How digital banking is boosting financial inclusion in Africa
After the success of mobile money solutions in countries with large unbanked populations, mainstream banks are focusing on developing digital banking initiatives across Sub-Saharan AfricaRapidEye High smartphone penetration rates, young demographics and limited access to financial services are creating a breeding ground for a rapidly growing digital banking ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa. Similar to other emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East, the banking industry in Africa is opting to go mobile-first, leveraging the advantage of not having to…
7 secrets of high-performing IT teams
Getting staff to move beyond simply meeting basic goals is an art only select IT leaders possess. Here are seven performance-boosting techniques top IT pros rely on. Jay Yuno Every IT leader wants to head a team renowned for its talent, productivity and imagination, but few actually have what it takes to elevate their staffs to an exceptional plateau. One key differentiator between middling managers and superstar IT leaders is fear, as many managers, simply by being reluctant or…
What is process improvement? A business methodology for efficiency and productivity
A broken business process can cost your business time and money. But pinpointing exactly where a process breaks down — and where it can be improved — isn’t an exact science. PeopleImages What is process improvement? Process improvement involves the business practice of identifying, analyzing and improving existing business processes to optimize performance, meet best practice standards or simply improve quality and the user experience for customers and end-users. Process improvement can have several different names such as business…
Microsoft: Enterprises have upgraded Windows 10 just once a year from the start
The company’s decision to extend support for the fall editions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Education reflects an upgrade cadence companies have already been following. When Microsoft extended support for Windows 10 Enterprise and Education – making it much easier for organizations to upgrade the OS just once a year – it simply bowed to a reality that had been in place since the operating system’s debut in 2015, according to a company document. In a corner of…
8 technologies that will disrupt business in 2020
From artificial intelligence to augmented reality, these eight disruptive technologies and trends will begin driving how business gets done at forward-thinking organizations in the years to come. Metamorworks Technology’s pace of change has had a profound impact across nearly every industry. These days it’s not enough to keep atop of emerging technologies but to keep ahead of them. In the coming year, new and evolving ways of wrangling data will take center stage in the enterprise. Innovations in…
Word 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet
Are you getting the most from Microsoft Word 2016 and 2019 for Windows? Get to know the key features. Word has always been the workhorse app of the Microsoft Office suite. Nearly everyone who uses Office ends up using Word at some point, whether it be for writing memos, typing up agendas, creating reports, crafting business correspondence or any of a thousand other uses. Microsoft sells Office under two models: Individuals and businesses can pay for the…
H-1B visa cap fills quickly — and tech talent looks elsewhere
USCIS reports the H-1B visa cap has been reached on April 5, only four days after the application period opened. Getty Images As of April 5, 2019, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported it had reached the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap for fiscal year 2020. While the program fills rapidly every year, this is the sixth year in a row that the cap filled within four days of the application portal opening. The H-1B program will award 65,000…
How ServiceNow helped Thames Water regain insight into its live environment
When CIO Tony McCandless realised the utilities company’s existing IT strategy wasn’t fit for purpose, he turned to ServiceNow to help overhaul it Getty Images After years of outsourcing its IT services, Thames Water turned to ServiceNow in 2017 to regain insight into incident management and event monitoring and bring about an end to what was a self-confessed “pretty disastrous period for technology at the organisation.” “Before I joined, Thames water was signed up to an alliance agreement,…
