Alphabet slides as it breaks out Youtube and Cloud revenue for the first time February 3, 2020 Google parent Alphabet’s shares fell in extended trading after it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, and gave an unexpected deep-dive into its sales breakdown for the first time. Alphabet reported overall revenue of $46.08bn for the three months to the end of December, versus analyst estimates of $46.9bn according to Refinitiv. Meanwhile it posted a profit [...]
The ethical executive is coming to a boardroom near you February 3, 2020 We are undergoing a paradigm shift in our political, economic, and commercial worlds — and it’s truly stranger than fiction. Donald Trump, Brexit, Cambridge Analytica, the weaponisation of data, deep fakes, and artificial intelligence (AI) — phenomena that would have seemed inconceivable a decade ago are now our day-to-day reality. While some businesses are ahead of [...]
Tech start-up Cera acquires Mears Care February 3, 2020 Homecare tech start-up Cera Care has acquired Mears Care in a deal worth more than £30m. The acquisition will boost Cera’s employee numbers to 2,000, with 20 offices across the country and the ability to deliver more than 10,000 visits a day. The London-based startup said the deal will allow it to roll out its [...]
Cyber success is vital to the UK’s future January 30, 2020 From the Bletchley Park codebreakers to Tim Berners-Lee and the invention of the World Wide Web, the UK has a rich heritage of computing technologies. We see this pedigree coming through in our cyber businesses. Take Darktrace, the UK’s first cyber firm valued at over £1bn, which is changing the way businesses protect critical data [...]
Trade tensions the biggest threat to markets in 2020, say traders January 30, 2020 Traders are worried about the impact international trade tensions will have on the markets in 2020, but only see Brexit as a minor concern, a new survey from JP Morgan has found. Despite the “phase one” deal between the US and China lessening tensions, 50 per cent of the 650 online traders surveyed by JP [...]
The taxman cometh: 6 tips to help you complete self-assessment tax return January 29, 2020 This Friday marks the end of a process that many have found divisive, emotionally draining, expensive, and time-consuming. No, I’m not talking about Brexit. Friday 31 January is the deadline for completing your self-assessment tax return — the bane of existence for freelancers, the self-employed, and anyone who earns extra income outside their basic salary. [...]
Big tech’s calls for more regulation offers them a chance to increase their power January 28, 2020 At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, “tech for good” was one of the key themes on the agenda. The big tech companies like Microsoft and Google used their airtime to call for more regulation, particularly in the area of artificial intelligence (AI). It’s a broad term that applies to a set of [...]
You could be sitting on a data goldmine, so keep your data safe January 27, 2020 How much data do you think you produce each day? Take a moment to think about it. The figure you came up with is likely wildly underestimated. The reality is that we collectively produce quintillions of gigabytes of data every day. Cut yourself some slack — coming up with an accurate number is no easy [...]
BT executive appointed by government to scrutinise tech regulation January 26, 2020 A senior BT executive will run a new body that looks at regulation in technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Cathryn Ross, the group’s director of regulatory affairs, will chair the government’s new Regulatory Horizons Council, first reported by Sky News. The body, which is still being set up, will scrutinise whether tech regulation is keeping [...]
Microsoft chief executive calls for ‘data dignity’ at Davos January 23, 2020 The chief executive of Microsoft has called for “data dignity” and that data and privacy be thought of as a human right. Speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Satya Nadella said: “Data dignity goes further than privacy. People’s data has a value.” It came as part of a discussion on technology and globalisation [...]