The Robot Greeters, Cardless ATMs, And Touchscreen Transactions Are So Money At This Bank Of The Future Banco Bradesco, one of Brazil's largest banks, just opened a branch in São Paulo's high-end JK Iguatemi Mall. Bradesco's new branch, however, is no ordinary banking outlet. The São Paulo storefront will instead be a showcase for state-of-the-art banking technology that won't make it to North America or Europe for years. Biometric ATMs that respond to a user's biological features? Ipad-style touchscreens for all transactions? Smart walls for bank employees that automatically turn oblique when clients come in to discuss their mortgages? The branch, called Bradesco Next, is a showcase for new interactive banking technologies jointly developed by the bank and Portuguese retail technology house YDreams. Customers are given space in a separate room to speak with digital avatars who can give detailed account information. Technological innovation in retail banking has been a sore spot for American firms. You can see more of Bradesco Next here.
A VC's view of Ireland and Silicon Valley Andreessen Horowitz partner John O’Farrell tells John Kennedy about finding the right environment for start-ups and the eternal hunt for great companies to invest in. John O’Farrell is an Irishman who happens to be a partner at one of the most powerful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. Andreessen Horowitz, founded by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and Opsware founder Ben Horowitz, holds stock in some of the highest-valued, privately held social media companies, including Facebook, Groupon, Twitter, Foursquare and Zynga. An engineer by training, O’Farrell worked with Siemens in Germany. His involvement with Andreessen and Horowitz began when he went to work at Loudcloud, one of the first cloud computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. The company was transformed into Opsware and Hewlett-Packard bought it in 2007 for US$1.6bn in cash. I bumped into O’Farrell as he emerged from a panel discussion on venture capital at the recent Dublin Web Summit in Dublin, Ireland.
Why 3D printers are 'the sewing machine for the 21st century' April Staines, left, and Emily Gornalle set up Staines' 3D printer. Photo: Supplied While there are plenty of industries that can benefit from 3D printing, and a large number of enthusiasts already making everything from computer parts to kitchen gadgets, one fan of the technology is evangelising its use in a more everyday context. April Staines, co-founder of Melbourne-based company Girl Geek Academy - which aims to increase the number of women with tech skills - sees 3D printing machines as a potential boon for independent craftspeople and engineers. A huge fan of Star Wars and Hello Kitty, Staines first met a 3D printer at a pop culture expo. 3D craft-printing enthusiast April Staines and her 'kawaii' printer. "I make costumes and props for cosplay", Staines says. Advertisement In looking for a more effective way to import fragile materials from the United States, Staines found the new printing device could provide a solution. However, the current user base is male-dominant.
Setting Expectation — The A-Z Of Group Partners Q. What’s The Agenda? We aren’t huge fans of agenda’s because they artificially interrupt flow. Let’s describe the agenda like this — The focus and flow of the day will be a series of conversations. Q. Not really. The session will be hard work but it will be valuable and we intend to make it inspiring and unlike anything you have witnessed before. We don’t expect you to take too many notes — but ou can if you like. Q. Expect to arrive in a room — with a large expanse of wall waiting to be filled with your insights — some of it already containing things that we’ve learned ahead of the conversation — we’ll test absolutely everything with you during the time we spend together. Expect to be a part of important conversations about the ‘exam question’ and what that means to the future of the business — a respectful conversation where everyone’s views are valid and there are no constraints or agendas beyond the exam question that we have set. Q. Q. Visit The Room Specifications For More Context
'Generation Y' set to transform office life Free running might not become an office staple, but greater flexibility and less lengthy meetings might become the norm. Those born between 1979 and 1997 will be dominant age group in workforce in ten years Difference in values between baby boomers and Generation Y set to transform offices'Millennials' put more emphasis on flexibility, personal attachment to work, suggests reportAnalysts suggest that offices need to be able to cater for all generations to thrive (CNN) -- It could be out with old meeting rooms and in with new social spaces, as Generation Y is set to transform the way we work in the next 10 years. In the U.S., those born between 1979 and 1997 are predicted to make up the largest part of the workforce within a decade and with it change offices and the nature of work itself. "That is a massive shift, and it will happen in less than eight years," says O'Neill. Their findings reveal a number of generational differences. So how will this play out in the office of the future?
5 Cloud Collaboration Tools Leaders Emerge - The BrainYard From IBM to Yammer, these 5 vendors do the best job of balancing a vision for cloud collaboration with enterprise-class capabilities, Forrester Research says. Enterprise Social Networks: A Guided Tour (click image for larger view and for slideshow) Yammer and Box built their businesses around collaboration in the cloud, but IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com also rank among the leaders, according to Forrester Research. The Forrester report on Cloud Strategies Of Online Collaboration Software Vendors also looked at Google, Cisco, and Citrix as "strong performers," but a cut below the leaders. Although the Forrester's analysis is presented as a matrix of virtues, rather than a straight ranking, IBM shines for both the strength of its current offering, its market presence, and its strategy. [ Where to begin? Microsoft actually owns two of the leading positions in this market by Forrester's ranking. "Microsoft will make Yammer stronger, and Yammer will make Microsoft stronger," said T.J. 1 of 2
She’s just not that into you: China’s bachelors in crisis thanks to shortage of women Chinese men with a drag queen at the Chunai 98 club in Nanning, Guangxi Province. Source: Getty Images CHINA’s bachelors are in crisis. Figures released this month show that at the end of 2014, China had 701 million men and 667 million women — a shortfall of nearly 34 million. With 120 men for every 100 women, China’s Bridget Joneses are now male, and increasingly desperate for a date. The country’s media has begun advertising options for foreign wives, recommending women from Japan, South Korea and even Ukraine. The race is on for boys to find their future wives. Beijing News provided a helpful chart showing top destinations around the globe for China’s male singletons to find a partner. In truth, the biggest problem has been the country’s one-child policy, which led parents to abandon girls or use sex-selective abortion to guarantee a male child. The government is now pushing for all couples to have a second child, but the cultural shift has not yet happened.
BUSINESS WORLD - Worldwide skills shortage continues Tuesday, May 29 07:51:37 The United States and other large economies cannot find enough skilled workers, engineers and other in-demand employees, according to an annual study on talent shortages. The study, by staffing services giant ManpowerGroup, found 34 percent of employers around the world report trouble filling jobs because of a lack of available talent. The percentage is unchanged from 2011 but up from the prior three years. However, most of the employers -- 56 percent -- say unfilled jobs are likely to have little or on no impact on customers and investors. That is up from 36 percent who said so a year ago. Talent shortages persist despite high unemployment in many economies, especially among young people. The top reasons for not filling jobs include a lack of available applicants; too few hard skills, such as speaking a foreign language among those who do apply; and a lack of experience. Skilled trade workers have topped the most in-demand list in four of the past five years.
Guide to using Pinterest for business (infographic) Guide to using Pinterest for business (infographic) When it comes to businesses using social media, Facebook appears to be the first choice, but actually, Pinterest is where the spending happens – out of Pinterest, Facebook and LinkedIn, Pinterest users purchase the most items, according to Start Ranking Now, an SEO services provider. Now, an infographic reveals just how to use Pinterest to boost business. The infographic by marketing technology solutions provider SyneCore Technologies on Visual.ly outlines how to make Pinterest work for your business, and well as provides tips on image optimisation, what to pin, and when to pin. And if you’re in need of some more inspiration, the infographic reveals four successful brands on Pinterest, as well as their best boards. Tina Costanza
Gyde this: Aussie brothers Andrew and Scott Julian aiming for the Google of streaming video Tech entrepreneurs Scott and Andrew Julian at their office in Melbourne. Photo: Scott Barbour What if finding good streaming video to watch on your TV was as easy as searching for answers on Google? Melbourne brothers Andrew and Scott Julian have created an app they want to be the Google for streaming shows - a sort of universal remote control for internet TV. In the next few months, Australians will have access to unprecedented sources of new and old TV shows and movies as Netflix joins Foxtel Presto, Stan, Quickflix and Dendy Direct in offering online entertainment via set-top box, smart TV, portable device, or devices like Chromecast and AppleTV. Tech entrepreneurs Scott Julian (L) and his brother Andrew Julian have developed an app called Gyde, a search engine for multiple TV streaming services. Navigating this new, hectic, entertainment pool in a Google-like way is something in which the duo with established data and start-up pedigrees has invested many late nights. Advertisement
Fears over skills shortages in key science and language subjects - Latest News, Education Katherine Donnelly – Updated 02 December 2012 12:37 PM And the situation is expected to get even worse from this year as teacher cuts force schools to consider dropping these key subjects. As the boost to maths performance among this year's Leaving Certificate candidates was celebrated yesterday, the new concerns were highlighted. The 56,000 school-leavers receiving results yesterday included almost 11,000 awarded 25 bonus points for achieving a minimum D grade in maths at higher level. That was done as an incentive to students because of the dire need for higher maths standards to fill jobs in the economy. Subjects such as physics and chemistry are also taking on a new importance, with growing demand from employers for graduates with such skills. And languages are in unprecedented demand among multinational and domestic export companies operating in a global economy. There has been an ongoing slide in the number of Leaving Certificate students taking physics. Cuts Irish Independent
SEM, SERPs and Other Online Marketing Terms Explained Like any industry, the online marketing world is full of its own acronyms and jargon. For example, if increasing your website's visibility has been a priority for your business, you might already be familiar with one important term: SEO. SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization and refers to both on-site and off-site activities designed to improve a website's performance in the natural search engine results pages. On-site SEO involves modifying page content to be as appealing as possible to the search engines, such as by adding target keywords into page title tags, headline tags and body content. Off-site SEO, on the other hand, involves strategies to encourage the creation of backlinks pointing back toward the site. If you're in search of a greater understanding of marketing language and concepts, here are explanations for eight more terms to help keep you from feeling lost as you explore the digital marketing world. 2. Related: Seven Tips for Improving Pay-Per-Click Campaigns 3.