IT Insights

Odoo leads the path for global SaaS solutions in Hong Kong’s ‘D-Biz Programme’

Odoo has recently been selected as qualified IT service providers by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and stood out in the margin of global SaaS (Service as a Software) solutions out of 932 listed companies, by fulfilling nine out of twelve service categories in the program. The program will allow Oodo to receive 100% funding to undertake projects within six months. As open-source ERP solutions are high in demand more than ever, Odoo’s subscription rate has surpassed expectations and increased by 73% globally, 40% in the APAC region, and 76% in Hong Kong since last year.

Finance transformation remains a priority in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from Blackline

A new survey by accounting automation software leader BlackLine, Inc. suggests that more than half of US-based Finance & Accounting (F&A) professionals are continuing to prioritize their organization’s finance transformation goals, with 53% of respondents indicating the COVID-19 pandemic has had just ‘some’ or ‘little to no impact’ on these initiatives moving forward. The findings reveal key challenges created by the unprecedented shift to a distributed working environment.  Of those surveyed, close to half (44%) cite communication and collaboration as an obstacle to closing virtually, with 31% citing technology and infrastructure. While the future is dominated by unknowns, businesses should prepare the best they could in continuing their digital financial transformation plans.

Where RPA developers go to automate

The Robotic Process Automation (RPA) developer community has grown considerably in recent years, the RPA technologist ecosystem also includes solution architects, consultants, IT administrators, traditional software engineers, and students interested in automation careers. The recent launch of Automation Anywhere University, the free Community Edition platform, A-People online community portal, Bot Store marketplace, and the Docs Portal have enabled developers to be more productive and successful in their RPA endeavours. With the multifunction platform that Automation Anywhere provides, they realized that there is a need for developers to have a single destination where they can find content to support their learning and development needs, which led to the roll-out of the new Developer Portal.

System Updates

NetSuite’s new updates help accountants accomplish more while working remotely

In the wake of the global pandemic, NetSuite has introduced new features that provide accounting professionals more tools, access to data and controls they need to work effectively from anywhere. NetSuite developed a new invoice grouping feature to consolidate these invoices into one. When the payment comes in, it is applied to each order. Besides, users now have ability to automate transaction creation from the bank transactions, NetSuite users can create and post transactions automatically from imported bank data, saving time and improving accuracy. Because accounting and finance teams play a large role in the overall health of a business, it is critical for companies to invest in technology that will save money, automate processes and extract useful information to help executives make informed financial decisions.

See what’s new in automation anywhere enterprise A2019.15

KnowBe4 recently released upgrade for Enterprise 2019, latest release delivers improved quality and experience, with new features. As one of the new features, implementation of Automation Anywhere Discovery Bot, It accelerates and scales automation projects by identifying repetitive manual process steps and generating bots to automate them with one click. Bot insights is another highlight of the update, the upgrade added options to include bar and line charts, sort/limit options on any dashboard widget, visual side-by-side dashboard comparisons, as well as a new devices dashboard to help with real-time deployment monitoring.

Cybersecurity Announcements

New data from Microsoft shows how the pandemic is accelerating the digital transformation of cyber-security

The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation is several ways that are likely to change the security paradigm for the foreseeable future. Where security has proven to be the foundation for digital empathy in a remote workforce during the pandemic, companies were reminded that security technology is fundamentally about improving productivity and collaboration through inclusive end-user experiences. The pandemic illustrated that a blend of automated tools and human insights helped to identify new COVID-19 themed threats before they reached customers. Ultimately, in the current pandemic state, it is to integrated security for companies of all sizes which are seen as imperative.

Cybersecurity is increasingly challenging for academia

Preventing attacks from hackers and cybercriminals is an increasing concern for academic institutions already facing enormous challenges during this time of distance learning. As more digital devices (endpoints) are being used to execute distance learning, which puts institutions at greater risk. Colleges and universities can be a prime target for hackers because of research programs. Student records and financial transactions often are at risk during ransomware attacks, and some institutions might be willing to pay the ransom to recover that data rather than foot the bill from any lawsuits that happen down the road. In order to mitigate the potential risks, institutions should educate people what to look for and report any suspicious activity, adding additional layers of security and include two-factor authentication when logging on or filters that restrict access to potentially-harmful websites.