Working From Home Makes You Happier and ‘Massively’ More Productive, According to Science

Working From Home Makes You Happier and 'Massively' More Productive, According to Science

Working from home has got a bad rap. Many people seem to think it's a way to avoid hard work by getting out from under management's watchful eyes. Indeed, few pundits seemed to object when Yahoo, IBM, and Aetna rolled back their work-from-home policies. Indeed, working from home seems like heresy if believe in the "collaborative, innovative workplace" idea, or...

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Why People are Going Crazy Over Bitcoin and Other Digital Currencies

Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are on a tear this year, surpassing the returns seen in stocks, bonds and most other investments. The price of bitcoin has tripled since the beginning of the year, surging above $3,000 for the first time Sunday before dropping by more than 10 percent the next day. Returns for ethereum — a lesser known but quickly growing cryptocurrency — have been even more dramatic: It’s gained nearly 5,000...

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Cisco Introduces New ‘Intent-Based’ Access Networking Products And Services

When you think “enterprise networking,” the company that undoubtedly springs to mind for most people is Cisco Systems. With the majority of the world’s internet traffic running via Cisco core networks, it’s truly a global force to be reckoned with—for that reason, I follow the company very closely and am always looking forward to hearing what new products it’s working on. The big news from the past year was the change in leadership,...

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IBM is letting Watson loose on Wall Street regulations

IBM is unleashing Watson, the tech company's artificial intelligence platform, on financial regulations. On Wednesday, the New York-based technology firm rolled out a suite of software solutions that will help financial institutions manage their regulatory responsibilities. "Essentially, we’re embedding our deep regulatory experience into Watson so that a broader group of professionals can benefit from this knowledge and help their organizations operate more effectively and efficiently," said Gene Ludwig, founder and chief executive at...

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Professional Freelancing within the Gig Economy

Discussing the drought of IT skills in today's economy can be an intriguing and alarming conversation. Even with the abundance of post-secondary tech-specialized education programs that are now being offered, along with  the market's awareness increasing for the value that is provided by full-time equivalent specialists (FTEs), the gap is still quite significant. In fact, according to Bloomberg reports, approximately 45% of today's small businesses are unable to find qualified applicants to fill their job vacancies within the technology...

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The mobile AR platform war

Mark Zuckerberg’s “We’re making the camera the first augmented reality platform” was the most important step so far towards mass market AR. Where Pokémon Go gave consumers their first taste of mobile AR, and Google Tango ushered in the race towards high end mobile AR phones, Facebook’s AR Platform now democratizes mobile AR regardless of hardware. Apple launching an AR enabled iPhone this year or next year could combine with Facebook to kick-start the mobile AR market at scale, and...

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Customer experience is not user experience (and why this distinction matters)

Customer experience is not user experience (and why this distinction matters) User experience (UX) is not customer experience (CX). CX spans everything from the perceptions customers build using a company's web store to customer service, product trials and more. How are the two interlinked and how can good UX improve overall CX? Defining user experience bizcommunity-article Customer experience is not user experience (and why this distinction matters) UX is the customer or user’s interaction with a product...

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IoT: Customer Experience Leading the Way

Internet of Things Customer ExperienceI certainly have a biased perspective, having spent the past 27 years of my career working as a contact center industry analyst, but I believe that the Internet of Things (IoT) will find much of its early success improving the customer experience. I had the opportunity to hear a joint presentation by Dimension Data and Bosch at the Genesys G-Force event in Miami, Fla., in October 2016, and one...

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6 Hot Internet of Things (IoT) Security Technologies

IoT Security TechnologiesInternet of Things (IoT) security breaches have been dominating the headlines lately. WikiLeaks’s trove of CIA documents revealed that internet-connected televisions can be used to secretly record conversations. Trump’s advisor Kellyanne Conway believes that microwave ovens can spy on you—maybe she was referring to microwave cameras which indeed can be used for surveillance. And don’t delude yourself that you are immune to IoT attacks, with 96% of security professionals responding...

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