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Many are familiar with the Rise of the Robots and the jobless future they will leave, but is this belief based on sound facts?  Turns out it's not, and in fact robots will keep plenty of humans employed.  The change is just going to be what the humans are employed in.

According to UK consultancy firm PwC, research into the robotic AI future shows that automation will displace 38% of transport jobs, and 30% of manufacturing jobs.  However, other industries will see a different effect, such as healthcare where 12% of jobs will be replaced but 34% will be created.

Turns out, when evened out across the job market AI will create as many jobs as it takes.

According to PwC "Our estimates suggest that AI will not lead to technological unemployment as we project that it will displace around 20% of existing UK jobs by 2037, but create a similar number.  In absolute terms, around 7 million existing jobs are projected to be displaced, but around 7.2 million are projected to be created, giving a net jobs boost of around 0.2 million."

When looking at the numbers as a whole, the future isn't so bleak.  And, with more and more companies relying on robotic automation, there emerges a need for technicians to program, run, maintain, and supply the robots.

Industries that require complex, specialized tasks can breathe easy as well - AI isn't predicted to take over these industries:

• Education
• Scientific and technical work
• Information and communication
• Accommodation and food services

However, industries that revolve around repetitive, administrative tasks should take note:

• Finance and insurance
• Retail
• Construction
• Public administration
• Construction
• Transport
• Manufacturing

This article was based on a July 17, 2018 Business Insider article by Shona Ghosh.

Europe-based HSBC bank offered some revealing insights into the future of your interaction with banking.  As many know, more and more banking can be done remotely or even through branch ATMs, reducing the demand for in-person branch tellers for all but the most complicated banking transactions.  Artificial intelligence and mobile technologies are fueling the progression.  Because of this, HSBC is investigating new technology roles within the company to carry tech-fueled banking forward.

Many of these roles, such as “mixed-reality experience designer” and “conversational interface designer” are still being evaluated, but really aren't that far off.  Still, many more remain undefined in the technology future.  In fact, the US Department of Labor estimates that 65% of today's schoolchildren will fill jobs that don't currently exist.

“Many of the roles and job titles of tomorrow are unknown to us today,” said Josh Bottomley, global head of digital, retail banking and wealth management at HSBC. “One thing is certain, however – artificial intelligence will not replace human intelligence. Blending the best technology with the power of people will be the difference between good and great when it comes to customer experience.”

The topic of technology replacing humans often raises the hackles on the collective workforce, however, technology often replaces repetitive or even delicate work that is reliant on accuracy.  And, the output of robotic processes compared to humans cannot be overlooked.  However, when it comes to technology, no one can argue that humans hold the keys to key qualities that drive innovation; curiosity, creativity, empathy, and more.  These qualities will continue to separate us from the machines.

Considering this, HSBC has shared six possible financial technology positions of the future:

• Mixed-reality experience designer
• Algorithm mechanic
• Conversational interface designer
• Universal service advisor
• Digital process engineer
• Partnership gateway enabler

Though they don't elaborate on granular details of each role, one can surmise the responsibilities of each position.  The Mixed-Reality Experience Designer, for example, would utilize tools such as Microsoft HoloLens to integrate 3D holographic technology into the bank's workplaces and processes.  A person applying for this role would need to have skills in aesthetic design, branding, user experience, and 3D mechanics.

While we're still working out our human roles alongside humans, one can take heart that (for now), it still takes a human mind to create the interfaces and experiences of tomorrow.

This article was based on a July 6, 2018 ComputerWeekly article by Karl Flinders.

Police have long been relied on to stop crime - either by their presence discouraging would-be criminals, or by putting their efforts into solving crimes and handing the responsible parties over to the courts.  With an endless to do list of police work, it'd seem that departments around the world would embrace as much technology as they could to help fight and solve crime.  However, that doesn't seem to be the case, especially in the UK.  Why?  Policing is a "human business" that relies heavily on face to face work, and technology hasn't been so easy to utilize out on the beat.

But, a more troublesome problem has emerged for the 43 police forces of our Atlantic neighbor.  They simply don't know what tech they're buying and how to make the most of it, thereby wasting its usefulness.  Some tech that enables intraoperatively between departments isn't in use, negating any benefit of shared knowledge and resources.  Resources are needlessly duplicated as well, wasting money and effort.  Plus, data is still sent to courts on CDs, inserting lag time into processing cases, problems if the disk becomes damaged, and difficulties in archiving records.

Police departments are starting to realize that if they are to keep up with crime (often committed with the use of technology!), they have to get on board too, and departments are slowly working to achieve this.  In 2016, the UK National Police Chiefs' Council introduced its vision for policing in 2025, a vision which includes a much more integral use of technology.

“Collectively, we are trying to drag police technology from a place that feels terribly out of date into the modern age, but there is a will to do that,” said Nick Hurd, UK policing minister.  “There needs to be a plan around it and evidence that the police system buys into the plan and will implement it, and then there will be a resource requirement attached to that, which we intend to take to the comprehensive spending review.”

Under this new plan, police forces are encouraged to adopt systems that will talk to each other and share data seamlessly with other departments.  However, what it does not do is create a single police force.  All it simply does is help the 43 police units to work together in a cohesive, effective, and economical way, using something call the Network Code.  The Network Code is a new standard of common operating procedures and practices.  While there is no mandate that departments adopt these standards, the benefits of those who do will be obvious to all, encouraging even more adoption in the sector.

This article was based on a June 29, 2018 ComputerWeekly article by Lis Evenstad

Alexa, the popular smart home speaker, is moving into new verticals - like your hotel stay.  The recently introduced Alexa for Hospitality program is partnering with leading hotel chains to place customized Alexa devices in hotel rooms to aid guests with front desk needs, local restaurant and attraction suggestions, and even ordering deodorant because you left yours on the bathroom counter at home.  The devices can even control room lighting and other functions, keeping you from fumbling for a light switch as you enter your room.  Alexa for Hospitality's launch partner is Marriott International, which plans to implement the program in ten high profile locations this summer.  The skills available on each device will vary based on individual hotels and configurations of rooms; some rooms will feature Alexa lighting and window shade controls, while others may be limited to informational queries only.

According to Jennifer Hsieh, Marriott's vice president of customer experience innovation, Alexa for Hospitality aims "to strip away the things that might create unexpected surprises or bumps in the road and create as seamless an experience as possible" for hotel guests.  Alexa can easily handle simple inquiries from guests such as pool hours, requesting a hotel shuttle, and more, all without a call down to the front desk. Not only does this fulfill the needs of guests in rooms quickly and easily, it also leaves front desk staff free to attend to other needs and guests who need human help.

Alexa for Hospitality is a modified version of the mainstream product - it runs from a backend system installed at each hotel that stores site-specific information like gym hours and local restaurants and is easy configurable by hotel staff.  The devices also feature enhanced security settings to reduce theft, such as alerts sent to staff when devices are unplugged and the restriction to only run on the hotel's configured wifi network.  As popular as Alexa devices are, there are still many consumers who are hesitant to have a device listening in at all times, so it's on hotel chains to address these concerns within their individual Alexa programs.  However, Amazon has promised to not share voice data with hotels and will delete logs daily.  Devices will be muted for every new guest, so guests do have control over enabling the device or not.

Amazon has also announced that the ability for guests to connect the Alexa for Hospitality devices to their various profiles in Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, as well as audiobook retailer Audible.  The method to connect accounts to the hotel devices hasn't been specified, however Amazon did announce that all configured accounts will be disconnected upon guest checkout.

Once Alexa for Hospitality has earned its place in the market Amazon may explore other opportunities for mass deployments - such as healthcare.

This article was based on a June 19, 2018 CNET article by Ben Fox Rubin.

In a recent press release, OpenText announced that twenty three of the global supply chains awarded status on the Gartner 2018 Supply Chain Top 25 utilize OpenText Business Network to manage their operations.  These companies come from a variety of industries, and the 2018 list features new entries in the life sciences, retail, and consumer products spectrums.  The ranking comes from evaluation of two components: a quantitative measurement of business performance and a qualitative representation of both peer and Gartner analyst opinions. (Learn more about Garner's methodology.)  Their use of OpenText Business Network is a notable nod to the capabilities and success of the platform for mission critical B2B transactions, procure to pay processes, and supplier collaboration.

“OpenText is enabling the world’s largest and most complex supply chains. Digital supply chains are more agile, accurate, profitable and transparent, representing a key competitive differentiator for intelligent and connected businesses,” said Mark Barrenechea, Vice Chair, CEO and CTO at OpenText. “OpenText is proud to partner with our customers as they transform their businesses.”

According to OpenText, the OpenText Business Network "helps companies bring additional visibility, intelligence and automation to global digital supply chains. Leveraging OpenText software and services, companies can leverage end-to-end digital supply chains. This helps to accelerate the flow of business transactions, allows meaningful insights that measure supply chain performance and to optimize business processes that improve customer satisfaction levels."

To learn more about the awardees please visit Gartner's Press Release.

This article was based on a June 8, 2018 press release.

This week Dell EMC introduced its new Artemis 3 supercomputer, which will soon be put to use at the University of Sydney to power research and academic programs, notably those focused on artificial intelligence (AI) research under the university's UBTECH Sydney Artificial Intelligence Centre.  The university's system has an rPeak performance of 1 petaflops and an rMax of 700 teraflops, which will allow faster processing and analysis of data to expand research in ways not possible before.  Alongside AI research, the $2.3 million system will also study geophysics, cosmology, genomics, proteomics, and more.  As research evolves, more and more answers to problems are data driven, requiring ever more computing power.

“The University’s research continues to grow in computational intensity,” said Dr Jeremy Hammond, director, Strategic Ventures, The University of Sydney, Australia. “To stay ahead of the volume and velocity of data being generated by scientific instruments and sensors, researchers need high performance computing (HPC) technology to collect and process data faster, in real-time, or thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, with minimal human interaction.”

The Artemis 3 system builds on the success and capability of its Artemis 2 predecessor and its Dell EMC PowerEdge platform, but adds improved graphics processing ability with dedicated NVIDIA® Tesla® graphics processing units.  It is the most powerful computing platform Dell EMC has built to date, and features:

• Built on the 14th generation PowerEdge HPC platform
• 49 x PowerEdge C6420 nodes (2,352 x86 compute cores, and 9TB memory)
• 27 x PowerEdge C4140 nodes (552,960 CUDA cores, and 69,120 Tensor Cores for AI training)
• 700TB Lustre Storage
• Intel Xeon® Scalable Processors
• NVIDIA NVLinkÔäó connected Tesla V100 GPUs

“As we’ve built up our capacity to operate and deliver high quality HPC, Dell EMC has become a trusted partner,” said Dr Hammond. “The company has supported us in our pursuit of becoming a renowned HPC centre and worked closely with our team to put together a supercomputer that meets our diverse needs.”

The university will use the system at all levels - from undergraduate to graduate - and its addition to the program will help the university to remain a global leader in research.

This article was based on a June 7, 2018 Dell EMC press release.

PaperFree partner M-Files recently announced their achievement of recertifying for ISO 9001:2015, billed as the "world's leading quality management standard".  In addtion, their annoucement also included news of maintaining their ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certificate related to their cloud system security program.  Achievement of both of these certifications is rare in the indusry; M-Files is among only a few who have done so.  M-Files' development of its own information management and quality management systems - M-Files QMS - factored into the certification.

The ISO 9001:2015 certification recognizes M-Files for said QMS system that is used for its core business.  It handles design, development, delivery, and suport of their information management software and associated services, and also ensures that defined policies and procedures are followed daily.  It also tracks use and provides logs as evidence of compliance in case of an audit.  The ISO 9001:2015 certificate is a step above previous certifications in that it requires an enterprise to proactively identify and address risks that may occur in daily operations.  The related ISO/IEC 27001:2013 includes annual internal and external audits of systems and processes to ensure that data is secure and in compliance.

"M-Files is succeeding in the market by making formerly complicated and highly-specialized information management capabilities, particularly those associated with compliance and quality management, available to any business," said Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of M-Files.  “We've taken that to heart by using our own solution to comply with the very same demanding standards required by many of our customers. We don’t just see this as offering a better solution to the traditional markets for compliance and quality management solutions, rather, we’re committed to truly enabling essentially any company to benefit from proven quality and risk management processes by embedding them in the very tools users readily adopt to make their daily work easier."

An independent organization (Kiwa Inspecta) performed the audit for the ISO certifications and reported that "M-Files has globally harmonized processes, procedures and tools as well as transparent planning and reporting."  They also found unified and quality security practices, and the use of its own custom quality management solution has enabled effective extension of its practices from its headquarters in Finland and the US, plus new subsidiaries in France and Canada.  According to Tuukka Haarni, lead auditor at Kiwa Inspecta, “M-Files has shown strong commitment to fulfilling the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 27001, and a spirit of continuous improvement.  Any observed deviations and improvement possibilities are promptly addressed, and the needed process adjustments carried out efficiently.”

M-Files is to be commended on its dedication to quality and data security in the content management marketplace.  Please visit our M-Files page to learn more.

This article was based on a May 10, 2018 M-Files press release.

PaperFree partner OpenText today announced details about their upcoming Enfuse conference, to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada May 21-24.  This year's theme of the annual security, digital investigation, and e-Discovery conference is "Bringing security to the edges of the network and beyond".  Keynote speakers include OpenText Vice Chair, CEO and CTO Mark Barrenechea and James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (2013-2017).  In the opening keynote, Mr. Barrenechea will expound on challenges that modern enterprises face when working to protect their devices, people, and information.  The following day Mr. Comey will join Mr. Barrenechea to explore security challenges and ethical leaderiship in the digital age.

As many of the world's leading organizations utilize OpenText solutions in their operations, OpenText is in a prime position to assist enterprises in protecting and enabling the intelligent and connected enterprise.  It will also showcase several solutions at Enfuse, including:

1. OpenText EnCase – OpenText EnCase® provides the most trusted suite of forensic security products for endpoint detection and response, digital forensic investigations and data risk management. EnCase provides powerful tools to manage data visibility, reveal risk, discover malware, and empower response.
2. OpenText Covisint® – OpenText Covisint provides the IoT and identity management platform for digital business transformation. With the help of OpenText Covisint, companies can securely connect and manage the complex digital business ecosystems of connected products, people, and processes.
3. OpenText Magellan™ – OpenText Magellan is a AI-augmented analytics platform that combines machine learning, advanced analytics, and enterprise-grade business intelligence (BI) with the ability to acquire, merge, manage, and analyze any data – whether internal, CRM, Internet of Things, social media, security data, or any other structured or unstructured data – to enable AI-enhanced decision making, process automation, and overall better business outcomes at scale.
4. OpenText™ Axcelerate with EnCase® – OpenText Axcelerate is a complete, end-to-end e-Discovery platform with proprietary advanced analytics, world-class services and support, and the industry’s best predictive coding. Axcelerate can now be combined with EnCase e-Discovery, the gold standard in evidence collection.

OpenText is dedicated to add layers of security at the device level ("edge of the network") and providing solutions to help organizations to organize, redact, monitor, and react.  The Enfuse conference is the only conference that brings in the diversity of secutity specialties that it does; cybersecurity, incident response, digital forensics, e-Discovery, and enterprise investigations.  To learn more about Enfuse please visit Enfuse.OpenText.com.

This article was based on a May 15, 2018 OpenText press release.

PaperFree partner OpenText recently announced OpenText Release 16 Enhancement Pack 4, a update that addresses security, artificial intelligence, and Internet of Things, and cloud capabilities of their core EIM platform.  This newly-available release eases the transition to hybrid or fully managed cloud environments for enterprises and features cloud connectors to fully integrate OpenText solutions at the core of the workflow, even while working seamlessly with other technology solutions.  

Enhancement Pack 4 includes the following features:

• AppWorks: OpenText Process Suite is now AppWorks, a fully customizable automation platform that delivers a compelling low-code development experience and new support for developers.
• Content: Expanding on the simplified user experiences delivered in R16, Content Services EP4 further deepens integrations with leading process applications to drive productivity, strengthens compliance with automated capture of metadata, enhances cloud readiness and advances analytics and reporting. OpenText iHub analytics and reporting are added to OpenText eDOCS.
• Experience: Exstream brings agile cloud CCM applications to omni-channel communications with automated job visualization and end-to-end tracking analysis. TeamSite will take advantage of machine intelligence capabilities to extract concepts and is now enabled with “Search Engine as a Service” and “Taxonomy as a Service” capabilities. For a call center in the cloud, Qfiniti is listed on the AWS Marketplace leveraging Amazon Connect.
• Security: OpenText EnCase Endpoint Security adds bi-directional Splunk integration and other new tools for automated and expedited incident response.
• Discovery: OpenText Axcelerate adds performance, usability and compatibility enhancements for eDiscovery and investigations, plus new data collection services powered by EnCase.
• Analytics: OpenText Magellan introduces out-of-the-box Content Services Platform connectors for integrated content mining, extended data loading options for analysts and business users, and a deeper leveraging of Hadoop and Spark for data processing and Machine Learning.
• Business Network: New integrations with AppWorks and Covisint create new opportunities for automation and IoT. This release of the OpenText Trading Grid bundles predictive analytics for all new customers. OpenText also now offers a new RightFax Managed Services solution, helping companies implement secure communications across their entire business ecosystem while leveraging OpenText people, process and technology.

“The world's leading organizations use the OpenText EIM platform to manage and gain insights from their critical information assets," said Mark J. Barrenechea, OpenText Vice Chair, CEO and CTO. “This latest release enhances protection of these assets from threats and data breaches, while continuing to expand support for advanced AI and extreme automation use-cases.  Cybersecurity vulnerabilities represent a real and present threat to today’s digital organization. The value of information in our modern economy requires data-intensive companies to contend with a barrage of cyberattacks, the risk of data breaches, and the growing impact of data privacy regulations. Building any business requires companies to develop and maintain trust with their customers and suppliers. Intelligent and connected enterprises must effectively use, protect, and steward their information in a secured manner.”

 OpenText Release 16 Enhancement Pack 4 is available now.  This article was based on a May 1, 2018 OpenText press release.

As we reported last week, Windows is rolling out new updates for its OS and software, and more details about updates to its industry-leading Outlook email client have been released.  Outlook will feature five helpful new updates to make doing business easier:

Bill Pay
Email clients have "sniffed" email for years now (Gmail can recognize and add your flights and package deliveries to your calendar, for example), and now Outlook will review email content for bill payment reminders.  Once it finds one it'll automatically send you a reminder email two days ahead plus schedule a popup reminder on the day the bill is due.

Meeting RSVPs
Now, you can see who has RSVP'd to a meeting.  This information is helpful for organizers because if the main participant isn't available what's the point?  The list of committed attendees is now available under the Tracking link found in the Meeting Occurance setup in the meeting dialog.  You can also now set the meeting invitation to not be able to be forwarded if you want tighter control over your participants.

Better Time Zone Options
Many international business travelers have had struggles getting their schedules synched to where they'll be on any given day, and now Outlook offers better tools to organize this.  It now offers a view of three configurable timezones (found under File > Options > Calendar Time Zones) that can be selected for calendar events.  And, you can even use this feature with your flights by setting your departure and arrival time zones separately.

BCC Head's Up
If you're about to reply all on a message you're a BCC on, Outlook will now warn you before you hit send so you don't reveal that you've been a lurker on the email chain.

Quick Reply
Mobile Outlook users will discover a new quick reply field when viewing an email.  No need to click reply - just type your response and hit send.

These features and more were announced in a April 30, 2018 Microsoft blog post and stand to be helpful additions to busy users on the go.