Techonomics — IBM’s Weekly Newsletter
March 30th, 2018
Market Activity and Trends
Apple Reenters Education Technology Market| Bloomberg| March 29, 2018 |
Apple has long been excluded from taking the majority of the computer market share — Computers, tablets, and smart phones from the tech giant tend to be expensive. A perfect example of this is education, where Apple models are far too inflexible and expensive for public schools.
However, this week Apple revealed a new line of iPads specifically made for schools. The new iPad is a low $299 — with all of the graphic and hardware capabilities of a standard iPad.
Price is not the only attractive factor about the iPads. They are also compatible with any kind of pen. The new iPads allow for multi-device login — allowing a child to log in to multiple iPads across the school.
Tech Market is Pulling Back | Financial Times | March 29, 2018 |
The Dow, S&P 500, and the NASDAQ 500 have been dropping alarmingly fast over the past week. Most of this is due to drops in technology companies like Amazon (4.4% drop), Netflix (4.9% drop), and Apple (1.1% drop). In total, Facebook has dropped a total of 10.4% over all of March. The negative attention on Facebook’s data policies also contributed to the poor performance of all tech companies in the stock market.
Top investment funds are reacting to the news. In the past 18 months, an Asia Pacific JPMorgan fund has been moving so-called “overweight” technology stocks for the past 18 months. Instead, the firm is investing in more low-profile funds. It is too be seen if the drop is permanent.
Facebook to Streamline Privacy Setting | Market Watch| March 28, 2018 |
This past week has been volatile for Facebook’s stock — and reputation. After Cambridge Analytica manipulated the personal data of millions of users, Facebook has been facing endless public critique for the selling and exposure of data to third parties.
Facebook announced they will streamline the process that viewers take to see the data sharing policies. They will also give the user ownership over some data-sharing rules. But this might be too little, too late — three users have already sued in a class action lawsuit.
The results of these negative Facebook comments have already been seen in the market — their stock had more than a $9 billion market value drop this week. Considering this, perhaps Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerburg’s apologies for the “major breach of trust” have fallen on deaf ears.
Compliance to be on Forefront of Agenda for Financial Services Institutions | South China Morning Post | March 30, 2018 |
In the past, annual plans driven by once-a-year risk assessments were enough. Now, security and fraud threats are driving the need for more bank compliance regulation. Bank compliance is crucial to banks in order to prevent money laundering and the funding of criminal activities.
A recent study found that 89% of financial services institutions seek to increase investment into their compliance practices over the next two years. Half of CEOs plan on deploying this new technology within the next year. Compliance is a high-risk and therefore costly function of a bank — if they get it wrong, miss enough money laundering attempts, there are potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on the line.
Multiple Lawsuits Against Apple for iPhone Slowdowns | Time | March 29, 2018 |
Last year, the Department of Justice started investigating an Apple installed iPhone software feature that slowed down the phone. The slow-down software was intended to prolong the battery health of older phones — but at the cost of the processing speed of the phone. Apple customers were upset when they found out about the slowdown, or “throttling”, of their iPhones and some filed lawsuits.
In response, Apple announced a feature which will allow customers to stop the iPhone throttling. The feature “Battery Health” will allow users to view the “health” of their phone battery. Apple users will have the ability to turn off the slow-down if they so choose — but at the peril of their battery health.
The smartphone technology company will also start selling a $29 “battery fix” for users who have poor battery health.
The Battle to be the Personal Assistant is Heating Up | Phocus Wire | March 20, 2018 |
IBM is using Watson to create a digital personal assistant. The new AI technology is available as digital eyes and ears in things like refrigerators, hotel rooms, and cars. Unlike other personal assistants, Watson works with existing companies like BMW. They partnered with BMW to create AI personal assistants that will alert to car mechanical status and speed limits. The Watson Personal Assistant will also personalize hotel rooms for users. For example, Watson would change the temperature based on past preferences. Instead of being an internet resource like Alexa, Watson manages and tracks the user’s technology and services.
But IBM is far from being the first one to create a digital personal assistant. Amazon and Google are far ahead of the game with Alexa and Google Home. In fact, the Amazon Alexa has the majority of the market share already.
One reason the personal assistant game has gotten so much attention is companies behind them will have access to the questions users ask and extensive personal data. As data becomes more and more of a commodity, it’s easy to understand why tech giants are battling to own it.
