2020 has been a challenging year so far from the economic, geopolitical, and health perspectives. In this episode of the IT Research Finder podcast, Emilio Granados Franco, Head of Global Risks and Geopolitical Agenda at the World Economic Forum, speaks with our analyst Elena Díaz, to discuss current global challenges including the coronavirus pandemic. Emilio Granados Franco is behind the reports ‘Global Risks Report 2020’ and 'COVID-19 Risks Outlook’ which can be found on the World Economic Forum website and IT Research Finder.

Table of Content

00:50 – The 'Global Risks Report 2020’ was published in January this year. The study takes a look at the vulnerabilities of health systems – which have been obvious with the coronavirus crisis. What evidence did you have to reach that conclusion?

06:19 – Climate change is among the global risks analyzed in the report. The study explains that as well as risks the next decade brings a huge opportunity. Could you talk us through this positive side concerning climate change?

10:45 – This research also examines the consequences of digital fragmentation. Could you give us an overview of these?

14:59 – The World Economic Forum has just published the 'COVID-19 Risks Outlook’. The paper takes a look at the emerging risks of abrupt technology adoption. What are these risks?

19:00 – Has the coronavirus crisis amplified some of the existing risks and what's the biggest threat at present?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the developer economy is the topic of this new episode of the IT Research Finder. Christina Voskoglou, Senior Director of Research at Slashdata, speaks with our analyst Elena Díaz and discusses important aspects around this emerging technology including the views of developers on ethics and AI, the gender gap in the sector, and many other important trends in the developer sector.  Christina is one of the authors of the most recent 18th edition of “State Of The Developer Nation”. This 5-star-rated report as well as past editions can be found on Slashdata and IT Research Finder.

Table of Content

00:40 – Our first question is about the ethical aspects of emerging technologies. In general terms, what do developers think about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence?

04:26 – We’d like to know about the gender gap in the tech industry. This is a sector that is still highly dominated by men. How’s the average profile of women in development? And what are the main differences between men and women developers?

08:15 – The report explains that developers are not developing true cloud-native apps yet? How would you define cloud-native and why is it important?

09:27 – Could you share with us your views on Agile methodology? What are the specific implementations of Agile dominating the software industry?

13:25 – A new edition of this paper has just been released. Could you share with us the main developments over the last year?

In this new episode of the IT Research Finder, Hailley Griffis, Head of Public Relations at Buffer talks about the ins and outs remote work with our analyst Elena Díaz; Buffer recently released the report “The 2020 State of Remote Work”, which can be found on our website. This 5-star-rated report offers insights into remote working which is gaining  ever more traction due to the coronavirus pandemic. The study - which was conducted before the virus break-out -  reveals that the  large majority of remote workers want to carry on working remotely for  the rest of their careers or have the option to combine homework with  office-based work. But there remain hurdles that can make remote work difficult for some employees. Hailley  explains also why the home office during the pandemic is very much different from regular remote work and how our work life will change after the pandemic. 

Table of Content

00:50  – What are the main benefits mentioned by remote workers?

01:30  – The report shows that all remote workers interviewed want to continue working remotely for the rest of their careers. But, the research also found that a small minority of people don’t recommend remote work. What are the reasons for this?

03:15  – Lack of communication and collaboration, as well as loneliness, are the main challenges for remote workers. Why are companies struggling with this considering we have all the digital tools nowadays to increase cooperation between teams and employees?

05:00  – Is remote work here to stay? How do you see the evolution of remote work when the coronavirus crisis is over?

In this new episode of the IT Research Finder, Diksha Nerurkar, Deputy Research Director at NASSCOM (India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies) talks with our analyst Elena Díaz and explains the insights of edge-computing; Diksha Nerurkar is responsible for the 5-star-rated report “Edge computing towards a more distributed future”, which is published by NASSCOM, and is also available on the IT Research Finder website.

Table of Content

00:46 –How would you define edge-computing to a non-IT expert and why is it necessary from a business perspective?

07:29 – The report takes a look at the role of Indian companies in edge computing. Could you give us your insights on this? What are Indian start-ups doing in this field?

11:37 – What are the main applications of edge computing? Could you give some real-life examples of how this technology has a real impact on people's lives?

15:40 –The paper concludes with the challenges that edge computing is facing to develop further. Which one would you say it's the most significant? What's being done to tackle this type of issue?

In this episode Jan Tscheke, economist working at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation talks about the latest trends in e-commerce with our analyst Elena Diaz; Jan is the author of the report “Unpacking E-commerce”, which has recently been published by the OECD. This report is also the winner of our top report award 2019 in the category e-commerce. 

Table of Content

0:58 – The e-commerce market is increasingly growing at present. However, what are still the main obstacles to selling online mentioned by companies?

4:57 – Could you describe in some detail the key e-commerce trends form the consumer perspective?

9:18 – Trust is a key factor when it comes to e-commerce. What are e-commerce platforms doing to increase consumer trust? Can you please provide some examples?

13:20 – The report takes a look at the policy actions necessary to increase the participation of everyone in society  in e-commerce activities. Can you please talk us through these and why it is important that no one is left out in the e-commerce race?

18:57 – The study mentions that mobile commerce could have a significant role to boost e-commerce in developing countries. Could you explain this a bit more in detail?

Jan Tscheke is an economist, based at the OECD in Paris, France. 

Today we talk about THE MOBILE GENDER GAP. With me is Oliver Rowntree; he is the author of the report “Connected Women - The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2019”, which is published by the GSMA, the global industry organization of the mobile industry. This report is also the winner of our top report award 2019 in the category mobile. The report is now also available in a brand-new edition for 2020. 

CONTENT OF PODCAST

00:50 - According to your 2019 report, 1.7 billion women own a mobile phone in in low-and-middle-income-countries and over a billion use mobile internet. Why are these numbers so significant for the world? And I know that you have updated these numbers for the 2020 edition of the report – so have there been any new developments?

4:00 - The title of your report is “The Mobile Gender Gap”. Can you describe in somewhat detail what constitutes this gap and what it means for existing gender inequalities across the globe?

7:17 - As you have published  already the 4th edition of this report – 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 – can you elaborate a little on the developments you are seeing – are things turning better or worse?

12:27 - What will it take to close the mobile gender gap in the foreseeable future – looking at different involved players like mobile operators, the internet industry, policy makers, or regulators?

Today we talk about Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability. With me is Ben Combes, co founder for innovation and sustainability at PwC UK; he is the author of the report “How can AI enable a sustainable future”, which is published by PwC and commissioned by Microsoft. This report is also the winner of our top report award 2019 in the category AI. I am discussing with Ben the opportunities AI presents for sectors like agriculture or mobility and how this can benefit a sustainable future for our planet. Ben shows some concrete examples of AI application to benefit the environment and explains who the key players and enablers are to bring about positive change. 

Content:

1:02 - In your report you point out significant positive opportunities of AI. What brought you to these conclusions?

3:55 - Can you describe in some detail your analysis and the specific benefits AI can have for the global environment and sustainability?

7:22 - What are the concrete changes and enablers to actually realize the potential of AI on a global scale and who are the key players?

9.41 - Where do you see further benefits of AI beyond the cases and sectors you have studied in your report?