Page 3 - Vantage Point

Businesses lack programmes to address firmware vulnerabilities

An increase in connected devices as part of organisations' hardware footprint, combined with increasingly inventive attack methods from cybercriminals, has brought the security of firmware - the hard-coded software frequently stored in Read-Only Memory - into the spotlight. A new study, "Firmware Security Risks and Mitigation, Enterprise Practices and Challenges", from global business technology and cybersecurity association ISACA reveals that while organisations are increasingly aware of the growing importance of firmware security, most businesses lack comprehensive programmes that can address firmware vulnerabilities within their infrastructure.Justine Bone, director and CEO, MedSec, says, "The evidence is showing us that attackers are targeting firmware - many breaches and vulnerability discoveries these days can be attributed to firmware problems. Solutions are emerging, but most enterprise environments remain unprepared. While it's clear that knowledge is power in this instance, i

Social media at workplace has a negative impact on productivity

While social media may be the most sought after employer branding and marketing tool, the unrestricted usage of it is having a negative impact on employee productivity, according to TeamLease's World of Work Report. According to the study, around 32 per cent of the time spent on social media during working hours is used for personal work indicating a huge loss of official resources and productivity. In fact, 13 per cent of the total productivity is lost owing to the social media indulgence alone. Apart from loss of productivity, the extensive usage of social media by employees has also resulted in an increase in loss of confidential information, defamation, misinformation and employee solicitation. Kunal Sen, senior vice-president, TeamLease Services, said, "Indulgence in social media and the resultant slacking is a testimony of pastimes getting more interesting than work. Hence rather than blindly instituting rules, organisations should get to the root cause of the misuse and devise p

Women in emerging economies lack access to formal financial services

Bankable Frontiers Associates has released a report titled, "A Buck Short: What Financial diaries Tell Us About Building Financial Services That Matter To Low-income Women." The research report, sponsored by Omidyar Network, explores why women in emerging economies don't access and use formal financial services to the extent of their male counterparts. The report identifies leveraging women's social networks, tailoring tools to manage day-to-day transactions, and creating new digital, branchless platforms as steps that are needed to better cater to the 280 million women who are currently excluded from India's formal financial system. Between 2013 and 2015, the financial gender gap in ownership of savings accounts has reduced from 17 to 11 per cent in India. But more can be done, as women's exclusion persists across income and education levels in the country, with 50 percent of women who earn more than Rs 167 per day and 45 per cent of women with a college education being still financi

Consumers excited about benefits of driverless cars

Three in four consumers are excited about the many benefits driverless vehicles can offer, and almost two-thirds want to swap their current cars for completely self-driving vehicles - a direct contrast to other surveys that indicate consumer hesitancy toward the adoption of self-driving cars - according to research by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). The report, "Self-Driving Vehicles: Consumer Sentiments", also finds almost all drivers (93 per cent) who use existing driver-assist features such as parking assist, adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance appreciate the usefulness of these driving technology innovations. "Clearly, drivers are getting more and more excited about everything that driverless cars will offer us - 90 per cent fewer US traffic accidents, 40 per cent lower insurance costs, the end of drunk driving accidents and newfound freedom for seniors and people with disabilities," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. Almost all consumers (96 per cent

Indian business leaders succeed on quick improvisations

A study by the Human Capital Leadership Institute, Singapore's National Centre of Excellence, in partnership with Tata Communications, brings out interesting nuances of Asian leadership on the back of in-depth conversation with 165 C-level executives across nine countries in Asia. "Leadership Mosaics Across Asia" is an in-depth study that throws up insights into the similarities and differences in leadership characteristics across the continent, giving a detailed orientation into its organisational cultures and providing leadership lessons. The study claims that Singapore's business leaders are forward planners, driven by data and processes while their Indian counterparts succeed on quick improvisations and emotional connections with their people. Confucianism forms the cultural core of many Chinese senior business leaders. As a result, they lean towards a hierarchical leadership style. Yet, similar to trends across many markets in Asia, there must be a turn towards participative decis

Brands find it difficult to identify and partner a relevant ad-tech company

Criteo has partnered with Worldwide Business Research for the survey

The speed of technology change is a real and immediate challenge for CEOs

The findings demonstrate that 53 per cent of the CEOs cite an intensifying competitive environment as the biggest external threat to growth

Algorithms are taking centre stage in the race for competitive differentiation

Applied to huge datasets, algorithms allow highly accurate and personalised offerings, which in turn drive revenue and differentiation

Sports viewership rising in India, biz of leagues requires high investment

Indian sports viewership (TV) numbers grew 30 per cent over the two-year period between 2014 and 2015, according to a report titled The Business of Sports. The report, released by KPMG India in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) says that in 2015, the Indian sports sponsorship market grew 6.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,190 crore.The report says sports consumption in India is on the rise with leagues, as well international sports garnering strong support across multiple platforms. While India is a latecomer in adopting the league concept, it is rapidly covering ground; of the 11 operational leagues, nine were launched during 2013-16, and two more are planned in 2016. Regional games packaged in interesting league formats have been successful in garnering rural viewership, too. The early success of league-based events across multiple sports indicates a strong potential for Indians to consume sports other than cricket.The report further adds that 2014 saw the

Executives see daily commute as major productivity drain

Corporate executives globally regard their daily trip into and out of the office as a drain on productivity, according to latest research by workspace provider Regus. This "limbo" of time, mainly seen as neither productive work time nor enjoyable personal time, is widely regarded as an obstacle to more useful or entertaining pursuits.Among respondents in India, 29 per cent said it is a pointless, undefined time, while 26 per cent branded it as a "waste" of their precious time. Thus, for well over half of business people globally commute time could be re-invested in more productive work or in enjoying a few hours more sleep in the morning. Nineteen per cent regard their commute as personal time, as they can read and catch up on news on smartphones. "Savvy businesses wanting to restore productivity and reward workers with more personal time or simply with a lie-in once in a while would do well to allow employees to work closer to home at least some of the time," said Harsh Lambah, countr

Executives with scandal-tainted firms pay penalty in job market

An article published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in its September 2016 issue has said that according to its research, "executives with scandal-tainted companies on their resumes pay a penalty on the job market, even if they clearly had nothing to do with the trouble". Overall, these executives are paid nearly four per cent less than their peers. And given that initial compensation in a job strongly affects future compensation, the difference could become significant over a career, it said.Citing the HBR article authored by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, George Serafeim and Robin Abrahams, Bloomberg's Suzanne Woolley wrote: "Initial compensation at these executives' next job is about 10 per cent lower than for that their untainted counterparts, the authors found. Across industries, job functions, levels of seniority, and regions, executives with such companies on their resumes took a cut of four percent in total compensation. Women were dinged seven per cent to men's three per cent

Indian automotive aftermarket biz to grow to $30 billion by 2026

The Indian aftermarket automotive business is expected to grow to an estimated USD 30-32 billion by 2026 from the current USD 6.5 billion, indicating a surge in demand for spare parts in the country's vehicle parc. Representing India's strengths in these key segments, over 175 auto-component manufacturers presented their products and innovations at just concluded Automechanika - the world's leading trade fair for the automotive aftermarket industry in Frankfurt (from September 13-17). Among the exhibiting companies at Automechanika Frankfurt were India's leading players like Sona Koyo Steering Systems, Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd, Talbros Automotive Components Ltd, Nipman Fastners Industries Pvt Ltd, Lucas TVS Ltd, Sigma Corporation India Ltd, Mansons International Pvt Ltd, Bajaj Bearings Pvt Ltd and Ample Autotech Pvt Ltd. Six months on, global auto-component players are set to come together at ACMA Automechanika New Delhi vying for this lucrative market. The Indian edition is sch

Mixed salary growth across globe, eight years after start of recession

A new analysis by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry shows mixed salary recovery figures across the world, eight years after the fall of Lehman Brothers signalled the beginning of one of the worst global recessions in history. According to the study, India's salary growth stood at 0.2 per cent in real terms, with a GDP gain of 63.8 per cent over the same period. Interestingly, emerging markets saw the best and the worst salary growth. China, Indonesia and Mexico had the largest real salary growth at 10.6 per cent, 9.3 per cent and 8.9 per cent respectively. Turkey, Argentina, Russia and Brazil had the worst - at - 34.4 per cent, -18.6 per cent, -17.1 per cent and -15.3 per cent respectively. Most emerging G20 markets stood at either one end of the scale or the other - either among the highest for wage growth, or the lowest. However, India stood right in the middle with all the mature markets. The US suffered one of the worst salary recoveries among developed nations in what is known

Only 16 per cent women get pay raise when they push for it

Women ask for a pay rise as often as men, but men are 25 per cent more likely to get it when they ask, according to a study debunking the myth that women are too shy to demand a raise. The study, which used a randomly chosen sample of 4,600 workers working for more than 800 employers in Australia, found only 16 per cent of the respondents were successful when they asked, researchers said."Ours is the first proper test of the reticent-female theory, and the evidence doesn't stand up," said co-author Amanda Goodall, from Cass Business School. The study also found no evidence that women refrain from negotiations over their salary for fear of upsetting their boss or worsening their workplace relationships."Having seen these findings, I think we have to accept that there is some element of pure discrimination against women," said Andrew Oswald, co-author of the study and professor of economics and behavioural science at the University of Warwick.

Online hiring in banking and finance registers 30 per cent Y-o-Y growth

The education sector continues to chart a long-term growth owing to special impetus by the government since Budget 2016

Growth of digital assistants to generate revenue opportunities

Juniper forecasts that rapidly growing medium will generate over $12 billion of advertising spend per annum by 2021

Wearable market clocks over 40% sequential growth in Q2 2016

The market is highly dominated by sub-$50 category offerings which commands over 83 per cent share of the wearable market

Three Indian luxury brands among top 100 globally

The luxury sector has not been immune to e-commerce

India security market to grow at 10.6 per cent in 2016

Security spending will continue to grow in 2017 when revenue is projected to reach $1.24 billion

Millennials on the move, upsurge in queries for packers and movers

The study is based on an analysis of searches on Sulekha from July 2015 to June 2016 for packers and movers, and online requests in the local services category