Connect-World’s Digest – Issue 62– May 2017
Editorial Manager’s Eye, By Anthony Weaver, Editorial Manager Connect-World publications
Welcome to the Connect-World Digest, which provides a summary of the ICT trade events and news items that have recently caught my eye as Editorial Manager.
For more information on the news items, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below. https://www.connect-world.com/index.php/press-releases?start=300
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Trade Events
BroadcastAsia, Singapore 23-25 May 2017
Spanning across three levels of Suntec Singapore, BroadcastAsia2017 concluded successfully over the three-day event from 23 – 25 May. Trade attendees from the broadcasting and digital multimedia industries saw a wide range of innovations and took part in a plethora of value-added activities at the show floor which allowed them to bring away knowledge and insights from experts.
Held concurrently with CommunicAsia and EnterpriseIT2017 that took place at Marina Bay Sands, the three events saw a total of over 40,000 trade attendees of which 45% were from overseas.
Ref: http://www.broadcast-asia.com/2017/about-broadcastasia/broadcastasia2017-show-review/
CommunicAsia, Singapore 23-25 May 2017
CommunicAsia is the annual trade show in Asia that addresses current and emerging issues in the ICT and digital convergence. It is focused on the latest technologies for applications, solutions and hardware. This digital convergence ICT trade show is a major point of contact between industry leaders and potential customers from leading enterprises. CommunicAsia reflects the synergistic trend in the infocomm and digital media industries and gives solutions and new technologies for different fields such as: 3G/HSPDA FMC Gaming IPTV FTTH Mobile Entertainment / Mobile TV NGN VoIP WiMAX.
Ref:
Press Releases
Wednesday 31st May
Panic! Contactless card fraud is on the rise!
Contactless card fraud hit £7m in the UK in 2016, up from £153k in 2014. Cue click-bait headlines about fraud soaring by almost 4,500%. When you dig a bit deeper, this is both mischievous scaremongering and quite misleading.
Salacious spending spree
Firstly, the article explains how contactless card theft allows criminals to “go on a spending spree without knowing a PIN or any other card details”. In reality, any spending spree is limited to between one and three contactless transactions, under £30 (in the UK). After which the thief will be challenged to enter the card PIN, keeping contactless ‘spending sprees’ to a maximum of £90. Also, assuming you report the theft in a timely manner, your issuing bank will carry full liability for these fraudulent transactions and your money returned to you.
On face value, a 4,500% increase in fraud sounds serious, however, without considering the rate of growth of contactless cards over the same period, the statistic is pretty meaningless. Google to the rescue…
According to the UK Cards Association, there were 43.3 million contactless cards in circulation in March ‘14 compared to 107.4 million in March ‘17. That’s a 148% increase. Admittedly this stat is not going to grab as many headlines, but it goes some way to explain the increase in fraud.
It doesn’t of course explain away a 4,500% increase, but when you consider this started from a very low base, the rate of growth is less important than the absolute number. So, using the UK Cards Association data again, in 2016 £21.8bn was spent on contactless cards. This means that £7m in fraud amounts to just 0.03% of the whole, all of which is effectively underwritten by the issuing banks once card loss is reported.
Resource Solutions releases new Robot Revolution eBook
The latest Resource Solutions eBook, Robot Revolution, explores how robotics and automation are beginning to make a meaningful impact in the field of HR & recruitment.
Commenting on the rise of robotics and automation within recruitment Faye Walshe, Director of Innovation at Resource Solutions, says:
“With an increased focus on cost and time efficiencies, we’re seeing growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and robotic capabilities. AI in recruitment is showing incredible promise. It is a fast and growing space and we’re starting to see some exciting first movers enter the market.”
“There will always be fear and a certain amount of risk associated with the adoption of new technology. But at Resource Solutions, we believe the benefit could outweigh the risk, and embracing the use of AI could allow our people the time to focus on the strategic imperative of creating closer human relationships with our candidates and clients.”
WiredScore on TfL’s plans for mobile reception on the Tube
“There is no question that consumers demand always-on access to connectivity – an Ericsson study revealed last year that delays in loading web pages increased stress levels, triggering a 38 percent surge in heart rate.
“While a number of stations along the TfL network already offer users WiFi services, full mobile phone coverage will enable users to fully make the most of their time on the tube – whether that’s checking Facebook or replying to emails. And with such vast lengths of time on the underground begrudgingly spent by commuters across the city every day, there’s no question that this will be a very welcome improvement to TfL’s service.
“This is the latest in a number of government and public sector announcements, committing to improving the digital infrastructure of the nation. The Conservative Government announced investments in both 5G and full-fibre in the Digital Strategy and Industrial Strategy, while the Labour Manifesto commits to improving mobile internet and expanding free public WiFi in city centres and on public transport. Finally, it is clear that we are approaching connectivity as a cross-party commitment.”
Thursday 25th May
Pocket Receptionist – SwitchboardFREE’s answer to missed calls
Competition between businesses for a place under the sun is fiercer today than ever before. For a product or service to remain well-positioned on the market, it must limit the number of missed sales opportunities and a great deal of these arise from unanswered phone calls.
Even though the humble phone is now seen as an ‘old’ technology, it still delivers the most qualified sales leads to business. It is difficult to imagine how much missed calls hurt businesses. There is a staggering statistic revealing that UK businesses are losing £31.6 billion each year because they fail to take their calls. SwitchboardFREE have been offering phone call management services for over 10 ten years and they have thoroughly analysed anonymous call data from more than 60,000 businesses in the UK alone, millions of calls, and over 100-million talk time minutes to discover the ways in which missed calls affect companies, small or large.
Wednesday 24th May
CyberSecurity4Rail Conference to respond to growing threat of cyber attacks in Europe’s digital rail systems and networks
Brussels event on 4th October 2017 unites experts in digital security/cybercrime, ICT and the transport industry to highlight threats and discuss solutions A key conference in digital security for the rail industry has been announced for later this year. Set to take place on 4th October 2017 in Brussels, the CyberSecurity4Rail event will bring together experts in cybercrime and digital security, plus leaders in ICT and representatives from transport and railway companies to discuss the threats and set out a vision for safer, more secure digital communications and data networks in the transport industry…
Wednesday 17th May
Is SVOD the Beginning of the End for Pay TV?
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services are fast eating market share of traditional Pay TV and gain millions of new viewers each year. But the rise of SVOD is not just about aggregating and distributing award-winning content. It’s about viewing choice. New SVOD producers let us watch what we want on whatever device we want and when we want. It is viewing choice on tablets, smartphones, television, whatever that is sounding the death knoll for traditional broadcasting.
Nokia, Finnish State Security Networks Group and Telia Finland trial prioritization of public safety traffic over LTE networks
Nokia, together with Finland’s public safety network provider, State Security Networks Group, and Telia Finland have successfully trialed the use of network features, developed by Nokia, which ensure public safety communications are given priority over any other voice or data traffic in busy 4G/LTE networks.
LTE can support mission-critical operations securely and cost-effectively, enabling new capabilities for public safety agencies, such as video, in addition to traditional voice communications, to enhance situational awareness, command and control, and the safety of both first responders and the public. As such, a vital step in the transition towards LTE-based public safety networks is to give priority to first responders and their command centers allowing them to share mission-critical information in emergency situations.
Tuesday 16th May
Artificial Intelligence: Is It the Future of Home Design?
According to a new report from Tractica, AI software application will grow from $1.4 billion in 2016 to $60 billion by 2025. AI is currently taking over various professions, often proving that artificial mind can be more powerful, precise and creative than human. While AI has dominated chess for a long time, it has recently triumphed over humans in poker. Expanding the realm of traditional AI challenges, AI has just introduced an entirely new way of creating products by producing the famous Elbo chair, which combined aerospace engineering software with artisanal craftsmanship tool.
Friday 12th May
Comments: NHS cyber attack
Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of web security firm, High-Tech Bridge:
“So far it’s not yet clear when exactly the infected machines were compromised, but quite probably it’s a very recent large-scale phishing attack targeting hospitals with ransomware. But we cannot exclude a well-thought out attack, planned and prepared for months, which continuously infected more and more NHS victims, preparing to demand ransom at once and cause panic.
Without further technical investigation – it’s impossible to say who is behind the attack, but it can be virtually anyone – from a small group of Black Hats seeking profit, to a state-sponsored hacking group. In any case – this incident clearly demonstrates how our everyday life depends on technology and how vulnerable we are.
Tuesday 9th May
Technology has brought about a number of advancements in efficiency and the ease of doing business in Africa
Africa’s CEOs are confident that the outlook for business on the continent remains positive notwithstanding the unpredictable economic and socio-political climate. PwC’s (www.PwC.com) Africa Business Agenda report shows that 85% of African CEOs (Global: 85%) are confident in their own company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months. Despite the fact that only 30% of CEOs in Africa (Global: 29%) believe the global economy will improve in the next year, no less than 97% (Global: 91%) are confident about the prospects for their own company’s growth in the medium term.
Hein Boegman, CEO for PwC Africa, says: “This level of optimism is the highest recorded since we started our research on Africa CEOs in 2012. However, in the past year we have seen a change in the outlook for some countries as external developments impact many of the drivers of
Africa’s growth.
Tuesday 2nd May
M-Commerce : 86% of UK digital shoppers have made a purchase via smartphone
Actinic, Europe’s Number 1 e-Commerce solution, unveils the results of the tenth annual ‘e-Merchant profile’, a study carried out by Actinic between November and December 2016 comprising data from 2,100 European companies. The study confirms that mobile is fast becoming a key sales channel.
The study shows the speed at which people are adapting to m-Commerce as a mode of consumption. More than a quarter of digital sales are now conducted via smartphone, reaching 28% in the fourth quarter during the run-up to Christmas.
The trend is likely to increase further in 2017. According to the survey, more than half of all e-Merchants (54%) have seen more than 10% of their overall sales taking place through mobile channels, three times the number in 2015.
Monday 1st May
34 Countries (and Counting) Disrupt the Global Economy by Locking Data Behind Their Borders Under False Pretenses; New Report Catalogues These Barriers, Urges Policymakers to Roll Them Back
WASHINGTON—Data is the lifeblood of the modern global economy, yet 34 countries and counting have enacted unwarranted policy restrictions that make it more expensive and time consuming—if not illegal—to transfer data across national borders. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) provides a complete catalogue of these barriers to the flow of data and a review of studies detailing their economic costs in a new report out today.
For more information on the news items, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below. https://www.connect-world.com/index.php/press-releases?start=300
Anthony Weaver
Editorial Manager
Connect-World Magazines
United Kingdom
Email: anthony.weaver@connect-world.com
Web: www.connect-world.com
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