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We find ourselves on the cusp of another industrial revolution. 3D printing has reached a tipping point, and it’s about to become mainstream in a big way. While many engineers and hobbyists have used this innovative manufacturing technology in their daily work, much of the general public is still unaware of this powerful new tool. However, this is about to change as 3D printing continues to become more accessible.

At its core, 3D printing is a process that allows for the creation of solid objects from digital files. Also known as additive manufacturing, this technique is unique from other manufacturing techniques. Traditionally, manufacturing has relied on subtractive techniques, which require huge machines that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

On the other hand, 3D printing can be accomplished on desktop-friendly machines. Using affordable materials like plastics, these printers can create everything from novelty figurines to hard-to-find automotive parts. Believe it or not, NASA even uses a 3D printer on the International Space Station to print custom tools!

Affordability, accessibility, and a shallow learning curve combine to drive the impact of 3D printing on businesses, workforces, and societies.

Impact on Businesses

In 2019, 51% of enterprises actively used 3D printing in production, largely for proof of concept and prototype testing. When over half of businesses adopt a technology, it’s no longer a fad. Instead, it’s the future, and additive manufacturing is poised to transform the way organizations around the world approach manufacturing, supply chains, and beyond.

Some of the key impacts that 3D printing will have on businesses include:

•               Rapid Prototyping: 3D printing allows for small batches of parts to be created in only a few hours. This has given rise to the art of rapid prototyping, which enables businesses to test a new concept or idea in days instead of weeks. Popular toymaker Hasbro leverages this approach when designing new products, which allows them to get to market faster than their competitors.

•               Lower Manufacturing Costs: Transitioning early-stage manufacturing processes from traditional methods to 3D printing leads to lower manufacturing costs. In most cases, it’s much cheaper to create prototypes, jigs, tooling, and fixtures using additive manufacturing. However, processes like injection molding are still more affordable at scale, so shifting all manufacturing to 3D printing is not yet practical.

•               Fewer Supply Chain Woes: 3D printing files can be viewed as the storage of spare parts in the cloud. It’s the perfect solution for low volume parts that are only needed on occasion. Parts can be designed in Europe or Asia and then manufactured in North America over the course of a single day, which completely redefines the supply chain. When leveraged effectively, additive manufacturing can eliminate the cost and time of shipping for certain components.

However, there’s good news to be had. 3D printing is poised to positively impact workforces in several ways, including:

•               New Job Growth: While job growth in traditional manufacturing sectors is floundering, additive manufacturing is driving job growth in key areas. From 3D computer-aided design (CAD) to equipment technicians, there are an exciting number of new job openings driven by this innovation. Better yet, initiatives are in the works to retrain displaced blue-collar manufacturing workers for white-collar jobs in 3D printing.

•               Freelance Manufacturing: The widespread availability of affordable 3D printers is leading to the creation of freelance manufacturing opportunities. For example, websites like Shapeways allow anyone to open their own 3D print shop online. This presents a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurial individuals who want to pursue modern manufacturing opportunities.

•               Educational Opportunities: While today’s workforce is working to adapt to a world with 3D printing, future generations will benefit from more educational opportunities. Additive manufacturing is already becoming a key component of high school, with a number of post-secondary offerings also under development. Look for the next generation of workforce professionals to be well-versed in additive manufacturing fundamentals.

This is a truly exciting time for workforce professionals interested in additive manufacturing. Nevertheless, one could argue that the greatest impacts of 3D printing will be on society as a whole.

Impact on Societies

Amazon and other digital retailers have driven the rise of throw-away culture. After all, why should you spend the time to repair something if a replacement is just a few clicks away? While this is a reasonable argument, it’s impossible to maintain in a world grappling with the early effects of climate change.

Thankfully, the growing popularity of 3D printing is revitalizing the practicality of repair, which could have massive impacts on our world:

•               Maker Culture: Consumer-grade 3D printers are a direct result of maker culture, a movement using modern technology to redefine DIY repairs. The maker movement encourages individuals to leverage additive manufacturing to make the most out of what they already have, which is key to sustainability. From household repairs to unique designs, there are 3D printing ideas for everyone.

•               A New Generation of Innovators: In the 1980s, the growth of computers led to a generation of innovators. In many ways, the development of 3D printing is mirroring this trend. Dozens of innovators and business leaders are already leading the way with this new technology.

3D printing is already having a profound impact on businesses, workforces, and societies. Believe it or not, this is just the beginning of an exciting trend. As 3D printers continue to improve and become more affordable, look for innovation to become the new normal in the world of additive manufacturing.

About Author:

Author: Dr. Sri Gaddam (Doctor of Management), CEO, ERPA Group Over the past couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about cloud computing. What started off as a fleeting technology has now become a multi-billion dollar industry, with titans like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services providing services to approximately 3.6 billion users worldwide. Believe it or not, around 45% of the world’s population has accessed some form of cloud computing over the past year.

Needless to say, this trend has major implications for businesses, workforces, and societies around the world. Whether end-users realize it or not, almost everything in their digital world is now connected to the cloud in one way or another. More importantly, cloud computing is set to become even more pervasive as technology giants and scrappy startups continue to invent new ways to organize, process, and present information remotely.

To highlight the exciting future of cloud computing, let’s dive into the impacts that this revolution in information technology will have on businesses, workforces, and societies alike.

Impact on Businesses

Whether or not you realize it, if you’re in business today then you’re also in the business of cloud computing. Cloud data centers are projected to process 94% of business workloads by 2021. This rapid transition is affecting all areas of business, from frontline employees to C-suite executives and everyone in between. Key impacts that cloud computing will have on businesses in the near future include:

• Improved Communication: The ubiquitous adoption of cloud infrastructure offers affordable and convenient business communication frameworks that may have been unavailable to some businesses in the past. Through the power of cloud computing, user-friendly video conferencing with remote employees, access to built-in call screening, and other useful features become obtainable advantages for any business. • Secure Collaboration: While traditional software suites rely on users to keep their systems up-to-date, cloud computing shifts this responsibility to vendors alone. Industry experts agree that cloud-based software is more secure than traditional solutions. This allows businesses to focus more on maximizing their potential and less on hidden security threats. • Optimized Customer Experience: With cloud computing, businesses can instantly access valuable information that helps them better serve their customers. Cloud solutions can directly connect businesses to customers through self-service portals and similar solutions. More importantly, businesses are empowered to offer optimized customer service and personalized digital interactions, which improves the overall customer experience. Clearly, the future of cloud computing is set to offer impressive benefits to businesses around the world. Along these same lines, cloud-based software is sure to positively impact individual employees and entire workforces as well.    Impact on Workforce The backbone of every business is its workforce. While economists have been predicting the impacts of automation for years, it’s safe to say that employees will still play a critical role in future business success. To this end, it’s worth highlighting a few of the notable benefits that cloud computing provides workforces: • Empower IT Professionals: Utilization of cloud-based systems provides the added benefit of empowering employees to make the most of their unique talents. For technical experts, enterprise-wide adoption of cloud solutions helps to ease the strain on in-house IT teams. As a result, IT professionals are able to focus on key business objectives, instead of having to dedicate countless hours to tedious help desk tasks. • Flexible Workflows: Cloud technologies empower all employees to work on alternative devices (think tablets and smartphones) without fear of losing data. Flexible workflows like this are especially useful in today’s world, where work-from-home is becoming the new normal. The adoption rate of cloud-based technologies for video conferencing and remote collaboration has increased in recent months. Looking forward, cloud computing will only become more important. • Increased Employee Satisfaction: While it may sound cliche, it’s been proven that happy employees are productive employees. Workforces that utilize cloud computing enjoy a host of benefits, which have the potential to increase employee satisfaction in the workplace. This gives workers the freedom to leverage their creativity, while at the same time helping employers to reduce turnover.

At the end of the day, employee attitudes and productivity can make or break the future of a company. While cloud computing wasn’t developed to improve employee sentiments, it provides several upsides that naturally benefit the workforce. Impact on Societies The rapid growth of cloud computing is a natural extension of modern innovations. Technology experts anticipate that in the future, cloud computing will pair with 5G connectivity, the internet of things (IoT), and big data services to completely redefine how people go about their daily lives. At the risk of sounding like a science-fiction novel, here are some of the exciting impacts that these technology pairs will have on societies around the world: • Ubiquitous Computing: 5G, cloud computing, and improvements in electronics manufacturing will likely combine to enable a world with ubiquitous computing. In the future, each and every item could include some level of computational power. If implemented, this paradigm will provide users with unlimited possibilities. • Democratized Education: Thanks to cloud-based education platforms like Coursera, students from industrialized nations now have the ability to access classes at any time and from anywhere. In the future, improvements in global connectivity will further democratize education, enabling students in developing countries to receive a high-quality education regardless of socioeconomic status. • The Rise of Digital Nomads: The concept of the digital nomad is centered on the idea that people can leverage advances in computing technologies to live, work, and play from anywhere in the world. As remote work gains widespread acceptance, an increasing number of people are expected to transition to this futuristic lifestyle.

Author: Dr. Sri Gaddam (Doctor of Management), CEO, ERPA Group

The phrase “Internet of Things” was coined back in 1999 by MIT researcher Kevin Ashton. Since then, this phrase has evolved, and it now focuses on every type of item that has smart capabilities and which can be controlled in one way or another over the internet. Devices that are a part of the Internet of Things ecosystem usually have sensors that gather, share or store data that can be spread online.

 According to the Gartner research firm, there are roughly 10 billion smart, connected items that are a part of the Internet of Things ecosystem. These range from industrial robots to door locks, smoke detectors, toasters, smart cars, trains, heart monitors and so on. Mackenzie Global Institute estimated that the total Internet of Things market might reach $11.1 trillion by 2025.

Smart Cities

As technology evolves, cities will start adopting smart technologies naturally. Cities around the world are investing in “start city” initiatives to improve citizen services, traffic control, utility consumption and quality of life. Cities will start automating, collecting, and managing data remotely as taxis, bike rental stations and even surveillance systems will be interconnected. This will make it easier to track a person, but it will also offer more convenience and value for the user at the same time. We might even be able to eliminate gridlocks since cars will be interconnected and keep the right distance between one another.

Smart homes

We are still ways away from having a Jarvis, however houses are becoming a lot smarter. A Mackenzie study reveals that an adoption of Internet of Things applications in homes for chore automation, energy management, safety and security alone can make an economic impact of over $200 billion by 2025. The Internet of Things will help trim the average costs by monitoring devices and whenever something feels off, you will be required to repair it. That will trim the average maintenance costs and time up to 20%, sometimes even more than that. The Internet of Things my sound a great opportunity and very attractive to the consumers due to its enormous benefits in terms of ease of use, quality of life, efficiencies, and cost savings. However, in the short -term consumers may be hesitant to adopt Internet of Things based applications until they feel secure and comfortable to share their data and privacy.

Smart manufacturing

A Mackenzie study reveals Internet of Things applications in factory settings has a potential to create up to $3.7 trillion by 2025, as a result of using sensors data to remotely track, monitor and adjust machinery at different parts of the plants or even across plants. The robots are already playing a critical role in the factory automation, predictive maintenance, and operations optimization. Also, Internet of Things applications would allow machines to interact with one another, making it very simple to fully automate an entire production line. People would focus more on tracking problems and designing, as the manufacturing process will eventually become fully automated. Home robots will become a thing soon, and they will have full connectivity thanks to the Internet of Things. We can expect these to be autonomous and to provide us with ways to save time while still completing menial tasks. At first these robots will focus on a single task, but they will surely evolve in the long run.

Healthcare Internet of Things

We can expect patient data to be in the cloud and readily available on any doctor’s device as needed. Smarter medical devices facilitate remote monitoring and patients improved connection with the doctors, and the care of chronic diseases, and that alone can make a huge difference. Since most medical devices will be interconnected, it might reduce human errors and inefficiencies, we might even receive AI suggestions to what medical treatments will better serve a person. Internet of Things can play a key role in optimizing pharmacy research, clinical trials, and manufacturing, resulting in lower drug prices.

Privacy concerns

We will constantly pursue the idea of creating faster, better networks that support more IoT devices. Faster networks will help acquire and study data quickly, which means a much better user experience for any smart device. At the same time, the more devices are connected to each other and to the internet, the more personal privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of data concerns appear. Something like this means a lot of people will be worried that their personal data will be stolen or accessed by unlawful people. Most importantly, IoT concerns about cybersecurity introduces new risks associated with home security systems, personal data theft, disrupted health monitors, attack on power grids, etc., can create massive economic harm and threats to human health and safety. The consumers may not be able to adopt IoT systems unless they believe that their data is safe and secure form the cyber security breaches.

Conclusion

The future is bright, and we believe that the Internet of Things will have a great impact on all of that. Does Internet of Things have the potential to really change our lives? Absolutely, but this also comes with its fair share of challenges. We believe that eventually the Internet of Things will help us improve the way we work and live, however we still need to monitor it and not leave everything under its control. Technology can be a great thing, but it can also be dangerous. That is why the smart thing to do is to bring in the Internet of Things technologies gradually into the mix, test them and then make them public. The potential is amazing, but a cautious implementation will help keep things safe for everyone!

About the author

The internet had paved the way for the Digital Transformation Journey of organizations in the last few decades. On the contrary, the Coronavirus pandemic has brought disaster in the form of loss of lives as well as waves of Cyberattacks facing organizations around the globe. Organizations must anticipate a Cyberattack and be prepared to deal with it effectively and be resilient.

No one had ever imagined a global pandemic of COVID-19 scale a few months back. The global pandemic has turned the world on its head. Every country has been affected in some way or the other. The pandemic has shaken the world from its slumber and has driven home the point that the human race can be a more vulnerable lot than previously thought. People are in a state of confusion and disarray on how to deal with the problem. Imagine what will happen if we face a cyberattack on a scale as massive as COVID-19. Let’s call this hypothetical cyberattack as ‘Cyber COVID.’ The thought itself is shuddering. COVID-19 has shown that the world is vulnerable to pandemics and also cyberattacks.

WHO reports a five-fold increase in cyberattacks with the onset of the pandemic. The fallout of a massive cyberattack such as Cyber-COVID can have far-reaching ramifications. However, the coronavirus has also taught the world how to handle such risks.

What Has COVID-19 Taught Us?

COVID-19 has brought the entire world to a standstill. A significant number of people are in a state of lockdown. Countries around the globe have imposed transport restrictions making it impossible for one to travel from one country to another. The economy has been crushed, with millions of industries shutting down businesses. Though it has caused tremendous hardships to people, there is a silver lining to the cloud.

The primary lesson that COVID-19 has taught the world is that it must remain prepared to face such attacks in the future. It has revolutionized history by creating two different eras, the pre-COVID-19 and the post-COVID-19 periods. The world is not going to be the same, and by seeing the increase in the number of virtual workers, one can say that the new ‘normal’ has shifted considerably.

The Threat Of A Cyber COVID – A Massive Cyberattack Of COVID Scale

Imagine if the coronavirus had been a cyberattack. Let’s examine the extent of damage it could have caused and the steps to take to manage the situation.

The reproductive rate (R0) of the coronavirus is a crucial statistic. It determines the number of people it can affect. Reports state that COVID-19 has an R0 between two and three. Thus, one infected person passes the disease to two or three persons. It indicates how fast the virus can spread. The most affected state, New York, had a doubling rate every three days before the lockdown. In comparison, the R0 of a computer virus or a cyber attack is 27 and above. The 2003 Slammer/Sapphire worm had a doubling rate of 8.5 seconds, with the virus attacking more than 75,000 devices in ten minutes. In 24 hours, the number of infected devices grew to more than 10.8 million.

A cyberattack similar to COVID-19 can be a self-propagating attack by a computer virus that exploits zero-day vulnerabilities.

As antivirus solutions would not be immediately available, such cyberattacks can affect devices running on a standard OS. It takes time to identify zero-day attacks. The prime example is the Stuxnet worm that hid in systems for 18 months before affecting them. If such a cyberattack were to impact a social media networking site with sufficient users, it could take around five days to infect a billion devices.

·         The economic implications of a cyberattack on the COVID-19 scale can be mind blogging.

A cyber-COVID-like situation can result in the inactivity of millions of devices within a few days. If the cyber coronavirus had similar pathology of COVID-19, the case would be as follows.

·         50% of the network systems would suffer a severe degradation (equivalent to hospitalization for a week).

·         30% of the systems would be asymptomatic (function normally while spreading the virus).

·         15% would require a complete system reinstallation (similar to being on a ventilator).

·         5% of computers worldwide would be rendered inoperable (equivalent to being dead).

Perhaps the only solution would be to enforce a lockdown. Lockdown in the cyber world constitutes the disconnection of the internet, thereby blocking all business communication and financial transactions. It could result in paralyzing social media networks forcing people to resort to using landline phones, snail mail, personal visits, and short-wave radio.

Estimates show that a complete shutdown of the internet globally can result in a loss of more than $50 million a day. Thus, a 21-day lockdown can push the global economy back by more than $1 trillion.

·         Recovering from such a situation can be a tremendous challenge.

Considering the number of computer systems in operation today, replacing 5% would require more than 71 million devices. Imagine the time taken to manufacture computer systems on such a massive scale. One also has to contend with logistics issues, patch programs, and reinstallations.

Pointing fingers at nations during the coronavirus pandemic is easy. It would not be the same in the case of cyber-COVID. For example, China is the largest producer of electronics items, smartphones, televisions, and computers in the world today. Blaming such a country for causing cyber-COVID can lead to geopolitical tensions.

How Can The World Manage Such A Situation?

COVID-19 has shown that one should anticipate such a situation and be prepared to manage it accordingly. The best aspect of COVID-19 is that it has created a global awareness of such a risk affecting the world. Here is what one should do to manage a cyber-COVID-like scenario.

·         Due Care and Due Diligence: Be prepared for a cyber attack on such a massive scale. To be forewarned is always better than to be forearmed.

·         Early Detection & Communication: Early detection, decision-making capabilities, and clarity of communication are two primary virtues to mitigate such potential risks. Any delay in managing the situation can prove disastrous.

·         Cybersecurity Awareness, Training & Education: Public awareness is critical to managing such cyber attacks. There should be active cooperation between the different stakeholders. A well-defined cybersecurity policy should help address such cybersecurity challenges.

·         Personal Data Protection: Personal data protection should be a priority for all. Organizations can introduce multi-factor authentication for banking transactions and accessing emails, such as using biometrics, or OTP to a registered mobile number.

·         Using AI-ML based SIEM solutions: Post-COVID, AI-ML are going to play a significant role in defining cybersecurity strategies. Every network should have adequate security controls in place to manage such cyber risks, and using AI-ML based SIEM solutions can help to a great extent.

·         Regulatory compliance: Regulatory compliance is a crucial aspect that every organization should not only adhere to for preventing a cyber-COVID-like attack but also to build a regulator’s trust in your organization’s brand.

·         Simulate cyber attack: Conduct regular penetration testing and full-blown attack simulation exercises to determine how well your security teams, tools, and controls perform under and attack. Remember preparedness is planning combined with action.

·         Virtual Is Real: COVID-19 has forced people to look to alternatives like Work From Home (WFH) or virtual work environments. Similarly, every organization should have contingency strategies such as a digital rollback, and continuity plans to ensure that the systems keep functioning despite a massive cyberattack.

Final Words

Nobody expected COVID-19 to happen, and that too on such a massive scale. However, the experience with COVID-19 can stand us in good stead. Organizations should be prepared to face a cyber attack of the magnitude of COVID-19 anytime that can paralyze the whole digital ecosystem. The repercussions of such a colossal cyber attack can be devastating, and organizations must implement control measures to prevent it from happening in the future, and be resilient if it happens.

About the author

Author: Dr. Sri Gaddam (Doctor of Management), CEO, ERPA Group

The coronavirus pandemic that is currently ravaging the world has drastically changed how things are done across different sectors of the economy. At present, the federal government, local governments, higher education and corporations are seeking alternatives to doing things while keeping faith alive that normalcy returns in the shortest time.

One industry that has seen its status quo disrupted in recent times is education. Higher education is particularly impacted; colleges and universities have also been hard hit, and many of them are currently trying to stay afloat in an ocean of financial challenges.

Remote learning has offered a way out as E-learning enables virtual learning via digital platforms. However, this solution comes at costs that no one anticipated. Tertiary institutions now have to support remote students amid other challenges that they face.

What Challenges Does Covid-19 Pose For Higher Education?

No doubt, the novel coronavirus pose some challenges for higher education, some of which includes:

Financial Challenges: Higher institutions are currently losing a lot of money due to the pandemic. Money that can be raised from parking fees, dining outlet sales, and other supplementary revenues can not be generated at the moment. In addition, some institutions are faced with refunding fees for sundry tuition. They also need to scale virtual engagement modalities to stay relevant. These rising costs have induced the restructuring of operations to suit industry demands.

Registration Crisis: In addition, student enrollment for the coming session has been gravely impacted by COVID-19. Already, there is a shift in financial priorities due to the impending recession. They are currently guidelines on student enrollment that have changed the process for the near future; all these changes are a result of the uncertainty that the future holds. There are hordes of questions that enrollment officials do not have answers to, and this can be discouraging to current students, local and international prospects. Convincingly answering these questions and arriving at practical solutions that work for everyone are uphill tasks that must be completed if the tertiary institutions are to remain solvent. These situations are compounded by increasing costs of tuition and a corresponding increase in student debt.

Is Cloud computing the answer?

Cloud computing refers to the availability of computer system resources and computing power to multiple users. When deployed to e-learning, it makes learning easier as students no longer need to lug books; neither do they have to sit in lecture halls. Live chats, video conferencing, online assessments, and virtual labs are remote learning trends that are facilitating the virtual classroom.

Regardless of the current disruption caused by the pandemic, students can still have excellent educational experiences, all thanks to cloud computing.

How can cloud computing facilitate operations of universities?

Virtual Classrooms: Cloud technology allows instructors to have face-to-face interactions regardless of geographical location. Functional and well-optimized cloud technology will enable them to negotiate the issues of the enrollment crisis.

Reduction of operation cost: With cloud computing, the costs of resources (ebooks and video materials) that are often expensive are eliminated. This will reduce the costs of education for all the parties involved and make it easier for the institutions to offer the students education. Besides reducing the expenses, the students will have access to the updated information in their fields of study.

Access To Cloud-based apps and Storage: The need to acquire personal storage devices or software is eliminated because students now have access to cloud-based apps that meet that need.

Having Virtual Labs: This is taking the virtual classroom further. With virtual labs, students can benefit from instructor-led sessions in online labs that are easily accessible anytime and on any device.

What does Cloud Computing Offer Higher Education in the Future?

Cloud computing has a lot to offer the higher education field in the nearest future. Its benefits are enormous, and they include:

The flexibility of Modes Of Instruction: Cloud computing will make it possible to merge both traditional and modern methods of learning and instruction. With well-deployed cloud technology, conventional tertiary education will be blended with online classes. Before the pandemic, certain universities had online education platforms. In the future, more universities will further leverage their online education prospects. Cloud technology will increasingly play a more significant role in the way students in tertiary institutions are instructed and trained. Digital learning will be the trend, although the connection with physical campuses will remain.t might take a while for both methods to merge. With time, the melding of the traditional and modern means of instruction will offer tertiary education and flexibility that it never had before. Future learning models will incorporate the idea of community into the digital learning experience. There will be increased interaction by students across the world. Students will be the better for this as there will be an unbroken melding of the communal offline experience with co-learning. What’s more, online platforms will allow for the exchange of current and updated content.

Increased Accountability: The higher institutions will be more accountable to their students and graduates. The changes that cloud technology will generate will ensure that older modes of instruction will become outmoded. On the one hand, students will have access to cutting edge tools and technologies. On the other hand, the content that they will have access to will be current and better suited to the changing times. This is especially true with the changes that the pandemic has wrought on the status quo across businesses, industries, and economies. There will be changes in the demands of employers and the way things are done on the corporate and commercial landscapes. Higher institutions will be forced to anticipate these changes in the modes and methods of instruction that they provide to their students. Cloud technology will enable this change as it requires being attuned to current technologies and ways of doing things.

Takeaway

Higher education will never remain the same. Reduced costs operation cost, online-driven education, and changing modes of instruction to meet the changing times are just a few ways that cloud computing will impact higher education. These changes have already been occasioned by the current pandemic and are ongoing. However, more institutions of higher learning will be forced to leverage public clouds as multipliers that will facilitate their adoption of virtual models of instruction.

About the author

In the age of COVID-19, remote meetings remain the critical medium to communicate with people within or outside the company. After working for decades in a closed environment where people used to have face-face communication, thanks to the pandemic, things changed overnight. Working remotely has become the new norm to ensure the health and safety of the workforce. Virtual communication can be challenging and ineffective for people not used to working remotely. The good news is that we gathered seven best practices that will help you to be effective and efficient with virtual communication.

Almost all companies use some form of tech stack to communicate remotely. When businesses are forced or decide to shift their operations remotely, the important question to ask is how integrated, efficient, collaborative, and effective your current stack is. For example, at ERPA, we decided to switch to Microsoft teams for virtual communication tools such as chat, meet, call, share files and collaborate on a single platform as compared to two separate systems. In my experience, the other best investment to make an employee effective and efficient working remotely is to have an additional monitor. Most importantly, having a dedicated space for working remotely where you will not be disturbed enhances productivity.

It is crucial to outline virtual communication expectations upfront to reduce frustration and confusion, and to ensure a smooth transition to working remotely. When working remotely, email may not be the most effective tool to collaborate with the team members. However, not all team needs, and managers’ expectations are the same; some prefer collaboration tools such as slack or a Microsoft chat, while others prefer video or audio conference tools. For example, our technology team decided that all the team members are required to be available on MS chat in the work hours and need to show their face when on a conference call, both helped us to feel more connected.

Sometimes remote meetings can be long and tedious with no outcomes. Putting time in planning an agenda with more visuals and videos makes meetings interesting for the participants. A meeting agenda should have a goal to be accomplished while incorporating lively interaction topics for others to participate and contribute. Investing some time in advance preparing and planning a meeting agenda not only makes everyone efficient with their time but also achieves desired outcomes effectively.

Compared to traditional long meetings, daily huddles with rhythm can be the most important and powerful of all the other meetings. Once-daily routine is established, the operating decisions can be made quickly and timely to enhance productivity and curtail bottlenecks to ensure the organizations stay on track in achieving their goals. Ideally, daily huddle should be around 10-15 minutes to discuss critical activities for the next 24 hours, bottlenecks, key decisions, etc.,

Online whiteboards can be a great alternative to the traditional whiteboard where people collaborate, take notes, share ideas, or capture meeting minutes. The biggest challenge when people communicate remotely is that different people process and interpret the information differently based on their prior knowledge, experiences, and beliefs. The most efficient way to run key meetings is to open a whiteboard on a separate screen as a collaboration tool to capture notes or ideas to ensure everyone is on the same page with clarity on the goal or desired outcome.

In a remote environment, people working from home may feel isolated and disconnected. The most important thing that makes people feel connected is clear and almost constant communication. Preparing a meeting agenda in advance, followed by distributing meeting minutes with the action items, provides clarity on individual responsibilities and deadlines. Sending reminders on the pending tasks before the next meeting will help individuals to get organized and act.

What a year for the BIWA User Community and Oracle Spatial & Graph Special Interest Group (SIG)! Both groups have expanded their leadership teams, as well as rebranding and moving the date of their flagship event, the Analytics and Data Summit (formerly known as the Oracle Business Intelligence, Warehousing and Analytics (BIWA) Summit.  As a new member of the board of both BIWA and the Summit, I wanted to fill the ERPA community in on the exciting changes that are taking place and what they mean for you.

The BIWA User Community was founded in 2006 as a special interest group (SIG) of the Independent Oracle User Group (IOUG) by Shyam Varan Nath, Director, Enterprise Cloud Architecture, Oracle Corporation, and Charlie Berger, Senior Director of Product Management, Machine Learning, AI and Cognitive Analytics, Oracle Corporation. The group has evolved to a worldwide community of Oracle professionals who are interested in big data, business intelligence (BI), data warehousing, and advanced analytics, as well as related topics such as cloud, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), spatial and graph, SQL, R, Spark, Hadoop, and similar critically important and emerging technologies.

BIWA changed the name from BIWA Summit in late 2017 to Analytics and Data Summit to reflect the event’s expanded focus and the evolution of the analytics, Business Intelligence Solutions (BI), big data, machine learning and spatial and graph solution markets.

The event was historically held in January each year. The Analytics and Data Summit has been moved to March 20–22, 2018, at the Oracle Conference Center in Redwood Shores, CA, to accommodate the Oracle Conference Center schedule. The venue provides a fantastic value, and a unique opportunity to work with Oracle on advanced content for the conference.

The conference is billed as “THE Big Data + Analytics + Spatial + Cloud + IoT + Everything Cool User Conference” and doesn’t disappoint, with ~100 sessions spread across eight tracks: Analytics; Big Data; Cloud Computing; Data Warehousing & SQL; General; Internet of Things; Machine Learning; and Spatial & Graph.

Must-see sessions include the hands-on labs (marked “HOL” on the schedule), as well as the Oracle product strategy and roadmap sessions.

ERP Analysts’ team is giving two presentations at the conference; please sign up for our sessions:

ERPA Analytics and Data Summit 2018 Presentations:

A Practical Business Approach to Implementing Oracle Analytics Cloud 3/20 @ 1:10 PM PST

https://analyticsanddatasummit2018.sched.com/event/C5iC/a-practical-business-approach-to-implementing-oracle-analytics-cloud

Transitioning OBIA 11.1.1.10.2 On-premise to OAC 3/21 @ 2:20 PM PST

https://analyticsanddatasummit2018.sched.com/event/DEPw/transitioning-obia-on-premise-to-oac

As a “thank you” for your interest, the Analytics and Data Summit team is running a Valentine’s Day promotion.  Sign up for the event using code “AnDValentine” and receive $75 off of event registration.