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getty The technical architecture of a company is the foundation upon which its business strategy is built. A company’s architecture provides the infrastructure and supports the processes that enable the company to create and deliver its products and services. By ensuring the technical architecture is aligned with business strategy, companies are able to create an efficient and effective system that maximizes the potential of their business. More and more, though, "efficient and effective" means the ability to rapidly respond to changing market needs and to take advantage of opportunities faster than the competition. Unfortunately, rapid change is typically not something that business systems are easily designed for. Composable architecture is a potential answer to this. As a leader in digital consultancies, I’ve spent a considerable amount of my career helping organizations update their infrastructure, both in terms of technical systems and the underlying business maturity needed to take ownership of those systems. Currently, I’m finding that composable structure, often underpinned with scalable agile frameworks, is the preferred direction for many, but it takes a very mature business and technical capability working hand in hand to fully realize the benefits of this approach. I often get asked about the basics, […]

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(Source: Gray TV) CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The U.S. Secretary of Commerce visits Cleveland Wednesday to meet with several minority business owners. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is hosting a roundtable to explain how the Department of Commerce is helping expand opportunities through the Minority Business Development Agency’s new Capital Readiness Program . The program dedicates nearly $100 million to help minority and other underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses. Raimondo will tour LEFCO Worthington, LLC . in the 18000 block of Euclid Ave. in Cleveland and visit the Ohio Minority Business Development Center in the 1200 block of Huron Road in Cleveland. Copyright 2023 WOIO. All rights reserved.

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Old National Bank premiered its new wealth management division on Wednesday, following a 2022 merger with First Midwest that essentially doubled the bank’s managed assets. The launch is central to the Evansville, Ind.-based bank’s mission to shift to a more client-centric service model. 1834, a division of Old National Bank, provides boutique family office services to high-net-worth individuals and institutions in tandem with its SEC-registered entity, 1834 Investment Advisors. A separate brand launched simultaneously, called Private Wealth Management, offers advisory services to individuals with less than $2 million in investable funds. Led by CEO Chady AlAhmar and former Abbot Downing executives Jim Steiner and Joe Colianni, the new division offers a range of integrated services, including financial planning; investment management; trust and fiduciary services; estate planning and administration, private banking; institutional services; and a range of specialized services, such as succession and executive compensation planning. “We’re not really creating something new, we’re repositioning,” said AlAhmar, explaining that high-net-worth assets have traditionally been managed on the Old National trust platform, while brokerage and private banking operated as separate units. Under that model, he said, the trust officer generally functioned as the primary client relationship manager. “The idea here was to […]

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The annual survey of business and HR decision-makers revealed HR priorities and workforce trends for an evolving workplace ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Paychex, Inc. , a leading provider of HR technology solutions for human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance services, today released the results of its fifth-annual Priorities for Business Leaders survey. The 2023 findings—which reflect the sentiments of 450 businesses employing between five and 500 employees across the U.S.—highlight the issues top of mind for leaders in today’s complicated economic, regulatory, and labor environments. According to the survey, 70% of business leaders said they anticipate their revenue to increase year-over-year. However, they reported that the challenges of the past three years have contributed to ongoing stress. The survey found that: Inflation (72%) is the number one business concern regardless of company size. Followed by the economy (57%) and interest rates (44%). Staffing (46%) is the top operational challenge, in addition to the supply chain (38%) and keeping tech current (33%). Roughly half of the leaders of businesses with 10-500 employees expect attracting and retaining top talent to become more challenging in the next 12 months, with employee development, operational efficiencies, and managing the hiring process […]

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New York/London CNN — Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 employees as part of broader cost-cutting measures, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday, making it the latest tech company to reduce staff because of growing economic uncertainty. Speaking before the layoff announcement at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company was not immune to a weaker global economy. “No one can defy gravity and gravity here is inflation-adjusted economic growth,” he told WEF founder Klaus Schwab in a livestreamed discussion. In a memo to staffers Wednesday, Nadella also cited changing demand years for digital services years into the pandemic as well as looming recession fears. “We’re living through times of significant change, and as I meet with customers and partners, a few things are clear,” he wrote. “First, as we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less.” Microsoft had approximately 221,000 full-time employees globally as of June 30, 2022, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, with some 122,000 of those staffers based in the United States. Nadella […]

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People shop in a grocery store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 28, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – U.S. business inventories increased in November as higher interest rates depressed sales, boosting the inventory-to-sales ratio to the highest level in nearly two years. Business inventories rose 0.4% after gaining 0.2% in October, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product. November’s increase in inventories was in line with economists’ expectations. Inventories increased 15.1% on a year-on-year basis in November. The pace of inventory accumulation has slowed considerably from the robust pace in late 2021 and early 2022 because of improved supply, and ebbing demand for goods as the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates to quell inflation. Retail inventories rebounded 0.1% in November as estimated in an advance report published last month. They fell 0.4% in October. Improved supply as well as a shift in spending back to services have added to excess merchandise at retailers, forcing some to offer price discounts and hold back on placing more orders until they have cleared the unwanted stock. Motor vehicle inventories accelerated 1.1%, instead of 1.2% as estimated last month. They […]

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CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD ) can buck Microsoft ‘s ( MSFT ) push into the cybersecurity market, says an analyst who initiated coverage of CRWD stock with an outperform rating. CrowdStrike stock moved higher on Wednesday and ventured closer to being in the black for 2023. "We believe that CrowdStrike offers best-in-class endpoint security capabilities and an expanding platform that will help CrowdStrike compete against Microsoft and other vendors," BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman said in a note to clients Tuesday. Meanwhile, Microsoft is leveraging its cloud computing unit as well as selling multiple cybersecurity products to companies in discounted deals. Also, Microsoft on Wednesday said it would lay off 10,000 workers in the latest round of tech companies downsizing. CrowdStrike Chief Executive George Kurtz , in a recent interview with IBD, talked about the evolving cybersecurity market. Kurtz addressed the Microsoft threat. "There’s a lot of competition in the cybersecurity space, whether it’s from Microsoft or others. And I think what customers are focused on is getting the best outcome for the best bang for the buck," Kurtz said. "We empirically can show that when we think about Microsoft, they are busy with other things like their […]

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Press Releases (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today held a news conference in Hartford to announce his first legislative proposal of 2023, which includes restoring Connecticut’s pass-through entity tax credit to its original, revenue-neutral level of 93.01% and enabling small business owners in the state to save money by claiming a larger credit on their personal returns. The recommendation will be included as a component of the governor’s fiscal years 2024 and 2025 budget proposal, which he will present to the Connecticut General Assembly in February. “These changes we are proposing will help small businesses in Connecticut save money, which they can use to reinvest back into their establishments to support their continued growth and the development of new jobs,” Governor Lamont said . “By making this change, we can provide confidence to businesses that they can receive the full benefit of this tax credit.” Connecticut’s pass-through entity tax credit is a mechanism for business owners to avoid the state tax deduction limitation imposed on them during the administration of former President Donald Trump. For federal tax purposes, state business taxes are fully deductible, while deductions for state personal income taxes are limited to $10,000. To avoid this […]

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iStock via Getty Images Dive Brief: Potential cyber incidents and business interruption remained the two leading worldwide corporate risk concerns for the second year in a row, according to a report published Tuesday by Allianz Group’s corporate insurance unit, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. Both cyber and business interruptions were the top concerns among 34% of respondents in the annual Allianz Risk Barometer. The study measured the responses of 2,712 risk management experts in 94 countries and territories, including CEOs, risk managers, brokers and other insurance experts. Respondents were concerned about a range of potential incidents, from ransomware to data breaches and IT outages. The report noted ransomware remains a frequent threat and cited IBM data showing the average cost of a data breach hit a record of $4.35 million, with the cost expected to surpass $5 million this year. Dive Insight: The report shows cybersecurity risk has been elevated to the most senior levels of corporations around the world. The potential threat of ransomware and data breaches has gained the attention of worldwide corporations. Companies confront the potential loss of control over customer data or proprietary customer secrets, and the impact of an attack on their brand reputation. […]

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FotoMaximum/iStock via Getty Images Quick Investment Take When I look at Chubb (NYSE: CB ), I see a multitude of reasons on why it could be a great investment. In pursuit of flashy growth it’s easy for investors to forget the point of investing and the primary goal of any business. The primary goal of any business is to increase the value for shareholders and for some time now, I see this reflected more in Chubb than a lot of other stocks. What factors allow Chubb to achieve this? Diversified Business Strong Financial Performance Strong position (Market and Profitability) In my write-up I will expand on each of these factors and also offer insight into how it can provide less correlated returns against the index which is important if you have a concentrated market exposure. Diversified Business Model Chubb is a global insurance company (world’s largest publicly traded P&C insurance) that provides a wide range of insurance products and services to individuals, families, and businesses around the world. For individuals and families, their wide array of products cover Home, Auto, Valuables, Boats & Yachts, Cyber, Liability, Travel, Natural Disasters and bespoke services. Under Business Insurance, they cover a broad […]

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