Conversational commerce is an unparalleled opportunity for brands to build highly valuable and valued personal relationships with consumers and use this new-found intimacy to drive brand preference and affiliation..

Infosys reported faster growth in digital including newer platforms, and services, in the just ended quarter.

It`s a new year and a new series of questions for business technology and the enterprise. We may not have all the answers for the year ahead, but questions abound. Here`s a look at what`s ahead..

The increased demand for data storage, and predictions of its future growth, is high on the agenda in most Nordic Energy utilities these days. The nature of the business model, where capital intensive infrastructure is deployed is a familiar game for most, and its growing demand for power has a potential impact on the future demand side....

Global consultancy giant PwC has expanded its drone services team to the UK. The move comes after the company’s Clarity from Above report suggested that the emerging global market for business services using drones is worth more than $127bn..

Utility planners will need to plan for an incoming wave of emerging technologies like EVs, solar, wind, energy efficiency, and storage..

Tech giant Microsoft is once more accepting bitcoin payments on its online store. According to Bleeping Computer, Microsoft temporarily suspended bitcoin transactions last week, with company sources citing the "unstable" state of the cryptocurrency. The reason was likely due to bitcoin`s current high volatility and fees, the tech news source added..

As 3D printing becomes the new norm in manufacturing, many have waxed poetic about its environmentally friendly attributes, positing a green production revolution that minimise waste..

NewVoiceMedia, a leading global provider of cloud contact centre and inside sales technology that enables businesses to have more successful conversations, announced today that its Board of Directors have appointed Dennis Fois as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Fois will lead NewVoiceMedia through its next growth phase, aimed at doubling turnover by 2020.

IoT, GDPR regulations, and the rise of the chief data officer will impact enterprise data management in 2018, according to Infogix..

Most communications service providers (CSPs) are in the midst of large digital transformation programs in response to the disruptions plaguing them. Adding blockchain to this equation offers potential to both rationalize a CSP’s current operations and develop new blockchain-based services....

Lean is a business methodology focused on customer value and resource efficiency – essentially a tool for optimising processes and underpinning sustainable competitive advantage. One area of business in which the application of lean techniques can be particularly beneficial is the finance function..

Together with management and technology consultancy BearingPoint, Emmi launches a grand redesign of its business process landscape, netting millions in projected future savings

Swiss dairy giant Emmi is expecting a positive influence on long-term growth after harmonizing a crosshatch of processes and systems with a customized IT platform.

In recent years, a bold agglomeration strategy has helped Emmi move into the club of companies dominating one of Europe’s most valuable food sectors. However, along the way, the dairy producer amassed a plethora of processes that was weighing it down. Among the challenges were barriers to communication, duplication of work and sub-optimal reporting. By drawing upon BearingPoint’s large-scale IT integration and change management expertise, Emmi was able to see how a single, unified IT platform via OneERP would not only rationalize its operations, but enable it to take advantage of the new synergies.

The retail industry experienced a rollercoaster of changes through 2017. So what does 2018 have in store? Here we ask some of the experts..

The 2018 ransomware rollercoaster will be a rough ride for consumers and business alike, says DomainTools` senior security researcher Kyle Wilhoit. In 2017, threats such as phishing, ransomware, and massive data breaches plagued consumers and businesses. TechRepublic`s Dan Patterson spoke with DomainTools` senior security researcher Kyle Wilhoit to discuss what cybersecurity threats will be popular in 2018..

LYONSCG enables support for multi-brand, global eCommerce initiative

Salesforce Commerce Cloud, as well as LYONSCG’s ability to provide high-quality service for leading retailers and brands. It delivered the new sites within a four-month timeframe to meet Claire’s aggressive schedule. “LYONSCG was incredibly responsive to our needs. This was a complex project on a very aggressive schedule and the team delivered on time and under budget, without compromising quality and creativity. Our new sites are a huge step forward and we are already seeing great results,” said Kristen Taganashi, Vice President Global Ecommerce, Claire’s Stores, Inc. The sites feature a mobile-first digital experience that captures the spirit of Claire’s and Icing brands, including custom illustration designed to delight and inspire its young, fashion-forward customers. To replicate the fun, engaging in-store experience, LYONSCG developed a new, immersive digital experience featuring rich imagery, playful animation and detailed product content. As one of the world’s leading specialty retailers of fashionable jewelry and accessories for young women, teens, tweens and kids, Claire’s has more than 2,500 stores in 47 countries. The company offers a wide-range of fun and affordable products, and continues to be a favorite shopping destination for 900 million customers across the globe. Icing is an extension of the Claire’s brand, and caters to a wider demographic with over 350 stores across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. “We selected LYONSCG and Salesforce Commerce Cloud to deliver this project as a critical and fundamental part of our global IT and digital transformation program at Claire’s. This platform can help us maximize our proposition, drive increased revenue, scale and grow into new markets, and drive our business forward,” said James Spencer, Executive Global Director of Development and Design, Claire’s Stores, Inc. “LYONSCG understands the platform inside and out and they successfully delivered our project in record time while working with us as one delivery team.” With Salesforce Commerce Cloud as the foundation, Claire’s now has a robust, flexible architecture that can easily scale to support the company’s growth. The project also included several complex integrations including a new, custom order management system. “Right from the start, Claire’s had very clear objectives and our team was fully committed to helping them realize their goals. It’s a great example of our ‘one team’ approach, working side-by-side with the client across regions to ensure the success of the project,” said Danny Rippon, Director, UK at LYONSCG, part of the Capgemini Group. “The new Claire’s and Icing sites are amazing and we look forward to working with them to further support their growth strategy.”.

KPMG has launched a new digital degree apprenticeship, aimed at preparing the next generation of tech experts.

Sixteen digital coins gained more than 11,700%, with one surpassing the 1,000,000% mark..

Millennials are set to become a key driver of China’s consumer and retail market, according to a new survey by KPMG. The survey, jointly commissioned by KPMG China and online shopping platform Mei.com, was carried out by Ipsos in September and involved 3,004 mainland China consumers..

Are you, despite being a small company, part of a large group? When having an initial discussion with a company representative, we talked about where they are, what they initially have to do and sketched a very rough roadmap of what needs to happen by May 25 2018 and beyond..

AI is enabling firms to move to outcome-based approaches, and SLAs need to evolve accordingly.

Imagine your procurement talent spending less time on repetitive administrative tasks and focusing more on negotiations, category management and supplier relationship management. Digital labor as a supplement to your workforce offers that possibility....

When we talk about conventional players adopting new-age innovative technologies, the 106-year-old technology giant IBM (IBM), popularly known as Big Blue, comes to the forefront. One area where IBM is working aggressively to stay ahead of the curve is the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), commonly known as blockchain..

In an interview with ETCIO.COM, Kalpana Balasubramanian, Partner and Head, Robotics and Cognitive Automation, Management Consulting, KPMG in India holds forth on the prospect of burgeoning AI, the merits of AI and the best practices enterprise need to follow while adopting AI..

In 2018, and beyond, the blockchain will become one of the largest focal points for digital transformation. TechRepublic`s Dan Patterson met with Tim Coates, advisor at Synechron, to discuss how financial service providers use blockchain technology..

KPMG report emphasises importance of inclusion and diversity in order to attract talent in the broadest sense – different perspectives, different ideas, different thoughts and backgrounds..

Data loss prevention and advanced threat protection services will likely grow in importance. Here’s what to think about in terms of IT security for the next year..

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most exciting – yet complex – areas of innovation in healthcare today. As the demand for medical imaging increases, the volume of healthcare data is growing exponentially and there is a need for greater diagnostic accuracy..

KPMG LLP and Ping Identity, a leader in Identity Defined Security, announce an alliance that delivers flexible, large-scale consumer and identity access management (CIAM) solutions..

Over the course of 2017, we’ve interviewed almost 400 senior consulting leaders around the world, usually the most senior person in a territory or industry, picking their brains about the trends shaping their clients’ businesses and the pressures being placed on the consulting model, writes Alison Huntington of Source Global Research...

Blockchain is having a moment. Seemingly every week, a new partnership or platform is announced in the energy sector. The latest move comes from Siemens, which participated in the Series A funding round for LO3 Energy, a blockchain-based microgrid developer..

Keeping complex distributed systems available to service customer requests under peak load is hard. The challenge is exacerbated by a number of factors: the combination of increasing number of services, servers and external integrations and the rapid pace of new feature delivery; heavy spikes in load during annual peak periods; and traffic anomalies driven by promotions and external events. Luckily, there are strategies that support your ability to serve your customers and keep generating revenue by limiting the impact of problems — even if it is not feasible to reduce the risk to zero..

cut-e, the international assessment specialist, has hired a groundbreaking IT consultancy called Auticon - which exclusively employs autistic adults as its IT consultants - to speed up its product testing and help with data intelligence programming.

The management and technology consultancy helps the world`s most innovative brands enhance their customer experience and run their business in the cloud

Amsterdam, December 18, 2017 – Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint is officially designated a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner. The prestigious Platinum Consulting Partner status marks an important milestone for the consultancy and demonstrates its commitment to help the world`s most innovative brands enhance their customer experience and run their business in the cloud by leveraging the power of the Salesforce platform.

With many new engagements this year, BearingPoint has also been able to significantly increase the number of Salesforce certifications while delivering great value to clients by integrating the Salesforce platform into their business.

“Reaching the Platinum Consulting Partner status within less than 3 years basically coming from zero has been a huge feat and shows the focus, dedication, and energy of our fast-growing Salesforce community at BearingPoint,” says Markus Franke, Partner at BearingPoint. “Many market segments still show strong potential for Salesforce business, so we will even increase the pace of our growth in 2018. We are well positioned and are working hand in hand with Salesforce. We look forward to a successful and exciting new year with our clients,” adds Martine Dupuichaud, Partner at BearingPoint.

The Salesforce platform enables faster innovation on a customer platform that securely connects everything across a customer’s business, from apps and devices to customer data, and it is scalable. It allows Salesforce Consulting Partners to focus on innovation and deliver value to the customer with leading social, mobile, and cloud technologies.

About BearingPoint
BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. The company operates in three units: Consulting, Solutions and Ventures. Consulting covers the advisory business; Solutions provides the tools for successful digital transformation, regulatory technology and advanced analytics; Ventures drives the financing and development of start-ups. BearingPoint’s clients include many of the world’s leading companies and organizations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 10,000 people and supports clients in over 75 countries, engaging with them to achieve measurable and sustainable success.

For more information, please visit:www.bearingpoint.com.

Welcome to our podcast series Reimagining Capital Projects, where we explore how technology and innovation is changing capital projects and the wider infrastructure industry..

As someone who dabbled a little in Bitcoin soon after its launch but didn’t hold on to any, I’m probably one of the many people experiencing some pangs of regret at the lost opportunity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s value hovers just below US$17,500 following what can only be described as a meteoric rise in recent months..

The accountancy and professional services firm’s forecasts are for global growth to hit 3.7 per cent in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms next year, the most rapid expansion, by this metric, since 2011..

How the EU’s GDPR Threatens to Destroy Big Data Initiatives and Business Opportunities, in the EU and Elsewhere.

According to a Cybercrime Survey Report 2017, 79 percent of organizations indicated that cybersecurity was amongst the top business risks..

The Ponemon Institute’s “2017 Cost of Data Breach Study” reported that the global average cost of a data breach is $3.62 million. When combined with ACL’s tally of $6.3 billion in annual fraud losses, these statistics paint a bleak picture.

A rise in digital projects has been a significant driver in global healthcare organisations ramping up their use of management consultants – increasing 8.4 per cent to $9.4bn in 2016.

Global B2B services sector M&A specialist, Equiteq, announces the strategic alliance of its client, Dr Jess Murphy, founder of Pathway to Your Potential (“P2YP”) and Mercer Australia. The transaction was completed on October 1, 2017.

The Energy Central rejuvenation project comes as Britain looks to rejigger its economy after last year’s EU referendum, hoping to reduce a reliance on professional services like banking and rekindle the country’s once world-beating manufacturing sector.

Essilor today was awarded the Grand Prix at the 13th Edition of the French Grand Prix FAS1 for its exemplary approach to promoting employee shareholding across the Group. It follows Essilor’s recent announcement that employee shareholding worldwide surpassed 50%, exceeding the Company’s goal of 35% that had initially been set for 2020.

Blockchain technology fundamentally changes how data is managed. With Blockchain, traditional independent players can work together to streamline and integrate processes, all with controlled, secure access to sensitive data. Business leaders are still trying to figure out how to put the technology to work. Yet most agree: Blockchain can unlock the vast value trapped in their business operations..

It’s been just over a year since Appirio’s acquisition by Wipro, and I took some time to reflect back on our decision to sell:.

When we say tech, what do you first think of? Young men squirreling away in a dark room surrounded by half eaten pizzas, lit only by flickering lines of code – an army of wannabe Mark Zuckerburgs on a mission to develop the newest product which will make them millions? Or a woman?.

For the ninth consecutive year, IBM Security is included as a leader in Gartner’s SIEM Magic Quadrant..

Steven Hall, Partner at ISG, will be joining the UK team as Partner & President EMEA in January. Ahead of transferring from the US, Steven has shared a forward look into tech outsourcing trends for 2018. His top 5 predictions are...

NewVoiceMedia, a leading global provider of cloud contact centre and inside sales technology that enables businesses to have more successful conversations, has won a Frost & Sullivan Excellence Award in the Cloud Contact Centre Services Growth Excellence Leadership category.