Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Technology

  • Passwords on the rise despite evidence they are unable to protect

    Passwords on the rise despite evidence they are unable to protect

    • Almost a third (29%) of organisations across Europe and the Middle East see usernames and passwords as one of most effective access management tools, despite inherent weaknesses;
    • More than half (57%) of companies believe that unprotected infrastructure such as new IoT devices present the biggest targets for cyber-attacks, ahead of cloud apps (55%) and web portals (43%);
    • Over two-thirds (67%) of IT leaders feeling under pressure to balance convenience and security;

    According to the 2020 Thales Access Management Index – Europe and Middle East Edition, nearly a third (29%) of organisations in Europe and the Middle East still see usernames and passwords as one of the most effective means to protect access to their IT infrastructure, two years after the inventor of the complex static password admitted they don’t work.

    In fact, 67% of respondents indicate that their organisations plan to expand its use of usernames and passwords in the future. This continued reliance on outdated security comes despite IT leaders revealing it is increasingly easier (48%) to sell the need for security to their boards compared to last year (29%).

    Surveying 400 IT decision-makers across Europe and the Middle East, Thales’s new research found that the majority (57%) of IT professionals revealed that unprotected infrastructure is one of the biggest targets for cyber-attacks.

    Therefore any organization utilising it, as a result of business pressure driving them to adopt digital transformation technologies, are likely to be putting themselves at a higher level of risk.

    IT departments are battling to provide employees with both security and convenience

    With the Covid-19 global pandemic causing many companies to work from home, IT departments are battling to provide employees with both security and convenience.

    In fact, over two-thirds (67%) of European IT leaders say their security teams feel under pressure to provide convenient access to applications and cloud services for users, but still maintain security – an indication they’re struggling to balance their digital transformation and security priorities.

    To this end, 96% believe that strong authentication and access management solutions can facilitate secure cloud adoption. Over three-quarters (76%) also revealed employee authentication needs to be able to support secure access to a broad range of services including virtual private networks and cloud applications.

  • First European Apple store to reopen, in Wien

    First European Apple store to reopen, in Wien

    On May 5, Apple is opening its store in Vienna on Kärntnerstrasse. It is the first Apple store in Europe to reopen, according to Heute.

    The daily opening times are temporarily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Apple has closed down its stores across the globe, except for mainland China. 

    For now, Apple will continue to encourage customers to shop online while the stores will focus more on services and support.

  • Deloitte Intelligent Document Processing, delivered in cooperation with UiPath

    Deloitte Intelligent Document Processing, delivered in cooperation with UiPath

    Deloitte and UiPath announced they are working together to deliver Deloitte Intelligent Document Processing (DIDP).

    DIDP is an on-premise or cloud-based automation accelerator, delivering a capability which captures documents before extracting, classifying, and verifying their data for processing.

    The integrated technology includes Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Human-in-the-Loop (HITL), Machine Learning (ML), and the UiPath RPA.

    The power of DIDP is its ability to handle multiple document types by processing any type of structured or semi-structured document, ranging from invoices to contracts.

    From manual processing to automation

    Invoice processing has always been highly manual for global logistics company DHL Supply Chain, involving dozens of people processing hundreds of thousands of invoices on an annual basis.

    Now with DIDP, the company is automatically processing thousands of invoices from 124 different vendors and has increased capacity by more than 30 percent for invoice processing.

    Deloitte and UiPath have been working together to implement RPA and intelligent automation technologies for clients across a wide array of industries and sectors, including financial services, supply chain, human resources, and procurement.

  • Future WorkForce created a robot to process deferral of bank loans

    Future WorkForce created a robot to process deferral of bank loans

    • 240 requests to defer payment of bank loans per hour processed by a Future WorkForce robot;
    • The solution integrates and processes the incoming requests on all the official channels made available by a bank for this purpose.

    Future WorkForce start-up launches a solution that takes over payment deferral applications submitted to banks, assess them and then integrates all the details for faster and more efficient processing by the back-office employees of these institutions.

    The robot can process up to 240 requests per hour collected from all the digital channels of a bank: online form integrated on the website, official e-mail address, chatbots, according to the procedures of the lending institution aligned with OUG 37/2020.

    After the robot takes over the information submitted, it will validate the request in the bank’s systems and, after the final approval from the bank’s backoffice employees, it will provide an automatic response in up to 3 days.

    Also, because the debtors’ requests can apply for several types of bank loans, the robot can differentiate between them and also redirect them to the appropriate channels for further processing.

    The Future WorkForce solution is based on a set of technologies such as: automations developed with UiPath robots and integrations with internal systems via API. The solution allows robot-human interaction via an easily customizable interface.

    Although this solution is a quick alternative for processing certain types of documents and information stipulated in OUG 37/2020, the applicability of the robot can be extended to other processes of a bank that involve contact center and backoffice activities.

    In addition, with the help of Future WorkForce, algorithms can be incorporated that allow the structuring of information reaching the bank in a non-standard format, such as an email or a message sent via a web form.

    The solution involves only the cost of implementation for the bank, as a client of Future WorkForce, and will be integrated into all the operating systems of the respective banking institution. Demos of the solution’s features are available upon request.

    The Future WorkForce robot has already been integrated in two of the banks that are in this tech start-up’s portfolio.

  • How coronavirus changed Romanians’ digital habits in the last month

    How coronavirus changed Romanians’ digital habits in the last month

    • 44% of Romanians pay their utilities invoices online and this is the habit they want to keep after the restrictions of circulations will end too;
    • Aprox. 35% of the respondents work from home;
    • Telemedicine has been adopted by 4% in just six weeks of social isolation, quite a good start.

    Telekom Romania ran a survey to figure how the consumers’ behaviour has changed and what will be the new consuming habits.

    Apps to work from home

    The enforcing of the state of emergency has significantly changed the working ways. According to the survey, over 34.7% of respondents work from home.

    They mainly use Skype to communicate with their teams (22,9% of respondents). The second place in popularity belongs to Zoom application with 20,6% of responses, followed by Microsoft Teams with 11.9%, Google Hangouts with 11.5%, Skype for business with 7.6% and WhatsApp with 5.6%.

    Facebook is the most used social platform

    When we talk about spending time on social networks, Facebook remains the preferred platform for 35.5% of respondents.

    In second place is YouTube (28.9%), then the other applications: Instagram (11.2%), TikTok (6%), Pinterest (4.8%), Reddit (4.7%), LinkedIn (4.2%), Snapchat (3.7%) and Twitter with (2.8%).

    Telecommunications services used in the current context

    The Internet is the most used communications service used by 38.6% of respondents. 34.4% of them use mobile telephony, 24.3% use television service and only 0.7% use fixed telephony.

    These behaviours are also visible in relation to Telekom services and products. In the first 2 weeks of April, the traffic on the telekom.ro site increased by 77%, compared to February of the same year.

    Online payments versus offline payments

    The circulation restrictions have led to the adoption of online payments for utility and service invoices.

    Thus, 44% of respondents pay all bills online, 30.7% online, but also physically, and 25.3% pay them only physically, because, in their opinion, this type of payment gives them security.

    Bare necessity online shopping versus bare necessity offline shopping

    According to Eurostat, in 2019, 23% of the population shopped online, and now even in the current general context, 55% of respondents continue to go shopping in physical stores, taking the protection measures recommended by the authorities, 27,1% made their supplies in time and do not go to the store so often, 25.3% do their shopping in physical stores, but also online and only 7.8% turned exclusively to suppliers to purchase their necessities.

    As a frequency, 43.4% go shopping once or twice a week, 38.5% less than once a week, 6.6% of respondents go shopping every day, 1.4% of 5-6 times a week and 10.1% 3-4 times a week.

    Half of those who responded to the survey mainly use a mobile phone to place an order, 42.2% use a laptop or desktop and only 7.4% use a tablet.

    The activities of spending time at home

    Among the activities at home, the online survey revealed that in the current general context: 72% of respondents said they spend their free time with family activities, 58% watch TV series and movies, 31% learn new things, 23% do sports at home, 11% run in the vicinity of the house and 7% have other activities.

    Medical non-emergencies

    A premiere that confirms the global trends is the gradual adoption of telemedicine, with 4% of respondents saying they use this way of caring for their personal health.

    For non-medical emergencies during this period, 61,1% of respondents said they use the advice of a family doctor, 23.9% wait until the restrictions are lifted to go to the doctor, 14.2% call the approved phone numbers, 11.8% use the medical application on the phone, 5.5% take protective measures and go to the hospital.

    Which of the digital habits do the Romanians intend to keep

    The respondents to the online survey also stated which are the digital habits they want to keep after the relaxation of the circulation restrictions: online payment of bills is also the digital habit that most Romanians would like to maintain in the future. (59% of respondents), followed by online shopping (42.7%) and 24.5% would like to keep in touch with doctors remotely (through applications or telemedicine).

  • Deliverect, a food tech start-up, raises €16.25 million to expand

    Deliverect, a food tech start-up, raises €16.25 million to expand

    Deliverect, a Belgian start-up streamlining the restaurant industry with its online food delivery management software, announced that it has raised €16.25 million in its Series B funding round, led by OMERS Ventures, with existing investors Newion, Smartfin, and the company’s founders also participating.

    Deliverect is a subscription-based service that integrates third-party online ordering platforms like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Glovo, and Doordash into restaurants’ point-of-sale systems, automating the inbound online order flow through a single point.

    It eliminates the requirement for restaurant staff to monitor multiple devices and manually re-enter orders into their existing system, dramatically reducing both staff workload and the probability of errors.

    Deliverect is also used by ”virtual” kitchens. These are essentially delivery-only restaurants where, assuming good food is standard, efficiency is paramount and technology plays a critical role in helping to build up brand loyalty with customers.

    With the number of virtual kitchens on the rise and an increasing number of FMCG businesses and food retailers entering the delivery marketplace, Deliverect aims to become the global gateway for online food ordering and delivery.

    Deliverect, founded in 2018, has processed more than 3.5 million orders since its inception, with UK customers including Absurd Bird, You Me Sushi, Taqueria, and Crêpeaffaire. In addition, the company works with Unilever, which through Deliverect is able to integrate with Deliveroo and Uber Eats and deliver Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum ice creams directly to customers.

  • Neeco services are available in 160 countries around the globe

    Neeco services are available in 160 countries around the globe

    • Neeco services are now available in more than 160 countries around the globe.
    • Clients have a partner field workforce of 26,000 engineers, certified professionals and consultants at their disposal.
    • This enables the company to swiftly carry out even large and complex projects, to install IT equipment at 53 diplomatic offices in various countries for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a well-known Arab country. 

    Neeco was consequently able to deliver and install approximately 1.000 pieces of hardware at 53 sensitive diplomatic sites around the world for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a well-known Arab country.

    The challenging part of all international projects is their implementation, which often takes place in very different environments. “One has to know the specifics of the countries where projects are implemented. This is only possible through partnerships with local providers. This is the core of our success,” concludes Petr Opravil, Senior Solution Architect of Neeco.

    Although all Neeco’s engineers had to have security clearance in advance due to the sensitive diplomatic environment, each installation job took only around a week to complete.

    The company has branches in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, India, Singapore and Hong-Kong.

    Consequently, setting-up new business operations in New York, Prague, Mumbai, Cairo and Mexico City within a month is the kind of task Neeco is able to accomplish.

  • SoapBox Labs, one of Europe’s hottest startups, raises a $6.5 million investment

    SoapBox Labs, one of Europe’s hottest startups, raises a $6.5 million investment

    SoapBox Labs, developer of safe and accurate voice technology for kids, announced a Series A investment of $6.5M from Elkstone Capital, Astia, and a number of private investors.

    Named one of Europe’s hottest startups by Wired UK in 2019, SoapBox Labs was founded by Dr. Patricia Scanlon, whose popular TEDx talk explains the ways in which technology can “transform a child’s reading journey.” In 2018, Scanlon was named to Forbes list of Top 50 Women in Tech globally.

    “SoapBox is at the nexus of some big trends right now – remote learning, voice, kidtech and data privacy,” said Scanlon. “We’ve invested deeply over the last 7 years in our people and our technology. With this funding we’re poised to capitalise on our strengths and the global market opportunities opening up to us in literacy, language learning and toys.”

    SoapBox Labs’ proprietary high accuracy speech recognition technology caters to the idiosyncrasies and unique speech patterns of children that traditional speech technology is unable to decode.

    Built from the ground up by a team of world-renowned speech recognition and AI experts, SoapBox Labs’ age-appropriate, privacy-driven voice technology powers third party digital games, literacy, and English language learning offerings for children.

  • TSG acquires Stadline and signals further European expansion

    TSG acquires Stadline and signals further European expansion

    TSG announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Stadline, an innovative provider of management software and services to the fitness sector, primarily in France.

    Created via the merger in 2015 of Stadline (founded in 2004) and Resamania (founded in 2008), the company is considered as the most dynamic, innovative and advanced SaaS player in the French market.

    Via the recently developed Resamania v2, the Stadline solution serves large multi-site fitness chains’ needs, in a French market driven by consolidation.

    TSG is an Advent portfolio company, is a leading revenue management solutions company that provides business management software, integrated payments, and value-added services to clients around the globe.

  • PLN 1.6 billion expenditures on development of innovations in the Polish banking sector

    PLN 1.6 billion expenditures on development of innovations in the Polish banking sector

    According to “Startup the Bank” study on startups whose solutions transform the Polish banking sector, not only traditional fintech companies stand the chance of becoming banks’ technological partners and after a successful pilot project, 7 out of 10 companies continue to cooperate.

    The report, prepared jointly by the largest bank in the region, along with partners, offers a study of 100 companies from the fintech industry.

    Expenditures on development of innovations in the Polish banking sector have been growing by 14.5% on average annually; in 2019 they amounted to PLN 1.6 billion.

    A significant portion of solutions are worked out by the banks together with their technological partners.

    How to “break into” a Polish bank

    Banks in the region specialise in a systemic approach to the cooperation with startups more than any other industry, building dedicated programs and innovation teams. Acceleration in banking offers a 3-times higher guarantee of signing a contract than in other sectors (where traditional sale performs better).

    The most efficient mode of launching cooperation is a pilot project. Almost 9 out of 10 startups cooperating with banks had “pilots” of their solutions. For 70% of them, this allowed the signing of a commercial contract. According to 40% of respondents, their solutions are a must-have for a modern banking sector.

    Three major implementation areas include data analysis, internal process optimisation and customer servicing.

    Financial benefits are the most important aspect of cooperation only for 17% of companies. A definite majority is more interested in image-related benefits or access to the customer base, along with feedback from the professional partner.

    Results show that apart from Poland, the market for researched startups include the UK, Germany, the US, Spain and Singapore.

  • Vestiaire Collective raises $64 million investment

    Vestiaire Collective raises $64 million investment

    • The new round brings on board Korelya Capital, funds managed by Fidelity International, Vaultier7 and Cuir Invest;
    • Existing shareholders Eurazeo (Eurazeo Growth & Idinvest Venture funds), Bpifrance, Vitruvian Partners, Conde Nast, Luxury Tech Fund and Vestiaire Collective’s CEO, Max Bittner also reinvest.

    Vestiaire Collective, a global platform for desirable pre-owned fashion completed a $64 million round of financing, existing shareholders reinvest alongside new investors Korelya Capital, which is backed by Korean technology conglomerate Naver, funds managed by Fidelity International,  Vaultier7, a specialist female-led consumer fund, and Cuir Invest, which is backed by the French Leather industry.

    This new round of funding will allow further acceleration of Vestiaire Collective international business beyond the countries where the company’s community is already well established. Currently, over 80% of the French headquartered company’s transactions are already generated cross-border.

    Thanks to Korelya Capital, which is backed by Korean technology conglomerate Naver, Vestiaire Collective will jointly explore the expansion towards Japan, the biggest resale market in the world, and Korea in 2020 and beyond.

    This round will help the company to drive ambitious growth in the US market and further develop the Direct Shipping model.

    Launched in Europe in September 2019 the service is increasingly popular with a growing number of customers. Currently, over 50% of orders in the EU are fulfilled through the new service, which is also growing at a rate of +60% MoM. The model will be launched in the United States in early summer followed by Asia before the end of 2020.

  • Bulgarian IT company AppGreat joined Google Cloud Partner Program

    Bulgarian IT company AppGreat joined Google Cloud Partner Program

    AppGreat, a Sofia based provider of advanced IT solutions, announced that it joined the Google Cloud Partner Program after meeting all the requirements set out by the organization and demonstrating competency in its core areas of expertise.

    The agreement is the latest addition to AppGreat’s portfolio, alongside the likes of eCommerce giant Shopify, web security leaders Reblaze and distributed database experts RavenDB. 

    AppGreat focuses on providing a range of IT services to clients in various verticals. These include native mobile transformation – converting HTML5-based mobile apps to full native mobile iOS and Android solutions – web development including engineering, scripting, security and privacy configuration, and the construction of master data management systems to foster cross-organizational knowledge sharing.

    The company also offers cloud migration services, ensuring the smooth transfer of data and applications from on-premises storage to the cloud or between platforms, architecture consultancy including the strategic mapping and optimization of system and software components for enhanced operational efficiency, and SDLC transformation, comprising product development and project management to maximize R&D capacity throughout the life cycle.

    Josh Shoham, CEO of AppGreat said: “We are delighted to have had our expertise recognized and rewarded by Google. Having developed solutions for companies in some of the most challenging verticals around, we’re confident that this relationship will enable us to rapidly scale our operations.”

    AppGreat is based in Sofia, Bulgaria with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel.