|
TECH LEADERSHIP TRENDS
|
Growing Number of IT Leaders Now Seen as Business Partners & Trusted Advisors: Survey |
Starting with the COVID crisis mode of spring 2020, and into the continuing disruptions of 2021, businesses leaned heavily on their IT leaders and staffs to stay in business, and hopefully, see growth. And IT rose to the occasion in a spectacular way. As a result, IT leaders became more intimately involved in the running of their businesses, well beyond the traditional roles of IT. That's the word from a recent survey of 1,000 IT managers and executives, released by Snow Software. IT leaders weathered the storm in 2021, securing their seat at the executives' table as business partners. In fact, 89% of IT leaders claimed that IT roles were undervalued pre-Covid - but are now viewed as essential - with 90% claiming they have become trusted advisors to the business, instead of a one-stop shop for technology. In fact, 83% of IT leaders consider themselves more of a business leader.
In addition, 94% of IT managers consider innovation as top priority for their organization, though 71% say IT spends too much time reacting to problems instead of innovating. Top priorities for IT leaders next year are adopting new technology to improve day-to-day operations (30%), reducing IT costs (28%), and improving customer service and satisfaction (28%). (https://www.zdnet.com/article/technology-leaders-influence-in-their-businesses-grows-beyond-expectations/
)
|
|
'War for talent' rises toward top of C-suite risks for 2022 |
Attracting and retaining employee talent - a challenge intensified by the pandemic - is among the top concerns of business leaders looking ahead to 2022 and the next decade, according to a global survey of 1,453 C-suite executives and board members by Protiviti and NC State University. Succession challenges and the ability to attract and retain top talent vaulted to the No. 2 ranking of business risks, up from No. 8 a year ago, according to the survey. Leading the list of risks for 2022 is the impact on business from pandemic-related government policy. (https://www.ciodive.com/news/talent-war-rises-toward-top-business-risks-2022/611447/)
|
|
|
CYBERSECURITY NEWS
|
Log4j: Why this massive security flaw is impacting nearly the entire internet |
A major cybersecurity vulnerability is impacting nearly all of the internet, sending everything from financial institutions to government entities scrambling to patch their systems, before cybercriminals and nation states can launch cyberattacks. Known as the Log4j vulnerability, the flaw impacts a piece of open-source logging software that allows developers to understand how their programs function. The idea is to help companies understand potential bugs or performance issues in their own software.
But Log4j, which is part of the software offered by the open source Apache Software Foundation, can be exploited to allow attackers to take over the computers and networks of any organization running the program. Patches have already been released, but applying them is a different story. Organizations, whether government or private, are notoriously slow when it comes to updating their software. The fear is that the flaw could be used by attackers to take remote control of any unpatched system and use them as their own. That, experts say, could give cybercriminals the means to do everything from stealing user data to taking control of real-world infrastructure. (https://www.aol.com/finance/log4j-why-massive-security-flaw-222332054.html)
|
|
CISA, White House urge organizations to get ready for holiday cyberattacks |
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the White House have released warnings to companies and organizations across the country, urging them to be on alert for cyberattacks ahead of the Christmas holiday. CISA has released "CISA Insights: Preparing For and Mitigating Potential Cyber Threats" to provide critical infrastructure leaders with steps to proactively strengthen their organization's operational resiliency against sophisticated threat actors. In a recent letter, White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger and National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said there are typically breaches around national holidays because cybercriminals know that security operations centers are often short-staffed. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/cisa-white-house-urge-organizations-to-get-ready-for-holiday-cyberattacks/)
|
|
New White House policy gives agencies 24 hours to assess cyberattacks of potential national security concern |
The White House has enacted a new policy requiring the FBI and other agencies to help US officials quickly assess whether a cyberattack "rises to the level of a national security concern" that could hamper the provision of key services such as fuel or food, according to a National Security Council memo obtained by CNN and two US officials. The NSC memo in some cases gives US security and intelligence agencies just 24 hours after they learn of serious hacks to deliver initial assessments to senior White House officials on the severity of the situations. The goal is to more quickly determine whether a ransomware attack, for example, might affect multiple sectors of the economy - and if the government may need to mobilize backup supplies of commodities, as it prepared to do after a ransomware attack on a US pipeline operator in May. (https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/politics/white-house-red-line-policy-cyberattacks/index.html)
|
|
|
ADVANCES IN CHIP & BATTERY TECHNOLOGY
|
IBM and Samsung say their chip breakthrough could give phones 'week-long' battery life |
IBM and Samsung have teased a new vertical transistor design "breakthrough" they reckon could transform the semiconductor industry and give Moore's Law a few years' more life. The companies hailed the vertical transistor design as a major benefit to smartphones because it could reduce energy use by 85% compared to finite or fin field-effect transistors (finFET) used in today's chips. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-and-samsung-say-their-chip-breakthrough-could-give-phones-week-long-battery-life/)
|
|
First flexible & washable battery developed |
Researchers have created what could be the first battery that is both flexible and washable. It's part of a growing number of innovations in gadgets you wear, including smartwatches and glasses. A new kind of flexible and washable battery could power future generations of wearable gadgets. The battery has several ultra-thin layers of plastic to create an airtight, waterproof seal. The research team made the essential compounds - in this case, zinc and manganese dioxide - stretchable by grinding them into small pieces and then embedding them in rubbery plastic or polymer. So far, the battery has withstood 39 wash cycles, and the team expects to improve its durability further as they continue to develop the technology. (https://www.lifewire.com/the-future-of-wearables-is-washable-5213285)
|
|
Toyota earmarks $70 billion for EVs, BEVs |
Toyota announced it's investing $70 billion in electric vehicles, predicting that about a third of its car sales will be battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2030. Half of the funding will spur development of BEVs, with 30 in total envisioned by 2030. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-says-have-30-battery-electric-line-up-vehicles-by-2030-2021-12-14/)
|
|
|
MORE TECH TRENDS
|
2022: A major revolution in Robotics: the near future of automation is nothing short of astounding |
While self-driving cars have grabbed all the headlines, the work happening at the intersection of AI, machine vision, and machine learning is fast becoming the foundation for the next phase of robotics. By combining machine vision with learning capabilities, roboticists are opening a wide range of new possibilities like vision-based drones, robotic harvesting, robotic sorting in recycling, and warehouse pick and place. According to Pieter Abbeel, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, where he is also the director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab and co-director of the Berkeley AI Research lab, "we're finally at the inflection point: The moment where these applications are becoming good enough to provide real value in semi-structured environments where traditional robots could never succeed." (https://www.zdnet.com/article/2022-prediction-a-major-revolution-in-robotics/)
|
|
Metaverse needs much more chip power, says Intel exec |
Intel will release a new series of graphics processors starting in the first quarter of 2022, and says will power the metaverse. Intel's Raja Koduri, who leads Intel's Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, said in an exclusive interview that the computing power of today's chips will need to improve 1000-fold to power the metaverse. Coined by Neal Stephenson in the 1992 novel Snow Crash, the metaverse is a next-generation immersive internet experienced through augmented and virtual reality. (https://qz.com/2101581/intel-is-ready-to-talk-about-the-metaverse/)
|
|
MGM lets potential employees try out jobs in VR before signing on |
MGM Resorts is letting applicants try out casino and hotel jobs in virtual reality before signing on, Business Insider has reported. It's part of a new effort to reduce employee attrition during the "great resignation" that has caused labor shortages in the US and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic. The casino and resort group is using headsets from a VR company called Strivr that specializes in virtual training for industry health and safety, customer service and more. The idea is to let employees experience typical job activities so that they know what to expect. MGM plans to use the headsets at its offices and possibly career fairs, starting in January. The idea is to let potential customer service employees experience key aspects of the job, both positive and negative. (https://www.engadget.com/mgm-is-letting-potential-employees-try-out-jobs-in-vr-before-signing-on-101720483.html)
|
|
Apple builds new team in Southern California to bring more wireless chips in-house |
Apple Inc. is hiring engineers for a new office in Southern California to develop wireless chips that could eventually replace components supplied by Broadcom Inc. and Skyworks Solutions Inc. The company is seeking a few dozen people to develop wireless chips in Irvine, where Broadcom, Skyworks and other companies have offices. It's part of a broader strategy of expanding satellite offices, letting the tech giant target engineering hotbeds and attract employees who might not want to work at its home base in Silicon Valley. The approach also has helped Apple further its goal of making more of its own components. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-16/apple-builds-team-in-new-office-to-bring-wireless-chips-in-house)
|
|
Holiday Zoom backgrounds for your virtual social gatherings |
Add a touch of the holiday season to your virtual social gatherings with this selection of holiday Zoom backgrounds:
https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/holiday-zoom-backgrounds/
|
|
