technology

Grupo Ángeles Servicios de Salud Implements IBM Watson for Oncology to Help Oncologists Identify Evidence-Based Cancer Treatment Options

Por

Grupo Ángeles Servicios de Salud today announced that it will adopt IBM Watson (NYSE: IBM) for Oncology trained by Memorial Sloan Kettering. This will be the first institution in Latin America to adopt this solution, that will provide oncologists insights to help them make more informed treatment decisions.

In Mexico there are 160 thousand new cases of cancer every year(1). As healthcare providers and systems seek to enable data-driven, evidence-based cancer care, an explosion of medical information has created both challenges and opportunities to help improve quality care. Currently, approximately 50,000 oncology research papers are published annually,(2) and by 2020 medical information is projected to double every 73 days(3), outpacing the ability of humans to keep up with the proliferation of medical knowledge.

Watson for Oncology identifies treatment options with supporting medical evidence for consideration by the treating oncologist, drawing from more than 300 medical journals, more than 200 textbooks, and nearly 15 million pages of text to provide insights about different treatment options and also provides oncologists with information regarding drug treatment options. Watson also ranks the evidence-based treatment options, linking to peer reviewed studies and clinical guidelines.

“Ángeles is the biggest private healthcare institution in Mexico. The introduction of Watson for Oncology will be a game changer for cancer patients in the whole country,” said Florentino Bernardo Pérez, CIO Grupo Empresarial Ángeles. “With Watson, our team of oncologists can make informed treatment decisions for patients based on insights derived from the individuals’ unique health status, medical research and other relevant data.”

A growing body of data suggests the value of Watson for Oncology in cancer care. At ASCO 2017 clinicians presented new evidence about Watson cognitive technology and cancer care, for example:

Watson matched tumor board treatment recommendations in up to 96% of cases; reduced clinical trial screening time by 78%.

By the end of the year, Watson for Oncology will be available to support at least 12 cancer types, representing 80 percent of the global incidence of cancer.

In a qualitative study, oncologists in Mexico found Watson for Oncology to be useful to help them identify potential treatment options for their patients, particularly in clinics that lack subspecialist expertise, and for training medical students and residents.

“Our Vision with Watson for Oncology is to enable physicians to focus on delivering patient-centric cancer care helping Oncologists and institutions to deliver next generation cancer care at scale and reduce unnecessary treatment variability through evidence-based treatment recommendations,” said Juan Hoyos, Watson Health Executive Leader, IBM Latin America. “We are proud to be working with hospitals and health organizations like Ángeles to give access to cognitive computing tool into the hands of physicians worldwide.”

[1] Mexico government health secretary. Accessed at http://www.gob.mx/salud/prensa/160-mil-nuevos-casos-de-cancer-al-ano-en-mexico
[2] PubMed, accessed at pubmed.com
[3] Densen, Peter, Challenges and Opportunities Facing Medical Education 2011. Transactions in the American Clinical and Climatological Association. Accessed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3116346/

Deloitte study: consumer businesses operate with a false sense of security about cyber risk

Por

Consumer products companies, retailers and restaurant businesses may be operating with a false sense of security, according to a new Deloitte study, “Cyber Risk in Consumer Business.” The study captures input from more than 400 chief information officers, chief information security officers, chief technology officers and other senior executives about cyber risks and response plans affecting customer trust, payments, executive level engagement, human capital and intellectual property.

According to the study, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of consumer business executives report they are highly confident in their ability to respond to a cyber incident, yet many simultaneously face issues that critically impair their ability to do so. Among the findings:

The majority of executives surveyed (82 percent) indicate their organization has not documented and tested cyber response plans involving business stakeholders within the past year.

Less than half (46 percent) say their organization performs war games and threat simulations on a quarterly or semiannual basis.

One quarter (25 percent) report lack of cyber funding.

Roughly 1 in 5 (21 percent) lack clarity on cyber mandates, roles and responsibilities.

“In the study, we found that just 30 to 40 percent of companies currently investing in platforms such as consumer analytics, cloud integration, connected products and mobile payments have mature programs in place to address related risks,” said Barb Renner, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. consumer products leader. “Many of these technologies involve a broad set of data types that could expose consumers to much more than stolen credit cards and identity theft. Beyond customer data, the risks can range from protecting food safety in manufacturing and supply chains to intellectual property of new products and formulas. Allowing cyber response planning to lag can undercut the upside of investments in advanced digital technologies. It can become a one step forward, two steps back proposition to pursue advanced technologies without equal attention to cyber threats.”

The Deloitte study also found companies may underestimate the importance of consumer trust. In fact, when thinking about potential cyber incidents, consumer product companies surveyed seem to be primarily concerned with production disruptions (48 percent) and loss of intellectual property (42 percent), while significantly fewer — 16 percent — are concerned with tarnishing brand perceptions related to trust.

Many U.S. consumers already express heightened security concerns, with a startling number going so far as to delete mobile applications and avoid websites, which can threaten a critical engagement touchpoint for consumer businesses. Consider these findings:

In 2016, roughly 80 percent of U.S. consumers felt they have lost control over how their personal information was being used by companies.
Over the past 12 months, 31 percent of U.S. consumers deleted applications on their smartphone and 27 percent avoided specific websites to mitigate their own cyber risk (Deloitte, SSI and JD Power; consumer privacy study presented at Next2017 Conference, May 9-10, 2017).
“News of breaches cannot only threaten sales of a particular product or brand, but can tarnish broader perceptions consumers have toward connected products in general — jeopardizing billions in future sales growth,” added Renner.

“A brand’s reputation impacts consumer trust, but it also dictates brand swagger,” said Chuck Saia, CEO of Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory. “Brand trust starts at the top and leaders who continually earn the confidence of consumers can walk with that swagger. Taking brand reputation personally and setting the expectation that everyone in the organization does as well can help ensure potential risks to brand trust and reputation are quickly recognized and addressed.”

Another potential risk and reward scenario accompanies the interactions between customers and consumer businesses: connected products. These devices may increase the points of entry, opening the door to cyber breaches that can arise anywhere across the entire connected ecosystem, including consumers and third-party vendors.

Among executives surveyed, 32 percent are not confident their cyber risk management program is effective in maintaining their strategy to develop and market connected products. Their concerns don’t stop there. Changing regulatory requirements are the top concern of 74 percent of those who deploy connected products, followed by intellectual property theft (71 percent) and theft of consumer information (66 percent).

“People are often allured by the promise of connected products while many consumer products manufacturers, recognizing the potential for additional sources of revenue and market share, speed to bring them to market before competitors,” said Sean Peasley, Deloitte & Touche LLP and cyber risk services consumer and industrial products leader. “With less than one-third of companies believing their cyber risk management is effective when it comes to developing connected products, we believe the principle of ‘security by design’ can be an effective strategy. By embedding security considerations further upstream in the development process, connected products can be more resilient to cyber threats enabling them to not only make it to market, but stay on the market, potentially avoiding costly and time-consuming recalls and regulatory delays.”

Deloitte’s research revealed intellectual property as a top data concern among executives surveyed — second only to financial theft. More than 4 in 10 (42 percent) of food and beverage executives surveyed are concerned with cyber-criminals trying to steal proprietary product formulation information such as food recipes and product codes. This rising concern over IP theft is generally mirrored across consumers businesses — where IP theft has largely remained in the shadows of more familiar cybercrimes such as theft of credit cards and other personally identifiable information.

About the Study

The Cyber Risk in Consumer Business study surveyed 402 CIOs, CISOs, CTOs and other senior executives from organizations operating in the consumer products, retail, restaurant, food and beverage, connected products and agribusiness sectors. The survey was conducted in January and February 2017.

Microsoft announces new tools and services to help developers

Por

Satya Nadella, Scott Guthrie and Harry Shum welcomed thousands of developers to Seattle for Build 2017 — Microsoft’s annual developer conference. During his opening keynote Nadella announced that Windows had reached 500 million Windows 10 monthly active devices and noted how — together — Windows, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Azure offer developers more than a billion opportunities to connect their innovations with Microsoft customers. Microsoft also announced new Azure data and cloud services to help developers quickly modernize their existing apps, new AI and Azure services that allow any developer to more easily build intelligent apps, with understanding and natural user interaction capabilities, and showcased new data, IoT edge and A I services built for a future with an intelligent cloud and intelligent edge.

“In a world of near infinite compute power and an exponential growth in data, we are focused on empowering every developer to build applications for this new era of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.

A vision for more intelligence — from the cloud to the edge

Our world is overloaded with information, every minute, and yet it is in this very information — data — that opportunities and insights abound. To help customers realize these opportunities, Microsoft shared an early peek into innovations it is bringing to bear to help every person and organization achieve more. In support of this vision Microsoft announced the following:

– A preview of Azure IoT Edge, technology that extends the intelligence — and other benefits — of cloud computing to edge devices.

– Extensions to the Microsoft Graph to combine insights from the world of work with device insights and contextual awareness of the physical world.

– Technology that will allow you to search the real world in the same way you search the digital world, helping to keep your data safe and secure while making you more productive.

The cloud for every developer, and tooling to target any platform and device

– Microsoft showcased how it is meeting developers where they are, and helping them be more successful, with new Microsoft Azure and Visual Studio services and tools to help modernize existing applications and quickly build intelligent apps for all major platforms:

– Introducing Azure Cosmos DB, built from the ground up to power planet-scale cloud services and data-intensive applications — from IoT to AI to mobile — with incredible performance, fault tolerance and support for every type of data, including graph. It is the industry’s first globally distributed, multimodel database service to deliver horizontal scale with guaranteed uptime, throughput, consistency and single-digit millisecond latency at the 99th percentile. Developers get incredible flexibility with the only schema-free database service, with support for popular NoSQL APIs, that also offers five well-defined consistency choices while auto-indexing all your data.

– New MySQL- and PostgreSQL-managed services that join Azure SQL Database to give developers expanded choice and flexibility on a service platform that delivers high availability and scalability, with minimal downtime, and data retention and recovery.

– An early preview of Microsoft’s new database migration services, which will allow Oracle and SQL Server customers to more easily move their data and quickly modernize their apps.

– Azure SQL Database improvements:

A new Managed Instance private preview, which offers customers SQL Server instance-level compatibility and makes it even easier for organizations to migrate existing SQL Server apps to Azure SQL Database.

General availability of Threat Detection and preview of Graph support.

– General availability of Visual Studio 2017 for Mac, which enables developers to work seamlessly across Windows and Mac environments with full support for mobile, web and cloud workloads, and previews of Docker tools, Azure Functions and Xamarin.IoT support.

– Support for containers of nearly every type, on every platform, with the general availability of Windows Server Containers support in Azure Service Fabric, with Visual Studio tooling, and a preview of the ability to use Docker Compose support for Service Fabric to deploy containerized apps to Service Fabric — enabling developers to deliver mission-critical, scalable apps and services.

– DocuSign supports a rapidly growing customer base of 300,000 companies and more than 200 million users across 188 countries. The company today announced Microsoft Azure is its preferred cloud for global expansion, starting in Canada. DocuSign uses Azure SQL Database to process enormous volumes of digital transactions.
For more information on these announcements, visit: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-innovations-at-microsoft-build-2017-helping-developers-achieve-more/

New developer on-ramps to the world’s largest productivity platform

With more than 100 million monthly commercial active users, Office 365 is where the world works. Today Microsoft announced plans to better connect developers with Office 365 customers around the globe:

– Any developer can now publish for Microsoft Teams, the new chat-based workspace in Office 365. Coming soon, apps in Teams will be more discoverable for end users through a new app experience. Developers can also add new capabilities to Teams apps, including third-party notifications in the activity feed, Compose Extensions and Actionable Messages.

– Microsoft also made new Microsoft Graph APIs available to developers, including APIs from SharePoint and Planner. The Microsoft Graph gives developers access to Office 365 data and intelligence and helps connect the dots between people, conversations, projects, schedules, processes and content. These insights help developers build smarter apps, enabling smarter ways to work.

– Developers and ISVs who host their production SaaS applications on Microsoft Azure and sign up through the Azure website can now have their apps’ data and workflow automatically extended to authorized Office 365 customers through standard connectors for PowerApps and Microsoft Flow. To help ISVs expand their business even further, Microsoft is also providing additional incentives to its sales force when they jointly co-sell eligible SaaS apps and services to enterprise customers.

AI to augment the capabilities of every developer, organization, platform and person

Microsoft also highlighted its vision to amplify human ingenuity with intelligent technology, bringing AI to every developer through the unique combination of the Microsoft cloud and AI. New cognitive services, platform innovations in the Microsoft Bot Framework, advances in deep learning tools, continued infusion of AI into the company’s products and services, and intelligent insights offered through the Microsoft Graph unlock this opportunity for developers and new growth scenarios for businesses. New announcements included the following:

– The company added new services to the industry’s broadest offering of cognitive services and now 29 services for developers, with unique customization options. That enables developers to infuse off-the-shelf or custom intelligence capabilities such as vision, speech, language, knowledge and search into their app and bot experiences in any scenario. New services include Bing Custom Search, Custom Vision Service, Custom Decision Service and Video Indexer. A new PowerPoint add-in called Presentation Translator, which leverages Microsoft’s Translation APIs, was featured, allowing real-time translation to multiple languages during any presentation. The new Cognitive Services Labs were also launched, enabling developers to experiment with new services, such as a Gesture API, still in the early stages of development.

– Using the new adaptive cards supported by the Microsoft Bot Framework, developers can write cards once that look great across multiple apps and platforms. Using the Bot Framework, developers can also now publish to new channels including Bing, Cortana and Skype for Business, and implement Microsoft’s payment request API for fast and easy checkout in their bots.

– Azure Batch AI Training is a new Azure offering, available in private preview only, that will allow developers and data scientists to configure an environment with parameters and run their models against multiple CPUs, multiple GPUs and eventually field-programmable gate arrays.

– In addition to Harman Kardon’s Invoke intelligent speaker with Cortana, partnerships were also signed with HP on devices and Intel on reference platforms to deliver Cortana-enabled devices.

– The Cortana Skills Kit is now in public preview. Developers can build skills for Cortana by creating a bot and publishing it to the new Cortana channel of the Bot Framework. This is available across Windows 10, Android, iOS and the new Cortana-powered Harman Kardon Invoke speaker. The Cortana Skills kit is currently available in the U.S. only.

– A demonstration was provided on how multiple Microsoft products and services, including Dynamics 365, Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Cortana Skills, Microsoft Graph and Sentiment Analysis, will be integrated into Tact, the sales experience platform that turns any connected device into a AI-powered virtual sales assistant, later this year.
For more information on these announcements, visit: https://blogs.microsoft.com/?p=52541284

Digital Transformation stymied by lack of talent and organizational structure, finds Russell Reynolds Associates’ Survey

Por

Russell Reynolds Associates, a leading global executive search and leadership advisory firm, today announced the findings from its Digital Pulse: 2017 Outlook and Perspectives from the Market. The firm surveyed more than 1,500 senior executives at companies with a digital strategy to understand how digital is transforming talent and leadership needs across organizations. Now in its third year, the survey questions covered setting and executing digital strategy, organizational structure and barriers to success. The results of the study provide clients actionable insights so they can maximize the positive impact of d igital on their own organization.

unnamed (65)

The good news? Leadership, by and large, recognizes the need for digital transformation and is supportive of it. Ninety-one percent of respondents say their CEO makes a visible effort to support the company’s digital vision and initiatives. Additionally, 60% of respondents say they have the appropriate leadership setting the digital vision. The bad news? Only 47% feel the right team is in place to effectively execute the strategy. The survey finds that digital transformation often is impeded by talent and structural issues, not an absence of executive support or strategic leadership.

Other findings from the study include:

– Organizations across all industries are expecting continued digital disruption over the next 12 months, with financial services, healthcare and industrial companies poised for the most change.

– More than half (57%) of respondents say their organization has sufficient data to recognize the opportunities digital presents, yet only 44% feel the data are effectively leveraged.

– Half of respondents (50%) say that lack of digital expertise and skills is a significant barrier to digital success, followed closely by organizational inertia (49%) and functional silos (47%).

– Nearly half (45%) of respondents surveyed say their company uses a hybrid structure, with both a central digital team and dispersed digital responsibility across business units. Most respondents see these partnerships with other departments, such as marketing and IT, as a critical success factor in digital transformation.
“Leadership support, while crucial, is not enough on its own to drive digital transformation across an organization,” said Tuck Rickards, Co-leader of the global Digital Transformation Practice and member of the CEO/Board Services Practice. “What we’ve seen through the Digital Pulse survey over the years is an increasing need to focus on recruiting the right digital talent and deploying these experts across an organization’s structure. Only then do you see substantive change.”

“Many, if not most, companies have reached the conclusion that they must embrace digital. But after several years of investments in innovation centers, catalyst roles and front-end technologies, leaders are grappling with the challenges of how to successfully scale, embed and operationalize transformation,” explained Rhys Grossman, Co-leader of the global Digital Transformation Practice and member of the Consumer Practice.

Industry-specific findings from the Digital Pulse survey are available upon request. For more information, visit www.russellreynolds.com.

ABB and IBM Partner in Industrial Artificial Intelligence Solutions

Por

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ0OELI_r8M[/embedyt]

ABB and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a strategic collaboration that brings together ABB’s industry leading digital offering, ABB Ability?, with IBM Watson Internet of Things cognitive capabilities to unlock new value for customers in utilities, industry, transport and infrastructure.

Customers will benefit from ABB’s deep domain knowledge and extensive portfolio of digital solutions combined with IBM’s expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as different industry verticals. The first two joint industry solutions powered by ABB Ability and Watson will bring real-time cognitive insights to the factory floor and smart grids.

“This powerful combination marks truly the next level of industrial technology, moving beyond current connected systems that simply gather data, to industrial operations and machines that use data to sense, analyze, optimize and take actions that drive greater uptime, speed and yield for industrial customers,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “With an installed base of 70 million connected devices, 70,000 digital control systems and 6,000 enterprise software solutions, ABB is a trusted leader in the industrial space, and has a four decade long history of creating digital solutions for customers. IBM is a leader in artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. Together, IBM and ABB will create powerful solutions for customers to benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

New suite of breakthrough solutions

The new suite of breakthrough solutions developed by ABB and IBM will help companies address in a completely new way some of their biggest industrial challenges, such as improving quality control, reducing downtime and increasing speed and yield of industrial processes. These solutions will move beyond current connected systems that simply gather data, to cognitive industrial machines that use data to understand, sense, reason and take actions supporting industrial workers to help eliminate inefficient processes and redundant tasks.

“This important collaboration with ABB will take Watson even deeper into industrial applications — from manufacturing, to utilities, to transportation and more,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, president and CEO. “The data generated from industrial companies’ products, facilities and systems holds the promise of exponential advances in innovation, efficiency and safety. Only with Watson’s broad cognitive capabilities and our platform’s unique support for industries can this vast new resource be turned into value, with trust. We are eager to work in partnership with ABB on this new industrial era.”

Bringing real-time cognitive insights to the factory floor

For example, ABB and IBM will leverage Watson’s artificial intelligence to help find defects via real-time production images that are captured through an ABB system, and then analyzed using IBM Watson IoT for Manufacturing. Previously these inspections were done manually, which was often a slow and error-prone process. By bringing the power of Watson’s real time cognitive insights directly to the shop floor in combination with ABB’s industrial automation technology, companies will be better equipped to increase the volume flowing through their production lines while improving accuracy and consistency. As parts flow through the manufacturing process, the solution will alert the manufacturer to critical faults – not visible to the human eye – in the quality of assembly. This enables fast intervention from quality control experts. Easier identification of defects impacts all goods on the producti on line, and helps improve a company’s competitiveness while helping avoid costly recalls and reputational damage.

Bringing real-time cognitive insights to smart grids

In another example. ABB and IBM will apply Watson’s capabilities to predict supply patterns in electricity generation and demand from historical and weather data, to help utilities optimize the operation and maintenance of today’s smart grids, which are facing the increased complexity created by the new balance of conventional as well as renewable power sources. Forecasts of temperature, sunshine and wind speed will be used to predict consumption demand, which will help utilities determine optimal load management as well as real-time pricing.

unnamed (52)

MoneyGram Sendbot Unveiled at Facebook’s F8 Conference

Por

MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) introduces the MoneyGram Sendbot™, a smart and convenient platform that allows customers in the U.S. to send money transfers to any of its 350,000 locations around the globe through Facebook Messenger.

The new product was unveiled during Facebook’s prestigious F8 Developer Conference in San Jose. MoneyGram Sendbot is another example of MoneyGram’s investment in digital products and services that allow customers to transact any way they choose.

“We are proud to introduce the MoneyGram Sendbot to offer our customers more choice and convenience when they need to send money,” said Youri Bebic, MoneyGram’s head of product innovation. “Innovation is the core to our business and the MoneyGram Sendbot is a true case of a hybrid product created to bridge the digital and physical worlds in order to promote financial inclusion. The bot is another example of MoneyGram’s commitment to making money transfers easy for our customers.”

MoneyGram Sendbot is the first full feature money transfer chatbot offering convenient services such as a “track a transfer” tool and location finder. The bot is intuitive, interactive and easy to use. Customers can access it by searching for MoneyGram in the Messenger Discover tab.

MoneyGram continues to make significant investments into its digital offerings. In 2016, digital money transfer revenue grew 16 percent over the prior year. The company’s growing suite of digital products such as MoneyGram MobilePass, MoneyGram online, kiosks and money transfers to bank accounts and mobile wallets give customers more choices when they need to send and receive money to family and friends.

Verizon launches Exponent, a new technology and business venture designed to accelerate growth for global carriers

Por

Verizon announced today the global launch of Exponent, a new business and technology venture offering a portfolio of software and internet platforms designed to enable carriers around the world to quickly deploy and launch next-generation solutions. Exponent offers a foundation for carriers to fuel their digital transformation and compete with a range of new digital service providers by expanding their Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Media Services and Internet Services Delivery platforms.

Exponent combines Verizon’s cutting edge innovation with the operating know how of running one of the most advanced networks on the planet, to provide carriers with the right expertise and capabilities to accelerate growth, optimize performance, and monetize assets.

“As carriers around the world seek to compete with new, emerging technology players and OTT service providers, Exponent provides a cost-effective way for them to leverage Verizon’s investment and experience to diversify and help grow their revenue streams while relying on our tradition of innovation, reliability and excellence,” said Guru Pai, Chief Product Officer at Verizon.

Exponent platforms provide a broad range of business and technical benefits to carriers including:

– Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Platform – designed to assist carriers to unlock and monetize their wealth of data through the application of advanced machine learning techniques, deep analytics, and artificial intelligence. This new groundbreaking platform enables service providers to utilize their unique data sets in the marketplace and open new business opportunities.

– IoT Platform – from silicon to vertical solutions, this platform eliminates many of the limitations carriers have traditionally faced in managing the known complexities of its IoT growth business. By integrating a wide set of capabilities, from managing all end user devices and connections to a developer and customer marketplace, carriers are empowered to accelerate their IoT use cases.

– Media Services Platform – through cross-platform video and advanced media services across multiple networks with different end point devices, this platform reduces complexity to a simple integrated end-to-end next-generation video technology, handling everything from content ingestion to the final user screen. These solutions allow carriers to easily process at scale any type of video content from linear TV feeds to live streaming, OTT and emerging formats such as 360 video and VR, at a very convenient cost structure, while delivering a rich and customizable user experience.

– Internet Services Delivery Platform – with the goal of managing the ever-increasing infrastructure demand, this platform provides a powerful and flexible real-time flow-based solution that helps operators launch revenue-generating internet services, create value-based pricing and consumer engagement plans, and deliver dynamic network optimization capabilities through a simple management interface.

– Cloud Computing and Storage Platform – designed and built with carrier-sized deployments in mind, this container-based architecture allows carriers to rapidly deploy new services with a focus on scale and security, all while optimizing for both performance and cost.

Exponent’s platforms were designed to bring the flexibility and openness of internet technologies with the scale and consistency of carrier-grade solutions, leveraging open source software, comprehensive application programming interfaces (APIs) and micro-services architectures. The platforms interoperate seamlessly with existing carrier’s assets to maximize their utilization and give the customer the ability to scale as their business model evolves.

“Exponent’s approach to designing and deploying platforms with an open architecture model offers carriers an innovative and much-needed entry into new growth areas while mitigating the required investment and resources to get started. There is significant value for both sides in this model,” said Courtney Munroe, Group Vice President at IDC Research.

Created by a carrier, for carriers, Exponent has the potential to change the carrier landscape by helping to generate new revenue streams, reduce investment risk, and embrace tomorrow’s business opportunities.

“Our launch of Exponent demonstrates our commitment to providing best-in-class experiences and services to the carrier community. After many years of hard work, we are ready to launch and share our learnings, and we welcome all services providers globally to partner with us,” said Brian Higgins, Vice President and GM of Exponent.

Learn more about Exponent at the Verizon Operator Marketplace Speaker Series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 27, 2017. Over the four days of Mobile World Congress, Verizon will be hosting a dynamic Operator Marketplace and an engaging speaker series, showcasing products and solutions that are disrupting the technology industry. See firsthand and learn from top leaders about how innovation in platforms, content, and advertising will shape the future on a global scale.

For additional information about Exponent, visit www.exponentplatforms.com

CES 2017 Unveils Game-Changing Innovation to the World

Por

The future of technology was unveiled yesterday on opening day of CES® 2017, as more than 3,800 companies debuted products across a record 2.6 million net square feet of exhibit space. Opening day featured future-focused product announcements and keynotes from the leaders of Carnival Corp., Huawei and Nissan, in addition to a C Space keynote with chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia, Inc. Barry Diller and chairman and CEO of MediaLink Michael E. Kassan. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, CES 2017 runs through Sunday, January 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Keynotes

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA kicked off CES 2017 by exploring how technology transcends industries, transforms lives and fosters innovation. “Today’s innovators are working long hours and late nights to change lives for the better – and in some cases they’re saving lives,” he said. Shapiro announced that CTA will invest $1 million in five initiatives to help create better paying American jobs that maintain U.S. leadership in technology and innovation. “Our industry supports 15 million jobs and it’s time those of us in corporate America take an ethical responsibility and ownership in our national future.” Shapiro also announced CTA’s “Let’s Go Humans” campaign, celebrating innovators and creators who are developing technologies that are improving lives and making the world a better place to live.

Immediately following Shapiro, Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, took the opening keynote stage to unveil the Ocean Medallion, a first-of-its-kind wearable that acts as a personal digital concierge for cruise guests. The Medallion enables guests to access rooms, make on-board purchases, locate family and friends and so much more to maximize the cruise experience. “Each guest is different and the things that make them happy are different,” said Arnold. “Our mission is to personalize and simplify the vacation experience for everyone.”

During the C Space keynote, IAC and Expedia’s Barry Diller discussed changes in the media landscape and how the advertising industry is being challenged today by fake news. This interview-style session was moderated by MediaLinks’ Michael E. Kassan and addressed the potential negative consequences of the public’s newly-found freedom to publish content. “Before, you needed a distributor,” said Diller, “Now you push a button and publish to the world; while that’s freeing, it has lots of nasty consequences.”

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group delivered a keynote address on Thursday afternoon. He said the company has invested $38 billion in R&D in the last 10 years and announced a new smartphone with a dual-camera – a second generation Leica Dual camera, featuring dual sensors and 2X hybrid zoom. Yu showcased an ultra-long lasting battery with the Huawei SuperCharge, which charges four times faster and lasts 50 percent longer than other smartphone batteries. He also introduced the Mate 9, the world’s first intelligent smartphone to integrate with Alexa, the intelligent voice service.

Wrapping up the day, Nissan Motor Corp. chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn shared the company’s vision for a zero-emissions, zero-fatality world. “The destructive triangle of autonomous drive technology, electric vehicles, connected cars and services means we will see more change in the next ten years than we did in the last 50,” said Ghosn. He then announced that the next-generation Nissan Leaf electric vehicle will come with the semi-autonomous ProPilot system, as well as the company’s plans to launch their Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM) system. Developed from NASA technology, SAM enables a “human in the loop” approach to autonomous driving, which monitors a vehicle’s path from a distance, providing peace of mind to drivers.

SuperSessions and Conferences

Opening day featured dynamic SuperSessions and conferences, including the Sports Business Innovation conference, C Space Storytellers panel series and the Innovation Policy conference.

The Stoked About 5G SuperSession, moderated by ReCode Senior Editor of Mobile Ina Fried, featured executives from 20th Century Fox Film, BMW Group, Ericsson and SK Telecom. The panel discussed the possibilities for innovation using the new 5G network – a network that reacts faster than the human brain.

CTA’s Gary Shapiro sat down with Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez to discuss consumer privacy, the Internet of Things, patent trolls and the sharing economy. Ramirez emphasized the need for Congressional action to ensure the functions of internet-enabled devices are transparent. “All of the innovation you see on the CES show floor depends on the use and gathering of data, and that’s only going to accelerate, especially in regard to artificial intelligence and machine learning,” said Ramirez.

David Kirkpatrick, founder and CEO of Techonomy, moderated The Challenges Facing an Artificially Intelligent World SuperSession. Speakers included Chris O’Connor, general manager, IBM Watson, Dr. Vivienne Ming, co-founder, Socos, Jeroen Tas, CEO, Connected Care & Health Informatics, Philips, and Paul Daugherty, chief technology & innovation officer, Accenture. The panel discussed the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), how it will grow to become all-inclusive, similar to IoT, and how AI will enhance human lives, help further develop our abilities and change our society.

CNET’s Next Big Thing SuperSession was moderated by CNET Editor-in-Chief Lindsey Turrentine and CNET’s Editor-at-Large Brian Cooley. The panel explored barriers to unlocking the smart home. Obstacles discussed included cost, complexity and security. When the group turned to discuss security, they were briefly joined on stage by actress Carly Chaikin, who plays the hacker Darlene on the USA television series “Mr. Robot.” Security of the smart home, the panelists agreed, is the starting point of any smart home device.

C Space Storyteller Sessions

Thursday’s C Space Storyteller sessions kicked off with Margo Georgiadis, president, Americas at Google, moderating a panel with leaders from Universal Pictures and AT&T. The executives took a deep dive into how each brand leverages mobile to grow stronger and drive business results. They also touched on how to win the war for attention with so much content competition, with the consensus being to hook and hold audiences with compelling content.

Next, executives from Hulu and Live Nation took the C Space stage to discuss how they are redefining the concert experience through a new frontier: Virtual Reality. Kevin Chernett, executive vice president, global partnerships and content distribution at Live Nation Entertainment and Noah Heller, vice president, emerging technology at Hulu addressed the new frontier of leveraging virtual entertainment to give fans unprecedented access into the worlds of top artists both on and off stage.

Mike Parker, president, iCrossing moderated an afternoon Storytellers panel with executives from Bridgestone, PepsiCo and Whirpool Corp. to explore customer behavior driven by technology and innovation. Marketers need to manage the flow of data and leverage the analytics while learning more about their audiences. Brands will be challenged to maintain consistency with their stories, given the new tools coming into the market.

Rounding out the Storyteller sessions, President of Verizon Digital Media Services Ralf Jacob talked with leading content creators about how OTT strategies and technologies have enabled them to engage audiences and further drive opportunities. The goal isn’t to get the most clicks, but to keep their audiences coming back, increasing page time and sharing information with the brand. Engaging new users presents a gamble because marketers are forced to use new strategies with little data.

Sports Business Innovation

David Levy, president of Turner, kicked off the Sports Business Innovation Conference Track on Thursday. Panelists included WNBA player Sue Bird, NBA analyst Grant Hill, NCAA President Dr. Mark Emmert, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The panel, moderated by Turner Sports Sportscaster Ernie Johnson, covered a number of topics related to technology’s effect on professional sports. Seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill put it best, “We are all connected. Not just in how you interact with fans, but how you manage your body.”

The three subsequent panels examined topics varying from an athlete’s life outside of sports, the challenges of, and strategies for, consumer engagement and the massive opportunity presented by the growing popularity of eSports. Participants included Chris Bosh of the NBA’s Miami Heat; Draymond Green of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Dexter Fowler’s of Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, as well as executives from Bleacher Report, Dell and Ford.

To round things out, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Roundtable Session was moderated by Julie Kearney of CTA with panelists FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Mike O’Rielly and Ajit Pai and FTC Commissioners Maureen Ohlhausen and Terrell McSweeny. FCC Commissioners kicked off the panel with broad agreement on the ongoing broadcast spectrum incentive auction, each commenting they are optimistic the incentive spectrum auction will succeed and make resources more efficient. The FTC Commissioners identified ongoing issues for data privacy and security for consumers with IoT, but stressed that any approach to regulating should be flexible enough to promote innovation.

Thursday also featured the Stuff Wearable Tech Awards, highlighting the 10 best wearables coming to market. The full list of award winners and honorees can be found at Stuff.tv.

CES 2017 runs through Sunday, January 8. For the latest breaking news and product announcements, visit CES.tech.

%d