by Dotun Olagbadebo | Sep 21, 2017 | Business, Technology
6 IT Companies to Watch
Next-generation technologies are promising to revolutionize business processes. In many ways, it is a boon time for enterprise technology. for finance chiefs trying to pick their way through whitepapers, conferences, product pitches, and webinars, the array of products and vendors can be dizzying. And new IT companies pop up continually, making it difficult to keep up with the latest and greatest.
The 6 IT companies that make this list offer compelling products that address definable pain points in many businesses, and while many of these vendors are privately held, they look to be formidable players in their categories.
- Automation Anywhere.
Automation Anywhere is the clear market leader in the burgeoning field of robotic process automation (RPA), and 2017 is shaping up as a year when demand for RPA could explode. Like other RPA vendors, it sells robotics software designed to automatically replicate keystrokes that humans make to complete back-office processes. In the case of Automation Anywhere, such processes include procure-to-pay, quote-to-cash, human resources administration, and claims processing.
Automation Anywhere counts 27 channel partnerships that generate about 50% of its revenue. Forrester Research ranks it first, among many strong competitors, in both the strength of its product and the strength of its overall strategy.
- Sprinklr
Sprinklr manages more than 4 billion social connections in 150 countries and mines some two dozen social media channels for information about clients’ individual customers. Sprinklr incorporates that data directly into a client’s existing CRM system. The company co-exists with industry Goliaths, like Salesforce and products from Adobe and Oracle, and provides extra value for businesses that are looking to include social media in their advertising and marketing campaigns.
With more than 1,300 employees in 14 offices worldwide, the six-year-old company now lists 9 of the world’s 10 most valuable global brands as clients, including the likes of Nike, McDonald’s, and Microsoft.
- Oomnitza
Most vendors of IT management services focus mainly on “things” that by now are considered at least a generation or more old: desktop computers, laptops, cell phones, and servers.
Oomnitza, which raised a modest $2.3 million of funding in 2014 and since then has grown quickly, has a software-as-a-service subscription offering flexible enough to manage a lot more than laptops and cell phones: its product manages the sensors and other new-age capital equipment that make up the Internet of Things. Oomnitza’s software tracks the lifecycle of devices and objects—from the time they’re budgeted pre-purchase, all the way to archiving the data generated by obsolete assets earmarked for destruction.
- Workiva
The company’s Wdesk cloud-based platform features proprietary word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications built on top of a data management engine. But don’t mistake Wdesk for a desktop application suite, because it’s in a whole other league. The platform offers synchronized data, controlled collaboration, granular permissions, and a full audit trail. Companies trust it for reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission, managing audits, and complying with Sarbanes-Oxley.
- SecurityScorecard
Founded in 2013 by Yampolskiy and Sam Kassoumeh, the former head of security and compliance at Gilt Groupe, the software-as-a-service provider collects “thousands of signals every second” regarding the cybersecurity of companies.
After gathering that data via a proprietary search engine and subscription services, the firm then assigns a company a letter grade from A to F. In language that’s a bit thick with tech jargon, the firm’s website gives an overview of the sources its search engine scans: “malware analysis pipelines, monitored hacker chatter crawlers, honeypot/sinkhole infrastructures, vulnerability cadence checkers, and deep social engineering sensors.”
- Slack
Slack’s secret is its simplicity. The platform lets users keep track of their messages by organizing them into channels. Instead of sending individual emails that get lost in inboxes, users can communicate directly with colleagues in real time. The conversations are searchable and highly transparent, although they can also be private. The company even rolled out voice and video chatting to users last year. According to Slack, its plug-ins, including popular ones for Trello, Skype, and Dropbox, are downloaded 415,000 times each month, making it one of the fastest-growing enterprise-messaging companies. But Slack’s simplicity doesn’t stop at messaging. The platform also allows users to share files by dragging them from the desktop and dropping them directly into the Slack app. It’s that efficiency and integration that Slack is betting on to boost growth in 2017.
Culled from http://ww2.cfo.com/technology/2017/04/20-tech-companies-watch/
by Onyia Ifeluwa | Sep 8, 2017 | Technology
IBM and MIT launch lab In Process of Fastening AI development
On Thursday, IBM and the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) announced a new $240 million research center called the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab that’s focused, at least in part, on how new hardware can help energize and grow AI technologies. The MIT- IBM Watson AI Lab centre is expected to provide the solutions to many problems after it’s purpose of existence must have been achieved.
“The field of artificial intelligence has experienced incredible growth and progress over the past decade. Yet today’s AI systems, as remarkable as they are, will require new innovations to tackle increasingly difficult real-world problems to improve our work and lives,” said Dr. John Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, Cognitive Solutions and Research in a statement.
The physics of AI is a critical area of study for the lab, said MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab co-chair Dario Gil in an email exchange with Mashable.
“Today, it takes an enormous amount of time to train high-performing AI models to sufficient accuracy. For very large models, it can be upwards of weeks of compute time on GPU-enabled clusters….Our teams will explore new materials, devices and architectures for analog AI computation, as well as the intersection of quantum computing and machine learning. The latter involves both using AI to help characterize and improve quantum devices, and also researching the use of quantum computing to optimize and speed up machine-learning algorithms and other AI applications,” he said.
furthermore, the MIT-IBM AI Lab will investigate existing and new AI algorithms and focus on how AI can help cybersecurity and healthcare, though Gil told me they will look at professional use of AI in other industries, as well.
Gil will co-chair the lab with Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering. They plan to ask MIT and IBM researchers to submit research proposals for joint study.
According to IBM, this 10-year collaboration will involve 100 researchers, professors, and students across IBM research centers in Cambridge Massachusetts and MIT’s campus.
The new AI lab is a continuation of along partnership with IBM. “Our ability to solve complex technology problems with MIT has given us the confidence to commit to a partnership of this magnitude,” he said.
Thanks for the information being shared with Mashable, it is obvious we are getting clearer vision of what the future of AI will look like.
by Onyia Ifeluwa | Aug 23, 2017 | Technology
In a few hours from now, Google will be holding a remote webinar, August 23rd, for businesses interested in adopting Chrome Enterprise.
What is the perfect definition of Chromebook? It is a laptop running the Linux -based Chrome OS as its operating system. The devices were originally designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and data utilizing cloud technology. The original Chromebook was an example of a thin client. Chromebooks are primarily sold both directly from Google and from the company’s retail partners. By 2012, schools had become the largest category of customer. That October, Google broadened its marketing strategy to include first-time computer users and households seeking an additional computer.
The good news now is that the company just announced a new enterprise version of Chrome OS that will make it much easier for businesses to use Chromebooks.
What are we expecting as features from this? Well it will interest you to know the following features are available: single-sign-on support, theft prevention tools, integration with Microsoft Active Directory, and the ability for businesses to remotely manage printers, browser extensions, software updates, and networks.
With their cheaper price tags and limited features which has made them popular in schools, yet Google argues that its new enterprise features will make the devices attractive to businesses as well.
Google notes that that several hardware makers, like HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, are already building enterprise-ready Chromebooks, so it makes sense they would customize Chrome OS to these use cases. Still, it’s an interesting shift since Chromebooks have generally been thought of as too underpowered for most settings outside of schools.
That’s why an important selling point for businesses is Chromebooks’ ability to run Android apps from Google’s Play Store. Though Google has shown off consumer-facing apps and games in the past, there are now a number of business apps available for Chromebooks as well. Additionally, administrators can remotely manage Play Store apps for enterprise customers as well.
by Onyia Ifeluwa | Aug 18, 2017 | Technology
The influence of music in this modern day is indescribable; there is no doubt that music is the food of the soul. With the ever growing presence of technology and social media, it is amazing how far and wide a music composed or recorded in a particular place reaches every nook and cranny where human exists. This has impacted the bank statement of the individuals in the music industry, from the artists to the engineers to producers to make-up artist and the entire musical team.
A number of artistes have come out to strongly argue that technology has disconnected them from earning the deserved royalties they deserve and giving no thanks to the impact of music streaming services. Let us take Tinie Tempah as an example, the name should be familiar with followers of hip hop, an artist like Tinie Tempah accepts that the streaming era makes it difficult for artists to be properly compensated past a certain point. Having said that, the popular artiste admits to one of the significant effects of technology in this day which is, technology allowing him to connect and engage with fans on a one-to-one level through the social media platform. You would agree these feedbacks have helped and will continually help many artistes in knowing how, when and where to channel their musical energy while producing, which can be seen as an advantage to these artistes.
He also said that it has made the industry bigger and more inclusive, giving new artistes the opportunity to get their music heard when they would have had little chance before.
On the subject of new music platforms like Deezer, SoundCloud and Spotify – Tinie Tempah also emphasised how tapping into data can also help artists further their own creativity.
For him, understanding how a fan or listener feels about a new piece of music can prove far more valuable than money.
As you know argument goes up and down, some artists have also argued that while having a visible presence on Twitter and Facebook gives them a direct link to their fans; allowing them to gauge feedback and response, some have also come out to say it has taken away their creativity of being artistes.
Interestingly, the millennials are dictating the pace of the music industry in an influencing manner. With 15-20 year olds growing up with iPhones and Android rather than iPods and PCs, predictive technology is the present norm. This means that a feed tailored to unique musical tastes is an expectation rather than a perk.
At the same time, the fact that people now consume music passively – letting it find them rather than actively searching for it – takes away the linear aspect of listening to music.
Never mind even playing an album from start to finish – it wouldn’t be unusual for a 16-year-old to switch from Roberta Flack to The 1975 in the same playlist.
Whatever the case may be, it is certain that technology is the pillar of today’s century and the millennials are in business of controlling the pace of the musical empire.
It is also agreeable that technology has it own effect on some artistes from the financial aspect but could also be an advantage to many others; because many artistes that would have been denied the opportunity of becoming successful because they lack sponsor , have recently had little to worry about as far as they(artistes) are good and can produce valuable contents.
by Onyia Ifeluwa | Aug 17, 2017 | Technology
With this brief information on Pinterest, perhaps you would understand what it stands for, and this could inspire you to joining the community of existing users of Pinterest if you are not, and could propel you to becoming an effective user of this platform if you have been a passive user.
What does Pinterest stand for? Pinterest allows users to save images and categorize them on different boards. They can follow other users’ boards if they have similar tastes. The evolution of Pinterest is based on the shared interest of its users and relies on its members to produce the content.
For those familiar with Pinterest, you should agree that the most popular categories you can find in this platform are home, arts and crafts, style/fashion, and food. So, if your business falls into any of this category, I am yet to understand what could be delaying you from joining the community of this users.
Silbermann said he personally wrote to the site’s first 5,000 users offering his personal phone number and even meeting with some of its users. For those unfamiliar with the name Silbermann, he is the CEO of Pinterest, and his full name is Ben Silbermann. To Silbermann, Pinterest summarized the company as a “catalog of ideas,” rather than as a social network, that inspires users to “go out and do that thing.
In December 2015, Pinterest launched a new way for users to monitor price drops on buyable pins. “When users save pins, they’ll get a heads up when a price drops in the form of an in-app notification and an email. They can then jump straight to that pin and make the purchase.” In August 2016, Pinterest launched a video player that lets users and brands upload and store clips of any length straight to the site. On August 23, 2016, Pinterest announced that it would be acquiring the team behind Instapaper, which will continue operating as a separate app. The Instapaper team will both work on the core Pinterest experience and updating Instapaper.
Before 2013, Pinterest only accounted for about 2 percent of global social-mediated sales; however, it has recently substantially increased to about 23 percent. People use social media sites like Pinterest to direct or guide their choices in products. However, at this time, the data collected from Pinterest is predominantly from female users. A recent study found that 80% of Pinterest users are women.
Pinterest won the Best New Startup of 2011 at the TechCrunch Crunchies Awards. At the 2012 Webby Awards, Pinterest won Best Social Media App and People’s Voice Award for best functioning visual design.
In March 2017, the company came under the scanner of the Chinese Internet laws. China has decided to block Pinterest. This decision came as a major shock to the users in China and further throws light on China’s curtailment of freedom of speech.
Internet service providers in India had blocked Pinterest following a Madras High Court order in July 2016 to block a list of around 225 “rogue websites indulging in online piracy and infringement of copyright”. Considering that Pinterest is an online bulletin board and not a file sharing service or a video streaming service, it was a surprise for many. The block was temporary.
It is not surprising that irrespective of this disapproval by the above countries, many of her citizens admit the importance of this powerful platform. Pinterest can add a lot to your business than you can ever imagine.
Thanks for the presence of Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, and majority of the information on this article was gotten from it.
by Onyia Ifeluwa | Aug 15, 2017 | Technology
What do we know about Samsung? It is reported that Samsung is the world’s second largest information technology company by revenue, after Apple.
Remarkably, Samsung Electronics has assembly plants and sales networks in 80 countries and employs around 370,000 people. Since 2012, Kwon Oh-hyun has served as the company’s CEO.
Not sure you know Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones fueled by the popularity of its Samsung Galaxy line of devices. The company is also a major vendor of tablet computers, particularly its Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab collection, and is generally regarded as pioneering the phablet market through the Samsung Galaxy note family of devices.
You also need know that Samsung has been the World’s largest television manufacturer since 2006, and the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones since 2011.
The company has set an ambitious goal of reaching $400 billion in annual revenues within ten years. The company has 24 research-and-development centers around the world, and since the early 2000s and in the Vision 2020, Samsung has emphasized technical research and development. However, the large number of online complaints indicate that the company is weak at listening to customer feedback regarding the design of its technology and software.
In Q1 2015, Samsung’s profit dropped 39% to USD4.35 billion due to heavier smartphone competition from Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as a slew of Android competitors.
On 2 May 2017, Samsung has been given permission from The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea to start testing a self-driving car technology. According to the Korea Herald, the company will be using a customized Hyundai car for the tests.
The company focuses on four areas: digital media, semiconductor, telecommunication network and LCD digital appliances.
The company overtook Apple in worldwide smartphone sales during the third quarter 2011, with a total market share of 23.8 percent, compared to Apple’s 14.6 percent share. Samsung became the world’s largest cellphone maker in 2012, with the sales of 95 million smart phones in the first quarter.
During the third quarter of 2013, Samsung’s smartphone sales improved in emerging markets such as India and the Middle East, where cheaper handsets were popular. As of October 2013, the company offers 40 smartphone models on its US website.
The above are what I have gathered about Samsung on the surface so far; please feel free to share with me any information on Samsung you feel should be added to this article.
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