The Importance of Redefining How Data is Governed, Controlled and Shared in Industrial Revolution

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The first chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been powered by an explosion of data harnessed by extraordinary advances in technology and the spread of connected devices. As a result, seven technology companies are now among the eight most highly valued companies in the world. The success of the next chapter in the world’s digital transformation depends on governments and companies ensuring data is used in a way that balances benefit across the broader economy and society as a whole.

Pressure is mounting for regulatory and other frameworks that will allow innovation to continue while addressing rising concerns over how data is used. Governments are trying to combat the propagation of fake news and the use of data for illegal purposes such as trafficking and terrorists’ communications and recruitment activities. In a connected world, companies grapple with the balance between data security on the one hand and innovation, personalization and interoperability on the other, while consumers are increasingly worried about their privacy.

But how can data be better governed, controlled and shared?

Following five potential futures have been defined for public and private stakeholders to consider:

Future #1: Giant Platforms Control Data

To a large extent, this is where we are today. Companies now use data to add value to almost every aspect of life, enhancing people’s social lives, lowering business costs and providing services and information that facilitate all manner of daily interactions.

To achieve this, many employ cookies and device-tracking technology to follow online activity and infer information such as preferences. They then use these not only to improve their own services but also to send notifications and targeted advertising.  As platforms, their access to unique aspects of data activities, along with the accumulation of data and analytics, has produced deep network effects. Each platform also has its own approach to how much data is shared and how much control consumers have.

Now questions are being raised over the impact of these techniques as digital technology spreads into other industries. If today’s regulatory status quo continues, big tech firms may become even more influential. They could continue to amass data and talent, investing billions of dollars in research and development and acquiring artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups and companies in traditional businesses such as retail and healthcare.

Future #2: Protections Put Users in Control

As firms amass more data, some governments have introduced digital protections. These rules increase data security requirements and controls on personal information and treat the right to privacy as a priority and a human right. If people feel more secure about going online, they may be further encouraged to take advantage of connected digital services, whether commercial or government.

The most prominent example is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), under which users can demand that a firm erase their data or transfer it to another company. They can also ask why their personal data is collected, how it is used and for how long it will be retained.

As these regulations evolve, questions arise about second and third-order impacts and the resulting trade-offs. For example, increased operational expenses and constraints could raise the cost of doing business and increase barriers to entry, limiting the ability of new competitors to gain footholds. Restrictions on sharing data with third parties could also make it harder for firms to collaborate on data-driven innovation.

Future #3: Utilities Encourage Data Sharing

Data utilities could offer a simpler way for users to manage data without having to manage consent with every firm with which they come into contact. Marketplaces, where firms could trade consumer data, would give individuals centralized control over how information about them is used and shared.

Consumer-centric data utilities may not replace the need for baseline data protections entirely, but they could streamline the complex web of data management responsibilities that consumers now have. Models could also emerge that allow individuals not only data control but also data monetization. Alternatively, data utilities run by coalitions of firms could help businesses exchange aggregate, rather than individual data. Sharing aggregated data could help alleviate privacy concerns associated with sharing individual-level data and facilitate the sharing of “data insights” that help solve broader challenges, for example in public health.

Future #4: Protocols Enable Data Sharing and Exchange

Global standards for data rights and obligations could be embedded in the very fabric of the internet through rules and protocols around data exchange.

The internet could serve as a precedent. In its early days, it was restricted and focused on non-commercial exchange. The question would be whether this approach should (or could feasibly) be adopted for handling people’s data, given the complexity and number of constituents and the impacts that new protocols could have on them. Less was at stake when internet protocols were established.

Future #5: Governments Control Data

Though much data is already crossing borders, governments increasingly consider data and digital infrastructure as critical for national security and economic competitiveness. As a result, just as emerging economies in the past wanted to foster domestic auto production, today many want their own technology industries to thrive.

Some governments have started to write rules on where data infrastructure and technology reside, creating national-level constraints on technology investments by foreign companies or powers, and potentially increasing their means of social control but also their ability to foster local economic development and take advantage of the AI revolution.

Such barriers and constraints may prioritize national goals over global innovation and business effectiveness. Finding the right balance between multiple objectives will be crucial.

The next chapter

The second chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to bring great benefits to people around the world: healthcare that is individualized for maximum benefit at minimum cost and intervention, e-government that enables efficient access to services and cars that rarely crash.

Delivering the potential of digital technology will require new approaches to data management and, in some cases, new regulations. Governments and businesses will need to find the right balance between safeguarding individuals’ data and ensuring that innovators can keep striding forward.

 

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Joining Metals Without Heat (Cold Welding)

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Techniques like Arc Welding, Friction Welding, Ultrasonic Welding, and Laser Welding, all involve heat in some way or another. In fact, heat is considered synonymous with welding and is integral to join two materials.  But this is far from the truth and cold welding is the obvious proof. Cold welding is the process of joining two metals without using heat. It might sound impossible, but it is one of the most popular welding methods out there.

The element of heat in a welding process is used to make the parts plastic enough so that diffusing of the atoms can take place, either between the two work-pieces or with a different medium in the middle.  However, it isn’t mandatory to use heat to join materials. Cold state welding demonstrates that in real-time.

Cold welding uses pressure to join two materials. Scientifically, this process is called solid-state diffusion and it uses pressure to create welds. When two materials are pressed together, they generally do not weld to each other. This is mainly due to the fact that there is an oxide layer or a thin barrier on the surface of the materials. If we take the case of a metal, an oxide layer on the surface is like a barrier that doesn’t allow it to diffuse with another metal.

Cold welding overcomes this issue by preparing the metals before they are welded. The preparation process involves cleaning or brushing the metals to such an extent that the top oxide or barrier layer is removed. This is achieved by de-greasing the metal and then wire brushing it. Once the desirable surface cleanliness is obtained, both materials are pressed together mechanically with the right amount of force. The amount of force depends on the material itself, as some materials may only weld at high pressures.

One of the conditions required for cold welding is that at least one of the materials must be ductile and must not have undergone severe hardening. This obviously narrows down the list of materials that can be the candidate for the cold welding. Soft metals are the best choices for cold welding.

The most common joints possible with cold welding are:

  • Butt joint
  • Lap joint

In Butt joint, removing the barrier layer of the metal is not often required as the plastic deformation that happens during the joining process breaks up the barrier automatically. However, lap joints do require special treatment because otherwise, the material won’t adhere to each other.

The limitations of cold welding 

Perfect cold welding is very hard to achieve. This is due to several reasons like oxide layers that form on top of the metal in atmospheric conditions, surface irregularities, surface contamination, and more.  Optimum cold welds only happen when the two surfaces that are being pressed together are clean and free from any form of contaminants. The more flat and regular the surface is, the easier and uniform the weld is going to be. Also, there are limitations on the types of metals that cold welding can join. Non-ferrous soft metals are the only candidates suitable for cold welding. Copper and Aluminum are the two most commonly cold-welded metals. Metals that contain carbon are not possible to cold weld.

Advantages of using cold welding 

The most noteworthy advantage of cold welding is that the resultant welds have the same bond strength that of the parent material. This feat is very hard to recreate in metalworking. Cold working can also weld Aluminum 2xxx and 7xxx series which is often not possible with other forms of welding.

In industries, cold welding is known for its ability to weld aluminum and copper together which are often hard to weld with other forms of weld techniques. However, the bond created between the two materials by cold welding is very strong. Cold welding provides clean and strong welds without the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds reseña.

Applications of cold welding 

Cold welding is mostly applied in welding wires. Since there is no heat involved and the process can be done quickly, cold welding can ensure perfectly welded wires, mainly with aluminum, copper, 70/30 brass, zinc, silver and silver alloys, nickel, and gold. There are even handheld tools available that you can use to cold weld wires, making it very portable and easy to use. Cold welding is also used in cases where dissimilar metals have to be joined, like the one between the copper and aluminum that we already discussed.

Cold welding provides one of the most solid welds for creating parent metal like bonds. It neither requires heat energy nor special tools. Among the most popular weld techniques, cold weld shows that heat isn’t necessary if you are joining specific types of materials.

 

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The Surprising Power of Simply Asking Co-workers “How are They Doing”

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We humans have an innate need to belong — to one another, to our friends and families, and to our culture and country. The same is true when we’re at work. When people feel like they belong at work, they are more productive, motivated, engaged and 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their fullest potential.

In fact, the majority of individuals look to their homes first (62%), before their workplaces (34%) when it comes to where they feel the greatest sense of belonging. While the workplace exceeds neighbourhood communities (19%) and places of worship (17%), many individuals spend most of their time at work, and creating workplace communities where people feel like they belong is imperative.

This tells us that many people want more connection with those they work with. So how can companies connect more effectively with employees and help them feel like they belong within their workplace community? One simple solution: establish more opportunities for colleagues to check in with one another.

By reaching out and acknowledging their employees on a personal level, companies and leaders can significantly enhance the employee experience by making their people feel valued and connected.

The art of the check-in

People have different preferences about how they connect with each other at work. While some people may want to sit and talk, some may prefer a digital chat and others may not be open to engaging at all.  Learning how to engage with employees in a way that they feel comfortable is key to creating a sense of community. Here are a few tips to consider as you find the right way to check in with colleagues:

Seize the small opportunities to connect:   Try to establish connections with your colleagues that communicate that you value, understand, and care about them. Be present, curious, and seize small daily opportunities to connect authentically. For example, a simple “How are you doing? How can I support you?” could go a long way in nearly every setting.

Check bias at the door:   Check-ins are a time to listen to another person’s perspectives, not to debate or persuade. If someone shares something that you don’t understand or agree with, you might consider acknowledging their point of view or asking them to tell you more. You may be pleasantly surprised by their response. For instance, “Tell me more about it,” or “I never thought about it from that perspective, but I do realize we can experience the same situation in different ways, so I appreciate you explaining that for me.”

Assume positive intent:   Start any conversation with your colleagues believing that those talking or listening mean well, especially when it comes to difficult issues. Sometimes you might fumble through these topics, but assuming positive intent will help you pause, ask clarifying questions, and connect in a more meaningful way. Sometimes, these pauses make a huge difference. It is fine to say, “I am pausing because I just don’t know what to say,” or “I am pausing because I want to learn more from you.”

It’s OK to be vulnerable:   Seek feedback from your colleagues, especially those who are junior to you. Demonstrate your trust in them through the way you communicate and act on their feedback. For example, expressing vulnerability by acknowledging their views and talking openly about challenges you’re facing humanizes the relationship you have with your peers and direct reports.

Be consistent and accountable:   Be transparent and model consistent, inclusive behavior, even under pressure or during difficult conversations. Expect, reinforce, and reward the accountability of others. For example, offer a conversation to team members when a difficult event occurs, and model inclusive behaviour in your own interactions to set an example for other team members rankhaya.com.

These five tips may help guide the way, but the journey towards true inclusion is never ending. It is a continuous path that requires commitment from leadership, particularly as more people look to their work communities for validation, safety, fulfilment and happiness.

In turn, this yields tremendous benefits at scale —  from engaged employees, to client retention and better financial results. By starting with simple things like a check-in, we all have the power to make a difference in the lives of others and even on the bottom line.

 

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Learning From Mistakes is a Key for Success

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 “If you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t trying hard enough.”

Moving forward is good but spending a short amount of time reflecting on past errors in a productive way has a huge value. Because it’s the only way to learn from them.  It is a reflective thinking with the purpose of growing.

Reflective thinking allows to process the events in your life and improve yourself afterwards. By examining what worked and what didn’t, one becomes able to takeaway the best from successes and failures. Reflective thinking is a vital part of growth process.

A five-step reflective thinking technique:

1.  Review.

Look back on the events of your past. Do that annually, monthly, weekly and, to some degree, daily. At the end of every year, set aside an entire week to review the previous 12 months. Look at successes and failures of the previous 30 days. List the things that you accomplished, where your time was spent and any mistakes you made.

You can’t know what to do tomorrow until you know what you messed up today. As you review, ask yourself, “Where did I come up short? Where did I come up strong”?  Make a list of everything that stands out. Celebrate the wins and make note of the losses. Then move on to the next step.

2.   Reflect.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:  What plans worked? What decisions yielded good results? What decisions ended up being wrong?  If I were to approach the situation again, knowing what I know now, what would I do differently? Why?

The biggest mistakes often yield the biggest lessons, so think deeply to prevent your tomorrows from falling into the same traps as your yesterdays.

3.   Recover.

When things don’t turn out as planned, you may need time to recover. If you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t trying hard enough. Recovery time brings closure.  Letting yourself feel bad for a short time can motivate you to fix what can be fixed.  And it frees you to move forward. Just remember, with every look at the past, always keep an eye toward the future. This will help you recover effectively, without wallowing in regret.

4.   Re-arrange.

Reflective thinking often provides clarity about priorities. Examining what went wrong may reveal where you lost sight of what was really important. Many times your priorities need to be realigned with your mission. Sometimes your priorities need to shift. Reflection allows you to hit the pause button and make sure you are still on track. Don’t keep pushing forward in a direction you shouldn’t be going!

5.   Recharge.

Dwelling on the past with an eye toward the future allows you to rebound. It often reveals the humor in situations. Go ahead and laugh. It’ll renew your energy. Reflecting also brings humility when you step back and see where others have helped you along the way.  And discovering the steps you can take to avoid repeating mistakes will invigorate you.

Reflection can also be a time of excitement and creativity. It’s a great chance to brainstorm about future opportunities and look for ways to put new plans into action. It can be a time of fulfilment.

Reflective thinking is crucial to unlocking the door to growth. It expands your thinking and inspires you to continue improving. It keeps you progressing as an individual and as a leader. It virtually guarantees your future will be better than your past.

So go ahead: Reflect on your mistakes just long enough to let them shape your future in positive ways.

 

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Aircraft Engines Market Revenue, Opportunity, Segment and Key Trends by 2028

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The Global Aircraft Engine Market is projected to reach USD 140.17 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% during a forecast period.

Aircraft engines are primary propulsion devices that produce the necessary thrust to generate lift for the aircraft to fly. These engines were synonymous in design to reciprocating engines used in automobiles but in the present world, a shift from reciprocating engines to jet engines has been observed. Turbofan engines are the most common type of jet engines used in commercial aircraft, owing to their high bypass ratio and fuel efficiency. Manufacturers of aircraft engines are continuously engaged in innovating such systems in order to reduce the overall weight and improve fuel efficiency and performance.

Air travel has increased considerably over the years. A large chunk of the population, with high disposable income, now finds traveling through flights an affordable option, which is pushing airline carriers to increase their fleet size to cater to this demand. This factor is one of the primary factors driving the growth of the aircraft engines market as airline carriers are increasingly ordering more and more aircraft. Air pollution caused by the exhaust fumes generated after the combustion of fuel in aircraft engines is a pressing concern acknowledged by government bodies across various economies. Aircraft engine companies are therefore striving to produce fuel-efficient engines that are less polluting. Aircraft engines are cost-intensive products that can be a challenge for both producers and the aviation industry’s development. The market is also dependent on the number of orders placed by airline carriers. The high number of orders can strain the productivity of aircraft OEMs, thereby restraining the growth of the market over the forecast period. Additionally, highly skilled personnel are required to manufacture as well as maintain aircraft engines, which increase the cost of investment and consequently, acts as a roadblock to the growth of the aircraft engine market. Stringent regulatory policies and standards are promoting aviation safety and are providing a positive outlook for the aircraft engine market expansion. New aircraft programs, like Boeing 777X and COMAC C919, are powered by newer generation engines like GE9X and Leap-1C. Such developments in newer generation aircraft are supporting the growth and development of lightweight, advanced propulsion systems.

The turbofan segment holds a major share in the aircraft engines market and may continue to do so during the forecast period. Turbofan engines are most widely used in commercial and military segments. New aircraft programs, like COMAC C919 and Boeing 777X, which are yet to enter service, are powered by newer generation turbofan engine. In 2018, Boeing and Airbus recorded 806 and 800 aircraft deliveries, respectively. With growing aircraft orders in the commercial aircraft segment, which is majorly dominated by the turbofan engine segment, the turbofan engine segment may register the highest CAGR during the forecast period warum schau hier nicht.

Based on aircraft type, the market is segmented into commercial, military and general aviation. The commercial aviation segment is expected to have the largest market share during the forecast period. With the increase in disposable income and worldwide tourism, a lot of commercial aircraft are being manufactured to meet customer demands. Also, due to globalization, many countries import and export products using air transport. These factors are going to propel the market for commercial aircraft through the forecast period.

The North American region is expected to have the highest share in the market during the forecast period. Two of the biggest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing (US) and Bombardier (Canada) are present in this region and hence is expected to have a lot of demand for aircraft engines. Moreover, the US military expenditure is the highest in the world and the demand for aircraft engines is also high from the military aviation segment. However, with increasing demand for new aircraft in the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern countries, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. China and India are expected to be among the major demand generating countries during this period since both these countries are experiencing major growth in their air passenger traffic. Also, the two major aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing have opened manufacturing plants in China. Moreover, China is expected to overcome the US fleet size within the next four years, in the commercial aircraft segment. Also, the increasing military spending is bolstering the military aircraft developments and procurements, and the growing general aviation fleet in the region is further propelling the growth of the aircraft engine market during the forecast period.

 Key Factors Impacting Market Growth:

  • Increasing air passenger traffic worldwide
  • Increasing military expense in several regions
  • Stringent regulatory policies and standards are promoting aviation safety
  • Cost-intensive and require highly skilled personnel to manufacture as well as maintain aircraft engines

Market Segmentation:

By Type:

  • Turbofan
  • Turboprop
  • Turboshaft

By Wing Position:

  • Fixed Wing
  • Rotary Wing

By Aircraft Type:

  • Military Aviation
  • Fighter Jet
  • Transport Aircraft
  • Military Helicopters
  • Commercial Aviation
  • Narrow Body
  • Wide Body
  • Regional
  • General Aviation
  • Business Jet
  • Helicopter
  • Turboprop
  • Piston Engine

By Region:

North America

  • By Country (US, Canada, Mexico)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type

Western Europe:

  • By Country (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Rest of Western Europe)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type

Eastern Europe:

  • By Country (Russia, Turkey, Rest of Eastern Europe)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type
  • Asia Pacific
  • By Country (China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia Pacific)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type

Middle East:

  • By Country (UAE, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Rest of Middle East)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type
  • Rest of the World
  • By Region (Latin America, Brazil, Rest of the World)
  • By Type
  • By Wing Position
  • By Aircraft Type

 

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Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2020

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New and emerging technologies have the capacity to change our lives.  If they are used correctly, they can improve the way we live, work, and do business. If misused, they can create problems ranging from a small disturbance caused by automated software to a large scale security breach.  Rapid developments and adoption of these technologies in the enterprise are contributing to the digital transformation that slowly started some years ago. And so, year after year industry analysts identify the technology trends that will shape and disrupt businesses in the next few years.

Industry analyst Gartner has identified the most relevant strategic technology trends that CIOs and IT executives should know about for 2020.  Gartner has identified the following Strategic Technology Trends for 2020.

1.   Hyper-automation

Hyper-automation requires a combination of tools.  Hyper-automation is the combination of multiple Machine Learning (ML), packaged software, and automation tools to deliver work. Hyper-automation refers not only to the breadth of the pallet of tools, but also to all the steps of automation itself: Discover, analyse, design, automate, measure, monitor, and reassess. CIOs must understand the range of automation mechanisms, how they relate to one another, and how they can be combined and coordinated to get a full picture of what the major focus for hyper-automation is.

2.   Multi-experience

A combined shift in both perception and interaction models leads to the future multi-sensory and multi-modal experience. Through 2028, the user experience will undergo a significant shift in how users perceive the digital world as well as how they interact with it. Conversational platforms are changing the way in which people interact with the digital world. Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) are changing the way in which people perceive the digital world. This combined shift in both perception and interaction models leads to the future multisensory and multimodal experience, something we will see more often starting in 2020 across many industries. According to Brian Burke, Research Vice President at Gartner, the model will shift from one of technology-literate people to one of people-literate technology.  The burden of translating intent will move from the user to the computer. “This ability to communicate with users across many human senses will provide a richer environment for delivering nuanced information,”

3.   Democratization of Expertise

Democratization is focused on providing people with access to technical expertise.  Democratization is focused on providing people with access to technical expertise such as Machine Learning or application development, or business domain expertise such as sales process or economic analysis via a radically simplified experience and without requiring extensive and costly training.  Citizen access such as citizen data scientists and citizen integrators as well as the evolution of citizen development and no-code models are good examples of democratization.  Throughout 2023, four key aspects of the democratization trend to accelerate, including:

  • Democratization of data and analytics tools: Those targeting data scientists expanding to target the professional developer community
  • Democratization of development: Such as AI tools to leverage in custom-developed applications
  • Democratization of design: For expanding on the low-code, no-code phenomena with automation of additional application development functions to empower the citizen-developer

Democratization of knowledge: Such as non-IT professionals gaining access to tools and expert systems that empower them to exploit and apply specialized skills beyond their own expertise and training.

4.   Human Augmentation 

Bio-hackers and body-hackers on the rise. With a new consumerization effect, employees seek to extend their personal enhancements to improve their office environment.  Human augmentation is a much wider topic than what many people think.  It explores how technology can be used to deliver cognitive and physical improvements as an integral part of the human experience. Human augmentation enhances humans in two main ways: Physical or Cognitive. It can be physical, by changing their inherent physical capabilities by implanting or hosting a technology element on their bodies, such as a wearable device. But also, cognitive augmentation can occur through accessing information and exploiting applications on traditional computer systems and the emerging multi-experience interface in smart spaces.  Over the next 10 years, increasing levels of physical and cognitive human augmentation will become more prevalent as individuals seek personal enhancements raising the number of bio-hackers and body-hackers globally.  This will create a new consumerization effect, where employees seek to exploit their personal enhancements — and even extend them — to improve their office environment as a whole.

5.   Transparency and Tractability

Transparency and tractability are critical elements to support digital ethics and privacy needs.  Consumers who are increasingly aware that their personal information is valuable, are demanding control.  Analysts report how organizations recognize the increasing risk of securing and managing personal data, and governments are implementing strict legislation to ensure they do. Both transparency and tractability are critical elements to support these digital ethics and privacy needs. Transparency and tractability refer to a range of attitudes, actions, and supporting technologies and practices designed to address regulatory requirements, preserve an ethical approach to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies, and repair the growing lack of trust in companies.  The organizations must focus on three areas:

  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Personal data privacy, ownership, and control
  • Ethically aligned design

6.  The Empowered Edge

Edge Computing was born from the need for IoT systems to deliver disconnected or distributed capabilities into the embedded IoT word for specific industries such as manufacturing and retail.  Edge Computing is a computing topology in which information processing, content collection, and delivery are placed closer to the sources, repositories, and consumers of this information. Edge Computing tries to keep the traffic and processing local to reduce latency, exploit the capabilities of the edge and enable greater autonomy at the edge.  M uch of the current focus on edge computing comes from the need for IoT systems to deliver disconnected or distributed capabilities into the embedded IoT world for specific industries such as manufacturing or retail. However, edge computing will become a dominant factor across virtually all industries and use cases as the edge is empowered with increasingly more sophisticated and specialized compute resources and more data storage. Complex edge devices, including robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, and operational systems will accelerate this shift.

7.  Distributed Cloud

The distributed cloud leads a new era in cloud computing.  The cloud expands its territory and becomes a distributed cloud, which is the distribution of public cloud services to different locations while the originating public cloud provider assumes responsibility for the operation, governance, updates to and evolution of the services.  This represents a significant shift from the centralized model of most public cloud services and will lead to a new era in cloud computing.

 

8.   Autonomous Things

With the improvement in regulation and social acceptance, autonomous things will increasingly be deployed in uncontrolled public spaces.  Autonomous things, as physical devices that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate functions previously performed by humans. The most recognizable current forms of autonomous things are robots, drones, autonomous vehicles/ships, and appliances. The automation of these things goes beyond the automation provided by rigid programming models, and they exploit AI to deliver advanced behaviors that interact more naturally with their surroundings and with people.

As the technology capability improves, regulation permits, and also social acceptance grows, autonomous things will increasingly be deployed in uncontrolled public spaces.  As autonomous things proliferate, there is an expected shift from stand-alone intelligent things to a swarm of collaborative intelligent things where multiple devices will work together, either independently from people or with human input.  For example, heterogeneous robots can operate in a coordinated assembly process. In the delivery market, the most effective solution may be to use an autonomous vehicle to move packages to the target area. Robots and drones aboard the vehicle could then affect the final delivery of the package.

9.   Practical Block-chain

CIOs need to start evaluating block-chain, even if they don’t anticipate aggressive adoption of the technology in the near term.  Block-chain has the potential to reshape industries by enabling trust, providing transparency, and enabling value exchange across business ecosystems, potentially lowering costs, reducing transaction settlement times, and improving cash flow. CIOs will see that assets can be traced to their origin, significantly reducing the opportunities for substitutions with counterfeit goods. This will contribute to a more transparent supply chain. Asset tracking also has value in other areas, such as tracing food across a supply chain to more easily identify the origin of contamination, or track individual parts to assist in product recalls.  Another area in which block-chain has potential is Identity Management.  Smart contracts can be programmed into the block-chain where events can trigger actions; for example, payment is released when goods are received. The significant potential for disruption and revenue generation means organizations should begin evaluating block-chain, even if they don’t anticipate aggressive adoption of the technologies in the near term.

10.   AI Security

Although AI and ML create great opportunities to enable hyper-automation and leverage autonomous things to deliver business transformation, it creates significant new challenges for the CISO, the security team, and risk leaders.  A rather obvious trend for 2020 sees Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning continuing to be applied in order to augment human decision making across a broad set of use cases.  While this creates great opportunities to enable hyper-automation and leverage autonomous things to deliver business transformation, it also creates significant new challenges for the CISO, the security team, and risk leaders with a massive increase in potential points of attack with IoT, cloud computing, micro-services, and highly connected systems in smart spaces. Therefore, analysts advise that Security and Risk leaders should focus on the following three key areas:

  • Protecting AI-powered systems
  • Leveraging AI to enhance security defense
  • Anticipating nefarious use of AI by attackers

As far as we can see, the new year anticipates great opportunities as well as great challenges for CIOs and their teams. Yet, it is paramount to always remember that embracing change and adopting new technologies and trends will guarantee that your enterprise remains active and competitive on the market. Resisting change will only set your company a few but important steps behind. Leaders in enterprise digital transformation will continue to evolve with those who are brave enough to jump into what the future will bring.

 

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Qualities of a Great Chief Executive Officer

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Is being a strong leader with years of expertise enough to make you a good CEO? What other skills and qualities can you integrate into your style to help you achieve success under pressure?  The role of a CEO is a versatile one. Often, they are the face of the company to internal and external stakeholders, liaising with management, the board, and the public. They are responsible for the long-term strategy of the company and for instilling brand values in employees.  A CEO must possess certain traits to be an effective leader.  There are 7 things that a really good CEOs do:

1.   Be Likable

All good CEOs are all very likeable.  They are the kind of people you want to be friends with. One of the most important features of a good CEO is his or her ability to leave a great impression on people, being it clients, investors, partners.

2.   Sell, Sell, Sell

CEOs have a lot on their plate.  When companies are more mature, they normally have a VP Sales or a CRO and a full sales team on board to market and sell the company’s products. Still, a good CEO will never stop selling.  Actually, a good CEO is always one of the best sales reps of the company. Just think about it — A CEO always sells the vision of the company to clients, investors, partners, existing and new employees, and of course, the general public.

3.   Listen (Not Only Talk)

Salespeople tend to be preoccupied with talking, which is not good enough for CEOs. Especially CEOs need to listen, they need to listen to their employees, listen to their clients and their partners to name just a few. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?  Not so much!  No matter how smart we are, the ability to be open to other ideas, to be coach-able and to realize that wisdom can come from other people, is super important.

4.   Work Hard. Lead by Example

There is no substitution for hard work. All good CEOs work very hard. They lead by example. Startup teams are ready to work hard too, but if their leader does not lead by example, this will simply not happen.  No need to go overboard with working hard; don’t forget that eating and sleeping once a while is also important guarda ora! Still, keeping the perfect life balance is not always achievable for a good CEO.

5.   Communicate Challenges, Not Just Achievements

It’s fun and easy to discuss achievements, but communicating challenges and failures is much more difficult although that’s so important.  People around any CEO are smart enough to know that challenges and failures are an integrated part of any company, including the best ones. There is everything to gain by openly discussing those. Just keeping quiet about those things does a CEO a huge disservice, since employees will think that their CEO either does not understand the issues or that he or she does not trust them enough to share, which is never a good thing. The best CEOs start every board meeting with “stuff we failed to do during the last quarter”. That might be a typical, but the best way to start a productive board meeting.

6.   Ask for Help

When we think about leaders, we tend to think of the old western cowboy who was silent and confident, never expressing weaknesses and certainly never asking for help. In practice, it’s quite the opposite — Great CEOs are very good in relying on others and asking for help and receiving assistance. Smart CEOs always use people around them, who are willing to help if asked the right way.

7.   Humans First

The typical image of a successful business person is a cold-hearted individual, with zero emotional intelligence and no moral standards. At least for startups, this is so wrong! All good CEOs are great human beings. Yes, they are very focused on the success of their companies, but they are sensitive to others at the same time.

 

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Vital Touchstones for Talent-Conscious Businesses

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Building an inclusive talent strategy is an essential practice for every business that wants to stay competitive. Inclusive hiring or expanding the pool of people who are recruited, screened, and hired into your roles provides employers with a broader pool of talent to work with. It increases workforce diversity, and proven driver of business productivity.

But building an inclusive workforce is not so simple. Like any business problem, success hinges on a company collecting and analysing performance data to drive improvement. But for an employer that is just starting to think about measuring the inclusivity of their hiring practices, they should focus on three essential things.

  1. Who is in your pipeline?

This is not a statistic so much as an overview of your hiring funnel, but you can’t understand if your pipeline is leaking without first knowing who is entering it and where are they leaving. With this data, companies can build a picture of what their current pipeline looks like and who progresses from one step of the funnel to the next. Companies can use this data to set a baseline for where they are now, and set performance targets grounded in evidence.  Race, gender, age, education level, and veteran status are all common data that many companies use to assess their pipeline composition.

 

  1. Measure the conversion rate at the resume screen.

The first round of pipeline conversion from the job application to the resume review is often the trickiest for non-traditional candidates to move through. By their nature, resumes capture a narrow slice of what a candidate can offer, focusing solely on work experience and education. It is much harder for a resume to effectively communicate whether someone possesses the underlying skills needed for the job, or the attitude the applicant brings to their work every day. Employers should look at who is screened out at this early stage to ensure they aren’t losing out on great talent that looks a bit different from their typical candidates.

  1. Study your offer to acceptance data.

This stage of the hiring process offers critical insights into whether you are able to not just attract candidates to your open jobs, but get them to accept your offer. In today’s tight labour market, applicants have more options than ever. But for companies that are focused on inclusive hiring, looking at offers made and offers accepted also provides great insight into how attractive your company and positions are to a diverse set of candidates. If you are doing a great job of getting people to apply for the roles, but as they interact more with the company they leave your pipeline, then it’s clear work needs to be done to plug those leaks.

Pipeline composition, first-round advancement, and offer-to-acceptance are just a few of the yardsticks companies track to understand how effectively they are building and leveraging diverse candidate pools. By measuring these three fundamental data points, employers will quickly be on their way to capturing the business value that comes from developing a more inclusive talent pipeline.

 

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Start-ups Take to the Sky

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The Aircraft Industry is Rife with Opportunities for Start-ups

In recent years, the aviation and space industries have become extremely attractive to start-ups and small businesses. The boom of start-ups in the aerospace industry began in 2010 with new initiatives from Elon Musk (SpaceX), Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) and Bertrand Piccard (Solar Impulse) – all of them are successful entrepreneurs.

With a gleam in their eyes, they started to argue that smaller companies can take to the skies on par with huge corporations.  And they were right: today, the aircraft industry is rife with opportunities for start-ups. New players not only offer innovative solutions, but can also radically change the nature of the entire market. Now, the industry is flooded with new players. According to recent research conducted by NewSpace Global, the number of start-ups in the industry has grown almost tenfold since 2013 – from 120 to over 1,000 today. In tandem, in 2018 alone, £25.6 billion was invested in aerospace start-ups, according to the British venture fund Seraphim capital.

However, the aerospace industry has not evolved in the past 25 years. This tightly regulated and safety critical industry has been risk-adverse when it comes to adopting new technology. Arguably, this is leaving the door wide open for start-ups. Unlike the state-owned companies or large international corporations, start-ups use their “no fear of failure” approach. They strive to reduce the final cost of their products and services to make them accessible to a wide range of customers. To do this, they have to work faster, generate more new ideas and use a number of cross-sectoral, technologies and solutions. For example, it took SpaceX five years and £307 million of investments in order to develop the carrier rocket Falcon 9, while NASA would have spent about £1bn for a similar task, according to the agency’s own calculations.

Over the past few decades, the quality of technologies and various components has improved while their manufacturing costs have dropped. As a result, start-ups are now present in almost every segment of the aerospace industry. The fastest growing trends in the industry are unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites, space communication systems, various services for maintaining space and aviation infrastructure, and finally, suborbital tourism.

For example, Chinese start-ups Space Transportation and Linkspace have recently launched their reusable rockets – an affordable alternative to Falcon 9. In the UK, OneWeb is already launching miniature satellites into the low Earth orbit.  By 2021, the company intends to use it to provide high-speed Internet access throughout the world. Orbex, is preparing the commercial release of its Prime rocket, which is specifically designed to launch ultralight satellites.
By 2023, it should put into orbit the nanosatellites of Swiss start-up Astrocast, which plans to deploy a global support network for the Internet of things. Elsewhere, the Canadian company LEO will launch a service that monitors the chemical composition of the earth’s surface and track space debris by 2021.

Agility within Start-ups

The list of start-ups doing innovative work within the industry could go on. Each example highlights that start-ups are moving from just talking about projects to action them, and at a rapid pace. Start-ups are not afraid to experiment, and as a result, new types of transport, new markets, and new categories of consumers are born right in front of our eyes.

Currently, Dassault Systèmes is working with AeroMobil, who are creating a prototype of a roadable aircraft, the first vehicle of its kind due to be released in 2020.  It will be possible to move around in any terrain and in any weather. As they say in the company itself, developing such a project required a multitude of cross-sectoral interaction.  After all, in order to successfully pass certification, such a flight-and-ground apparatus should meet the requirements of regulators of both industries at once.  But the emergence of this type of transportation will give impetus to the development of new related types of business – schools for drivers/pilots and even flight-car service.

So, how do start-ups manage to compete on equal terms with big companies?  They have the same engineering and marketing tools as market leaders. In fact, they use all the benefits of cloud computing, computer vision, Big Data, as well as business intelligence and digital IT platforms.

Furthermore, start-ups win in terms of flexibility and mobility, the use of agile principles in product development, and the ability to find and occupy new niches in the market. This gives them a great advantage over large companies.

What’s next?

Of course, market leaders won’t be quick to give up their positions to new players. They also want to take advantage of the innovations start-ups are launching. To achieve that, they are creating infrastructure to grow such companies in-house; they acquire the teams and technologies from the market and set up corporate venture funds and partnerships to support their projects. Tighter collaboration between large and emerging players will bring more innovation to the market and help it transform further.

Although start-ups embrace new ideas and technology, they often face a much bigger threat than large players: they cannot afford to fail in this highly regulated industry. They need to pass long and complex certification processes before launching their product despite being both cash-strapped and time-constrained.

Online, cloud-based virtualisation platforms offer new ways for ideation, design, manufacturing, testing, certification and operation, helping start-ups optimise their processes and keep their activity focused on their products. These platforms automate routine operations, reducing time spent on administrative tasks and freeing up space for strategic sharing of information.  As a result, start-ups can accelerate their programmes and be the first to bring their prototypes to market.  Investments in digitalisation can pay off in as little as 6-18 months, fast-tracking the start-up’s journey to profit.  Providing these young companies with the resources to centralise all their operations helps start-ups focus on what they do best: coming up with creative ideas to complex issues and challenging the big players.  This creates a much more vibrant industry that pushes the boundaries of the atmosphere.

 

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