#AskTheCEO Podcast

Tina Gravel is the Senior Vice President of Channels and Alliances at Cyxtera Technologies, where she helps businesses migrate their mission-critical applications to The Cloud. She is an award-winning executive with more than 25 years of experience in the IT outsourcing, cloud, security and SaaS industries.

Contact Tina:

Web: TinaGravel.com

Twitter: @tgravel

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Facebook: AvrohomGottheil

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[01:09] Cloud is becoming more prevalent in the Enterprise space, with companies migrating more of their mission-critical applications to The Cloud. One of the more recent buzzwords permeating today’s vernacular is Hybrid Cloud. What does Hybrid Cloud really mean?

[02:47] What are the considerations businesses need to have when thinking about moving their mission-critical applications to The Cloud?

[03:53] A critical requirement for mission-critical applications is uptime. After all, you can’t have a global bank just go offline during a stock trade! One of the inherent benefits of migrating to The Cloud is the Service Level Agreement for guaranteed uptime. Many providers use a term called five 9’s of reliability. IBM just launched the z15 mainframe platform which offers seven 9’s. What do all these 9’s mean, and why are they important to businesses?

[05:24] The more 9’s you have, the more expensive it is!

[05:24] With regards to Cloud migrations, you need to balance the service level you want, with what you can afford to pay for.

[07:03] How does Cyxtera help businesses with their Cloud migrations?

[10:44] It’s no question that Cloud is the way to go for Enterprises that are launching brand new mission-critical applications. However, in the real world, the playing field is not so cut and dry. Let’s say, for example, that one of your core business applications is a COBOL program, which resides on a server in a backroom closet and stores its data in a huge flat file. First of all, how do you even begin to “cloud-enable” this ancient application along with its archaic flat-file database? The second challenge is that for that last 50 years no one has had to worry about cybersecurity. The application is running on a server in a secure location, and no one has access to it. As soon as this crucial and sensitive application moves to the cloud, suddenly, you have a new problem to worry about! Is it even worth it?

[13:33] What is Zero Trust?

[15:57] When migrating to The Cloud, make sure to only provide access to people who absolutely need it.

[17:49] How do people connect with you?

[18:17] Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?

We are living in an era of information overload, where there is an overabundance of information, yet at the same time, it’s hard to ascertain what’s credible and what’s not. Technology changes rapidly, and innovation is on the rise. How can we educate ourselves to know:

(1) What products are available on the market?

(2) What solutions to search for?

(3) Which technology trends will be long-lasting, and which ones will become fads?

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

This episode of #AskTheCEO features a presentation Avrohom Gottheil gave in New Delhi, India for India’s First Annual Deep Tech Summit, titled Deep Tech for All.

[08:05] Paul Colmer, a digital coach and global influencer in Cybersecurity, Cloud, and Digital Disruption, shares his perspective on how everyone’s going to get disrupted, and predicts that this will even affect Governments!

[11:11] We discussed the reason behind the latest trend of speech enabling smart devices. “Time is the new currency, and that is what’s driving the mass adoption of voice-based technology in the marketplace”, said Avrohom

[13:30] J. Dianne Dotson, Science Fiction Writer and Research Scientist, shares how in the future we will be able to leverage AI to search global DNA databases, such as 23 and me, and analyze people’s genomes for disease-causing proteins so that we can disable them and stop diseases from spreading, right from the source.

[15:47] Jola Burnett, VP of GfK Consumer Life in NYC, studies the consumer behavior that drives industry trends. Jola answers the question about whether people will accept companies leveraging AI for their customer interactions. Jola spoke about a scenario where you call into a contact center and ask to speak with a representative but got routed to an AI instead. “Does the customer have an out?”, she asks. It all boils down to the customer experience on whether or not people will accept interactions with AI.

[18:00] Inma Rodriguez, VP of 5G Core, Cloud & OSS, for Ericsson’s Europe and Latin America Market Area, shares her perspective on the considerations business executives need to think about before making an investment in 5G technology

[20:29] Avrohom discusses the Cybersecurity implications of adding massive amounts of IoT devices on our networks. We’re adding 20.4 billion devices by 2020, yet the number of records exposed during data breaches are shooting up exponentially. From January – November 2019 there have already been 4 billion records exposed!

[22:40] To combat the increasing volume of Cybersecurity threats we need to follow the three S’s: Share Information, Secure our networks, and Serve our communities.

[23:40] Kai Hermsen, Global Coordinator for Siemens’ Charter of Trust, introduces this global initiative of 17 companies that are working together to bring trust to a Digital World.

[27:34] Mirko Ross, CEO asvin.io in Stuttgart, Germany shares some of the challenges associated with patching IoT devices.

[32:02] We must serve our community by inspiring and mentoring our children, especially our girls, so that they feel comfortable choosing careers in Cybersecurity.

[37:17] Tyler Cohen Wood is a cyber-authority with 18+ years of highly technical experience. She is working on a very ambitious initiative to inspire girls all around the world to become excited about choosing careers in Cybersecurity. Her project is the all-new Cybergirlpower Conference, which is launching in the summer of 2020. The project’s website is https://cybergirlpower.com/.

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Facebook: AvrohomGottheil

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

Rob Kirk has been with IBM and Lenovo for a combined 32 years of experience in the PC industry.

As currently a member of Lenovo's Technical Client Advisor unit, Rob covers Corporate and Healthcare customers, providing technical expertise regarding Lenovo's end-user services, products, and capabilities. With a strong focus on Lenovo's security products and solutions, Rob has been a part of the team representing Lenovo at conferences like BlackHat and Ignite, among other public events. Lenovo makes some of the best and most secure products in the PC industry, and Rob Kirk is part of the team that presents them to the marketplace and educates customers in their use.

Lenovo site filled with imaging and security information, plus much more! https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/HT504220

Read more about Lenovo Thinkshield:

http://bit.ly/ThinkShield

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[00:25] Rob, I’m so excited to be speaking with you today, because not a day goes by without us hearing about the dreaded Data Breach. Whether it’s a computer getting hacked, or someone’s laptop getting stolen, it seems like CIOs and CISOs have their work cut out for them. What are some of the considerations CIOs should be having when thinking about selecting their next refresh of computing endpoints without having that additional worry about data breaches?

[00:55] Securing against a data breach starts way before assets even come into the company!

[01:05] Cybersecurity is a holistic process which starts with a vetted secure supply chain.

[02:45] Step 2 of Cybersecurity is ensuring that all software has been updated to the latest release level.

[03:00] How Lenovo helps companies maintain the Cybersecurity status of their assets, even when the customer’s IT department removes the pre-loaded OS.

[04:00] What client security advisory process does Lenovo have in place, in the event they get hacked and breached?

[05:50] A docking station is a Cybersecurity vulnerability!

[08:40] The process of security needs to extend to cover the full life cycle of the product.

[09:28] One of the things that keep me up at night, as a person who is very active in the Cybersecurity industry, is the fact that no matter how secure your technology is today – even if it’s a veritable Fort Knox; impervious to any and all attacks known to man – you and I both know that in 6 months from now, a new vulnerability will either be discovered, or created by new technology that’s unimaginable, even today. I’m certain that CISCOs around the world are concerned about that as well. How can we EVER be secure from threats that don’t even exist yet?!

[11:00] Manufacturers that have few updates on their website should be taken as a warning sign.

[11:20] Manufacturers that have many updates, listed on their websites, means that they’re paying attention.

[12:50] Even if you have a secure device, end-users are a major Cybersecurity vulnerability!

[14:30] Facial recognition and biometrics help with Cybersecurity by preventing people from seeing you type a password.

[15:19] When using a laptop in a public area, facial recognition can trigger your monitor to blur when it detects someone looking over your shoulder.

[16:49] As a global leader in secure computing endpoints, can you share some best practices on how businesses can be Cyber-Safe without slowing people down or sacrificing on productivity?

[19:31] What are some of the considerations business executives need to have when selecting their next computing assets, to cut down on occurrences of end-users disabling security software?

[22:11] How do people connect with you?

[26:18] Do you have any parting words of wisdom that you’d like to share with the audience?

[26:30] “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is the wrong philosophy when it comes to Cybersecurity!

Inma Rodriguez is the VP of 5G Core, and Cloud Solution and Service Line for Ericsson’s Europe and Latin America Market Area, where she supports Digital Services Operators and their customers with complex Cloud transformation projects, including the introduction to 5G technology.

Contact Inma:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inma-rodriguez-606771/

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[00:42] Inma, I’m so excited to be speaking with you today, because 5G is one of the most talked-about technologies in the market, as it is seen as an enabler of things from Smart Cities to Healthcare; and Ericsson is a global leader in 5G as well as a trusted partner in helping businesses prepare for 5G. What are some of the considerations business executives need to think about before making an investment in 5G technology?

[01:40] 5G will be more than just an incremental upgrade from 4G. It will be an enabler to many enterprises for their digitalization process.

[03:10] 5G will enable healthcare providers to remotely deliver emergency medical care during the wait for an ambulance!

[04:50] Many businesses in your market area are still on 3G, and in the bigger cities, some of them might already be on 4G. What are your customers struggling with as they prepare for the jump to 5G, and how is Ericsson supporting them?

[06:55] 5G Technology is more than just the speed. It encompasses the entire infrastructure!

[07:44] What is Network Slicing?

[11:05] 5G is so new that people might be struggling to visualize the migration process, end to end, so it's wonderful that you're actually working with real people who are already implementing this technology! Who's doing it right, and what kind of new market opportunities are some of these service providers experimenting with?

[13:46] Telefonica, Vodafone, Telecom Italia, and Swisscom are paving the way with regards to their implementation of 5G.

[14:30] There’s an event coming up shortly, it’s the SDN NFV World Congress in The Hague, Netherlands. I know you will be speaking there. What will be some of the hot topics at this event?

[16:22] How do people connect with you?

[17:04] Inma, it’s very fortuitous that we’re speaking now because we’re recording this conversation during the month of October, which is Global Diversity Awareness Month. As a Woman in Tech, do you have any words of wisdom that you’d like to share with the audience?

[17:04] We need to ensure that we make a career path in technology attractive to women and teenage girls.

Adam LG Ring is a startup mentor who’s helped many startups & organizations change the world for the better. He has 25 years' digital experience and has helped businesses through the digital transformation process, as well as comply with GDPR data privacy regulations.

Contact Adam:

Twitter: @AdamLGRing

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adamlgring

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[01:06] Entrepreneurship is a really hot topic, nowadays. I believe it’s because of the way the gig economy has completely altered the way people earn a living, that people are turning to entrepreneurship en masse as they believe it to be their only ticket to financial freedom. What are your thoughts on this topic?

[03:45] What is TechForGood?

[05:19] Data Privacy is a human right.

[05:45] Businesses that look after their user’s Data Privacy have a competitive edge in the marketplace.

[11:19] You’ve worked with many GDPR clients, so you know that Data Privacy is a serious thing. With the ubiquity of Artificial Intelligence, what role do you see it having in helping businesses keep their customer’s data safe?

[12:33] AI and Machine Learning have become so commonplace that, unfortunately, people are mistakenly using the terms interchangeably. Can you share with us the proper definitions and applications of those terms?

[15:23] Let’s make sure our young people learning AI can invent things, because in 10-20 years, the Artificial Intelligence that will be, won’t be anything like the AI everyone’s predicting.

[17:00] Why do you need to leverage AI for Data Privacy and Cybersecurity?

[21:54] Just like we’re advancing with AI for good, hackers are developing AI for bad, and without any oversight.

[22:55] Tony Flath: In the future, it’s going to be a war of machines.

[23:39] According to an article published by Forbes in 2015, 9 out of 10 startups fail. This is a really big number and very painful, especially considering the way we started our conversation where startups are a critical component of our economy. Where do Entrepreneurs go wrong?

[28:00] Successful Entrepreneurs are the ones who get a co-founder.

[28:15] You can’t rely on employees to have the same passion as founders do, because they don’t have the same equity in the business.

[28:55] What is the one question that will determine if an entrepreneur will be successful?

[29:53] I understand that you help startups to not repeat the mistakes that others before them have made. Can you share with us a little bit about the work that you do?

[32:27] How do people connect with you?

[36:08] Do you have any parting words of wisdom that you’d like to share with the audience?

Xavier Gomez is founder & COO of INVYO, a SaaS company that uses machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to help financial institutions see tomorrow’s opportunities in Fintech. He is also Co-Editor-in-Chief at Invyo Insights powered by INVYO, a global provider of Fintech insights and analysis. As a banker, Xavier has been sharing his vision of the sector with industry pioneers over the past 18+ years.

He holds a certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) specialization Fintech (2016) and is a graduate of HEC Paris in Private Equity (Leadership Executive program in Private Equity in partnership with AFIC – French Association of Investors for Growth) in 2017.

In 2000, he started his career at Credit Suisse (private banking) in Paris as a portfolio management consultant (2000-2004), selling structured products in Zurich, Switzerland (2005-2007), assistant vice president in charge Investment Consulting in Paris (2007 – 2008), Vice President in charge of Investment Consulting (2009 – 2013) in Paris, Director in charge of investment and trading in Paris and Treasurer of Credit Suisse France. From 2016 to 2018, he became Global Senior Portfolio Manager and Asset Allocator at Pictet & Cie.

He is an expert in banking, finance, and economics as well as banking and digital transformation.

He is interested in the digital economy and especially in innovations in the field of finance (Fintech), an area in which he sometimes writes some articles in the specialized media. Moreover, he is a speaker in various global FinTech conferences around the world.

Contact Xavier:

Web: https://invyo.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavier-gomez-0202796/

Twitter: @Xbond49

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[01:23] From what you’ve seen, what are some of the challenges FinTechs face when doing a Digital Transformation?

[04:40] Cybersecurity and Trust are extremely important factors in FinTech.

[06:30] What are the opportunities for FinTech in Africa?

[07:00] FinTech firms need to have a good Cybersecurity solution.

[07:20] Can you provide some examples of companies that are doing Digital Transformation correctly? Who’s doing it right?

[07:36] What lessons can we learn from FinTech leaders such as JP Morgan, Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs regarding Digital Transformation?

[11:00] eCommerce providers such as Amazon and Alibaba will disrupt FinTech by commoditizing banking as a service.

[13:00] FinTech incumbents can’t afford to be complacent, as major disruption is taking place by startups.

[15:00] The biggest challenge for FinTech startups is earning Consumer Trust in B2C.

[16:20] I understand that you work with FinTechs. Can you share with us the ways you help them through the Digital Transformation process?

[21:27] How big is the Business Intelligence Market?

[21:27] The Business Intelligence Market will be $340bn by 2023 with an annual growth of 15% beyond that.

[21:57] AI is critical for Business Intelligence because more data isn’t better – you need the RIGHT data!

[23:36] Data is the new oil of the 21st Century, and Analytics is the combustion engine.

[25:00] You don’t need more data. You need the right data!

[25:15] How do people connect with you?

[25:42] Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?

Tina M. Tarquinio is the director of the IBM Z team, building the mainframe of the future. Currently, she leads a team of forward-thinking engineers building the z/OS Operating System, focused on enabling workloads to be flexible, and creating a true end to end DevOps experience.

In her time at IBM, she has held both technical and leadership roles, across multiple platforms (IBM Z, Power, Storage and x86) and disciplines. Her roles have always had close ties to where development teams and clients intersect, helping clients be successful while feeding back into development, and facilitating discussion around future product roadmaps. A certified IT specialist, she has written several IBM Redbooks around High Performance Computing, and has acquired both patents and publishes for her work. Currently, she is leading teams to develop and bring to market, technology for the next era of application agility for IBM Z workloads and driving the next generation of DevOps for z/OS – the operating system that powers the worlds business.

Since graduating from the University of Albany with B.S. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, she has been active in local schools, encouraging students at all levels to study sciences. She enjoys mentoring many early tenure and women engineers at IBM, as well as being on the advisory board for CIS Programs at a local college.

Her interviews with Amazing Women working on the mainframe, can be found at ibm.biz/ttarticles

Contact Tina:

Blog: ibm.biz/ttarticles

Twitter: @tinatarq

IBM Z Blog: http://ibm.biz/Bdz8Hv

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[00:45] What is IBM Z?

[01:20] With the growing prevalence of Cloud, companies are leveraging it for their mission-critical workload. There is Public Cloud and Private Cloud, which many people are familiar with, and then there is the Hybrid Cloud. What does Hybrid Cloud actually mean?

[02:39] IBM uses the term “five 9’s” with regards to the reliability of the IBM Z Platform. Many companies use that term as well. What does it mean?

[04:17] In addition to availability, you also need scalability. Just because an app is available, doesn’t mean it has an acceptable response time.

[05:50] Uptime is extremely critical because 80% of the time, if your application doesn’t work people won’t come back. Of the 20% who do come back, if your app is still unresponsive, 100% of them won’t return a third time!

[06:46] It’s all about the User Experience. IBM Design Thinking is all about what is the true end-user experience.

[08:12] With social media platforms like Twitter, customer’s frequently share their feedback – positive and negative – with the world, instantaneously.

[08:39] Trends in the market are changing, and people need to respond to changes quicker.

[10:45] Software development in a Hybrid Cloud environment is a delicate balance between leveraging the flexibility of Hybrid Cloud and making sure that nothing goes wrong.

[11:00] How to manage the risks associated with Cloud.

[11:30] What’s scaring people with regards to moving mission critical infrastructure to the Cloud?

[12:12] The backbone of many Hybrid Clouds is IBM Z.

[13:05] How do people connect with you?

[13:42] Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?

Mirko is Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Worx, a mobile Software Development Company.

He is also the co-founder of asvin.io, a new venture that provides a secure, open source-based update and patch delivery for the Internet of Things.

Mirko is a well-practiced international speaker and coach on the field of Open Innovation, Internet of Things, IoT Security, and disruptive business modeling.

Contact Mirko:

Web: https://www.digital-worx.de/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/digital.worx.de

Twitter: @mirko_ross

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

00:30 –Mirko, as we know, you’re a Cybersecurity expert, not a day goes by where we don’t hear about some data breach or ransomware attack. What concerns me greatly about all this, is that with the prevalence of IoT and Industrial IoT, we’re putting all these connected devices all over the place, and some of these devices were not manufactured with security in mind. Tell us about some of the challenges that the industry faces.

02:00 –To drive this message home, some of these IoT devices were hacked to mine Bitcoins, or to form a Botnet to carry out malicious attacks. If these devices are so easy to hack, what can we do about it? We can’t just bring them all back and fix them?

03:00 – California passed a security bill in 2018 banning default passwords in connected devices, removing a major attack vector for connected devices.

04:00 – What’s the big deal if my smart toaster gets hacked?

04:15 – What dangers can a smart toaster pose to FinTech executives?

05:00 – Just because devices are secure today doesn’t mean they are protected against the threats of tomorrow. How do you go about securing devices that are already deployed in the field, and possibly in hard to reach places?

06:20 – You need a good patch management strategy for all connected devices.

06:25 – There should be NO single connected device out there that does not have the ability to be updated.

07:00 – The Law of Economics will drive IoT Security

07:10 – Liabilities will drive Cyber Security of Consumer Devices

08:50 – Implementing an Over The Air Cyber Security Patch Management Strategy will yield more favorable Cyber Security insurance rates.

10:13 – What’s the challenge with patching IoT devices? Why can’t you just connect to them remotely and update them?

10:35 – Many IoT devices reside at the Edge with no direct IP connection, making it challenging to patch them.

11:10 – The large scale of deployed Industrial IoT devices makes it difficult, if not impossible, to apply patches manually.

11:30 – A big challenge with IoT devices is Lifecycle management – After a period of time you can’t get replacement parts for it anymore! To address this issue, you need a support contract with your vendor to maintain the hardware and software for a set period of time.

14:00 – To maintain a secure infrastructure we need to move to a Hardware as a Service model – HaaS.

14:45 – What are some of the risks with allowing people to patch their own Industrial IoT Devices?

18:00 – A patch downloaded from the Internet might actually be Malware in disguise!

18:25 – We need a chain of trust from the publisher of the patch all the way down to the application of the patch onto the device.

19:00 – How did you get started in this?

21:15 – How do people connect with you?

22:05 – Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?

J. Dianne Dotson is a science writer and science fiction author. She published HELIOPAUSE: THE QUESTRISON SAGA: BOOK ONE in 2018, and its sequel EPHEMERIS: THE QUESTRISON SAGA: BOOK TWO in 2019. Dianne gained a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and used her skills in laboratory and clinical research. She began content and science writing in 2010. Currently, Dianne works as a freelance science writer, novelist, short story writer, watercolorist, and volunteer.

Contact J. Dianne:

Web: jdiannedotson.com

Twitter: @jdiannedotson

Instagram: jdiannedotson

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

[00:30] Give us a short synopsis of The Questrison Saga.

[07:13] As you know, #AskTheCEO is a technology show, where we talk about technologies, such as IoT, Cybersecurity, AI, and the tie-in to Science Fiction is that science fiction influences technology. As a Sci-Fi writer, and a research scientist, what technology trends are you seeing, that might have been influenced by Science Fiction?

[07:13] Star Trek influenced technology!

[08:07] The movie Gattaca influenced AI in HealthCare, such as Genomics.

[08:07] What is the future of healthcare?

[10:15] Sci-Fi influences AI to deliver mental health care.

[12:00] The future of AI is Fairness – it will eliminate bias, such as racial, gender, and color.

[13:48] I’m truly amazed by the constant and rapid innovation in technology, such as AI, The Internet of Things, and 5G. Just imagine, within a few short years (if not sooner), there will be billions of these connected devices connecting our cities, homes, and businesses. We’re literally living in science fiction!

[14:28] What will the future be like?

[14:50] We have replicators!

[16:24] Virtual Reality will help deliver better mental health care by connecting people around the world.

[17:24] Question from Tamara McCleary, CEO Thulium: As a novelist and someone who has a visionary mind, what would the Singularity look like?

[19:25] Question from Tamara McCleary, CEO Thulium: They say real life is stranger than fiction. How does real life fuel your science fiction writing?

[22:30] Question from Jola Burnett, VP GfK Consumer Life: What are some of the sources of inspiration for the Sci-Fi world - and the technology/tools that exist in this universe?

[25:00] We live in a time of powerful technology, but it’s our connection to each other that forms our happiness and well being. The technology is just the icing on the cake.

[25:14] I understand that when you’re not writing spellbinding novels, you’re working with clients on projects, such as writing about technology, the environment, and other interesting topics. What kinds of topics do you love to write about, and how do people connect with you to engage you on a project? Connect with Dianne here: https://jdiannedotson.com/

[28:43] Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?

Melissa Sassi is a Startup Program Manager at IBM focused on empowering early-stage entrepreneurs to transform their lives through technology and business mentorship.

She is a division-level lead for IBM’s Call for Code initiative which involves preparing for and responding to natural disasters with technical innovation.

Prior to joining IBM, she spent several years in Microsoft's Airband Initiative where she was an impact investor focused on internet and energy access. She is currently, Co-Chair of IEEE's Digital Skills Working group and is a founding member of the Coalition for Digital Intelligence with the World Economic Forum, OECD, IEEE, and the DQ Institute.

She is the Founder & CEO of MentorNations, a youth-led digital literacy movement, which aims to inspire underserved communities via access, skills, and utilization of technology. She holds two master's degrees in supply chain and finance and is working toward her PhD in international business. Her research focus is the digital inclusion of indigenous communities.

Contact Melissa:

Twitter: @mentorafrika

More information on IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator:

https://developer.ibm.com/blogs/ibm-launches-ibm-hyper-protect-accelerator-powered-by-ibm-linuxone/

Contact Avrohom:

Web: https://asktheceo.biz

Twitter: @avrohomg

Instagram: @avrohomg

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

[02:26] With the onset of the “gig economy” many people are turning to Entrepreneurship to go for their dreams as well as make an impact in the world. However, as you know, most small businesses fail within their first year of business. What kinds of resources does IBM offer to help startups become viable during their critical first year in business and beyond?

[03:44] IBM Hyper Protect will help FinTech and HealthTech startups with technologies, such as AI and Blockchain.

[04:00] Most small businesses fail during their first year in business. To avoid becoming a statistic, FinTech and HealthTech entrepreneurs turn to accelerators, such as IBM Hyper Protect.

[04:59] IBM is looking for FinTech and HealthTech startups with under $1M in revenue, and less than 5 years old.

[05:08] IBM is offering FinTech and HealthTech startups a business in a box!

[06:30] One of the goals with IBM’s Hyper Protect Accelerator is to focus on solving Sustainable Development Goals, such as eliminating poverty or creating a more balanced economy.

[07:00] What kind of technology does IBM offer startups as part of the IBM Hyper-protect Accelerator?

[07:11] IBM is offering $120k in free Cloud credits per startup!

[09:36] What are some of the unique challenges faced by FinTech and HealthTech startups?

[11:56] Thinking about the IBM Hyper-protect Accelerator, I’m sure there are many businesses that are watching this video right now that are thinking, let’s sign up right away. Others might not be so sure. What do you think is holding them back, and what might you say to these ambivalent Entrepreneurs?

[12:45] For companies dealing with high level of PII (Personally Identifiable Information), IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator is a game-changer.

[14:12] For startups that don’t have access to capital, why pay for a Cloud Solution, when IBM will give it to you for free!

[ 16:17] How can people participate in IBM Hyper-protect, and where can people go to connect with you?

[18:28] Do you have any parting words of wisdom to share with the audience?