Digital Bulletin - Issue 36

DIGITAL BULLETIN Issue 36

THE GREAT RESIGNATION Fight is on to attract and retain talent

LLOYD’S OF LONDON

CIO Rebecca Bunyan speaks to Digital Bulletin

2022 TECH TRENDS Ten experts give their verdicts on the technologies tipped to shine in 2022

JAMES HENDERSON Content Director

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s we head into a new year it is only natural that we look forward, hopeful of what the next 12 months might bring.

The enterprise technology space is no different and with the breakneck pace of progress, there is much about which to be excited.

In that spirit, Digital Bulletin has put a crack team of 10 experts together this month to run the rule over some of the tech trends predicted by Gartner to enjoy a breakout 2022.

Some of the themes will be familiar, with the likes of hyperuatomation and cloud-native platforms tipped to pick up where they left off in 2021.

But there are some new tech categories to keep an eye on, such as Data Fabric, Decision Intelligence and Distributed Enterprise.

Thanks to all of the experts for taking

part and giving us an insight into the tech that will drive enterprise forward in 2022.

Another area business will have to get right next year - especially in the tech and digital space - will be personnel.

There’s no doubt you’ll all have read about ‘The Great Resignation’ in recent months and a report from Boston Consulting Group has revealed that as many as 40% of employees working in digital fields are looking for a new role, while almost 75% expect to leave their current position in the near future.

We look at how companies can use technology to lighten the load on their existing employees and empower them to be more productive in the right areas, while also exploring the security implications of large-scale employee turnover.

For that and much more read on.

I hope you enjoy the issue and have a great holiday season!

PUBLISHED BY STRANGERS MEDIA LTD, Norwich, UK Company No: 11454926 DIGITAL BULLETIN

TALK TO US editorial@digitalbulletin.com business@digitalbulletin.com

Contents 06

Digital Policy

10

Funding

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News analysis

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Tech Trends 2022

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Looking at the UK-Singapore Digital Economic Agreement

In conversation with Ricardo Amper, CEO & Founder of Incode

The Great Resignation hits tech

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Ten experts look at the tech trends to watch

People Digital Bulletin speaks to Lloyd’s of London CIO, Rebecca Bunyan

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2 66

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70 52

60 60

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Connectivity Transforming telecoms during the pandemic

Data Intelligence Democratising data in fragmented times

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A Life in Tech

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Closing Bulletin

Paul Stark looks at how technology has changed the boardroom

Grayce’s Sarah Marshall on microlearning

MONTH IN REVIEW

TOWARDS A DIGITAL ECONOMY Each month, Digital Bulletin analyses one of the digital policies that countries are enforcing with the goal of regulating the online world. In this issue, we look at the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement

AUTHOR: Beatriz Valero de Urquía

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DIGITAL POLICY

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he UK has taken one more step towards a digital economy with the announcement of the Digital Trade Agreement (DEA) with Singapore, presented as the ​​world’s most comprehensive digital trade deal, and the first of its kind to be signed by a European nation.

The UK’s economic relationship with Singapore was estimated to be worth $21 billion in 2020, of which around 70% could have been digitally delivered, according to the Singapore Ministry of Trade. The UK Board of Trade has said that the deal is planned to overhaul “outdated” trade rules and demonstrate the potential for digital trade regulations to other members of the World Trade Organization. The two countries have completed negotiations for the deal and agreed in principle to its latest version.

The agreement covers data rules, artificial intelligence as well as financial, regulation, digital identities and legal technologies. It will advance end-to-end digital trade via common and interoperable digital systems for e-payments, e-invoicing and other electronic documents, ensure high standards of data protection and prohibit data localisation requirements, including for financial services.

“The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement represents another crucial

milestone in the digitisation of trade documents,” says Carl Wegner, CEO at Singapore-based digital trade finance network Contour. “With Singapore emerging as a key player in Asia’s growing finance and tech-scene, the agreement is a welcome step in boosting Singapore’s status as a global fintech hub as well as driving the overarching shift towards digital trade.

“Although the technology has existed for years, the industry has long awaited a set of internationally recognised guidelines to provide the stimulus for the widespread adoption of digital trading tools. By offering a clear commitment to digitise trade documents, the DEA will offer banks and businesses in the UK and Singapore the legal certainty they need to make the transition towards a fully digital trading environment.”

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Carl Wegner CEO of Contour

Catherine McGuinness City of London Corportation Policy Chair

Jade Francine Co-Founder of WeMaintain

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The DEA builds on and goes beyond previous agreements between the two nations with the goal of enabling businesses, especially SMEs, to leverage a greater range of opportunities in the growing digital markets.

Moreover, Singapore and the UK have already signed three partnerships to collaborate on digital trade facilitation, digital identities, and cybersecurity.

The projects will aim to make digital transactions easier, safer and cheaper for businesses in both countries.

Jade Francine, Co-Founder of WeMaintain, explains how the deal presents an excellent opportunity for companies who wish to trade in SouthEast Asia, like her own.

“The UK is Singapore’s largest services trading partner in Europe and the Asian economy’s second-largest European investor,” she says. “Having now opened an office outside of the European Union, firstly in the UK, and now in Singapore it’s important for us to be able to manage data flows effectively across both territories.

Thankfully, the agreement will enable interoperable systems for digital payments, secured data flows, and digital identities, and greater cybersecurity collaboration between the UK and Singapore. I do think this a rare case of the right trade deal at just the right time.”

DIGITAL POLICY

The agreement is set to enable companies in both countries to benefit from the enhanced efficiency and security that digitisation brings. With technology set to play an increasingly important role in the development of global commerce, it is likely that more digital trade agreements will follow the deal in replacing legacy processes with new and innovative solutions.

“While we await further details on how these provisions will work for firms practically, we also look forward to seeing similar agreements announced in 2022 with our partners and friends across the world,” says City of London Corporation Policy Chair Catherine McGuinness.

Although this agreement is a first for Europe, it isn’t so for Singapore.

The Asian economic powerhouse has signed three other DEAs with Australia, Chile and New Zealand as part of its mission to advance collaboration in the digital economy and enhance digital connectivity.

These agreements are set to set a global benchmark for high-standard digital trade rules, and benefit people and businesses in all the countries involved.

Deal after deal, Singapore is a step closer to powering the global digital economy, and the UK is jumping onboard. The question is: who will be next to bet on digital trade?

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IDENTITY MATTERS Digital identity startup Incode is one of technology’s newest unicorns, with a $220m funding round valuing the business at $1.25bn. Digital Bulletin spoke to Ricardo Amper, CEO & Founder, to find out what comes next INTERVIEW: James Henderson

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INCODE

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ongratulations on the Series B funding round, what are your initial thoughts on the raise?

We’re incredibly thrilled as a team that Incode has raised $220 million in equity for its Series B funding round, giving the company a $1.25 billion valuation, reaching unicorn status in less than seven months following our Series A round. We’ve grown at a spectacular rate because of the trust that our customers - some of the biggest banks, fintechs, governments, telcos, hotel groups and hospitals in more than 12 countries - have placed in us and our product. This is the first step in a promising future that will set the bar higher for us as leaders in the identity industry.

Could you tell us a bit about Incode and its ambitions?

We are an identity company based in San Francisco that is working on a tech stack that allows someone to open up a bank account, or check into a hotel or a hospital, in 30 seconds. We are engineering a whole set of features that include world-class facial recognition technology that has the ability to recognise whether someone is sending a fake photo, video or wearing a mask and if so, clean up a really blurry ID document so it can actually be read.

We are creating multiple components on a platform that over time will allow us to accomplish our vision of ‘one identity everywhere’.

Our mission is to create trust by reinventing the way people authenticate and verify their identity online. One of the reasons why we’ve grown so much - more than 10 times in valuation - is because, fundamentally, identity is being reinvented as we speak. In the next five years, the way we interact with each other, in terms of identity verification and how we interact with computers, is going to be completely revolutionised.

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How does Incode plan on using the funds from the raise?

With the resources we’re raising we’ll redouble our efforts to create highly innovative products, lead the identity industry, strengthen our partnerships with our customers and continue to hire exceptional individuals to achieve our mission to power a world of trust.

SVCI participated in the round, could you tell us a bit about the group and its ambitions?

Silicon Valley CISO Investments (SVCI) is composed of over 50 leading cybersecurity professionals who came together with a passion for early-stage technology

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and the ability to solve complex challenges. This is particularly significant, as we are both a user experience company and security company. Part of our job is to ensure we can validate, with high levels of accuracy, people’s identity, while fighting fraud.

To have 35 of their 50 CISOs investing in Incode individually is a great validation of our technology. These highly experienced individuals evaluate many companies daily through SVCI or via their own professions. The fact that they choose to invest in Incode shows we’re on the right track and have a brilliant group of investors who can advise us to help grow the company and develop our vision.

INCODE

Our mission is to create trust by reinventing the way people authenticate and verify their identity online”

It takes the company’s funding to-date to almost $245 million, are we likely to see any further rounds in the near future?

This market is going to be worth $60 billion. There are one or two substantial companies that will emerge from this so it’s an industry that is going to require additional capital. As we expand around the world, it’s highly likely that we will do another round, probably not in February, but at some point in the next year or two.

Could you speak to us about some of the highlights of 2021?

The tailwinds of COVID-19 provided the necessary pressure on legacy use cases, such as opening a bank account, verifying one’s identity with a doctor, the ability to take classes online, or even being able to vote, to modernise and digitalise. As a result, many players were incentivised or forced to rapidly adopt new identification technology to validate the authenticity of users. While most identity verification companies rely ISSUE 36

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We strongly believe that society’s success is dependent on how much trust exists between people, companies and institutions”

upon a portion of their transactions to be verified by humans, we made the decision to do a fully automated flow at the very beginning.

As the only company employing a proprietary technology with a world class NIST-rated facial recognition and complete passive liveness, we were the second certified liveness technology in the world and the first passive one that did not require interaction from users, other than taking a photo. This, along with another set of technologies we created, resulted in being vertically integrated. In terms of false positives 14

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indicating fraud and false negatives indicative of friction, the performance is world-class. That, in addition to the platform we created plus the tailwinds COVID brought, has helped us grow unbelievably fast - to the tune of six times in sales, more than double our workforce, and ten times in valuation.

What are your ambitions over the next 12 months?

We will keep innovating, ensuring we keep enhancing our AI models and improving our product. To maintain our position of industry pioneers, we

INCODE

will continue to invest in leading facial recognition and passive liveness. We’re also going to be investing in geographic expansion in different industries. Right now, we see a great need for our technology in financial services and in marketplaces, but we’re starting to move into healthcare, as well, which we see as an ideal industry target.

What are some of the longer-term goals for Incode?

To power a world of trust. We strongly believe that society’s success is dependent on how much trust exists

between people, companies and institutions. When trust is high, the barriers for business are low, the interest rates are fairer and access to services are more widespread. Our technology is highly impactful. It democratises access to services. As geographic, location and human bias boundaries blur, everyone will have equal opportunity to access the same type of services. We have a direct impact on financial inclusion. Now, more than ever, we will continue to challenge the status quo, democratising access for the most vulnerable people, and spreading trust throughout the world.

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The digital jobs shift The Great Resignation is disrupting global business, with technology being no exception. Digital Bulletin looks at how companies can utilise tech to hold onto the best employees as well as the security implications of large-scale personnel change

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NEWS ANALYSIS

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s many as 40% of employees working in digital fields are actively job hunting, and nearly 75% are expecting to leave their current role in the near future. These were among the findings of a global survey of almost 10,000 employees in digital roles conducted

by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, a global alliance of recruitment websites.

The survey found that the opportunity to advance their careers is the main driver for technology employees looking to switch roles (63%), followed by looking for new challenges (49%).

For digital employees, having a good work-life balance continues to be the most valued aspect of their job. But financial compensation, in the form of

Paul Crerand

both salaries and long-term incentives such as stock options and shares, has gained ground, rising from fifth to third place since the survey was previously conducted in 2018.

Diversity and inclusion and environmental issues have also increased in importance over the last year for 61% of employees in technical fields. Fifty percent would not work for companies that do not share their diversity and inclusion beliefs; 48% take the same stance regarding environmental policies.

“Workers in digital roles emerged from the COVID crisis relatively unscathed and are now entering an overheated talent market with many options,” said Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic, associate director at BCG. “As companies across all industries digitise, salaries for tech talent have skyrocketed to a level where few employers can compete. However, our research shows that money isn’t everything — employers can still be attractive to digital talent with the right workplace culture and values.”

Paul Crerand, Field CTO at Mulesoft, believes that a convergence of factors is driving this trend, telling Digital Bulletin: “While there’s the same shortage of skilled developers that there’s been for years, it’s become more of a problem as organisations have faced increasing pressure to deliver digital services. The ISSUE 36

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challenge is that they simply can’t recruit the skills they need quickly enough to keep up with demand, so they’re unable to deliver on their digital ambitions, leading to customer dissatisfaction.

“Unfortunately, the skills shortage isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, and will only intensify as the demand for developers continues to rise across all sectors. It’s therefore crucial that organisations find a way to make their existing resources go further, while driving high 18

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levels of job satisfaction to ensure the developers they do have don’t jump ship.

“One way to achieve this is by using automation to empower developers to be more productive and deliver projects faster without increasing the pressure they’re under. This is best enabled through a combination of API management, integration, and automation, which enables organisations to remove the complexity from their systems and data and expose them as

NEWS ANALYSIS

experiences for customers. As well as relieving some of the direct pressure on IT teams, these approaches also enable business technologists – employees outside of the IT department – to drive innovation that meets their own needs, taking even more pressure away from IT. “Since there’s no need to write any code, or build services from scratch, it’s possible for business technologists to create new digital services without specific expertise in development. It’s this ‘clicks, not code’ approach that will help to alleviate the digital skills shortage, by promoting a better working environment and accelerating the delivery of digital services.”

Spending on automation spiked through the pandemic and the skills shortage will surely see yet more

reusable capabilities that are secured and governed by IT.” One of the technologies that has been the subject of much hype over the last 12-18 months is low and no-code, and Crerand thinks these tools and platforms could represent an opportunity for businesses.

“Low-code and no-code solutions are critical to this, enabling these reusable building blocks to quickly, easily, and securely be assembled into new digital

Param Kahlon

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businesses consider how they can use the technology to bridge the gap. Param Kahlon, Chief Product Officer, UiPath, says that people working side-by-side with virtual robotic assistants has become normalised and will become even more intrinsic over the next 12 months.

“Over the coming year, I expect to see Chief Human Resource Officers turning their attention towards automation and supporting the training necessary to allow more employees to reap its 20

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benefits. Training will broaden to include end-users who may become citizen developers. Expect these end-user programmes to focus on things like encouraging workers to adapt their daily patterns, adopt new processes, and learn to use their software robot assistants most effectively.”

But as well as the loss of knowledge and skills, large-scale staff turnover represents a security risk, with 2019 figures from Infosecurity showing that as

NEWS ANALYSIS

many as 72% of departing employees admit to taking company data and that 70% of intellectual property theft occurs within the 90 days before an employee’s resignation announcement.

“Insider threats have become a new, distinct challenge for organisations as they try to balance employee turnover, employee onboarding and the use of non-sanctioned apps and platforms for work. Corporate and personal data is now everywhere – spread across internal applications and the cloud,” comments James Alliband, Senior Security Strategist, VMware.

“Organisations need to ensure that, beyond simply tracking devices, they

James Alliband

have proper data governance in place, and that they enforce consistent security policies regardless of where the business data resides. They must prevent data exfiltration by creating clear security protocols for departing employees and to keep the network protected no matter where employees are joining and leaving from.

“Security teams also need the ability to accurately track identities as they move throughout networks – and be able to immediately restrict access when needed, particularly when an employee has left, to ensure adequate protection. This can only be achieved through a combination of multi-factor authentication and a zerotrust security strategy.”

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TECH TRENDS

Gartner has made its annual predictions on the tech trends to watch over the next 12 months. Digital Bulletin spoke to a number of experts to find out more about the technologies tipped to have a breakout year

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TECH TRENDS 2022

Hyperautomation Luis Huerta,

VP and intelligent automation practice head, Europe, Firstsource

I don’t think it’s a surprise that Gartner named hyperautomation a top strategic technology trend of 2022. The pandemic has only exacerbated the need to remove the dependency on staff being able to undertake business operations in a fixed location. Consumer demand is also evolving rapidly, and customers expect the ability to self-serve, use their digital channel of choice, and obtain answers quickly. Organisations can only serve this demand by automating their back offices, and the elements of the front office that are relevant, freeing up the time of expert staff to deal with the critical interactions that matter and require a human touch.

Leaders can certainly leverage hyperautomation to create competitive advantage in their business in several ways. One way is by improving customer experiences (faster resolution and fewer errors), so organisations can increase market share and reduce churn. Another, is by deploying

The pandemic has only exacerbated the need to remove the dependency on staff being able to undertake business operations in a fixed location” machine learning to analyse customer behaviour better, anticipate problems, and forecast better, so organisations can align better to their changing markets. Furthermore, by increasing staff satisfaction when low-value tasks are removed from their working day, we allow them to serve customers better. And finally, by reducing costs in the back office, we can release capital that can be deployed in driving other strategic priorities.

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Engineering AIAIEngineering Andre Azevedo, CEO, Ancoris

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unquestionably the decade’s favourite buzzword. Everyone in the technology sector is talking about it and the benefits that it brings in its path to becoming one of the most transformative tools in history. AI is becoming more and more mainstream, but businesses are still not making the most of it. In fact, recent research from Accenture uncovered that despite their best efforts, nearly 80% of enterprises failed

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to scale their AI deployments across their organisations last year.

It’s clear that some companies are struggling to keep up with the ever-changing AI developments, as they wrestle with how to collect, use and manage data in a cost-effective way.

The biggest challenge here is that organisations with traditional business models assume AI is only applicable for larger, more established corporations, so it’s becoming increasingly critical for businesses to better understand how they can adopt these tools, what the return on investment is and how best to manage AI in the long-term.

Ultimately, business leaders are not seeing enough real-life examples of AI success and best practices that will help them advance in their field and be better than their competition. AI will continue to play an important role in 2022 and businesses that make the most of it will be the ultimate winners in their markets.

Whether they use it to improve customer experience or the bottom line.

TECH TRENDS 2022

In 2022, we’ll see the continuing democratisation of AI which will help businesses to develop new and exciting offerings in line with their transformation efforts”

In 2022, we’ll see the continuing democratisation of AI which will help businesses to develop new and exciting offerings in line with their transformation efforts. Whilst we can predict a new wave of technological advancements, the industry needs to demystify the preconception that AI is just for large businesses, and demonstrate that the technology is suitable and scalable for companies of all sizes. With this, organisations will be able to provide a better customer experience, optimise resources, develop new products and offerings, to name a few benefits.

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Cloud-native platforms Scott Riley,

Director, Cloud Nexus

Cloud adoption is no new phenomena but with the sudden surge of remote working experienced in early 2020, ‘the cloud’ has been thrust back into the spotlight. In the modern-day business world, we’re no longer seeing such a large dependence on retrofitted legacy applications and instead, businesses are becoming aware of the need to migrate to the cloud.

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The issue is, those just joining the party are falling behind with an old hat ‘lift and shift’ approach to cloud-based operation - focusing only on creating a digital version of their on-premises network. Not only is this limiting how far modern architecture can be leveraged, but it is increasing their security risks and worse, prohibiting scaling at an appropriate level.

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In the modern-day business world, we’re no longer seeing such a large dependence on retrofitted legacy applications” Aside from the obvious risks, the reality is that cloud migration has moved mountains since it first became a thing and as Gartner points out in his 2022 predictions, the future is all about placing CNPs at the heart of digital initiatives – something which can be done by the rapid adoption of re-platforming. Re-platforming, i.e., migrating the server’s core function (but NOT the server) to a native Cloud Platform which is built specifically for that purpose, is the best IT decision a business can make as we head towards a cloud future dominated by CNPs. Question is, where might one start?

If the current day is anything to judge on, I’d say there are a few trends we can expect to emerge in 2022. Virtual machines, especially for traditional roles will soon be replaced by serverless

technology - web, database and app can instead run on the cloud provider’s fabric and businesses will begin to recognise this. What’s more, it’s a simpler way to operate as it provides the core function without having an operating system underneath in constant need of being patched, managed, and updated. It’s also distributed over multiple server nodes thus enhancing performance and availability. Serverless technology also has fewer security risks due to the dedicated nature and the removal of the general-purpose operating system, and with the number of data breaches and hacks we’ve seen this year, there’s no denying businesses will be on the hunt for a safer way to operate.

The biggest risk for businesses headed into 2022 is being paralysed by the fear of change and staying where they are, exposing themselves to the risk of a serious breach.

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Privacy Enhancing Computation Dr Ellison Anne Williams, Founder and CEO of Enveil

Data is the backbone of the digital economy. It can inform our decision making, increase our efficiency, and shape our behaviours. So naturally, most businesses are on a constant quest for better data — and more of it. At the same time, they also increasingly recognise that this data will not come from sources or inputs they own or control.

Organisations need to be able to leverage and collaborate with thirdparty data resources while respecting privacy boundaries and protecting business objectives. 2022 will be the year that we see a substantial shift towards using Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) to solve big-picture privacy challenges like secure data sharing and collaboration. With Gartner predicting 60% of large organisations will use these techniques by 2026, we expect more companies to begin exploring and implementing PETs-powered solutions to leverage data and extract value while still meeting compliance requirements.

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PETs has come into its own as a category for its ability to deliver both business-enabling and privacy-preserving capabilities that allow sensitive data assets to be shared and analysed without compromising security or inhibiting use. While PETs are not new, the category has gained visibility recently thanks to the growing prioritisation of privacy on a global

TECH TRENDS 2022

PETs can be used to uncover untapped revenue streams by allowing organisations to securely and ethically monetise data assets without fear of exposure” scale as well as advances that have made the technologies computationally practical for broad commercial use.

For example, PETs can be used to uncover untapped revenue streams by allow-ing organisations to securely and ethically monetise data assets without fear of exposure by allowing computations to occur in the encrypted or ciphertext domain.

As businesses transition out of pandemic survival mode and find their way back to innovative initiatives, we will see market leaders implementing PETs not only in pilot environments, but for practical use at scale. This will be especially prevalent in industries that handle vast quantities of sensitive data such as financial services, healthcare, and government.

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Data Fabric Stephen Jones,

Senior Sales at Seagate Technology

‘Data fabric’ sounds pretty technical, but this technology holds a huge amount of potential for enterprises. To understand why you need to think big.

The amount of data we produce is staggering, and it’s rising rapidly. We worked with IDC on projections that estimated the world’s enterprise data to grow by 42.2% annually over the next two years, and by 2025 all the world’s data will total 179 bn zettabytes (ZB). To put that in context, just 1ZB is equal to 1 billion terabytes (TB).

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But here’s the problem. Only 32% of business data that is generated is actually used by companies to create value, according to IDC research published in our Rethink Data report.

At the same time, our reliance on emerging technologies like AI is increasing – with widespread applications from healthcare to banking. These technologies require massive amounts of high-quality data to learn and carry out processes.

TECH TRENDS 2022

The amount of data we produce is staggering, and it’s rising rapidly” So, why are we letting so much data go to waste? One of the biggest reasons is the inability of businesses to cost-effectively store and manage that data, and by extension, filter out useful information from the bad.

This is where data fabric steps in.

Data fabric acts as an extra layer on top of IT infrastructure that standardises data running through it, in realtime. It pulls together disparate data from across an organisation – including private, public, and hybrid cloud environments, as well as endpoints, edge, and core systems – into one electronic environment.

Anything under the ‘fabric’ is standardised, simplifying the complexity many businesses struggle with and helping them get more value out of their data.

We’re expecting data fabric adoption to accelerate over the coming years, but one example of it in use today is Compute Express Link, an open standard collaboration between leading AI companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Alibaba. Compute Express Link connects the high-speed central processing units that power AI with other devices or memory storage in the data centre and relies on data fabric to do so.

Next year will likely bring some major leaps forward in the development of data-intensive technologies like AI, AVs, and quantum computing. These have exciting future applications but will need vast quantities of high-quality data. Data fabric will be a vital enabler if we are to maximise the potential of these technologies.

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Generative AI Dr Jai Ganesh,

Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation, Mphasis

Gartner predicts that generative AI will account for 10% of all data produced by 2025. I agree that it will emerge as one of the leading and most powerful technological trends, and its impact can be monumental.

Processing a range of content such as images, audio and text, machine learning algorithms can identify nuanced patterns and interconnections to create new content in a way that transcends what was possible before.

With improvements in hardware such as GPU, TPU as well as specialised AI chips, we should in the future be able to train the models with larger and more representative data sets.

The technology is game-changing to the business landscape because of its wide applicability to varied use cases – heralding exciting new opportunities across industries, not only for media but also healthcare, software, manufacturing and many more. It can open the door to new markets, services and products faster.

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I do also agree that, as with any cutting-edge development, there are the usual risks to take into consideration, such as the potential for misuse for fraudulent purposes. With fast-moving innovation in the field of generative AI, it’s vital to ensure the right risk management, responsible conduct and data safeguarding measures are firmly in place. And to ensure that companies harnessing this technology have the right digital skill sets on board to apply it. In the future, generative AI technology could embrace the principles of responsible AI by identifying bias in data sets and negating their usage, as well as provide explanations of the results produced.

Looking ahead, I strongly believe that generative AI will advance in tandem with the evolution of large language models as well as large multi-media models, as they play a critical role in the training of a vast range of AI content being generated.

TECH TRENDS 2022

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Composable Applications Chris Harris,

Vice President, Global Field Engineering at Couchbase

In 2022, we expect organisations will realise that technology composability needs to become a major priority, as they seek increased agility and simplicity in meeting business goals via on-premises, multi-cloud and edge deployments.

Instead of relying on monolithic architectures, businesses will move towards an approach where new digital applications are made using component parts with well-defined interfaces.

This could mean enterprises no longer have to reconfigure their server, storage

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and connectivity systems or manage underlying infrastructure. Instead, composability will expose all data and digital capabilities, enabling all services to be controlled from one single unified control plane that spans across all environments.

Not only will this enable greater simplicity, but for many organisations, adopting composability could be the difference as to whether they can navigate safely through changing business environments or not. Digital

TECH TRENDS 2022

Digital applications will also become easier to create and integrate, as businesses look to extend composability throughout their entire technology stack” applications will also become easier to create and integrate, as businesses look to extend composability throughout their entire technology stack. As a result, we expect organisations will be able to drive quicker digital transformation initiatives.

That’s because we think enterprises will be able to become more ambitious without needing to make extra investments. For instance, they’ll be able to create new services by making use of their existing skillset and digital capabilities. With reusable elements, applications will no longer need to be built from scratch meaning less reliance on specialist knowledge and resources.

In addition, most of the technology we’re seeing businesses turn to as they look to embrace a composable mindset,

doesn’t require additional training – again meaning faster transformations, that use less resources.

Those with complex legacy infrastructures may look at this idea as an impossible dream. However, capabilities such as legacy offloading and the ease of adopting cloud-based databases as a service, enable you to break out individual services from even the most complex applications quickly and effectively.

These are the reasons why we expect organisations worldwide will look to adopt composability. With demand for seamless digital experiences rising, and digital transformation budgets being squeezed, we think composability will allow enterprises to go the extra mile, without needing to expend extra resources or effort.

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Distributed Enterprise Callum Adamson,

CEO and Co-founder, Distributed

Gartner is late to the party this year in saying the ‘Distributed Enterprise’ will be the next big revenue driver for organisations, because its impact is already being felt as the most important global business trend. Although the pandemic forced most businesses to be ‘distributed’ in one way or another, the reality of being a distributed enterprise in the long-term is setting in. One of the key considerations here is the impact on building and maintaining a workforce.

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By embracing a world in which their workforce is far more dispersed, every business has access to a much wider, potentially global, talent pool. It’s hard to believe that the world’s best talent sits within the M25. That’s because it doesn’t. There are skilled workers all around the world. Organisations need to take advantage of the opportunity to broaden their horizons and see the talent available, unencumbered by geographical boundaries. Those that do will be in a better position to take a lead in the talent war. That’s because talent is global, but skills gaps are local.

If that’s not enough, it’s clear that remote working, which enables distributed enterprises, is also what the employees want. It’s actually good for them and their career progression.

After all, proximity to colleagues and managers in an office doesn’t automatically lead to valuable time spent together. When implemented properly, working remotely from wherever you are in the world can allow for better 1:1 time with teams and managers,

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because it must be planned. Meetings are more focused and structured, which ensures that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

However, the benefits of distributed enterprises extend far beyond the business, like more efficient asynchronous working. Cultivating teams that are distributed around a country, or beyond, means each member spends their money in the location they’re based in, which contributes to better wealth distribution. Our study with USC Marshall found that on average, every British pound paid to a distributed team member creates the equivalent of £2.14 in purchasing power across the world.

Investing in the global economy, rather than concentrated urban centres, can also improve local infrastructure such as education and healthcare. The solution to solving global inequality is of course far more complicated, but we cannot ignore the potential.

Taking all this into account, it’s hard to believe it has taken this long for businesses to realise the possibilities and benefits offered by the distributed enterprise. If they haven’t already, organisations should seriously consider how embracing a distributed enterprise model could drive future success, not just for the company itself but for their employees and global economies too.

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Decision Intelligence Russell Haworth, CEO NBS

Decision Intelligence; Gartner is predicting that this is a buzzword that’s going to be big in 2022. But what is it?

Simply put, it’s all about business choices. Decision Intelligence (DI) is the discipline which aims to improve an organisation’s decision-making by applying machine learning at scale.

Today, DI unlocks value in an organisation’s data, putting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the hands of commercial decision makers for the first time. This allows organisations to go beyond human limitations to analyse huge amounts of data, quickly use it for insight that will inform decisions, and be able to monitor the impact. The use of AI allows decision making to be faster, more consistent and higher quality, as machines don’t need to rest or have off days.

There are exciting case studies of businesses using DI to help manage their inventory, demand planning and some forecasting tasks.

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Netflix’s suggestions or chosen a book based on Amazon’s steer. These recommendation engines are powered by huge amounts of data and use analytics to make suggestions. This is truly DI in action as people are being helped to make better decisions.

You can imagine how frontline employees are keen to have appropriate information to help them do their jobs better. There’s a raft of new approaches to information design

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You may already have seen an element of technology informing behaviour, if you’ve made a film choice using Netflix’s suggestions or chosen a book based on Amazon’s steer” being created to help people synthesise complex information quickly and reach an informed decision. It goes beyond internal data and done well includes customer sentiment i.e. social listening to incorporate into near real-time analysis of data on which to optimise decisions.

There are some potential pitfalls to be mindful of. We’re talking about data, so as ever the quality of data that gets fed into the AI system is paramount.

You get out what you put in, so you’re probably going to have to spend some time getting the data in shape. There’s a real move to remove bias from datasets and to ensure that you’re being as equitable as possible in your AI endeav-

ours. This is obviously the morally correct thing to do. It’s also going to lead to competitive advantage if you’re analysing data that others aren’t!

As ever with a new technology coming into being, it can be an anxiety provoking time for employees.

However, the general consensus is that AI will lead to more, and better-quality jobs, as humans and machines work together and the AI picks up the boring, repetitive work that people aren’t very good at (in comparison to machines).

While you’re probably going to see a lot more articles written about DI, practical adoption of the technology is likely to be a case of phased evolution rather than a paradigm shift in the next year.

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Total Experience Professor Luciano Nardo Founder, NOW-fertility.com

Successful Total Experience will be a fundamental of global, digital platforms servicing medical sectors as virtual healthcare continues to grow post-pandemic.

Shifting to a digital platform will be particularly beneficial to fertility practitioners and patients: The traditional model of individual clinics operating in silos has disadvantages for both clinics and patients.

For patients, fertility treatment is emotionally and physically exhausting with waiting lists for the best clinics,

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often followed by long journeys for each consultation or investigation as treatment progresses. Additionally, there is little access to advice and support outside of in-person appointments and normal clinic business hours.

Meanwhile, clinic profitability relies on constant lead generation, while recruiting patients from a relatively small geographic location; clinics are also limited by the number of patients they can physically accommodate each day.

A successful TX for fertility services –

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and other healthcare services in the future, will be typified by a digital portal run by experienced physicians, nurses and counsellors offering 24/7, personalised and supportive consultancy and care.

Underpinning platforms will be Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). AI will assess, measure and tailor patient engagement, as well as being a tool for case triage and allowing clinicians to define clinical protocols for better and more consistent outcomes.

ML will demonstrate and educate patients about treatment strategies and the building of various models to analyse and use data to optimise outcome delivery.

Patients will be matched with the best-performing ‘partner’ IVF clinics based on their location and therapeutic needs, while investigations, ultrasound scans and blood tests will be performed close to the patients’ homes by an approved satellite clinic.

This digital, patient-centred, always-on

approach empowers the patient to be in charge of their own treatment cycle, effectively reducing the time, stress and costs involved in fertility treatment.

Clinics working in partnership with a digital portal will reap the benefits of acquiring and sharing specialist knowledge, while more easily being able to keep patients abreast of their treatment journey: Improved communication reduces the potential for errors and complaints.

Compared with traditional practice, clinics will also see improved margins and an expanded geographical reach, while reducing their financial commitment to marketing and advertising.

In turn, clinicians will benefit from data-driven, clinical decision support and a digital platform that fosters greater interaction with both patients, and other healthcare professionals.

In summary, the 360-degree nature of successful Total Experience will continue to drive better outcomes for each stakeholder in the fertility journey.

The 360-degree nature of successful Total Experience will continue to drive better outcomes for each stakeholder in the fertility journey”

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LETTING THE GO GUILT GO GO Rebecca Bunyan, Chief Information and Change Officer at Lloyd’s of London, shares her advice on how to let go of expectations to balance family life and a successful career in tech

AUTHOR: Beatriz Valero de Urquía

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LLOYD’S OF LONDON

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hirty years and three kids later, Rebecca Bunyan’s career is the definition of not just surviving, but thriving in the competitive environment that is the technology industry.

As she addresses a room full of fellow colleagues during the Women of Silicon Valley Roundabout Conference, she serves as proof that it is indeed possible to have it all: a successful job and a happy family life, as long as one learns to time-manage and lets go of the fear of failing.

Currently the Chief Information & Change Officer at Lloyd’s of London, Bunyan has previously developed her career across senior technology roles in the consulting, insurance and real estate industries, both in the UK and the US. Bunyan has led the development of the Hiscox NA and EMEA strategies as well as built the technology, data and cybersecurity strategies and 44

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functions for Aldermore. Now she is taking those learnings in cyber, technology risk management and resilience to her new role at Lloyd’s. What she enjoys most, Bunyan tells Digital Bulletin, is leading transformation and change programmes.

“I am genuinely energised by challenges and aspire to continue solving difficult problems as my career evolves,” she says. “I am known for holding high standards, both for myself and my teams. My leadership style is ‘collaborative yet decisive’ and I tend to balance analysis with action when considering different approaches. I like to think I am sensitive to others’ needs and the culture I try to create is valuesbased with respect, consideration and collaboration.”

In Bunyan’s view, leadership is about finding the balance between knowing when to make collaborative decisions

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and when to act swiftly to avoid getting lost in an ocean of opposing opinions.

This is something that people learn throughout their careers, but that is fundamental to have mastered when reaching a senior position, as she has.

Bunyan’s role in Lloyds is also about balance. As the CIO of the company, she needs to make important strategic decisions, often based on objective data. However, as Lloyd’s Change Officer, she also works towards developing programmes that will improve employees’ experiences and help the company transition to new ways of working.

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“Unlike most companies, we have a huge appetite for change,” she says. “When you deliver projects and programmes, they are usually only as successful as the change management element of that. So bringing people on the journey by educating them in terms of how change is done, and how to do change in the right way, is very important.

“Being the CIO, at the end of the day, it’s all ones and zeros, so there’s only so far you could push it. But being a Change Officer is a much softer side of my role. And yet, the stakeholder management side of it is huge.”

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A major part of Lloyd’s change management strategy over the past two years has been the adoption of remote working styles. The company is committed to allowing true flexible working that gives autonomy and trust to its employees and ensures that people’s performances are not judged based on the amount of time they spend in the office, but on the quality of their work.

Alongside many other benefits, flexible working has made a huge impact on women, for the first time levelling the playing field around childcare and making people aware of the huge time commitment that it entails. At the moment, over 75% of all US caregivers are female and 31% of women who took a career break after having children said they would not have done it had their workplace offered flexible working options, according to a CNBC survey. As companies go back to the office, Bunyan wants to ensure that things do not go back to the way they were before.

“Something I’ve observed around flexible working is that people still seem to think that means nine to five in the office for X number of days,” she says.

“Whereas actually, if you haven’t got your first face to face meeting until lunchtime, don’t stress to get in and go in for that. Getting to the real true flexible working is something that I’m really passionate about so that people

I am known for holding high standards, both for myself and my teams. My leadership style is ‘collaborative yet decisive’” Rebecca Bunyan

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have that autonomy to get a job done in a period of time. I don’t mind where you are. It’s all about the outcomes.

“I’m confident that if we get that right, we’ll see more women rise in the ranks.

That’s something that really excites me because I’d love to see more women in my own organisation pushing and sort of saying: ‘I’m going to have Rebecca’s job’. I’d love that.”

Historically, women have had a harder time accessing senior positions, particularly in the technology sector.

There are many reasons behind this, but a fundamental one is the pressure that society places on mothers to assume childcare responsibilities and the challenges that come with trying to manage this alongside a stress-heavy position.

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In addition to promoting more flexible ways of working that can alleviate the stress of parents, Bunyan also wants to set an example regarding the attitudes that can help women let go of their guilt and focus on what’s really important.

“Generally speaking, we are our own worst enemy,” she says. “Because we women just want to please everybody.

We put ourselves under so much pressure to please at home and to please at work. Whereas we just need to stand back and say: ‘These are the conditions that I need to put in place to make me successful’. It could be something at home; it could be something at work. And companies just need to encourage women and create the conditions for women to feel empowered to bring that to the table.”

In addition to the support that companies can provide their employees to improve their work/life balance, there are also certain things that everyone can do to make sure that they make the best-use of their time.

When it comes to time management, there is no be-all-end-all recipe for perfect time management, but some things do help. For example, Bunyan keeps an organised diary - although she confesses it’s still a paper one - and is very conscious about the time that she spends on social media. She has also set clear limits for herself when it comes

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to working late into the evening. In her experience, it only made her more tired in the morning, when she needed to be at her best. Moreover, when she became a mother, finding a good childcare solution was essential.

“I tried lots of different things because I was kind of looking to avoid the investment that there’s going to be needed in the right childcare solution, which ended up being a nanny,” she says.

“And yes, it was expensive, but it took the guilt about leaving my children away.

Everyone needs to find what works best for them.”

There are endless handbooks on how to achieve success. However, in contrast to popular advice such as waking up an hour earlier to run before work or wearing a defined set of clothes every day, Bunyan says

that the key is about changing the way you think. It’s about the attitude and learning to let go. To drive her point home, Bunyan shows during her speaking events a picture of Elsa, from the Disney blockbuster movie Frozen.

“Everybody wants to know: ‘What’s the silver bullet?’, she says. “Well, I’m sorry to say that isn’t one. So don’t get up an hour earlier. It’s not going to help. You’ll feel more tired and probably more stressed.”

“Chuck the thoughts of the perfect time management out of the window.

Clear your mind of all the things that are getting you down, and believe in yourself a little bit more. Let go of the guilt and all the things that you spend so much time worrying about, all of these things that may or may not happen.”

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But Bunyan’s advice of ‘letting go’ goes beyond schedules and routines.

It also refers to the way people think about themselves and the issues they worry about that prevent them from reaching their potential. Self-doubt, in her view, can be your worst enemy.

Bunyan opens up about her experience, in the hopes of helping other women who might doubt themselves or their capabilities. She explains that she grew up in Sheffield and, like many of her peers, she left school at 15. Bunyan never did A-levels or got a degree and for many years she felt that because of that, she was less of.

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“I carried this thing around on my shoulders for years,” she says. “I was doing well. I was moving up in the world and in my organisation but I had this thing about education, and the doubt of ‘I don’t have a degree, I don’t have a degree.’ So I spent hours and hours and hours on training courses that kind of gave me the points equivalent of a degree. But I didn’t learn much from them if I’m being perfectly honest. I wasted lots of time and I still didn’t have the degree. And I missed out on so much just by striving to achieve something that really didn’t matter in the end.

So sometimes you just have to let it go.”

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Perfection, although it should be something to strive for, can often be a barrier that keeps people from success. A 2021 survey by HR News found that out of 1,000 adults surveyed about imposter syndrome, 80% of men and 90% of women said they felt less competent at work than their colleagues. Rather than drive competition, perfectionism and imposter syndrome can often stop or slow down people’s careers.

Bunyan wants to help colleagues let go of this guilt, in order to allow them to take risks. It was only when she stopped feeling guilty about being a working mother that she felt confident enough to take a role that required her to travel often to the US and allowed her to rise within her organisation.

“When I think about my career, I’m often asked if I purposely took risks,” she says. “And I don’t think I did. But I’ve always done the things that made me happy. I’ve always tried to follow my heart. Your gut instinct is so powerful in terms of helping you make really good choices. And when you make good choices, you’re going to be happy; you’re going to be fulfilled and the productivity is going to be really really high.

“I was lucky that I almost fell into the technology and loved it ever since. But not everybody gets all those chances.

And that for me is about having great

Everybody wants to know: ‘What’s the silver bullet?’.

Well, I’m sorry to say there isn’t one. Chuck the thoughts of the perfect time management out of the window” leaders and role models that I had in the past and maybe I can be one of those, hopefully, for the future, to encourage people to come in.”

As workplaces become increasingly diverse and open to new ways of working, it is more important than ever to empower young people to aim high and provide them with the tools they need to reach their full potential. The examples of women who have been able to do so, such as Bunyan, is a fundamental part of this effort, serving as proof that letting go of fears and expectations is the key to having it all.

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TECH MAHINDRA

CONNECTIVITY IN THE TIME OF

COVID

Sandeep Phadke, Head of CME Europe at Tech Mahindra, gives insight into how two years of a global pandemic have transformed the telecoms sector and the potential of network technologies to realise the virtual future

INTERVIEW: Beatriz Valero de Urquía

A

s 2021 comes to a close, the pandemic is still far from over. Faced with the prospect of lockdowns and social distancing restrictions, the world is expected to continue to rely heavily on digital technologies to remain connected.

Despite the many challenges ahead, the world is also moving towards a higher digitalisation and virtualisation of business and everyday life. New solutions such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) will be key to powering a safer, smarter and

more sustainable society. Companies such as Tech Mahindra are leading this journey by evaluating and implementing key transformation initiatives for a more connected world.

Sandeep Phadke, Head of Communications, Media, Entertainment and Technology Business Europe at Tech Mahindra, speaks to Digital Bulletin about the world’s increased dependency on the telecommunications sector and how digital technologies will continue to be vital to maintain business continuity and empower societies in tackling crises.

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If there’s anything the telecoms sector can learn, it’s just how critical connectivity is in today’s digital world” Sandeep Phadke

DB: Coming out of two years of a global pandemic, what do you think has been the biggest learning point for the telecoms sector?

Phadke: If there’s anything the telecoms sector can learn, it’s just how critical connectivity is in today’s digital world.

The demand for virtual collaboration at a time of international lockdowns completely transformed the way we live and do business. For businesses, COVID-19 acted like an incubator, pushing them to accelerate digital transformation to improve operations - it heightened the interest in the demand for emerging technologies like 5G. Businesses across a range of sectors have already made moves to improve the effectiveness of their global supply chains, and 5G is playing a big role in driving efficiencies at every level.

DB: What are Tech Mahindra’s main goals for the next year?

Phadke: Tech Mahindra will continue to be focused on leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and cybersecurity to enable digital transformation across all sectors. Our priority has always been ensuring that our clients incorporate green initiatives to benefit their people, processes and profits.

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TECH MAHINDRA

A big focus for us next year is upskilling the Tech Mahindra team across all levels, as part of our sustainability roadmap. Our aim is to enable our employees to embrace a culture of continued development and becoming ‘fit for the future’ - we want to transform ourselves into the next generation of hybrid working.

DB: Will 5G be as important as people say for the future of telecommunications? Why? Phadke: Yes, COVID-19 highlighted the importance of 5G for the telecoms industry and we are only at the beginning of realising its potential. 5G has helped to accelerate advances in multiple technological areas, such

as edge computing and AI, to fundamentally change business processes.

These technologies have created an opportunity for the telecoms industry to transform how consumers and businesses communicate, work together, and interact with the environment.

For example, 5G-connected public transport enhanced with AI and automation capabilities can help to maintain vehicle health in real-time. These insights can produce a faster, more efficient and ultimately more reliable mode of transport for urban dwellers like they have for planes and trains that serve international travel.

Countries like the US and UAE are already viewing 5G as a power tool that can be leveraged by the healthcare, energy, and education sectors.

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FORECASTING 5G While 4G networks offered a clear step forward from previous generations, 5G could potentially transform how data centre services are provided and offer faster and safer connections, in addition to making data-intensive technologies like augmented reality and machine learning available on a large scale. As the data shows, the time for 5G network technologies to change the world has finally come:

• T here are currently 236 million 5G

on research and development on 5G for the next five years. On the other hand, the European Commission has earmarked $1 billion for 5G for its Horizon 2020 project.

•S outh Korea tops the countries with the fastest 5G download speeds at 354.4 Mbps. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has the fastest peak 5G download speed at 862.6 Mbps. Meanwhile, the Netherlands has the fastest 5G upload speed at 32.5 Mbps.

• As of 2021, commercial 5G is available in 1,336 cities in 62 countries

global subscriptions. By 2025, 5G networks are likely to cover one-third of the world’s population

• 5 G is expected to be 100 times

faster than current 4G technology

•C onsumer electronics and auto-

motive applications are forecast to both have a 21.7% share of the 5G infrastructure by 2025. Meanwhile, industrial apps will have a 20.1% share while energy and utilities will have a 15.7% share.

•G overnments are investing in 5G

in a bid to make hyperconnected public services. For example, China has allotted over $30 billion

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Sources: Statistica & 5G Americas and Omdia, 2021

Its benefits are a combination of high bandwidth, low latency, better energy efficiency and processing large numbers of connected devices that enables the creation of new services.

DB: What about IoT applications?

Phadke: IoT for telecom operators is more than just providing better connectivity. It can also be leveraged to innovate existing processes for optimised systems across all sectors. The manufacturing sector is an example of this innovation. The integrated deployment of emerging technologies such as AI and IoT can turn unstructured data into actionable insights to increase visibility across the entire supply chain.

Additionally, deploying AI and IoT solutions in parallel can put transparent processes in place that deliver a more sustainable future for the manufacturing industry. For example, incorporating sensors into the supply chain allows manufacturers to track the movement of material from source to their factory floor, and determine how much of it went to waste. AI’s ability to analyse the data collected in real-time can help increase efficiency and reduce the amount of waste generated, supporting compliance with sector-specific ESG standards.

DB: How will the new connectivity trends and technologies be able to power smart cities?

Phadke: Smart cities can leverage 5G’s ultrafast and low latency connectivity to power a more collaborative community and create opportunities.

In fact, better connectivity via 5G can also boost adoption of IoT for new and emerging use cases in public spaces. These help to improve access to public entities such as libraries and hospitals, accelerating telehealth and e-consultations, and helping to maintain continued social distancing measures.

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One of the areas that spear-headed the connectivity trend during the pandemic was the demand for smart solutions in the delivery of public services. Education and healthcare were among the most impacted areas due to social distancing measures.

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further; beyond simply managing challenges to enhancing the experience of doctors, teachers, and students in many cases. In fact, in May 2021, the majority of headteachers (88%) and teachers (84%) in the UK reported that technology had or would contribute to improved pupil attainment.

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We must leverage emerging technologies to help digitise healthcare, shopping and education services and accelerate the creation of smart cities” DB: As much as we would like it to be, the pandemic is far from over.

How important will connectivity and the telecoms sector be in continuing to support remote work and responses to the crisis?

Phadke: The next generation of IoT in offices and industry has the power to increase employee engagement and happiness by creating seamless experiences. Smart thermostats, smart lighting, smart locks and handy voice assistants will not only help to ensure high levels of hygiene and safety in the workplace, particularly post-COVID, but can help breed an ideal environment for productivity to grow.

In an increasingly digital world, I am grateful that we have access to connective technologies such as AI, edge

computing, 5G and IoT. Governments and businesses now have the responsibility to take proactive measures, particularly in the midst of Omicron’s growing infection rates.

We must leverage emerging technologies to help digitise healthcare, shopping and education services and accelerate the creation of smart cities.

Businesses must also continue to innovate supply chain processes to proactively ensure that products are being delivered seamlessly to help support business growth during times of economic uncertainty. My personal belief is that technology is smart enough to manage the effects of the Omicron variant, but business and world leaders must work hand-in-hand to adopt the technologies that help to streamline operations across all levels of business and society.

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DATA INTELLIGENCE

DEMOCRATISING

DATA

In a world where data is increasingly fragmented, Informatica is helping enterprises bring their information together and derive insights using AI and automation. Greg Hanson, VP EMEA, speaks to Digital Bulletin about its Intelligent Data Management Cloud and its recent listing on the New York Stock Exchange

AUTHOR: James Henderson

A

fter more than six years of operating as a private business, software company Informatica returned to the public arena at the end of October when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange, raising around $840 million in its first day of trading.

When Informatica went private in 2015, its annual recurring revenue was around $600 million, out of which about $90 million was subscription revenue.

That has since doubled to $1.2 billion with about $700 million in subscriptions and cloud is the biggest driver of this growth, tracking the overall industry trend towards cloud migration.

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that went private six years ago, having pivoted from a single product company to one that has multiple offerings in various markets, underpinned by its Intelligent Data Management Cloud, which is running more than 22 trillion cloud transactions a month for its clients.

Its CEO Amit Walia recently described Informatica as being the “Switzerland of data” due to its ability to connect “anything to anything”. It has used its time in the private space to complete this business transformation, spending somewhere in the region of $1 billion on research

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It’s super exciting for us at Informatica to see ourselves listed on the New York Stock Exchange” Greg Hanson, VP EMEA

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and development, building out its new products and cloud-native platform and integrating AI and ML into its offering.

With that metamorphosis complete, the company’s leaders felt a public listing represented the best path forward.

“It’s super exciting for us at Informatica to see ourselves listed on the New York Stock Exchange.” says Greg Hanson, VP EMEA at Informatica, speaking to Digital Bulletin. “We’ve really been on a journey over the past six years to establish ourselves as an organisation that is able to enable any kind of company with any flavour of cloud infrastructure to accelerate and optimise its digital transformation initiative.”

Central to achieving that goal is the Intelligent Data Management Cloud, designed to help businesses innovate with their data on any platform, any cloud, multi-cloud and multi-hybrid and for all users across the enterprise.

Launched in April 2021, the platform has been built to enable data integration, app integration, API and data management at scale, allowing customers to connect, access, consume and govern their data wherever it flows.

“Informatica was established 26 years ago to pull data together. But the size and complexity that we see today is unlike anything we have ever seen before with data spread across a hybrid landscape of multiple clouds, while many larger organisations also have heritage

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silos on-prem. Those data volumes are doubling on an annual basis, while more complexity and governance is also being added,” says Hanson.

“Organisations are becoming more and more data hungry, because they understand that in the modern digital era, data has become the key differentiator that can offer hyper-personalisation, improved customer engagement, and more efficient supply chain and business operations. The Intelligent Data Management Cloud has been designed to convert all that complexity around data into simplicity and help companies with governed, high-quality data that can deliver business value.”

Hanson says Informatica believes it has an addressable market worth $44 billion across cloud data warehousing, data lakes, and governance and privacy.

The offering from Informatica could

scarcely be more timely, coming at a time when enterprises great and small are reconsidering how best to utilise cloud services. A recent IBM report illustrated an extraordinary shift in behaviour from enterprises when it comes to cloud computing, with only 3% of respondents reported using a single private or public cloud in 2021, down from 29% in 2019.

“Companies are certainly looking for a best-of-breed approach where different clouds are going to afford them complementary capabilities. But one of the issues that will happen is increasing fragmentation. When you think about the realisation of becoming a data-driven company, that is really dependent upon that data being brought together and available in real-time to make decisions not just internally, but also self-service for customers and partners who expect real-time, data-driven services.

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We’re automating more than 22 trillion transactions every month for our customers and AI is delivering actionable intelligence to help companies reimagine business process challenges” “This multi and hybrid cloud shift represents a significant opportunity because more and more organisations are going to feel the pain of fragmentation and the data challenges that will pose. You need standardisation and simplicity when it comes to data management and it is really important that we don’t leave behind any

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data, some of which is going to be really valuable, on the heritage estate.”

At the heart of the Intelligent Data Management Cloud is Informatica’s AI engine, CLAIRE, which it says enables customers with AI and ML capabilities to derive insights from data in minutes as opposed to several months with intelligence and automation.

“It’s the backbone to everything we do,” says Hanson. “We’re automating more than 22 trillion transactions every month for our customers and AI is delivering actionable intelligence to help companies reimagine business process challenges.

Quite simply, humans are not able to deal with the complexity and scale we are facing and this doubling and exponential growth we are seeing with data.

“It is helping HelloFresh make its supply chain more efficient as we’ve reduced its data latency requirements by 60%. In the

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case of organisations like Unilever, we are automating data management and we’re enhancing the controls and governance around that data with AI. Working with an organisation with the scale of Unilever gives other companies the confidence in the capabilities of our AI and ML. “We’re working with Sanofi to help them use automation to deliver faster and cheaper drug trials, which is obviously a very hot topic at the moment. So quicker time to market for drugs is a key competitive advantage and automated data management is helping them do that. Our Intelligent Data Management Cloud is the preferred platform of choice for 84 of the Fortune 100 and is currently deployed by more than 5,000 customers so that’s a lot of active users.”

More than once, Hanson refers to data as being the “soul of digital transformation” and believes that alongside capable

platforms, businesses must endeavour to create structures that are built to get the most out of the reams of information at their fingertips.

“Organisations need to think about things like their own data culture and the awareness of how important data is to them moving forward. That takes things like sponsorship and education right from the top. We’re seeing a burgeoning number of Chief Data Officers, which is a role that didn’t exist as recently as 10 years ago. So we’re seeing that kind of cultural evolution of organisations to become more data driven.

“We’re increasingly seeing organisations invest in that cultural and education side and the companies that are doing it well are setting benchmarks and making it a topic at C-level, publishing progress in annual reports and really celebrating their successes.”

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A life in tech Paul Stark, General Manager of OnBoard Meetings, looks at how technology has changed the face of the boardroom

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he pace of change in the boardroom has been faster, in general, than the pace of change in technology products, because the board has been in catchup mode over the last two decades.

Going back to 2006, the technology in the boardroom was predominantly paper in most boardrooms. Board packs were printed a week before the board meeting, posted or couriered to directors.

There was a shift by some to go digital, in adopting laptops to share and access information. However, the technology in those days did have limits when it came to user experience, and so adoption wasn’t particularly high.

The first big shift in boardrooms becoming digital was in 2010, with the launch of the iPad. It was the first time there was a mobile device available that boasted a good enough user experience side for directors to want to use.

There wasn’t a problem in making information digital in the first place, but the issue was in the consumption of that data. Adding immediate access and security of data were factors which pushed the usage technology in the boardroom. The iPad combined the benefits of digital with the benefits of paper.

COVID-19 forced boards to digitise and actively bring technology into the boardroom” The second shift was affordability.

The adoption of cloud services made it more affordable. Before then, board portals were expensive systems, built mainly for enterprises. There were smaller versions, but they had fewer features and were ubiquitous in their take up by SMEs. With the launch of cloud services, 2014’s Microsoft cloud-first mobile-first solution for example, there was a big push for Office 365 to move away from desktop to the cloud world.

Subsequently, board portal technology was not a premium product anymore, and so the technology started cascading down into much smaller organisations, even into the not-forprofit space.

At the same time, there was also a shift in board portals offering more benefits to the user. Originally it was just about the board pack, but soon came more of ISSUE 36

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an emphasis on other aspects of the board meeting, and other simple board operations.

COVID-19 forced boards to digitise and actively bring technology into the boardroom. Even if it was minimal digitisation such as having meetings over Zoom, there was still a shift in attitudes. This change was already in existence anyway, but Covid forcibly accelerated it.

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It almost forced people to think about how else they can use technology in the boardroom; whether it was a board of trustees, governors, or directors.

Organisations were now contemplating how aspects of technology can be more productive, efficient, informed, and operate better as a board?

The expectations of digital skills have increased and have become a prerequisite. The appetite for learning new digital

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skills has also increased. The rate of adoption is ahead of the general curve, organisations are now looking at bringing in boardroom digital data. There is more of a focus on the actual boardroom itself and its components, such as agenda analysis and meeting performance.

The future will be about being data smart. Organisations are already cloud smart and are using cloud technology efficiently. Companies want to learn from the data - for example analysing the agenda - or how to make board meetings more forward-looking rather than backwards looking.

The future boardrooms will explore how to use AI to make decisions.

Machine learning code will help the board be more effective. A combination of cloud and data technology will empower the board to forward plan much more thoroughly.

For example, looking at which board member will retire soon, their unique skillset, measure this, look how to replace the board member, looking for the same skillset, check within the director database for potential candidates.

Tech companies were lucky with the pandemic. They have come out

relatively unscathed, some have come out as real winners such as Zoom or Amazon. Tech is in a fortunate position and now has a duty to give back.

Retailers, restaurants, pubs, and gyms have had to take debt to keep functioning. However, valuations went up and investment increased in the tech industry. In addition, salaries are also higher in the tech world.

The tech industry has recognised it has a moral duty to create tech for good and help with societal causes. This is a real change compared to how the sector was operating 20 years ago.

Boards are thinking deeply about a wider remit and what their purpose is.

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Sarah Marshall, Learning & Development Programme Manager at Grayce, on why the hybrid age has put microlearning at the forefront of Learning & Development

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he COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reprioritised Learning and Development (L&D) across organisations. Factors such as ‘The Great Resignation’, the evergrowing list of job vacancies against the backdrop of a growing digital skills crisis, as well as organisations shifting to hybrid or virtual working environments, have all contributed to a renewed focus on L&D efforts.

According to Deloitte, the industry is worth $130bn in the global market and it is therefore unsurprising that employers are investing heavily in employee training.

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work pressures, people teams have had to rethink how best to deliver effective training online. But by finding impactful ways to do this, L&D can also play a fundamental role in promoting wellbeing, by keeping employees motivated and engaged in their work. One approach that is growing in popularity is microlearning, a model that is well suited to working in the hybrid age.

The evolution of learning and development Historically, employers leaned heavily on what we call a ‘push’ model of workplace training, whereby employees

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listened to lectures in a boardroom, or classroom, then returned to work. The “success” of this teaching method was determined by attendance confirmation.

However, it became notorious for its low levels of retention among employees.

Even before the pandemic therefore, it was becoming clear that this lecturestyle teaching was not fit for purpose for the emerging and digitally native workforce. But the years of digital transformation that we saw squeezed into a few short months during the global health crisis and resultant remote working environment have forced staff to adapt to new digital and virtual ways of learning.

One such approach is the ‘pull’ model, which views learning as continuous, ongoing, and more importantly, flexible.

With this model, training is embedded into employees’ roles and champions small, frequent learning interventions – or microlearning – delivered in digestible pieces. Not only can this bite-sized information be processed quickly, but it boosts retention rates above 90%.

This method promotes wellbeing and diversity within organisations as it is more inclusive for neurodiverse employees, those on part-time or flexible working contracts. It also removes some of the added pressures that come with learning in a classroom-style environment and is more

interactive in approach. It is easier to deliver in a hybrid or virtual working environment, making it perfect for the new age of business.

Even before the pandemic, it was becoming clear that this lecture-style teaching was not fit for purpose for the emerging and digitally native workforce” Connecting with the digitally native workforce The latest generation entering the workforce have different working preferences to their older colleagues and are more open to career side steps or portfolio careers, for instance. Used to scrolling through reams of information very quickly, they also typically have shorter attention spans and struggle to focus on tasks for long periods of time.

In fact, recent research reports that Gen Z typically have an attention span of just 8 seconds; a few seconds shorter than millennials at 12 seconds.

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This means more effort is required to keep this group energised and engaged in their work, as failure to do so could result in them becoming quickly demotivated and looking for new roles. In fact, research shows inadequate L&D opportunities from employers could prompt more than two-thirds of workers to quit their current jobs.

This is where microlearning becomes an incredibly useful tool in appealing to these workers, by delivering small frequent learning units with just the 72

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right amount of information to pique their interests. Organisations should be actively capitalising on the digital empowerment and entrepreneurial spirit of the emerging workforce by providing access to platforms that allow for continuous learning in order to cultivate the next generation of leaders.

Adopting a holistic approach to learning Employers who are serious about innovating their L&D programmes should

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consider adopting a holistic approach to training, one that prioritises collaborative learning via digital channels, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

The ‘70:20:10 learning model’ is one way to get this right. This mode of learning purports that 70% of learning is experiential and comes through shadowing, project placements and assignments, 20% comes from social interaction and 10% is more formal, structured learning. These interdependent areas of learning feed into one another to boost its overall impact. Experiential and social learning are fundamental training components to complement the more formal training, as they enable individuals to further develop their skillsets as they soak up knowledge from their colleagues, and receive regular coaching, mentoring and feedback.

The nature of the’ 70:20:10 model’ supports independent learning, instead of a one-size-fits all approach that is designed without individuals in mind.

This model is easy to adapt to a hybrid age through a combination of different learning environments, offering a bespoke experience for employees.

Engaging through flexibility Ultimately, focusing on activities that are time consuming or that involve minimal interaction does very little to motivate today’s workforce, or encourage crea-

Most young employees today come to work ready and excited to build their skills through online learning” tivity. Employers must therefore move away from antiquated modes of learning if they want to retain the best talent.

Most young employees today come to work ready and excited to build their skills through online learning. In fact, research from Deloitte estimates that more than 24 million people have tried online education in some capacity.

It would be a rude awakening to enter a workplace and find that learning was confined to traditional lecture-styled training. To get the most out of their eager young staff therefore, employers should consider investing in microlearning approaches. In turn, this will help ensure that the L&D needs of all their employees are supported well into the future.

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