Google received a welcome victory in the European Union’s highest court in relation to the EU’s “right to be forgotten” rules.
For the past five years, EU citizens have enjoyed the right to have search engines remove embarrassing or outdated information from their indexes. At the heart of the case was whether the right to be forgotten extended beyond EU borders.
The CNIL, a French privacy regulatory body, had ordered Google to expand the right to be forgotten globally. Google resisted, citing concerns that authoritarian regimes in other parts of the world would abuse the feature to cover up crimes and human rights violations. The CNIL eventually tried to levy a $109,901 fine.
Ultimately, however, the EU ruled that the right to protect personal data was not an absolute right, and that there was no obligation for Google—or any other search engine—to delist search results outside of the EU.
While Google praised the decision, it is not without complications. Google has relied on geoblocking to ensure EU citizens do not see delisted search results. Geoblocking does not, however, mean that the search results are not there—it simply means they are not accessible to someone within the EU. A person based in the U.S., or anywhere else outside of Europe, would still be able to find the very things someone in Europe may have filed to have delisted and will never see themselves.
Despite the complications, the ruling was welcomed within the tech community. The case was being watched closely to see how much authority the EU had to impose regulations on a U.S. company. Had Google lost, the long-term implications for Google and every other tech firm would have been profound—and gone far beyond mere search results.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. To no one’s surprise, the stock market took a nosedive in the aftermath of the announcement, leading business owners and shareholders alike to wonder how this will impact their bottom line.
Jim Cramer discussed the topic on Mad Money, making a point of highlighting how the markets survived the last time this happened.
“We have something else to worry about. We have partisan acrimony per share.”
Mr. Cramer went on to highlight that—in the wake of revelations that President Trump may have tried to pressure Ukraine into investigating a political rival—Democrats seemed determine to impeach Trump, sending articles of impeachment to the Senate.
“Before you freak out, for those of you who don’t remember civic classes, let me explain. Even if the House impeaches Trump, you can’t remove a sitting president without a two-thirds majority in the Senate. So until the Democrats can convince at least 20 Republican senators to turn on their guy, impeachment remains a sideshow.
“Still, I get why people sold today. It made a lot of sense. We haven’t seen this level of partisan acrimony in the United States since the Civil War. And when things in Washington turn hostile, that can and always will hurt the stock market.”
Despite the potential for stocks to take a beating, Cramer sees a silver lining. Ultimately, with the Senate under Republican control, the likelihood of impeachment leading to anything is virtually nil.
“The Senate will most likely acquit. How much will that matter to the stock market? You know what? We’ve seen this movie before. When the Republican House of Representatives impeached President Clinton, everyone knew he’d be acquitted in the Senate. So how did the Clinton impeachment impact the market?”
Cramer goes on to highlight how much the stock market dropped when impeachment proceedings were announced against Clinton, with the Nasdaq and tech stocks bearing the brunt. However, as Cramer points out, the market quickly recovered with tech leading way and showing some of the biggest gains.
“If you let the impeachment story shake you out of the market, well, guess what happened? You missed one of the greatest moves of all time….Every pullback during that period—every one—was a buying opportunity….If this turns out like 1998 all over again, then you may want to buy at the moment of maximum rancor.”
The message is clear: While stocks may take a short term hit, over the long term, impeachment may represent a significant economic opportunity.
Microsoft has released an emergency fix for Windows 10, following the discovery of a serious flaw in Internet Explorer. The flaw is a remote code vulnerability—one of the most dangerous types of security flaws, as it opens the way for a hacker to remotely take control of an affected system.
At the root of the flaw is how Internet Explorer’s scripting engine handles objects in memory, leading to memory corruption that could allow a hacker to run arbitrary code in place of the user. This would allow the attacker to gain the same rights and authority as the current user, effectively letting them take control of the system.
The vulnerability is serious enough that even the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued their own advisory, with the agency and Microsoft both urging users to update immediately.
Windows users should be able to update via Windows Update. Microsoft also released a security advisory that includes links to a manual update.
The Five Eyes gained worldwide attention and notoriety in the wake of the Snowden revelations. The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprised of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The agencies of the five countries share intelligence and cooperate in the global War on Terror.
Now, according to a joint statement posted on the U.S. State Department website, the Five Eyes have joined forces to help advance “responsible state behavior in cyberspace.” The Five Eyes are joined by 22 other countries in the joint statement.
It’s widely believed this new effort targets threats from China, including state-sponsored cyber espionage, online disinformation campaigns and intellectual property theft. Although China is not specifically named, much of the language used in the joint statement references behaviors and actions that China has long been accused of.
The statement wraps up with the promise that “as responsible states that uphold the international rules-based order, we recognize our role in safeguarding the benefits of a free, open, and secure cyberspace for future generations. When necessary, we will work together on a voluntary basis to hold states accountable when they act contrary to this framework, including by taking measures that are transparent and consistent with international law. There must be consequences for bad behavior in cyberspace.”
Akamai Technologies, one of the world’s premier content delivery networks (CDN), just announced its acquisition of KryptCo.
KryptCo is the creator of a mobile, multi-factor authentication mechanism that, unlike many competing solutions, doesn’t require a pin number for authorization. As a result, KryptCo’s technology is resistant to phishing attempts.
Akamai has a long-standing reputation as one of the leading CDN companies, with their services in use by some of the biggest companies around the globe. Their network represents one of the largest distributed computing platforms and serves as much as 30 percent of all internet traffic. Integrating KryptCo’s technology will assist Akamai in delivering Zero Trust security to their customers.
Zero Trust Security and Why It Matters
In traditional computer security, the emphasis is on protecting the perimeter—keeping bad actors out. In many cases, if a hacker is able to breach the perimeter, there is little to nothing else standing in their way.
Zero Trust security operates on the principle “never trust, always verify.” A Zero Trust model implements security in all aspects of an organization’s network, constantly looking for malicious activities, as well as areas for improvement.
KryptCo’s technology represents a significant security upgrade for Akamai’s customers, and opens the door for improved single sign-on cloud options.
Moving Forward
While the financial aspects of the deal are under wraps as of writing, KryptCo CEO Alex Grinman has joined Akamai and will assist with the merger, specifically with Akamai’s Zero Trust rollout.
Customers and investors are likely to benefit from the merger, as it helps Akamai continue to adapt to the changing needs of the market.
On September 10, Apple held their “By Invitation Only” event, unveiling new iPhones, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ and iOS 13. While many of the event’s announcements were aimed squarely at the consumer market, there were a number of things surrounding the iOS update that impact businesses, especially when it comes to marketing and development.
For years, despite Apple working to protect customers’ privacy, companies have found ways to continue tracking iPhone users, often without their permission. Recent news articles have highlighted how companies are using Bluetooth to track individuals. Similarly, some apps try to use GPS to track people even when not using the app. Facebook is one such company that was recently busted for using precise location data to track users without their knowledge or consent.
As a result, in addition to iOS 13’s general facelift and improvements, there are a number of privacy-related features that will likely have a significant impact on marketing and development teams who have previously relied on these tracking methods.
Bluetooth Tracking
One of the biggest changes to iOS 13 is how Bluetooth connections are handled. Prior to this update, apps could access the iPhone’s Bluetooth functionality to track a user’s whereabouts thanks to tracking beacons. Customers in a store could be tracked as they walked around to different sections, giving the store information about what displays and product categories were driving the most foot traffic. Similarly, shopping malls can use beacons to track individuals and determine movement patterns, store popularity and more.
That’s not to say that all apps requesting Bluetooth access are using it for tracking. Smartwatches, health monitors and the like will need to connect to their corresponding apps via Bluetooth. But it’s clear that many apps don’t need access. For example, Dominoes and Macy’s are two apps that request access for the purpose of tracking users’ whereabouts.
Bluetooth Privacy
For marketing firms and departments who have relied on this technology, iOS 13 represents the end of an era. Instead of using Bluetooth to track individuals without their consent, marketing departments will need to find other ways to engage with customers. In some cases, this may involve adding an incentive for the customer to allow tracking. In other cases, it may require adding a check-in option instead of automatic tracking.
iOS 13’s change has significant implications for development teams as well. In many cases, Bluetooth tracking functionality was included in various software development kits (SDK) as a bundled benefit of using that particular SDK. With more and more customers choosing not to be tracked, developers will need to find other ways to make their SDKs stand out and provide value to their customers.
GPS Tracking
GPS tracking is another area where some companies have abused consumer trust. Facebook and others have been accused of using precise location data to track users, even when the app is not active.
GPS Privacy
iOS 13 offers an updated option to GPS permissions. In addition to “Don’t Allow” and “Allow While Using App,” iOS 13 includes an “Allow Once” option. When a user chooses this, the app is granted a one-time access to GPS functionality and the user will be prompted to give it access again the next time they open that app.
Again, for companies whose apps rely on GPS functionality, it will be increasingly important to ensure their app is using GPS for a specific reason, to offer their customers an improved experience. Otherwise, if an app’s request for GPS access is suspect or without a clear reason, customers may switch to an app that respects their privacy.
Wrapping Up
As with many iOS updates, iOS 13 brings a number of significant changes, not the least of which is improved customer privacy. This will undoubtably present a challenge to some businesses, not only those who may have been abusing these features in the past, but also businesses whose apps will simply be collateral damage in the battle to protect user privacy.
On the other hand, companies who are quick to adapt, work to protect user privacy and look for new ways to engage their customers will likely find new opportunities open to them.
“The scope of this regulatory oversight is changing. People used to focus on just consumer welfare and a price effect. That has now expanded to what harm you are doing to competitors and non-price effects. The scope is expanding, and some of these companies—this is Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook—they have engaged in kind of favorable treatment of proprietary products.”
Sandip Bhagat, CIO at Whittier Trust talks about why investors shouldn’t allow regulatory threats and investigations to scare them away from tech stocks, as well as his two top picks.
When you talk about regulation, you have to talk at two levels: privacy first and then antitrust. Privacy may not be such an issue, and in a very perverse way, the large players here may actually come out winners because they have the scale to absorb the cost of meeting that regulatory compliance. They’re also multi-national in nature, even today, so the experience in Europe where the GDPR is already in place will stand them in good stead should it come to the U.S.
Switching to the antitrust component of regulatory risk and one of the things that is being discussed is anti-competitive acquisitions, so I think they would come under attack. What happens in the worst case, there is a forced breakup. We put a very low likelihood for that outcome. But fines will come along the way. There will be rulings that say you give equal parity during search processes and displaying of third-party vendors and their products. All of those we think can be absorbed by these companies because of their free high cash flow margins.
On Buying Tech Stocks Under Scrutiny
Here are two really compelling reasons to think about technology stocks now and really for a secular future. One is macro in consideration, the other one is micro and fundamental.
At the macro level, what is the environment? We have seen slower growth than normal after the global financial crisis and, as a result of that, interest rates are lower. Slow growth and low-interest rates help growth stocks. When growth is scarce, growth companies get rewarded with a higher multiple and low-interest rates help growth stocks because they have a higher equity duration and sensitivity to interest rates.
On Microsoft’s Long-Term Value
If there is one take away, it’s a stock to own for the long-term. It’s a great way to compound wealth. It’s indeed a vehicle for inter-generational wealth transfer. The company has rediscovered itself, moved away from a licensing model to a subscription model. Satya (CEO Satya Nadella) has reformed the company. While they’re making inroads in cloud computing, they are actually very unique in that they can play in the hybrid cloud solution space with a foot in on-premise software along with cloud-based application deployment.
On Amazon’s Brand Loyalty
It’s economic mode is based on scale, convenience and brand loyalty, which doesn’t get talked about much. People talk about the technology backbone of Amazon. But that brand loyalty, they’ve been able to convert that into greater user engagement and adoption and then monetized it with more and more transactions to gain a bigger share of the wallet.
Sandip Bhagat, CIO at Whittier Trust On Why This Is a Good Time For Tech Stocks
Climate change has been in the news, with people on both sides of the issue debating what should or shouldn’t be done. In the meantime, companies large and small are taking steps to minimize their own carbon footprint, with global sustainable investing (PDF) reaching $30 trillion in 2018, a 34 percent increase over the previous two years.
To aid in that endeavor, SalesForce has unveiled Sustainability Cloud ahead of Climate Week 2019. Sustainability Cloud is a product that helps businesses make informed decisions about their business operations, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality.
The product is designed to give businesses a 360-degree view of their current environmental impact, as well as data-driven insights into the changes they can make. The platform—along with Salesforce Einstein Analytics—provides an easy way for businesses to track, analyze and report environmental data. This will enable companies to track KPIs over time, including renewable energy use, overall energy consumption and carbon emissions. This information can then be used for engagement with executives, investors and customers, as well as for regulatory and audit purposes.
In the company’s press release, Suzanne DiBianca, chief impact officer and EVP of corporate relations said: “At Salesforce, we’ve always believed business is the greatest platform for change. Addressing climate change with speed and at scale is critical to see a turning point by 2020. Businesses must work together to be the greatest force for climate transformation the world has ever seen.”
In what is considered to be an industry first, Chevron, Schlumberger and Microsoft have announced a three-party collaboration to accelerate the development of petrotechnical and digital technologies.
DELFI is a stable, secure and open cloud-based environment for E&P software across the entire petrochemical lifecycle, including exploration, development and production. The three companies will work together to develop Azure-native applications in the DELFI environment.
The collaboration will roll out in three phases. In the first phase, the companies will deploy the Petrotechnical Suite within the DELFI environment. The second phase will involve deploying Azure-based, cloud-native applications, while the third phase will be centered around the development of a suite of cognitive computing capabilities across the entire E&P value chain.
All three companies are committed to ensuring their joint development efforts meet the latest security, performance and release management standards. In addition, the software will be compatible with the Open Subsurface Data Universe (OSDU) Data Platform, a standard data platform for the oil and gas industry. The OSDU’s stated goal is to ensure data is at the center of the industry, minimizing data silos.
Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, touted the collaboration as “an enormous opportunity to bring the latest cloud and AI technology to the energy sector and accelerate the industry’s digital transformation. Our partnership with Schlumberger and Chevron delivers on this promise, applying the power of Azure to unlock new AI-driven insights that will help address some of the industry’s—the world’s—most important energy challenges, including sustainability.”
It’s no secret that Oracle has its sights set on the cloud infrastructure market, which is currently dominated by Microsoft and Amazon. Oracle’s latest attempt to pry open the market is their most ambitious yet.
On September 16, Oracle announced a new, free tier of cloud services, paired with credits developers can use for additional options. Free plans come with two virtual machines with 1/8 OCPU and 1 GB of memory each, along with the choice of Autonomous Transaction Processing or Autonomous Data Warehouse. This gives developers two databases, each with 1 OCPU and 20 GB of storage.
The Oracle Cloud Free Trial Credits, a $300 value, can be used on infrastructure, databases, application development, analytics, content, and experience, management and security or integration.
Until now, Oracle has had little success convincing developers to jump ship from Microsoft or Amazon. These new plans, however, could be a game-changer. The goal is to provide a way for developers to try Oracle’s services risk-free, instead of being forced to choose between committing to an untested solution or going with one of the industry leaders.
The Autonomous Database feature, in particular, is sure to drive growth. The feature has already been a solid hit with existing customers and offers companies with on-premise databases a clear path to the cloud.
Even if Oracle’s free tier of services doesn’t unseat one of the established leaders, it should help the company carve out a healthy segment of the market.
“Cloud ERP is a very new principle in the market,” says Mark Chalfen, director at PwC. “The way that I see cloud is all round simplification—simple and standard. It’s a lot more easy than it was five, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago.”
Mark Chalfen, director at PwC, talks about how cloud ERP software can help companies drive innovation, standardization and cost savings.
Speed is not a problem. Speed for the organization is the speed to consume the change. The speed is understanding your roadmap, building that roadmap, understanding what the future holds and then planning that back in.
Overcoming Preconceptions About ERP Software
A true ERP, a SaaS ERP, is an asset. There’s a number of clients I will work with and start to talk with and they see it as a liability. We take them on a journey and the realization changes that actually cloud ERP is an asset. The speed, the innovation, the standardization—all the things that people previously thought an ERP was, the ability to write lots of custom code, those benefits are removed when they see the power of the cloud ERP and the future direction of SAP in cloud ERP.
Now, all of our engagements are with the c-suite—a CFO, a CEO—who understands the power of cloud ERP, understands the power of SaaS. That means that the programs we work on are business-led, truly business-led. They understand the benefit that it provides: standardization, simplification, speed and the cost benefit. Now you have standard process. You get some efficiency and you’ll get some cost savings.
There’s three key areas. Break everything off into small consumable chunks. Build that confidence within the business. ‘Look, we deployed within three months. We deployed within six months.’ You then build that confidence. We then need to focus on the change appetite. You need to plan the change engagement. Followed around that, the actual governance and the ownership of the program—you need strong stakeholder management all the way through.
The Tool Is Not the Issue
The tool is there to help you. The tool is mature, the tool is ready, the tool is not the issue. It’s people and data and change. If you can control all of those three, your program will be successful.
Apple held its much-anticipated “By Invitation Only” event today, with Tim Cook promising a “huge” morning of news and updates. Over the course of two hours, Apple delivered on the promise with updates to both hardware and software.
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade was first out of the gate, with one of Apple highlighting the soon-to-be-released gaming platform. Apple has partnered with some of the world’s best game developers to deliver over 100 exclusive games on launch day, something no gaming service has ever done.
Rather than paying for each game individually, a subscription service will provide access to all the games in the new Arcade tab of the App Store. Users will also be able to access game guides and sneak peeks.
Unlimited access will cost $4.99 per month, with a one-month free trial, and will be available September 19 in over 150 countries.
Apple Arcade
Apple TV+
It’s no secret Apple has been working on disrupting the television market with their upcoming Apple TV+ service. Mr. Cook said Apple’s ‘mission is to bring the best original stories from the most creative minds in film and television.’
Trailers for Apple’s first three series in production have been viewed over 100 million times, with The Morning Show trailer being one of the most viewed trailers of all time.
Apple took the opportunity to introduce their latest show, See, starring Jason Momoa. The series is set hundreds of years in the future when virtually all of humanity has lost its sight. Apple enlisted the help of blind and low-sight cast, crew and consultants to help set an authentic tone for the series. If the audience’s reaction was any indication, Apple may well have another hit on their hands.
The platform’s first shows will be available on November 1 in over 100 countries, for $4.99 per month for a family subscription. In addition, anyone purchasing a Mac, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV will receive the first year for free.
Apple TV+
iPad
Switching gears to the iPad, Mr. Cook said Apple’s original goal for the iPad was to ‘set out to design something truly unique, something you could take with you, transforming how we work, live and play.’ After highlighting the existing iPad models, he turned the stage over to Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller.
Mr. Schiller said the 9.7-inch iPad continues to be the most popular model, with 60% of first-time buyers opting for it. With the 7th generation of the
product, it was time for Apple to improve it with modern features and abilities.
The 7th generation iPad moves to the A10 Fusion chip, making it up to 2X faster than the current top-selling PC. The iPad moves to a 10.2-inch form factor, giving users slightly more screen real estate. The new model includes the Smart Connector found on the Pro models, allowing it to be paired with the Smart Keyboard, as well as support for the Apple Pencil.
Mr. Schiller briefly touched on some of the added functionality the upcoming iPadOS will bring, including improved multitasking, multiple app instances, more powerful Slide Over, SD card support and more.
The new iPad features an enclosure made from 100% recycled aluminum and starts at $329, or $299 for education customers.
iPad
Apple Watch
Before announcing updates to the Apple Watch, Mr. Cook introduced a video where several existing users described how the Apple Watch had saved their life or had a profound impact on their overall quality of life.
The announced Apple Watch Series 5 promises to build on that reputation with a number of new features. The biggest of these is an always-on display that no longer requires a wrist raise or tap to see the time or complications. Another big addition is a compass, similar to that on the iPhone.
Apple is also expanding the capabilities of the Apple Watch with various studies designed to monitor a user’s health and use that data to improve the overall experience. Initial studies include the Apple Hearing, Heart & Movement and Women’s Health Studies. Via the Apple Research app, users will be able to opt-in and control exactly what data is shared.
Despite the new features, the Series 5 maintains the same all-day, 18-hour battery life and will retail for $399 for the GPS model and $499 for cellular.
Apple Watch
iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max
The event’s last act was reserved for the unveiling of the new iPhone. The Apple rumor mill has been in overdrive in the months leading up to this event, but Apple still managed to spring a few surprises.
The new iPhone is split into three models: the base iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and the biggest iPhone 11 Pro Max. Hopefully, Apple keeps this simple naming scheme for the iPhone 12, 13 and beyond, as it’s much easier and more logical than the X, XS, XR, and XS Max.
The iPhone 11 is clearly a replacement for the XR as Apple’s entry-level phone. Based on the specs and features, however, it’s a safe bet the base 11 will likely be the most popular model, much as the XR currently is.
The 11 sports the toughest glass on a smartphone for both the front and back, with aluminum making up the rest of the enclosure. It’s available in black, white, red, purple, yellow and green and features a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD LCD display.
The dual-camera system was front-and-center among the new phone’s features, with 12 megapixels Wide and Ultra-Wide lens. The Phone is powered by the newest A-series chip, the A13 Bionic, providing the fastest CPU and GPU performance on a smartphone. The iPhone 11 will have an hour longer battery life than the current champion, the XR.
The iPhone Pro and Pro Max models build on the same features as the 11, but with a Pro twist. The aluminum is upgraded to surgical-grade stainless steel available in midnight green, space gray, silver, and gold.
The camera adds a third lens for telephoto zoom and the display is a Super Retina XDR OLED in either 5.8 or 6.5-inch. Water-resistance is rated at a full four meters for up to 30 minutes, up from the two-meter rating of the base 11. Apple promises up to four more hours of battery with the 11 Pro and five hours more with the Pro Max. All versions of the iPhone 11 include improved sound, featuring Dolby Atmos.
Apple’s presentation included examples of professional photographers’ work with the iPhone, as well as the creators of FiLMiC Pro highlighting some of the game-changing filmmaking capabilities of the Pro and Pro Max’s camera system.
The iPhone 11 starts at $699, while the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max start at $999 and $1099 respectively. Apple is also continuing to sell the iPhone 8 for $449 and the XR for $599.
iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max
Wrapping Up
Apple promised a “huge” morning of announcements and, without a doubt, they delivered. Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ demonstrate Apple’s commitment to expanding their services, while the 7th generation iPad, Series 5 Apple Watch and iPhone 11 show they still have plenty to offer in the hard-ware department.
Apple “By Invitation Only” Event – September 10, 2019
