Tech Transformed

In this week's Ask the Expert, we're delighted to welcome back Amanda Finch, CEO at the Chartered Institute of Information Security. As some of you may remember, Amanda last joined us to discuss the cybersecurity skills shortage and why cybersecurity education needs improving. This time, Amanda is joining us to walk us through the findings of the Chartered Institute of Information Security's annual professionals survey.

In particular, the survey shone a spotlight on the diversity problems within the cybersecurity industry today. Furthermore, Amanda explored why more than half of IT security professionals had either left a job due to overwork or burnout, or worked with someone who did. Tune in to find out more!

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted plans and trajectories since it surfaced some months ago. The impact of the outbreak on business and entrepreneurship is widely varied. While some businesses and individuals thrived, others sadly failed. However, as we set our sights on a post-COVID era, innovation and entrepreneurship will have to find their feet again.

In this week's Ask the Expert, Jon Hirschtick, President SaaS Business at PTC, shares more on the global trends in innovation and entrepreneurship. Tune in to find out his suggestions for empowering innovators post-COVID, and the support he recommends for entrepreneurs at this time, among other interesting discussion.

In this podcast, Dr. Galina Datskovsky, CEO at Vaporstream, talks to us about secure messaging platforms and why they have grown in importance amid the coronavirus pandemic. First, she explains the features a secure messaging platform must have to uphold privacy. Also, we look at privacy and security shortfalls associated with open-source solutions. Finally, Galina outlines the future of privacy in a post-pandemic world and what the future looks like for secure messaging platforms.

We're all familiar with the fear that robots may one day take over our jobs. However, it doesn't necessarily need to be on a one-in, one-out basis. Rather, the future of work needs to innovate and accommodate for the career-changing landscape.

Joining us to share her ideas and research is Professor Giselle Rampersad, Professor in Innovation at the College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University. In particular, Giselle joined us to talk about a study she conducted that investigated how to drive innovation to help the future employment landscape. Tune in to find out about her research, including innovation gaps Giselle identified and the steps that can be taken to ensure newer students aren't left behind.

Lockdown may be loosening, but the UK is not out of the woods yet. As July draws to a close, the next few weeks are crucial to keeping a second wave at bay. However, as scientific knowledge grows in residual immunity to COVID-19, it also becomes more plausible to explore ways that individuals who tick the right boxes can go back to 'normal'.

One way of doing so is through the use of immunity passports. We spoke to Roger Tyrzyk, Country Manager at IDnow, about the company's candidacy in creating these passports. Tune in to find out how IDnow’s identity verification technology makes immunity passports possible, as well as Roger's observations on digital behaviour in the pandemic and the increased demand for IDnow.

Uberisation is becoming an increasingly attractive business model for companies today. Not only does it directly benefit organisations, but it also is advantageous to IT contractors themselves.

Joining us to delve further into the matter is Neil How, CEO and Co-Founder at ten80 Group. In this podcast, Neil introduces uberisation, before exploring the perks that it brings. Furthermore, Neil outlines considerations businesses should take into account when looking to uberise a project. Tune in to find out more!

Industries everywhere are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock new opportunities and address current challenges. The financial industry is no exception to the rule, but of course, comes with its own unique considerations.

Joining us to delve further into the matter is Spencer Tuttle, VP EMEA at ThoughtSpot. In particular, Spencer shares the findings of ThoughtSpot's research into the investment of AI in the financial sector. He also explores how AI can unlock growth opportunities and reduce costs for organisations. Finally, he shares his hopes for the future of AI in the financial sector.

Innovation is high on the business agenda. Not only can it drive productivity and help businesses solve existing problems, but innovative thinking can also strengthen a company's competitive edge. However, despite innovation being a no-brainer, businesses musn't go in gung-ho; rather, they need to consider the investment that comes alongside it.

Joining us to explore the matter is Arthur Shectman, Founder and President at Elephant Ventures. Arthur firstly delves into why organisations are seeing a decline in return on investment while trying to innovate. Then, Arthur outlines how data-driven technology can help with that innovation end result. Tune in to find out more!

Security orchestration, automation, and response, better known as SOAR, has quickly developed in the last five years. In particular, SOAR solutions help businesses speed up incident response by automating data gathering and security automation and providing case management and analytics.

Joining us to tell us more about the current state of SOAR is Faiz Shuja, CEO at SIRP Labs. Faiz discusses how easy it is to deploy SOAR tools and which businesses are using them, before outlining examples of use cases of workflows SOAR enables that were once difficult to achieve.

Legacy systems are a well-known headache for organisations. This is reinforced in a recent report by Advanced which delved further into the challenges of legacy systems modernisation. Among its key findings, the 2020 Mainframe Modernization Business Barometer revealed that a staggering 74% of organisations have started a legacy system modernisation project but failed to complete it.

Advanced's very own Brandon Edenfield, Managing Director of Application Modernisation, joins us in this Ask the Expert to share the report's key takeaways. Brandon also discusses reasons behind the high rates of failure and advises on how to improve the relationships between leadership teams and technical teams. Finally, Brandon shares his thoughts on the future of cloud implementation and legacy system modernisation.