In the Cloud

Tech security is important in business, but an often-overlooked sector is the small business sector. Cybersecurity for small businesses is a rapidly growing concern, with criminals targeting enterprises of every size. Companies' data, such as user records, financials, and identity documents, can be tempting for criminals looking to make easy money and use that info for other crimes.On this episode of In The Cloud, Host Hilary Kennedy talked with Chase Norlin, the CEO of Transmosis, a nationally recognized cybersecurity Workforce Developer and the creator of transmosisONE, military-grade cybersecurity protection for small businesses. Norlin is a serial technology entrepreneur that founded the Internet's first online video sharing platform and one of the first video search engines, photo sharing services, and video ad networks.Two in five small businesses were impacted by ransomware in 2020, and 41 percent of business owners had a cybersecurity mishap related to COVID-19. These attacks are happening everywhere, and they were accelerated during the pandemic."Cyber fraud is on the rise, regardless of all these new factors that come into this," Norlin said. "Obviously, the increase in remote work environments makes businesses of all shapes and sizes more vulnerable especially small businesses."While employees are working on unsecured networks at home and various coffee shops, it opens up the opportunity for more cybersecurity threats. Employees previously worked in offices on secured devices and networks, things that might not be available at home, at least not immediately.

Companies are finding new ways to go lean and efficient. One of the ways they're achieving this is through the use of no-code applications in enterprise settings.Exploring these trends and how these platforms work on this episode of In The Cloud, Voice of B2B Daniel Litwin talked with Sagi Eliyahu, Co-Founder & CEO, Tonkean. Tonkean develops enterprise-grade no-code OS for business operations efficiency, used by enterprise clients like Salesforce, Google, and major gig-work companies.“There's been a massive shift in the last few years and a somewhat bigger shift in the last year with COVID and everything,” Eliyahu said of the push toward no-code applications. “In the last decade, it was all about the Cloud, and still digital transformation is about moving to the Cloud.”The move to the Cloud, API and SaaS opened the door to how users leverage software in organizations, according to Eliyahu. No-code platforms focus on ease of integration, adaptability, and ease of use. Instead of requiring coding to build out these workflows, no-code utilizes a malleable GUI. For example, users can double-click into a service online and start using it the right way, which is how they are improving processes.“With that value came a lot of responsibility, as well, where now you have different parts of the business that can bring in new technology, but not necessarily going through IT,” Eliyahu said.Fast-forward to where we are now, and COVID forces companies to be more agile and adaptive as they think about their operations and processes. Companies need the tools to move fast without jeopardizing the importance of governance, best practices, and compliance.“We're actually seeing an increase in both IT and business sides adopting, or planning to adopt, no-code technologies,” Eliyahu said.

On this episode of In The Cloud, Host Hilary Kennedy talked with Ari Jacoby, the CEO and Co-Founder of Deduce, a leading provider of cyber-security solutions powered by real-time identity network data. They received an honorable mention from Fast Company's 2021 World-Changing Ideas Awards in AI and Data. They were also a Top Ten Finalist for the RSAC Innovation Sandbox Contest. They talked about the rise in cyberattacks, the gaps in tools companies have in their cybersecurity arsenal, and how to end data poverty.Cyberattackers sought to profit from the unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic: they disrupted COVID-19 efforts and critical supply chains – supply chain attacks grew 420 percent in just 12 months.“Between 2019 and 2020, we saw an increase of over 300 percent in account takeover fraud alone,” Jacoby said. “Certainly, COVID was a contributor.”Part of this was due to workers moving from the office to a home environment. Employees now were using their own devices and their own networks. Everybody was doing everything online, as well, from shopping, ordering groceries, gaming, and for the most part, were living our entire lives online. Unfortunately, the bad guys knew this, too, so they capitalized on it.Data poverty is another issue heightened during the pandemic. Those without access to data and the internet were forced to live out their lives in the real world and expose themselves to the deadly Coronavirus.“The idea behind data poverty is that there are just five major companies that control the majority of data required to make high-quality access decisions,” Jacoby said.

Critical infrastructure has been area slow to upgrade from legacy systems. Historically, they haven't been connected, but now the pressure of digital transformation is building. Unfortunately, with that comes the potential for more vulnerabilities, so what's the right approach to reduce risk and improve performance? On In the Cloud, host Daniel Litwin discussed the topic with Yair Poleg, CTO and Co-Founder of Ayyeka, and end-to-end hardware and software solutions for connecting asset and infrastructure networks to data systems.“The majority of energy, wastewater, and other environmental aspects are still not connected. Becoming connected could improve performance, and industrial information systems weren't designed with cybersecurity in mind,” Poleg said.“The industrial information world wasn't designed with cybersecurity in mind, but it doesn't have to be this way.” - Yair PolegHowever, the increased risk of cyber attacks, which are at least driving awareness, doesn't have to be a given. One key thing Poleg recommended is keeping things separated and isolated. “It's very hard, though, to change infrastructure networks. They serve millions of people, so you can't just go in and rework the network layout. It's a gradual process.”Regulations could be a path forward to initiate standardization from a national level down to the local level. Poleg noted that the biggest challenge is a gap between those that operate networks and security experts. “Engineers have a different background, and their main objective is to provide service, but there is a shift in organization with resources to make cybersecurity a bigger priority.”Another concern is that municipalities object to upgrading because they can't afford the time or expense to disrupt service. Poleg explained this is a misconception, “You don't have to drop service to migrate. You can start small with a deployment, and companies like ours help utilities do this. What's important is starting with a vision.”

Cloud security is a hot topic, as day after day another cybersecurity incident makes the headlines. So, what can enterprises do to ensure the best safeguards for their data and applications? Taking on this subject, In the Cloud host, Daniel Litwin spoke with Mike O'Malley, SVP, SenecaGlobal, an IT outsourcing and advisory firm.First, Litwin and O'Malley spoke about the causation of more attacks and labor shortages. “There is a labor shortage across the industry. For the cloud, there's a misconception that the provider—AWS, Azure, Google—protect your applications. They only protect the network,” O'Malley said.“There are eventually two types of companies: those that know they've been hacked and those not yet aware of it.” - Mike O'MalleyThat means that companies are responsible for the application layer, and that's where a shortage of professionals can lead to more vulnerabilities.Ultimately the onus of security is on several shoulders. “For end-users, it's following best practices—using authentication, not click on emails from unknown sources, keeping malware up to date,” O'Malley added.While the cloud offers so many benefits, it also has cons. “When you move things to the cloud, it increases the surface area for attacks. You have to be ready for this. That's where security professionals become urgently important.”O'Malley noted that shifting to the cloud is necessary for many companies, but it's hard to prevent an attack with such complex infrastructure. “With the SolarWinds hack, it took place in minutes, but they weren't aware for months. It comes down to two different companies—those that know they've been hacked and those not yet aware of it.”What O'Malley sees right now in the industry is something he described as the “cycle of worry.” He continued, “Security executives raise issues, which concerns others. They ask them to fix it; then they find further issues. It's more complex and causes more worry. We need security professionals to break that cycle.”

As companies race to achieve digital transformation, the structure to support innovation needs attention. To match pace with application development, companies must look to develop an agile infrastructure. But what does that mean? In the Cloud host Courtney Echerd spoke with guest Michael Norring, CEO and President of GCSIT, to answer the question. GCSIT is an engineering firm that partners with companies to foster agile infrastructures.First, Norring explained the term. “Agile infrastructure means being nimble so that it can support applications. Infrastructure was once static and slow-moving, now it needs to be more fluid, so it doesn't hold you back in digital transformation.”"If you're adopting new technologies, you don't want the infrastructure to hold you back on your way to digital transformation.” - Michael NorringOne key to achieving this is starting on the development side. “These interactions matter, so we know how to change infrastructure quickly. It's a holistic view of what an organization is trying to achieve, determining what agility they need to support innovation.” Norring said.Norring noted that many organizations have traditional data centers for internally facing systems but use cloud-based ones for customer-facing applications. “There needs to be connectivity between internal and customer-facing. When there's not, there can be failures. We help connect the dots to ensure they work seamlessly together, which includes the hybrid cloud.”In working with businesses, Norring noted that they strive for long-term relationships. “I get to have conversations about innovation and work with smart individuals with great ideas, helping to move their vision forward.”

On this episode of In the Cloud, Voice of B2B, Daniel Litwin talks about the state of cash management technologies, strategies, and investments across the globe and how financial institutions should weigh these solutions. The global cash flow solutions market is poised to ride a growth rate of 25.49 percent and is poised to reach a market valuation of $1.56 billion by 2026, according to a Market Research Future Report.Giving insights is Joseph Drambarean, CTO, Trovata, a real-time cash flow management solution providing oversight for quick forecasts, liquid cash assets on hand, and strategic financial decision-making. Currently partnered with banking institutions like J.P. Morgan, Citi, and Bank of America.Coming out of COVID and its emphasis on making important company-affecting decisions based on actionable insights and in the context of a global financial crunch, financial companies are weighing the data gained from their cash flow against other essential metrics.“Cash has always been king, that has never changed.” - Joseph DrambareanBut, as COVID hit, it changed the rules for how companies do business. They had to send their staff home, unwind their operation and reinvent them from the ground up. It introduced this new problem of distributing financial insights across a completely remote workforce in a secure way and in a way that can be reproduced week-over-week and month-over-month.“It exposed a lot of gaps in their data infrastructure,” Drambarean said, “whether it meant connectivity to the banks, whether it meant the different aspects of software they use in their lifecycle. Last year, it brought all of that to a painful attention, as cash was stressed.”CBIRC dropped new rules on cash management and wealth management companies, including banning products from investing in stocks & convertible bonds, wealth management products for cash represented a 7.34 trillion yuan — or $1.15 trillion — market as of the end of March, according to Chinese Banking Wealth Management Registration & Depository Center.

Leveraging augmented reality (AR) for in-person and digital events is becoming an essential technology tool for event organizers. After a year of everything virtual, what will AR's role in the future of immersive? In the Cloud host Daniel Litwin asked this big question and more of guest Nicholas Robbe, CEO of Hoverlay. Hoverlay is an AR publishing platform and camera browser solution.Robbe started with an AR explainer. “It's a medium that sits between traditional content and physical events. It can enhance in-person and remote events. AR brings content through the camera with an illusion of presence bringing people closer to it.”While AR was gaining in popularity, the last year, according to Robbe, “pushed the envelope on virtualizing a space.”However, Robbe noted that the visual effects aren't the core. “It's a way to deliver content, and AR is rooted in the content. The effects don't replace the storyline.”One great example of this that Robbe shared was the placement of holograms around physical art collections of the artists. “It's a new form of experience where people can learn from the artist what the art actually means.”Bringing AR to scale isn't easy and requires integrations and support. Robbe described what's driving this capability. “5G is enabling connectivity for very rich content that includes 3D models and video. The hardware is another need, and input from sensors and IoT that collect data.”Robbe's parting advice for those organizations that want to use AR was “don't think about AR.” He continued, “Think about the emotional state you want the public to get to and go from there to think about how to use AR to get to that end.”

Cyber-attacks have become quite common since March 2020. Having systems in place to prevent and defend against these attacks is crucial. So, what can large and small companies do to build a cybersecurity network that protects their valuable business assets?On this episode of In The Cloud, Host Hilary Kennedy talked with Bob Venero, CEO of Future Tech Enterprise Inc., a global IT solutions provider serving Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, defense, energy, hospital/health networks, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Kennedy and Venero chat about Bob's background in cybersecurity and the Cloud and what businesses can do to defend themselves against attacks.“The sophistication of these attacks is just amazing, and the more and more we rely on the public cloud solution, the more we're putting ourselves at risk of these attacks” -Bob VeneroSince 2018, cybercrime has caused a record amount of damage. This is down to numerous reasons, but one of the main reasons is that more folks are relying on the Cloud for their storage needs. Without the proper framework to guard against the attacks, this leaves users vulnerable.“The scale and the number of attacks and how bad those attacks are is increasing time over time,” Venero said. “The sophistication of these attacks is just amazing, and the more and more we rely on the public cloud solution, the more we're putting ourselves at risk of these attacks.”At one time, most businesses held their computing needs in-house. But, as this started to change to the Cloud, the dynamic shifted. “They put themselves in a position where they were at more risk,” Venero said regarding the risk of cyberattacks.Listen to the full episode to learn what Venero thinks is the solution to these attacks.

5G video streaming is becoming increasingly common. The service allows those to connect to the internet on a faster wavelength, and one area this might have some positive benefits is in healthcare, telehealth, and, specifically, emergency services.On this episode of In The Cloud, Host Hilary Kennedy talked with Dr. Arslan Usman, a telemedicine and wireless connectivity expert; he's currently leading a project to bring 5G video streaming capabilities to the emergency services in the UK. The duo digs into what having 5G capabilities in emergencies would mean for healthcare personnel and patients.5G brings in reliability and high data rates, according to Usman. With 4G, the reliability for health services wasn't at the level it needed to be, but 5G provides that reliability. "It provides up to 99.999 percent reliability, which is exceptionally high," Usman said. In addition to emergency services and telehealth, 5G can also provide positive police and fire services benefits. One of those would be body cams on police officers."If you're transferring data from an ambulance and you're a remotely connected doctor or hospital using a 5G network, and you're monitoring the vital signs of a patient: blood pressure and oxygen saturation," Usman said. "If there's a minor mistake, and there's not a reliable connection, the doctor gets the wrong data and makes the wrong clinical decisions."5G will also support URLLC (Ultra-reliable low-latency communication). Listen to learn more about how 5G will have an impact on healthcare and emergency services.

Business is not the same as 25 years ago. The old giants, such as carmakers and petroleum companies, have been pushed to the wayside for the Amazons and Facebooks of the world. With groundbreaking API, these large companies rely on other companies' success to succeed. In a word, they already have “open everything.”This is a concept that Brian Pagano, the Chief Catalyst at Axway, wants companies to get comfortable with this open concept. He talked with Host Hilary Kennedy on In The Cloud about an API-first world and “open everything.” Axway helps companies move forward faster and create brilliant digital experiences using our Amplify API Management Platform and proven MFT and B2B integration solutions.In business, we've been led to believe that open is bad, according to Pagano. That doesn't mean we're going to have security breaches. With everybody being brand-focused, it's a scary concept.“This concept can kinda seem startling and shocking,” he said. “We're not saying expose yourself to security risk.”If you look at the most valuable companies around today, they're not the same companies around 25 years ago. Once giants of industry, such as carmakers and petroleum companies. Top companies today are Amazon, Facebook, etc., and they are all platforms. Their success is tied to others' success. It's an open business or a consumable platform.“Users, employees, partners, customers, everyone is voting with the apps that are on their phones,” he said. He noted that older apps and APIs might not be compliant with outdated systems. It proves valuable for companies to “open everything.”

The 21st-century vehicle depends just as much on software than hardware. Software is constantly evolving, so how are automakers keeping up to meet the growing demand for connected and autonomous vehicles? Answering that question and more, In the Cloud host Hilary Kennedy welcomed Hemant Sikaria, CEO of Sibros. Sibros is an automated cloud solution that manages software for connected vehicles.“Connectivity is key to have autonomous and electric vehicles. Without a connectivity and management platform, you can't have the modern vehicle,” Sikaria said.After dealing with a frustrating process of recalls on vehicles that needed software updates, the idea of Sibros came to him. “It waas surprising to mee there wasn't a better solution, Sikaria noted.After all, 90 million cars are sold every year, so a productized platform makes sense. “There are both safety and security benefits for connected cars. Data collection from vehicles can help improve the safety of the vehicle,” Sikaria commented.However, some may feel anxious about connectivity on this level due to the chance of a hack. Hollywood has stoked these worries, but Sikaria explained it's far-fetched.“Even if someone is giving a command to a vehicle, it will still check the environment and be self-protecting. It will use its sensor and data to make the right decision.”The company works with many manufacturers, making it easy to integrate and at no cost. “We offer a product-based solution and usually pilot first. We continue to see quick adoption to our platform as manufacturers evolve into software companies.”

The 21st-century vehicle depends just as much on software than hardware. Software is constantly evolving, so how are automakers keeping up to meet the growing demand for connected and autonomous vehicles? Answering that question and more, In the Cloud host Hilary Kennedy welcomed Hemant Sikaria, CEO of Sibros. Sibros is an automated cloud solution that manages software for connected vehicles.“Connectivity is key to have autonomous and electric vehicles. Without a connectivity and management platform, you can't have the modern vehicle,” Sikaria said.After dealing with a frustrating process of recalls on vehicles that needed software updates, the idea of Sibros came to him. “It waas surprising to mee there wasn't a better solution, Sikaria noted.After all, 90 million cars are sold every year, so a productized platform makes sense. “There are both safety and security benefits for connected cars. Data collection from vehicles can help improve the safety of the vehicle,” Sikaria commented.However, some may feel anxious about connectivity on this level due to the chance of a hack. Hollywood has stoked these worries, but Sikaria explained it's far-fetched.“Even if someone is giving a command to a vehicle, it will still check the environment and be self-protecting. It will use its sensor and data to make the right decision.”The company works with many manufacturers, making it easy to integrate and at no cost. “We offer a product-based solution and usually pilot first. We continue to see quick adoption to our platform as manufacturers evolve into software companies.”

The promise of self-driving cars was supposed to be a reality; at least, that's what Jetson predicted. Alas, the technology isn't there yet. So, what's the hold-up? Offering insights on the topic, In the Cloud host, Hilary Kennedy spoke with Ahmad Malkawi, CEO of Global Telcom. Global Telecom is the only U.S. manufacturer of modules for IoT (Internet of Things) devices.Malkawi shared that autonomous transportation includes a variety of modes, including cars, semi-trucks, drones, and rovers. When it comes to having actual autonomous cars driving humans around, he advised that the shortcoming is the data. “The AI is there, the algorithms, and the processing power is almost there. What we're missing is the data.”While a car can be “smart” enough to navigate in some situations, the infrastructure doesn't support complete autonomy. “We have no sensors on the roads and highways. We have a way to go before we can push a button and go,” Malkawi said.Building a network of IoT devices will be critical for the future and safety since one gap in data could be the difference between an accident occurring and not. Malkawi does believe that autonomous drone delivery will occur before autonomous cars, especially in rural areas.Global Telecom is playing its role in the next generation of IoT devices. Every module they create has an embedded AI system. That's something lacking in the wireless networks currently. These systems once were fine as long as the signal was strong. Now, high performance and low latency matter. 5G has improved latency, but the infrastructure will need a major technological overhaul to become a highway of self-driving vehicles.

Compute and storage are so last decade. The future of the cloud and how organizations use it is AI as its engine. That's the sentiment of In the Cloud's guest, Muddu Sudhakar, CEO of Aisera. Aisera offers end-to-end enterprise service automation with conversational AI. Sudhakar sat down with host Hilary Kennedy to share his perspective.Sudhakar has said he'd never write a check for compute or storage. Rather, he believes the next wave is really about service delivery models and AI.“In the next five years, 70 percent of workloads for the enterprise will be in the cloud,” Sudhakar said. “That's your cost savings, that's where you'll see economies of scale, and that's where all the growth will happen.”Sudhakar encourages companies to embrace AI, not for short-term survival but the future. It's been a gamechanger for customer service. “Automating customer service is possible, and you want to do it with AI,” he added.While the shift to remote work accelerated the adoption of customer service automation, Sudhakar doesn't think it will change post-pandemic. He also talked about whether AI was a job killer. “It's an opportunity, not a risk. Automating simpler tasks empowers people to do more and deliver a better work-life balance.”Personalization is also a big trend in automated customer service, specifically with chatbots. Chatbots are learning from data and from that know what people like. “They can tailor to your needs and likes. They will only get better at understanding behavior and sentiment,” Sudhakar noted.Chatbots and digital assistants are changing the way people think about AI, realizing it's not some unknown, sentient technology. “It's not the Terminator. It can help people do higher-level things; we just need conditions around it.”

In the Cloud takes on blockchain and specifically how it helps facilitate international payment transfers. Host Daniel Litwin welcomed Edgar Fernandez, Co-Founder of EOS Costa Rica, to discuss the current and future environment of blockchain in Latin America. EOS Costa Rica develops blockchain infrastructure and software solutions for the real-world.Fernandez first explained that the biggest hurdles in using blockchain are there are “different rules in different places.” Each country has its own regulations, but it wouldn't make sense for each one to have its own public blockchain.Instead, Fernandez described the approach as regional. “The regional response for payment transfer is one that respects every jurisdiction but also doesn't slow down the process. The opportunity is regional coordination in Latin America.”Fernandez did note that regulators are becoming more aware. “They see the possibility of blockchain speed, efficiency, traceability, and tools available for analytics, forensics, and knowing your transaction.”The risk, he said, is regulating for today, and that it's not future-proof. What EOS Costa Rica is doing to avoid this risk is working to build a public permission blockchain backed by IDD, an arm of the World Bank.“Our alliance partners and we are building an infrastructure layer with compliance. The next layer is building an identity as a user, to permission who is using resources and for what purpose with recourse,” Fernandez added.Fernandez mentioned a pilot program using this framework that allows for data sharing between different custom and border patrols. With sensible infrastructures, economic activity between regions will be much easier. He also spoke about the company's recent project, using blockchain to incentivize blood donation during the pandemic. The program verified blood donors via a blockchain solution with tokens that were usable for discounts or free goods in the community.

In the Cloud takes on blockchain and specifically how it helps facilitate international payment transfers. Host Daniel Litwin welcomed Edgar Fernandez, Co-Founder of EOS Costa Rica, to discuss the current and future environment of blockchain in Latin America. EOS Costa Rica develops blockchain infrastructure and software solutions for the real-world.Fernandez first explained that the biggest hurdles in using blockchain are there are “different rules in different places.” Each country has its own regulations, but it wouldn't make sense for each one to have its own public blockchain. Instead, Fernandez described the approach as regional. “The regional response for payment transfer is one that respects every jurisdiction but also doesn't slow down the process. The opportunity is regional coordination in Latin America.”Fernandez did note that regulators are becoming more aware. “They see the possibility of blockchain speed, efficiency, traceability, and tools available for analytics, forensics, and knowing your transaction.”The risk, he said, is regulating for today, and that it's not future-proof. What EOS Costa Rica is doing to avoid this risk is working to build a public permission blockchain backed by IDD, an arm of the World Bank. “Our alliance partners and we are building an infrastructure layer with compliance. The next layer is building an identity as a user, to permission who is using resources and for what purpose with recourse,” Fernandez added. Fernandez mentioned a pilot program using this framework that allows for data sharing between different custom and border patrols. With sensible infrastructures, economic activity between regions will be much easier. He also spoke about the company's recent project, using blockchain to incentivize blood donation during the pandemic. The program verified blood donors via a blockchain solution with tokens that were usable for discounts or free goods in the community.

On the inaugural episode we will be tackling how IoT & AI solutions are supporting projects at scale, and what that means in terms of accessibility of said solutions, impact of solutions, and future improvements to the tech.2020 has been the year that technology has been fast-tracked to keep pace with the changing demands of society and the economy. The marked acceleration has been heard and felt throughout the AI and IOT industry as companies turn to automation to operate with more efficiency, safety, and at cost savings. “In the Cloud,' welcomes guests Carl Hillier, Senior Research Direction at Deep Analysis, and Allen Proithis, CEO of Capstone Partners, to discuss how AI and IOT has delivered, for both big Fortune 500 companies and small to mid tier companies.