Advances in technology affect every part of the human experience, from ordering at the drive-thru to communicating with colleagues halfway around the world. Children today can start learning early about technology, how it’s used, and how it’s created in the classroom. Consider these trends in Ed Tech, as we head into 2016.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
Technology is expensive. Many companies can’t afford to provide employees with devices, and even fewer resources are available at schools. Allowing students to bring their own devices lets schools focus on programming and providing for those children who lack access to devices at home. At school, mobile network access allows students to conduct research, play learning games, and use technology to solve problems.
The isolated nature of solutions is one of the longstanding obstacles to unified communications and collaboration. Each department may use different solutions, and individual solutions don’t integrate well. Today, businesses demand integration, and the dream of fluid operations with communication is coming to life.
How much time does your company waste trying to connect the dots between processes? As an example, you may use a CRM system and an ERM system, but if the two don’t integrate, you can’t connect business interactions with internal processes. As a result, transformation and optimization within an organization creep along without reaching their full potential. Unified communications and enterprise collaboration allow employees to access one centralized hub to conduct individual tasks and connect the dots between larger enterprise goals.
You’ve probably called into a monotonous online meeting before. Some professionals put their phones on mute and complete other tasks during the process, defeating the purpose of a call in the first place. Others, glaze over and zone out during long, boring, talking-head style videoconferences. Having short, engaging online meetings may make a difference in the impact of conference calls.
The National Statistics Council confirms that many of us spend time in wasteful meetings. As many as 47% of employees cite an excess of meetings as the most inefficient workaday task. That data doesn’t necessarily mean you need to cut assemblies altogether. Rather, restructure them for efficacy. But does shortening them really work?
Traditional (what you might even call “old fashioned!”) video conferencing setups typically feature one camera and a large screen, arranged in a conference room or office. Often, this leaves participants with one visual perspective, and results in poor sight lines—if any—for many of the people crowded around a boardroom table. In some situations, such as a sales pitch, not having a full view of the audience can hinder effective communication, and kill the pitch. Virtual meeting rooms eliminate this ineffectiveness, and provide participants with a more natural, collaborative environment in which to work.
Consider virtual meeting rooms the next generation of video conferencing. Instead of relying on a single webcam and screen in a conference room, all participants in a virtual meeting room use individual webcams, and can “call in” from wherever they are located. They feature typical synchronous meeting experiences, but offer many more collaboration options, such as instant messaging, sharing of documents or screens, and playing video. Overall, virtual meeting rooms create a real-life, face to face environment for interaction between colleagues.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters wreak havoc on the lives of those caught in their wake. While a severe thunderstorm isn’t likely to interfere with cloud computing or traditional network server setups, a natural disaster can be as destructive to technology as it is to other areas of life. Natural disasters not only cause disruption in service, they can cause significant financial loss.
The Real Risk of Data Center Security in Natural Disasters
According to a Zenium Technology Partners data center study, as many as half of all data centers are not prepared enough to maintain service during a natural disaster. Half of all companies surveyed indicated they had experienced at least one operational disruption over a 10 year period because of natural events. In terms of loss associated with a natural disaster, the highest amount of loss was quoted at £500,000 or $768,165. This data indicates that natural disasters are another risk that data centers must consider and prepare for during the normal course of business.
Up Your Security Game Using Video Walls
Security is top of mind today more than ever, especially when it comes to major enterprise and public infrastructure. Threats abound, everything from a terrorist attack to simple employee error. From a data and resource standpoint, companies have a lot to lose if they are not proactive in their development of comprehensive security strategies to combat these threats. Video walls—interconnected, multi-monitor displays—are powerful additions to enterprise security toolboxes.
Video Wall Operation
Video walls are scalable, versatile display systems that can include upwards of 100 monitors in large settings. They are key components of structured security strategies, as many consolidate control over a variety of information sources, including the following:
As technology becomes a bigger part of everyday life, school systems are no more protected from online threats than other organizations. Today, teachers, administrators, and students all use connected devices that could lead to the dissemination of private information.
For example, in 2014, a Utah school employee clicked on a phishing email link that put the personal information of 500 employees at risk. Clicking on phishing links in emails is one of the most common and preventable mistakes users make online. That momentary flub led to months of face-to-face meetings and an improved data security policy, but many other schools are still at risk.
A great project manager is an invaluable asset to companies and their clients. When it comes to integrating new technology, the ideal project manager will bridge the gap between other team members to keep a project on time, on budget, and moving in the right direction. According to Computerworld’s 2015 Forecast, project management is the second most sought-after skill in the world of IT.
Part of the reason the skill is in high demand is because organizations are implementing new technologies at fast rates. Both client IT teams and solutions providers need high quality project management leaders to make the most of an investment. Poor project management can be like throwing the budgeted allowance for a solution out the window, hurting both parties in the process. Project managers are essential for the successful implementation of any digital solution.
From online “hacktivism” by groups like Anonymous to high-profile security breaches at companies like Sony, Target, eBay, and JP Morgan Chase, the past year has seen cyber-attacks, data thefts, and breaches worth billions of dollars.
These big brands grab headlines because the attacks are unusual for their impact—the eBay hack alone exposed the data of 145 million people—not because such events are rare. A recent Accenture report revealed that nearly two-thirds of C-suite executives say their companies face significant cyber-attacks on a weekly if not daily basis.
While the gaming industry is making big investments to bring virtual reality (VR) to the gaming world, the business case for VR in other industries is stronger than you might think.
Technology company PGi predicts VR will hit the $407 million market mark, and 25 million users, by 2018, and TechCrunch reported that VR products could generate $30 billion in revenue over the next five years. Gaming undoubtedly holds a large piece of that pie, but over the next decade, VR is poised to transform the broader marketplace.
