How the data talent gap risks our AI future
Data workers are at the center of our ambitious targets for universal artificial intelligence adoption as they are the ones responsible for building the technology on a strong and stable foundation. However, there is one significant hurdle that stands between data workers and designing the perfect AI solution; the talent gap. Recent research has revealed that 44 percent of data workers are wasting time every week because they are unsuccessful in their activities, as they face challenges such as lengthy data preparation processes and a lack of collaboration. If organizations can't attack the data and analytical talent gap head-on, they will increasingly be buried under rising data volumes, complexity and an incomplete understanding as to whether their workflows are doing the job they want.
Without a productive workforce, organizations simply cannot proceed to tackle the technical challenges existing in a data-driven industry, such as reversing the inconsistencies and set-backs with data-led AI projects. With the right analytics platform, data capabilities can be put in the hands of the business experts who not only have the context of the problems to solve but the data sources needed to deliver insights quickly and efficiently. By alleviating data workers of some of the mundane, day-to-day tasks that are consistently clogging up their to-do lists, more time can be allocated to pushing through large-scale AI projects.
A primer on migrating SQL Server 2008/2008 R2 databases to the Azure cloud
System and database administrators are now being forced to do something about legacy SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 database applications. The reason is the end of Extended Support in July 2019. Extended Support will also end for its common companion Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 in January 2020. Upgrading to the latest versions is always an option, of course, but Microsoft is providing an attractive alternative when upgrades are not viable or cannot be cost-justified: Migrate the database to the Azure cloud and get three more years of Extended Security Update support at no additional charge over the standard virtual machine pricing.
This article highlights important considerations for migrating mission-critical legacy SQL Server 2008/R2 databases to the Azure cloud to help administrators make more informed decisions. Among the key considerations is knowing which options are and are not available.
The hidden costs of third-party data breaches -- and how to avoid them
Recent studies show that third-party data breaches are the most expensive cyber incidents for businesses today. The rise in associated costs has prompted not only security leadership but also executives and boards to pay close attention to the cyber risk that comes with doing business with their biggest vendors and partners. But what many business leaders don’t realize is that the biggest third-party cyber risks can come from the smallest, most seemingly innocuous places.
Take, for example, the Docker Hub cyberattack that took place this past May. While in the grand scheme a given business ecosystem, Docker Hub’s role -- a container used by developers to store image files -- is small, the extent of the damage to its customers was not.
Geekbench 5 arrives, offers new CPU and GPU benchmarks
Primate Labs has announced the release of Geekbench 5.0 for desktop, Android (later this week) and iOS. Geekbench 5 makes huge changes to the way it benchmarks your CPU and GPU, as well as going 64-bit and Windows 10 only.
Other changes include a brand new Dark Mode (confusingly, currently macOS only with iOS 13 to follow, but not for Windows 10) and a 50 percent launch sale if you were considering upgrading.
GDPR and Brexit -- Is your cloud provider ready for the UK 'being treated like a third country'?
The UK government has always maintained that following Brexit, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be absorbed into UK law. This means that there will be no material changes to the data protection rules that organizations in the UK will need to follow.
However, the French data protection regulator has recently said that in the event of a no-deal Brexit and absence of an adequacy decision, it will treat the UK like any other country that is outside the European Economic Area. In other words, it will treat the UK as a "third country." It’s likely that other EU country regulators will take this approach too -- and such decisions have legal implications for organizations.
Global growth is driving a fundamental shift in enterprise IT
Organizations are going global and their infrastructures, thanks to the cloud, are going global as well. Today, mid-sized and even small companies are doing business on a global stage. Whether this global growth takes place by opening new offices or by acquiring them, one of the thorniest challenges is enabling collaboration between them, because it requires sharing large, unstructured data and application files across vast distances. And this task only becomes more complex and difficult as both files and the number of people who need to work with them simultaneously grow larger. This shift toward more companies going global creates a distinct need.
The traditional IT infrastructure -- one in which the corporate data center is located at the headquarters -- is not at all suited for providing collaboration with large files at scale. What's required is a new, disruptive technology category, with platforms that combine the control and performance of network attached storage (NAS) with the unlimited capacity and economy of the cloud.
Four great summer reads for technology executives
As a co-founder of a digital health startup, my daily reading list typically consists of industry news. When I have some downtime, however, I tend to lean towards books that will help me grow as a leader or run our business better.
Below are four books for tech execs that are looking for advice, insight or inspiration this summer:
Can digital identity verification save the sharing economy?
With online sharing services (such as Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit) expected to be utilized by 86.5 million people by 2021, it is evident that the sharing economy is now mainstream. However, this$335 billion market is challenged by trust and safety concerns. Without trust, the sharing economy will not reach its full potential, and the only way to establish this trust is through digital identity verification to ensure users and providers in the sharing economy are who they claim to be.
Trust is required for the sharing economy to thrive -- the expectation that all parties are who they say they are and are operating in good faith. When hiring a worker from TaskRabbit, consumers trust the individual has been properly vetted. When a consumer orders a special occasion outfit from Rent the Runway, users trust it will arrive on time and in good condition. Users of the sharing economy trust that the company has verified the identities of its providers (e.g., drivers, delivery people, hosts, freelancers) and that their services are reliable and safe. Likewise, providers have faith that new users have passed some sort of identity verification before being accepted onto the sharing platform. When this trust is broken -- as we’ve seen on Craigslist,GoFundMe and elsewhere -- it cannot be easily repaired.
IObit Uninstaller 9 adds a powerful install monitor
Although we handle support for novice software customers, there’s one area that often leaves us perplexed. Why does software manage to leave so much data on your computer after you run the official uninstaller?
It should be straightforward, right? You install software, uninstall and the entire process should remove the components, registry entries, startup modules and upgrade flashes. But often they fail. We still get warnings about software being out-of-date that we uninstalled months ago and even a tool from a well-known brand offering us an upgrade. Try and locate the source of these issues and they are often hidden deep in your registry or other hard to find locations.
Do businesses rely too much on cloud computing?
The cloud computing industry has seen huge growth in the past nine years, considerably more so than what was anticipated. In 2018, as many as 96 percent of businesses utilized it in some way.
In 2010, the cloud computing industry was worth approximately $24.50 billion. Now, in 2019, it is worth over $100 billion, and it keeps on growing. It's predicted that by the time 2020 rolls around, the industry will be worth a massive $150 billion!
Why is everyone talking about IO filters?
At this year’s VMworld, a relatively little-known feature of vSphere is getting a surprising amount of attention. The VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering (VAIO) aren’t as well-known as other storage features like Virtual Volumes or Virtual SAN, but they’re very important for VMware vSphere as a hybrid cloud platform, especially with respect to cloud-based services for disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC).
The new attention to VAIO is due to a number of well-known data protection vendors announcing that their solutions will begin to use the API. This article doesn’t take a deep dive into the API itself (there’s an excellent technical introduction in this blog post). Rather, the point of this discussion is to explain why IO filters are increasingly important to enabling DR/BC services and why the vendors in this space are updating their products to use the IO filters API.
Useful Excel project management and tracking templates
Managing a project is no easy feat. The immense amount of responsibility and critical decision-making skills required to see a project through can sometimes overwhelm even the most seasoned managers. Just imagine what it would be like for first-timers.
Even experts in the field need all the help they can get. And as always, it’s Excel to the rescue! Whether you’re an experienced project manager or a newbie on the lookout for tools to track and organize tasks, you’ll find Excel to be a valuable ally. To make things more convenient for you, we have compiled some of our favorite Excel templates for project management and tracking.
Setting a path for digital transformation
At Homerton University Hospital, in the London Borough of Hackney, East London, we are incredibly ambitious in our digital transformation goals. In the coming year, we hope to go fully digital or 'paperless' to improve the quality of care we deliver to our patients and, of course, to meet imperatives for finding additional funds under our Local Digital Roadmap (LDR) and Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) covering the North-East London area.
It is now a given that the NHS must find significant efficiencies if we are to continue to deliver care to meet the demand. At Homerton, we need to save £1.5m from the Outpatient Department alone. So, when we talk about transformation, let’s be clear it’s not for transformation’s sake!
C-Suite in the hot seat -- Execs' responsibility regarding digital security
Are you killing your numbers? Crushing your targets? Growing your team? Leading with authenticity and building a loyal following? What a shame it is that your tenure may already be over.
While you were busy winning and shredding the competition, a cybercriminal breached your network. Don’t be too embarrassed, it happens to almost everyone these days. The average "dwell time" of an intruder is more than 100 days, so it’s hard to know exactly when that bucket of ice water was tossed on your dreams. Unfortunately, even if you’re doing everything right, recent examples illustrate that our jobs are on the line when hackers come a knockin’.
Personal data breaches and securing IoT devices
The Internet of Things (IoT) is taking the world by storm as interconnected devices fill workplaces and homes across the US. While the intention of these devices is always to make our lives easier, their ability to connect to the internet turns them into ticking time bombs, lying in wait until their weaknesses can be exploited by opportunistic hackers.
Personal data breaches are skyrocketing in America, increasing by 60% in the last year and by 157 percent since 2015. As our interconnectivity grows, so do the opportunities that our technology will be hacked. Since every IoT device is connected to the internet, each one is vulnerable to external access if not secured properly. In the rush to manufacture these devices and get them onto the market, security has been an afterthought which needs to be urgently addressed if the number of yearly data breaches is to be tackled.
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