Mindtree opens European HQ in London
Mindtree has announced the opening of its new European headquarters in London. The office is equipped with the first European Digital Pumpkin innovation hub, which aims to help clients discover and design their path to digital transformation success.
Digital performance challenges cost $3.3m
The cost to businesses of addressing digital performance problems has reached $3.3 million, according to a survey of chief information officers (CIOs). A Vanson Bourne survey of 800 CIOs in large enterprises for cloud software company Dynatrace found a 34 per cent increase in the cost of addressing digital challenges, with 88 per cent of respondents foreseeing that artificial intelligence (AI) will be key to their ability to master the growing complexity of IT systems.
Chatbot therapist launched to combat depression
A chatbot therapist has been developed by medical device company Flow, which in June launched a brain stimulation headset treatment for depression, the first and only medically approved at-home treatment of its kind in the UK and EU. It engages users with daily conversations and offers self-help techniques, mood tracking, curated videos, meditation and mental exercises. It helps users to learn why sleep, exercise, nutrition and meditation are the main pillars in recovering from depression - and gathers mood data to offer a personalised response modelled on behavioural therapy.
Cyber security firm Red Sift lands $8m funding
Cyber security startup Red Sift has secured $8.8 million to drive growth and support its expansion into the US market. The London-based company, which counts TransferWise, Greenhill & Co and Telefonica as clients, said it would also use the funding to further develop its solutions which use machine learning to combat attempted online security breaches.
Smart home security popularity increasing in UK
Research from GoCompare Home Insurance has revealed that 79 per cent of UK householders worry about being burgled, and are turning to smart home technology to keep their possessions safe. According to police figures, the number of recorded burglary offenses in England and Wales has actually fallen by three per cent in 2019, but 83 per cent still think they should be doing more to improve their home security, with 39 per cent rating their security measures as moderate to poor at best.
Nets and KPMG partner for fraud prevention
Nets has collaborated with KPMG, to develop a new fraud monitoring and prevention solution. Nets Fraud Ensemble is an anti-fraud engine that deploys true machine learning - a system that identifies emerging fraud indicators as well as established patterns - to step beyond existing rules-based models that are currently in use across the banking industry.
Banks team up on blockchain supply chain project
High Street banks including Barclays, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered have teamed up with the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) to pilot the use of blockchain to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of global supply chains.The Trado model was also piloted with the backing of Rabobank, Sainsbury’s and Unilever in a bid to prove a use case for distributed ledger technology.
Cloud moves continue despite security concerns
The majority (60 per cent) of UK businesses plan to migrate their apps and data to the public cloud within the next year. This is according to a NetApp survey conducted across a database of 200 decision-makers responsible for IT buying decisions in the United Kingdom, working in companies with 500 or more employees.
Tech Nation opens three growth comps
Tech Nation is calling for applicants for three of the UK’s most renowned growth programmes - Future Fifty, Upscale and Rising Stars. The programmes are designed to scale and grow the next generation of UK tech businesses, with alumni including Monzo, Starling Bank, Darktrace, Deliveroo and Skyscanner.
Government offers SME innovation loans
Innovate UK, as part of UK Research and Innovation, is offering up to £10 million in loans to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to commercialise innovative products or services. Ideas can come from any area of technology or the economy and must lead to sustainable business growth.
UK workforce ‘unprepared’ for automation
Research has revealed that people feel unprepared for the introduction of new technologies, despite being optimistic about their job prospects. The Gallup Real Future of Work report was based on telephone interviews conducted in February and March with random representative samples of 1,000 employed adults in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, finding that most are generally upbeat about the impact of technology on their careers, despite some analysis predicting that machines would take over half of human jobs within the decade.
UK businesses ‘unaware of Wi-Fi vulnerabilities’
UK businesses need to be more aware of the security vulnerabilities their wireless devices present, according to research from Probrand. A survey of 1,075 UK workers in full or part-time employment, carried out by the technology services provider, revealed that 72 per cent of companies which suffered a data breach in the last year found that the network infiltration came from an unsecured wireless device – such as a printer, scanner, mobile phone or laptop connected to their Wi-Fi network.
