Podcasts about european it

[PHH ep142 w Helena Chan & John Tsai]  As a top 1% national real estate agent, Helena has a stellar reputation for her polished sales skills and assertive negotiation style. With extensive market knowledge and a talent for analyzing housing and financial trends, Helena has consistently excelled. Over seven years, she has sold over $450 million in volume, earning her the title of #1 agent at John L Scott in and a top 10 ranking among individual agents in the greater Seattle region. Ranked #7 out of 28,000 agents in Washington State in 2023, she's also the #1 Asian agent by sales volume. Having lived and worked in London for over a decade, Helena is a bilingual world citizen, fluent in English and Mandarin. Her extensive service expertise comes from her roles as a senior director at HSBC and a leading European IT services company. Now residing in Medina, Washington, with her husband and two children, Helena began her realtor journey in 2016, quickly becoming a rising star in the Puget Sound area. Helena serves both local and international clients, understanding multicultural needs and respecting diversity. Her success is built on positive client referrals and an outstanding customer satisfaction rate, leading to record-high client retention. Building long-lasting relationships with clients is her key to helping them find their dream homes and achieve financial success. Known for her integrity, problem-solving abilities, and charisma, Helena thrives in the competitive Eastside and Seattle real estate markets. With her specialized team in buying and selling coordination, transaction operations, social media marketing, and exceptional customer service, Helena guarantees an extraordinary real estate experience. Contact Team Helena today to learn more about how they can help you achieve your real estate goals.   ---------- If you haven't already, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel :)  ---------- What is the POWER HALF HOUR?  The Power Half Hour is a concise 30 minute interview with a top performer/influencer; usually in real estate. The guest speaker will share with us what motivates them, how they achieved high level success and their top business tips. You can join in on these live Wednesday Power Half Hour interviews via Zoom or Facebook Live.  Connect with John Tsai for those links.  ---------- STAY CONNECTED with John Tsai, eXp Realty Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/tsairealestate/ Facebook  johntsai.realestate   Podcast https://johntsai.podbean.com LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-tsai-78b96512 Website https://www.thejohntsaigroup.com Email john( a t  )thejohntsaigroup.com ---------- CHECK OUT my new book that launched on Amazon.com and .ca on July 12, 2021. Search: How To Be A Beast by John Tsai.

In this episode of Changing Channels, host Larry Walsh speaks with Alessandro (Alex) Cattani, CEO of Esprinet Group, about the unique dynamics of working within the IT channel and distribution landscape across Europe. Unlike the United States, the European market is complex, shaped by distinct local economies, languages, and regulations across different countries. Cattani shares insights into how these regional distinctions require a highly localized approach, making distribution essential for navigating each country's specific business climate. The conversation explores the evolving state of distribution in Europe, highlighting the digital transformation reshaping distribution and the ongoing consolidation trend. As Cattani notes, while American distributors and global firms expand their footprint, smaller, regionally-focused distributors still play a critical role in servicing localized needs. This episode is an essential listen for anyone looking to understand the nuances of the European IT channel and how distribution strategies differ significantly from the American model. Tune in for expert insights on adapting to Europe's fragmented market and the critical role that nimble, localized distribution partners play in supporting vendors' success. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes of Changing Channels. Follow us, Like us, and Subscribe! • Channelnomics: https://channelnomics.com/ • LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2NC6Vli • X (formerly Twitter):   / channelnomics   About Larry Walsh: • LinkedIn:   / lmwalsh2112   • X (formerly Twitter):   / lmwalsh_cn   • Bio: https://channelnomics.com/team/larry-... About Alessandro Cattani • LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/acattani/ Changing Channels is a production of Channelnomics, a brand of 2112 Enterprises LLC Follow @Channelnomics to stay current on the latest #research, #bestpractices, and #resources. At @Channelnomics — the voice of thought leadership — we define #channel trends, chart new #GTM strategies, and #partner with industry leaders to champion #diversity in the channel.  © 2112 Enterprises LLC

The episode begins by discussing the revised U.S. job growth data, revealing a loss of 818,000 jobs as remote work declines but stabilizes above pre-pandemic levels. Despite the challenges highlighted by the data, the Biden administration remains focused on ongoing job recovery efforts.The episode delves into the evolving landscape of remote work, with a decline in job listings offering remote or hybrid work compared to the hiring frenzy peak in 2022. The shift towards remote work stabilization at a new normal is evident, with remote workers showing higher satisfaction and engagement levels compared to those required to return to the office. Tech companies are adjusting their return-to-office policies, with a majority now offering flexible working arrangements and adopting hybrid work models.The discussion then shifts to the significant impact of AI on the technology job market, with predictions that over 92% of technology jobs will be transformed by AI. The need for AI-related skills such as AI ethics and machine learning is emphasized, highlighting the importance of ongoing training and upskilling in the workforce. European IT professionals express uncertainty about detecting AI misinformation, underscoring the challenges and opportunities presented by AI adoption.The episode concludes by addressing the complexities of supply chain management, particularly in the context of the pandemic-induced bullwhip effect causing inventory swings. Companies are still adjusting to new demand levels, with challenges in maintaining supply chain equilibrium. The importance of understanding the supply chain dynamics, both in business operations and IT infrastructure, is highlighted as a critical factor for organizational success in navigating economic uncertainties and technological advancements. Three things to know today00:00 Revised U.S. Job Growth Data Shows Loss of 818,000 Jobs, as Remote Work Declines but Stabilizes Above Pre-Pandemic Levels05:21 Small Businesses Optimistic About 2024 Despite Slower MSP Revenue Growth, Eyeing AI Investments07:40 Post-Pandemic Supply Chain Woes: Bullwhip Effect Drives Inventory Swings, Companies Seek Stability  Supported by: https://timezest.com/mspradio/https://www.huntress.com/mspradio/    All our Sponsors: https://businessof.tech/sponsors/ Do you want the show on your podcast app or the written versions of the stories? Subscribe to the Business of Tech: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/Looking for a link from the stories? The entire script of the show, with links to articles, are posted in each story on https://www.businessof.tech/ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mspradio/ Want our stuff? Cool Merch? Wear “Why Do We Care?” - Visit https://mspradio.myspreadshop.com Follow us on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28908079/YouTube: https://youtube.com/mspradio/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mspradionews/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspradio/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessoftechBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/businessoftech.bsky.social

Huub J.M. Rutten is the co-founder and Vice President of Research at Sopheon. He has over 20 years of experience in linguistics, communication, and innovation management. He spent 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills at universities in the Netherlands before moving into strategy development consulting and business process reengineering in various industries. Rutten is also an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), where he teaches European IT politics and strategies. His current focus is on modernizing innovation management methodologies and software, working closely with manufacturing and chemical companies. He is passionate about sustainability and digitization and the ways they intersect.   Today, Huub joins me to discuss data quality, why it's vital to the success of an organization, and why so many organizations fail to make it a priority. He shows us why data quality isn't just an IT issue but a leadership issue that requires a shift in company culture. He emphasizes the importance of data quality during a crisis and explains how good data quality can help leaders make quick decisions to keep the company operational and financially stable. He highlights the commonly held belief that data quality is a burden and stresses how essential it is to the smooth functioning of the company. Huub also underscores the need for an internal governance process and elaborates on the role of the CEO in decision-making.   “As long as companies see innovation management and innovation management systems as something that is marginal and not critical to their survival, the quality will not be top.” - Huub Rutten   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     Why data quality isn't just an IT issue ●     Why companies often overlook data quality ●     Why data quality is more important than ever ●     How data can help you make quick decisions ●     The key aspect of data quality ●     How a lack of data can hurt you in a crisis ●     Why companies choose to focus on product innovation instead of plant utilization ●     Why you need both project and product portfolios to make the best decisions ●     Why data on product complexity, cost, and availability is necessary for decision-making ●     How an innovation council can help during a crisis   Connect with Huub Rutten:   ●     Huub Rutten Website (https://www.huubrutten.com/) ●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/huub-rutten-9958136/?originalSubdomain=nl)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.   For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .

Huub J.M. Rutten is the VP of Research and co-founder of Sopheon. Throughout his 20 years of experience in linguistics, communication, and innovation management, he has helped manufacturing, insurance, banking, aerospace, chemical, and healthcare businesses modernize their innovation management methodologies and software. Before joining Sopheon, Huub spent 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills at various Institutions of higher education and universities in the Netherlands. In addition to his work at Sopheon, he currently serves as an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), where he teaches European IT politics and strategies.   Today, Huub is back on the podcast to discuss portfolios and how companies can operate in an uncertain business climate and still see success. Huub shares how he was inspired by a quote from the leader of the German Chemical Association about sprint portfolios and marathon portfolios. He offers his thoughts on how leaders can balance the needs of the company in both the short term and the long term. We deliberate on how global events like war affect the supply chain and recommend steps businesses can take to be prepared for those dramatic moments. Huub also explains how data can help you and your team speak the same language.   “The infrastructure that you need as a company should be based on being prepared for the dramatic moment.” - Huub Rutten   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     How to create a balanced portfolio even in difficult financial times ●     How to plan for both short-term and long-term success ●     Why it's necessary to have both a sprint and marathon portfolio ●     Possible disruptions in the chemical industry ●     The factors that affect supply chain issues ●     The importance of good governance ●     How data organization helps with long-term success   Resources Mentioned:   ●     Ansoff Matrixes (https://www.sopheon.com/products/acclaimideas/insights/innovation-management)   Connect with Huub Rutten:   ●     Huub Rutten Website (https://www.huubrutten.com/) ●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/huub-rutten-9958136/?originalSubdomain=nl)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.   For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .

Huub J.M. Rutten is the VP of Research and co-founder of Sopheon. Throughout his 20 years of experience in linguistics, communication, and innovation management, he has helped manufacturing, insurance, banking, aerospace, chemical, and healthcare businesses modernize their innovation management methodologies and software. Before joining Sopheon, Huub spent 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills at various Institutions of higher education and universities in the Netherlands. In addition to his work at Sopheon, he currently serves as an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), where he teaches European IT politics and strategies.   Today, Huub is back on the podcast to discuss portfolios and how companies can operate in an uncertain business climate and still see success. Huub shares how he was inspired by a quote from the leader of the German Chemical Association about sprint portfolios and marathon portfolios. He offers his thoughts on how leaders can balance the needs of the company in both the short term and the long term. We deliberate on how global events like war affect the supply chain and recommend steps businesses can take to be prepared for those dramatic moments. Huub also explains how data can help you and your team speak the same language.   “The infrastructure that you need as a company should be based on being prepared for the dramatic moment.” - Huub Rutten   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     How to create a balanced portfolio even in difficult financial times ●     How to plan for both short-term and long-term success ●     Why it's necessary to have both a sprint and marathon portfolio ●     Possible disruptions in the chemical industry ●     The factors that affect supply chain issues ●     The importance of good governance ●     How data organization helps with long-term success   Resources Mentioned:   ●     Ansoff Matrixes (https://www.sopheon.com/products/acclaimideas/insights/innovation-management)   Connect with Huub Rutten:   ●     Huub Rutten Website (https://www.huubrutten.com/) ●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/huub-rutten-9958136/?originalSubdomain=nl)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.   For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .

Jon Freeman's diverse background includes studying psychology, philosophy and human sciences, becoming European IT director for a multinational company, and a business consultancy career. In parallel he has spent 40 years in personal development and as an intuition skills trainer. He is well known as a leading practitioner, theoretician and master trainer in Spiral Dynamics and is author of the ground-breaking books The Science of Possibility and Reinventing Capitalism. Previously a founder director of the UK chapter of Conscious Capitalism, he is a director of the leading-edge consultancy Future Considerations, a spiritual intelligence coach and an organizational development consultant. He is Chair of Trustees for a charity, officially rated “outstanding” in care and education of young people with special needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Huub J.M. Rutten is the VP of Research and co-founder of Sopheon. Throughout his 20 years of experience in linguistics, communication, and innovation management, he has helped manufacturing, insurance, banking, aerospace, chemical, and healthcare businesses modernize their innovation management methodologies and software. Before joining Sopheon, Huub spent 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills at various Institutions of higher education and universities in the Netherlands. In addition to his work at Sopheon, he currently serves as an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), where he teaches European IT politics and strategies.  Today, Huub is back on the podcast to discuss portfolios and how companies can operate in an uncertain business climate and still see success. Huub shares how he was inspired by a quote from the leader of the German Chemical Association about sprint portfolios and marathon portfolios. He offers his thoughts on how leaders can balance the needs of the company in both the short term and the long term. We deliberate on how global events like war affect the supply chain and recommend steps businesses can take to be prepared for those dramatic moments. Huub also explains how data can help you and your team speak the same language.  “The infrastructure that you need as a company should be based on being prepared for the dramatic moment.” - Huub Rutten This week on Innovation Talks: ●     How to create a balanced portfolio even in difficult financial times ●     How to plan for both short-term and long-term success ●     Why it's necessary to have both a sprint and marathon portfolio ●     Possible disruptions in the chemical industry●     The factors that affect supply chain issues ●     The importance of good governance ●     How data organization helps with long-term success Resources Mentioned: ●     Ansoff Matrixes Connect with Huub Rutten: ●     Huub Rutten Website●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you. For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Huub J.M. Rutten is the co-founder and Vice President of Research at Sopheon. He has over 20 years of experience in linguistics, communication, and innovation management. He spent 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills at universities in the Netherlands before moving into strategy development consulting and business process reengineering in various industries. Rutten is also an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), where he teaches European IT politics and strategies. His current focus is on modernizing innovation management methodologies and software, working closely with manufacturing and chemical companies. He is passionate about sustainability and digitization and the ways they intersect. Today, Huub joins me to discuss data quality, why it's vital to the success of an organization, and why so many organizations fail to make it a priority. He shows us why data quality isn't just an IT issue but a leadership issue that requires a shift in company culture. He emphasizes the importance of data quality during a crisis and explains how good data quality can help leaders make quick decisions to keep the company operational and financially stable. He highlights the commonly held belief that data quality is a burden and stresses how essential it is to the smooth functioning of the company. Huub also underscores the need for an internal governance process and elaborates on the role of the CEO in decision-making. “As long as companies see innovation management and innovation management systems as something that is marginal and not critical to their survival, the quality will not be top.” - Huub Rutten This week on Innovation Talks: ●     Why data quality isn't just an IT issue●     Why companies often overlook data quality●     Why data quality is more important than ever●     How data can help you make quick decisions●     The key aspect of data quality●     How a lack of data can hurt you in a crisis●     Why companies choose to focus on product innovation instead of plant utilization●     Why you need both project and product portfolios to make the best decisions●     Why data on product complexity, cost, and availability is necessary for decision-making●     How an innovation council can help during a crisis Connect with Huub Rutten: ●     Huub Rutten Website●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you. For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

This podcast interview focuses on product innovation that gives B2C brands around the world the power to maximize eCommerce revenue the lean way. My guest is Greg Blazewicz, CEO of SALESmanago. Leave a comment or a question for Greg or Ton. Greg has over 20 years of experience in digital marketing. He holds two MA degrees: one in British Literature and Linguistics second in Business Management. His career started in marketing agencies in New York and London. For 6 years, held the position of Marketing Director at Comarch – one of the largest European IT solutions providers. In 2006, he was nominated as CEO of Interia, one of the largest horizontal internet portals in Europe listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, employing over 250 people. Greg is the author of the widely popular book “Marketing Automation Revolution”. He is also a lecturer at Universities, helping other technology startups. In 2008, he started as an entrepreneur creating software for marketing teams which led to founding SALESmanago Marketing Automation in 2011. Their mission: To enable every eCommerce team to be lean yet pragmatic and powerful and become the CEO's trusted revenue partner. This inspired me, and hence I invited Greg to my podcast. We explore how Greg took his business to €22 million ARR in a completely bootstrapped way. He shares his big lessons learned to build a business with staying power, how to find your own way of doing it, and why you shouldn't blindly follow the advice and rules of people outside your company.  Here's a quote from him: The early kind of growth was really about having complete freedom to experiment. And I think a team that is actually really open for change for experimentation for failures is not an obvious thing. People that were committing their lives. When you see a startup, you would have two, three, or at max five founders who work like crazy. I'd say, today we are almost 400 people in the business, and 30% of them work like founders. During this interview, you will learn four things: Why the essence of your SaaS product is not its features but the transformation it lets your users make How going into countries no one considers can build you an interesting competitive position How to create an organization where +30% of your employees showcase the determination of a founder How to arrive at a position where you can start funding from a position of strength (not desperation) For more information about the guest from this week: Greg Blazewicz Website SALESmanago Leave a comment or a question for Greg or Ton. Subscribe to the Daily Value Inspiration Get my free, 2 min daily reflection on shaping a B2B SaaS business no one can ignore. Subscribe here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At this episode's release, Coronavirus-related shutdowns and stay-at-home orders are still in full effect all over the world. Even with some places opening up slowly, the impact of Covid-19 on business and finance will be wide reaching. This impact will differ slightly based on location, and this episode is all about Europe. Our guest is Vladimir Atanassov, the Sales and Alliances Manager for Scalefocus. Scalefocus is a European IT solutions delivery center with expertise in telco, banking, finance, insurance, healthcare, logistics government, and education. Vladi has 18 years of experience in the IT industry including Financial Services, Banks, Microfinance, OEM, Distribution and Consumer channels so he’s truly plugged into these industries in Europe. Listen in as he breaks the post-Covid-19 state of finance, banking, and tech in Europe down. Find show notes and more at: https://www.soarpay.com/podcast/

In this episode of IDC TechTalk, Philip Carter and Thomas Meyer sit down with Miles Dawson to share some key highlights from IDC's European FutureScape 2020 Predictions. Discover the major tech and industry trends and what we think will shape the market going forward. Watch the full Webinar here - www.idc.com/eu/predictions The key drivers for the European IT industry are presented in full in the following report: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=EUR144691319

In this episode of IT Leadership Insights, Michał Grela speaks to Tom Quigley about international associations which can be helpful in accessing European IT talent. Tom talks about what organisations are available to IT leaders and explains the role these organisations play in connecting buyers with local vendors. Tom provides more detail of how the Global Sourcing Association and the Emerging Europe Alliance can help clients, and shares some success stories of how these organisations facilitated access to local IT market.

Quentyn Taylor from canon joined us to chat about Reducing the digital skills gap in Africa; Stanfford Masie also joins us to discuss how artificial intelligence can increase job creation.Plugging the gap – how businesses can resolve Europe's digital skills shortage Digital transformation is revolutionizing the European workplace, with its ability to streamline processes, reduce expenditure and enhance the service offering. Rapidly advancing digital technologies are already being used in hundreds of sectors, including farming, healthcare, transport, education, retail, home automation and logistics. The demand for information and communications technology specialists is growing fast – so much so that according to the European Commission, 9 out of 10 jobs in the future will require digital skills.At the same time though, 169 million Europeans between 16 and 74 years – 44% – do not have basic digital skills. This means that the benefits that digitization can drive are quite literally under threat as Europe is failing to produce enough IT graduates. What's worse is that as the pace of technological development snowballs, this gulf is widening. The prospect of 500,000 unfilled jobs in the European IT sector by 2020 is very real and looming. Businesses cannot expect governments to tackle this crisis on their own. Firstly, disruptive and revolutionary innovations will always affect private companies before they affect the state – because businesses tend to try out new technologies before governments do. As a result, nobody understands the implications of and reasons for the digital skills gap better than the businesses that are directly suffering the consequences.Secondly, with a capable and trained workforce, businesses stand to benefit enormously from digitization. Any organization, large or small, can contribute to tackling the growing digital skills gap, either by addressing it within their own function or by providing skills training more widely.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Quentyn Taylor chats to us about how to reduce the current digital skills' gap in Africa. Plugging the gap – how businesses can resolve Europe's digital skills shortage Digital transformation is revolutionizing the European workplace, with its ability to streamline processes, reduce expenditure and enhance the service offering. Rapidly advancing digital technologies are already being used in hundreds of sectors, including farming, healthcare, transport, education, retail, home automation and logistics. The demand for information and communications technology specialists is growing fast – so much so that according to the European Commission, 9 out of 10 jobs in the future will require digital skills. At the same time though, 169 million Europeans between 16 and 74 years – 44% – do not have basic digital skills. This means that the benefits that digitization can drive are quite literally under threat as Europe is failing to produce enough IT graduates. What's worse is that as the pace of technological development snowballs, this gulf is widening. The prospect of 500,000 unfilled jobs in the European IT sector by 2020 is very real and looming. Businesses cannot expect governments to tackle this crisis on their own. Firstly, disruptive and revolutionary innovations will always affect private companies before they affect the state – because businesses tend to try out new technologies before governments do. As a result, nobody understands the implications of and reasons for the digital skills gap better than the businesses that are directly suffering the consequences. Secondly, with a capable and trained workforce, businesses stand to benefit enormously from digitization. Any organization, large or small, can contribute to tackling the growing digital skills gap, either by addressing it within their own function or by providing skills training more widely. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/africabusinessnews/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/africabusinessnews/support

Quentyn Taylor chats to us about how to reduce the current digital skills' gap in Africa. Plugging the gap – how businesses can resolve Europe’s digital skills shortage Digital transformation is revolutionizing the European workplace, with its ability to streamline processes, reduce expenditure and enhance the service offering. Rapidly advancing digital technologies are already being used in hundreds of sectors, including farming, healthcare, transport, education, retail, home automation and logistics. The demand for information and communications technology specialists is growing fast – so much so that according to the European Commission, 9 out of 10 jobs in the future will require digital skills. At the same time though, 169 million Europeans between 16 and 74 years – 44% – do not have basic digital skills. This means that the benefits that digitization can drive are quite literally under threat as Europe is failing to produce enough IT graduates. What’s worse is that as the pace of technological development snowballs, this gulf is widening. The prospect of 500,000 unfilled jobs in the European IT sector by 2020 is very real and looming. Businesses cannot expect governments to tackle this crisis on their own. Firstly, disruptive and revolutionary innovations will always affect private companies before they affect the state – because businesses tend to try out new technologies before governments do. As a result, nobody understands the implications of and reasons for the digital skills gap better than the businesses that are directly suffering the consequences. Secondly, with a capable and trained workforce, businesses stand to benefit enormously from digitization. Any organization, large or small, can contribute to tackling the growing digital skills gap, either by addressing it within their own function or by providing skills training more widely. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/africanperspective/support

[intro music]   Host — Dan Keller Hello, and welcome to Episode Ninety-three of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, the podcast of the MS Discovery Forum. I’m Dan Keller.   Today's interview features Dr. Lilyana Amezcua, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Part of her work focuses on defining racial disparities in MS, particularly among the Hispanic community. When we met, she said the prevalence of MS among Hispanics in Latin America has been increasing over the past 20 years, and their clinical characteristics are different from those of whites. As Hispanic Americans constitute one of the largest minorities in the U.S. population, she looked into their clinical picture, as well.   Interviewee – Lilyana Amezcua And so we initially did a first observation in 2011 noting when we examined close to 200 MS patients of Hispanic background self-identified that they were at twice the risk of presenting with optic neuritis and spinal cord problems compared to whites. There is some literature indicating throughout Latin America that these observations could be related to an Asian background. And so when we think about a Hispanic, we think about an umbrella that is related to an intermixing of European, African, and Asian derived background or Native American. So that diversity along with the cultural diversity could have some implications in the way that MS behaves and including risk. And that is one of the theories going around that that's why they don't get MS that much because of an Asian background. However, again, like I mentioned, in the last 20 years more cases have been reported.   Interviewer – Dan Keller Haven't Asians been reported to have this opticospinal sort of MS? So would that feed into this optic neuritis finding with the Hispanics?   Dr. Amezcua That is correct, and actually a second study of ours that we did several years ago was to actually specifically look for that definition of opticospinal MS. And so what we found within 200 or so patients was that indeed when we applied that definition, very few met that criteria. But irrespective of that, and we made sure that every case was negative for aquaporin 4, which is an antibody that you commonly find in more of the NMO spectrum disorders, that these individuals did not have this aquaporin 4, but yet close to 20% looked like they had spinal cord lesions that could be associated with opticospinal.   So that observation, of course, led us to think, well, okay, we should look further. If we do think that Asian ancestry could be important, would some of those clinical characteristics be associated with that type of global ancestry? And in fact today we have a poster related to taking the population that we just presented and looking at their genetic variants, which are mostly noting that the European genetic variants are also found in the Hispanic, but now going forward and looking at, well, what about global ancestry and their clinical characteristics? And in that poster, that abstract, we find that the higher proportion of Asian background you have, the higher risk of presenting with let's say, an optic neuritis. Now that doesn't necessarily say that this is just specific for optic neuritis, but it could going forward let us know about the mechanism behind optic neuritis, which is also found in MS, also found in NMO, and these optical spinal forms of MS.   MSDF How did you go about looking at the genetics of the population?   Dr. Amezcua Going about the genetics actually went back to the fact that when I would say, I'm studying Hispanics, people would ask, what is a Hispanic? And it is true…Hispanic…and so it is defined, you know, when you define it it's well, you can be from Cuba, you can be from Mexico, you can be from the US. But really what links us is…and I say linked us because I'm one of them…is the fact that there is a genetic background that is shared. And there's also cultural aspects that are shared. The cultural aspect is probably going to be important when we start examining the environmental aspects of MS.   MSDF What did you find?   Dr. Amezcua We just started basically with vitamin D. We looked at vitamin D levels in Hispanics with MS compared to whites with MS, and we found that significantly lower levels were among the Hispanics. This is not surprising. This is expected, actually, because of the skin coloration and sun exposure probably differences, but it's also widely known that Hispanics would have lower vitamin D levels. Of course, that doesn't answer, well, if they have lower vitamin D levels, if their risk of MS is less, it doesn't give us any explanation. But we know that their vitamin D levels are low.   Other aspects that we have looked at is just examining differences by migration. So we know in MS that migration, usually, depending on when you move from one place to the other and looking at the risk of MS in the underlying country, that will be modified depending on the age of migration. And so of course Hispanics in the US, again, along with their diversity, they're diverse in the fact that there are many that are US born and there are many that are immigrants. So we looked at differences by this, and we found tremendous amount of differences. One was that the US born appears to have an increased risk of developing MS at a younger age. And this again is just validating some of that information that we know about MS in the past, right, coming from a lower prevalent region and being born in a place of higher risk.   But the second was that, which we were surprised, was that the immigrant, despite being here, let's say 25 years, they developed MS after they had emigrated from their country, on average, 15 years later. So that's interesting. That's again calling for us to investigate, what environmental encounters might have they had when coming to this country? And the third was that respective of this, of, you know, disease duration, there was an independent risk factor for the immigrant to develop ambulatory disability at a shorter time. So that's telling us that, again, well, one is differential environmental exposures. But could the immigrant and the US-born also just be two different populations in terms of, again, what does Hispanic mean? That's where we are.   MSDF In that sense, could you correlate vitamin D levels or anything else with the amount of European background or indigenous Central and South American background they had?   Dr. Amezcua I think that's an excellent idea. You know, I think that could be done, to look at the US-born versus the immigrant. Now there is a large study conducted by Dr. Langer-Gould that's examining the risk of MS within Hispanics, whites, and African Americans in relationship to vitamin D and their HLA. So that will give us information on vitamin D. But absolutely we know that within Hispanics, we're going to have to separate groups because it's just such a big umbrella.   MSDF It's also a big umbrella in terms of cultural background. It's not uniform culture whether you're from the Caribbean or Mexico or born in the US.   Dr. Amezcua Absolutely. So culturally we're going to have to tease that out. And it's simply starts by learning about, well, what are those cultural differences? Which could be from simple perceptions and their access and utilization of care, which needs to be first addressed, or to go forward and then say, well, let's see if there's biological differences. First, I think, you know, between the US-born and the immigrant, the differences could be explained also by sociocultural factors. And those need to be teased out. And then from there look to see, well, is this really a health disparity? Or is it an inherent biological difference of the disease, which we also expect to find.   MSDF Do you think that the results you find in this population is going to be more generalizable or relatable and give you some clues into what's going on with anyone who is getting MS or not?   Dr. Amezcua Absolutely. That is the goal. While that diversity is complex, it's also a positive aspect because it will allow you to tease out a lot of those factors. And so within the admixture, of the genetic admixture, one can say, well, you have less European background. But what about that Asian component that is not found in your general European? It doesn't mean that it's not going to be found. Instead of looking for, I guess, a needle in a haystack, you will just be looking it in a block and maybe find something new or lead us to understanding of mechanisms, again, from the optic neuritis and the global ancestry. We are hoping that this is beyond just understanding one population, but understanding MS, which is the target population.   MSDF Have we missed anything important?   Dr. Amezcua There is definitely a lot to do, and I think it's an effort that cannot be done alone. And so combining it with different centers that have the same interests and population is what the goal is, is to create a network of centers that are interested in defining this population, to move faster.   MSDF Great. Thank you.   Dr. Amezcua Great. Thank you.   [transition music]   MSDF Thank you for listening to Episode Ninety-three of Multiple Sclerosis Discovery. This podcast was produced by the MS Discovery Forum, MSDF, the premier source of independent news and information on MS research. Msdiscovery.org is part of the nonprofit Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. Robert McBurney is our President and CEO, and Hollie Schmidt is Vice President of Scientific Operations.   Msdiscovery.org aims to focus attention on what is known and not yet known about the causes of MS and related conditions, their pathological mechanisms, and potential ways to intervene. By communicating this information in a way that builds bridges among different disciplines, we hope to open new routes toward significant clinical advances.   [outro music]   We’re interested in your opinions. Please join the discussion on one of our online forums or send comments, criticisms, and suggestions to editor@msdiscovery.org.   For Multiple Sclerosis Discovery, I'm Dan Keller.