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IoTFA 2021 Goes Virtual
The number of Internet of Things (IoT) connections exceeded the human population more than a decade ago, research shows. And in 2021, the growing rate of IoT deployment is set to reach $3.7 trillion. This trend is expected to change the trajectory of how businesses are run across the world. So while there is a very real hype surrounding IoT, very few enterprises know how to make the most of it. That’s why business leaders, tech aficionados and innovation heavy-weights are gearing up for the virtual edition of the Internet of Things Forum Africa — taking place from 25 – 26 March 2021. Under the theme “Enabling Enterprise Transformation with IoT”, this premier African event will see hundreds of attendees equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to plan and implement successfu...
Spotify Expands to 80 New Markets, Including Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania
Sourced from Android Police Spotify is set to expand its streaming subscription service to 80+ new markets across the globe – this move represents Spotify’s broadest market expansion to date. Founder and CEO, Daniel Ek revealed that the platform would now be available to more than a billion people in over 36 languages. Spotify says that it plans to work with local creators and partners to expand its music offerings to meet the unique needs of each market. It will also introduce the following offerings in each region: Plans: Free and Premium plans will be available across all the markets. User Experience: Listeners will be able to select and search from Spotify’s worldwide catalogue when using the product, providing a personalized experience from day one. Music Catalogue: At launc...
Spotify Expands to 80 New Markets, Including Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania
Sourced from Android Police Spotify is set to expand its streaming subscription service to 80+ new markets across the globe – this move represents Spotify’s broadest market expansion to date. Founder and CEO, Daniel Ek revealed that the platform would now be available to more than a billion people in over 36 languages. Spotify says that it plans to work with local creators and partners to expand its music offerings to meet the unique needs of each market. It will also introduce the following offerings in each region: Plans: Free and Premium plans will be available across all the markets. User Experience: Listeners will be able to select and search from Spotify’s worldwide catalogue when using the product, providing a personalized experience from day one. Music Catalogue: At launc...
WhatsApp Explains its Privacy Policy Update
WhatsApp has offered to clear up ‘any confusion’ for its controversial privacy policy. The social platform has revealed users want more information; like whether or not WhatsApp and Facebook can read or listen to personal conversations, keep logs of who everyone is messaging or share contact lists with Facebook. “We’re going to include more information that people can read within WhatsApp and give people more time to review the terms and privacy policy at their own pace,” reads a statement from the company. Starting in a few weeks, some users will see a small banner that will invite them to check out these policies again. Tapping on “review” will bring up a deeper summary. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_874.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_874.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Users ...
3 Cybersecurity Resolutions for Businesses in 2021
Sourced from IDG Connect Between more sophisticated cybercriminals and immense pressure to ensure governance on compliance, 2021 is already shaping up to be a minefield. And as such, cybersecurity has risen to the top of most organisations’ agendas. With this in mind, here are three cybersecurity resolutions every business should consider this year: Watch out – Dark Clouds are on the horizon Businesses haven’t been the only ones accelerating their digital transformation this year – cybercriminals have been hard at it too. There has been a sharp rise in ‘Dark Clouds’ as cybercriminals have migrated to the cloud, often for the same reasons businesses have – cloud allows them to avoid big up-front capital expenses, pay monthly for their shady businesses and scale up only when they need to. Co...
4 Predictions for Digital Finance in 2025
Sourced from Finance Monthly. The digital transformation of the finance sector has continued relentlessly throughout 2020. Industry is already starting to see the paybacks from making small, incremental changes to financial workflows by adopting emerging technologies. The pandemic is accelerating the speed of change and catalysing more investment in end-to-end automation and remote working. So, where will this trend take the industry in four years’ time? Here are four predictions about what the finance function will resemble in 2025: Many of today’s technologies will still be in play Not all challenges from 2020 are likely to disappear by 2025. As tech continues to evolve, so too will legislation and regulations. Requirements change all the time, especially as businesses begin to use bigge...
YouTube to Introduce New Features in 2021
Sourced from Mobile Syrup YouTube will introduce a number of new features this year, including; Expanding to TV, TikTok rival Shorts and an Integrated Shopping Experience. “With a global audience of over two billion logged-in users coming to YouTube every month—more than ever, we know we have to build custom experiences and apps that respond to each person’s unique needs,” says Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer at YouTube. Expanding to TV While the majority of YouTube videos are watched on mobile, the company’s fastest area of growth is the TV. That’s why it brought that same spirit of YouTube’s experience to TV content with YouTube TV. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_3e4.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_3e4.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “And there’s more to come, including a new ...
Amazon need not Enter SA’s eCommerce Industry ‘Any Time Soon’, says Naspers CEO
Image sourced from CNBC Bob van Dijk, CEO of Naspers and Prosus believes that Amazon may not enter South Africa’s eCommerce sector “any time soon”. According to TechCentral, a key reason for this is “Naspers-controlled e-retailer Takealot.com is doing a really, really good job serving South African online consumers”. “We look closely at the Net Promoter Score, which is really whether people like the service enough to recommend it to others. There, Takealot has done just a fantastic job,” says van Dijk. “If they manage to continue to make customers happy at scale, like they have been doing, then I think there is limited room for Amazon to come in and offer something better.” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to Step Down Founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has revealed that he will step down from his...
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Proven ‘Less Effective’ Against South African Virus
Image sourced from TimesLIVE A lab study by Pfizer and BioNTech has shown that its COVID-19 vaccine has proven ‘less effective’ against the South African variant by producing “lower levels of neutralizing antibodies”. According to Bloomberg, the results are “part of tests of its vaccine against a lab-created virus that had all the mutations found in the South African variant, which is thought to spread faster than earlier versions”. “The mutant virus has become a stumbling block for vaccine campaigns, with South Africa halting the rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s shot after a study showed it didn’t work as well in preventing mild illness involving the variant first identified there”. The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine – of which South Africa has received one million doses – has proven ‘minimally...
Do We Trust Robots More Than Ourselves?
People now trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi. The study of more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people around the world and has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. In addition, people are rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors, according to the research. The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work, here’s how: Among business leaders, financial anxiety and stress increased by 186 percent and sadness grew by 116 percent; consumer financial anxiety and stress doubled, ...
Elon Musk’s Behaviour Labelled ‘Criminal’ Post Bitcoin Price Surge
Elon Musk has been accused of manipulating the price of Bitcoin by economist Nouriel Roubini. In an interview with CoinDesk, Roubini says that it’s “criminal behaviour” for Musk to take an individual stance on the crypto. This comes after Tesla invested $1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency, causing Bitcoin to reach a record high of $47,000. Commenting on @Tesla‘s $1.5 billion bitcoin buy on #CDTV First Mover this morning, @Nouriel said it’s “criminal behavior” for Elon Musk to take an individual stance on bitcoin to pump up the price before announcing Tesla’s investment. “Talk about a criminal enterprise.” pic.twitter.com/aSHPX5ayHM — CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) February 10, 2021 According to Roubini, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should...
How to Piece Together the IoT Puzzle
When first looking at an Internet of Things (IoT) project, you might think it looks cut-and-dry. Then the proverbial rug is pulled from under you. Surely, it’s just about devices and keeping them connected to the Internet, right? It SHOULD be easy; but in reality, most companies find that they’re facing a challenge that looks more like a jigsaw puzzle – and sometimes a few pieces have fallen on the floor. Thoughtfulness and planning are key to solving this IoT jigsaw puzzle. You need to know how the pieces fit with your wider enterprise IT landscape (apps/data/processes). In other words, you must become familiar with all your pieces, choose the right ones at the right time, and ensure you have a usable workspace to create your masterpiece. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_c00.td-a-rec-img{ text-ali...
