HackerOne has announced two key executive appointments as the cybersecurity vendor looks to drive further growth in the threat exposure management arena.

Stephanie Furfaro joins the business as chief revenue officer, while Stacy Leidwinger steps into the role of chief marketing officer.

Both executives bring deep go-to-market expertise which HackerOne said will help the company to scale its impact across enterprises worldwide, as well as strengthen execution across sales, customer success, partnerships, and marketing.

The move builds on several recent developments at HackerOne, including the evolution of its AI platform, Hai, from a copilot into an agentic AI system, and the release of its AI-native code security offering, HackerOne Code.

Earlier this year, the firm also launched its Technology Alliance Program to help tech providers leverage its AI-powered platform.

In an announcement, Kara Sprague, CEO of HackerOne, said the pair join at what is a “pivotal moment” for both the company and the wider cyber security industry.

“As AI reshapes the threat landscape and modern defence, Stephanie’s experience scaling global revenue organizations and Stacy’s leadership in brand and growth marketing will strengthen every part of our go-to-market engine,” she explained.

“Together, they will accelerate growth by delivering our full Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) value proposition to more enterprise customers.”

Furfaro brings 25 years’ experience of scaling high-growth software companies and transforming global go-to-market strategies, alongside a reputation for building strong customer relationships and high-impact channel partnerships.

She joins the business from DigitalOcean, where she served as general manager, and was previously chief business officer at Rapid7. She has also held senior leadership positions at Allaire, Macromedia, and Adobe.

As HackerOne’s new CRO, Furfaro will lead all revenue-generating functions across sales, customer success, and partnerships to help accelerate global growth.

“Building on HackerOne’s strong partner ecosystem will be central to expanding our reach and empowering more organizations to proactively manage their risk,” Furfaro commented.

A fellow seasoned industry leader, Leidwinger brings extensive experience in spearheading cybersecurity marketing teams and scaling software businesses.

She previously served as chief marketing officer at Secureworks, leading the firm’s shift from a managed service provider to a software platform company.

Alongside security leadership, she also adds deep expertise in large language models (LLMs) and AI, having previously worked on IBM’s Big Data team.

In her new role, Leidwinger will apply her strong customer and partner focus to HackerOne’s global marketing functions as the vendor looks to capitalize on market demand.

“I’m energized to elevate HackerOne’s customer and partner value message and show why Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), paired with the unique combination of AI and human adversarial expertise, drives stronger results than anything else on the market today,” Leidwinger said.

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AI and data analytics software vendor Alteryx has announced the appointment of Rajkumar Irudayaraj as senior vice president of global technology and innovation partners.

Irudayaraj will lead the firm’s global technology alliances and innovation partner strategy as it looks to strengthen its partner ecosystem and enable deeper collaboration in the era of AI.

A seasoned industry leader, he brings more than 25 years’ experience of driving transformation across enterprise data platforms, AI, and cloud infrastructure.

His extensive experience includes building and scaling high-growth companies, heading up global product and engineering teams, as well as shaping business strategy at Salesforce, Oracle, and ScaleArc.

In an announcement, Alteryx’s chief revenue officer, Steven Birdsall, said Irudayaraj’s expertise in driving large-scale data and AI innovation will be a key asset as the company expands its partner ecosystem.

“His unique blend of technical depth and business acumen will help us strengthen our leadership in AI and analytics and deliver even greater value to our customers and partners,” he explained.

“We are thrilled to have Rajkumar on board and can’t wait to see the impact he will bring to our partner community.”

Irudayaraj joins Alteryx from Salesforce, where he led data and AI product initiatives and played a key role in shaping the firm’s data platform strategy and partner ecosystem.

He also previously served as vice president of global products and strategy at ScaleArc, following a 16-year spell at Oracle in various engineering and product management leadership roles.

Alteryx sharpens AI focus

The industry veteran is now tasked with strengthening Alteryx’s partner ecosystem and driving the impact of AI and analytics for its 8000-strong customer base.

He will work with the firm’s cloud partners, technology ecosystem, and service organizations to help customers modernize their workflows, operationalize their data, and derive greater value from AI implementation.

Commenting on his new role, Irudayaraj described Alteryx’s partners as “core” to its strategy and success at a time when customers are bringing more of their data to the cloud platforms and increasingly embracing AI capabilities.

“As customers bring more of their data into cloud platforms and embrace AI, they’re seeking an ecosystem that helps turn that data into governed, repeatable business outcomes,” he explained.

“Our technology and services partners extend the power of Alteryx into the environments and industries where that work happens every day, combining our automation and analytics engine with their platform, domain, and delivery expertise.

“We’re doubling down on partner-led innovation so that, together, we can help customers move more quickly from AI experiments to production-grade value.”

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Digital transformation is harming workers, according to a new report.

A survey from Adaptavist has revealed that 64% of knowledge workers have had their lives negatively impacted by technology in the last year.

Three-in-ten said they regularly experience digital overwhelm, and 41% suffer stress and anxiety from notification overload and platform juggling. Almost a quarter (21%) looked for a new job, and 5% quit as a direct result.

Many UK knowledge workers are also experiencing stress and anxiety as a result of pressure to be connected outside of working hours - 19% - and pressure to prove productivity through metrics (18%).

Around the same number said colleagues' communications make them feel incompetent, excluded, or disliked, and 23% said being left to sink or swim with new tools had left them feeling stressed or anxious.

Just under four-in-ten (39%) workers who were considering leaving their jobs said they were experiencing stress, with 46% reporting anxiety and 23% saying they were losing sleep. Only 8% said that technology had made them more productive, with the same number saying it had improved their confidence.

"There is a pressing need to address 'technostress' head-on. Technology rollouts fail not because of bad technology, but because of bad change management," said Neal Riley, innovation lead at the Adaptavist Group.

"The companies that succeed in preventing burnout and disengagement will focus on more than selecting the right tools; they will focus on the human elements, from preserving worker autonomy to creating supportive cultures around technology adoption."

When asked what their organizations should do to make sure employees are enabled and empowered by workplace technologies, 48% listed 'a culture where people are comfortable asking for help' as a top three priority.

"This suggests there is a disconnect between leadership and the general workforce when it comes to technology implementation, which may be driving 'technostress'", said the researchers.

While only 16% ranked 'fewer tools' as a top three action for employers, 41% did suggest more training, and 45% wanted more training resources.

Controlling your own work pattern made a significant difference too, with 42% of happy employees – compared with a 25% regional average – stating that, despite having to use tools that monitor, direct, or organize work processes, they retain complete control over which tasks to do and how to do them.

"In the UK, workers have experienced a steep and steady decline in 'task discretion' since the 1990s, with a body of research suggesting that having little control over how you work can negatively impact mental and physical health," the researchers said.

"While some of this may be attributed to the increased use of digital technologies, our findings indicate that the impact is much more nuanced, and if tools are implemented correctly, they can increase autonomy and empower workers."

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Agile and flexible working patterns are not new, but they have been redefined by the pandemic and given greater importance, certainly for employees. With all the talk about these phrases over the past few years, it has become increasingly important to understand the difference between flexible vs agile working.

Before COVID, working from home was often reserved for certain employees as a job perk or, in some cases, as a necessity. Only one in ten (9.5%) of UK workers got to do their jobs from home in 1999, according to a Labour Force Survey, issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). By 2020, a report from the CIPD Job Quality Index stated that that number jumped to 54%.

With the rollout of the vaccine - and now the booster - offices are welcoming employees back, but remote and flexible working have continued for many. As such, flexible working is now openly discussed in job interviews and listed as a 'perk' in certain job applications. Salary is still the major deal-breaker when it comes to accepting a new job, but there is a growing demand from different demographics that want a better work-life balance. This includes new mothers that want to balance their work around their young families and people that want to have more options for where they live. For many, remote working means no longer needing to live within a commutable distance.

While some may argue that office/workplace culture is at risk with remote and flexible working, many more will suggest it has offered more productivity and inclusion than ever before.

What is flexible working?

Although they have been used more broadly since the mass move to remote work, agile and flexible working are two terms which continue to be confused by many.

When it comes to flexible working, this should be employee-centric, or focused. This is all about trusting workers within your organisation to work and empowering them to complete their job wherever they find it easier to do so.

A few years ago, this would have been a benefit only given to a small number of workers, but flexible working methods have now been opened up to more of the workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a particularly positive step for organisations, as it empowered them to help parents switch easier between childcare and work as well as enabling companies to hire the best talent without being restrained by their office location. This phenomenon wouldn’t exist without the magic of digital transformation, and it will increasingly be expected to be automatically included in job ads going forward in the future.

In 2014, the Flexible Working Regulations gave employees the right to ask for flexible working arrangements. However, a worker must have been employed at the company for at least 26 weeks before making this request. The legislation details what employees are allowed to ask for in terms of different types of working arrangements. This includes, for example, different places of work, job shares, a variation on the hours they work, and more. However, the law does not compell organisations to approve every request, but they do need to give fair consideration to each one.

What is agile working?

Agile working tends to centre on the actual business, in contrast to flexible working, which is viewed to be a construct that is focused on employees.

If you’re looking to take on an agile strategy, then you’ll have to make the most of technology and deploy it strategically throughout your business to help your workers perform to the best of their abilities. This includes the capacity for staff to work together on the same project at different times, no matter where they are based, as long as the needs of the project are fulfilled.

Your agile workforce should be able to work from different locations, no matter how far they are from the office. This includes coffee shops, their home, overseas if need be, or even the park, as long as they can carry out their work. However, this strategy can only work if your organisation has adopted the right processes and practices.

A huge part of agile working is ensuring that flexibility is designed directly into your workplace, thanks to the policies you’ve implemented, and ensuring it isn’t driven by the choice of each individual. This boils down to organisations moving away from the old, conventional methods of focusing on inputs, where employees must report to a particular place like an office and work between certain hours. Instead, agile working means moving towards a business process that focuses on outputs, where everything pivots around project and task completion.

Agile vs flexible working

The main difference between agile working and other forms of flexible working is commitment. While flexible working can be easily implemented using today's technology, commitment to agile working is required from management and staff.

Flexible working tends to be employee-centric. It's believed to improve work/life balance and enhance employee happiness, though there are benefits there for productivity, reduced absenteeism, and staff retention.

Agile working practices, however, are designed to benefit both the employee and the company; staff get more freedom to work where and when they want, but the result should be a more performance-focused, responsive and effective organisation, where motivated workers deliver stronger products and better customer service.

Flexible and agile tools

Technologically, flexible and agile working practices use many of the same tools. Hot desking, laptops, convertibles, smartphones, and mobile devices play into both, while wireless connectivity is essential.

Agile working, however, requires a wider change of IT strategy, bringing in services like unified communications, team and collaboration platforms, cloud-based data and business intelligence (BI) services and VPN tech to ensure that every employee has what they need to do their job wherever or whenever they're working. While the flexible office can support agile working, agile working takes things further. It's even more crucial to provide a range of workspaces appropriate for different purposes and to give workers the space they need to operate in different configurations as part of different teams.

IT teams should bear in mind that remote and agile working needs don’t only come down to laptops and broadband, but also their security. Working from home or a café blurs the line between private and work devices, even if it's company provisioned. It also brings a whole new set of challenges, whether it’s social engineering or cyber attacks. This is why IT departments need to be mindful of what kind of devices are being used by employees, as well as what kind of software is being installed.

Nobody likes restrictive policies – in fact, this is why remote and agile working models exist in the first place. However, having some sort of security guideline in place may be the deciding factor in whether a company falls victim to a data breach, with potential legal and financial consequences. In fact, the rapid shift to remote working has been cited as being one of the main causes behind the rise in data breach costs, with incidents costing on average $4.96 million (£3.57 million) when remote working was a factor versus $3.89 million (£2.8 million) otherwise.

When it comes to mastering endpoint security, a simple antivirus software is far from enough. Businesses should know their weaknesses and consider implementing such vital security tools as firewalls, data encryption, and segregation, as well as a dedicated antimalware, a separate access control or containerisation system, and even a level of artificial intelligence or machine learning which will help detect divergence in normal behaviour.

How to implement an agile working pattern

The balance between what the business needs and what the employee needs is never straightforward, however agile working can produce numerous benefits it implemented carefully.

In many organisations, the cultural mindset is the key obstacle to agile working. It isn't enough to have the best technology and build new workstations. It is important that businesses engage with the labour force as well as build up a rapport of accountability and trust.

The shift will also question the command-and-control leadership and culture, particularly in senior and middle management. Execution has to be across the whole business. Departments heads, such as those from IT, human resources, finance and property must push agile working collectively.

There also must be a solid argument for having agile working in a business; key objectives must be defined, and agile working must show how it can help in reaching these targets. The UK government has an agile working code of practice, PAS 3000, created by the British Standards Institute, that can be used as a resource for getting started on the way to agile working.

Going agile isn't for the timorous, but the results can be wide-ranging. BT, for example, has transferred 80% of its workforce to agile practices and seen some workers show a 30% surge in productivity and enhanced staff health and contentment. Stress-related illness has decreased by 35%, the percentage of sick days taken has dropped and total staff retention has increased.

That's good news for its workers and good news for the business.

4G represents the fourth generation of mobile networking technology, having replaced the previous 3G standard, and 2G before that. Whereas 2G and 3G introduced new capabilities, such as texts and video calls respectively, 4G simply supercharged data transfers to make all these mobile services work much faster.

Mobile network EE was the first to introduce a 4G network in the UK as it's only provider capable of supporting a wide rollout with its own infrastructure. Since then, Vodafone, O2 and Three have all launched their own networks, although EE has consistently dominated in a variety of metrics in yearly rankings.

What's the difference between 3G and 4G?

The upgrade to 4G from 3G brought with it a significant increase to average download and upload speeds. In order to be officially classified as 3G, a network must be capable of reaching 200 Kbits/sec, although 3G usually has average speeds far beyond this.

In contrast, in order to qualify for 4G, a network needs to reach speeds of 100 Mbits/sec if situated on a moving vehicle, such as a train. However, when connecting to a stationary network, a user should expect to see speeds of at least 1 Gbits/sec.

Is 4G the same as LTE?

You may think that 1 Gbits/sec is surprising, and certainly not a speed you recognise from using 4G - and for good reason.

4G and LTE, short for ‘Long Term Evolution’, are often thought to be the same thing and some even use the terms interchangeably. The confusion stems from the habit of LTE being marketed as 4G LTE, which isn’t strictly correct. LTE is a type of 4G technology, sitting between ‘true’ 4G and 3G in terms of speeds, and typically the service you will most often encounter.

This unusual classification of 4G is largely the result of a lack of regulation across the industry. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R) has set out what it regards as ‘true 4G’, namely connections that are capable of peak speeds of 100 Mbits/sec for “high mobility connections”, and peak speeds of 1 Gbits/sec for stationary connections.

Many providers in the UK have been able to market networks that they describe as 4G, but are in fact 4G LTE. For example, Opensignal research from 2020 found that the fastest 4G network in the UK was EE’s, which was capable of download speeds of 39 Mbits/sec. This is, of course, far faster than anything possible with 3G, but significantly slower than the standard set out by ITU-R. As a result of market pressure, LTE was folded into the 4G family, although many regard it as ‘3.95G’.

Which networks offer 4G in the UK?

Finding a 4G provider in the UK is quite easy. All four of the country’s biggest telecommunication companies - O2, EE, Three, and Vodafone - offer 4G contracts using their own networks, which all have the ability to cover 99% of the UK population.

Smaller network providers such as Giffgaff, Virgin Mobile and TalkTalk also provide 4G contracts, as they are operated by one of the four above-mentioned providers. That is why their network performance will be reliant on the infrastructure of their parent company.

Can I get 4G on my phone?

Yes. 4G LTE has been available on phones since 2012, when is when Apple announced that the iPhone 5 would be their first smartphone product to support the connectivity.

Prior to that, HTC unveiled its first 4G Android device in 2010, but the technology only began to be considered more mainstream in 2014 following more widely-available infrastructure and releases from Apple and Samsung.

Since then, a growing number of mid-range smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei or Xiaomi, have started supporting 4G. It is now considered a widely-available networking technology, and has now been superceded by 5G when it comes to smartphone marketing.

4G coverage in the UK

Mobile networks now widely offer 4G, either through their own networks or using that of one of the bigger suppliers.

Network operators tend to quote coverage based on population, which normally results in a pretty impressive result. EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three all claim to serve 99% of the population.

However, that doesn't provide the full picture, as availability depending on where you are in the UK is by far a more useful measure. EE has consistently scored the best in terms of availability, with customers having a 4G connection 93.6% of the time, according to the most recent Opensignal report.

Vodafone comes in second at 86.4%, followed by O2 with 83.6%, and Three at 81.2%. Should a 4G-enabled device fail to get 4G signal, it will fall back on older technologies like 3G and Edge if they are available, so users should still be able to use mobile data most of the time, although it may be slow.

Download speed is perhaps the second most important metric, again one that EE dominates with an average of 44 Mbits/sec, almost double the speed of its nearest competitor Three (25.2 Mbits/sec). Vodafone scored average speeds of 21.6 Mbits/sec, followed by O2 - the slowest network - on 17.1 Mbits/sec.

In terms of streaming videos, the experience is best on EE (72 points), with near identical performance ratings across the other networks (around 66 points).

Other providers' coverage will depend on which network's infrastructure they use. For example, Giffgaff and Tesco Mobile both use O2's network, and so also claim to reach 99% of the population, but with 83.6% availability across UK regions. TalkTalk, meanwhile, uses Vodafone's infrastructure, so comes in at 86% availability.

5G

The fifth generation of mobile networking has finally arrived in the UK, although its availability is severely restricted and is likely to remain limited for some time to come. EE was the first to launch a 5G network, followed by Vodafone and Three.

Advancements in technology are rapidly transforming the modern workplace, whether that's through mobile hardware such as tablets, hybrids and smartphones, or software in the form of collaboration and video conferencing tools that make it possible for employees to work together as if they're in the same room.

A key consideration when thinking about the future of the workplace is the role of automation and how this will transform the nature of our current job roles. For example, some customer services may be replaced with AI that can identify a customer's problem using voice and context recognition and find a solution without a human even being involved.

As well as this, business intelligence and AI will help companies learn more about their customers, so employees can focus on innovation to transform their businesses.

Will there be a physical office?

In this digital era of email, virtual meetings and collaboration tools, it is easy, convenient and often more productive to work remotely. Employees are more motivated and managers find their workforce is more likely to come up with innovative ideas as they increasingly have the opportunity to pursue new avenues.

Last year, 64% of organisations offered a flexible working environment, 21% higher than the year before, which suggests that providing the tools to work remotely is high on the list of priorities for many businesses.

The shift towards remote working means physical workplaces are changing to accommodate this. Some companies are downsizing their office space, providing open plan desks with monitors and workstations that can be used by anyone. A "first-come, first-served" policy means those who arrive first can choose where they want to work, while those who are late to the party may need to find space in alternative areas.

In this way, the contrast between the future of work and work in the present day is most visible. Consider the skyscrapers dominating skylines, down to the warehouses renovated by businesses as they clamber to accommodate growth in personnel. Then imagine that half of the employees taking up space in these buildings are suddenly not there.

That will be the case by 2025, according to a session delivered at KMWorld 2019. A surplus of space will be seen as an opportunity to cut costs, potentially leaving offices across the globe vacant.

What devices will be used?

In fact, even the devices we use in the workplace will most likely be very different in the future. Workers were traditionally dependent on office-based computers, but now want more options about what devices they use and where they use them. A survey into mobile access revealed that 43% of business professionals see the use of mobile phones as critical for work, enabling them to use apps and work tools on the go.

By 2025, it is estimated that over 75 billion devices will be connected to the internet and to each other, generating an expected 79.4 ZB. Many of these will be strictly for personal use, and many will be dedicated solely to work. However, a significant portion are hybrids, used for both work and play.

This brings a different set of challenges for IT departments who will have to look into appropriate tools and software to enable flexibility, whilst also considering security concerns and other issues that remote and on-the-go working open up.

Using virtualisation tools, employees can access their files, folders and networked services such as the intranet either on shared devices, or their own machines they bring from home, while collaboration tools such as Slack and Skype mean workers can communicate with other team members working remotely whenever they need to.

How might automation change the future of work?

Automation’s thrust into the workplace is a double-edged sword, with developing technologies such as RPA playing a key role in reshaping the way tasks are performed. In this example, RPA is able to complete predictable, often mundane tasks in a fraction of the time it takes a human, and with zero errors. This equals efficiencies for employers, however, can leave staff at risk.

The Office of National Statistics states that almost 8% of jobs in the UK are at high risk of automation, with some or all of their duties and tasks set to be automated. In the following decades, Deloitte’s expect this figure to rise dramatically to 35%.

A McKinsey study found that the industries and job roles most likely to be affected by automation are predictable physical work, with 78% of the role's tasks possible to automate by adapting currently demonstrated technology, data collection (69%), and data processing (64%).

Deloitte found that middle-income jobs are most at risk, with UK jobs with wages of 30,000 or under being five times more susceptible to AI automation than jobs paying upwards of 100,000.

Fortunately, many endangered employees view automation as an opportunity over a threat. Liberated from the shackles of mundane, repetitive tasks, they can upskill to focus on more engaging, higher-value tasks. New skills can be acquired that are much harder to automate, such as people-orientated roles, helping to plug gaps in organisations while also future-proofing themselves.

In fact, the government has pledged to support workers displaced by automation. The National Retraining Scheme is designed in association with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress and aims to help workers retrain if they are displaced by automation or other emerging technologies.

This means that to ensure survival the future workforce will have to constantly adapt and embrace reskilling, collaborating with intelligent machines, as well as managing and supervising the tasks they perform.

How will business intelligence change the way we work?

Closely related to automation, business intelligence will also have an impact on the way we work. Business intelligence (BI) is a term used to encompass multiple disciplines, from collecting and storing data to manipulating and interpreting it in a way that can be used to make business decisions.

Business intelligence can make companies more competitive by crunching data about their business units to find efficiencies and deploy resources more effectively. Collecting and analysing data about the way customers think, and turning this information into key insights, can also help them target customers better.

One example of an effective use of business intelligence tools is in customer analysis. BI can be used to analyse what consumers want and come up with ways to satisfy these expectations, guiding business strategy in a much more informed way. This, in turn, means companies can focus on innovation rather than trying to work out what their customers want, offering a much better informed and on-target plan.

Business intelligence tools will increasingly become an essential part of a company's infrastructure, because without these insights, businesses will fall behind competitors who are acting on this information.

What are the consequences of a changing workplace?

Many of the changes currently taking place in the workplace will result in a dramatic shift in the future of work, as well as what the office of the future will look like. More people will work remotely, giving them a better work/life balance. Collaboration tools will also make companies more productive, with employees able to share knowledge and work together on goals regardless of geographic obstacles.

But for this type of workplace to be able to succeed, the right tools need to be in place for employees to be able to operate remotely and collaborate effectively. This means businesses need to ensure they have the right technologies and skills in place as part of an ongoing digital transformation strategy. This can lead to problems for companies that move at a slower pace, as processes and systems can quickly become outdated.

The development of automation is more tricky. On the one hand, it will certainly lead to more efficient processes for companies, speeding up the act of data collection and even analysis to provide more fruitful insights that humans can act on.

But increased automation will also likely result in redundancies, at least in the short term, and there needs to be serious efforts to help people retrain if they are to find jobs that are less at risk from automation.

We're on the verge of 5G roll out. It's due to reach a selection of UK cities in 2019 and according to most providers, 5G is a year or so away from mass deployment. And the technology that's going to bring everything else, from driverless cars to smart cities, into our daily lives.

While the telecoms companies race to be the first to deploy 5G networks, there's a list of exciting new technologies waiting for the industry to bring them to market. Self-driving technology will benefit from 5G's faster data transfer speeds, as will most IoT based technologies. Same too for artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, like Donald Trump talking about 6G, it's worth remembering 4G and the influence it has had on our world. Already companies such as Samsung and Huawei are unveiling 5G enabled smartphones, but long before them, the mobile phone was radically changed by 4G.

For years, 4G has enabled us to connect to the web from almost anywhere and transformed our mobile phones from just text and call-based devices to handsets of immense potential. This revolutionary technology no longer meets our demand now and is soon to be superseded by 5G.

We've taken a look at how 4G transformed mobile telecommunications and how 5G will impact the industry and our daily lives.

5G will enable the IoT

The first 5G networks and devices are expected to be available as soon as this year, however, they're unlikely to achieve commercial success until the early 2020s. While the exact definition of what constitutes 5G is a cause of contention among technologists and companies, it's best to look at 5G as simply being smarter, faster and more efficient than 4G.

As we enter an era where more people and devices are connected to the internet, it'll be crucial to have a mobile network standard that can support huge demand. 5G networks will also enable more effective device-to-device communication, provide more bandwidth and lower latency thanks to built-in computing intelligence.

4G was a massive feat for mobile technology, but nobody could really predict how fast smartphones and tablets would evolve. There are also big differences in terms of speed. Although 5G is still under debate and evolving, there have been some key milestones.

For instance, in 2015, 5G researchers working at the University of Surrey were able to reach speeds of 1Tbit/sec. Just to compare, 4G can hit speeds of 300mbps. A high-speed mobile network will be crucial if communication between ever-increasing amounts of connected devices is to be effective.

Alex Gledhill, from Intel UK, gives a good description of this technology: "5G is envisioned as an end to end ecosystem that enables a fully mobile and connected society. In a nutshell, 5G networks will provide more data bandwidth and less latency due to built-in computing intelligence aimed at handling more data more efficiently than today's 4G networks."

Coping with demand

Low latency will also be a key differentiator between 4G and 5G. That means you'll be able to download and upload files quickly and easily, without having worry about the network or phone suddenly crashing. Once you've downloaded an item, response times will be better. For example, you'll be able to watch a 4K video almost straight away, and you shouldn't experience any pausing or buffering during playback.

5G will also fix bandwidth issues. Currently, there are so many different devices connected to 3G and 4G networks, they don't have the infrastructure to cope effectively. 5G will be able to handle current devices and emerging technologies such as driverless cars and connected home products.

Constantly evolving

Although we're still a few years away from rollout, there have been some positive strides made in the development of the connectivity. Intel is one of the companies pioneering 5G in partnership with mobile network infrastructure providers and carriers.

"Intel has partnered with AT&T and Ericsson to launch the first 5G business customer trial at Intel's Austin, Texas, facility. That doesn't mean the current networks will go away. They will funnel into 5G, updating along with devices and technologies," Gledhill tells IT Pro.

"To deliver 5G connectivity and intelligence, we must work together and industry partnerships are more critical than ever. No one company can move this technology forward alone, which means collaboration between industry leaders from device and equipment manufacturers to network operators and service providers is vital."

Intel isn't the only company focusing on 5G. Qualcomm has also developed a 5G chip to embed in devices. The company's X50 modem was revealed last year and has already been placed in Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G, but that's not due to be commercially available until the summer.

At the tail-end of 2017, EE ended its trial of 5G technology, delivering download speeds of 2.8Gbps using the 3.5GHz test spectrum and a Huawei base unit. Currently, a number of phone manufacturers have unveiled 5G enabled devices, such as Samsung and Huawei, meaning 5G could reach our phones earlier than previously predicted.

In the UK, the government has set out new proposals for forging full fibre broadband across the country with an eye on building the infrastructure for 5G. It is aiming to replace copper wire networks with a full fibre infrastructure, which it says is vital to underpin 5G coverage.

Currently, the UK is lagging behind other countries, such as Russia who trialled 5G coverage during the World Cup. Some matches were streamed live to viewers watching in virtual reality with superfast 5G streams.

Picture: Shutterstock

A popular phrase usually found alongside "big data" is "smart city". This is because a large conurbation with hundreds of thousands or millions of inhabitants will be a significant source of data, and could also greatly benefit from the effective analysis of that data. Traffic information from city dwellers' use of personal vehicles and public transport is just the beginning. The sheer volume of people habitually found in a given location can help city planners manage resources, assist retailers to know where they can most effectively place outlets, when to open them, and much more.

One of the most significant sources of this information is the smartphone. In figures cited by Consultancy.uk, Deloitte has claimed that, in 2017, 85% of the UK population owned smartphones, and this figure has been increasing every year. A smartphone is packed with sensors and connects to external ones as well. It knows our location, is increasingly the conduit for our travel and retail transactions, and forms the hub of our social interaction. This makes it the perfect device to supply the big data for a smart city.

But smartphone users are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of data their devices collect about them, and who it is being shared with. Even when we are sure where our data is being sent, we still worry that big corporations know too much about where we are going and what we're doing when we get there.

Although it's very easy to see these kinds of news stories as a valid impetus to restrict all our data from being shared with anyone, this will be preventing some of the most significant advancements afforded by contemporary technology. The benefits for our lifestyles and work needs can be very real. The data collected doesn't have to be directly linked to specific individuals, and in fact some of the greatest potential can be available from looking at the trends found in large aggregations with no need to drill down to individual records.

The key word here is "anonymous". Your data can be separated from your identity, so you become merely one sample amongst millions that are grouped under categories such as demographics. For example, O2's Smart Steps uses anonymised, aggregated smartphone geolocation data from over 24.5 million O2 mobile network customers to track the number of people who visit a location. All of the data collected by Smart Steps is secure, anonymous and aggregated so no personal information can be extracted. Whilst anonymous, if its customers have recorded their preferences, it can be referenced by time, gender and age. It can also track where its users have come from and where they are going, using data that spans back to 2013.

Without needing to know who individuals are, this kind of information can pay huge dividends. O2's Smart Steps has been harnessed to tap into real-time and historical data on over 100 daily journeys to help one company to advise clients much more accurately and quickly than when they were using their previous data collection methods. This helps clients decide whether to go ahead with airport, building, road or high-speed rail schemes, saving four months of work on a typical 16-month project. Thus the planning of city infrastructure can be much smarter and faster than before, with adjustments according to where people actually go in their daily lives.

A lot of information is available without needing to identify individuals. Records may be tagged with an ID, but this will still be securely separated from which user it is referring to. There are benefits from this, as it can provide details about whether visitors to a location are newcomers or returning, and when they come. Shops can work out whether their marketing is working to bring in new customers, and at what times to employ more retail staff to cope with demand. This is likely to be of benefit to the customers as much as the retailer, since the former won't find themselves stuck in check-out queues or unable to find an assistant to help them because the shop is too busy, and the latter will be able to better manage their people.

However, there are also potential benefits that are more directly targeted at the individual, without specifically requiring them to part with their anonymity. Where historical mass travel data can make public development schemes smarter and more finely targeted, retailers can use similar generalised real-time data to plan the best times and places to offer discounts either to attract customers to an underutilised outlet, or reach them where and when they are gathering in large numbers, such as a shopping mall or venue with associated restaurants. They can then track the effectiveness of these endeavours.

This concept gains particular power when end users don't have to wade through a massive list of offers, many of which aren't relevant to their tastes or current location. O2 Priority, for example, uses geo-location to present offers and savings that are tailored to where the customer currently is, making them more relevant and likely to be of benefit. Especially if the customer has also registered what's important to them.

The offers are essentially tailored to your lifestyle as you travel. For example, you might be attending a concert at the O2 Arena, so Priority presents a selection of restaurants near the venue that are currently offering discount deals. This isn't an intrusive system like the personalised advertising shown in science fiction movies such as Minority Report. People choose to be alerted, and can also access the service purely on demand.

This really is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible when you allow your smartphone to share information with aggregators that apply the necessary, regulatory safeguards to anonymise your data. Real-time traffic details derived from smartphone locations can help route drivers away from congestion. Dynamic variable speed limits can react to smooth out flow ahead of a bottleneck. Environmental controls in enclosed public spaces can be adjusted to suit the volume of people visiting. So long as customers can be assured that their data will not be abused, and will remain anonymous when requested, the power available to manage city life more smartly can be huge.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

Organisations both large and small are striving to understand their people better so they can give them more opportunity to be productive and put into their hands the technology that they need, and are familiar with in their daily lives. That kind of tech is good morale and productivity, and is great for a company's bottom line.

There's an ulterior motive, too. If your business fails to keep pace with innovation, you'll ultimately be left behind.

It was in last year's, rather than 2019's O2 Future Trends' report, that the futurist Graeme Codrington said: "Within two years, if you are not mobile-first (which naturally implies cloud-first) you might be too far behind the curve to catch up We can expect that tomorrow's employees will expect to be able to use the same level of technology at their workplace as they do at home. That means mobile-first, AI, natural language processing and staying always connected.

"We joke about how Wi-Fi should now be the foundation layer for Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. But the time is coming when transport, work, medical treatment and civil liberties are all so reliant on the internet that connectivity will be as much a human right as running water and electricity. Now is the time to seriously question the legacy IT investments that are holding you and your people back, because waiting is a costly game. Implementation cycles are being shortened from five years to five months, because of the risk of obsolescence over time."

A landscape of growing threat

Sadly, as companies empower their people more and unlock the good that the cloud and mobile advancements have to offer, there are those out there using the self-same technologies for their own ill gains.

"In 2017 hackers made a lot of easy money and caused huge disruption as a result of UK business missing the basics when it comes to securing data. Most of the breaches I read about in the press could have been easily prevented by taking a more proactive approach to cyber security and following the government's guidelines," wrote Dean Thomson, cyber security specialist at O2.

Whether it's ransomware, malware, cyber crime, physical theft or something else it feels like a new threat emerges every day. The media is littered with horror stories about data breaches, security blunders and tech tales of woe, so how can you avoid being next and keep your people happy?

Follow the money

Security is big business. Analyst firm IDC predicts spending on security software, hardware and services will reach $120 billion by 2020. That's a lot of money going towards fighting a real and growing problem.

"Three overarching trends are driving security spending: a dynamic threat landscape, increasing regulatory pressures, and architectural changes spurred by digital transformation initiatives," said Sean Pike, IDC's Security Products and Legal, Risk, and Compliance programme vice president.

Ultimately, the more we adopt mobile technology in our personal lives, the more we've come to expect these same technologies to make our lives easier when we're at work. Implement technology in the right way and businesses should see a positive outcome across the board.

"Digital workplaces are good for employees, good for customers and good for profits." said Emma Thompson, Head of Technology and Telecoms Business Partnership Team, UK Government Cabinet Office in O2's Futures summary 2019.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for digital transformation. It means different things to different businesses, but one aspect that's fundamentally important is security. For instance, an organisation that becomes mobile first will need an agile infrastructure to allow its people to work and collaborate from anywhere.

This also requires end-to-end security, with each part of a company secure whether that's a server at head office or a member of staff using a work smartphone on an overseas business trip.

A big problem for business of all sizes

Whether you're a large or small business or any size in between security has to be front of mind. Like taking out an insurance policy you hope you never need, it's a must.

It's a dilemma. Ultimately, we need technology. Its benefits far outweigh any negatives and it makes a very real difference to businesses and individuals alike.

However, in order to reap the rewards rather than be exposed to the risks, we have to tread carefully. To help, here is our guide to what you really need to consider when it comes to workplace security.

Click above to view the workplace security guide infographic in full size

Do the following...

Do: Utilise two-factor authentication

Many employees actually like two-factor authentication as it helps if they forget their passwords as well as protecting what the company holds dear. By ensuring two verification steps need to be followed before granting access, you are reducing the chances of unauthorised access.

"Two-factor authentication may not be quite the security silver bullet it was once thought to be, but it's still an important area of security and access control to keep in mind when obtaining and setting up services for your business or personal life," according to an IT Pro article on the subject.

"The more hurdles you can put in the hackers' way, the less likely they are to target you."

Do: Look at both WAN and LAN

Devices that have connectivity can become dangerous in the wrong hands. That's why it's so important to focus on all network security elements from LAN to WAN and beyond.

O2 was the first mobile operator to achieve CAS(T) certification (the government standard for secure communications), to validate the financial and human resource effort placed into security to protect the businesses that rely on it.

Do: Embrace behavioural analytics

By taking advantage of Big Data platforms and sophisticated technologies such as Machine Learning, behavioural analytics looks at user activity to try and identify and stop insider threats. For example, employees who are able to interpret behavioural analytics can spot potential security breaches by looking at who is accessing various network assets, how often and what devices they are using to communicate with.

Do: Focus on endpoint protection

The majority (around 70%) of businesses in the UK still rely on signature-based detection to fend off malware and ransomware attacks, according to O2's Dean Thomson. This, simply, isn't good enough, he says.

"It's time to deploy next generation endpoint protection that uses behavioural analysis to detect and stop malicious activity. This technology will also go a long way in helping to protect against chip based exploits such as Meltdown and Spectre," Thomson added.

Do: Ensure you focus on the knowns and unknowns

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and it's easy to try and learn from what's happened in the past to try and affect what may happen in the future. But, while it's good to learn from experience, organisations must remember that the threats that expose our weak spots need the same amount, if not more, attention.

Do: Embrace evolving behaviours

With new threats emerging all the time, it's important not to stand still when it comes to security. Be prepared for every possible eventuality and respond accordingly.

The most dangerous threats to your business are the ones lying dormant waiting to activate. There's no place for complacency when it comes to workplace security. And, while people are your biggest and best asset, where security is concerned, they are also your biggest allies.

Don't do the following

Don't: Shut people out

People need to feel valued and listened to. And there's no greater way of showing you've been listening than answering their needs. So when you're implementing any new technology, don't do it without first talking to those who will end up using it. Get your people on board early on to help educate them on being security aware.

Don't: Get the balance wrong

When it comes to accessibility boundaries and rules, there needs to be the right balance between tech security and tech freedom. Use it in the right way, tailored to how people work with the right security in place and technology can help unlock employees' potential.

Don't: Allow unauthorised devices on the company network

In the same way you wouldn't allow any uninvited guests into your house, the same goes for your business. Many larger organisations may have this covered, but if a smaller business is keeping an eye on costs then unauthorised devices could slip through the net. In this case, ensure you maintain an audit of company issued devices as well as making sure employees understand the responsibility they hold every time they connect their personal devices to your corporate network.

Don't: Think you can do it alone

No one really understands your business as well as you do, but you're not expected to have all the answers. That's why it's important to work with your trusted partners to reinforce your defences. When it comes to security management, a third-party engagement can make a great deal of sense.

"Don't waste money on trying to build and tool your own Security Operations Centre, instead outsource the problem to the experts," according to Thomson.

"The costs for managed security services have come down considerably in the last year and it is far more secure to use a SOC that can see threats that are not just targeting your own business. There's strength in numbers. We're here to help if you need us."

In conclusion

Technology is only one part of the puzzle when it comes to effective security; but ultimately, your people are the best defence. That's why it's important not only to educate employees on all the dangers, but also get them onside with your security strategy.

"Don't let's talk about the technology as if it's the technology's fault that we'vegotten better or worse at anything. It's about how we choose to use the tools we've got," Codrington added.

A business's biggest asset is its people, and equipping them with the right technology to unlock their productivity is key. If an organisation and its people are always going to be connected, they need to be able to work on any device, collaborate with colleagues and access data and apps securely wherever they are.

When it comes to security, it's often said, that you're only as strong as your weakest link. So, make sure you strengthen those defences and continue to invest in them as the threats evolve. Together, it's far easier to stand up to the many against threats and stop them rather than taking them on alone.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

The phrase "big data" itself unnerved some of us a few years ago. And in light of recent worries concerning improper use of personal data, it's taken on a sinister note for some. But the increasingly huge wealth of data about every aspect of life now available is one of the miracles of the connected computing era. We create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, and that figure is also increasing daily. Despite the valid concerns about the misuse of personal data, all this information has the potential to revolutionise every area of our lives in beautifully beneficial ways.

The key ingredient is how you interpret and use all that data and we're only just scratching the surface of what can be achieved with all the information. This is because big data is by definition beyond what traditional data-processing application software is designed to cope with. Research group Gartner's Doug Laney coined the "3 Vs" to define big data back in 2001, standing for volume, velocity and variety. More recently variability, veracity and complexity have been suggested as additions.

What all these parameters are intended to illustrate is that it's not just the amount of information that defines "big data", but the speed at which it is arriving and the many different categories involved. Both the number of cases and the attributes for each one are orders of magnitude larger than previous data repositories. For example, wearables such as sports watches are collecting a wealth of information about people's exercise habits and this often includes details like heart rates, location throughout a routine, cadences for cycling and running, and even blood oxygen levels.

Businesses now rely on the data they collect about their customers, so how this is used effectively by employees is paramount. The modern era of "digital" companies like Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb are more about how they use the data they collect than what they actually trade in or produce. There is a huge debate about the relationship between these kinds of companies and their users. In the case of pure data companies like Facebook, there is a more complex value exchange than traditional commerce. With the latter, the customer parts with money and receives a product or service in return.

But with a company like Facebook or Google, the end user doesn't part with any money for the service they receive such as social network media sharing or internet search results, email and cloud-based applications. Instead, what they exchange is their personal information. Data is the currency that users spend to receive the services provided. Regulatory frameworks like GDPR have arisen in recognition of the value of the data users part with when they access these services. However, many users don't realise (or care) how much personal data they are giving away. The entertainment and social interaction they receive in return is sufficient to make them feel that they get more back than they spend.

All businesses collect data about their users, and whether or not users feel uncomfortable about this depends on how this information is used, as well as what they get in return. At one end of the scale, passing on personal details for third-party marketing purposes is not usually appreciated. However, the ability to use a system like Apple Pay to order a food delivery using just a thumbprint to verify identity and transfer the necessary funds is much more convenient than digging in your pocket for a credit card. Handing over your credit card details to Apple is necessary for this convenience. When this process also passes on your address details to the delivery company automatically, it's an even more seamless experience.

This is just the smallest tip of the iceberg. Big data promises to make emerging services like car sharing meet end user needs more seamlessly. Putting aside those who own cars for enthusiast reasons, the biggest barrier preventing people from switching to car sharing from personal ownership is the fear of not having their vehicle available exactly when they need it. But accurate predictive analysis of behaviour, bringing in factors like weather, current events and even personal habits, could mean that there is always a car nearby when required, because the data analysis calculated that you would. Perhaps a little spooky, but undeniably convenient. The ability of services like Uber and Airbnb to match provision with need is already showing the potential from well-honed analysis of behavioural data. Similarly, Amazon's grasp of supply-chain flow allows it to deliver many products the next day, or even the same day.

Over the next few years, the amount of information we share and is amassed about the world around us is set to increase exponentially. Virtually all companies can potentially benefit from collecting the right data and analysing it appropriately. Internet of Things devices, like per-room home thermostats, per-socket power consumption monitoring, health monitoring patches and connected cars with real-time tracking, are set to proliferate. These will be providing huge volumes of data and new possibilities of analysis. The relationship between health and lifestyle, for example, can be explored continually to find improvements.

The bandwidth available to wireless devices will be an order of magnitude higher, too, with 5G already being tested in the UK, for example O2's trial at the O2 Arena in North Greenwich, London. When 5G is eventually introduced it will allow wireless data speeds up to 1,000 times faster than 4G, and promises much lower latency too. In combination with the Internet of Things revolution, 5G will further enable the exponential growth of data accumulation, particularly real-time supply from intensive sources like video surveillance.

Big data also has the power to make jobs easier for workers in critical areas such as emergency services. Police in the UK, for instance, are already using predictive crime mapping', where huge amounts of data on crime types, locations and times are processed to generate hotspot maps showing officers where crime is most likely to occur. The NHS, too, has a rich pool of patient data on which to draw. This can aid doctors in everything from recognising the warning signs of diabetes to effectively managing patient flow and ward demand during busy winter months.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this feature, there are potential dangers from all this data. But with the right safeguards and observance of regulations, the fears people have can be allayed, allowing the benefits to shine through. O2, in its business blog post "What does the future of big data look like?", highlights how regulations like GDPR can be viewed as an opportunity for companies, rather than a threat. Testing your data for compliance should be seen as a chance to review what is being collected and how it is used, with the aim of finding untapped potential. Rather than just being an unwanted extra cost, this process can truly uncover the beautiful future possibilities of big data.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

Facebook has teamed up with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to create an independent research centre focused on the study of AI ethics.

The Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence will draw on the expertise of thought leaders and academics to research potential ethical issues related to the use of AI - such as safety, privacy, fairness, and transparency - as well as identifying possible with new use cases.

Facebook will contribute $7.5 million over five years and offer insight into how it's using AI and algorithms in initiatives such as its Fairness Flow that can determine unintended bias. Although TUM also plans to consider other funding sources, too.

"At Facebook, ensuring the responsible and thoughtful use of AI is foundational to everything we do from the data labels we use, to the individual algorithms we build, to the systems they are a part of," Joaquin Quionero Candela, director of Applied Machine Learning at Facebook, wrote in a post announcing the partnership.

"AI poses complex problems which industry alone cannot answer, and the independent academic contributions of the Institute will play a crucial role in furthering ethical research on these topics... The Institute will also benefit from Germany's position at the forefront of the conversation surrounding ethical frameworks for AI - including the creation of government-led ethical guidelines on autonomous driving - and its work with European institutions on these issues."

The Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence will be led by Professor Dr. Christoph Ltge.

"At the TUM Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, we will explore the ethical issues of AI and develop ethical guidelines for the responsible use of the technology in society and the economy," Dr. Ltge said.

"Our evidence-based research will address issues that lie at the interface of technology and human values. Core questions arise around trust, privacy, fairness or inclusion, for example, when people leave data traces on the internet or receive certain information by way of algorithms.

"We will also deal with transparency and accountability, for example in medical treatment scenarios, or with rights and autonomy in human decision-making in situations of human-AI interaction."

In many films and TV shows, smart cities are depicted through a somewhat dystopian filter, dubbed the Minority Report effect, in which you are always online, always visible and being bombarded with information. Yet the reality is set to be very different.

Having a truly connected smart city promises a time in which you never get stuck in traffic, you never experience a train delay, you can get GP appointments when you want them, the weekly shop is done automatically and you could save a fortune on energy bills. Here, we take a look into the near-future to show what life in a smart city could look like...

A day in the life of a smart city dweller

You wake to the sound of songbirds and a gentle "sunrise" as you enter a light sleep. Your fitness tracker knows when to rouse you for the day by tracking your heart rate and sends an alert to your smart lights and speaker to bring you around as gently as possible. As you enter the bathroom, your connected mirror greets you and gives you a flash news briefing with a summary of your day's meetings. It warns you it might rain, but traffic on your usual route is clear fewer people need to drive into town now because of remote working and more reliable public transport. You brush your teeth with your smart toothbrush, which advises you to see your dentist as you might need a filling, before your smart wardrobe recommends the blue suit.

By the time you get downstairs, your coffee machine has made you the perfect skinny cappuccino and has automatically ordered more coffee beans as the levels are getting low.

As you eat your breakfast, your electric car knows it's almost time to leave so it de-ices your windscreen and warms your seat. As it runs a diagnostic test, it notices you have a slow puncture. It checks your calendar and schedules in an appointment with your local garage using its online booking system. You don't need to worry about the car's battery being low as it was charged to full capacity overnight when energy usage was at its cheapest.

Just as you leave your house, the bin men come to collect your connected bin. The bin sent an alert to your local council to say it was getting full without you having to worry about putting it out on the correct day. You shut the door and ask your voice-controlled smart home system to switch off the heating and set the security alarm.

Driving to the train station, you don't have to worry about traffic jams caused by roadworks because your local council used 5G-enabled sensors to prioritise maintenance and manage flow. En route, your car hits a pothole and sends an alert to the local authority. You don't get stuck at traffic lights, either, because the lights now respond and adapt to traffic patterns rather than running on a set system. As the roads are quiet, the lights stay green all the way. This doesn't give you a huge amount of time to stream the latest episode of your favourite podcast, but at least you're not using mobile data to do so thanks to Wi-Fi hotspots and 5G antennas lining your route.

Approaching the station, the location of empty spaces in the car park is sent to your phone and lights on the ground guide you to the best spot. Built-in charging plates in each space recharge your vehicle ready for your drive home later.

As you wait for the train to pull into the station, you are shown how many empty seats are in each carriage and each seat has plug sockets to go with the free 5G network on the train meaning you can check your emails before you get to the office, boosting your productivity. Once at the other end, you use your phone to check which walking routes have the cleanest air, monitored by 5G-enabled sensors fitted to lampposts and buildings. Your fitness tracker sends a log of this exercise, as well as how much you slept, to your GP who schedules a digital appointment for later that week.

In the office, the light above your desk and the ambient temperature has been pre-programmed based on the weather forecast, and to your personal preference. You don't need to worry about forgetting your work pass, either, because facial recognition scans you and gives you automatic access.

At the end of the day, you pop into the supermarket to grab some food for dinner. Using your phone, you "open" your smart fridge at home to view its contents. The fridge app offers suggestions for recipes you can make with the food you already have and advises what else you need to buy. As you take the items off the shelves, their value is automatically added to an online checkout and when you leave the store, your account is charged. The store's employees are sent a notification that you've removed an onion and some peppers and replenish the shelf for the next customer. Because you didn't have to queue for your shopping, you're right on time for your train, which leaves bang on schedule. There were some leaves on the line earlier in the day, but smart sensors and AI have ensured they're cleared and make sure all the trains continue to run on time.

Click to view the above smart cities infographic full size

Before you get to your front door, which also uses facial recognition to let you in, proximity sensors have been alerted to your presence and signal for your smart home to put the kettle on. Your heating is already warming up, you'd put the washing on remotely from the office before you left, and your smart lights come on as you pass through the doorway. As you enter the kitchen, your podcast from the car carries on playing on your smart speaker and you sit down with a cup of tea.

You've not had to pay for mobile data all day, you've saved energy on your heating bills thanks to the smart grid and your train ticket is cheaper because the more cost-efficient operator has passed down its savings to its customers. You also only had to work five hours to get everything done because your productivity has been boosted by such a frictionless day. As you settle into bed later that night, your smart lights mimic the setting sun and you drift off naturally.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

As a society, we are on the verge of a further tech revolution. A defining moment in the history of connectivity, business and everyday life that has the potential to be as momentous as the rise of manufacturing. It's the rise of 5G.

Since the launch of 2G in 1991, mobile data speeds have accelerated faster than many could have predicted, and today, more than 187 million emails are sent, 480,000 tweets are posted, and 266,000 hours of Netflix is watched every second. Demand for data is growing by 60% a year. That's the equivalent of building O2's entire mobile network again, from scratch, in 18 months.

But while 4G is about connecting us to the people and things we love, 5G takes this a step further. Instead of being a replacement for 4G, it promises to create a truly connected society, one in which everything from your toothbrush to your bin, your car and entire motorways "talk" to each other and share data to make our lives as frictionless as possible. Where 4G is ten times faster than its predecessor, 5G is set to double that again, promising home broadband speeds on the go. It's not all about speed, though. 5G is more secure and more stable than what's come before.

In its Path to 5G post, O2 explains how 5G will tackle some of society's biggest issues from improving our health and social care, reducing traffic, cutting train delays and overcrowding, to helping combat fuel poverty and powering the rise of electric vehicles.

"5G represents an important chapter in the story of the evolution of mobile technology," explains Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer of O2. "It's about building connectivity into the fabric of our society, creating an integrated infrastructure that will connect buildings, transport and utilities. It provides a substantial opportunity to develop and improve the way our energy, transport, healthcare and retail sectors operate."

"5G represents an important chapter in the story of the evolution of mobile technology," explains Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer of O2. "It's about building connectivity into the fabric of our society, creating an integrated infrastructure that will connect buildings, transport and utilities. It provides a substantial opportunity to develop and improve the way our energy, transport, healthcare and retail sectors operate."

In particular, a world supported by such a ubiquitous, hyper-fast network connection, is a world in which business owners can think bigger, and workers can be more agile, flexible and productive.

The huge bandwidth and low latency of 5G will mean such remote working and conference calls will never be hit with buffering issues, either. You will be able to meet and collaborate with colleagues in the cloud as if you were in the same room. And when you get to work, 5G-enabled sensors and cameras will automatically adjust the lighting and temperature of an office to make the working environment more comfortable, and save businesses vast sums on energy costs.

Beyond the office, the benefits to business and the wider economy extend to smart roads and smart energy grids. 5G-enabled sensors built along the UK's roads and motorways can more accurately monitor and manage traffic flow, promising to reduce traffic congestion by 10%. O2's The value of 5G for cities and communities report estimates this will save businesses 880 million a year in lost productivity, help the average commuter reclaim 3.2 hours a year and cut CO2 emissions by 370,000 metric tonnes. A recent trial of such technology, by Transport for London, reduced delays by 20%. 5G-enabled billboards on highways will also be able to provide real-time traffic, parking and road condition information to commuters.

Plus, as cars become better connected, the data they and their drivers' phones collect via vast 5G networks can be shared anonymously with transport planners and councils to help them further develop infrastructure. The insight helps to prioritise which parts of the transport network needed to be improved first. In addition to cutting congestion, this helped encourage people to use local businesses.

The report conducted by O2 continues that in a 5G society, every household will be 450 better off a year. On average, 145 will be shaved off their energy bills thanks to super-smart grids that charge devices at the cheapest, optimum time. These advanced grids will help power smart street lighting and will come into their own if estimates about 1.3 million extra electric cars joining the roads prove to be true. Having a 5G-proofed grid that can withstand mass electric car charging will cut emissions further and save each owner 1,600 in annual fuel costs. Thanks to 5G, council bills will be 66 cheaper, too, as a result of connected bins that are only collected when they are full, and smart fridges will help people cut food waste by 236 a year. This is because they will either automatically order items before they run out, or show shoppers what's on their shelves to avoid doubling up.

Societally, 5G also has the potential to save lives. Being able to monitor the elderly or vulnerable using 5G-enabled sensors and devices will not only empower these people, it will save local councils 2.8 billion in reduced social care costs. Moreover, 5G will help doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals deliver better care to patients. Waiting times for GP appointments will fall, as 5G enables GPs to offer more reliable telehealth services helping them to reclaim 1.1 million hours a year. This will have a knock-on effect to productivity through reduced workplace absence, it will relieve pressure on the NHS, and adds up to a total of 6 billion in savings, in both time and cost, for cities.

Unfortunately, such a revolution won't happen overnight. "5G works a bit like a patchwork quilt. It needs a high level of collaboration to hardwire the technology into our cities' infrastructure," explains Telefonica's CEO Mark Evans. "The danger is we treat it as an afterthought, when in fact it needs to be planned in now." This is why O2 is continuing to invest heavily in 4G to lay the groundwork, both technologically and societally, for the rise of smart cities. By the end of 2018, O2 will have invested in enhanced 4G connectivity in more than 330 rural communities, from Drumoak to Lizard to get 250,000 more people online. It follows the installation of a permanent 4G mobile mast last year in remote hamlet, Staylittle, in Powys, Wales, marking the first time the previously cut-off community could get online. According to the report, O2's rollout is expected to create an extra 57.7 million a year as rural businesses take advantage of new opportunities.

By working with other network operators, government, manufacturers and local councils, O2 is helping pave the way towards a brighter future. A more connected future. One in which technology unlocks creativity and opportunity and brings benefits at every level to business, cities, and most importantly, people.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

What does your laptop say about you? If it's battered at the edges and finished in old-school grey, you may consider every scratch a badge of honour. Perhaps you're a MacBook advocate, where industrial design and that mirrored Apple logo send a message of success. Or you might have smothered it in stickers, turning it into a no-logo John Doe.

Whether we like it or not, our laptops say something about us. I think Microsoft understands this. After all, the only visible difference between the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Pro 5 is colouring: dressed in svelte black, the Pro 6 is a fine-looking beast.

It's bizarre, though, that we've got to the tail end of 2018 and the company remains incapable of looking outside its own bubbled existence. With a couple of exceptions, every Microsoft exec I've met has been clever, motivated and passionate but so deeply instilled in the Microsoft way of doing things that they can't separate themselves from the Bill Gates Borg. It's as if the prime consideration when hiring is to make sure the potential employee shares the Microsoft worldview; anything different is dangerous.

Take the lack of USB-C ports on the new Surface devices. Surely someone in the design team must have shouted out that sticking with mini-DisplayPort was stupid? Really, really, dazzlingly stupid. I suspect no-one did, so frightened were they to rock the boat. And even if junior designer Bob did find the courage to raise a hand and question the wisdom of sticking with a display connector so old-fashioned that it wears spats and knows how to foxtrot, nobody listened.

Why, Microsoft, why? In USB-C we have a modern format that supports power, video and data, whether you choose USB 3.1 or the superior Thunderbolt 3 bus. Sticking with DisplayPort is the equivalent of sticking with Gary Lineker because he did a good job in the Mexico World Cup.

But no, mini-DisplayPort it is, and so we have to explore why. Tooling costs? Definitely an argument there: this is the same chassis as before, so there are minimal R&D costs to absorb and greater profits for the Microsoft machine.

And perhaps that was the deciding factor. Although I say Microsoft machine, I'm sure that the Surface division must need to robustly defend its profit and loss figures when compared to the cash-generating arms of Office and Azure.

Whatever the reason, it's a misstep. Microsoft may justify the lack of USB-C by saying customers aren't asking for it yet, but Microsoft needs to be at the forefront of change, pushing it and avoiding proprietary formats.

People need a compelling reason to upgrade their laptops now more than ever. I'm a big fan of Intel's new generation of mobile processors, and note that AMD has finally entered the mid-range game with the mobile Ryzen 7 in the Lenovo Yoga 530, but a bump in speed and battery life just aren't enough to make most people want to retire their two or three-year-old machines.

We want something new. Maybe that's the ability to play Fortnite, but more likely it's infrastructure: show me that I can get rid of a cable and I'm a happy man. Asus believes that design is the key, with the bold design of its ZenBook S setting it apart. While I'm not a fan of the glossy lid, it includes three USB-C ports, two of which support Thunderbolt.

If you're reading, Bob, I suggest you apply for a job there.

A third of all UK businesses have suffered cyber attacks as a direct result of its employees working remotely, according to new research from CybSafe.

The research from the cyber security and data analytics firm suggests that, despite a rise in the number of people working remotely, businesses aren't adapting their security practices or policies to account for it. A quarter of survey respondents have not implemented basic security precautions, such as installing antivirus software, and 30% don't have any measures in place to restrict files access.

In a survey commissioned by CybSafe, 80% of all UK businesses have seen a rise in remote working over the past 2 years, which echoes a 2016 report by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) which found a 19% rise in nationwide remote working in the past decade.

Of those businesses surveyed, 32% said they had suffered a cyber attack in the past 12 months as a direct result of an employee working remotely and outside of the organisation's security perimeter.

"While remote working has the potential to be hugely beneficial to businesses, the threat of related data breaches is being seriously underestimated," said Oz Alashe, CEO and founder of CybSafe. "Most business leaders assume that their people know how to work safely when working remotely but the number of data breaches caused by staff working remotely and the lack of training indicates that this isn't the case."

The research suggests that the key decision makers in businesses are overconfident when it comes to remote working, with three-quarters of survey respondents believing their employees had enough knowledge of the risks of telecommuting. It was also found that only half of those surveyed had offered any kind of formal security training to employees.

Alashe argues that firms "need to properly recognise the security challenges of the mobile professional and take a proactive approach.

"Training staff so they recognise and deal with threats at work, on the go, and at home [is] important."

Part of the problem is that many people work remotely even when they spend most of the time in the office, even if they don't realise it.

"We work on the train, in coffee shops, and even walking down the street. The way we work as a nation has changed dramatically over the course of just a decade," said Alashe. "How businesses manage cyber security and training must reflect our lifestyles, and help us develop good habits so we can avoid becoming victims."

This shouldn't come as news to business leaders anyway, back in 2008 we reported on similar research which showed that 92% of surveyed employees were accessing business-sensitive information remotely at least once in a six-month period. It was claimed that this has led remote working to be the most vulnerable part of network security.

Ask many IT professionals what the greatest threat to their organisation is, and you may be surprised by what you hear. Often it's not malicious hackers, or unscrupulous competitors, or even corrupt individuals within the business that IT departments point the finger at. Instead, it's two words: "user error".

Even well-meaning employees can inadvertently cause problems for IT staff, and there's a tendency for tech workers to greet every new story of breaches caused by password reuse or bogus phishing emails with a roll of the eyes and worrying lack of surprise.

Instead of lamenting users who aren't as familiar with the ins and outs of technology as we are, and lamenting the security risk they represent, the IT community can embrace the value of its people and educate them, turning a potential security weakness into a strength. Technology empowers people to carry out their jobs effectively, but to achieve that benefit, an organisation must train its people on security and mobile device management to protect them and itself.

After all, the unfortunate fact is that security slip-ups can happen to anyone, regardless of how tech-savvy they are. All it takes is one lapse in concentration, and you can be unwittingly handing over your credentials or data to an attacker. Just ask O2's Head of Digital Specialists, Lee Hargadon, who documented an instance of having his debit card cloned for O2's Business Blog.

"The human factor will always be a weak element of your cyber protection strategy, and given the ease of use of mobile, it's the next threat vector to be dealt with," Hargadon wrote. "

If you need more proof, just look at the amount of organisations that have suffered data breaches thanks to IT staff failing to password-protect their cloud storage services.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. A properly educated and empowered workforce can be a business's strongest asset, and using technology in the right way can help them deliver more effectively. A business that understands how its people work is better placed to improve its overall security posture across the board and make itself more resilient. Spam and phishing emails are a great example; you can ignore employee training in favour of firewalls and enterprise anti-spam defences if you want, but that means that when a malicious email slips through the net and it really is a matter of when', not if' your people may be unable to spot the warning signs and be unaware of the risk opening that email poses to the business.

This also applies to other phishing methods, such as over text or social media. Can your anti-spam software guard against a bogus Facebook message targeted at the team member who runs your social media, or a malware-laden text purporting to be Domino's offering a free pizza, sent to a corporate device?

If, on the other hand, you give your people proper training on phishing including what it is, how it works, what the techniques are and how to spot them you can harden every department in your business, empowering them to fight off anything that gets through the firewall, without having to rely on IT. As an added bonus, it'll also make them more generally tech-savvy, as well as making them better at sniffing out scammers in general.

Of course, when it comes to empowerment, technology has other vital roles to fulfill outside of security. For example, the right technology can do a lot to boost employees' productivity, allowing them to get more done, faster. You should make sure that you're giving employees the right devices for the right jobs, which means looking at the needs of individual workers.

If they spend a lot of time outside of an office environment, they won't need a desktop machine but a smartphone or tablet device may be better-suited to their needs than a laptop, if all they need to do is respond to emails or fill out a few forms. Making sure that your people have the right tools will ensure that they have all the capabilities they need, without them having to drag around an unnecessarily large device. A secure smartphone is just as effective as having a PC but sits in your pocket.

Technology can be used to support remote workers too, and it can be really important in making sure that they don't feel isolated and left out. It's easy for individual field workers to feel like they're on their own, and can quickly lead to them feeling undervalued and overwhelmed. Using collaboration tools can help remote workers keep in touch with colleagues at head office who can offer support and assistance, and can also connect field workers across the country. As an example, a domiciliary care organisation has issued mobile devices to its team of care workers, who spend most of their time visiting patients and rarely checking into the company's offices. By using mobile devices and cloud apps, their carers were still supported and connected when they were out on the road.

Similarly, when one online retailer began expanding globally it brought people together with a cloud-based storage solution that integrated with the business's existing technology and working methods. This allowed its global workforce to stay connected, whether they're stationed at the UK office or working remotely."

Technology can have a huge impact on the processes and procedures that help you run your business, but it's important not to forget that technology should serve people, not the other way around. IT can empower and connect individuals, making them more secure and efficient at work, but also helping them be happier and more fulfilled in their work life generally.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

Microsoft has unveiled its Clarity analytics tools, designed to run A/B testing of user experiences on a website. It's going head to head with market leaders such as Optimizely, Google Optimize and Visual Web Optimizer that have been helping businesses test the effectiveness of user experiences.

The suite will not only identify which experiences are the most profitable for an organisation, but it will also help companies identify errors and usability issues, making for a very effective tool in a marketing arsenal.

It doesn't just tell you how users navigated through your site, but it can accurately replay exactly what potential customers clicked, hovered over, and tapped with their finger if using a touchscreen device. When Clarity is deployed on a website, it "listens" to browser events, network requests and user interactions. This data is then uploaded and stored on the Clarity server running on Microsoft Azure.

During testing, Clarity engineers were also able to uncover browser exploits, such as malware running in the Bing search engine.

Clarity highlighting evidence of malware in a Bing browser window

"Thanks to Clarity, Bing's engineers were able see what the user actually saw which wasn't at all what they expected," the company explained in a blog launching Clarity. "To diagnose the cause of the strange content, they used Clarity to determine that the content came from malware installed on the end user's machine, which were hijacking the page and modifying the content. As a result, people did not engage with Bing content and page load performance was also impacted."

Clarity can operate on any HTML web pages and is deployed using Javascript on the page, although it's only available on some domains at the moment, including those with two and three letters TLDs, including .com and .uk.

Significant government investment has allowed for a surge in the number of AI research papers being published in China, helping the country to close the gap between western rivals in terms of research contribution.

China is still lagging behind the US and UK in terms of significant contributions and overall development of AI in the country, according to the latest AI Index report.

However, China is catching up quickly. In the study, which covered a vast range of data points, it was found that China edged out the US in the number of published research papers for AI in 2018.

Europe still took dominance with 28% of all authored papers, however, China now sits at 25%, following a 150% increase of published papers between 2007 and 2017, led largely by its government.

In 2017, the Chinese government produced nearly 4x more AI papers than private Chinese corporations. China has also experienced a 400% increase in government-affiliated AI papers since 2007, while corporate AI papers only increased by 73% in the same period.

However, this surge in the number of papers produced has drastically reduced quality, with China scoring lower than Europe and the US based on the influence of published research.

Calculated using the "field-weighted citation impact (FWCI)", it was found that the US is the most influential region in the field scoring just under 2, with Europe scoring slightly under 1.5 and China nearly hitting 1.

China ahead in language processing

Another of the analysed data points was the specific capabilities in which the regions excel in the field of AI. This metric showed the number of businesses that have embedded AI capabilities in at least one business unit.

China lagged behind its western counterparts in machine learning but excelled in a variety of areas including autonomous vehicles, natural language (NL) generation and NL text understanding as well as conversational interfaces and computer vision.

Europe dominated robotic process automation while North America took a slight lead in machine learning, although all three regions scored similarly for this as well as physical robotics.

However, it wasn't all good news for the west, which continues to struggle with its diversity figures. In a data set of select universities in Europe and North America, it was shown that on average 80% of AI professors in leading universities including UCL, Oxford and Stanford are male.

In an effort to control the diversity to more equal levels, action groups such as Women in Machine Learning (WiML) and AI4ALL have seen incredible success with their programs aiming to encourage women and young people of less represented backgrounds to get into AI. WiML saw a 600% increase in workshop attendance and AI4ALL saw an increase of 900% for its educational program compared to 2015.

Funding

One of the reasons for China's massive surge in AI performance in recent years is due to the government backing provided to it.

In previous years, the US relied heavily on significant investment from private firms. Companies such as Amazon invested $16.1bn into the industry and Alphabet also injected $13.6bn, while public funding was comparatively low. For example, the National Science Foundation only allocated $5.3bn in its 2019 budget.

According to CB Insights, China accounted for 48% of the world's total AI startup funding in 2017, compared to 38% for the US. Billions more in funding has come from venture capitalists in recent months too, propelling China to the forefront of the AI race.

A publicly-exposed cache of 66 million records has been found in the wild containing employment information such as career history, and skills.

Researchers have stumbled on a "treasure trove" of 66,147,856 unique records across three large databases, including a MongoDB database, that contained a wealth of scraped business-centric information.

The exposed records include full names, personal or professional emails, location details, skills, and work histories; all information that would typically be found on a LinkedIn profile.

Although the entries do not contain any sensitive personal information, such as financial details or passwords, they do contain private information, such as a person's background and their IP address.

Malwarebytes' lead malware intelligence analyst, Christopher Boyd, said that such databases will typically be used to power large-scale phishing campaigns, although there's no way of knowing if the information is being exploited in the wild.

"It could also prove useful to anyone wanting a ready-made marketing list. The big problem is that even if the ones doing the data scraping had no harmful intentions, that may not apply to anybody finding the treasure trove.

"Given how this information was stumbled upon in the first place, there's no real way to know how many bad actors got their hands on it first."

This data-scraping incident is also connected with a host of complaints by many LinkedIn and GitHub users that they have been receiving breach notifications lately, Boyd added. The users affected can also expect to be targeted with phishing attacks alongside a string of fake job offers and "poor quality" job offer spam.

Data scraping, the method which the data was obtained, is considered a grey area legally-speaking, given it does not involve hacking, or breaching an organisation's defences. Rather, the data is very efficiently gathered by threat actors from information that users themselves choose to make publicly available.

But HackenProof, which first discovered the three exposed databases, argues data scraping "without first obtaining the prior individual's written consent" is illegal, especially in light of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. But the platform conceded this can vary from case to case depending on how the extracted data is used.

HackenProof also suggested several steps employees and bosses can take to minimise the chances their personal information isn't reaped in such a way in future.

These include only providing the bare minimum data when creating online profiles, using different email addresses for bank accounts versus social media, and assessing whether personal data volunteered may potentially be used in a malicious way.

The government has been challenged to allay the pessimism around automation by taking advantage of new technologies to create one million high-tech manufacturing jobs by 2030.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Britain's coalition of trade union organisations, has proposed five key policy planks to achieving a target that it's demanded the government work towards, together with business and trade unions.

Proposals outlined in a new report titled 'All Tomorrow's Jobs' include offering new skills to workers in industries which face technological disruption, and fighting for trade union representation on key industrial decisions.

Remaining part of the Europian Union's (EU) single market and customs union beyond the date of EU withdrawal will also have a significant effect on the health of the UK's industrial landscape, the report claims.

"Too many parts of Britain have been held back by a lack of decent jobs. They deserve better," said the TUC's general secretary Frances O'Grady.

"That means businesses, government and trade unions working together, locally and nationally, to bring high-tech industries to more places across the UK."

"We need a local industrial strategy for every town that has been held back. We need to train workers in the skills needed for tomorrow's high-tech industries. And we need a Brexit deal that protects jobs - we are open to alternatives, but the best option currently looks like being in the single market and customs union."

Digitisation is the biggest challenge facing UK manufacturing, the report says, but, instead of being seen with pessimism, it should be considered an opportunity to create new jobs, mainly in an under-explored 'clean energy' sector.

The TUC claims that many jobs will be created if the government sets a 50% national target for renewable energy sources by 2030, with companies in this space primed to take advantage of advancing technology like robotics.

The organisation has also called for the creation of 'clean technology communities' in former manufacturing heartlands "that have seen a demise of heavy industry", such as parts of the North of England. Beyond reinvigorating these communities, such areas already have an industrial heritage that could bring a massive benefit to new sectors.

Meanwhile, there are several key areas TUC has identified as having a potential effect on the workforce and the nature of work. These areas including 'automation', which will replace human input, 'digitisation of processes', which will mark a transition from physical to virtual, and 'coordination by platforms', which will change work organisation.

In addition, specific game-changing technologies, such as electric vehicles and industrial biotechnology, can collectively affect employment, working conditions, and work culture and may lead to a complete reorganisation of the nature of employment.

One effect identified could be a reduction in the size of certain teams, given the scale of tasks that might be automated, but a demand for higher skills within those teams.

"The UK now has an industrial strategy that could help but that is still, some one year on from the white paper, more theory than practice," said Maddie Scott, senior policy researcher at employment organisation EEF.

"What is the right approach to take things forward and ensure a competitive manufacturing sector that continues to invest and evolve in the UK?

"An industrial strategy is not just a document for one department, it is a way of changing the relationship between government, businesses and their employees to deliver outcomes more effectively, but these outcomes must be known and reinforced across government.

She added that clarity is needed on the goals of the strategy, including how it will be measured and how other sectors are allowed to contribute.

The report also sounded a warning over the government's handling of Brexit, claiming it's essential for the UK to remain in the single market and customs union to have any chance of reaching the 'one million jobs' target.

The organisation said it would not be possible to achieve the target if "we put obstacles in the way of ourselves" and called for a barrier-free, tariff-free and frictionless trading relationship with the EU beyond March 2019.

Temporary staff at Google are seen as "significant risks" according to a leaked internal training document, seen by the Guardian.

Full-time Google employees are being instructed on the ins and outs of interacting with the many temps, vendors and contractors, known as TVCs at Google. The instructions involve not inviting them to important meetings, stopping them from partaking in professional development training and denying them benefits such as free T-shirts.

The document, called the ABCs of TVCs, says the tech giant is concerned about standard insider threats, such as leaks of proprietary information, but it's also worried about the risk of being found to be a joint employer. This is a legal designation which could be costly for Google in terms of benefits.

"Working with TVCs and Googlers is different," the training documentation explains. "Our policies exist because TVC working arrangements can carry significant risks."

According to the Guardian, which claims to have spoken to a Google employee with access to figures, out of approximately 170,000 people around the world who now work at Google, only 51% are full-time employees and the other 49%, are TVCs.

This two-tier system has complicated labour activism at Google. After 20,000 workers joined a global walkout on 1 November in protest of the company's handling of sexual misconduct cases, Google gave in to some of the demands and said it would overhaul its sexual harassment policies, but this didn't include temporary workers.

Last week, the organisers of the walkout published an anonymous open letter addressed to Google's CEO Sundar Pichai entitled from "TVCs at Google". The letter laid bare some of the concerns that TVCs have due to Google's differential treatment, including lower wages and "minimal benefits".

"Google routinely denies TVCs access to information that is relevant to our jobs and our lives," the letter said. "When the tragic shooting occurred at YouTube in April of this year, the company sent real-time security updates to full-time employees only, leaving TVCs defenceless in the line of fire. TVCs were then excluded from a town hall discussion the following day."

Google has disputed this account of the shooting, saying that it worked to provide TVCs with security updates during the incident, but that some information was sent through a different email account or came from TVCs' direct employers and that all TVCs were invited to an all-hands meeting at YouTube after the incident.

"We hire Google employees to work on jobs that are core to our business, and look to temps, vendors and contractors when we either don't have the expertise or infrastructure ourselves or when we need temporary help due to employee leaves or short-term projects," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

"Temps, vendors and contractors are an important part of our extended workforce, but they are employed by other companies, not Google."

Senior management and board-level executives' limited knowledge of cyber security threats are putting clients and their markets at risk of "serious harm".

That's according to a new Financial Conduct Authority review of asset management and financial firms, which found that businesses are also over-reliant on third-party providers for advice, which can potentially have an adverse effect on a firm's long-term development of in-house cyber capabilities.

"All the firms acknowledged the importance of strong cyber security. But there were different degrees of understanding of the many potential ways that weak cybersecurity could affect business activities and lead to harm to clients and the wider markets," the FCA said.

"This was particularly the case at the Board or Management Committee levels."

The FCA added that awareness is lower in firms that don't have a cyber-specific strategy, and where response plans take little account of non-technical consequences such as the impact to their reputation, clients and markets.

Reviewing a representative sample of 20 UK firms, the FCA said organisations' senior leadership must do better to understand the cyber risks tied with the business' activities, particularly where the management structure is centralised.

Firms should also take steps to create a culture that shifts cyber security from just an IT priority to an organisational-wide issue.

Moreover, the UK's financial regulator published a list of questions board-level staff and senior management can ask themselves as they better-familiarise themselves with the threats they face on a regular basis.

These queries include: 'Which aspects of our approach to conduct risk management could we apply to the way we manage our cyber risk. Does this offer value?' and 'How confident are we that our incident management plans would be effective in dealing with the aftermath of a cyber incident?'

The FCA's findings reflect the view of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) chief executive Ciaran Martin, who said board-level members must do more to grasp the basics or risk their firms falling behind.

Martin, speaking at the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI's) fourth annual Cyber Security Conference in September, warned executives that cyber is now a mainstream business risk.

"People at board level need to understand the basics and I stress, basics of cyber attacks, cyber risks and cyber defences," Martin said in his keynote address.

"That's daunting, but it is doable. It's essential. And today is a significant moment in our efforts to equip the UK's major companies to do it."

The FCA's view also mirrors Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) findings released earlier this year that show UK businesses are failing the most basic cyber security measures. Just 50% of businesses surveyed, according to DCMS, are adhering to the very basics of cyber security, while the figure was even lower for charities.

It's a reality that can be partially explained by a widely-publicised cyber skills shortage, with a report published in October exposing a wide global IT skills shortage that currently stands at almost three million.

ITC Secure's director of cyber security Malcolm Taylor said the FCA's findings confirm what many in the industry have known for some time that the cyber threat is widely misunderstood and underestimated by some.

"I don't think this is limited to these sectors, either it's every sector and at every level," he said. "None of this is a criticism; the cyber threat is a new threat, it is in places deeply complex, and it is presented as almost existentially dangerous.

"I also think the cyber security industry has to take some responsibility for this state of affairs. Cyber security products and services have been sold by some through over-emphasising the fear and the complexity of the issue, but whilst that might work for a one-off sale it doesn't build the essential, trusted partnerships that we need, to more expertly and successfully repel attacks."

The cloud is now established as a business-as-normal activity. Almost three-quarters of businesses have between one and five years of experience with cloud technologies, according to research by IT industry association CompTIA.

So, what will be the key trends for the cloud through 2019 and beyond, and how can CIOs continue to make the most of the cloud?

Alex von Schirmeister, chief digital, technology and innovation officer at retail specialist RS Components, is using the cloud to provide a platform for digital transformation. He is working to create a cloud-first approach, yet the required balance of business benefit and technological risk leaves von Schirmeister to conclude that there will never be a 100% migration to the cloud.

On-prem will always have a role

"There will always be room for some sort of hybrid solution, where certain aspects of your infrastructure because of issues around criticality, confidentiality or risk will continue being held on-premise," he explains. "There are still many legacy companies, like ours, that are still at an early stage regarding the journey of discovery and the cloud."

"We're still experimenting in many ways. The clear majority of our main infrastructure still sits on a physical data warehouse and it will continue to do so for several years. But we're certainly looking at how we migrate in the future."

That stance resonates with Gregor Petri, research vice president at Gartner, who says most businesses are currently focused on creating a cloud strategy, but concerns remain around existing application portfolios. While some IT leaders might consider lifting and shifting a small minority of services, the majority of CIOs will use the cloud in the future as a platform to deliver innovation.

"That approach means most things will eventually run in the cloud, but not because CIOs pick up existing applications and choose to run them somewhere else," says Petri. Lifting and shifting doesn't give you the benefits of the cloud. But what is true is that the next version of the software you're running today, and in intend to run in the future, will run in the cloud."

The need for reliable governance

This piecemeal approach is a strategy that chimes with Richard Corbridge, who is chief digital and information officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. His organisation is aiming to move to a cloud-first policy during the next four years. Corbridge, who joined the Trust late last year, says the transition on demand is taking longer because of those previous investments in internal infrastructure made before he joined.

Now, however, cloud increasingly represents the sensible choice for organisations in his sector. "Healthcare organisations are pushing hard to show that cloud is not just possible but almost mandated as the approach of choice, due to its added security and functionality," says Corbridge. "There's no point in every Trust in the UK investing in their own infrastructure."

He says it makes good business sense for Leeds to use the cloud, especially if that approach helps support better investment in security through the big-budget approach of vendor partners. Corbridge recognises governance is still a concern, suggesting this need to keep a tight grip on data location will help sponsor the use of mixed approaches to the cloud.

"There's probably still a need for a bit of a hybrid solution because of the nature of some of the systems, particularly the legacy technology that some Trusts have," he says, adding the likely direction of travel for European public sector bodies is on demand. "As we modernise, I think we'll ultimately all move more towards the public cloud."

"Cloud is still too expensive"

Like Corbridge, Richard Gifford, CIO at logistics firm Wincanton, says his organisation must deal with legacy concerns. At the moment, his business has a high, fixed-cost legacy installation base. "I'm not able to breathe in easily if circumstances change," says Gifford.

"Equally, we sometimes want to be able to expand rapidly, so that we can serve our customers in a more agile way. That means we're looking to move from a fixed-cost base to a scalable operation."

Gifford says the form of that transition, including choice of provider, is up for debate. The organisation will go to the public cloud for some areas, such as testing and development, and for certain enterprise applications. But where the firm is running 24/7 operations, such as in the case of ecommerce, the cloud is currently too expensive.

So, rather than the commonly-cited security implications of going on demand, Gifford says cost concerns are a bigger impediment to a cloud-first strategy. "We're embracing on-demand IT, but we'll be making a tentative move to the cloud because of commercial reasons," he says.

"In the public cloud, I'm going to have to stand up services to run 24/7, so I'm actually paying for that computing power even if we're not using it. In a private cloud, that situation is different because I'm only paying for the service when I need it."

The future of computing is at the edge

It is reasonable to suggest, therefore, that the approach to the cloud varies between sectors and organisations and that variation will remain a common theme going forward. What is certain, however, is that the cloud will be used to help deliver innovation and new services.

Richard Orme, CTO of Photobox Group, expects the next year or two to be huge in terms of businesses using the cloud to deliver benefits to customers. "People are going to see much more rapid iterations on their apps, software and operating systems and far fewer big, one-off updates," he says.

Further down the line, as cloud becomes the norm, Orme believes there is going to be much greater use of edge computing. This involves the proliferation of smaller, localised data centres that are focused on machine-to-machine interactions, such as those that could be used to power artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.

"AI requires vast numbers of interactions between two machines for example, your phone and the data centre which holds the AI engine so being physically close makes a big difference in how quickly these machines can interact and, therefore, respond to an end user. As the complexity of AI grows, edge computing and local data centres that are used specifically for super-fast machine-to-machine interactions will become key," says Orme.

Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for the government to create legislation around the use of facial recognition technologies to protect the privacy of citizens.

Smith discussed the issue with the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and then followed up with a blog post, calling for action to be taken to protect the privacy and democratic rights of civilians.

He spoke of the benefits facial recognition technologies bring to society, but also highlights that it's open to abuse and called for greater research into the technology.

"In the ensuing months, we've been pursuing these issues further, talking with technologists, companies, civil society groups, academics and public officials around the world," Smith said. "We've learned more and tested new ideas. Based on this work, we believe it's important to move beyond study and discussion. The time for action has arrived."

He said that in 2019, governments must adopt laws to regulate how and where facial recognition can be used. If action is not taken now, there's the risk that it will have become so mainstream in five years that there will be no going back.

"In particular, we don't believe that the world will be best served by a commercial race to the bottom, with tech companies forced to choose between social responsibility and market success, " Smith commented. "We believe that the only way to protect against this race to the bottom is to build a floor of responsibility that supports healthy market competition."

For this to work, companies must be governed by law that allows for business growth while considering the public good.

Smith also urged other tech firms to take proactive action and create their own safeguards rather than waiting for governments to release relevant legislation.

The company has set a precedent by coming up with six principles to manage the use of facial recognition across industry, with plans to implement them by the end of next year.

"Governments and the tech sector both play a vital role in ensuring that facial recognition technology creates broad societal benefits while curbing the risk of abuse," Smith added. "While many of the issues are becoming increasingly clear, the technology is young. We need to tackle the initial questions now and learn as we go, developing more knowledge and expertise as the technology evolves and public sector experience deepens."

It's no secret that the concept of work' has changed dramatically just compare the workplace of 20 years ago with the workplace of today. Gone are the rows upon rows of identical cubicles containing one desktop PC and one desk phone, replaced by large open-plan offices which often don't feature any permanent workstations at all.

Mobile devices, cloud-based apps and near-universal connectivity have enabled fundamental shifts in how we work, allowing people, to work from home, their favourite coffee shop, or another country without sacrificing efficiency or productivity. The use of these tools is now expected by many workers and according to studies, younger hires in particular would consider turning down a job if they thought the technology wasn't up to standard.

It's all about understanding who people are, and giving them the freedom to work, think, express themselves, share and generally be more like humans, not automatons.

Look at it this way; how would you feel if you only had a desktop PC, an email account and a spreadsheet to do your job? No mobile devices, no messaging apps, no video calling facilities Younger workers demand access to these new tech tools as a basic requirement and they're willing to vote with their feet if they don't get them.

People want flexibility too they expect to be able to work remotely when they need to. As employees, they want to be provided with the right tools to support that decision, like real-time collaboration software, seamless file-sharing and work devices that are light and portable enough to keep up with them.

This massive change in the way we look at employment is only accelerating; AI is the engine driving a new and even more drastic shift in how we approach the concept of work. As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, more and more tasks will be automated, with deep learning algorithms able to perform certain tasks with human levels of skill if not greater. And this applies to office-based, white-collar duties as well as typical manufacturing and construction functions.

Don't panic just yet, however; the rise of AI isn't going to end up with large portions of the workforce becoming obsolete. Rather than taking over whole job roles such as data analyst' or sales operative' the machines will instead most likely take over all of the tedious, repetitive parts of those roles that humans don't like doing, such as data entry, reporting and other information-based tasks. Instead, humans will focus more on the creative, collaborative areas of the business that machines can't do.

For example, AI can take care of the number-crunching associated with tracking sales figures, leaving your salespeople free to do what they do best - meeting people, making connections and bringing more revenue into your business. Similarly, data analysts can take the output data produced by analytics algorithms, then apply the uniquely out-the-box thinking that only humans can offer, to interpret it in creative ways that may not have been thought of by an AI.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is another area which will improve the lives of employees in subtle but no less important ways. There are numerous cost savings and efficiencies to be gained from the use of IoT (in areas such as logistics, transport, manufacturing and more) but there's also big potential benefits for employee happiness and wellbeing.

Micro-targeted climate control, for example; thermostat wars are a common sight in offices (even within connected heating company Hive Home, an engineer tells us), but imagine an office where an employee could go and sit at any desk, and the air conditioning system would automatically adjust to make that spot the ideal temperature based on the person's preferences, along with the lighting and other elements.

IoT can make that a reality; although it will generally require either an office that is being constructed from scratch or entirely gutted and rebuilt. Take, for example, The Edge: not the U2 guitarist, but the smart office' built in Amsterdam to house Deloitte employees in "the world's greenest building". This uses a network of more than 28,000 sensors to measure things like temperature and humidity, and can then advise staff where the best desks to sit are based on their own preferences.

5G will also allow employees to do more and better remote work; the increased bandwidth capabilities of 5G open up new possibilities like using cloud processing to power tasks that would usually require a powerful desktop machine on a tablet or mobile device.

Not only that, but it's also the bedrock that will allow driverless cars to become a feasible reality a development which will have huge implications for businesses in many sectors, as well as on commuters who will be able to take advantage of faster and simpler transport options. Writing on O2's Business Blog, the company's Head of Digital Innovation, Alyson Edmunds, highlighted how O2 is helping to pave the way for the driverless car.

"Transport operations are benefitting from IoT technology as well," says Edmunds. "For example, our own O2 Smart Vehicle is a simple device that transmits vehicle and driver information, in real time, making industry-leading vehicle telematics easily accessible for fleet managers and vehicle leasing companies. In the future IoT and 5G connectivity will be key enablers to driverless cars."

In such a rapidly-changing business environment, the most important thing for any business to do is to ensure that it remains flexible and open-minded when it comes to new technologies, attitudes and ways of working. Your people are the lifeblood of your business, and by making sure that you're giving them the best available tools, you can make sure that they stay loyal, committed and productive.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

Think back over your working life, and whether you've been employed for five years or 50, the chances are you'll be able to point to some massive changes over your career. Slack the workplace chat software that has all but killed off internal emails for many companies has only just celebrated its fifth birthday. Going back further, the iPhone is now 11 and we didn't even have our first BlackBerries until the turn of the century, let alone the cloud, video conferencing or 4G.

The one constant in all of this, of course, is people. The companies doing the most impressive things from meditech to media, are the ones that really understand the simple truth, that without their employees, they couldn't create a thing. For all its benefit, technology is at its best when it enables people to be creative, happy and more productive whether that's in a startup, small business or multinational corporation.

The best innovations and innovators have always understood this, and nowhere is this more obvious than in communications. From the first electric telegraph in the 1830s, via Alexander Graham Bell patenting the telephone in 1876 to the first mobile phone 97 years later, the aim was never to replace humans, but to make them as efficient as possible, cutting out vast periods of downtime while people waited to meet in person. Of course, efficiency is hard to maintain if you don't also have comfortable working environments, and for that reason we can be eternally thankful to Thomas Edison (the electric lamp, 1880), Willis Carrier (the air conditioner, 1906) and the accidental invention of the microwave oven (Percy Spencer, 1945).

But it's not until you get into the last quarter of the 20th century that things really kick up a notch for the workplace. In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple I computer a device so influential that it now sells for around 560 times its original RRP. IBM followed with its own personal computer five years later the same year that the first patent for flash memory was filed. This advance, which allowed computers to store information when switched off, would prove transformational.

Though not quite as transformational as what followed in 1989: the World Wide Web. Over the next three decades, innovation via the web and internet would duly kill off the fax machine and Ceefax while leaving record shops, letters, libraries and newspapers looking mortally wounded. The smartphone revolution that accelerated with the iPhone (2007) has cemented this. We are always connected, all the time, letting us be more productive than ever.

Power to the pocket

The fact that we're all carrying around pocket-sized devices that are millions of times more powerful than the computer that got humans on the moon has led to a revolution in the way we do work. Take the police force: not only has technology helped streamline the apprehension of criminals (you try setting off on a high-speed car chase without the internal combustion engine), but in terms of efficiency and collaboration.

Recently leading digital service provider O2 undertook a trial with two police forces where 3,000 officers were equipped with handheld devices preloaded with apps that let officers consolidate information from 35 different systems, allowing easier collaboration, faster reporting and a reduction of errors. The force estimates that the scheme resulted in approximately two hours' less admin per officer per shift, giving them more time to focus on the communities that need them. And for another police force O2 Gateway provides redundancy and resilience through secure networks with CAS(T) certification, and coverage where it is needed. This means the force can coordinate work, provide and retrieve information and organise their resources efficiently, while maintaining the highest possible levels of security and personal safety.

Whilst these two stories from separate police forces show innovation, people from any walk of life benefit from improvements to technology of course. For a top clothing retailer growing rapidly around the world, O2 provided a fast, agile communications infrastructure that could keep all its people connected, anywhere, any time. But what drove the success of the chosen solution was O2's focus on how people worked, and integration with existing technology and working methods.

What the future holds

The kind of improvements people are seeing would have been unimaginable just five years ago, so what sort of thing might be around the corner? There are plenty of possible scenarios: think of a world where every single LED lightbulb can connect you securely to the internet. The technology powering this smart lighting which could sit in your home, your office, the city streets you walk down already exists. O2 has installed Li-Fi' for tests and trials at its Explore Room in Slough, turning LED lights into high-speed wireless access points. Given that the IoT is expected to have 20 billion devices by the year 2020, outgrowing existing networks' ability to connect them, Li-Fi may prove to be part of the solution to meeting this surge in demand. Worrying about losing your connection while working on the move could soon be a thing of the past.

Given the amount of progress we've seen in the last 30 years, it wouldn't be surprising if the world of work was unrecognisable in another 30, but for now it's worth focusing on where we are right now: the sweet spot where people are using technology to achieve significant productivity gains and collaboration has never been easier.

Discover how O2's technology is helping businesses empower their workforce.

Digital transformation is one of the most commonly used buzz phrases in business technology. Everyone, from the CIOs who buy kit to the vendors who hawk it, uses the term as shorthand for explaining how organisations change their operational activities through the exploitation of new systems and services.

Unfortunately, this over-reliance on shorthand is creating problems. Digital transformation because of its over-use and under-definition has become a catch-all expression for any kind of IT-enabled business change programme. Rather than helping to explain the positive impact of technology, digital transformation has become a source of confusion.

It's a sentiment that chimes with Wincanton CIO Richard Gifford. As IT chief at the Chippenham-based logistics specialist, Gifford is helping the business develop a digital supply chain, which includes both in-house programmes and external partnerships with innovative start-ups. Despite his progress, Gifford is wary of digital transformation hype and he says the phrase must be only associated with those projects that help a business innovate and pivot.

"Those of us who have been in the industry for quite some time would probably say we've always been doing transformation," he says. "The differentiator for me would be if you're creating a new business model and using technology to do that. In the past generally, we've been looking at trying to make things more efficient or more effective. I think here we're looking at doing different things or enabling the business to do completely different things."

Careful definitions

This focus on change resonates with Chris Ashworth, CIO at delivery firm Hermes, who says technology is potentially the biggest differentiator in the logistics industry. Ashworth is helping his organisation exploit data through the cloud. While this work boosts operational activities and customer services, Ashworth is careful to define his business change programme in the right way and he advises other CIOs to take a similar stance.

"Every CIO will tell you their business is on a digital transformation journey," he says. "What matters is your interpretation and for us, we're trying to do the right things for our business. We're being backed to make the investment in technology. You can see the change and you can feel it happen."

Like Ashworth, Rob Howe, IT director at Guinness World Records, is perplexed by the proliferation of the digital transformation buzz phrase. More worryingly, he believes use of the shorthand masks an important practical reality. Digital transformation is often presented as a finite project, when it would be better presented as a constant work in progress.

"Once a digital transformation initiative is complete, it isn't finished you can't simply close the door and walk off," says Howe. "Digital transformation is a continual, iterative process. The iterations might get smaller as you move forward, and you might go off in different directions, but you shouldn't be thinking in terms of a transformation project as being finished."

"Because if you think like that, you won't add the value in the longer term. You need to think instead that you've built the foundations and now you can focus on the next steps. It's about continuous evolution rather than a single digital transformation."

Howe is currently undertaking his own business change initiative at Guinness World Records, working with external technology partner Ensono to manage the migration of business systems to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. The programme is helping the business evolve from a publisher to a creative consultancy that works alongside brands.

A continual process

Other digital leaders are on a similar journey. Worldwide spending on digital transformation technologies hardware, software, and services hit $1.3 trillion in 2017, according to IDC. The researcher expects spending to almost double between now and 2021, when the total amount spent on digitalisation globally will surpass $2.1 trillion.

Another technology leader who is leading a change programme is Darren Curry, chief digital officer (CDO) at NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). Curry is transforming service provision at the organisation, which has spent the past 12 years scanning the nation's paper prescriptions. In 2017, NHSBSA processed 500 million prescriptions.

Curry is helping the organisation exploit its experience and break the dependence on paper in the health service. Using specially created software from CCube Solutions, the organisation plans to reconfigure its existing IBML ImageTrac5 scanners which currently scan about 20,000 prescriptions per hour so that they can handle a variety of documents, not just prescriptions.

This work is being managed in tandem with Alaris, IBML's UK service partner. Curry says the project will help build a platform for further change, effectively the start of a continual evolution process - the true meaning of digital transformation.

"Whereas our transformation programme was initially viewed as something with a clear end date, we've now pivoted and we recognise change is a continual process, where services must be maintained and improved on a continual basis," says Curry.

A CIO's work is never done

This redefining of digital transformation to a form of continual evolution will come as good news to many experts in the IT industry. Researcher Forrester surveyed 1,600 business and IT decision makers and found 21% of firms think their transformation is done and dusted, while another 22% are only investigating or not transforming at all.

Forrester argues that understanding change as a constant work in progress will help CIOs to stay much better prepared in the digital age. For Richard Corbridge, chief digital and information officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, continually improving delivery through technology-led change is fundamental to providing a modern service.

"Digital transformation is when the technology we use is an unobtrusive and essential element of the work that our colleagues do in terms of patient care. It's when our work is about delivering something for clinicians and that technology becomes the way they deliver healthcare to patients," he says.

Corbridge is running a series of technology-enabled projects at his organisation. He is leading an agile development function to deliver an electronic health record for the entire Trust and an integrated care record for the community of Leeds. The aim, says Corbridge, is to ensure technology helps deliver life-changing benefits now and in the future.

"I want to stop collecting information to count beans," he says. "We need to get to the point where the delivery of healthcare creates information that can be used from a clinical research point of view and for an audit of the healthcare system.

"That, for me, would represent successful digital transformation."

Microsoft has unveiled a redesigned collection of its Office icons, keeping the bold colour palette, but switching to a "two-panel" design and breaking up the letter and icon to make them better resemble simplicity, the company explained.

Although the letter and the symbol are both still used, the way they are represented has changed.

For Word, for example, the symbol represents lines of text rather a Word page outline and similarly, the Excel icon now shows blocks, rather than an Excel spreadsheet outline. The company said this better demonstrates the collaborative nature of its applications.

Microsoft explained the reasoning of splitting the icon and the letter was to offer a better representation of the 3D context of Office. The brand guidelines state that the letter and icon can be used together or separately, depending on how they're being used.

"Traditionally, the letter occupied two-thirds of the icon, and the symbol took up one-third," Jon Friedman, Microsoft's general manager of design, research and product incubation said.

"We've changed this ratio to now emphasize the symbol because while the letter represents the tool itself, the symbol speaks more to people's creations."

These changes will roll out over the next few months. However, Microsoft announcement of the new icons also hinted at a redesigned user interface for its productivity suite to match this new brand identity.

"Today's workforce includes five generations using Office on multiple platforms and devices and in environments spanning work, home, and on the go," Friedman said. "We wanted a visual language that emotionally resonates across generations, works across platforms and devices, and echoes the kinetic nature of productivity today."

With each passing season, the footballing industry seems increasingly detached from the realities most businesses face to remain profitable. Exorbitant sums of money are passed between clubs, players, and supporters on a daily basis; not to mention a counterintuitive penchant for amassing mountains of debt to drive footballing success.

However, even the sporting world has been unable to avoid the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Just as with every other business dealing with data belonging to European citizens, massive football clubs must comply with demands to bring data practices in line with modern standards from appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO), to the training of staff.

Everton FC was forced to delay this process until January 2018, just months before the GDPR deadline, putting faith into the all-in-one, modular GDPR suite developed by SureCloud. Maintaining a database of 32,000 season ticket holders, 925,000 registered fans, 360 employees, players and agents as well as third-party suppliers, through Excel spreadsheets, is a laborious task, with or without GDPR. But a changing landscape spurred the Premier League stalwart into re-examining how it managed data and processed GDPR's additional demands.

Everton was still using a series of spreadsheets to manage its data within the football club, independent club charity, and partner academy. In January, the club hired Ian Garratt as its DPO to single-handedly oversee the transition to SureCloud. Discussions between SureCloud and the club were already well underway at this stage. But the platform wasn't initially up to the standards expected, Garratt tells IT Pro, and needed a significant amount of custom tailoring to suit the club's data protection needs.

"I hadn't worked with a full management system before. I'd looked at OneTrust which is an equivalent, very template-based, and then what I'd worked on was spreadsheets, Excel and ones that we'd built in-house, at my old employer. So I went into SureCloud with a long list of tailoring. Most of them were only quite minor but there was quite a few."

Although compliant by 25 May, implementation was touted to take so long that Everton considered hanging onto its spreadsheet-based system as the deadline approached. It would've posed a massive headache given how slow searching through spreadsheets would have been, not to mention handling internal and external queries taking a great deal longer compared with SureCloud's touted greater functionality.

"By the time we started the discussions it was probably late January, early February," Garratt continues. "Knowing we had to get all of the data mapping done, and in place before May, we were considering whether or not we had to do that spreadsheet-based, and import it into SureCloud afterwards, just because of the timing.

"But we were lucky in that they got it all done for us."

Bringing the human touch for higher-quality data

Before joining Everton, Garratt was information governance manager with the Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in Lancashire and Merseyside. Using spreadsheets in this post meant he could slot straight into the role with Everton, but would have to quickly adapt to the platform.

Fresh to the club, and sole member of the data protection team, he had to gain a wider understanding of what data each department held, and their internal processes. He devised an approach to overcome these challenges all at once, sending questionnaires to each department, and inputting the answers into SureCloud himself. But the key, Garratt says, lied in working through them with people one-on-one, to personally guide them through what needed to be sent back.

Instead of giving everyone within the organisation their own SureCloud login, Garratt decided to limit access to the club's data to three individuals: himself, the director of risk, and head of IT. They also decided against setting up email reminders and alerts, despite the fact this approach takes longer.

"I think just from my experience you get better quality input if you actually sit down with people and do it with them, rather than sending an email alert and asking them to update something themselves when they're not specialists in the area," he explains.

A matter of when, not if

During implementation, Garratt oversaw the migration of data from on-prem infrastructure to the cloud. But assurances over security and the decision to go with SureCloud in the first place rested with the club and were a matter for before he joined.

"Football clubs are getting targeted more and more often," says Garratt. "Certainly, from a backup point of view, I feel happier with it being hosted rather than living on a server. The risk is always there. Cyber security is now on our risk register, and I think always will be. I'd expect it to be on every company's register nowadays. The other threat I suppose is malicious staff."

"If we did have an incident," he explains: "We should straight away be able to see what the data types are, what the fields are, the volume, what systems there are, and what associated systems. So we'd be able to get a really good idea of the scale of the incident, and we'd be able to get that very quickly."

And what about minor incidents, such as supporters' email addresses inadvertently leaking due to a lapse in staff concentration, as struck West Ham FC in August?

"If that happened with us, any mass marketing should go up to our marketing department, and they've got a system that sends them all as individual emails - all personalised - so you don't need to do it as BCC.

"If we had a lot of emails like that going out - and it's largely to Hotmail or Gmail sort-of accounts, we've got systems that would flag them, quarantine them, then either myself or someone from the IT department would be able to review them... I imagine West Ham has probably got the same sort of system, and it just, for whatever reason, didn't go through that system."

Supplier contracts prove a major GDPR challenge

The most difficult part of Everton's wider compliance journey involved re-examining the several existing contracts with the club's many suppliers. Although just a handful of suppliers have access to personal data held by the club, reaching out to renegotiate a GDPR-compliant addendum proved the toughest aspect for Garratt.

"The data mapping is what took the most time, but that's because there was a lot of it. But getting contracts in place with suppliers with the GDPR-standard terms has been the hardest bit of the gameplay.

"They would've had general data protection and confidentiality terms, but GDPR stipulated a wider scope for what the contracts had to include even things like assistance with impact assessments, acceptance of audits by us and by the ICO, and breach reporting."

By using SureCloud, Garratt says, the club was able to list all their third parties, and a subsection of those who were charged with handling the club's data, as well as whether they were based in an EU country, or a non-EU country with or without data adequacy.

But it was no substitute for the hard graft the club's had to put in to ensure GDPR-compliant terms were included in each contract individually, with each supplier providing their own template, and seeking to consult with their own legal teams respectively.

Security researchers have discovered an unsecured database containing the contact information of more than 9.3 million people, including email addresses, phone numbers, social media data and more.

The latest data exposure comes courtesy of Adapt.io, a company which offers sales and marketing professionals access to a database of (according to the company's website) 37 million business contacts, including 2.7 million C-level and 3.8 million vice-president and director-level contacts.

The unsecured database was initially discovered by security researcher and director of cyber risk research for Hacken, Bob Diachenko, who found a publicly-accessible MongoDB database with no access controls. The database contained 123GB of data on the names, job titles, employers, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses and social media profiles of 9.3 million people.

Diachenko initially discovered the data protection problem on 5 November. Hacken contacted the company to disclose the data leak, but so far has received no response from the company.

In its privacy policy, Adapt claims that it "takes precautions, including appropriate administrative, technical and physical measures, to protect Data About Customers against loss, theft and misuse, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction".

It also asserts that the company "uses reasonable security controls to protect Business Contact Information" - a claim which would appear to be at odds with the fact that more than 100GB of that information was sitting in an unsecured, publicly-accessible database.

Individuals can check if their data is in the Adapt database by using this form, and can request that they be removed if so.

Intel has brought forward the development of its 5G modem chip so it's ready for use in some of the earliest 5G devices, such as Apple's debut 5G smartphones, due to launch in 2020 according to various rumours.

The first handsets with 5G capabilities are expected to start rolling out in 2019 or 2020 and Intel wants to make sure it's in a position to support the rollout of the tech. Previously its chips weren't expected to ship until mid-way through the year, meaning it would miss out on a huge opportunity.

Intel XMM 8160 is a multimode modem, meaning it supports 2G, 3G, 4G and of course 5G, so even if the manufacturer doesn't want to launch 5G straight away in its devices (for example, if they're rolled out to networks that don't have the 5G infrastructure set up for launch), they will work perfectly with legacy networks too.

Another benefit of using Intel's much-hyped Intel XMM 8160 chip is that it's faster, supporting download speeds up to 6Gbps and smaller than other chips. Additionally, it will use the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, alongside sub 6GHz 5G NR support, offering more bandwidth to accommodate the growing number of mobile an connected device users.

"Intel's new XMM 8160 5G modem provides the ideal solution to support large volumes for scaling across multiple device categories to coincide with broad 5G deployments," Dr. Cormac Conroy, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Communication and Devices Group said.

"We are seeing great demand for the advanced feature set of the XMM 8160, such that we made a strategic decision to pull in the launch of this modem by half a year to deliver a leading 5G solution."

Intel will launch its 5G modem chips in the second half of 2019 to make sure any tech firms planning a 5G device launch are able to use its processors.

Dropbox has unleashed a range of third-party extensions to help teams get more out of its collaboration and productivity platform so employees can complete tasks from within Dropbox rather than having to switch environments.

Think of them as plugins, allowing Dropbox customers to effortlessly launch workflows without having to launch a browser or open up a separate application.

Some of the partners the cloud firm has teamed up with include Adobe, Autodesk, DocuSign, Vimeo, airSlate, HelloSign, Nitro, Pixlr, and Smallpdf, covering applications including document editing, digitally signing documents and viewing and annotating videos without moving from application to application.

To launch the "micro application", users can simply choose what to use to open up the file from a drop-down menu in their Dropbox account. When these files are saved, the changes are synced to the cloud, so anyone with access will see the changes in real time.

"We want to empower people to choose the best tools for their work by removing the friction between them," said Quentin Clark, SVP of Engineering, Product, and Design at Dropbox.

"So we're making it seamless for users to connect with partners that offer the right tools for the task at hand."

This is the first series of Dropbox Extensions the company wants to introduce to business users. They will arrive for use by Dropbox Business users at the end of November, with more planned in the future, the cloud storage firm said.

This is a firm step away from the company developing its own internal applications for editing documents on the move and instead embracing the expertise of third parties. Microsoft and Google apps can already be used with Dropbox, but the launch of Extensions will open this up to a much wider collection of third-party app and software developers.

The government has written to the likes of O2, Vodafone and EE to say that phone networks should be careful over which companies they choose as suppliers when building their 5G networks.

The entire supply chain may be disrupted by an ongoing review of the UK's telecoms infrastructure, according to a letter penned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) head of digital policy Matthew Gould, and the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) CEO Ciaran Martin.

The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, launched in July, aims to ensure that Britain's "critical national infrastructure remains resilient and secure", according to the letter seen by the Financial Times (FT).

The letter said the "outcome of the review may lead to changes in the current rules" and that the firms "will need to take the review into consideration in any procurement decisions".

Analysts suggest the letter is directed at a handful of Chinese manufacturers, such as Huawei and ZTE, which may be barred from the 5G process altogether over national security concerns.

Just as the government announced its major infrastructure review, an advisory board partly-led by the NCSC declared Huawei's hardware may pose a risk to national security.

The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC), which is owned by Huawei and overseen by the UK's national security agencies, revealed in its annual report that shortcomings in the engineering process have "exposed new risks" to UK networks.

"The Oversight Board can provide only limited assurance that any risks to UK national security from Huawei's involvement in the UK's critical networks have been sufficiently mitigated," the report said.

These concerns are disputed by the companies but were prominent enough for the Australian government to this summer institute a ban of Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G technology in the country.

Despite the government's warning, the telecoms industry is already well underway in the building and testing of 5G infrastructure. For instance late last month Vodafone activated its first 5G trial in Salford, Manchester.

Rival firms have also made serious headway in building their own 5G infrastructure with help from Chinese manufacturers, with Huawei considered integral to the future Three 5G network, and BT's 5G outlay.

Paolo Pescatore, senior vice president of consumer services at MIDiA Research, told IT Pro the government's warning has arguably come too late - as network providers have already announced trials with their partners.

"Yes, this does seem to be directed at Huawei," he said, "but in reality telcos have few options when choosing a network provider due to consolidation.

"5G represents a pivotal point for all countries and it is important to get the right framework for the future.

"Other nations have shown concerns around security so it is something that should be carefully considered. Despite this, Huawei has so far proved to be a credible partner for telcos around the world."

Apple could debut a 5G-capable iPhone in 2020, a source familiar with Cupertino's phone making plans told Fast Company.

While the likes of Qualcomm tout 5G-capable chipsets and Samsung and Huawei push ahead with 5G technology with an aim to have the tech ready for 2019 when 5G is expected to properly roll out, Apple appears to be playing a longer game.

Rather then rush out a 5G-capable iPhone Apple is potentially waiting to see whether 5G has a healthy enough uptake to warrant bringing such connectivity to its iPhones.

If it does, Intel is slated to be the 5G chip provider with the 2020 iPhones expected to use Intel's 8161 5G modem chip, despite rumours that Apple will be looking to build its own chipsets in the near-future.

The modem chip in current generation iPhones, such as the iPhone Xs, use Intel modem chips, so it would look like Apple will use its existing relationship with Intel to get on the 5G bandwagon, at least until Cupertino works out its own route with making chips in-house.

Chip maker MediaTek is also slated to be poised as a partner for Apple to act as a form of Plan B' if problems arise with Intel supplying it with 5G modem chips.

A slew of 5G-capable phones from the likes of Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi are expected to debut early 2019.

But as the standalone 5G standard has only just been finalised this year in the form of 5G New Radio, the new wave of wireless connectivity is very much in its infancy. So it makes sense that Apple will wait and see how the technology develops before committing to a 5G iPhone.

Facebook has plans to move its Workplace business site to its own domain in 2019. The social network has been contacting businesses that use Workplace to inform them of the upcoming move, according to a report on CNBC. Companies that use Facebook's alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams include the likes of Walmart, Starbucks and Chevron.

All the same, Walmart's vice president Joe Park indicated that at least some of the rationale was to reassure business customers that their data is kept apart from the consumer side of things.

"The assurances we got were that data resides outside the consumer version of Facebook, and it's starting from the top to bottom, where they'll even change the domain name to reflect that," Park told CNBC.

The new site will, predictably enough, live on Workplace.com a domain that is now live, but currently used to market the benefits of Facebook's business offering.

Workplace product manager Luke Taylor confirmed the move later in an interview with CNBC, saying "this is something that we want to do from a brand point of view but also something that I think gives our customers more trust in the product itself."

Workplace is now at a point where it needs its own identity, Taylor believes.

"When you look at the Oculuses, Instagrams and even the Facebooks of the world, they all have their own domains and their own brand identity," he said. "As we've seen our growth increase so rapidly and our traction in the market increase, we just felt it was exactly the right time to step forward with our own brand."

While not quite as synonymous with collaborative chat as Slack or Microsoft Teams, Workplaces has got off to a decent start. A year ago, Facebook revealed that more than 30,000 businesses were onboard, and although the company hasn't revealed more recent figures, this latest move suggests a confidence that the business-based product is here to stay.

Almost three-quarters of employees are being forced to install work-based applications onto their personal mobile phones so they can carry out their jobs, a report by CCS Insight has revealed.

The company questioned 672 employees across the US and Western Europe about digital technology, including how they use it at work and how they feel it will change their working role. The biggest bugbear of technology in the digital workplace is poor connectivity, although that's not stopping employees from using always-on, connected apps while at work. The report revealed that WhatsApp is actually now the most widely used mobile business app, beating Microsoft Office 365 to the accolade.

Although 74% of employees admit they resent the idea of using work applications on their personal devices due to fears their employers can track them, two-thirds said they do trust their employers with their privacy.

Other concerns expressed by employees in the survey included a fear that artificial intelligence will result in job losses over time. Despite this, many appreciate the potential for digital assistants in the workplace, with half saying they expect the likes of Google Assistant to help them in their job.

"The increasing blurring of personal and business technology, the rise of privacy and security concerns after a big year of security incidents where trust in technology has become more important than ever, as well as the expectation behind big tech brands and new workplace technologies such as artificial intelligence are among some of the most important changes we explore in the survey," Nick McQuire, vice president of Enterprise Research at CCS Insight said.

The majority of employees trust Microsoft over other tech giants, although Google is fast catching up.

Samsung and NEC have joined forces to provide 5G services to the masses. The two firms have actually tied up on a number of initiatives, but 5G is the one both companies want to talk about right now, it would seem.

"5G will unlock the potentials, create new values and push the limits of today's technology," said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. "We are excited to announce our joint efforts with NEC to boost 5G end-to-end solution portfolio for the best user experience."

Both companies have made it clear they want to make sure any work they do in the 5G space focuses on standardisation of the technology to prevent any fragmentation in the 5G industry. By making sure that any joint solutions are in-line with the rest on the industry, it will enable business transformation to flourish.

Although neither company has revealed exactly what each will bring to the partnership, the deal is thought to be an effort to ensure both companies remain at the forefront of the 5G market.

Both are driving 5G pretty hard, with Samsung recently announcing it had teamed up with Qualcomm for the hardware behind its test networks. NEC has also made similar moves, partnering with Japanese network NTT DoCoMo to provide the base station controls and software updates for its network, expected to launch in 2020.

"5G development based on standardization will help to accelerate business transformation throughout global markets," said Atsuo Kawamura, Executive Vice President and President of the Network Services Business Unit at NEC. "As 5G commercialization is just around the corner, we are confident that the partnership with Samsung will continue to solidify our stance as a 5G leader."

Samsung announced earlier this month that it will base its 5G network upon Qualcomm's FSM100xx 10nm small cell tech that's effective on both sub-6GHz and millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum bands.

Samsung has bought AI networking and analytics firm Zhilabs to boost its 5G network and provide a better user experience for customers.

The company explained 5G technologies will play a vital role in its future, as more devices need to be connected to secure, reliable and fast networks. It highlighted connected cars and the IoT as two areas where 5G services will be carefully considered.

Zhilabs' technology will enable the South Korean tech giant to analyse user traffic and work out the applications being used on the network to ensure the service customers are receiving is as good as it possibly can be.

"5G will enable unprecedented services attributed to the generation of exponential data traffic, for which automated and intelligent network analytics tools are vital," said Youngky Kim, president and head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. "The acquisition of Zhilabs will help Samsung meet these demands to assure each subscriber receives the best possible service."

Although Samsung said Zhilabs will be fully-owned by the company, it will continue to operate under its current management. Neither company has revealed what will happen to the other employees, although it's likely key roles, such as engineers, will remain to oversee the platform's growth as part of Samsung's networking business.

"5G technology will disrupt the communications landscape for the better, but it will only be successful if the quality of the networks transferring the information can be measured and improved to provide a best-in-class experience," said Joan Ravents, CEO at Zhilabs.

"We are delighted to be joining the Samsung Electronics family and adding a contribution with our software products and technology to the existing end-to-end solutions that the company offers its customers."

While AI hasn't quite come of age, it's now got to a point where most people understand what the benefits are.

However, for all the benefits on offer, companies looking to take advantage of AI must still put ethical considerations and the avoidance of bias on the priority list, according to a panel session held at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in San Francisco this week.

"Accuracy levels are so high now that the kind of things you can do in one year were not possible years ago with hundreds of people," said Richard Socher, chief scientist at Salesforce.

"Now that this stuff is working, we really need to think about the ethical implications."

Kathy Baxter, an architect in Salesforce's Ethical AI Practice, concurred about the need to ensure such sophisticated technologies do more good than harm, adding: "How do we rebuild software that truly has a positive impact on the people it serves?"

"AI can do so much tremendous good, but it can have the potential to unknowingly harm individuals. We can't expect AI to magically exclude bias in society bias is baked in."

Baxter continued: "How do we represent the world that we want and not the world as it is?"

Given AI essentially needs to learn, it will take its lead from human beings so it's the responsibility of humans to act ethically and do the right thing when it comes to AI development, agreed the panel moderated by Salesforce futurist Peter Schartz.

Baxter stressed that in particular, there's a need to ensure that people are not adversely impacted because of factors they cannot change or control, such as gender or race.

The panel highlighted that it will be just as important to educate people on the shortcomings of AI and potential bias as it is to promote the benefits of smart systems. Ultimately, like with technology today, the results you get out are only as good as the data that's put in. The same is true of AI as it stands now.

"AI will have a bigger impact than the internet on humanity," Socher added. "AI will pick up bias and either amplify it or keep it going. We have to educate people that AI is only as good as the training data."

When it comes to that so-called training data, Baxter said Salesforce recognised its role in boosting awareness and education levels. Using Trailhead, as well as other AI-focused resources, the cloud firm hopes to help open peoples' eyes to the potential and the pitfalls so they can make informed decisions.

"The quality of that training data is key. It helps customers see and understand the data so they can identify if there is any bias there if there are any errors, so they can correct it," Baxter added.

"Ethics is a mindset, not a checklist and we need to instil it early on."

Security researchers have warned that smart city infrastructure contains many flaws that could allow hackers to cause panic among citizens by manipulating systems used to warn people of emergency situations.

According to a blog post by Daniel Crowley, research director at IBM X-Force Red, around 17 vulnerabilities have been discovered in various smart city systems across the UK, US and Europe, eight of which have been deemed as "critical".

"While we were prepared to dig deep to find vulnerabilities, our initial testing yielded some of the most common security issues, such as default passwords, authentication bypass and SQL injections, making us realize that smart cities are already exposed to old-school threats that should not be part of any smart environment," said Crowley.

The team investigated smart city systems from companies Libelium, Echelon and Battelle. Four pre-authentication shell injection flaws were found in Libelium's wireless sensor network, Meshlium. Echelon's i.LON 100/i.LON SmartServer and i.LON 600 SmartServers had two critical authentication flaws, unencrypted communications problems, default credentials in use, and plaintext passwords.

Battelle's V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) Hub, version 2.5.1 had a hard-coded administrator account as well as default API keys and authentication bypass, SQL injection security flaws and reflected XSS vulnerabilities.

Once these flaws were discovered, researchers then carried out standard internet searches to find affected devices online.

"We found a European country using vulnerable devices for radiation detection and a major US city using them for traffic monitoring. Upon discovering these vulnerabilities, our team promptly alerted the proper authorities and agencies of these risks," said Crowley.

A compromised system could be used to manipulate things such as water level sensors to activate false flood warnings, potentially creating panic and evacuations. More worryingly, hackers could use the same tactic to silence an alarm during a legitimate crisis.

"If someone, supervillain or not, were to abuse vulnerabilities like the ones we documented in smart city systems, the effects could range from inconvenient to catastrophic," he said. "While no evidence exists that such attacks have taken place, we have found vulnerable systems in major cities in the US, Europe and elsewhere."

The discoveries were made known to the vendors, who then issued patches and software updates to address the flaws.

Smart city initiatives will attract huge amounts of investment this year, IDC estimates, with the value spent on such schemes topping $158 billion by 2022.

Visual surveillance, advanced public transit, and smart outdoor lighting will attract the largest proportions of smart city investment this year, the research firm's Worldwide Semi-annual Smart City Spending Guide found, although this will shift, with intelligent traffic management taking over from smart outdoor lighting as the most invested-in technology by 2022.

"Intelligent transportation and data-driven public safety remain the largest investment areas, but we are also finding significant pockets of spending and growth in back-office and platform-related use cases, which are less often publicised but increasingly happening behind the scenes in cities around the world," Serena Da Rold, programme manager of IDC's customer insights and analysis group, said.

As it stands, spending on smart city tech is led by the Asia Pacific region, although the US has the largest overall spending by country. By city, Singapore, Tokyo, New York City, London, and Shanghai are the top five spenders. The 53 cities tracked by IDC's report are contributing 15% of global smart city spending collectively.

"IDC expects to see strong, continued investment by the private and public sector in urban areas and in smart cities and communities programmes and projects," said IDC's Ruthbea Yesner. "This also means that it is a more competitive market. This spending guide offers solution suppliers the ability to take a data-driven approach to developing products and services, and understanding buyer trends."

London mayor Sadiq Khan recently outlined 20 initiatives he hopes will help England's capital become a smart city, such as bringing full fibre broadband to homes, embedded smart sensors in public infrastructure and trialling 5G.

The public has growing increasingly aware of its privacy rights over the last 12 months, according to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK.

The data watchdog highlighted an increase in complaints and self-reported breaches, as well as a significant rise in calls from the public and organisations, as evidence that privacy and data protection matters have become more important to people.

Data protection complaints rose by 14.5% in 2017/18, according to the ICO's annual report, released this week, and it recorded a 29% rise in self-reported data breaches from organisations, from 2,447 to 3,156. Self-reporting is now mandatory under GDPR, so the number is expected to rise yet further over the course of 2018/19.

Moreover, the data regulator received almost 46,000 more calls than the previous year - an increase of 24.1% - while the number of live chats requested rose by 61.5%. Approximately two-thirds, 68%, of enquiries were from members of the public while the remainder were from organisations - with the vast majority of enquiries, 85%, concerning the DPA.

"This is an important time for privacy rights, with a new legal framework and increased public interest," said information commissioner Elizabeth Denham.

"Transparency and accountability must be paramount, otherwise it will be impossible to build trust in the way that personal information is obtained, used and shared online."

The ICO issued 1.29 million in fines for serious failures under the old Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). These were issued alongside 138,000 in fines to charities for unlawfully processing personal data, and a further 80,000 penalty issued to a data broking organisation.

Breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), meanwhile, saw 26 organisations fined a collective 3.28 million for nuisance calls and spam texts, altogether amounting to the greatest number, and amount, of penalties the ICO has issued in its history.

The watchdog launched 19 prosecutions in 2017/18 resulting in 18 convictions under the DPA, and issued a further six cautions. One highlight mentioned in the report was the ICO's ongoing investigation into 30 organisations, including Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, into the misuse of personal data in political campaigning.

As part of these investigations, the regulator levied a 500,000 fine against Facebook earlier in July - the maximum possible fine under the old DPA - for two breaches of the 1998 act.

Because the offences had been committed prior to 25 May, they were not adjudicated under GDPR - which carries with it a maximum fine of 20 million, or 4% of an organisation's global annual turnover (whichever is higher), for the most serious breaches.

In the lead up to the European Union's (EU's) tough new set of data laws coming into force, the ICO also offered guidance and advice to organisations racing to comply - including the set-up of a small business helpline, and the launch of a UK-wide 'Your Data Matters' awareness campaign.

"At the time of my previous annual report the office was heavily involved in preparations for the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), working on guidance with our EU counterparts and identifying how our own processes needed to change to take account of the GDPR," Denham continued.

"In 2017/18 this activity has upped a few gears and involved many more staff. We have produced well received guidance on the new law for organisations, and have also continued a successful change management process to ensure our internal processes and workflows are up to the demands placed upon us by GDPR."

Picture: Information commissioner Elizabeth Denham

The UK government today set out new proposals for forging full fibre broadband across the country as it looks to build the infrastructure for 5G.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) outlined plans in its The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review to connect 15 million premises to full fibre broadband by 2025 and provide full fibre broadband coverage across all of the UK by 2033.

Currently, only 4% of the UK has full fibre connections, compared to Spain's 71% and Portugal's 89%. However, the government is aiming to replace copper wire networks with a full fibre infrastructure, which it says is vital to underpin 5G coverage.

"We want everyone in the UK to benefit from world-class connectivity no matter where they live, work or travel," said digital secretary Jeremy Wright.

"This radical new blueprint for the future of telecommunications in this country will increase competition and investment in full fibre broadband, create more commercial opportunities and make it easier and cheaper to roll out the infrastructure for 5G."

However, with 5G predicted to appear around 2020, the UK's infrastructure may not be up to scratch until years later under the proposals.

The plans aim to drive competition and commercial investment in full fibre networks across as much of the UK as possible. However, in rural areas, nationwide availability of full fibre is estimated to require additional funding of between 3 billion and 5 billion to support commercial investment.

While the international race to 5G is underway, earlier in the month broadband comparison website Cable published an annual league table revealing the UK has the 35th fastest broadband in the world, having slipped four places since 2017.

The UK had average speeds of 18.57Mbps, which means it would take around 36 minutes to download a 5GB movie, putting the country below the majority of states in the EU and even Madagascar, which has been named by the UN as one of the least developed nations in the world.

Picture: Shutterstock

Smart city projects both generate and use masses of data - that's no surprise. The projects need to analyse information in order to function efficiently, after all.

To take just one of many possible examples, imagine a cycle hire scheme. It's one thing to put bicycles in different locations and be pleased when racks show a high turnover. But that's not a smart city project.

It's only when a local authority knows the rate of turnover, where individual bicycles are being picked up and dropped off, and which are the more and less popular docking facilities that a cycle hire scheme starts to get smart. With information like this, services can be better tailored to meet demand.

But why should city authorities have all the fun with this data? Setting it free for others to use can give rise to new, imaginative uses, inspire whole new ways of addressing city management issues, provide citizens with new routes into the data, and even boost the local economy.

The importance of open data

It's becoming increasingly apparent that this data needs to be opened up if smart cities are to reach maximum effectiveness. Dale Peters, Research Director at analyst TechMarketView told us that open data is "key to accountability, service improvement and innovation in local government".

Technology Futurist Shivvy Jervis argues that open data is incredibly valuable when it comes to social projects, adding that it might be used to "spur more rapid, real-time responses to pressing 'city health' issues such as crime, road and citizen safety, or air pollution."

"I've seen extrapolations from previously untapped data preempt problematic issues for a local community before they even arise, ramp up good governance and accountability and significantly boost citizen wellbeing," says Jervis.

Reaping the rewards

The financial rewards to be reaped from open data can be significant. For example, Jervis highlights that "the freeing up of data from the UK's HM Land Registry has spurred the growth of the property tech industry here."

Transport for London (TfL) provides more than 80 open data feeds to more than 13,000 developers, and research by Deloitte has shown that this alone provides a 130 million annual boost to the London economy.

It's not just about the money, though. TfL says their data features in more than 600 apps, used by 42% of Londoners, giving that data a huge reach.

Vernon Everitt, managing director of Customers Communication and Technology at Transport for London explains that "schools and budding software developers use our open data as a test bed for how to code and analyse data".

Further north, Glasgow City Council currently operates an 'open by default' approach to data as a result of its Future Cities Demonstrator, an initiative it hopes will make the city a more productive and exciting place to live and work.

"There are many more benefits other than economic growth to be gained from open data," explains a spokesperson for the council, "and those include civic community engagement and customer satisfaction."

Identifying and releasing datasets

With such massive potential for open data, the problem many city authorities have is not whether to release open data, but deciding what data to release.

Janet Smith, data governance manager at Manchester City Council tells IT Pro that her city has become far more discerning with what data it feels will benefit the public.

"Manchester use a number of criteria to decide what data they release as open data over and above that required as part of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015," says Smith.

This includes ensuring the data in question doesn't reveal personal information, but also involves asking questions like: "Is it of good quality, can it be produced efficiently and consistently, is the format going to be usable, and is there a demand for it?"

Dale Peters at TechMarketView explains that ultimately it's the citizen that drives what can and can't be released as open data.

"Understanding the most pressing needs of citizens and creating open data initiatives focused on these areas is likely to have a higher impact - a targeted rather than a scattergun approach."

Partnership working

Releasing open data isn't a one-way street. City authorities often find that building partnerships with technology companies can help them get more benefit for themselves from their own open data.

Vernon Everitt tells us that Transport for London is "increasingly exchanging data with partners to complement what we collect ourselves. This allows us to get an even better understanding of journeys in London, to improve our transport services and make more informed investment decisions."

TechMarketView's Smith believes that partnerships like these are crucial for gaining the most from open data, and that local authorities "should not be afraid to tap into the experience that exists in the supplier community".

It's important to remember that the notion of partnership doesn't just refer to business relationships. After all, the school that uses air quality data to teach its students about data analysis and learn about air quality is also a partnership - and one that's building both the skills and knowledge of future citizens.

Image: Manchester, Media City - Shutterstock

Scepticism of smart technology and confusion around what 'smart city' means risks alienating the public and hampering progress, a parliamentary group has warned.

Beyond improving messaging and better-communicating the benefits around smart cities, central government must develop a coherent approach to deploying smart technologies across the UK, according to findings by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Smart Cities.

Titled Intelligent Leadership: how government strategy can unlock the potential of smart cities in the UK, the MPs' report also called for greater cooperation between businesses and local government, and for local authorities to adopt a 'thinking smart' mentality.

"Scepticism and even concern around the advancement of smart technologies is not uncommon. At best, 'smart' is often equated to expensive gimmicks -- at worst, as a threat to the security and livelihood of citizens," said Iain Stewart MP, chair of the inquiry.

"Therefore, central government has a leading role to play in challenging these misconceptions and misunderstandings: the role of smart cities is not to create a society of automation and alienation, but to bring communities together."

The report represents the culmination of an inquiry launched by the group of MPs towards the end of last year, gathering responses from organisations ranging from SMBs to trade associations, and nonprofits, before hosting roundtable evidence sessions in Parliament.

Summarising its findings in a 17-page report, the MPs encountered four main themes; the importance of a citizen-centred approach, the role of central government in fostering collaboration between individual cities, how local government can achieve their goals through smart technologies, and how pilots can be supported to scale up.

"Many UK cities are already on this journey, and it is vital that central government provides them with the tools to make this change, step by step," Stewart continued.

"Becoming a smart city should not be seen as an extra burden forced upon authorities, but as a way to become more efficient operators, to offer better services, to delivering better outcomes, and ultimately to become a better place to live."

The main benefits of smart technologies, according to the report, including improved accessibility for physically-impaired members of the public, reduced strain on the NHS by joining-up services and promoting data sharing, and a more flexible transport network with the deployment of technologies such as smart ticketing, among others.

The findings of the inquiry also examined a number of case studies that the UK could learn from, including a data-sharing scheme in Estonia, dubbed "the most advanced digital society in the world", in which citizens are able to easily view their education, medical and employment records through an online portal, and even request changes.

The APPG's main recommendations for government centred on promoting a 'smart culture', convening smart standards and data, as well as facilitating smart exports. Developing smart technologies, and deploying these in towns and cities, should be outcomes-focused, and should involve collaboration, and not competition between cities.

"Smart cities need to be driven by citizens' needs, strengthening our influence over our surroundings, increasing our quality of life and enhancing connectivity in all senses," the report said.

"Smart technology should be seen as a means to an end to deliver outcomes, rather than an end in itself," and "should underpin the approach of all central government departments, and likewise be a cross departmental function of organisations."

Smart technology has in recent months gained more attention from lawmakers across the country, with the Mayor of London recently outlining his roadmap to turn London into a smart city, with more than 20 initiatives underway ranging from rolling out full fibre broadband to all new homes and supporting bids to test 5G.

"There are few areas of innovation that have the power to define our future economy and society more than artificial intelligence," said Sadiq Khan in an address at London Tech Week (LTW) earlier in June.

"As mayor, it is my goal to ensure both that London is at the forefront of developing and capitalising on these new technologies, and that all Londoners can benefit from the opportunities that they create."

The MPs findings come, meanwhile, a few months after a Seagate report projected that smart cities are set to become the norm by 2025, with an increase in the technology underpinning smart cities in the next decade.

Given an explosion in the amount of data held by society and the significance of this data in recent years, the report projected that by 2025 nearly a fifth of the data generated worldwide will be deemed 'critical' to daily life, while nearly a tenth will be seen as 'hypercritical'.

Image: Shutterstock

London houses twice the total number of AI companies of Paris and Berlin combined, according to a new report launched on the eve of London Tech Week.

The UK's capital is home to 758 firms for which AI is a central part of their business models, a survey commissioned by the Mayor of London has discovered.

These companies span 30 industries, with focuses on insurance, finance and law, according to AI advice platform CognitionX, which compiled the London: The AI Growth Capital of Europe report. Investment in London's AI businesses grew by 50% last year to surpass 200 million, including a 48 million funding round for smartphone health app Babylon Health and a 27 million Series A round for authentication tool Callsign.

Meanwhile, 32% of the firms having at least one founder from a minority ethnic background, and 25% with at least one female founder.

Speaking at the launch of London Tech Week, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "There are few areas of innovation that have the power to define our future economy and society more than artificial intelligence. As mayor, it is my goal to ensure both that London is at the forefront of developing and capitalising on these new technologies, and that all Londoners can benefit from the opportunities that they create.

"The research describes a city with a rich technology ecosystem, a strong pipeline of AI innovation and an academic and investment base set up for the long term."

Khan hopes to capitalise on London's AI knowledge to turn the capital into a smart city, a goal he announced last year.

Today he outlined a roadmap featuring more than 20 initiatives to achieve that aim, including proposals to bring full fibre broadband to all new homes, working with TfL and councils to roll out 4G more widely across public buildings, and adding smart sensors to public infrastructure like lamp posts, as well as supporting bids to test 5G.

The use of open data at TfL and City Hall to build apps for the public is set to continue, with Khan allocating 365,000 to improve data-sharing among public services.

"We are really looking forward to working with startups and other partners to ensure Londoners have good access to homes and can easily travel around the city," Lilli Matson, director of transport strategy at TfL, said. "This is central to quickly developing innovative solutions to deliver more homes and offer better options to encourage more journeys to be made by walking, cycling and public transport."

The mayor also plans to invest 365,000 to improve data-sharing among public services and proposes to draw up a pan-London cybersecurity strategy to safeguard people's personal information, a plan that would bring together bodies including the London Digital Security Centre and the London Cyber Innovation Centre.

London's chief digital officer, Theo Blackwell, said: "We will strike a new deal with citizens on use of their data so when it is appropriate to share data, it is done in a trusted, safe way and for public benefit."

Khan will also launch the Civic Innovation Challenge, first announced in December, to grant startups 15,000 to test ideas that are designed to tackle social challenges like inequality, climate change and the capital's ageing population.

"As one of the world's leading technology hubs, we need to be bold and think big, to experiment and try things out that have not been done elsewhere," he said. "I see London's future as a global 'test-bed city' for civic innovation, where the best ideas are developed, amplified and scaled."

Every business, no matter how small, relies on collaboration to get the job done. Ideas need to be generated, honed and perfected. Projects need to be defined, scoped, managed and evaluated. Clients and staff teams need to be listened to and worked with.

There are two key imperatives for effective collaboration: Pairing many-to-many' communications (like a real conversation) with the need to bypass hierarchies and old ideas about who can and can't participate.

Combining these two gives an organisation the highest chance of getting the best ideas, while encouraging everyone to contribute means people feel valued rather than sidelined out of the important decisions.

New lines of communication

Technology is very good both of these, but it has to be implemented well to achieve them that means picking the right product for your needs. For example, Casual Dining Group has ditched email for its staff communications, and instead uses Workplace by Facebook, a platform that supports collaboration in businesses that don't necessarily have a traditional infrastructure in place.

"Crucially, this has allowed us to connect all of our workers, regardless of their job title or location," Celia Pronto, chief customer and digital officer at Casual Dining Group, tells IT Pro. "For a restaurant business, where many employees don't have an email address, this is critical."

This has created benefits for the business it has "fostered a healthy sense of competition, created a space to share best practice and garnered an openness and awareness of wider business aims," says Pronto.

Similarly, Tinypulse, an anonymous platform for interacting with employees through questions, cheers, suggestions and direct messages has helped PR Agency NeoPR engage better with its staff.

Neo PR's director, Gemma Spinks, says: "Since implementing this tool we have seen increased collaboration between teams on subjects that may not have otherwise been addressed. Staff morale is also greatly improved as people feel they have an official forum to raise, discuss and share concerns they, or other team members may have.

She adds that using these types of collaborative tools "allows everyone in the team, not just the line managers, to recognise and highlight good work, successes or general pleasantness in the office."

The workspace is evolving

In a traditional office environment, using collaborative technology often goes hand in hand with a physical reconfiguration of the workspace.

One approach that's growing in popularity is huddle rooms' in many ways a reaction to open plan offices which typically lack places to sit and chat. Huddle rooms have comfy seating and tables to work at, and, most importantly, are loaded with tech big screens for video calls, interactive whiteboards, conference call setups. This makes them ideal for including remote workers who can join by voice, video and screen share.

This approach isn't just for businesses. At Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust there is now a state-of-the-art Cancer Centre, a huddle room equipped with screens and communications equipment. This allows cases to be discussed in a secure environment, medical documents and files to be viewed, and conversations to be had with colleagues who may be at other hospitals.

Professional services company PwC has taken the concept of the huddle room one step further with its new Delta Room'. Located at its office in Paris, it's fitted with multiple large format, gesture-controlled screens that can capture information in real-time, as well as wireless audio and a mix of desk and sofa style seating. It's an open-plan meeting space that allows people to move around freely while collaborating and of course, it can include remote participants.

Not constrained by time and space

Collaborative technologies really come into their own when they allow people to defy time and space, and come together to pursue projects wherever they happen to be. Achieving this doesn't necessarily require lots of futuristic looking equipment or fancy features. Often it is just about having access to shared working space.

For example, when taxi booking service mytaxi rebranded to incorporate Hailo, it needed to establish a new brand identity with a small team spread between London, Dublin, Hamburg, and Barcelona all within four months. It needed its team to be able to work together, yet remain flexible to meet tight deadlines.

The team worked in Dropbox Paper, a shared document development system, for all elements of the project from creating strategy documents to mock-ups with feedback and wireframes. The task was so big that Gary Bramall, chief marketing officer at mytaxi describes it as "the marketing equivalent of raising the Titanic with a tiny team"

Pushing at an open door

What all of these examples show is that collaborative technology can be futuristic (like gesture responsive screens) or more traditional (like Dropbox Paper), but it can't be exclusive or restricting. Closed door meetings are dwindling in favour of open collaboration, and the idea of having to be present in person to join in a discussion is a thing of the past.

The cutting-edge, like PwC's Delta Room, is all about democratising and inclusion. Whatever we see next in collaborative tech, it's likely to push further that already open door.

Image: Shutterstock

How many times have you been sat in a meeting that could have easily been an email? Catching up face-to-face has its benefits, but the reliance on regular catch-ups and meetings can really interfere with your ability to get on with your day job.

Now, a study has confirmed that when we have meetings spread across a day, it messes with our productivity and actually makes us think we have less time in the day. Over the course of eight studies, both online and in real life, the researchers found that free time seems shorter to people when it comes before a task or appointment on their calendar.

"We seem to take a mental tax out of our time right before an appointment," said Selin Malkoc, co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. "We figure something might come up, we might need some extra time, even when there's no need to do that. As a result, we do less with the available time."

In one of the online studies, Malkoc and her colleagues asked 198 participants to imagine they had a friend coming over to visit in one hour, while others were told they had no plans for the evening. All participants were asked how many minutes "objectively" they could spend reading during the next hour and how many minutes they "subjectively" felt like they could spend reading during the same time.

"Regardless of whether they had a friend coming by or not, participants said they objectively had about 50 minutes available to read," Malkoc said. "That's an amazing finding right there. Most people didn't think even objectively they had a full hour to read. People are putting a little 'just-in-case' time into their schedules when there is no real reason to do that."

When asked how much time they felt they had to read - the subjective measurement - those who had a friend visiting felt that they had 10 more minutes missing in their hour, dropping their free time down to 40 minutes.

These results were then echoed in real-life studies. The researchers asked the online participants to send their diary details for the following day and told them to detail how much time they would need before each task to prepare.

Each of the participants was then offered the opportunity to take part in either a 30-minute or a 45-minute study on that day. The 30-minute study paid $2.50 and the 45-minute study paid $5. For some participants, the study was scheduled in one hour before they said they had to start getting ready for their next appointment. For others, their slots were not scheduled against other appointments. Even though they had enough time to finish the 45-minute study, participants who had an appointment an hour later were "significantly more likely than the others to choose the 30-minute study" over the 45-minute one.

"It was clear they would have plenty of time to finish and have extra time before their next appointment, but they still were more likely to choose the 30-minute study - even when there was a clear financial incentive to choose the longer study," Malkoc continued.

A follow-up study then found that people also seemingly get more done when they don't have a scheduled task hanging over their heads. The researchers told 158 college students that when they arrived at the lab, study sessions were running faster than expected.

Some participants were told they had about five minutes before they could get started and were given permission to do whatever they wanted before getting started. Others weren't reminded about their upcoming task and were simply told they had about five minutes to do whatever they wanted. After the time passed, all participants wrote down what they did during the interval, including sending texts, checking emails and scrolling through Twitter.

Those who weren't reminded they had an upcoming task performed more activities - an average of 2.38 - than those who were told they had a task soon - an average of 1.86. "You don't feel like you can get as much done when you have a task coming up soon. The time seems shorter," Malkoc explained. These findings suggest that looming tasks on our calendar make us less productive.

"We feel that if we have a meeting in two hours, we shouldn't work on any big projects. So we may spend time just answering emails or doing things that aren't as productive," Malkoc continued.

This could explain why, on days when we have meetings spread throughout, we feel like we haven't accomplished much because we're not maximising the time in between those meetings.

One solution, the researchers suggest, is to try to stack all your meetings together. "That way, you have longer, uninterrupted times when you feel you can tackle the bigger projects on your agenda."

The study is published in the Journal of Consumer Research.

The UK government has flown 15 British startups to Australia on its latest Future Cities Mission to learn from the country's strategy to build smart cities.

The event kicked off in Sydney on Monday, with some of the UK's most agile smart city innovators looking for new business opportunities, partnerships and potential investment down under to help boost innovation on UK soil and to exchange smart city knowledge.

The British innovators in attendance included the creator of Heathrow Airport's self-driving pods, Westfield Technology Group, smart parking system JustPark and smart key-to-smartphone startup, Doordeck.

Others on the mission are: Inavya Ventures, Loqiva, Grid Smarter Cities, Open Energi, Predina Tech, Bulweria, Citi Logik Limited, SEaB Energy, Sunamp Ltd, MultiPass, Upside Energy Ltd, and Digital Node.

Innovate UK's innovation lead, James Taplin, said the body spends 500 million a year to grow British businesses, doing so in two ways:

"One through grants and loans and the other by connecting businesses, and that's essentially what this delegation is all about," he explained.

"With this entrepreneur mission, we wanted to help UK and Australian advanced urban services businesses find new collaborators and new opportunities, linking them all with new city opportunities and investment to mutually benefit everyone involved.

"We believe the greatest innovation comes from the mingling of diverse ideas in an environment that is conducive to their growth. With this mission to Australia, we aim to achieve just that."

While the goal of the event was to bring back lessons, business partnerships, investment and export opportunities to help grow businesses and ultimately bolster UK productivity, the mission began with the group of UK businesses identifying common problems in the cities of each of the respective countries.

While both Sydney and London are so far away and very different, entrepreneurs identified three key problems shared by both cities. The first was the issue of under-utilised transport services - for example, multiple car ownership that could help with vehicle sharing to ease congestion.

The second was the pressure on natural resources, for example, the social, economic, environmental and political problems associated with inefficient transportation in cities.

The third was the density of cities. This refers to the misuse of transport in reducing quality of life, for example through pollution caused by congestion.

"This kick off event has validated the idea that whilst UK and Australian cities may be half a world apart, their challenges are similar," said Taplin, wrapping up the day. "Not the exact same, but with the same core difficulties and opportunities that mean our UK entrepreneurs and their Australian counterparts intuitively understand one another and how they can each contribute to solving future city challenges. It has sparked some immediate close collaborations, and set a strong foundation for the rest of the programme."

While the event started in Sydney, it is moving onto Melbourne today, another eastern Australian cities that Innovate UK believes is a forward-thinking one in terms of its approach to smart infrastructure. Here, UK startups and entrepreneurs will meet with Melbourne's RMIT tech and research university, the city's town hall and The Australian Trade and Investment Commission, with potential investments and ideas to be exchanged in the form of effective future city innovations.

Six new 5G technology trials were announced today by the government, covering everything from IoT-enhanced farming to increased industrial productivity and smart tourism.

The projects are the winners of a 5G Trials and Testbeds competition, part of the UK government's 1 billion Digital Strategy. Each will receive between 2 million and 5 million in government grants to explore possible uses of 5G other than telephony, amounting to 25 million in total.

The projects are all being spearheaded by local SMBs, although many also have support from larger enterprises and university research institutions.

The recipient of the largest grant (5 million) is the West of England Combined Authority's 5G Smart Tourism project. It's focused on delivering augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences to tourists in a number of key sites in Bath and Bristol, including the Roman Baths and Millenium Square.

Tim Bowles, west of England mayor, said: "The 5G Smart Tourism bid will allow us to trial some exciting technology at our top tourist attractions, whilst looking at wider and longer-term benefits for our region. This new technology holds the key to a more advanced, sustainable and smart future which will revolutionise the way we all live, travel and work."

There are also two projects that focus specifically on rural issues 5G RuralFirst and the 5G Rural Integrated Testbed (5GRIT), which received grants of 4.3 million and 2.1 million respectively.

The former, 5G RuralFirst, is being led by Cisco and the University of Strathclyde, and will seek to deliver a variety of benefits to rural communities in the Orkney Islands, Shropshire and Somerset, including smart farming and the use of IoT in utilities.

Scot Gardner, chief executive of Cisco UK & Ireland, said: "[The project] will not only benefit those communities, but help the entire UK better understand what 5G makes possible, as well as the challenges there are in delivering world-class connectivity to all corners of the nation."

The other - 5GRIT - will focus primarily on agriculture and tourism with testbeds in Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Inverness-shire, Perthshire and Monmouthshire.

The Liverpool 5G testbed, which won a grant of 3.5 million, is focused on healthcare and wellbeing particularly of older residents in deprived urban areas. Led by Sensor City, it will see various technologies, including AI, IoT and open source 5G networks deployed in poorer areas of Liverpool.

AutoAir, which has been awarded a grant of 4.1 million, taps into the country's desire to be a driverless car pioneer. Located in Millbrook near Milton Keynes, where some of the UK's driverless car experiments are already taking place, and led by Airspan Networks, it will look at how to accelerate the development of 5G small cells to overcome some of the latency issues that could impede the development of autonomous cars.

Paul Senior, chief strategy officer of Airspan Networks, said: "5G networks will be critical for the validation and operation of [connected autonomous vehicles] and the testbed will be both a showcase and blueprint for mass deployment of 5G along the UK's transport corridors."

The final project is Worcestershire 5G Consortium, which received a grant of 4.8 million. It hopes to use preventative and assisted maintenance using robotics, big data analytics and AR delivered over 5G to increase industrial productivity.

Mark Stansfeld, chair of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "This highlights the huge ambition of Worcestershire's innovative public and private sector, with key Worcestershire employers leading the way in Industry 4.0.

"At a time of increasing global competition for trade and investment, we are confident that we can act as a catalyst for technological innovation in the wider Midlands Engine and nationally."