Intelligent SME april by Spi Publishing

Leadership

Sales & Marketing

Heritage Branding: Where Nostalgia Boosts Market Value

10 Marketing Influencers Entrepreneurs Must Follow

Weekend Inspiration for the Ambitious Entrepreneurs

SME Service Provider

The Net Neutrality Debate

CONTENTS

Security

Meltdown and Spectre: The New Threat to Business

Enterprise

Gig Economy to Become Mainstream in Business

Finance

You Can Explore Blockchain Technology without Cryptocurrency 2

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SME Tech

Blockchain Technology in Businesses: A Competitive Edge

Manufacturing Success: Growing Sales in a New Customer Era!

Emerging Cryptocurrency Scams: An Investorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nightmare

CONTENTS

Intelligent SME | April 2018

Technology

Branding Authority to be Replaced by Blockchain Technology

Cloud & Big Data Loss Context in Raw Data Empowers Data-Driven Success

Real Estate

Real Estate to Disrupt by Autonomous Vehicles

CONTENTS

Research Report

Media Organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Security Practices, Threats & Concerns Examined in New Akamai Research Report

SME-Law

Are you Aware of the Legal Issues in VR?

Why Entrepreneurs Must Use Narrative Potential to Tell their Business Story?

Cambridge Analytica Breach Highlights the Importance of Data Governance

Allsopp & Allsopp Takes Arabian Business Property Crown

Marketing

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Data Governance

Press release

CONTENTS

Intelligent SME | April 2018

EDITOR'S NOTE SPI Group www.spigroup.ae www.theintelligentsme.com www.robustrak.com www.innovationandtech.ae

"Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice." -Peter Drucker Shantanu Phansalkar

www.innovationsummit.ae www.dubai-gbs.com www.smeworld.ae www.madeinuae.com

Publisher & CEO: Shantanu A.P.

Publisher, SPI Group

Consulting Editor: Dear Readers, The world of business had always fascinated entrepreneurs. The heady mix of technological innovation has made it all the more alluring. But one question in the business game always remains. How do you go about it all? We at Intelligent SME are here to give you that answer. This issue of Intelligent SME is all about the latest advancements in the business world starting from exploring the Blockchain to the art of Heritage Branding that can give your business that sophisticated edge. We believe in walking our talk and when it comes to providing a platform for entrepreneurs we are here again with the SME World Summit 2018. I would also like the opportunity to invite you to our biggest business summit where you get to interact with a mix of ambitious entrepreneurs and knowledge experts. Empower your businesses with knowledge, create new contacts and most importantly, get your every question about running a business answered here. See you all there! Happy Reading!

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Ramakrishnan Jayaraman Content Manager: Priyanka Kotoky Expert Contributors: Harish Krishnamoorthi Radhika Iyer Diksha Vohra Mohamed Khan Rohan Nathan Sirish Kumar Designer : Rahul A. Chauhan Distribution Department Jerry P. Sam Disclaimer SPI Publishing has endeavoured to bring out a publication that is reliable and informative. This is true to the best of our knowledge. The opinions presented are those of individual writers and not necessarily endorsed by SPI Publishing. The content in this magazine is protected by copyright law and is copyright to SPI Publishing unless credited otherwise, and may not be copied, reproduced or republished for any commercial purpose or financial gain.

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Intelligent SME | April 2018

SALES & MARKETING

Heritage Branding: Where Nostalgia Boosts Market Value

ostalgia – It strums a forgotten chord in some precious part of the heart. No one is immune to what nostalgia does to the mind. As a human race we look back at the past, at what had been with an affection that sometimes often perplex logic. The people who make up the business world, the entrepreneurs and the consumers are no different. Everyone unites

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at what had been. The evolution of business, the evolution of humans and life as we know it is one human story. People look back at a successful past for an assurance of a successful future. This is where heritage branding comes from. It is an assurance of companies that has a heritage to live up to the same expectations in the future. A company that is built on Heritage Branding is built on the foundation of trust, results and a promise of a better future.

of branding that taps into the company history and weaves into it consumer experience to procure loyalty and increase sales.

So what is heritage branding?

One of the most popular brands globally that uses Heritage Branding is LEE. This company was founded in 1889 by H.D.Lee. This company has grown to be synonymous with ‘Blue Jeans’. The company works on its branding by telling stories and giving out content that honours the past. A past that also urges consumers to stay fashion forward.

To put in lay man’s words, heritage branding is the way

It is not necessary that the new age entrepreneurs have a decade

SALES & MARKETING

The idea is to evoke that nostalgia through your brand story.

long history to be able to do heritage branding. Every brand has some history. Some part in the making of a company that makes a connection with people. Something that evokes nostalgia in consumers. The idea is to evoke that nostalgia through your brand story. The fact there has been a shift in how people look at companies now works for the advantage of the new age entrepreneurs. Ever since the beginning of the business world, consumers looked at a company that has been around for a long time to be trust worthy. With changing times, trust and quality is not associated with how long you

had been. It is associated with how long those people in business has been together and how efficiently they have met consumer expectations. Yes, the decade long history do subconsciously work on a consumer’s psyche, but you can out do that by telling your brand story in a fresh way. So how do entrepreneurs build a heritage brand out of their business that has been in the market for twenty years? Can heritage branding help a comparatively new company to stand at par with a company that has been successfully functioning since 1800s? Yes, it can. Here’s how?

1. Pen your History: As an Entrepreneur there must be some business story in you. Maybe of humble beginnings, the struggle and the success that naturally you arrived at. If you have inherited your business maybe you have a family history that backs your present business. Tap into that history. Once you find the connect pen it down. Pen down and see how you can weave your story into the fabric that makes your consumers. Maybe your multi-dollar hotel business started off with the fame of a small shawarma stall ages back when your ancestors decided to fan the flames of Middle Eastern culture lest modernity took away from it its roots. Look at how your business history can make a connection to the consumer’s heart. Once you reach there, build up on it. But no matter how indistinct you might feel about your story do not fictionalise it to reach consumers. Keep it simple and authentic. Keep your story feeling like a conversation that you would have with your friend over a cup of coffee. A story that can be told, shared and related to.

2.Focus on People: It is important that you tell people about the corporate elements that has built your brand. But do not stick only to that. Go beyond. Go to the story where

people both consumers and in-house workers have worked together to build up the brand. Show your consumers how people-friendly you are. When you are working at this point of your brand story, throw in a mix of Nostalgia. Nostalgia can be evoked through any element of your brand story. The location, the product you sell or the people you cater to. For Example, if you are focusing on creating a heritage brand story by your location, you can start off by how your presence has shaped the locality. Showcase to your consumers how something that started off as a business has eventually become synonymous with living in that locality and an inseparable part of the locality history. Show how your future generations are committed to continue the legacy of the locality’s history.

3. Do not forget to Innovate your Brand: We all love centenarians who are in sync with times. The present generation can make a connection to them because they bring with them the wisdom of the past and a great perspective for the future. The same holds with companies. No one would like to associate with a company that has not moved with the changing times, no matter how interesting or strong their heritage. Nostalgia is the foundation resting on which the dreams of future believes in itself. A company that is creating its heritage brand story must always act as that foundation that gives wings to the dreams of a future. Heritage branding has long existed in the business world. It had been communicated as word of mouth. Then came the way of creating legacy. The present age marketing scenario is very cut-throat and futuristic. Everywhere it is the same thing that every company is saying differently. A little mix of Heritage marketing would surely help a new age entrepreneur to create a great brand and customers. Give your company the wisdom of heritage branding and give yourself a fair chance.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME TECH

Blockchain Technology in Businesses: A Competitive Edge

ver fancied using Blockchain Technology in your company for a competitive advantage? No, it is not wishful thinking. While the business world is still at a pace where it is trying to understand what the whole Blockchain Technology is all about, there are some industries that are already planning a future, for some, a present that gives their company a competitive advantage with the use of Blockchain Technology. The discussion has long been focused on the advantages and disadvantages of the cryptocurrency, but there is a shift in focus now. People in business have come to understand that there is more to Blockchain Technology than just cryptocurrency and the more passionate ones are trying to explore this

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SME TECH

The transparent nature of Blockchain Technology is the main reason that keeps entrepreneurs coming back to it for more.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME TECH technology to help their company have a competitive advantage. The transparent nature of Blockchain Technology is the main reason that keeps entrepreneurs coming back to it for more. The fact that this transparency comes with a mix of security based applications make the deal even more alluring. It is very possible that the decentralised platform that a Blockchain Technology has will revolutionise the business world as we know it. Let us look at the industries that are going the Blockchain way to give their businesses a competitive advantage.

1. Real Estate: Real Estate is one industry that moves really slowly thanks to the participation of a large number of people like buyers, sellers, agents along with the lengthy processes of escrow and processes of title. Entrepreneurs in the Real Estate industry are increasing looking at implementing the Blockchain Technology because it can reduce the risk and increase the trust in the real estate transactions thereby making it shed its slow image. The possibility of a home title being issued on the Ethereum Blockchain, something that has been experimented on provided with a solution to real estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long transaction processes. Apart from the transaction process, the Blockchain technology can also be used to give buyers the possibility to conduct a transaction through various cryptocurrencies. There has also been a report about how all types of homes are now being placed on the real estate market for cryptocurrency rather than only for Fiat currencies. Needless to say there is an increasing number of people or buyers who are interested in a real estate that gives them the flexibility of purchase options, the benefit of a fast transaction along with an assurance of security. Given this scenario, many entrepreneurs in the real estate market are looking to go the Blockchain way.

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This is one industry that is definitely trying to jump on the Blockchain Bandwagon to add a competitive advantage to their business.

2. Banking: The Banking industry has been very sceptical about the whole cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology. These very banks are now looking at accommodating the Blockchain Technology in their industry. The big guys of banking namely the Barclays, J.P.MorganChase, Goldman Sachs are some of the organisations that are looking at the applications that they can make use of. People in Banking are now opening up to discussions on Open Banking and the like. There has also been recent legislations that has forced banks to allow all third-parties access to client data via APIs. This has brought about a new banking system where different banks, deposit /Insurance accounts, Crypto Holdings/Exchanges etc., can all be accessed by using one single interface. There has also been the emergence of platforms like the ORCA which is a customizable open-banking platform. It connects all crypto and Fiat services. It also reverses things while aggregating only third party services, but it does not store any data. This is a first time when the banking industry has opened up to allowing consumers to combine traditional banking and cryptocurrency services. This is another industry that is opening up to using Blockchain.

3. Legal: Digitally secure contracts have changed the way one looks at the vulnerability of a contract. The business world is opening up to digitally secure contracts and are looking at making it mainstream in all its spheres. This will naturally make law firms get involved with Blockchain transactions surrounding law. How legal contracts etc., are to be structured cannot be decided without the help of the legal firms.

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is one such organisation that has taken this thought to reality by getting law firms invested in the technology. It has also gone on to add 14 more firms as members to encourage the development and adoption of Blockchain solutions in the legal industry. The whole idea of the firm is to function as a neutral space that explores Blockchain-based legal technology, develop standards for the smart legal agreements. It also plans to support emerging enterprise use cases and be answerable to any policy issues that is raised by the new technology. The Blockchain Technology is here to stay and entrepreneurs who want to stay ahead of the game must make sure that they are not lagging behind. These are the main industries that are going the Blockchain way but entrepreneurs must understand that one industry taking to the Blockchain way of doing things would lead to other industries following suit. This is not because others would want to follow but because they will need to follow. The business world has industries that are interconnected. All the industries that make up the business world are affected by the changes and developments in the other. Are you an entrepreneur whose business falls in the category mentioned above? If yes, it is high time that you jump the Blockchain Bandwagon and make way for a future of Blockchain way of business. If you are an entrepreneur who has not been yet affected by the Blockchain Technology take a close look. Is your business related even remotely to any of these industries? If yes, then you must make your business Blockchain friendly. The world is learning the language of Blockchain Technology. Entrepreneurs who want to thrive in the future must empower their business with the power of Blockchain.

SPI thinktank

LEADERSHIP

10 Marketing Influencers Entrepreneurs Must Follow 1.AJ Agarwal:

t is human nature to learn by emulating. No matter how strong the claims of originality the human species learn by observing and by emulating. Entrepreneurs tend to gain a lot by following people in business who know better and has something to teach. Knowledge is power and when it comes to business it is indispensable. The business world is thankfully brimming with people who have raw business experience and an inspiring business story to tell. From entrepreneurs who made it; to those who are a success in innovation; to marketing investors; there is a whole lot of human knowledge in the business world. These people are someone who dare to think out of the box and prove themselves right. Marketing influencers like Aj Agarwal for example, interestingly teaches large brands to think like SMEs. Jon Youshaei is one successful entrepreneur whose graduation speech is ranked alongside Steve Jobs and Sheryl Sandberg. People like them and many more are not only very good at what they do but are also eager to share their knowledge with those who are willing to listen and evolve. Who are these people and what can you gain by following them? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look.

Aj Agarwal is a Fortune 500 marketing consultant who specializes in making large brands think like start-ups. He works mainly to help brands like IBM and the like with their marketing strategies. Like all great minds, he shares his business knowledge through his personal blog. Entrepreneurs who are looking at adding new growth-hacking strategies to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company can follow his blog.

2. Jon Youshaei: Jon Youshaei works as a YouTube marketing manager. He has worked closely with Eric Schmidt, Adam Grant and Neil Strauss to market their bestselling books. He is the founder of Every Vowel. He also delivers on stage. His speech has been ranked as the best ever, alongside Steve Jobs and Sheryl Sandberg.

3. Ann Lewnes: Ann Lewnes is the chief marketing officer of Adobe. She has thirty years of marketing experience and has also served as vice president for marketing for Intel. Lewnes has a lot of digital marketing software solutions and can identify future marketing trends. Lewnes can be followed on Twitter where she shares marketing content with her followers. Entrepreneurs who are looking for bite-sized information related

to marketing trends can follow her accounts.

4. Brian Evans: Brian Evans is the founder of a fast-growing advertising and marketing agency named BDE Ventures. He also has a new age digital publication named the Influencive.com that is aimed at an audience of millennials and unconventional thinkers. He is also actively involved in the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency movement that is creating ripples of innovation in the business world. Entrepreneurs who want to know everything about the Blockchain Technology can read his columns on Blockchain.

5. Joel Comm: Joel Comm is a bestselling author, a keynote speaker and also an advisor to big brands. He has worked with Yahoo as an online games developer initially in his career and later moved on to create his own brand. Armed with a good amount of business knowledge he can be followed on his Twitter and social media accounts where he shares great business stories and insights.

6. Kim Garst: Kim Garst is a small business owner and an entrepreneur. She has a following of 500,000 plus on social media. Kim Garst shares actionable advice through easy to read blog posts and e-books. She focuses mainly on

Intelligent SME | April 2018

LEADERSHIP sharing knowledge that can help marketers to use social media platforms more effectively.

7. Beth Comstock: Beth Comstock is the CEO of GE. Entrepreneurs can look at the perspectives that she has shared on TV’s ‘MacGyver’ as a great model for business innovation. Her personal stories that she shares on Leaning In is also worth following. She talks mostly of business innovation, creativity and leadership challenges.

8. Nicolas Bordas: Nicolas Bordas is the VP of TBWA/Europe. He writes everything from ‘Gagnam Style’ to ‘Analog technology’. His posts are full of insights on insider views on branding and digital innovation.

9. David Edelman: David Edelman is the partner at McKinsey and Company. He specialises in Digital Marketing. His thoughts are all about why marketing needs to focus on the language of the C-Suite. He also focuses on Africa’s consumer market that he believes is getting ready to explode. Entrepreneurs who are interested to receive great insights on social media, analytics and consumer research can follow his social media accounts.

10. Charlene Li: Charlene Li is the founder and the partner at Altimeter Group. She focuses on discussions that talk about the importance of evaluating one’s career every year and half. She also focuses on the importance of getting a company’s employees on social media. Entrepreneurs who are interested in social business strategies can follow her social media accounts.

What do you earn by following marketing influencers? Well, a great insight into businesses and how things work in the business world. Second, latest updates on business that might be of interest to you. Third, details of

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what to watch out for in the business world. Keeping oneself up-to-date brings an entrepreneur a step closer to business success. Busy entrepreneurs do not necessarily have the time to research on these details. Following the experts on

the field can give them the much needed pieces of information that can surely keep them updated on various information without having to browse through a lot of unnecessary information.

LEADERSHIP

What do you earn by following marketing influencers? Well, a great insight into businesses and how things work in the business world. The business world is always changing. What is news today will be mainstream tomorrow and what is mainstream today might be outof-use tomorrow. This applies to technologies, ideas, and marketing, everything that makes the business

world. Following a knowledge expert can help an entrepreneur to stay ahead of the chaos of change and chaff the information that he/she might need for his business. It does not take much to follow someone. A few clicks

here and the latest updates are there in your inbox. Keep yourself armed with knowledge and make success a choice.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME SERVICE PROVIDER

The Net Neutrality Debate the name suggests makes business slower for those who are paying less.

et Neutrality is one concept that had kept people discussing about sometime back. The buzz about Net Neutrality started after the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality repeal. The repeal would naturally affect internet based start-ups, e-commerce stores and businesses that has a web presence to make it simple. It has the potential to affect even a company that has a static website.

What is Net Neutrality? Net Neutrality in lay man’s words can be said to be the principle abiding by which internet service providers should give access to all content and applications without any partiality to the source, products or websites. The last year December saw the FCC repeal its net neutrality rules of 2015. This had earlier prohibited ISPs from either blocking or slowing down websites or apps as long as it displayed lawful content. It also prohibited ISPs from paid prioritization in exchange for a pricing that might be done for companies and consumers. Paid prioritization as

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With Net Neutrality repeal the whole concept of paid prioritization will change given that it is the ISPs that would hold the right to create differently priced internet packages that are based on the content that users wish to access. However, the consumers on premium packages would have the access to all sites at normal speeds.

How will it affect a Business? Businesses big and small both will be affected by it. Every business has a digital presence. Almost every form of marketing and commerce is done on the internet. It is important that all businesses maintain a good internet presence to have that kind of popularity that can make every visitor a loyal customer. The fact that a lack of net neutrality will give charge of a business website to ISPs will mean that businesses all over will need to pay to have their websites run at a normal speed. This might not be much of a problem for the already established big platforms but for other companies, this will surely affect business. Let us take a look at the three main ways that it might affect small businesses.

1. Organic and Paid Traffic: Marketing has been the main force that enhanced a business’ popularity in the market online. There have been many companies that based its marketing on organic and paid traffic. The speed of a site plays a

very important role in traffic acquisition. In the world of internet speed, if a site takes 2 seconds to load, then naturally the average bounce rate would be 9.6 percent. If a site takes 4 seconds to load then, the bounce rate would double up to be 17.1 percent. Paid prioritization would make businesses have slower websites comparatively. This would result in many visitors leaving even before a page can load. This would lead to a high bounce rate which would make google rank a business lower in Google Search Rankings. The slow page speed and the minimal time that is spent on a page will affect SEO negatively. Those businesses who have ads as the main source of traffic would suffer too. The paid prioritization would slow down a business website’s landing pages too. This would also lead to a business spending a huge amount of money on ads that

SME SERVICE PROVIDER

visitors click but do not wait to hear what it says because of the poor speed.

2. Conversions: Businesses will see lower conversions. It is natural that a slow website would lead to fewer conversions. Slower conversions will directly affect the revenue that a business had the potential to make. This is something that makes businesses think that it is in fact meaningless to have a website at all. Lower conversions would not only affect e-commerce businesses but will also affect the SaaS companies trying to get sign-ups on their websites.

3. Low Performance and User Experience: The blocking and slowdown will naturally affect the internetbased software and all mobile applications. SaaS tools, audio/ chat/video communications tools, Internet-of-Things, all of these will be affected by ISPs taking charge. This will lead to many applications being blocked or not functioning properly. There had been violations earlier too.

For example AT&T had blocked Facetime unless the users upgraded their plans. Verizon also had earlier blocked Google Wallet to promote its own payment service. The repeal will now allow to renew these practices.

ISPs might Target Small Businesses ISPs might target the small businesses initially. It might try to get access fees from companies that deliver traffic for many other sites. Companies that have a contract with traditional webhosts to connect to larger internet and consumer broadband networks will be targeted. ISPs will target these intermediaries because one can get payment simply through these companies.

The Good News There are many companies that are now opposing paid prioritization including the giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon. The effectiveness of the policy depends on how much support it gets. The

fact that many states and corporations are standing against it gives out a shimmer of hope to small companies. Big Organisations can also contribute to spread this shimmer of hope across the world by being a part of the opposition campaign. Spread awareness. Talk to your consumers and local business groups. Burger King had done a video on the effect of net neutrality. Track your social media followers and put up videos that educate them about net neutrality. A small business can also take the issue to a local political representative or support other groups, etc. Net Neutrality can really damage businesses that have an online presence. The effect will be felt more by the small businesses because they do not have the money to cover the bumps that net neutrality might bring to their business. The fact that many people are opposing paid prioritization, there is this shimmer of hope that seems to grow big. Join the group that supports net neutrality and give yourself a chance to win.

SPI thinktank initiative

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SECURITY

Meltdown and Spectre: The New Threat to Business

ute looks do not necessary mean that it is harmless proves Meltdown and Spectre. Meltdown and Spectre are two security bugs that can affect all digital systems in the world. Armed with cute logos, many people confuse them to be something harmless unless their potential was known. They are almost similar to Magneto and Venom, the only difference is that they affect businesses. Entrepreneurs must understand what these security bugs are and how to protect their businesses from it.

How Do Meltdown and Spectre Work? Meltdown and Spectre are two security bugs that can affect all digital systems in the world. They are supposed to be dangerous than both Magneto and Venom because of the way that these operate. When it comes to the operation of a security bug, most bugs affect either the software or the hardware of a system. Meltdown and Spectre are different because both these bugs are found at an architectural level within a system’s processors. With Spectre and Meltdown, the data passes through a kernel, which is the core of a computer’s operating system. The data passes through a plain and unencrypted form. Every system has powerful protections that are designed to shield the unencrypted data from being interfered with by other sources. But Meltdown and Spectre are bugs that have techniques that can get around these protections too.

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The fact that these bugs work from the kernel of a system make them the most dangerous security bugs. This is because the bug allows anyone to observe all the actions that one takes on a computer starting from password details, accessing private information or sending any form of encrypted communications.

Meltdown and Spectre were discovered by three separate groups that were working at the same time. The people who discovered these bugs were Jann Horn who worked in Google Project Zero, Werner Haas and Thomas Prescher who worked with Cyberus Technology, and Daniel Gruss, Stefan Mangard, Moritz Lipp and Michael Schwarz who were from the Graz University of Technology.

What do Meltdown Affect? The bug Meltdown was named because it melts the boundary of security that are enforced by a system’s hardware. Meltdown affects Intel Processors. It breaks through the shield and prevents applications from reaching the kernel memory. Meltdown works by breaking down a barrier. Meltdown also affect cloud providers that use Intel CPUs and Xen PV as virtualisation. Cloud providers that do not have patches applied are naturally the ones that are affected. The cloud providers that do not have real hardware virtualisation and relies on containers that share one kernel are also affected.

What do Spectre Affect? Spectre was named on the basis of the root cause that is root speculation. Spectre affects Intel, AMD and ARM processors. Spectre can penetrate through smartphones, wearables and everything that has a chip in it. Spectre works by tricking

an application to reveal protected information.

Difference between Meltdown and Spectre The difference between Meltdown and Spectre is that Meltdown breaks the mechanism of a system that keeps application from accessing the arbitrary system memory. Meltdown makes it possible for applications to access system memory. Spectre on the other hand tricks applications to access arbitrary locations in their memory. The similarity between both Spectre and Meltdown is that both use side channels to obtain information from the memory location of a system.

How Does it Affect Businesses? If you are an entrepreneur unaware of these two security bugs then you should be careful. This is because, if anyone uses either Spectre or Meltdown to spy on your business then, it is possible that that person would be able to pass through the passwords and compromise data. However the entrepreneurs can make use of software patches that can protect one’s business from Meltdown and Spectre. These software patches can help an entrepreneur to guard one’s system against these bugs from present and future attacks.

What can Entrepreneurs do to guard against Spectre and Meltdown? Given that Spectre and Meltdown can break your businesses it is important to move beyond just the software patches to enhance the security of your systems.

SECURITY 1. Update all Devices Used in Business: It is important that entrepreneurs update all devices that has important information about their business. It is also safe to update personal devices too. Make sure that all the devices that you use are equipped with the protection of the latest OS and software updates. Entrepreneurs who have devices that update automatically will have these software updated.

2. Recheck the Status of Important Accounts: It is possible that oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s system has been affected before the patches could be applied. It is important that entrepreneurs check the most important accounts in business. If you see any suspicious activity, you must report it immediately and take the required measures.

3. Change Passwords: It is important that entrepreneurs keep changing the password of their businesses. Choosing strong passwords add an extra layer of protection to your business accounts.

4. Keep Yourself Updated on the Latest Spectre and Meltdown News: Entrepreneurs who want to stay ahead of the problems that Meltdown and Spectre might give shape, must keep themselves updated on the developments that are happening in the security bug world. Keeping oneself updated would help an entrepreneur to handle problems that might arise. Meltdown and Spectre are the new security bugs that have threatened the business world. These bugs have been present the last twenty years. It has been discovered now. Businesses can guard their systems with the knowledge that these discoveries have made. Entrepreneurs must identify all the vulnerable areas of security that his/her business has and take measures to make their systems secure. The best part about these bugs is that now that they are detected entrepreneurs can protect themselves against them. The most important thing entrepreneurs should do is keep themselves updated on all the technological advances that are touching the security bug world. Keep yourself armed with the power of knowledge and stay ahead in the security game of your business.

SPI thinktank Intelligent SME | April 2018

ENTERPRISE

Gig Economy to Become Mainstream in Business

he gig economy has always been present in the business world. We have just not paid much attention to it. The discreet way it worked also made it quite elusive to the loud business world at large. The Technological Revolution that the world has seen in the last few years has made it possible for the gig economy to thrive. There is also a whole new breed of entrepreneurs that has been created by the emerging Gig economy after the technological revolution. The gig economy has evolved over the years and today it stands not only as a part that assists a small scale company but it stands with the big companies shoulder-to-shoulder, as an integral part of their organisation. It is old news that Uber has asked the Washington State leaders to provide contract workers for them who also have an access to health benefits. It is like an alliance of the gig economy with the policies of a full time job. Surprising, though it may seem it in itself is a tremendous change and policy makers of the industry must

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look at how to make their company streamline their working with the ways of the gig economy. It is not only Uber but also companies like Handy and TaskRabbit that are taking in a lot of individuals who can take a lot of jobs in their company to help them make an additional income. Looking at the way that the gig economy is growing it is possible that the concept of doing work might also shift to this side of business largely. Uber in its conversation with the Washington State has raised the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Portable Benefits Systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The portable benefits system is a way by which freelance workers can have access from a company to health and retirement benefits. The possibility of this happening is at a conversational level but the fact that the possibility has been raised it is very possible that the business world would, like other concepts, try to make gig economy a part of structured working. However, there is more than meets the eye. A company must make many amendments that are in accordance to the state and local laws of business to accommodate the gig economy.

True the transformation clearly will take some time. But time in business is a very fleeting word and means a different pace to different companies. It is best for entrepreneurs now to understand the paradigm shift that the gig company is going through and if possible accommodate it in its work structure. The gig economy is changing the structure of the business world and it is not limited only to one sector. It has made its presence felt across all the sections of a business world be it technology or the traditional business world. The gig economy provides quite an opportunity but one question remains. How can you as an entrepreneur tap into the gig economy?

1. You can use the Gig Economy to Staff up in your Peak Business Hours: Work-on-demand is something that has become very popular with the business world. The success of a company is naturally proportionate to the amount of

ENTERPRISE

work increasing. A lack in supply for the demand would again make the company need to start from the basics. The work-on-demand allows a company to augment staffing of the employees in their busy seasons. Every company from retail to warehousing are looking at workon-demand platforms. One famous example of this is Papa Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. This giant posts one-off pizza delivery gigs on an app named Wonolo whenever it feels that it needs extra staffing. Entrepreneurs can use the gig economy like Papa Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is using.

2. You can use the Gig Economy to Crowdsource to make Additional Deliveries: Home Deliveries and the accuracy and the availability of the feature is one thing that makes or breaks a business. No longer are people interested in the traditional way of shopping. This has made the retail entrepreneurs to explore how they can offer individuals the possibility

to earn additional money through supporting home deliveries. This thought has already materialised with Amazon Flex that allow people to deliver local Amazon orders.

Upwork has also helped to reduce the administrative costs of the company. It also helps a company to have an access to a younger and more collaborative workers.

The concept is gradually growing on the new age entrepreneurs who are in sync with the changing business world. Consumers and businesses alike are now looking at how Ikea would evolve after it Integrates TaskRabbit in its customer services.

It is clear that the gig economy is here to stay! The convenience of working that it provides to both companies and employees; the flexibility that it adds to an organisation; and the reliable back-up that it provides to an organisation makes all companies big and small want to make it an integral of their business organisation. The gig economy makes business life easier and manageable. It is important that entrepreneurs start to think about incorporating the gig economy culture in their organisation. The companies who have the support of the gig economy is clearly reaping the benefits of its association. It is not only creating a new class of entrepreneurs but is also challenging the way the business world understands work. The way the gig economy is becoming popular it is very possible that it will be the future of the new work culture. Make your company flexible enough to welcome the gig economy and see your company transform.

3. You can use the Gig Economy to bring on Flexible Hires to your Company: Entrepreneurs can wish away the lack of workers from their company. The Gig economy is now making it possible for entrepreneurs to turn to online freelance services for hiring flexible workers during a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy season. Samsung for example is one company that is leading the way by teaming up with the freelancing platform Upwork to meet its requirements. Resorting to

SPI thinktank Intelligent SME | April 2018

FINANCE

You Can Explore Blockchain Technology without Cryptocurrency

lockchain and Cryptocurrency are the new favourite of the business world. Even AI has had to pave way for these new technologies. It has definitely created a ripple in the business world that has quite shaken the financial concepts that define it. Bitcoin had been the most talked about currency although there have been others that have been launched recently. Bitcoin as we are all aware now was created by a Japanese person who used the alias name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin and the others are alternative currencies that exist outside the financial systems without banks or governments involvements. The value of this currency is generated mostly by scarcity and possibilities. The cryptocurrencies are also compared to gold as a hedge against fiat currencies. This currency is also expected to have an implied value as a hedge against currency fluctuations. This has also resulted in a number of exchanges that have sprung that allow the traders to buy Bitcoin and all the other cryptocurrencies.

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The Blockchain Technology is associated with cryptocurrency which can also be called the internet of money. Blockchain essentially is a large electronic platform that allows one to build many applications. Yes, Cryptocurrencies are just one of the application that is built on the Blockchain Technology. However although people in the business world are accepting the Blockchain Technology as something promising, there is a lot of discussion that is going on regarding the Blockchain Technology. After the initial success of Bitcoin, it has lost a 50% of its value. There has also been this discussion about government regulation of Bitcoin, less-expensive currencies. These and many such discussions worked to buyers losing a lot on Bitcoin. But it has to be noted that the early buyers of Bitcoin made a lot of money. As is apparent by this experience, one can get wealthy by investing in Bitcoin but it is not a stable way of making money because of the high risks that are involved. Given that the Blockchain Technology is an opportunity that might bring in a lot of profits, many entrepreneurs are eager to go the Blockchain way. Moreover, the Blockchain Technology can be said to be the future of finances in the business world. This is reason enough to get oneself familiar or

involved with the Blockchain Technology. But, is there a way to bet on the Blockchain Technology without Cryptocurrency? Yes, there is!

Overstock.com The e-commerce company called the Overstock.com is one of the most loved alternative to Blockchain and cryptocurrencies. This e-commerce platform has been in the industry for a long time and have been competing as an online retailer. This company went public in the year of 2002. It can boast of having generated 40 million visitors in a month. The company has gone through the ups and downs of the business but it can also claim of an overall quarterly profit that has been positive. The revenue of this company reached an amount of $1.8 million in the year gone-by.

Why Overstock.com matters to Entrepreneurs interested in Blockchain Technology without the Cryptocurrency? The company has been investing in a lot of early crypto adopters in an attempt to transform itself into the Blockchain currency leader. This has resulted in the company stock to drive up to a high of $89. 80 from an amount of

FINANCE

$h13.75 before the correction. Looking at its success Overstock. com is thinking of selling its traditional retail business and moving into Blockchain. Companies like Overstock prove to be the real deal because they are a mix of real revenue generation and proven management experience that is topped with a strong understanding of the involved technology. The stock of this company is gaining momentum that it had before the retreat. However, before moving forward it is important for entrepreneurs to understand that this company is not for conservative investors. This is for those experiential ones who are eager to participate in a complicated area that is equally dynamic.

Ark Innovation Web Ark Innovation Web is another way that entrepreneurs can get some exposure to Bitcoin. Ark Innovation ETF and Ark Web x.o ETF are new kinds of funds that have 10% of Bitcoin Exposure. These funds are considered to be the safest for entrepreneurs who want to get some exposure into cryptocurrency without risking a lot.

Microsoft Microsoft is another big name that is dipping its fingers into the world of Blockchain Technology. It is currently testing Blockchain technology with the IOTA foundation which is a German nonprofit organisation that oversees its virtual currency IOTA. IOTA differs from other cryptocurrencies in the fact that it allows users to buy, sell and share data without the need of any transaction fees. Some of the other names that entrepreneurs can try out to get involved in Blockchain are

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. This real estate company has interestingly entered into a

strategic partnership with IBM in 2016 to develop a Blockchain Powered Real Estate Technology platform.

The NextGen Economy ETF is a fund that aims at longterm growth by investing in Blockchainrelated companies. It has been created through a partnership between Reality Shares and Nasdaq.

The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF is another fund that is actively managed to invest in companies that are in the Blockchain space. This fund operates on a global level. The business world is surely going the Blockchain way and it is important that entrepreneurs give Blockchain a little more importance than mere curiosity. It is natural that many entrepreneurs fear to experiment with the Blockchain Technology because of the ups and downs that it has been facing after its initial success. But it is not wise to keep oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business away from Blockchain Technology either because it is the future of business finance. But the good news is there IS a way out to create a relationship with Blockchain that involves a lower risk for entrepreneurs. Explore these possibilities and give your business a chance to understand the workings of Blockchain technology.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME TECH

Manufacturing Success – Growing Sales in a New Customer Era!

Forces of Change The manufacturing industry is in the midst of a huge change. There are 3 powerful forces that multiply opportunities as well as dangers. 1. The ways companies make, design and sell products is under constant transformation and the pace and extent of change has never been greater than it is today 2. Products are more complex than ever, as are the ways to configure and market them. There are ways to outsmart these challenges by connecting complex products and complicated front- and back-end processes in order to simplify the way your business runs and unlock productivity gains. 3. Channel partners need more than a great product – they are eager to find new opportunities together, share information to close more deals and move more products. You will be rewarded if you satisfy these needs.

Speed – the Ultimate Game Changer Speed has become the ultimate game changer and deal maker – The first to the deal has the advantage of shaping how the deal, bid, proposal or negotiations unfold. ABB, the manufacturing giant focused on lowering environmental impact through the use of electricity, robotics and production automation is a great example of putting the customer at the centre and embracing the requirements to success. Before using Salesforce, the company lacked a single view

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of all its customer information. Disparate CRM systems from different vendors layered on top of ABB’s ERP systems and back office processes slowed the work of employees. Compounding the problem was rapidly growing data from customers and connected devices. Sales reps had an incomplete view of customer accounts and were missing key data. Sales Cloud Lightning has revolutionized the process – with all the information accessible in the right place and right now. Reps use Salesforce1 Mobile App to update records from anywhere in the field – saving time, speeding up deals and gaining insights into buying cycles. Sales and production can share real time leads and other valuable customers information. Collaboration breeds faster delivery of products & services to customers.

Integration of Systems Unlocks Sales Productivity Synergy between front- and back-office apps is imperative. Every sales step – from inquiry to closing to sending out order needs to be fast and fluid. Let’s look at the example of GlobalFoundries, a circuit board manufacturer and operator of the largest silica foundry in the world with thousands of employees working across Singapore, Germany and the United States. Before Salesforce, it lacked the right combination of processes and technology to achieve business targets and deliver the product on time. The company had made a large investment on an on-premise CRM system which was barely being used. The integration with frontand back-end ERP was rough. Every sales order was customized from thousands of configurations

and reps worked around and not within the software. When GlobalFoundries migrated its CRM system to Sales Cloud Lightning (which took less than 2 months), the company now had an efficient system to support its sales backed by a solid integration with its back-end Oracle ERP system. Driven by more connected data, Sales Cloud Lightning automates much of the order process to speed manufacturing and distribution, while limiting errors. Customers can even control their own configurations directly, improving accuracy and accelerating timelines. With lead management, data cleansing, cross-company collaboration and automated contract management, sales leaders can manage processes easily.

Channel Partners – Key to Maximising Growth Having one portal for all partners – distributors, resellers, contractors, wholesalers and retailers - reduces channel conflict and enhances visibility, collaborative selling and partnerdeal registration. You can thus scale your business effectively. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), Honeywell, the heating industry pioneer, was forced to change how it sold, serviced and made its products. Honeywell created a line of connected thermostats that lets customers manage and monitor their homes’ temperature and energy use from anywhere on their smartphones or tablets. The idea

SME TECH

behind these IoT devices was to connect them to Honeywell’s vast networks of independent contractors to enable new business models, increase revenue growth and change the way customers buy. Salesforce Partner Community and mobile app has enabled a swarm of opportunities for channel growth among independent service technicians. Every Honeywell connected thermostat can be connected back to a contractor with the ‘find a dealer’ button built into the app. Contractors can see real time data and a history of customer interactions with every device. Armed with information from the app, contractors can proactively schedule maintenance, load the right parts onto a truck, train customers on how to run their systems more efficiently and find ways to speed service and deepen relationships. With Salesforce making the connections, these channel partners provide a new level of personalized service meeting customer needs that is unmatched in the industry.

Next Generation Customer Price Quote (CPQ) – Close More Business Products today are only growing more complex. Manufacturers need a simple way to get around the complexity and get orders and configurations right the first time around. More spreadsheets, emails and long approval cycles is not the answer. It’s the right software solution again to the rescue! Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, which makes and sells residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment, had sales reps wasting time wading through hand-drawn faxes, emailed PDFs, Excel spreadsheets and paperwork instead of chasing deals. The results were costly – inventory gaps, unpredictable revenues, and loss of business opportunities due to lengthy sales cycles and quoting times. A combination of Sales Cloud Lightning, Partner Community and Salesforce CPQ modernized the sales process by making everything available online and

available to use for distributors as well as for the internal sales team. They were able to respond to projects faster and win more. Using Salesforce Mitsubishi Electric’s sales teams can now see leads in the pipeline, work together to convert them into opportunities, and generate accurate, up-to-the-minute quotes within a single system. Salesforce has given the company a toolkit to improve profit and loss management and inventory planning while freeing reps from the inefficiencies of quoting on paper with file attachments. In conclusion, successful manufacturers today are the ones thriving by going to market faster, supercharging team productivity, redefining successful channel partnerships and delivering the correct products on time, every time. And all this is enabled by implementing a customer-first CRM solution like Salesforce.

Souphien Akhrif Managing Director, Cloudworks

Intelligent SME | April 2018

TECHNOLOGY

Branding Authority to be Replaced by Blockchain Technology

randing has been the veil of every company through which it told its story. Branding has been a part of a business story even before people understood the meaning of a brand or had the formal contracts surrounding one. Before technology took over the business world, business was run mostly on trust. Everyone has experienced their grandmother’s tales of how milk from ABC store was better than XYZ store because ABC store did not add water in cow’s milk. Branding is all about trust and quality. People in business promise a certain quality of product and an assurance that it would deliver the same quality the same way. Consumers buy into this assurance and by buying regularly and giving it a name, they create a brand. A brand is not created by a company alone. For a brand to survive, it needs the consumer’s loyalty.

The Misuse of Brand Name Branding has gone through a lot of evolution over the years. From being a word-of-mouth assurance it had gone onto secure itself with laws and copyrights. This need arose because of the misuse of one brand name by another. It is natural for entrepreneurs to want to win in a competition and in this attempt when Entrepreneur A saw that entrepreneur X

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sells better because of his/her product name, entrepreneur A too changed his product name to what entrepreneur X was using.

How did it affect business and consumer mentality? Well, entrepreneur A gained some popularity because of the change. Entrepreneur X lost out on some trusted consumers. Consumers who brought a product trusting entrepreneur X’s quality felt cheated that it did not match the expected standards. This rose the need to protect one’s brand name. This gave rise to the beginning

of brands as we know it. Rules and legality arose to preserve the authenticity of a name. The world of Brands went on quite well with the legal protection that entrepreneurs had. People all over started to associate a certain quality to a certain brand and expect the same from it all the time.

The Emergence of Fraudulent Brands The faith that people had on a brand gave it a name that was never questioned. The faith of the consumers said it all.

TECHNOLOGY The new found unmovable faith that some brands received made them believe that they are beyond questioning and they can sell whatever they please in the brand name without anyone ever raising a question. This resulted in the middlemen and also some entrepreneurs to change the quality of products to save money. For example, we are all aware of the Tesco scandal where the company sold horse meat in place of beef burgers. Interestingly this was not detected even when there were food standard agencies and European Directives, certificates and unannounced inspectors on factory visit. Tesco lost an amount of ÂŁ 300 million because of the scandal. This is but one example of how trusted brands sometimes fail to keep up with the faith that they are bestowed with.

Blockchain Technology to Replace Branding Credibility This brings us to the stage where people because of fraudulent experiences with a brand had been seeking to have

something more than documents to assure its authenticity. Consumers have been losing their faith on brand names because of experiences where their faith had been toyed with to save the company a couple of dollars.

test on the meat. But it is not possible to do the same for all products. This is where Blockchain Technology can help. The Blockchain Technology creates a digital record that is connected to a product that is going through the agencies.

The Blockchain Technology seems to be the answer that consumers and entrepreneurs all over are looking at. A company is not always to blame. Sometimes, it is also the middle man who intentionally or unintentionally ends up compromising on a brand quality. So for consumers and entrepreneurs alike there has been an urgent need to replace brand credibility with something more concrete and reliable.

For example, the digital record of the product is tied to the real world product. This digital record as it uses cryptography, it is inviolable. The Blockchain Technology can be used like businesses use packing notes that accompanies a consignment of goods. This would help businesses to prevent supply chain frauds from happening. The Blockchain records, unlike the written or digital records cannot be changed without it showing up as being changed. The cryptographic strength of the record would flag any change in record as a hacking attempt.

Branding is made of a supply chain that has many agencies in between. A little carelessness in any of the agency that make up the whole can lead to a damage of reputation that might take years to rebuild. It is an industry wide problem that is not limited to a company alone. The Tesco issue is one of a kind where some investigators decided to do a DNA

For example suppose there is a consignment of olive oil to be coming from Italy. If someone tries to switch the lorry with a lorry carrying some different quality oil from Greece, it would show up a different route on the system which would naturally be flagged on the system. The smart contract of the consignment would want the lorry to be coming from Italy and a fault in the origin would automatically alert the smart contract before completing. The Blockchain Technology promises a lot when it comes to authenticating a brand value and keeping the trust of consumers alive. This can also help entrepreneurs from any surprise loss of brand value caused by an agency in the supply chain. The Blockchain Technology as a replacement for branding trust has become a very important topic in the business world. It is a point of discussion that would soon become a streamline process in the business world. Branding would soon be replaced by the security that the Blockchain Technology would provide to business.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

RESEARCH REPORT

Media Organizations’ Security Practices, Threats & Concerns Examined in New Akamai Research Report

'The State of Media Security’ Survey Finds that Few Media Organizations are ‘Very Confident’ in their Current Security Measures Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 8th April 2018: Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the world’s largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, has released new research in a report titled, “The State of Media Security.” Based on

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a survey of 200 media technology influencers and decision makers conducted by BizTechInsights, the report aims to evaluate and better understand how media companies are securing their online properties. Among key findings is that slow site performance and downtime is the number one security-related concern among media leaders. The report also takes a deep dive into the most common types of attacks media organizations’ over-the-top (OTT) properties are facing, the measures currently in place to combat those attacks, top security challenges and concerns, and how they are addressing the management of bots – which can account for up to 60 percent of website traffic according to Akamai observations. Notable findings include:

Top security concerns go beyond protecting content. While premium video content protection ranked high among respondents’ top concern when it comes to securing their online video business (23 percent), the most-cited concern was slow performance or downtime due to DNS attacks (26 percent). Other areas of high importance included DDoS mitigation (13 percent), managing the impact of bot traffic (15 percent), and enterprise application security (20 percent). As the media threat landscape continues to shift, so too are priorities for protecting their OTT businesses.

Attack vectors span a broad spectrum. When asked which type of

RESEARCH REPORT and ISP-based DDoS mitigation (11 percent). Most surprisingly, only 14 percent of media organizations report using cloud-based content delivery network (CDN) DDoS mitigation – a measure that has become widely adopted in other industries.

front. At a broader level, it’s going to take media companies coming together as a community to establish forums, industry standards and closer connections with government bodies to move the confidence needle and create a more security-aware and protected industry across the board.”

Inadequate bot traffic management measures persist.

Akamai is exhibiting at the 2018 NAB Show April 9th through April 12th at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where its media and security experts will share best practices and strategies for protecting online properties. Akamai’s Dave Lewis is also presenting on “Data Breaches: Barbarians in the Throne Room,” as part of the NAB Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference on Saturday, April 7th.

A surprising one-third (33 percent) of survey respondents reported that they employ a manual process of investigating logs and blocking individual IP addresses to address bot traffic, while 45 percent of respondents leverage an existing firewall, and one percent don’t do anything at all. Only one in five respondents (22 percent) leverage a purpose-built bot management solution, revealing widespread risk of bot-based threats like credential exploitation to circumvent attacks or steal content.

Substantial web application defenses employed – but room for improvement exists.

security breaches their organization has recently experienced, the top responses were SQL injections (23 percent), DNS attacks (21 percent), pirated content (20 percent) and distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks (17 percent). Other attacks reported included account hacks, website defacement and cross-site scripting. Media entities are increasingly facing a broad spectrum of attacks that go beyond content piracy and present a real danger to the business. DDoS defenses lag behind other industries. Respondents reported employing a broad range of technologies for addressing DDoS attacks, including a network firewall in the data center (31 percent), a dedicated DDoS mitigation “scrubber” (26 percent), data center-based intrusion prevention system (17 percent)

An overwhelming 84 percent of media organizations report using a web application firewall (WAF) -- either cloud-based, on-premises or a combination of the two -- to defend against web application attacks. Sixteen percent rely on application security audits and testing alone. “Media companies are online businesses, operating websites and maintaining a wide variety of proprietary and sensitive information. They need to broaden their perspective on security and look closely at approaches like zero trust architectures and protecting enterprise applications to secure their content along with everything around it,” said Dave Lewis, senior global security advocate at Akamai. “Steps are being taken to address common threats like DDoS, bots and web application attacks, but almost none of the media influencers we surveyed are very confident their organizations are protected, indicating that businesses have a long way to go on the security

To learn more about how Akamai can help protect your media business, visit them at NAB booth SL3324 or arrange an appointment through Akamai’s NAB site.

About Akamai Technologies As the world’s largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, Akamai makes it easier for its customers to provide the best and most secure digital experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere. Akamai’s massively distributed platform is unparalleled in scale with over 200,000 servers across 130 countries, giving customers superior performance and threat protection. Akamai’s portfolio of web and mobile performance, cloud security, enterprise access, and video delivery solutions are supported by exceptional customer service and 24/7 monitoring. To learn why the top financial institutions, e-commerce leaders, media & entertainment providers, and government organizations trust Akamai Please visit:

www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter

Intelligent SME | April 2018

REAL ESTATE

Real Estate to Disrupt by Autonomous Vehicles

verything in the world is interconnected. A little change here affects the complete framework that make up the business world. The Real Estate is one gold mine of a business opportunity and many things are created around it. Although in itself it is a business giant, the real estate dimension of the business world is still affected by the waves of change that create ripples of revolution in the business world. Technology is one thing that has continuously disrupted everything from finance

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to e-commerce in business. It has also affected the real estate in its own way. But one of the most surprising technological evolution that seems to be affecting the real estate business of the world is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;driverless carsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Yes, you have heard it right. Driverless cars are going to be a normal part of our life in the near future. Many countries around the world are testing autonomous vehicles and intend to make them a regular part of commute for people. The big names involved with the experimenting and initiating the driverless car revolution are Google, Uber, Audi, BMW Ford, GM, Volkswagen and Volvo. This might seem like a great automobile revolution in the history of mankind but it has far reaching effects in all aspects of the business world.

So, how would driverless vehicles affect the Real Estate Business? How are the two aspects connected? The first and foremost thing that people today look at while exploring real estate are the transit hubs. No one would like to stay in a place that is tucked far away from the business centres without any option to commute. The autonomous or driverless cars will erase the need to build a community around transit hubs and this would naturally bring down the value of a real estate business. We are all aware of places in a country where the price of real estate had been low before the arrival of a transit hub near it. The close proximity of office and

REAL ESTATE

residential buildings make or break the value to be attached to a property in today’s world. A big transit infrastructure acts as a stimulus for the development of real estate. It has been the norm for so long that real estate entrepreneurs decide to develop their business on the basis of a transit hub present already or something that has the potential to develop a transit hub. Even the remotest of resorts are judged and made popular by the accessibility that it balances with its exotic location. But all that is going to change.

Here’s why?

- Autonomous cars would encourage ride-sharing among commuters. This would keep people from buying cars because of the convenience that these autonomous cars would provide. Traffic jam, parking spaces and high maintenance cost of cars these reasons have always made people think twice before investing in a car. Autonomous cars will add one more reason to the list making people choose driverless and safe commute rather than have one’s own car. There will be a greater shift towards an inclination to access public or shared transport rather than own a car.

Let us look at the changes that might happen after the introduction of autonomous vehicles.

- Secondly, there might be another trend that might grow with the rise of autonomous vehicles.

People might lose interest in transit hubs. Cost efficient self-driving can easily shift people’s interest away from conventional public transport. - Thirdly, when the world is filled with driverless public transport and private cars it is possible that the real estate properties that had earlier seemed to be less alluring because of a lack of transit hub, might suddenly become a valued property. This would naturally bring in higher values for the property. It is also possible that areas that have been well connected might lose its value because of the convenience that autonomous cars would provide to people. People might get used to the conveniences of an autonomous vehicle and attach less importance to transit hubs and its relation to the value of a real estate property.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

REAL ESTATE

What about Commercial Real Estate Business? Autonomous cars have the potential to pick up a user, drop him/her at a destination and again go back to where it came from. It can also park itself in a less prime area and make the need of finding a parking place less important to the user. Some cars would also be able to move on to pick the next customer after dropping off one. A reduced need can have a mixed effect on the commercial real estate. Entrepreneurs who believe that they need to have a parking lot can save up financially. Parking lots define the value of a commercial place. The possibility of not needing any parking lot

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would naturally disrupt a lot in the real estate market. It might work differently with different entrepreneurs. The ones who were not doing well because of a lack of parking space would see the market open up for them. The entrepreneurs who were thriving because of the parking spaces will see a rise in competition in the market. But they can do a lot on the space that is left unused. It can also become a reason why people come to their commercial place. All they need to do is think ahead and think well. The rise of autonomous vehicles seem to be very non-disruptive. But, it has the potential to disrupt everything on the business world.

The effect that will be caused by this disruption must be watched out for. Real estate is something that no one would think would be disrupted by the emergence of these autonomous vehicles. But if you look into the details, the real estate market is going to be disrupted quite deeply. Entrepreneurs in the real estate world can prepare their business plans in a way that it can use the autonomous vehicles to their benefit. The only way to succeed in the business world is to keep oneself updated and evolve with the changes.

SPI thinktank

SME TECH

Emerging Cryptocurrency Scams: An Investorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nightmare

t is wise to move with caution when you are an entrepreneur and there is an experimental technology luring you. The Blockchain and the Bitcoin Euphoria has been the favourite of the business world ever since its inception. This favouritism has also led to many entrepreneurs giving their caution a back seat.

What has resulted from all of this? Well, the world got to witness a lot of hype about alt-coins. The frenzy and hysteria around alt coins have been so high and it made things so volatile that there have been news of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) halting bitcoin trading on 10th and 13th December. Coinbase also have been in the news because it halted Litecoin and Ethereum trading on 12th December. The excitement of trying out a new technology that promises business benefits always throws caution in the air. Same is the case with Blockchain technology and Bitcoin. Financial analysts have long warned people in business about investing in Bitcoin because of the risk factors attached to it. They have even clearly stated

that it is not a safe investment. But it is difficult for entrepreneurs to simply sit and watch as a new asset class emerges. They need to get involved. But it is equally important that people in business understand the risks that is involved before deciding to be a part of this new technology. It would be helpful for Bitcoin hungry entrepreneurs to know that the market of Bitcoin has been suffering from cyberattacks and scams. It has cost entrepreneurs millions of dollars. The fact that cryptocurrency is not protected by FDIC makes it clear that theft of bitcoins may not be covered.

Are you still interested to explore the world of Bitcoins? If yes, keep yourself on-guard by understanding the risks involved.

to $15 to $18 billion dollars if we look at the current prices. To give recent examples, Nicehash Hack that lost $64million dollars of money from investors, Tether hack that lost $30million and then there was this software bug in parity that resulted in freezing of about $160 million dollars in all investorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accounts. As you can see, this is a very effective way of scammers attacking investors.

Target Investors Directly The second approach is when scammers target the attackers directly. There are many ways that scammers target investors and they mostly use social engineering to attack them. The only good part about these scams is that investors can protect against them unlike the threat to infrastructure. Here is a list of the main frauds that might threaten your security and how to guard against them.

ICO Frauds:

Before we move on to the basics of the Bitcoin scams that you as an entrepreneur must be aware of, let us first see how scammers target investors.

There are two kind of ICO frauds. An ICO is when a new cryptocurrency is launched in the market to investors. This is an unregulated activity and is also targeted by scammers.

Attack the Infrastructure

Scammers can target investors in an ICO fraud first by creating a fake ICO and then by stealing money from investors. There has been an example of this kind of fraud when the SEC had to shut down the PlexCoin ICO. It amounted to a 15 million dollars fraud.

The scammers have a way of attacking the digital wallets, mining companies, web host services, etc. These are mainly the infrastructure that hold the coin markets. If one goes by the report by Reuters then it is possible that there have been a theft of 980,000 bitcoins since 2011. This amount is equivalent

The second way that scammers can target investors is by impersonating a legitimate ICO and

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME TECH

the tricking investors into paying them instead of the real company. Kik’s ICO is one example of a company that suffered this scam.

scam is an example that stole an amount of 3 million dollars.

Security Tip:

Entrepreneurs must use services that have a solid track record. One can also use an offline hardware wallet. These are some of the safe wallets that one can use.

Entrepreneurs must do a complete research about an ICO before investing on it. One can also use the help of industry insight and look at sites like CoinDesk to verify the legitimacy that is claimed of an ICO. It is important that one stay away from hard sell tactics or something that seems to be too good to be true. The messages received over social media and emails need to be thoroughly verified as this is where phishing happens.

Security Tip:

Bitcoin-Stealing Malware: Malware has been in the technological business world for a long time. There is an emergence of a new malware that specialises only in Bitcoin stealing. This software can steal log-in credentials, it can steal the wallet itself or get in the middle of a transaction.

Fake Digital Wallets:

Security Tip:

Cryptocurrency is stored on virtual wallets. The fake wallets appear online and in mobile app stores and people steal investors’ savings. The bitcoin gold wallet

Entrepreneurs who want to protect themselves from this malware need to use a strong anti-virus and an inbound/outbound firewall to protect one’s system. It

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is also important that one uses a two factor authentication and a password manager to secure the log in of a system. The world of cryptocurrency is full of risks. It is important that entrepreneurs do not forget to take protective measures before deciding on getting into it. The cryptocurrency world is mostly unregulated. This is the charm of cryptocurrency and also something that is a threat to investors. Entrepreneurs must understand why they want to deal with bitcoin in the first place. Is it really worth risking security? If the answer is yes, then arm yourself with the best security protection and explore the promising world of cryptocurrency. Take added measures and do not forget to update your security measures as per the need. This will help you explore without worry.

SPI thinktank

CLOUD & BIG DATA

Context in Raw Data Empowers Data-Driven Success D

ata is a major part of every business organisation. Ever since the business world

teamed up with technology to work as a team with data, the world of data has come a long way. The terms like Zettabyte, Yottabyte and Brontobyte has become very streamline in our business conversations. The amount of data that the world generates every year is sure to quadruple in future. Data was the introduced to ease the humans from the need to keep

track of too much information. But, the data stored in an organisation is so large that many employees accept that they discard stored data without fully reading it. The information stored is so high that people in business says that having to sort through them itself puts a lot of pressure on them. Having to browse through so much information also makes the quality of work poor of employees.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

CLOUD & BIG DATA Data in itself is important but data that has no context becomes meaningless. So, instead of relieving it adds more pressure to employees who need to make sense of it all. The presence and growth of data in an organisation is important for its business. But it is important that entrepreneurs are able to convert that data into actionable insights that add to the organisation rather than just take company space. Many companies are also struggling to make sense of data when needed to drive decision-making. Data seems to leach productivity rather than increase business value for many organisations because entrepreneurs do not understand the relation between data, context and insights. Entrepreneurs can understand the relation by seeing how each part forms the whole of the whole data structure. In other words, the raw data of an organisation is the foundation on which rests the formatted information that provide one with the necessary context. The necessary context is what helps an entrepreneur to get an insight that can be used to make important company decisions.

Many companies boast of being data-driven but still see no difference in business. Here is why? The unprocessed, computer friendly facts that make up databases and spreadsheets are helpful and quite important for an organisation but it is mostly noise to the employees. This data when it is not processed is stays as noise for employees. Every business organisation generate a large number of information on a daily basis. The fact that an organisation

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can generate a lot of information in very less time works against the employees who lack the advanced analysis skills to mine the information. As a result, many organisations are heading towards a chaos rather than an organised data structure. However, an entrepreneur cannot simply wish the chaos away. Data is becoming an important part of business decision making. It is also extending to people who have little or no training at all in data use and interpretation. The way data works is it comes in various formats and is then stored across many complex systems that are spread across different departments. Many firms and organisations are data driven but simply being data driven has not made any change in their business. The reason why being data driven has not helped business is because raw data has limited value without the required context. Raw data that does not have context do not provide the employees with the needed information or background to get an understanding of the same. Questions like what is it, where did it happen, what use it has are not answered by raw data. It is important that entrepreneurs do not only provide employees with raw data but also process it for analysis to help them to leverage the data to its full potential.

What should Entrepreneurs do with Raw Data? The difference between raw data and data with context is that one is not easily understood while the other provides information. Information is nothing but a collection of data that answers the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;who, what,

whereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; questions. Entrepreneurs must take raw data and process, aggregate and organise them into more human friendly formats that allows for data visualization etc. Data that is contextualised helps in transforming data into information that can be used as an actionable insight to make business decisions. An entrepreneur who wants to use data of an organisation the correct way must provide the decision makers of the company with information for analysis rather than raw data.

Data with Context Leads to Actionable Insights What makes a data-driven company successful? The ability to maximise the actionable insights that are received from the data collected. It is only when an organisation has data with context that it can have valuable insights that can help a business to answer important questions. But for a data-driven success an entrepreneur needs to draw conclusions from data that allow them to influence decisions and bring in change. It is not enough to have insights that can answer a question. It is natural that all insights that are driven from data will not necessarily be actionable. It is important for an organisation to be able to detect relevant and personalized information to the right person and use company data to make success driven decisions. Every company is datadriven. There is no other way to be in the present business world. But not all data driven business has the same amount of success that some others have. The reason behind this is many entrepreneurs assume

CLOUD & BIG DATA that creating and generating data is all that is needed to be data-driven. But collecting data in itself do not drive the success of a company. The collected data must be put to use. It must be processed from raw data and presented to the employees who would then work on the actionable insights and make data the basis on which the success of decision making rests. There is more to being data-driven than just collecting data. Entrepreneurs who want to succeed as a data-driven company must add context to their data and base their decisions on the insights received.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

MARKETING

Why Entrepreneurs Must Use Narrative Potential to Tell their Business Story?

he PokĂŠmon go game has revolutionised the AR and VR experience. It has brought to life a dimension that is more interactive to a user. Storytelling as we know it is sure to revolutionize. Entertainment content and others more business focused content will see more user engagement than ever before. This requires entrepreneurs who wish to be ahead in the game to explore the dimension of storytelling with AR and VR experience. True it is possible to create a never-heardbefore storytelling experience with AR and VR but before one attempts this it is important that one understands the meaning of a narrative potential.

What is Narrative Potential? Simply put narrative potential is the opportunities that an immersive environment provides to create a user engagement experience. Storytelling as we know it has always been the domain of the storyteller. But the emergence of AR and VR has made it possible for the audience to create worlds that allows for users to participate. This makes it possible for users to create a story for themselves.

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User engagement is something that increasingly makes a product more appealing for users. From light-weight mobile apps to the very deep virtual experiences, narrative potential can transform everything to a more fulfilling experience. AR and VR allows a creator to drive interaction.

Why is Narrative Potential Important to Business? The fact that narrative potential is not limited to only story-driven entertainment experience but can be applied to all types of content that is applied in business starting from apps to advertisements makes this important for businesses. Entrepreneurs all over would surely look to upgrade the experiences that they give to users. If you are an entrepreneur who have a digital presence in business it is important that you understand how to best tell a story that would suit an audience that are keener on having an interactive user experience.

the story of the space that an individual is in. A space that has rows of books together and seating arrangements says a story of a reading lounge. The details that are in a particular space help users to make an assumption as to what can be expected from that space. The way that users interact in that space become the story of the user in that time. An entrepreneur can make use of this space details when creating a virtual experience. For example if one wants to make the user feel soak in freshness, one can use the details of a rainforest that has been recently been soaked in fresh rains.

Let us take a look at the three ways you as an entrepreneur can use the advantages of the AR and VR application to create a great experience.

This kind of details when implemented in a business app or content revolutionises a user experience to a great deal. Narrative potential is important to make your business popular. Maybe you are making an advertisement or maybe it is simple a walk through your business website, bringing in a narrative potential to it will surely make a difference. The secret to using the powers of narrative potential effectively is using them based on the target audienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desires and habits.

1. Evoke Experiences from Space:

2. Use Properties of Objects to Tell your Story:

Space is an important factor that gives life to a userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience. For example, the kind of space one walks into tells

The way one uses or positions an object says the story of a company. Suppose you are a business that deals with flower

MARKETING delivery. While creating an AR advertisement it is not important that you create a whole garden. You can simply whiff fragrances from the flowers that you deliver. This would definitely give your users a great insight into your services and also help you to create a great user experience business advertisement. AR does not need to be always grand. One can create AR that focuses on the details of an object of your business. It is important that a business stays true to what it stands for and bring that out in the experience. Every entrepreneur must think really seriously about the properties of objects that make their business and base their narrative potential on it.

3. Make your AR story Encourage Engagement: Every entrepreneur who is creating an AR experience would like to know how to create an experience that the audience is interested in?

Well, the answer lies in creating experiences that are make the user interact and not simply direct the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behaviour. If your story simply makes the user follow cues, then it is possible that he/she might lose interest. If on the other hand your AR story touches all the points of interests of a user then chances are that the user will be more interested and interact. You can include questions and create different stories based on the answers given. All these things make using narrative potential a success. The world has already dipped its fingers in the AR VR world of storytelling. Many businesses have started using the benefits of AR and VR to make their business shine through. There are also those entrepreneurs who are still thinking that they have the time to catch up. The business world keeps its pace with the

technological developments of the world. The entrepreneurs who think they have time are sure to see a different world emerge, and see their business ads become redundant in the blink of an eye. Entrepreneurs who want to stay ahead must explore the opportunities that AR and VR provides for storytelling. It is important to develop an understanding for the same. The businesses of tomorrow will all have a very engaging storytelling ads, websites, and interactions. For those who do things the traditional way will find themselves lagging behind. Catching up would become a very time consuming and expensive affair. Keep your business up-to-date with the AR/VR way of storytelling powered by narrative potential and let your business taste success.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

DATA GOVERNANCE

Cambridge Analytica Breach Highlights the Importance of Data Governance

he case of Cambridge Analytica is proof that security measures are not evolving at a pace that is needed in the business world. Interestingly the business world is so enamoured by the conveniences that the technological revolution has brought in that it refuses that something like data breach exists. Apart from the data breach of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, there has been a new news of breach of 880,000 payment cards from an online travel site named Orbitz. There has also been a news of a data breach of 112,000 FedEx customer records. People in business have started to regard data breach as something mainstream. These things come and go and work goes on as usual. This is a very careless mind-set that needs to change. True we cannot do away with

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technology but we do not need to pay something far more than what is justified to enjoy the benefits of technology. In case of businesses, data security is very important. A data breach can shake the very foundations of an organisation. It is high time that people in business take a firm stand against data breach that threaten the security of organisations.

Are you ready? If you are let us take a look at the importance of Data Governance and the lessons that we can learn from Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Debacle.

1. Data Governance is not Only about Security: The threat to data is not getting less with the advancements in technology. It is estimated that given this scenario, one-third companies of the world will experience a material breach that might involve a number of 10,000 records in the future. Looking at the Cambridge Analytical stories it has been clearly stated by the people involved in important positions that it is not correct to call the whole

affair a breach. Maybe this was not a breach of security, but it was a breach of policy and trust. The fact that Cambridge Analaytica did not have to hack Facebook to obtain data makes users feel very insecure about the experience. It is a written and most times an unwritten rule that organisations that are entrusted with customer data must do everything in their power to govern it well. Governing data well does not only mean taking care of the security measures but also involves the need to create meaningful and thoughtful policies that states how data needs to be managed. One must also ensure that the controls are in a place from where an organisation can control and audit those policies.

2. Organisations must guide their data in sync with the legal and ethical requirements: Organisations must go beyond the question that answers only about data that is fit for the purpose. Fit for purpose must also include questions like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Is it ethical, legal or for that matter appropriate to use certain data for a certain purpose. The Facebook Data

DATA GOVERNANCE

The Cambridge Analytica used data that might have helped them to achieve their ends. But they missed out on the important questions. Cambridge Analytica has used data that might have helped them achieve their ends, but they missed out on the questions. An organisation that manages data that is entrusted to it by others must always go beyond the question that answers ‘Is it fit for the purpose?’ It is wise for organisations to take this question at par with a governance organisation.

3. Organisations must understand that Data cannot be taken back: The fact that once data is shared it stays outside forever. In case of Cambridge Analytica raw data was used to make psychographic profiles. Moreover, data that is out combines with other data and gets redistributed elsewhere. This takes us to the fact that even if the raw data is deleted in case of the Facebook profiles, the profiles will still exist. Organisations must therefore understand the uses to which they put their company data. There must be extra caution practised if the product of the data is in some way shared with others.

What can Entrepreneurs Learn from the Facebook Cambridge Analytica lesson? The three lessons that a business can learn from the Cambridge Analytica Affair leads us to the conclusion that organisations all over must think seriously about implementing data governance in their company policy. It is possible that an organisation suffered from the carelessness that someone in the company caused, but no matter who did what, consumers will always look for solutions from an organisation involved. A company that has never had to handle data breach is unheard of. How a company handles a data breach makes or breaks an organisation. It takes a long time to build trust but not much to break it. Companies that are eager to safeguard their organisation must focus on data governance. Data Governance is the process by which a company applies policy to data. These policies define how a data sources, manages and uses data. Data governance is all about communicating, enforcing and auditing that policy. Data breach

and cyber security has never matched the need of the business world. Businesses must try to at least keep up with the minimal security requirements that can keep their companies safe from a careless security breach. Everything in business lies in the hands of an entrepreneur. A well informed entrepreneur who emphasises on the need to have data governance in place can never go wrong. Data governance is not a simple affair. There are many things that need to be discussed, implemented and checked time and again and audited time and again. It takes a lot of time and effort to have a proper data governance in place. Many businesses and entrepreneur look at data governance as ‘ a lot of work’ and try to do away with it. It is possible that a company might do great without it for years. But if a single breach is reported, then the damage would involve a lot more than what an organisation has shirked. It is wise to always keep safe. Implement a strong data governance in your organisation and let data breaches just be ‘news’ for your business organisation.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Allsopp & Allsopp Takes Arabian Business Property Crown Leading real estate brokerage awarded Best Real Estate Broker of the Year

ubai-based real estate agency Allsopp & Allsopp is adding more silver to its trophy cabinet, having been announced Best Real Estate Broker of the Year UAE, at the annual Arabian Business Real Estate Awards at the Ritz-Carlton in DIFC yesterday evening.

22 local, regional and international awards, we are looking forward to the next few years, when we will continue to push the envelope as market leader,” says the ebullient CEO. Allsopp & Allsopp, headquartered in Business Bay, Dubai, has an ambitious growth plan, with three new communitybased brokerages opening this year, as well as a strong online presence for client convenience, regardless of location.

Find out more about Allsopp & Allsopp Allsopp & Allsopp is a familyfounded real estate business with operations in the UK. Set up in 2008 by CEO Lewis Allsopp and Managing Director Carl Allsopp, the UAE arm focuses on residential sales and lettings in Dubai. The award-winning company also offers property management, conveyancing and mortgage services. Allsopp & Allsopp prides itself on delivering levels of customer care well above industry benchmarks, while strictly adhering to the regulatory framework governing the Dubai property market. Employees follow business methods, which demand exceptional honesty, a stringent code of conduct and total transparency to the client.

Lewis Allsopp, CEO of the award-winning estate agency, says: “This award underlines our commitment to our brand values – trust, integrity and a continuing commitment to excellence. We are understandably delighted with this award, which adds to our enormous accolades gathered in our ten years of business both here and in the UK. Since 2008, we have been growing organically here in Dubai, and we have a strong vision of continuing client-led market innovation.”

The innovative company also launched a one-stop online service for mortgages, from searching the best deals – including an exclusive link-up with HSBC – to securing the right finance. With an eye on providing unbeatable customer service, it also purchased PuzzleWorks, a well-respected local mortgage provider, and launched QR codes across its ubiquitous ‘For Sale’ boards, allowing casual property seekers the chance to gain full property information with a smartphone photo.

In the highly competitive Dubai real estate market, Allsopp says it’s his company’s commitment to exceeding customer needs, technology and thinking outside the box that made the company clear winner.

British-owned Allsopp & Allsopp operates to international service standards, having won more than 22 international property awards. The company is proud shirt sponsor of the UK’s Coventry City football club.

facebook: AllsoppAndAllsopp

“Our staff are all highly driven, highly trained and experts in their areas – from our growing mortgage services team to our RERA-certified brokers, we all work together to push the market forward. With this additional award – adding extra weight to our cabinet of more than

The company has been the number one lead generator on all local online portals like Dubizzle and Propertyfinder.ae in recent years & for the last 3 years has been the number one sales agent for most properties sold on Dubai Land Department’s broker’s app.

PR Contact –

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Allsopp & Allsopp is based in the prestigious Vision Tower in Business Bay and employs around 170 staff.

Twitter @allsopp_allsopp Instagram allsoppandallsopp www.allsoppandallsopp.com Shakespeare Agency Dubai, UAE 00 971 50 296 0503 ananda.shakespeare@live. com

Intelligent SME | April 2018

SME LAW

Are you Aware of the Legal Issues in VR? into the AR/VR bandwagon without understanding the legal issues that arise through the use of AR/VR.

he bright side of technology has always enamoured people. The business world is brimming with entrepreneurs who cannot stop discussing the latest in technology. The bright side of technology is so appealing that people forget that there might be another side to it. There has been many cases where technology has proved time and again that it can be misused. To give a few examples the settled dispute between the game maker ZeniMax and Facebook where Facebook was accused of ‘stealing the source code’ throws light on the infringements that VR/ AR possesses. Facebook had to pay an amount of USD 500 million dollars for the breach. The illegal betting on a FIFA VR game that was referred as FUT Galaxy last year and the English VR gamer who was caught for stealing virtual property by hacking other gamers’ profile in a game called Runescape are just other global examples about how Virtual Reality has been used illegally. A misuse of the AR/VR world brings in a lot of loss to a business. It is great if one is aware of the laws that can help one out of the mess. But in many cases, people are not aware of the laws that might help them out of a tricky situation. Entrepreneurs who are looking at venturing into AR/VR must not jump

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Here is a list of the legal issues that arise out of AR/VR usage.

1. Intellectual Property Rights: Everyone in the business world is aware of the Intellectual Property Rights. However, the use of intellectual property is more of a concern than a relief in the Virtual World.

Why? The VR world allows one to import music, brand names, and photographs, name anything through their system. A VR system does not need to obtain necessary permissions from an owner to get materials that are protected by IP laws. Secondly, VR users can log in from any country. The VR laws in every country is different. This leads to jurisdictional problems while trying to enforce claims against VR users. There is a huge potential for IP laws infringement in the VR world. The traditional IP laws work very differently. It works in a way that helps a VR user to escape liability. For example, when one in incorporating virtual material like music, photographs, etc, the traditional IP laws stipulate obtaining permission regarding applicable rights. In many countries including the USA, for a trademark right to be infringed, it is important that the use of trademark is ‘in commerce’. This leads to a user using a brands’ logo escape liability by claiming ‘no commerce’. There is also this ‘fair use’ exception in

copyrights that makes it possible for a VR user to infringe original works through derivative works available on VR platforms.

2. Privacy: Privacy in the Virtual world is next to nothing. There are certain data protection norms that are applicable to AR/VR in almost all Asian countries but this is not enough. VR gaming platforms has a lot of data that is stored based on the personal information that users provide. This data can be easily used. For example, one can share details related to age, race, etc. that form a person’s digital footprint. This can be used in real life for any purpose. The fact that privacy is a vulnerable thing in the virtual world is no more a secret. Researchers have pointed out that governments and organisations can get a lot of unprecedented power over people by tracking human emotions, behaviour and expressions. There has also been a growth of jurisdictions that emphasise that ensure that in a company proper accountability is maintained. The US senator for example asked for data accountability that is obtained through the use of the VR headset Oculus. But the problem with these claims to VR privacy violations seem to be quite far-fetched. This is because, users usually agree to the terms and conditions before using these devices. This naturally give companies the right to share whatever data they have at hand.

The Way Out Legislation in the VR world is something that is necessary.

SME LAW

But it is not easy to legislate the VR world given that it is a huge domain that exists globally and is subject to different laws per region. Moreover, a rigid legislation law might also come in the way of proper technological evolution. Self-regulation by VR companies seems to be the only solution at the moment. There are also some measures that companies can take regarding VR regulation.

1. Define Liabilities: IP holders must very clearly define liability in their contract. They must specifically state the ownership and liability that might arise in case of a breach or an unfair use of property rights.

2. Self-Regulation: As stated above, self-regulation is something that companies can resort to. VR solution providers can also take part in creating industry friendly policies and take steps in formulating strategies that are both legally and ethically sound to deal with any kind of infringement.

3. Misuse of ‘Fair Use Standard’: People in VR business must try to raise the misuse of the ‘fair use standard’ issue. The ‘Fair use standard’ has always been misused and the future does not seem to be any different.

Creating awareness about the loopholes in the VR world would lead to a solution. Entrepreneurs who want to join the VR bandwagon must work towards this end to create a VR world where privacy n infringement of Intellectual Property are not mere terms but enforceable laws. The business world would not exist without technology. Technology would evolve in the future. It is wise for industry people to start looking at making this partnership a lawful one while it is still possible. Join hands and work towards creating a future where the VR world thrives with the security of legal protection.

SPI thinktank

Intelligent SME | April 2018

LEADERSHIP

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LEADERSHIP CONTENTS

Weekend Inspiration for the Ambitious Entrepreneurs T

here is always someone who has done better. There is always someone who has survived. There is always someone who can guide you.

The business world is full of these people. Entrepreneurs need to just look for them. If you are feeling that you cannot make it, it is very important that you look at the lives of people who had actually been there and done that. You will see that they have faced situations that had been more challenging than what you are facing now. Life is not a bed of roses. More so for entrepreneurs who are trying to make it in the big bad business world. But, everything need not be as grim and dreary as the mind makes it out to be. Sometimes the reality is actually not as threatening as the mind makes it out to be. It is important that entrepreneurs do not give up on their vision or on their dream. As someone famously said ‘if you can dream it you can do it.’ Dreams do not come to people beyond their capacity. A dream chooses the one who can materialise it. Many entrepreneurs turn their back when they were just near the finish line. Only to regret, if they persevered a little longer, only if they fought a little harder. Don’t let that happen to you.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

LEADERSHIP

Life is not a bed of roses. More so for entrepreneurs who are trying to make it in the big bad business world. Sometimes the reality is actually not as threatening as the mind makes it out to be. It is possible to make it big. It is possible to be your dream. It is possible to be YOU! Here is list of quotes from the famous people in business and what they have to say to you. Hope it brings to you inspiration and a great way to close the working week.

1. Nisha Jagtiani, Director Landmark Group: “Whether you’re a small or large organization, you have an obligation to make a difference in the community — it all starts with a purpose. This is how companies can really succeed in making a difference. The happiness movement lies in its ability to connect with every employee. That is the biggest challenge for us at Landmark Group since we’re spread across so many regions. But it is also a beautiful reason for us to come together since the pursuit of happiness is for everyone. This is why we call it a movement because we truly believe in its multiplier effect.”

2. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Economist, Chairman of the World Happiness Council: “Work provides a purpose, establishes social relationships, structure and routine in our daily lives. There are four ways in which you can increase your job satisfaction and engagement: by improving work-life balance, by getting essential skills training, by gaining autonomy and, most importantly, by improving the relationship with your superiors.”

3. Fred Kofman, Vice President of LinkedIn: “True leaders have no followers. A true leader is simply the first one heading towards his/her purpose.

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People don’t follow leaders, they follow the purpose. It is not about what happens to individuals, but the way they choose to respond in a difficult situation and the conscious choices they make for a greater purpose rather than simply reacting — this is what makes the difference. Being mindful is about always asking what am I going to do, and why.”

4. Will.i.am., founder Black Eyed Peas, STEM education advocate: “Creating lifelong learners is critical in this century when it is predicted that 65 percent of current students will go into jobs that do not currently exist. We can overcome the issue of access through the use of smartphones. In India, almost 70 percent of students have access to a smartphone. When it comes to addressing personalization, we need to look at how each student learns. This is not possible in the classroom but can be captured on a platform, on which a student profile can be built. Finally, we need to gift students a love of learning, rather than learning through fear of exams, by developing high-quality, engaging and accessible education.”

5. Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global: “We are working in a world where to be constantly “switched on” is rewarded, where burnout equals success, where we forget to recharge ourselves but not our phones, where we take better care of our devices than ourselves, a world where we are losing sleep and our humanity — and this is clearly not working. The idea is to fundamentally change the culture we have created that glamorizes people who are all the time switched on and connected rather than those that have their priorities

right and prefer to spend time with their children or themselves; and let’s face it, who knows how best to create such a world better than women.”

6. Goldie Hawn, actress and founder of The Hawn Foundation: “You have a choice to look at the glass half full or the glass half empty…If you look at the potential of that glass half full and think about it for a minute, it would change the way your brain fires — and change how your neurons wire together. So, the more you look at the glass half full, the happier you’ll be.”

7. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy: “Leaders should not be going against open free trade for their own political gain — and hence trade should not be politicized. In the United Arab Emirates, there are a lot of challenges arising. Going forward, to ensure the best possible movement of trade, we need to focus on building superior infrastructure and framework. We also have the responsibility as a nation to help less developed countries.” Business depends a lot on how well you manage your emotions. Being an entrepreneur is not easy but it is not impossible either. Focus on what’s working. Focus on where you want to go. Focus on where your dream would lead you and walk that path undeterred. There would be difficult times but it is wise to know that success follows those times like its shadow. Keep yourself on the right mental tracks and make your dream a reality.

SPI thinktank

Salesforce,

CONTENTS

the world #1 CRM

19.9% of the global CRM market share

Want to know more? Reach Cloudworks Salesforce Largest UAE Gold Partner

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Intelligent SME | April 2018

RARE & FABULOUS

WATCHES YACHTS DESIGNER JEWELLERY BOUTIQUE REAL ESTATE GADGETS EXOTIC DESTINATIONS FINE DINING

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RARE & FABULOUS

Vuzix Blade Augmented Reality Glasses

onsidering Alexa has made its way into just about every Internet-connected product, it was only a matter of time before the digital butler arrived in smart glasses. The Vuzix Blade augmented reality glasses will support Alexa so that wearers can ask for things like the weather and directions. The Vuzix Blade’s display also sits more prominently in the wearer’s field of view than Google Glass and looks much more crisp and colorful. If developers create compelling apps that blend Alexa’s capabilities and augmented reality, the Blade AR glasses could have some promising potential.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

RARE & FABULOUS

Fitness First: Fitbit Ionic

t a glance, the Ionic looks like a cross between the Apple Watch Series 3 and the Fitbit Blaze, thanks to a rectangular touch LCD that stands out from many of the circular smartwatches on the market. The screen measures 1.2 by 0.85 inches (HW), about 1.5 inches diagonally, and features a resolution of 348 by 250 pixels. It's surrounded by a bezel, thicker at the bottom than at the sides or top, which gives the face a square form factor. While the bezel isn't the most attractive design element, the screen itself really pops with rich colors, sharp image quality, and 1,000cd/ m2 of brightness. That's due in part to a curved, spherical glass lens.

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RARE & FABULOUS

Apple's Homepod Aims To Revolutionize Smart Speakers

he Homepod is Apple's latest attempt at changing the way we listen to music forever. These voice-controlled smart speakers are the first to be fully integrated with Siri and Apple Music. The speaker hardware itself is cutting edge and uses special sensors to visualize the room it's in and adapt it's settings to emit the best acoustic experience possible. In addition to being a music station, the Homepod is also designed to be an artificial assistant that can answer questions, make schedules, and control other devices in your house. Intelligent SME | April 2018

EDITORIAL THINKTANK Ajay Bindroo CEO & Managing Partner, Clasico Brands

Within a span of 18 months, Ajay has established a global venture that caters to consumer goods ranging from beauty and personal care, grooming products to oral care, bath and hygiene, hair care and homecare products. Under the flagship of “CLÁSICO BRANDS”, over a dozen brands have been created and are in the process of being launched worldwide. Ajay is a true visionary and makes sure that the company's concept and strategies are right on track.

Alexandar Williams, Director, Business Development, Department of Economic Development (DED)

Alexandar Mathew Williams is presently the Director, Business Development, Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai. He has more than 20 years of experience in SME development and business creation. He is interested in the life cycle dynamics of firm growth and mentoring entrepreneurs. In his current job, Alexander is responsible for developing new initiatives for DED to take it to the next level as a knowledge-driven economic development agency.

Deepak J Babani, CEO, Eros Group

Deepak Babani has been with Eros Group for over 30 years. Mr. Babani has spearheaded the growth of Eros Group from a turnover of Dhs six million in 1981 to over Dhs four Billion in 2010. Under his leadership, Eros Group has established itself as the leading distributor for Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Telecom, IT and Air-conditioning products in the UAE, GCC and East African regions. Mr. Babani joined Eros as Marketing Manager and was promoted to General Manager in 1988 and subsequently to CEO in 2002. and subsequently to CEO in 2002.

Akram Miknas, Chairman & Founder, PROMOSEVEN HOLDINGS B.S.C.C. (P7H) Akram Miknas is known to be one of the pillars of modern marketing communications in the Middle East. His involvement in real estate development, especially after the successful completion of the Pearl Towers (Abraj Al Lulu), anchored him as a leading accomplished developer in the Gulf. In early 2000, he branched into the hospitality business and successfully managed and built several hotels and outlets in Bahrain. His success in this business was crowned by becoming the franchisee of McDonald’s in Lebanon; where he built the business from seven to 26 restaurants in just five years.

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EDITORIAL THINKTANK Mishal Kanoo, Deputy Chairman, The Kanoo Group

Mishal Kanoo serves as the Deputy Chairman of The Kanoo Group, one of the largest, independent and longest running family-owned group of companies in the Gulf region. He is also one of the most iconic business figures in the Middle East, featured on various magazines and listed in the ‘Top 100 Powerful Arabs 2013’, and ‘The 15 Wealthiest Arab Businessmen in the World 2012’, among others. Subsequently, he worked at Arthur Andersen in Dubai as an auditor before taking up his current position in 1997. Mishal Kanoo adheres to family values and ideals in pursuit for quality and excellence which has greatly influenced his corporate policies and goals for ‘The Kanoo Group’ as a reputable company.

K. Rajaram, CEO, Al Nabooda Automobiles

K. Rajaram has more than three decades of experience in the automotive industry, starting his career in Oman in 1983. He moved to the UAE in 1996 to lead Al Nabooda Automobiles, the exclusive dealer of Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Under his leadership, Al Nabooda Automobiles has changed the face of the UAE automotive market by setting the highest benchmarks in customer service and pioneering the automobile ownership experience.

Rizwan Sajan, Founder & Chairman, Danube Group

The Danube Group was founded and established by Mr. Rizwan Sajan in 1993. Over the last 22 years, the group has come a long way since its humble beginnings of a small trading shop in Deira to being the region’s leader in construction, building materials, home interiors and shop fitting industries. The head office & logistics facilities are present at the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA). Danube has coursed a path that transformed only one shop with three employees to over 40 locations in nine countries worldwide including UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Africa and India, in addition to procurement offices in China with employee strength of over 2,200 people. Being a top ranking business icon, Mr. Rizwan Sajan has been a source of inspiration for driving Danube’s business by leaps and bounds. source of inspiration for driving Danube’s business by leaps and bounds.

Reg Athwal, Founding Partner & MD, RTS Global Partners

Reg Athwal is the Chairman of RAW Group and the Founding Partner & MD of RTS Global Partners, the leading family business advisory firm in Africa, Middle East and Asia. The company has been supporting hundreds of clients in over 150 disciplines spread across 57 countries with offices in Dubai, UAE and Nairobi, Kenya. Reg’s vision is to grow into a major company of 1000 members in 22 countries by the year 2022 with the primary aim of transforming 22,000+ family businesses and impacting millions on the way.

Intelligent SME | April 2018

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