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The Evolutionary Perspective
Category Archives: Technology
With data everywhere, the endpoint becomes the problem – Washington Technology
Posted: July 29, 2021 at 8:47 pm
COMMENTARY
Its no secret that the pandemic profoundly changed the end user computing environment.
With much of the workforce now off site and mobile, agency IT teams lack sufficient visibility and control of their devices. Legacy tools were designed to support pre-pandemic environments, and are not able to collect timely and complete data from remote endpoints. With more employees using VPNs and BYOD, agency risk surfaces increase without the additional protections afforded by closed networks.
Security decisions must be made based on accurate, real-time data. Without the ability to receive, centralize, and analyze all endpoint data on remote endpoints, agencies cant fill knowledge gaps. They simply don't know what they dont know without full telemetry. Agencies are compelled to address these issues with urgency. The time to work on this issue is now, as there will be a 1000% increase in the number of endpoints by the end of this decade.
What can be done to support the new endpoint reality? Agencies must stop carrying forward legacy cyber and systems management solutions hamstrung by limited integration, speed, visibility, and control. Tackling this problem within federal agencies requires innovation and change. Cyber is directed as priority one in the May 12 Executive Order. The American Rescue Plan provides for funding through the enhancement of the Technology Modernization Fund.
The evolution from legacy approaches to data collection and centralization do not support the evolution of workforce computing. A move to modern, distributed instrumentation, interaction, and data integration enables control at the point of its production the endpoint.
The days of centralizing datasets before analysis and action are long gone. We have passed the tipping point due to data being distributed worldwide, and impossible to collect in real time with legacy point tools and systems management solutions. There is simply too much data to manage. 5G facilitates data transport, but agency IT teams have to rethink data instrumentation.
Previous strategies for data instrumentation at the edge are broken, and simply do not scale to support enterprise-level endpoint footprints spread across complex networks, and Internet based computing. As security policies change, IT teams need to be able to adapt instrumentation on the fly to account for those changes in real-time.
The Zero Trust Factor
Given data creation velocity, the concept of trusting endpoint validation only upon initial access must be retired. Agencies using a zero trust architecture require real-time, accurate telemetry to validate that each endpoint complies with rapidly evolving standards.
Under a zero trust strategy, IT teams authenticate and authorize connection requests every time a user wants to do something new or different. This is where the data instrumentation problem emerges. Agencies must revalidate the endpoint for every attempted transaction based on the device where it is, whos using it, the day of the week, and whether a device is virtual, physical or employee-owned. With a majority of staff now working remotely, authentication and authorization processes become particularly difficult and time-consuming.
In a zero trust model, agencies must separate endpoints from data instrumentation and collection capabilities. A single, real-time platform that integrates endpoint management and security effectively breaks down silos to close the visibility and resilience gaps that exist between IT operations and security teams.
A unified platform approach gives organizations end-to-end visibility across users, servers, and cloud endpoints. It allows for the ability to identify assets, protect systems, detect threats, respond to attacks, and remediate deficiencies at scale.
Agencies must address the complexity problems inherent in the new end-user reality, and evolve to manage data at the edge where it is created. Modern platform solutions provide for needed speed, visibility and control as if all enterprise endpoints were in one living, breathing database.
This allows agencies to instrument data in real-time across all endpoints, without centralization to support zero trust models. The future of endpoint computing arrived suddenly and is here to stay. Agencies can meet the challenges presented with thoughtful approaches to people, process, and technology concerns.
About the Author
Nate Russ leads the federal civilian business at Tanium, where his team works in close concert with systems integrators to deliver on strategic programs like CDM. His prior experience includes leadership roles at Splunk and Symantec. Nate began his career at Accenture, where he performed hands-on consulting roles in the telecommunications industry.
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With data everywhere, the endpoint becomes the problem - Washington Technology
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Bidens newly unveiled immigration blueprint calls for investments in technology, added personnel – Border Report
Posted: at 8:47 pm
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Ensuring a secure, humane and well-managed border is a top item listed in the Biden Administrations newly released blueprint for immigration, which builds on the work done over the course of the last six months.
The plan includes making better use of existing border enforcement resources.
U.S. Customs and Border Protections budget grew by more than $5 billion in the last 10 years and Bidens blueprint will redirect funding from the last administrations border wall to invest in border technology and modernize ports of entry.
The Administration said the investments will function as a strengthening force to the more than 19,500 Border Patrol agents securing the border, as well as the more than 25,500 CBP officers working at land, air and sea ports.
Typically, resources along the border between ports of entry really need three things: its border infrastructure, which could be border barriers, it could be roads, it could be lighting; personnel, having the right people; and the last piece technology, said Victor Manjarrez, director of UTEPs Center for Law and Behavior, and a retired Border Patrol sector chief.
Funds will also be used to facilitate increased security screenings to combat human smuggling and trafficking, as well as entry of undocumented immigrants.
Its clear that the Biden border crisis has continued to rage out of control. And I think for Texans specifically living in El Paso I think they need to believe it when they see it, said Michael Joyce, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee
Already, dozens of migrants have been led through the desert by human traffickers who convince them to pay exorbitant fees only to leave them to die in the desert heat of West Texas.
In the blueprint that talks about human smuggling thats a great thing. Being able to work with other governments and other agencies that truly make it a transborder crime, Manjarrez said.
In April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Operation Sentinel, a counter-network targeting operation focused on combating transnational criminal organizations involved in migrant smuggling.
Smuggling operations continue to lie and exploit vulnerable populations to promote their criminal enterprise the health and safety of migrants does not influence their lucrative ambition, Troy Miller, CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, said in a statement. This operation is designed to disrupt every facet of the logistical network of these criminal organizations. Our goal is to enhance the security of the U.S. border and help save the lives of those who are preyed upon by these unscrupulous criminals.
Manjarrez describes human trafficking and smuggling rings of decades ago as mom and pop shops, whereas todays enterprises are buttressed on sophisticated criminal networks across different countries.
The blueprint promises to work with regional governments to investigate and prosecute people responsible for migrant smuggling, human trafficking or other crimes against migrants.
Human smuggling here is very organized, very complex and no doubt very ruthless, said Manjarrez. To be able to get other governments involved from origin country to destination point in the U.S., should really make a difference.
Another aspect of the blueprint is to improve the expedited removal process for those arriving at the border.
The U.S. Department of Justice reversed two Trump-era rulings on June 16, 2021, that further restricted asylum protections for victims of domestic and gang violence, much to the chagrin of the RNC.
I think for folks who live in El Paso and in the Rio Grande Valley, they continue to witness this crisis, Joyce said.
The Administration said its working to optimize the removal of individuals arriving at the border without legitimate asylum claims or other forms of protection.
Those not seeking protection or those who dont qualify will be promptly removed, reads the White House fact sheet on the plan.
Other measures will include facilitating secure management of borders in the region by providing training and technical assistance, supporting improvements of border infrastructure and technology, as well as promoting collaborative migration and other border management approaches.
These improvements could prove lucrative for the Borderland.
Increased technology and things of that nature does wonders for El Pasos economy, said Manjarrez. It has the potential to make infrastructure improvements and to process and facilitate legitimate trade and travel.
Biden can only accomplish so much through executive authority and is now calling on members of Congress to pass reconciliation legislation.
For example, the U.S. Citizenship Act, which would reunite families, give families access to a workforce that includes full labor rights and create a path to citizenship for those already living and working in the country. Moreover, the Dream and Promise Act and Farm Workforce Modernization Act would create paths to citizenship for DREAMers, TPS recipients and more.
The RNC would like the executive branch of government to get a grasp on immigration along the southern U.S. border before calling on Congress.
I dont think that we can have a substantial talk about immigration reform or any other types of reform until we get the crisis under control at our southern border, he said.
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Sunyard Technology to Unveil Sunyard Payment Management System, The All-New Integrated Payment Management Platform – PRNewswire
Posted: at 8:47 pm
HANGZHOU, China, July29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunyard Technology, the leading global payment solution provider, launches the all-new Sunyard Payment Management System, easier for banking institutions and acquirers to manage the key data like terminals, merchants, transactions, and related parameters in great numbers. The System is your complete toolkit for integrating the payment management business remotely and securely. From visual data of terminals to those of merchants and transactions, they are all in the same simple interface, allowing businesses analysis anytime to make data-driven marketing decisions at every stage and tap into as much or as little data as needed, thus inspiring customer throughput, growing store sales, and providing more value for customers, and that's Sunyard's main focus.
A challenge always faced by merchants is to efficiently and effectively manage their POS terminals. It is a given that most acquirers do not work with the same POS Terminal manufacturer, making the management of the POS terminals more complex. The newly Platform features a legible and simple interface that is designed with compatibility in mind to allow for various Android POS Terminals from multi-vendors. With a remote delivery of operation instructions and management of applications on terminals, the system also provides a visual display of the status of terminals and operation logs. Transaction flow and report of terminals also are ready to be exported directly.
With the user-friendly process, jointing the Platform with the terminals through the Client App also can be quick and simple, including a feature for timely transactions and doing the latest updates under great security. Records can be sent to the system by this App through stable connectivity. Under user password policy and role-based access, the system offers strong connectivity with banking institutions through payment gateways, which is the core of each transaction ensuring security and authenticity with cards like MasterCard, Visa, and UnionPay.
Through the customization of the system, function modules can also be tailored to customers' needs for displaying. Taking the "Merchant" management section as an example, banking institutions can manage their affiliated merchants simply and launch well-timed marketing activities, which is more accessible to merchants in turn on the system. A central "APPs" management module is provided on the system to remotely update and download applications, resource files, etc. It also supports remote diagnostic features. At the same time, the transaction interface can be personalized for selection.
At Sunyard, we're constantly expanding and evolving our portfolio of products to help you grow your business. Everything we do is backed by the expertise, support, and commitment that you already trust us for.
Our culture of care means we invest time, energy, and resources to develop products you can count on. We care about quality as much as you do. Whether you need advice, more information or to make an order, we're here to help.
Get in touch: [emailprotected]www.sydtech.com.cn
About Sunyard
Sunyard Technology Co., Ltd, the leading global payment solution provider, is offering cost-effective, superior quality payment terminals and financial software products including payment password system, same-city liquidation system, corporate e-bank system, risk alarm system, etc. As the earliest listed financial IT company in China (SSE Code: 600571), Sunyard has achieved the leading position in the field of financial industry with more than two decades of professional experience. Based on the solid foundation in the domestic market, Sunyard is committed to expanding the international market according to its development strategy.
SOURCE Sunyard Technology Co.,ltd
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Itron to Present at Oppenheimers 24th Annual Technology, Internet and Communications Conference and Canaccord Genuitys 41st Annual Growth Conference -…
Posted: at 8:47 pm
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., July 29, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, announced today that Tom Deitrich, Itrons president and chief executive officer, and Joan Hooper, Itrons senior vice president and chief financial officer, will present at Oppenheimers 24th Annual Technology, Internet and Communications conference on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021 at 1:15 p.m. EDT. In addition, Deitrich and Hooper will present at Canaccord Genuitys 41st Annual Growth Conference on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
The investor presentation and live webcasts of both events will be accessible on Itrons Investor Relations website. A replay of each webcast will be available for 30 days following the events.
About Itron
Itron enables utilities and cities to safely, securely and reliably deliver critical infrastructure solutions to communities in more than 100 countries. Our portfolio of smart networks, software, services, meters and sensors helps our customers better manage electricity, gas and water resources for the people they serve. By working with our customers to ensure their success, we help improve the quality of life, ensure the safety and promote the well-being of millions of people around the globe. Itron is dedicated to creating a more resourceful world. Join us: http://www.itron.com.
Itron is a registered trademark of Itron, Inc. All third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and the third party unless expressly stated.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This release contains, and our officers and representatives may from time to time make, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical factors nor assurances of future performance. These statements are based on our expectations about, among others, revenues, operations, financial performance, earnings, liquidity, earnings per share, cash flows and restructuring activities including headcount reductions and other cost savings initiatives. This document reflects our current strategy, plans and expectations and is based on information currently available as of the date of this release. When we use words such as "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "goal", "seek", "project", "estimate", "future", "strategy", "objective", "may", "likely", "should", "will", "will continue", and similar expressions, including related to future periods, they are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions and estimates. Although we believe the estimates and assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of these estimates or assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and the forward-looking statements based on these estimates and assumptions could be incorrect. Our operations involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, and any one of which, or a combination of which, could materially affect our results of operations and whether the forward-looking statements ultimately prove to be correct. Actual results and trends in the future may differ materially from those suggested or implied by the forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that we believe could affect our results include our ability to execute on our restructuring plan, our ability to achieve estimated cost savings, the rate and timing of customer demand for our products, rescheduling of current customer orders, changes in estimated liabilities for product warranties, adverse impacts of litigation, changes in laws and regulations, our dependence on new product development and intellectual property, future acquisitions, changes in estimates for stock-based and bonus compensation, increasing volatility in foreign exchange rates, international business risks, uncertainties caused by adverse economic conditions, including, without limitation those resulting from extraordinary events or circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors that are more fully described in Part I, Item 1A: Risk Factors included in our 2020 Annual Report and other reports on file with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral.
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The impact caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic includes uncertainty as to the duration, spread, severity, and any resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic including other factors contributing to infection rates, such as reinfection or mutation of the virus, the effectiveness or widespread availability and application of vaccines, the duration and scope of related government orders and restrictions, impact on overall demand, impact on our customers businesses and workforce levels, disruptions of our business and operations, including the impact on our employees, limitations on, or closures of, our facilities, or the business and operations of our customers or suppliers. Our estimates and statements regarding the impact of COVID-19 are made in good faith to provide insight to our current and future operating and financial environment and any of these may materially change due to factors outside our control. For more information on risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, please see our risk in Part I, Item 1A: Risk Factors in our 2020 Annual Report.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210729005844/en/
Contacts
Itron, Inc. Kenneth P. GianellaVice President, Investor Relations(669) 770-4643
David MeansDirector, Investor Relations(737) 242-8448
Rebecca HusseyManager, Investor Relations(509) 891-3574
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Billtrust to Participate in the KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum on August 12, 2021 – Business Wire
Posted: at 8:47 pm
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BTRS Holdings Inc. (Billtrust or the Company) (NASDAQ: BTRS), a B2B accounts receivable automation and integrated payments leader, today announced that Steve Pinado, President, will be participating in a fireside chat at the KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum on Thursday, August 12, 2021 at 1:20 pm ET.
Live webcast and replay of the presentation will be available on the Companys investor relations website at https://www.billtrust.com/about/investors.
About BTRS Holdings
Billtrust (NASDAQ: BTRS) is a leading provider of cloud-based software and integrated payment processing solutions that simplify and automate B2B commerce. Accounts receivable is broken and relies on conventional processes that are outdated, inefficient, manual and largely paper based. Billtrust is at the forefront of the digital transformation of AR, providing mission-critical solutions that span credit decisioning and monitoring, online ordering, invoice delivery, payments and remittance capture, invoicing, cash application and collections.
For more information, visit Billtrust.com.
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Finitive Honored on Financial Technology Report’s 2021 List of Top 100 Financial Technology Companies – PRNewswire
Posted: at 8:47 pm
NEW YORK, July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finitive, the leading data-driven private credit marketplace, today announced that it has been named one of the Top 100 Financial Technology Companies of 2021 by the Financial Technology Report.
Founded in 2017, Finitive's tech-enabled platform offers institutional investors access to a multi-trillion-dollar market of private credit opportunities across multiple asset classes and structures, including specialty finance, online lending, marketplace lending, and private credit funds. Using Finitive, borrowers have opportunities to access private credit funding from over 700 institutional investors with over $6 trillion in AUM.
"Finitive's private credit marketplace uses technology and proprietary algorithms to connect borrowers with capital providers quickly and efficiently," said Finitive founder and CEO Jon Barlow. "It is a distinct honor for Finitive to be recognized by Financial Technology Report for making private credit transactions fast and accessible through its tech-enabled platform. As we continue to enhance our deal-sourcing capabilities, Finitive will help more borrowers access capital and increase shareholder value, while helping more investors find deals."
Finitive's deal origination engine draws opportunities from across the world, providing investors with a source of private credit transactions not found anywhere else. All investments are funded directly by investors to borrowers, with no intermediary entity to add to time and costs.
The Financial Technology Report provides industry executives, professionals, and investors with important news and information on the financial technology industry. The awardees were selected based on product quality, customer adoption, management team caliber, organizational effectiveness, and company growth. This year's list highlights companies that provide faster, streamlined, and individualized services. The awardees have a diverse range of products and services that have transformed the financial industry. View the full list here: https://thefinancialtechnologyreport.com/the-top-100-financial-technology-companies-of-2021/
To learn more about Finitive's private credit marketplace visit http://www.finitive.com.
About Finitive
Finitive is the leading data-driven private credit marketplace. Through its tech-enabled platform, institutional investors access a multi-trillion-dollar market of private credit opportunities across multiple asset classes and structures, including specialty finance, online lending, marketplace lending, and private credit funds. Borrowers gain efficient access to capital via a global network of investors who are actively allocating to private credit. All regulated activities are conducted through North Capital Private Securities, a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. For additional information, please visit Finitive's website at http://www.finitive.com.
About The Financial Technology ReportThe Financial Technology Report is a comprehensive source for market research and insights, business news, investment activity and corporate actions related to the financial technology sector. Based in New York City, the firm is run by a seasoned team of editors, writers and media professionals highly knowledgeable on financial technology and the various companies, executives and investors that make up the sector.http://www.thefinancialtechnologyreport.com.
Media Contact:
Patty BuchananJConnelly(973) 567-9415[emailprotected]
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The Office of Public Works in Ireland Enhances Digital and Technology Strategy with 8×8 XCaaS – Business Wire
Posted: at 8:47 pm
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform provider, today announced that the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Ireland has implemented 8x8 XCaaS (Experience Communications as a Service), an integrated contact centre, voice, video meetings, and chat solution, to enable its digital and technology strategy.
One of Irelands oldest government agencies, responsible for property management, heritage services, and flood risk management, OPW was challenged by disparate legacy telephony systems that could not meet the needs of its increasingly hybrid workforce. With more than 2,500 staff members including contingent, seasonal workers located at 140 sites across the Republic of Ireland, OPW needed a modern cloud communications platform that was cost-effective and reliable, providing the organisation the agility to allow staff to communicate and collaborate with customers, and each other, from anywhere, and on any device.
With 8x8 XCaaS, OPW is able to improve manageability and reliability, ensure organisational resilience, and enable an operate-from-anywhere workforce. 8x8 XCaaS is built on the 8x8 Experience Communications Platform, a reliable, secure, and compliant cloud platform that offers the highest levels of reliability with the industrys only financially-backed, platform-wide 99.99 percent SLA across an integrated Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution.
Working with 8x8, OPW smoothly transitioned staff and communications capabilities to their new headquarters in Dublin, and across all of their sites, without losing connection with colleagues, partners and customers. OPWs commitment to being client focused, ensuring timely delivery of services, and providing value for money was made possible with 8x8s integrated communications, collaboration, and customer engagement product.
The OPW deployment of 8x8 XCaaS further demonstrates 8x8s continued growth within the Public Sector in Ireland and the UK:
Liam Stewart, Head of ICT at Office of Public Works, said: To continue effectively delivering services to our customers, we needed a different approach to enabling communications across our very distributed environment - one that provided collaboration and customer engagement tools, while also being easier to administer and maintain. 8x8 provided us with exactly the solution we needed, including the capabilities to work remotely, on any device, and support both employee and customer communications - all easily administered from one, central console. We have a long track record providing valuable services in Ireland since 1831, however, with 8x8, we no longer have to rely on legacy systems and can move forward as an innovative and future-focused organisation.
The need to transition from outdated technology in an effort to transform organisational performance and functionality is not new within the public sector, but it has never been more critical to meet new work requirements, said Jamie Snaddon, Managing Director, EMEA at 8x8, Inc. OPWs focus on customer engagement and providing exceptional services is the perfect use case for an integrated cloud communications and collaboration solution. With 8x8, OPW employees can work confidently knowing they are staying productive and connected with colleagues and customers.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of contact center, voice communications, video, chat and API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 empowers workforces worldwide to connect individuals and teams so they can collaborate faster and work smarter. Real-time business analytics and intelligence provide businesses unique insights across all interactions and channels so they can delight end-customers and accelerate their business. For additional information, visit http://www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
8x8 and 8x8 X Series are trademarks of 8x8, Inc.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Readers are directed to 8x8s periodic and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a description of such risks and uncertainties. 8x8 undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
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UK Launches Department of Engineering Technology in Partnership With BCTC, Toyota – UKNow
Posted: July 27, 2021 at 1:24 pm
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 27, 2021) Given advancements in technology, society is calling upon engineers to solve the worlds most complex problems.
That call is being answered thanks to a unique partnership between the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky UK and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC). Students can now earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering Technology.
The new Department of Engineering Technology made possible in large part to a $2.25 million gift from Toyota offers two four-year undergraduate degrees inlean systems engineering technology and computer engineering technology.
Additionally, the innovative collaboration involves BCTCs Integrated Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology programs.
Graduates of the new pathways will be trained in the latest technologies and equipped with the practical skills necessary for thriving in advanced technology industries.
"The College of Engineering Department of Technology will be an integral part of our university's efforts to advance the Commonwealth through ingenuity and collaboration, President Eli Capiloutosaid. Because of Toyotas generosity and commitment to the state we serve, we can forge new paths toward discovery and empower our community to achieve more in partnership with BCTC.
Were excited to partner with Toyota and UK to provide this opportunity to our students, Bluegrass Community and Technical College Provost Greg Feeneysaid. Recruiting students of all backgrounds will enrich our programs and the industry and empower students to establish careers that will better their lives and communities.
Bachelor of Science in Lean Systems Engineering Technology (LST)
The LST program will prepare students to thrive in a highly competitive global marketplace and provide the skills necessary to improve quality output, streamline processes and reduce waste.
The demand for increasingly advanced skills in manufacturing requires expanding the engineering pipeline, Nelson Akafuah, inauguralchair of the Department of Engineering Technology, said. In the ever-evolving world of manufacturing where manufacturers must connect, predict and adapt to transition from developing products to engineering experiences a unique skill set in continuous improvement and creative problem-solving is needed. This new degree path will equip students with those necessary skills.
The curriculum will include classroom instruction and lab experiences, which will build upon UK Engineerings more than 25-year partnership with Toyota. LST students will benefit from professional instructors, some of whom are former Toyota executives.
This exciting educational partnership will go a long way to ensuring more Kentucky students are prepared to take on the challenges of an advanced global marketplace, Tom Buffetta, vice president of production engineering at Toyota, said. We are thrilled to continue our long-term partnerships with both UK College of Engineering and Bluegrass Community and Technical College in this way and look forward to helping equip more students with the skills and knowledge necessary to have a positive impact on society.
LST students spend their first years earning their AAS degree in integrated engineering technology at BCTCs Georgetown campus, before working toward their bachelors degree at UKs main campus.
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering Technology (CPT)
The CPT program will provide in-depth knowledge of hardware and software design, development and maintenance. Students will learn industry-standard approaches to application software development and state-of-the-art problem-solving techniques for developing application code and firmware, including networking and web operations.
The curriculum will include classroom instruction and lab experiences where students will gain a strong background in cutting-edge development with programming languages currently used in industry.
Additionally, those in the program will gain an architectural understanding of computer systems from low-level gate design to high-end microprocessors and current bus standards.
Complementary technologies in data analytics, machine learning, human-machine interaction, intelligent robots, interconnected supply chain and the ability to transmit digital instructions to the physical world that can run smart, cost-efficient and automated plants requires a new set of computing skills, Akafuah explained. This degree path will uniquely prepare students to become leaders in this advancing industry.
CPT students spend their first years earning their AAS degree in computer engineering technology at BCTCs Newtown campus or online, before working toward their bachelors degree at UKs main campus.
Toyotas Investment to Diversify Engineering Workforce
The department is made possible, in large part, to a $2.25 million gift from one of the worlds largest automakers.
The funds will be used toward laboratory enhancement, as well as the establishment of a Toyota Engineering Technology Distinguished Professorship.
In April, Toyota announced a $1.7 million investment to increase opportunities for underrepresented students and assist them in earning engineering degrees. The gift will be used to establish and support the Toyota Engineering Technology Diversity Scholarship Fund, which will provide annual scholarships for undergraduate students.
Building a stronger Kentucky will require deliberate and sustainable efforts to provide equal access to quality education. This program will give more people a chance to build great careers in fields like engineering, Susan Elkington, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), said. Toyota is committed to providing resources, time and knowledge to help build stronger communities in which we operate. Were thankful for great education partners that have the same mission.
Preference will be given to students whose ethnic, racial, gender or background would enhance thediversity of their institution, as long as these preferences are narrowly tailored to the universitys achievement of its interest in obtaining the educational benefits of a diverse student body. However, every student who is enrolled in the program, is a Kentucky resident and has unmet financial need will have an opportunity to compete for the scholarship.
Beginning Fall 2021, 35 students over a five-year period will be selected to receive full-tuition scholarships. In addition to the preferences, participation in the program and Kentucky residency status, recipients will be determined after a review of the applicants qualifications, such as academic merit, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and professional goals.
For additional information about Toyota, visitwww.toyotanewsroom.com.
Learn more about BCTCs Integrated Engineering Technology and Computer Engineering Technology programs on the BCTC website.
To learn more about the Department of Engineering Technology, you can visit the UK Engineering website.
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UK Launches Department of Engineering Technology in Partnership With BCTC, Toyota - UKNow
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Managing Operations Technology with IT – Automation World
Posted: at 1:24 pm
Its no secret that the worlds of OT (operations technology) and IT (information technology) are becoming ever closer. The growing connection of plant floor devices to enterprise networks for Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things initiatives is driving this convergence of OT and IT. Thats why these two technology groups cannot remain isolated from each other in a world that increasingly requires operations visibility across supply chains for manufacturers to stay competitive.
To better understand how IT and OT are merging, and the kinds of technologies enabling this, we connected with James Destro of ServiceNow, a supplier of digital workflow software to connect people, functions and systems across organizations, and Carey Blunt of Fujitsu, one of the worlds largest IT services providers, for a recent episode of the Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered podcast series.
Beginning with an exploration of how OT devices can be discovered, secured, and managed with the same kinds of tools used by IT, we focused on the core plant floor issues of asset management and security to understand why it benefits a manufacturer or processing company to secure and manage operations technology in a similar fashion to IT.
James Destro of ServiceNowCompanies are starting to look at how they can have a proactive stance toward plant floor technologies that typically have been air gapped or disconnected from the enterprise network, said Destro. To effectively manage this connection, companies are looking for a better way to find and understand the current topology of OT systems on their network and be able to manage them proactively to respond to vulnerabilities and security incidents. IT tools have a long-standing framework of doing just that for cloud systems and servers in data centers, as well as laptops and distributed devices. This leveraging of IT best practices on the OT side promises a lot of strength and value for industry.
Explaining how this process of connecting IT and OT can best be started, Blunt said, When you're trying to get standardization between your IT and your OT teams, youre really focusing on getting your processes, your people, and your technology working in the same way. Most of our customers approach this by focusing on the technology and process parts firstintegrating a little bit at the network level to find out what assets exist on the OT network, linking those assets in the same place, and keeping them there.
Carey Blunt of FujitsuAs you discover assets on the network, store them in a database, and map their relationships, you need a tool that can help with your security responses and with predictive and proactive maintenance for those assets. When youre pulling these data points into your IT structure, that's where workflow technologies like those offered by ServiceNow are important, said Blunt, because they've got the CMDB (configuration management database) and the capability to exercise the workflow for both the IT and OT worlds.
In both IT and OT, relationship mapping is considered one of the fundamental pillars to understanding how IT and OT systems can be impacted by network changes, incidents, or a vulnerability in any of these systems.
Relationship mapping happens across two different vectors, explained Destro. The first vector involves understanding the data and communication relationships of the actual OT system. This could mean an HMI (human machine interface) managing a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system or a SCADA system controlling a PLC (programmable logic controller) or exchanging data with a historian. The second type of relationship mapping is understanding the context of the operational technology as it's used for manufacturing. This means that we not only need to understand if were dealing with a SCADA system, a PLC, an HMI or historian, but also automating the process of how we interact with these technologies in the manufacturing facility. This provides an overarching contextwhat we call a manufacturing system dependencyso that whenever we're changing configurations, doing configuration compliance, change management, or incident management, we can understand the potential impacts of these actions on other operational technologies, as well as what the potential impacts could be to the actual production process.
Beyond asset management, Destro noted that relationship mapping is also an important aspect of cybersecurity. Relationship mapping is critical to cybersecurity, especially around vulnerability response, incident response, and understanding how things are connected to the network, what relationships they should have by default, and what relationships might be established if an incident occurs, he said. This knowledge helps identify what systems may need to be taken offline when applying a patch, for example.
As the concept of predictive maintenancewhere sensors on equipment feed data into analytics software to provide advance warning of failures so that unplanned downtimes are mitigatedgains ground across manufacturing and processing companies, its application predominantly applies in the OT arena. But when OT assets are connected to IT systems, you can also apply the IT concept of predictive outage avoidance.
Having a comprehensive OT change management systemand all the metadata it provides about systems and their relationshipsenables manufacturers to apply incident management. This occurs when there's an upset to a process, asset, or to the systems management technology itself.
Blunt explained that once an asset is connected to the enterprise network and you have access to operational data about that asset and how its interacting with other devices, that datalike event and error messagescan be used to see patterns. These patterns give you something more thorough than a time-based prediction of roughly when these components are going to wear out.
Transferring asset data into action on the plant floor is the core function of field service management applications, which helps direct engineers to the right place at the right time with the right parts, said Blunt. Field service management is about making a better experience for the engineers, because their time is used more productively, and it provides a better experience for the operations team because downtime is reduced and they're able to plan better, he said. Ultimately, this translates into a better experience for the companys customers, employees, and board because you have fewer outages and your production time is working to its optimum efficiency.
As manufacturers focus on the management and governance of OT systems, change management becomes a critical capability. Its importance stems from the fact that having a managed workflow process for changes helps the manufacturing workforce better understand numerous applicationsfrom attaching a new sensor to the system, upgrading or changing configurations and bridging these changes across the engineering network, to applying patches and ensuring that all the appropriate approvals to make any change have been received.
Having a comprehensive OT change management systemand all the metadata it provides about systems and their relationshipsenables manufacturers to apply incident management. This occurs when there's an upset to a process, asset, or to the systems management technology itself.
Destro said incident management can come in two forms. It could be one of the systems is not respondingdue to a device or electrical failureand in response we're driving workflows towards solving that particular challenge. Or it could be a security or operational incident that triggers security workflowswhat we call a security incident response, he explained. Both of these are critical incidents that need to be handled in in different ways with particular workflows. One towards solving the problem and returning the system to normal, and the other towards mitigating the impact of this incident moving forward. In either case, the technology will help you determine which systems need to be isolated, what mitigation factors need to be put in place, and what actions need to be completed as part of the response workflow.
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Virtual Reality Is the Rich White Kid of Technology – WIRED
Posted: at 1:24 pm
It has been seven years since Palmer Luckey appeared on the cover of WIRED magazine. The June 2014 issue declared, This kid is about to change gaming, movies, TV, music, design, medicine, sex, sports, art, travel, social network, educationand reality. In 2016, Facebook acquired his virtual reality company, Oculus, for $2 billion. It now invests $18.5 billion annually into research and development, and Facebook Reality Labs, the companys Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality division, accounts for as much as 20 percent of its entire workforce, with no sign of slowing down. But despite the many years, billions of dollars, and year-long pandemic requiring at-home entertainment, the results thus far have been pretty lackluster. The headsets are spiffier and the games are more lucrative, but our minds nevertheless remain collectively un-blown.
Its not just Facebook and Oculus. In May 2016, WIREDs cover story introduced readers to Magic Leap, A mysterious startup, a mountain of money, and the quest to create a new kind of reality. Magic Leap was developing a set of semitransparent Mixed Reality goggles that could integrate virtual objects into the users physical environment. The company raised more than $2 billion in funding from A-list Silicon Valley investors. It looked like the biggest leap forward in hardware since the iPhone. But the actual product never lived up to the breathtaking demo. The company laid off 1,000 employees in 2020, hired a new CEO, and pivoted to focus on narrower enterprise applications. The Mixed Reality future is still, well, the future.
Somehow, none of these less-than-ideal outcomes have affected confidence in VR. In fact, Facebook doubled down on Monday, announcing a new group within the company dedicated to developing its Horizons VR world. Mark Zuckerberg recently told Facebook employees that over the next five years he expects to transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company. Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists, it seems, are incapable of saying no to a fancy headset with a big dream. And this dates back 35 yearsJaron Lanier was the Palmer Luckey of the 1980s and early 1990s!
The technology is always about to turn a corner, about to be more than just a gaming device, about to revolutionize fields like architecture, defense, and medicine. The future of work, entertainment, travel, and society is always on the verge of a huge virtual upgrade. VR is a bit like a rich white kid with famous parents: It never stops failing upward, forever graded on a generous curve, always judged based on its potential rather than its results.
One reason that VR has been offered such an endless string of second chances (VRs proverbial lineage, if you will) is that it has played an outsized role in the popular science fiction that our collective image of the future is built around. William Gibson coined the term cyberspace in his 1984 book Neuromancer. The term later became synonymous with the World Wide Web, but Gibsons initial rendering was of a virtual realm that console cowboys could enter and exit. Gibson and his cyberpunk peers heavily shaped the culture of 1980s techbefore the dotcom boom, before the tech bros.
When Lanier unveiled his bulky head-mounted display and dataglove in 1987, he was inviting tech hobbyists to be the first inhabitants of the virtual future they had glimpsed in cyberpunk novels. Neal Stephensons 1992 Snow Crash and Ernest Clines 2011 Ready Player One later were massive science fiction hits whose stories unfolded in a future where VR is a fixture.
When Zuckerberg says that he has been thinking about some of this stuff since [he] was in middle school and just starting to code, it isnt hard to guess what books he was reading at the time. For the Gen X and Millennial tech entrepreneurs who dominate Silicon Valley today, the science fiction stories of their youth have always treated VR as an ambient part of the future technological landscape.
Just as the current billionaire space race is, at least in part, evidence that inside every tech billionaire is an inner child who dreamed of flying his own rocket ship, the VR arms race is premised on an assumption that mass adoption is inevitablethe only question is when that future will arrive, and which company will get phenomenally wealthy when it does.
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