Artificial Intelligence

Investment Priorities Set Digital Champions Apart

Published

5 years ago

June 27, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Companies focusing on upskilling their workforces and spending more on technology/IT are typically more digitally mature than companies spending less on these priorities, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) based on a survey of 1,800 companies in Asia, the EU, and the US. Among industries surveyed, financial institutions and telecommunications companies are the most digitally advanced, with more than 25% of those companies across the globe qualifying as digital champions. Energy and public sector institutions trail, with more than 40% of those companies dubbed digital laggards.

“It’s clear that prioritizing investments correctly is one of surest ways to become digitally mature,” says Michael Grebe, senior partner and technology expert at BCG. Michael Ruessmann, BCG senior partner and expert on digital transformation, adds, “The laggards need to pay close attention to how industry leaders allocate their precious investment resources if they are to remain competitive and not lose ground.”

“Digital Acceleration Index” Measures the Degree of Digital Maturity
The study was based on BCG’s Digital Acceleration Index (DAI). BCG asked managers and executives to assess their companies’ digital maturity against defined criteria on a scale from one to four in 35 categories. The firm then aggregated those raw scores and assigned values to their responses from 0 to 100. Companies with a DAI of 67 to 100 qualified as champions, while those with a DAI of 43 or less were categorized as laggards.

Where Do Digital Champions Come From?
The survey was conducted across nine industries in three regions—Asia, the EU, and the US. The best performing industry was the financial services industry in Asia with a DAI score of about 60. In both the EU and US, telecommunications was the leading industry. Particularly interesting was the strong performance in Asia of certain industries that are lagging elsewhere. Consumer companies in Asia rate their digital maturity higher than they do in the US and Europe. “This was our first year including Asia in our survey, and the Asian companies came out strong. Their digital maturity across industries is high compared with global peers,” says Michael Ruessmann.

Digital Champions Achieve Breakthrough Performance in Three Key Ways
The study identified three boosters that champions rely on to become digitally mature. First, they spend over 5% of OPEX on digital projects. Notably, the share of US champions investing at this level (90%) is substantially higher than peers in Asia (75%) and the EU (65%). Champions everywhere also tend to devote more than 10% of their employees to digital roles and digital projects. Here, Asian champions (54%) are slightly ahead of US peers (51%) and more noticeably ahead of EU (44%) peers. This workforce focus helps Asian companies score highest for “new ways of working.” Finally, champions also scale up digital solutions more broadly than laggards and aren’t as likely to get stuck in use-case pilots. “After three years of conducting our survey, these digital boosters have been consistent, and have reliably helped to set champions apart,” says Michael Grebe.

Digital Champions Have Sharp Investment Focus
Champions plan to grow their digital workforces and spend more on upskilling their workforces than laggards. The study found that three out of four champions plan to grow their digital workforce more than 20%. Looking through a regional lens, over 90% of champions in Asia plan to grow their staff at this rate, while EU and US champions are less ambitious—70% and 65%, respectively.

But champions also have an internal focus. Half of champions plan to upskill more than 20% of their staff with digital capabilities, while fewer than a third of laggards do. Interestingly, champions invest 22% of their total digital investment in technology/IT, while laggards spend 16%. But this incremental investment contributes to a much higher DAI score in technology/IT, 78 DAI vs. 29 DAI, and implies that the gap between champions and laggards is likely to grow.

Asian Champions Are Leading the Way in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Globally, around half of champions dedicate more than 10% of the digital workforce to AI, while a substantially smaller number of laggards (29%) do so. Asian companies have the most people working on AI. The study found that twice as many Asian companies dedicate more than 10% of their digital staff to AI compared with the EU and US. Asian companies are also further along in AI adoption, with 87% of Asian companies having some level of AI adoption vs. 78% in the EU and 74% in the US.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Artificial Intelligence

Wirex Executive Joins CryptoUK’s New Policy Committee

Published

2 hours ago

May 21, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

wirex-executive-joins-cryptouk’s-new-policy-committee

LONDON, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wirex, a leading Web3 money app, is proud to announce that Chet Shah, Global Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Wirex, has joined CryptoUK’s newly established Policy Committee.

CryptoUK, the premier trade body representing the UK’s digital asset sector, formed its new Policy Committee which brings together industry-leading experts from the legal, regulatory, and compliance sectors. The committee’s mission is to provide strategic policy guidance, advocate for regulatory clarity, and foster innovation to support the growth of the UK’s digital assets industry.
This appointment underscores Wirex’s commitment to advancing regulatory clarity and innovation in the digital asset sector.
Chet brings a wealth of experience in risk and compliance. His background covers banking, auditing, and traditional finance, as well as solid expertise in the cryptocurrency space. At Wirex, Chet has been crucial in building and improving relationships with global regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, and authorities in countries including Singapore, Croatia, and Italy.
Chet’s approach prioritises commercially focused compliance and risk management, ensuring that Wirex operates smoothly at the intersection of traditional finance and Web3. His ability to balance regulatory requirements with innovation has been key to Wirex’s growth and success.
Commenting on his appointment, Chet said, “My experience aligns perfectly with the committee’s goals and together, we can advocate for policies that balance regulation with growth in the digital assets space.”
About Wirex
Wirex is a prominent UK-based digital payments platform with over 6 million customers spread across 130 countries. It offers secure accounts, making it easy for users to store, purchase, and exchange multiple currencies seamlessly. As a principal member of both Visa and Mastercard, Wirex goes beyond traditional services, embracing the evolving trends of Web3 to provide mainstream access to digital finance and wealth management.
Having processed transactions totalling $20 billion, Wirex aims to contribute to the adoption of a cashless society by facilitating straightforward transactions in various currencies worldwide. Wirex is simplifying digital payments, making it more accessible and convenient for people across the globe.
| wirexapp.com |
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2417875/Chet_Shah.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286023/4717325/Wirex_logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/wirex-executive-joins-cryptouks-new-policy-committee-302151185.html

Artificial Intelligence

Media Production Company Egg Is Coming Chooses Infortrend SAN Storage to Empower Content Creation Workflows

Published

2 hours ago

May 21, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

TAIPEI, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Infortrend® Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, today announced that Korean media production company Egg is coming is leveraging Infortrend’s storage solution for M&E – EonStor DS enterprise SAN storage to empower content creation workflows and store the growing volume of UHD videos they produce.

Egg is coming is a media content production company operating as a spin-off from the South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM Entertainment Division, the distributor of Oscar-winning movie “Parasite”. With the renowned producer Lee Myung-han as its CEO, Egg is coming specializes in production of popular entertainment content, including drama series, broadcast programs, music videos, etc. The team has successfully produced numerous renowned series, including “Hospital Playlist” which became the ninth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history at the time.
As the company was established, they started looking for a high-speed shared storage solution. Infortrend’s EonStor DS SAN storage came highly recommended by a major media company that has been successfully using it with Tiger Technology’s SAN file sharing solution. Trusting this recommendation, Egg is coming adopted EonStor DS for video editing application. In total, four DS 4016 appliances, expanded with four units of JB 3060L expansion enclosure, were chosen for the initial deployment of the studio’s storage system. The solution provides 1.8 PB total capacity to store ever-expanding UHD video content and enables seamless workflows for 29 simultaneous post-production processes.
“Infortrend’s SAN storage EonStor DS was recommended to us by a major media production company, and we are happy that we adopted the same solution as DS enables fast and comfortable collaboration between 29 video editors,” – said Changmin Sim, the Team Leader of the Video Editing Team at Egg is coming.
Learn more about EonStor DS
About Infortrend
Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more information, please visit www.infortrend.com
Infortrend® and EonStor® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.; other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/media-production-company-egg-is-coming-chooses-infortrend-san-storage-to-empower-content-creation-workflows-302148602.html

Artificial Intelligence

Gcore And Xsolla Announce Partnership To Drive Global Game Distribution And Faster Downloads

Published

2 hours ago

May 21, 2024

CISION (PR Newswire)

gcore-and-xsolla-announce-partnership-to-drive-global-game-distribution-and-faster-downloads

Gcore’s edge network to deliver Xsolla Launcher, ensuring global reach, smoother game downloads and higher conversion rates

LUXEMBOURG, May 21, 2024 May 21, 2024 — Gcore, the global edge AI, cloud, network, and security solutions provider, announced its partnership with video game commerce company Xsolla. The alliance will enable Xsolla to provide game developers and publishers with new global distribution channels catering to gamers worldwide, regardless of their locations. With Gcore’s 180 global points of presence (PoPs), players will benefit from reduced time-to-play and smoother, more efficient game downloads.
Xsolla Launcher is a powerful tool for game development companies of all sizes to widen distribution and easily build communities. It streamlines game installation, enhances player communication, and boosts monetization, allowing developers to concentrate on creativity and business logic. By leveraging Gcore’s robust CDN, Xsolla Launcher ensures seamless, speedy game downloads for all players by efficiently fetching and caching game components and initiating rapid downloads upon player request.
“At Xsolla, we’re committed to elevating the gaming experience for developers and players globally,” said David Stelzer, President of Xsolla. “Our collaboration with Gcore’s cutting-edge CDN technology significantly narrows the gap between the game and its players by delivering assets at unparalleled speed. This integration into our new Xsolla Launcher sets the bar for high-performance service and empowers our customers to focus on what they do best: create captivating games.”
Xsolla engineers chose Gcore CDN for its global network of 180+ edge servers, ensuring uninterrupted delivery of game assets worldwide. With a network capacity exceeding 110 Tbps and connectivity to 14,000 peering partners, Gcore averts congestion and disruptions, even during major releases. Operating under strict security measures and meticulous server maintenance, Gcore guarantees exceptional availability. Additionally, Gcore’s CDN integration with its proprietary DNS services further minimizes the risk of service interruptions or outages.
“We’re thrilled to be part of Xsolla’s pioneering solution, driving the gaming industry forward,” commented Ilya Matveev, Business Development Director at Gcore. “Xsolla Launcher brings flexibility to the industry, allowing companies to implement a D2C approach – a way to monetize their existing game fan base without the burden of platform fees. Relying on the power of Gcore’s edge infrastructure, Xsolla Launcher is revolutionizing game distribution by eliminating market barriers, reducing development costs, and fostering creativity.”
Read more about the partnership via this link.
About Gcore
Gcore is a global edge AI, cloud, network, and security solutions provider. Headquartered in Luxembourg, with a staff of 600 operating from ten offices worldwide, Gcore provides solutions to global leaders in numerous industries. Gcore manages its global IT infrastructure across six continents, with one of the best network performances in Europe, Africa, and LATAM due to the average response time of 30 ms worldwide. Gcore’s network consists of 180 points of presence worldwide in reliable Tier IV and Tier III data centers, with a total capacity exceeding 110 Tbps.Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
About Xsolla
Xsolla is a global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. As an innovative leader in game commerce, Xsolla’s mission is to solve the inherent complexities of global distribution, marketing, and monetization to help our partners reach more geographies, generate more revenue, and create relationships with gamers worldwide. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, with offices in London, Berlin, Beijing, Guangzhou, Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Raleigh, and cities around the world, Xsolla supports major gaming titles like Valve, Epic Games, Take-Two, KRAFTON, Nexters, NetEase, Playstudios, Playrix, miHoYo, and more.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2416941/Gcore_and_Xsolla.jpgLogo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2365207/GCORE_NEW_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gcore-and-xsolla-announce-partnership-to-drive-global-game-distribution-and-faster-downloads-302150220.html