Industry news

The investment underpins the ongoing alliance to help UK clients digitally transform their business through Google Cloud’s leading technology

Building on KPMG’s global alliance with Google Cloud, KPMG in the UK has announced a new five-year agreement focused on further enabling its professionals to help enterprises transform their businesses with Google Cloud technologies and solutions. 

This relationship expansion will strengthen KPMG’s emphasis in the UK market on cloud transformation, sustainability, mainframe modernisation with Google Cloud’s Dual Run, cyber security managed services and innovation. The investment reflects KPMG firms’ continued strategy to invest in technology and enhance their current portfolio of strategic alliances around the world.

Read more on Technology Magazine here.

American tech giant Dell Technologies is preparing to lay off around 6,650 workers due to a decline in the global PC market.

According to Bloomberg, Dell co-CEO Jeff Clarke told employees in a memo  the firm is dealing with market conditions that "continue to erode with an uncertain future."

He added that earlier cost-cutting measures, such as a hiring freeze and travel restrictions, are no longer sufficient.

"We've navigated economic downturns before and we've emerged stronger," Clarke wrote.

"We will be ready when the market rebounds."

Read more on Computer Weekly here.

Pichai says it is exciting to work on technologies that truly help people

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, on Monday announced its AI chatbot technology called "Bard", which the company claims will provide "fresh, high-quality responses" to users' queries by drawing on information from the web.

In a blog post announcing the initiative, Google CEO Sundar Pichai called the programme an "experimental conversational AI service" that will be made available to the public in the coming weeks.

"We've been working on an experimental conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA, that we're calling Bard. And today, we're taking another step forward by opening it up to trusted testers ahead of making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks," Pichai wrote.

Read more on Computer Weekly here.

Experts have released their latest supply chain trends, revealing an obsession with risk resilience, and who can blame them? A swath of predictions mirror the pressing concerns of a business world in search of safer harbors during turbulent times. In a recent Gartner survey of supply chain organizations, respondents said their top four priorities were commercial growth from the supply chain, real-time supply chain execution, authentic fulfillment of ESG commitments, and flexible work experiences. Here’s a quick recap of perspectives from these researchers and others forecasting how supply chain leaders will manage the challenges of 2023.

Read more on Forbes here.

Though use of blockchain solutions in supply chain is still relatively low, Tech Mahindra is among pioneers driving its adoption

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) tend to hog most of the headlines when it comes to blockchain, but those behind the technology understand just how powerful it can also be in transforming crucial aspects of commerce, such as supply chain.

Supply chain lends itself to blockchain-based solutions because it’s growing increasingly complex. This creates challenges around communications and end-to-end visibility that can make processes inefficient – at a time when expectations around efficiency are increasing.

Blockchain is emerging as one solution to help organisations meet these supply chain challenges. 

Read more on SupplyChain Digital here.

BPO companies now may have to look beyond competitive compensation as a key in attracting and retaining top talents.

Findings of the recent study conducted by Sitel Philippines revealed that excellent health programs are the top draw for people considering a career in the BPO industry.

“The stress of everyday life, consequences of wrong lifestyle choices, and environmental stressors — all these can sap a person’s physical and emotional energy,” said one of the respondents during the focus ground discussion session conducted for the study.

Read more on Manila Bulletin here.

It seems we’re finally starting to see signs of growth in digital skills materialising. According to the (ISC)² 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the size of the cybersecurity workforce reached an all-time high of 4.7 million in 2022. However, the very same report suggests that there was still a shortage of 3.4 million security professional last year, up 26% from the figures recorded in 2021.

The crux of the problem is simple: Yes, the global cybersecurity workforce is growing, but so too is the gap in the number of professionals required to combat an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Read more on SME Web here.

As the saying goes, there’s no rest for the weary. Even with the supply chain impacts of COVID-19 winding down, another threat looms on the horizon. Recession, the once-in-a-decade crisis that disrupts lives and transforms global commerce, is possibly looming. Inflation rates are skyrocketing. Currency values are plummeting. Discretionary spending is slowing. It’s time to brace for changes that will have a lasting impact on your business and your supply chain.

But preparing for change doesn’t have to mean bracing for the worst. Readying your supply chain for recession now will give you the opportunity to thrive through disruption and chart a brighter future for your company for years to come.

Read more on Kinaxis here.

By 2026, 70% of technology sourcing, procurement and vendor management (SPVM) leaders will have environmental-sustainability-aligned performance objectives for their functions, according to Gartner, Inc.

Environmental sustainability has become a top 10 business priority for CEOs, demanding aligned environmental performance from souring functions. “Environmental sustainability directives require all functions to adjust in line,” said Stephen White, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. “Sourcing, contracting and vendor management must all adapt with urgency by incorporating sustainability rigor into operations and objectives.”

Read more on Express Computer here.

Procurement is becoming increasingly bound-up with Technology, increasing efficiency in Procurement.Here are the Top 10 ProcureTech strategies...

Read the strategies on Procurement Magazine here.