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Social distancing is the new buzz word for 2020. Measures imposed by governments across the globe have caused the cancellation or postponement of sporting leagues, events and tournaments, leaving a gaping hole in the lives of sports fans everywhere. Luckily, the internet means there are still plenty of ways for everyone to get a daily dose of exercise and sporting entertainment. Social Distancing Exercise Daily exercise is as important now as it has always been. Whilst there are no team sports allowed, there are still plenty of ways to stay fit and active. Being allowed out for daily exercise means running and cycling are still on the cards. And for those with extra energy to burn, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions are all the rage. YouTube is full of HIIT workouts lasting between 10 minutes and 1 hour. King of HIIT and the nation's favourite PE teacher, Joe Wicks, has plenty of videos online to suit everyone from beginners, kids, and seniors to hard-core fitness fanatics. Online Gaming Online gaming offers up the thrill of sports, albeit without the physical aspects. And you don't need a PlayStation or Xbox as plenty of computer games and apps are downloadable. Dream League Soccer 2020 - Take charge of a footie team, building it from over 3,500 players and rise through the ranks of eight leagues to the top flight of football. TGC 2019 - An authentic golf sim that lets players design challenging courses, compete in Skin wager matches, or become a golfing pro in the PGA Tour Career mode. NBA 2K20 - Adapted for Android, this basketball app has multiple gaming modes. Build a career, compete in streetball tournaments, or become GM of your own team. Even Formula One is getting in on the online gaming act by running virtual races with current and past drivers fighting it out via a video game. F1 fans can watch the races on Sky Sports, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook channels. Not a fan of online gaming? You can always challenge yourself with one

Enterprises have to constantly decide, at every step in their digital journey, should they build or buy. This question often is posed as a critical, do or die decision and the answer varies on a case by case basis. Building can be expensive, take longer but offers future proofing and more dependability whereas buying offers a faster time to market, less risk and accountability forced through contractual terms. However, a key point often overlooked is the cost of integration. Integration can be required at multiple levels. Vendor Applications Vendor applications typically require a two-way connection between the enterprise systems and the vendor application. The application requires incoming data and information from somewhere in the enterprise technology stack and an output stream of information back into the enterprise at one or more points in the stack or workflow. Vendor Platforms Vendor provided platforms typically have similar integration requirements as Vendor applications requiring an incoming data & information connection and an outgoing information connection into the enterprise process, workflow, platform or product. Application-To-Application Application to Application integrations where an application needs to be connected to another application to either provide data or signals to enable the downstream application to create value can be seemingly deceptive. Application-To-Application integration costs can grow at O(n^2) as potentially, worst case, each application could be connected with every other application. Enterprise Stack Fragmentation The problem of integration is exacerbated by the fragmentation of the enterprise at the organization level. This problem is also known as "Shadow IT" is driven by superficially differing needs of multiple lines of businesses in an enterprise. Shadow IT typically leads to multiple instances of similar technology stacks that cause data, compute and information to be silo'd. Stack fragmentation and its

Blockchain are certain to disrupt almost all industries fundamentally. Though there are technical issues, the idea of utilizing a blockchain to prove ownership, to prevent double spending and to establish trust and transactions in an otherwise trust-deficient world, is gaining excitement and acceptance. More and more enterprises are getting curious about the blockchain and are willing to start investing in learning, prototyping, and building on top of the blockchain technology. Starting out with the blockchain requires investment in a building the domain expertise, establishing the identity, establishing the infrastructure and deciding the blockchain that the enterprise wants to work with. Among these decisions is the question: Should the enterprise choose a public blockchain or a private blockchain. Both have advantages and disadvantages and the question can often come down to what are the short term goals and potential applications that the enterprise wants to build on the blockchain. Public BlockChains The default option when considering blockchains is the public blockchain. This is the blockchain that is truly decentralized, leverageable for any type of transaction and in the case of the Ethereum blockchain, offers SmartContract authoring capability that makes the blockchain very attractive for building contracts that reflect the needs of the real world. However, for an enterprise deciding between public or private contracts, there are some considerations that require attention. Speed and Scalability Public blockchains tend to be slower as they are limited by the number of transactions that can be verified every second and confirmed every 10 minutes. There are several efforts underway to make blockchains faster and more scalable however those will take time to get implemented. Speed and scalability will continue to be an issue and contracts and applications that require instant or near real time execution will suffer from this lack of speed and scale. Se

The quality or the lack thereof can be a huge contributing factor to a fractured and sluggish digital journey where ROI is hard to achieve and results come in short supply. The quality of data has a direct impact on the ability of the enterprise to be aware of relevant events, its reaction time, the decision time and its action time. A clear and concerted effort is required to measure and improve the data quality to drive better decisions and actions. Common Quality Issues The following are the most common quality issues Comprehensiveness Comprehensiveness quality issues refer to key attributes or data points missing from the data collected by the enterprise. This can occur when the data producing systems or the data delivery networks have glitches or malfunction or are incorrectly configured to miss entire rows of data or attributes of the data. Integrity Integrity quality issues refer to the corruption of the values of key attributes to contain unidentifiable or unreadable data. When key attributes are empty or null when they are by design, not allowed to be empty/null or when an attribute contains a value that does not meet the specifications of the type of the attribute for example, a string column contains an integer or a timestamp column contains a string not parse-able into a timestamp. Integrity of data is important before data can be included in the data set to drive analysis, decisions and actions. Sampling Sampling quality issues refer to the inclusion or exclusion of a certain percentage of the records in a data set with the assumption that the remainder records are good, representative sample of the original data set. Bad or inaccurate sampling can lead to a distorted view of reality and that can lead to bad decisions. In addition, sampling itself can make the data set inappropriate for certain types of analysis that require the entire dat set to be utilized for training. Filtering An upstream filtering scheme can end up removing too many or

One of the key milestones on the Digital Journey starting with a Digital Strategy, Digital Transformation and then sustaining on Digital Innovation is the point where the enterprise reaches a point of data maturity powered by a single, organization wide, consistent version of the truth including the state of the customers and the state of the business and the state of the employees. This point is critical as it becomes the launchpad for several, forward looking initiatives including Artificial Intelligence, ChatBots, Blockchain etc. "Complete" A Complete version of the truth ensures that the following criteria is met: Entity Pivot The key entities that need to be tracked to generate a complete, comprehensive version of the truth are the following Employee Employees, regardless of customer facing or not, need to be understood including where they excel vs. struggle and where their struggle impact the customer experience. Key information about employees that should be tracked is what the employees are working on, how productive they are and how often they introduce delay and errors in business processes. Business Business visibility requires that the enterprise be able to track key metrics such as customer lifetime value, customer attribution, customer acquisition cost and customer satisfaction. In addition, the stage of the customer ranging from prospect to commit to paying customer to abandoned needs to be tracked. In addition, the customer's quality of service and experience needs to be tracked and understood. Customer The most critical of the three is the understanding of the customer. Customer KPIs have a direct impact on and are completely impacted by the Business and Employee KPIs. It is extremely important to understand how customers are searching for, discovering, learning, understanding, using and continuing to use the product and services delivered by the enterprise. In addition, it is important to understand what capabilities drive what kin

A report by the AmericanManufacturing.org website and a recent Pew Research Center article both focus on the discordance in opinion between the general public and elite economic and legislative policymakers on the threat of China to U.S. jobs and fiscal matters. Chinese Manufacturing The general public, who largely contributes to the tax and voting base and to the domestic economy and workforce of the United States, is not accurately being represented by these "elite" lawmaker, financiers, and economists, according to these two articles. Despite a growing insecurity by the American public and advice from former military leaders, many of our elite financial, political, and historical leaders have remained strangely blinded by the large scale offshoring of U.S. jobs to the China, not to mention the growing debt we have incurred from them. The loss of domestic manufacturing jobs is almost directly proportionate to the increase in Chinese manufacturing jobs, and it is difficult to understand that this fact is hard for "elite" minds to grasp - from the very obvious U.S. Dept of Labor statistical evidence offered below: U.S. manufacturing employment in January 2000: 17,292,000 U.S. manufacturing employment in January 2012: 11,860,000 Annual U.S. trade deficit with China in 2000: $83.8 billion Annual U.S. trade deficit with China in 2011: $295.4 billion I think these stats say a lot about our country's current economic state, and I'm not sure why our politicians, economists, and corporate leaders are choosing to ignore them. Or, maybe they know something we don't. Wait, that is starting to sound like a crazy conspiracy theory.

Waste water treatment plants are usually operated by municipalities or private utility companies, and are regulated by the states wherein they reside, but their standards were enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (amended in 1986 and 1996), all local treatment systems are regulated so that the water they treat is tested for contamination, their improvement plans are reviewed, they have onsite inspection to ensure that machinery and sanitation efforts are functioning properly, that personnel are properly trained, and that they comply with all standards (or face stiff penalties). On top of these regulations are safety expectations imposed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) under the U.S. Department of Labor. Waste water treatment plants have so many potentially hazardous areas that can impact people, directly and indirectly. Who is Affected? Directly, employees at the plant run the risk of workplace injuries from working around the huge pumps, walking near and above open water treatment containment tanks, agitator pools, furnaces, pipes, and various other facility obstacles, machinery and equipment which can create pitfalls for unsuspecting workers. Indirectly, end users of the treated water run the risk of drinking and using improperly treated water, but this post is primarily concerned with the safety of workers and visitors to the treatment plant. Ways to Make It Safe Pump pipe marking label image from wikipedia Workers who must work near open vats of raw sewage or even treated water should have all opportunities for falling into the water prevented via various safety devices, warning signs, or precautions. Potentially hazardous holding tanks or agitators should have traction tape laid on walkways or catwalks to reduce slipping. All pipes should be clearly marked with pipe marking labels to display what the contents of the pipes are. Any electric panels should b

Back pain and injuries account for some of the most reported and most serious common workplace injuries worldwide. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a country whose labor department doesn't dedicate pages of literature to both employers and employees solely on this topic. Loss of work days and productivity, lifelong injuries and disabilities, and short term discomfort are all common results of lower back-related incidents. According to an OSHA fact sheet, More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees. okstate.edu - OSHA Fact Sheet While employers have a responsibility to their workers to implement training programs that minimize injuries (and proactively improve the ergonomics of work-related tasks), employees also need to respect their own bodies and know their limits. This article will be broken up into several sections, each relating to specific aspect of lower back injuries in the workplace, with a primary focus on prevention. Anyone reading through should have a solid grasp on this all-too-common workplace plague by the end of their brief time here. Let's begin. Eliminate Back Injuries While we'll get to proper lifting technique and some employee-level suggestions in a minute, one of the best things employers can do is actually seek to eliminate lower back hazards from their workplace altogether; this is known as elimination - getting rid of risks period - and should be your first step in improving safety before moving on to prevention - mitigating risks that you and your workers have to live with in order for your business to function. Most lower back injuries are associated with lifting, and the most dangerous zones for humans are when lifted objects are below the knees or

When running any sort of physical production based business, you will often have stock on hand. Instead of only stocking for a short time, there will be a "backup" supply of products that can be called upon as demand changes. This is known as "just in case" manufacturing and is highly common in most industries. However, several decades ago, the rise of lean business gave way to the concept of "just in time" manufacturing. In a just in time, or JIT, system, products are made as they are demanded and there is little to (ideally) no back-stock at any time. Why go lean? The idea behind JIT manufacturing is that one can eliminate several kinds of waste by taking away the need to keep inventory of excess stock. From now on, equate "stock" to "excess stock" or the concept of having too much on hand, because in a JIT environment "stock" doesn't really exist outside of individual orders. When you don't have to keep inventory, employees free up their time for other projects and tasks. Also, you have less paperwork to manage, and can focus on other things, like workplace safety, new profitability angles and marketing strategies, etc. Another reason to go to a JIT model is that you increase accountability of management. Because you have no inventory to fall back on in a JIT situation, inventory cannot be used as a crutch to make up for other problems. Slow, inefficient production is often masked by a stockpile of inventory, making it harder to realize certain areas of production may need improvement - these may include machine functionality, worker habits, reliability, and inadequate space management. Another huge place you save by adopting this method is in transportation. Materials do not need to be stocked at various sites and you need to do much less transporting. You will eliminate time wasted in transit when there is traffic or road congestion, and you'll even be more environmentally friendly by reducing fuel burned for shipping purposes

Sentiment, Sentiment Analysis, Sentiment Tracking have become a hot topic with multiple 'AI' startups focussing on providing sentiment driven insights to enterprises. The number of such startups points to the potential that enterprises see in Sentiment analysis and the impact it has on how the enterprise plans, operates, executes and delivers value. Sentiment Analysis is process of extracting sentiment (emotion or feelings) captured in signals that are embedded in various types of media such as print, text, audio, video, images etc. For example, if a reporter submits a report on a particular enterprise, the sentiment embedded in the article can point to how excited, worried, upbeat or impassive they might are about the enterprise. This sentiment can be then used by the enterprise to understand the perception about the enterprise that the external market carries and whether that perception is improving, degrading or staying unchanged. This insight can be used by the enterprise to improve their go to market plans, change their PR strategy or even go deeper and change their product strategy. Sentiment Analysis Is Not New The tracking, measurement and use of Sentiment is not a new scenario. Enterprises have been leveraging the output of sentiment analysis for a long time. User surveys, focus groups, market research, customer interviews etc. are all examples of generating data to perform and track sentiment. Similarly, influencer marketing through association with influencers or events or organizations with a certain perception or sentiment associated with them is a common technique to improve the enterprise's own sentiment. Sentiment Analysis and strategizing based on the analysis is a common and required function for any enterprise. Sentiment Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), enterprises now have another technique in their kitty to understand how they are perceived in the market and how that perception i

Modern, RESTful APIs are not considered standard, table stakes and expected out of any new project, effort, application, system, service or product. It has become so normal to talk about developer interfaces, developer adoption, application development and innovation in the same breath as APIs that a distinct effort to build APIs for a new product or service seems out of place and abnormal. APIs are the defacto standard of app development. So where do we go from here? We believe that APIs are about to enter the second growth spurt. APIs will evolve from not just interfaces and integration enablers into the rockets that propel enterprises towards innovation and market dominance. Here are three key trajectories that will lead the next API evolution and revolution. Innovation - Starts, and Ends with APIs All modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, ChatBots, Analytics, BlockChain etc. begin and end their stories with APIs. APIs are what enables the communication between front-end user interfaces and the backend technology services. All new machine learning capabilities offered out of the big four tech companies have seen the light of day through APIs. Intent & Sentiment extraction, Topics, Categories, Summarization, Image Recognition, Entity Extraction etc. are all capabilities powered by Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing that is ultimately being delivered as APIs to application developers. Similarly, ChatBots are typically designed to get the user entered text, use an intent API to determine intent and then use a service API to respond to the user conversationally or with a service. Clouds - Multi-Cloud, Hybrid Cloud As the big three cloud providers grow their market share and attempt to attract attention, increasingly, enterprises need to think about how they minimize their risk by building in the flexibility to switch their cloud provider if and when they need. In addition, hybrid architectures or a cloud migration

One of the top reasons for digital innovation and transformation failures can be summarized as the enterprise trying to reinvent the wheel. This is the tendency of the enterprise to attempt to create technology, platforms, and applications that have already been implemented, scaled, optimized and almost perfected. This tendency almost always ends up a failed one as it does not create any net new value for the enterprise but comes with a massive opportunity cost as the enterprise spends crucial resources on reinventing the wheel than innovating for the customer. How The Wheel Is Reinvented Nontechnology enterprises can get trapped in a reinvent state where they conclude that homegrown technology is the only path towards customer and business value. This in itself is not entirely false however the type of enterprise and their decision-making process along with the capabilities they have in house have a very large impact on the success of the strategy.eRaaadada Reinventing the wheel happens when a non-tech enterprise discovers a technology trend towards much later in the hype cycle almost towards the end when the technology is hitting the mass market and decides to recreate or reinvent its own version of the technology. This is often done with the assumption that with some investment, the enterprise can have a home grown version of technology or platform that is designed specifically for its needs and is thus a better fit. However, enterprises assume that the state of the technology will remain constant and while they are attempting to home grow a version that can match the current state of the art. In reality, the state of the art shifts and the enterprise is not able to bridge the gap. Who Reinvents The Wheel Typically, technology teams often decide to go down the path of reinvention when they are allowed to make technology upgrade or technology creation decisions without business KPIs and cost constraints i.e. clear success criteria with fixed cost and clear ti

There's no doubt about it, we're surrounded by technology and submit to an awful lot of data collection in return for the convenience factor. Even those of us who consider ourselves tech-savvy and try to keep track of our digital privacy can slip up from time to time. Here are five privacy risks you may not know about and five solutions. Incognito mode is not secure, or private A common assumption is that using a browser's incognito mode means any activity is untracked and hidden. That's not the case, incognito mode merely means your search history is not kept with your standard search history. Solution: VPN encryption Use a VPN to secure connections and effectively hide your internet activity, including your IP address. Google is tracking your purchases It may produce the world's most powerful browser, but Google has a lot to answer for when it comes to online privacy. The tech giant's email client even retains your purchase history. Solution: Stop using Chrome and Gmail The only real way to avoid Google's long and all-pervasive reach is to avoid all of their products. Ditch Chrome, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and everything Google produced. If that's a step too far for you, try and delete your purchase history (https://myaccount.google.com/purchases) although, that's easier said than done. Free VPNs sell your data Users may think they're being clever and retaining their privacy by using a VPN at all times. However, if you're using a free VPN you're risking your data being used as a commodity. Many free VPNs collect then sell your information. Solution: Switch to a secure paid service Using a paid and trustworthy VPN can guarantee the security of your information. Risk: Google "skim-reads" your emails This well-documented practice has been happening for some time. Google's algorithms skim email messages for information about purchases, trips, flights, and more. Solution: Switch email clients The only real solution here is to avoid Google acro

Pandemic & Natural Flu Prevention with Simple Daily Habits The current Coronavirus Pandemic sweeping the world is causing all of us to look at our daily habits. Most of the focus has been on hand sanitation, covering your mouth if you cough or sneeze, and keeping your distance from people who may be at risk of spreading the virus. However, a more prudent action to take would be to look at the daily habits you have in place which could protect you long term from being in the high risk group of most likely to suffer severe consequences from contracting a virus such as COVID-19. Rather than resort to waiting for an immunization to emerge, you could start now to adopt daily habits that support natural pandemic and flu prevention. This high risk group comprises people over the age of 60 who are immune compromised and/or have an underlying health condition that makes them more susceptible to disease and death from that disease. Unfortunately, the health of our population as a whole has been declining for many years now. Have a look at some of the statistics: From 1990 to 2013 there was a 141% increase in deaths from Heart Disease. From 1996 to 2009 there was a 145% increase n people suffering from Asthma From 1999 to 2015 there was a 150% increase in Inflammatory Bowel Disease From 1990 to 2015 there was a 250% increase in Epilepsy From 1999 to 2010 there was a 300% increase in Diabetes From 1996 to 2018 300% more births required fertility treatments. From 1991 to 2015 there were 783% more deaths from Alzheimer's Disease From 1990 to 2018 there was a 4,200% increase in Autism Common diseases are now increasing at epidemic rates, but none of this is hitting the headlines of our mainstream media! What could be causing this massive decline in our population's health, and therefore making us more vulnerable to pandemics like COVID-19 and seasonal flu viruses? Nutrient Deficiency Diseasesmineral-defiency-deseases-and nutrient deficiencyDr Wallach has been saying for man

Keeping our skin healthy is an important part of a modern lifestyle, as it not only makes us look better but also feel better. too, as we get older we have to be more careful about what we put on our skin. There are numerous products on the market that promise to nourish your skin and provide it with various vitamins and minerals, and many of these products contain lab-created, unnatural chemicals. None pack in as many different benefits as Dead Sea minerals. Because products using Dead Sea based salts (or other forms of the minerals) contain such a high concentration of vitamins and minerals, they're able to have a greater nourishing and beautifying effect on the skin than other products. The biggest problem that people face with their skin is that of moisture levels. Some people suffer from dry skin, which can be itchy and sore, and others suffer from skin that's too oily, which can be unsightly and cause pores to become clogged, leading to acne. Just living a normal, everyday life can cause the skin's natural balance to become unstable, and the best way to deal with these very common problems is by applying and using products that contain minerals found in the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea minerals that are helpful to skin maintenance are boron, bromine, calcium, iodine, lithium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, strontium, sulfur and zinc. Boron: helps to reduce and relieve symptoms of dry, flaky skin. Bromine: relaxes the nerves under the skin, calms facial muscles and works as an anti-inflammatory substance to reduce swelling and puffiness. Calcium: helps to protect and regenerate skin cells and cells under the surface of the skin. Iodine: helps skin cells in their everyday functions and metabolizing processes, which means that they stay healthier for longer. Lithium: enables other minerals to have a greater effect on the skin, and is especially useful in helping to reduce flakiness. Magnesium: probably the most useful mineral for skin, as it a

If you have always been enchanted by mysterious places on Earth, then Dead by far is one of the greatest ones. There are many enigmas attached with the Sea, its locations and its history. So, what exactly is so magical about the Dead Sea? The location It is known to be the lowest spot on Earth situated approximately 1300 meter below the level of sea. It is positioned between Jordan and Israel. The sea is pumped up by Jordan River in the northern side and fed by springs and streams from the east and west. Salty Water The water of Dead Sea is known for its high saline content found anywhere else on earth. It is rich in salts of magnesium, sodium and potassium along with many industrially used ones. Since the content of salt is high- and tends to increase the deeper in the sea you go -no human or marine life can survive in this water. Climate The climate surrounding the Dead Sea area is distinctive. The weather tends to vary in winter and summers far differently than it does in the neighboring areas of Jordan and Israel. Mineral benefits The minerals in Dead Sea water have nutrients that are hard to find anywhere else. They make the skin look younger, so much so that there are tales of Cleopatra attached to this region, and she has formed cosmetic hubs in this region to benefit from this water. Iodine Having a high content of iodine facilitates the proper functioning of the thyroid gland in the body. Hence, iodine can be added to the daily diet in order to restore its levels for proper functioning of the body. Body Relief Simply having a bath or soaking in this water relaxes the body. A good majority of muscle and bone treatments include a hot bath with added minerals and salts for their therapeutic properties. This is because the absorption of essential salts and minerals is essential in order to facilitate the healing of muscle tissue and bones. Dead Sea's mud curbs the aging process The soil has the necessary minerals that work as perfect substitute

What is Heatstroke? A heatstroke is a condition where the body's temperature increases beyond 104 F due to prolonged exposure to heat. This is also known as a sun stroke, as it is a common condition during summer months. Prolonged exposure to sunlight or being in extremely hot environments for long periods can cause exertion on the body, thereby leading to sunstroke. Heatstroke-related deaths have been on the rise in India due to rising incidences of heat waves during the summer months. States such as U.P., Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and West Bengal are most affected by the rising incidences of heat strokes [1]. This makes it important to recognise the symptoms of heatstroke and be prepared to take immediate medical action during such an emergency. Heat Stroke Symptoms A heatstroke is a medical emergency, and it is vital to recognise these symptoms - High Body Temperature - A core body temperature which is more than 104°F is one of the first indicators of a heat stroke. Headache and Nausea - A person suffering from heatstroke may feel their head is throbbing and can also feel sick to their stomach. Rapid Breathing - The breathing can be fast and shallow during a heatstroke. Skin - Skin can be hot and dry to the touch if the heat stroke is caused by extremely hot weather. There is excessive sweating during heatstroke if caused by strenuous exercise. Racing Heart Rate - The heart may beat very fast when a person is experiencing a heat stroke. Mental State - The person may appear to be confused or irritated, may show signs of slurred speech and can also have seizures. Loss of consciousness - In severe cases, individuals can faint and lose consciousness. In cases of extreme symptoms, such as loss of consciousness, racing heartbeat, a seizure, very high temperature and shortness of breath, it is important to seek medical attention. Call an emergency ambulance service at your location by dialling 108. MedCab's fast ambulance

Paper was invented by the Chinese and they were the first to have wallpaper by gluing rice paper to the wall, as far back as 200 B.C. By 104 A.D., they had progressed to making paper from rags and other textile waste. This was the beginning of paper that we have today.The history of wallpaper, from invention to the current day.

Digital Transformation is tough, even for seasoned technologists. This is because it is a transformation of an organization at its core. Everything from culture, technology, ideation, development, integration, delivery, and support needs to fundamentally shift to be more customer-centric, service driven, automation first and experimental in nature. No wonder that a lot of organizations take a long time and a lot of investment to see ROI from their digital transformations. Here are 5 signs that your digital transformation might be in trouble. Culture mistrusts the core digital transformation team You are spawning new initiatives before completing previous ones Decisions are top down with low accountability at the leaf nodes You tend to focus on technology stacks with little focus on customer value Inter-organization politics stifles cross-organization scenarios Culture mistrusts the core digital transformation team It is almost impossible to make an entire organization aware and participate in digital transformation at the same time. There are exceptions but in our experience, starting out with a core digital transformation team is a much better strategy than otherwise. This team should be enabled to attack a limited set of important and business relevant problems, build cutting-edge solutions and use them as examples to train and evangelize digital transformation strategies to the rest of the organization. However, the more entrenched an organization in the old way of doing things, the harder they might this central team. Resistance can be active and passive such as refusal to share data or provide the relevant context of the problem. An organization that does not set up the early crusaders for success almost always has a much harder time showing value from their digital transformation activities. You are spawning new initiatives before completing previous ones Executing on a digital transformation strategy is much harder than defining the strategy especially fo

Are you AI-First? By editor Posted October 13, 2018 In Artificial Intelligence, Digital Strategy, Technology & Design 0 An AI-First company is an enterprise that has transformed to believe and understand the incredible and disruptive potential of Artificial Intelligence. Such an enterprise not only sees the value but can see the destructive impact of being left behind. An AI-First Company understands that it might not know all the answers but realizes that it needs to seek out a path forward with AI or risk being marginalized. Key Characteristics of an AI-First Company A-First companies might not be any different from their previous form but think and act differently. Here are some key characteristics of such companies. Approach to Problems and Planning An AI-First company evolves its approach to problems. AI-First companies realize that determining the existence of a problem and selecting the most consequential problems is a function of data and analytics. An AI-First company invests in building predictive mechanisms that can signal current or upcoming problems including the severity and priority of these problems. Building these predictive mechanisms becomes the first step in determining how and when to prepare for problems or upcoming issues. In addition, these companies leverage news and information that is generated inside and outside the enterprise as it is generated and ensure that their employees and customers have access to the insights embedded in the news and information. Approach to Products and Product Development An AI-First company understands how a prediction or classification could help them deliver a better solution to a problem faced by their customers and how their existing products can be adapted or new products created that change behavior based on the predictions and classifications. Enterprises that understand the power of AI ensure that data scientists come part of the core product ideation and development team with a heavy infl