabletoreducetrafficjamsand adjustpublictransportationinreal-time,tightensecurity controlandpredictunforeseenevents,reducenoise pollutionandimproveairquality.
Constantlyconnecteddigitalgadgetscontinuetopull furthermorepeoplefromrealitytosocialnetworksand virtualworlds.Thechoiceofremotecommunication stilloutfightsreallifecommunication.Thepictureofthe familytogetherwitheachmembernavigatingwithinits ownvirtualworldonsmartphonestartstobeeveryday occurrence.Thesamepicturecanbeobservedinthe trains,airportsandotherplaces.However,somepeople startedtoapplyreasonablemoderation.
Evenwhenpeopleputawayconnectedgadgetsandback tophysicalworld,thefollowinginteractionmightbe withnearbyhumanoidrobot.Poweredwithsame artificialintelligenceastheirvirtualcompatriots,they canfollowconversations,understandindividualsocial signalsandrespondappropriately.Theirsocial interactionabilitykeepsimproving,makingfuture humanoidrobotsirreplaceablecompanionsandassistants innursinghomesandhospitals,hotelsand commercialstores.
Theindustrialrobotsareseparatetopic.Theglobal robotdensityinthemanufacturingindustriesis acceleratingaroundtheworldandthereisalreadyat leastoneindustrialrobotper100workingpeoplein morethan20countriesworldwide.Theongoingtrendto
automateproductionhelpsindustriestobemore competitiveontheglobalmarketandhaspositiveimpact onjobmarketinmanycountriesduetomanufacturing staysathomeinsteadofbeingmovedoverseas.
Thetangibleshiftinprofessionshappenswithall industrialrevolutions.Thecurrentoneisnotan exception.Someprofessionsgetautomated,freeingup peopletodonewtasks:datamanagement,data interpretation,digitalmarketingmanagement,robot supervision,processcontrol,processmoderation, interventioninunforeseensituations,qualitycontroland soon.Theautomatedplacescanenableworkweek reductionandequilibrateshiftinsocialinsurances causedbyincreasinglifeexpectancy.
Theadvancesintechnologiesenabletoprocessmore datawithlessenergyandsmarteruseavailable resources.Theparadoxinoursocietyisthatthefocus stillstaysonprofitabilityandgrowthoverdurabilityand climatesustainability.Asconsequence,thedigital footprintonglobalenergyconsumptionkeeps increasingfromyeartoyearandcanreachonefifthby 2030,regardlessitisfeasibletopursueindustrial revolutionatmoderatepacewithinfixedenergetic envelopeuntilthereisanexcessofrenewableenergy.
Theyearswillpass.Theartificialintelligence,bigdata andinternetofthingswillbecomeordinarytoolsin manyareasofourlifejustlikeelectricityandtelephones, internetandpersonalcomputersdidduringprevious industrialrevolutions.Noonewillbequestioningthem anymore.Theystayunderhumancontrol.Thehuman societyisfreetodecideuptowhichextentnew technologiesandinnovationshavetobevalidated, regulatedandcertifiedforfutureeverydayuse.
Foundedin2015,thewholeidea behindCindicatorstartedwith the“WisdomoftheCrowd” hypothesis.It’sbasedonthe observationthatforecastsfroma decentralizedgrouparemoreaccurate thananyindividualforecastsmadeby experts.CindicatoroffersHybrid Intelligence,whichisacombinationof machinelearningandhuman intelligence.Rightnowitisfocusedon assetmanagementwhichmeanstraders usethecompany’sHybridIntelligencebasedpredictiveanalyticsintheir investmentdecisions.
Cindicatorassertsthatitssolutionis simpleandunique.Itasksquestions aboutdifferentmarketeventsthrough itsappforiOS,Android,andtheweb. Thecompanyhasover120,000 analystsregisteredonitsplatformand theyanswerthesequestions.Theyget pointsforaccurateforecastsandthen getarewardincryptoattheendofthe month.
Aftertheiranswersarecollected, Cindicatorappliesover30machine learningmodelstocreateapredictive indicatorfortheeventinquestion.
Theseindicatorsaredistributedto traderswhoholditstokens.In September2017,thecompanyraised $15millionthroughatokensale.These tokensaretheonlywaytoaccessits indicatorsandotheranalytical products.
MikeBrusovistheCo-founderand CEOofCindicator.Hisroleistooffer strategicguidanceandtoalignvarious teamsworkingtocreateHybrid Intelligence.HelaunchedCindicatorin 2015.Initially,hethoughtthat collectiveforecastscouldbemonetized bypartnershipswithanalytical agencies,brandsorcorporations.Soon, asmallteambegantoassembleandhe wasjoinedbytwoCo-founders,Yuri LobyntsevandArtemBaranov.
Quite
Mike,YuriandArtemalongwiththe team,realizeditatanearlystagethat predictiveanalyticsismostvaluablein financeandassetmanagement.They madeapivot,rebrandedasCindicator, andMikemovedtoNewYorkCityto pitchthecompany’sservicestohedge funds.Theirideawastosellindicators viaAPIstoinstitutionalinvestors.
Somehedgefundslikedtheirproduct. Yettheywantedtomonopolizeaccess tothesesignals.Theyevengotanoffer toacquirethetechnologyandteam.It wastempting,buttheyhadlargergoals forCindicator.
Inparallel,thecompanywaswatching thecryptocurrencyphenomenonwith greatinterest.Co-founderandCTO, YuriLobyntsevsuggestedthatthey shouldcreateaninternaltoken economytodecentralizetheir distributionmodelandcreatefeedback loopsbetweenanalystswhocontribute theirintelligenceandtraderswhotake risksbasedonindicators.Theidea resonatedstronglywiththecrypto community.InSeptember2017 Cindicatorraised$15millionthrougha tokensaleafterreceivingover$500 millionworthofapplicationsto contributefunds.
TrendstoLookfor AccordingtoCindicator,severaltrends areworthmentioning.First,blockchain andcryptoareturningtheworldmore global,enablingdecentralizedbusiness models.Cindicatorhasanalystsfrom practicallyeverycountryintheworld. PayingtheminUSdollarsorother
Mike Brusov CEO, Co-founder
currencieswouldbeanightmareforthecompany.With crypto,itinstantlysendsthousandsoftransactionsin minutes.Second,FinTechischippingawayatthemost lucrativenichesinfinance.Previously,hugebankswere dominatingineveryway.
NowFinTechstartupsarefocusingonjustoneortwoareas andstartfromscratchwithoutanycumbersomelegacy technologythatplaguesthebigguys.Third,machine learningisbecomingmorepowerfulandeasiertouse. Thereareplentyofreadypackages,libraries,andmodels thatonecanquicklydeployifonehasthedate.
Cindicatorbelievesthatthecommonchallengeformany techcompaniesisinhandlingdataanddealingwith privacy.Henceitisquiteexplicitwithhowitusesdata. Analystsregisteredinthecompany’sappunderstandthatit usesittocreatepredictiveindicators.Thecompanyasserts thatit’stheonlywaytoaddressthiswhichistobe transparentandveryclearwithhowitusesdata.
Theresultisthecrowdsourcingofintelligence,the Cindicatorteamexplains.Socialmediagiantshavelarger datasetsofcollectiveviewsandinsights,buttheydon’t havetheusers’permissionstousethisdata.With Cindicator,ontheotherhands,peopleeagerlysharetheir views,creatingafullrecordoftheirforecasts.Alltheir statisticsareavailableonasinglescreenandatanytime theycandownloadalltheirdata.AccordingtoCindicator, it’sawin-win:analystscanlearnfromtheirpastmistakes,
andthecompanycantrainitsmachinelearningmodelson anever-growingdataset.
CompetitionisIrrelevant
Accordingtotheenterprise,atthisstage,competitionis largelyirrelevant.Therearecompaniesapproachingsimilar problemsofmakingdecisionsamidhighuncertainty,but everybodyistacklingthisfromadifferentangle.It’supto themarkettodecidewhatworksbest.Atthesametime,it believesinsymbioticpartnerships.Whencompanieswith similarviewsontheworlduniteresourcesandhelpeach other,theycandevelopfasterthanifeveryoneexistsina silo.
AccordingtoCindicator,it’sjustthebeginning.Itsvisionis onalargerscale.Thecompanybelievesthatthroughthe symbiosisofhumansandmachinesCindicatorwillbecome animportantdecision-makingtoolinanyfieldwithahigh degreeofuncertainty:politics,science,technology, businessventures,evensportsandarts.Uncertaintyisonly goingincreaseastheworldbecomesevenmorecomplex.
“
Thegratifying tool for companies to lead aheadIoT Technology” TheInternetofthings(IoT)isa revolutionarychangeformanysectorslike manufacturing,agriculture,retail,electronic,energyand healthcarewhichareprogressingtowardstheIoT phenomenontoconnectdigitally.Ithasplacedan opportunitytobuildunusualresultswhichincreasesa company’scompatibility.Enterprisesseeking developmentarefocusingontheuseofreal-timedata managementandIoTanalysis.Manyofthe companiesareadoptingthistechnologytoheighten theirpowerofconsumption.Companiesare mainlyconcentratingonIoTapplicationfrom “sensing”insteadof“doing”togrowits competitiveadvantages.Thiselementempowers organizationsbyallowingthemtotaketheIoT advantageandadoptamore‘innovative connectedapproach’.
Newapplicationsarenowenhancingtheirlevelof consumption.Likewise,manufacturingsectorisalso
gettingengrossedandachievingexcellencethroughIoT Techniques.Applicationsareliableformonitoringand controllingoperationsforurbanandruralmanufactures likebridges,farms,andrailwaytracks.Itisthekey featuresoftheapplicationswereIoTinfrastructureis alsousedformonitoringtheconstructionsafetyandrisk managementsystemandoperations.Thismajorfeature representsthemechanismofIoTapplicationwhich worksunderinfrastructuremanagement.BenefitsofIoT Technologyarecostreducing,timereducing,betterin quality,andincreaseproductivity.Ithelpstomakefast decisionsandsavemoneywithreal-timeanalysis.IoT deviceshelptogiveprominentresultsbymonitoringand controllingoperationsusedinallinfrastructurerelated area.
Inthemanufacturingsector,networkingandcontrolling havebeenusedwithIoTdevices.Itprovidesinformation aboutdataandoperationstability.Networkstatusandthe informationiscollectedinthesystembytrackingIoT device.Manufacturingcontrolprocessdeliver informationaboutindustryapplicationandsmart manufacturingdetailsreceivingformIoTdevice.IoT intelligentsystemenablessharinginformationabout productdemands,servicemanagement,supplychain networks,sensorsandcontrolsystemstogether.Small industriescanalsobeintegratedwithIoTtechnology thatenablesreal-timeoptimization,measurements, productioncompatibilityandsafetymanagement. However,intelligentsystemsaredeterminedasthe significanttechniquethatimpliesuserexperienceand systemsecuritywhichultimatelysavescosts.
TheAgriculturesectorisoneoftheindustryto implementIoTtechnologyforstabilityandbetter performance.IoTtechnologyhasbecomeasignificant methodoffarming.Italsooffersdurabilityand functionalitytothewholeprocess.Thecombinationof wirelesssensorswithagriculturalappsandcloud platformsbenefitsingatheringdefiniteinformation relatingtoenvironmentalconditionslike,rainfall, temperature,humidity,windspeedetc.Farmersare gettingcompetentresultsoutofit,andareabletofind real-timeinformationeasily.Linkedwithfarmland,it improvesandautomatesfarmingtechniqueslikeweather information,takingdecisiononqualityandquantity,and minimizesriskandwaste.WithIoTTechfarmerscan findoutdetailedinformationoffarmandsimilarlyknow
whichlandisfertileorwhichoneisdryandpredict futurefields.
IntegratedSensingandControlsystemhelpstooptimize energyconsumption.IoTdevicesareintegratedwith energyconsumptionsystemsinordertomaintain balancebetweenpowergenerationandenergyusage.IoT devicesoffertheopportunitytoremotelygather information.Itenablesadvancefunctionslikeremote controllingandchanginglightconditions.IoT Technologyworkforhome-basedenergysystemwhich providepowerrelatedinformation,energyconsumption andenergyusageathomes.IoTdevicessetgoalsto improveefficiency,reliabilityandsustainabilityofthe energysystem.
Environmentmonitoringapplicationhasbeeninvolved withsensorstoassistinformationaboutenvironment changesbyidentifyingwaterquantity,atmosphere,air pressureetc.Italsohasfocusonmonitoringmovements ofwildlifeandtheirhabitats.Devicesconnectedtothe internetalsoprovidestatisticsaboutearthquakeor tsunami-earlywarningsystems,andalsousedasan emergencysystem.IoTdeviceapplicationisusedto collectgeographicinformationandmajorlyinstructive information.Thisdevicealsousesstandardizedapproach tobringwirelesssensingtechniqueandgatherfinest information.
Withcertainty,IoTdevicesareusedtomonitorand controlthemechanical,electricalandelectronicsystems. IoTdevicesareusedinvarioustypesofhome automationandbuildingautomationsystems.Control andsensoryapplicationsofferunifiedinformation.The integrationoftheinternetwithbuildingcreatesan energymanagementsystemwhichwillallowprominent energyefficiency.
TherehavebeenmanywaysforIoTtechnologyto expandcompatibilityinthedigitalworld,anditwillbe implementedineachsectortoworkasanimportanttool, toenhanceitsaffinity.Afterall, the IoT network makes technology more unified and satisfying, with its tools and applications and IoT will be a step ahead towards numerous opportunities
InaninterviewwithInsights Success,JesúsGironda,CTOof Enimbos,sharesinsightsonhow thecompanyhasbecomealeaderin cloudmigrationandoperationsand whatarethelessonsthatitlearned alongtheway.Also,hebroadly discussesthecompany’score competenciesandtheservicesitoffers.
Belowarethehighlightsofthe interviewconductedbetweenJesúsand InsightsSuccess.
GiveabriefoverviewoftheEnimbos anditsvision.
Createdin2016,Enimbosisaleading expertincloudmigrationand operation.Withmorethan60high skilledcloudprofessionals,the companyhasmorethan140customers andtopcertificationswithAmazon WebServices,MicrosoftAzureand GoogleCloudPlatform.Weusethe mostinnovativetechnologiesand developourownSoftwareasaService platformtoincreasecontrol,automate andsecurethehybridandmulti-cloud environmentforlargeCorporations, reducingtheircostsovera40%.
Howdoyoudiversifyyourproducts andsolutionsinordertobenefityour customers?
Enimbos’ssuccessisbasedon
providingtheagilitythatlarger companiesdonothave,offering benefitstoourclientsintermsof deliverytime,automationandcosts saving.Ourvaluepropositionis focusedonprovidingadvancedcloud managedservices.
Ononehand,weofferourclients advisoryservicefordefiningefficient hybridarchitectureswhichintegrates toolsformonitoringthemulti-cloud environment,anditsobjectiveisthe optimizationandcostssaving.Thisis ourCompass®service.Enimbosalso offersadministrationand24/7 motorizationservices,using automationtools,controlsolutionsand integratingDevOpsprocedures.This ensuresthehighestsafetystandards. ThisistheSailor®service.
Describetheexperiences, achievementsorlessonslearntthat haveshapedthejourneyofEnimbos. Wehavelearntseverallessonsduring thistwo-yearjourney.Themost relevantforusisbeingflexible,as supplierswhoadaptthemselvestoour customers’needsand,atthesametime, runawayfromthetraditional outsourcingmodelinordertoavoid technologicaldependency.Our customersdemanduscomplete“tailormade”solutions.
Ourmodelisinfinitelymoreevolved, closeandagilethantheoneusedby the“traditionalplayers”.Ourproposal isbasedonanindustrializedmodelina “pret-a-porter”modebuttailoredfor coveringourcustomer’sneeds.We baseourstrategyonthedisruptive innovation,runningawayfrom conformismandseekingexcellenceis ourstrength.Ourlong-termgoalisto becomeaglobalreferenceinthe “CloudEnabling”thankstoour SoftwareasaServicetool.AndIam convincedweareonourway.
Giveadetaileddescriptionofthe featuredperson’srolesinthe company.
IamaComputerEngineerandhave graduatedasExecutiveMBAfromIE BusinessSchool.Istartedmy professionalcareerin2004asaSystem EngineeratIndraATM.In2006I joinedTelvent,whereIheldthe positionsofDirectorofCenterof Excellence,managingateamof50 engineersandDirectorofInnovation, leadingthecompany’sR&Dplan. SinceOctober2016,Ihaveheldthe positionofChiefTechnologyOfficerat Enimbos.
MyroleatEnimbosisfocusedontwo differentareas.Ononehand,leading thetechnicalareaandinnovatingevery
day,decidingwhichtechnologiesweuse,whenandwhywe implementthem,whichallianceswemakeandwhenwe carrythemout.Iamalsoresponsibleofdefiningthe architectureforourclients,itsexecutionand implementation.
WhataretheevidentchallengesintheICTservices industry?
TheevolutionofSaaSandmulti-cloudsolutionsgeneratesa verycomplexandhighlyentropyenvironment.This situationadditionallyassumesnewwindowsforcyberattacks.Besides,organizationshavedecentralizedtheir decision-makingprocessfromITastheCIOisnotthe technologyowneranymore;heisnowjustmanagingthem. Forcompanies,thechallengeintheITCenvironmentis certainlysimplifyingandsecuringthenewparadigm.
Whatarethecurrenttrendsthataredrivingthe industry?
Theindustrykeytrendsaremaximizingtheknowledge basedonusingIoTandBigDatasolutions,makingthe decisionmakingprocesseasierwithArtificialIntelligence tools,reducingcyber-attacksrisksandaligningITcosts withbusinessneeds,alwayslookingformaximum efficiency.
ConsideringtherisingnumberofICTsolution providers,howdoesEnimbosstandoutfromits competitors?
Wearefocusingourdifferentiationinfourpillars:expertise inoperatingcriticalsystems,definingefficientarchitectures agnosticallytoourcloudproviders,focusingonFinOps whileguarantyingthemaximumtechnologyalignmentwith businessneedsandusingthemostinnovativetechnologies.
“
Enimbos, as a technological expert of on-site and cloud systems management, allowed us through its experience and good professional practices, to carry out the migration of the hosting of our high availability platform. In the same way, the good daily doing of its professionals, makes the platform work correctly in an uninterrupted way providing the 24/7 service required in the hospital systems.”–Luis Peñas,CIOatOrdenHospitalariaSanJuandeDios
“
Enimbos has shown itself as a company with great professionals who have a high level of expertise and with whom coordination is not a problem but a virtue. Their closeness becomes palpable in the day to day where they have no problems in applying effective solutions to the daily problems. They have helped us to take a technologically key step: migrating to AWS our self-designed platform, making us feel confident in a field in which we are not experts. " –RobertoAdarve,CTOatZankyou
In Enimbos, the cloud enabler company, we help organizations manage their environments in a cheaper, more exible and scalable way with our high level of expertise.
Nearly95percentofallsuccessfulattackson enterprisenetworkstargetedorganization’susers throughemail.Withtheindustryofcybersecurity evolvingsorapidly,hackersareconsistentlychangingtheir tactics,keepingitalmostimpossibletokeepupwith.
Withtoday’sgrowingsecuritylandscape,emailthreatsare oneofthemostcommonstrategiesutilizedbycyber criminals.Whatstartedoffwithspamemailssenttoyour junkfolder,hasevolvedtoamorerobusttactictodeliver destructivecontentstraighttoyourinbox.Herearethetop fiveemailsecuritythreatsthatwe’veseensofarthisyear:
Emotetisanadvanced,modularbankingTrojanthat primarilyfocusesasadownloaderordropperofother bankingTrojansandcontinuestobeamongthemostcostly anddestructivemalwareaffectinggovernments,privateand publicsectors.Emotetcanevademostsignature-based detections,andbecauseitisVirtualMachineaware,it generatesfalseindicatorswhenraninasandbox. Additionally,Emotethasseveralmethodsformaintaining persistence,includingauto-startregistrykeysandservices aswellasDynamicLinkLibrariestocontinuouslyupdate andevolveitscapabilities.
Initialinfectionofthismalwareoccurswhenauseropens orclicksamaliciousdownloadlink,PDF,ormacro-enabled MicrosoftWorddocumentincludedinthemalspam.Once downloaded,Emotetestablishespersistenceandattemptsto propagatelocalnetworksthroughoneofitsincorporated
spreadermodules.Thenegativeconsequencesfroman Emotetinfectioncanbetemporaryorpermanentlossof sensitiveproprietaryinformation,disruptionofregular operations,financiallossesincurredtorestoresystemsand files,andpotentialharmtoanorganizationsreputation.
AnewversionoftheinfamousbankingTrojanUrsnifmade itsappearanceagainearlierthisyearinJune.Thismalware iswellknowninthecybersecuritycommunityandwasthe mostactivemalwarecodeinthefinancialsectorfromthe endof2016intoearly2017.Thismalwareiscapableof stealingusers'credentials,credentialsforlocalwebmail, cloudstorage,cryptocurrencyexchangeplatformsandecommercesites.
OnceUrsnifinfectsanewmachineitwillattempttospread tootherusersintheaddressbookofthecompromisedemail accounts.Ittricksthevictimintoopeningthemalicious emailbecausethemessageispresentedasthereplytoan existingconversationconductedbythevictiminthepast. Forexample,ifyoureceiveanemailthatwasareplaytoa previousconversationfromawhileback,youcanlookat the“To:”fieldintheemailandseeifit'srepliedtoalarge numberofunsuspectingusers.
Anotherfeatureaboutthismalwareisitsabilitytokeep trackofcompanynamesandtitlethemaliciousdocument “VICTIM_COMPANY_.doc”inordertolooklegitimate. Oncethevictimclicksenablemacros,thesecondstepof theinfectionprocessbegins,whichlaunchesamalicious
scriptthatdownloadsandexecutesapayloadfromaserver controlledbytheattackers.Onceinstalled,Ursnifcan operatewithoutbeingnoticedbyboththeuserandthe operatingsystem.
Extortioncampaignshavebeenaroundforquitesometime buttherewasonethatwasinfullswingacrosstheglobe thatusedaclevertwisttotrickunsuspectingusersinto payingaransom.Theattackerforthisextortioncampaign claimstohaveinstalledmalwareonyoursystemandhas alsousedyourwebcamtorecordyouwatchingporn.The attackerthengoesontothreatenthereleaseofthisvideoto everyoneinyourcontactsunlessyoupaytheBitcoin ransom.
Thebasicpremiseofthistypeofextortionattempthasbeen aroundforquitesometime,buttheadditionofthe Username/Passwordcombinationinthesubjectlinehas unsuspectingusersworried.Whileresearchingthis campaign,Nuspire’sSecurityAnalyticsTeam(SAT)came acrossmultipledifferentcountsofaffectedusersclaiming theUsername/Passwordcombinationwassomethingthey hadusedeightyearsago.Inthiscase,theattackerhas somewhatautomatedtheattacktocreateascriptthatpulls directlyfromusernamesandpasswordsofagivendata breachthathappenedeightyearsago.Therefore,every victimwhohadtheirpasswordcompromisedaspartofthat breach,isnowgettingthissameemailattheaddressthey usedtosignupforthehackedwebsite.
Hopefully,ifyouwereaffectedbythatdatabreachyou updatedyourusername/passwordcombination.Granted,the peoplewhodidn'tbotherchangingthisinformation,this attackdirectlyaffectsthem,butrestassuredthisattacker doesn’thavearecordingofyouthattheyplantosendoutto yourcontacts.Itismerelyscaretacticstomakesomeeasy money,anduponinvestigationofmultipleBitcoin addressesassociatedwiththiscampaign,theattackerwas indeedmakingeasymoney.
Thisattackcouldevolveinthefutureandusemoreupto datedatabreacheswhichinturncouldscaremoreusersinto payingtheransom,sobeonthelookout.
GandCrabholdsthetopspotinransomware,partlybecause it’susedbytheMagnitudebotnet.AlthoughGandCrabis usuallyspreadviaspamemail,ithasrecentlybeen distributedviacompromisedwebsitesandisnow
Pope Cyber Security EngineerShawn Pope is the Cyber Security Engineer of Nuspire Networks, a state-of-the-science managed network security provider for some of the largest and most distinctive companies around the world.
appendingthe.KRABextensiontotheencryptedfiles. TowardstheendofApril2018acampaignwiththesubject line“YourOrder#{RandomDigits}”wascirculating.There islimitedcontentinthebodyoftheemailandhasan attachedZIPfilewhichincludesaWorddocumentthat containsmaliciousmacrosthatdownloadandexecute GandCrabransomware.
GandCrabisunderconstantdevelopmentwherenew versionsareconsistentlybeingreleasedatanaggressive pace.Itsbasicfunctionalityiswelldocumentanddoesthe sametypicalthingsransomwaredoes,includingencrypting fileswiththe.KRABextension,changingtheuser’s background,andleveragingTorforcommunications.One oftheinterestingelementsofGandcrabisitsuseof namecoindomainsforCommandandControl(C2) communication.Theseareeasilyidentifiedbythe.bittop leveldomain(TLD).SinceattackersrelyheavilyonTor andnamecoindomainstohelpevadeidentification,itisa nobrainerforthemtouseadecentralizedDNSservicethat doesnotrelyoncentralauthority.Thisalsoincreasesthe difficultyofhavingdomainsshutdownandidentifying thosethatarepotentiallybehindthem.
BytheendofQ22018Microsofthadtakenoverthetop spotfromFacebookforthenumberonetargetofcorporate phishingattacks.Reasonbeing,it’shighlyprofitablefor hackerstocompromiseanOffice365account.Hackerssee email-basedattacksasaneasyentrypointintodata,files, andcontactsfromotherOffice365apps,including SharePoint,OneDrive,Skype,Excel,andCRM.
WeseealldifferenttypesofPhishingattemptsfromquite possiblytheworstattemptstoexactreplicasofalegitimate Office365loginpage.Unfortunately,Phishingwillalways existandcanslipthroughthegapsinemailfilteringdueto thefactthatnewdomains/URLsarepoppingupeveryday
tohostfakeloginpages.Thisiswhereuserawareness trainingisextremelyimportant.Educateyourusers,rollout trainingexerciseswhereemployeeswithfakePhishing emailsandseewhoclicksonthemandwhodoesn’t. BecausePhishinghasbecomesopopular,educationwill payoffinthelongrun.
Asidefromtrainingandeducatingemployeesonmalware, andransomwarethatmightcomeinthroughauser’semail, thereareafewothersolutionstotakeintoconsideration thatcanpreventtheseattacksfromenteringyournetwork.
1. Useantivirusprogramswithbehaviorandheuristic detectioncapabilities,withautomaticupdatesof signaturesandsoftwareonclientsandservers.
2. Implementaspamfiltertofilteroutknownmalspam indicatorssuchasmalicioussubjectlines,andblock suspiciousandblacklistedIps.
3. Markexternalemailswithabannerdenotingitisfrom anexternalsource,thiswillassistusersindetecting spoofedemails.
4. Implementablockpolicyforfileattachmentsthatare commonlyassociatedwithmalwaresuchas.dll,and .exe,andattachmentsthatcannotbescannedby antivirussucha.zipfiles.
5. ImplementDomain-BasedMessageAuthentication, Reporting&Conformance(DMARC),avalidation systemthatminimizesspamemailbydetectingemail spoofingusingDomainNameSystem(DNS)records anddigitalsignatures.
6. Implementasolutionthatcansendthe unknown/suspiciousfilestothesandboxforfurther investigationandanalysis.
7. Andmostimportantlyemployeetrainingonsocial engineeringandphishing.Urgeemployeesnottoopen suspiciousemails,clicklinkscontainedinsuchemails, orpostsensitiveinformationonline.
HughesNetworkSystems, LLCisthegloballeaderin broadbandsatellite technologyandservicesforhomeand office.Itsvisionistobetheglobal connectivityproviderforpeople, enterpriseandthings.Forenterprises andgovernments,thecompany’s HughesON™managednetwork servicesprovidecompleteconnectivity solutionsemployinganoptimizedmix ofwideareatechnologiesand infrastructuresolutionssuchasWi-Fi, VOIP,switchesanddigitalmedia products.
Hughesenterprisecustomersinclude largedistributedorganizationsand franchisesinindustriessuchasretail, restaurant,retailpetroleumand convenience,banking&finance, hospitality,healthcare,government,oil &gasandmore.Thecompanyisthe leaderinsecuremanagedSD-WANfor enterprise,with30,000deployedSDWANsitesandindividualcustomers withupto3,500managedSD-WAN locations.Globally,itmanages approximately450,000businesssites withinitsHughesONManaged NetworkServices.
CustomizedSolutions
Hughesoffersafullycustomizable suiteofmanagedservicesthathave
beenadaptedfordifferententerprise applicationsfromretailandrestaurant toretailpetroleumandgovernment networks.Everysolutioniscustomized tomeetindividualenterpriseneedsand siterequirementsincludinginstallation, projectmanagement,security, configurationmanagement,field repairsandhelpdesksupport.
HughescanintegrateandmanageSDWANsolutionswithbroadbandaccess anywhereviabest-availablewireline, cable,wirelessandsatellitetransport, andutilizesarangeofpartnerstotailor security,Wi-Fi,VOIP,andLAN infrastructuretoeachsite.Hughes additionallyoffersdigitalmediaand trainingsolutionsforemployeeand customerengagement.
TheJourneyofInvention Buildingonitslegacyofmorethan fortyyearsofnetworkinginnovation, Hughescontinuestoadvance enterprisenetworking.Fromaninitial foundationinX.25equipmenttothe inventionoftheVSAT(verysmall apertureterminal),Hugheshaspushed theboundariesofintegrating technologyandservice.Today,the companydeliversanaward-winning ManagedSD-WANsolutionwith industry-leadingnextgeneration firewallandunifiedthreatmanagement
(UTM)software,utilizinganedgebasedapproachthatimprovescloud anddirectInternetaccessandreduces networktraffic.
Designedforthechallengesofa broadbandbasednetwork,a HughesONManagedSD-WANisthe onlySD-WANsolutionfeaturingzerotouchconfigurationwhichmeansthe systemcontinuouslysensesnetwork behaviorandautomaticallyconfigures itself.Asbothahardwareandsoftware engineeringcompanyaswellasa leadingserviceprovider,Hughes leveragesreal-worldexpertisetodrive thenextcycleof engineeringdevelopment.
DanRasmussenistheSeniorVice PresidentoftheEnterpriseBusiness andisresponsibleforleadingthe organizationthatsupportslarge enterprise,smallbusiness,and governmentcustomers.Thisinvolves oversightofsalesandmarketingteams anddevelopmentofenterprise solutions.Mr.Rasmussenholdsa MasterofBusinessAdministration, MasterofScienceinElectrical EngineeringandaBachelor’sDegree inElectricalEngineeringfromGeorgia InstituteofTechnology.
Thedigitalrevolutioncreatesunprecedentednetwork demandasenterprisesincreasinglyrelyoncloud-based applications.HughesrecentlycommissionedaForrester Consultingstudytoexplorethechallengesofdistributed networksforenterpriseswith200+locations.Thestudy revealedtheindustryisatatippingpoint,withincreased networkcomplexityanddemanddrivingmigrationtonew solutions.Over40percentofthosesurveyedarenot satisfiedwithoverallnetworkperformance.Morethana quarterarelessthansatisfiedwithnetworksecurity.Twothirdsreportoutagesatleasttwiceayear;oneinfive experienceoutagesmonthly.
Thebiggestchallengeliesingettingthecorrect infrastructureandequipmenttothedistributedenterpriseto meetincreasingneedsforreliabilityandbandwidth. Additionally,thenewsetofapplicationscombinedwith growingdatavolumemeansthateverynetworkexperiences congestionthatcanimpactmissioncriticalapplications unlesstherightconfigurationisimplemented.
Hughesistheleadingone-stopproviderofsecureSD-WAN managedservicesformulti-branchorganizationsglobally, servingnearlyhalfamillionsitesworldwide.Itisatrue businesspartner,understandingandaddressingclient challengesasitsownandgoingtheextramiletocraftthe rightsolutions,withoutlimittoproviderortransport.The companyalsohelpsclients“futureproof”andscaletheir networks,preparingforthedemandsoftomorrow.Hughes hasacadreofcustomersthathaveutilizeditsservicesfor 10+years--thetrustbuiltoveryearsofpartnershipsisone ofHughesgreateststrengths.
Hughesunifiesitssolutionsaroundtheworldsothat customershaveauniformexperienceglobally.The companycontinuestoincorporateadvanceddatascience–suchasmachinelearningandartificialintelligence–across awiderangeofusecases,fromimprovingnetwork performancetoimprovedsecurity.In2018,Hughes establishedanin-housedata-scienceincubator,withthe goaltosignificantlyimprovenetworkperformanceto customerswhilereducingoperationalcosts.
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Earlier we had to install a dedicated circuit at each store just for our increasing store applications, with no backup protection. Now we can do everything with one Hughes solution and gain backup for our back-office operations. That’s huge for us because we rely on Market Basket and other applications every day to maximize profitability and efficiency at our stores. Hughes ActiveTechnologies with 4G backup was the key to getting all those things working.”
Hughes is a global connectivity provider for people, enterprises and things – powering a connected experience
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Therapidexpansionindatacenters,duetotheexponentialgrowthofthecloudcomputinghas causedthedramaticincreaseinenergyconsumptionanditseffectontheenvironmentintermsof thecarbonfootprints.Toreducethepowerconsumption,itisrequiredtodevelopsomeenergy efficientsolutions. The Green Computing isthepracticeofexecutingpoliciesandtheproceduresto improveefficiencyofthecomputingresourcesinsuchawayastoreducetheenergyconsumptionand environmentalimpactoftheirutilization.GreenCloudArchitectureisrisingfromthesetrendsleading,not onlytoenergyefficiency,butalsoacarbonemissionawareconcept.Inordertoreduceenergy consumption,agreenerenvironmentneedstobebuilt.
Amongallindustries,theinformationcommunicationtechnology(ICT)industryisarguablyresponsible foralargerportionoftheworldwidegrowthinenergyconsumption.Thegoalofgreencloud computingistopromotetherecyclabilityorbiodegradabilityofdefunctproductsandfactory wastebyreducingtheuseofhazardousmaterialsandmaximizingtheenergyefficiency duringtheproduct'slifetime.
Theobjectiveistoreducepowerconsumptionofthedatacenter.Itoffersthefeatures likeonlinemonitoring,livevirtualmachinemigration,andoptimizationofVirtual MachinePlacement.ThroughthisproposedGreenCloudArchitecture,energyupto 27%canbesaved.Theneedtomanagemultipleapplicationsinadatacenter createsthechallengeofon-demandresourceprovisioningandallocationin responsetotime-varyingworkloads.Datacenterresourcesarestatically possessedtoapplications,basedonthepeakloadcharacteristics,inorderto provideperformanceguaranteesandtomaintaintheisolation.
Energy-efficientresourcemanagementhasbeenfirstintroducedinthecontext ofbatteryfedmobiledevices,whereenergyconsumptionhastobereduced inordertoimprovethebatterylifetime.Techniqueswhicharedevelopedfor mobiledevicesalsocanbeappliedoradaptedforserversanddatacenters;this kindofsystemsrequiresspecificmethods.
TheprimarymethodistoconsolidatetheDynamicVoltage FrequencyScalingtechniqueinanefficientwayto maximizetheresourceutilizationandtominimize energyconsumptionofthedatacenterswhichwill resultinthereducedcarbonfootprintsandthuswill helpmoreinachievingtheGreenComputing.
TheGreenBenefits
Cloudcomputingisthewaytosavemoneyand energyforthebusiness.Usersemphasize InfrastructureasaService(IaaS)andcan improvetheirmanageabilityandfacilitatethe maintenanceoftheresources.Itmeansthat benefitofbusinessenterprisesimplicatesto avoidspendingonsoftwareandinfrastructure resources,andallowbusinessclientstofocuson earningmoneyratherthanbeingweighteddown withinfrastructureconcerns.Therefore,operating thismodelallowsreducingtheconsummationofthe powerenergywithoutspendingmoneyonrunningthe servers.Moreover,withnoserverstorepair,the absenceofhardwaretoupgradeandnosoftwareto install,laborcostsarealsoreduced.
WithSaaSsoftwareaccessesusuallythroughabrowser-based client,i.e.,itcanrunonvirtuallyanyauthorizedcomputer,making desktopandlaptopresourceseasilyreplaceable.Thus,whentheuseralso savesonthesupport,itdoublestheimpactandinfactincreasesgreenroleinbusiness.Theemployeescanworkremotely, travelingandmovingfromoneplacetoanotherbecausetheyhavefastaccesstotheinternetandtheabilitytouseallthe servicesathand,ontheotherhand,itreducestheconsumptionoffossilfuelsandtheharmfulpollutionthatresultsfrom vehicleemissionsaswell.
Thereductionofenergyandpowerconsumptionhasbecomeafirst-orderobjectiveinthedesignofmoderncomputing systems.Therootsofenergy-efficientcomputing,practicescanbetracedbackto1992,whentheU.S.environmental protectionagencyhadlaunchedEnergyStar,avoluntarylabelingprogramwhichwasdesignedtoidentifyandpromotethe energy-efficientproductsinordertoreducethegreenhousegasemissions.Computersandmonitorswerethefirstlabeled products.Thishasledtothewidespreadadoptionofthesleepmodeinelectronicdevices.Theterm“greencomputing”was introducedtorefertotheenergy-efficientpersonalcomputers.
Whiledeployingdatacenter,thesoleconcernishigh-performance,andthisdemandhasbeenfulfilledwithoutpayingmuch attentiontotheenergyconsumption.Anaveragedatacenterguzzlesenergyasmuchas25,000households.Thereisa necessitytomovethefocustooptimizingforenergyefficiencywhilemaintaininghighservicelevelperformancethan optimizingdatacenterresourcemanagementforpureperformance,astheenergycostisincreasingwhiletheavailability dwindles.Accordingtocertainreports,thetotalestimatedenergybillfordatacentersintheyear2010was$11.5billionand energycostsinatypicaldatacenterdoubleseveryfiveyears.
Forthedevelopmentofcloudcomputingandittosustaingreentechnologiesisexceedinglyessential.Ofthenumerousgreen methodologiesenquired,theDVFStechnologyisahighlyhardwareorientedapproachandhenceitislessflexible. Cloudcomputingisahighlyscalableandcost-effectiveinfrastructureforrunninganenterpriseandthewebapplications.But thecriticalissueisthedrasticsurgeintheenergyconsumptionofdatacenterswhichistriggeringbythegrowingdemandfor cloudinfrastructure.Hence,theenergy-efficientsolutionsarerequiredwhichresultsinlessnumberofcarbonfootprintsand thushelpinachievinggreenercomputing.
SincetheinventionofInternet humanliveshavechanged acrosstheglobe.Nowadayswe humansuseInternetforeverything.
Internetisalsobeingusedtoconnect billionsofdevices,whichare commonlycalledIoTdevices.
Theirdataisbeingstoredinthecloud andwillparticipateinthedigitalization oftheenvironment.
Havingaglobal,simple,low-costand low-powerconnectivitysolutionis fundamental.Thisisthechallengethat Sigfoxaddressesbydeployingalowbandwidthdedicatednetwork,already presentin60countries.
Createdin2010,theorganizationisa recognizedglobalpioneerinasector thatisalreadyrevolutionizingthe society.TheambitionofSigfox, embodiedintheslogan “Make Things Come Alive”,istogiveavoicetothe physicalworldaroundusandtoallow thesebillionsofobjectstoplayarole ineconomicandsocialdevelopment.
Sigfoxhasrolledoutasingleglobal publicnetworkacross60countries. Thisenablesdevicestoconnect withoutpairing,atverylow connectivitycost,withbatterylife lastingyearsandwithoutroaming complexityorcost.Theorganization’s networkallowsthecustomers(orusers orendusers)toconnectdevices withouthavingtoownoroperatea privatenetworkordatacenter infrastructure–itssolutiondelivers devicetodataviaAPIsfromSigfox’s cloudplatform.
Thecompanyalsohasastrong ecosystemofpartnersdelivering sustainableend-to-endsolutions,at affordableprices,viaitsSigfox operatorsin60countries.
Throughindirectchannelssuchas theseSigfoxOperatorsorstrategic partnerssuchasdevicemanufacturers, andthroughdirectapproachesvia Sigfox’sIOTAgencyanditsGlobal BusinessDevelopmentteam,the organizationseesitselfasIOTenablers
thathelpidentifyandtacklefinal customers’painpointstoimprovecost andefficiencyinmultipledomains.
th Recently,in28 ofNovember2018, JeremyPrincehasbeenappointedas theCSOofSigfox.AstheChief StrategyOfficer,heworkscloselywith LudovicLeMoan,CEOandCofounderoftheorganization.
WithdegreesinPoliticalSciences& EconomicsandinInternationalLaw, hestartedhiscareerworkingfora pressgroupbeforemovingtothe Digitalworld,firstInternet,then Mobile.Heworkedontwomajor successfulIPOs(IndexMultimedia& Seloger.com),beforejoiningM6(one ofthemainEuropeanmediagroups). Hespent10yearsworkingthere,first asCEOofajointventureintheDigital field,thenasDirectorofallGaming activities,tofinallyholdthepositionof “SecrétaireGénéral”ofanin-houseTV productioncompany.Afterthat,hewas recruitedbyTechnicolorastheCOOof Mikros,beforefinallyjoiningSigfox.
Sigfoxbelievesthattherearethreekeychallengesto addressintheIoTmarket;Energyconsumption,Cost,and Compatibility;
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Lowest-energyconsumption–Sigfoxenablessensorsto functionwithouttheneedforbatteries,whichwill removetheneedforbatteryrechargingandreplacement. Today,multiplesourcesofenergyinthephysicalworld canenableenergy-harvesting,includingsolar,wind,and electromagneticwaves.Thesimplicityofthetechnology meansthatSigfoxcanprovidethebestpossibleuser experienceandlowestmaintenancecosts.Oneday,it shouldevenallowustoremovetheneedforreplacing orre-chargingbatteriessincethedeviceswillgenerate energythemselves.
anduserexperiencearedrasticallyimproved.The benefitsofhavingdualconnectivitytechnologiesinthe sameIoTdevicesofferhugebenefitssuchasadditional security,reliability(backupandtroubleshooting)and anti-jamming.
Recently,Sigfoxlaunchedamicrobasestationwhich allowsindoorandoutdoorSigfoxnetworkcoverageofup totwokilometers.
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Lowest-cost:Sigfoxhasdramaticallyreducedthecost andcomplexityofdevicesilicontoacceleratetimeto marketandIoTadoption.CellularSIMcardmodulecan costupto$40,aSigfoxmoduleisaslittleasafew dollars.Atthiscostonecaneconomicallyconnect virtuallyanything.Sigfox’secosystemrecently announcedtheworld’slowestcostmodulesstartingat just$2.Sigfoxwillalsolaunchinthecomingyearsa simplifiedconnectivityservicethattransformsanyshort rangewirelessdeviceintoalongrangeIoTdevice runningonamodulethatshouldjustcost$0.20!
TheorganizationisalsoplanningtobringSigfoxBubbles tomarket,thatcanbecomparedtobeacons,enablingasset locationdevicethatprovideaccuracywithinlessthana meter–oncethedomainofRFID,nowinthesightsas SFID(SigfoxFrequencyIdentification).TheSigfoxBubble architectureenablestechnologywherethecompany believesitcanachieve2centssensorsinthefuture. Additionally,theorganizationisalsoworkingonitssatellite aspirationsatanacceleratedpacewhileambitiously expandingitsglobalterrestrialcoverage.Finally,Sigfoxhas theambitiontomakeits0Gnetworkastandardforthe Telecomindustry.
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Complementarytechnology: Sigfoxiscompatiblewith Bluetooth,GPS2G/3G/4GandWiFi.Bycombining otherconnectivitysolutionswithSigfox,businesscases
CompaniesthathavealreadyinvestedinSAPfind thattheycanachieveevenbetterresultsfromtheir existinginvestmentwithcloudtechnologyand eProcurement.Aftertheinitialinvestment,companiesfind certainroadblockspreventingmassuseradoptionand diminishingcostsavings.Issuessuchasinabilitytostay connected,lackofinsightintodata,andcomplexand fragmentedbusinessrulesstopbusinessesfromusingthe fullpowerofSAP.Ascloudapplicationtechnologies advance,companiesgainthebenefitsofrapiddeployment cycles,increasedself-servicetools,andfasterperformance. VroozideliversonthepromiseandpowerofeProcurement intheCloudwithseamlessintegrationintoSAP.
SAPuserslookingtothecloudgenerallyfaceafew questions,including:
· HowcanIbenefitfromusingcloudprocurement?
· Willmytransitiontothecloudbecost-effective?
· Howwillmybusinessprocessesbeaffectedbycloud technology?
Tounderstandthebenefitsofcloudtechnologytoexisting SAPusers,let’sevaluatethreeprocurementstrategiesthat highlightthepowerofcloudprocurement.
ReturnonInvestment(ROI)isacentralfactorinany
procurementstrategy.Buyersandtradingpartnersofcloud procurementsolutionsneedtofeelconfidentthatsolutions willleadtocostsavingsandhigherproductivityand efficiency.Usersquicklyseereturnsbyfocusingonuser adoption,compliance,andspendmanagement. Spend Managementallowscompaniestovisualizepurchasing spendingpatternsandusageanddrivesemployeesto leveragepreferredpricingwithcontractsuppliers.To increaseuseradoptionandcompliance,thecloudempowers amobileworkforcewiththerightresourcesandexperience soeveryonestaysconnectedandavailablesothatbusiness isnotdisrupted.Asuseradoptionandcompliance frameworksincreasewithcloud-basedsystems, organizationsgainimmediatecostsavingsinprocurement bydecreasingtransactioncostsandpreventingspend leakagewithyoursupplychain.
Processefficiencyiskeyforasuccessful,healthybusiness. Cloudtechnologyenablesbetterprocessesbykeeping everyoneconnectedthroughamobileexperienceand automatingtransactiontasksthroughtheuseofmachine learningandpatternmatching.Withacentralized,unified system,cloudautomationcanyieldimmediatebenefitsin requisitiontoinvoiceandpaymentbusinessprocessesand reducederrorsandissuesleadingtohigherproductivityand decreasedprocessingcosts.Further,byallowingemployees
tointeractwithcloudprocurementviasmart Phonesandtablets,businesscancontinueto movewithefficiencyandspeed.
Perhapsnodeterminantismoreimportantin realizingthebenefitsofcloudtechnologies versustraditionalonpremisesoftwareisinIT CostSavings.Systemsandapplicationswhich requiredlargephysicalinfrastructureand monetaryinvestmentscannowprovide inexpensiveandscalablesolutionsthroughthe Cloudandcloudinfrastructureproviders.A procurementsolutionthatintegrateswithSAPis easiertoaccess,lessexpensive,andtakesa fractionoftheimplementationtimecompanies oncefacedwithtraditionalsoftwaresolutions. Cloudtechnologyrelievestheuserofhidden costssuchashardware,consultants, infrastructure,maintenance,andcostlyupgrade cycles,providinglowerriskandlowertotalcost ofownership.
Thecloudofferslittleupfrontexpense,automatic upgrades,andpre-integratedbestpracticeswhich alloworganizationstofocusonbusinessgrowth andimprovedoperatingmargins.Vroozi’s eProcurementsolutionthattakesSAPsolutions tothecloudempoweruserswithbetterreturns, betterprocessesandhighersavings,sotheir overallSAPinvestment’sROIisaccelerated.
AccordingtoIDC,spendingonCloud computingisgrowingat4.5timestherateofIT spendingsince2009andisexpectedtocontinue growingatmorethan6timestherateofIT spendingfrom2015through2020.(viaForbes) Thismassivegrowthiseasilyunderstoodwhen businessesunderstandthepowerandvalueof cloudsolutions.WiththeVrooziPlatform, companiescantakeadvantageofrobust eProcurementtechnologydeliveredintheCloud andintegratedseamlesslywithSAP.
Brad Hill, Director of Global Sales & Marketing of Vroozi is a passionate leader and is responsible for expanding the Vroozi Product Suite, Brand Adoption, Partnership Network & ensuring our customers receive an unparalleled experience with Vroozi. Brad spent the last 20 years building Enterprise Sales and Product strategies with leading IT Services organizations. His entrepreneurial strategies have served a vast number of Fortune 500 industries and verticals. He is also an aspiring mechanic and frustrated golfer, two good reminders to keep his day job.
Gameshavebeenknowntopushconsumercomputingplatformsto theirmaximumcapacity.Intraditionalsystemssuchasdesktop computers,itisoftenexpectedandacceptedthatGamingsoftware willpushasystemtoitslimits.However,mobileenvironmentsareina strikinglydifferentscenarioastheyhavelimitedpowerreserves.Afully utilizedmobiledevicemayhaveagreatlyreducedrunningtime,thusitis importanttoreducethecomplexityofthesegamingsoftwaresformobiledevices.Luckily, cloudgamingsystemsprovideapotentialwaybyoffloadingcomplicatedprocessingtaskssuchas3Drenderingandphysics calculationstopowerfulcloudservers.
CloudGamingenablesnewbusinessmodelsforgamesaswellascloudserviceproviders.Usersnolongerneedtopurchase powerfulhardwaretorunnewgamesandcanplayvirtuallyonanydevice,whichiscapabletodisplayingvideosinHD format.Ontheotherhanddevelopersnolongerhavetofearsoftwarepiracyasthesoftwareneverleavesthecloudandalso canreducedevelopmentcostsbyfocusingononespecificplatform.Thisallowsdeveloperstospendmoretimeonimproving thequalityoftheproductinsteadofworryingaboutcompatibility.Evensmallnon-HDdevicescanbesupported,e.g.by reducingtheresolution.Asmallerresolutionrequireslesserbandwidthandthevideocanbedecodedattheenddevicewith lessenergyconsumptionenablingtheuseofhand-heldmobiledevicesasclients.
Afterperformingextensivecloudgamingexperimentsusingbothmobileanddesktopclientsseveralinterestinginsightshave beenrevealed.Forexample,gamers’satisfactiononmobileclientsismorerelatedtographicsquality,whilethecaseon desktopclientsismorecorrelatedtocontrolquality.Furthermore,graphicsandsmoothnessqualityaresignificantlyaffected bythebitrate,framerate,andnetworklatency,whilethecontrolqualityisdeterminedonlybytheclienttypes.Theamountof
resourcesallocatedtohighperformancemultimediaapplicationssuch ascloudgamingcontinuestogrowinbothpublicandprivatedata centers.Thehighdemandandutilizationpatternsoftheseplatforms makethesmartallocationoftheseresourcesparamounttothe efficiencyofbothpublicandprivateclouds.Theimpactonmultiplayer gamesmightbelessenedasthesynchronizationbetweenplayersisno longerimpactedbythedistancebetweenthegameserverandclient.In thecloudscenario,theclientisvirtuallylocatedwithinthedatacenterandthushasan(intheory)optimalconnectiontothe gameserveratalltimes.
FromVirtualMachineplacementtosharedGPUs,researchersfrommanyareashavebeenexploringtoefficientlyusethe cloudtohostcloudgamingplatforms.AlthoughmanycloudcomputingworkloadsdonotrequireadedicatedGPU,cloud gamingserversrequireaccesstoarenderingdevicetoprovide3Dgraphics.AssuchVMandworkloadplacementshave beenresearchedtoensurecloudgamingservershaveaccesstoadequateGPUresources.Theefficiencyandrobustnessofthe communicationchannelsbetweencloudgamingserversandclientsarecrucialandhavebeendividedasthedata compressionalgorithmstoreducethenetworktrafficcongestionandthetransmissionadaptationalgorithmstocopewith networkdynamics.Graphicscompressionisproposedforbetterscalability,because3Drenderingisdoneatindividualclient computers.Compressinggraphicsdata,however,isquitechallengingandmayconsumeexcessivenetworkbandwidthto designacloudgamingplatformbasedongraphicscompression.Theseplatformsrequiregraphicscompressiontoolswhich areappliedtographicscommands,3Dstructures,and2Dtextures.
Toestimatethekindofeffectcloudcomputinghasonthevideogameindustry,onehastoobservethewayinwhichvideo gamesarecurrentlyusingthecloud.Perhapsthemostcommonuseofcloudcomputingatthemomentiscloudstorage. GamershavetheopportunitytosavegamesontocloudserversprovidedbygamingbigwigslikeSonyandMicrosoft.Some publishersanddevelopersprovidesavedgamestoragespaceaswell.Thearrivalofthecurrentgenerationconsoles (PlayStation4,WiiU,XboxOne)hasalsousheredinawealthofnewcapabilitieswiththecloud.Theadvancesin technologiesturnplayablecloudgamingservicesintoreality;moreoptimizationtechniquesgraduallymakecloudgaming servicesprofitable.
CloudgamingservicessuchasOnLive,GaiKaiandCoreOnlinehaverecentlytriggeredinterestinthegamingcommunityby allowinglow-enddevices(i.e.alowcostsettopboxesormobiledevices)tostreamgamesthatweretypicallyreservedfor high-endconsoles.Besidescost-efficiencyandpowerconsumption,platformindependenceisamajoradvantageofthese solutions.Cloudgamingisallaboutflexibility,withnetworkingbeingthehugeadvantage.ConsolesandPC’swerealways limitedbythehardwareinside.Allthegamesbeingstuckononepieceofkitwhereoneneedstoupgradeeverythingforthe nextbestthing.Now,itisonlylimitedbythepoweroftheinternetconnection.With5Grollingoutgloballyinthenextfew yearsandthecostofinternetdroppingworldwide,itwillbehard-pressedtofindaspotleftontheglobewhereonecan’t connectinafast-approachingfuture.
FirstOperatingcommercially since1996,XLAxiataisone ofthemajorcellular providersinIndonesia.Itsfocusisto providedigitalservicesforthe peopleofIndonesiaaswellasto encouragethedevelopmentof Indonesia’sdigitaleconomy.XL providesvariousdigitalservicesfor boththeconsumerandcorporate segmentswhichissupportedbyits wideandhigh-qualitynetworkacross thenation.Thecompanyisapartof theAxiataGroup(“Group”).The Group’smobilesubsidiariesand associatesoperateunderthebrand name‘Celcom’inMalaysia,‘Dialog’ inSriLanka,‘Robi’inBangladesh, ‘Smart’inCambodia,‘Ncell’in Nepal,‘Idea’inIndiaand‘M1’ inSingapore.
XLAxiatacontinuestoensuretopnotchqualityofdataexperiencetoits customerswithcontinuedroll-out andupgradesofitsnetwork.XL Axiata’stotalBTSrecordedmore than118,000BTSwith4G-LTE servicenowavailablein400cities andareasacrossIndonesiaandwith over28,0004GBTS,andmorethan
45,000kmfiberopticnetworkacross Indonesia,servingapproximately55 millionsubs.XLAxiataremains innovativeandisthefirst telecommunicationsoperatorin Indonesiatocommerciallylaunch 4.5GReadyonthe1,800MHZ spectrum.
XLAxiataservespeopleaswellas corporatemarketsthroughbusiness solutionsandservices.These servicesareMobilecommunications, fixedconnectivityservices,Internet ofthings,Cloud&dataCenter,and MobileAdvertising.Forconsumer market,thecompanyservesthrough dualbrand,whichareXLandAXIS brand.XLbrandfocusestoservethe marketofwhitecollar,bluecollar, andalsipremiummarketsegmentvia XLPrioritas,whileAXISserves youthsegmentmarket.
DianSiswariniistheCEOand PresidentDirectorofXLAxiata.
Shebelievesthetelecommunications spaceisverydynamiccomparedto otherindustries.Thisintriguedher anddrovehertostarthercareerin theindustry.Thereforeshedecidedto focusontelecommunicationsfield aftershegraduatedfromElectrical EngineeringattheBandungInstitute ofTechnology.
Dianstartedhercareerasa supervisorinengineeringatPT.Citra SanMakmur(CSM)in1991andin 1994;shejoinedPTSatelindoforthe sameposition.Dianwasappointedas aManagerofNetworkDesign& Engineeringanyearaftershejoined XL.Herhardworkandpassionfor herworkledhertooccupytheVice PresidentNetworkin2005.Dianalso tookanexecutiveprogram at HarvardAdvanceManagement Program,HarvardBusinessSchool, inUSAin2013.
Currently,telecomindustryin general,isfacingpressureinmostof itsproductsincludingretailand businesssegmentsduetomorefierce
competition.Forretailcustomer,itisclearertobeseen sincealloperatorsaretryingtooffercompetitive packagesforcustomerswhichdefinitelyisslashing companies’margin.Differentwithenterprisesegment, theofferingisbasedontenderofprojectswhereXL Axiatahastailoredtheoffersbasedonitsclientneeds. However,thepressurecomeswhenitsclientsarealso tryingtobemoreefficientintermofcost.
Despitethepressurescomingfromallangles,XLAxiata isconfidentthatitcancompeteinthemarketasitkeeps investinginitsnetworkforwideroutreachandbetter qualityandalwaysinnovatestobemoreefficient internally,forexample,indigitalization,networkdesign, powermanagement,etc.tobringthemostcompetitive productsforitscustomers.
Revamp.Rise.Reinvent.
ThedevelopmentoftelecomindustryinIndonesiaisstill verychallenging.Competitionamongoperatorsisstill high,especiallyinprovidingbetterservicesto customers.Theoperatorsalsofacechallengesintermsof thedecliningofvoiceandSMSservices.XLAxiataalso believesthatthevoiceserviceswillgraduallyvanish fromthemarket.Therefore,itisveryimportantforitto pushthebusinessofdataservicesforthecompany growth.Inordertofacetheupcomingchallenge,the companyhasalreadyprepareditselfbyimplementing
businesstransformationthroughthestrategyof3Rsince 2015untilnow.
Thetransformationinvolves:Revamp-toshift subscriberacquisition(fromlargely‘novalue’to‘value’ subs)&distributionstrategiesaswellasatotaloverhaul oftheproductportfoliotoimproveyields.Rise–moving theXLbrandupthevalueladderandviaadual-brand strategywithAxistoaddressdifferentsegmentsofthe market.Reinvent–goingbeyondtoday’sbusiness model.
RightnowXLAxiataprovidesvariousdigitalservices forboththeconsumerandcorporatesegmentswhichis supportedbyitswideandhigh-qualitynetworkacross thenation.Forfuture,itsfocusistoprovidedigital servicesforthepeopleofIndonesiaaswellasto encouragethedevelopmentofIndonesia’sdigital economy.Additionally,thecompany’svisionis“to be the most preferred data connectivity provider by 2020.
XL Axiata’s focus is to provide digital services for the people of Indonesia as well as to assist encouraging the development of Indonesia’s digital economy.
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