Category Archives: Technology

COMMENTARY

Communication, focus and the right hires are among the keys to success

Government agencies, like other employers, have spent the last year adjusting to limitations imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Almost universally, this has forced agencies to rely heavily on remote work and delay talent acquisition, especially for on-site positions.

As more Americans get vaccinated and restrictions are eased, the situation is rapidly evolving. While lasting implications remain unknown, two early trends are emerging. First, employers are starting to ramp up hiring and demand for talent will significantly increase. Second, remote work is not going away.

Seventy-six percent of CEOs say they will allow remote work on a full-time basis for all or most employees, according to Predictive Indexs Annual CEO Benchmarking Report 2021. And 97 percent of companies said they will allow remote work in some form moving forward.

Hiring is picking up, but it remains difficult to hire on-site employees. Demand is especially high for project managers, technical solutions architects, and business analysts.

The increasing demand for talented employees, the scarcity of potential on-site workers and the growing popularity of employees working remotely make it critical for employers to embrace remote work and ensure managers can effectively manage offsite. To ensure efficient telework, it is critical for managers to institute the proper systems and processes.

Managing a remote team is not always easy. Concerns range from a lack of face-to-face supervision and limited access to information to social isolation and reductions in productivity. Given the fact that remote work is likely to continue even after the pandemic, consider the following tips to maximize remote teams chances for success.

Determine Your Requirements

Over the last year, many employers have learned that many functions can be efficiently and effectively performed remotely. Over the same time, employers have also learned which functions need an in-person staff to perform. When acquiring new talent, it is vital to determine if they need to be in the office full time, part time, fully remote or remote just until vaccination rates are sufficient to ensure the safety of in-person workers. If you want someone who is completely remote it changes the entire calculation.

Hire Self-Starters

These employees will get stuff done even if they are secluded. They still need direction but wont necessarily need specific tasks to be productive. They have forward momentum/tempo and get work done. Live fire scenarios are an effective way to evaluate a prospective employees qualities like initiative and problems solving which are common attributes among effective remote workers.

Clear, Concise Communication

Clear communication becomes more important when managing remote workers. Nearly half (46 percent) of remote workers said the best managers checked in frequently and regularly, according to a study outlined in theHarvard Business Review.

Focus & Measure What Matters

Manage expectations and stay focused on goals when embracing a remote workforce. The focus needs to be on what is being accomplished, not necessarily what is being done. It is all about accomplishments, not activity.Use Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to identify your company strategy and help employees see how they are contributing to the big picture and align with other teams. OKRs need to be reviewed regularly, ideally weekly and quarterly.

Weekly 1:1s

You can never give enough feedback. Recurring weekly meetings with each team member are critical. These meetings are critical for discussing work progress, but also allows managers to evaluate how the member is doing professionally and personally. Three questions should always be discussed:

Team Meetings

Set aside regular times every week for an all-hands meeting. If time zones prevent this, try to arrange two meetings, in differing time zones. Cover what the team is working on, give details on any decisions that may affect the team and reiterate that you want feedback and open communication. Having these regular meetings helps the entire team share news and encourage motivation.

In-Person Collaboration

In-person interaction is valuable for any team, but even more so for teleworkers. There is undeniably something unique that happens when teammates collaborate in person. Additionally, try to convene the team quarterly somewhere for a fun, social event. As restrictions are lifted and employees vaccinated, there will be more opportunities to strengthen the team through in-person events. Virtual happy hours, fundraisers and brown bags may not be as effective as in-person events, but it can still help the team come together until it is safe to meet in person.

Reliable Tools

If you havent already, invest in reliable tools to make virtual collaboration possible. Then train your personnel and develop clear processes to use these tools.If remote employees can't download files, struggle hearing on a conference call, and consistently receive meeting invitations for times when they are still asleep, you have failed to address the basics.

Embrace Video

Its important to turn on webcams because non-verbal communication provides valuable meaning in interactions. Video provides a positive feedback cycle that engages participants because they can see the speakers expressions, movement, energy and passion. Lighting and background are also very important and shouldnt be ignored.

Choose the Best Tools

There is not one tool that will meet all your teams needs. Most teams use a handful of tools, especially as they grow and evolve. Managers must ensure their team is equipped and prepared by staying informed about the latest tools and resources.

Embracing teleworking

The challenge for leaders and managers is to bring simplicity, harmony and opportunity and this can be complicated by telework. However, it is important to recognize that popularity of telework is likely to continue long after the pandemic ends, so savvy leaders will embrace this change and institute systems and processes that help bolster the productivity of a team that are unlikely to meet face to face on a regular basis.

About the Author

Dan Kffer is vice president and chief of staff at Think Systems, Inc., a national technology and operations advisor that fills professional technology roles.

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Effective remote work requires following these principles - Washington Technology

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 125 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, CSS, Web Animations, WebAssembly, Storage, Web API, Rendering, and WebRTC.

The current Safari Technology Preview release is the built on the new Safari 14 update included in macOS Big Sur with support for Safari Web Extensions imported from other browsers, tab previews, password breach notifications, web authentication with Touch ID, and more.

The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur, the newest version of the Mac operating system.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 125 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements - MacRumors

"The brand strategic cooperation agreement marks a closer cooperation between Dreame Technology and AliExpress. It motivates us to develop high-class products for consumers and build up Dreame's superior brand in home appliance field worldwide", said CEO and founder of Dreame Technology, Yu Hao.

By virtue of its endurable product quality, intelligent and user-friendly functions in home cleaning and prominent performance at AliExpress, Dreame Technology has been awarded as the Fastest Growing Brand of 2020 by AliExpress in April, 2021 and its cordless stick vacuum T20, V11, V10 have been ranked as the top sellers on AliExpress.

Since 2020, sales volume of Dreame cordless stick vacuum has achieved the TOP 1 in AliExpress French market and successfully become one of the best new brands inEurope. During the AliExpress Black Friday campaign in the same year, Dreame official store ranked the highest sales value within the home cleaning appliance category.

"We have visited Dreame's smart factory and talked with their experts in the fields of R&D, quality assurance and supply chain. Their passion and dedication for smart home appliances and high-end technology is impressive. I believe Dreame Technology would grow into a top home appliance brand with global influence in the near future," said a senior executive of AliExpress.

Dreame Technology has launched a live streaming product event onMay 8, 2021. This successful event attracted over 100,000 global viewers with 205,000 visits for Dreame Bot L10 Pro on AliExpress and its inventories sold out within 2 days inRussia.

About Dreame Technology

Established in 2015, Dreame Technology, an innovative consumer product company focuses on smart home cleaning appliances with the vision to empower life through technology.Follow us onFacebook,InstagramandTwitter.

For more information, please visithttps://www.dreame-technology.com.

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https://www.dreame-technology.com

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Dreame Technology and AliExpress Entering into Strategic Cooperation for Branding - PRNewswire

But theres another crucial observation here. Intelligence was never an endpoint for evolution, something to aim for. Instead, it emerged in many different forms from countless tiny solutions to challenges that allowed living things to survive and take on future challenges. Intelligence is the current high point in an ongoing and open-ended process. In this sense, evolution is quite different from algorithms the way people typically think of themas means to an end.

Its this open-endedness, glimpsed in the apparently aimless sequence of challenges generated by POET, that Clune and others believe could lead to new kinds of AI. For decades AI researchers have tried to build algorithms to mimic human intelligence, but the real breakthrough may come from building algorithms that try to mimic the open-ended problem-solving of evolutionand sitting back to watch what emerges.

Researchers are already using machine learning on itself, training it to find solutions to some of the fields hardest problems, such as how to make machines that can learn more than one task at a time or cope with situations they have not encountered before. Some now think that taking this approach and running with it might be the best path to artificial general intelligence.We could start an algorithm that initially does not have much intelligence inside it, and watch it bootstrap itself all the way up potentially to AGI, Clune says.

The truth is that for now, AGI remains a fantasy. But thats largely because nobody knows how to makeit.Advances in AI are piecemeal and carried out by humans, with progress typically involving tweaks to existing techniques or algorithms, yielding incremental leaps in performance or accuracy. Clune characterizes these efforts as attempts to discover the building blocks for artificial intelligence without knowing what youre looking for or how many blocks youll need. And thats just the start. At some point, we have to take on the Herculean task of putting them all together, he says.

Asking AI to find andassemble those building blocks for usis a paradigm shift. Its saying we want to create an intelligent machine, but we dont care what it might look likejust give us whatever works.

Even if AGI is never achieved, the self-teaching approach may still change what sorts of AI are created. The world needsmore than a very good Go player, says Clune. For him, creating a supersmart machine means building a system that invents its own challenges, solves them, and then invents new ones. POET is a tiny glimpse of this in action. Clune imagines a machine that teaches a bot to walk, then to play hopscotch, then maybe to play Go. Then maybe it learns math puzzles and starts inventing its own challenges, he says. The system continuously innovates, and the skys the limit in terms of where it might go.

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AI is learning how to create itself - MIT Technology Review

The term Blockchain denotes a shared immutable record, of a chain of transactions, each comprising one block, with the blocks being held together by cryptographic keys (hashes). These keys or signatures are stored in shared ledgers, joined by a mesh of nodes, or processes that connect them. Each node has a copy of the whole chain, being constantly synchronized and kept up to date.

How Blockchain Can be Helpful in Healthcare Domain?

The blockchain technology can be very helpful in integrating of healthcare information, which is currently scattered, with a range of service providers. Since it is a distributed network, blockchain-based systems can be useful for integration of several intermediaries in the medical care system. Such systems can be used in storing longitudinal patient histories that can be used by consumers, companies, and medical service providers. One of its major advantages is interoperability among institutions and service providers. Blockchains can result in improved data integrity, decentralization and help in reducing transaction costs. They can also help in delivering precision medicine, improving patient care and outcomes, and the connecting medical records across a nation. This could be a boon in emergency situations as hospitals can easily access data rather than collect medical histories from individual patients.

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By combining these functions, blockchains can result in real-time patient monitoring and updating patient data by tracking different nodes using Internet of Things (IoT). Combined with a database, it can be used by medical care providers and a range of intermediaries. In this way, it allows for quick way of accessing patient records across service providers, thereby reducing costs, and improving collaboration between health institutions.

Blockchains can form the basis of Health Information Exchange (HIE) and the Integrating the Health care Enterprise (IHE). Further, by linking the system across functions such as insurance companies, financial and operational services, revenue cycles and supply chains, back-office data input and maintenance costs can be significantly reduced [20]. Data accuracy and security are added benefits. Countries could ultimately develop their nation-wide health information systems based on a seamless sharing of data. The benefits of integrating the medical network will also yield low cost solutions and virtual health systems in the long run. In summary, blockchain technology can be used in several key data-driven healthcare areas, including health care records, health claims, interoperability, patient access, and supply chains

Advantages and Issues with Blockchain Technology Applications in healthcare

Key concerns with blockchain technology applications in healthcare include:

Digital ledger technology (DLT) can be applied in many healthcare areas, but all activity within healthcare is not linked to transactions. However, public blockchains cannot be used to store private information such as identifying health data, because the data in them is widely accessible. This transparency mandates that providers consider privacy issues to ensure protected health information (PHI).

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Secondly, blockchain technology is vulnerable to some types of attacks, though it offers inbuilt protection against others. The blockchain code lays it open to zero day attacks and bugs, as well as social engineering. Thus, information security must be paid intensive attention especially when used in healthcare. Blockchain technology should not be used indiscriminately in healthcare, since its data is immutable. Large files, or those which change often, may be kept out. All identifying data should be kept off the chain.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform health care, placing the patient at the center of the health care ecosystem and increasing the security, privacy, and interoperability of health data. While it is not a panacea, this new, rapidly evolving field provides fertile ground for experimentation, investment, and proof-of-concept testing. A blockchain powered health information exchange could unlock the true value of interoperability. Blockchain-based systems have the potential to reduce or eliminate the friction and costs of current intermediaries.

The promise of blockchain technology applications in healthcare has widespread implications for stakeholders in the health care ecosystem. Capitalizing on this technology has the potential to connect fragmented systems to generate insights and to better assess the value of care. In the long term, a nationwide blockchain network for electronic medical records may improve efficiencies and support better health outcomes for patients.

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Blockchain Technology Applications in Healthcare Has Massive Potential in Improving Data Management, Handling, and Operational Efficiency - BioSpace

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Datto Holding Corp. (Datto) (NYSE: MSP), the leading global provider of cloud-based software and security solutions purpose-built for delivery by managed service providers (MSPs), today announced that Tim Weller, Chief Executive Officer and John Abbot, Chief Financial Officer, are scheduled to present virtually at the Bank of America Global Technology Conference on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 9:15 a.m. ET. A live webcast of the presentation will be accessible by visiting Dattos investor website at investors.datto.com. An archived version will be available shortly after the completion of the presentation.

About Datto

As the worlds leading provider of cloud-based software and security solutions purpose-built for delivery by managed service providers (MSPs), Datto believes there is no limit to what small and medium businesses (SMBs) can achieve with the right technology. Dattos proven Unified Continuity, Networking, and Business Management solutions drive cyber resilience, efficiency, and growth for MSPs. Delivered via an integrated platform, Dattos solutions help its global ecosystem of MSP partners serve over one million businesses around the world. From proactive dynamic detection and prevention to fast, flexible recovery from cyber incidents, Dattos solutions defend against costly downtime and data loss in servers, virtual machines, cloud applications, or anywhere data resides. Since its founding in 2007, Datto has won numerous awards for its product excellence, superior technical support, rapid growth, and for fostering an outstanding workplace. With headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, Datto has global offices in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

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Datto to Present at the Bank of America Global Technology Conference - Business Wire

Magic Information Launches Turnkey Solution for Smart LocksUsing Technology from STMicroelectronics

China, May 27, 2021 Magic Information, Chinas leading Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) fingerprint-recognition technology provider, has launched a smart-lock reference design, based on AIoT fingerprint recognition running on an STMicroelectronics STM32WB55* Bluetooth LE (BLE) microcontroller (MCU) that manufacturers can integrate into their designs to make Smart Locks.

This reference design leverages the dual-core (Arm Cortex M0+ and M4) advantages of the STM32WB55, designed with high interoperability between the hosting MCU, fingerprint recognition, as well as Bluetooth LE 5.2. The Magic Information fingerprint-recognition algorithm runs on the high-performance STM32WB55 MCU that also enables recognition and unlocks the device in as fast as 0.3 seconds, while ensuring ultra-low power consumption.

There is increasing demand for locks that offer completely keyless operation. Restrictions such as power consumption, size, and user experience make these locks extremely challenging to deliver, said Weiwen Yang, CTO of Magic Information, The combination of Magic Informations industry-leading technology in embedded fingerprint recognition running on an STM32WB MCU with BLE meets the challenge. Magic Information will offer a turnkey solution for the whole smart-lock industry. Meanwhile, a platform with APIs for various applications is also available to help our clients develop product/business innovations, with outstanding quality and performance assured.

With the BLE 5.2 and outstanding processor performance and power efficiency of the STM32WB running Magic Informations fingerprint recognition, their turnkey reference-design solution integrates compactness in system robustness and performance efficiency. Building on the high-level security of the STM32WB, fingerprint recognition enhances the system-level security for markets where it really matters such as access control and medical devices, said Arnaud Julienne, Vice President, Head of Marketing and Applications of MDG, IoT/AI Competence Center and Digital Marketing, Asia Pacific Region, STMicroelectronics.

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For the best user experience and cost competitiveness, a variety of fingerprint sensors, sizes (including 80x64, 112x88, 176x64, and 160x160), and packaging methods are currently available. The turnkey solution has been qualified with mass productions. At the same time, a very much improved efficiency in product building/development can be expected, which can shorten the time-to-market within 20 weekdays.

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*STM32 is a registered and/or unregistered trademark of STMicroelectronics International NV or its affiliates in the EU and/or elsewhere. In particular, STM32 is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

About Magic Information

As a Chinese national high-tech enterprise focused in original and proprietary identification technologies for AIoT, Magic Information is currently leading the industry in IoT identification. Setting its goal to change the way of opening the door, Magic Information has successfully constructed a one-stop AIoT identification service platform, to offer enterprises from all over the world fingerprint algorithms, fingerprint ICs, as well as solutions to identify anything. Further information can be found at http://www.mlkey.com.

About STMicroelectronics

At ST, we are 46,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An independent device manufacturer, we work with more than 100,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of the Internet of Things and 5G technology. Further information can be found at http://www.st.com.

For Press Information Contact:

Tom XiaMarketing of AIoT IdentificationMagic InformationTel+86 186 6682 6076Email: service@mlkey.com

Fiona ZhuIntegrated Marketing & CommunicationsSTMicroelectronicsTel: +86 10 5797 9343Email: Fiona.zhu@st.com

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Magic Information Launches Turnkey Solution for Smart Locks Using Technology from STMicroelectronics - Yahoo Finance

Australian Research Organisation CSIRO has developed a sprayable biodegradable polymer membrane that can help farmers produce more, while using less water, nutrients and agrochemicals.

The new technology, named TranspiratiONal, is an environmentally-friendly alternative for agricultural plastics, such as polyethylene, often called plastic mulch. Trials have confirmed increases in crop water productivity in excess of 30 per cent, while also assisting to control weeds.

According to CSIRO there is a worldwide challenge to grow more food, using less resources. The worlds population is growing, requiring food production to double by 2050 to feed an expected nine billion people. The need to expand our food production output is also impacting the environment through the use of fertilisers and other chemicals, CSIRO says.

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Close up of the spray rig showing 3 sets of nozzles spaced one meter apart to improve the uniformity of application (1 kg per square meter treatment) - Photo: CSIRO

Researcher Dr Keith L. Bristow came up with the idea of a polymer membrane. I had been doing a lot of work around the health of soils, and the interaction of water with the soil, he says. I went to China some time ago and was just horrified by the plastic mulch films they were using. We visited some fields where plastic was more dominant than the soil. This means the soil pores were mostly blocked and toxins were leaking into the soil and surrounding water systems.

My view was that all farmers should be able to apply the membrane, even those in Africa using a simple hand sprayer

Dr Bristow set out to create a product that could replace the plastic mulch films. He wanted to produce a biodegradable product, that could be sprayed. My view was that all farmers should be able to apply the membrane, even those in Africa using a simple hand sprayer or those in the US, using large mechanical machines, he explains.

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Dr Keith Bristow: "We want to make it as durable and cost effective as possible." - Photo: Keith Bristow

After developing the membrane technology, CSIRO conducted several experiments and field trials in Australia. We used big and small farm equipment and proved that our polymer membrane can be accessible to small scale farmers in developing countries and large scale highly mechanised farmers and agribusinesses in developed countries, Dr Bristow says.

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Application of the membrane of a field of tomatoes. - Photo: CSIRO

CSIRO demonstrated the sprayable technology in irrigated field plot trials in Australia using melons, tomatoes, sorghum and cotton. The trials confirmed increases in crop water productivity in excess of 30 per cent, while also assisting to control weeds.

Weve got our proof of concept but we need to further finetune the polymer spray, Dr Bristow says. We want to make it as durable and cost effective as possible. At the moment the cost is probably higher than the plastic mulch film that is widely used.

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Installing the preformed plastic mulch films treatment. - Photo: CSIRO

Farmers have told Dr Bristow and his team that they would no longer use plastic mulch film if they could use a cost effective sprayable biodegradable polymer membrane. By using a sprayable biodegradable membrane they dont have to retrieve a deteriorating plastic mulch film during and after harvest, Dr Bristow says. And a lot of the plastic mulch film is still causing problems. It gets burned, which the government and community dont like, or it goes to a waste facility. And when it breaks down into smaller fragments it releases toxins into the soil and our water systems, including, streams, rivers and groundwater below.

The farmers in the trials were in general happy with the ability of the polymer membrane to cover the soil. Weeds were controlled and water was saved, resulting in more production. Our aim is to maximise the transpiration and minimise the soil evaporation, Dr Bristow emphasises.

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A field with tomatoes sprayed with a polymer treatment. - Photo: CSIRO

The field trials have showed a number of advantages of the polymer membrane of CSIRO over the plastic mulch films that farmers are currently using. The polymer membrane is biodegradable, and most plastic mulch films are not. This new product is sprayable. Farmers can use existing farming equipment for the application with minor, low cost modification. The application of plastic mulch films is expensive as it requires specialist farming equipment.

Plastic mulch films can cause extreme surface temperatures. The application of the polymer membrane however moderates the soil surface temperatures. The trials showed that plastic mulch films caused seedling damage and death of plants. The use of the polymer membrane caused minimal to no damage to seedlings.

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Application of the highest polymer treatment (1.5 kg per square meter). - Photo: CSIRO

Dr Bristow and his team have made sure that the polymer membrane is safe to use. We took samples of the soil with the polymer and of the products, for example the skin of melons, he says. We probably did a couple of hundred different tests. The results proved that there was nothing untoward or toxic in the product and that it is biodegradable. Farmers can just leave in the field after harvest.

Dr Bristow would prefer to do some precommercial farm trials to finetune the polymer formulation, its application and impact. He is currently talking with investors to finish the preparations for the pre-commercial trials. There is enough interest among farmers. I get contacted every week by farmers, sometimes six times a week. People are calling me from across the world.

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Harvested tomatoes filling the harvest bin. - Photo: CSIRO

CSIRO explains that achieving the initial target of using 10 per cent less water with no yield loss in Australian irrigated agriculture would free up more than 1,000 gigalitres of water. This could be used for growing additional crops and/or improving environmental flows in our waterways, CSIRO says.

There are real headaches using plastic mulch films

Farmer Dan Harris of Myrtle Park Produce in Finley, New South Wales was a participant in field trials with the sprayable biodegradable polymer membrane. If this was available, I would use it for sure, he says.Mr Harris says spraying the polymer membrane onto the soil was an easy process. We put the polymer in a tank behind a tractor and applied the polymer with nozzles onto the groundThe farmer from New South Wales enjoyed being involved in the trials. There was a bit of an issue with the manufacturing at the start, but once that was ironed out, it was fine. In the first year we tried out different rates of polymer per square meter. That made it clear what thickness we needed. I thought it showed a lot of potential at the higher rate of 1 kg per square meter.In the second field trial Mr Harris grew a crop of melons, using the polymer membrane. It did increase the crop water productivity and supressed weeds. And I could leave the polymer on the soil and it just broke down. I was keen to pursue it but unfortunately the funding dried up.Mr Harris says he would use the new technology instead of plastic mulch films if it was available. Its the flexibility; and not having to deal with plastic. We are laying plastic but then have to retrieve it and dispose of it, which is a real headache. And its costly. If we could just spray the membrane, Id be happy to pay twice as much as the plastic film mulch cost. Although the cheaper the better of course...He points out that using plastic mulch film also comes at a public cost. Its not great for the environment and not a good long term solution for our industry. Hopefully they can get the polymer membrane off the ground. It is a great innovation. A few farmers will shy away from it at the start but once you show them how flexible and easy it is, they will come around.

Farmer Dan Harris of Myrtle Park Produce in Finley, New South Wales was a participant in field trials with the sprayable biodegradable polymer membrane. "If this was available, I would use it for sure", he says. - Photo: Dan Harris

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The technology that could stop the use of plastic mulch - Future Farming

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Launching today, emerging InsurTech innovator Obie unveiled its new insurance offering, specifically targeting landlords and investment property owners. Obies instant quote platform for landlords, the first of its kind, delivers the coverage these small businesses need through a dramatically improved, data-rich process. The companys innovative technology and approach means Obies policyholders can save up to 25-30% off their existing insurance premiums. Starting today, Obies property and casualty insurance is now available in all 50 states.

Additionally, Obie disclosed that it has raised $10.7 million in Series A funding to fuel rapid growth. The round was led by global investment firm Battery Ventures, with General Partner Michael Brown joining Obies board of directors. Thomvest Ventures (the investment management firm of the Thomson family) also joined the round, in addition to previous investors Funders Club, MetaProp, and Second Century Ventures. Funding comes as Obie has secured insurance for over $3 billion in property over the past year.

The number of small, hobbyist landlords and property investors is growing at an impressive rate, yet nothing exists in this space to provide them with the quality insurance coverage they need to safeguard their investments, said Brown. When we saw what the Obie team had built, we were immediately struck by how their technology didnt just slap a band-aid on traditional approaches to insurance coverage; it brings intelligence and simplicity to the process to match each policy application to the ideal carrier for respective risk factors. This results in a win for all parties.

Better Options for Rapidly Growing Market Segment

Obie was created to provide a simple, affordable, and transparent insurance experience for clients and their investment properties, with a particular focus on the 11 million small-to-medium size apartment landlords who own single family rentals and/or larger apartment buildings. Based on their work in real-estate private equity and insurance, Obie co-founders Aaron and Ryan Letzeiser recognized that despite being the largest class of real estate investors in the U.S, this group is significantly underserved. They are too small for larger brokerage houses, while the smaller, independent insurance agencies are generalists with only limited carrier partners that specialize in this type of risk. As a result, landlords get bad pricing and limited coverage, after enduring a lengthy and antiquated application process.

Obie remedies this by offering a consumer-friendly approach that matches the expectations of the digital world. The company replaces an opaque, email-based insurance acquisition process, where landlords are forced to fill out PDFs and spreadsheets before waiting more than a week to even receive a quote, with a short online questionnaire. Landlords and property investors then can get the coverage that fits their specific needs in less than five minutes.

The impact of insurance premiums on real estate investors bottom line and the overall value of the asset is significant, yet the process of securing proper coverage has always been a bit of a black hole, said Obie Co-Founder and COO Aaron Letzeiser. Obie changes this. We built technology that makes securing insurance the least of a landlords worries. Now purchasing insurance is quick, easy, and extremely cost efficient, and with Batterys support we can scale even faster to meet the needs of this growing market.

Leveraging Technology to Reinvent Insurance

When landlords and property investors come to Obie, the platform walks them through a short series of questions and provides an instant quote that, once accepted, can be immediately underwritten. Obie is able to do this by extracting a few key data points from client responses, which its technology then enriches with dozens of public and privately available data points to eliminate the constant back-and-forth that normally occurs between a real-estate investor and an insurance agent. Obies platform analyzes over 50 novel and unique underwriting data points, which include things like the proximity of the landlord to the property, as this is often a great indicator of proactive and preventative maintenance as well as attentiveness to tenant issues.

Once Obie runs its analysis, the platform uses a proprietary algorithm to match an application to carriers based on the risk-appetite profiles that carriers have at any given point in time. For example, this could include things like writing properties in hurricane zones or excluding those that dont want to write any policies this quarter for properties built before 1980. By targeting carriers accordingly, Obie is able to deliver the right level of coverage for a dramatically lower cost than other brokerages, which is particularly important for landlords who have been hit by rent uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

I had been using the same brokerage for years, but by managing my portfolio on Obie, I was able to easily request new quotes that saved me more than I ever would have expected on my existing premium-- something my old brokerage wasnt able to do, said Doug Hirsh, an Obie customer. That kind of instant savings substantially increases IRR and cash-on-cash returns. Using Obie has been a no-brainer. I couldnt be happier with the entire experience and level of coverage.

To use Obie to make sure that youre covered and your investment is protected, go to http://www.obierisk.com.

About Obie

Obie is on a mission to provide a simple, affordable, and transparent experience for clients and their investment properties. Its technology guarantees industry-best rates for the property and casualty plans that are right for clients, ensuring that they, and their investments, are protected. Obie is now available to landlords and property investors in all 50 states. Learn more at http://www.obierisk.com.

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For all youve probably heard about Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies lately, many financial experts say its the technology behind crypto you should really be paying attention to.

The underlying technology that most cryptocurrencies rely on which is blockchain is a transformative technology, says Lule Demmissie, president of Ally Invest. And cryptocurrency just happens to be one of those transformations.

Some believe blockchain technology has the potential to change nearly every facet of our lives, far beyond cryptos impact on our financial portfolios. Dr. Richard Smith, executive director of the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to studying recurring patterns throughout economies and cultures, calls it a revolution.

Even crypto skeptics see the value in blockchain technology. The real jewel is blockchain, says Chris Chen, CFP of Insight Financial Strategists in Newton, Massachusetts. He believes blockchain is likely to have a lot more staying power than popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which he calls a flash in the pan. Blockchain will continue to change the way that we do things.

That all sounds great, but what exactly does it mean? Heres what you need to know about blockchain, and what a blockchain revolution might look like.

Think of a blockchain as a novel, digital form of record-keeping.

Blockchain is the underlying technology that many cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum operate on, but its unique way of securely recording and transferring information has broader applications outside of cryptocurrency.

A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) allows record keeping across multiple computers, known as nodes. Any user of the blockchain can be a node, but it takes a lot of computer power to operate. Nodes verify, approve, and store data within the ledger. This is different from traditional record-keeping methods which store data in a central place, such as a computer server.

A blockchain organizes information added to the ledger into blocks, or groups of data. Each block can only hold a certain amount of information, so new blocks are continually added to the ledger, forming a chain.

Each block has its own unique identifier, a cryptographic hash. The hash not only protects the information within the block from anyone without the required code, but also protects the blocks place along the chain by identifying the block that came before it.

The cryptographic hash is a set of numbers and letters that can be up to 64 digits long, says Vikas Agarwal, a partner in PwCs Financial Services Advisory Practice. Thats the unique code that allows the puzzle pieces to fit together.

Once information is added to the blockchain and encrypted with a hash, its permanent and unchangeable. Each node has its own record of the full timeline of data along the blockchain, going back to its start. If someone tampered with or hacked into one computer and manipulated the data for their own gain, it wouldnt alter the information stored by other nodes. The altered record can be easily distinguished and corrected, since it doesnt match the majority.

The way that the system works, its almost impossible for someone to replicate the computing power that happens on the back end to reverse engineer it, and somehow figure out what all those hashes are, Agarwal says.

Heres an example of how blockchain is used to verify and record Bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoins blockchain is public, which means anyone who owns Bitcoin can view the transaction record. While it can be difficult to trace the identity behind an account, the record shows which accounts are transacting on the blockchain. Public blockchains also allow any user with the required computer power to participate in approving and recording transactions onto the blockchain as a node.

But not all blockchains are public. Blockchains can be designed as private ledgers, so an owner is able to limit who can make changes or additions to the blockchain. While the pool of participants may be smaller on a private blockchain, its still decentralized among those who participate. Private blockchains maintain the security of any data stored within the database using the same encryption methods.

The idea of a secure, decentralized permanent record of information has drawn interest across a number of industries, and potentially holds solutions for many security concerns, record-keeping processes, and data ownership issues we face today.

Blockchain gives us the technology to move information securely, Agarwal says, and have nearly complete certainty in knowing the authenticity of any piece of information you want to protect.

Consider, for example, stories that have circulated in recent weeks of meme subjects and celebrities who cashed in on digital property by selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

Because the underlying blockchain record is immutable, NFTs allow sellers to verify a digital assets authenticity. When you buy an NFT, that transaction is added to the blockchain ledger, and becomes a verifiable record of ownership. For those who want the ability to verify a digital works authenticity, blockchain helps value digital art and collectibles similarly to their physical counterparts. In theory, this leads to creators maintaining value through things earning royalties on copies made of digital art.

That might seem confusing to the rest of us who dont value those things, Smith says. But what its really demonstrating is that you can have a digital economy with digital property rights. It gives you the ability to uniquely say I own and control this piece of the digital economy, he says.

For many of us, one of the most impactful use-cases of blockchain technology may be protecting and securely transferring personal data.

Imagine if your banking information was stored on a blockchain. When you open an account with a new financial institution, or transfer information between institutions, a blockchain ledger could help quickly and securely ensure the transfer or new account is accurate and legitimate using your already-stored information. That has the ability to reduce a lot of costs, a lot of overhead, and also become a good way to reduce fraud, Agarwal says.

He predicts blockchain technology has potential across nearly every industry, because every industry has some type of information that theyre trying to exchange in a very secure way. An election run on blockchain technology could benefit from a voting record that gets locked in and cannot be altered after the fact. Businesses could maintain more accurate inventory records using blockchain. Blockchain could even help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions with better transparency around product supply chains. The technology may help food suppliers more efficiently trace recalled products, or allow consumers to avoid goods created using exploited labor practices.

Uses like this illustrate blockchains appeal not only for security, but also what Chen calls the integrity of information. Blockchain has the potential to give people more security and assurance around that, Agarwal says.

Businesses and governments around the world are continuing to test and implement blockchain technology, but none of this will happen overnight. If we ever reach a point where government currency is blockchain-based or medical records are converted to a blockchain, it wont be anytime soon.

In the meantime, you can bet on the power of blockchain by adding a blockchain-based cryptocurrency like Bitcoin to your portfolio, though thats not the only way to put your dollars behind the technology.

You can also adjust more traditional investments so theyre blockchain-forward. For example, look into whether your ETFs or mutual funds include companies that are developing blockchain technologies or beginning to use blockchain in their business operations.

There are even ETFs wholly made up of these types of companies, known as blockchain ETFs. One example, launched in 2018, is the Siren Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index (BLCN), which has outpaced the S&P 500s overall return both year-over-year and on a three-year average. These funds dont put any of your money in crypto specifically; instead, they invest in select company stocks ranging from long-established businesses like IBM to lesser-known startups like Galaxy Digital.

While it still doesnt guarantee a return, this can be a more conservative alternative to putting your money into the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency market directly.

Chen compares the difference between speculating in cryptocurrencies directly and investing in blockchain companies to the California gold rush of two centuries ago. Lots of people rushed in there to dig for gold, and most of them never made any money, he says. The folks who made the money are those who sold the shovels. The companies that are supporting the development of blockchain are the shovel sellers.

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What Is Blockchain? The Transformative Technology Behind Bitcoin, Explained - NextAdvisor