Online vs offline: How COVID-19 has forced the world to go digital


After COVID-19 forced the UK to stay at home, we have had no choice but to make some changes to our everyday lives. A lot of us have used our time wisely and come up with some quirky ways to continue life as somewhat normal -- just with a virtual take on things. Being blessed with the age of digitalisation, our digital devices do just about everything for us at the click of a button.
The pandemic has seen a digital transformation in everything from online weddings to an an e-commerce takeover. According to a recent Ofcom report, the average daily screen time for TV and online video content increased to six hours 25 minutes per day since April 2020. This is up by almost a third from the year prior. In this article, we will discuss how COVID-19 has forced the world to digital in recent months.
Developers play a key role in digital transformation despite COVID


Developers are playing a key role in helping enterprises meet their digital transformation goals despite facing significant challenges from COVID-19 according to new research from Couchbase.
The survey of 450 European and US senior IT decision makers finds 92 percent of respondents believe that DevOps could have a revolutionary impact on their digital transformation efforts, while 63 percent say that the flexibility to change their goals when needed has been helpful in meeting their digital transformation goals.
Remote working adds to threats but security stays strong


The pandemic-driven switch to remote working has brought more threats, but overall cybersecurity posture has remained strong, according to a new report.
The study from security orchestration, automation and response company Siemplify attributes this to greater investment in security automation technologies and reliance on managed security service providers.
How to onboard new starters in the COVID-era


COVID-19 has completely transformed the way we work. As the rapid spread of the virus forced the UK Government to impose a national lockdown on March 23 2020, businesses across the country were forced overnight to operate remotely. Indeed, many employees have not worked in a traditional office setting for almost one year.
In most cases, workforces have successfully acclimatized to this 'new normal'. Communication platforms such as Zoom and Slack have reigned supreme, ensuring that teams are able to communicate on a daily basis with little hindrance to their performance.
The impact of COVID-19 on modern retailers


There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the landscape of the retail sector. Social distancing regulations and civil anxiety surrounding the virus mean that physical stores do not offer the same browsing experience as we would usually expect. Meanwhile, a growing reliance on online shopping has been boosted by instructions to remain at home as much as possible.
The impact of COVID-19 and our new shopping behaviors have a profound effect on retailers. Changed buying experiences, falling and rising sales, and new consumer demands have defined an adverse year in retail. Here, we look at how customers and businesses have been affected by these changes.
Pandemic boosts the importance of data privacy


A rapid shift to remote work and the need to make use of individuals' health information has led to greater emphasis on the importance of privacy protections during the pandemic.
The fourth annual Data Privacy Benchmark Study from Cisco, released today, analyzed the responses of 4,400 security and privacy professionals across 25 countries and explores attitudes towards privacy legislation and the emergence of privacy metrics being reported at senior level.
StarTech.com launches Sneeze Guard to prevent COVID-19 spread in offices


Listen, folks, your snot is gross and it always has been. Nowadays, however, it is also very dangerous -- and potentially deadly. You see, when you sneeze and send that disgusting snot airborne, the aerosol mucus can spread the COVID-19 virus. Due to failures of the Trump administration, the virus is still spreading like wildfire. Hopefully President Biden can provide actual leadership, but I digress.
While many people are working remotely these days, others are still forced to work in an office environment, unfortunately. Every time these brave workers leave the house and head to work, they risk contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to loved ones. Thankfully, StarTech.com has a new product that can help prevent the spread of the virus -- a sneeze guard that attaches to your computer monitor.
2021 set to be the year of the vaccine scammers


The roll out of vaccines is seen as the light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 crisis, but like any major event it's also an opportunity for scammers and cybercriminals.
Deep learning-powered fraud prevention company Bolster has released a new report which finds that leading indicators foreshadow a raft of COVID-19 vaccine scams.
The post-pandemic impact for Service Provider Networks in 2021


The year 2020 was challenging to say the least. Between the pandemic, shutdowns, wildfires and other natural disasters, most of us will look forward to a new beginning in 2021. However, the pandemic response in 2020 will have a lasting impact on how and where consumers and businesses will use networks services, how service providers will build out their networks, and where they will invest in additional capacity.
On that basis, here are a few predictions for 2021 for service providers:
The state of SOCs in a post-COVID world [Q&A]


The past year and the rapid changes it has brought have placed a good deal of pressure on security analysts and made their work vitally important.
A new report from Respond Software and the Ponemon Institute takes a look at the state of security operations centers (SOCs) and how they're coping.
No more muffled conversations with the MaskFone


Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic mask wearing has become the norm in many public situations. While this might be good to prevent infection spreading it does have some downsides including muffled phone calls.
Consumer electronics company Binatone is using this week’s CES to launch a clever solution, a wireless headphone and facemask combined.
Pandemic accelerates moves to the cloud


The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major influence on spending and digital transformation plans in 2020 with many businesses speeding up plans to move to the cloud.
A new study from BillingPlatform of 300 CFOs and senior finance executives shows that this trend is likely to continue into 2021. Respondents named their three top priorities as investing in cloud-based technologies (42 percent), identifying ways to drive higher revenue through new products and services (41 percent) and reducing operating costs or capital investments (36 percent).
COVID-19 highlights barriers to zero trust adoption


With many large enterprises using Active Directory (AD) and Azure Active Directory (AAD) to control user permissions and access, this has become one of first places attackers look for weakness.
Add to this an acceleration of digital transformation projects due to the pandemic and more and more companies are looking to implement zero trust to stay secure. But a new report from One Identity suggests this transition may prove challenging.
Overcoming COVID-19: What finance leaders at recently-funded tech startups have learned so far


There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a testing year for everyone. According to data from PwC, 53 percent of CFOs expect a decrease in revenue and/or profits of up to 25 percent as a direct result of COVID-19. For many tech startups, that’s the difference between staying alive and closing for good.
With such uncertainty in the air, leadership teams have had to act fast and rethink their entire strategy.
Enterprises ramp up AI/ML spending despite deployment challenges


In response to the economic impact of COVID-19 companies are turning to their investments in AI to deliver both short-term cost-cutting and long-term technology innovation to drive revenue and efficiency.
A report from ML operations and management software specialist Algorithmia finds that 83 percent of organizations have increased their budgets for AI/ML and that the average number of data scientists employed has increased 76 percent year-on-year.
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