Digital transformation for public services: The UK’s DWP and Accenture weigh in

Digital transformation for public services: The UK’s DWP and Accenture weigh in

The U.K. Department of Works & Pensions handles government-sponsored benefits for both retired, pensionable workers and currently working individuals that need support. The country currently has more than 20 million claimants and, being a considerable part of the U.K. government, the organization is using the cloud to handle transactions at scale. “Basically, we kind of keep the country going,” said Lianne Anderton (pictured, right), intelligent automation garage delivery lead at the U.K. Department of Works & Pensions. “If the department for Work and Pensions didn’t exist anymore, then actually it would cause an infinite number of problems in society. We kind of help and support the people who need that, so we play a really vital role in social care and public service.” Anderton and Amar Narayan (pictured, left), managing director at Accenture PLC, spoke with theCUBE industry analyst John Walls at the recent AWS Executive Summit at re:Invent , during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the public service use cases of digitization, especially in the DWP. (* Disclosure below.) The Accenture connection The DWP-Accenture partnership began in 2017 as the DWP became aware of soaring transaction numbers. To manage that scale, it […]

XL Axiata embarks on data and intelligence-driven digital transformation to accelerate growth

XL Axiata embarks on data and intelligence-driven digital transformation to accelerate growth

PARTNER FEATURE: XL Axiata CTO I Gede Darmayusa shared the Indonesia market dynamics and the growing demand for digital services that drive the need for digital transformation during an interview with Mobile World Live at Huawei’s Win-Win Live studio during OTF 2022. Digital transformation is not only at the heart of the Indonesian government’s strategy for economic growth, but also core to XL Axiata’s own strategic roadmap, he remarked. Darmayusa outlined the four key drivers behind its digital transformation: macroeconomic factors, demand for digital services, rising competition and the fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) trend. “The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic is having a tremendous impact on our economy and society, and at the same time accelerated the pace of digital transformation. The outbreak has reshaped the way people work.” Internet users shifted their day-to-day activities online, creating heightened demand for data as well as increased interest in fixed broadband and FTTH services. While the country experienced massive growth in mobile broadband adoption, a report from GSMA Intelligence found that internet connectivity remains a key barrier for some citizens’ full participation in the digital society. M eet C hallenges with Digital Transformation 2.0 The challenging diverse geographical and competitive landscape in the country […]

These North Carolina Cities Have To Most Opportunity to Make $200,000+

These North Carolina Cities Have To Most Opportunity to Make $200,000+

Valeriya.Getty Images PLus With the cost of living steadily increasing, the amount of money you need to make to live comfortably is also growing rapidly. Our friends at OLBG.com recently conducted some research on the number of people in different cities in North Carolina who make over $200,000 per year. They looked at data over the last 10 years and compared the total number of residents who make over that amount in both 2013, and 2022. Of the 14 cities in the study the increase over that time period ranges from just a 14% increase to as much as a 326% increase. But $200,000 in 2013 is not worth the same now. I consulted with In2013dollars.com to see what that number is comparable to in 2022. According to their inflation calculator, $200,000 in 2013 is worth $251,253.09 in 2022. That’s a significant increase, with the inflation/price increase coming in at 25.63%. Think back over the last 10 years, has your salary increased by that much? If not you’re theoretically making less than you were 10 years ago. So while we see such large increases in the number of individuals making $200,000 it’s important to put that into perspective and […]

Fintech wreckage spells opportunity for bargain-hunting banks

Fintech wreckage spells opportunity for bargain-hunting banks

Atstock Productions via Getty Images The mergers and acquisitions landscape in 2023 could be promising for banks on the hunt for fintech deals, experts say. Following a challenging year for the fintech sector, which has experienced a global drop in funding and mass layoffs , enterprising banks may be able to acquire startups whose previous valuations put them out of reach in prior years, said Jonah Crane, a partner at regulatory advisory firm Klaros Group. “We were for years in what appears to have been a bubble in fintech stocks. We’ve now come through that and had a major correction and just on price alone, it could be an interesting opportunity [for banks],” he said. According to PitchBook , valuations of publicly traded fintechs plummeted 60% to 80% in 2022, a stark contrast to prior years when the fintech sector’s soaring price points were a source of frustration for some banks that were eager to make deals in the space, said Dan Goerlich, PwC’s banking and capital markets deals leader. “Over the past five years, fintech valuations were extremely high because it was such a sought-after property. Everyone felt like they were disrupting the sector,” he said. “As a […]

Climate change is an opportunity for Michigan

Climate change is an opportunity for Michigan

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on climate policy at Rackham Auditorium Jan. 13. On a visit to campus last Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris joined Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Kyle Whyte, a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, to discuss climate change and the role young people can play in solving the climate crisis. Rather than focus on young people’s role in organizing and activism as a means to solve the climate crisis, however, the event had a broader focus on infrastructure. “Just about anything that the students here are studying will relate to and lift up this new movement and this new economy,” Harris said . The decision to host an event in Ann Arbor was politically savvy given the city’s blue slant within a reliably purple state. But Harris’s decision to speak specifically on climate infrastructure investments reflects a growing realization that climate change may be an opportunity for economic growth in Michigan. With its temperate climate, manufacturing roots and availability of jobs, Michigan has the potential to emerge as a national leader amid the climate crisis. Already, American workers are beginning to move as a result of climate change. […]

Why digitalization is both a threat and opportunity for energy companies

Why digitalization is both a threat and opportunity for energy companies

Davos 2023 Digitalization has blended physical infrastructure – including energy assets – into digital networks making it vulnerable to cyberattacks. Crowdsource Innovation Geopolitics, economic forces and market dynamics link energy security and the climate crisis through a digital energy transition. Digitalization represents the challenges from cyber threats, and solutions from digital technology, in delivering energy needs and security. Energy industry leaders must embrace cyber resilience as a pillar of the digital energy ecosystem. Looking back at the 2022 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, few global policymakers and business leaders could have predicted the forthcoming year. Yet, the cascading effects of a global pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and critical supply chain distributions have destabilized the entire global energy ecosystem. These crises fundamentally shifted geopolitics and jeopardized energy and economic security. But they also crystallized how to leverage digital technology to address these issues and the existential threat of climate change through effective energy transition. Have you read? Digitalization – a threat and opportunity The solution to energy security and the energy transition is an ecosystem driven by electrification, decentralization and diversification of energy technologies – all underpinned by digitalization. This future is possible because the energy […]

Why Nasdaq’s President Still Sees Opportunity in Crypto

Why Nasdaq’s President Still Sees Opportunity in Crypto

Adena Friedman, president of Nasdaq says digital assets still represent an attractive opportunity for the exchange despite concerns hanging over the space as a result of the collapse of FTX . “There’s a total crisis of trust in the crypto space and that’s usually an opportunity for trusted players to start to figure out how to get engaged in the right way,” Friedman told Barron’s associate editor Jack Hough during a Wednesday interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Tech earnings season will soon come and go without a quarterly report from Twitter. As a private company—owned by Elon Musk—Twitter no longer discloses financial results. That doesn’t mean the news flow about Twitter’s business has stopped, though. Recent reporting from multiple outlets suggest that Twitter’s revenue on a recent day was down 40% year over year. The company didn’t return Barron’s request to comment on the figures.

Marketers See Economic Uncertainty as an Opportunity for Growth

Marketers See Economic Uncertainty as an Opportunity for Growth

Last year’s record inflation and the ongoing economic uncertainty have led to speculations of a possible recession. As such, many industries and business leaders are moving ahead with caution. But how do marketers look at this scenario? RRD recently conducted a study to gain some insights. Among the events that affected the world last year, record inflation and economic uncertainties have been notable, leading to speculations and concerns about a possible recession. While this economic uncertainty has affected different sectors and job functions across geographies in different ways, most businesses and business leaders are moving ahead with caution. Amid these concerns, how are marketers looking at this economic downturn, and how are they approaching print and digital strategies this year? R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) recently surveyed 300 in-house marketing decision-makers to gain insights. A key finding is that marketers are viewing this economic uncertainty as a catalyst for growth. The following are the key findings in detail. About 73% of surveyed marketers said their companies looked at the economic downturn or recession as a strategic opportunity to grow their market share by increasing marketing spending. There have been significant discussions about marketing budget cuts due to economic […]

Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as Slowdown Hits Software Business

Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as Slowdown Hits Software Business

After a period of aggressive hiring to meet heightened demand for online services during the pandemic, tech companies are now laying off many of those workers. And tech bosses are saying ‘mea culpa’ for the miscalculation. WSJ reporter Dana Mattioli joins host Zoe Thomas to talk through the shift and what it all means for the tech sector going forward. Microsoft Corp. MSFT -1.89% said Wednesday it plans to eliminate 10,000 jobs in response to the global economic slowdown, the company’s largest layoffs in more than eight years and the latest in a string of cuts from big technology companies. The software company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, wrote that the layoffs would happen before the end of March and affect less than 5% of the company’s worldwide workforce. The last time Microsoft laid off that many people was in 2014, when 18,000 employees lost their jobs as the company pulled out of cellphones and other noncore businesses. In a blog post to employees, Mr. Nadella pointed to the shaky economy, telling employees that companies globally had begun to “exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one.” He added that […]

Connect Your Sustainability Goals to Your Business Performance

Connect Your Sustainability Goals to Your Business Performance

Sustainability is increasingly taking a core position in framing business strategy. But success requires more than good intentions. Sustainable transformation may call for broad changes to an organization’s business models, operations, financial practices, and partner ecosystems—an undertaking whose complexity reaches beyond the knowledge an organization may keep in-house. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable transformation. A retailer and a cement company don’t have the same needs or strategies. Even within an organization, every operation—risk and compliance, procurement and supply chain, production and operations, marketing and sales—has its own goals to meet. Meaningful transformation requires organizations to coordinate and implement measures across all business functions and throughout their value chain. They need to show the proof points through concrete performance metrics. And they need to mobilize their workforce and their business partners, applying corporate social responsibility policies that demonstrate acceptable returns on investment (ROI). But with sustainability issues becoming ever more complex, requiring ever more expert knowledge and the collaboration of many players, a go-it-alone approach may not yield optimal results. A strong partnership with a knowledgeable consultant can bring invaluable environmental, operational, and financial expertise to help create and execute a strategy that pays real dividends for the company, […]