VC money flows to collaboration start-ups as remote work booms
Collaboration software, which one analyst said was a “white-hot category pre-COVID” for investors, is “now hitting the stratosphere.” Getty Images Investment in collaboration and productivity software start-ups, which was already on the upswing before this year’s pandemic, is set to grow as businesses seek new ways to connect remote workers. “Even before COVID, some of the trends were pretty positive on that, and I think it will just get better,” said Jean-Francois Marcoux, managing partner at White Star Capital, a venture capital…
6 ways to make IT operations more efficient
As CIOs head into uncertain economic times, operational efficiency again takes center stage. Here’s how to streamline IT operations and trim budget while still fueling business growth. Art24hr / Getty Images The year started bright for CIOs, with most expecting healthy budgets for 2020. Indeed, surveys pegged the majority of IT budgets as up over last year. Now many CIOs are preparing for a complete turnaround, as COVID-19, economic shutdowns and the growing potential for a global recession hit hard…
14 technology winners and losers, post-COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis has shaken up business as usual, with some IT strategies and tools rising to the occasion and others in line for a rethink or tough recovery post-pandemic. Thinkstock As opposed to, say, the travel or restaurant industries, the tech sector has weathered the most disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well. But that doesn’t mean that business has gone smoothly as if nothing happened — or that trends haven’t accelerated or been disrupted by the…
How to set up a work-from-home ‘office’ for the long term
During the pandemic, and likely well afterward, many people will work outside the office. Here’s what you need to do so your home workspace will support your work — and won’t wreck your body — over the long term. Galen Gruman/IDG Working from home is hardly a new phenomenon, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it an unplanned requirement for many office and knowledge workers. Even as the coronavirus crisis eventually recedes, many employers will have discovered that they don’t…
Microsoft supplants Office 365, with Microsoft 365
For Microsoft, it’s a case of out with the old, in with the new. For users, it’s a recipe for confusion. microsoft office 365 Microsoft’s killing off Office 365. That product nameplate, synonymous with productivity as well as by-subscription software, is on the way out, supplanted by a newer brand, Microsoft 365. The move obscures how users are to gather information about the original and muddies the meaning of the replacement. Two months ago, Microsoft expanded the definition of Microsoft 365 beyond its 2017 origins.…
6 tips for remote hiring success
The hiring process has gone remote, which means recruiters and candidates must adjust to the new normal of virtual interviews. Here’s how to vet and woo candidates from a distance. gustavofrazao / PeopleImages / Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic has not only shaken up business as usual, sending large portions of the workforce to work from home, it’s also pushed companies to hire from home. Recruiters and hiring managers are now faced with the task of vetting candidates remotely, a…
The ultimate guide to privacy on Android
Take back control and decide exactly how information is used on your Android phone. Thinkstock On the surface, Android and privacy might not seem like the most natural of bedfellows. Google is known for its advertising business, after all — it’s how the company makes the lion’s share of its money — and it can be tough to square the notion of data collection with the concept of carefully controlled information. In actuality, though, Google gives you a good amount…
Rethinking IT investment and innovation for post-coronavirus Africa
Africa-based tech leaders explore the way forward for doing business in the post-COVID-19 era as companies prepare for the reopening of economies. Gerd Altmann (CC0) Innovation often emerges where there’s the greatest need. Organisations in African markets, which typically face challenging economic conditions, tend to prioritise solving the most pressing societal problems – and this is why opportunities for tech leaders may arise as sub-Saharan Africa emerges from the coronavirus pandemic into an uncertain economic environment. In addition to investments needed…
