Tech and Business Review: June 24, 2017

In Tech by Shelly KramerLeave a Comment

Technology and Business ReviewSix trends shaping IT cloud strategies, how businesses are protecting themselves from cybercriminals, and Adobe’s acquisition of Mettle’s SkyBox tools to expand its VR video portfolio are just some of the interesting stories we found this week to share with you.

6 trends shaping IT cloud strategies today. The majority of companies today, regardless of their business model, depend on technology to power their operations. Some companies opt to build their own IT infrastructure, but as the business grows, it will eventually need more space and solutions to scale effectively. For some time now, companies have explored the benefits of outsourced data center services like colocation hosting, managed hosting or private cloud hosting. The main goal is to ensure that the enterprises are able to serve their customers better. Cloud computing can help your organization be more productive and agile, but it can also add to the complexity of IT infrastructure if not managed carefully. This article from CIO.com, shared by Babette Ten Haken, discusses the six trends shaping IT cloud strategies and is worth the read.

Cybersecurity: How Business Is Protecting Itself. Cybercrime is becoming a worldwide epidemic. This has become even more evident with the increasing headlines showing the proliferation of data breaches, phishing attacks and, most recently, the widespread ransomware threat called Wannacry. Hackers infected computers and demanded payments from users in exchange for the release of their data. This year alone, there have been many high profile security breaches that have potentially affected millions of accounts from payment cards, personal identification, and even medical records. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can protect your business, head over to this article from Fortune, shared by Spiros Margaris. It is pretty lengthy and in-depth, but if you read it, you’ll be glad you did.

Adobe acquires Mettle’s SkyBox tools to expand its VR video portfolio. If you’re a creative type, Adobe Creative Cloud suite of apps is probably something you’re no doubt familiar with. And if you’re into video editing and motion effects, Adobe’s Premiere Pro and After Effects are probably your tools of choice.

With VR and 360 video hot topics these days, Adobe’s announcement this week of the acquisition of Mettle’s SkyBox technologies and plugins for building transitions, titles, and effects, is a no-brainer. In fact, Mettle has been providing these plugins for Premiere Pro and After Effects for some time now.

Look for Adobe to integrate SkyBox’s features into future versions of both of these products. For more on this front, check out Rob Crasco’s share.

13 Tech Innovations to Watch. Technology has been shaping the way we live and work for years now—and of course everything is becoming more digital. But technology can be great only if we’re able to fit it to our daily life, both work and play.

An interesting question was asked of the Young Entrepreneurs council: What’s the best tech innovation you’ve seen in the past quarter and why? I loved the feedback to that question showcased in this article from TheNextWeb shared by Nicole Black. Check it out—the answers might surprise you.

Seven Ways AR May Change Your Life. Immersive technology is starting to gain momentum, from augmented reality to virtual reality. To a large degree, AR has gained more acceptance and popularity because of the game Pokémon Go. In fact, the Niantic Labs game is celebrating the one year anniversary of Pokémon Go this month. The game has definitely helped get people accustomed to what the future of AR/VR can offer.

The real challenge, however, beyond a fun game, is to find ways to prepare your business to leverage augmented reality in a way that is meaningful (and delivers value) for both your employees and customers. Here are some good examples shared by Alice Martin on Twitter about how AR can impact the future—and definitely worth a read.

 

Photo Credit: qecdwnke17 Flickr via Compfight cc

Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”

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