Are we in for a mobile data revolution?

The possibilities for mobile data are already cause for great excitement and recent findings may see this feeling hit a new peak.

Gartner has predicted that mobile data traffic will increase exponentially in the next three years, reaching a staggering 173 million terabytes during 2018. In 2015 alone, 52 million terabytes is set to be produced, a 59 per cent increase on the mobile data traffic from the previous year. 

Mobile data traffic will increase exponentially in the next three years.

While a lot of this increase will come from new users of mobile data, Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner, also highlighted there will be growth from existing users updating their networks.

"New, fast mobile data connections (3G and 4G) will grow more slowly, from 3.8 billion in 2015 to 5.1 billion in 2018, as users switch from slower 2G connections and consume more mobile data," she said.

The Gartner report also revealed how exactly data is being used in different parts of the world. Polls conducted in the USA and Germany last year showed that while 43 per cent of American users felt unrestricted by their data caps, only 20 per cent of Germans felt the same.

Because of this, the majority of those surveyed (56 per cent) wait until they are in a free Wi-Fi area to download large files and stream video. By comparison, only 36 per cent of Americans felt the same way.

These differences are unsurprising considering that 34 per cent of German users still get a measly 500 megabyte cap per month. In the UK, poor Wi-Fi creates a reverse situation. According to a poll conducted by Global Wireless Solutions, 40 per cent of Britons use data in their home, with 17 per cent saying they are forced to due to slow home connections. 

In order to capitalise on growing mobile trends, communication service providers worldwide need to develop new methods to extend its capabilities in data provision. IT project management training may be necessary to undertake these development schemes. 

As mobile data usage grows, communication service providers must provide better plans for their customers.As mobile data usage grows, communication service providers must provide better plans for their customers.

While some companies may be falling behind the trend, others have embraced coming changes. Hans Vestberg, CEO of Ericsson, provided Fortune magazine with some surprising affirmations for the future in a July 20 article. He predicted that by 2020, 3G and 4G networks will be the main networks used worldwide. The reason Vestberg gave for this bold prediction was the decreasing prices of smartphones around the world.  

"As device makers launch more inexpensive smartphones they'll proliferate around the globe," he said.

"For every $10 you reduce the price of the smartphone, 100 million more people will buy them." 

How does technology affect work-life balance?

While work-life balance is a much-discussed topic in the world of HR, new findings have given us a more valuable insight into the role technology plays.

With technology simplifying how and where we can access communications, a survey by CareerBuilder found at half of workers check their email outside of working hours. More worrying is the fact that 24 per cent of workers do so while engaged in activities with family and friends.

The key difference between generations was the element of choice vs. obligation.

This isn’t just a millennial-driven trend either. While 52 per cent of workers in the 18-24 year-old bracket admitted to checking emails outside of work, those aged 55 and up were not far behind, with 46 per cent keeping the electronic lines open outside the traditional nine to five.

The key difference between generations was the element of choice vs. obligation. While the vast majority of the older set in the survey (70 per cent) felt it was their choice to engage with email outside of working hours, a much lower percentage of 18-24 year olds felt the same (56 per cent). When you compare these results to the overall average of 62 per cent throughout the survey, there is a clear generational gap where the youngest workers feel obliged to stay in contact with work while at home.

In many cases, access to technology can impede on the quality of life outside the office. In the “Work-Life Imbalance Report” complied by Workfront, 57 per cent of those surveyed believed that technology had “ruined the modern family dinner”. Millennials may be the most guilty of this as 52 per cent of the 18-34 year-olds believed that leaving dinner to answer an urgent email was acceptable.

Feeling obliged to keep in touch with work at home can impede on your most precious relationships.Feeling obliged to keep in touch with work at home can impede on your most precious relationships.

While technology certainly can affect work-life balance in a negative way, Laura Anscombe, writing for Executives Online, believes that there are great gains technology can bring when it comes to flexible working. In a May 6 blog, she highlighted that technology allows for remote working and more flexibility in the day. Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder, agrees with this sentiment.

“Workers want more flexibility in their schedules, and with improvements in technology that enable employees to check in at any time, from anywhere, it makes sense to allow employees to work outside the traditional nine-to-five schedule,” she said.

The key to managing technology usage outside of work is control. Feeling obligated to check emails when engaged with valuable social time is not a sustainable or healthy behaviour. IT governance training may help business leaders manage IT usage amongst their employees so they may eventually gain ownership of their working and personal life.

Hacking into cars: The risks of inter-connectivity

As more and more devices are able to be hooked up to the internet, hacking is not longer an activity strictly limited to computers.

As shown in a recent report conducted by Andy Greenburg for Wired.com, Charlie Miller, a security engineer at twitter and Chris Valasek, director of vehicle safety research at IOActive developed a software that could remotely control and sabotage a car. 

The video showed the two conducting a number of tricks on the car, from small nuisances such as turning the air conditioning and music to full blast, to more startling actions like bringing the vehicle to a complete stop on the highway. The driver of the car was unable to regain control of the system and was at the complete mercy of the two hackers who were miles away. 

While this experiment was conducted under safe conditions, the pair warned that more unsavoury characters could use these systems to create havoc for drivers. 

Many cars have been recalled in light of hacking dangers.Many cars have been recalled in light of hacking dangers.

Within a week of the video's release, FIAT Chrysler announced that it will recall 1.4 million cars to be fitted with software to attempt to stop hackers penetrating the driving systems of the cars. The intent was also to bring wider attention to other car manufacturers that more attention must be paid to ensuring the security of the internet systems in their cars.

Considering that the development of the first completely automated car is reaching new milestones, with the Google car hitting over 1 million miles driving, the implications of this are huge for both internet security and automobiles. These most recent events add more fuel to the ongoing debate around the internet of things and how safe these devices are from tampering. 

These most recent events add more fuel to the ongoing debate around the internet of things.

With more connectivity between devices comes increasing danger that hackers will tamper with a range of our most vulnerable possessions, such as mobile phones, cars and even our household systems. A 2014 report conducted by HP looked at the 10 most popular devices in various niches and revealed that 80 per cent of devices raised concerns around privacy. On top of this, 70 per cent did not encrypt communication to the internet and the local network.

There are ways to tackle the ongoing threat of device hacking. IT security training can help individuals and businesses understand the importance of protecting devices that are internet-capable. HP also recommended the introduction of security standards before the production of any interconnected device begins, which car manufacturers should now be more aware of due to these recent events.

Enterprise cloud spending to reach new highs

Those involved in either business or IT would have had to be living under a rock to avoid cloud computing, the wildfire trend that's grown from a buzzword into something even consumers are starting to utilise.

While many companies are still likely concerned about the IT security risks, others have pushed ahead, and that's why growth is now beyond what many would have ever anticipated. According to new figures from research organisation Telsyte, even Australia is a centre for cloud growth.

In fact, Australian cloud spending is poised to reach $800 million by 2019, as organisations continue to move workloads to third party providers and other off-premises locations.

"The adoption of cloud computing services is being driven by both traditional IT pressures and emerging technology," the Telsyte report noted.

"Cost reduction, time-to-market, scalability are ongoing traditional IT pressures CIOs face and this is being compounded by emerging workloads like big data analytics, Internet of Things and personal apps in the workplace."

Last year, IBM observed that 86 per cent of businesses used the cloud, at least in some capacity, and the market for cloud services will grow significantly over the next five years.

There's really no limit to what can actually be shifted across the cloud. Companies can use cloud-based video conferencing tools to ease collaboration, online file storage to eliminate and IT security and document management issues, and run customer service applications from a secure, always-online system.

Key to the success of any IT endeavour, however, is a strong backbone of highly trained staff. This means using a framework like ITIL, where best practice in IT is the top priority. After undertaking this training, businesses will have an assurance that cloud based systems are being kept secure, and staff are getting the most out of them.

Speak to ALC Training today to find out more about ITIL and our range of other powerful frameworks.

Upskilling: How do I get started and what courses are best?

There's no shortage of training courses to upskill your staff, whether your aim is improving their approach to IT security or perhaps how they approach running and managing projects. Courses such as SABSA, ITIL and COBIT 5 can make a substantial difference to the business once staff are certified.

Of course, you're likely wondering how staff can get started and what the best frameworks actually are. Let us break it down for you.

Have you thought about training?Have you thought about training?

How can I get started with a framework?

Before we delve into what the best frameworks are and what they can offer you and your staff, it's a good idea to understand how to actually sign up and get started. It's easy, especially when you go with an accredited provider like ALC Training.

Firstly, choose the framework, then figure out how you'd like to have it taught. The options are numerous:

A framework can be a great way to upskill.A framework can be a great way to upskill.

What framework is right for me?

There are a number of proven methodologies and frameworks available, and all of them are powerful ways of upskilling. If you're looking for yourself or for your team, consider each of the frameworks below.

There are other frameworks available, all of which can offer useful skills and knowledge. Once you've found a framework that suits your team, and a date that could work from our schedule page, either get in touch to find out more or sign up online!

Device decisions: Shipments of new technologies show change in direction

Think about business in the early PC era, when many companies were just learning how to take advantage of the capable new technologies. Computers were bulky, immovable devices, and cell phones similarly weighty – but also lacking in capability. What's more, IT security would often fall by the wayside.

Times have certainly changed, and the latest generations of computers enable companies to do a lot more with a lot less. To reinforce this fact, a PricewaterhouseCoopers study explained that technology could play a key role in driving innovation and business growth. Allow us to explain.

Constant refinement

Smaller batteries and faster processors have led to the devices we have today, and it's easy to see the impact these advances have had on businesses across the globe.

Powerful and more mobile technology benefits companies.

Salespeople won't be seen without an iPhone, as it holds all contact, sales and web information, and marketers use laptops and tablets to showcase work to potential clients.

These devices continue to get better. It's not uncommon for a modern smartphone to last two days on a full battery charge, or a laptop to be thin enough to slide into a manila envelope. Many of these advancements are consumer driven – but powerful and more mobile technology benefits companies just as much.

So what does this mean? More than ever before, companies can rely on technology for a number of different tasks, instead of using devices solely to support more traditional approaches.

Businesses (and consumers) are now taking advantage of new devices in greater numbers, as a new Gartner report explained.

Device shipments climbing

Released earlier this month, the report found that worldwide device shipments will grow 1.5 per cent this year to reach 2.5 billion units. This is an increase from 2014, and a slight decline from the previous Gartner forecast of 2.8 per cent.

Traditional PCs are set to see sales drop quite significantly through to 2017, down 18 million units per year. Ultramobile devices (tablets, two-in-ones), on the other hand, could climb 40 million units. Mobile phones will likely reach 122 million units.

The times are changing, and businesses would do well to prepare by better understanding what these new technologies can offer.

One of the best ways to fully take advantage of new technology, whether it's the aforementioned mobile devices or even a new cloud system, is through the ITIL framework, a best practice approach that businesses can use to equip staff. Following the use of ITIL, companies can also take advantage of an IT governance methodology to better control the devices.

Speak to ALC Training today to learn more about ITIL or our other frameworks!

Mobile is a powerful agent for change in business.Mobile is a powerful agent for change in business.

Clearing the air: Is now the time to start thinking seriously about cloud tech?

The cloud is utilised across the globe and yet still misunderstood by many. It’s capable of ensuring greater security across organisations both small and large, and yet can still strike a sense of urgency and confusion into many business owners.

With the substantial growth of cloud only set to continue for the foreseeable future, it’s time to clear the air around this trend.

It’s time to clear the air around this trend.

A sector set for massive growth

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker, vendor revenue from sales of IT infrastructure products (server, enterprise storage, and Ethernet switch) for cloud environments, including public and private cloud, grew 11.4% year over year in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19), reaching $14.5 billion. It’s certainly no small increase, and shows many businesses are now turning to cloud-based systems.

“As the overall IT infrastructure goes through a period of slowdown after an outstanding 2018, the important trends might look somewhat distorted in the short term,” said Natalya Yezhkova, research vice president, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies at IDC. “IDC’s long-term expectations strongly back continuous growth of cloud IT infrastructure environments. With vendors and service providers finding new ways of delivering cloud services, including from IT infrastructure deployed at customer premises, end users have fewer obstacles and pain points in adopting cloud/services-based IT.”

Total spending for this year is expected to sit around US$44.5 billion, accounting for a third of all IT spending. That’s spending across the globe.

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Long term, IDC expects spending on cloud IT infrastructure to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%, reaching $94.5 billion in 2023 and accounting for 57.6% of total IT infrastructure spend. Public cloud infrastructure will account for 66.2% of this amount, growing at an 6.6% CAGR. Spending on private cloud infrastructure will grow at a CAGR of 9.4%.

How can businesses use the cloud?

With growth surging upwards, and more providers starting to offer better cloud services, there’s no better time for businesses to start using the new technologies. But how can businesses actually use them?

Bringing staff up to speed

Businesses wanting to adopt cloud technologies don’t face an altogether difficult path, as third party providers can handle much of the installation and ongoing upkeep of the systems. There’s an opportunity to take cloud adoption one step further, however, by allowing staff to gain accreditation with an IT framework.

This means they’ll have an understanding of IT best practice – key when using new technologies.

To find more about leading IT frameworks get in touch with the expert trainers at ALC Training today.

Related Training:

ITIL 4 Foundation

CCSP Certified Cloud Security Professional

Office 365 Security & Compliance

Cloud Computing Foundation

3 talent challenges for the latter half of 2015

Across many sectors, business leaders face a number of challenges with regards to recruitment. While they may not actually hire candidates directly, they need to ensure that the right staff are brought onboard. In turn, the business can continue to grow without running into any significant operational issues.

With this in mind, leaders should take the time to consider some of the biggest challenges for the latter half of this year, and the most effective ways to avoid any problems. In many cases, offering framework training can prove to be a great tool to attract top talent and retain valuable staff members.

Here are three talent challenges to keep an eye on as the year progresses.

Talent going mobile

Smartphones have consumed business culture, and in many cases the devices are now a problem for many organisations. Technological issues aside, however, companies need to consider them for another reason: mobility.

Offering framework training can prove to be a great tool to attract top talent.

Thanks to the mobile capabilities afforded by new smartphones and tablets, workers are wanting to take their jobs out of the office and either home or even while travelling on a business trip.

This was explored in a recent Robert Half release, which explained that businesses are concerned about essential staff departing (such as CEOs and CFOs), as they seek an improved work-life balance.

"Top talent is extremely mobile, which creates issues for employers. Salaries obviously remain an important factor in employee satisfaction, but by no means the only consideration for top performers who may be looking to further their career elsewhere," said Robert Half Director Andrew Brushfield.

Taking leadership online

In a similar leadership issue, Weber Shandwick has come forward with a consideration for businesses. New research has found that 80 per cent of CEOs from a number of leading companies across the globe are now using social media to engage with customers and the public.

"CEOs can enhance and strengthen the reputation of their companies by taking an active and visible role in creating and sharing branded content through their company sites and social media," Chris Perry, global president of digital at Weber Shandwick explained.

The organisation found that so-called "CEO sociability" has grown substantially since 2010, with 80 per cent of CEOs now using social as opposed to 36 per cent in 2010. Many organisations are likely to be following the example of companies such as Google, as CEO Larry Page has a 97 per cent approval rating according to Glassdoor.

Having a social CEO is now critical.Having a social CEO is now critical.

Matching talent to growth

To grow, a business needs to bring in top talent at all levels to drive the organisation forward. Without the right team, it's likely that the company will remain largely static. This is a real challenge when companies are in high-growth mode and looking to launch new projects, according to new research from Hudson.

"The consequences of these pressures can be significant. If scurrying to fill employment ranks, poor hiring decisions may be made. By slowing down to carefully consider job candidates, the launch deadline may be missed," the Hudson report noted.

Hudson explained that outsourcing recruitment can often be a suitable approach, as it allows a capable third party to handle the issue of bringing the right workers on board. As we noted at the beginning of this article, training is also a great way to both attract and retain top talent, not to mention actually upskilling staff.

With PRINCE2 training, for example, staff will be able to effectively conduct projects, whether these are large trade shows or even just departmental projects. IT security training, on the other hand, can attune staff to one of the major issues that businesses are currently dealing with; the risk of sensitive information leaking.

Get in touch with ALC Training today to get your business on the right track with a number of effective, proven frameworks.

A detailed look at IT spending

Across the world, IT budgets are on a substantial upswing as leaders start to realise the necessity of further investment in new technology endeavours. Cloud computing, further IT training for staff and greater security are all pushing spending upwards.

As a result, it's important for businesses to understand IT spending and exactly what's going on with global IT budgets.

What's on tap for 2015

A report from CIO explained that high-profile data breaches have pushed the need for security even higher, and this is going to keep security at the top of the priority list. A substantial 46 per cent of IT leaders who responded to a CIO poll said this was the year they'd invest more in a number of security systems, including:

Cloud computing was also stated as a top priority, with businesses starting to consider public, private and hybrid cloud deployments.

Business analytics, wireless and mobile, and application development all followed. Hardware spending, on the other hand, was estimated to see a decline. This isn't altogether surprising – especially with cloud computing now more of a priority than ever before.

Differences in budget opinions

According to a new study from Gartner, female CIOs are now more risk-aware than male CIOs. Female CIOs said they expect IT budgets to increase by 2.4 per cent this year, while male CIOs expect increases of 0.8 per cent.

Female CIOs are now more risk-aware than male CIOs.

"For a second year in a row, the women in our survey are expecting greater budget increases than the men," said Tina Nunno, vice president and Gartner Fellow.

"While it's not entirely clear why this difference exists, further survey data indicates that female CIOs are more concerned about underinvestment in risk initiatives than male CIOs."

Aside from risk, female respondents also placed more importance on new types of information. A significant 19 per cent of female CIOs said social information and multimedia were increasing in importance, while just 13 per cent of male CIOs thought the same.

The above studies show that IT spending is something leaders need to stay attuned to – especially given the opportunities at hand. Failing to properly allot for IT budgets could mean the business isn't able to access new technologies.

Certainly, one of the best options for any business is greater IT governance, by way of a framework such as COBIT5. Speak to ALC Training today to find out more about this framework.

Female CIOs are thinking differently to their male counterparts.Female CIOs are thinking differently to their male counterparts.

Digital technology is growing – what does this mean for your business?

The digital age is now upon us in full force; smartwatches are available for businesses and consumers, huge amounts of data are easily accessible and IT security is something companies can outsource.

Deloitte recently reinforced the growth of this trend with the release of a new report, Australia's Digital Pulse. This detailed account, created with Australian Computer Society Australia, explains that digital technologies are now one of the fastest growing parts of the country's economy. What's more, their economic contribution has grown from $50 billion in 2011 through to $79 billion in 2013-14.

Let's take a look at some of the major changes expected in Australia as we start to go digital.

The changing employment space

Digital technologies are now one of the fastest growing parts of the country's economy.

More so than ever before, employment in the IT sector is expected to ramp up. This means growth of 2.5 per cent per year through to 2020. The report compared this to employment for the economy as a whole, which is set to grow just 1.6 per cent per year.

Interestingly, the gender pay gap is also changing, as it's now at 20 per cent in IT, whereas the national workforce average stands at 34 per cent.

Growth of the cloud

Coupled with advances in the employment space are big inroads in the cloud. Gartner explained that Australian organisations are expected to spend around $2.5 billion on data centre systems in 2015 – something that means a big push into the cloud.

Data centres themselves are also set to change.

"The future data centre is moving toward a more fluid architecture, focusing on workflow relative to how it interoperates and collaborates with other systems and cloud components to support digital business, rather than workload," said Gartner Managing Vice President Michele Caminos.

"It is also focused on what the work is doing and supporting, rather than where it is located. Organisations have to look at their data centre environment at a much higher level today."

It's easy to see just how big this change is, and what it represents. It's going to mean easier mobile working and greater data security.

The digital push Down Under will mean new IT jobs.The digital push Down Under will mean new IT jobs.

And what does all this mean for businesses?

A move to a digital economy is a significant change for any country, impacting government, consumers and especially businesses.

In effect, this shift means there will more capable and qualified IT personnel available for organisations to recruit, which in turn will enable the businesses to scale up IT endeavours and take advantage of new technologies (mobile, big data, the cloud) and processes (remote working).

Of course, organisations will also want to ensure that all staff understand IT to an extent, and this is where an ITIL IT framework can prove useful.

How can big data help HR?

Big data: the term is no stranger to anyone working in the IT industry, or really any sector that has a dependance on access to information.

This doesn't mean it's useful only to these fields – the term can prove practical for a variety of industries, including human resources (HR). So beyond IT security and the other applications, how does this seemingly unstoppable trend help such an important department?

A big data refresher

Before looking at the applications of big data, it's a good idea to see where it's going – and just how big the trend could grow.

There are numerous [big data] applications for HR.

Insight from International Data Corporation found that it's a fast-growing multi-billion-dollar industry – and in fact could grow to US$41.5 billion by 2018. That's a compound annual growth rate of 26.4 per cent. What's more, it's around six times the total growth rate of the global IT market. Certainly, no small trend.

Given this rapid and unbound proliferation, there a numerous applications for HR.

Improved insight

Understanding a particular area of the business is never easy, and access to information is usually the biggest barrier. With big data, this wall can be torn down, as the large data sets mean HR staff can gain insight into their particular area of the business.

As founder and CEO of Namely Matt Straz explained, big data can serve as a window into the professional lives of employees. This means performance, payment, and other sets of information. In turn, by analysing this information it's then easier to boost motivation and engagement.

For example, big data enables HR staff to drill down into the business and identify top performers – a task that's usually quite difficult without access to the right information.

Predictive analytics

In a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review for Workday, researchers discovered that beyond analysis of current practices within a particular company, HR could use big data to look ahead.

The department is able to take existing data and then in turn use predictive modelling to understanding future patterns. A clear example would be analysing turnover in past years and when staff have asked for salary increases to see when such trends could occur again in the future.

This is a clear example of the thinking required with big data, businesses can use this information creatively to gain insight and look further ahead than ever before.

What does HR think?

However, what do real HR departments across the globe actually think about the applications of big data? According to a study from Tata Consultancy Services, improving employee retention ranks quite highly. This wasn't all, however.

HR believes data can be used to create more effective recruitment campaigns, determine the employees that are best suited for a promotion, gauge morale and engagement and determine optimal job candidates. Based on this data, it would appear as if big data can be utilised across the entire HR spectrum – and to great effect.

Big data has powerful applications in HR.Big data has powerful applications in HR.

More organisations are likely to start using big data in the near future, given the substantial advantages of access to large sets of information.

For those organisations planning to start taking advantage of this new trend, it's not as easy as simply opening staff files and trawling for information – preparation is key. This means having staff equipped with the right knowledge and skill sets.

Many companies may like to consider ITIL training in Sydney, or another major city, as a way of bringing their staff up to speed.

Big data is steaming ahead, and organisations will want to be sure they're not left behind.

PwC: Skills gap a growing problem for leaders

Skilled workers are the backbone of nearly every industry, and any shortage is usually going to mean problems for businesses. According to new research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), this is a growing issue for CEOs.

The leaders are now extremely concerned about the impact of skills shortages, and it ranks higher than any point in the past six years. Organisations may want to start considering training in a framework to create a more effective, and oftentimes more engaged, workforce.

A closer look: how big of an issue is this?

PwC interviewed a substantial 1,300 CEOs, and three-quarters said that it's now such an issue that it ranks as the biggest threat to business. What's more, it's a 10 percentage point jump from 2014.

"Despite rising business confidence and ambitious hiring plans, organisations are struggling more than ever to find the right people with the right skills to achieve their growth plans. The digital age has transformed the skills shortage from a nagging worry for CEOs into something more challenging," Leader of PwC's global people and organisation practice Jon Andrews explained.

"They desperately need people with strong technology skills that are adaptable and can work across different industries, but these people are hard to find and they can afford to charge a premium for their skills."

There is a solution, however – one that could prove useful for a number of organisations. By undertaking training in an IT or IT security framework, leaders can ensure their staff have access to much-needed technology skills.

Of course, it's also going to be essential to ramp up hiring initiatives in order to source candidates with the right skill sets – especially as the digital revolution continues in full force.

Speak to ALC Training if you'd like to find out more about how to get your team up to speed with the frameworks needed to properly engage with IT.