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Proudly announcing the launch of a groundbreaking MedTech device: Zef. Zef helps people control their asthma. A programmable smart sensor for people with asthma/COPD who medicate with pressurized Metered Dose Inhalers (pMDI). Zef is a “personal assistant” that supports medicating as planned, consistent timing, tracking progress, and sharing results.
May 7th TiEcon2021
By Laura Medanich and Dennis Payton
With the exploding WFH and mobile workforce further amplified by the 2020 pandemic, it is more important than ever to cover corporate, government with a Zero-Trust security net that is flexible in coverage and hardened to protect against hackers, malware and mischief.
“There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that will be.”[1]
“My message to companies that think they haven’t been attacked is: ‘You’re not looking hard enough”[2]
Ask any CISO about security – most will tell you they are more concerned this year than last (95% up from 91% last year) – this according to a recent Cybersecurity Insider[3] study completed in 2021. While 2020 saw the infection of humans with a pandemic, CISO’s also saw record-breaking breaches infecting the digital world.
Cybersecurity has been elevated to a top priority now with the acceleration of work from home (WFH), explosion of Mobile workforce, exponential expansion end-points, and compounded by new peaks in breaches.
The majority of CISOs (63%) report the risk of data loss, leakage, and threats to data privacy as their top security concerns.
CISOs point to their specific sources of vulnerability: misconfigured cloud platforms, insecure interfaces, followed by credentials and access control. Adding to vulnerability, CISO’s report that only half of their organizations (51%) embed security testing during the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) while 67% still rely on periodic vulnerability and compliance reports as the primary method to manage remediation of security and compliance issues. Less than half have automation between security and DevOps in place; however, organizations recognize the advantages of deploying cloud native security solutions, including faster time to deployment (44%) and cost savings (43%).
Infographic by Laura Medanich
Now forced to reprioritize, organizations have pivoted, sometimes despite softer earnings. 55% of enterprise executives plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2021 and 51% are adding full-time cyber staff in 2021[4].
It’s a forgone conclusion then that security spending needs to increase, but by how much?
Cybersecurity Insiders forecasts security budgets will increase by 36% in 2021 and, in particular, Cloud Security spending should increase by 33% to $585M. A new report by global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, predicts cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure will increase by US$9 billion over the next year reaching US$105.99 billion in 2021[6].
While none of us can truly predict the future, we can all leverage learnings from the experts. Gartner projects Cybersecurity spending, mostly by companies and governments, to hit $207 billion by 2024. IT Security Spending in Government[7] looks to the security landscape to include contenders – Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco Systems, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, Arbor Networks, Barracuda Networks, Dell SonicWall, F5 Networks, FireEye, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos and Trend Micro. Many of these companies support TiEcon in Technology thought leadership and sponsorship.
Some emerging trends and drivers we look forward to engaging at TiEcon in the Cloud and Security Track:
No. 1: Securing your remote workforce
No. 2: Risk-based vulnerability management
No. 3: Extended detection and response (XDR)
No. 4: Cloud security posture management
No. 5: Simplify cloud access controls
No. 6: DMARC (domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance)
No. 7: Passwordless authentication
No. 8: Data classification and protection
No. 9: Workforce competencies assessment
No. 10: Automating security risk assessments
Trend 1: Extended detection and response capabilities emerge to improve accuracy and productivity
Trend 2: Security process automation emerges to eliminate repetitive tasks
Trend 3: AI creates new security responsibilities for protecting digital business initiatives
Trend 4: Enterprise-level chief security officers (CSOs) emerge to bring together multiple security-oriented silos
Trend 5: Privacy is becoming a discipline of its own
Trend 6: New “digital trust and safety” teams focus on maintaining the integrity of all interactions where consumer meets the brand
Trend 7: Network security transforms from the focus on LAN-based appliance models to SASE
Trend 8: A full life cycle approach for protection of the dynamic requirements of cloud-native applications
Trend 9: Zero-trust network access technology begins to replace VPNs
Just a couple examples from the landscape Palo Alto Networks [10] [11], speaking at TiEcon 2021’s Grand Keynote, and Fortinet’s latest FortiOS release[12] are looking to address, in particular, WFH, Mobile workforce, and the push to leverage more public cloud resources and applications:
These are some of the focal points among the top security features and products. Just a couple of examples here but security vendors across the landscape that are delivering a higher level of confidence to CISOs. Throwing a security net over a corporation’s or government’s entire infrastructure, will require a complete set of solutions covering site data centers to public clouds and from expanding WFH endpoints to mobile workforce protection.
Organizations are now aware that they must engage stakeholders at all levels, from C-Suite to engineering to achieve a security-first, zero-trust position. TiEcon speakers in the Cloud and Security track will share their insights on the innovations borne by the exciting paradigms in Security.
Come join us as we explore the emerging opportunities. Engage with entrepreneurs and thought leaders at Silicon Valley’s top world-ranked event; TiEcon’s Cloud and Security technology track May 6th – 8th.
www.tiecon.org https://blog.tiecon.org/security-net-over-mobile-wfh-world/
[1] Robert S. Mueller, III – Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation at RSA Conference, San Francisco, CA
[2] James Snook – Deputy Director, UK Office for Cyber Security
[3] Source Cybersecurity Insider: 2020 AWS Cloud Security Report, Cybersecurity Insiders
[4] Source: PwC, Global Digital Trust Insights 2021, October 5, 2020.
[5] Source: CNBC, Palo Alto Networks CEO: All companies must ensure they weren’t hit in suspected Russian cyberattack, DEC 18, 2020
[6] Source: ABI Research, Cybersecurity Spending for Critical Infrastructure, Feb. 10, 2021 on PRNewswire
[7] Source: IT Security Spending in Government Market Outlook Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2025, 2021-02-26
[8] Source: Gartner Top 10 Security Projects for 2020-2021, September 15, 2020
[9] Source: Gartner Top 9 Security and Risk Trends for 2020, September 17, 2020
[10] Source: The Forrester Wave™: Zero Trust eXtended Ecosystem Platform Providers, Q3 2020
[11] Source: Palo Alto Networks Whitepaper, How to Secure Your Business in a Multi-Cloud World
[12] Source: Press Release – Fortinet Delivers SASE and Zero Trust Network Access Capabilities, Feb 4, 2021
Did you know there were over 6,000 languages spoken in the world today? The top five spoken languages being English, Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, and French*. According to unbabel.com, 55.5% of all the web’s content is in English, but only 20% of the world’s population speak English.
There’s something missing here. How can over half the content on the internet be in English when only a 5th of the world speak English? I didn’t know this was an issue being from the United States, I assumed each country had a proportionate amount of content on the web that was proportionate to their language. That’s not the case. And just think of all those resources online that can help the poor, the underserved, the uneducated, and the needy. They don’t even know it exists because those resources are not available in their native language.
I recently took on a project that was solving this problem for a very specific industry. The Construction Industry. Suicide in the Construction Industry. According to constructionworkingminds.org*, “out of the almost 50,000 people who die by suicide every year, about 75% are working-aged men.” This website is a source for them, but the Construction industry just isn’t here in the United States, it’s across the world: Singapore, India, France, Ireland, Chile, Denmark, Finland, and so on. The list is endless. Fifty thousand people need or needed this resource, so why are we just adding these languages now?
Money and resources. I would say it took a good year or more from applying for funds, starting the planning stages, hiring contractors, translating the content, and everything else needed to get this website offered in multiple languages. It was an inspiring experience to be working with teams in different countries, learning from people fluent in multiple languages, and knowing I was helping in bringing resources to those who did not have any.
I would say it’s not just that good feeling you get when you’re doing something to help, think of the reach you could have if you had content that could be read by those who don’t speak English. There are over 6,000 languages in the world and you’re probably only offering one option on your website right now.
It’s definitely opened my eyes as I work on website after website. Why wouldn’t you want to view a website in your native language? I think it’s something we take for granted, so on my next project, I’ll probably be asking ‘Are we offering this in different languages?’ and if not, then ‘Why not?’
Sources:
*https://blog.busuu.com/most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/
*https://unbabel.com/blog/top-languages-of-the-internet/
*https://www.constructionworkingminds.org/about
Photo by Arthur Edelmans on Unsplash
by Laura Medanich and Dennis Payton
Ask any seasoned Entrepreneur, market volatility and disruption create opportunity. As we emerge from the 2020 storm, what are the silver lining opportunities technologists and entrepreneurs can engage?
Infographic by Laura Medanich
With the pandemic-fueled mass migration to WFH (work from home) and increasing Mobile workforce acceleration, cloud spending went from a very nice growth market to burgeoning accelerated growth. Economic instability triggered by the pandemic is expected to push budget-conscious CIOs to migrate to cloud resources and maintain that acceleration.
Public Cloud Services IT spending is expected to increase to $304.9 billion (18.6% YoY growth) in 2021. Seventy percent (70%) of organizations say they are planning to increase their cloud spending in 2021[1].
“We’ve seen two years of digital transformation in two months.”
— Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO[2] and past TiEcon speaker
This new market dynamic, heightened the need for compact - high-performance application scalability and compact serverless architectures to address demand for the mobile WFH workforce transition. End-user Software as a Service (SaaS) spending growth is forecasted at $117.7 billion for 20211 and envisage 500 million new Cloud Native digital apps by 2023[3].
Driven by Pandemic, WFH will help leapfrog corporate digital transformation as an additive to emerging technologies that demand scalability, reliability and continuous delivery of features and services to the market.
Emerging technology increasing demand for Cloud Computing and Services:
▪ Faster acceptance of new technologies: AI Engineering, 5G Mobility, Serverless Application architectures
▪ The need for multi-cloud deployment and management across those environments
▪ New set of challenges for CISOs/security and CIO regulatory and business compliance for diverse global privacy requirements
Factors driving the cloud market forward[4]:
▪ Tech companies driving customer migration to cloud environments
▪ Emergence of consumption-based IT - public cloud-like capabilities in on-premises and added security
▪ Shift of maintenance of legacy IT to new digital transformation initiatives
▪ Hybrid cloud has become central to successful digital transformation
Elevated technologies like quantum computing, open-source, containerization, 5G mobility and AI, are empowering organizations to operate their workloads on public cloud IaaS, PaaS with FaaS and CaaS jump starting native cloud development. All while avoiding another storm in maintaining enterprise GRC (governance & regulatory compliance) and preemptive protection in delivering compact, cost-effective, and secure application products and services.
[1] Gartner Newsroom Press Release, Stamford, Conn. November 17, 2020 "Forecast: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2018-2024, 3Q20 Update."
[2] Business Standard Microsoft saw 2 years of digital transformation happen in 2 months: Nadella April 30, 2020
[3] Analytics Insight: Top Cloud Computing Funding and Investment in October 2020 by Vivek Kumar October 20, 2020
[4] International Data Corporation (IDC) - Cloud Adoption and Opportunities Will Continue to Expand Leading to a $1 Trillion Market in 2024, October 15, 2020
Laura Medanich Marketing Consulting tapped to drive PR and marketing for the conference and Cloud & Security track. TiEcon, the signature annual event of TiE Silicon Valley announced their second virtual event, TiEcon 2021. Among the largest global entrepreneur-focused conferences of its kind, TiEcon carries on their success with the . will be their second virtual event on May 6-8, 2021.
Known for delivering the best in thought leadership, TiEcon features such luminaries as Deepak Chopra, M.D., founder, Chopra Foundation & Chopra Global; Vinod Khosla, partner at Khosla Ventures; and Indra Nooyi, the noted former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
May 6-8, 2021
“We’ve produced our TiEcon flagship events virtually during the pandemic, continuing our 28-year run,” said B.J. Arun, President, TiE Silicon Valley. “Almost 10,000 participated globally in our first TiEcon virtual conference, exceeding our expectations and allowing our amazing speaker lineup to reach an even wider audience. Through virtual delivery, we expanded our reach thus making this event accessible to 61 chapters of TiE in 14 countries and attendees globally.”
About TiE Silicon Valley
A not-for-profit organization with 28 years of success in fostering entrepreneurship, TiE Silicon Valley (sv.tie.org) hosts TiEcon to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem under one roof for C-level executives, investors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders. Significant benefits are gained by many TiEcon attendees and companies through extensive networking and mentorship opportunities. Register at TiEcon 2021
About TiE
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1992. The mission of TiE is to foster entrepreneurship globally through five pillars: mentoring, networking, education, funding, and incubation. By assisting entrepreneurs, we believe we can empower individuals and create wealth in communities.
Learn more at TiEcon.org.
Covid provides yet one more reason to add more automation to foodservice: reducing human contact with food.
There’s Flippy the robotic fry cook, who will start flipping burgers at White Castle this fall. There are a few entries in the drink space such as Botrista and Drinkbot, Chowbotics, the salad mixing robot and Servi the runner/busser. All of these innovations save on labor and are meant to augment, not replace the human element. Experts say robotics could be the future innovation the industry needs.
TV consumption up in 2020
COVID and Debates
TV consumption in the U.S. is already at historical highs. According to Neilson, U.S. consumers 18+ already spend 3 hours/27 minutes watching live TV. Amid the rise of new platforms and channels, linear TV remains the option with the biggest reach. The health crisis has likely drive TV viewing to new heights. We’ll find out when Neilson issues their report.
I am proud to be collaborating with conservation-focused entrepreneur Candace Vanderhoff. Each of Candace’s endeavors helps rally people to support Mother earth.
SoloBee Native Bee Shelters allow people to help save native bee populations by providing charming safe harbors through her handmade salvaged wood bee houses.
Candace additional earth-saving projects include an ADU design business, and a greywater recycling business. Why does she do all this? Because nature matters.
A recent study by BBH Labs in the UK uncovers the myth behind generational targeting calling it the marketing equivalent of a horoscope. The study calculated single-mindedness of each group, (baby boomers, gen z, and millennials) against the population. How cohesive are these groups and how different are they from each other? Turns out there is virtually no cohesion within the generational segments. In other words, the cohesion among baby boomers is that they were born between 1946 and 1964 and not much else. BBH, concludes, "The truth is that these ‘generations’ are simply random collections of people who share no special connection beyond being born within two decades of each other." Bob Hoffman concludes that marketers buy these studies from the research industry to avoid the difficult task of thinking. Ouch.
Bob Hoffman’s newsletter brings excellent nuggets like this surrounded by ranting editorial, and more. You can follow him here.
Meal kits seemed like a fad, and providers like Blue Apron reached exciting heights on Wall Street. That said, meal kits never achieved widespread adoption. Then, as some logistical realities and cost-of-goods set in and things hit the skids.
Covid brought a little life back to the meal kit industry.
Per Adweek’s Paul Hiebert and Lisa Lacy in April 2020: Cooking at home can elicit a sense of control during this out-of-control moment [Covid].
Whether they’re able to continue to take advantage remains to be seen. Supermarkets and quick-service concepts have jumped on board offering lower-cost options. Restaurants have jumped in the game.
Retail expert Brittain Ladd prognosticated in Forbes Magazine 2018 “The next big thing in food will be on-demand hot cooked meals delivered direct to customers, further eroding the need for meal-kit companies.
Getty Images - Adweek April 2020
Organic Sales Up 5 Percent in 2019
Organic Trade Association’s 2020 Industry Survey
During shelter in place, Americans spent quality time with their supermarkets and their kitchens. Will this behavior stick post-COVID? The short answer is yes, according to a recent study published by QSR magazine and conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners. The global strategy and marketing consulting firm works with brands like Chick-fil-A, Shake Shack, and Qdoba and studied “The New Normal for Restaurants: Consumer behavior in a world after COVID-19”. The “takeaway” (food conveyance pun): post-COVID forecasts a return of some but not all of out-of-home consumption.
Pre COVID, home cooking comprised 33% of meals consumed. During the COVID, it reached 55%. Simon-Kucher & Partners forecasts post-COVID home cooking will stick at 37%, a 4% increase from before COVID. The hypothesis being that home cooking has become a habit at this point.
By the sounds of it, the $50 billion in lost revenues (Nations Restaurant Association estimate) won't all make it to supermarkets either. Rapid changes lead to inefficiencies that are costly for Supermarkets too.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, health continued to be a major factor in consumers’ dining decisions, and plant-based meat alternatives had become one of the biggest trends influencing restaurants. Aaron Noveshen, CEO of Starbird Chicken opines that post COVID and any prolonged recession will affect consumer dining decisions.
Noveshen’s prediction is that health demands come roaring back in January and that next year will see even more momentum toward healthy eating. Not only is that a traditionally popular time for healthy eating because of New Year’s resolutions, but also, Noveshen thinks many people will be ready for a fresh start.
“There is going to be such a need and desire for 2020 to be over with,” he says. “I think health will be massive. Everyone who's been putting on the COVID 15 is going to need to do something about it. And so my prediction would be that 2021, beginning of the year, is going to really be a time of health and to be thinking about it more show than even in the past.”
Excerpt from Aaron Novashen, Starbird Chicken CEO’s predictions for consumer dining patterns, as reported by June issue, QSR Magazine.
Aaron Noveshen, CEO of Starbird Chicken: Post-COVID. and any prolonged recession that we’re likely entering will also affect consumer dining decisions.
Noveshen’s prediction is that health demands come roaring back in January and that next year will see even more momentum toward healthy eating. Not only is that a traditionally popular time for healthy eating because of New Year’s resolutions, but also, Noveshen thinks many people will be ready for a fresh start.
“There is going to be such a need and desire for 2020 to be over with,” he says. “I think health will be massive. Everyone who's been putting on the COVID 15 is going to need to do something about it. And so my prediction would be that 2021, beginning of the year, is going to really be a time of health and to be thinking about it more show than even in the past.”
-Excerpt from Aaron Novashen, Starbird Chicken CEO’s predictions for consumer dining patterns, as reported by June issue, QSR Magazine.
One thing’s for sure and that’s change. Food consumption patterns have changed with the pandemic. WIll these changes stick?
Read MoreStartup Salted is disrupting delivery by using “cloud kitchens” to ship multiple brands and meal kits.
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Content is King. When events are being canceled and marketing plans are changing, content is more important than ever. What is content and why is it important?
Read MoreThe End Of The World As We Know It.
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