Technology

In September 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a new comprehensive data protection law called Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL). Under this new law, companies in Saudi Arabia cannot transfer personal data outside the Kingdom without first acquiring an individual exemption. Saudi Arabian companies that don't comply with the PDPL will be subject to criminal sanctions. However, lobbying firms in the United States now warn that enforcing the PDPL could have serious economic consequences for Saudi Arabia. “There are several aspects of this law that pose not only significant problems for the private sector but [...]

As digital technologies continue to transform business operations in almost every sector, cybercriminals are also scurrying to take hold of large quantities of data that they can use for their interests. And they’re only going to step up their efforts in exploiting third-party connections to achieve big data scores. Thus, companies should stay updated with the latest security solutions to gain an edge against cybersecurity hazards. Join us as we explore effective and efficient tools and strategies that will keep your IT infrastructure safe in these rapidly evolving cyber threats. Manoj K. Srivastava General Manager, [...]

The days of manually doing software quality testing, which requires a big team and a significant number of resources, seem to turn their way out. Automation testing or test automation is all the rage in different sectors, and that’s for good reasons. Most businesses have already realized the advantages of integrating automated testing in their software product development cycle. Some of the benefits of doing so include saving more time, more accurate processing, and cost-effect product development. Automated testing saves more time than traditional testing. Bugs can be easily detected during the development phase, leading to [...]

Test automation technologies have significantly increased both in numbers and value as more and more organizations are moving to enhance their digitization capabilities and leverage QA function. The World Quality Report 2020-21 highlights an increase in expectations from QA, such as supporting business growth and ensuring end-user satisfaction. To gain a competitive edge and respond to the demand of fast software launches, many software teams have embraced script-less automation to automate test cases with no or limited skill for coding. With this approach—manual testing efforts and costs incurred in resources are significantly reduced. However, to [...]

While digital transformation opens new opportunities for a business, it can also be burdensome with lack of strategic planning, tools, technology, and other critical elements to overcome roadblocks ahead. Part of achieving a rewarding digital future is to improve overall team productivity and reduce costs, hence innovative companies are now moving to streamline their workflow. However, the realization of such business goal highlights the need for organizations to be one step ahead of the biggest challenges to workflow and streamlining – including cost in time and money. Considering that digital transformation is not a quick-fix process, [...]

Last August, China's National People's Congress passed a new law designed to protect the online privacy of Chinese citizens titled the "Personal Information Protection Law". The new law - which went into effect on November 1, 2021 - requires that any website or application that collects personal data from its users must have a clear and reasonable purpose for doing so and that their usage of that personal data must be limited to the minimum scope necessary to achieve this clear and reasonable purpose. In addition to requiring that companies only utilize the personal data of [...]

According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), supply chain cyberattacks in 2021 are on track to quadruple the number of attacks that occurred the previous year. Faced with this rapidly growing threat, many companies are struggling for solutions to keep their supply chains secure. One such solution that offers a lot of promise, though, is a zero-trust approach to supply chain cybersecurity. A zero-trust cybersecurity approach entails requiring thorough verification for all user accounts, applications, and assets that will be accessing the company's systems. Rather than assuming that a partner and its products are [...]

Disaster strikes unexpectedly in all organizations. But all too often, they are caught unawares. Worst, unprepared! When this happens, the process of strategic decision-making bears the brunt of passive ownership and inadequate responsibility and accountability. That is why increasing demand for a sound information governance (IG) program is in place. Information governance rules out complacency- right to the core. As it has evolved to be more policy-driven, it helps to define clearly who, what, when, where, why, and how your company’s information is accessed and utilized. While an improved data retention process aims to reduce [...]

As part of the company's ongoing efforts to combat the rise in cybercrime, Google Cloud has recently invested $50 million in cybersecurity startup Cybereason. This investment comes on the heels of an announced partnership between Google Cloud and Cybereason that entails the companies working together to launch a platform called Cybereason XDR.  Cybereason XDR is a platform that is powered by Chronicle and designed to scan more than 23 trillion security-related events per week in order to identify potential threats and predict cyberattacks. The hope is that this new platform will improve security across the entire Google Cloud infrastructure.  [...]

In today’s era of technological advances, adopting a data-driven culture in an organization may be a good starting approach to a sound IG program. While this would entail commitment from all levels of the organization, all too often, it is a powerful spur that brings an IG program straight to its goal - compliance and robust decision-making across company size. Across data sources, information speaks volumes. That is why treating a company’s information as a valuable asset is equally rewarding as having a doable framework of IG policies and strategic governance. Transforming a company’s information into [...]

From supply chain shortages to decreased demand due to COVID-related travel restrictions, the oil and gas industry has certainly encountered plenty of challenges in recent months. Despite these global challenges, however, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity within the oil and gas sector continues to grow, signaling that executives remain optimistic about the future of the industry. There have been a number of recent and noteworthy examples of M&A activity within the oil and gas industry. So far in Q4 2021, Northern Oil and Gas has purchased a non-operated interest in 400 Bakken wells from Comstock Resources [...]

While technology breakthroughs continue to surprise businesses in the United States, both from the government and private sectors, doing business online has become more feasible and promising to the greatest extent.  The proliferation of online platforms such as emails, websites, online meetings, social media, messaging apps, etc. has made it possible for any business to thrive, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, fast access to a company’s data has remained as important as the business itself.  That is why, what Information Governance (IG) does is to help manage electronic information and give it its most beneficial [...]

Despite substantial investments and rising internal satisfaction, financial institutions in the United States are still falling short of customer expectations according to a recent ABBYY survey. ABBYY's Digital Strategies in Financial Services survey received responses from over 100 financial institution executives regarding onboarding processes, technological investments, and customer satisfaction. The results of this survey show that customer satisfaction within the financial industry continues to wane thanks in large part to difficulties associated with onboarding new customers. According to the ABBYY survey, 73% of executives list improving customer service/experience as one of their top three priorities [...]