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Low Demand and High Production Create a Bargain for SSD Drives
Demand for PC and server SSDs has weakened as a result of decelerating demand in favor of cloud and remote access services. TrendForce projects that an SSD oversupply will persist into this quarter, and could mean prices shift down in the coming weeks and months.
VDI vs. DaaS: What Is the Difference, and Which Is Best for Your Virtualization Needs?
Local virtual desktop infrastructures (VDIs) were once the standard, but today's bandwidth availability and cloud options make Desktop as a Service (DaaS) much more practical, and COVID-19 is making DaaS more attractive than ever. However, long-term pricing is a major impediment to greater DaaS implementation. One analyst noted that "To replace a permanent desk-based employee today is invariably going to result in a higher total cost of ownership, so the question becomes can organizations justify increased investment for the agility the platform can bring."
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Microsoft Excel: Huge Update Expands Data Types Beyond Just Text and Numbers
Excel is receiving what could be its most significant overhaul in years, after Microsoft announced that the program will allow users create custom data types. Historically, Microsoft Excel has only allowed users to work with text and numbers. This changes in an upcoming update, which will enable customers to import their own data directly to Excel and use it as a data type.
Interpreting an Infinite Mindset in Modern Core Banking
Thwe author believes that a modern core platform empowers a bank to redefine itself continually. He states that a modern banking platform encapsulates three essential attributes: 1) Component-based; 2) API-first; and 3) Cloud native.
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Introducing an ATM Anti-Microbial Coating
At the beginning of the pandemic, NCR published our Banking Hardware Cleaning Guide with easy-to-remember do’s and don’ts to help FIs reduce risk. Now they have launched a new anti-microbial coating that can be applied to in-situ hardware, including touchscreens, keypads, handsets, card reader entry points, cash and receipt slots, front facias and privacy shields. It can applied to any ATM.
Bank of America has installed what tehy are claiming is the nation's first solar-powered remote ATM in Woodbridge, Virginia. The ATM is the first of three solar-powered stand-alone ATMs BoA plans to bring online before the end of the year.
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More Affinity for Contactless, but Also More Fraud Fears
Of the consumers surveyed by Fiserv, 33% say their use of contactless payments has increased during the pandemic. Even more telling is that 69% of respondents say they plan to continue using contactless payments after the pandemic subsides. The remaining 31% say they won’t.
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Can Automated Penetration Testing Replace Humans?
In the past few years, the use of automation in many spheres of cybersecurity has increased dramatically, but penetration testing has remained stubbornly immune to it. However, the author claims that automation tools are improving at a phenomenal rate. He argues that the latest tools show a lot of similarities to how a human pentester behaves.
Axio Offers Complimentary Cybersecurity Program Assessment Tools
Axio announced the availability of four free cyber risk program assessment tools that will help give organizations visibility into their cyber posture. Axio360’s free tools include the complete NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF), the complete Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2), a wizard-based on-ramp to the C2M2 called C2M2 Quick Launch, and coming soon, a wizard-based on-ramp to the NIST CSF called the NIST CSF Quick Launch.
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Email Marketing: Still the Most Powerful Marketing Tool
Marketing is not a simple process. There are various practices, tactics, and strategies that are part of an overall marketing plan - and they are constantly evolving. This article states that one marketing method that has maintained its claim to fame: email marketing. According t this article, email marketing still promises to deliver the highest ROI of all marketing channels—$42 back for every dollar you spend.
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Replace Plastic Payments Cards with Recycled Material
Danske Bank is to phase out all existing payment cards and replace them with cards made from 86% recycled plastic. After a trial period, the new cards will begin to replace the standard plastic payment cards - both Visa/Dankort and Mastercard - for all customers.
Branching Out: Why Improving Digital Experiences Is Key to Fending off Challenger Banks
The author is convinced that becoming more consumer-centric does not need to involve a large amount of organizational buy-in and budgetary support. Instead, FIs can ‘start small’ – focusing their efforts on adopting specific technologies to improve parts of the consumer experience. This could be as simple as mapping accountholder journeys on mobile services so that the FI can understand and address pain points, or adding new services, such as real-time advice. He concludes that The good news for traditional FIs is that it’s not a case of needing to start from scratch; they already have a solid base of digital channels to build on to add more value in their battle against online-only banks.
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Biggest WAN Pain Points: Security and Service Flexibility
Corporate WANs are failing to deliver on businesses’ priorities, with 55% of respondents citing security is the biggest pain point, 43% service flexibility, 36% supplier performance, and 35% network congestion, according to a survey from Telia Carrier. The survey also found that demand for new tools and technologies to improve workflows and increase transparency is strong. For example, 90% would like their network partners to adopt more machine-to-machine workflows and automation to enhance their services, and 68% say they already use APIs to achieve real-time visibility of their network performance or control of their network infrastructure.
Red Canary Enters Cloud Workload Protection Space
Red Canary announced the launch of Red Canary Cloud Workload Protection, a cloud workload protection (CWP) solution that provides visibility and threat detection for security teams. This new solution is purpose-built for cloud Linux workloads and focuses on runtime threat protection and response.
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Take Your Call Center Culture Back to the Basics
The author argues for going back to the basics of employee engagement in your contact center - attracting rich talent, encouraging growth and maintaining momentum through reward and recognition. She states that Soft skills like compassion and active listening have always been important. But now, decision-making, critical thinking and good judgment are equally necessary because calls are more complex than they used to be.
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