Daily Archives: April 6, 2021

Fed’s Mester Says Jobs Report ‘Great’ But Fed Will Be Patient – Bloomberg

Posted: April 6, 2021 at 8:52 pm

Photographer: Melissa Lyttle/Bloomberg

Photographer: Melissa Lyttle/Bloomberg

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said the better-than-expected March payroll report was great but that a lot more progress is needed to get the economy to where it was before the pandemic.

It was a great report, its nice to see those numbers. Were still almost 8.5 million jobs below where we were before the pandemic so we need more of those kinds of jobs reports coming out, she said Monday in an interview on CNBC. It was the first public reaction from a Fed official to the jobs data, which was released on Friday.

Employers added 916,000 jobs last month, blowing past economists projections of a 660,000 increase. More widespread vaccinations, pent-up consumer demand and support from fiscal and monetary policy helped boost activity, Mester said. But the rosier outlook doesnt mean the Fed should begin tightening policy anytime soon, she added.

I think we need to be very deliberately patient in our approach to monetary policy and really focus in on hitting those goals that we have for monetary policy, Mester said. Im thinking that well see a very strong second half of the year but were still far from our policy goals.

The Cleveland Fed chief, who in the past has been among the more hawkish of policy makers in being worried about inflation, is not a voter this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

The second half of the year is likely to be strong, and may cause temporary spikes in prices as economic activity returns in pandemic-suppressed sectors. But the inflation is unlikely to persist and the U.S. probably wont see runaway price increases, Mester said.

Nor was Mester troubled by the recent run-up in Treasury yields, which she said were orderly.

Im not concerned at this point in the rise in yields. I dont think theres anything for the Fed to react to, she said.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Want progress on diversity? Link it to your CEOs pay – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 8:52 pm

Last June, as the nation convulsed with protests against racial inequality and the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others, [hotlink]Nike[/hotlink] was in the same predicament as much of corporate Americapledging to help rectify societys mistreatment and exclusion of Black people, while simultaneously being called out for its own failings on that front.

Even as the sports-gear maker promised to prioritize racial inclusion, some of its own workers took to social media to decry racism at the company, citing microaggressions, lesser advancement opportunities for Black employees, and instances of Black shoppers being profiled at Nike stores. Nike stressed that the company prohibited discrimination based on race, but it encouraged workers to keep speaking out, and CEO John Donahoe admitted in a memo to staff that our most important priority is to get our own house in order.

Nine months later, Nike made its commitment to equity more tangibleby pegging some of Donahoes pay to it. In March, Nike announced that part of its executives long-term bonuses would be contingent on hitting specific diversity goals by 2025. Donahoes potential penalty for missing those targets: a six- or even seven-figure chunk of his compensation.

Business leaders have long been saying the right things about racial and gender inclusion, with only modest improvements to show for it. (There are still only five Black CEOs and 40 female CEOs in the Fortune 500, to cite but one metric.) But as diversity becomes an ever greater focus of Wall Street, employees, and the public, more corporate boards are aligning executives pay with their platitudes. The past years upheaval is causing companies to think, If were serious about this, we ought to make sure there is a visible link between what we say and do and how were rewarding our executives, says Don Lowman, a global leader at Korn Ferry who advises boards on compensation.

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This year alone, [hotlink]Apple[/hotlink], McDonalds, and [hotlink]Chipotle Mexican Grill[/hotlink] are among the boldface-name companies to make bonuses partially contingent on measurable progress on gender and racial equity. Alphabets [hotlink]Google[/hotlink] took a step in that direction, saying it will include such metrics in executive performance reviews. [hotlink]Uber[/hotlink], once criticized for its bro culture, linked bonuses to diversity two years ago; [hotlink]Microsoft[/hotlink], Intel, and utility [hotlink]FirstEnergy[/hotlink] have been doing so even longer.

The shift doesnt yet add up to a mad rush: A mere 97 of the companies in the Russell 3000 (or 3.2%) have at least one diversity goal for at least one top executive, according to compensation consulting firm Pearl Meyer, citing data from Main Data Group. Still, diversity and inclusion are joining climate-friendliness as areas where companies are being urged to prove their meritnot least by investors who want companies to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks. (Fortune is part of this effort, partnering with financial data firm Refinitiv on a program called Measure Up, to help companies collect and report diversity and inclusion data.) Aalap Shah, a managing director at Pearl Meyer, says that as recently as 2018, when he spoke to executives and boards about diversity as a factor in compensation, hed get quizzical looks. But since last summer, companies are listening up, lest they be seen as out of step.

Companies are typically pegging 10% to 15% of bonuses to the goals. Bonuses account for about 20% of executive comp, according to leadership data firm Equilar, so the targets put only 2% to 3% of a C-suite dwellers pay at risk. Still, 3% of a CEO compensation package can add up to a pay cut thats symbolically large. In a regulatory filing in February, for example, McDonalds said progress on human capital metrics would determine 15% of bonusesand noted that missing those goals would have cost CEO Chris Kempczinski more than $300,000 in 2020.

Indeed, holding executives accountable on gender and racial equity is particularly crucial given the economic inequity embedded in the CEO-worker pay gap. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the ratio of CEO compensation to rank-and-file pay at public companies was 320 to 1 in 2019, with much of that gap reflecting the sky-high value of bonuses and stock options. Amid such glaring disparities, companies face pressure to show that their executives earn their riches by contributing to a greater good. Diversity targets could help activists apply such pressure. But its too early to tell what targets will work bestand whether the cost of missing them is high enough.

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Its telling that many companies have linked pay to diversity following an outcry from their own employees. Google, for example, has faced internal backlash over its treatment of women and people of color; McDonalds is under withering scrutiny for a purportedly sexist management culture and for its treatment of Black employees and franchisees.

According to proxy-vote adviser Institutional Shareholder Services, 18.9% of 6,400 public companies it studied last year worldwide (and 8.3% of 2,800 companies in the U.S.) had tied compensation to at least one environmental or social incentive. What gets measured gets done, says ISS director of research Anthony Campagna.

But companies have struggled to decide how to measure progress on inclusion. Sustainability targets involve relatively objective factors like carbon emissions, water use, and waste reduction. But in diversity, hitting numerical goalssay, elevating a certain number of women or people of color to managementdoesnt ensure an inclusive culture. You can go out and hire 10 people tomorrow and satisfy that objective, but not really have made progress in your diversity practices, warns Korn Ferrys Lowman.

Courtney Yu, director of research at Equilar, says the most effective incentives will reward executives for building better pipelines to leadership for underrepresented groups. That could involve recruiting from a wider range of colleges, including historically Black colleges and universities; improving mentorship programs; and providing better family-care support to working mothers.

8.3%

Share of U.S. public companies tying executive compensation to at least one environmental or social goal

The challenge, Yu says, is measuring progress on such criteria in a way that boards are comfortable with. Some experts cite Microsofts approach as a model. CEO Satya Nadella and other executives earn bonuses both for hitting quantitative marks, such as drawing a certain percentage of suppliers and workers from underrepresented groups, and for more qualitative achievements, such as consensus in internal polling that the company provides a work environment where minorities can prosper.

Whatever metrics companies choose, theyll be more likely to result in enduring changes if theyre tied to long-term incentive packages rather than annual bonuses. Nikes decision to link long-term awards to 2025 goals is a testament to that strategy. (Nikes goals include buying $1 billion a year from suppliers in underrepresented demographics; elevating women to 45% of management jobs; and establishing pay equity between men and women.)

History suggests that CEOs who miss targets may not actually face a pay cut. Boards have wide discretion to change compensation based on extenuating circumstances. Among the companies that used that discretion to prop up pay after a COVID-rattled 2020 were theater chain AMC Entertainment, General Electricand Nike, which gave Donahoe a special cash bonus of $6.75 million last summer after the pandemic made it impossible for him to meet financial targets. (Nike said in a filing that it wanted to reward strong pre-pandemic performance and to ensure sustained employee engagement.)

Its possible, though, that boards wont attempt such maneuvers around diversity, since theyd risk losing the trust of their workforces, customers, and investors. Compensation experts note that companies actions on diversity already get plenty of public scrutiny, which in turn could fuel a virtuous cycle of adoption of concrete targets. Says Pearl Meyers Shah, This is a true cultural shift.

This article appears in the April/May issue of Fortune with the headline, "Want progress on diversity? Link it to pay."

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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HitGen and BioAge Announce Research Progress in DNA-Encoded Library Based Drug Discovery Research Collaboration – Business Wire

Posted: at 8:52 pm

CHENGDU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shanghai Stock Exchange listed biotech company HitGen Inc. (HitGen) announced important research progress in a collaboration with BioAge Labs, Inc. (BioAge), a private biotechnology company developing targeted small molecules for the treatment of diseases of aging. The companies have conducted collaborative research to identify and develop novel small-molecule compounds against a high-value and challenging biological target that is a critical component of the innate immune system. Dysregulation of this target is closely linked to the underlying cause of severe diseases in elderly humans, such as Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease.

HitGen is a world leader in the development and applications of DNA encoded library (DEL) screening. The availability of over 1 trillion small molecules generated by DEL technology and the efficiency of the screening process have made it possible for HitGen to enable drug discovery projects for many organisations around the world.

According to the terms of the collaboration agreement, HitGen has successfully applied its DEL technology and discovered program compounds that met certain criteria, and BioAge has received an exclusive license to these compounds as well as associated IP for further development and commercialization. HitGen will be eligible for milestone payments and sublicensing income from BioAge as the project progresses, in addition to research payments and an upfront license fee already paid.

We are very pleased to collaborate with HitGen to find novel small-molecules against drug targets identified by BioAges platform, which analyzes samples collected over the lifespan to map the molecular pathways that drive human aging, said Kristen Fortney, PhD, BioAges Chief Executive Officer. HitGens DEL technology allows BioAge to discover novel, patentable molecules that modulate key aging pathways.

We are enthusiastic about having the ability to identify promising hit molecules in such a short time. said Paul Rubin, CMO and EVP Research and Development at BioAge. These earlier-stage discovery programs will complement and accelerate our parallel in-licensing efforts, allowing us to build an extensive portfolio of clinical-stage assets that target the molecular mechanisms of aging to treat severe diseases and extend healthy human life.

I am delighted to see the successful identification of novel compounds for this important biological target that BioAge has been pursuing, said Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen. This research progress is made possible by the close interaction and collaboration of the scientists from the two companies. It also reinforces the role and reputation of HitGens platform in the rapidly developing field of DEL and its ability to discover novel small molecules against a variety of targets. We look forward to seeing BioAge research progress further in bringing transformative medicines to patients.

About BioAge Labs, Inc.

BioAge is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of treatments to extend healthy lifespan by targeting the molecular causes of aging. The company uses its discovery platform, which combines quantitative analysis of proprietary longitudinal human samples with detailed health records tracking individuals over the lifespan, to map out the key molecular pathways that impact healthy human aging. To date, BioAge has raised $127M from Andreessen Horowitz, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and others. In early 2021, BioAge initiated Phase 2 clinical trials of two in-licensed drugs: BGE-117, a potent inhibitor of HIF PH, is being tested for unexplained anemia of aging, and will be developed for indications related to muscle weakness; BGE-175, a PGD2 DP1 receptor inhibitor, is being tested for COVID-19, and will be developed for disorders of the aging immune system. For additional information about BioAge, visit the companys website at http://www.bioagelabs.com.

About HitGen Inc.

HitGen Inc. is a rapidly developing biotech company headquartered in Chengdu, China, with subsidiaries in Cambridge, UK and Houston, USA. It became a publicly listed company in Shanghai Stock Exchange in April 2020 (ticker code 688222.SH). HitGen has established a drug discovery research platform for small molecules and nucleic acid drugs centered on the design, synthesis, and screening of DNA encoded chemical libraries (DELs), fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) and structure-based drug design (SBDD) technologies. HitGen's DELs currently contain more than 1 trillion novel, diverse, drug-like small molecules and macrocyclic compounds. These compounds are members of DELs synthesized from many hundreds of distinct chemical scaffolds, designed with tractable chemistry, and have yielded proven results for the discovery of small molecule leads against both precedented and unprecedented classes of biological targets.

Through its acquisition of Cambridge UK based Vernalis R&D Ltd, a leader in FBDD/SBDD, HitGen now has a research team of over 500 scientists and offers a full set of research capabilities including recombinant protein expression and purification, structural biology, assay development, screening, DEL synthesis, nucleic acid and small molecule chemical synthesis, computational and medicinal chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics, cell biology, in vivo pharmacology, DMPK, CMC, etc., to enable drug discovery research from target gene to IND filing.

HitGen operates a flexible business model, ranging from a single capability-based fee for services (FFSe.g., protein expression and purification, structural biology, bioinformatics, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, nucleic and organic chemistry, analytical chemistry biophysics, PK, PD, etc.), DEL screening, DEL design, synthesis and characterization, integrated drug discovery projects, risk sharing projects, collaborative ventures to program out-licensing. HitGen has approximately 20 in-house drug discovery programs at different stages of research & development. HitGen is collaborating with pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical companies, foundations and research institutes in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia to enable the discovery and development of novel medicines and agrochemicals.

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Progress reported in containment of wildfire in Antelope Valley area of Angeles National Forest – The Pasadena Star-News

Posted: at 8:52 pm

An aggressive brush fire scorched its way across 60 acres of wildland in the remote Angeles National Forest on Monday south of the Antelope Valley community of Llano, near the Valyermo area, prompting a massive response from federal, state and Los Angeles County fire crews.

Fire teams were first dispatched to the area of Big Pines Highway and Big Rock Creek Road at about 4:05 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The fire quickly spread to 15 to 20 acres in the dense forest, fanned by winds traveling at about 20 to 30 mph, according to the U.S. Forest Service. It was later measured at 50-plus acres; and then about 60 acres just before 7 p.m. when the Angeles National Forest said on social media a strong air attack appeared to have limited the fires spread.

Several Cal Fire tankers were called in to combat the blaze. Some structures, including a fire training camp on Big Rock Road, were threatened by the fire, which was being pushed in an eastern direction, generally toward San Bernardino County.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries, and a cause of the fire was unknown.

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Seven HBCUs Partner With UiPath To Offer New Automation Curriculum – Forbes

Posted: at 8:51 pm

Tuskegee University is one of seven HBCUs partnering with UiPath to offer new training in business ... [+] automation. (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are partnering with UiPath, theenterprise automationsoftware company, to train students in Robotic Process Automation (RPA).The partnership was announced today in a press release from the company. Its the latest extension of UiPathsAcademic Alliance, in which colleges and universities collaborate with the company to offer curricula, software and certification so students can be better prepared for careers in automation and other digital settings.

In simple terms, RPA is an emerging technology that allows businesses to streamline routine processes and thereby reduce their costs. With RPA, tedious, rule-governed business processes are automated by configuring software robots to run applications that direct transactions, trigger replies and other messages, and communicate with other digital systems.

An example of a basic function is sending automated responses to an email. At a more complex level, RPA can initiate and track other business activities that typically require several FTE employees. Its an ideal technology for conducting high-volume processes at a rapid speed, thereby saving businesses time and money and freeing up employees for tasks requiring more judgment and finesse. RPA is a step short of the kinds of applications possible with machine learning or artificial intelligence tools, but the range of tasks it can perform - from sending invoices and sales orders to completing payrolls and entering data into enterprise resource planning systems - is growing increasingly complex.

The new partnership includes the following HBCUs:

A recent UiPath survey showed that nearly half of office workers worldwide worry they will be out of a job within five years because their skills will become outdated. As a result, 91% believed their employers should be more willing to invest in digital and technology skills training for their employees.

College students, particularly those intending to take jobs in business, are also keenly aware of the need for these skills and increasingly see them as a highly desirable supplement to their regular college major.

Im thrilled to start my RPA journey through Texas Southern Universitys curriculum with UiPath. I know that the enterprise of the future is fully automated, and that RPA technology is at the core of this new way of working. Im excited to gain the skills I need to drive a future of work that unleashes workers from the repetitive, time-intensive work, said Aliza Durvesh, a teaching assistant at Texas Southern University.

At Jackson State University, Tuskegee University, and Texas Southern University, RPA instruction is already being offered. Jackson State Universitys RPA curriculum is part of itsIndustrial Systems and Technology course of study, while Texas Southern University and Tuskegee University are teaching RPAto students in its management,accounting, and information science programs.

Dr. Jack Crumbly, Management Department Chair in the Andrew F. Brimmer College of Business and Information Science at Tuskegee University, sees the value of the new skills being incorporated into the college curriculum. As a professor, its my job to make sure my students are prepared to enter the workforce with the skills they need to succeed. A UiPath survey found that 70% of senior executives want even non-technical employees to have automation skillsa sign that its of utmost importance for universities like Tuskegee University to provide our students with RPA training programs, especially among business, accounting and IT applications. UiPaths commitment to diversifying the tech community is admirable and were proud to partner with them on this curriculum.

According to the release, the sevenHBCUs that have recently partnered with UiPath are among more than 750 universities and colleges in UiPaths Academic Alliance, which gives faculty at the partnering schools access to the free automation curriculum. Industry research shows increasing demand for professionals who have such skills. For example,Robotics Engineer is among the fastest emerging jobs globally, withLinkedInreporting a 40% compound annual growth rate in job postings from 2015 to 2019.

We believe its imperative that workforces have the training and skills to use automation technologies and identify opportunities for innovative applications, said UiPath Vice President Tom Clancy, in the release. We strongly believe that this education should be extended to all people. Fostering diversity in the tech industry, unlocks opportunities for fresh perspectives, ideas, and opportunities for innovation.

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More process automation needed to support digital transformation – BetaNews

Posted: at 8:50 pm

Software engineering and IT operations teams are facing increased complexity in meeting customer and employee demands, as well as remote and hybrid work policies ushered in by COVID-19.

The key to dealing with this is increased process automation in IT operations (ITOps) according to a new report from DevOps process orchestration company Transposit.

Among the findings are that 94 percent of respondents increased focus on site reliability engineering (SRE) practices in their organization in the past 12 months, while 42 percent plan to expand their SRE efforts this year. 86 percent of organizations are planning to hire site reliability engineers in the next 12 months.

"Our study aligns with what we've been hearing from customers. Organizations have many manual DevOps processes that cause unnecessary toil. And, they are investing too many of their resources -- including talent -- on building custom in-house tools to automate an incident response process that pulls together all the parts of their software stack," says Tina Huang, CTO and founder of Transposit. "Those resources could be put to better use by investing in initiatives that drive companies forward, such as product innovation or customer service, especially during a time of economic uncertainty and, for some industries, instability."

Although the majority of organizations have incorporated remote and hybrid work policies and have increased digital transformation initiatives since the start of the pandemic, organizations have also been hampered by longer incident resolution, inefficient processes, and lack of automation.

None out of 10 organizations surveyed have experienced an increase in service incidents that have affected their customers since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 60 percent of respondents observing at least a 20 percent increase in service incidents or more. 93 percent say that incidents are taking longer to resolve while working remotely with over half reporting that incidents took between 11-30 percent longer to resolve than average. In addition nearly 70 percent have seen an increase in the cost of downtime since the pandemic started.

But despite enthusiasm for automation nearly half of respondents report that their engineering operations are only between 26 and 50 percent automated. The top barriers to automation are cited as; inadequate documentation of institutional knowledge and existing processes (51.9 percent), lack of clarity about what to automate (47.3 percent) and not enough sharing of knowledge (43.8 percent).

The full report is available from the Transposit site and there's an infographic summary of the findings below.

Photo Credit: Wright Studio/Shutterstock

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The Global Robotic Process Automation Market is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 31.5% Between 2020 and 2026 – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 8:50 pm

Dublin, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Robotic Process Automation Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The robotic process automation market was evaluated at US$2.039 billion for the year 2020 and is projected to witness a CAGR of 31.5% over the forecast period.

Robotic Process Automation refers to the process of automating the tedious and repetitive tasks in an organization through the use of robots. According to UiPath, a global software company that develops platform for Robotic Process Automation, RPA can be defined as "A technology that allows anyone today to configure computer software, or a "robot" to emulate and integrate the actions of a human interacting within digital systems to execute a business process." The adoption of emerging technologies like RPA to automate the mundane, rule based repetitive tasks has resulted in accelerated work, reduced human error, and increased output. Combining RPA with advanced cognitive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) etc. will allow organisations to automate even those tasks which generally require human decision making capabilities

By using RPA, organisations can reduce their staffing costs as well as human errors by limiting the number of people working on these mundane repetitive tasks. It also increases job satisfaction of employees as they can now focus on tasks and processes which generate value for the organisation and actually make use of their intelligence and capabilities. Processes like web scraping, opening emails and attachments, making calculations, logging into applications among others can be automated with RPA. Given the advantages, some key tips should be kept in mind to derive maximum benefits from the implementation of RPA such as setting and managing goals that the organisation aims to achieve through RPA, putting RPA into the whole development lifecycle of the organisation and considering its impact on the business of the organisation among others.

Although RPA has promising benefits across industries, it has its pitfalls too. With the automation of repetitive tasks, a huge chunk of the population might get redundant leading to widespread unemployment. Moreover, the economic outcomes of RPA implementations are far from assured as installation costs of large number of bots may not be as economically viable as it might have expected to be

The global robotic process automation market can be segmented on the basis of type, enterprise size, service, application, deployment and geography:

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By type, the market can be segmented into software and service.

By enterprise size, the market can be segmented into large enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

By service, the market can be segmented into consulting, implementing and training.

By application, the market can be segmented into BFSI, pharma & healthcare, retail & consumer goods, information technology (IT) & telecom, communication and media & education, manufacturing, logistics, and energy & utilities and others.

By deployment, the market can be segmented into cloud and on - premise.

By geography, the market can be segmented into North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia - Pacific.

Growth Factors

Saves time and costs

By automating repetitive rule based tasks, organisations can save on time and costs as they no longer need employees to do them. Also with a bot capable of performing these tasks at a faster rate as compared to humans, more work can be done in less time

Improves job satisfaction

With repetitive tasks being done by robots; employees can now focus on tasks which actually require human intelligence. Thus, employees are forced to think using their intelligence rather than just doing menial repetitive work which improves their job satisfaction

Reduction in Errors

With bots performing repetitive tasks, the chances of errors diminish. When a human performs a large number of operations, there tends to be some discrepancies which may lead to huge problems if not paid proper attention to. Therefore, industries like healthcare and financial institutions which require correct data without even a single error will adopt RPA which will act as a key driver for its market growth

Restraints

Human Capital Conundrum

With RPA implementation, a huge chunk of the population will become redundant leading to widespread unemployment. To prevent a situation like this, the decision makers in any organisation will be presented with the human capital conundrum referring to how they will manage their workforce who will go redundant, once RPA is implemented in the organisation

Return on Investment and Scalability

The return on investment after RPA implementation will be a concern to the executives in an organisation as according to a recent Deloitte UK study"Only three percent of organizations have managed to scale RPA to a level of 50 or more robots." Thus, with scalability a problem, whether the costs of implementing robotic process automation in an organisation will be covered or not, should be determined prior to making investment in the above mentioned

Impact of COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has had a positive impact on the global robotic process automation market. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the global robotic process automation market has witnessed a sudden rise in 2020 as the pandemic is being a game-changer for the robotic process automation solution providers as industries, especially manufacturing, accelerating the use of bots for repetitive tasks. Also because of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, more and more businesses got encouraged to adopt automation systems. Also due to the dispersed workforce and ever growing consumer engagement, businesses need systems which can automatically carry these necessary but repetitive tasks.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction1.1. Market Definition1.2. Market Segmentation

2. Research Methodology2.1. Research Data2.2. Assumptions

3. Executive Summary3.1. Research Highlights

4. Market Dynamics4.1. Market Drivers4.2. Market Restraints4.3. Porters Five Forces Analysis4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers4.3.3. The threat of New Entrants4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis

5. Global Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type5.1. Introduction5.2. Software5.3. Service

6. Global Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size6.1. Introduction6.2. Large enterprises6.3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

7. Global Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application7.1. Introduction7.2. BFSI7.3. Pharma & Healthcare7.4. Retail & Consumer Goods7.5. Information Technology (IT) & Telecom7.6. Communication and Media & Education7.7. Manufacturing7.8. Logistics, and Energy & Utilities7.9. Others

8. Global Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment8.1. Introduction8.2. Cloud8.3. On - Premise

9. Global Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, by Geography9.1. Introduction9.2. North America9.2.1. North America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type9.2.2. North America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size9.2.3. North America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application9.2.4. North America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment9.2.5. By Country9.2.5.1. United States9.2.5.2. Canada9.2.5.3. Mexico9.3. South America9.3.1. South America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type9.3.2. South America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size9.3.3. South America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application9.3.4. South America Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment9.3.5. By Country9.3.5.1. Brazil9.3.5.2. Argentina9.3.5.3. Others9.4. Europe9.4.1. Europe Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type9.4.2. Europe Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size9.4.3. Europe Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application9.4.4. Europe Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment9.4.5. By Country9.4.5.1. Germany9.4.5.2. United Kingdom9.4.5.3. France9.4.5.4. Others9.5. The Middle East and Africa9.5.1. Middle East and Africa Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type9.5.2. Middle East and Africa Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size9.5.3. Middle East and Africa Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application9.5.4. Middle East and Africa Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment9.5.5. By Country9.5.5.1. Saudi Arabia9.5.5.2. UAE9.5.5.3. Others9.6. Asia Pacific9.6.1. Asia Pacific Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Type9.6.2. Asia Pacific Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Enterprise Size9.6.3. Asia Pacific Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Application9.6.4. Asia Pacific Robotic Process Automation Market Analysis, By Deployment9.6.5. By Country9.6.5.1. China9.6.5.2. Japan9.6.5.3. India9.6.5.4. Others

10. Competitive Environment and Analysis10.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis10.2. Emerging Players and Market Lucrativeness10.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations10.4. Vendor Competitiveness Matrix

11. Company Profiles11.1. UiPath11.2. Automation Anywhere Inc.11.3. NICE11.4. Blue Prism11.5. Pegasystems11.6. KOFAX INC.11.7. NTT Advanced Technology Corporation11.8. EdgeVerve Systems Limited11.9. FPT Software11.10. OnviSource, Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bapkrd

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Survey: Retailers fast-tracking robotic automation technologies in the wake of COVID-19 – PRNewswire

Posted: at 8:50 pm

SAN DIEGO, April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --The retail industry is looking to adopt new robotic technology faster than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with widespread adoption now expected in just a few years, according to a new survey conducted by RetailWire and Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence (AI) company creating transformative core technology in robotics.

The results of the survey, conducted last month, underscore the growing significance of robotic automation technology in the post-pandemic marketplace. These technologies are seen as key for assisting workers with a variety of tasks, from floor cleaning to shelf scanning, both in stores and in warehouses. The full survey results are included in a free executive summary, "Robots in Retail: Examining the Autonomous Opportunity."

Cleanliness became a major priority for retailers and grocers during the pandemic as stores rushed to meet heightened consumer expectations. The survey shows that these increased cleanliness standards are the new normal: the vast majority (72%) of respondents say they do not anticipate much change in consumer expectations toward in-store cleanliness even after vaccines are broadly distributed.

The survey also shows that retailers are looking to use robotic solutions for in-store functions like automating tasks and collecting environmental data for improving customer experiences. This includes robotic applications for scanning shelves for stockouts (59%), order picking (47%), delivering goods from the back warehouse to store shelves (35%), pricing accuracy checks (35%), and more.

"The global pandemic brought the value of robotic automation sharply into focus for many retailers, and we now see them accelerating their deployment timelines to reap the advantages now and into the future," said Josh Baylin, Senior Director of Strategy at Brain Corp. "Autonomous robots are versatile productivity partners that help keep stores clean, generate additional hours for employees, and help improve in-store customer experiences."

The survey findings are consistent with the growth that Brain Corp saw in 2020 for robotic deployments with its OEM partners. The company achieved an increase of over 300% in robotic deployments last year, many in retail stores, while generating an estimated 3.3 million hours in productivity for end customers.

While robotic technology in retail has slowly been gaining steam over the years, RetailWire said it found the new accelerated adoption trends expressed in the survey "stunning" and "surprisingly large."

"These are not the kinds of numbers indicative of an emerging technology in an early phase of deployment in retail, but of a technology just a few short years from widespread adoption," according to the report. "In fact, as robotic technology gains a foothold in-store operations, broader benefits are likely to fuel future growth, such as the ability to capture granular, real-time data about products on shelves and customer buying patterns, monitor pricing and planogram compliance and keep tabs on out-of-stocks. Armed with this kind of data, retailers will be able to discover actionable insights, make smarter decisions and increase store productivity."

The survey queried 136 respondents in the retail industry, including retailers and wholesalers, retail consultants, tech solution providers, and brand marketers and manufacturers. For further information, download the free executive summary, "Robotsin Retail: Examining the Autonomous Opportunity" or go to http://www.braincorp.com.

About Brain Corp Brain Corp is an AI software leader that powers the world's largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in commercial indoor public spaces. The BrainOS platform and its cloud-connected autonomy service are used by global manufacturing partners to successfully build, deploy, and support commercial robots at scale across industries and applications. Through intuitive software and controls, BrainOS also enables end customers to easily leverage the power of robotics to offload repetitive, labor-intensive tasks related to floor care, in-store inventory delivery, and shelf-scanning, freeing employees' time to focus on higher-value responsibilities. Working with its partners, Brain Corp has deployed over 14,500 robots within retail, grocery, malls, airports, hospitals, warehouses, and other industries. For more information, please visit http://www.braincorp.com.

Press Contact [emailprotected]

SOURCE Brain Corp

https://www.braincorp.com

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Cybersecurity 101: The Difference Between IT and OT Attacks – Automation World

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According to 2021 Cybersecurity: Assess Your Risk, a new report from PMMI Business Intelligence, Information Technology (IT) attacks specifically target the enterprise IT systems at a manufacturer, seeking to gain entry through vectors such as email, a CRM system, or an ERP program, which can span across an operation.

Operational Technology (OT) attacks are designed to exploit the systems that are directly on the plant floor. An OT attack can originate through vectors such as individual sensors on the production line, SCADA/HMI panels, or even unsecured PLCs. Said one CEO of a software security partner, There have also been malware attacks on motion and vision systems on the plant floor, therefore it is imperative that manufacturers know their updates are only coming from trusted suppliers.

While the IT and OT networks in an organization are distinct and separate entities, they can be connected to some extent, causing vulnerabilities to both ends of the operation. An example would be having access to an ERP system directly on the plant floor.

More on OT: Safeguarding Robots and Components

Vulnerabilities have been detected in both robotics and smart components on individual machines, and those that are connected to the enterprise network, or even directly to the internet, are vulnerable. Robotics can be programmed with malicious code to disrupt production and potentially damage the surrounding environment, while components like PLCs can be accessed to gain real-time visual surveillance of an operation.

How cognizant are manufacturers to OT cyberattack risk? In a recent survey, 53% of responding manufacturers stated that their OT operations were vulnerable to potential tampering, and the same number revealed that they had a breach occur in OT operations within the last 12-24 months. Despite these facts, 81% of operations that security firm Dragos worked with in 2019 had extremely limited (or even no) visibility into their industrial control system (ICS)/OT networks, meaning they could not be monitored or analyzed for potential breaches. The report states that to properly address cybersecurity concerns and thoroughly harness emerging technology, manufacturers will first need to understand their operations, particularly those areas that are vulnerable to cyberattack.

Beyond understanding operations, people are also key to preventing attacks. Said one Managing Director at a cyber partner, Manufacturers are receiving constant attacks of malware and ransomware and proper firewalls are a must, but most important is employee training: all people in your business are stakeholders in prevention. And another automation engineer of a household products manufacturer said, The greatest risks are the people inside the company lacking the experience and understanding on how to safeguard our intellectual property.

Download this FREE report below.

Source: PMMI Business Intelligence, 2021 Cybersecurity: Assess Your Risk

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Worksoft Introduces Process Intelligence with AI-Powered Analytics to its Codeless Connective Automation Platform – GlobeNewswire

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DALLAS, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Worksoft, the industrys leading provider of end-to-end enterprise automation for complex custom and packaged applications like SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Workday and more, today announced the expansion of its Connective Automation Platform to include unmatched AI-driven analytics capabilities, becoming the first vendor to offer a genuinely codeless, scalable automation solution that seamlessly connects process intelligence, business process testing and production automation to drive comprehensive process insight and continuous process improvement.

Process Intelligence provides a unified view of end-to-end business processes with actionable insights, delivering unprecedented enterprise process visibility and maximizing process efficiency by eliminating business and IT silos. Combining multiple data sourcesincluding process mining, business process captures, test automation results, production performance, and moreProcess Intelligence generates a real-time roadmap for automation and process optimization.

This new level of Process Intelligence is a catalyst for CFOs and CIOs looking to unlock the full potential of their automation investment, providing them with a closed-loop view of their processes in real-time, said Tony Sumpster, Worksoft CEO. Process understanding is critical to driving digital transformation, and these platform enhancements reinforce our commitment to enabling real business change, uniquely bridging process understanding and business process automation in pre and post-production.

Digital transformation and automation strategies heighten the need to identify and understand business processes. The addition of Process Intelligence to Worksofts Connective Automation platform creates an unparalleled opportunity for enterprises to visualize and understand as-is business processes and identify and create resilient automation to enable continuous testing, RPA and Agile+DevOps development initiatives at speed and scale.

Worksofts AI-powered process intelligence is transforming the way business and IT teams align to deliver the best end-user experience and business outcomes. It provides real-time automation insights enabling customers to better understand, de-risk, and optimize their processes, said Shoeb Javed, Worksoft Chief Product and Strategy Officer. With nearly three-quarters of organizations today having adopted DevOps in some form, the request for advanced automation and deeper business/IT alignment is accelerating. Our platform now offers customers the ability to continuously evaluate process insights to target what to automate and build automation at scale, faster.

Key Process Intelligence Benefits:

Process Intelligence Customer Beta Quotes:

With Process Intelligence, its easy to view optimization and automation opportunities across all of my process data. IT Specialist for industry-leading consumer packaged goods manufacturer

Process Intelligence gives me a one-screen, easy-to-use view of what Ive automated and where I need to focus across my landscape. QA Manager for leading HVAC and building supplies manufacturer

About Worksoft

Worksoft provides Connective Automation for the worlds leading global enterprises, automating the full lifecycle of a business process from process intelligence to testing to RPA. Our codeless automation empowers business users and IT to accelerate automation and arms organizations with process data insights to prioritize automation efforts and extend the value into RPA for maximum efficiency and scalability. With Worksoft, enterprises can speed project timelines and ensure data-driven quality for their complex end-to-end business applications, including SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Workday, SuccessFactors, ServiceNow, and more. Recognized by leading Global Systems Integrators as the markets choice for large-scale continuous enterprise automation, Worksoft is embedded into their ERP practices to enable their Agile, DevOps, and SAFe methodologies and accelerate digital transformation.

For more information, contact Worksoft at info@worksoft.com or visit http://www.worksoft.com. For media inquiries, contact Liz Blackman, eblackman@worksoft.com, or +1 (806) 438-0556.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1636d3a1-c45d-4ac1-b12d-9e9176c899a4

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