The policy ultimately seeks not to eliminate cross-site tracking, but to allow for it in a way that doesn’t affect the privacy of users. As it stands, organizations track users across multiple sites in order to get information about the users habits. They use cookies, pixels, fingerprinting, and other methods to do so. In all, it measures how users move, what they view, what they watch, what they click on, and more. This information is collected and analyzed into profiles that let advertisers market to users based on what they do online.

For specifics, Apple released a detailed explanation:

WebKit will do its best to prevent all covert tracking, and all cross-site tracking (even when it’s not covert). These goals apply to all types of tracking listed above, as well as tracking techniques currently unknown to us.

If a particular tracking technique cannot be completely prevented without undue user harm, WebKit will limit the capability of using the technique. For example, limiting the time window for tracking or reducing the available bits of entropy — unique data points that may be used to identify a user or a user’s behavior.

If even limiting the capability of a technique is not possible without undue user harm, WebKit will ask for the user’s informed consent to potential tracking.

We consider certain user actions, such as logging in to multiple first party websites or apps using the same account, to be implied consent to identifying the user as having the same identity in these multiple places. However, such logins should require a user action and be noticeable by the user, not be invisible or hidden.

The problem for so long was that advertisers were doing so without the user knowing. Apple’s new policy seeks to put an end to covert tracking, and instead ask for users’ consent before allowing tracking. Apple is so serious that they’ve stated that advertisers trying to get around the anti-tracking tech will be treated the same as security vulnerabilities. It will restrict advertisers trying to be covert, and even some non-covert methods when it comes to cross-site tracking.

Ultimately this is a benefit to users seeking privacy, and a threat to organizations utilizing covert tracking methods. While only Apple’s Safari is using these methods now, such a public statement will force other browsers to respond. The age of covert tracking could be coming to an end – tech managers should start looking into other methods of researching customers and potential customers to get ready.

The post Apple Releases New Policy Aimed at Preventing Online Web Tracking appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Building on over a decade of leadership in pioneering a new model for delivering on-premise IT as a Service, HPE will continue to scale HPE GreenLake to reach new market segments, new use cases, and leverage its world class partner ecosystem to accelerate growth. This includes new HPE GreenLake offerings for the mid-market, new services for the edge, and new and expanded partnerships with CyrusOne, Equinix, and Google Cloud. In addition, HPE continues to invest and innovate in the company’s suite of software delivered via a subscription model, including HPE Aruba Central, HPE BlueData, HPE Cloud Volumes, HPE InfoSight, and HPE OneView.

HPE GreenLake re-sets the digital opportunity for customers by providing a robust as a Service portfolio that provides flexibility and speed to market. HPE GreenLake gives customers a choice of subscription-based, pay-per-use, and managed IT as a Service offerings that provides customers with a consistent cloud experience for managing all their workloads. The HPE GreenLake portfolio spans a wide range of purpose built solutions, from HPE and HPE’s partners, giving customers choice in building the right digital foundation. In addition, HPE GreenLake’s powerful metering and governance capabilities allow businesses to monitor and adjust usage to ensure initiatives stay within budget and compliance.

According to an HPE commissioned Forrester report on the total economic impact of HPE GreenLake, customers benefit from a 30 percent Capex savings due to eliminated need for overprovisioning, and a 90 percent reduction in support and professional services costs, and 65 percent reduction in time to deploy IT projects.

“We are at an inflection point in the market,” says Antonio Neri, president and CEO, HPE. “Everyone recognizes that customers want technology delivered as a Service, but they also want it on their terms. HPE’s unique approach to as a Service, which empowers customers with choice, flexibility, and control, is driving HPE GreenLake’s tremendous success. We will continue to invest aggressively in this opportunity, to capitalize on our market leadership, leverage our world-class channel and partner ecosystem, and deliver our entire portfolio, from edge to cloud, under the HPE GreenLake portfolio. As a result, we will reshape HPE and transform the market, with a new and better way to deliver as a Service.”

The post Hewlett Packard Plans to Transition into a Service-based Company by 2022 appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Today, AppExchange is home to more than 5,000 technology solutions ranging from apps, components, pre-built flows, industry-specific Bolt templates, data and more. In addition, there are more than 65,000 Salesforce-accredited consulting professionals who provide guidance on how to drive business transformation with Salesforce—and Salesforce aims to increase that number to more than 250,000 by 2022.

“As the Salesforce economy and customer demand continue to grow, our customers and partners must have the right business solutions and technology experts at their fingertips,” says Woodson Martin, general manager, Salesforce AppExchange. “AppExchange is bringing consulting partner services and technology solutions together in one marketplace while enabling all of our partners to harness data to power customer success like never before.”

Consultants on AppExchange includes:

• Consultant Finder, a guided search engine that enables customers to connect with a consultant based on specific search criteria, such as preferred location, company size and product, and industry expertise. Customers can also filter their searches based on consultant ratings and language preferences.
• Expertise Tab,which gives customers new insight into the areas that a consultant specializes in based on data populated via the Salesforce Partner Navigator program. Technology expertise can be found in the “Expertise” tab, highlighting which AppExchange solutions a specific consultant can implement to help customers transform their businesses.

AppExchange Partner Intelligence—New Insights for Partners

AppExchange Partner Intelligence is a completely new set of analytics features for partners that delivers insights into how customers and prospects interact with their solutions.

Partner Intelligence is composed of two analytics offerings:

• AppExchange Marketplace Analytics, powered by Einstein Analytics, gives ISVs and consultants insight into how visitors get to and engage with their AppExchange listing. For example, within the dashboard, partners can see how many times resources within their listings (such as videos, demos or case studies) are viewed. Partners can also see how many times their high-conversion buttons such as “Save,” “Watch Demos,” “Test Drive” and “Get it Now” are clicked. Partners will be able to see the top AppExchange search terms that bring visitors to their listings, enabling them to match those terms to leads, installs and other activities. Partners will also have access to more traffic sources in addition to the added flexibility to filter their data by specific time periods.
• AppExchange App Analytics enables ISV partners to track adoption and analyze usage data of their apps to uncover trends and influence roadmap decisions. With App Analytics, partners can understand user adoption across their customer base. They gain insight into the most (or least) commonly used features. Partners will be empowered to take insight-based action to optimize their apps across UI, features and overall performance.

The post Need IT Help? Salesforce AppExchange Puts You in Contact with Experts appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The report, The Future of Work is Now: How Shifting Dynamics, Technological Innovation, and Worker Preferences Are Disrupting the Workplace of Today, evaluates the demographic, technological, and behavioral factors that are changing the workplace of today and setting the course for the Future of Work.

In the past decade, the generational makeup of the workforce underwent a dramatic evolution that will continue to reshape foundational aspects of American work. Since 2009, a new generation has joined the workforce (Generation Z), Millennials took over as the largest generation in the workforce, and Baby Boomers began to exit the workforce as they reached retirement age.

As a result of these generational shifts, employers have made changes such as:

• Switching to a more casual dress code (24 percent)
• Offering more flexible scheduling options (20 percent)
• Upgrading to more flexible/collaborative/open concept workspaces (15 percent)
• Allowing employees to work remotely (14 percent)

The mobile-centric preferences of Millennial and Generation Z workers have also influenced the tools their employers use to share information. Five years ago, only 14 percent of employees used both mobile devices and desktop computers to manage HR tasks. Today, that number is up to 43 percent.

The report is based on payroll and HR data of a subset of Paychex small business clients with one to 49 employees and survey responses from more than 500 U.S. workers.

The report breaks down the impact of an increasingly multi-generational workforce, advancements in technology, the evolving preferences of today’s workers, and highlights the following:

Report Highlights

• Today, the number of employees using a desktop computer exclusively to manage HR tasks has dropped to 51 percent (from 74 percent five years ago), and the number of employees using both desktop and mobile solutions has jumped to 43 percent (from 14 percent).
• Nearly one-third of employees (31 percent) say that an aspect of their job that was once done manually is now done through AI/machine automation. And the trend is expected to continue: 33 percent of Generation Z, 32 percent of Millennials, 29 percent of Generation X, and 20 percent of Baby Boomers think that manual aspects of their current job will be done though AI or machine automation in the next five years.
• When asked what their ideal work schedule looks like, 73 percent of employees would prefer some form of flexible scheduling (a compressed work week, unique hours based on personal circumstance, or total flexibility as long as job responsibilities are met). However, only 51 percent of employees currently have a flexible schedule option while 49 percent have a set schedule.
• Employees expressed a similar desire for more choices when asked about where they prefer to work: 31 percent of employees select the more traditional option of working at their companies’ office each day, while 58 percent would prefer to work from home some or all of the time.

The full report can be downloaded at paychex.com/future-work.

The post Research from Paychex Shows Today’s Workforce Wants Greater Flexibility appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Within G4S PartnerLink, users can efficiently and securely view and collaborate on files while having the ability to assign and review work product in real time.

Related: How Technology is Helping the Insurance Industry Advance

“We understand in today’s competitive market, it’s critical to continue investing in proprietary tools and technology,” says Michael J. Malone, president of G4S Compliance & Investigations. “With the introduction of G4S PartnerLink, we are proud to continue offering best-in-class products to our clients while allowing them to see increased efficiency and cost savings.”

Case access is available 24/7, ensuring clients can analyze and manage data instantaneously, leveraging G4S’ entire suite of case management and business analytics technology from a single, easy-to-use platform. Using these features, clients can decrease costs by quickly identifying and referring high-risk claims as well as a reducing indemnity dollars and improving cycle times. In addition, clients can manage and grade vendors directly within G4S PartnerLink.

The Vendor Management portal enables users to:

• Rate vendors based on multiple criteria, analyze data and view performance dashboards to easily identify top performing and underachieving vendors to mitigate risk and future incidents
• Monitor, track and report on performance issues
• Automatically assign and schedule activities and track through to completion
• Easily trigger email notifications to vendors on overdue assignments, tasks, insurance requirements and licensing renewals

G4S PartnerLink is accessible by claims staff, management and other integral personnel with advanced security features. These features include access for all stakeholders through the utilization of a dedicated username and password for file allocation and review. Through this collaborative approach available with G4S PartnerLink, users can share work product, communicate with legal teams and clients, track assignments, review video and more.

The post G4S Launches Advanced Solution for Processing Insurance Claims appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Avery was presented with the award today after her closing keynote on “The Secret Life of Data” by David Mathison, the CEO and founder at the CDO Club, and last year’s award winner, Dr. Anthony Scriffignano, the chief data scientist at Dun & Bradstreet, at the 7^th annual NYC CDO Summit.

In July 2014, Linda Avery joined the New York Federal Reserve Bank as its first chief data officer. Over the past five years, she shaped the Bank’s data strategy, starting up a new organization that, through strong business connectivity, has driven change in the Bank’s data management practices and has cultivated capabilities in the areas of AI, data visualization, and product strategy.

Linda’s SVP role also encompasses the leadership and transformation of a large data collection, data quality and analysis organization.

Prior to this position, Avery was a managing director of technology at Goldman Sachs, where her career spanned 20 years. At Goldman, she held a diverse set of leadership roles driving innovation across the trading, investment banking, and operations, technology, and finance divisions. She was a Member of the senior Operations and Technology leadership team, with global oversight for strategy and implementation.

As founding co-chair of the LEI Trade Association, Linda played an important financial industry leadership role by working closely with the global regulatory community (Treasury, CFTC, SEC, Federal Reserve, ESMA, HKMA, JSDA, FSB, and the private sector), to help establish a globally accepted, federated Legal Entity Identification system as a foundational component in managing risk within the financial system.

“Linda Avery realized early in her career that the difference between success and failure can come down to how you manage data. For the past five years as chief data officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and her previous 20 years at Goldman Sachs, Linda has been entrusted with managing mission-critical data in very demanding environments to ensure the success of the business and its clients, with a focus on innovation and business transformation. I am delighted to name Linda Avery as the U.S. Chief Data Officer of the Year for 2019,” says Mathison.

The post Linda Avery, Chief Data Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Named U.S. Chief Data Officer of the Year 2019 by CDO Club appeared first on My TechDecisions.

On the surface, this may seem like a good decision, based on the sheer number of Millennials in the workplace. But in your attempt to appease your younger employees with the types of technologies they like, are you forgetting about a possibly smaller, yet still important sector of your workforce? Are the needs of the GenXers of your company being considered in your tech decisions? Are you investing time and money in technology that comes naturally to Millennials and forgetting to properly train the GenXers who may need a little more hand holding?

It’s no mystery that job satisfaction leads to greater productivity, so if you’re leaving those GenXers out in the cold, they just might bolt. Or, they may grow so disillusioned with their jobs that they let their level of performance slip. Meanwhile the Millennials are thriving. New research from MetLife reveals that about two in three GenXers are happy at work, compared to 75 percent of Millennials.

So what’s the solution? Simply recognizing that a tech gap might exist between the GenXers and Millennials in your company is a good first step. Next, take an audit of your company’s current tech setup. Are there certain pieces of technology that are going unused by a certain demographic? If so why: Lack of training, familiarity, or confidence? Finally, query those few but mighty GenXers about their comfort levels using the technology that your currently have, and what might help them become more proficient at using it … there could be technologies that you haven’t even thought about that could put your GenXers back on track to job satisfaction and fulfillment.

The post Millennials vs. GenXers: Who Influences Your Tech Decisions More? appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Based on more than two decades as a digital-policy consultant, Podnar urges companies to create and maintain digital policies (regulatory compliance plus internal digital practices and standards) to achieve a competitive advantage, reduce risk, unlock opportunity, shorten approval cycles and liberate employees. Launched with the handbook is a new Digital Policy Resource Center, a tool where companies and organizations can identify and learn about the types of digital policies and practices they should consider based on digital maturity, industry and team focus.

“Many think of digital policies as restrictive, bureaucratic red tape that slows things down and makes their jobs harder. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, digital policies are liberating,” says Podnar. “Once everyone knows the rules, they can stop worrying — and focus that energy on being creative and productive within the established guardrails,”

Effective digital policies are simple, clear statements how a business or organization will conduct its digital operations based on culture, beliefs, goals and objectives, addressing all applicable laws and regulations, incorporating detail that translates the digital strategy into actions and providing guidance to support all digital workers— employees, vendors, contractors, etc.

“Organizations today operate in a world where mistakes are easy to make, are hard to hide and can lead to serious consequences. My step-by-step roadmap meets the company or organization at its stage of policy development – starter, intermediate or expert. Unleashing the Power of Digital Policy will add clarity, freedom and value to any business or organization,” Podnar concludes.

The Power of Digital Policy also provides:

• Detailed instructions on how to develop digital policies for small, intermediate, and large businesses/organizations.
• Examples and samples for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses.
• Guidance on how to structure a team to create digital policies.
• Reasons why CEOs and Board of Directors should be worried about digital.
• A starter guide to digital policy, as well as chapters for intermediate and expert approaches.
• A how-to guide to embed digital policy into your organization.
• Digital policy assessment tools.
• Policy examples.
• A five-day agile digital police development approach.

The Power of Digital Policy: A practical guide to minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity for your organization is available on Amazon and other booksellers.

The post Stumped Over How to Institute Digital Policies? appeared first on My TechDecisions.

A recent study by Peter Weill, senior research scientist and chair of the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), and Stephanie Woerner, a research scientist at CISR, found that this characteristic is particularly critical for board members, as it is a new financial performance differentiator. Their study showed that companies whose board members are digitally savvy outperform other companies in areas like revenue growth, return on assets, and market cap growth.

Although no one like to point figures, it may be wise to identify if a lack of digital knowledge among board members is holding back the profitability of your enterprise.

In a machine analysis of the digital know-how of all of the boards of U.S.-listed businesses, the researchers looked at data from surveys, interviews, company communications, and the bios of 40,000 directors. They defined digital savvy as an understanding, developed through experience and education, of the impact that emerging technologies will have on businesses’ success over the next decade.

They found that among companies with over $1 billion in revenues, only 24% had digitally savvy boards. They researchers describe digital savvy as comprising these three components:

• Individual board members should have an enterprise-level understanding of current technologylike digital platforms, AI, big data as well as processes that enable new business models, improved customer experience, and efficient operations, and how to experiment and deploy these initiatives at scale.
• It takes three members with digital savvy to have a statistically significant impact. The researchers found little difference in financial performance between companies with one or two digitally savvy directors. However, those with three or more digitally savvy directors had 17% higher profit margins, 38% higher revenue growth, 34% high return on assets, and 34% higher market cap growth.
• Digitally savvy board members use their insight about trends and transformation to help managers explore the bigger picture facing the business. For example, rather than evaluating the project risk of an initiative, they look at the risk of not doing something new.

So how do you swing the pendulum without ruffling feathers? The researchers suggest the following:

• Add new directors to the board—directors that possess an appreciation and understanding of digital enhancements.
• Add a level of digital savviness to the existing board members through education. Bring in external experts and advisors for power sessions, arrange to have members visit noncompeting companies that have made progress through a digital transformation
• Conduct retreats where board members can get a crash course on the benefits of adopting digital solutions.

The post A Company at Risk: Are Your Business Leaders Holding Back Your Company’s Digital Transformation?  appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Natively connected to the cloud and purpose-built to leverage TraceLink’s information-sharing capabilities within its digital supply network platform, Smart Inventory Tracker improves operational efficiencies in the warehouse, allowing companies to verify and update the status of serialized product, receive real-time feedback, and generate compliance reporting based on configurable workflows. With connections to 32 National Medicine Verification Systems (NMVS) and integration with TraceLink’s saleable returns verification solution, Smart Inventory Tracker enables companies to meet their traceability, receiving, and distribution requirements for EU FMD and DSCSA. Smart Inventory Tracker can run on any mobile device and does not require integration with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).

“As we expand our business to serve all the digital supply network needs within the life sciences industry, TraceLink provides the only end-to-end platform that enables companies to capture, process, and exchange serialized product data across a digital supply network,” says Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO, TraceLink. “Leveraging the value of our unique network platform, Smart Inventory Tracker is a complete warehousing solution that integrates with other TraceLink network applications, enabling companies to be compliant while optimizing warehouse product inventory and minimizing disruption in their warehousing workflow.”

With Smart Inventory Tracker, companies can take advantage of the full capabilities of TraceLink’s integrated digital supply network platform, to meet their own warehouse needs with a customized solution that integrates the benefits for an end-to-end information sharing ecosystem, including the following:

• Improve and automate warehouse processes, including receiving, returns, picking, packing, and shipping;
• Receive delivery orders from WMS or ERP systems and verify that the correct product, lot, and quantity are packed;
• Handle post-batch rework for sampling, verification, or damaged product, at the warehouse level;
• Perform aggregation and de-aggregation, with the ability to support mass decommissioning in the future;
• Support the full U.S. DSCSA and EU FMD compliance requirements for traceability, receiving, and distribution;
• Verify and decommission serial numbers for all EU FMD exception use cases, including Article 16, Article 22, and Article 23; and,
• Scan products to meet the DSCSA verification requirement for suspect or returned product.

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