Do workers need the right to disconnect?
On January 1, 2017, workers in France were given the "right to disconnect". Article 55 of the El Khomri Act is a key measure of the country’s revised Labor code that obliges companies with over 50 workers to begin negotiations with employees and guarantee them the right to ignore their smartphones outside of working hours.
It’s no secret that the rise of the smartphone has created an always-on culture, but while that has led to leaps in productivity it has also seen workers around the world burn out more quickly, compromise their work-life balance and become more stressed. Cabinet Eleas found that 12 percent of France’s working population suffers from a "burn out syndrome," with 37 percent admitting they use their devices outside of working hours each day.
Why telecom companies must take advantage of the gig economy
The most successful telecommunications enterprises are those that embrace new technologies, and think about ways that new business models or approaches can drive revenue gains while reducing costs. Such companies emphasize not only building network "plumbing", but also offering real connected solutions to their customers. In short, successful telecom companies understand that continuous innovation is imperative to their success.
However, while telecom companies may aspire to work and think dynamically, many are discovering that they do not have the right in-house talent to address evolving industry developments. The desire for network engineers who can climb poles and install equipment has been replaced with a need for software developers who can develop media and content distribution strategies, and many telecom companies are struggling to fill this talent void.
Online business startups are hitting an all-time high
Recent market analysis and reports are suggesting that more people are starting businesses of their own right now than ever before. This rise in the number of small startups around the world in the last few years is a direct result of growth in the online sector.
Young and successful entrepreneurs like Sam Ovens have inspired and paved the way for thousands of potential business ideas to come into fruition by using the internet and all it has to offer. Taking a deeper look into the reports that the analysts have conjured up regarding online businesses, it is possible to trace out a few root causes behind both the rise of ecommerce, as well as its recent success.
The effect of cybercrime on businesses and consumers
Here we are, at the end of the first month of a new year and where are we? Well, I guess that very much depends on who you are. If you're a hacker, then things are looking good for you. If you're a consumer, the evidence suggests you won't be fooled twice, but is that good enough? And if you're a business, you've got the same security problems as last year but with enhanced threats from hackers and careless employees as well as enhanced expectations from consumers.
So, exactly what is happening in today's security world and what does it mean for you?
Cisco acquires intelligence software company AppDynamics
Tech giant Cisco has announced that it is buying AppDynamics, a privately-held application intelligence software company headquartered in San Francisco.
The deal is worth $3.7 billion, and will be completed in cash and assumed equity awards.
Demand for security pros in UK rises by 46 percent
To say that IT security professionals in the UK are in demand would be a severe understatement. A new report by Experis says there has been an increase of 46 percent in the demand for both permanent and contract IT security professionals.
The report, entitled Tech Cities Job Watch, says companies are putting more emphasis on long-term investments.
Security is more important than availability in app development
Security is now the top priority for app development, surpassing availability, a new report by F5 Networks states. The State of Application Delivery report is based on a poll of more than 2,000 IT, networking, application, and security professionals worldwide.
Looking at how they are deploying and managing their applications in a rapidly evolving landscape, the report also says that organizations in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa), expect more than three quarters (76 percent) of their apps in the cloud this year.
Net neutrality repeal? Bad idea, say IT pros
The vast majority of IT professionals (82 percent) that manage computer systems and Internet services of US-based businesses are in support of net neutrality.
This is the conclusion of a recently released report by Spiceworks, which tackles the topic of net neutrality and how its abolishment might affect businesses.
4 big security threats facing your small business
You no longer have to be a large corporation to draw the attention of cybercriminals. In fact, your small business could be appealing to hackers, simply because you don’t have the same level of security that a big firm can bring to bear.
Learning more about the most common risks can help you protect your organization and ensure you don’t fall victim to a scammer.
Should geo-blocking be an option for DDoS prevention?
2016 should have reinforced what security experts have been telling us over the years. Cyberattacks are not a matter of "if" anymore but "when."
Last year, there was no such thing as "too big to fail" as top tech firms like Yahoo!, Dropbox, and LinkedIn all reported data breaches. Internet services provider Dyn, which is used by Twitter and Spotify, was also hit with traffic-based attacks, affecting uptime of these popular sites. Banks and government institutions also fell victim to attacks that compromised information of millions of users -- a bank in Sri Lanka even lost billions of dollars to spoofed international transactions.
Mobile ad-blocking will get out of control in 2017
It wasn’t just the news of Trump and Brexit that dominated headlines in 2016 -- adblocking also remained high on the news agenda after experiencing a roller-coaster year. Murmurs among the industry claimed that 2016 would represent a possible adblocking Armageddon, while the IAB’s CEO and president, Randall Rothenberg, spewed the words of Adblock Plus (ABP) as "extortionists, internet killers, an unethical, immoral, mendacious coven of techie wannabes."
But that wasn’t all. In August, an epic back-and-forth battle between ABP and Facebook kicked-off as we successfully circumvented each new update made by the social media giant to uphold the users’ rights of blocking ads on the desktop version of the site. And if that wasn’t enough, in late November we once again proved that adblocking is 100 percent legal after a sixth court win, this time over German publisher Spiegel Online.
Lloyds bank hit by DDoS attack
The Lloyds Banking Group fell victim to a massive cyberattack this week, that was responsible for temporarily disrupting its services.
The attack is being attributed to an international hacking group. It launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the company's online services that lasted for two days. During this time, customers were reportedly unable to make payments online or check their account balances.
Most UK businesses still unaware of GDPR
Despite the fact that the media has dulled its teeth and worn out its keyboards, talking and reporting about the General Data Protection regulation (GDPR), less than half (47 percent) of businesses in the UK are aware of it. What’s more, just four in ten (40 percent) are fully aware of the NIS Directive.
Both documents will be coming into effect in 2018, and will significantly change how we do business online.
Almost half of UK CEOs not assessing AI's impact
UK CEOs aren’t giving artificial intelligence (AI) and automation the right attention, and that’s putting the entire country’s economy at risk.
This is according to a new report by PwC, which was published at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It says that almost half (47 percent) of UK’s CEOs are not addressing the impact AI and automation can have on their organisation.
One in three workers expect some tasks to be automated soon
Workers are ceding responsibility for learning new skills to their employers, according to a new report by BMC. After polling 3,200 office workers in 12 countries, it was concluded that workers like the idea of enhancing their work lives through technology.
However, 40 percent don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with the pace of change, and 88 percent say the responsibility of innovative cultures lies in the hands of their employers.
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.